Extremely Eileen

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I'm just about to leave for Mali!
I'm so excited!


love you
Eileen

Words can not adequately describe how wonderfully amazing and chaotic the past two months have been. To everyone that has spent time with me before I left, thank you, every moment was wonderful.

Since I received my Peace Corps invitation I immediately gave my two weeks notice over at CONTECH Stormwater Solutions and started the intricate process packing the past four years into UPS boxes and my car and partying with all the lovely people I know in Portland. During that time the unexpected happened and I found my puzzle piece that captured my heart in a very brief period of time. I danced the night away at the White Heart in extreme heels, rolled down the hill on the Eastern Prom, drank plenty of local beer, rode my bike everywhere I could, hugged everyone I love, and stayed up past one and woke before dawn almost everyday.

Best Old Port Festival ever. OPF!

Ms. Karen is the most amazing friend, I will miss her dearly.

A big thank you to Bill Yeo and his cycling buddy for riding down from Freeport to my place to help me rig up my bike rack for my most prized possession –my Bianchi Ocelot- on the long and fast haul to Colorado. It all about zip ties.

Here’s to the most bizarre juxtaposition of past and present, it will continue to amuse and confuse me.

My housemates- Brian, Katie, Matt, and Amy are the best! I’ll miss our mini-green bike door and big communal dinners. Housemates Forever!

Ms. Kris, thank you. I claim you in the name of my sanity!

A huge thank you to the wonderful Ms. Briana for driving from Maine to Colorado with me, we talked so much that I almost lost my voice. She has remained a very close friend despite the distances and time we’ve been apart.

My wisdom teeth were successfully removed, despite the minor incident of blacking out in the bathroom from the anesthesia.

Had a quick jaunt to Florida to visit my partner in extreme and random adventures, Howie. Swimming in the almost-way-to-warm-compared-to-Maine Atlantic was the best. Who needs an amusement park when you can run around in nature.

Thanks to my family in Colorado, especially my mom and my sister, for putting up with me and helping me, I love you very much.

Working on international water resource development has been a personal career goal for more years than I can remember, thank you to everyone that has helped along the way.

Soon I’ll be hauling 107 linear inches to Africa, but I've left my heart spanning across Portland, Maine, and of course a niche or two in Colorado.

Much love and stay awesome

Extremely,
Eileen

P.S. If you live in Portland I encourage you to vote for Kevin Donoghue for district one (East End) or Dave Marshall for district two (West End) City Councilor. They are both wonderful people with innovative ideas to help make Portland even more awesome.

I’m headed off to the sunny and arid Mali in July!

I will be working as a water sanitation extension agent with the Peace Corps. If you have to crack open an atlas like I did, Mali is in Northwest Africa, on the Southern side of the Sahara. The country is 65% desert and 90% Muslim. So I’ll be building wells and latrines and educating communities on health practices to improve water quality in conservative cotton clothing under the beating sun. The assignment comes with my own mountain bike (I’m psyched) and probably a mud hut (also psyched).

I’ll be leaving Maine in about three weeks (to spend time with my family in Colorado) and then leaving the country on July 24th.

If you would like to remain in contact as I work abroad (and for info on the farewell party) please reply with your email address and a couple song you wouldn't mind listening to repeatedly over the next 27 months. I’ll be creating an email list for periodic updates. Also if you’re interested please give me your mailing address and I’ll try to write you a letter as well.

Eileen

stay awesome

The past couple of weeks went by in quite the blur.. a couple of all nighters finishing projects, bike crashing, smashed (broke?) my thumb and smeared my face across the asphalt, finals, packing, hosting my sister and mom from Colorado, pouring rain, moving, more rain, graduation (a BS in Environmental Science with a concentration in water resources), mangled umbrella, most amazing cake ever, working full time, and then my Peace Corps placement officer finally called me today...

my application is "right on target"
my projected staging date is July 24th (that's not a final invitation, but purty darn close, my file is being forwarded to personnel in french west Africa, and they'll complete the final placement and invitation)

I need to fly to Colorado (dental insurance thing) to remove all 4 wisdom teeth before June 24th
come back
work
pack my everything again, and store somewhere
have the best "farewell for now" party ever
drive my car to Colorado

and a lot of other crazy random things

Also

"Xploding Plastix have a sound like irradiated neon washes, shimmering and pulse glowing accordingly disproportional to the flashy stuttering red lights, like cancerous cocktails; splintering with deranged delight. The cinematic dirty film noir feel is mercilessly exploited. Xploding Plastix is the epicure of a gorgeous, jagged, murderous pulse."

DJ Danger Mouse

The Grey Album  (Quicktime Video)

the very illegitimate child of the Beatles' White Album and Jay-Z's Black Album

Awesome

There's a seagull tapping it's beak on our window at the the loaf of bread!
GAH!

Peace Corps Update...

I was poked and prodded everywhere, peed in a cup, and had a Tuberculosis skin test at University Health Services in Portland = $140. Then went to NORDX lab for five different blood tests, will be billed later. Reimbursement up to $160ish

Made an appointment for basic eye exam = $95. Reimbursement up to $12

The faxed forms to my dentist became distorted in the transmission, he filled them out anyway and sent them to my mother, in Colorado, without any x-ray films. Reimbursement up to $68

The headache is worth it

"While we work in the fields, my sister-in-law walks five miles to the nearest village hand-pump to fill up our pots with drinking water. There is always a long queue at this pump and sometimes fights break out . . .many families send their children to fill up water. Some believe it's more important than sending them to school." Bargi Devi, Indian Farmer

Does anyone feel like hiking Bradbury Mountain then running amok in L.L. Bean?

A drunk guy fell from the balcony immediately below my sister's condo, she was asleep at the time.

Man Who Fell At Brooks Tower Identified
Police Investigate Circumstances Of 10-Story Fall

DENVER -- Police and firefighters are investigating a man's fatal 10-story fall from a downtown Denver highrise.

They said Brian Thompson, 23, fell from the 13th floor to the pool deck on the third floor of Brooks Tower Tuesday night. Thompson died at the scene.

The building is located at 15th and Curtis streets.

Although there were reports the man was trying to climb between floors, police said that was not the case. They were interviewing friends of the man to determine exactly what led to the fatal fall.

Police labeled the fall a "tragic accident." (from thedenverchannel.com)

Les yeux de démon

Diabolique
Je peux voir tes yeux hurler
La nuit
Ils vivent en moi dans mes rêves
Tu aimes également chaque chose
Tu aimes également chaque chose
J’ai raison
N’existe pas d’autre voie
Luttons
Chaque chose que j’ai à dire
Tu aimes également chaque chose
Tu aimes également chaque chose

Existe un son que
Nous faisons quand nous dormons
Ailleurs
On le traverse en une transe
Malheureux mouvements dans tes yeux
Malheureux mouvements dans tes yeux
Vite passé
Ton idée ne fut jamais d’en
Finir
Vouloir ça mais ne pouvoir
Malheureux mouvements dans tes yeux
Malheureux mouvements dans tes yeux

From BBC News "Time Out of Mind"
By Annabel Gillings

"...people also speak of "time flying" when they're enjoying themselves, or slowing right down in perilous situations such as car crash.

But is there any real distortion of perceived time here, or are people re-inventing their experiences after the event?

Psychologist Dr David Eagleman, of the University of Texas, recently set out to nail this assumption, and a BBC film crew was there to record it. He asked volunteer Jesse Kallus to perform a terrifying backwards free-fall of 33 metres.

If the anecdotes are correct, Jesse's perception of time would be slowed by the terrifying experience. But how could one monitor such a thing?

Mr Eagleman came up with a cunning device: the "perceptual chronometer", a wristwatch-like device which flicked blindingly fast between two LED screens.

Normally the flicker would be so fast Jesse could only see a blur. But if time slowed down for him, he might be able to discern the two different screens and read a random number on one of them.

"There's no way to fake this test," says Dr Eagleman, "because if time is not running more slowly, they can't see the sequence."

All Jesse had to do was jump, and read. As he ascended the 33ft metal cage no-one seemed to believe this curious experiment might work.

When Jesse landed, he noted he had seen "98". Dr Eagleman checked. In fact the number was 96. Not quite spot-on, but the two numbers look very similar on a digital screen.

"I would have loved it if he had seen the numbers exactly," says Dr Eagleman. "But this at least suggests to me that he's able to take in information faster than he was before".

Further jumps got similar results - all suggesting that time did seem to slow down for Jesse during the jump.

So while time on the clock may be constant, the time in one's brain is elastic and personal - something to remember in a boring meeting when time seems to grind to a halt. Time is not simply a fourth dimension in which we exist. It's something we, at least partly, create in our minds."

My Peace Corps recruiter has nominated me for a Water Resource Management position in french-speaking west Africa, leaving in July!

-nomination will be sent to the D.C. office
-have a more detailed health review
-placement evaluation
-(crosses fingers) assignment invitation

:-)

On a different note of awesomiosity, Howie gave me a ring last night- his buddy Seth Wescott won the gold medal in boardercross.

p.s. Howie is also willing to throw rotten tomatoes dunked in dirty toilet water at any guy that breaks my heart, how sweet.

I'm trying to straighten out my head again... or mix it up
whichever
just boggle it up, I want it to land on new letters.

on a different note....

Fishy fish!


Flickr!

submitted Peace Corps application last night

browsed Peace Corps event listings... "oh hey there's a panel discussion January 24th, 6:30pm at the Portland Public Library"

missed a call from the regional Peace Corps recruiter in the afternoon

he called again, and I told him I was already at the library

he walked in the room, set his things down, looked at me amidst twenty other people, "you must be Eileen"

I have my application interview tomorrow morning

Congratulations! You have successfully submitted your Peace Corps Volunteer application and Health Status Review.

Thank you for taking the first step toward becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer. A Peace Corps recruiter will contact you within the next three to four weeks. During this time, you will also receive a letter in the mail with information about accessing My Toolkit, the Peace Corps' online application status check system. Your My Toolkit account will allow you to check the status of your application and respond quickly to requests for any additional information.

Thanks again, and good luck!

Dear Ms. Burk:

Please forgive our lack of communication with you regarding your submission to The Southern Maine Revew. I'm afraid we've run into a major roadblock that we've been working very hard to avoid.

In October, the USM's Provost's Office informed the SMR staff that USM would no longer be able to financially support the journal due to unexpected energy costs, flat student enrollment, and skyrocketing healthcare costs.

Following that announcement, we conferred with USM's Development Office to see if it would help us find financial support outside the university. After quite a time of negotiations, that office offered no help.

Consequently, we have turned to the student body to see if they would be willing to fund a small increase to the Student Activity Fee to produce the journal and fund the SMR organization. We are now in the midst of that campaign.

We held your work in the hope that support would emerge from the Development Office, but given that such aid is not forthcoming, we do not feel that it's right to tie up your work any longer. We will not know the outcome of the student vote until late March and, even if the resolution should be voted in, funds would not be available until September 2006.

We are all so sorry to have to give you this news. We had prepared a letter to you, explaining the situation right after we heard about the cut, but we decided to hold off sending it in the hope that we might be able to find enough funding to secure this edition. I'm afraid such was not the case.

Please accept our most sincere apologies. We had no notion that a cut was in the works or we would never have solicited submissions.

We will, of course, return your work so that you have the opportunity to publish it elsewhere. Should students vote to fund the journal, we will notify you with an invitation to resubmit your work.

As my position was cut along with the publication, I am no longer employed at the university. Should you wish to contact me for any reason, please e-mail me at my home address. I would be most happy to hear from you and answer any questions you may have.

Again, we are very sorry for this inconvenience.

Best,
Wanda Whitten

Did you just make a detention pond installation...sound...?
Yes, yes I did