Experience New England: My Bucket List

A girl can dream, (and this is the short version of those dreams).


Bucket List: A list of things to do before you die. Comes from the term "kicked the bucket".

New Bedford Whaling Museum

The 107 year old whaling museum located in Massachusetts, “it is home to the world's largest ship model, Lagoda, a half-scale whale ship built in 1916 by the aging shipwrights of New Bedford's famed fleet. The Museum displays four species of complete whale skeletons, including a Blue whale, the world's largest mammal plus a mother and fetus of the highly endangered Northern Atlantic Right whale.” How can you beat that excitement? No, Im not joking.

"The Nation's First Sunrise"

Viewing the "first sun rise in the USA" is a  popular activity among visitors of Maine's Acadia National Park. Cadillac Mountain sees the first sunrise in the fall and winter, and during most of the spring and summer, the sun rises first on Mars Hill, 150 miles to the northeast. This would be invigorating. 

Hartland Brick Church Famous Roast Beef Supper

Maybe I am crazy, but this seems like a really cool thing to randomly do.

“People drive an hour and a half or more to make the pilgrimage, and not just once a year or once a month, but some for nine straight Saturdays starting in January--every year. These dinners take place in the basement of  "the Brick Church" in Hartland, and no matter the weather. A bad snowstorm or driving sleet might keep servings down to 200 or 250; a good night will feed some 400 people.” And J.D. Salinger went to them!

Sandwich, Massachusetts

I have to admit one thing: I have been here before…. BUT, it was at 1am, for ten minutes, and we climbed a tree.. I don’t think that counts. I want to see the boardwalk and watch tugboats enter the Cape Cod Canal at dawn, and then hit up the Sandwich Glass Museum. Sandwich is the oldest town on Cape Cod by the way.  (photo from Yankee Magazine)

Wild Game Supper

Congregational Church's annual "Wild Game Supper" in Bradford, Vermont, comes to mind. The out-of-town crowd at that hunting-season event grew so overwhelming--even at $25 a head--that the church recently set a serving limit of 900. The writer Calvin Trillin once called it "the Super Bowl of church suppers."

Cable Car Cinema

Located on South Main Street in Providence RI, this comfy cinema and café is known for its couches, great atmosphere, fun indie films, and speakers in the bathroom (so you don’t miss TOO much)! Reasonable prices, and a great date or hangout atmosphere. I see this place all the time, and want to go SOO bad.

What about you? Do you have any dreams to travel around New England?

 Any places that strike your fancy?  

 Am I missing something important? Do share!

"How to Help Your Grieving Friend"

Molly Piper is a sweet blogger. She is encouraging, honest, and I always glean something from her insights. She has the most adorable kids who do silly things. Anyways, she lost her daughter as a stillborn and after reflecting on everything, wrote a very helpful little series about grieving that I have enjoyed, and thought I would share.

Posts in this series:

• Just Know That She’s Exhausted
• She’s a Scatterbrain
• There Is No Timetable
• She May Explode (But Probably Not)
• She Can’t Grieve on Command
• Ask Her Specific Questions
• Avoid the Flippant Comfort of Hallmark Answers
• Always on My Mind
• 10 Tips for Bringing Meals to a Grieving Friend
• Cleaning Her House Is Next to Godliness

Though I obviously have not lost a child, grieving has some similar tendencies, and I definitely relate to her posts. It was a blessing to have people bring over food. It is great when people ask me specific questions. I wish someone would clean my house. Dont tell me that my dad "lives as my guardian angel in my heart." And I'm both scatterbrained and exhausted (though not as much any more), and hope no one feels offended if I have forgotten to call or do something with them. 

My sister reminded me that is has been a month since my dad died. I cant even believe it at all, because the  whole thing feels like it could have happened yesterday. Wow.

God has been my comforter, provider, and father in ways I never would have imagined, and while I am trying to "take joy in my trials," I am definitely not enjoying it at all. 

Anyways. I am so thankful for the people who have dug down in and asked those awkward questions to see how I am since I'm not especially good at communicating that kind of thing. Haha. 

Read those posts. Let me know what you think! 

Have any other ideas of something that was helpful to you in a rough time?

3 Things I Learned Today

I learned three interesting things about Russia today.

1. While at the post office trying to send off some gifts back to the USA, turns out that sending souvenirs is illegal. So that’s pretty neat. I searched the internet far and wide for this kind of outrageous law, but no such luck. I personally think its balderdash, and I know it wasn’t a translation error because I had my trusty English and Russian speaking friend with me. So when all your mailboxes are emtpy, know that I tried, and expect something around June. haha.

2. There is a giant flea market plus fruit market and mall, merely a block away from my flat, and it’s just full of glorious things. I’m sorry, can’t mail you anything. But that wont stop me from going there all the time.


3. Russian students would rather skip class and come to the English Club. Or at least Tatiana and Natalia would. This morning they showed up at the English Club, and we were surprised because they have school on Saturday. Well we were even more surprised to find out that they snuck out of their building and walked all the way from the school to the church (more than 25 minute walk). I told Pastor Sasha this and he just laughed and said “well that’s fruit for us.” True…. Haha.


Peace Out,
-Alissa

Double Your Breakfast, Double Your Fun.

A giant part of being a missionary in a foreign land is simply living. Other than ministry work, one must figure out how to get food, where to buy a backpack if yours breaks, learning the language, and how to get along with the people. Im well equipped to tell some of these kinds of stories.

I accidently ate two breakfasts yesterday. Lost in translation was the fact that Anya’s mom, a professional chef, was coming to the apartment yesterday to cook some food for me. So after I ate a hearty breakfast consisting of onions, potatoes, garlic and jam and bread, I hopped in the shower, only to hear someone walking through the house. Unusual I thought, as Anya was at work for the day. Maybe she stopped home to see how I was doing. I got dried off and took a peak into the kitchen, where most of the ruckus was, and was definitely surprised to see Anya’s mother cooking up potatoes and chicken, with a further spread on the table of cheese, bread, sausage, homemade jam, candy, chocolates and tea. She doesn’t speak English, and I didn’t want to offend, so I just ate. Ha-ha. Oh man so fullll for the rest of the day.

Mike and I have come to a conclusion that we didn’t remember how "intense" the food is here from last year. Everyday it’s fried, buttery, carb saturated, salt infused, and sugar coated. (What, am I in the Southern USA?) If it isn’t fried, than you probably have to fry it. If you seem hungry, they will offer cheese and sausage and bread. Even the cake seems greasy. The 3-8% milk does nothing for my system.

Don’t get me wrong, their food is delicious, and maybe it’s just because I am still a guest that they are heaping me up with such rich and delicious foods.

In my suitcase I brought Mexican and ranch seasoning packets, and hope they can be the start of some youth food parties! Or maybe I can make something for the English club. That would be great.

Some other observations about the food:

• they do not have ground meat here, and turkey is not readily available. 
• Peanut butter is not an option, unless you are in a bigger city. 
• I can’t figure out what the Russian translation for cous cous is here. But I would love to know.
• They love tea, and soup. The tea is great, and the soups are all delicious, my favorite being pickle soup. (Imagine a glorious soup made of pickles, with tons of other pickled veggies.) 
• No one has coffee brewers, and that’s because their coffee is all instant, and surprisingly delightful. 
• They don’t call what we call cereal, cereal. Their definition of cereal is more like a hot, grainy oatmeal kind of thing, and the stuff you get in a box and pour with milk isn’t really popular. 
• Everyone here gets their potatoes, carrots, garlic, and berries from their garden (but since there are more apartment buildings than homes, I’ve yet to stumble on these gardens I’m told exist.) 
• Everyone makes their own jam, from strawberry, raspberry, currant, cherry, etc. And it’s ALLL delicious. The Russian word for jam actually stems from the term “to boil."

I cant wait to try new Russian foods though. Their flavor profile is so interesting, and surely there are some recipes I can bring home.

In a little while I am going to trek across the icy tundra to the Spar grocery store and pile up on all of the produce available. I have seen avocado and pomegranate around, which would be a delight. Otherwise, I saw mushrooms, tomatoes, oranges, berries, and apples! I was also told that there is also a farmers market across the way, bring it on!!!!

Sorry for the delay in posting. Its difficult here with the dial up internet. Im tryin though=)
God Bless,
-Alissa

Show Us Your Life: Bucket List Resolutions 2010

  Friday afternoons  Kelly's Korner blog has a blog carnival called "Show Us Your Life" in which people from all over get to participate in blogging about a different topic. Her blog carnie isn't until January 8th, but I figured I might as well do it up today and then just add it in next week to her thing! The topic is New Year's Resolutions!

As a Christian, I think its really important to always be self evaluating, not just once a year, a big hooplah in the beginning. But I do think there is merit to a new start, and a fresh year seems to give people that push.

As for me, I have two things that I do every New Year. The first tradition that I established for myself as a 10 year old is take a page from a notebook and just chronicle some basic info about myself. I write simple things like favorite food, color, book, musician, who my friends are, what I love in school, what I do for fun.. things like that. And then I try to tape a picture of myself to it. Its really cool to look back and see that I loved Avalon as an eight year old, NSYNC as a 12 year old, Relient K as a 15 year old, and now my favorite music is Passion Pit and Death Cab for Cutie. It is also really great to see who my friends have been every year, as God has surely blessed me with some life long friends, as well as some new friends that have just come from nowhere and are hopefully here to stay. I'm pumped at looking back at them in twenty years lord willing and seeing how I will always be my good old self, but yet ever changing.

The second thing that I started about five years ago is a little list that is just some goals for the New Year. I shy away from describing it as a bunch of New Year's Resolutions, because its not a list of things that I want to change in myself necessarily- More of like a yearly bucket list. Some past items on the yearly list:

• Go to Allentown Art Festival in Buffalo (check -2008)
• Become President of Student Council (check -2006)
• Sit with someone that I don't know in the cafeteria (check-2005)
  
• Read 52 books in one year (check! -2007)
• Go to Boston in the fall (check- 2008)
  

Let me share with you *some* things on  
Alissa's 2010 Non-Resolution Yearly Bucket List!

• Travel to Philadelphia
• Visit Kim in Germany (for Christmas?)
• Go to the West Coast- Seattle or Alaska please =)
  
• Roadtrip to Montreal, Canada
  
• Stick to my monthly budget
• Go to Local121 in Providence
• Conversate in Russian
• Fourth of July in Boston
• Walk around parts of Providence that I have never really walked around.
  
• Consolidate all of my junk (right now I have all my stuff at three separate locations- Moms, grandma's, & RI)
• Get more involved in the Smith Hill/Providence community 
• See more sun rises (a.k.a. wake up earlier)
• Focus on the Gospel and God's redemptive grace in relationships specifically
• Have older/younger people from the church over at least once a month.
  
• Buy really good books for at least 10 people. Probably from this list here.
  
• Have a good old BLAST in Y2kX!  (and no that doesn't stand for bacon, lettuce, avacado, shrimp, tomato sandwich)

So thats a little tidbit from my 2010 bucket list=) Hope you enjoy it.
Do yall have anything that you just definitely want to do this year? 

Social Media Annoys Me

Ok so: Facebook, Twitter, Flikr, blah blah blah.



I love the stuff, and I think that it can definitely be used constructively. But dear lordy, sometimes being away for it and then checking it again makes me remember why I dont miss it. Ive come up with some ways that people abuse it.





#1: Dont use social media selfishly. If you arent going to interact and respond, whats the point? Get a paper notebook. That way you wont spam the twitterverse or my facebook page with useless crap that is just to get yourself attention. And I wont have to worry about responding to something you say and it never being acknowledged. Social media is similar to real life, let me explain. If you just walk around all day spouting off random crap about yourself, and you dont engage people around you in conversation, then people will start to really get ticked off at you or just ignore you all together. Same with Facebook and Twitter. Sure you can say whatever you want, but if other people try to talk to you about it and you just ignore it, why? My favorite "Unmarketing" guy, Scott Stratten, always makes a point to stop spouting off crap and to start engaging.
Like I said, they do sell pretty notebooks at Barnes and Noble. I will buy you one.



#2: Dont complain about how lonely you are via social media. If you have 500 friends on facebook and 70 on Twitter, but you cant talk to any of them in real life about some struggles you are having, maybe you should rethink some things: are you making an effort to be a friend to others, do you isolate yourself, do you really belong in a city/town where you cant reach out, are there people reaching out to you but you are turning them down? Most likely the issue lies with you, and not others.




and thats all I have to say for now.

Stupid People and the Crab Shack. With Love.

So.. more specifically top five things that stupid people do at the Crab shack. 

1. Hermit Crabs. We sell hermit crabs. Do not walk by and comment how ugly those snakes are. Or spiders, or clams, or robot toys, or lobsters. No. We sell hermit crabs, and you my friend, are a fool.

2. Dont call us and ask if we are Joe's Crab Shack restaurant. Like I said, we sell hermit crabs. We are not a restaurant. We will not give you food. Now, if you want to buy a hermit crab, I am not going to stop you from taking it back home and nawing on it to your little foolish hearts desire. And its owned by someone named Brian. 

3. "Can they live together.." This is a question we commonly receive. Now, if you were to take a stroll by the kiosk, you will see up to 300 hermit crabs in one tank, frolicking around, hanging out with their buddies. Naw we just like to put them together to see them battle. Duh.  Yes. They can live together. 

4. "Are those real?" NO! They are completely fake. in fact, what are you talking about you crazy? There is nothing here to even see. Move along.

5. I love when mothers have 37 children and the kids are all screaming "I  WANT A HERMIT CRAB" and then the mother proceeds to make up 31 false excuses as to why they should not have a hermit crab.  Example 1: "Hermit crabs smell and they are dirty."   In fact, hermit crabs do not smell, they live in the sand, and they dont carry diseases. 2: "They bite." Sorry to tell you that they do not have teeth. 3. "They are too hard to take care of." Well maybe for you, but they are in fact the easiest pet ever. Feed it ONCE a week. Make sure it has water. End of story. Dont have to walk it, dont have to take it to the vet, they eat what you eat. EASY street. Stop making up false facts about hermit crabs. Thats character defilement.

I suppose working in any mall type situation really brings people watching to a new level. Then  multiply that with the ridiculousness of selling pet hermit crabs at a kiosk.

I love my life.

Peace out.

Top Ten Random Search Topics on Google that sent people to this blog:

Top Ten Random search topics on Google that sent people to this blog:


1. Does jwu supply knives? [sorry cant help you with that.]

2. Satan hates me [dear god]

3. spogga twitter [oh my goodness.]

4. Son dang [why would you search son dang on google?]

5. Lee Strobel [well, ive referenced him before]

6. AAASNE [aaa southern new england.. interned there.]

7. Can you take cupcakes through airport security. [HAHA REALLY?]

8. have you met them before befriend facebook [ummm.. awkward]

9. history teacher for international school [lol]

10. how good is wales university? [itsss GREAT! not really i have no clue]

Random Rursday.

**Ridiculous Link./ RT from Postsecret twitter:
Celebrities Upside Down Pictures

**She’s 6-foot-6, 480 pounds ... and still growing
Tanya Angus, 30, has rare disorder that causes uncontrolled growth

**Awkward Family Photos
Click Here

**Fail Dogs
Addiction Can be Ugly


Random Dream: So I had a dream last night that ws quite epic. My grandpa had told me and my sister that we needed to drive his old motorcycle down to Washington DC. Well, super I thought, sounds great. But for some reason we were leaving around 4pm, when it takes a while to get there, and we had to wait in line at this recreational park, but there were alot of elderly people in line before us. So Kailey sat side saddle while we drove to Minard St. And I was trying to text my friend Nathan who lives in DC, but my phone wasnt letting me text the right words. And I was getting angry because I didnt want to go all the way to DC is I couldnt hang out with nathan. So we are standin in the driveway at Minard St, when this lady pulls up, gets out of her car and hands me a basket. "While you were waiting in line at the recreational park, we picked your name and you wont a prize basket!" In it there was a candle that smelled like feta cheese and coloring books. Well whoop de do. But then me and kailey decided not to drive there because we didnt have a change of clothes. And I was angry that my phone was not working. End of dream.

Smart Shopper Tips

Hey people, it's Kailey!

So Family Dollar is the most amazing place ever! The people are nice, and the ulcer I got while working at Tops is gone! And the customers are friendlier and generally more pleasant, and I love when the little kids are there and say 'hi...hi...hi...hi...hi', hehe, so cute!

But there are those few people...

So here are some smart-shopper tips for those of you who don't enjoy being cussed out by employees behind your back:

1. If you plan on paying with a debit card, and you don't know your PIN, don't wait until all of your items have been rung up and there is now a line behind you to call someone to look for that piece of paper that's in the right hand drawer of your desk that has all that other writing on it...or maybe it's in that folder under the table...

2. The cashier does NOT know every specific item that is in the store. Try asking for more general things, like 'curtains' instead of 'Those purple drapes with the lace that go like this and the ties that are bows...do you know which ones I mean?', Also, we might have them in the back room, but I don't have time to stop everything and dig through 100 boxes to find them. Come back in a few days.

3. If you decide you don't want an item after picking it up, and you don't remember where it came from, do not hide it on some random shelves behind the Cheez-Its. Give it to the cashier, it will be super duper appreciated as opposed to finding it at the end of the day. K thanks.

4. If you walk into the store and someone says, 'just so you know we close in five minutes' you should just leave. Don't wander around the store browsing at all the things you might want, because you should leave when that five minutes are up because we close. and we don't want to be cashing your $200 worth of stuff ten minutes after we close. That happened to me today, and It was annoying.

5. If you try and return clothing items that we haven't sold for 5 years...we won't take it. Don't be a greedy fool. Also, if we do still carry it, but you have been obviously wearing it for the last 5 years, and you claim that all the wear happened when you but it through the washing machine and you 'lost' your receipt, you lie, and we won't take it. Don't be a stupid greedy fool.

5 Simple Phone Courtesies

1. When you call someone, know why you are calling.
ex: "Hello how can I direct your call?"
" Oh, hello.. um wait Im not sure, one second.... MOOOOOOM, why am I calling again??.."

2. Dont have extra loud gangster music playing in the background and then scream into the phone that you cant hear the other person.

3. When you start talking on the phone, dont switch to speaker phone and then start texting. Not cool.

4. Wait for the other person to finish what they are saying before you butt in.
ex: "Good afternoon Johnson and ..
"IS this JOHNSON and WALES University?"
(if you would have listened I would have continued to say Johnson and Wales University how can I direct your call."

5. If you are calling a university (or business, agency, bank, etc etc) to ask about admissions status (or if you were hired, if your loan went through, etc etc) Probably should talk using decent english.
Example: "Yo! Whatsup. So I was like umm wondering like I dont know if my app got looked at for like college."


Just saying.

People You Should be Friends with on Facebook. (add them while you can)

1. Your best friend. Duh. Add them.

2. Someone you repeatedly talked to in the last month and hope to talk to them in the next month. Add them.

3. You work with them or worked with them and still keep in contact. Add them.

4. You met them through a club or organization and want to stay plugged in to that club or organization. Add them.

5. You have class with them, have talked to them at least once, and need someone to get the homework from if you are absent. Add them.

6. Your grandmother, pastor, boss, faculty advisor. This will help you keep things on the professional level. And if you are doing things that you dotn want these people to know about, more than likely you shouldn’t be doing these things. Add them.

7. You met them through friends and are still friends with those friends and hope to maybe get everyone together one of these days and want to keep in touch. Add them.

8. You met them once or twice and you feel like they are good people to know for networking purposes. Example: If I were to meet a girl who works in the Boston Convention bureau, and we exchanged each others info. I would def add her. Do it.

9. You like their status updates and think they are funny. Add them.

10. "Famous" people. I’m friends with Jon Acuff and Paul Wright. It’s a good time. Do it.

People You Shouldnt Be Friends with on Facebook. (delete them while you can)

1. You have not talked to them in over a five years, and have no desire to talk to them in the next five years. (unless its family. haha) Delete.

2. If you were to walk by them on the street and not even know it was them. Delete.

3. If you randomly added them because they were from your hometown and went to your college but you never really became friends. Delete

4. If you met them at orientation for college, but never actually became friends with them at college. Delete.

5. If you worked with them at one point, but when you walk into that establishment, they do not even acknowledge your existence. Delete.

6. If you were interested in dating them but now you know that you will NEVER date them and havent talked to them in over a month. Delete. 

7. You dont know them, dont remember adding them and they are from Japan or Uzbekastan. Delete.

8.  You went to elementary school, middle school, and highschool with them, but havent talked to them since 3rd grade. Delete.

9. You met them a few times through other friends, but now you arent friends with those other friends, and will never see each other again. Delete. 

10.  People that you generally dont care about but want the latest gossip from. Thats not cool. Delete.

Stay Tuned for "People You Should Be Friends with on Facebook (add them while you can)"

Pony Express

I love my family. And this anger is no way directed towards them.. but towards UPS. (written september2008)


1. UPS SUCKS

2. UPS LIES

3. UPS delivers packages to your house when you CANNOT be there

4. UPS does not allow you to schedule delivery for a time when you WILL be there

5. UPS doesnt ring the doorbell when they do show up.

6. UPS does not care where you live, and they dont care if you dont have any means to get to their main office in Warwick. Even if you can walk to a smaller UPS location in Providence, NO! that would be $40 for them to hold your package there. They refuse to hold your package at a different location. Only at the Main office will they hold you package. END OF STORY

7. UPS is the devil.

8. UPS is supposed to check the box on the delivery slip that gives you approximate times of delivery, but NOPE! why would they give you any glimmer of hope.. or yanno.. a way to try to schedule yourself to be home when they might deliver the package.

9. The pony Express is AWESOME!

10. Ponies are love.

11. Who doesnt love ponies?

12. Um really. Lets get serious folks. The pony express is clearly the most efficient and accurate way of mail and package delivery. And dont fool yourself. UPS SUCKS!