tout ce que je pense

Etsy

2011-07-20T23:30:00.000-07:00

What did I do tonight after getting home from a long day at work? I worked for another three hours on an etsy site. Looking at the finished product, I think it was worth it.

Teaser:

Wooden Mushroom


Message in a bottle Earrings


Tesseract Poster

Tiny Feather Earrings

If you felt kind enough to humor me, I'd really love it if you dropped by and told me what you thought. Disclaimer: I didn't make everything on it, but I did take all the pictures and make over half of it. So that counts for something, right?

Please?

The Lion-fighter

2011-07-20T07:34:00.000-07:00

One of my friends showed me this article and I thought it was worth sharing - nay, a crime not to share!

Photo taken from article page.

Here's the premise, as in the article:

Given the current state of the economy, it comes as no surprise that many Egyptians are doing all that they can to revive international interest in their country. What is surprising, though, is that one man has somehow managed to convince himself - and a few others - that he can single-handedly “boost tourism in Egypt” by fighting a full-grown African lion in direct hand-to-paw combat, in front of the Pyramids at Giza.

Did you...? Yes. You read correctly. The article goes on to provide a thorough explanation of the lion-fighter's technique and philosophy. Here are some highlights:

Premise:

I discovered my incredible strength at the age of 13, and, almost immediately afterwards, promised myself that, one of these days, I would fight a lion.

Animal right concerns:

God made me, and he made the lion, and he put us both on the same planet, which means the lion is fair game. Ethically, there should be no problem.

Technique:

It consists of a series of combination moves. I will start off with the slaps, but, you should know, my slaps are unlike any other.

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Will it revive the tourism industry? Is it different from bullfighting in Spain? Or cockfighting?

Read it here.

Photogenetics

2011-07-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

Is this, or is this not, the most photogenic family you have ever encountered? Just sayin'.

These celebs were kind enough to let me take these myself.

Pathologies of Power: Book Review Part I

2011-07-16T22:01:00.000-07:00

First things first: kudos to my Americorps supervisors who accepted Pathologies of Power as an approved "civic engagement" book. It gave me a fantastic reason to once again start over and finally finish this intellectually dense but rewarding book.

Pathologies of Power by Paul Farmer (subject of the much-loved Mountains Beyond Mountains) describes in great, scholarly and personal detail, structural violence, liberation theology, and affecting positive change against all odds. He, besides making plain the current state of our world due to many things (but very noticeably politics and pharmaceuticals), also makes the take-home message cuttingly personal in saying that the same world that makes the poor poor is the world in which likely you, and also I, are living quite comfortably. It is unlikely, I would say, that the plight of all poor is solely our fault, but we are enabling behaviors such as corporate exploitation of poorer populations by supporting organizations and businesses with little or no social responsibility.

Another point that Farmer hit on was slightly harder for me in which to envision my role: that if health care was a basic human right (as in the UN's Declaration on Human Rights), there ought to be a preferential treatment option for the poor. My gut reaction to this statement is agreement, but many questions quickly follow. What of the cost of medical care (to which Farmer would point, at least in part, to arbitrary pharmaceutical pricing)? Who will bear it? How do we convince physicians, and, harder, hospital and office administrators, that this is the case? Should this be a private- or public-sector endeavor?

One thing is obvious: Farmer asserts that it should be an endeavor. From Mountains Beyond Mountains and implied in Pathologies of Power, we learn that Farmer consistently skips dwelling on the impossibility of treatment for such supposedly "cost-ineffective" treatment for the poor and instead moves directly into making the ideal a reality. This is certainly and encouragement, inspiration, and model to be followed in Public Health work. Too often we get caught up in the barriers, lose energy, and give up before even giving an honest attempt at solving difficult problems such as providing an adequate supply of appropriate MDR-TB drugs or providing anti-retroviral drugs to those who so desperately need them.

While I been deeply touched by the kindness and generosity of the providers in CHC's network, I have
also been saddened by where we couldn't help people. I am left wondering how to produce the kind of premium healthcare mandated by Human Rights and Farmer if such a fantastic organization and so many generous volunteer doctors and dentists falls short of what Farmer would call a "preferential treatment option" for the poor. How, aside from (as Farmer has had) wealthy investors in the cause, can we produce such a system? Farmer argues that this would be a governmental responsibility.

I have been surprised in the past several years that there has not been an increase but a decrease in funding for both public health efforts and social services. Medicaid dental coverage was cut years ago for non-pregnant adults and in at least the case of one of my patients (who asked me to reference his case should I ever get a chance to plead the cause), has resulted in astronomically rising costs from medical conditions worsened or directly caused by dental problems. The human body cannot be sectioned off into areas unrelated to each other in health, just as society cannot be sectioned off into areas unrelated to each other in community.

I have had occasion over the past few months to discuss many different government and economic systems in the world, and one concern that I have with the extremest forms of small government now currently proposed in the political landscape is the people who even now hang by a thread to urgently needed and increasingly underfunded and insufficient social services. Maybe you agree that government shouldn't perform social services, and that things like medical services for the low-income, uninsured population should be taken over by the private- or third-sector. My question is what happens to the people while society "adjusts" to this new order? The answer I receive usually involves a concession that a period of adjustment would likely produce a number of casualties. Numbers are people. At times before, and definitely since my ten months with Community Health Connect, these people have names and faces. Stories that would make even the most fiscally conservative scramble to make official provisions for them. What of these people?

Farmer also speaks of the fact that scientific research continues to make significant contributions to solving many health problems, and yet these gains so often fail to reach the population that so desperately needs them. While Farmer presents many case studies and success stories, I still have quite a bit of reflecting and working to do in order to determine my role in attempting "pragmatic solidarity" with the poor. Nearing the end of my term, I do feel grateful for the opportunity that Americorps has offered me to better empathize with people in need in my own community. Having experienced a 100% federal and 50% state reduction in funding for my Americorps program (Americorps and the Medically Underserved of Utah), I feel a growing concern for the people that we work with through our different placements.

I don't know that I have an answer yet, but I agree with Farmer that it is my responsibility to keep looking.

Saturday Mornings

2011-07-13T18:49:00.000-07:00

Saturday mornings have recently become less restful and more productive. As I mentioned in my last post, the owner of Rowley Press and I have been selling together under the name The Foundry. He is selling paper wares of the letterpress and giclee persuasion (to this point exclusive to the Farmer's Market) and I have been selling earrings made of antique buttons, wood,and feathers (among other things). I have also been dabbling in the arts of solid perfume and reusable dryer bags... with mixed success.

We were making the dryer bags on my beautiful antique anker sewing machine out of vintage cotton fabric, but after some R&D conducted while actually usig such bags, we found that the reusability was, in fact, debatable. Namely, on the bag tested, there was approximately 5% of the filling left after one use. Sorry, people we sold to! Twas an honest mistake. It looks as though the problem is that the weave of the fabrics wasn't quite tight enough, but any insight on the matter would be welcome. For the time being, we have lots of deliciously scented deodorizer bags.

The solid perfumes are another interesting side project. I'll just say that so far I have a near perfect ability to predict who will and will not like my scents. You could probably do it with little training. Ask yourself if the person sniffing them appears to be a hippie. If yes, odds are in our favor. If no, they might like the floral scent but will likely be perplexed as to why anyone would ever want to smell like any of them. Ah, well. It's a work in progress. Come find us sometime! We are there most weeks.

Hello again.

2011-07-06T20:38:00.000-07:00

Lots of time has passed. Quite a bit of it in fact. And many things have changed. For one, I started a new blog. Which I also subsequently neglected. I think part of that was not being able to reconcile myself with certain cheesiness involved, and also doing less of sitting inside on a computer in my free time.

This was correlated with me having less free time. I went back to Provo for a job interview that seemed promising, and I was told was promising, and ended up not being very promising. Having moved from Provo to Seattle to DC and then back to Provo, I gave up the moving for a little while. Got a job back at the pediatrics office I used to work at. Got a job at Sunflower. Got an Americorps position with a local nonprofit, which I love. You can read more about Community Health Connect here. It is a lot of work, but well worth it. I am the care coordinator in charge of the entire dental program. I spend about 80% of my day speaking in Spanish. Well, probably about 50-80%, depending on the day.

My term ends at the end of September. I am currently gathering my thoughts about my next step. It will probably involve entering doulahood and/or doing prerequisites for a graduate degree in midwifery.

I started selling at the Farmer's Market with the owner of Rowley Press. We started making money two weeks ago. We'd probably do it even if we didn't make money. Foundrygoods is our Etsy shop, but we are really, really bad at adding new items. It just takes a long time.

My goals for this month:

start posting on my photo blog again
be gutsy enough to send this blog public again
send two packages to people I love

Keep me honest.

Why humans should not have cell phones

2010-05-31T10:23:00.000-07:00

... nearby when they are in an impaired state of consciousness.

photo

Apparently as I was drifting off to sleep last night I thought it would be a genius idea to text my friend one word:

haberdashery.

I believe it was meant in this (def #2) context, but it also means this. Hard to tell with my subconscious.

Sorry, friend. You know who you are.

In which I come out even.

2010-05-27T18:11:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those days when you hit the pillow and think, at least it's over. I spent all day long applying to jobs which for some reason felt especially fruitless. The lawyer's assistant called about my lawsuit. From the car accident. Yes, the lawsuit that is still going on and will end up having lasted longer than G & I's entire relationship. Don't worry, she was just asking me to do something I did a month ago. For goodness sake, this is ridiculous. The whole lawsuit has been a joke, with the lawyer's office sitting around losing stuff for the most part. In addition to all of that, I applied to PATH again today. I would really, really like to work for them. I have been applying to jobs there for years. Literally. Not straight, but still. I got a rejection letter within the first 10 minutes of applying! Perhaps half hour. And yet.

I do not know what they want from me.

I was perfectly qualified for the position and I wrote a beautiful cover letter. Better yet, the position is still posted on idealist. I have half a mind to apply again. Ridiculous.

As I was sitting here in this very chair feeling quite miserable, I looked out the window and saw something that made it all ok:

A METEOR SHOWER!!! Just kidding. My favorite weather - sunny and raining. Such a beautiful paradox.

Then I went for a run. It was the type of humid I tell people to dread in the summers here - where you feel like you're walking through soup. I ran by visible wisps of vapor roughly my height. It hovered in the meadows. Things are all right. I know that when I'm settled and have a job, this period of time will seem so short and unimportant. But I don't have that distance yet. All I have is simple pleasures and wonderful friends.

In which I talk about my lunch.

2010-05-27T11:18:00.000-07:00

My family is notorious for discussing food to an extent that most others find ridiculous. Our family newsletter is as much a food log as a diary. This includes detailed descriptions of any important meals, along with pictures. Let me see if I can locate one (I'm on my parents' computer)...

There we go. Not sure what this is or what the occasion was, but judging by the pointsetta I'd say Christmas or new year's. I had no idea this was abnormal until I went to college - about the same time that I realized the retort "what, do you have a piano tied to your arm?" and the exclamation "it's colder than a well digger's boot in here" were also unique.

Anywho, I was making myself a delicious arugula salad for lunch today and I found myself wondering exactly what sort of nutrient value the ingredients have. So, afterwards, I looked it up - we love the internet. I was surprised by some of the results (from Nutrition Data, a handy li'l website). There may or may not be commentary inserted.

Arugula: a good source of Protein, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Pantothenic Acid, Zinc and Copper (mm, can't get enough copper these days...), and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Manganese.

Avocado: a good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K and Folate. (Also a good source of deliciousness.)

Raw Broccoli: a good source of Protein (! protein? really? broccoli is a good source of protein. ok), Vitamin E, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Selenium, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Folate, Potassium and Manganese.

Pumpkin Seeds: a good source of Protein, Vitamin K, Iron and Copper, and a very good source of Magnesium, Phosphorus and Manganese. (also the number one aphrodisiac for males, apparently. I hear it's chocolate for women).

Roasted Almonds: a good source of Magnesium, and a very good source of Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol) and Manganese.

Goat Cheese: a good source of Protein and Copper. (Copper! Really? If so, I am all set for my copper intake, thank you.)

Olive Oil: well, well, well... what've we got here? some omega-3's, some Vitamin E and K? Alright.

Balsamic Vinegar: Trace amounts of lots of stuff, sugar (YES), and ... I'm sorry... ash? What?

A few things concluded:

Yes. I am a nerd.
I'm a bit iffy on our source here. But that's ok. My curiosity is satisfied.

p.s. - try the salad, it's delicious.

It's all about the scrolling text.

2010-05-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

Choose your own no-nonsense cover letter!

2010-05-24T10:31:00.000-07:00

Dear Potential Employer:

I am writing to express my interest in the (blanky blank) position advertised (somewhere). In my research, I have been extremely/sort of/not really impressed with your organization because of (reasons). Due to my education and work experience, I am very/moderately/not at all qualified for this position.

I have years/months/not a day of related work experience wherein I learned (things) and developed (skills).

I feel I would be an excellent addition to your organization. My salary requirements are more than you would pay/about what you would pay/anything that will allow me to eat and life under a roof. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions regarding my application.

Seriously,
Awesome McHireme
BS in Employability
Loc.al P.hone

In which my hair rediscovers humidity.

2010-05-23T18:48:00.000-07:00

Thank you.

2010-05-22T14:17:00.000-07:00

I have thought about doing this post for a long, long while. It is overdue. While, quite obviously, there have been people very close to me who have hurt me deeply, this is the exception, and not the rule.

Thank you for the concern. For the time spent on the telephone, at restaurants, in your homes, cars, and online. Forgive any slowness to respond on my part, or any fumbling for words. I appreciate and am deeply touched by your efforts to assuage my pain.

Thank you for your efforts in helping me find a job. I hope, as do you, that our efforts together will allow me to start establishing myself again. Thank you for tirelessly reviewing my resumes, cover letters, and applications. Thank you for exhausting your contacts for my benefit. It is a slow process, but better with people like you.

You are awesome. In the literal sense. When I ponder about how forgiving you are of my many mistakes, how encouraging you are of someone with no home, no job, and no real prospects, how kind you are to someone so broken (exhaustingly so at times, I'd imagine), I am in awe.

I do not understand what I have done to deserve you. I'm not sure how I feel about the concept of deserving, at this point. But I am grateful for you. And, lest there have ever been any confusion, I love you all (in appropriate ways) very, very deeply. You have touched my life and my guarded self very deeply. I cannot do justice to the feelings I have on the topic, so I will leave it here:

Thank you.

New Love

2010-05-19T11:03:00.001-07:00

Many thanks to my friend over at CGFTE for this link.

Twas just what I needed today - a lot of fun. Aaaaand edited, if that concerns any of you. I love it enough to let it destroy the line on my site.

You have GOT to be kidding me.

2010-05-19T07:11:00.000-07:00

Working at the peds office, I felt like everyone was naming their children after Twilight characters. No, I thought... no. It can't be as bad as I think.

Yes, it can.

Thanks, SSA!

**Top 10 Names for 2009**
Rank	Male name	Female name
1	Jacob	Isabella

If you'll pardon me, I'm going to go be ill for a while.

of Glee and jobsearching.

2010-05-17T13:41:00.000-07:00

Most likely any of you who are invited to read my blog at this point would know that G&C are no longer G&C. For this reason, I've picked up and moved to the Seattle area to stay with family and look for jobs. And look for jobs. Did I mention I'm looking for jobs?

Anyway. What a beautiful place to learn patience. For instance, check out this little guy:

I feel like I have a lot in common with him at the moment. A lot of the time I carry my home on my back, and I've got my feelers out. Looking for things like... I don't know... jobs.

I hear that jobsearching 100% of the time is bad for your soul, so I also try to do things like take pictures:

read books:

and, yes. Watch Glee.

Going off the radar

2010-05-09T20:46:00.001-07:00

Hey readers,

I'm going off the radar this week. If you'd like to continue to be able to read my blog, send me your email address, and we'll make it happen.

Sincerely,
Me

Better Way

2010-04-18T13:03:00.000-07:00

I'd just like to say how much I am loving this old music video at the moment. Aside from having some great instruments you don't see much (especially in the "official" music video, which doesn't allow for embedding... speaking of which, if anyone can furnish me with a list of the instruments used for that video, I would greatly appreciate it), there are some pointed lyrics throughout the song. See if you can guess which ones caught my attention:

Infidel

2010-04-17T15:12:00.000-07:00

Ayaan Hirsi Ali

While there may be certain drawbacks to no longer being a full-time student, one of the things I've been enjoying recently is the guilt-free pleasure reading. While it may seem odd to some of you that Infidel would be pleasure reading for me, those of you who know me well are not at all surprised.

I'm not sure exactly what I expected in retrospect, but this book shook me to the core. At times I agreed, and others dissented, but was glad for the insight into Ayaan Hirsi Ali's remarkable life story. While I understand that her experience may not necessarily be representative of the whole, many things struck me throughout the course of the book, and I think that may have something to do with some of the life changes I am currently experiencing and the society and religion wherein I operate.

Overall, two passages have stayed with me in the week since I finished reading it. The first was her account of she and her sister's circumcisions, which happened against the will of her parents and in quasi-secret. I am a rather stoic person while reading books, but at this point I wept. Too personal to recount, I leave you to experience it.

The second passage is condensable into a single quote, which is perhaps a good summary of how I feel about the plea to protect people from hearing about the atrocities that occur to women, domestically and abroad. The context is Ayaan speaking about the consequences she faced and faces as a result of discussing openly and frankly her life and concerns for her fellow women. It reads as follows:

People ask me if I have some kind of death wish, to keep saying the things I do. The answer is no: I would like to keep living. However, some things must be said, and there are times when silence becomes an accomplice to injustice.[emphasis added]

While I would caution readers to expect a difficult read in terms of some subject matter and values and beliefs that may challenge their own, I take encouragement from this statement in what I hope will be my life's work - making sure that women's voices are heard, that their difficult testimonies are not borne in vain, and that I will not allow myself to become an accomplice to injustice.

Everybody loves a free thing!

2010-02-04T21:53:00.000-08:00

Hello, hello...

My cousin over at Ollibird is getting ~~fancy~~ downright generous! with illustrator. There's a free PDF of her bird valentine's cards for download. You should check them out, because who wouldn't want sweet/slighty naughty FREE v-day cards. And take a peek at her store while you're at it, which features such awesomes as a simple yet cool meal planner and a sweet visual rendition of a Beatles song (which both happen to feature my other love: the oh-so-hip/awesome color mustard). As a wonderful bonus, her husband is also incredibly talented - you can access his work at Ollibird, too!

Mountains Beyond Mountains

2010-01-16T19:19:00.000-08:00

In a recent letter to a friend, I told them that I'd been having trouble "settling down" since getting married. I understand that some people have always dreamed of having a husband to properly "care [for] and feed", but to be honest I hadn't seen this in the arrangement of my tea leaves. Not that I'm against being married or having a family, just that it had come rather unexpectedly. I followed my statement to that friend by saying that I supposed I'm not the sort of person who ever really settles down - more of one that gears up.

In light of my recent embrace of this part of my existence, I have been gearing up (told you) to start volunteering again with WomanStats and help out with PR stuff for an up-and-coming new philanthropic website for social entrepreneurship ventures abroad called the Tipping Bucket.

Part of my re-entry into my old crazy life is due to my recent completion of Tracy Kidder's Mountains Beyond Mountains, a spirited landmark biography of Paul Farmer, a favorite icon for IntDels (as I call them) and WLs (as Paul calls them). As most of the people who read this blog have most likely already read the book, I'll let those of you who haven't look it up and leave you with a few quotes I particularly liked.

The first, on menial tasks that people, especially people of my age and position, end up doing in the fight for good:

"Long ago in North Carolina, Farmer watched the nuns doing menial chores on behalf of migrant laborers, and in the years since he's come to think that a willingness to do what he calls "unglamorous scut work" is the secret to successful projects in places like Cange & Carabayllo. 'And,' he says, 'another secret: a reluctance to do scut work is why a lot of my peers don't stick with this kind of work.' In public health projects in difficult locales, theory often outruns practice. Individual patients get forgotten, and what seems like a small problem gets ignored, until it grows large, like MDR. 'If you focus of individual patients,' Jim Kim says, 'you can't get sloppy.'"

Here's to unglamorous scut work... to a worthwhile end. I still hold that it's possible to get lost in doing unglamorous scut work to a useless end.

And the second, I thought was beautiful. Especially since there are people, close to me and not, who think that what I'm trying to do with my life - what I think is most valuable, urgent, and important - is useless or just plain crazy.

"I think, sometimes, that I'm going nuts, and that perhaps there is something good about blocking clean water for those who have none, making sure that illiterate children remain so, and preventing the resuscitation of the public health sector in the country most in need of it... Lunacy is what it is." - Paul Farmer, on the Bush Administration's effort to block multiple sources of aid to Haiti (speaking of which - sort of an odd choice to lead the current disaster relief efforts? Just saying).

Thanks, Paul Farmer, for being a lunatic, and inspiring similar lunacy in others. And thank you, Tracy Kidder, for helping us get to know the man behind my current "light" reading - Pathologies of Power.

Bountiful Baskets - Change the way you eat in Provo!

2010-01-16T13:27:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

My sister-in-law introduced me to this amazing new program running in our area. It's more or less a no-overhead food co-op, in the true sense of the word. This isn't a "co-op" where they charge you up the yin-yang for mealy apples from somewhere you've never heard of. This co-op doesn't even really have a physical location. This co-op is pure awesome.

Their website is from the stone ages, but it gets the job done. The story, near as I can piece it together, is that the Bountiful Baskets idea spread from AZ to UT. No more detail is offered on the site.

The money collected from the site is pooled and used to purchase food at wholesale prices from distributors that food services and restaurants usually buy from. They then equally distribute the purchased goods into the baskets which are then assembled by volunteers and picked up by you. My understand is that the money collected from your area ends up in food that comes to you.

These are my spoils from the first week. It rung in at 33.8 lbs - coming out to about 44 cents/lb. I ordered the "basic" basket which is half fruit half vegetable - the exact contents vary.

This, in my opinion, is a revolutionary way to get healthy food to people who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford it!

SUPPORT BOUNTIFUL BASKETS! (and hopefully they'll start a dropoff in Provo :) )

http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/

G&C

2009-11-11T19:53:00.001-08:00

Go big or go home.

2009-11-11T19:19:00.000-08:00

Howdy Blog-o-friends.

Perhaps you, like me, find yourself constantly dreaming up new ideas and slightly more exciting directions for your life. This can range anywhere from craft ideas like a new kind of nouveau-retro headband to a full-on performance art piece or, in my case, a new career.

The problem of dreaming of a new career would be that in order to make it happen, there would be a lot of steps involved. It might be intimidating, because your spouse might have more talent in his pinky finger than you have in your entire body in said given career. And you might decide you don't care and to just go big or go home.

A few seemingly short months ago, I had resolved I was going to do it - I was going to apply to the photo program. I had agonized, I had sought professional opinions - it was finished. Case closed.

Then, my head got rattled around a bit on some asphalt and I decided to graduate instead.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

The lucky thing is that for this career, you don't HAVE to have a degree. You just have to work your patootie off.

Here's what I see in my future at the moment:

1. More promo shoots.
2. Learning about photoshop.
3. Paid shoots.
4. More learning about photoshop.
5. Continual patootie-workage.
6. Home studio.
7. Career bliss.

Wish me luck.

And check me out at http://achaquejourmaphoto.blogspot.com.

Teaser:

Common courtesy & an MPA

2009-10-14T14:38:00.000-07:00

I was walking to work today listening to Arrah and the Ferns when my iPod-budded ears were invaded by the sirens of several emergency vehicles in succession. For each vehicle, most other vehicles on the road stopped, but almost none moved out of the way. I stood thinking about how this seemingly obvious road rule is now all but ignored and it reminded me of how our patients have all but no regard for scheduling. One walked in just yesterday having been scheduled for a weight check (a quick and easy in and out sort of visit that can be done by a nurse) and said that she had two other unscheduled children who also needed to be seen for various illnesses (not so quick or easy, and not something that can be done by a nurse). And then she was upset she had to wait a half an hour to be seen.

Anyway. In all of my workly bliss I have been leaning more towards applying for BYU's MPA program. I feel that that would be the best way for me to continue learning about the subjects I feel most passionately about and end up in a career that's interesting to me. *grits teeth*. It also means the GRE.

Thoughts?

Debbie Meyer Green Bags: Product Review

2009-06-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

The fiance and myself were given Green Bags at my bridal shower to go along with the go green theme, which I thought was pretty cool. I'm pretty skeptical about any product that needs to advertise itself on TV and boast a "as seen on TV" sticker on its box, but after a two week trial, I'm impressed. We bought some strawberries that were ready to eat which have consistently gone bad in a few days in the fridge, and they stayed good for a week and a half (after which we had consumed all of them, so no test specimens remained). We also used it for cut bell peppers, which didn't dry out or lose flavor despite the fact that the bags aren't sealed tightly, and onion, with which we had similar success.

In short, green bags are awesome:

- They reduce vegetable & plastic waste (see point #3)
- They save you money by letting you consume all the food you purchase or pick
- They are reusable
- They use science. Everyone loves science.

The idea behind the bags is that they are coated with crystals of something that absorbs the gas that fruit and veg put out when they ripen. I was skeptical, but now I believe.

A plus, Green Bags.

Here's some pictures I got off the official Green Bags site.

Crazy shower toxins

2009-06-19T21:59:00.000-07:00

I had an extremely bizarre experience in the shower this morning. It kinda freaked me out real fast, bad enough that I blocked it from my memory and am currently wondering if it was real. My roommate dyed her hair the night before, or at least that's what I gathered from the eavesdropping I did from bed (where I often imagine what it would be like to live with me right now, when I have a job where I have to be there at 8:30am and sometimes 7am until 5:30 or 6... after which I eat dinner with the fiance and hang out until he goes to work at 9. When I go to bed-ish. I see my roommates on average once a week at church. Meh). Anywhoozle, so I got up at the rearcrack of undawn this morning because it was my day to open and got into the shower. My thoughts went a bit like this:

"Ehhh. There's hair dye all up in this joint."
*Turns on shower, waiting for it to go through the routine of hot-cold-lukewarm.*
"It smells like hair dye."
*Showers in surpisingly consistent warm water. Ducks head to wash hair under spigot built for midgets.*
"It tastes like hair dye."
*Feels like hair dye is coming up from the depths of her being. Dry heaves. Almost passes out.*

It honestly felt like I had ingested an entire bottle of hair dye and I was starting to throw it up. So weird, especially because I don't ever vomit unless I have the stomach flu or food poisoning. So I thought maybe it was another of the awesome side effects of the medication I take for acne, which include such delights that I have experienced as ringing in the ears & nausea as well as those I have yet to experience and would argue are not really side effects like kidney failure and lupus. Yikers.

I brought it up to the "early nurse" I was working with opening this morning and she suggested that the heat of the shower may have mixed with the chemicals in the hair dye and the plastic shower curtain I have to make some crazy strong toxins.

Weird. One thing's sure... next time it happens, I'm calling in the authority from my childhood:

Of long absences

2009-05-04T09:52:00.000-07:00

Since I know there's such a large fan base that regularly checks my blog, I feel the need to apologize for my long silence in the blogosphere. It has been an eventful past while for me. Here are the highlights:

I. I started dating a guy.

II. We got hit by a car.

III. We got engaged.

Feel free to follow this simple formula in your own life. Patent pending. Anticipate an ampersand soon.

Hahaha!

2009-01-28T15:01:00.000-08:00

And Even There They Just Do It for Laughs
Girl going through security: Do I have to take off my shoes?
Security guard with Eastern European accent: No, no, is no need. We are not crazy. We are not at the airport.

--Top of the Rock Observation Deck

Overheard by: Those were NOT my roommates!
via Overheard in New York, Jan 26, 2009

FrankenCharla

2009-01-26T18:09:00.000-08:00

So, my doctor thought that I might have skin cancer (melanoma) which can kill you in 4-6 months. Turns out one of my moles had abnormal cells and the other was fine (it having abnormal cells is ok since we caught it early. here's to a public health degree saving my life). The one with abnormal cells is still healing, but the other one healed right up:

Don't worry, I took those stitches out myself.

I'd prefer it went to scholarship funds...

2009-01-25T19:35:00.000-08:00

Why is this necessary? And was the cheesy Y uniform extra? Maybe it's part of the 2 million dollars BYUSA spends yearly...

Sometimes things are funny.

2009-01-24T16:06:00.000-08:00

Expect a serious blog entry from me any day now, really. I have some really big news for you. In the meantimes, something that made me laugh. It could be the 3 hours of sleep, but here goes. For your watching pleasure:

Stupid Secret

2009-01-21T22:20:00.000-08:00

I love using my own bag for groceries, but every once in a while when I pick up too much (like at the Sunflower Market on double deal Wednesdays) I act annoyed but I'm secretly happy that the baggers give me plastic without asking so I avoid the inner conflict.

Photo from here.

Le scaphandre et le papillon (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)

2009-01-10T21:49:00.000-08:00

It struck me as I was walking home from International Cinema tonight how cinematography and photography share many commonalities. The one that kept coming back to me this evening was the ability to frame - a shot, a feeling, a story. Good photographs can be incredibly moving, but I personally find that moving photographs are more real - the detail and development breathe life into the story more easily than, for instance, a photo essay. The version of the film that I saw was likely slightly different than versions others have seen, but what I saw framed was an eloquent yet direct narrative about self-expression. As I walked my way briskly back to my apartment in the freezing temperatures, I watched my breath cloud my view. In reflecting on the film, being verbose seemed almost profane. I was reminded in that moment of Elder Holland's remarks not long ago, as he quoted parts of James "If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body." The power of words spoken, not spoken, regretted, and remembered fondly echo throughout the film amongst a montage of sounds and first or third person visual narrative. Warning: you may find, as I did, that the theatre is warm. My eyes were sweating like crazy. I'll have to read the book this summer.

Red light/Green light - Anyone?

2009-01-06T09:53:00.002-08:00

Just some notes from this morning's escapades and a semi-obscure pop culture reference for you all on the second day of school.

THE SETUP (a break from normal formatting):
Good idea: Massage shower head
Excellent idea: Fantastic water pressure

THE PUNCH LINE:
Good idea: Use high-pressure massage shower head on lower back after shoveling snow.
Bad idea: Use high-pressure massage shower head on face after shoveling snow.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T14:43:00.000-08:00

The WomanStats Blog & Female Priests

2008-12-31T07:25:00.000-08:00

The project I work for at BYU, WomanStats, has had a bit of a hiccup recently. After starting a blog using Wordpress, we found that the servers used to host the website (and, thus, blog) needed to be updated to support the new version Wordpress. This wouldn't have been a problem except for the fact that our CSR (Computer Support Rep) accidentally dumped our last recorded backup onto the server before reformatting it instead of backing up our most recent work; this all ended in us losing the last 6 months of our data as well as all of our previous blogposts.

Tragic as this was, we continue only slightly deterred and perhaps even more determined. However, I lost several blogposts that I had done on that blog and as such will now be posting my WomanStats discoveries here, as backup.

From time to time when coding, we discover things that make us smile instead of frown. Such was my experience when reading this article about female Hindu priests in Pune, India. Pune is already renowned as a progressive city in India; the article cites the fact that Pune led the way in encouraging and enabling girls to get an education, as well as allowing widow remarriage (which is typically frowned on by traditional Hindu culture). Another article notes that Pune had also been supportive of family planning as early as the late 1800s. Again, Pune leads the way in this "revolution" of culture. Vishwanath Gurjar, head of the priesthood division of an educational institution in the area, says that "women have an equal right to "moksha," the Hindu concept of the liberation of the soul from the continual cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth. According to him, there is nothing in the scriptures to suggest that women are not equal to men." Although not expressly forbidden by Hinduism, women have typically not worked as pandits (priests) and the movement has met with some resistance.

The movement towards female pandits began, according to the article, with Shankarrao Thatte (owner of a major marriage hall in the city) starting a training school for women called the Shankar Seva Samiti. Both articles cite the prior "lackadaisical" approach of male priests toward their priestly duties, which included performing several rituals (or puja) in homes. Clients complained that male priests were late, rushed through the ceremonies, and were unwilling to explain the rituals or field questions during or after its performance. Women priests, on the other hand, while still working towards universal acceptance, have been growing in favor by those willing to hire them to perform these rituals. They are reportedly more punctual and willing to explain the meaning of the rituals and as such are often preferred to their male counterparts.

One area, however, where male priests still dominate are with regards to death rituals. This, too has recently become an area of greater debate. In the words of the BusinessLine article:

Gulabbai Tripathi was only 11 when she conducted her first funeral and death rites at the death of her father. She died in 2005, at the ripe old age of 86.

For 70-odd years, she was in charge of a crematorium in Allahabad, which she made her home. Marathi writer Mangala Athlekar even penned a book based on her life titled `Gargi'.

Says Athlekar, "When I got to know her, I realised that we — women in cities — only talk about women's liberation in our ivory towers. Gulabbai may not have known the jargon of women's rights, but she put this `liberation' into action.

"Just as, in Vedic times, Gargi boldly questioned the intellect of Yajnavalkya in a Brahmin gathering, Gulabbai questioned the Brahmin gurus of our era.

"Why can a woman not undertake last rites, she asked. She built her own ghat on the banks of the Ganga and served society for 70 years."

While the issue of women priests is likely still a rather controversial subject in terms of potential conflict if male priests were to feel challenged in their roles, there was one point in particular made by the eNews article that could be universally applicable. Gurjar, quoted earlier about male-female equality in the scriptures, also said that "[i]t is only the mindset of people that stops them from accepting women in certain roles." This, I believe, is true of many women's issues domestically and internationally. And so, we at WomanStats endeavor to spread awareness of women's issues as well as propose new possibilities in order to enable society and the mindset of the populous to change accordingly.

[photographs are from eNews and BusinessLine, respectively].

Choose Civility - large and small scale

2008-12-25T18:23:00.000-08:00

So, I've been at home now for a few days and I've noticed cars around the area touting "choose civility" bumper sticker, not unlike this:

Being a naturally curious person, I decided to do some looking into these rather unusual what ended up being magnets.

The movement is a result of research done by Dr. Forni. Essentially, he did research in '98 (probably for years before then, but it was published in '98) that showed that if a small number of people act "civilly" than there is a large positive impact on the surrounding community. Ding! Several communities (including Baltimore) had the idea to start "choose civility" movements. Cool. It's interesting to me that civility is a lost art to many people - so much so that our Dr. Forni himself has written two books, Choosing Civility: The Twenty-Five Rules of Considerate Conduct and (perhaps more appropriate for some of my friends/readers who are already extremely civil) The Civility Solution: What to Do When People Are Rude.

It is in light of this idea that I pass along what I considered to be connected words targeted at the British but spoken by Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rebroadcast tonight. It is a bit on the longish side for a blog post, but it's worth it. Here it is, taken from the Guardian's website:

"In the Name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful.

"Upon the anniversary of the birth of Jesus, Son of Mary, the Word of God, the Messenger of mercy, I would like to congratulate the followers of Abrahamic faiths, especially the followers of Jesus Christ, and the people of Britain.

"The Almighty created the universe for human beings and human beings for Himself.

"He created every human being with the ability to reach the heights of perfection. He called on man to make every effort to live a good life in this world and to work to achieve his everlasting life.

"On this difficult and challenging journey of man from dust to the divine, He did not leave humanity to its own devices. He chose from those He created the most excellent as His Prophets to guide humanity.

"All Prophets called for the worship of God, for love and brotherhood, for the establishment of justice and for love in human society. Jesus, the Son of Mary, is the standard-bearer of justice, of love for our fellow human beings, of the fight against tyranny, discrimination and injustice.

"All the problems that have bedevilled humanity throughout the ages came about because humanity followed an evil path and disregarded the message of the Prophets.

"Now as human society faces a myriad of problems and a succession of complex crises, the root causes can be found in humanity's rejection of that message, in particular the indifference of some governments and powers towards the teachings of the divine Prophets, especially those of Jesus Christ.

"The crises in society, the family, morality, politics, security and the economy which have made life hard for humanity and continue to put great pressure on all nations have come about because the Prophets have been forgotten, the Almighty has been forgotten and some leaders are estranged from God.

"If Christ were on earth today, undoubtedly He would stand with the people in opposition to bullying, ill-tempered and expansionist powers.

"If Christ were on earth today, undoubtedly He would hoist the banner of justice and love for humanity to oppose warmongers, occupiers, terrorists and bullies the world over.

"If Christ were on earth today, undoubtedly He would fight against the tyrannical policies of prevailing global economic and political systems, as He did in His lifetime.

"The solution to today's problems is a return to the call of the divine Prophets. The solution to these crises is to follow the Prophets - they were sent by the Almighty for the good of humanity.

"Today, the general will of nations is calling for fundamental change. This is now taking place. Demands for change, demands for transformation, demands for a return to human values are fast becoming the foremost demands of the nations of the world.

"The response to these demands must be real and true. The prerequisite to this change is a change in goals, intentions and directions. If tyrannical goals are repackaged in an attractive and deceptive package and imposed on nations again, the people, awakened, will stand up against them.

"Fortunately, today, as crises and despair multiply, a wave of hope is gathering momentum. Hope for a brighter future and hope for the establishment of justice, hope for real peace, hope for finding virtuous and pious rulers who love the people and want to serve them – and this is what the Almighty has promised.

"We believe Jesus Christ will return, together with one of the children of the revered Messenger of Islam and will lead the world to love, brotherhood and justice.

"The responsibility of all followers of Christ and Abrahamic faiths is to prepare the way for the fulfilment of this divine promise and the arrival of that joyful, shining and wonderful age.

"I hope that the collective will of nations will unite in the not too distant future and with the grace of the Almighty Lord, that shining age will come to rule the earth.

"Once again, I congratulate one and all on the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ. I pray for the New Year to be a year of happiness, prosperity, peace and brotherhood for humanity. I wish you every success and happiness."

I feel quite hopeful for the years ahead. Perhaps President Hinckley was on to something in his continual support of optimism despite his awareness of current issues (he read numerous newspapers front-to-back daily). I think so.

Happy Winter Solstice!

2008-12-21T15:12:00.001-08:00

As we returned home from today's Christmas service, my father asked us over lunch what was special about today. "Winter Solstice!" I exclaimed, at the same time as another who guessed "Ides of March!"

I get extremely excited for winter solstice every year for many reasons, not the least of which is my love for a dear pagan friend who celebrates it... dare I say?... religiously. Also, it marks the longest night or the shortest day of the year, which means that its passing means the passing of the darkest hour (quite literally) for those who suffer from SAD (whoever named Seasonal Affective Disorder had a sense of humor). Personally, I prefer long days and short nights. Anyhew, I think it's interesting that we celebrate Christmas more or less on top of winter solstice despite the fact that Christ was probably born in April, nearer to Easter. In fact, winter solstice became Christmas with the "civilizing" of Europe and they were around the same day until Pope Gregory XIII changed the calendar (what? yes.) moving the solstice up to the 21st-ish. Poor pagans, we totally hijacked your holiday. And then commercialized it. Honestly, what is the deal with santa? Another topic for another post.

Just for kicks, I've done some not-so-extensive research on the original and Christian symbolism of Christmas, and come to some interesting information. Most people have at least heard that the Christmas tree has pagan origins (they were sometimes worshipped or, in the case of Evergreens, brought indoors as a reminder during winter months that life would again return in the spring), but how bout that yule log? Apparently yule has roots in a word meaning wheel and used to signify the sun - yule logs used to be burned to worship the sun goddess. My personal favorite is mistletoe, which was a mystical plant because it springs up seemingly out of nowhere in the branch-pits of trees; it was traditionally believed that they brought fertility, hence the kissing under the mistletoe business. Neato.

Anyway, call it whatever you like, I'm a fan of the celebrations that go on this time of year and how they foster a feeling of love, hope, renewal, and goodwill (as well as a chance to totally geek out on photo stuff with my dad). Happy holidays!

Finals are over! Free at last!

2008-12-20T08:26:00.000-08:00

Dear blog readers,

I know that you have been missing my quick wit, web-scavenging, and eloquent yet condensed commentary on life as we know it. Fear not! Winter break is here. And that means lots and lots of blogging, both here and over on my photo blog. Consider this your personal invitation to comment, refute, extol, whatever. Yes. Yours.

I'm flying home in a couple of hours so I need to get my life in line, but here's something many of you may or may not have come across. First of all, a blog. This blog is the only blog that can make me laugh out loud on a consistent basis. Nearly every blogpost is packed with squeak/snort/pantspee-ing humor. And they called it... Cake Wrecks.

I have to direct you to this particular post. Watch the film clip, and look carefully for the movement accompanying "and little arms." Repeat. Wear Depends.

And that, dear friends, loved ones, compatriots, patriots, anarchists, lovers, is all for today. But check back often for updates.

Sincerely,

Me

Remember when people could spell? I don't.

2008-12-11T22:12:00.000-08:00

Wood Lot

2008-11-29T23:29:00.000-08:00

White Winter Hymnal

2008-11-22T14:05:00.000-08:00

I saw these guys in concert, and it was phenomenal. Who knew that clay people could move like that in real life?

White Winter Hymnal from Grandchildren on Vimeo.

out west & back east

2008-11-13T08:46:00.000-08:00

The Physics of Meaning

2008-11-07T10:19:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, I went to Velour to see Somber Party and saw some east-coast natives as a positive externality. In fact, describing them as a positive externality is a gross understatement. I was absolutely blown away. Not generally one to rave about bands, I can't help myself in this case. The mournful, soulful pieces that Physics of Meaning played were the sort that makes you nostalgic for things you've never experienced. Lead vocals, string and a less-processed live sound blended together for an audio ecstasy with each carefully constructed neo-symphonic climax. If that's too vague for you, I apologize. I was left speechless that night and I haven't fully recovered.

Check them out on their website.

I just love killing those animals, mm-mm, take away life, that is so fun!

2008-11-06T16:44:00.000-08:00

"I would really like to go hunting with you except if vice president Cheney would come." - guy posing as Sarkozy
"Oh, yes, I'd be... I'd be a careful shot." - Palin

For the prank call audio, go here. It's hilarious. And legit.

While we breathe, we hope.

2008-11-05T14:31:00.000-08:00

Four years ago this day, I walked around BYU campus feeling utterly alone in my misery. The country had spoken and it had spoken in a manner I believed to be wholly incomprehensible. It requested four more years of the Bush administration. This would have been slightly more understandable if I hadn't sat through a "debate" in my American heritage class that featured comment after comment such as "let's face it, Kerry's just not cute enough to be president." And Bush looks like a monkey, I thought to myself. I didn't understand. I still don't.

After the Patriot Act, I didn't think things could get much worse for the nation in terms of the damage done by the Bush administration, but hey, they haven't ceased to amaze me. Regardless, I blog today about something more remarkable: the outcome of the most important presidential election of this generation.

A week ago I went running sporting a "Don't blame me, I voted for Nader" shirt, partially to get a rise out of campus when I jogged through during a class break. I couldn't help but wonder if I would want to wear it again today. A friend of mine remarked that election day was like Christmas: you go to bed and wonder if you're going to wake up to candy or coal.

Four years ago I went to bed when Kerry was projected to win, and woke up to a slap in the face. I approached this election with more caution, no sleep. Watching the results roll in with the BYU democrats club was exciting, to say the least. I am amazed at how successful the Obama campaign was at reducing apathy and inspiring college students. I'll never forget the moment that I saw "Obama projected to win presidential election" first display on the screen - the room erupted into cheers and tears. "No more Bush!" they chanted, and then "Yes we can!" and then "We did it!" and then simply "O-ba-ma!"

I rallied some politically aligned friends with my roommate last night after the acceptance speech and we went out for milkshakes to celebrate. "Happy Obama!" was our parting cry. This morning I felt like a living celebration. I had celebratory 10-grain cereal. My celebratory high-knee steps in aerobic dance were extra high; my fist pumps had meaning behind them beyond toned triceps. Although some Utahans were rallying friends to dress for mourning, I felt like God decided to weigh in by sending celebratory crystalline white confetti all over campus, and then bringing in the sun to further lighten the mood. I ate a celebratory bagel sandwich in my celebratory sweatpants before going home to have a celebratory shower. I feel like a new woman. "Have a great day," the cashier said. "Oh, I'll have a great next four years!" I replied with a grin.

The words of Obama's acceptance speech will forever echo in my mind. Try as I may, I can't do this event justice. We have a black president and, for the first time in my adult life, a president that I agree with my friend "is actually presidential." My feelings echo what was said:

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy... tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.

We are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day."

This is perhaps the first time in my life that I have actually felt proud to be American. As I bit into a celebratory apple this morning, I found it was mealy and hoped that this moment's elation wouldn't follow suit and be flattened by a letdown in performance during the next four years. I appreciated Obama's comments about hard work and sacrifice for change that may take more than a few months, years, or even a term to come about. For the moment, at least, I believe the best. I, too, "have never felt more hopeful" and I, too, can finally echo a feeling that I lost four years ago:

While we breathe, we hope.

Global Warming

2008-11-03T15:52:00.001-08:00

The WomanStats Blog & my first post

2008-10-29T23:45:00.000-07:00

The project I work with is always coming up with ways to better disseminate information. Hence, the arrival of the WomanStats blog!

I just finished writing my first post there. It is about an article I sniffed out in the New York Times.

I support local businesses (which support large corporations)!

2008-10-27T15:20:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time I worked in a hippie mart called Roots. At the time it was very much a small, local business and I worked for peanuts because I really believed in it. It, like many other similar businesses, has changed as it has become more and more popular, but a lot of the changes go on behind the scenes.

I could probably go on and on about different things that would make people who care about local business, sustainable farming, and friendly food (what? ok) want to throw their hands in the air, but I'll stick to today's curiosity. I was really pleased to see that the BYU bookstore recently started carrying Equal Exchange chocolate again. Although I personally prefer the taste and variety of Seeds of Change (which, as it turns out, is owned by M&M/Mars), Equal Exchange is a close second in taste. I was thinking to myself how sad/funny/unnerving it would be if this company, which is reportedly all about fair trade, cooperatives, etc. was owned by Kraft or some such. So I went looking for the ownership diagrams I'd seen at back at Roots. I think it's fascinating to see who owns what.

Hurrah for Equal Exchange! A worker-owned cooperative!

On that note, remember Odwalla? "At Odwalla, we blend the best ingredients from nature with the latest learning in nutrition to create products bursting with living flavor that nourish your body, mind and spirit. Our mission today is the same as it's been for more than 25 years: nourish People everywhere, respect our Planet, protect the Soil with sustainable practicies, and create products good for the Soul." Oh, really? So, let's see... Odwalla, according to the bottle, is owned by odwalla, but let's check our diagrams (I even called them just to double-check):

Owned by Coca-Cola! Boo, Odwalla! Now, contrary to Stuff White People Like, I actually have a reason for disliking Coca-Cola besides the fact that it is a huge corporation that is not Ikea. This would be the fact that there have been murders at factories where unions were being organized. Hairy? Yes.

I guess my point in blogging about this is twofold:
1. It is interesting. What would happen if one of the large conglomerate food companies collapsed? Mass hysteria? Don't think it could happen? Fanny and Freddie Mae? Anyone?
2. Maybe those of us who care who we support should do a little more research? Just an idea. It's more work but only barely and it's worth it.

Happy eating!

Activism

2008-10-27T10:39:00.001-07:00

Oh, I really like change, have I made myself clear?

2008-10-23T15:54:00.000-07:00

Yankee Scouser

2008-05-05T09:22:00.001-07:00

I have a different blog for the summer - yankeescouser.blogspot.com. Goeth. Noweth. or whenever you get around to iteth.

[insert name here]

2008-04-30T00:23:00.000-07:00

Two notable things recently:

1. I've been typing enough on a French keyboard that being on an American one screws me up.

2. My sister and I discovered an incredibly cool used book store in Auvers sur Oise.

Once I figure out what it's called (the bookstore, not an inability to type correctly), I'll edit the title of the post. The store is owned by a man from Quebec and spans a previously abandoned/boarded up building on the train tracks and three old train cars. It had an impressive coverage of subjects and vintages. While perusing through the poetry section, I found a book that had an old (unused) postcard saying, roughly translated, while you are reading this words, please suck on a cherry. Perhaps that's some French saying, but it definitely raised my right (and then left, and then both) eyebrow. I got some gems - an old feminist text in French about birth control among others - and we gave the guy who owned it the gears.

Dimanche

2008-04-27T13:51:00.000-07:00

Today was a beautiful day in Auvers sur Oise - sunny and warm with a gentle breeze. Speaking of breezes, I'm assuming that that's what was keeping me up last night (the shutters banging against the house) and not, as I suspected in my state of fight-or-flight heightened awareness, some French intruder. After church I came home, opened the floor-to-ceiling windows in my room, and fell asleep watching the leaves move framed between the wooden shutters outdoors. After dinner, I walked around town and took pictures. There are more, of course, but I picked a few of my favorites to post today. What I wished I could have taken a picture of was a wc... what is it with French people and hating public restrooms?

Paris!

2008-04-25T15:15:00.000-07:00

Several days and one horrendous delayed flight after I left my apartment, I stepped foot on mainland European ground. I felt the understandable urge to kiss both the solid earth and my sister - but not necessarily in that order. Aside from thinking I was going to die on the rocky-would-be-an-understatement flight, I was happy to spend time with N & her daughter, perhaps the most gorgeous child to wobble the earth on this side of the pond. Get ready for some extreme baby cuteness. And don't say I didn't warn you.

It should be illegal. Today we went on an adventure to Paris, ostensibly to find some shoes and return some baby food that came with bugs in it. Yikes. And my sister wanted to exchange it - brave woman. In the end, I didn't feel like buying shoes but I did go in this crazy fabric store with my sister - the mannequins are wee little things, and I found one that reminded me a bit of Lucille Ball. I had to engage in operation covert picture taking, so my apologies for the composition.

Maybe not Lucille Ball, but certainly... something. Wow. I can imagine that being in that store in the dark might possibly be one of the most frightening things I could fathom.

One of the things I love about Europe (since we all know that it's just a country anyway) is that the public transportation here is excellent. Sometimes the stops are a little ghetto,

and some of the lines are a little retro,

but some of them are just cool.

Et ca suffit pour moi.

Art is not a crime.

2008-04-12T00:39:00.001-07:00

Today I helped (or aided and abetted, as the cops might claim) my friend Ash Mae set up some performance art. I love her ideas - they are centered around community and focus on involving "real," "normal" people and getting them to engage.

This show is called "Grow." It consists of several hundred old catalog cards that rest, cut up, tempting most students to steal stacks of them from the library. Two cards are sewn together with wildflower seeds inside. We taped blank cards to the wall and then stapled these filled cards to them - some even have drawings on them. The instructions are as follows:

I love it. It reminds me a little of the giveaway going on over at Petit Elefant. Anyway - I tore tape for hours as we cracked jokes and interacted
with the passers-by. People met their neighbors for the first time after
living nearby for 7.5 months.

They left notes.

Lots of people slowed down, stopped, or raced by. Someone even called the cops, who were nice enough after they had finished accusing us (understandably) of graffitti-ing this building whose wall we were borrowing. My favorite line was when one cop went off to return the phonecall to the concerned citizen that had called us in for supposedly tagging the wall. "Yes... as it turns out, they're just taping seeds to the wall. Yes. wildflower seeds."

We offered to let him take a packet, but he wasn't interested in taking anything but Ash Mae's personal details. Too bad for him.

Secretaries: Office espionage in action

2008-04-10T11:25:00.000-07:00

When people ask me about the three jobs I have, they tend to sound a little disappointed to find out that I spend most of my time as a secretary. "Oh," they say, "that's... nice." Actually, it is nice. I am in school and working as a TA and an RA to exercise my mind. Being a secretary
is for making money, meeting people I wouldn't otherwise, and enjoying myself.

The office that I work in is no exception. There are professors with diverse backgrounds and opinions and a wide range of very interesting students that come in. One of my trained-monkey tasks as a secretary is handing back papers from a large, swinging cabinet that locks at night.
This allows me a great number of interactions with students. Many have distinct and inventive form for requesting a paper. Some examples are included below.

"Paper. P*** 110. TA: Ashley. Codename: Vladimir Putin." No greeting. No pause for breath.

"Uh... (looks around)... I uh ... need to like, pick up a paper? Or something? Where do I... do that?"

One of my favorites was yesterday - a delightful student with an interesting (but very American) lilt to his speech. "Good afternoon! I have been informed that it appears you have one of my papers! I would like to request it back." As if I had accidentally or even perhaps maliciously confiscated it from his professor. Sadly, his paper was not there and I had to console him with the tact of a doctor giving bad news. "I know... I'm sorry. You need it for your final draft, I understand. I'm afraid... it's DOA. I mean MIA." "That's quite alright, no worries at all. Have a wonderful day!" Would that all students were as cheerful as he.

To most people, secretaries are an invisible part of the landscape. This means that we are party to all sorts of information we oughtn't know. For instance, CB has a full-tuition scholarship to BYU's law school. She said this loudly and directly in front of me to PS, and was shocked when I repeated it to her later. She was maybe a foot away from where I sit. A lot of it is stuff I really shouldn't know, and hence refuse to post on a website. It's interesting. I feel like an anthropologist who's gone native studying the military - I'm involved. i keep my ear to the wire.

Another highlight of the job is finding random artifacts of academic life. At times it's an orphaned paper. At times a cell phone, book, or charger of sorts. Today is was a green folder with slightly faded edges - used, but cared for. I cracked it open and found a business card tucked in some professional-looking slits in the pocket. The name read L*** ******, the college advisor. Realizing after a slow moment (I work at 8am... it takes a while to rev up the ol' braingine) that it didn't belong to her, I started rifling. It feels so natural but obviously voyeuristic to do... but I love it. I think you learn a lot about people by the things they keep around, especially in such a consumeristic society. Most of his things were fairly predictable - transcript, MAP, a list of things one needs for
whatever government military force he's involved in. But there was one gem.
A dungeons and dragons scorecard. I felt a little guilty after Elder Wirthlin's
talk in conference on people feeling welcome and accepted.

But I loved it. Here was this tough guy in the military who plays dungeons &
dragons in his free time. I love finding quirky things out about people - things
they love but don't share with others. I tried to share my discovery with my
boss, but she instead said that she used to play (what?! awesome! two in one
morning!) and that it was personal - I shouldn't be looking at it because I
already found his name. She was right, of course.

I wanted to put something in the email about it - we found your folder and, by the way, why did you choose unarmed attack instead of invisibility?

The First

2008-04-08T12:18:00.000-07:00

My sister told me once about a coworker she had. Good story, you're thinking. Well, just wait. Apparently, his parents hated him. What I mean by that is that he was one of those unfortunate people who had a ridiculous suffix on the end of his name. Having read of people (in the newspaper) named things like Lemonjello and Orangejello (said orangelo and lemonjelo), I would have thought that people could never run out of things to name children. Not so. As a result, sadly for him, he was never known by any Christian (Buddist, Muslim, Jewish, or other) name in the office. In a Michael Scott-esque maneuver, he remained The Third.

This began a long tradition for my sister and I of adding suffixes (and middle initials) to peoples' names who had none. My friends can attest. Andy became Andrew P. L*****, esq., III. The tradition continues. I'd say to be careful of that, but I give a mean nickname as well. And, to be honest, I think that muffin is far worse than The Third.