Saturday Afternoon with Pirates

Saturday was a nice day. I promised myself that I would take some time to relax this weekend, after the marathon that is exam week. A day wrapped up in a blanket, lying on a soft couch, covered in warm dogs…

For the most part, that came true. The morning was rather hectic, however, as I dedicated myself to photographing the HUGE flock of robins that were stripping the trees in my neighborhood of their remaining buds and berries. There were at least 50 birds in the flock and this is the largest robin flock I’ve ever seen in this neighborhood. And in late January! Camera in hand, I stalked the flock and documented their antics as they fluttered between my neighbor’s tree, my tree, and a berry-covered shrub in a neighbor’s back yard. It was cold and miserable, but quite fun and I have a few shots that I might enlarge.

Then, it was time to study. Ugh…Every day, my nose shoved in a physics book. But, that doesn’t mean that I had to sit on a hard chair at a cold desk. Warm couch, warm blanket, warm dogs…but, I have discovered over the years that I am one of those folks who concentrate best when I am surrounded by distractions. I do my best work while being inundated with a variety of stimuli. Videos are my stimulus of choice, so it was time to pick a title or two to help focus my attention of the swirling ocean of equations. Despite my current obsession with horror flicks, I felt that something else was required. Something long, too, as I didn’t want to have to get up frequently to pick a new DVD. Pirates of the Caribbean I and II. Perfect. 5 hours of piratey action. I love those films and they provided the perfect counterpart to the brain numbage of quantum mechanics and fluid dynamics. Read several pages, watch tv to allow the information to sink into the gray matter. Read more pages, watch a rousing swordfight, and so on and so forth…

During the second film, I noticed that the time had passed 5:00 and I could hear Captain Morgan calling. What is a pirate film without a little rum…I admit that I am totally a rum gal. I could drink no other potable alcohol and be content for life. I love the smell, the flavor, the history, the slight scoundrelness associated with rum. Ties in well with my Tiki fetish, too. Although I avoid the beach, I would be happy sitting in a thatch-covered hut on the beachfront, quaffing cool rum drinks and watching the world go by. So, a Captain and Coke (Zero), a pirate film and the afternoon was a joy. Much studying done, so the responsible side of me was pacified. Much fun had, so the frivolous side of me was satisfied. All sides happy. Few days work out as nicely…