While I was waiting at Ithaca airport for my first flight, a stewardess popped in and went, “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 ... oh, we’re missing 2 people.” A grand total of 9 passengers in a plane! Haha! The plane was so small and cramped that I had to stifle my laughter when I first poked my head in. There couldn’t have been more than 15 rows of 3 seats, with a teeny little aisle down the middle.
The stewardess was cute, large, and motherly, but very different from the chic SIA girls I’m used to. No in-flight entertainment. Mini packets of dry pretzels and little cups of soda. (The stewardess didn’t even use a cart; she would walk down the aisle, take a passenger’s order, walk back to the front to retrieve a packet of pretzels and a beverage, and repeat 9 times.) Vigorously vibrating seats. The most rollercoaster-like turbulence I’ve ever experienced - occasional shrieks coming from behind me during the more dramatic dips.
Exciting, really! What a way to spend my Christmas Eve.
I’m typing this squashed in a tiny seat beside a big (sleeping) man who has unwittingly slumped into my elbow space, from a million feet above ground, somewhere in the clouds (: I am strangely cheerful and coherent, although I am really tired from all the travelling around. Probably because it’s going to be CHRISTMAS in a few hours, and everyone should be happy on Christmas (:
Now they’re coming round with more mini pretzels: my third packet today, and I don’t even like pretzels (chocolate-coated ones are good though).
So. I took a million photographs over the past week or so in Ithaca (facebook friends may have noticed). Here are a couple (well, many) of them.
FOOD - Wentong and I cooked most of our meals except 1 or 2, in a bid to cut costs, because we’re spending a lot on travelling. And because cooking is fun. We were on severe variety constraints, though, and you can see in every photo the recurring ingredients. Before every meal: “What shall we eat today? Broccoli? Eggs? Ham? Pasta? All of the above?” And contemplating what we had in the fridge: “Broccoli, lettuce, or broccoli? All these choices, so hard to decide.”
Spaghetti and meatballs with broccoli and carrots
Chicken stew with broccoli, carrots, and peas
Toasted bagel with melted cheese and a tomato + ham + mushroom + basil omelette
Honey Dijon salad with ham, cheese, tomatoes, carrots, and lettuce
The heavenly cheesesteak I ordered in with a frightful amount of roast beef (this is just half of it)
Cooking our Favourite Vegetable
Mashed potatoes with Favourite Vegetable, carrots, and fake lobster meat! (Something like crabsticks)
Fried rice with FV, carrots, peas, mushrooms
We love sweetcorn, obviously.
(If this is what we buy for just 2 weeks, imagine what would happen when we settle down for real at VP next year)
Well, those were just a few of the more photogenic meals I had. The others, like stir fried chicken or random assortments of food, didn’t look half as pretty.
WHAT WE DID IN ITHACA - Well, photo-worthy moments included our excursion around Cornell & dancing in the snow, and our visit to Ithaca Farmer’s Market. Apart from that, I made a few more clay earrings (because they seemed so popular the first time: everything sold out in literally 2 days), panicked over my grades, headed down to Statler to talk to advisors about my internships and resume, et cetera.
Trudging back to Balch after spending the night in VP to heave my second suitcase over. It was just snowing gently, the sun was out, and I thought everything looked really pretty.
Chillin’ with Wentong in our PJs <3
Running outside during the snow storm in my shorts and birks!
Here we are by the front door, pretending that we aren’t cold.
Above-mentioned (snow-filled) birks.
“Popsicle toes are always froze ...”
Dancing-in-the-snow excursion
Pole-dancing
Peek-a-boo!
(We actually climbed down the slope above Cascadilla gorge, hence were desperately clinging to the trees because it was really slippery and slipping would mean a plunge into the gorge/onto the rocks)
Pretty icicles (:
I made a mini snowman!! It smiles (:
Slushy snow ):
Dancing in the snow :D
Jumping in boots = feel like elephant
Lake Beebe is frozen over!!
Dead leaves
Ithaca Farmer’s Market
Before that, we popped by the Commons because we missed our bus.
Ice sculptures everywhere!
Browsed around in funny hippie stores
(The beer mugs are awesome; I should have bought them)
At the market!
Roll-a-rutabaga competition:
Cute referees contemplating the rutabaga by their feet
Delicately herbed soaps
Handfuls of corn
To my delight, I spotted a pair of alcapas just behind the store that was selling alcapa-wool items
I really, really want a pet alcapa. Even more than I want a pet squirrel, and that’s a big thing. I’m in love.
We bought a pear tart, and got a free cookie! Delicious.
Purple flowers are the prettiest
Next stop: supermarket which doesn’t provide plastic bags. We had to filch these boxes off the shelves to cart our purchases back. I was in fits because it was hilarious and everyone on the bus was staring at our boxes (which contained the 9 cans of corn, a giant bag of potatoes, broccoli - surprise, surprise - etc).
How’s that for a long update? (:
Now I’m confused because we’re due to land at 10 pm, but I don’t know if it’s Ithaca 10 pm or Houston 10 pm. It doesn’t feel like we’re heading downwards in the next 2 minutes, so I guess it’s Houston 10 pm. Makes sense, actually.
I want to pee but I don’t want to wake up the 2 people next to me and climb over them. Guess I shan’t pee.
1 more hour :D
