TheBigFriendlyGiant

Universal Language

2009-12-22T00:09:00.000+05:00

At the Universidad Reformada, I had the opportunity to participate in their community orchestra for Christmas concerts. This was the one place where I could fully participate even without knowing the Spanish language - the language of music crosses all borders. The university students I played with were wonderful. Most students played on instruments purchased by the university, and none that I met had been playing longer than 5 years. We rehearsed a few times each week at the university and performed several times for university events and concerts around the city. The chamber ensemble performed for the university graduation, at the orchestra concerts, and at an outdoor festival. The orchestra concerts included two large concerts with a combined chorus from the university, the Colegio Americano, and other smaller choirs. We performed one concert at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral and another concert at a bustling mall next door to the Colegio Americano. This mall was built on property previously owned by the colegio, and the colegio retains the right to use small sections inside the mall. After the combined concerts with the choirs, the chamber ensemble performed an outdoor concert at a Christmas Festival.

Even though the Universidad Reformada has been educating students for several years in Theological Studies, the other focus areas are relatively new. This year's graduation that took place in early December welcomed the first class of Psychology Majors into the ranks. Professional Music and International Business are the other two programs currently admitting students, and the university is in the process of adding a program for Industrial Engineering. Every time I performed with the orchestra, I thought, "This is GREAT publicity for the burgeoning university!"

Feliz Dia De Las Velitas

2009-12-21T04:20:00.002+05:00

Advent and Christmas in Barranquilla differ from Advent and Christmas in the United States in fewer ways than I expected. Sure, by my typical "United Statesian" standards, December is not a cold month (there are NO cold months) here, that's for sure. Otherwise, you've got the festive decorations in every store, choirs and orchestras playing carols in cathedrals and malls, and a night for lighting the city's Christmas lights. In Medellin, we saw the city-sponsored decorations throughout the city.

Here in Barranquilla, one tradition, Dia de Las Velitas, includes families gathering for a whole night of fun and dancing. At 3 a.m., children often blow out the candles that have burning through the night. My cultural education for the evening included "immersion" dance lessons. For the night at least, I learned the difference between salsa, merengue, cumbia, and vallenato. Cumbia and vallenato are unique to Colombia, particularly the Caribbean coastal region, with variations in Panama.

The evening was more evidence that despite the decades of violence and fear woven into life in Colombia, or perhaps as a way to balance it, the Colombians we meet are relentlessly happy. Never naive, always cognizant, and resolute on enjoying life.

Welcome to California

2009-11-26T10:59:00.001+05:00

No, not the state of California in the U.S. - a region of Colombia in the Gulf of Urabá that is called California. I arrived in Barranquilla late on a Thursday evening, and at 4 a.m. Friday morning, we (the 3 other accompaniers, the accompaniment coordinator, and I) were on the road for a 14-hour car trip south.

These photos illustrate the adventure and the wonderful people. Words feel weak in my attempt to share the somber realities of life in California. We passed through a government checkpoint to enter the region, and I learned that the area is considered a red zone by the Colombian government. The area is known to be controlled by a paramilitary group, and it was decidedly calm....but not peaceful. Later, we were given more specifics: coca (the crop which is chemically treated to form cocaine...much like methamphetamine) is grown by paramilitaries in this area; the bench we sat on to watch the pick-up softball game is directly in front of a house occupied by a paramilitary planted in the community; and, everyone we met has been displaced at least once by violence in their community.

After the retreat in California, we visited small churches in various communities. In each village, we met remarkable men and women. Chigorodó is a small community made up almost entirely of displaced families. Several church members raise and sell pigs and chickens as a result of a grant from the Presbyterian Church (USA). One church leader shared details of a guerrilla takeover of his town several years ago. For three days, he and his family were trapped under a bed because of dangerous crossfire.

In these communities that welcome us as family, the generosity abounds and individuals exude a peace that matches the tranquil earthen landscape and not the tumultuous human environment.

My Piece of History: I helped make it happen!!

2009-01-26T01:17:00.004+05:00

Here's a play by play of my amazing week in D.C. for President Obama's Inauguration.

Thursday late evening: arrive in D.C.

My friend Amy from high school was kind enough to offer a place to stay and picked me up from the airport, too! (Since my flight arrived after the Metro stopped running.) I hadn't met her roommate Alexander yet, but he was so sweet to make a bed for me before I arrived.

Friday: leisurely day.

The full gravitas of the experience hadn't quite settled into the city yet, and none of my cohort out-of-towners had arrived. My Metro stop was on the red line, and conveniently, most of my engagements were also on the red line. I walked around Dupont Circle a bit, found an indulgent (and warm) vegan cafe, and ended the day hanging out with Amrita, a college friend I hadn't seen since 2003. It was so great to see her again! We walked to dinner then to her place where she made the most delicious vegan hot chocolate. Ok, the magic touch was probably the Ghiradelli (vegan) chocolate chips that "spilled" into the cocoa. But having a readily available vegan option for hot chocolate was freakin' awesome! Friday's theme so far: coming out of vegan exile. HAH!

Actually, the REALLY fantastic part of Friday was catching up with Amrita. Her post-college exploration resembles mine somewhat - minus the teaching elementary school thing. She's had a few jobs that were great in ways and not so great in others. She's done her share of wandering around Europe. And now she works for an organization that helps Asian/Pacific Islander victims of domestic violence. She helped me appreciate being in a city other than the mainline NGO hubs like D.C. and NYC.

Saturday: still easing into full gear.

At the time, I saw Saturday as a day for recuperation because Friday was COLD. Apparently, it was the coldest day in D.C. in five years. It took me until Sunday before I finally got on board with the two-layered pants strategy. After sleeping in a bit, I decided to walk around again. But alas, once again, I landed in a warm cafe with a nice view until the time arrived for my dinner with the rest of the ASC crew. I was skeptical about the restaurant when I paid $4.50 for tea and saw the four course dinner option for $44/person. BUT, it turned out to be a brilliant location. One of the planners had heard it turned into a club late at night, and lo and behold, it did. We debated going elsewhere to party but decided to stay put and had a blast. Check out photos on facebook. Then! When we were really tired and left, we discovered the real value of the evening. We discovered that the cover charge to get in our dinner club was $20! SCORE! HAH!

Sunday: the real beginning

Sunday marked the official start of Inaguration Week with the We Are One concert at the Lincoln Memorial. I went with Amy, Alexander, and Kim (Amy's cousin). We collectively agreed NOT to arrive at 9am for a 2:30pm concert. Instead, we were in line by about 1pm and then directed to the "jumbo-tron" viewing area around 2pm. The numbers I heard estimated 300,000 people in the secure area and at least 750,000 people total. We had fun. This was our firsthand introduction to the concepts: "Yay! Crowds are warm!" and "Yes, I know you're just passing through and not trying to stand in front of me, but you're increasing airflow and moving my portable heaters (people) away from me."

Right around the time U2 came on stage, I realized I was hearing more famous artists live in one concert than I've probably heard in my whole lifetime. (the real live music highlight comes on Tuesday) Because I'm a concert snob who doesn't like paying $50+ for concert tickets. Granted, they each sang about one song, and none of the songs were originals. Whatever, it was cool. AND this was my first time hearing Obama and Biden live, except on conference calls.

Sunday continued with a Missouri Obama Staff Reunion. The fantastic part was hanging out with my MO people, Werks, Jonae, Amber, meeting Jarvis and Jonae's sister (shoot! can't remember her name), and seeing the GA organizers, too, Sarah and Justin. The glitch came early when we discovered that the official MO Reunion location was a 21 and up bar. Two of our organizers are 18 and 19, so the bar was a no go. We tried to find a restaurant with seating for eight, contemplated hanging at Amber's hotel, but eventually landed at a McD's instead. I voiced my frustration to our state director in a crisp email. If we had known ahead of time that the MO Reunion location was a bar, then we could have PLANNED, made a reservation elsewhere for our group at a restaurant for all ages or SOMETHING. Impromptu plans with eight people don't work AT ALL. Seeing everyone and hanging out, though, that was awesome.

Monday: the calm before the storm

What did I do Monday? I'm not sure I remember. Oh yeah, this was my first big walking day. AND, I forgot an important development from Saturday night. I found the most grateful recipient of my extra Inauguration ticket: Nayadin. Nayadin and I did our education courses and student teaching together at ASC. Unlike me, though, she actually likes teaching and stuck with it. She came up to D.C. from Atlanta without a ticket, like tons of other people, just for the awesome experience. When she heard I had a spare - she pounced! Kidding, not really, but she was really excited. So we decided meeting up Tuesday would be our attempt, but we knew there would be no guarantee. We met up Monday to hang out and for me to give her the coveted ticket.

Back to the walking. After I gave the ticket to Nayadin, we went to lunch and walked around with a couple of her friends, Lauren and ????? (darn it, there I go again forgetting a name. that's what I get for waiting 3 days before blogging). Anyway, the guy friend suggested we walk over the Key Bridge to Georgetown to see MANIFESTHOPE:DC. That exhibit blew me away! To paraphrase a comment from the exhibit's website, isn't it amazing to have a series of art inspired by our president as compared to the last eight years during which most people were embarrassed by our president?

Tuesday: are YOU ready?

I spent Monday night hanging out with Amy, Alexander, and Kim at their condo, so we could all rise at 3 A.M. for the big day. Yes, it was early, and yes, it was worth it. As the eager beaver, I walked to the metro station in time to be there when it opened at 4 A.M. But alas, the crowd of us had to wait 'til 4:15 before they opened the gates. No big deal, I got on that first train and made it to my designated security checkpoint metro, Judiciary Square on 4th St. NW, by 5am. Once off the train, I had to navigate the crowds and streets to find my actual line at the intersection of Constitution Ave. and First St. NW My first mistake was easy to correct. I saw that the street I wanted to walk down was blocked off, I decided to follow a crowd down an interstate tunnel to circumvent the blocked street. However, when I saw an exit sign for 2nd St. SW, I sensed trouble. I confirmed with an officer and turned right around. No worries, I still arrived at my "Purple Ticket Line" by about 5:30am. Or so I thought. At this point, it did cross my mind that I was again following a crowd without gathering my own information. However, this line was growing rapidly enough that leaving it to explore other options would have cost me greatly.

When Nayadin found me in line, I was so grateful for her warmth and company that I didn't even think about one of us going to explore other line possibilities. Four hours later......having moved about a block and heard no official updates on entry status, one of our line buddies climbed on a guy's shoulders and reported that the people gaining entry were in a completely different line, which was quite far away. So it wasn't until 10:30 a.m. that we abandoned our line to make our way to what we hoped would be the line to our entrance. Keep in mind that moving an inch in a direction different from where the crowd was headed was near impossible. People were amazingly happy and polite, but no one likes being pushed.

Once we were in the new line, we were inside within an hour! That security gate was mayhem! As soon as we passed through the metal detectors, everyone sprinted. We bombarded through the porta-johns trying to get to our new crowd and realize we could see nor hear anything substantial. It was SO amazing to finally be inside!

And then we noticed Nayadin's blackberry was gone. We went back to security, hopeful but not successful. When we returned, we decided to stay out of the crowd, so we could hear better. Within moments, they were announcing Izhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Gabriella Montero, and Anthony McGill who played an arrangement by John Williams, "Air and Simple Gifts." That was beautiful! Then, even though I couldn't see or hear the oath at the time, hearing the cannons and watching the officers ride through the crowd.....I was so moved. I'm sure everyone has heard President Obama's speech by now. I loved it.

The rest of Tuesday blurs together. We scattered pretty quickly after the speech, I missed the benediction. When I got back to my metro stop, I ate, and then got a text message back from the good samaritan who found Nayadin's phone. What a relief! I went to retrieve the phone, returned it to Nayadin, and went to sleep as soon as I got home. That return trip was also the only time I took a taxi instead of walking the mile home from the metro. I thoroughly enjoyed the walking, but by about 6pm on Tuesday, I was exhausted.

Wednesday: no time to recuperate, it's time to PARTY

I guess I slept in a little bit, compared to Tuesday, but it sure didn't feel like it. I met up with my MO crew again, and then I went to April's to get ready for the Staff Ball. April's another ASC friend who lives in D.C. She lives close to Reagan National Airport, so she offered to drop me off Thursday morning. She also came to the Staff Ball with me, which was awesome. The Staff Ball had amazing food, even more amazing music (Arcade Fire and Jay-Z), and more wonderful speeches from Joe and Barack. Very inspiring!!!! And of course, we were too excited to go to sleep without catching up and too tired to talk as long as we wanted.

Oh, what a wonderful week! A once in a lifetime experience!

Trekkin'

2007-10-31T00:41:00.000+05:00

Here I am in Amman, Jordan. We arrived yesterday evening around 6pm local time. That's 11am EST. We visited Jerash today, one of the Roman Decapolis, and my first archeaological ruins. I learned that 20% of the ancient city has been excavated while the other 80% waits buried for the millions of dollars required to fund digs. For more detailed blogging on this day as well as the rest of my trip, check out the group blog posted daily on AJC Travel Blog. I will blog my own unique experience and especially post pictures as I can.

V-Day: Reclaiming Peace 2007

2007-04-08T03:39:00.000+05:00

I went to Atlanta's V-Day event at the Tabernacle on Thursday night, and it was fantastic! The performers were very impressive: hilarious, poignant, touching, tragic, all of it. As a volunteer, I got to hear Eve Ensler speak briefly at the VIP reception immediately preceding the show. Her message was clear and intentional that V-Day's goal of empowering women means sharing power with men, NOT dominating, eliminating, controlling, taking over, or oppressing men. I like the eight statements of the V-Day Mission.

V-Day is an organized response against violence toward women.

V-Day is a vision. We see a world where women live safely and freely.

V-Day is a demand: Rape, incest, battery, genital mutilation and sexual slavery must end now.

V-Day is a spirit: We believe women should spend their lives creating and thriving rather than surviving or recovering from terrible atrocities.

V-Day is a catalyst: By raising money and consciousness, it will unify and strengthen existing anti-violence efforts. Triggering far-reaching awareness, it will lay the groundwork for new educational, protective, and legislative endeavors throughout the world.

V-Day is a process: We will work as long as it takes. We will not stop until the violence stops.

V-Day is a day. We proclaim Valentine's Day as V-Day, to celebrate women and end the violence.

V-Day is a fierce, wild, upstoppable movement and community. Join us!

V-Day stands for Victory, Valentine, and Vagina. To date, the movement has raised over $40 million and educated millions about the issue of violence against woman and the efforts to end it. This is more than any other anti-violence campaign in the world.

Part of the process of empowering women is providing an opportunity, sometimes prodding women to speak, to tell their stories. Eve Ensler's book, The Vagina Monologues, was that platform: for many of the women, the first time they'd spoken of their trauma, shame, or disgust associated with their vagina. Ms. Ensler travelled the country interviewing women of all ages to hear and record their stories. When pain is experienced and then buried, the healing process is delayed, the scar deepens. On the flip side, when we see and hear others who have felt and experienced similar hurts, we understand that we aren't alone, the violence wasn't our fault, and it doesn't have to continue. Upon ourselves or others.

For me, that's what V-Day is about: raising awareness, so that someday soon, no woman feels trapped or silenced in a violent situation, and so that increasing numbers of men feel liberated to demonstrate to other men how to relate and behave toward women and all people in respectful, non-dominating, non-agressive manners. We all take rebuke more seriously when it comes from "one of our own kind."

Furthermore, violence includes more than just physical harm. Taken from the Men Stopping Violence website,

"You don't have to hit someone to batter that person. Many people think that battering is defined by how many times a man hits a woman. In fact, many men who complete our (MSV) six-month batterers program have never physically struck a woman. What they have done, however, is struck fear in a woman by using a wide range of controlling and abusive behaviors over a sustained period of time."

My Story

2007-03-23T07:17:00.000+05:00

Tonight was the viewing of V-Day: Until the Violence Stops, a documentary about the V-Day movement started by Eve Engler, at Charis Bookstore in L5P, sponsored by Charis Circle and Men Stopping Violence. Facts come from V-Day.org and the Family Violence Prevention Fund. Coming up:

V-Day Atlanta GA

As part of the 2007 V-Day Worldwide Campaign, Atlanta GA is proud to present a benefit production of The Vagina Monologues to raise awareness and funds for local organizations working to end violence against women and girls.

5 April 2007 - 7:30 PM
With Special Guest Doria Roberts

Venue: Tabernacle

152 Luckie Street NW
Atlanta, Georgia 30303

Fact: 28 Central African countries practice female genital mutilation on girls, usually between the ages of 4 and 12.

Fact: There are 3 types of FGM: clitoridectomy, the amputation of the clitoris; excision of the labia minora as well as the clitoris; and infibulation, the removal all external genitalia including the labia majora, after which the edges of the wound are stitched together, allowing for only a tiny opening. In Somali custom, prior to a girl's marriage, the best man uses a bull's horn to re-open the stitching for her husband.

Fact: The clitoris is a bundle of 8,000 nerves, the most nerves in a single location in the human body, male or female.

Fact: During WWII, Japanese soldiers were given "comfort women" on the battle field. These were South Asian civilians who were forced into military sex slavery between 1932 and 1945. Many women have been shunned from their children after speaking out seeking justice, compensation, an apology from the Japanese government.

Fact: Around the world, at least one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime.

Fact: Nearly one-third of American women (31 percent) report being physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives, according to a 1998 Commonwealth Fund survey.

Manhater? I hate cultures and societies that tolerate, condone, and promote violence against women, children, minorities, marginalized, ANYONE.

I have been encouraged to reconsider my sexual orientation based on, among other choices, my decision to sometimes NOT shave.

I have been asked: Are you a lesbian? Because I chose to attend a women's college. Because I claim my freedom to defy society's or anyone's definition of what makes me feminine or womanly. I choose to create, modify, and uphold my own images of beauty and sex appeal.

Are you a manhater? Because I wear a shirt that says about my alma mater, Agnes Scott College, "Not a girls' school without men, but a women's college without boys."

And these questions never come from strangers. They come from friends, people who know me!

Christian Peace Witness

2007-03-19T02:51:00.000+05:00

Quick Facts

March 16, 7pm: ecumenical worship at the National Cathedral with two overflow locations
over 3,000 Christians processed 4 miles from the National Cathedral to LaFayette Park
at least 222 people arrested in Divine Obedience
Weather: High--41 deg F, Low--30 deg F (felt like 17 deg F), Precipation--(rain, sleet, freezing rain, and snow) 2.49 in., Wind--ranged from 15 to 20 mph throughout the day and night

Key Speakers:

Jim Wallis--author of God's Politics; President and Executive Director of Sojourners/Call to Renewal

Rev. Dr. Bernice Powell Jackson--President of the North American Region of the World Council of Churches

Rev. Raphael Gamaliel Warnock, Ph.D.
Senior Pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia

Celeste Zappala--Gold Star Families Speak Out, gsfso.org

Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr.--Director of the Hip-Hop Caucus

While I actively wrestle with the label of Christian and whether or not I claim it for myself, I participated in the Christian Peace Witness for Iraq in Washington, D.C. on Friday, March 16. An explanation on the website offers the reasoning for creating a specifically Christian witness. However, I found the downloadable PDF interfaith invitation even more meaningful in my decision to invest my energies in this endeavor.

On Friday morning over 3,000 Christians from 48 states began to gather in our Nation's capital. I arrived on a coach bus with a group of 37 Presbyterians from Atlanta. We left Atlanta at 9:30 pm Thursday night and arrived in Washington, D.C. at 11am Friday morning. After being photographed as a group by an Atlanta-Journal Constitution photojournalist, we dispersed for lunch and various workshops.

I attended a lecture given by Rick Ufford-Chase at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, just a few blocks from the White House. By far the most motivating speech I've heard in most of my life. Few stick out in my mind. His most poignant statement for me was this: "Apathy is not an option."

After lunch with my afternoon crowd, Zeena, Azzie, Sophie, and Xandria, we returned to NYAPC for warm shelter and workshops. I attended the second half of the Extended Nonviolent Action Training for individuals considering Civil Disobedience and therefore risking arrest by crossing Pennsylvania Ave. from LaFayette Park to pause and pray for peace in front of the White House. The law requires that protesters (and I believe all civilians) keep moving in front of the White House.

The afternoon included debriefing and a role play on the process to expect in being arrested. Leaders of the CPW event had been in negotiations with the National Park Police in expediting the the evening, so that information was shared in this training. Experienced protesters shared their perspectives and encouragement for the discernment of whether to participate and what outcomes could be predicted based on various choices inside the process of being arrested. I participated as a peace witness in the role play and felt the simulation of being arrested. Very moving experience.

Next I headed over to the National Cathedral for the worship service. I planned on taking a bus from the Metro station, but I ran into a few from my group, so we started the mile walk together. At our differing paces, we gradually split into 3 groups. Thankfully, a few of us gathered in the basement of the church and were able to claim a section of excellent seats for the entire group. Eventually, almost all of us re-convened in these seats for the worship service.

In my state of reduced mobility I registered for a shuttle instead of walking the 4 miles with the crowd to LaFayette Park. In seeking out the logistics of this transportation, I walked around the Cathedral after the service with a few volunteers who had invited me onto their van. Eventually, instead, I ran into my pal Sophie (I will now call her Ebony because she jokingly referred to us together as Ebony and Ivory:)), who also was unable to walk the 4 miles, and we took a shuttle together.

We were delivered to NY Ave Pres and joined the worshippers there until the time came to walk 4 blocks to LaFayette Park and converge with the processers from the Cathedral. As early arrivers, Ebony and I were able to stake out a spot on the police barricade in order to see best view the Civil Disobedience. In the waiting time, we were interviewed by a Reuters journalist and photographed (extensively) by a Sojourners photojounalist.

The crowd grew in numbers and activity. We alternated between singing "We Shall Overcome" and "Ain't Gonna Study War No More." Eventually, we could feel the presence of the processers. Then we heard the megaphone commissioning of those participating in Divine Obedience.

On the CPW website, 787 people registered to participate in Civil Disobedience. Because of the large numbers, the Police brought buses to the site for processing. This action was planned yet unprecedented. If the usual process had been followed, the arrest process could have lasted until Monday due to the large numbers.

Ebony and I both longed to witness the arrests. We saw the first wave of 100 cross PA Avenue. We saw some kneel, others stand. We heard them sing and sang with them from across the street. We heard, though couldn't quite decipher, the three warnings from the police. But when the bus pulled up to block our view, we finally hurried back to NYAPC to join our Atlanta group for the journey home.

Upcoming Events:

Thursday, March 22, 2007 7:30 PM

Until the Violence Stops: Film Screening & Discussion

Location: Charis Books & More, 1189 Euclid Avenue11189
Description: “V-Day: Until the Violence Stops” chronicles how Eve Ensler’s Off-Broadway solo show The Vagina Monologues grew into V-Day, an international grassroots movement to stop violence against women and girls. Join us to view this powerful documentary in anticipation of V-Day Atlanta on April 5 at the Tabernacle (with Eve herself, Jane Fonda, and Pearl Cleage!). This program is co-sponsored by Men Stopping Violence who, along with Charis Circle, will be a beneficiary of the April 5 performance.

In the works

2007-02-23T00:23:00.000+05:00

My new life is in the works. Of course, the top priority after the skiing accident was assessing the damage. When it became official that I needed surgery, I began to evaluate my options. Staying in Prague seemed out of the question. Even if I could manage to pay for the surgery here, it's a walking city, just like every other European city. Getting around and supporting myself here would be impossible for the recovery period after surgery and extremely difficult in the in-between time. The other extreme would be going home to Knoxville to live with my parents. I stayed on that option for a few days. However, after some internet research, talking to many people who have dealt with similar knee issues, and being encouraged by my Atlanta friends that they'll help me as much as I need, I decided I can manage in Atlanta.

According to webmd, most people are walking (with a crutch) quite easily within a week or two after the surgery, which is itself a two-hour long outpatient procedure. The long process is actually the physical therapy after surgery to re-build my knee's strength to it's original capacity. Webmd also says that with 6-9 months of diligent PT, most people regain 90% of their original level of activity. A torn or ruptured ACL is an athlete's injury, so everything I found made references to athletes returning to their game. Very encouraging.

So here I am looking for a new job and new apartment from the other side of the world:). Very fun. Since I'm about 75% housebound with wireless internet and a laptop, it's not such an arduous task. Just yesterday I had a Skype interview with an Atlanta job prospect. The second interview with that prospect will be the day after I get back, as well as another phone interview on Wednesday morning. And a third interview will be arranged once I'm back in town. I waver on which is my favorite of the job possibilities, but I could definitely be happy doing any of them.

I hate the gambling feel of this phase, though. I have three possibilities, for all of which I'm very grateful. I could get three offers or none. If I get none, the broke phase will last longer. And thus, the apartment search goes well, but I'm limited by the ambiguity of my income.

That's what really sucks about this injury. The week before Munich, I had finalized schedules for teaching English with three different language schools, which is how it's done here--piecemeal, and met with the director of La Strada, the THB NGO. I was going to teach 20 hours a week, which is considered full time and plenty to live on, and volunteer at La Strada one day a week, helping with grantwriting and fundraising. I also had plans to work with the social workers who helped the clients. In short, I was on the verge of earning money.

But instead, in one week, I spent more than I'd spent in the whole time I'd been in Prague. Bleh. Of course, my health insurance will help, but not for awhile, and it'll only help a little. Bleh, so it goes.

I'm excited to see my friends in Atlanta, but I was also excited about the new friendships that were just beginning here in Prague. I have mixed feelings about going back, but mostly, I'm disappointed. I really had every intention of staying here for awhile, at least 6 months, maybe even beyond a year. I know I can come back. I also believe that change isn't always for good or for bad, it's just simply change.

My Day in the Alps

2007-02-16T23:43:00.000+05:00

Most people want their day in Hollywood, or 10 minutes of fame, whatever. Not me. I wanted my day in the Alps. In making plans to visit a friend who lives in Munich, I discovered that the Bavarian Alps were just a short train ride away from Munich. And all total, the day trip would cost me about $100. Therefore, I decided it would be well worth it to take a day to ski. Off I go to Garmisch-Partenkirschen with my newly purchased ski pants, sunglasses, and borrowed ski gloves. I'm psyched!! Skiing in the Alps!!! Woohoo!!

Here it goes: Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2007. I got up bright and early, walked to the metro, and caught an 8:32 train to G-P. I arrived and found a ski schule to rent equipment. I headed up the mountain and inquired to know how the European system works for rating the difficulty of slopes. I picked an intermediate slope and made my way down.

Then about halfway down, I hit a patch of ice on a downward curve and fall. Except that it's not that simple. The skis went haywire, but they didn't come off. The skis (or at least one of them) should have popped off, but the binding was too tight. Instead, my knees twisted with the skis. I heard them pop, and here we are.

I thought I could rest a bit and then finish the slope. I tried once with the skis still on, fell, and took them off. I rested some more and tried to get up with the skis off. Nope. Fell again. During this next rest period, guy stopped and asked if I needed help. I told him I'd be fine after I just rested a little bit. Not so much. I tried several more times, but the boots felt like concrete blocks on my feet. Even when I could get on my knees and position it so I wasn't lifting the boots so much, I fell. Again and again.

Finally, I decided I needed help. Another guy stopped to help me. He took my skis and poles, and then helped me SLOWLY walk to a nearby building. I would get more comfortable, try to walk slightly faster, and fall again. Then the man would help me get up again. Or when we had to go down a small slope, I'd lose my stability. At this point, I started to realize the seriousness of the injury.

There was a nice older couple who helped me sit and stayed with me while Mr. Samaritan went for the Mountain Rescue. Then I rode the snow mobile down to the nearest ski lift. At the ski lift, they put me in a wheel chair and took me down the mountain. The ambulance came to the Rescue Station and took me to the hospital in Garmisch-Partenkirschen. The doctor did x-rays on both knees, and told me I would need an MRI on my left knee. He said I would probably need surgery on the left knee, but that only an MRI could tell me for sure.

I tried to ask questions, but his English was limited. He said I could either stay there until
Friday for the MRI, or have the MRI done in Munich. I also got a splint, crutches, and a shot to prevent trombosis. I was instructed to give myself one shot per day as long as I wore the splint. At this point, they asked if I had transportation. I told them I arrived on the train and they scoffed. I tried to call Tobi in Munich for advice, but he didn't answer. I figured he was driving back from Frankfort because he'd gone that day to get his visa for the US.

I asked the hospital receptionist how much a taxi would cost all the way to Munich (because I could barely stand even with two crutches and a splint), and she said 300 euro. I though, ok, I can handle the train. But the taxi driver came to take me to the ski schule and return my boots, and then to the train station. I asked her how much she would charge me to go to Munich, and she said 135 euro. So I started to consider.

After almost falling on the two steps up to the ski schule, and still not carrying any of my stuff, I decided against the train. So we were off to Munich. This time I was aware of driving on the autobahn and paid attention to her speed, which was 160-200 kmh most of the time. That's between 100 and 120 mph. Thrilling! :) I called Tobi from her cell phone, and they agreed on a meeting place just outside of Munich, to avoid rush hour traffic.

That first day was rough. I've never broken any bones or needed to be on crutches, so I hated feeling like such a cripple. It also took me awhile to adjust to actually functioning with the crutches. The taxi driver told me over and over to use my good knee. But I didn't really have a good knee at that point. Even though the right knee is only strained and will heal itself in 3-4 weeks, it's still far from 100%.

Wednesday and Thursday were spent finding a place to get the MRI and a doctor to prescribe more trombosis shots. The orthopedic surgeon who looked at the MRI and prescribed more shots agreed with the radiologist that I definitely had to have surgery. But thankfully, it can wait a few weeks until I return to Atlanta. The doctor also examined my right knee because up to this point, the two felt the same (granted one was in a splint) and I was concerned.

This doctor also gave me tips on exercises to do with my knee, but I forgot to ask him how long to wear the splint. Insterestingly enough, in all this injury process, pain is not the primary problem. I feel pain and stiffness in the mornings, but it goes away quickly. My biggest issues are stability, mobility, and range of motion. When I come close to falling, I feel pain and wobbliness in catching myself, but the actual fall feels more like my knee(s) buckle or give out on me. As one friend found it described on the internet, it's like trying to walk on roller skates. You go along, but at any minute, you can be surprised and lose your balance quickly. So it goes.

But over the past few days, I have been continually surprised at the increased strength and mobility of both knees. At this point, I get around easily with just the lefthand crutch and the splint on my left leg. I only need the righthand crutch for extended walking or numerous stairs. Around the house or apartment, I can do some walking without either crutch. I have found some good info on the internet about best practice for the ACL pre-surgery. I've also talked to various people who have experience with this type of injury.

I was well taken care of in Munich. Tobi's parents were disappointed that I couldn't see their city, so they drove me around on Saturday to see as much as possible. I also promised to return another time to see more of it. Tobi's Dad even took pictures for me. They'll follow later.

blitzkrieg

2007-02-10T18:59:00.000+05:00

Definition from Merram-Webster Dictionary Online: war conducted with great speed and force; specifically : a violent surprise offensive by massed air forces and mechanized ground forces in close coordination. Even though experts consider the method most uniquely used against France's superior forces later in WW II, the term was coined after the German invasion of Poland in 1939, which started WW II in Europe. For more info on the word and the history, go here.

Here's how my weekend began. Three of my roommates had been planning a quick trip to Poland, but originally, I planned to skip out. Then I'm hanging out Thursday evening, listening to their plans and preparations, and I think, "Maybe I'll go. It's only a $65 train ride, no hostel costs, take my own food, not a bad trip." That was at 7:30pm. We were on the train to Krakow at 8:55. How's that for quick decision-making?

With an 8 hour train ride, the game plan called for sleeping on the train, catching an early morning train from Krakow to Auschiwitz, returning to Krakow for the afternoon and evening, and returning to Praha on the 10:30 pm train from Krakow. Precisely how it happened.....or close anyway. The sleeping involved proved quite cumbersome. The four of us were in a 2nd class car together. We tried all sorts of positions trying to sleep, but to very little avail. About halfway into the trip, we notice several empty cars, so we're able to spread out, 2 ppl per car, and get slightly more comfortable for sleeping purposes. Oh, and the first ticket guy attempted to communicate with us, but we couldn't quite get the message. We figured he meant to tell us he's be going back and forth from different cars, or something. No big deal.

Nope. Come 3:30 am, we were aroused from our fake sleep. The message was then clear: our car was being cut off the train, so we had to move if we wanted to keep going to Krakow. We spent the next 10 groggy minutes asking various peeps around the platform: "Krakow? Krakow?" One guy pointed to one car and we went in. Then another guy on the car said, "No, this train is going to Warsaw." And so on. Finally, we got on the Krakow car, and to our dismay, we were forced to split up this time. Leah and I joined Mr. Stinky Foot Man in one car while Jenweb and Nicole shared with a quiet young Asian couple. Lucky for them, the couple got off the train about an hour and half shy of Krakow, so they had it to themselves for a little bit.

We arrived in Krakow somewhat grouchy, slightly disoriented, and a bit disheveled. Then we boarded a train to Auschwitz not long after that. We joined a cute young guy in his car. He was all suited up, and he had a certificate document that resembled a diploma. And he was quite obviously nervous. We speculated that he was on the way to his first post-graduation interview. And we liked him because he got off on the first stop. It was a short ride to Auschwitz, so we dozed a little, but mostly just chilled.

Auschwitz has yet to fully digest for me. We arrived there around 8 am, and our best choice for a return train to Krakow was 11:20. We booked it to the museum to get information. Auschwitz included three camps: Auschwitz I was the administration center; Auschwitz II-Birkenau was the extermination camp; and Auschwitz III was the work camp. There were also about 40 satellite camps around Auschwitz III. When prisoners arrived at Auschwitz, they were divided into groups: women, children, elderly, and the sick were sent straight to Auschwitz II-Birkenau; men who could work went to Auschwitz III or one of the satellites.

It was raining lightly, but we went ahead and walked the 1.5 miles to Birkenau-Auschwitz II. We all wanted to see the barracks and the gas chambers. In November 1944, right before the war ended, the Schutzstaffel, SS (German for Protective Squadron) bombed the gas chambers in an attempt to destroy the evidence of their crimes to save themselves from advancing Soviet troops. But rather than actually eliminating them, they actually became exposed. We saw the barracks and the ruins. I think there may have been more to see, but by this time, the rain was steady, the wind had picked up, and the temperature had dropped. We were all cold and wet. Maybe I'll go back another time when I can take a slower pace and explore more.

In the barracks, I was really touched by the roses people had placed on several bunks. You can see the picture I took. And initially, I thought the chimneys coming out of the ground were evidence of the gas chambers below ground. But they are actually barracks ruins. The gas chamber ruins that we saw was roped off because of the rubble. The fact that we were the only people in all of Birkenau made the experience majorly creepy and way more powerful than if it had been crowded and sunny. I get frustrated when I have it shoved in my face that depressing historical sites are also tourist attractions, so to speak.

When we walked back to the Birkenau museum, we asked the one guy there to call a taxi back to the train station for us. We weren't convinced that he understood, but he led us outside and kind of wrote with his finger on the door. I thought he was trying to explain how to walk back to the train station. Nope, he was writing how much he would charge to drive us himself. Felt like I was back in Tblisi, Georgia where the lady who owned our hostel would call her friend to drive us to the airport.

Krakow was fun. We spent two hours eating lunch, staying warm, and drying off as much as possible. We ate Polish peirogi, which reminded me of Georgian khinkali, and I had a cup of stone soup. My peirogi had cabbabe and mushrooms. Jenweb and Nicole also had white keilbasa, and Leah had a broth with meat dumplings and salad bar. The salad bar was fascinating: shredded carrots, red cabbage, white cabbage all marinated in a sugar-lemon juice. I've had a cucumber salad that resembled it. Obviously :), salads doesn't mean lettuce, or even an assortment of vegetables in a bowl. In Georgia, it mean sliced cucumbers and tomatoes on plate. In Czech cuisine it matches Leah's Polish salad bar: one vegetable or another shredded and marinated, served by itself in a bowl. We also shared a couple of delicious desserts. One was essentially crepes with raspberry jam and the other french toast with peaches. Yummy. Eating so much amazing food right after the Auschwitz experience was bizarre.

When the umbrellas came down, we ventured out on the old town square. Krakow reminded us of Prague, only smaller and less touristy. We spent the afternoon and evening exploring and taking pictures of the city.

Our train back to Prague left at 10:30pm Friday evening. We were careful to pick a car as close to the front of the train as possible, but we still had a scare halfway through the trip. The long stop en route made Nicole nervous, so we all roused, thinking we'd have pick a new car like before. But a lady assured us in English that we were fine. This was our first opportunity to split into two cars. And now we're home, and we've all had our long naps.....36 hours older.

For curious minds....

2007-02-05T16:04:00.000+05:00

Ok, for those of you who are inquisitive:), I've started meeting people on Craigslist Prague. It's amusing and diverts me away from the flatmates and job search routine. Last week I had pizza and pivo (beer) with a Frenchman named Gautier. He was nice, but he smoked, so I doubt I'll go out with him again. He also wanted to call me late at night for a "kissing party." I told him I don't do booty calls, lol. Whatever.

Today I'm meeting a guy for lunch. He's a musician, and he's finishing his TOEFL certification here in Prague. We'll see. He sounds cool, but most of them do, initially, LOL.

Music of the Night

2007-02-05T15:16:00.000+05:00

While I love having 3 roommates and 2 more flatmates (seriously, I love it), getting to sleep when three of the four of us in one room are sick proves quite difficult. I almost wrote this blog last night because of the snoring, but I did fall asleep eventually. I apologize for the delay in a blog update. My life has found a groove, so it feels less exciting, "bloggable" if you will, of late. However, this weekend included a couple of good tourist activities. Descriptions and updates will come first. Pictures later.

On Saturday, Jenweb, Leah, and I took a bus to Cesky Krumlov, a small Bohemian town about 3 hours South of Prague. As a testament to the "cheap life" as people here call it, I spent an equivalent to $16 getting there and back, including a store-bought water. It had been described to us as the quintessential Bohemian village, and that's precisely what it was. It has been on UNESCO's World Heritage list since 1992. Unlike Prague, it was spared the "ugly Communist buildings" and has preserved all of its Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque architecture. Not that I know enough of each to guarantee that my pictures include evidence, but alas:).

That night, we met up with friends who had been watching the England/Scotland rugby match: apparently a big deal:). Then we went to a joint going away/birthday party for another group of friends of one of my roommates. She technically lives with a close friend, who's Czech, from her study abroad undergrad experience, but spends 75% of the time at our apt for various (understandable) reasons.

The pub was the smokiest I've experienced yet, and the pubs are all pretty damn smoky. The minute I walked in, I was choking. Combined with my impending headcold, I counted down the coughing and sneezing until midnight when we could leave. Lucklily, there's this threshold of how late we can stay out. If anyone's taking the train home, they have to catch the last one by 12:30. If we're all walking, then we can close a place at 5am, or whenever, but I also have the easy option of walking home alone if need be. One beauty of multiple roommates is always having someone either to go out with or to go home. And I'm the lucky one who doesn't have to go to class, so I have a guaranteed hour minimum of empty apartment 3-4 times a week. I have yet to go stir crazy, but Leah and Jenweb are feeling it, I believe.

Yesterday we went on the Jewish tour in Prague. It was really great. More to come about that, too.

Good news!! I had an email from the ED at La Strada, the THB NGO, today, asking me to come in for a meeting/interview on how I can help them with fundraising. I'm excited!!

Searching for a paying job chugs slowly but surely. I'm committed to submitting 5 resumes per day.

I'm headed to Munich next week to visit my friend Tobi. Also exciting!

the irony of it all

2007-01-23T04:37:00.000+05:00

Living in Prague has made it very easy to forget to be a tourist. I have this sense that none of the sights are too exciting because I see almost all of them everyday. One day last week, I decided to walk around taking pictures of such landmarks. Every time we go out, to Stare Mesto or anywhere really, we walk by Powder Tower, which used to be the entrance to the city, when there was a wall surrounding the city from outsiders. From various locations, you can still see sections of the old city wall.

The famous sights go on and on. Tyn Cathedral, The Astronomical Clock--Prague Orloj, Sir Wenceslas Square, Old Town Square with the Jan Hus statue, Charles Bridge.

Prague Orloj has its own gory (fictitious) story. Legend has it that the Prague Councillors ordered Jan Ruze--Hanus (the falsely credited clockmaker) to be blinded after construction of Prague Orloj to prevent him from ever creating another, fancier clock somewhere else. The actual history dates the mechanical part of the clock to 1410, created by Mikuláš of Kadaň and Jan Šindel. The calendar dial and gothic structures were added around 1490; and the figures of the Apostles were added in 1865-1866.

If you want other history lessons, just wikipedia the various sites. It's the new google.

On Friday night, we went to La Boheme at the National Theatre. Definitely the first opera that I have thoroughly enjoyed. It helped immensely that I've seen Rent, and that I knew it had been based (loosely) on La Boheme. Afterwards, we climbed 5 flights of stairs to go to a Latin Club where there were approximately three couples dancing who knew how to Salsa. The rest appeared extremely amateur-esque, which suited me quite well. The DJ also included a fun dose of hip hop and euro pop.

Sunday was spent at Terezin, the former concentration camp that's about an hour outside of Prague. The museum itself hardly compared to the Holocaust Museum in DC, but the experience blew me away. Just being in the space, knowing prisoners had walked and died on that soil, freaked me out. Very valuable experience.

The irony of it all: in all of my time and travels around Ireland, I never saw a rainbow. But in my day trip to the concentration camp, I managed to take a picture of a marvelous rainbow.

Prospects: I have a connection with a THB (trafficking in human beings) organization here in Prague where I'd love to gain experience; I'm communicating with a woman in Slovakia at a Language School, where I could possibly teach.

photos

2007-01-14T17:44:00.000+05:00

Ok, I think I've finally got Flickr up here. The next step is to figure out how to upload pictures directly from my camera to flickr. And I have to buy a new charger for my camera batteries because the one I bought in the US is either a piece of shit, or it just doesn't work here, however you want to look at it.

As for updates here in Praha.....we're settled into our apartment now, which is quite nice. Sucks that I sleep on a rock hard pull-out couch every night, but hopefully I'll be switching out. The apt is right in Prague 1, Stare Mesto, Old Town essentially. We're a short walk from all things touristy, Charles University (Karlova) where my 5 roommates will soon start classes, the famous Jewish Quarter (apparently, Prague attracted the most affluent, elite, and academic Jewish population b/c CZ was the most accepting of all the European countries), and all the major sites to see. I became very familiar with the trams and metro line very quickly, but I may barely use it after all. The Prague Market, where I'm hoping to find good produce, is in Prague 7 where our hostel was located, but other than that, we've got all our essentials within easy walking distance.

I'm planning a trip for the near future to Croatia, Albania, or other Balkan countries because they are the most accessible developing countries. One roommate's advice was to simply visit one of these places that are in dire need of native English speakers and get a job. His observation makes sense that the places I want to go are unlikely to have established websites for international browsing or inquiry.

where to begin...

2007-01-08T18:15:00.000+05:00

It feels like FOREVER since I've blogged. I'm irritated with the picture tedium. Obviously, ofoto didn't work at all. I'm going to try flickr this time, but I'll also upload a few directly as well. For the time being, copy this link http://www.flickr.com/photos/93551130@N00/ and hopefully you can see a handful from Georgia, Ireland, and Atlanta. About Georgia, it was awesome. Definitely made me want to find/create an opportunity for me to live and work in a developing country. Maybe I'll do a graduate degree abroad. Maybe I'll find a paid internship in Africa. So many possiblities. Wonder where I'll end up:).

First off, I arrived in Tblisi on Thursday, December 28 at 4;30 am. I had all the information written down that FannyC had emailed me on which taxis were safest, the hostel's address, how much the taxi drive should cost, etc. As soon as I step out of the airport, a bunch of people are crowded around the door, this man makes eye contact and says "Taxi, taxi?" I was eager for someone to help me carry my shit. Everytime I move around from one place to the other, I'm SOOO loaded down. I shed some clothes in Ireland, but still, whenever I'm in an airport, I think of Ethiel looking at me like I'm crazy, and asking, "You really want to lug your violin around with you everywhere?" Well, I don't regret bringing it, but it certainly is a hassle.

When I realized that I had completely exited the airport, I had to communicate to the taxi driver that I had no lari, only dollars. I had to backtrack, thank the very kind customs officers (who had already let me slip through without taking off my backpack to have it go through the conveyor for inspection), and return to the Bureau de Change, which I was supposed to do before Customs. I got some lari and returned to the taxi mayhem where my original guy was waiting for me. In trying to set the rate, I came upon a translator and finally saw my driver's car (no taxi light). FannyC had instructed me to take a red taxi as those are the official ones. It was quite clear which taxis fit this description, and mine did not. So, I re-claimed my possessions, argued with the English-speaker, and said "Nyet!" (that's "no" in Russian) a lot. The Red Taxi drivers don't even get out until you come up to their car, I guess because they know that the business will come to the safer taxis. I realize now that I was very lucky he was still there. I think all the other official taxis had left in the time I spent getting money and dealing with the first guy. That was my first Georgian adventure. I arrived safely at the Hostel, slept in, took a brief walk around the city, went back to bed, and was awake again when FannyC arrived that evening.

We went to dinner and had a man follow us home. That was exciting. Then we picked up Jenweb from the airport at 5 am the next morning. I went with FannyC to her NGO director's office for a meeting. Very informative for me because they spoke in English the whole time. It was great to learn about the needs and Georgia and FannyC's actual work there. We went back for Jenweb and walked around Tblisi the rest of Friday. We ate kinkhali (meat with juice inside doughballs), which was very yummy, even though I left the actual meatballs on my plate. We also tried a few interesting soda flavors, not so yummy. We had peach, tarragon, and citrus. The tarragon was green and tasted a bit too much like eucalyptus for me. The peach was ok, but I pretty much just drank the citrus.

Georgia has A TON of churches, and they're all really old and really beautiful. We walked all the way up Rustavelli St., which is the main road in Tblisi. Rustavelli has a bunch of streets named after him. He was a famous Georgian poet. At the end of the main road, we saw the three main landmarks of Tblisi, Mother Georgia, Sameba Church, Narikala Fortress. It was dusk, so my pictures didn't really turn out. Then we saw the public baths where Alexander Dumas and Pushkin both bathed. We also stumbled upon an awesome Christmas festival where we got to see traditional Georgian dancing. That was really cool.

The next day we went to Mtshketa to see more famous churches. Mtshketa was pretty close to Tblisi and was actually the first capital of Georgia. Getting from Mtshketa to Gori was very exciting. We found a taxi driver in Mtshketa, but he couldn't understand where we wanted to go. He drove around a bit, and then a couple of police stopped to help. They escorted us to the main highway where we stood at the marshutka stop for quite awhile. A marshutka is a large van that serves as a intermediate between bus and taxi. They have routes and numbers, but they'll pick you up or drop you off anywhere on the route. There's also a set price per ride. They travel within the cities and there are different marshutkas that go between cities. Anyway, so we're waiting at the marshutka stop, trying to get a Gori marshutka to stop for us, with no luck. The police come to help, and they end up using their loudspeaker to order drivers to pull over. It takes a few tries before one actually stops, but it works and we're on our way to Gori. Very exciting. Oh, and our driver was cross-eyed, the fastest vehicle on the road, and possibly intoxicated (jk) :).

We arrived in Gori late afternoon. This is where FannyC lived for her first few months. Gori was Stalin's hometown, so we saw his birthplace and statue. We stayed with her first host family there. They were really nice. Georgian hospitality definitely tops Southern. But the rules can also get a little complicated. I got confused when we had our first meal of the day in Gori, Sunday morning. We had slept in, so it was close to noon. I thought the pitcher on the table was grape juice, so I poured myself a glass. It was actually wine (hmmmm, wine for breakfast), and FannyC informed me that the Tamada (toastmaster, head male of the meal) had to pour the drinks. It wasn't a big deal because her host Dad wasn't at the table, but it was definitely interesting to be drinking wine so early in the day.

After the meal, we hiked up to Gori Tsikhe (Gori Castle) with Turnike, FannyC's host brother. Beautiful view. We also went down inside it to a small church within the castle. I was amazed to see candles and icons there in the tiny chapel because the only access was climbing all the way up the mountain and back down to get inside. When we got back from the hike, we had another meal (lots of eating in Georgian homes=), where FannyC's host uncle was eager to set us all up with Georgian husbands. He thought it'd be a great idea if Jenweb or I married 16 yr old Turnike.

The train ride from Gori to Kutaisi was really long, so we all had the opportunity to experience the facilities. FannyC says it was one of the worst public restrooms she has experienced in GE. Really stinky, and luckily pitch black. I appreciated the toilet, but I definitely could not have managed without Jenweb there to hold the door closed from the outside.

FannyC's current host Dad and sister picked us up from the train station when we arrived in Kutaisi that evening, New Year's Eve. We had time to settle a little bit and get ready for the big supra and New Year's fun. Her host Mom paid an actor to come dressed up as the Georgian Santa Claus, Tovlis Babua--Snowy Grandfather, and give out gifts. I really like the bracelet I got. We ate and drank a lot and then had out own private dance party. FannyC's host sisters are really fun. Her host cousin , Lasha, and her PCV friends, Amy, Tom, Claire (actually EV), and Andy (not PC anymore, he works in GE) also came over. It was loads of fun. We didn't go to bed until 7 am!!

Host Sister Thea, definitely the more mature of the two and closer to FannyC, woke us up for more food at 3pm. Looking back, the whole "force-feeding" that FannyC referred to makes a lot more sense. At the time, I just really appreciated unlimited free food. I never felt forced to eat more than I wanted, as long as I was sitting at the table munching on something and didn't have an empty plate or glass.

Later, we walked around Kutaisi and saw Bagrati Church. On Tuesday, we went to Tskhaltubo where FannyC's friend and co-worker Zaza showed us around. Tskhaltubo, right outside Kutaisi, is a former resort community converted into housing for internally displaced persons (IDPs). These are Georgians who were forced to leave Abkhazia (autonomous region in Western GE) in 1998 due to war and conflict in the region. Georgia and Russia both want control of the region, as I understand it. Abkhazia has lots of valuable coastal region as well as the only railway connecting GE to RU.

Zaza took us to a museum there in Tskhaltubo. It was supposed to be closed b/c they had no electricity, but the people let us walk around. Zaza took us to his home (pretty incredible---it's an old hotel room with a bathroom and terrace that he shares with his Mom), gave us drinks, and showed us pictures of summers he has spend in the US and Italy. He did an internship at the Carter Center, which was pretty cool to talk about with him.

Then we all took a taxi back to Kutaisi and went to Gelati Cathedral, just outside Kutaisi. Zaza was a great tour guide and translator. We ended up having to leave the taxi driver halfway up the mountain to Gelati and hike a good bit of the way. We felt pretty lucky that the driver hadn't left b/c we were gone for over an hour. The cathedral was amazing. I even drank some water from the natural spring.

We were late, but that night, we had a supra with Thea's university friends. That was the first meal where there was no obvious Tamada, so it was amusing. We laughed a little at the guys declaring that it was time to make a toast and then spending 10 minutes arguing about what to say. Thea had selected one of her guy friends to be Tamada, but when it came down to it, she was the only one who could get everyone quiet.

On Wednesday, FannyC had to return to work, and we put Jenweb on train back to Tblisi. I had finally begun to re-hydrate myself, so essentially, I spent the afternoon going from cafe to cafe buying a cheap beverage and using their restroom. One place reminded me of Morocco. I had to go outside the back of the restraurant, and the girl pointed me to an outhouse essentially. It wasn't my first GE hole in the floor, but it was definitely the most basic.

Thankfully, I ran into a friend of FannyC's, Vakhov, so I was less bored for the last bit of the workday. He and I went for a beer, and FannyC met us there after she finished work. His friend Giorgi let me use his cell phone to tell FannyC where I was. We took it easy that night. Then Thursday morning, I slept in and then walked to FannyC's office to have lunch with her. After lunch, I hung out at her office while she had a meeting. The meeting was in Georgian, though, so she was able to leave before it was over. We went for pizza with another PC friend, Seth, and he told us all about Istanbul.

Thea and FannyC dropped me off at the bus Friday afternoon, and I arrived in Tblisi Friday evening. The taxi driver didn't have change when we arrived at the hostel, so I ventured into the PC dorm area, introduced myself, and got change from the girl in there. I'm trying to get better and more relaxed about meeting strangers and making new friends. It's just easier to stick with my friends that I already know. Anyway, Tblisi is way less exciting without FannyC to translate and guide me around, so I just ate some khachapuri that I'd brought from Kutaisi and hung out in my room.

I woke up at 2:30 AM and got on the plane to Prague. By the way, for every flight, I have managed to forget about the one or two liquids in my carry-on. Atlanta to Dublin, Dublin to Tblisi with several connections. I don't know how many securities I went through, and nobody noticed my liquid hair gel (200 mL, NOT in a clear plastic bag) until my layover in Vienna, coming from Tblisi. I barely made that connection because I picked the line that was checking EVERYONE and moving at a snail's pace.

Here I am in Prague with Jenweb. We've been in a hostel so far, but we've looked at one apt and have another one to visit this evening. Looks like we'll be living in Prague 1, which is Old Town. Jenweb found an amazing deal. I'll be sleeping on a couch, and 5 of us will share a bathroom:). Very Bohemian! I have yet to see a single busker, so I've started emailing responses to job ads. Amazing how many non-teaching jobs are looking for specifically native English speakers, no Czech needed. Wish me luck.

Irish Adventures

2006-12-26T22:21:00.000+05:00

I leave for Tblisi tomorrow morning, so here's my favorite picture from Ireland. I arrived in Dublin last Tuesday afternoon. Due to major fog in London, my flight was over two hours late. Combine with that lacksadaisical planning of both Sarah and me, her cell phone mysteriously not working, and it took awhile for us to connect at the airport. No big fiascos though.

My only minor fiasco was in the Atlanta airport where I could barely keep my balance with all my luggage before I checked my backpack. Channel 11 Alive News interviewed me because my pack was "as big as me." Whatever, dumbass, at least he called me a seasoned traveller. Actually, it was funny, and a nice diversion from realizing that I hadn't brought Sarah's address to put on my luggage tage. I called my Dad from the airport to get it, and it was exhausting trying to hold the phone, balance my bags, and write the address all at the same time.

And of course, I hadn't tested to be sure the pack would fit into the overbag. It was too big, so I had to re-distribute some clothes out of the pack into my violin backpack case and messenger bag. In the process, I lost the one gift I had to open on Christmas, and my sister's, too. BUMMER. I'm still sad about those presents. The FIRST thing I did in Dublin was eliminate a big stack of clothes. Yes, Les, you were right, though, not quite half:).

The pics aren't really sorted, but the first half are mostly from Killarney/Ring of Kerry. Then after the pic of us in the hostel, they're all from Galway/Cliffs of Moher (pronounced moor). Sarah also took a couple pictures of me playing in a traditional session of Irish music in a Galway pub called The Crane. I'll add that one later.

Atlanta Photos

2006-12-26T22:15:00.000+05:00

Here are some pictures from the going away party. Thanks everyone, for coming!! Thus far, I'm using ofoto.com, but I may switch. I also included a few pictures that were on my camera from before the party. My questions about the picture below: whose face is that? what am I looking at?

SAGA

2006-12-21T05:26:00.000+05:00

Ok, so I'm here in Ireland, love it, Europe is my new home, at least for the time being. 'nough said. Pics and details will come later. But here's the Travelocity SAGA of which most people caught the tail end.

Here goes.....in mid-October, I bought two separate tickets: one set from Atlanta to Dublin (12/18) and back from Prague to Atlanta, and another set from Dublin to Tblisi (with a connecting flight in Moscow) and Tblisi to Prague (also with a Moscow layover, but less relavant). As soon as I email my itinerary to PCVGE (aka FannyC), she informs me that a flight from Moscow to Tblisi won't work because of political tensions.

No biggie, I can handle that. I call Travelocity who sold me the ticket to change my route. They say, "no, relax, if the flight is cancelled, I'll be put on a new flight. No changes are allowed." Bullshit. But, ok, I relax and trust that 'they'll take care of me.' Once again, bullshit.

Finally, right after Thanksgiving, I get an email from Travelocity saying my flight cannot be confirmed and to call immediately. I do as told, call, then they inform me that I will be issued a refund within 5 days of them receiving my paper ticket. And that's the best option they can offer me. I FedEx the ticket and call the next day WITH THE TRACKING NUMBER, saying it had arrived at 8am. Of course it has to go through processing, but here's where I switch to the angry customer.

Not only will they not recognize that it has arrived, but they also change the refund timeline from 5 days to 15-30 days. I enlist my co-worker's assistance and she gets me beyond the call center into "REAL" customer service.

There, I speak to someone who claims to have the power to make something happen but ultimately gives the same solution as the guys at the call center: refund in 15-30 days. About this time, another co-worker has given me info off hoovers.com, which provides the phone and fax numbers for the top three executives for essentially any big corporation in the world. First I start leaving messages for the CEO. I included a complaint letter with my returned ticket, but I realize that it probably got tossed.

Doesn't take long before I realize that my phone calls will not be returned, so I start dialing every extension possible until I talk to a human being in the Executive Office. This lady, and Exec Asst if very sympathetic, listens very well, hears my frustation, yada, yada, yada. She connects me back to the supervisor of the woman who told me REFUND.

I could have been FINE with a refund, but not after I'd already left for Dublin. At this point, it seems very clear that I'm getting the run-around, passed around, and no help. I call Travelocity's parent company ( I forget the name at the moment)....Sabre Holdings, YES!!

I call there, insist on speaking with a person, but still end up leaving a message. The lady calls me back and says she's "knocked on some doors," but that the two people above the lady I've been working with are out of the country.

At this point, it's very clear that I'm getting the run-around and I become even more irrate. I harass them to the point that by the end of the week, the lady threatens that no one will return my calls if I keep calling. And I know (as my hunch had already suggested) that I have made a name for myself in that office.

That same afternoon (a Friday), the EA that was sympathetic calls to schedule a conference call with the Sr. VP of Customer Relations and the Director of Support Specialists (the two higher-ups who'd been who'd be returning to the country on Monday from Manila.) I reluctantly agree.

Since my previous approach of angry customer had yet to yield results, I consulted with a friend whom I discovered got a refund by simply writing a letter. My letter and phone calls had been fruitless so far. I sent Quickee my complaint letter and he TORE IT UP. He reminded me that the whiny customer never gets anywhere but booted out of a business. Polite, firm, and courteous customers get what they want.

So after major revisions in my letter, approach, and attitude, I emailed a new letter to the CEO as well as the head of marketing for Travelocity at Vollmer PR. And yes, I included the two people who'd be conducting the conference call. I also sent it to the lady I'd been in contact with at Sabre Holdings.

I had my sales attitude ready. I was going to make my case, ask what they'd do to make it right, and wait. Quickee made it very clear that I couldn't be the one to break the silence. It never even got to that point. When they finally called, I was very polite and conversational. Then the SVP went straight into what she saw as the best option.

The put me on a new flight and ate the $500 difference from my original ticket price. The flight times changed, but I was totally prepared for and fine with that probability.

Then, on Monday, 12/18, the day I left for Ireland, the details changed again. But at least this time, I had a direct line to the woman who dreaded talking to me and knew to make me happy at all costs:). So it's resolved again. And I get to spend New Year's with my two best friends from high school, well, and one for the past 25 yrs really. Yay!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Stay Tuned!

2006-12-03T04:17:00.000+05:00

Only 15 days until I leave for my Big Adventure!! The really exciting blogs are coming up when I'll be describing my experiences. It'll be an attempt to keep as many friends as possible updated on my life while writing as few personal descriptive emails as possible. No offense to anyone, but I have never been a reliable correspondent. This is my new and improved alternative. I actually enjoy blogging. I'm ecstatic about the opporutnity to take zillions of pictures of everything I see and post them, so I won't have to try to "remember" everything in my head.

Almost all of my furniture has left the apt. I'm storing a small bookshelf and handy plastic storage containers, so I'll have them when/if I return.

My going away party is next weekend, and a ton of really fun people are coming. I'm going to get a Sweetwater Keg and build a fire out back, so we won't be crammed into my relatively tiny apt. I've got various peeps in charge of music and liquor. I decided to not bother with legit speakers and just blast my little computer speaker plug-ins. I'm more concerned w/ good music variety, so that's set.

My roommate says she'll decorate, so we'll see what happens with that. I've got a friend of mine planning a 100% vegan "menu" with me. Totally AWESOME!!!! For once, people have replied to an Evite. Very encouraging. At this point, I'm totally psyched for all of it!

TWO WEEKS!!!! And I'll be in Ireland! Then Georgia! Then Prague! And who knows where else I'll go. We're already planning a trip to Kiev, Ukraine because we'll have a week in Prague before the Beast's classes start!! Woohooo!! I'm REALLY excited about living with the Beast and her super cool friend(s) in her Masters Program. Pretty liberating to anticipate almost three months of being cell phone and car-free!

Oh!!! And get this shit!!! Ok, so everyone knows I just bought a cheap digi camera and iPod shuffle specifically for this excursion. Well, the one drawback I couldn't afford to fix was having to download music and photos onto public or friends' computers. BUT, Friend, from Coincidence? (turns out he's not the Sevananda dude, but still friggin' awesome guy), happens to be a computer geek and offered to loan me his spare Apple laptop. WOW!!! I couldn't be more grateful! I have several friends who are willing to loan me cds to download to his hard drive, so I can rotate my own selections on the Shuffle.

Originally, I expected to be at the mercy who had iTune libraries that included something comparable to my taste to share. But that kind of sucked because it appeared that every time I'd get music off a new machine, I'd have to erase all the previous songs. Whatever, I'm not a computer person enough to try to think about how it all works. I'm good at playing around when I need to in order to solve a problem, but beyond the actually problem-solving, I don't bother to remember most of what I learn about the processes and capabilities.

Life is good. Later, I may elaborate on my Travelocity drama. It will work out to my advantage quickly. They're eating the cost and calling me Monday with new ticket info. CEO Michelle Peluso's Executive Assistant was responsive and took prompt action, so I'm confident that they will take care of me. I doubt it'll be necessary, but if I need to, I'll call Sam Gilliland, CEO at Sabre Holdings if I'm not satisfied with Monday's resolution. Hoo-rah for hoovers.

Coincidence?

2006-11-22T07:47:00.000+05:00

Here's a story that illustrates a fairly new intention and belief of mine. In the past 9 months or so, I've begun drawing people into my life who don't fit the mold of my previous expectations and pictures of who I find myself hanging out with. It's difficult to describe how this has been intentional without me being fully aware of the change in myself, but it has been both. My acceptance has opened up a bit, and in parallel timing, I have established friendships with a handful of really wonderful people.

Once upon a time, I headed out to Sevananda to buy a few quick groceries. I felt no rush, it was a laissez-faire summer afternoon. I had finished teaching and not yet started actively looking for a new job. I was probably near the peak period of my serial dating phase. I park my car and meet a guy right side the store. He gives me the usual explanation that he means no harm, just needs a meal. He said he'd just moved to Atlanta and didn't have much money. Pretty clean-looking guy. Definitely not stinky, high, drunk, or even grungy.

It's the middle of the afternoon, pretty busy, I feel completely at ease, so I say, "Sure, pick something out and meet me at the check-out. No problem." I buy the food, and we go outside. To show his gratitude, he plays me a song on his recorder and creates a poem just for me:). It was sweet and the recorder made me laugh a little. We introduce ourselves and he wants to chat and hang out more. I've gotten to the end of my comfort zone, so I excuse myself. He's cool, though.

Last night, I go upstairs to play Scrabble w/ Les because we haven't hung out since our little "tiff" so to speak. Anyway, so he suggests inviting his friend over to play with me. I say, "Sure, is he hot? Should I go change out of my sweats?" Friend comes over, we hang out, have fun, he says he's lived here about six months, very eager (without actually hitting on me) to hang out with me again. And I'm thinking, why does he look familiar? Huh.

When I went to Sevananda today, it dawned on me! Friend and I met at Sevananda this summer!!! Crazy! I'm like, NO WAY! But the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that it's true. Everything fits. Bizarre and cool. I just emailed him to ask if we'd met at Sevananda, so we'll see if my memory is correct.

Shout out to my friend kewlkat!! She just got her first "real" career-related job. She starts next week as a Bilingual Human Rights Representative for the Human Rights Commission for the state of TN in Knoxville. Rock on kewlkat!!! Congrats!!

For Sale

2006-11-16T06:21:00.000+05:00

At this point, the goal is to find people who have the means to pick up my furniture and take it off my hands. Not in the "haul it off to the dump" sense, but just in that I don't have to sell it per se. This will also serve as a learning session on how to post pics to the blog. Shouldn't be too hard to figure out. Let me know if you're interested or want dimensions of any of the furniture. Ok, so formatting and layout is not my forte. It's just a drag.

Exit Polls

2006-11-09T09:35:00.000+05:00

First off, go Dems!!! Nancy Pelosi ROCKS! I'm psyched that we're going to have our first woman speaker of the House. I don't mind if we don't officially take the Senate since we've got 50% of the votes already anyway. Electing a Dem Prez in '08 will be smoother if we don't control both chambers. Though the avenger in me also really wants to just continue beating some ass, so that we'll have a real lame duck. I'd like the recovery process to begin ASAP. Enough of that, I'm not in the mood to vent politics.

Here's where I want people's opinions. This was the gist of a google chat that I had with a guy friend of mine this afternoon. I'll qualify it with examples of other banter that goes on with my guy friends. One, we joke about quickies, servicing each other, "how much time you got?"..."well, how much time u need?" Another friend let me spank him on Halloween (I was a 50s housewife carrying a mixing spoon) and wasn't uncomfortable until it actually started to hurt. Anyway, that's the background to how I relate to my pals. I thought I was at a similar comfort level with Les (short for lesbian, but that's a whole 'nother story).

Ok, so Les and I are kidding around about me choosing a tattoo. I ask if he likes tattoos. He says no. I ask if he'd think I was sexy with one. He says no. I say, "oh, well, I guess I won't get one then." this is all well and good, he knows we're kidding. then I say "it doesn't matter, you don't think I'm sexy, anyway." expecting to get a response along the lines either, "yeah, you're right," or, "sexy mama, u know ur hot." some witty reply.

But no, he takes that as a loaded serious question and doesn't know how to respond. I re-iterate that I'm teasing, and we hash it out later. Bottom line, he still thinks it was a weird statement/implied question. I can admit that I was curious to hear whether he went to the exaggeratingly affirming joke or chose the cut and dry rejection. But he thought it was way out of the joking realm. Am I wrong? Would I have been crossing the same line if I'd been talking to Spankee or Quickee?

Beats me. I'm just curious what other people think.

In other news, I'm getting majorly pumped about my upcoming trip!!! I took off from work yesterday to buy a digital camera and do other errands (and vote! woohooo!) Funny how whenever I buy impulsively, I almost always return it.

What happened is this. I've been shopping for an iPod shuffle and digital camera ever since I decided to head overseas. At first, I was determined to buy used, but Quickee convinced me that, at least for the camera, buying used would be catastrophe. He introduced me to Techbargains, the best discount electronics website ever, where I bought a shuffle for $50!!! including shipping!!!

The camera deals were pretty good too, but I was more nervous about that purchase, since there are so many damn choices. I call Spankee (these aliases CRACK me up!:)), and he gives me sound advice. I go to Showcase, don't love the one they have in my price range, so I go to BestBuy. I do my best to avoid large chainstores, but alas.

I buy the second to cheapest digital camera in the store, realizing that it's the exact same camera that I used when I was the photographer, "Technical Coordinator," at an outdoors camp two summers ago. Suffice to say, it was a cheap camera. I get home, eat my lunch, check Techbargains for good deals, find none, and go back to BestBuy.

It dawned on me that I wasn't the least bit eager to get out my new camera and play with it. Telltale sign that change needs to happen. Back to BestBuy. For $50 more dollars, I have the nicer Sony version of my previous camera as well as a 4-yr warranty.

Got home, played with my new toy, almost took it to work just to take pictures. I'm not that cheezy. I'll wait 'til tomorrow and take a few good outside Autumn shots. Then I'll play with downloading and posting them here.

This one goes out

2006-11-01T08:54:00.000+05:00

......to the one I love. I doubt that song actually fits with this blog, but it's one of my favorite R.E.M. songs. Ok, so I've got enough guy friends complaining about internet dating and dating in general that I decided to look for a theme in guys that get a reply from me. This is mostly based on their approach, not so much about factors such as common interest, physical attraction, etc.

Long emails or phone conversations. Now, while these can potentially get weird beyond the very beginning stages of getting to know someone, at first, they're great opportunities to get conversation started and find common ground. And the thing I appreciate is when I get to read long emails without writing much in return. It's easy to read a long email and pick one or two things to ask about. Reading a person's rambles so to speak also gives a lot of perspective, so it's easy to spot fuzzy oddities that need clarification before I meet someone.
Positivity. If I'm going to hear someone talk incessantly about himself, which undeniably happens on most of my dates, I at least want to hear good, optimistic stuff. And the next best thing to being with someone who is genuinely interested in getting to know me better, is hearing someone who is visibly happy and excited about life.

I try to avoid giving unsolicited advice because I don't like receiving it. And so I blog. It's also amazing how popular I become as soon as I lose interest in dating. I was crazy stand-offish, almost rude, to my date Friday night, and yet, he just called and wanted to stop by to hang out tonight. As if.

All this dating stuff basically summarizes everything my roommate has ever tried to advise me about "the dating game." Play hard to get, smile all the time, make him chase you, blah, blah, blah. But I can never manage to feign disinterest. I don't fake very well. What's the point anyway? Of faking.

By george, I've got it!!!

2006-11-01T07:01:00.000+05:00

I finally appreciate the "guys have to chase" phenomenon. I always thought it was this annoying egotistical power-trip for men. The Aries-feminist in me has always wanted to brazenly initiate, make the first move, not wait around for a guy to ask me out, yada, yada, yada. Now I get it!!

Being pursued gives me more time to decide how much I actually like the guy. I get the attention; I get the benefits of a relationship and dates even before I'm entirely sure that I like him. Sounds pretty fuckin' selfish, but it'll work for a minute. Interesting epiphany.

Soooooo....Europe here I come!! Ok, specifically, Dublin, Ireland; Tblisi, Georgia; and, Prague, Czech Republic. I'll be in Dublin for 10 days and Tblisi for 7. Prague will be my base for two months. I'll definitely visit my German friend in Munich and probably play tourist in Krakow and Budapest as well. Wooohooo!!! As a friend of mine put it, it's like "Faith does Europe!!"

The Official......No

2006-10-09T03:21:00.000+05:00

For everyone who's wondering about La Caravana, I finally heard back today that they have selected other volunteers for the time being. Mauro said they need Portuguese-speaking truck drivers, and I definitely don't fit that job description;). I'm not disappointed because my urgent need to escape has dissipated significantly. I'm looking at other, shorter opportunities. As always, I'm all ears for suggestions. My basic criteria are environmentalism, social justice, solidarity, and sustainable community development. And by short term, I mean a month or so. I may also explore avenues on raising money for La Caravana here in the States. Not sure.

perks....

2006-09-28T05:58:00.000+05:00

of adulthood:). last week I played in the rain without anyone telling me, "you'll catch your death of cold." is that how the expression goes? and no one telling me it was too late to be out in the dark, past my bedtime, etc etc. I know it's been awhile since I had to answer to my parents, but it's little moments like those last when I don't mind paying bills and such if it means being the boss of my life. I like freedom.

no word from La Caravana yet. I'm looking at other volunteer opps, and I will contact them soon to check. but I'm also considering shorter term options and the possiblity of staying in the ATL for the time being. I found a group that I totally jive with (or at least so far;)): Inspiring Futures. they're sponsoring the second annual Bioneers forum.

is it true?

2006-09-16T03:19:00.000+05:00

Is it true that San Francisco weather feels like this all year long? I LOVE this weather!!!! I've never been, but I think should visit and maybe move there.

Andre 3000+Tori Amos+Marilyn Monroe

2006-09-15T22:33:00.000+05:00

Yeah, the Nellie McKay and The Brilliant Inventions show at Variety Playhouse was fantastic!! Nellie's rap songs were hilarious and thought-provoking, especially when she'd miss a word and have to re-do a verse. Lots of cool activist elements to the show. Her range was out of this world!! Initially, I thought, "wow, very mellow, deep voice." But then. She did her Broadway number and a few others with very impressive upper vocals. Her voice was strong all over the place. The piano ablility never fell behind. I'd say it's a toss up as to where she has more talent: voice or piano.

Then there's her stage personality: phenomenal!! That's what reminded me of Marilyn Monroe: the coy adultness (some would say tarnished innocence, but I don't like that expression) along with the high energy and in her words, "schizophrenic set list." Spicy, well-rounded, and diverse would be my description. The combination of talent, passion, and charm made her entirely adorable. And she looked so tired at the end, but she couldn't say no to the audience. She seemed so childlike, but you'd never think childish. Not with the amazing depth of her lyrics and her obvious drive to use her talents for positive change.

I'm always interested to see where The Brilliant Inventions are headed. They're certainly branching out of their established venues: Redlight Cafe and Eddie's Attic. Tough to do, but critical to a local band's potential growth beyond its own city. Nellie McKay was a much better match for them than Bobby Yang. And their set list matched her style very well, just the right mix of irony and depth.

I miss the full band sound from the one show at The Five Spot awhile back. I hope they give it another whirl at a better venue. It added major sustenance to the overall sound. Last night was my favorite intro to the "Angry Lesbian" song. Eliot, don't change strings the day of a show!! (especially the whole set of strings?!! are you kidding me?!!) At least, please don't admit it in the middle of a show. Blame it on the weather! The underwear bit was hilarious. I actually believed for a moment that Josh was either going to put them on or throw them to the audience. Gross and DOUBLE gross, and therefore spectacular slapstick humor.

ooooh, a new musician!

2006-09-14T06:21:00.000+05:00

Nellie McKay. never heard of her, but she's headlining at Variety Playhouse 2mro night. The Brilliant Inventions caught my eye, but I'm listening to her Morning Edition interview (Bob Edwards has the sexiest voice ever!!) and songs on the NPR site. ok....wow!!! blues, piano the way my Granddad plays:), rap, ballads, witty lyrics, she's 19 yo?!! mellow and humorous, that's the quirky combo that I love:). so, I'm dragging my CL date to a show because I wanna go, and I don't want to be rude and cancel our plans.

woowoo, and last night I had an AWESOME first experience. I got to "lay tracks" for a friend's band. it was such a blast! I got to hear myself "dueting" with myself:). and I played cello, too.....shhhh, don't tell any cellists, they'd probably shoot me. not really, but my attempt was quite poor. but it gave him what he needed. or I guess so anyway, they both said they liked it. "hypnotic" was their word. yes, that's what i go for, lol. anywho, I had fun, and it made me want to join a band, or at least lay some more tracks at some point in my life.

oh, and I have another new neighbor (plus her gf who may not live here, but she's around A LOT). so now I have three new neighbors, all in my small apt bldg. and they're all very cool.

lots of smiles in this blog:). I got a friendly note this morning, and I have had a great day all around. life is good:)

goofy fun:)

2006-09-13T05:23:00.000+05:00

I found this on myspace and yes, I get a kick out of quizzes that attempt to sum up my approach to life or love in a candy heart phrase. Is it accurate? Whatever, does it matter?

Your Candy Heart Says "Get Real"

You're a bit of a cynic when it comes to love.

You don't lose your head, and hardly anyone penetrates your heart.

Your ideal Valentine's Day date: is all about the person you're seeing (with no mentions of v-day!)

Your flirting style: honest and even slightly sarcastic

What turns you off: romantic expectations and "greeting card" holidays

Why you're hot: you don't just play hard to get - you are hard to get

What Does Your Candy Heart Say?

Wow!!!

2006-09-11T07:10:00.000+05:00

Thanks for the comments!! Very helpful. I've decided for the time being to stick with the one p/t job and hope that I'll be leaving for Brazil soon.

Anyone who likes drumming should check out the Rhythm of Peace Drumming Circle on Decatur Square Friday, Sept. 15, 7-9 pm. It's FREE!!!

Too many choices?

2006-09-02T00:54:00.000+05:00

As far as jobs go, I've never found myself in a tough position of choosing....until now. I've got the temporary part-time job that's going well. Now I'm applying for a full-time position at the same nonprofit, but I'm also interviewing for a part-time job as Admin. Asst. with a friend (acquaintance, really) who has his own small business that's bursting at the seams.

The huge downer about the nonprofit full-time job is that I don't jive w/ my would-be boss. That's a pretty important element in my job satisfaction. The Admin. Asst. job totally has that going for it. My potential boss has a ton of positive energy and passion for his business, and wants me to be a team member with him. The job has MAJOR growth potential. My qualm with it is the idea of actually working for a business, especially a globalization enterprise. I asked him about labor practices of his suppliers network in Asia, and I was comfortable with his response. But still, my knee-jerk reaction is to resist globalization. Anyone have insight on this? I've tried googling "downsides of globalization," but I don't get much from the results.

I know the issues with inhumane labor practies and wages, and Mr. Man sees his company as a flagship in the business to prove that globalization can be done with ethics and social-consciousness. Then there's the issue of taking jobs away from the USA, but that's kind of a non-issue to me b/c his clients already do business with manufacturers in South America, so whatever. And I'm not even sure I care about keeping jobs in USA when a market's a market. Competition seems to be the loudest voice in business.

It's so weird. Part of me is so morally opposed to business and capitalism? Am I? I'm not sure. But part of me is really excited about the opportunity to get in with someone who is sooooo passionate about his work and building a team. He seems uber-liberal in most of the same ways as me. I mean, he's a businessman with a fuckin' MSW! How bizarre is that? LOL At least, I've never heard of any entrepreneurs with a background in Social Work.

Or, I could just get a part-time job at a coffee shop where I'm not contributing to globalization, but I'm enabling people's addictions to caffeine:).

who woulda thunk it?

2006-08-24T02:25:00.000+05:00

Well, I know I was skeptical about my new job, but now that I've been there for a little over a week now, and I'm basically considered the "top recruiter," I think maybe I like it. It's amazing what that does for my morale, being good at my job, and getting recognition for it.

First: The Music

2006-08-13T19:21:00.000+05:00

Yes, Bobby Yang is the best violinist ever. Yes, he's a diva, violinists just are. We're conditioned into that very early on in life. I'm pretty sure every song they played was a cover of a hard rock, metal, or other genre song. Essentially, the show looked like a group of friends (who happen to be KICK ASS talented musicians) rockin' out to their favorite songs. The guys sometimes sang along the words, but never into a mic. I recognized almost all of the songs, but I could only name one. And the pick up he used was so cool. Re-verb on a violin is awesome! I've amplified my violin before, but all we did was attach a clip-on mic to my bridge. I was nervous it would scratch my violin, and it wasn't the best sound. But it worked. I played an electric once. It was fun. I agree with Bobby Yang, though, it's not the same quality of sound and action. It was hard to tell what he was using exactly, but he talked about it a little. It looked like he had the pick up strapped into his F-hole with a rubberband. And of course, he was wireless.

The Brilliant Inventions: as always, a light mood, highly entertaining, super music. I'd say the appeal of a TBI show is about 75% musical talent, 15% relaxed, comedic, and improvisational stage personality with audience participation, and 10% adorable crushability (I kept my swooning to a minimum seeing as I was on a date:)). Eliot's new haircut (or lack thereof) makes him look like Ringo Star. Most of Josh's songs and presentation are cutely and sadly bitter about relationships gone bad.

They never fail to look like a couple preppy boys who try their damnedest to not be as pathetically clean cut as they appear to be. I missed hearing the new band sound that they tried out back at the Five Spot in February. That was a sad show b/c the sound guy didn't get their sound out very well at all. So the coolness of expanding to a full band on a good chunk of songs was lost in the whacky loudness of the drummer.

I was seriously fascinated by the poor representation of TBI fans. I mean, it was Eddie's Attic, which is definitely "their venue" so to speak. It was a packed house, and they certainly had their typical lively banter with the audience and plenty of people requested songs. So the fans weren't MIA. But Bobby Yang really owned the crowd. I didn't figure it out 'til he came on, but it made total sense. It's the first TBI show EVER where the crowd didn't demand an encore. And Eddie's almost always attracts crowds that respect the music and don't fuckin' talk. But not this one. Some guy at the bar even stood up toward the end of TBI and said, "Shut up!! I hate to be that guy who stands up and yells, but SHUT UP!!" :) And it only worked for a few songs. In a way, it seemed like the two bands were too different b/c the Bobby Yangers couldn't respect TBI and listen. But oddly enough, the bathroom talk disproved that theory. Everyone in there had come to see Bobby Yang, but they also said they were thoroughly impressed with TBI.

So.....while I am totally enthralled with Bobby Yang's talent and majorly high energy, my loyalties lie with TBI. They're local, and they're growing. I always root for the underdog, and that's how they seem b/c they're trying so hard to make it in a near impossible field. And I appreciate the value of getting in front of new audiences, but that's all this show was for TBI. It's hard being exposed, and having to re-prove yourself and gauge an audience EVERY time you perform. I missed hearing my favorite song, but it totally didn't fit with the evening. I even requested it, lol, Eliot said OK, and other chick/bitch from the audience said NO. Whatever.

HOLY FUCK.

2006-08-12T10:20:00.000+05:00

More to cum 2mro: music, date, brazil. but for now, Bobby Yang rocks my world. where was Jam Mr. Fuckin' Rock Trivia when I needed him? couldn't be more different from TBI or any other previous Eddie's Attic artist I've ever heard. another rare reasonable first date. and reasonable is a high compliment. downers were driving 30 mph on dekalb and moreland, as well as.....ya know. (jam--shut your trap.) I give a B-..... generously. yes, he was nervous. aren't they all? not a question. they are.....always. get your mind out of the gutter. I'm being discreet, polite, and elusive. get over yourself. strange conversation with the Mom about my adopting my car while I'm in Brazil. and I need to know more about epidemiology and Conservative Judaism. anyone? ok, H4H tomorrow, 7:30AM. the bed is calling my name.

Psych!

2006-08-10T01:28:00.000+05:00

I am pumped for the Bobby Yang/Brilliant Inventions show at Eddie's Attic this Friday, August 11! Check 'em out. I also started my new "telerecruiter" job today. It's a lot less dreadful than I expected. I think it'll actually be fine. The people are totally cool. Yes, the money sucks, but alas, I will survive. And I have two super awesome neighbors! 'nough said.

Bummer!

2006-08-03T03:24:00.000+05:00

Well, now I have to wait. I heard back from Mauro with La Caravana, and he said the group would convene in September to decide whether to accept a new member, and if so, when that could happen.

La Caravana Here I Come!!

2006-08-02T10:00:00.000+05:00

Wow, I totally can't sleep. I talked to a former member of the Caravan for an hour tonight, and I am so pumped. I connected with everything she had to say about her experience. She was there for FOUR YEARS!! I'm so psyched to really think about details and logistics now. I've barely told anyone that I'm even considering int'l travel at this point. But it feels so right. Now is the time in my life to do this. October 1. That's my goal. So I'm creating this mental checklist of how to wrap up my life here. I certainly want this to be a yearlong leaning towards indefinite time commitment. I need to learn Spanish or Portuguese. I'll have to defer my student loans. Heidi recommended taking a digital camera and an ipod. I also need a tent and a pack. Talk about exhilirating!! I'm so ready to make this happen!

carless dating?

2006-08-02T03:41:00.000+05:00

Ok, so Mr. 2.5 Months Just Like Me got date #2 last night. It was nice. His skin is better than I remembered, and I enjoy talking to him. But is this crazy, or what? After a very short stint with short men, 5'11" just feels weird. I mean, I used to always gravitate toward to the six-footers. He's not chauvinist or anything offensive, domineering or whatever. Just walking down the street with him, I was thinking, "Wow, I feel short." Like, we couldn't kiss or be eye-level unless we were sitting down. Anyway, though, he was cool about my idea of not driving in the month of August. He even volunteered to do it with me. We'll see if I stick to it. Already, I drove to my Dr. appt, and I cancelled a date tonight, telling myself I didn't want to bother with biking back from MARTA at 10pm. But this date wouldn't be worth breaking my "no-car ITP" commitment. Whatever.