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Yesterday was Mifflin day (the day the Mifflin Block Party) is held. I woke up around 9:45-ish to go to the farmer’s market down in capitol square, with Mike, Mady, and Erica. I was expecting to buy some fresh fruit to eat, but that didn’t happen. Apparently its Spring, and well fruit just aren’t ready in the actual spring. That is to say, that in Florida we are accustomed to having freshly grown fruit year round because of the warm temperatures, hence not experiencing 4 seasons, or spring for that matter. Anyways, there was a lot of honey, jams, and freshly baked goods. I couldn’t contain my craving and had to get a humongous cinnamon roll. The farmer’s market is a big deal around here, there are young and old alike, set to the floral spring background that accentuates the capitol building. After the farmer’s market we stopped by Jamba Juice. This was my first time getting anything there since I usually opt for the unhealthy frapuchinos at the conveniently close Starbucks that seem to be established near jamba juices back home. I opted for an original sized Strawberry Whirl with a Calcium power boost. We all joked around a bit how they should offer a $20 Tamiflu power boost to combat against Swine Flu, since Erica’s brother had been tested positive for it and her entire family was under voluntary quarantine and taking Tamiflu. On our way back we saw Ryan biking to Mifflin.

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Ever since I can remember I have hated rainy days. Rainy days are gloomy, messy, and just downright depressing. Luckily, we don’t have to deal with many of those in Miami, considering that we get our 15-30 minutes of thunderstorms every day, and the occasional bad day, but they usually subside pretty quickly. In Wisconsin however, its a different ballgame. When it rains here, its not like at home, it rains and rains just enough to annoy you. Enough to get you sick or keep you sick essentially.

Since I woke up yesterday, it has been raining. It was the same today, until just a few minutes ago when it got cold enough for it to snow. Yup, from the annoying drizzle to snow, that’s Wisconsin for you; so erratic.

Yesterday was free art friday at the Union, so a group of us decided to go and paint some flower pots, which we would get flower bulbs for. Last time I had gone, which was for stained glass night I really had no desire to go, but I was guilted into it. I got there expecting some cool watercolor tye thing or acrylic painting on actual glass. No such luck! We were given a piece of translucent fiberglass (a small piece btw) which we were told to draw on with colored pencils. After which it was put in an oven and heated. When the fiberglass rectangle was heated it shrunk, solidified, and gained some depth.

Due to my lack of desire to be there and lack of creativity, I decided to draw an exploding bear. My drawing continued to become less socially acceptable when I proceeded to write the words “Sometimes Bears Explode & God Cries BLOOD.” This of course was inspired by the popular poster of Domo Kun chasing after a kitten with the words “Every time you masturbate… God kills a kitten.”

This week I decided to continue the trend of social innaceptability, and pain my pot in societ colors. The bottom was red, the trim yellow, and it sported the communist soviet insignia of the sickle and hammer. I also decided to draw a missile, and write “Вырасти за коммунизм” or “Grow for communism.” My parents would certainly not approve of this, having been able to escape communism to give me a better life. Heck, I hate communism much more than any normal person would, having spent 7 years of my youth in Cuba. I know what communism is. I know that communism sucks!

After I was done painting the pot, I proceeded to plant the flower bulbs in it. There were daisies and tulips. I planted 2 tulips and a daisy. Hopefully the daisy turns outto be yellow, and the tulips red, so that they could match the communist motif of the pot.

Last weekend I went skiing for the first time. It was only for around 3 hours, but due to the falling, rolling, ski popping and pain, it seemed like much longer. However that night I managed to make it down the easiest slope without falling once. There was no real snow that night, just fake icy snow that had been made by the machines. That icy snow made it super slippery to go down, which is why at the end of the night when the easy trail was closed and we were forced to take the blue trail, I slipped on an icy patch and somersaulted around 20 feet while both my skis flew off in different directions. On the way home and for several days after my body was in pain. However, I did decide to make the trip there again this week when our dorm was going.

Today’s (well yesterday technically 2-21-09) was completely different. This time there was actual snow since it snowed about 8 inches and was still snowing as we we skied down the slopes. The real snow made it a lot better and easier since there were fewer icy patches in which to loose your balance. However,…enter the snowboarder complaints…the snowboarders’ plow marks and super packed trails made their own nice gashes and packed down icy patches for one to fall and or get a ski caught in.

I started my day by going down the easy slope, which was fun now, since I could do it without falling. After a few runs we decided to step up the challenge a little, and try the blue from last week. That didn’t go well, at least the first time. Thanks to the snowboarders making a path to the rails on the side, there was this big gash of snow. Without realizing it I went that way and made it through the first bump, but as I came down the ski got stuck on the other bump since the skis are much longer than the width of the gash. I tumbled down, got up quickly and made it down. I went up the chairlift again and once again headed for that blue. While on the chairlift I looked at the slope making note of where the dangers were . This time I used one of the chairlift supports as my marker for the gash. I headed towards it and avoided the gash, raced down the slope and made it down without falling several times. Once again my friend Tyler decided that it was time for bigger and greater things so he convinced us to try a black diamond that was coming off of the beginning of the easy trail. This one was a narrow zigzagging path through a bunch of tightly packed hills. I went through and fell once I hit this ice patch midway through the run, which caused be to not be able to make the next turn. Tyler had jumped over the hill I crashed into and lost one of his ski’s. After a few minutes of looking he found it buried in the snow a few feet away. I tried this run several more times, however I wasn’t able to master it. In fact one of the times I went down it I tripped on my stick and hurt my knee and thumb in the process. It wasn’t that bad of an injury; my thumb feels fine, and my knee hurts a bit when I walk. We went down another black diamond in which I wiped out the first time. The second time going down the same one I took note of the terrain and avoided the bad spots. I was able to make it down without falling.

After some time I met up with Sebastian, Miles, Fro, and Chris, who had been doing their own thing going through the woods. I decided to join them and give it a try, but large skis and the woods don’t go together. Everyone else had been wearing the snow skates (smaller skis) which are more maneuverable, which allowed them to turn better in the woods. That ended in failure for me, causing me to crash into several trees and eventually wipe out as I jumped out of the woods into the run.

Nevertheless, despite the minor injuries skiing was much funner the second time around. Once you know what you are doing it really becomes fun. The nearly 5 hours we spent at Tyrol Basin today flew by very fast. I love skiing.

Of all the things to have in Wisconsin, Cuban Panini…really? What makes this Cuban? The fact that it has ham and cheese? I had to try it, to test whether or not it was actually up to par with what I know to be Cuban cuisine. I suppose there was some distant similarity to a Cuban sandwich. There was mustard, mayo, ham and cheese. However, their choice of provolone cheese doesn’t go with the standard swiss (I think) that is used in Cuban sandwiches. This was supposed to have chicken, but upon biting into it, it quickly became obvious that it had no chicken, instead it was pork. Hey, at least that’s more authentic.It wasn’t bad, but somehow it didn’t feel Cuban; it felt like a bad imitation of a Cuban sandwich, a bastard child if you will. It had banana peppers for goodness sakes. Cuban sandwiches are supposed to have pickles. But you know, being one of the few Cubans at the University of Wisconsin, only that small bit of us would know its inauthenticity.

Today I needed to buy a book (Blues People by Amiri Baraka) I have to read for my ethnic studies comparative literature class. I had waited so long to get the book, considering I need to have it read by Tuesday, that the only place I would be able to get it on time was Rainbow Bookstore. This was the bookstore the professor has ordered the book at. I took the 80 bus down to the Humanities building, then walked down State Street headed towards the capitol. Rainbow Books was near State and Gilman, which is about halfway between campus and the capital. Before I left I made a note to try to find Dobra Tea, a tea house in downtown Madison that sells matcha. Last semester I wanted to try out matcha and upon doing a search I found that Dobra was the closest place that sold it. I had walked down State many times trying to find it as I passed and funny enough it had been right under my nose. Anyways, after buying the book I decided to stop by to try matcha.

I went in and was given a small menu book which had a brief history of the tea house, with the preceding pages having the teas they offer separated by country of origin. With the book came a bell, which I was instructed to ring if I had any questions or when I was ready to order. I thumbed through the pages, already knowing what I wanted but deciding to make sure it was on the menu. I rang the bell, and ordered the Matcha Kyoto. I started reading the book as my order was prepared. I was expecting to just get the tea made like one usually gets at regular places. However, to my surprise Dobra takes their business seriously. The weighter (for lack of a better word) attending me sets up a stool opposite me and brings out a tray with a tea kettle, chasen, chawan, chakin, chaire, chashaku and three small leaf shaped cookies. He asked me if I had had matcha before, I replied that I hadn’t and he began to explain the tea ceremony procedure which traditionally goes with matcha in Japan. He explain that matcha is usually served at a Japanese tea ceremony which is usually an all day affair, but that at Dobra they had adapted it to give their customers the experience.

He began by cleaning the bow as it is traditionally done; by taking some of the hot watter from the kettle and slushing it around the chawan with the chasen. He then emptied it into a pot, and began cleaning the chawan with the chakin, after which he scooped up 2 scoop fulls of matcha with the chashaku and placed them in the chawan. He then took 2 ladle fulls of water from the kettle and dripped into the chawan. He then took the chasen and began whisking the matcha until it was frothy and green. Upon finishing he grasped the chawan gave it a turn, and handed it to me. I took a sip, and it was great. I really enjoyed the atmosphere, and attention Dobra gives their teas.

…since when did tipping become mandatory? I was just about to set my phone to wake me up tomorrow morning and I saw that I had received a text message. I opened it up, and it was from the guy that had delivered the pizza I ordered earlier that night. Yeah, I got dragged in by the $3.99 special Dominos was having…shouldn’t have fallen for that. Anyways, the only reason I went through with it was because I got out of class late, and Lost was about to start, so I didn’t want to risk missing any part of the episode. A $3.99 pizza became $6.99 with tax and delivery…w/e. I get a call that my pizza is here, its 3 minutes before Lost starts, so I rush to grab it, its dark and cold, i just sign and take my pizza rushing back to my TV as fast as I can. Anyways, the delivery guy sent me a text message telling me how uncool it is to not have tipped him, that he makes minimum wage and depends on tips for income. So once again I ask, when did tipping become mandatory? I honestly would have given him something, but I was in a rush…now, I vow never to order from Dominos again…this unprofessional behavior deserves that. I don’t think an employee should harass customers demanding a tip.

Well, I’ve managed to make it through some finals these past couple of days. I just want the semester to be over already so that I can once again get the chance to have a fresh start. Next semester’s classes are looking really good so far, but then again I thought the same about this semester’s classes a few months ago. Nevertheless, after a warm reprieve from cold this past weekend with temperatures up in the upper 40’s & lower 50’s, today it’s back in the single digits with wind chills in the negative double digits. In fact the weather report calls it “bitterly cold.”

Last night my neighbors and I went sledding down the hill next to Elizabeth Waters Hall. The side on this picture isn’t that steep, but the one closer to the dorm is. Not only that, but it also has bumps along the way, which make it quite exciting, painful, and difficult to stay on your tray. To that add the few people carelessly walking down the same path we’re sledding over, and the fact that it is a paved path that has been cleaned and you essentially risk injury every time you go over it. Nevertheless, it is a very fun and worthwhile experience, even if you can’t feel your face, butt, or hands and you return home all wet and covered in snow.

More Liz Waters Snow Pictures