I am really excited! I want to show you what I bought from eBay. :D It was expensive, but I think will be worth it. (I THINK) it's an English instructional book for Slovak kids....right Slovak friends? That was my impression of it. Anyway, yet another tool for learning this difficult language- gotta try it like the kids do. Holler!
The darkness- the lack of light- the unknown. In a society that raises its' children on scary movies, murder mystery shows, and constantly parades images on our screen of choice that only wants to shock and scare you, it is no wonder that we're all screwed up. Or maybe it's just me who's screwed up.
To be someone who admits that they're not so keen on being in the dark alone feels as embarrassing as admitting that you wet the bed in your 20's. I of course don't this, just to be clear. But being "afraid of the dark" seems like something we should all grow out of. So why is it that so many people, including myself, are so frightened by being in the dark? Not just any darkness- I don't need a light on while I'm in the theatre or anything. What I'm talking about is being in the dark ALONE, especially outside. I hate it. When I'm with anyone I'm totally fine.
My imagination is too wild to be at peace in this surrounding. I've seen more scary movies than I can count- I've been raised in a society that thrives on being scared out of their minds by watching gory shocking movies, haunted houses, etc. Why do people put themselves through this? What comes of it, besides having unnecessary and nonsensical fear?
Sometimes I really feel like a silly scared child and it's annoying. Too many times on TV, in the news or a movie I've seen a woman get mugged and/or raped in a non-threatening environment, or the eyes that appear out of the darkness when someone is looking out the window, or the guy in the back seat of the car waiting for you to get in, or even the meaningless breaking-and-entering burglar who shoots you in your sleep. I hate even thinking about that!
Can anyone else out there empathize with me, or am I just a visually scarred and warped scaredy cat?
Seabiscuit is by no means a new movie- it was filmed 5 years ago and I saw it then, but just watched it again for the 2nd time. I remember liking it then but I've grown to really appreciate it this time around.
In short it's a true story about 3 men and a racehorse they all found. It takes place in America in the middle of the Great Depression. One man (Jeff Bridges) made a ton of money selling cars, but his young son died in a car accident and his wife left him. Another man is an old cowboy type loner who wanders around the west training horses. The other man is a horse jockey (Toby Maguire) and his family had abandoned him at the racetrack when he was young, but he's bigger than all the other jockeys (not a good thing). The horse came from a long line of champion racehorses but he wasn't a good racer and was too small.
The underlying story of this plot was the most meaningful to me. The Great Depression in America in the 1930's was no doubt "depressing" for Americans. It was said that about 25% of people were unemployed- men couldn't feed their families- people were reported to eat weeds to stay alive. The significance of their lives during this time was parallel to Seabiscuit's life--a horse that wasn't good enough and almost put down, a seemingly worthless existence.
So these men, in their own ways which you'll discover, find this horse and race him. It was the underdog team and they won the races, even against the 'fastest horse alive'. Americans were emotionally connected to this team that never gave up and rose beyond the grim circumstances. I hesitate to call this an American mentality, because people from every country rise above circumstances and with a never-give-up / sky's-the-limit kind of attitude...but it seems to me that this kind of attitude is something Americans thrive on and accept. Not only Americans that were born here, but people from all over who come to America too- to thrive to reach their goal in a place that wants you to succeed.
Anyway, I'm babbling now. It was a really emotional movie for me, so if you're feeling at all sensitive don't be surprised if you reach for the tissues. I really adored this film too because it was very educational. If you're interested in The Great Depression and American history, it's a wonderful account.
I would give it a 10, but I had one issue with it that annoyed me throughout the whole thing...when he was riding on the horse and it showed a close up of the jockey's face, it was SO obviously fake. You'd see the fake horses head bob up and down like a machine. This was my only complaint... so I give it a 9.75. :)
Jayson and Craig at the Greyhound Racing Track
One I didn't post on Facebook on purpose :) We all found a great little lounge to drink coffee and enjoy a nasty cigar. Mine was kinda gross..but I felt cool, and isn't that the point?
Craig and my un-brushed, wet hair.
Made some dinner for my boys
Ice cream with friends
For those of you that have never visited Florida or any country that has similar weather as Florida, I'll be so bold as to say that you have never experienced heat like Florida (or similar) heat...especially in the middle of the state like Orlando where there is no wind from the ocean. It is so intense, it feels like when you open up your oven at home and just put yourself in front of that heat. If your AC works in your car it's not a huge deal, but if you don't have AC or if you have to walk around or do any work or sports it's flipping inbearable for someone like me. You can't see the sweat on my leg but it's like dripping off from being in the car for less than 10 minutes. 
Just wanted to say that I saw Ironman and really liked it! Good casting, good acting, lots of action, felt entertained the whole time and it went by quick. Recommended if you haven't seen it yet!
I kept seeing potential loose ends and questions throughout the movie, but the plot answered them for me which I liked. Chics, you'll probably like it too- it's not too pumped with testosterone to enjoy. 9.5 outta 10!
There Will Be Blood came out at a similar time of No Country For Old Men. I won't talk about NCFOM but I will say the two got a TON of Academy Awards and NCFOM was not nearly as 
good as I expected...so I've been looking forward to TWBB for a while now, hoping it would redeem the other film. We saw it last night, and I will say that I enjoyed it. That's a relative statement though; I enjoyed it compared to NCFOM and Indiana Jones, but it's not in my top 10.
The acting was really well done. Daniel Day Lewis did a great job here- fantastic acting. I liked his character, even though he was a jerk and borderline insane at times. The other characters were fantastic actors as well. The soundtrack was amazing- some of the most intense music I've heard in a movie in years. The dialogue wasn't overdone or cheesy either- it was simple and strong. One thing I liked about this movie that NCFOM miserably failed at was having a resolution. There is a resolution in this movie and it made sense! Also, people died for a reason in this movie, unlike NCFOM.
The only thing I would say negative about this was that it was a little too long, and parts of it were really dry. So if you're in the mood for an edge-of-your-seat excitement, this isn't the movie for you.
Other than that, I would recommend it. I'd give it a 8.5 out of 10.
Holy moley I have a lot to write about. Sorry for the loooong entry coming up...
I woke up this morning and packed for my weekend trip to Orlando. My mom didn't feel too keen on taking me to the airport, so I drove myself and parked here- which I've never done and wasn't too happy about. I rode the shuttle bus in and got through security and everything with no worries. I took out my license and showed it to the lady waiting to see it. Then I disassembled myself and my bag to get through the metal detectors. All good. Then I get through and assemble myself again and look for my boarding pass and license. Boarding pass, check. License.....license....oh crap, where the heck's my license?! It took me 20 minutes at least of begging the guards to look for my ID within a 20 feet radius. Just as I was about to give up, really mad that I wouldn't be able to have any drinks with my friends in Orlando cause I didn't have my ID...one of the guards popped up his head and said, "FOUND IT!!! It was stuck in between 2 pieces of metal on the belt where you took off your backpack and shoes!". How that happened, I have no idea, but I'm glad I didn't have to buy another ID.
I ate a nasty fried burger cause it was cheap, then of course stopped at my routine airport Starbucks for my drink. I tell you, I turn into my mother when I'm at Starbucks. If they screw up my drink you'll hear sighs and various noises of frustration (kinda like what Marge Simpson does). I can usually tell right away if my barista is a moron. Thankfully only about 1 out of 10 orders go this way. If I start talking and their eyes get really big or glaze over, I'm in trouble. This is how the moron barista conversations go, like it did today:
"Hi, can I get a doppio over extra in a grande cup with one Splenda over the ice before the espresso?"
"Okay ho' don...you want a WHAT now?"
::I repeat it, slower::
"Okay so you wa' like iced coffee o' suthin?"
::I repeat it, even slower:: "
Okay les' see, you waun' espresso...two shots, right?
::"yes, two shots":: ova' ice ::"extra ice":: You waun' some milk o' sumthin?
"No"
"You waun' watuh in it?"
"No"
"You waun' this thang up on da menu?
::she points to a new Starbucks special, a doppio over ice:: (see P.S. below)
"Is it 2 shots over ice?"
"Naaw, it has a little bit a' milk in it"
"Then no, I don't want that"
::Barista gets an attitude, fills the cup with ice and a splenda and pulls the shots of espresso.....then walks away and leaves my espresso out, sitting on the tray for too long while she talks to her friend and my coffee gets bitter. I'm not happy but I take it and go and deal with it::
P.S. I have been getting that drink almost every time I went to Starbucks and they have never had that drink on the menu. So if you ask me, some brilliant barista noticed my drink and told whoever is in charge of inventing new drinks and said, "This drink is perfect! You should sell it, just like this brilliant young lady who has invented it!" Or not...
I finish my drink and hop on the plane. As we board the plane I can see the outside of the aircraft that says, "U.S. Airways" with their logo. My mind went to the TV series, Lost for a few moments. If Lost ever happened in real life, those people wouldn't have known they were going to crash. What if we crash on a desert island too? Maybe I'd be part of the "U.S. Airways 6". That balding dorky guy with the glasses would probably be the electronics guru who would use a radio to contact a ship. That cute guy right there would be Jack, the hot hero doctor. That girl would be the first to go, yeah, along with that kid who won't stop crying. Aaaaad we're back to reality....
Flying used to be fun for me, but I have always flown alone wherever I go. There have been maybe 3 or 4 trips I can ever remember being with anyone else. Besides the lonely aspect of it, I've become frightened by flying. I never used to be. I'm not so much afraid of terrorists or anything, but just the idea of falling straight down out of the sky with no chance of survival if one failure from the plane happened or flock of birds fly into the engines. It used to be a surreal feeling for me- you know, you're just in this moving thing and you don't really feel like you're high up. Now when the plane quickly loses altitude and my heart flops up to my neck, and I'm gripping the seat in front of me like it's going to shelter me from the crash, I just don't like it.
Oh and I also went to my routine used book store in the Raleigh airport to pick up a new book. This time I got a Dave Barry book called Big Trouble. Dave is the man if you want to laugh your butt off. Oh, but if you want to laugh, don't get Big Trouble- it's his first fiction book and it's not really funny--but everything else I've ever read from him is hysterical.
The airport is the best place ever to people-watch. It's its' own culture. Can you say "It's its'"? There's an obnoxious man talking on his cell phone uncomfortably loud so that everyone in the terminal can hear about his dad who became a VP of his company and how he's shopping for motorcycles. Do Americans do that crap in foreign countries too? I surely hope not.
Well I finally got to Orlando after 2 flights. Alyssa picked me up and we made some wrong turns getting home so it took us a while. In the meantime, we gave Daniel (Alyssa's 2 year old son) a chocolate cause he was being really well behaved. Alyssa turned around a minute later to find Daniel had puked ALL over himself. It smelled so rank, so we pulled over and found a nearby sidewalk, stripped him of his clothes and wiped him down with babywipes. It was both disgusting and funny.
We got back to her place and I made us some Asian dinner which was a hit, even with Daniel who doesn't eat much adult food! We decided to go see a movie so I called my friends up and we met to go see Indiana Jones. It was so great to be surrounded with friends again, laughing and making them laugh. It's kinda foreign to socialize with friends actually, after being alone or with adults for over 3 months now. It's GREAT! On the way there it rained SO hard you guys! I would say that I do miss Florida thunderstorms, as flipping scary as it was. They're awesome though- Orlando has one of the most lightning strikes than anywhere in the nation, so it's a light show alright!
Anyhoo, it's great to be here.
I've been looking forward to the new Indiana Jones movie for quite some time now. I was a big fan of the old ones and I really like Harrison Ford (except if I hear another movie where he demands, "Give my back my family!"). I have to say, I was very disappointed in this movie and I want to tell you what irritated me about it.
The first thing I noticed was Kate Blanchett's (sp?) character was supposed to be Russian, but she kept slipping into her native English accent! Did anyone notice that?! For such professional actors and so much money going into this movie, the least they could do is say "cut" and do it over again with the correct accent, seriously.
In every Indy Jones movie there is a plethora of spider webs, wouldn't you agree? There was a lot in this movie, but they all looked like the $2.00 spider web stuff you buy at Halloween at Wal-Mart! They looked incredibly fake and over-used.
There was a lot of over-acting in the movie too. For example, when Indy was captured and forced to look at that stupid skull, there was a group of Russians dancing around the fire. It annoyed me cause they were way too flamboyant and whimsical. The acting of the main characters was not good either- just poor acting with a lot of one-liners.
The scene of the boy swinging through the vines was ridiculous. There were way too many scenes that you were just like "Give me a break, no one would do that!" In the old movies Indy would do cool courageous stuff but it wasn't too far fetched.
I felt that Indy lost a lot of his charm and wit. He was very aged in this movie too- he moved like an old man. I know he's old and all, but he just didn't seem like THE Indiana Jones, ya know?
All in all, the effects were really crappy. Like when they were driving through the jungle you could so tell that it was CGI. I know the harsh lighting is something unique to this series, but I thought they overdid it. Everyone knows in a movie the people watching it aren't supposed to see direct fake lamps or lights shown from the direction of the camera...but they did that at the beginning and you could see that fake lighting and the fake shadows. That's my own pet peeve with movies I guess.
I give it a 5 out of 10.
Have you ever found items from your childhood that you haven't seen in years and years? I went hunting around in my attic today and found some stuff I guess I'm gonna share. It brought my much delight :)
The first item is one of my most precious possessions. It was my father's camera, and the camera that I started taking pictures with when I was younger. I used this till I was about 18 and bought my own SLR.
I'll bet most of you didn't know that when I was younger I was very much into collecting baseball cards. It was a quick and easy way to get "in" with my brother and his friends. For some reason I made a decision, probably when I was 9 or 10, that Kirby Puckett was the best baseball player that ever walked the earth and I would collect his cards. So this is my old collection of his cards. I think have like 80 some cards? They've been in this box for probably 15 years.
Tell me you guys had to learn how to play the recorder too, right? This fine instrument here was my second instrument, next to the piano. We had to learn the songs at school, including the popular oldie Old Tar River I believe. That's the jam! I haven't seen this sucker in years...
Much of the art I've done in my lifetime has been thrown away by my mother. BUT I did find some! I drew George Washington in charcoal (very poorly) when I was 9 years old. They posted this in the principal's office for the rest of the year. I was quite proud..
Finally, this is a drawing of the Clinton family I did when I was like 11 or 12. What's funny is that even when I was that young, I still knew that Bill was just a clown and Hillary wore pants suits and she was kinda the boss over him (hence her height)! HA! Bill's eyes are kinda jacked up. (Alyssa, remind me to tell you something about Hillary's face only you would find funny....)
Oh, and I'm definitely not posting these pictures for compliments! They're not too great- just wanted to show ya... I was remembering today that I had two piece of art that was kicked out of the art shows at school. I think one got thrown away and the other my cousin took or something. Anyway if I find the rebel art pieces I'll definitely show them. Don't worry, no nudity or anything.
Okay so here's another "What Am I?" question! Since you guys are good at this...
I work here: www.campchestnutridge.com. Have worked there for like 4ish years now, on and off. Since I got home I was serving as a nanny to two of the directors, and also cooking in the camp kitchen. Now, I'm going to only be in the kitchen. But it's not like a cafeteria with kids and hot dogs and stuff...I won't stoop to call myself a lunch lady, because the camp is also a retreat center where large groups of adults come in to eat fresh, healthy, very nice food. Sometimes I'll cook for 15, sometimes 150, and sometimes the food is really really nice.
So here's my question, am I a cook or a chef? What should I tell people? A cook, to me, always sounds like low-class guy holding a cigarette flipping eggs at an old diner somewhere...but to me a chef sounds like someone decked out in white with a tall hat in a 5 star restaurant designing plates that cost $100 each. (I totally used to wear that hat and jacket) Doesn't chef sound a little pretentious? Is a chef distinguished by having education in the food industry? Cause I know chefs that have little or no educational experience. I've only taken 1 college course in it. BUT when I work there I tend to be the one in charge, and I've had a lot of experience...
So what's proper to tell people? Is there an in-between word for cook and chef?
A few random things from today...
First, I'm a big fan of Apple computers and Coldplay. Well, they came together and made a smashing commercial. It's short but sweet. I'm pretty excited about their new album, Viva La Vida too. Apple really does a good job with incorporating movement, with sound, and with color in their commercials.
Second... If you know me well you may know I'm a nerd when it comes to animals. I especially love to learn about them, particularly rare or interesting ones. I also very much appreciate well-done videography in every avenue. If you have not seen any of the series called Planet Earth, you ought to check it out! I rented almost a whole season from the library last week. It is by far, hands down, the best nature show I have ever seen. The crew spent years taping this series and an incredible amount of work went into it. I'm sure it will do the same thing to you as it did to me, and make you say outloud, "NO WAY!!" "SHUT! UP!" "THAT'S INCREDIBLE!"
PLANET EARTH - TRAILER - The best bloopers are a click away
I have more to say but I'm gonna be quiet now.
S'not perfect but it was fun to make. In fact it's really poorly made! I went shopping today and saw some cool patchwork purses and thought that I should try. So I went to Goodwill and got some fabric and gave it a shot. I wanted an African theme.
A family member once told me that I shouldn't even begin to compare myself with a 'real missionary' such as the ones who have been doing the work for decades...and I shouldn't call myself a missionary. I thought that was quite a rude statement, but part of me believed it because it was told to me in such authority.
But I just had a thought... when students graduate school and enter the career field, are they allowed to call themselves the position which they're learning? Are amateur lawyers not allowed to call themselves lawyers, even though they're not anywhere as near as good as the veterans? Are doctors in their residency not allowed to call to call themselves doctors even though they've only been doing it for a few years?
Hmmm.
When disaster strikes, what are your first thoughts? When you hear on the news that nearly 80,000 people have been killed from a cyclone with a government who refuses to help its' own people...when you hear that 50,000 people have died in China from an earthquake and full schools full of children have been demolished....when the Tsunami in 2004 killed over 250,000 people and ruined the lives of millions... what do you think about?
Do you just think, "Wow, 50,000 people, that sucks"? I'm mostly referring to Americans here, INCLUDING myself, but I think that our culture is so used to hearing how many thousands of people have died in disasters, that we forget the reality of what it really means. Have you ever seen a deceased person right in front of you that died with no warning? Have you ever seen 50,000 people right in front of you who died with no warning? Can you imagine if that happened in the states? Americans, would you be sadder if those people that died were on our own home turf? If we had an earthquake that killed 100,000 people, would you think of it differently?
It's a natural reaction to love your country and to love the people in your country...but I believe we as Americans in particular take this to an extreme. I think we're so accustomed to not giving a rat's rear end about anyone else but us, that when we hear about how many thousands of people that have suddenly died there is a part of us that says "Whew, I'm glad it wasn't here!" Yet, when we see a Hollywood star die, we are moved to tears like it was our own family member. How selfish we are! How incredibly horrid of us to think of ourselves as any more worthy of life than those in China, India, Pakistan, and all the countries American's can't even spot on a map.
I myself am guilty of this, so I am calling myself out as well. I was disappointed with myself as I found out days later about the cyclone and the earthquake, and even forgot about it shortly thereafter till I was reminded again days later. It makes me feel very selfish...
....but does anyone else out there secretly want one of the democrats to win this election, just so creepy John McCain won't take office?! I don't really want them to win, but I really really won't want McCain to win either. I also heard that Ron Paul knows he's not going to win, but is just holding out for his fans...but that someone close to him who is endorsing him is going to run in his place. I don't think that's necessarily public knowledge yet- in other words, the media doesn't give a crap about Ron Paul anyway, so that's why it's not public.
This is definitely not an interesting topic for most of you, but I've just been thinking about it lately...
Exclusive psalmody is essentially the belief that Christians should only sing old testament psalms in worship. I believe it's more complicated than that, but that's the gist. I have heard about this opinion for years, but always believed that it really wasn't a big deal and if they only want to sing psalms that's fine with me. However, after the sermon tonight by my pastor, I believe I've come to a more definite disagreement with this philosophy.
There were many reasons that were established in the message that explained how this was false... but here are just a few. We all know that we are no longer bound by the old testament laws. The verses that explain that we should sing only in psalms are all in the OT. The word psalm is never found in the NT and there is no clear commandment for or against singing only psalms, simply put. In the NT, it just says words like songs, praises, etc.
The most convincing evidence for me is this: Jesus Christ was not evident to the people of the OT- it obviously wasn't till the NT till Jesus was revealed as the Son of God. So all of the OT psalms never once proclaimed Jesus in them. So duh, if we take Jesus out of our lyrics, then are we really singing about the true redeeming salvation from Jesus Christ?
If we contain ourselves to only sing psalms without the name of Jesus Christ, when during worship (unless you publicly pray) do you have a chance to verbally praise our Lord Jesus Christ? You don't! So is it right for those who believe in exclusive psalmody to hinder their congregation from singing about Jesus? No, I don't believe it is and this is why I disagree with this philosophy.
The sermon is not posted online yet, but if you'd like to hear more about this let me know and I'll tell you when it's there... To my theologically gifted friends out there, please note that I've summarized this into a really short and simple explanation--so keep that in mind if you choose to tear my argument to shreds. :)
Do you know what I'm really tired of? Not having a single friend in this town who actually spends time with me. It's been 3 months since I've been home and every week is the same routine of working and fundraising and going to church. I am really happy to be spending next weekend with my buddies in Orlando cause I'm about to go crazy of lonliness! But that time of being surrounded by friends will come and go and I'm going to be back here communicating to all my friends who are hundreds or thousands of miles away. BOOO! This sucks!
I just saw a while turkey cross the road in front of me! How cool is that.. I've never seen one in the "wild".
Speaking of food, for anyone out there that doesn't like cooking or know much about it, I have a recipe for you. It's cool cause you can substitute just about anything for the filling in this recipe, but it's really good, really easy, and looks really fancy. Great for a side item, or even a full meal in the right serving. I made this in an Asian style...but if you want it Italian, add Italian veggies and sauce and cheese and meat. If you want it like a fajita, add chicken, onions and peppers. If you want it sweet, add strawberries and make cream for the top! You get the idea.
Asian Vegetable Pastries
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Serves up to 20 if appetizers, or 6 if main course
1 package Phyllo pastry dough
1 yellow pepper (large julienne cut)
1 red pepper (large julienne cut)
1/2 onion (large julienne cut)
2 carrots (large julienne cut)
1 cup white mushrooms (sliced thin and long)
1 sweet potato (grated with carrot grader)
4 cloves garlic (minced)
1 tomato (no seeds or "meat", just the outside layer, large julienne cut)
1 c. chopped green onions
Sesame oil
1/2 stick butter (melted)
Peanut, Canola or EVOO
Spray oil, such as Pam
1/4 c. soy sauce
Sesame seeds
Preheat oven at 350*. Chop your vegetables and put them in piles or bowls. Open the pastry dough from the box (must be thawed, not frozen). Take about half of the pastry layers and put them aside. Put a damp towel over the dough waiting to be used. With the remaining layers: Take about 2 layers and place them apart from the other layers. Spray generously with spray oil. Take 2 more layers and place on top, and spray generously with spray oil. Continue till there are about 16 to 18 layers (about half of the stack). Take about 1/4 of your vegetables and line them up in the middle of your dough, like a burrito. Drizzle sesame oil on top. Take the end of the dough closest to you and place it over the veggies, carefully yet tightly wrapping it up. Place the roll on a cookie sheet, seam side down. Cover with a damp towel while you finish the other 3 rolls. When all rolls are finished, take a pastry brush and generously paint all of the rolls with the melted butter till butter is gone. Put in the oven at 350* till dough is golden brown (DON'T BURN IT). Mix sesame oil, peanut oil and soy sauce in a bowl. Spoon the mixture over the finished rolls. Top with sesame seeds. Cut as preferred.
Enjoy!
These pizzas look like crap in this picture, but I just want to go on record to say that these 20 handcrafted-from-scratch pizzas kicked major butt! I still have to perfect the method but wow, scrumdiddiltyumptious! Oh, and my Slovak friends, I put an egg in the middle of one of them! They loved it...
Okay, so I was flipping through the stations at home on TV and guess what I saw!? It was a documentary on the Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where I visited!! For 2 months I lived within a mile or two of this place, and I visited there myself and took a ton of photographs! In the film they kept saying all the phrases and greetings that I remember too, and it was so weird to hear it. It's crazy to see something on TV that you think hardly anyone knows or cares about...in a place that tourists generally don't go to visit.
I have a picture of Catherine Hamlin like the one here, the gorgeous older woman who started this hospital, and she was the one on TV! I talked to her! And I saw all these places that I STOOD and took pictures! The picture above in the header is one that I took, and I saw the railing that I leaned against to get that picture! I'm using a lot of exclamation points!! Sorry!!
What is an obstetric fistula, you might be wondering? Well it's basically an extremely painful and tragically embarrassing thing that happens to women after childbirth that has been neglected. There are like 60 gynecologists for the entire country of Ethiopia (70 SOMETHING MILLION PEOPLE!!!!), and m
ost of them are in the big cities. So women who get prego in the country have to figure out childbirth for themselves. Sometimes they can be in labor for 4-6 days! So because it totally trashes their muscles and basically it.... okay, I'm not gonna type out what it does cause it's kinda nasty, but I will tell you that it leaves them with no way to control their bladder and feces. Women are usually shunned from their community after this happens. Not to mention it always takes their baby's life as well.
SO this hospital is for women who have these complications, and sometimes women have to walk days and days to even get there- so IF they get there without dying, then they have to go through surgery and sometimes rehab because the fistula can cause 
nerve damage in the legs too. I have pictures of this nerve damage.
Okay, I wasn't gonna explain all that but I'm just so excited that the word is getting out about this epidemic and people are opening their eyes to this. Watching it is so hard for me because I love Africa, and I love Ethiopia and the people so much and I just want to get on a plane and help them now! People may say that to feel good about themselves, but I'm really serious. Every time I see them my heart breaks a little cause I can't be right there! Okay, I keep on rambling!!
Check out these links, they're amazing! Now I wan to dig up all my film photos from this hospital...
http://www.walktobeautiful.com/ Here's the film's main website
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/beautiful/program.html I think you can watch some of it here
I get a notification on my cell phone that says when I get an e-mail, who it's from, and the subject of the message. Recently I received a message that I got an e-mail from particular person. (Don't worry, if you're reading this it's probably not you). My heart sank for a minute and I became slightly anxious as I thought about this message. I thought about what it might say- the worst case scenario- then the best case scenario. I started to physically feel a bit ill but tried to just shutup and keep working and stop thinking about it.
The e-mail isn't the important thing. What's important is how I reacted. I thought to myself as I was sweeping floor after serving a big meal at work, "Am I being ridiculously paranoid or should I be worried?" I know I can be paranoid about certain things.
I came to a realization about something though. Unless one has a mental illness of some sort, one doesn't become paranoid about something for no reason. In other words, if I'm paranoid about something it's probably because that event has happened in the past, sometimes on many occasions. I don't make up that paranoia because I love feeling sick in the pit of my stomach about an issue... I am cautious about situations because I've been through them before and I would do anything from permitting it to happen again! I'm not crazy!
I'm not going to get into detail here, but I've encountered heartbreak after heartbreak with people who've damaged my confidence with relationships/friendships (many times over e-mail). I'm not playing the victim here, but those circumstances cause people like me to live life frightened. It's a stupid way to go about life, I think...but what do I know?
My point is that if people are paranoid about something it doesn't mean they're crazy, it means something has happened in their life to make them that way....and the human condition causes us to learn from past experiences and hinder that action from happening again (even though it just might happen again whether we like it or not).
Women who've been abused by men are usually cautious/paranoid about most men. People who've gotten awful food poisoning from one Chinese restaurant (JODY, that's you!), may be cautious/paranoid about eating there ever again. People who've been attacked by dogs are cautious/paranoid of dogs. It's a natural tendency to deflect pain, though sometimes that deflection can be unnatural and unhealthy and it's sometimes a challenge to ride that fine line.
Did any of that make any sense? I wouldn't be surprised if you're like "DUH Ande I knew that", but maybe it's one of those things I just realized that I want to be more sensitive about...and something I hope my friends can help me with.
May I introduce to you The Apro-Tron. The Apro-Tron is a horrible name for my custom apron that I made last night. I'm pretty excited about it actually. You may be asking yourself, 'Why would she waste time a) making a dumb apron and b) posting pictures of it online and c) put lightning and scary mountains in your Apro-Tron header?'. Well, cause I'm a nerd. That's all I can tell you :) Generic aprons out there always bothered me for different reasons so I made my own to solve some my problems.
First, oven mitts always disappear in the commercial kitchen I work at...and the apron material alone is too thin to pick up hot pans, so I sewed oven mitts to the bottom.
When operating the huge dishwasher I would get completely soaked, all the way to my jeans, so I've put a removable piece of industrial plastic on the inside of the fabric.
I always hated the back side of normal aprons cause they rested on my back weird. So I made a criss-cross tie so it's more comfy.
I always need to carry crap from the walk-in fridge to the cooking area, like eggs or something, so I made a big deep pocket in the front.
The main reason I made this is for a reason I shouldn't mention in mixed company... I'll say it like this, most aprons are too narrow on top, making it awkward for certain women, and it would get dirty from splashes and stuff... SO I made it extra comfortable and form fitting at the top.
Tonight is the first trial run, so we'll see what else I should add. Oh, and I'm not the best sewer in the world, (meaning I have no idea what I'm doing) mainly cause I start projects without exact measurements and stuff cause I'm too impatient to care about that sort of thing...but it works!
"It stung like a violent wind that our memories depend on a faulty camera in our minds..." (like that)
Full lyrics here
Does hail scare the daylights out of anybody but me?! I hate it, I turn into a baby when it comes. I'm sitting here on my computer watching Lost before bedtime, and it's thundering and lightning out. No big whoop, I love thunderstorms very much. So I get up and start thinking about where my camera is so I can take pictures of the lightning.
All of the sudden I hear a tick..... tick.........tick tick....tick tick tick......BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM!! Hail pours from the sky right into my window it seems, and so hard and fast I fear it's going to break my windows. I don't care who ya' are, hail is scary. It's funny how adrenaline works, no? I think so. I mean, for me hail is really not cool because there have been a ton of tornadoes lately and sometimes hail can come before tornadoes.
(This doesn't look that big but they're hard as rocks so when they slam against your windows it's not nice)
My step dad and mom were in their room but not sleeping before this, and I hear Tom say "Get dressed and go to the basement" (cause he heard the wind blow so hard it sounded like a train which is what tornadoes sound like) Adrenaline kicked in- get dressed, get shoes, pack up computer and backpack, find camera, make sure there's battery power, leave everything else. Afterwards I found it funny how I was thinking worst case scenario situations, like a tornado comes and we're trapped in the flippin' basement for days or something. All this time the hail is just pounding on the roof and all the windows around me, and it sounds like thousands of rocks are being thrown at them.
(The ground torn up a bit)
We go downstairs and get flashlights, everyone is dressed, and we start to think about going to the basement. I flip on the TV to make sure there aren't any tornadoes reported and there weren't at the time. Just then the hail stopped. I go outside and see what kind of damage there was. It was pretty mild, just hail on the porch and ground, leaves everywhere, ground torn up.
Thanks God it was only hail and no tornado! I'm wide awake now and won't sleep for a while :)
(Just a quick shot of the light through the trees when I was outside checking things out)
I'm not one to brag about the food I make, but I have to just take this opportunity to share with you something I made up tonight. Part of my "rent" is cooking once in a while at home and so I went to the store and grabbed some thin pork chops. I'll try to put it in recipe form for any of you that may want to try it! I don't really do recipes so this is an estimation of what I did...
Grilled Bacon Wrapped Feta Pork Rolls with a Balsamic Reduction
(AKA: Ande's Pig Sushi)
Serves: 4 / Prep time: 20 minutes / Cook time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
6 thinly sliced pork chops
7 slices of bacon
1/4 c. green pepper (sliced julienne)
1/2 c. sliced onions
1/2 c. carrots (sliced julienne)
1/4 c. celery (sliced julienne)
1 clove minced fresh garlic
1/2 apple, finely diced
1 c. fresh chopped baby spinach
1/3 c. feta cheese
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
1/2 c. mozzarella cheese
1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
1 T. honey
(Feel free to substitute any veggies to your liking, and if you prefer Gorgonzola or goat cheese which I hate you can use that instead of feta)
Instructions:
Pound the pork chops down till thin. Set aside. Finely dice one strip of bacon. Saute that bacon, peppers, onions, carrots, celery, in a pan on high heat with olive oil till brown or about 5 minutes. During the last minute of sauteing, add garlic and apple. In a mixing bowl, combine vegetable mixture, spinach, cheeses and olive oil. Stir for at least a minute till spinach starts to wilt and ingredients stick. Add olive oil as needed. Take about 1/3 cup, more or less, of the mixture and with your hands compress it into an oblong ball and put it onto a piece of pork. Tightly wrap the pork till ends meet. Take 1 piece of bacon and tightly wrap it around the pork roll. Continue with the other 5 pieces. Heat a pan with no oil till very hot. Drop the bacon wrapped pork rolls into pan. Sear on all 4 sides till bacon has browned. If you have a grill, cook the wraps on the grill for about 5 or 10 minutes or until cheese is pouring out of the ends- this makes it taste absolutely wonderful. If you don't have a grill, continue sauteing rolls in the pan until pork is done. Take away from heat, and briefly let cool. Put the vinegar and honey in a medium saucepan and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes. Stir it with a whisk every few minutes. On a cutting board, using tongs to hold the roll in place, take a sharp knife and slowly cut off the ends of the rolls only about 1/4". Then cut the roll down the middle. This will give you two identical rolls, probably about 1" high. (You can also cut the roll at a diagonal). When you cut the rolls you should be able to see the veggie and cheese mixture on the inside, and if you cut the veggies julienne style it will look similar to sushi in the middle. To serve, place 2-4 cut rolls on a plate, veggie side up so you can see the middle. Once the reduction is complete (it will be very thick), drizzle about a teaspoon or more over the top of the rolls. Serve hot.
It's quite good with some kind of roasted potatoes. If you love balsamic reductions like I do, you can make twice as much of the reduction and dip your potatoes in it. You can eat this with your hands like we did, or with a fork and knife. Enjoy!!
I've probably reached my complaining quota for the week but I just wanted to ask one thing...
Have you ever reached a point in a stage of life where you flip your switch to auto-pilot? You're living, breathing, walking, working but you're not really really thinking clearly? You desperately want change but don't know what to change or how to change it? You know your attitude sucks but are unsure of how to make it any better? You want to maybe be anywhere but where you are, and be with anyone but who you're with, but have no way of getting there? You feel like the majority of people you know sincerely and simply don't care about you?
I know that sounds dramatic, but this is how I've felt for at least a few weeks, and especially the last few days. I can handle just about any situation, whether job or home or whatever, for about 2 or 3 months. Over the years that's been the period of time that indicates whether or not I can handle a situation. Well I'm reaching that stage of living at home and doing this routine and it's not working. I'm really sick of feeling like this and I gotta do something to fix it.
I really had to get that off my chest, thanks.
I've been a fan of Bobby McFerrin for years, but I just found this video of him with Richard Bona that's really fabulous. http://youtube.com/watch?v=iimMKWF7SK0&feature=relatedBona has such a pleasant voice too. At 5:20, they start a song which I have always loved of McFerrin's, by the way, and Bona's improv at 6:50 is sweet...but at 8:20 he does some weird stuff, I'm like Whaaaa? Bobby can do such interesting things with his voice though, gosh. He did some stuff with Yo-Y0 Ma too though the video below isn't his best.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=GczSTQ2nv94
Okay, I really am going to make an effort to stop posting so many YouTube videos cause seriously I could report all the awesome crap I find on there all day! So I'll try to keep it to a minimum...it's just that my brain is going a little nutso right now and I'm in this really weird state where I'm so overwhelmed I just don't want to think...my power switch is on but my brain is not functioning. Not a good place to be in for too long.
I want to complain- anyone got a problem with that? This is all I need to say to feel better...
I hate this town. I hate this town. I hate this town. I hate this town. I hate this town.
Ah, that's better....for now.
I'm not on my own computer so you don't get any snazzy custom blog headers. Sorry.
At any given time on U.S. television, there is at least one station
talking about Hillary or Obama...about Obama's preacher, their tours around the U.S. winning states, etc. Is anyone else totally sick of listening to these windbags? All they say is meaningless, socialist fluff over and over again. We've got a long way to go before the election and already I'm so tired of it.
I've been thinking about voting a lot lately though. I'm in a bit of a conundrum because frankly I don't give a rat's rear end who gets elected. I don't care because everybody but Ron Paul is a fruitcake, but Ron Paul doesn't have a chance in heck to win because of my own conspiratorial theories which I won't begin to mention here.
My first inclination is to vote republican, but McCain is an advocate of
the war and I am not anymore, while the democrats are an advocate of bringing our folks home {not to mention I just really don't like him for some reason}. If I were to vote today I would have no clue who to nominate.
With this election feeling hopeless, and everyone moaning and groaning about our economy, on top of skyrocketing prices on so much in this country that I see right in front of my eyes, it's honestly kinda hard not to be really cynical about the "All-American Life". I heard an old black woman in line at the store the other day and she was talking to the clerk about gas prices and the sort...and she
turned to me and say, "You know? Something's gotta give!"
99% of the people I talk to speak of our situation like it's hopeless and we're in big trouble. Are we talking out of our bums here or are we really getting flushed down the toilet?
I am extremely naive when it comes to global economics and recessions, but I think she's right. Something's got to give Either we change our way of living (either temporarily or permanently) and we change our mindset about our standard of
living, or the economy has to bounce back. But that brings me to wonder if Americans can really change the way we live? If we're forced to, how long will it take? If we do neither of these things then we will continue to live in a perpetual state of hopelessness, that of which will have negative lasting effects on this country....in my humble and uneducated opinion.
A bug just flew on my chin and I flicked it off and I don't know where it is... so this is a good time to say goodbye.
Who are y'all voting for?!
At any given time on U.S. television, there is at least one station
talking about Hillary or Obama...about Obama's preacher, their tours around the U.S. winning states, etc. Is anyone else totally sick of listening to these windbags? All they say is meaningless, socialist fluff over and over again. We've got a long way to go before the election and already I'm so tired of it.
I've been thinking about voting a lot lately though. I'm in a bit of a conundrum because frankly I don't give a rat's rear end who gets elected. I don't care because everybody but Ron Paul is a fruitcake, but Ron Paul doesn't have a chance in heck to win because of my own conspiratorial theories which I won't begin to mention here.
My first inclination is to vote republican, but McCain is an advocate of
the war and I am not anymore, while the democrats are an advocate of bringing our folks home {not to mention I just really don't like him for some reason}. If I were to vote today I would have no clue who to nominate.With this election feeling hopeless, and everyone moaning and groaning about our economy, on top of skyrocketing prices on so much in this country that I see right in front of my eyes, it's honestly kinda hard not to be really cynical about the "All-American Life". I heard an old black woman in line at the store the other day and she was talking to the clerk about gas prices and the sort...and she
turned to me and say, "You know? Something's gotta give!"99% of the people I talk to speak of our situation like it's hopeless and we're in big trouble. Are we talking out of our bums here or are we really getting flushed down the toilet?
I am extremely naive when it comes to global economics and recessions, but I think she's right. Something's got to give Either we change our way of living (either temporarily or permanently) and we change our mindset about our standard of
living, or the economy has to bounce back. But that brings me to wonder if Americans can really change the way we live? If we're forced to, how long will it take? If we do neither of these things then we will continue to live in a perpetual state of hopelessness, that of which will have negative lasting effects on this country....in my humble and uneducated opinion.A bug just flew on my chin and I flicked it off and I don't know where it is... so this is a good time to say goodbye.
Who are y'all voting for?!
Y'all ever seen "So You Think You Can Dance?". I am bloody sick of all these stupid reality TV shows on every station of cable, but this one is still kinda cool. The dancers there are really talented though, and the terrible dancers who audition are hilarious to watch. Yeah, it's coming on Fox in a few weeks and I'm kinda excited. Sorry to put so many examples up here, but these were my favorite performances from the first season...
My favorite part is at minute 2:37 when she runs into his arms like that. Hot!
I like this new iPod commercial, both the dancing and especially the song. It's by The Ting Ting's- they're pretty cool. Every time I see the girl fall down at minute :23 it makes me smile.
Oh, and I like this song by Leona Lewis, especially some of the lyrics- http://youtube.com/watch?v=sF84pIhP5UM
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