Missouri

I'll try to not let this photo hurt my feelings. Matt and I trekked back to Missouri a few weeks ago for a baby shower that my Mother hosted for us. It was a nice afternoon, and great fun as I got to see my two closest friends from highschool, Erin and Adrienne (Erin is the one who looks like she's going to throw up), and my best friend from college, Rachal. Rachal is spending a few months in Missouri with her family before she heads to Argentina to teach for six months. It was so great to spend time with three of my favorite people. It's so fun to get together with old friends when it feels like no time has passed at all.

The shower itself was a great event, held in my parent's brand new house. They moved in just three days before the shower and somehow managed to pull off a party for 35 people. It was a beautiful day spent with family and lots of old friends, who were all very generous to the unborn Yoder. Lucky kid ...

NEW YORK! (written over two days)

The above is supposed to sound like someone screaming, as in "this is NEW YORK!"

Once again Teri and I are seperated for the week and I am in New York while she is in St Louis. I will be meeting her at the end of the week for our baby shower in Missouri. Before that happens though, I have had a perfect, fall, NYC couple of days.

It has been a great week as I was able to catch up with my old freinds Matt Henning, Kim Sall, and Derek Metz. The weather was crisp, the job easy, and the reuniting comforting. I would like to thank Microsoft for the free ticket.

Matt Dellinger(pictured) is the person I stay with each time I come out here. He is currently writing a book. It's about Highway 69, explained thusly: The transformative power of transportation explored through the lens of one controversial project - the extention of the interstate 69 from Indianapolis to Mexico. Look for him on the Daily Show next spring. When I visit, there is always a new adventure.

Though work pushed me through two 15 hour days, I was able to turn it into a boondoggle to visit these friends. (Dellinger just warned me to be careful not to write this because my company may read it, and I've been drinking. whatever. It's after 5pm. I can do what I want. It is not Russia.)

But honestly, I love visiting this town. I really wanted Teri to come this time, but she could not make it. Pregnancy and all. Soon though, she will be coming back and Dellinger has offered to push the stroller. But back to this trip: He and I saw our friend McGrath (who wrote this: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/04/23/070423fa_fact_mcgrath) on Saturday night in Red Hook. On Sunday, we ate our way from Brooklyn to The Village and back, stopping for a Katz Rueben, Shwarma, Sushi, and some cheese from Murray's. That night we took the cheese to have dinner with Henning and his partner, Dave.

Anyway, after working for two days this week in Midtown, I am back here in Brooklyn, to hang a shelf. We're turning his room into a literary colliseum (see previous blog post).

Tonight I also saw an old friend Kim and her fiance Derek. I haven't seen these two in years, but they are doing great. This is important because in the last two years Kim has surived some serious health problems. It was a relief to see them happy and healthy. They are doing great and I could not be happier for them.

Next I head to Missouri to see Teri, The Hoerstkamps and their new house, and get to hang with some of Teri;'s old friends. Should be fun and look for another post soon.

(oh yeah, the carpet went into the basement while I was gone. More on that later too)

Major Development

We have decided to build the shelf on the east side of the room instead of the west side of the room in Dellinger's house. It will fit perfectly. You can see here.

27 Weeks

I'm starting my 27th week, which means I am one week away from being in my third trimester. I've heard so many people say that their pregnancy felt so long, as if it would never end. I've had the exact opposite experience. It's like I woke up one day and realized that I was 6 months pregnant. And that was quite a surprise.


So, right now this kid weighs about 2lbs and is measuring about 141/2 inches with it's legs extended. I went to the doctor last week, and everything still looks really good. On my last visit, my belly was measuring 2 weeks ahead of schedule, which was a bit concerning since we learned that this kid is very tall and in the 96% percentile of weight. But, on this last visit, my belly measured right at 26.5 weeks, which was exactly on target. But the heartbeat remains strong, and this kid remains very active. I'm starting to see my stomach move along with the kicks, which is pretty crazy. It's also responding to Matt's voice pretty regularly, which is pretty cool too.


I am having one pretty serious side effect to this pregnancy ... I've been experiencing terrible pregnancy rage. I can't explain and I can't control it. It's mostly directed at people who are clearly disobeying the standard rules of our society. For example: People who ignore proper airplane etiquette, people who cut in front of me in a bathroom line (seriously, I'm pregnant), and everything related in any way to Sarah Palin. What's worse is that Matt knows about my rage, finds it funny, and totally eggs me on. My face gets all red and I cannot hold my tongue. I guess, thinking of all the side effects I could have to this pregnancy, this isn't too bad. I mean, apparently I know understand fully Matt's world.


Matt and I are heading back to Missouri for a baby shower next week, and after that trip, I am officially grounded. I must admit I'm pretty excited to be forced to stay in Seattle for awhile. I'm excited to spend some time in Missouri, not only to see family, but we'll get to see some great friends who recently moved back to the area. Should be a very good time.

Long Overdue ...

It appears that we are at our best, in terms of updating our blog, when we are on vacation. Needless to say, we made it back to Seattle safe and sound, with a brief stop in Boston. We had just one night in Boston, and thanks to the Schomps, we were able to see the whole SK crowd. It was really great to get a chance to not only catch up with this crew, but to also meet Ms. Evelyn Alida Schomp. I won't lie, it was clearly the highlight of the night. Not only is she a joy to be around, she also apparently likes dried fish. Matt brought this Icelandic treat back for Nate, and Evelyn went to town on it. It's a shame, really, since it smells like fish food.

We ended back to the Seattle early the next morning, and since we've been home it's been crazy busy. Since September 7th, Matt's been to LA, San Francisco two times, and is heading to New York this weekend. I've had an easier run, with just one trip to North Carolina. When we have been home, it's been all basement all the time. There's a bit more urgency now that we have a deadline of January 12th.

Matt separated his shoulder a few weeks ago playing flag football, so we've reached out to our contractor to finish up the trim and other detailed woodwork in the basement. But still, bum shoulder and all, Matt spent this past weekend painting the entire basement and finishing up the last bit of electrical work. Carpet is being installed on Thursday, and we'll be sure to post some photos of the basement after that. It's pretty exciting though - we are really close to being finished and it actually does double the size of our house.

Stay tuned for updates on the status of Baby Yoder ...

Iceland - Day 9. Seriosuly, Bjork?!?

Well, today we completed the Ring Road. After just over 2000km in our car, we arrived back in Reykjavik. Over the past week and a half, Teri and I have traveled around a thoroughly beautiful place unlike any other we have been to. You've seen the pictures. The geological diversity is unmatched anywhere for such a small place. We have 8 rolls of film and 300 digital photos. Don't worry though. You won't be asked to look at them unless you want to. We took the one above earlier today at a turnoff just off the Ring Road. It's barely mentioned on the map of the region we were in. But there it was, a 70m waterfall into a stream with rainbows in it.

It's odd that the natural marvels occur in a place with so few citizens. Nature creates the beauty here for itself. And maybe for the sheep and horses. The volcanic activity and glacial movements assure the view is always in flux. And though the towns we have passed through have been populated by 1000 people, or 800 people, or if it is big, 6000 people, I still find it striking that there are only 300,000 Icelanders. That's the size of Toledo, OH. When they told us Iceland's silver medal in handball was the smallest country ever to medal in a team sport, it was weird to think that Iceland had such a small population, and yet we had traveled through almost all of her towns. Yes, 70% of the country is uninhabitable. Yes, the weather is fairly harsh, even in late summer, but after driving through it, Iceland seems like it would be a country of a few million. Back in Reykjavik, it just seems that across the entire land we were playing in, more than Toledo, OH existed.

Here's an example to explain. Teri and I were wandering through the botanical gardens today in Reykjavik. and stepped into a cafe. Sitting at the table with her friends was Bjork. Now she's not that famous, but she's probably the most famous person in Iceland since Leif Ericksson. She's the joke everyone made when they heard we're heading out here. "Say 'hi' to Bjork" was EVERYONE's joke. The ridiculousness of it all compounded when we ran (near literally) into her again, walking into a book store on Reykjavik's busiest shopping street. Is Iceland this small? Do people routinely see Bjork or Magnus Ver Magnusson in cafe's or shopping?

Another example: everyone is listed in the phonebook. Including the Prime Minister. Probably Bjork too. I can call them right now. Then I can walk up to the parliament building and walk in and say hi. The building itself looks like an small educational building at liberal arts college in the middle of nowhere. I'd say DePauw, but my school's buildings were larger than this. Hell, DU was nearly as large as this building. It's just a striking realization to the country's actual size when things like this smack you in the face. And you can tell Icelanders enjoy this aspect immensely.

It is an entire country as a small town. No one locks their doors. Every driveway and farm along the Ring Road has a sign marking what it is. Not an address or street sign, but a sign like you are entering a town; reflective and official. Strollers - with babies - are left outside a cafe while the person pushing it grabs a quick coffee. There is an incredible trust/respect for personal space and belongings that you only find in places where everyone knows each other.

Some other quirks:
** Is it racist to say that all Icelandic children look alike, yet none of them look like their parents? Teri has really blonde hair. But hers looks brown compared to these kids' mop tops. Every physical stereotype about Scandanavians presents itself in Icelandic children. White, White, White, hair, and bright, bright, bright, blue eyes. Large physical traits and clearly homemade clothes. (Though by the time they are teenagers, I'd say half have turned goth - probably also fulfilling a stereotype). Here's the thing though. There are shockingly few toe headed adults. The adults still have the Viking traits of high cheek bones, sharp chins, and prominent brows, but everyone has brown hair.

** The above mentioned phonebook lists people by their first names. (Therefore, the J section, for Jon, is very long - but not too long, because the country only has the population of TOLEDO!). This is because the way people are named here is different than most western countries. When two are married, the woman does not take the husband's surname (in fact it used to be against the law). However, when the child is born, they get a unique first name and their last name becomes the first name of the father + son or dottir. Hence, Thor Bjornson is Thor, son of Bjorn. And Anna Sigurdottir is actually Anna, daughter of Sigur. This probably is why genealogists love this place. It becomes very easy to track lineage. And this also means everyone addresses each other by their first name. Even the Prime Minister. There is no Mr. or Mrs.

There are others, but you will have to discover them on your own when you visit. And when you do, find Teri and I to talk about the trip. I think we both came to the conclusion that it would be hard to live here (not that we ever really wanted to), despite all of the convenient perks. The dark winters would be tough to get through. The smallness would probably become pretty apparent. And if you lived outside of Reykjavik, the simplicity of life might not be totally enjoyable. But it is appealing. There is plenty still to discover so we really hope to come back sometime. We didn't even get up on a glacier. I never tried whale or shark or puffin. We never visited any of the islands off the coast. We left the great park Asbyrgi unexplored, and we easily could have spent a few more days hiking in the southern and eastern coasts.

However, we leave tomorrow totally happy with this trip. Breathtaking. Unique. Friendly. Even Little Yoder had a great time. S/he kicked his way all the way around the Ring Road. S/he'll have to join us the next time we come out. We have one last trip to the famous Blue Lagoon and it's hot springs on the way to the airport. tomorrow. An afternoon of warm baths and soothing mud to cake on our skin before getting on a plane for 5 hours at 5pm. All part of the loving good bye Iceland leaves you with. It was a lovely time, but Big Papi probably misses Teri.

Day 8 - Iceland

We rounded the final turn today and are coming down the home stretch. The scene you see above was found at our first stop, Jokulsarlon. It is here that a glacier has retreated about 5km in 70 years. What it has left behind is two things. One is access to the Ring Road. The glacier used to run right up to the black sand beach making it very hard to get to Reykjavik from all points east. Second, a very deep lagoon filled with icebergs has formed. Just another eye popping scene provided by Iceland's Route 1. These icebergs break off the glacier, float around the lagoon for a few years losing mass, then float out to sea and melt away. See, global warming has its good points.

We took a duck boat out into the lagoon and learned all sorts of fun facts about glacial ice. (Its 1500 hundred years old. Its 5x more dense than normal ice - making it perfect for drinks as it takes longer to melt. 90% (!) of each glacier is underwater.) As the boat petered around the lagoon, Teri and I gawked and chatted up the guide. It was quite an experience.

When we got off the boat we wandered down to the beach. The black sand was littered with boulder sized chunks of ice that looked like someone casually dropped billions of dollars worth of diamonds all over. The contrast in color was almost as striking as the fact that Teri and I were standing on a black sand beach in Iceland surrounded by icebergs at the base of a glacier. WTF, mate?

From there we moved on to the gateway to the Skaftafell National Park. We weren't able to venture too far in because our little toy wind up car can't go off-roading. However, the information center offered a great hike up to a glacier, and fantastic video of the massive volcanic eruption in 1996.

See, in September 1996 there was a major earthquake followed by a volcanic eruption underneath the Vatnajokull glacier at Grimvotn. Over the next couple of days there was a 10km high cloud of steam that shot up in the air. Then the glacier began to cave in along the caldera as the lava below melted the ice at a rate of 5000m3/second. This unbelievable amount of water began to collect in a lake under the glacier, pushing it up from the bottom. After nearly six weeks, in early November, this lake burst through the glacier on the southern side of the glacier and rushed toward the sea. Ice chunks the size of three story buildings floated like they were sticks in a river. A 900m bridge was broken and twisted, then disappeared in the sea. Anything in the way of this 20km wide "jokulhlaup" was pushed to sea. When the glacier was sufficiently drained, all that was left below was a few more streams running through the sandur (huge, flat, barren, wasteland of rocks and debris). See if you can find any of the video on you tube. The entire process was filmed by aroused geologists with video footage justifying and proving their lifetime of research.

After learning about the massive river that went running down the glacier, we decided to go check it out. Our short hike ended at the base of one finger of this ice giant. Because of the cloud cover, the ice, water, and sky all blended together as the same dirty white color. Except for the green lichen, the view looked like an Ansel Adams photo. Our pictures however do not.

We finished our day with a trek across another sandur, then behind some large green plateaus and ended at the beach side town of Vik. Cliffs are rising above the town on all sides and there is a rock formation out in the water that looks like a church organ. There are only 290 people that live here and the town church sits above, looking over them. This is also the safest place to run to in case the volcano on the glacier above the town erupts again. If it happens tonight, we'll only have 25 minutes to get to the high ground. Hope to talk to you all tomorrow.