Pulse Editor:
Jacquelyn Lewis
jacquelynlewis@dailyemerald.com
Tuesday, March 11,2003
Oregon Daily Emerald
away
On Thursday
Hole-y moley!
Read about the
2nd Annual Body
Modification
celebration!
Poignant
memories
deserve
scrapbook
I hosted a reunion of sorts several
weeks ago. I spent last summer going to
school in Italy, and a handful of my fel
low students got together at my house to
reminisce about the rich food, cheap
wine and wretched excess of hairy men
in Speedos. We filled my house with the
smells and sounds and sights of Italy —
minus the Speedos, thanks — evoking
overwhelming memories of my experi
ence. The food was mouthwatering and
the wine intoxicating, but the best part
of the night was the photographs.
Photos are a powerful visual reminder.
My memory tends to
be more early-’80s
Ronald Reagan than
elephant and seeing
my friends’ snap
shots brought back
memories of experi
ences that had all
but disappeared
from my thoughts. I
could smell the po
tent aroma of brew
ing espresso, taste
the addictive flavor
of hazelnut gelato and hear the sound of
foreign voices bouncing off ancient walls.
I was able to do this because my
friends, being more organized than I,
had filed away their photos in the neat
plastic sleeves of their photo albums.
My pictures were not so lucky. They
have sat for months in a pile in a card
board shoebox in my living room. Like
many of my projects, this one was am
bitious and unfinished.
I made a promise to myself during the
trip that dealing with my photographs
would be my first priority when I returned
home. There was plenty to work with. I’m
a pack rat. I kept every brochure, map and
train or museum ticket that touched my
hands. I’m also a notorious photo whore.
If I decide to take a picture of something,
it is never just one. It has to be two or five
or 10. Nearly a quarter of the weight in my
luggage was film and paper. Unfortunately,
the significance of it all is slowly seeping
from my brain.
I don’t mean to advocate prompt, anal
retentive organizational skills. Instead, I
would encourage that pictures and paper
scraps be dealt with before all memories of
their importance goes the way of Michael
Jackson’s dignity: away completely.
My experiences in Italy had life-chang
ing effects on me. I would be forever re
gretful if I were to forget it. My photo al
bums will help ensure that never happens.
At this point, I am at least partly on my
way to finishing my project. My photos are
in order and I have notes in my journal
that identify the scenes I can’t recall. My
sister gave me the supplies to get started:
a leather-bound photo album, gold photo
comers and matching gold pens.
My own intentions were less elabo
rate. The last scrap book I put together
was made from a children’s book, from
which I cut the pages and then refilled it
with cut-down paper grocery bags. It had
a charming, ratty effect, but my first Eu
Turn to Scrapbook, page 8
Nika
Carlson
D.I.Y. living
Spring break on the fly
a spontaneous spnng break
excursion can bring
unexpected excitement
when travelers are prepared
Helen Schumacher
Pulse Reporter
College students aren’t neces
sarily known for their advanced
planning, which means the deci
sion to get out of Eugene for
spring break may sometimes be a
last-minute one. While short no
tice does eliminate some travel
options, a spur of the moment
journey can be even more fun
than a thoroughly planned trip.
All of political science major
Katie Darnell’s spring break ex
cursions to date have been such.
“The last two spring breaks I
went on last-minute trips,” Dar
nell said. “Last year I took a
bus to Colorado to pick up a car
and then my friends and I
drove it through Utah and Cali
fornia and back into Oregon,
camping along the way. I knew
about a week beforehand that I
was going to go. My other plans
ended up not happening, so
I had to come up with some
thing else.”
Darnell said that being spon
taneous made her trips memo
rable and recommends other
travelers do the same.
“Keep your schedule open —
you’re not going to be able to do
everything you want,” Darnell
said. “Enjoy the unplanned
things, bring lots of music to lis
ten to and don’t make shower
ing a priority.”
Last year, senior Steve Sal
dana and his roommates rented
a car and took an impromptu
trip to the Los Angeles area.
Saldana said the biggest prob
Photo illustration Danielle Hickey
Time constraints force many students to make last -minute spring break plans, which can be both rewarding and stressful.
lem on his trip was learning
how to budget his money to be
able to pay for gas.
“Make sure you have enough
money to get there and back,”
Saldana recommended. “Also
make sure you get along with
the people you’re going with.”
Education major Martha
Mosqueda had similar advice.
She said the people she vaca
tioned with were what made the
trip fun and memorable.
“Freshman year, I took a last
minute trip over the Martin
Luther King Jr. weekend up to
Vancouver, B.C.,” Mosqueda
said. “Going with laid-back peo
ple, who weren’t uptight about
having everything planned, and
people that I knew I could get
along with really made things
fun and less stressful.”
Since impulsive trips don’t
usually involve making reserva
tions at a hotel ahead of time,
both Mosqueda and Darnell said
it is a good idea to bring camp
ing gear in case all rooms are
booked in the area.
“Bring camping equipment
because you don’t want to get
stuck and have to sleep in your
car,” Mosqueda said. “There’s
usually a campground you can
stay at if nothing else.”
A last-minute vacation does
n’t leave much time for the trav
eler to investigate the area be
forehand, a good resource can
be local residents.
“If you’re not familiar with
the area, it is hard to know
where the good bars and restau
rants are. On one trip, we ended
up talking to this woman at a
clothing store who recommend
ed this really cool bar,” Darnell
said. “I was glad we took the
time to talk to her.”
Turn to Break, page 8
Flight training reaches new heights
Local flight schools offer
training to those interested in
piloting for a career or hobby
Ryan Bornheimer
Senior Pulse Reporter
As spring break approaches,
many students may be preparing to
embark on a cross-country road
trip or wing off to tropical spots to
catch up on their tans. But while
anyone can wander onto the sands
of Palm Springs, how many stu
dents can say they landed their
own Cessna 152 right on the
beach? This time next year, maybe
you could.
This scenario may be a bit unre
alistic, but that doesn’t mean it’s
not possible. Some may be sur
prised to find that Eugene and the
surrounding area is an ideal spot for
adventurers seeking both small
and large-aircraft flight training.
Whether it’s an interest in aviation
as a career or just a hobby, there
are no shortage of schools ready to
get the uninitiated pilot airborne.
It may be wise for the novice to
think small — literally. For flight
training as recreation, Randy Vyff
may be the man to see. This inde
pendent instructor has been flying
ultralight planes for 23 years and
offers lessons for seven. He said
learning to fly can be an over
whelming experience, giving peo
ple a chance to see the diverse
Oregon landscape from a truly
unique perspective.
“It’s just incredible to fly over the
snow-capped mountains, then ven
ture over to the coast, and down
into the valleys,” Vyff said. “Most
students are so excited, they just
blubber on about the experience.”
He went on to state that ultra
light excursions epitomize the best
aspects of air travel.
“It’s just the cheapest, funnest
way to fly,” Vyff said.
Ultralight training may also be
more cost effective than other op
tions. Vyff said instruction can be
completed for between #600 and
#700 compared to the #5000 often
invested in training for larger air
craft. His lessons run #60 an hour,
including instruction, use of the ul
tralight plane and fuel.
Once the world of the ultralight
Courtesy
Training in an ultralight can be much cheaper than certification in a larger aircraft
is conquered, a visit to About Time
Aviation may be the next logical
step. This organization offers every
thing from instructions to flight
simulator sessions and aircraft
rentals. Students can complete
these sessions as well as a number
of other comprehensive courses in
acquisition of a private, commer
cial, instrument and airline trans
port pilot certificate.
About Time Aviation instructor
Paul Preziose said there’s no way to
convince someone to want to learn
how to fly.
“You really have to have the de
sire to try it,” Preziose said. “And
how far you go with it boils down to
how much initiative you have.”
About Time also offers a discov
ery flight session for people unsure
Turn to Flight page 7