In other news, I got a new job at Virginia Tech. This time, I work in the Department of Entomology. I get to ride around with a reserach specialist, Ryan, all over Kentucky, Tennessee and parts of Virginia looking for Hemlock Woolly Adelgids (HWA). The most difficult part of the job is choking back vomit, as he is the single worst handler of a vehicle I've ever seen. Anyway, the HWA is a tiny pest that kills hemlock trees in the eastern/moving-central US. Virginia Tech got a huge grant from the USDA to start rearing a beatle from the western US that eats only HWA. Well, Virginia Tech is basically keeping them in the insectary until they get released into the wild. Ryan and I have to go out and get food, which is the HWA, for the lab-beatles in the mean time. So, my job is just to navigate with maps, provide good company, and help stack infested branches of hemlock trees. Its pretty easy, and I get to see all kinds of beautiful sceneries.
This is what the HWA looks like.
While in Virginia, I have been looking for ways to acquire one of these fancy southern-Appalachia accents. I figured the best way to do so is to join a covered-wagon trail ride. My new horse friend, Greg, who is somewhere around Dad's age and happens to have 5 horses, invited me to do just that. It was quite an adventure, and I tried my best to photodocument via my cell phone because Trip was using my camera to compare potential field sites. See, I do have priorities!
So it begins with the wagon train, which we rode ahead of most of the day. There were five homemade wagons pulled by teams of Belgian drafts, haflingers, and even mules. Inside each wagon contained at least three hillrods, drinking any amount of light beers, and a fermenting grape juice of some sort. The grapes (home grown) were still inside, and it had a better taste than crappy wine, actually. I was offered some, and with the hopes of ingesting a twang or drawl, I indulged. However, it just made me feel rowdy. The grapes were tasty, too. Full of -OH, mm!
Anyway, the wagons stopped every 30 minutes or so to refill, socialize, and be merry in general. It was really quite frigid, so we just rode on and finished the ride at our own pace: fast. You'd be surprised how warm you stay with 1000 lbs of sweaty, sinewy muscle between your legs! I got to use my new (to me) saddle, which is the only saddle I've used in the past 3 years that has not given me knee pain. Way to go, Australians!
At the end of the day the horse I rode, Cheyenne, was pretty pooped. I included a photo of her for effect.
Since Trip and I both got paid the day "Where the Wild Things Are" was released, we figured it a sign. I've been chomping at the bit to see it since I saw the preview months ago. I've watched every single trailer, teaser, interview with Spike Jonze, and read all the reviews I could. This film is huge, its a link to my childhood I almost forgot! Trip was semi-excited to see it, probably more to get out of the house. Saturday night we headed to the theater, Trip got a humongous soda so he wouldn't fall asleep (his trademark move), and we settled into our seats. If you're looking for a mini-review, here is what I sent my mother:
Trip liked it, I especially liked it. I cried toward the end, but I always cry during movies. Trip didn't cry, but to give you some sort of scale, he did cry during "Up!". THAT movie will make you bawl, but its every bit worth seeing.
But about WTWTA:
The values of the movie are similar to the book, but with a different twist. In the book its kind of like "This is what happens when you don't have any discipline; bad things" but in the movie, it is a more elevated version of the same problem. It does elude to change and/or political shift, and there are parts of the movie that I know are supposed to be symbolic, but I'm not sure of what yet. The underlying message I brought home is that even fearless leaders do have weakness, i.e. there is no single solution to all of our problems.
Max came in to the wild things' world like a lion and went out like a lamb, defeated and humbled. In the very last scene, he finally views his own mother as human, with strengths and shortfalls of her own. Its a capstone moment where he realizes he is part of the family and he has to pull his own weight to make it work.
The film does a good job of portraying childhood emotion, giving outlets that most everyone can relate to, i.e. loneliness, siblings ignoring your attempts to play with them, and getting angry with all of your heart when your feelings are hurt.
The reviews say its sad, and it kind of is. The book was no different. There are happy parts, but there are sad, real-life parts as well. It ends on a pleasant note, regardless.
All in all, it was a really good movie. The special effects were great, and the costumes were absolutely perfect. Visually, its astounding. The angles, cinematography, music, everything meshes beautifully.
I'd recommend it.
Trip was disappointed that the bison-looking wild thing (right) only had a nominal role in the film. However, the soda kept him content throughout the viewing.
Sunday we decided its been too long since we tortured ourselves with a hike up a mountain to look at a view similar to the tops of other mountains in the area. We did just that! This hike was not nearly as bad as the reviews claimed it to be, although there was a little bit of technical rock-jumping to be done. Woodford did a much better job than anticipated. This hike was called Dragon's Tooth, its part of the Appalachian Trail near Catawba, and its a 2600-something elevation hike. It was a pretty cold day, but the trees and hiking uphill kept us warm. At the top, we were just chillin.
Monday there was a (we think) rabid groundhog in our yard that Goose kept trying to play with. It wasn't at the aggressive stage, but just kept wandering around like it was drunk and kept coming up to us completely delirious. Trip wanted to cap his ass, but he doesn't have any ammunition for his shot guns. He tried killing it with his sling shot, hit it a couple times, then the sling part of the shot busted. I called the Sheriff, which is what I was instructed to do immediately on the animal control website. In my best Virginian voice; "Well, just shoot it or let it walk away and die somewhur. We ain't gon' go out for a rabid whistle pig." He had no idea we didn't live it town, but if we were to shoot something IN town, it still wouldn't be a big deal. Oh well. The thing did wander away, and we haven't seen it since.
Oh and Natalie, since you are my lone follower, you deserve a special mention. Justin, 1/3 of Trip's triplet cousins, proposed to her 1000 feet above the ground in a hot-air balloon this weekend. They were indeed dating prior to the proposal, and she even said yes. Congratulations to both of you. It will be a rip-roaring good time of a wedding, and the marriage will be good, too.
In other news, I killed a mouse yesterday with a shovel. And I didn't even feel bad.
