Remember

I'm watching Remember Me this afternoon. The dialogue isn't that great, but the story is. It's about the impact that every person leaves behind on those around them. It's almost October, and I find myself missing someone that had a great impact on my life. I used to think about him every single day, but this week I realized that I hadn't thought about him in a while and I felt guilty about it. Today it occured to me that even when you don't conciously think about someone they are always with you through they way you changed by interacting with them and it brings me comfort (and makes me feel a little philosophical). Today's post is not about Australia. It is dedicated to DZ.

I met Dale when I was 14 and a freshman in high school, and spent almost every afternoon of my high school career with him except during golf season. Sometimes we would just sit on the porch, drink a Pepsi and take a little snooze. He taught me to drive a tractor, and tried to introduce me to hot carrots and cheese. He taught me that when you hug someone, instead of turning your head you should be cheek to cheek. His steak and french fries were delicious. He was 73.

He was an old horse trainer. I excersized the horses at his ranch and he taught me what he knew. I would ride and he would yell. I would yell back. He had a reputation for making people cry, but he never got to me until the day he died. I was always proud to be able to say I was riding one of DZ's horses when we went to team penning practice. He was at my sixteenth birthday party, and I always looked forward to the day he could come to my wedding. He gave me confidence in myself and the ranch was my happy place.

It took me about 3 years to erase his number from my phone after he died my sophomore year of college. Realizing that he really is always with me (as cliche as it sounds) makes me happy again.

Dale - some days you aren't on my mind, but you are always with me.

Making Babies

I found two nests today!!! First ones of the season. It was quite exciting. Eating pea soup for dinner. That is all.

Time Warp

First off, I would like everyone to notice that I have stayed true to my blog's name: Katie in Real Life. In real life I don't always have time to blog, and I have been busy busy busy the past month and a half! So that's my excuse for not writing anything yet, sorry! I finally have a little time to myself tonight because my boss went out of town and it's my night to watch the cat. He's still a pretty young kitten and never stops moving...ever! I've been putting off writing this first post because there is so much I want to put into it and I never had the time or energy to write it out. I've now decided to give you the short version and keep you up to date from there. Here goes...

I'm living in the small town of Lara (pronounced Lara, not Laura). In the small town of Lara there is a small wildlife preserve called Serendip Sanctuary. On Serendip there is a house from the 60s where I live with Elysa and Helen. We have a wood burning stove to keep warm and even hot water! The only missing amenity is laundry which we do in town (about a ten minute bike ride or less). There are kangaroos and emus wandering around and life is pretty good.

The project I'm working on is with Superb Fairywrens. The males are a beautiful bright blue, and they are just about the cutest birds I've seen. I spend my days following them around looking at their color bands and searching for nests. Nothing yet, but they should start breeding any day now! We've been using Iphones for data entry in the field and it's been awesome! I also got a kangaroo leather hat to wear in the field so I look super cool.

That's it for now, be sure to give me topic suggestions of things you guys want to hear about!
Katie

At Last...Australia!

So today I leave for Australia! I'll be there through the end of January working near Melbourne. Here's my mailing address if anyone wants to send me anything ;).

Katie Allen
c/o M Hall
59 Curletts Rd
Lara
VIC, 3212

See you down under!

Katie

The Return

Hey guys, I just got home about twenty minutes ago. Time to relax.
Katie

Lantau and Joe

Went to Lantau Island yesterday to see the giant Buddha. Found an American guy named Joe and we spent about 8 hours exploring Hong Kong and shopping. Tons of fun, but I was really tired by midnight. I come home tomorrow!

Katie

The Spa, aka Heaven

So yesterday Erik and I went just over the border to Shenzhen. Heather was planning on going as well but unfortunately had food poisoning from the night before. We went to the spa where we couldn't understand most of what they were saying, but it was fun trying to figure it out. We're pretty sure everyone though we were a couple which was funny. I've never been to a spa before but this place was amazing. First we had a two hour Tai massage (the lady walked on my back). We had so much fun trying to talk to them even though we weren't very successful. Next we went to this big room full of big comfy chairs, and each chair had it's own tv. I got a foot massage, a pedicure, a manicure and had my ears cleaned (sounds strange but it felt amazing). The best part? Paying the bill. I spent about $60 US for the whole thing, including tips. Today I'm headed for Lantau Island (part of Hong Kong) to do some hiking and sight seeing. See you guys in a few days!

Katie