Rambler

More Wedding Pics

2011-06-11T10:58:00.000-07:00

Wedding

2011-06-11T10:53:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a long time since my last post. I will try to write more, but here are some photos of our wedding!

New Orleans Adventure

2008-08-23T21:51:00.000-07:00

Tour de Fat

Before flying to New Orleans, I went to Tour de Fat with some friends, Emily and Ryan. This fun affair encourages bicycle riders to ride their bikes there (Tour de). Then they can enjoy music, food booths and Fat Tire beer (Fat). The attached picture is of a performer on stilts from the March 4^th band, the same band that played at Evergreen’s graduation.

I parked my car at Emily’s house and took a bus at 1:30 in the morning to the airport then waited for my 4 a.m. flight.

New Orleans:

The account of my trip is divided into sections – so you can scroll down and read any section you prefer, or all of them J. This account is from a combination of memory, notes on scraps of paper and photos.

Over view

New Orleans was a mixed bag. This won’t be a starry-eyed tale. Perhaps I’m getting older or something. Or maybe I wanted to explore outside the tourist areas to see more of the city. Sure, I purchased the perfunctory t-shirt, sticker, refrigerator magnet, postcards and shot glass. The French District was beautiful and where I could explores shops, restaurants and sit by the Mississippi for some quiet and a bit of a breeze.

India House

I stayed at a hostel called India house, a bohemian place with a mural of Buddha on the wall of the women’s room, where I stayed with 6 other women on bunk beds. Music usually played in the living room, sometimes too loud. The house cat, which looked skinny, walked around. The best thing though was the swimming pool – after walking around New Orleans in hot humid weather, a dip in the pool was heaven. The pool was also a good place to talk to other people staying there. One man from England was pretty funny but ended up getting blisters on this shoulder pretty bad and looked like a lobster.

Unfortunately, there was no air conditioning in the kitchen or dining room. Basically the air conditioned rooms were the living room and television room. A fan blew in the dorm, but mostly everyone either slept in their underwear or very light clothing. The bathroom floors were wet from the showers, with hair.

I liked the murals though and have attached pictures here so you can see them. Some show the tradition of Jazz and other music genres, which originated in New Orleans (N.O.)

I go into detail about this hostel because if you go to New Orleans I would recommend finding another hostel to stay at. If your ok with staying in a large college-like house with a refrigerator devoted only to beer, can tolerate noise and not-so-tidy bathrooms, then you might like India House. Also, you need to be heat/humidity tolerant, or else you might find yourself never eating in the dining room or using the kitchen, unless it is in winter.

Getting into downtown from India House was easy (the hostel was about 4 miles from downtown and the waterfront). A trolley system was right outside and took people to downtown and to other areas, such as the garden district with its mansions, and the warehouse/art district.

French District

2008-08-23T21:14:00.000-07:00

Music, Food, Shops, Mississippi Breeze

The first priority each morning was coffee. I tried to find local coffee shops because I can get Starbucks anywhere. I managed to find a few.

This is one of most popular place for a lot of people visiting New Orleans; I ate at some catfish, gumbo, jambalaya, Southern Pecan Pie (to die for), a shrimp po-boy sandwiches, and coffee and French donuts with as much powered sugar on them as the donuts themselves. I wanted to eat more local foods, since there is Cajun, Creole, and other foods. This is because the area was colonized by French, Spanish and then Europeans. The restaurant where I had the pecan pie, “Pierre Maspero’s” used to be an old slave trading quarter.

Other highlights: shops, art galleries, and French-style buildings with terraces. Supposedly, Bradjolie have a chateau there.

I spent a lot of time there because of its many shops, restaurants, music and galleries, plus the breeze from the Mississippi.
You could see people going on ghost tours, city tours, and people singing down the streets.

Probably my favorite experience there was a man on a bicycle who began singing the song “Lean on Me.” He then began singing it to a group of high school students and chaperones, who joined in. Then other people walking by started singing. “I’ll be your friend, I’ll help you carry on.” Soon about twenty or so people were singing the song. This was through the narrow bricked streets with the sun going down.

This gave me a taste of the culture of music in New Orleans, which I read about in the history museum. It is a big part of people’s lives there.

Hurricane Katrina Remnants

2008-08-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

A day in the Lower 9^th Ward

After four days and three nights walking around the main city area of New Orleans, I lucked out by meeting a woman who was going to help out with a non-profit organization in the lower 9^th Ward, one of the hardest hit areas of Katrina, which flooded much of N.O. You may have seen the footage on the news of a barge hitting a levy and pinning a school bus underneath it. The non-profit, Common Grounds (no affiliation to the Seattle Common Grounds), is located one block from this, where most of the homes were swept away off their foundations or else flooded and destroyed beyond salvage.

Julie, from the hostel, and I took a taxi to the Lower 9^th Ward and split the fair. The bus systems are still not running to many of the places they used to for lack of people who were displaced to other states or cities in Louisiana because of the hurricane. A bus did run there but we had no idea how far we would have to walk in the 90+ weather. I’ve never sweat as much as I did there; and this was only from walking around and talking to people in the few houses that have been built there.

Because I was helping out with the newsletter Common Grounds publishes, I was trying to find out if anyone had been fined yet under the city ordinance entitled ‘Sec 28-33 Duty to Mow Grass and Remove Debris.’

I was trying to find out if any of them had been fined for the city ordinance that fined property owners for not mowing their laws - $100 per day or something like that. Even if your house is gone or razed or boarded up, or a pile of wood, baby cribs, scattered household items, and you were re-located to Utah, you still get fined

Apparently, and this is all second

-hand information, so please don’t take this as the whole truth and nothing but the truth, the city wants to reposes land and is enacting crazy laws to do so. So people who suffered a major tragedy and who were sometimes split up within families and shipped to other states, and who may or may not have lost loved ones, were having insult added to injury.

Hurricane Katrina exposed the have and the have-nots. Remember the news where black people were called looters, even if they were trying to get water because they had none for days. But whites were described as just finding water to drink. There is a lot of detail I could go into, such as the delayed response of FEMA and Bush and the implicate racism involved, or the fact that the rescue of people in flooded areas was left to locals and Sean Penn, navigating boats and risking their lives to save people. But I will try to keep this account from becoming a book.

I could mention that the national response to the biggest national disaster the country has ever had came days after people’s homes were flooded and more than a thousand had died in their attics, from heat exhaustion or from drowning and other causes. But I don’t want to sound like the day I spent in the 9^th Ward effected me so much, like the woman mentioned below, who said to me she became an activist in August of 2005, the month Katrina pushed a surge of salt water up the Mississippi, depositing what seemed like

thousands of sea shells in this neighborhood. (see pictures)

These photos show: (writing one: the codes that the army corps of engineers or national guard put on the houses when they checked them -- they put the date, the district and how many people died there, if any. The red zero means no body died in this house.) (top and right photo: house foundations where the water took out the houses)

One woman I talked to, whose house Nancy Pelosi visited about a month ago, said she calls her neighbors in other states to help them mow their lawn, either by doing it herself or by hiring someone.

This is where this story gets a little interesting. Imagine a dozen or so young hippy-looking high energy idealists going around the ravaged neighborhood, using machetes to cut down weeds; now imagine broken down and smoke-emitting lawn movers utilized to save home owners from being fined the ludicrous amount the city could fine them for allowing their property to look unseemly, even though the place is deserted and property values are worth nil.

Without living in N.O.s there isn’t much I can do to help on a budget. But, I have volunteered to help copy edit Common Ground’s newsletter via email.

There wasn’t much I accomplished in a day for lack of contacts and adequate understanding of what was going on down there. Houses are being rebuilt though, thanks to Brad Pitt, who set up pink tents for each house to be rebuilt next door to Common Grounds. Remember that? Movie stars filling in where the federal government did not do much for the homeowners. The levies are being rebuilt, which is a whole nother story. I learned a lot from reading local newspapers, such as the hope of the reconstruction efforts, the contractors who are taking people’s money and running, and the hundreds of volunteers who care.

OK. That is enough about the politics. But aren’t most things political anyway?

The living quarters there reminded me of a certain staff cabin at Camp Don Bosco, which had a tilted toilet, nasty kitchen and staff coming in and out. In the lower 9^th ward, I stayed in one of the houses for volunteers in a room that smelled like a combination of vinegar and puke. There was some kind of experiment in large wine jugs that looked orange and murky and had condoms as lids. One room was the smoking room, a guy slept on one couch and kittens roamed around.

Progressive literature filled the bookcases and one bathroom almost made me puke. At least the other was ok.

The other option to sleep would have been in the main house and office building, with a bunch of bunk beds, but the volunteers were coming in and out and were planning on staying up and drinking.

Pretty much after that and the bohemian India House, I treated myself to a night in the French quarter in a nice hotel with a pool and clean room. I almost cried and almost took pictures to remember the feeling. But they had the brochure to keep so I didn’t take any.

Just in case any one from Common Grounds ever reads this: you are doing great work there for the community and I had a short, but informative stay.

Alligators and Southern Art

2008-08-23T19:00:00.000-07:00

Museums

I visited the Museum of Southern Art and a historical museum about New Orleans history. At the Southern Art museum, they had local artists, mostly those who came from other places and decided to stay. Unfortunately they didn’t allow cameras.

But in the historical museum I took some. I hope that was allowed.

They discussed the slave trade and the subjugation of Native Americans as well. Other things were displayed, such as the history of music, the civil war, a Hurricane Katrina photo series, a video narrated by Morgan Freeman, and the major founding rich families.

A photo of an old bench where they displayed humans to be auctioned as slaves. And, a photo that I thought went well with this one, although they were on different sides of the museum.

Alligator Tour
This was an exciting, beautiful and overpriced tourist trap. But, I had fun and got to touch an alligator, and that was pretty good considering I had never seen one in person. The tour guide was an interesting guy, who kept making beer references and got the alligators to stay around for the tourists by feeding the creatures marshmallows. Along the river and tributaries, I would say there were two adult alligators and some baby ones. Each time we stopped, the alligators got their allotment of sugar. I took one picture of a marshmallow on one’s head.

Also, the tour guide told us that much of the wildlife in the swamp, such as turtles, alligators, armadillos were killed during Hurricane Katrina. The swamp we toured was what he referred to as “ground zero” of the hurricane. But, he said that slowly the animals are repopulating.
Did you know that barely any of an alligators off spring live to adulthood? Birds and bullfrogs eat them as well as animals in the water. We heard one bullfrog – man those are loud.

The most interesting part for me, was when we went into a narrow channel into the swamp, where I took a lot of pictures of the Cypress, whose roots are bound in the water pretty tight. This is why barely any of them were affected by the hurricane.
Also, we saw this blue house up in part of the swamp where there aren’t any channels to get to it. The house used to be on another part of the river, but during Katrina, it was lifted off its foundations and pushed across the river into the foliage/swamp area. A guy named Bob used to live there.

Little tree stubs protruded near the trees, with a little foliage on them. These are called “knees”, which give oxygen to the tree roots, since the trees are submerged under water.

Walking around, stomping through rain puddles and weird police guy

2008-08-23T18:00:00.000-07:00

I lucked out, according to the locals, who said that it was cooler than usual. If that was cooler, I am glad I wasn’t there for normal. Sometimes I walked a few miles between places to see things. Mostly the humidity was different – something I had never experienced on that level. The heat on a few days was just about the hottest I would have wanted it to be. It’s interesting to be in a place where August is its slow period for tourists and travelers. But it makes sense now.

The pictures above I took while walking around New Orleans: A palm leaf, mardi gras beads on a tree and a tree with many knots and one that looked like a face, with a leaf as the mouth

On one day, we got the outer part of a storm that was headed for Texas. I was attempting to take a train to a grocery story 5 blocks away. The trolleys weren’t coming very often, so I pretty much got soaked in the downpour. At which point a police officer driving by stopped and asked if I was ok. ‘Yes, just waiting for the bus.” “Are you sure?” He asked. “I’m from Seattle,” I replied, “Where this is normal. He then offered to give me a ride to the grocery story, which creeped me out, especially, since he was just driving up and down about a four-block area, blaring his siren and not really doing anything.

I’m not sure if he was concerned about my safety or not because certain areas are considered not safe to be in and the India House was outside the main downtown. I didn’t go out after dark, but I was pretty much really tired from doing everything during the day anyway. (I didn’t get to go out to jazz clubs at night but instead listened to bands that played in the market place along the Mississippi.)

After waiting 20 minutes and realizing everything on me was dripping wet, I headed for a convenience story two blocks away; well, I ran actually. I had my Tivas on, so I ran and splashed in the puddles that had quickly formed on the tilted and cracked sidewalks. It was fun. And there was Vietnamese deli there! They really wanted me to try their Vietnamese menu, which I figured they didn’t have much luck doing. There were many Southern choices. So, I had chicken vermicelli, which was good. I bought convenience store priced groceries and headed quickly back to my Hostel since it was getting late. By that time, the down pour had ended and it was 80 and humid again.

Atlanta, Freaky woman on airplane, and sugar caffeine exhaustion-induced huge airport navigation anxiety attack

2008-08-23T17:26:00.000-07:00

The Atlanta airport is so large you have to take a subway train between terminals. Getting out of the airport was really difficult it gave me an anxiety attack. Granted I was exhausted and hyped up on sugar and caffeine. Luckily the airport and rail system personnel were very helpful, otherwise I might still be there crying over my bagel and cream cheese.

I flew back to Atlanta from New Orleans, which was a nice smooth flight. I sat next to a teacher, so our conversion was good – at first. Then she asked me if I went to church. I made the mistake of continuing the conversation. I will never make that mistake ever ever ever again – at least not while in flight.

Anyway, when I told her I didn’t, she asked me “have you ever considered what would happen if you didn’t make it off this flight.” She went from a nice pre-school teacher to a freaky Southern Baptist with the utterance of that fear-inducing question. Not about its underlying assumption that I actually believed in hell, but in the not making it off the flight thing. Sitting next to us was a guy who was flying for the first time.

This was probably what set off my anxiety that was further blown up trying to navigate the miles of the Atlanta airport.

Anyway, the only other time I have met a Southern Baptist (who told me they were one), was in Edmonds of all places, at my apartment there. The first thing she asked me when I opened my door was: “If you died today, do you think you would go to heaven or hell?” I just said “I think heaven and hell are states of mind with hell being the particularly difficult mind f**##@@,” which stopped them and made them look at me like I was an alien. I promptly shut the door.

Later, Wyatt (Jen’s husband) told me that that was one of their tactics – the shock one where they ask a freaky scary question then set in with the preaching hell fire and damnation stuff. I can see where if you already fear hell that you could pretty much be taken advantage of and freaking out even more than I did and I don’t even believe in hell. But of course I was mid-flight.

This is my limited exposure to Southern Baptists. I am sure there are many that are fine and I have met the few freaky ones.

Atlanta Hostel
I stayed one night in Atlanta at the Atlanta Hostel, which was nice and quiet and cleaner. In a veranda with couches, I fell asleep waiting for check in. The weather felt great compared to the humidity of New Orleans. The veranda and the couch (at the far end) where I napped for several hours.

The highlight of this stay was watching the opening to the Beijing Olympics, which was gorgeous and beautifully choreographed. It was fitting that I was watching an international event with internationals from different parts of the world: China, Australia, England, Austria, Germany, France and I am sure more. The woman from China gave us more information about the culture and philosophical symbolism I the opening.

Watching the opening with other Hostelers

I am going to order a DVD it to show my students when they learn of the three ancient major Chinese philosophies and various dynasties.

Columbus

2008-08-23T16:00:00.000-07:00

The last leg of my journey was visiting my friend Jen and her husband Wyatt, who was transferred to Fort Benning in January.

My stay with Jen was too short, but we did go out to breakfast at Ihops and walked around the historical downtown area with a lot of brick buildings. We also walked along the Chattahoochee River. That’s its real name. If you don’t believe me you can look it up online, which I had to to get the spelling right and to find out where it got its name. According to one website, “The name Chattahoochee is derived from the Creek words chatto, meaning stone and hoche, translated as flowered or marked. It is believed to have been named for an Indian town located near present day Heard County, Georgia.”

Also, there’s this you-tube video called Chatta Hoochee, which appears to be some kind of dance.

Sums It Up

Luckily on the way back to Atlanta I got a different bus driver, much mellower but at times veering a bit. I had a much easier time getting into the airport than out, and I had time waiting for my flight to look through the 150 pictures I had taken on my cell phone. I am excited now to do more traveling in the summers. Next summer to Italy and Greece, but this time with travel buds. I have joined an online site called TravelBuddies where you can get a lot of tips and advice as well as meet people to travel with.

Of course, if anyone can go with me next summer, that would be awesome!!!

Too Long

2008-07-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been so long since my last post -- two years -- so much has happened since then that I will try to summarize here:

1. I graduated from the MIT program from Evergreen one year ago after a long gruelling student teachings, master's paper, etc.
2. I just completed my first year of teaching -- yahhh! As first year goes, it was pretty smooth. I was exhausted at points, but near the end of the spring, I felt good about coming back.

I guess that's pretty much it. I am one month and one week into my summer vacation and only have one month left -- which is scary. However, I am now researching my vacation in New Orleans, somewhere I've always loved to go. I will be there one week, then fly to Atlanta to visit a friend, Jen and her husband Wyatt.

I also am accomplishing everything I had set out to do for my summer vacation. I am taking a watercolor class, which has got me started painting on my own time again. Also, I have been hiking a little and writing creatively a little. It has been good. Just got back from Sun Lakes Resort in Eastern Wash., where we went swimming a lot and cliff jumping. Attached is a photo of my brother, Chris, jumping off into deep lake.

What I've been doing to research New Orleans is looking up things to do for cheap. There are tours through certain places but I think that I can do that on my own. Also I am going to visit the Bayou and am trying to locate a local guide that can tell me a lot about things that other tours usually don't. I will see. Otherwise, I am going to do the $23 dollar one. I hope to get pictures of allegators, and other wildlife and capture the beauty of it. I hope to be able to update my blog daily from my youth hostel where I will be staying. Sometimes they have internet access.

I also hope to visit the famous cemetary, French district, plantation houses and of course Jazz clubs. I can't wait to eat the cajun food. I want to see if there are any places that are not known to most tourists.

I also just emailed a church group that is rebuilding many homes in the 9th Ward, which was devistated by Katrina three years ago. I am watching a documentary about this right now and am struck by the scope of devistation -- 100,000 homes destroyed and over 1 million displaced people who haven't been able to come back yet. Of course there was the almost criminal lack of response by both FEMA and Bush, who delayed while vacationing and dancing on stages.

I haven't researched Atlanta yet so I am going to do that.

I hope to volunteer for a day or two to give back to the community there.

Previous Travels

2008-07-21T12:24:00.000-07:00

Alaska, First trip, June 1996

June 18th: "Just got to Fairbanks today, graduated yesterday. What a whirlwind, I'm done with school ...so the flight was gorgeous. I took photographs of Mt. McKinley and some snow-capped islands. A breathtaking site. Hopefully I'll get a chance this summer to improve my photo skills. I got shown around Fairbanks today and told some "inside" stories. This town reminds me of Ellensburg actually. flat, dry, old looking. But its got this lazy character about it that I like. The houses here have character. Poetry painted all over them like they want to whisper to you as you walk by. In the winter temperatures can change more than 30-40 degrees in several minutes or hours and sometimes the houses creak...

June 18th: Today was pretty good. went on a riverboat ride in a huge sternwheeler, which was built in 1989 in Seattle. We went on an old (simulated) Athabaskan village on the Chena River - free food and drinks and a free can of salmon.

June 24th: I got sick several days ago with a cold-flu virus. I got up at about 3 pm, felt nauseous so I went to the bathroom. I felt really dizzy so I walked into the living room. Next thing I know, I am lying on the floor and my chin hurts, I'd fainted and hit my chin on the way down, breaking the coffee table. Went to the hospital and got three stitches, exactly where I did when I was 5 and fell off the counter that I had climbed up on to get crackers.

....The bus yard is dusty when the wind blows, wisps of dust fly through the air. The drivers lounge is called the shack, or 'love shack' because of its tin roof (B-52s song) --All the books are about Alaska and Fairbanks - the pipeline, Gold dredge, the gold rushes, and the Athabaskan people. On hot days the yard is dusty. When it rains, it's like walking across runny chocolate pudding.

Now that I am preparing my travels to New Orleans, multi-tasking on my slow free dial-up internet service, I am re-reading my travels and time in Alaska, 12 years ago. It is reminding of such good times up there. 24-hours sunshine in June - 80 degree weather. Then, late august snow. The journal goes from the usual tourist sites and experiences to more less-known places, once I got to know people who lived there, such as a reindeer scientist. It was a whole different world once you got off the beaten track.
..the mosquitoes bit like there’s no tomorrow, today was the first day it was kind of cool ... At the West mark hotels the biscuits are delicious -- these particular bugs are the worst -- they scare the hell out of me .. they look like flying reindeer, and they love to fly real close.

June 26th -- I gave my first city tour today -- I had a great group of people who went in my bus, so it went well. The morning tourists supposedly go smoother because most of the people are tired if they have morning river boat then city tour. $22 in tips, not bad. We saw two moose on Farmer's Loop Highway, right after pulling onto it from the dredge. I had just said they might see moose and they should yell out if they see any.

Some interesting questions from passengers: "Do you have a big termite problem in Fairbanks?" and "What month has the highest birthrate?"

July 5th: I'm here in Anchorage. They Bay, seagulls. We drove from Fairbanks today - 400 miles. Gorgeous mountains coming into Anchorage - so tall, they tower the surrounding black spruce. The company is putting us up at the West mark Hotel. I went for a walk downtown, cute shops. I worked 70 hours in the last 7 days. Yesterday on a city tour, the tourists passed around an envelope and gave me $73 in tips.

July 7th --Finally I have a day off tomorrow and think I will go take pictures of the museum.

July 8th --- I'm here at the University of Alaska Fairbanks museum. The sculptures here are very linear. The wood center has this black copper roof and red jutting structure outside. The walls have yellow .. the valley reaches out from here, with open expanses. 85 degrees.

'I drive this massive coach,
thick diesel clouds
spitting out as I accelerate'

July 11th -- 10 pm, Just got back from pm rail. Too many people got on my coach, so I had to ask about 7 to get off. This old fart said to me, as he got out, "What, can't girls count anymore?" I just wanted to trip him as he came out. That's the part of the job I dislike the most. The sexists comments -- they're plain rude sometimes.

I'm inspired to poetry here.

'Once, at the gold dredge, the sun-filled cerulean blue dome was invaded by dark cottonwood clouds; bladders full, they let loose thunderous ice balls on the tin roof, drowning out conversation. Then, sun again.'

Now, in late July it feels like Fall.

Fireweed: Blooming at the bottom first, fall is upon us when it blooms at the top -- called fireweed because it's the first flower to grow after a fire.

August 16th: I'm in Tok now, eating at the Westmark Hotel. On the Alaskan Express. I love this drive. Talked with a woman from Australia the whole way down. She was interesting and said she was in China during the cultural revolution"

(During the summer, I met locals who had such interesting jobs: woman who was a caribou scientist at the university; through her, I, and the two good friends I met bus driving, Christy and Stephanie, met other locals who knew fun places to go.

August 19th -- I saw the Northern lights for the first time at 1:15 am. The sight was absolutely amazing, like a brilliant screen saver, all over the sky. Even people who have lived there for years said they were the best that summer. "

Nicki in the Snow

2006-11-28T15:31:00.000-08:00

I love snow and apparently so does Nicki. She keeps wanting to go outside. I saw her sitting in our backyard in the snow looking over her domain.

Here is a pic, through the screen door with her in the snow.

Roomies

2006-11-23T15:50:00.000-08:00

Since moving into a new house with friends from the MIT program, I am enjoying living here. We have a hot tub and a nice house. Wednesday we are having a pumpkin pie/hot tub party/house-warming party. Nicki also loves having a house to stay in. Here are some pics of the roomies, Emily and Kristen. Emily is the one on the left attacking another MITer at our end of year party. Kristen is the one with some blue in her hair. They are good friends and great roommates.

We have a small leak in our garage but that is getting taken care of (luckily). We had the many wasp/bees nests removed finally. But other than that we live close to a park with hiking trails and very close to downtown.

Portland Friends

2006-11-15T15:59:00.000-08:00

Emily and I went down to Portland in the Spring to visit friends. She has friends from going to college at lewis and Clark; I got to visit with my longtime friends, Heather and Franky. Here is a pic of Heather and her husband Sean at the Asian gardens and a pic of Franky with his friends Perry and Scott.

We had some great coffee and good French breakfast and lunch. Of course stopped off at Powells.

Hope to go back over Winter break!

Break

2006-11-13T15:08:00.000-08:00

With time to breath, I have more time to update my blog. I just finished my first student teaching and had a great time -- It was very busy at times but I learned a lot.

Only two more quarters to go; how the time flys. One more quarter on campus then another student teaching. I am going to try my hardest to have a teaching position in the fall so I don't have to end up substituting, which I know would drive me batty.

My cell phone is giving me a hard time with sending pics, so I don't have pics yet from my vacation in Whistler with Jason. We had a great time mountain biking. They have incredible food up there and a lot of restaurants to choose from.

This break so far has consisteded of sleeping, watching movies and t.v, reading several books for enjoyment and reconnecting with family and friends.

I drove for 5-6 hours on Thanksgiving. This was driving to my dad's in Port Townsend. Had a good dinner with most of the family, then drove to Poulsbo to visit several friends, then to Kingston where I discovered I had left my wallet at my dad's. So, then to Port Towsend, then back again to Olympia. Since my radio doesn' t work, I called Kristen in Chelan and actually got through to wish her and mom, etc. a happy Thanksgiving.

Pretty soon -- I need to begin revising my master's paper so I can have several more weeks of break in December!

More pics of Nicki

2006-09-04T19:13:00.000-07:00

Nicki-Tie

2006-09-04T19:01:00.000-07:00

I adopted Nicki-Tie (Nicki for short) in May (?) when she was about 6 months old and very skinny. Nicki was a stray and very cute so I had to have her :)

She's very playful and loves cuddling with me and roommates -- she grew a whole pound in the first month after I adopted her --- and is still growing.

The first pic is when I first brought her home from the clinic after being nutered. She was still drugged. The next pic is of her a few weeks ago -- the same shoe is in both pics to show how she has grown.

Master's Student Summer

2006-09-04T18:13:00.000-07:00

This summer was very busy --- I worked full time, took 8 credits plus wrote my master's paper. Looking back, I don't know how I did it all. At times I was very stressed, too stressed. I think that I just need to make sure I don't schedule that much at once.

And, there were times that were trying -- I almost didn't get full credit in my grammar class because the teacher was not satisfied with my work - admittendly that was my lowest priority class and I let it slide. So, clearly I could not totally do all the things I took on.

And, I had to write two more annotations for my master's paper after it was due and my teacher made it clear it wasn't "okay" that I had not turned in those annotations.

But, it also feel kind of good that I wasn't perfect in my coursework and i survived, especially survived teacher criticism. So that was good -- yes, this is a personal blog entry.

Since I am a perfectionist, taking on too much really stresses me because I can't overachieve in everything I take on. I actually had to lower my standards to normal and below normal at times.

Overall though it was just a little too much of a work load. I felt like a master student slave at times. My first draft for my master's paper was about 140 pages. I waded through 200 pages of annotations and edited them down -- it took forever!

Since my roommates are also in the same program, the stress level was pretty high in our house during the last week before our paper was due.

To top it off, the morning my master paper was due, I was braindead and walking out my front door with my 'manuscript' in my hand and found my cat on my roof --- she had spent the night up there and came bounding down the roof looking about as half crazed as i was feeling; when I tried to get her down she just thought I was playing and started nibbling at my hand, then began to play soccor with the old bees hive she had had in her mouth as she came down the side of the roof. I had to get a chair to get her down.

So, that was pretty much my summer -- a lot of hard work.

I did manage to get a vacation in this weekend, which was a lot of fun and I feel more refreshed to begin my student teaching, which begins tomorrow. Jason and I went up to Whistler and mountain biked on some really fun trails -- that was so much fun. We also ate some great food and napped in the afternoons. Some of his friends went in on a townhouse for the weekend up there -- had no idea how big the resort is there.

Will post pics up from Whistler as soon as my cellphone cooperates with me so I can send them to my email --

Winning Ticket

2006-01-02T22:33:00.000-08:00

I won the raffle at the Olympia Film Society while out to a movie with my friend Sue. We were watching a movie that I can't remember the name to (kind of bad with names) but it was a little depressing of a movie.

Any hooo ---- I finally won the raffle, which they hold before each showing (granted there were only five of us in the audience) but whose counting? It was good for a discount ($2.50) at a local used book store.

I redeemed the ticket a few days ago and got a book by Dan Brown, "Deception Point" -- I didn't even know he had another book. I'm almost done with it. It is a bit slower than his other three but picks up after you get through all the technical stuff.

Can't wait for his next book - whatever it will be.

Victory

2005-12-05T15:00:00.000-08:00

Certain words, when uttered by a person, mean what the word is intended to mean. But, those same words, when said by a different person, lose meaning and can instead become ironic.

Such is the case of Bush's latest euphemism for the quagmire in Iraq, "Victory."

Let's examine the situation that is Iraq before coming back to the meaning of the word "Victory."

First, the U.S, led by Bush and his cronies, invaded a sovereign nation, bombing the hell out of cities, killing people.

Second, the reason that we entered - supposed weapons of mass destruction, were never found.

Therefore, we entered for a lie. We entered this sovereign nation for no reason other than the feelings of fear and revenge for something that had nothing to do with Iraq. I am talking about 9-11. Iraq had nothing to do with 9-11, despite the President's attempt to blur the distinction between 9-11 and Iraq in order to cover up the lie of weapons of mass destruction. So far we have two lies.

Third, after capturing the leader of this sovereign nation, we attempt to fix the mess which dismantling the central government of a nation does.

I am talking about civil war and insurgancies. Iraq, consisting of competing factions of people is now in a state of unrest, which is really an understatement. We are attempting to apply a form of democracy which has yet to be proven effective in a country that is completely different than us - history, culture, religion are all different.

So, we will be pouring billions of dollars into Iraq, according to Bush to get their police force able to fight insurgencies. Now --- it is very important that it is clear that we caused these insurgencies by invading and disrupting the central government. We caused this mess. Peiople are dying everyday over there -- Iraqi citizens.

Now, let's go back to the word "victory" uttered by Bush. We will be spending billions of - tax payers'- dollars (your buck) in Iraq in order to claim "victory". No weapons of mass destruction. No connection to 9-11. Civil unrest. Insurgencies. Countless people dying everyday in Iraq.

So, the word victory is just not appropriate, unless you intend the word to be ironic. Because "victory" is very ironic, uttered by our President, to justify our mess in Iraq. Victory over what?

The answer is nothing. There is not victory but a big fat mess.

I pass, each Monday under an overpass on I-5 right outside Fort Lewis. Yellow ribbons line the overpass, tied there by what I assume to be loved ones of those who have died in Iraq. I wondered today, as I passed underneath - how many more overpasses would be filled with yellow ribbons if we tied a yellow ribbon for each and every Iraqi citizen who has been killed since we invaded their country. How far would I have to drive before the ribbons would not be there anymore -- Chehalis, Portland? Eugene? Further, shorter?

I also get angry when I pass under this overpass on my way back from tutoring in a high school with a 30 percent dropout rate. That's 30 percent. These kids are begging for an education that works -- something isn't working if there is that many students dropping out.

I wonder -- if we took those billions of dollars, of our money, and applied them to the purpose of having every child in this school graduate. Every child in the U.S. But we can't - because we apparently have to clean up our mess.

Too bad.

But, then again, perhaps the kids who drop out can be recruited more effectively by the military recruitment office they have right in the school. Did Bush's children have recruitment offices right in his kids' school?

Probably not.

7 habits of the Highly Ineffective Person

2005-12-03T14:27:00.000-08:00

1. You're lazy and don't care. ---Example: Get up at noon. Make pancakes and coffee. Put a DVD on and get back in bed to watch it. When that movie is done, put in your other movie, which you've already watched 12 times.

2. You're forgetful: Know it is your brother's birthday coming up soon, although you are kind of vague on the exact date. Forget to get him a present. At his birthday party, apologize and tell him you will mail him his present very soon. Forget about it until about a month later. Write yourself a note that you need to get him a present. Lose that note in your highly disorganized desk area. Remember several months later at your other brother's birthday. Get both of them a present so that you don't forget brother No. 2's birthday present.

3. You're a procrastinator: Get to work a half-hour late. Apologize to boss. Take 15 minutes to make a new pot of coffee. Turn on your computer. Take a half hour to talk to your co-worker who stops by, telling her about your weekend and how much fun it was. Take all your pencils and sharpen each one. Surf the internet all the while glancing over your shoulder to make sure your boss isn't watching. No it's lunch time so you go to lunch. After lunch, it's the weekly birthday party/wedding shower birthday celebration. Take an hour to eat cake and socialize.

4. You hate schedules: Decide to not have a calendar or appointment book this year because it takes too much effort to maintain.

5. You lock yourself out of your car and home at least once a month: Lock your keys out of your car just as you get to school. Call a locksmith and wait by your car for an hour until he gets there. As you get your backpack and keys out of your car, realize class is out. Get back in your car and drive home.

6. You love piles: Keep reshuffling your piles of papers and books in your room. Straighten the piles, one for bills, one for your to-dos and one for old bills. When they accidently fall over and mix, reshuffle them around. Intend to file them away but decide you can do that tomorrow.

7. You don't have a 7th habit yet. But you are sure to form another.

Oh Me Oh My-O Gillian Welch

2005-10-16T21:44:00.000-07:00

In a blue dress with flowers in sequins and black cowgirl boots, Gillian Welch had hippies dancing in the aisles in Olympia last night. She has such strong facial features and so natural – and her accompanying guitar player dude had his hair standing up in tuffs and pants a little up from his ankles. He rocked back and forth and plucked his little guitar like mad.

This was the last night on their tour and they still came out for two encores. I saw two fellow-MIT graduate students and sat next to one, plus all my roommates. My good friends Sue and Tim were in the front row.

It was awesome. It will definitely go up there on one of my favorite Olympia experiences.

“Peaches in the summer time, apples in the Fall ...”

Bumper Stickers around Olympia

2005-10-11T06:56:00.000-07:00

One of the things I love the most are the bumper stickers on peoples’ cars in Olympia.

Here are some of the bumper stickers I’ve seen in the last week or so:

Draft Republicans

Peace is Patriotic

An Eye for An Eye Leaves the Whole World Blind

Goddess Bless

The wonders of fingernail polish remover

2005-10-11T06:55:00.000-07:00

My car has gotten a new makeover. I’ve been walking through junkyards, looking for CRXs, stumbling through mud puddles.

And it’s amazing what fingernail polish remover can do for a car previously held together with duck tape. I removed all the duck tape residue with fingernail polish.

This was of course, after replacing the back light panel that’s been smashed since November. I got an excellent deal for that one. Granted, I had to drive all the way down to Chehalis.

Then, I bolted my front light back in, since it was hanging off and taped up with duck tape after the latest car hit me.

And the fingernail polish remover worked wonders. There I was, rubbing off the tape sticky stuff with polish on a Q-tip.

Then, to my amazement, it removed the bad spray paint job on the back bumper. I had attempted to cover up the yellow paint from the taxi cab a month ago. Grey paint dried in drip lines, and did not match the original bumper.

So, finger nail polish removes some serious stuff. Now, that is a scary thought – that we women use that on our nails.

Oh! I can’t leave out: I bought a new “wing” for the back of my car and a new “H” emblem that was missing. These I found at a great junk yard in Lacey. I also glued back in the window lining that was, yes you guessed it – held up with duck tape.

So now it looks sporty and just like when I bought it five years ago. Well, almost.

Now I just have to go buy some more finger nail polish remover.

A day in the life of an MIT student

2005-10-11T06:53:00.000-07:00

So, you might have been wondering: what is Heather doing with her days, besides working hard to meet program deadlines?

Well, here is one day last week:

Everyone in the program (47 students) received a secret card with a secret name of a theorist on it. We were instructed not to tell anyone who we were. We researched our theorist.

Then, we had a “Theorist Party” where we dressed up in our theorist garb if we wanted to. We were supposed to talk about our theories and try to form allies and groups of theorist with ideas similar to ours.

My theorist was Maxine Greene, an 87-year-old university teacher in New York. I found this great photo of her on the internet so came in a hat, scarf and a cigarette that I had borrowed from my roommate, as she was sitting back in a chair in the photo with a cigarette in her hand. Maxine Greene believes imagination and the arts should be integrated into education.

Everyone had a twin – we had to find our twin – someone with the same theorist if we could.

I had a lot of fun. We then tried to come up with a School of Thought that we thought our group of theorist belonged to.

We are now in week three of our first quarter. It is a lot of work but I am really enjoying myself as our workshops are fun and intriguing and we have a seminar once a week where we discuss what we are learning. I like my seminar leader, a liberal arts teacher at Evergreen.

The first week we were at a retreat center where I went kayaking during lunch.

I’ve also met some great people in the program and have formed a study group with four other women to divide up our work when we can.

Friday night I attended the arts walk in downtown Olympia with some new friends from the program – dancing and hanging out.

So, keep tuned to more updates from Olympia.

Endangered: Critical Thinking

2005-09-14T11:02:00.000-07:00

When President Bush makes this statement: "We are safer here because of the war in Iraq" and the American public does not ask the question that begs to be asked: "How?", has critical thinking disappeared?

Endangered is the type of questioning and thinking that saves a democracy from despots and the actions of despots.

Another example: I worked for two years in a middle school. I helped read and grade English papers for the Language Arts teachers. One particular student wrote that we revenged 9-11 by getting Saddam Hussein out of power and by winning in Iraq.

This is an example of how many Americans, including adults believe that Iraq had something to do with 9-11.

So embroiled were we in getting revenge for this tragic event that we allowed our leaders and ourselves to blend in our mind Iraq and 9-11. We needed a scapegoat - a bad guy. We are raised on movies where the good guy wins over the bad guy -- a movie mentality.

Let it be said: Iraq had nothing -- and I mean nothing when I say nothing - to do with Iraq.

Critical thinking is Missing in Action. Gone. We started this war on a falsehood and we continue with rationalizations of falsehood.

A democratic society must have critical thinking -- questioning of its actions so that our society will not take actions that are undemocratic -- both here and abroad. This oversight to the abuse of power begins with a population that questions, reviews and thinks in depth about its nations actions.

When senetors questioned Roberts about his stance on issues that he would one day be deciding on at the Supreme Court, people cried out: leave the poor man alone.

Heaven forbid the American people ask questions of a judge on court case decisions of a man who will be deciding such issues, which will directly affect Americans.

Asking critical questions is exactly what we should be doing of each and every potential supreme court judge, regardless of whether their politics are conservative or liberal.

Critical thinking is endangered in our society because we don't use it enough. We are an audience of consumers instead of a populace based on discussion and debate.

We need avenues to excercise this process: beginning in the public schools and continuing with more town meetings. Let's build meeting places that are made specifically for open debate - drop in centers where people gather and discuss the most pressing issues of the time - for people of all political spectrums so that we may learn from each other and not remain isolated from free conversation. Not shouting at each other on talk shows but rather respectful debate -- something we have little practice with.

I just think our country opens itself up to being ruled by those that will take away ours and other countries freedoms without fostering this type of discussion.

Fresh Air, Deer in the Backyard and Tides

2005-09-14T10:59:00.000-07:00

There is so much fresh air here in Olympia – I am surrounded by trees that I keep smelling all the time. The bay smell of a low tide drifts up into my backyard. And the fragrant smell of flowers and bushes and trees also is present.

This morning, three deer walked through my backyard. A mother and two babies. The mother walked up the stone steps that opened up right below the kitchen window. She was followed by her babies that walked so close to me that I could see the patterns of their fur and where little tufts of fur stuck up out of the rest, like the hair of a child just woken up. Plus there were lighter patches of fur to their coat.

Living so close to the water, I see the tides come in and out and it reminds me of living according to the tides at Camp Gallagher. Every morning, we would look to see where the tides were and this would dictate whether we played on the low tide beach or whether it would be easy to walk the sailboats out because the tide was in. The tides would dictate where we would go on overnights and we would have to time our departure and arrival according to which way the tide was flowing.

It is a lesson in humbleness - to have a part of nature you cannot control and that you are dependent on.

So now, I can look out to see whether the tides are low or high and miss being at camp and taking off in sailboats or kayak or canoe and letting the swift tide carry you to your destination – or struggle with everything you have against the tide to your camping spot before you are carried away from it.

The Popping of Medrona Leaves

2005-09-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

I crouched below a Madrona tree to try to find the source of a popping sound. I crunched the fallen leaves of the Madrona as I squatted. Sure enough, as I watched and listened it became apparent that the drying leaves of the Madrona, now receiving the sunlight’s heat, were popping as they dried.

It was one of those connections to nature moments when it’s just you and nature – and no one else to witness the beauty that you’re seeing or hearing or smelling.

I was in the middle of a blackberry picking adventure. My intent was to pick enough to make a pie with. I began along East Bay Drive, where there is a long stretch of blackberry bushes.

But, the pickings were scarce and so I entertained myself by crouching for several moments to listen to the popping of Madrona leaves, a moment in time that was somehow, in its simplicity, a joy to experience.

And, perhaps the uniqueness of it also added to the simple joy. It was like I was overhearing something that was mine alone to witness, as if no one else has heard the popping of Madrona leaves. It wasn’t cracking – but popping – as if there were tiny kernels of popcorn inside exploding.

At first, I wished there was someone with me to hear it too. But then, as I walked away, I decided it was a moment that maybe is one of those moments where you are glad to experience all to yourself– a private moment in time – you and nature -- that will be your secret to carry. Ever have one of those?

(Plus, I never told anyone that ate the pie later that I was too tempted by the bigger blackberries across the street – the ones that were on a few private properties, that I trespassed to pick them. The biggest berries came from this one apartment complex property – and perhaps that of a house ---Are blackberries that extend onto a public sidewalk okay to pick? Or, do they officially belong to the owner of the house? It’s like when your neighbor’s plum tree extends onto your property – aren’t the plums okay to pick for yourself? )

Encounter With the Olympia Bicycle Terrorist

2005-09-04T18:06:00.000-07:00

As I was coming home from jogging down East Bay Drive, I was walking up the steep San Francisco Street. I was taking it in stride.

I began to hear this swearing – “Fu@! the locals!” “Fu*! the Iraq War!” “Fu%@ the police!”

‘What the heck?” I thought to myself. I looked back and a man with a bicycle strapped to his back was walking through someone’s yard onto San Fran Street.

He kept saying Fu&! with various things after each Fu$!”

I began to walk a lot faster.

Later when I was telling one of my roommates about this strange encounter, he informed me I had seen Olympia’s Bicycle Terrorist.

The bicycle terrorist is known for harassing locals by riding very quickly toward them and swerving out of the way at the last minute. He also will ride straight out in front of cars and make them slam on their brakes.

He will swear at people while riding along.

So, this man who carries his bike on his back, lives in my neighborhood with his mother, apparently.

I will try not to run into him again--- or rather, try not to

Roommates and Politics

2005-09-04T18:05:00.000-07:00

I have gotten in more political discussions in the first week at my new house than I probably have in a whole year.

It is exciting. We’ve discussed the Iraq War, Bush, Venezuela and Pat Robinson, and more.

Let me give a quick profile of each of my roommates:

1. Tyson – in his second year in the Masters in Teaching program, he has just begun student teaching; he has already raised the eyebrow of his mentor teacher in Tacoma where he teaches (near Fort Lewis) by telling his students he will tell them how they can get off the militaries’ recruit list.

He makes sushi for his lunches, swears a lot, loves movies like me, and is a very friendly and great person. You always know he is home by either hearing him or his stereo in the basement, where he resides.

2. Jessica --- This quiet yet kind soul works as a tobacco prevention advocate, grows herbs and makes lotions from them, loves to spend her evenings in the garden, has various fruits on trays and in sacks in the freezer, and likes to sew.

3. John --- this is Jessica’s partner and owner of the house. He also likes to garden, likes organic foods like the rest of my roommates, is on the board at the co-op and is sensitive to smells. He has already confiscated a bar of soap I put in the kitchen. I say this with humor of course because I really wasn't offended. He is a former yoga instructor and loves pizza. He is very nice as well.

So this is a quick profile of each of my roommates. They are all fun and I think it will work out living here.

San Francisco Street Bakery and I

2005-09-04T18:04:00.000-07:00

I have already made two trips to the bakery up the street: a quaint earthy bakery in the middle of a residential area.

The first time I had their walnut sticky buns and coffee.

The second time, acting on the tip of my roommate Tyson, I went there after 6 p.m. and bought two loafs of bread for the price of one.

One loaf was olive bread and the other sour dough. The olive bread tasted great with some eggplant dip that I had made.

I will eat their berry bear claws. I will eat their chocolate pecan cookies. I will eat their bread. I will eat their danishes.

So, I love the bakery and the bakery will love me, as I become one of their regulars. I will give them some great business and they will give me a little taste of heaven, just up the street.

Popcorn at the Olympia Film Society

2005-09-04T18:02:00.000-07:00

I have died and gone to heaven. Olympia has a great film society that plays foreign films, short films and other non-box office films.

I’ve already gone to one of their films, “The Edukators,” at which I was introduced to their unique way of eating popcorn.

I asked for a large popcorn and the woman behind the counter filled the bag halfway, then asked me if I wanted it halfway so that I could put spices on it.

I had a totally blank look on my face. She patiently explained, as she put out a tray of various bottles, that they did not have butter. I thought to myself, ‘oh, great, what have I gotten myself into with no butter.’

She explained that in one bottle was tamari, and that there was garlic salt and various other spices in the other bottles.

I reluctantly sprayed tamari (a non-wheat version of soy sauce) and sprinkled some garlic on. She then filled my bag to the top with more popcorn and I repeated the process.

I thought to myself ‘well, at least I have soda so that I can wash it down if it tastes terrible. Man, no butter.”

But, as I sat down to watch “The Edukators,” a German movie in which these radical early 20s men break into rich peoples’ houses and rearrange the furniture, then leave a not saying ‘you have too much money’, I began to eat my popcorn and was pleasantly surprised. It tasted great!

Now, I am going to put soy sauce in a spray bottle for the popcorn I air pop a

Olympia by Bicycle

2005-09-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

After unpacking and doing some co-op shopping for organic popcorn, I set out on my bicycle Saturday morning to find out how long it would take me to bicycle to campus.

I had no idea how many miles it would be.

To my surprise my bike worked; all I had to do was inflate the tires. I set out in my colorful bicycle jersey. I went down San Francisco Street and through town, up the West side hill and all the way to campus. It was quite the ride --- and it took me 45 minutes to get to campus.

So, I probably won’t bike too much to campus but maybe once a week, weather permitting.

On my way back I stopped by the Asian Deli and got some tofu and vegetables for a pretty good price.

The view of Mt. Rainier was incredible riding down the West side hill into downtown. The mountain is bigger here – or rather, we are closer to it.

I also stopped by Olympia’s farmers market. The waterfront was crowded with art booths, as it was Harbor Days. The large Lady Washington was moored at a dock.

I bought some apples and a cookie and headed home.

I was reminded of when I was an undergraduate and my bicycle was the only form of transportation I owned.

I will try to ride more and save on gas.

The Olympia Film Society: less than 2 miles
The San Francisco Street Bakery: four blocks away
The Downtown: approximately one mile away
My friend’s Sue and Tim: about one mile away

Yoga Weekend Incredible

2005-08-30T11:41:00.000-07:00

There were 8 of us, on mats, with a full view of the water on Lopez Island. A friend of a friend's house had bay view windows in the living room, that had a large hardwood floor available to use. The setting was idealistic. (Thanks Sharon!)

My friend Megan needed student hours for her certification as a yoga instructor, so we enjoyed this weekend for free. What luck? Megan's friend, Meg, also is seeking her certification and so we had three full sessions over two days.

Also memorable for the weekend was the food: a friend of friend Alexis, Kate, cooked some great food for us: for dinner on Saturday we had grilled salmon and chicken with mango lime sauce. We enjoyed a nice salad that Meg made, along with some local bakery bread and Lopez Island winery wine. We ate at a long table, with a nice cool breeze coming in from the water. We discussed politics, children and just what great food we were eating.

We walked into town on Saturday, through a large hay field, past a large barn and into the town's Saturday market. I loved their community garden, tasting rubarb raspberry jam and buying lemonade from some local children.

For breakfast on Sunday we enjoyed a fratata (not sure if I am spelling it right) along with fruit. I enjoyed just sitting back and letting others do the cooking. Although I love to cook, for some reason I just felt like veging.

In addition, Alexis, a massage therapist, gave everyone massages. It’s great to have all these connections.

I learned some great new yoga moves and spent time with some great women (it was a womens' weekend) I also met two great women: Meg and Kate, who really contributed well to the group, even though they were meeting the rest of us for the first time.

On the ferry ride back on Sunday I felt very relaxed -- it is amazing how much built up stress you can eliminate from your body through yoga. We’re hoping to make this an annual event.

Cursed Car

2005-08-29T11:56:00.000-07:00

It's official: my car is definately cursed. On this blog, I had written a piece on how I wanted someone to hit my car again so I could collect another settlement check. (My car's been hit twice already and I was able to get more than $3,000 for repairs. Once by a taxi cab while my car was parked on the side of the road and another time only months after buying it.)

However, that saying "Be careful what you wish for," has finally taken on some meaning for me.

On Sunday night, while exiting a parking garage at Alderwood Mall, where I was watching a movie with my brother Bob, a woman backed into my car.

I couldn't believe it -- I was stopped, behind her waiting for her to go. She moved forward, then started to back up, apparently changing her mind.

So I'm off today to get an estimate. I just finally moved down to Olympia and my first full day here will be spent getting an estimate.

Luckily there was little damage to the car. It's getting to the point where I am not sure what is new damage or old -- so I am not going to pursue a big settlement check this time because I honestly only know that the light needs replacing, but there is only scuff marks on the body.

So, instead of "Please someone hit my car", it is now "Please don't hit my car!"

It's beginning to be a hassle.

We are Coffee

2005-08-25T21:46:00.000-07:00

As I was standing in line at Starbuck’s the other day, I read the description of one of their drip coffees: robust yet complex. It dawned on me how much coffee descriptions (taken to a level once only wine enjoyed) sounded like descriptions of people.

So, after jotting down some more descriptions off the Starbuck’s website, I thought I would write the first kind of person that popped into my head with each description:

Robust yet complex: a football player who reads Nietzsche
Light and Lively: meth addict
Medium body and clean finish: a hotty who just shaved
Elegant with great balance: a trapeze artist
Full bodied and sparkling aftertaste: a weight challenged woman in a sequin dress.

So, who can add to this list?

Art by Rambler

2005-08-14T22:21:00.000-07:00

http://sketchthis.blogspot.com for Heather's sketches

Candle Vigil Peaceful

2005-08-14T21:36:00.000-07:00

Had Great Eats

Last Night I attended one of the thousands of candle vigils in support of Cindy Sheehan, the mom who lost a son in Iraq and who is camped outside Bush's retreat ranch. About 20 attended.
A few observations:

1. there was a Mountain radio show host there interviewing the host - I met him and it felt cool even though I never listen to that station. One day I can say I met him. I listened to his report this morning and it was cool.

2. It was on a street corner in a quiet suburban neighborhood - a total of two cars drove by and a few people walked their dogs.

3. The positive energy was great nonetheless and after about 20 minutes, we walked down the street and into the host's house for some great snacks.

4. My favorite snacks were: 1. a delicious chocolate chip cookie and one of those french stick things with chocolate and crispy cookie.

5. My mom ate cheese and meat and some cookies.

6. Later that night my hands swelled from an allergic reaction to what I can only guess was some almond in the French cookie.

7. On the way out of the host's house, the host discussed her poster "Elect a Madman and you get madness" with a picture of Bush. I told her my favorite saying: "Prevent Mad Cowboy Disease" which I saw at the democratic caucesses in November.

8. The moon was so full and very beautiful on the way home

Cindy Sheehan Breaks Through Apathy

2005-08-12T19:47:00.000-07:00

I applaud mother of fallen soldier, Cindy Sheehan, for her vigil outside Bush’s retreat ranch in Texas. I like how she is not content to sit at home and do nothing about the Iraq war.

Cindy Sheehan is not apathetic. How could she be when she has experienced the heart break of losing a son, who was deployed in Iraq? Cindy Sheehan cannot be apathetic. She wants answers and she is willing to go to great lengths to get them.

The rest of us, as Americans, cannot afford to be apathetic about Iraq as well. We were misled, told there were weapons of mass destruction. There were none.

We should be enraged --- because now the U.S. is in a mess over in Iraq – we’ve fostered insurgency after insurgency. We have begun turmoil in the country and new leader after leader is killed there. When we leave, there will probably be coup after coup, until another dictator rises to power.

We cannot invade countries and attempt to apply U.S. laws and politics onto a completely different country with different history and culture.

So, we should all be speaking out like Cindy Sheehan, in our own way instead of allowing our leaders to invade countries without just cause.

While Bush vacations on his 1,600-acre ranch (and yes, he does like taking vacations) there is a sticky mess in Iraq that he should be discussing exit strategies for instead of golfing or fishing.

Stocks and Terrorism

2005-08-12T19:33:00.000-07:00

Have you thought it sad that whenever there is a major terrorist attack in the news, the newscaster will, in his or her next breath, mention how the stock market is effected?

I remember well a 9-11 story, right after it had happened, on television. The newscaster, after detailing the tragic events unfolding, ended his broadcast with how the stocks were effected by the devastating attacks.

Recently, with the British suicide bombings, on the radio the newscaster ended his report with an update on how the stocks were doing in relation to the bombings.

I find it really disturbing that this is what we apparently worry about when tragic events unfold: how are my stocks doing?

I think it speaks very well to what drives the U.S.: money and how we seem to value the almighty dollar more than lives.

Instead of listing how many points the Dow has gone up or down with each new insurgency in Iraq or each new natural disaster, how about first valuing the effect of each of these events on human beings.

Newest Feature: Yummy Recipes

2005-08-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

Check Out the new link to the right, if you would like to try some great new recipes: I've created a new link to my favorite recipes -- all of them have been requested by friends.

http://gourmetrecipes.blogspot.com

U.S Nuclear Weapon Threat

2005-08-10T20:03:00.000-07:00

While Bush and other leaders frown on Iran for its reported nuclear weapon planning, the U.S. would be well served by doing a self-examination on our own nuclear weapons.

A person may be misled to believe we don't have any nuclear weapons whenever the U.S. and the U.N complain or take action against other countries when they build their own nuclear weapon.

This would be a wrong assumption.

According to many reports, the U.S. has approximately 480 alone in Europe. We have more on our own soil. And, who has dropped the most nuclear bombs historically? Let's not forget Hiroshima.

So, should we begin by getting rid of our own weapons before criticizing other nations for having them? Aren’t we being hypocrites by requiring certain countries that they not build their own while we still have them? Don’t other nations have the same right we do? Apparently not.

We play God with the rest of the world by deeming certain nations as “rogue” and saying they can’t have weapons. Other nations are deemed as able to have them, such as Britain and the U.S.

Any argument that certain nations cannot have nuclear weapons is weakened when we ourselves have them. We should begin to practice what we preach and lead by example.

Personally, I am more afraid the U.S. would drop a nuclear bomb somewhere in the world than Iran. Our nation's history speaks to this threat. And we are more a threat to the world than we believe ourselves to be. We are like a human being shreaking at the sight of a spider: we are more afraid of the spider when the spider should be more afraid of us. Iran supposedly hasn't even made one bomb and we freak out -- yet we possess many.

In addition, Iran claims it is only using nuclear technology for power -- not bombs. How do we know for sure that they are even making a bomb? Should we rely on the same intelligence reports that caused us to invade Iraq, only to find out that -- oops, those reports were false?

The only way that we can be a nation with integrity is to lead by example and get rid of all our nuclear weapons in Europe and all at home.

Intelligent Design Should Stay in Church

2005-08-09T18:43:00.000-07:00

President Bush’s recent encouragement of teaching “intelligent design” in the public schools, follows efforts by the Kansas Board of Education to impose intelligent design in the public schools.

These efforts by religious forces have a long string of Supreme Court cases against them, under the concept of separation of church and state.

Any state government’s imposition of creationism in the public schools will have to face the precedent court cases, which would ultimately strike down any attempt to teach creationism in the schools.

The current push by religious conservatives is to require creationism to be taught side by side with evolution.

In 1987, in Edwards V. Aguillard, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that the state of Louisiana was in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment (separation of church and state) by requiring schools to teach creationism side by side with evolution. The Supreme Court further stated that that State’s act to require creationism be taught if evolution is taught was promoting religion and was in violation of the First Amendment.

The First Amendment state’s: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,” which the Supreme Court has decided in numerous cases means that government, supported by tax payer dollars, cannot espouse religion in government entities, the schools of which are a part of the government.

In 1960, in Epperson v. Arkansas, the Supreme Court for the first time ruled on the evolution issue, in favor of allowing evolution to be taught, saying that to deny it was in support of espousing religion, which was in violation of the constitution.

But the most influential court case dealing with evolution, which set the precedent for future court cases, is the Lemon v. Kurtzman. The Lemon test forces judges, among other criteria, to make sure that laws of states cannot advance religion, which the modern “intelligent design” clearly does.

So, while there is a current resurrection of creationism in “intelligent design” – this wave of religion’s attempt to impose religious belief be taught in public schools will not stand up to the Supreme Court’s final say on the matter.

If Kansas decides to impose intelligent design in its public schools, which I hope it does not for the sake of separation of church and state, then this would be setting a dangerous example.

Let’s hope it doesn’t decide that. But if it does, then hopefully the Supreme Court would interject reason by striking down any imposed creationism in the public schools.

Iraq and Terrorism, but not the same

2005-08-08T21:00:00.000-07:00

The molding together of "terrorism" and Iraq has been one of the Bush's administration's greatest PR tricks --- to make American's forget the reason we invaded Iraq in the first place and lead them to mix, mistakenly Iraq and terrorism, a horrible reality that is still fresh in the emotional lives of Americans. But, and we could all use a reminder, 9-11 had nothing to do with Iraq. The terrorism around the world --- how much of it has had anything to do with Iraq?

The real issue here is that Americans, riding the tide of fear and pain from 9-11, were led by Bush's administration to invade Iraq, because they lied that there were weapons of mass destruction. But, having found none, they continue to say the word "terrorism" and "Iraq" in the same speeched, when the two have nothing to do with each other. Unless you believe that the continued American presence in Iraq is fostering new terrorists from other countries, who see the U.S. invasion of Iraq as reason to hate us. But that's not Iraq's fault.

Now that we have the person we love to hate, Saddam, the Bush administration can't afford to no have been justified in invading a sovereign country and its continued attempts to cover up the fact that there were no weapons of mass destruction found. The only way it can do this is by somehow tying the terrorism that is happening in countries such as Britain with Iraq, when, as has always been the case, Iraq has nothing to do with the terrorism in Britain -- the terrorists were all from other countries.

Next the Bush administration will lead Americans to believe that pigs can fly or that cats and dogs can really rain down from the sky ---

Support Critical Thought

2005-08-08T20:59:00.000-07:00

Support Critical Thought

I wonder if whom ever invented the well-repeated saying “Support Our Troops” could ever have known how well it would spread across America like a wildfire – on cars, in windows, in articles and in conversation. The beauty of this saying is that it is difficult to argue against.

It gave the war in Iraq a face – individuals, just doing their duty. And we would not want to make the mistake that we did during Vietnam – to shout and curse the veterans coming back, heaping more trauma onto severely traumatized individuals. I’ve met Vietnam vets – some worse than others, but one I remember lived in the woods for I don’t know how long, in Alaska, hiding from society. When I met him he could stop talking for days because he had been deprived of human contact. Or, my father, who experienced nightmares, horrible flashbacks.

So, this saying is difficult to argue against – just like the black and white sayings of the president who sent them into Iraq – “You’re with us or without us,” is the basic underlying mentality fostered by Bush.

But I wonder, how should we support our troops? By giving them therapy when they return and begin to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? Should the wives and husbands of soldiers coming back help support emotionally the troops when they begin to have nightmares and other post-war experiences?

Should we support the troops when they are disillusioned, suffer low morale while serving in Iraq? While they are forced into situations where they have to fear for their lives for a year, plus? Where they may have to make decisions that will haunt them perhaps for a long time?

And I wonder, can you support the troops in spirit but disagree with your government’s decision to enter a war that is costing a lot of money and that has no clear end-date. That seems to have caused insurgency after insurgency and more and more civilian deaths and troop deaths.

So, when I see the bumper stickers I think of in what ways we should support our troops? Wouldn’t it be better to support thinking through each and every decision we make that affects not only troops but entire countries for years to come? How about supporting waiting before making decisions that are emotionally charged? Not allowing fear and lust for revenge and continuing a never-ending cycle of war to dictate our invasion of countries.

Do we always have to have an enemy to hate? The cold war ends and there’s no more communists, so who should we hate? Saddam? And, how many are growing to hate the U.S. with each decision that seems not well-thought out. Did Saddam kill more people that the U.S. did in Japan during WWII? Neither is ever justified, really. But does this help get us beyond “us” vs. “them” and past the painting of all our actions great and wonderful and those of the “other” terrible and Satan-like.

Should we hate the French because they aren’t “with” us? The French, who suffered through a Nazi occupation – and terrible wars that perhaps began a process that we, as Americans desperately need --- it’s called self-reflection from the experience of being occupied, as a nation. It was captured so well by Sartre. To grasp the meaning of Freedom because one lacks it.

We need this process of reflecting on our past – our suffering, or mistakes - can we afford another mistake that will cost us lives ultimately for little? Does the end justify the means? A deep knowledge that war is brutal and should never ever be entered into lightly. We can’t bury our heads in the sand, as citizens of this nation. We have to begin having critical dialogue – and a lot more of it.

So, to me, the saying “Support Our Troops” has little meaning. What does it mean, exactly? Should we support our troops during each and every war we create in the world? It’s time to come up with a new saying: “Support Thinking before Acting. We would be saving our troops’ lives if we only did that- somehow through a new process --- we need that process very badly. Our troops need it – so that they can stay at home with their families. To me, this is helping support our troops much more than sending them into battle.

Surreal Bus Ride

2005-08-04T21:55:00.000-07:00

As I was riding the bus to my house, about six years ago, the bus ride turned weird ---ooooo.

It was a tough bus line --- through a rough part of town.

Teenagers in the back, where I was seated--- began to show each other the jewelry they had stolen from a shop in downtown Seattle.

Then I was harassed by a drunk --- who was in my face about this and that - nothing of which I could understand--- luckily we came to a stop and he tried to get off the bus --- but, he fell down the stairwell in the back and blocked the entrance. He couldn't get up. The bus driver kept trying to shut the door but it kept bumping into this guy. He was too drunk to get himself up. Finally, the bus driver got out, went to the back and drug this guy out into the sidewalk, and the door closed.

As I was sighing a relief that we could continue, the surreal aspect took over: on the floor, in the middle of the walk way a small orange-red crab was walking toward the back. What the heck??!! It came out of no where, just walking along, as if it lived in the bus. The teenagers started pointing and talking loudly --- "it's a crab!" They busted up laughing and the bus driver looked momentarily in his rear view mirror at the commotion, but deciding, it was the least of his concerns, started the bus and we were off.

We were moving forward. The crab continued toward the back of the bus, no one going near it. At the next stop, another drunk got out, but not before stooping down and picking up the crab in his palm and walking outside, into the dark.

Songs Can Get you Fired

2005-08-04T21:39:00.000-07:00

After two weeks of listening to the same country western songs for 8 hours a day, as a replacement receptionist in a company, I was going out of my mind -- and asked the technology guys to add some of my cds to the collection.

Well, I had them put in an Eagles cd and even had them keep out one of the songs that I knew had some mention of sex. I was so excited to be able to listen to "Hotel California", one of my all-time favorite songs.

Yesterday, while an important client was sitting in the waiting area, waiting for a meeting with one of the CEO's of the company, the Eagle's song "Get Over It" began to play. I had forgotten something though, but was quickly reminded when the lyrics "I'm gonna take your inner-child and kick its little as#@!....."

I froze, as the woman waiting looked up at the ceiling with a puzzled look on her face. I said, "I'll have to have them take that one out of the mix." She half-smiled, reluctently, hopefully thinking that it was on the radio or something.

Luckily, no one who worked there was at the front to hear it. But, if they had, I know I would have gotten a reprimand. Luckily, I am only there for a few more weeks. They should be thankful though that when I first started, I had the tech guys take out songs that were singing about pot and getting drunk, etc... probably not the image they want to have as a company.

Dream of Dreams

2005-08-03T21:12:00.000-07:00

I had a funny dream last night --- about two warring clicks of people from my middle school days. The Stoners and the Preppies used to hate each other. They would meet at a park near our middle school for scheduled fights -- knifes, fists and cops.

So, last night I drempt there was a commemorative Preppy vs. the Stoners fight at Clark Park. The preppies were all grown up -- so tall and dressed in baby blue outfits. One was my friend from childhood, Jennifer -- who used to be so tall, just as a teenager. Another was another friend from middle school, Julie, who also was tall.

The stoner's were there too, dressed all in red --- they lined up officially in rows --- Preppies in rows and columns, almost like civil war formations. And then the dream began to metamorphisis, like dreams do and the fight faded away.

So strange, but it was almost nastolgic, as we used to run to the park when rumors floated around our middle school --- we would run and find a vantage point to watch the fight, then flee when the sirens of police came close. Ahhh ... those were the days.

Please Hit My Car Again

2005-08-01T21:10:00.000-07:00

I need the money.

My car has, unfortunately been hit twice since I bought it about 5 years ago. What great shape it was in when I first bought it -- low mileage and great maintenance. Great gas mileage.

But then it was hit about one year after I bought it, while I was turning onto a street. It was "totaled" out by the other driver's insurance company and I received a check for close to $2,000. Most of the damage was exterior, although I did pay $300 to get the frame straightened back out. Why give up a car that gets 50 miles to the gallon on the freeway? I could live with a little body damage. (I also had fun going to REI and buying some sailing/camping gear)

Then, this last November my car was hit, while it was parked on the side of the road. I had just stepped into my favorite coffee shop, when a taxi cab hit my car. When I came back out, my car was half up on the sidewalk and chunks of yellow cab were scattered on the ground, where my car used to be parked.

My settlement? $1,700. I could live with a little yellow paint on the bumber and a duck-taped temporary (for the next two years until I get out of grad school) glass on the rear left light. The bumper hangs off a little. And the trunk doesn't open as well as it used to. But, still I hang on to my little car because it gets great gas mileage and is still in great condition.

Now, I bought the car for only $2,000 so it has paid for itself almost twice!

But, you know I probably could use a little cash now that I am going back to school, so please ... someone hit my car again.

Kyaking

2005-08-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

This is a photo taken while camping/kyaking on North Puget Sound, near Mount Vernon. I love the water, especially the wind and salty smell - birds diving headlong into the water to catch fish.

When you grow up near the water, it is difficult to be away from it for very long and when you come back to it -- all your senses are filled with it again -- sounds of birds and water lapping against a boat's hull as it makes its way upwind. The smell of salt and mud and sand on during a low tide. The feel of cool water on a hot day. The taste of the salt after diving off a sailboat.

Then there is also the solitude of being out on the water by yourself, pulling in the lines on your sailboat or letting the swift tide carry you back to your destination after struggling against it during the first half of your trip. This is what really clears your mind, taking away all the stresses of modern life.

Anti-Atkins Diet

2005-07-31T21:11:00.000-07:00

I've decided to go on the anti-Atkins diet and eat nothing but carbs. I'd like to see how much weight I lose, but more importantly I want to make a point that the Atkins diet is not healthy and is leading many Americans to turn their backs on healthy eating habits.

I began to think that this diet was ludicrous when I began observing more and more co-workers going on the high-fat Atkins diet. Sure, they reported initial weight loss but there was something wrong with seeing 60 + year olds eating candy bars for lunch or nothing but meat and chees -- all very high in fat.

I worried that some of my coworkers might be damaging their hearts, their arteries. While I did not observe them keeling over, it didn't make sense to me.

I discussed this very thing with my jogging buddy and she agreed. The only thing is -- that articles need to come out that show this diet is bad for you for people to stop using it.

Fresh vegis, fruit -- and carbs like bagels, wheat bread, are necessary for people who work out to give them energy. Carbs are necessary for even those who don't excercise.

But the point is --- that exercise is also necessary for long-term weight loss and starting a high-fat, no-carb diet will make it difficult to maintain an excercise schedule.

So, I started the all-carbs diet and felt great --- I did it for two weeks --- nothing but fruits, vegis and bread, pasta.

New Movie, Old Plot

2005-07-31T20:57:00.000-07:00

Movies that copy, shamelessly. I just got done watching "Hide and Seek." And I wonder how many more movies will steal from the Jackel and Hyde plot --- where a seemingly together man is chased by a mysterious ghost or person, only to find out in the end that that chaser is the same man, only his alter ego. What was that one called '--- "Hidden Window"or some such where the writer is chased by a man in a hat, only to find out that he has a split personality. There was Fight Club, which was the first that I remember watching of this plot.

But my favorite is the plot where a family man -- has his family killed and he goes on a rampage or quest to bring justice to his family. Gladiator steals from many other films before this in this same plot.

But I guess there are other more universal plots, such as girl meets boy, they fall in love and either happy ending or tragic ending --- but it just seems like the split personality one has been used too often in the last few years.