M i s c e l l a n e y

Welcome to the world!

2010-12-14T12:18:00.000-08:00

Here is my new favorite boy, the beautiful Charlie. Welcome, my wonderful nephew! And congratulations to Rachel and Will!

An Update

2010-12-06T13:38:00.000-08:00

It's been quite some time since I've posted, so here are some interesting updates in my life:

1) I moved back to Oakland.

2) I cut off all my hair

3) I started working for this amazing organization.

4) I am eagerly awaiting a new nephew.

5) I am figuring out a new, very unique ward.

6) I started working on this.

7) I've started attending 5:30 am boot camp classes at the YMCA.

Hopefully, this will give you enough fodder to keep you interested. If not, check out this video to see some lovely singing:

Baltic Tour Highlight #4: The Fab Four

2010-04-12T22:34:00.000-07:00

The fab four: B, Estonian Buddy, Amazing Roommate and me in Tallinn's Raekoja Plats.

While there were many wonderful people on this tour, the four above were my standby, stalwart, Baltic pals. I’ve already blogged about my Estonian Buddy, and my Running Buddy, but rounding out the four was my Amazing Roommate.

She and I braved many things together, including, but not limited to: cold showers, sinus infections, early morning excursions in the cold, strange jet-lag, masses of black clothes, oddly-shaped key chains, sleep talking, and a conspicuous lack of clocks (apparently they don’t believe in having them in rooms in Estonia, Latvia, or Finland). To top it all off, we had some great late-night talks, and found we had more in common that we may have thought. Sharing a room with her made this trip just that much better.

All together, the four of us explored the Baltic cities, tried to make the bus rides less boring, did our best to stay warm at all times, endured each other’s humor and hand gestures, and somehow ended up in leadership roles none of us had particularly planned on.

The four of us in front of Tartu's Kissing Fountain.

The best parts, however, are the unplanned ones. After singing for the president of Latvia, all of us were tired and semi-cranky and we chose, instead of going on another group outing, to sit down to dinner together in a random Riga restaurant. We sat there for over three hours, gratefully next to a heater, talking about all kinds of things, but NOT about school. It has been some time since I have had a discussion like that, with people of that intelligence and caliber, where everyone left the table feeling enriched and happy. And full. Of really good food.

Thank you to the three of you. When people ask me what I loved the most about this trip, I say you.

Three of the four of us at a Latvian castle.

Baltic Tour Highlight #3: Running in Foreign Lands

2010-04-03T18:12:00.000-07:00

B is ready to run. I am protesting having my picture taken. What's new.

Readers of this blog will know that I am a runner. If you are a new reader (I may have some as of late), you can read about it here or here. Or my personal favorite, here. But I have never run in a foreign country. Until this last trip.

I had no idea how much I would enjoy two things:

First, there seems to me no better way to enjoy a new city than by running through it. Mostly, when I have run in new cities before, I have run on routes suggested by those who know the area or on roads I have scouted out beforehand. Here, I was able to really explore totally new places with no preconcieved ideas of where I was going. We just decided how long we were going to run for and left, finding the route as we went. As a result, I got to see some of the following things:

Raekoja Plats (Town Hall Square) in Tallinn

The Russian Orthodox Church in the Tallinn old town. When we went back later on, there was a beautiful service taking place.

One of the towers of Tallinn's medieval wall. They all have names, and while I don't know the name of this one, my favorite tower-name is Paks Margareeta, or Fat Margaret.

Second, running with a partner (pictured above). I have only run with others a couple of times, and, generally, I don't love it. My pacing is off, I can't listen to my podcasts, and I don't get that time alone that I really crave when running. Even when I have run races, I have mostly done it alone. But my lovely friend B and I both wanted to run while away, and we decided to do it together. It was way more fun than I anticipated. We chatted together, we explored together, we got cold and wet together (from the snow), and we were able to keep some kind of a normal routine together.

My favorite run was in Helsinki, when we joined by another and ran in a large loop around the city. The three of us had a great talk, the sun was out, and we saw some really fun stuff. Unfortuately, I didn't take any pictures there, so you will just have to take my word for it.

The funniest moment occurred after our first run of the trip in Tallinn. Just as we returned to the hotel, we ran into our advisor, who also likes to run. He looked at me, looked at B, and then asked "So B, could you keep up with Laney?" B, who is very much in shape and works out as much as I run, was not a fan of this particular question, which was asked in complete seriousness. He made a point of mentioning to multiple people later that he was not out of breath, or looking tired in any way (which was true). When we went on our next run in Tartu, and B beat me to the top of the hill, he was elated.

I made sure to tell our advisor.

Baltic Tour Highlight #2: Actually Being in Estonia

2010-03-31T21:42:00.000-07:00

Me, hanging out in Tallinn's medieval wall.

I have been studying Estonian for about 18 months now, and I started doing so for reasons too complicated to get into at this moment. However, one of those reasons was NOT that I had been to Estonia.

Needless to say, I was very excited to actually visit the country, after I had heard so much about it and spoke its relatively obscure language in class everyday for the last five quarters. I saw many things I had only read about, heard about, or seen hand-drawn pictures of. I spoke the language. I had whole interactions without English, even though almost everybody speaks English. I understood signs, and announcements, and random drunk people on the street. I bought Harry Potter in Estonian (For those interested, the Estonian title is "Harry Potter ja Tarkade Kivi" or "Harry Potter and the Smart Stone").

All of this was enormously satisfying. Me and my Estonian-class buddy began speaking to each other in Estonian almost as soon as we landed in the country--granted, he spoke much more than me. Mostly our conversations consisted of him saying something to me about where we were going, or describing something, and me replying with "Ja, on küll" (Yes, of course), or "Oh, Jah?" (Oh, yeah?). We even had an entire conversation in Estonian with Veljo Tormis, even though he wasn't that interested in talking to us. (This is a big deal. Ask any choral musician.) I was pretty anxious about my approximate-Estonian-age of about 4 1/2 years-old, but I managed to pull it off.

Me and my Estonian-class buddy, happy to be in Estonia, speaking Estonian (sort of).

Baltic Tour Highlight #1: Unexpected Stop in Frankfurt

2010-03-29T16:03:00.001-07:00

As many of you may know, I recently spent a week in Estonia, Latvia, and Finland with the UW Choirs. And, as far fewer of you know, we flew directly from Seattle to Frankfurt, Germany, which took a really long time.

I was not a fan of the long flight, but I was even less a fan of the six hour lay-over we had in the Frankfurt Airport waiting for the flight to Tallinn. Luckily, some very smart people thought ahead, and most of us made the 15-minute jaunt into downtown Frankfurt, where it was a surprisingly lovely day.

Beautiful old things:

Some very nice old monestary/convent (I can't remember). What I really love about this picture is all the beautiful flowers!

A square. We think this is the town hall square, as we saw a wedding party exiting across the way.

And even older things:

A church built on grounds dating back to the 9th century.

The inside of said church. Although it looks brick, actually all of the stone had been painted red with fake white mortar painted on. Don't ask me why!

And even some interesting new things:

The outside of a mall. Pretty neat stuff.

All worth the 3 Euros and the short train ride!

Sweet Meet 2010

2010-03-27T15:14:00.000-07:00

I know many of you are waiting on bated breath to see what happened to me in the Baltics last week. If you need a fix, check out this blog:

http://uwbalticblog.wordpress.com

I promise, I will post my own personal highlights soon. However, I have been meaning to post about my experience at the Sweet Meet. About six weeks ago, I attended the Sweet Meet. You may refresh your memory about this event by reading my post about it from last year. In any case, this year, it was time for the ladies to bake, and I was excited. I made two kinds of cookies, and some amazing brownies, but I couldn't figure out a good way to display them. Half of this is about how good your dessert looks. I finally decided on the following:

Not only did it go for a good price, but it won a prize. The Eternal Perspective prize.

Go Canada Go!

2010-02-16T10:20:00.000-08:00

I love the Olympics. Always have, and always will, unless they begin killing puppies as an olympic event, but I digress.

Me at a pretty neat outdoor art installation. During the day it was okay, but at night it was magical, as every piece of art lit up with the Olympic spirit.

This past weekend, me and two wonderful other women took advantage of our proximity to Vancouver and explored the magic that is the Olympic games. All of us were taken aback by the overwhelming amount of Canadian Spirit we encountered. I put that in capital letters because it is well deserved; they had a national spirit like I have never seen. They had congratulatory messages for Canadian medal winners on the announcement boards in the subway. People drove down the street blaring horns when the first Canadian won a gold medal. Every business had some sort of Canadian flag or maple leaf. One of us spent the whole two days taking pictures of every awesomely dressed Canadian she saw. Let's just say, we were stopping a lot.

A blurry picture of the torch, through a fence, with an example of the Canadian Spirit.

But it got me thinking: would this kind of national spirit have been accepted in the Salt Lake games eight years ago? Another one of my traveling companions worked at those games, and she said that in Salt Lake, there was a more international focus, and people weren't so focused on the host country. I can imagine that USA Pride may not have gone over so well internationally, and even with some Americans. Perhaps because America's influence is already everywhere, it might be inappropriate or insensitive to spread it further using an international, unifying sporting event.

Apparently they will have fireworks every night in downtown Vancouver. These are from Saturday.

However, I was completely swept away by the Canadian Spirit. I wanted to be Canadian, and talk like a Canadian, and eat Canadian food. I was struck by all the tiny differences that make Canada Canada. And maybe it is good that, as an American, I related to being another nationality for a few days.

Apparently, Canadian hot-chocolate makers love me as much as I love Canada.

I know as the Olympics continue, I'll be cheering for Canadian athletes. And American athletes. And the two Estonian athletes (congratulations Kristina Smugin-Vaehi for your silver medal in the cross-country 10k yesterday!). And, let's face it, anyone with a story that makes me cry. That could be pretty much any athlete.

My First Marathon

2009-10-20T10:11:00.001-07:00

On October 4th, I ran the Portland Marthon in the beautiful state of Oregon. After a day of jaunting around the city the day before, Jen dropped me off in the dark downtown and I embarked on a 4 hour and 14 minute journey that I never dreamed I could finish. Thankfully, I did. And shamefully, I am just now getting around to blogging about it.

It was painful, but not until the end. I shed a few tears on the course, but made myself stop when I realized it was preventing me from breathing. The crowd was great, and I am thinking about doing another one. Just stay away from me when I am training. Apparently, I am kind of grouchy.

Below are some highlights from the pictures so lovingly taken by Jen, without whom I could not have done this.

Here I am around Mile 10, feeling pretty good and generally excited to see Jen along the course.

A self-portrait at the reunion area. I didn't really start to hurt until I stopped running, about 5 minutes before this picture was taken. I hobbled around the rest of the day like an 80-year-old, but I was pretty much recovered within 3 days. My advisor says that 27 is the year your body starts to deteriorate, so maybe I ran this race at exactly the right time!

I'm NOT a photographer, so a big thanks to CameraBag Desktop

2009-09-23T22:55:00.000-07:00

Some lovely friends of mine at Nevercenter just released CameraBag Desktop for Mac. I do not profess to be any kind of photographer/artist of the camera, but I think this program helped me make some of my highly mediocre point-and-shoot photos look pretty darned good.

Judge for yourself.

NB: this is best viewed at my actual blog. If you are reading in Google Reader, click here.

Hiking Post #5: Half Dome!

2009-09-08T23:26:00.000-07:00

Yosemite Part II

On my second full day on vacation, five of us headed out to tackle Yosemite's most challenging day hike: Half Dome. You can read more about the hike here. It is long, hard, and we started at 5 in the morning to beat the heat and get down at a reasonable hour.

Here we can see the sun coming up on the lovely mountains surrounding us.

The beginning of the hike boasts some beautiful waterfalls and some intense stairs. Then it flattens out for a while as you hike on part of the John Muir Trail. As you continue to climb through the forest, the trees thin and eventually you end up above the tree line. To get to the top of the dome, you have to pull yourself almost straight up over bear rock on a series of cables bolted into the granite. Here they are from far away:

You can see a few people making their way up in between two thin lines. And here Ronika is, celebrating the danger we are about to undertake:

After a brutal climb, we all made it to the top. Here I am excited about my triumph. You can see the rest of the valley, far below me in the background.

The day ended up lasting about 20 hours, but we all made it back in one piece. Eventually. Half Dome the second time was just as beautiful. And, for me, significantly easier than the first time a year ago. I will credit the marathon training for that.

Hiking #4: 4-Mile Trail

2009-09-08T22:56:00.000-07:00

Yosemite Part I:

Our family, together for the first time since Rachel and Will's nuptuals, spent five days in one of my favorite places: Yosemite. On my first full day there, all seven of us did the Four Mile Trail, including my wonderful parents. You can click on the link for more extensive information about the trail, but briefly, it goes from the Valley Floor to the top of Glacier Point. Suffice it to say, it was not an easy hike. We all made it to the top, and got to partake in the amazing view.

Part of the hiking crew takes a break on the trail.

A view of Half Dome from the trail on the way up.

The view from Glacier Point. Spectacular.

Our dirty feet at the end of the hike. Yosemite is seriously dusty!

Hiking Post #3: Mount Rainier

2009-08-08T23:35:00.000-07:00

Last week, two hiking companions and I left Seattle, not quite sure where we were going. We ended up climbing to Camp Muir, more than any of us really anticipated for the day. We had the chance to see Mount Rainier--a mountain I see very often during my normal routine in the city--from a completely different point of view, as you can see above.

Christy and I pose with the Mail Bear (also functioning as a mail box) in the lobby of the lodge before we began the hike.

We begin our hike, surrounded by wildflowers.

We met up with a couple of hikers who were getting up at midnight to summit the mountain at midnight. Together, we hiked up the snow field leading to Camp Muir.

Finally, at the top. You can see Mount Adams to the left of us and Mount St. Helens to the right. Typically, I am doing something ridiculous in the photo.

Some of the shelters at Camp Muir, surrounded by those waiting to climb to the top. It kind of felt like being in Nepal--or what I think being in Nepal must be like.

We slid down most of the snow field, much of the way through tracks that had already been cut through the snow.

Coming down through the afternoon sunlight.

Hiking Post #2: Crater Lake

2009-08-05T13:46:00.000-07:00

After dropping off the youngest McClain sister in Eugene in late June, me and my wonderful hiking companion headed for a brief tour of the Oregon Cascades. We drove first to Crater Lake (see photos below). Crater Lake was formed under some pretty extraordinary geological circumstances, and now is the deepest lake in North America. The pictures do not do it justice.

After hiking down to the lake, I ponder its existence.

Since there is no inlet or outlet to the lake, the water is very clear. And cold. We dipped our toes in!

We pose with the lake.

After leaving the National Park, we traveled north on Highway 97, driving through Bend and up the Eastern side of the Three Sisters, and headed straight at Mt. Hood. After rounding Mt. Hood, we had a lovely view of Mt. Adams in our sights before turning to the west and camping along the Columbia River. Unfortunately, I am not a great picture taker, and don't have any photos of this part of the trip. You'll just have to take my word for it...

Hiking Post #1

2009-08-05T13:33:00.000-07:00

For one of my first hikes of the season, two of my favorite Seattle-ites and I headed out to the Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest. The hike was, in the strangely clinical way of the forest service, named Lake 22, and the lake was pretty phenomenal. However, there was a good deal more snow than any of us anticipated. It was just early June...

One of the many waterfalls we encountered along the way.

These two wonderful people pose in the snow near the lake.

I lean jauntily against the railing, posing with the snowy lake. You can see only a part of how the surrounding mountains reflected in the lake. Pretty phenomenal.

Wedding in New York

2009-06-18T11:30:00.000-07:00

Over the last weekend of May, I had the distinct privilege to attend a former roommate's wedding in New York City. It was the first time all seven of us had been together since before I moved to Oregon, and it was lovely to see these wonderful ladies. Unfortunately, we didn't get a photo of all of us together. The above was the best I could do.

Jess looked amazing. I don't love the wedding dress in general, but this one was phenomenal.

The flowers and everything else were beautiful as well.

And we got to keep some!

The craziest thing about this weekend was one of the officiators of the wedding: the next supreme court justice (most likely). Proof below:

A's vs. Mariners

2009-06-17T17:58:00.001-07:00

On May 1st, I went to watch my beloved Oakland A's take on the local Seattle Mariners. I was joined by these two characters below:

Take note of the Star Trek foam fingers. Our section one some sort of giveaway, and we received these lovely "live long and prosper" hands. In all of the many, many baseball games I have attended in my life, this is the first time I have won something like this. Too bad it wasn't something more interesting.

That is me on the left, in case you didn't recognize my face from this angle...

Safeco Field is awesome. And we had some particularly cool seats, directly over the A's bullpen. I could literally spit on the A's bullpen catcher, had I chosen to do so. I did not choose to do so.

Unfortunately the A's lost, but the game was close and fun. The Mariners won on a walk off line drive to center field. The crowd roared.

In order to avoid the traffic, me and my baseball companions went to the Krispy Kreme next door to the stadium to decompress. It was worth the loss to get a maple bar.

Laney Victorious

2009-06-17T17:45:00.001-07:00

At the beginning of May, I successfully completed my second half marathon. I had been training since January and had a goal to finish in under two hours. I was pretty pumped when I finished in 1:58:47. Below are some of the highlights.

I didn't get the customary plastic ties to help secure my timing chip, so I improvised with a delightful shoelace purchase.
Here's me before the race. I had forgotten that they asked us for our names to print on our bibs when we registered. All along the course, people were shouting "Go Laney!" For a while, I couldn't figure out what was going on. Then I realized the genius of the idea.
Here I am kicking it into gear to get across the finish line.
The best part about running 13.1 miles: you get to eat whatever you want. In fact, thanks to the lovely lady below, I was forced to eat and drink at several points during the weekend. She was my surrogate Mommy!

Lola: Outdated

2009-06-17T17:34:00.000-07:00

Lola and Bear wait for a treat.

These pictures are from when I was home over spring break enjoying my parent's new puppy, Lola.** She is ridiculously cute and significantly larger than this now, but I figured it was still worth reveling in her puppy-ness. For some more recent pictures of Lola, click here and scroll down.

Lola plays.

Lola rests.

**= I know, this post is shamefully outdated. I have just completed the quarter from hell, and I am catching up. Consider this my mea culpa. I'm sorry I have kept you, my faithful readers, waiting for so long...

Lateness...

2009-06-05T01:49:00.000-07:00

I have gotten some complaints lately that I haven't been posting. This is a true fact. It has been caused by the heaviest course load I have ever had in this lovely Spring quarter.

I have several posts saved up, and I am quite late in posting them. When I finally finish all my work in a couple of days, it is one of my first things on my list of things to do.

That being said, this is the latest I have been up all school year doing work. I thought it deserved documentation of some sort. The craziest thing is: I didn't even procrastinate.

For those of you who know me and are reading this [Read: Mother], you know that being up at this time of day (or night, or early morning) is not my forte. The reason I am posting to this blog right now instead of getting in bed is because I cannot fathom moving.

Fret not, kind reader. I will be asleep shortly...

Easter Musical Number

2009-04-25T13:26:00.001-07:00

Click on the link to hear the musical number I sang in our ward's Easter program a couple weeks ago. This is courtesy of David and his home recording studio.

http://www.box.net/shared/6x3chq4r6q

NB: I suppose blogs are inherently about vanity, so I got over whatever reservations I had about posting a recording of myself. It isn't perfect, but for one go, I'll take it :)

Green and Gold isn't just for the A's anymore...

2009-03-15T21:12:00.000-07:00

The Green and Gold Ball is, apparently, an LDS tradition dating back many years. In Seattle, it still exists. Picture a high school dance with clean music, no grinding, and a population consisting of 18 to 30+ year-old single Mormons. That is where I was last night.

I went along with two friends who, in turn, went to a gospel concert with me before hand. Below is the outfit I wore until the moment I walked into the church building:

This included time eating dinner and walking through the streets of Seattle. Not to mention sitting in the pews of the church. I have little shame.

Once inside, I shed my coat and pants. It was pretty fun, I have to admit. I tried to pass this picture off as the picture of the three of us:

But they insisted we take one in front of the fake backdrop with the lights and everything. Unfortunately, I don't have a copy of that one. For those who have spent a lifetime criticizing my sense of fashion, you will be happy to know I looked like this by the end of the evening:

My Fast from the Facebook

2009-03-11T08:22:00.001-07:00

About 10 days ago I realized that I had not been on the facebook for about 4 days. It was basically unintentional, but let's just say it was rare. I was up against a couple of long papers, a couple of concerts, a talk in church, and a bunch of other end-of-the-quarter stuff I had to get done, so I decided I would stay off of the addictive social-networking site until I had turned in my last paper. That happens tomorrow.

I have enjoyed my time away from the facebook. I realize now that it is totally extraneous to my life. That isn't to say that I won't go back on it tomorrow when I get home. I have a feeling I will. But I've enjoyed it nevertheless.

The only thing I have worried about are the various requests I have been forced to ignore because I am not going on the website. I still get the emails, so I know to a certain extent what is going on, but I worry that people will think I am rude. So, if you are reading this and I have offended you in some way, I apologize. I'll answer your request tomorrow.

As a side note, you may have noticed that I refer to this particular social networking site as "the facebook" as opposed to "facebook." This is a holdover from my college, where the facebook was a book given to freshmen with pictures of all of the other freshmen printed with their names so you could figure out what so-and-so looked like or what the name of that guy in your chemistry lab was. Incidentally, this particular college is also where the facebook started. I use this as my justification. One of my roommates gives me a hard time for adding the article to the name, but I just can't break myself of the habit. It was ingrained in my youth.

Friday Night Rollerskating

2009-02-22T11:02:00.000-08:00

When you are single and Mormon, and it is Friday night, there are a limited number of things you can do. Not small, just limited. This Friday, me and some other decided to check out free rollerskating at the IMA [I am honestly not entirely sure what IMA stands for, but it is the UW gym]. Even though I was terrified of hurting myself, I did manage to get on the skates. Here I am with Jen and Marissa:

The funniest part about this whole experience were the "rollerskating police" who where flying around the gym enforcing all the rules. I remarked to Jen that I needed one of the bossy people to stop and give me some instruction, as I had not been on rollerskates since--well maybe, ever. This kind woman was very patient with me and Marissa:

One of the most valuable things she taught us what how to fall, which I demonstrate quite artfully in the video below. Luckily, it was a skill I didn't need to use.

My Inauguration Night

2009-02-18T21:46:00.000-08:00

If you would like to see what I did on the night of the inauguration of our 44th president, I suggest you check out this wonderful lady's blog.

I am far too lazy to do this myself. Plus she had way more pictures...

A Very Sweet Meet

2009-02-18T21:34:00.000-08:00

On Valentine's Eve, I went to an annual YSA event in the Seattle area: the Sweet Meet. Here is the premise of said event:

All the boys make desserts and they are auctioned off to the girls, who buy them using fake dollars they have accumulated over the previous month by attending church meetings, institute, activities, FHE, etc. [The responsibility for baking/buying switches off every year; next year the girls will bake, the boys will buy.] The girl then gets to have dinner and the dessert in the cultural hall with the boy whose dessert she just won. The desserts are auctioned off anonymously, thus increasing the suspense and decreasing the resemblance to any kind of event where people are bought and sold.

I was wary of this whole idea at first, but as I began to accumulate "sweet meet bucks" (mostly because I am clearly someone in need of a date and people took pity on me), I started to get excited. And I ended up having a great time.

The cultural hall was festively decorated:

Even though my dessert looked a bit suspicious, it tasted great, and my "date" was nice and easy to talk to:

And, of course, I had a great time with some wonderful ladies:
Overall, a definite success.

Milk Trucks and Small Pleasures

2009-02-03T22:15:00.000-08:00

My Estonian class is using a new book this quarter, and it is full of little Estonian poems for children. This is appropriate, because our approximate level of dialogue is that of a three-year-old child.

The following poem was in Chapter 6, the chapter we studied last week. I was particularly charmed by it and the accompanying drawing, which I am unable to reproduce for you here. So instead, I did a google image search for the picture above. Enjoy!

Piimaauto
Piimaauto veab piima.
Piimaauto peab viima
piima lastele linna,
lehm ei lähe maalt sinna.

Tip: if you are wondering how to pronounce this, Estonian is basically a phonetic language. Just hang on to the double letters (consonants and vowels) a little longer than normal, and you have it. It is really a lovely language.

Translation:

Milk Truck
The milk truck carries milk.
The milk truck has to carry
milk to the children in the town,
cows don't go from the country to there.

There is a certain charm to Estonian word play in a poem about milk trucks and cows. Sometimes it is finding pleasure in the small things that gets you through the day.

Obligatory Inauguration Post

2009-01-22T08:25:00.000-08:00

There were many amazing things about Tuesday, one of which was someone actually got me to dance in public. Fortunately, there will be no pictures of that here.

I will not rehash my personal feelings about President Obama or how I am imbued with hope at the prospect of his presidency. Instead I will share with you this link:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99619575

If you click on this link, it will take you to NPR coverage of the music from the inauguration ceremony. Here you can not only listen to the lovely star-studded quartet and Aretha Franklin minus the awful hat, but you can also listen to my choral alma mater, the San Francisco Girls Chorus sing with the San Francisco Boys Chorus.

I am incredibly proud of the girls, their conductors and the entire organization.

PS: the fourth song or so (at about 9:30 in the track) you will come across a piece specially composed for this event with text from Obama's speech on election night set by my favorite local San Francisco composer, David Conte. Unfortunately, the sound goes out for a minute, but it comes back around minute 11. Enjoy.

Three Black Men

2009-01-19T16:28:00.000-08:00

In the last week or so, I have been thinking quite a bit about the confluence of events that is today and tomorrow. Today, we celebrate the life of one extraordinary black man in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Tomorrow, we inaugurate our first African-American president in Barack Obama. Thinking of these two men has made me think even more about one of my favorite historical figures, Malcolm X.

These men have diverse opinions and are spread over different generations and movements, but one thing they absolutely share is their gift for public oratory. It is truly amazing what can be conveyed through speech: information and meaning, emotion and passion, dedication and fanaticism.

Thanks to the magic of the inteweb and youtube, I have picked one speech from each that is worth listening to. The clips are imbeded below. I know not many of us have a spare half-hour to listen to amazing oratory, but please take a minute to listen to a little of each. They are worth your while. And I would love to hear what you think.

From Dr. King, his last public speech in 1968. He was in Memphis for the sanitation workers' strike that had been going on for some time. This is just the end of the speech, and it is eerily prophetic.

From Malcolm X, the first half of his Ballot or the Bullet speech from 1964. This speech was given after he had split from the Nation of Islam and taken a Haj to Mecca. His perspective on race in America was rapidly changing, and this is evident in his rhetoric.

From Barack Obama, his victory speech from the Iowa Caucus. This was my moment of conversion. I couldn't turn off the radio, even though it was creeping up on midnight, and I just lay in bed and listened to him speak. And I may have cried a little. He may have better speeches. He may give a better speech tomorrow. But I will always love this speech. This was the moment when I both knew I wanted him to be my president and that he could truly become my president.

Slept in a Closet

2009-01-11T10:38:00.000-08:00

The title of this post is not an illusion to R. Kelly or anything else, other than my sleeping arrangement on Friday night.

Due to a choir retreat, I spent the night with approximately forty other people at a home on Vashon Island. It was a beautiful house, but as you may imagine, no matter how big and lovely, if you are sleeping forty people in a professor's house, there are going to be people sleeping on the floor.

I desperately wanted some space to myself. And I wanted to actually sleep. And I had arrived too late to stake out a place on the carpeted floor in an actual room. So the closet it was.

I only realized after I arrived home from this retreat that I should have taken a picture of the closet. I tried doing a google image search to come up with something comparable, but all the pictures were too big. That is, the closets in the pictures were too big. So here is my best description of my Friday-night boudoir:

It was triangular shaped, with the hypotenuse being every inch of my 5' 8'' height. Of the other two sides, one was lined with shelves with a little space for my feet at the bottom, and the other was taken up mostly by the door. It was definitely one of the more unique sleeping experiences I have had. On the plus side, I got to be alone--I am pretty sure it would have been physically impossible to fit another human on the floor of that closet.

Needless to say, I was overjoyed to return to my bed last night.

On A Clear Day...

2009-01-01T12:34:00.000-08:00

I have returned to Seattle. Thankfully, on my way back north the weather was much clearer than when I was driving south. So clear in fact that I was able to see Mt. Shasta from about 100 miles south of Redding. For those of you unfamiliar with the I-5 corridor, that is a really long way. Here is Mt. Shasta from the south:

And here it is from the north:

I cannot guarantee that this will end my unsafe practice of taking pictures while I drive, but I am pretty sure I am done for a while.

Minor Miracle

2008-12-28T18:45:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas, I witnessed a minor miracle at the Oracle Arena here in Oakland.

I went to see my first (and most likely, my only) Warrior game of the year, expecting them to be kicked in their rear ends by the Celtics. The Celtics, to that point, had only lost 3 games this season. The Warriors had only won 8. Being down by 14 in the third quarter did not get my hopes up:

Wonderfully enough, my Warriors ended up winning. The shot below documents the scoreboard when they finally gained the lead halfway through the fourth quarter.

I was sure that would be it and I would need hard evidence that they actually led at some point. They ended up winning by 10 points. And I went to bed very happy that night. It almost made up for all the games I didn't see live when they were in the playoffs.

Please excuse my amateur sports photography. I was just really excited.

Bear's Christmas Spirit

2008-12-24T22:05:00.000-08:00

I may not dress up for Christmas Eve, but my parent's dog does.

I heart Oakland: Ronika Edition

2008-12-22T22:22:00.000-08:00

On Sunday night, Ronika was kind enough to join me in putting on a "musical evening" and entertaining some people Jane-Austen style. In other words, we sang, we played, and we showed what accomplished young women we are. Mostly, we just tried to not make complete fools of ourselves while providing some kind of mildly entertaining product.

Below is another classic example of my "singing face."

And here is Ronika dressed in one of her many vintage store finds and playing beautifully:

Ronika has a bit of a reputation for being able to find pretty nifty clothes at a variety of places--the kind of stuff you always think you should be able to find at a vintage store, but never seems to exist.

However, her sense of fashion has been known to falter. Monday afternoon, when Ronika came down dressed and ready for the day, I found her in another quintessential Ronika outfit:

I love Oakland because I get to spend time with my sister. Even if she is way cooler than I can even begin to understand.

I heart Oakland: Lake Merritt Edition

2008-12-20T16:16:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful morning in the Bay Area.

(Those of you who have actually visited my blog may recognize this shot.)

As is my Saturday morning custom, I went for a run around Lake Merritt, one of my favorite places to run when I come back to Oakland. For those of you who are familiar with Seattle, Lake Merritt is like the Oakland version of Green Lake, by which I mean it is the Ghetto version. The trails aren't as nice, there is more goose poop, and there are more sketchy people at 8:00 in the morning. But it is almost exactly the same size, and it is situated in the middle of the city.

This particular morning, I encountered some of the people that make Oakland so special in my heart. While on my second lap around the lake, a white male in his sixties, walking with a bunch of other white males in their sixties, pointed at me and yelled "Warm Blood!" I assume was referring to the fact I was wearing shorts. For people in the Bay Area, it may have been cold, but I went running in Seattle on Monday when it was 20 degrees, so it felt balmy to me.

But the best encounter of the morning came when I was crossing the street. There were two men standing in the middle of the street, having a conversation, not making any attempt to move. Two "brothers", as my father would say. The older of the two, in his sixties as well, seemed to be giving directions to the younger, probably in his twenties.

As I ran by, the older man stopped talking mid-sentence, starred at me and said,

"Damn girl! Why you gonna run so fast?"

I replied, "Have a great morning!" and kept running.

I love Oakland, a place where men finally hit on me. Even if they are in their sixties.

Oaktown for Christmas

2008-12-19T22:00:00.000-08:00

Eighteen hours of driving, spread between Thursday and Friday, have finally gotten me to Oakland. Two of those hours may not technically count, as they were spent driving through the streets of Eugene at 10 mph in search of chains for my car. Chains that I never had to use, incidentally. But because I spent them driving, I will count they count as traveling hours. All in all, not bad time, given the amount of snow and the lack of salt/plowing at times.
I finally get moving south of Olympia after sitting in the same place for 20 minutes without moving.
Oregon was similarly snowy.
Finally in California. But with five more hours of driving to go.

[Note: I may or may not have taken these while driving. Believe me, I always had at least one hand on the steering wheel.]

Snow in Seattle

2008-12-14T19:10:00.000-08:00

It snowed last night here, and Amanda and I ventured out to Safeway. We took the camera along.

Singing Face

2008-12-09T17:12:00.001-08:00

I have had the same "singing face" since I can remember. It is practically automatic when I open my mouth. Below is a perfect example from my ward's Christmas "Concert" on Monday:

As a side note, I am pretty sure that my self-conscious body language is the only thing standing between me and a rocking singing career. I'm going to work on that.

A Hijacked Camera

2008-12-07T20:57:00.000-08:00

On Thursday night, my roommates and I went to the Tri-Ward Christmas dinner. While I was off talking to someone else, they took over my camera. The best (and perhaps most appropriate) picture is posted below.

Bossy?

2008-12-03T20:11:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture that is emblematic of my relationship with Amanda. Taken at the Turkey Bowl, 2008.

Christmas in Argyle

2008-12-03T20:02:00.000-08:00

Me and Amanda couldn't stay away from each other over Thanksgiving break.

We accidentally wore matching sweaters, but Argyle is awesome, so no bother. Plus, we checked out the lights at the Oakland Temple.

Apparently, they had some trouble getting them on, but here they obviously working.

Getting a Tree

2008-11-30T19:03:00.000-08:00

While other Americans lined up twenty-four hours in advance to buy a laptop and a printer at Best Buy, my family went to Half-Moon Bay to cut down a Christmas Tree. The tree farm contained many delights, including:

A post-racial Santa, or a person who ran out of paint?

A California snow man.

Family Dinner

2008-11-30T07:45:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving dinner included my family (minus Rachel), my brother's family, another (unrelated) McClain family from my parent's ward. All together, that made 12 McClains at dinner. Food is prepared, in varying degrees of blurriness. I love asparagus, especially when it looks this pretty. Thanks Mom. Ronika and I take a self-portrait post-dinner.

In Memoriam

2008-11-27T14:40:00.000-08:00

These deserved to be documented before they were consumed by my family. I think the vodka in the pie crust accounts for the beauty.

One thing to be thankful for

2008-11-26T17:01:00.000-08:00

It was so clear today that you could see Mt. Rainier from its designated spot on campus. Pretty awesome.

As found in a Seattle park...

2008-11-23T21:04:00.000-08:00

These random little green spaces are my favorite part of this city so far. We found this one while exploring Fremont.

The Mothership...sort of

2008-11-22T12:48:00.001-08:00

Amanda and I went on our monthly Friday-night date to Costco last night, and we decided to make the trip to the home of my favorite warehouse store, Kirkland. Even though I had been warned of its relative banality beforehand, the pilgrimage still fell a bit flat. See for yourself:
Pretty normal, right? And, just like every other Costco in the country, it is already Christmas.
Most exciting purchase: a book by an author from who has been novel-less for ten years. I'm saving it for the break from school.

My First Enrichment

2008-11-20T22:10:00.000-08:00

Well, technically not my first. But my first in the Relief Society presidency. And the first where I had my own personal tape dispenser (pictured above).

Halftime Show

2008-11-20T18:09:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, I participated in perhaps the silliest organized activity of my life: a Monty-Python-themed Halftime Show for the UW football team, complete with costumes. This is how excited I was:

The team lost. Again. Perhaps "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" was appropriate. (if you can't tell, they are down just before halftime).

I apologize in advance...

2008-11-20T18:05:00.000-08:00

I have to admit that I never really thought I would do this. By this I mean start a blog. So I apologize in advance if it isn't what you expect. I'll do my best to keep you entertained with my iPhone pictures. I assume this is mostly just my family reading anyway.