...to have a good time on my vacation, but my body just wouldn't agree!!!
So, despite amazing weather, great friends, family, and the boy, I was a bit of a cranky puss.
Here's my list of ailments:
1. I got food poisoning on the second night. Bleck. But it was a gorgeous sunset...
2. I got a sore tailbone and many, many bruises jumping 20 feet into this amazing Mayan sinkhole. I have to say, this ailment was totally worth it! So much so, this pic is of my jumping the second time, despite being in so much pain I could barely walk. Rock on!
3. I got a severe sunburn relaxing in the cabana, despite using 70 spf Aveeno spray. Caution to all at risk burners out there: when the spray bottle is nearly done, just throw it out. The bottom is more liquid than sunscreen as my mottled skin can attest to. Seriously, I'm all dark tan and pale splotchy. What's the point of pain if I don't at least end up with hot, evenly dark legs?
4. I caught strep throat and a sinus infection. Yeah, that's right. You heard me. So, basically, I spent the last three days in paradise in bed, while others went and played with dolphins... at least I had all-inclusive room service!!!!
But, since I'm not really a Debbie Downer, here's all the good stuff:
1. Amazing location! It was so beautiful and warm and amazing... good food, unlimited cocktails (though I went easy on them since I didn't feel so hot... so sad, I know)... It was really a relaxing place to be.
2. Exploring archaeological treasures was great, including Chichen-Itza and the aforementioned Mayan sinkhole.
3. I got to swim with dolphins!!!! Many of my closest friends and family know that my secret wish was to be a marine biologist when I grew up... sure, I have a great career now, but part of me is still totally fascinated by the sea and being near such amazing creatures was one of the highlights of my life. I got to rub her belly and she gave me a footpush!
So, I guess I have to say I'd do it all over again. It was a great wedding, a week of partying while hanging out with friends and family, and it was in tropical paradise. But, it would have been nicer without the strep throat... and the vomiting... and the bruised bum. But, whaddya gonna do? Oh right, that's what--the boy has promised me a redux! Woo hoo!!! This time with TB... I'm going all out!
Friday, June 27, 2008
I tried...
Friday, June 13, 2008
Happy as a Clam
Or at the least, as a beach bum. I'm leaving for a week in Mexico for a long-time friend's wedding, which means 1) I get to spend time reading and drinking 2) I get to do this with the boy 3) I get to do this with favorite friends and 4) I get to do this with my family... so Yay!!!
Have a great week everyone!
Oh, and watch this video. Be prepared for the biggest, warmest fuzzies you've ever had. I mean, more fuzzies than when Mr. Darcy finally wins over Lizzy... Props to Sara for sharing...
Monday, June 09, 2008
In the Safety of Day
To start, I just want to say that I have lived in Columbia Heights for over two years, which I know isn't a super long time, but long enough to remember life before Rumbreros, Red Rock, or the Heights. The boy and I moved to the area specifically because we both wanted a neighborhood with all types of diversity (economic, sexual, ethnic) and a sense of community. Although I've had some qualms with the redevelopment that's taking place in the neighborhood, they are mostly minor because I think that many in my neighborhood have fought to keep existing flavor of the community intact. I also think that the "gentrification" has brought jobs and money into the District and for District residents, which will help local schools, subsidize home ownership, provide the area with more cops, and, hopefully, help make the area as financially vibrant as it was before the '68 riots.
But... I don't value the part of my community that leads to me witnessing a shooting at 6:10 pm last Friday night not a 1/4 block from the metro. I was minding my own business when I noticed two groups of young men yelling at each other across Irving (just east of the CVS and the alley between that red, brick apartment building and where the rowhouses start). Had I not had my iPod on, I might have run back the other way because I would have realized it wasn't just agitated, "Hey, loser, where you been, why are you so slow, cross the street dummy..." or whatever crap teenage boys yell at each other. Instead, I would have realized that the kids weren't messing around and were about to pull a gun. I was literally 10 feet away when the shots rang out. Not cool.
Now, what bothers me isn't that age-old prejudice that persons of color, especially poor ones, perpetrate violence. I mean, if I bought into that crap, I wouldn't have moved to CH in the first place... What bothers me is that there are poor people of any kind or type and that some of them have been taught that the way to solve their problems is with violence. I mean, the youngest kid couldn't have been more than 14-years-old! WTF?! What bothers me isn't that the diversity I so craved in my neighborhood apparently means living with violence, but that some people are taught that they aren't equal, that some parents have to work multiple jobs to pay for basic essentials and their children are left to their own devices in a country that neither respects nor values them, that some people are forced to live without access to basic human rights like clean water and nutritious food, and that some of us just go about our business, buying our crap, not caring one way or the other... until something erupts near our newly renovated neighborhood. Then we want everyone who is different from us, along with any stores that might appeal to them, pushed out instead of solving the problem of why everything happened in the first place. It's just easier that way, isn't it?! And with cuter clothes!! Or an organic grocer! Yum.
I want to be perfectly clear, I still want to live in Columbia Heights or any other neighborhood that reflects the multiplicity of America... I just don't want to live in a country and world of inequality, ignorance, greed, poverty, violence, and apathy. There has to be a better way...for all of us.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
This will make everything okay...
Several of my friends are currently grieving two young men who recently passed away, one a former fellow Mizzou Tiger and one a fellow Rogers Mountie...
So, here's a little something to cheer everyone up. It may seem a bit inappropriate, as I can't imagine how much everyone misses these two exceptional people... But, I figured, what's the harm in a little laugh? Especially when it involves pandas.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Why?
Why do I always go and open my big mouth and ruin things with people? I swear, I need to find me a little magic elf whose only job is to sit in my brain and screen all of my thoughts before they enter into the world. And make magical cookies.
Anyone interested?
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Thrice
It's been three years since my Grandma died suddenly in front of me. Since that time my Grandpa has passed, I've moved into DC, I've been married, my sister's decided to have a family, and I've gotten a great job doing what I love. What's so insane, though, is that I feel like a lot of that happened without me being "me." I was there, doing what I know I needed to do for the future, but I wasn't there... my "higher brain" decided all of that. My self and my soul was trapped within the horrible day that I experienced and the things that no grandchild or loved one should ever have to witness. The blessing is that that it hurts so much because I really loved my grandmother... she was my friend and confidant and eternal support system... She gave me "gas" money even when I had no car and bought me clothes even when I didn't need any and made me sandwiches with white bread even if it wasn't healthy and came to get me at college for Thanksgiving even though she was nervous about the drive and thought that my bright green hair was the prettiest color she'd ever seen even if it meant her grandbaby was weird and punk. She was my truest pal.
But the past three years haven't really even been about grieving for all of these things I no longer have--they've been about war and isolation and violence and loneliness. No one else in my family can ever understand what happened to us that day and how it feels to be the last hope of life for someone... and for it to not be good enough. No matter how much my family tells me it wasn't my fault, they honestly don't know if that's true because I was the only one that was there. I made the choices that either kept her alive a bit longer for my Grandpa to say goodbye or killed her sooner than the ambulance could get her. That responsibility is mine and it won't ever go away. Nothing anyone will ever say to me will stop it. I will spend the rest of my life questioning what happened that day...
Luckily, I am getting back to my old self--friends and my boy and family have helped so much, and I can't even begin to say "thank you"... But part of me feels that my life will forever be defined by the events of June 1st, 2005... It will always be the marker of another year of me, another chance to move on, another beginning of the right choices instead of the wrong ones... the "me" that's struggling to let go of the guilt I feel for not being able to save her life and that's living with the hopelessness of never being able to express what it felt like to be there and that's understanding the loneliness and sorrow that has intruded into my marriage and my friendships and my self...
But for once, in three long years, something has changed. I still miss my Grandma... but that grief is separate from the nightmares and flashbacks and fears that intrude upon my waking and dreaming person. The "Grandma" of that day is no longer the only Grandma that I can think of... and for me, that is the first sign that "me" is coming back to life...
I feel like I can finally lay my Grandma to rest... and maybe cut myself a little bit of a break.
Monday, May 19, 2008
I am aghast....
Geraldine Ferraro has said she will not vote for Obama if he is the nominee... so who exactly will she vote for!!?? McCain!?! Oh right, 'cause that's a great women's rights option. She claims Obama is sexist, but voting for Hillary Rodham Clinton just because she's a woman is also sexist--Hillary's war votes and many of her policies aren't feminist or humanist... Vote on issues, people! Not "experience" doing crappy things, but on perspectives. I'm an ardent feminist and I have problems the sexist way the media has portrayed HRC, but that doesn't mean she represents my ideal of a diverse, open, multicultural third-wave feminist movement, especially with her lust for getting the "white working" vote. I also don't like Obama's overuse of the word "sweetie"--come on, dude, you know that's paternalistic and you need to watch yourself. But neither is as anti-woman as the Republican nominee and party.
So seriously, second-wavers, stop criticising the way some of us young woman choose to use the freedoms you helped fight for. The point of feminism is choice, not voting with our vaginas. Just because you did the "work" doesn't mean that you now get to decide how everything in the world should be. Or did you just want freedom of choice for those people that got in line with you? And I know it's not all of you--I mean, my mom was a second-wave feminist and she didn't vote for HRC (Hi, Mom!!! You're my feminist hero! You too Dad!)
At least voting Nader in 2000 was about expanding democracy... this claims to be about elevating the status of second-class citizens in the US, but really seems like it's about "my way or the highway." Four more years of the Republican party is not better for women (or men or children or anyone except the wealthy) than Obama would be. So please, people, think about what you're saying.
Oh yeah, and when responding to this kind of talk, don't respond with sexism. One, it's disgusting and ignorant and two, it just fuels the flame.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
The man that taught me to write...
... has passed away. Dr. Timberlake gave me my first C (hell, D) on a paper, and by doing so, forced me to evaluate what I really wanted to say. I can guarantee exhibition writing would have taken me a lot longer to master if I hadn't already mastered the one-page Timberlake essay.
He will be missed.
Friday, May 09, 2008
PS
I'm not saying that the Obama-heads haven't been really disrepectful either, I'm just saying the consequences are slightly different as it seems like a lot of those people NEVER liked Clinton... statistically it seems that more Obama voters would unite behind Clinton than vice versa... that's all I was saying.
Equal time, right?
Can't We All Just Be Friends?
I've been spending a lot of time on CNN.com lately because I'm home sick with a horrible cold and unfortunately, it's not helping anything. Instead, I'm reading comments on the political ticker and getting angrier and angrier at the Clinton supporters that leave their comments there. They could be Operation Chaos infiltrators, that's for sure, but I am aghast that people are more concerned with Hillary getting the nomination than with a Democrat winning the next election! Defecting to McCain out of ANGER, much less out of this completely hypocritical spin that Clinton has encouraged about Michigan and Florida being disenfranchised and it being Obama's fault? That's just plain horseshit---she agreed to it when she thought she was going to win and now it's a human rights issue for her people? This is turning into a vote based on person instead of on issues--if McCain is closer to your ideology (and skin color) than Obama is (which, one could certainly argue Clinton's acting a bit Republican these last four years) then just say it, don't make it about this other bullshit. Half of the people I know who didn't vote for Hillary, didn't do so because of her voting record, and won't if she gets the nomination. But the rest LOVE Hillary and will support her if she wins...Voting for McCain out of spite just proves how much we need a person like Obama that doesn't condone the race divide, but acknowledges it and its roots and attempts to build a bridge and bring all types of people to cross it. And the fact that people saying that they will vote for McCain because he has more experience than Obama are totally missing the point--that might be true, but what is his experience in and what are the results, people? War, tax breaks for the wealthy, and the removal of our civil liberties. We don't WANT someone with experience like that--his experience is bad experience!!!
So, I'm begging everyone, if Obama is the nominee (which it's likely he will be), please remember that Hillary will support him---the Democratic party, in the end, is more important to her than McCain becoming President. She didn't play this game like it was, but, please, for the love of our troops overseas, get out of the game and be at peace. It's our only chance!
Thursday, May 08, 2008
This is disgusting...
Once again, she is making it harder and harder for me to support her if she somehow manages to get the nomination. She will say and do anything, even if it means rewarding, accepting, or condoning the status quo of this country. I am appalled that she calls herself a Democrat, much less a liberal. Shame on her.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Eye of the Hurricane
Wow... so, how goes it people? I haven't had time to sleep more than 6 hours a night, much less blog, and right now is just a little break in storm.
A recap, you say?
- Work finally opened the 4000 square foot exhibition that I've worked on for two years' straight and man did that feel good!
- I've written the first draft of my traveling exhibition, which means I spent the last two months learning everything about Renaissance science I could without learning Latin
- I've seen the first draft of designs for the show and man are they pretty--I can't wait for it to open in June
- I've successfully used acupuncture to treat my insomnia and my anxiety
- My old powerbook finally died and I had to get a new MacBook--I got the black one 'cause of my gross, stain-leaving hands
- I've lost 5 pounds and have started running again--plus, my new local gym (with pool) opens in a month!
- I went to Denver and got altitude sickness 'cause I'm a "delicate flower"
- Sara moved back!
But really, so what if I have four more weeks of stress? 'cause in six weeks I will be lounging beside a beautiful Mexican beach, celebrating the marriage of two of my favorite people, and drowning all negative feelings about my wobbly bits in unlimited margaritas. Woo hoo!!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Anyone who says...
that CNN is supporting Obama isn't watching right now. Jesus Christ, people, she just said she would "obliterate" Iran if pressed and CNN is still going on about Rev. Wright?!
Friday, April 04, 2008
Go Away Self Esteem Monster
So, I'm sure I'm not the only one to ever feel this way... I might be the last of the fairly well-functioning 27-year-olds to, but whatever.... anyhow, sometimes I get these flashes of "I'm missing out" or "I was left out" or "Why aren't I the favorite friend?" and it drives me insane. My rational mind says, "your friends/neighbors/pets/coworkers love you or, at the very least, respect you and laugh at your jokes." But my irrational mind says "why aren't I good enough to be invited or why aren't I cool enough to go out and hang out and be interesting or why am I lame?" I know, I mean I really do know, that I have great friends who love me and support me and that I am interesting, despite and actually because of my quirks. But somehow, the feeling my Grandma passed on of "there's only so much love in the world and if you are giving it to someone else you aren't giving it to me" rears it's ugly head and I get so consumed with analyzing me (who I'm generally happy with, save about 20 pounds) that I lose site of my belief that there is an infinite amount of love in this world and I am lucky enough to be getting some of it from some wonderful people...
Does anyone else ever feel this way? Or is it just me and my own issues? How is it that I can wholly love myself for who I am and at the same time wholly doubt that I'm good enough for the people that love me? What is that?
Thursday, April 03, 2008
And so it goes...
From hmatkin.blogspot.com, a new parody of the Silverman f*cking Matt Damon video. Only this time it's trying to say something? Not sure if it's trying to undermine Hillary by sexualizing her or just making her say fuck a lot.
Oh well, thought I'd post it anyhow.
Wow, we museum people just can't get anything right...
From NBC4.com
ALLEGAN, Mich. -- Millions of people have paraded past the Tower of Time exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington.But eleven-year-old Kenton Stufflebeam of Allegan, Michigan, is the first visitor to have caught a particular mistake there.He and his family went to the museum during winter break.
Kenton noticed that the Tower of Time, which involves prehistoric time, referred to the Precambrian Era.The Alamo Elementary School fifth-grader knew that its proper name was just the Precambrian, with out the "era."He left a note with his concern. Museum officials wrote Kenton back last week, telling him he was right.The boy notes that they misspelled his last name and hometown.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Houston, are you there?
Okay, this is for Sara to see if her email subscription is working...
Well, Sara, is it?!?!
McCain like JFK? Waaaa???
Ah, now I get how in the hell the headline Lieberman likens McCain to JFK came into being! Lieberman says McCain is most like the Dems of JFK's time because he likes wars to be started in countries where there's no reason for us to be there, we can't win, and we funnel so much money into it America goes down the crapper: "The Democratic candidates have spent most of their time attacking the war in Iraq… they've honestly not done anything substantial to advance our cause in Afghanistan or against Al Qaeda."
See, and I thought the legacy of JFK we should be focusing on is not his bilateral vision of the world into US (get it, both a pronoun and initials for the United States) and Commies, but rather his ability to inspire political participation, a sense of community, a support of civil rights, and funding for social services. I'm sure glad that Lieberman set me straight!
Hey, maybe instead of blaming Nader for losing 2000 to Bush, we should take a harder look at the fact that Gore put Lieberman on the ticket? "I see your truuuuuueeee colors, shining through!"
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Jesus H. Christ and a Green Turnip, Dagnabit!
You gotta be kidding me:
(CNN) — A sizable number of Hillary Clinton supporters may break ranks to back John McCain in November should Barack Obama capture the Democratic nomination, a new Gallup poll suggests.
According to the just-released poll, 28 percent of Clinton's supporters would back McCain should the New York senator lose her quest for the Democratic nomination. That compares to the 19 percent of Obama supporters who say they will favor McCain should Clinton be the party's nominee.
"[The results] suggest that some Clinton supporters are so strongly opposed to Obama (or so loyal to Clinton) that they would go so far as to vote the "other" party's candidate next November if Obama is the Democratic nominee," Frank Newport of Gallup said of the survey's findings.
Newport also noted that the poll's results are likely the result of the heated battle for the nomination, and the number of the party's defectors to McCain is likely to decrease after Democrats choose a nominee and the focus shifts to defeating the Arizona senator.
The poll was conducted March 7-22 and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
Or maybe they are just so committed to a war-oriented, white/wealthy dominated version of the United States that they'll take whoever they can get it from? Hillary is the Dem of choice for that---please don't yell at me Hillary supporters--I'm not saying she necessarily stands for that (voting record aside), just that she appeals to some of those people. Regardless, Hillary Clinton would never support Dems loyal to her voting for McCain. I've also heard a lot of stories about how if Obama doesn't get the nomination a lot of the first-time or never-have voters he has inspired to participate just won't show up to vote in the general election, which also really sucks... but with our past 25 years of representation and the slowing of civil rights, you can kinda see why. I'm sure a lot of people would have not voted in the 1960 election had JFK failed to get the nomination... I personally still feel like people should come to their polling place and abstain so it's on the record that they don' t like any of the choices, but then again, I'm given leave off of my salaried job to go vote, so what's to lose? Sigh.
I guess the point of all this is: Please, people, think about things before you reactively vote! McCain is not simply a not-Obama (and vice versa). Same for Hillary. There's a lot at stake here that goes beyond loyalty to a candidate. Like loyalty to what Amhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.giferica should and can be...UPDATE: I was wrong, looks like the Clintons are all about McCain. Gah!!! What the hell happened to my people? My heart is seriously tormented right now. I wish Bill would just shut up already before both of their legacies are shot...
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Response to CNN.com commentators (or any hater) re: Harry Potter
So, there's this article on CNN.com about Harry Potter being taught in academia and a bunch of commentator's harangued the series, mostly because it wasn't Tolkein and/or too mainstream and/or children's literature. I posted the below comment on the website, but want to do so here as well to declare my undying love for J.K. Rowling. And yes, I am still working on that Harry Potter exhibition, so I am biased. But, I also have academic interpretation on my side...
I resisted reading Harry Potter for many years because 1) I was loyal to Tolkein, Lewis, L'Engle, etc. and 2) anything that popular must be suspect. Now, years later, I am a devoted fan of Harry Potter because of its complex integration of multiple cultures/worldviews and its insistence on a world based on social justice. The books explore contemporary culture by interweaving a magical world (populated with common creatures versus unfamiliar and unwieldy new ones (does that really make her a hack?)) with our own. This allows the narrative to be exciting to readers, yet familiar enough that children at a formative age will be able to make the connection between the persecution of centaurs and with other indigenous peoples or the enslavement of the house elves with that of colonized peoples. The books also teach children to question their government, their newspapers, and, sometimes, their mentors. They explore themes of death, the abuse of science and power, and the existential importance of choice.
Please, don't bash them because they are children's literature or popular or not Tolkein or Lewis as if that's a good enough reason to dislike any other fantasy--the LOTR (though I love them) are completely racist/colonialist and Narnia is the same but with some uber-Christian propaganda and anti-Feminism mixed in. There is clearly something that speaks to readers and if they walk away with Rowling's message of self-acceptance, respect for all creatures, questioning authority, and importance of choice then so be it. I'll take a couple of dangling modifiers and the overuse of some adverbs if it means a generation of children whose heroes and heroines are committed to a word of equity.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Ironic, apropos, however you want to term it...
... of course the speech that finally got me on the Obama train is the one that's going to derail it.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Recipe for Birthday Fun
1 evening of cheesy mystery dinner theater + 1 table of obnoxious drunk people who I'm sure I wouldn't have liked in high school nor do I like now + Tim the dinner actor in a dress saying things like, "Ah, this is part of the dumbing down of America" to our table before he goes out to do his monologue for the evening + booze + hotel evacuation for false fire alarm + more booze + cupcakes + balloons + board games + presents including a Star Wars cookbook and cat butt magnents + more balloons + my favorite people in the world
= AN AWESOME 27th BIRTHDAY!!!
Posts
