Bean Town to Notre Dame

I have to admit ~ it took a lot less time that I thought it would to go completely insane while driving home from New Hampshire to South Bend. I had stopped at a friend's lake house for a night of rest and recuperation before I was to attempt the 15 hour trip back to the Midwest. Despite being armed with 5 hours of Spanish lessons on my ipod ~ in no time I was engaging in wonderfully insightful and captivating conversation with myself . I passed through some beautiful places ~ Vermont being the highlight ~ and the drive actually went quicker than I thought it would ~ thanks largely to consuming enough coffee to kill a small horse.

Once back at Notre Dame we began to settle in properly to our new surroundings. Just prior to leaving for NY we had pooled our resources with a friend from the program and the three of us had moved into a townhouse together. It was a pretty amazing lifestyle upgrade ~ having just been built a year or two ago, and includes a garage (yes that's a big deal) and is so close to ND you can see the campus. So, as we now settle down for another semester ~ we have begun carefully planning the next trip…

Pictured: The Lake House, Vermont, and our new digs…

Summer in New York

So the insanity of a few months on the East coast took its toll ~ and this blog was one of the many victims ~ but we are back in sleepy South Bend and with the corn growing slowly I have time to relax and make a few notes on our time in New York.

It began with a whirlwind twelve-hour drive to New York ~ pleasant and scenic for the first two hours ~ then ten hours of torture. We made it to our new home for summer just north of the city in Hastings on Hudson ~ a town along the river where we would be minding a friends cat in exchange for staying at her townhouse. Fortunately, the cat is 15 years old and moves about two-feet per day ~ making it a very easy job. We were also surprised to find that our new home had a nature reserve as a back garden ~ complete with deer and a resident woodchuck ~ so not exactly the city living from last year in New York.

The next six weeks were packed with work and sight-seeing ~ the sort of schedule that is a lot of fun but takes a year or two off your life. This year we pulled in every contact known to man ~ and managed to find our way into a taping of the Daily Show ~ our preferable news source ~ and then a tour of CNN and the floor of the Stock Exchange. With the benefit of our car we made day trips to the Hamptons, Fire Island and Connecticut ~ and visited family in Philly. We also managed to catch a game at the soon-to-be demolished Yankee Stadium ~ and tracked down the only English and Australian fish-n-chip shops in NYC (The Aussie tucker was much better of course).

The summer flew by ~ next stop was Los Angeles for Jen and Boston for me ~ before we would both meet back in Indiana to start another semester.

Pictured: Our ‘back-garden’, sunset across the Hudson, and the Yankee’s game.

The Windy City, the Golden Dome and an international moving company.

So next stop on our whirlwind tour of the USA was South Bend, Indiana ~ home to Notre Dame and of course…us. We welcomed my parents into our humble apartment…and then gently informed them that we were moving to a much bigger place…in three days. My parents were great sports about it ~ and did not object too strongly to becoming hired help for a few days and we shifted our things into our new home closer to campus. We of course convinced ourselves that my parents would actually ‘like’ to help…you know…part of that always present maternal instinct…one look from my father quickly dispelled this idea. So…after our bedroom became a storage area for our bikes ~ we decided we needed more room and that if we pooled our resources with a close friend ~ we would be able to upgrade from our apartment to a townhouse ~ complete with an attached garage for those cold winter mornings!

During the move we took time to show my parents the campus and the surrounding suburbs…the river and the downtown area…a quick trip South to Amish Acres…and of course…multiple stops at Starbucks to satisfy my mother’s heroin-like addiction to frappuccinos.

Then to complete our Midwest adventure we headed to Chicago ~ the setting for the Blues Brothers ~ and a great city to finish the trip in. We were able to sample Chicago style pizza at the famous Tastes of Chicago festival ~ and make our way along Navy Pier and the Magnificent Mile to see the sites. It was a wonderful end to the trip ~ but so sad to have to say goodbye. The final part of the role-reversal was watching my parents walk through security this time ~ comforted by the fact that it will only be six months until I return to Melbourne.

West to Midwest…

Jen looked nervously out of the car window at the many possible hiding places for bugs as we arrived at our cabin in the Redwoods. It was a beautiful location, complete with a river, wildlife, and a fishing inspired cabin to stay in. It had been a fast and furious trip up the coast, and we were all looking forward to a day or two relaxing. My mother had recently developed the wonderful ability to find enjoyment in some of the most unlikely places…including most notoriously her fascination with ice-dispensing fridges. Now based on the population density in American compared to Australia ~ creature comforts and technology are a little cheaper and thus more accessible in the US. Having said this however, watching my mother’s fascination and happiness as ice-cubes fell out of the refrigerator door into her glass, even the worldliest American citizen would wonder in which recent year Australia first generated electricity.

After a slower drive along the beautiful Oregon coastline ~ we arrived in Portland to stay with Jen’s welcoming uncles and their families. We were very well taken care of ~ with Luis ~ who is soon-to-be Portland’s most famous tour guide ~ providing us with a local’s view of this beautiful city and its surrounding suburbs. Then it was off to Jerry’s property whereby my father set about taking notes for their own property in Australia, Merryn returned to her teenage years and spent time with Wendy’s horses, and I decreased my chance of fathering children by riding a four-wheeler through Jerry’s property. We had a wonderful time in Portland and were sad to leave after such a short stay.

It was a wonderful end to our West coast adventure ~ and great to see Jen’s family again. We finally boarded an overnight flight, looking forward to awaking the next morning in South Bend Indiana.

West Coast Trippin...

It was wonderful seeing my parents again after so long ~ and great showing them some of the sites Los Angeles has to offer. After a sad goodbye to Jen's family we loaded up the "tank" which we rented for our West Coast trip and set off along the coast to Monterey, Big Sur and finally San Francisco. The coastal road provided spectacular views for us as we drove along ~ incredible cliffs and beaches that rivaled the Great Ocean Rd (no sign of decent fish'n'chips though). It was once again very strange to have my parents in the back seat and taking them on a holiday ~ all planned by us (I never want to be a travel agent) ~ to their credit there was very little noise from the back and I did not have to threaten to turn the car around...

After a good number of hours in the car we arrived in San Francisco for the night. My parents enjoyed their first American 'diner' experience (followed by brutal American indigestion...) and then the following day we set off on foot to explore the city. My parents loved the city...slightly less by the time we finished walking the famous hills/streets...and then ended the day with an enjoyable dinner with some old friends.

Admirably, my parents have been willing to try almost any gastronomical experience we can offer...as long as we preface it with 'this is American'. So far they have enjoyed Ben & Jerry's famous icecream, clam chowder in San Francisco...and the piece de resistance - peanut butter and jelly Uncrustables...

The next stop would be the Redwood Forests of Northern California and a quick two day rest on our journey to Portland, Oregon.

The Meeting of the Families...

It was just as we had imagined...a darkly lit room...tension filling the night air...Walter "The Costa Rican Don" Herrera sat in the shadows...his face shielded...only the glow from his cigar visible in the dark as the 'muscle' (Sara) stood steadily by. The foreign visitors were ushered in...assured that the Don was eager to meet them...and so after five years together, our families were to finally meet. 

To everyone's relief, The Don gave his approval of the foreigners, and my parents were warmly welcomed to Los Angeles. Over the next five days we sought to show them a little bit of what LA has to offer, as well as enabling them to relax and recover from their jet-lag. 

My father completed his mission and arrived at an Air Museum with Walter within 24-hours of arriving in the USA, while my mother strangely enough chose to avoid this excursion in favor of getting to know Sara better. The Herrera hospitality was wonderful and my parents were able to meet everyone, although my request for name-tags was ignored by all. We also made important pilgrimages to the Getty Center, Hollywood, UCLA, Laguna and a bonfire on the beach. 

Rejuvenated and happy to have been able to meet so many of Jen's family, we packed the olds into our rental car and set off for the next leg of this crazy journey. It is a truly bizarre experience to be taking your parents on a holiday...complete with them sitting in the back of the car marveling at my ability to drive a motor car on the 'wrong' side of the road. Our next stop was San Francisco...with a trip up the famous coastal road of Highway 1 ahead of us. 

Big & Tall

The sun had set by the time we pulled into the R Ranch, a group of cabins located in the Sequioa National Forest. The beauty of the surroundings more than made up for the strangely inadequate ranch name as we settled into a cabin that was much closer to 'nature' than Jennifer prefers to get. It is a strange tradition that any trip into the 'wilderness' (well compared to LA) must be accompanied by the consumption of sufficent alcohol to fill a small swimming pool. This aside, the next day we set off on our hike through the Trail of 100 Giants...a stunningly beautiful path that provided sufficient time and natural splendour to make us all feel wonderfully and rightfully insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Convening with nature is an exhausting task...and thus we returned to our cabin and made our way to the swimming pool to greet our fellow nature lovers. Everyone has their own way of appreciating nature of course...the 15 year-old security guard for instance liked to show everyone the dead rat he had just found in the pool you got out of, while regailing you with local ghost stories...brillant. As night fell once more we were greeted by some more locals, including a fox and an over-confident racoon, and then it was back to civilization and reality. 

Working Holiday

As I believe I have mentioned previously ~ graduate students sign 13 month yearly contracts when they enter the program...in effect agreeing to be working...or at least pretending to work...the entire year. This is ironic really given that the majority of graduate students have continued their education for the very reason of avoiding full time work. This said, as students, we are afforded the luxury of the summer break...three months of the year during which we are excused from classes and seeing patients. Of course, it is during this three month break that we are expected to work fervently on our research and papers...and it thus with guilty and mischievous looks that students discuss their summer plans.

It is thoughts such as these that drift through my mind as I sit next to the pool in Southern California. My research making fleeting appearances as I remove my shirt to reveal a second sun…a chest so magically white that it could only come about with the special combination of a Scottish bloodline and four months of a Midwestern winter. For the coming week Jennifer and I will be catching up with friends and family in LA ~ then…wait for it…my parents arrive on their first visit to the USA. After five years together, our parents will finally meet...after which we will be road trippin’ up the West Coast…a wonderful combination of “Meet the Fockers” and the Griswald’s Summer Vacation.

Quote of the Week: Jennifer ~ “I think I want to work as a medical interpreter at the hospital…how do you say ‘interpreter’ in Spanish?”

The Lakehouse Life

With the weather improving we are beginning to realize that every man and their dog has some connection to a house by a lake...somewhere...somehow. It is here that summer days are spent ~ relaxing, drinking and engaging in a vast array of water sports. 

In the past two weeks we have had the opportunity to sample this lifestyle ~ with trips to Lake Michigan and to a smaller lake further East. We went kayaking - thus enabling Jen to fall in the water (naturally) and me to get sunburnt (naturally)...and then spend a few lazy hours sitting on the pier or walking the beaches as the sun dropped below the horizon. 

In bigger news ~ Jen bought a bike ~ and is learning to ride (without training wheels cause she is so hard). Updates and pictures to come. 

An old friend in Chicago

This past weekend we headed to Chicago to catch up with an old friend...the famous or infamous...Kaz. Kaz was one of my roommates at UCLA; we lived in a small room which somehow accommodated five dashingly handsome intellectuals that year. Kaz was one of those unique characters who you would find half-naked cooking rice at 3am as you return from a bar...or who would hand out shots of sake failing to tell anybody that he had just boiled the liquid. It was great to see him though ~  a night spent catching up, drinking and developing great admiration for any individual who can consume more than one slice of Chicago style pizza.

Pictured: Old and new friends...and finally flowers take the place of snow in South Bend, Indiana.

Ten days of peace and quiet...

In the interests of self-preservation I will allow it to remain ambiguous as to whose 10 days of peace and quiet it was ~ but ladies and gentleman...allow me to introduce the latest addition to the world of extreme sport meditation...Jennifer "Perhaps a little too emotional" Herrera! That's right, this past weekend Jen returned from her first 10-day Vipassana retreat, and it sounds like she jumped in head first. Many of Jen's reports I think were expected...a great sense of peace, very relaxed, the infamous fourth day in which she became almost homicidal. However, there were also a good number of reports that no sane man would have put money on two weeks ago. For example, Jen usually greets the morning with a hateful stare and a threat of violence, however she was up at 4am every morning and in the meditation hall...a wonderful display of will-power and one that has effectively ruined any chance of her being allowed to sleep in every again. Then there were the reports of her steadfast lack of emotionality...this coming from a girl who can tear up during a 15 second Kleenex advertisement, or go from 0 to crazy in all of 6.2 seconds flat. And finally, her "enjoyment", yes folks, "enjoyment" and satisfaction in eating nothing but fruit and tea for the final meal of the day (at 5pm). Now all jokes aside, it is an incredible feat to endure a Vipassana retreat, and we are all extremely proud of her. She has returned to the real world (which as it does for everyone finishing the 10 day retreat, hit her square in the face) with a renewed sense of peace and a deepened level of motivation to pursue a career helping others. So here's to Jen...a huge congratulations...for kickin' it like the Buddha.

Hard Rockin' San Diego

The process of 'networking' is indeed a strange and complex art form; however it is one that very rarely manifests anything that can be described as sophisticated, beautiful or breathtaking. Instead, it is for many a necessary evil, one that leaves them feeling distinctly dirty and unclean, but is part of a game that must be played by both sides. This was to be my fortune as I traveled to San Diego to attend the Behavioral Medicine conference held each year. Mind you, before this is interpreted as any form of complaint, let me assure you that I am more than happy to rub up and down against people's legs for three days in return for a free trip to the West Coast.

That said, as I walked around the conference, I observed the ritualistic mating habits of many wonderful species of scientist: the pathetic yet endearing 'eager graduate student'…the exotic and always apprehensive 'junior faculty member'…and of course the king of the jungle…a giant amongst mere mortals…the rarely seen 'celebrity scientist'…individuals who have often accidentally made their way into the mainstream media…and now are considered "The Fonz" of their respective areas of research. Despite a hangover I performed well, gyrating against legs with the best of them, and managing to leave my scent on a number of influential director's shoes.

With the conference concluded and having showered three times with a metal brush, Jen and I were free to enjoy San Diego and some beautiful weather. We spent a night at the newly opened Hard Rock Hotel with some friends…which was very cool…the hotel…not me of course. And then watched the sunset at the famous Coronado Hotel. The weekend concluded with the standard insanity ~ whereby we try to fit an entire month's worth of family gatherings into the space of two days in LA. It was a great time, and great to see so many friends and family in such a short time.

I am now back in South Bend on my lonesome. Jen has taken the plunge and went straight from LA to the 10-day meditation course that I completed at the start of the year. It is the fourth day for her as I write this, and if I remember my experience correctly, she will be cursing the world and its existence about now. So for those three people who still read this blog…cross your fingers for her.  

Pictured: The famous Gaslamp District, San Diego, Coronado, and Jen in the sand.

Birthday: 2008

Thanks to Jen, my family from afar, and some close friends in Chicago...my 28th birthday was celebrated in style. I was able to see my first Chicago Bulls game, with Jen going to the special effort of having them win for once this season.



Photos: Da' Bulls...and Chicago freezing over during the winter.

Straight up with BB King.

So ~ by an astounding twist of fate, the bus carrying the undisputed King of Blues, Mr. B.B. King took a wrong turn ~ and ended up playing a show in our own neck of the woods. Thus, on a cold winters night we ventured into downtown South Bend to see one of the most lively 82 year-olds we have seen – put on an amazing show with his band. Strangely enough, he also turned out to be one of the dirtiest 82 year-old men that we have come across – complete with numerous advertisements for the wonder drug that is Viagra ~ and his days (which are still ongoing it seems) of chasing women. This amazing musician was on stage for over two hours, and put on an incredible show ~ and was of course not something we thought we would see in South Bend, Indiana.

Advertising Slogan of the Week:
“If we can’t kill them…we’ll eat them!”
~ Pest Control Company.

Extreme Sports Meditation

Ladies and Gentleman…let me introduce our two contenders…in the right corner…weighing in at a powerful 10 days of grueling silence…combined with 10 hours per day of meditation…no contact with the outside world…and a brutal left hook…Vipassana ‘Kickin’ it like the Buddha said’ Meditation.

In the left corner…weighing in at an embarrassing 165 pounds…with bad knees and ankles…a constant need to be productive…already emotionally retarded…and a hardly noticeable right jab…Errol ‘What am I doing here’ Philip….

That’s right folks…this youngster from Australia…with absolutely no idea what he is getting himself into…is taking on the extreme sports of meditation…a no holds barred…take no prisoners…approach to enlightenment. A ten day…no speaking, no eye contact, no gesturing, no emails, no phones, no books or writing material, total silence, up at 4am…bed by 9pm…11 hours of meditation in between…heaven or hell…who can tell…experience.

So yes indeed it was an ‘experience’. One of the most challenging and amazing ones I have been through. The first two days were full of pure physical agony as I quickly realized that for some uniquely comical reason - my left shoulder is unable to support my left arm. Granted my biceps are licensed weapons in the state of Indiana…but this did come as a surprise. By the fourth day I had conceded defeat trying to find a ‘comfortable’ position - my pillow somehow transforming into concrete when I sat on it…and regardless of how I managed to wedge certain limbs into position – I would be in pain by the thirty minute mark. I would sit and watch people build couches around themselves, or mentally strangle those who sat in chairs…determined to come to terms with this new found discomfort.

Strangely enough…once I realized (perhaps three days too late) that this was going to be a matter of acceptance…and that my mind would simply have to stop reacting to the pain and discomfort…it wasn’t actually that bad. You realize you have reached a ‘special’ place when the feeling of your legs draining of blood becomes an enormously pleasant sensation compared to that of your spinal column squeezing itself into your underwear.

By the seventh day I had adopted a mildly manic depressive state – strange for such a ‘balanced, calm and emotionally retarded individual’ – but there I was – undulating between highs and lows throughout the day…peaking at lunch when they would serve even the smallest amount of chocolate with our standard bowl of vegetarian creativity.

Then of course there is the veritable symphony of our bodies functioning amidst the deafening silence. It appeared by day four that most individuals had decided that given they were surrounded by people who could not laugh, snicker, make eye contact or gesture…and were enduring one of the most wonderful experiences of physical and mental torture…that it was a gaseous free-for-all. I have not heard such a wonderful array of public flatulence in all my life.

So after ten days of being trapped in my head…a scary place even when you leave the light on…I emerged back into the real world a changed person. Despite facing 164 emails and a week of classes to catch up on…I have never felt more at peace in my life…and as I now try to integrate two hours of meditation practice into my daily schedule…we shall see whether this new found calmness and peace will remain.

A New Year and a New Jen...

Our trip home to LA for the holidays is nearing its conclusion - a wonderfully hectic three weeks with family, friends, food and drink - and we will return to South Bend with two extra bags of Jen's clothes, a mild trepidation for the soon-to-be faced snow, a few extra pounds around my midsection, and a short-haired Jennifer.

Christmas was an excellent break, and afforded us time to speak with family and friends in Australia, as well as spend many hours catching up with those here in Los Angeles. We welcomed the New Year in the mountains with all 350 Herrera's - with four days spent eating and drinking almost continuously, while admiring the beautiful lack of snow due to the mild winter.

Now it is back to South Bend for a few days before I leave for a 10-day silent meditation retreat near Chicago. It promises to be an interesting and perhaps horrifying challenge - being left alone with my thoughts for a 10-day stretch - with no use of phones, emails, books, writing, or social interaction...and instead the promise of physical discomfort and 10 hours of meditation each day.