King Kong, anthropology, and more "trash talk"

We went to see King Kong last Sat, and I must say that I did like it (contrary to what Marsha thought-read her post b/c she bashes it hahahaha). I liked it b/c of the effects and the GREAT scene between King Kong and a dinosaur. Makes you wonder what life was like millions of years ago when great creatures were roaming the Earth and fighting each other.... like wooly mammoths and things like that. I don't normally like movies where you have to have an imagination (like awful Harry Potter or that Narnia junk), but I liked this. There is another scene where Naomi Watts is dangling in some branches and so are the dinosaurs and King Kong too-I won't say too much for those that haven't seen it. It is a long movie though- 3 hrs and 7 min. My brother was funny when he said that you have to spend a week in the theater to see it. haha

BUT, I do have to throw in some academic criticism stuff in here. So Jack Black (I forget his character's name)and his team are filming this pretend movie on Skull Island (which is supposed to be near Papua New Guinea if I remember right), and encounter native people. Typical reaction of white people to natives happened when Jack Black offered the little native girl a piece of candy to get in her good graces. DUH, she probably won't even know what candy is, or what to do with it, or even like it. Don't try to corrupt her with your dumb stuff. Here my anthropology is kicking in. So later in the movie, the team is back in NYC putting on a play for the world to see and and Jack Black describes the natives as SAVAGES. Okay, they are savages to YOU maybe, but not in their own eyes. In anthropology classes, we were taught that if you ever did field work, you have to get rid of your preconceived ideas about culture and life in general, and look at someone's way of life through their eyes. For example, just because we think that something like initiation ceremonies or rites of passages ceremonies of the Masai people might be stupid (which of course I don't think), doesn't mean that they do. We have to remember too that this movie takes place in the 1930s when anthropology was not a hot subject in academia, and savage was a generic word to describe foreign people whose cultures were different than our own ("our" meaning the West). It wasn't until decades later, especially after WWII, that people started questioning the whole of human existence and wanted to study behavior even more. This link from the American Anthropological Association tells about how anthropology came about as a true academic discipline, and how it has been categorized (debates over its coupling with departments such as psychology, humanities, sociology... etc.). WWII really caused a stir in academics and how to approach certain subject areas.

I guess I'll stop there b/c I feel people are getting bored. hahaha

One more thing about the movies: everyone knows that I throw out my trash after movies and sports things and I hate it when other people don't b/c there is no reason to be that lazy and leave trash on the ground. Well, upon leaving the theatre, I almost went nuts b/c some little kids were carrying out their empty popcorn bags and their soda cups. THANK YOU TO THE PARENT WHO TAUGHT THEM THAT!

That's it. : P

Toys for Tots

Every year the Marine Corps Reserves come to where I work and pick up the toys that our office (and the entire college) donates for Toys for Tots. Every year our college is one of the (if not THE) top donors in the city. Here are some pics of when the nice Marines came. They use the town trolley to pick up the presents. We had people donate everything from dolls, board games, tea sets, footballs, and money for new bikes. It's a great thing.

I don't understand some women

I hope this post doesn't offend anyone... I have been debating about even putting something up, but I feel that I have to. It's about subservient women. There was a scene the other day in a department store I just cannot get out of my mind:

Marsha and I were at Ross (her favorite place on Earth), and I went into the dressing room to try on this nice khaki coat thing (which I ended up buying). When I was looking at the coat in the mirror, this lady came out of one of the rooms. She said to the sales lady: "Are these pants supposed to be this high?" Sales lady: "Yes, they are high-waters... I don't really like them, but some people do". Lady: "Well I can't buy these-my husband would kill me". And she ran back into her room to change.

** Her husband would kill her?! For wearing high-waters?! For showing like 3 inches of her leg?! (I assume "killing her" was not literal, but taken to mean he would be furious... I hope that's what it meant).

The other story I heard was from an older lady I know (I am not mentioning names) who said that when she and her husband were married, he would not let her wear red. I said why not? And she said that she looked too good in it, and he wouldn't let her be seen looking that good. I was stunned. Needless to say, this husband ended up cheating on this woman, and now, many years later, she is better off without him.

Is it that these guys are so insecure that they are dominating their women? I can tell you right now that I would rather stay single the rest of my life than live like that. NO WAY would I tolerate having a husband like that. I even know of women whose husbands cheat on them (over and over again), but take them back and do everything they can to make the marriage work even if it wasn't their fault to begin with. They will rush home to make them lunch, or buy them things, or whatever.... anything to keep this marriage alive. And the thing is that these women are intelligent, pretty, funny, and have a lot going for them. Why should they have to put up with some loser who doesn't respect them?

The reason I said that I hope this post didn't offend anyone was that I know there are women out there right now that may be reading this and are experiencing these same issues (maybe even some of my friends, and I don't know it), and I didn't want to demean them or anything. I just don't understand how women can stand that kind of treatment. No one should have to "obey" their husbands, but I know some do for whatever reason or another. It just baffles me to no end, is all. Comments welcome.

Fun with cartoons

I guess I can divert from talking about Espana for one post.......
I just LOVE these things I made, thanks to Marsha giving me the websites. I think I look exactly like the South Park character and my avatar. I picked the backgrounds according to what I love (the sea and the city), and picked my clothes and hair and bag and everything according to what I wear. I must admit I look good. : ) If anyone has a chance, check out Marsha's blog because she made South Park characters of me, her, and our friend Mark, and Mark's was the funniest. I could NOT stop laughing. She put them next to our real pictures, and they are the exact images of ourselves! Marsha has the websites on her blog if you want to make them for yourselves.

I was transported to another world..........

When I was in Barcelona, I went to the best concert I have ever been to in my life. On Saturday Nov. 19, I was walking around by myself discovering the city, and I went to Santa Maria del Pi (which is on my blog for Nov. 30). At this church, I started talking to Ramon, who was an incredibly nice older man. He had lived a while in NY, and I was telling him all about me. Then he says, well, there is a concert tomorrow night given by guitarrist Manuel Gonzalez, and I would love for you to come... it is only 15 Euro which is amazing b/c this man has been all over the world, has performed in Lincoln Center and in Madrid, and gives master classes all over Europe and the US. I said well, sounds like a great deal-I will buy a ticket! Ramon then says that if I go, he will give me a reserved seat. It pays to travel alone I tell you. ; )

I arrived the next night right on time. Ramon had marked an R on my ticket so that the ticket taker would know that I was supposed to be in the reserved section. Well, I guess at first the ticket taker didn't see the R, and I was just wandering around trying to find a seat. Then the ticket taker (whose name was also Ramon) made this sound like a PSST and ushered me to the FRONT ROW OF THE CHURCH. I felt like a celebrity! There it was, just one seat left waiting for me. So, I was there to witness this incredible guitar playing in the front row, and I was probably the closest audience member to Manuel. I cannot describe this concert, and how much I am obsessed with his music now and the sounds it made in this church. Just picture sitting in this 14th century church, the guitar echoing sevillanas and one of my favorite songs "Romance" (Anon. ). Throughout the concert, Manuel led the audience through this journey throughout Espana... from Sevilla to Cordoba to Mallorca, to Asturias and through the Moorish/Arabe influence. Each part of the Paisajes de Espana (selections from Albeniz (1860-1909) and Tarrega (1852-1909) ) was written so that you can feel what it is like to be in each part of Espana. Asturias (Leyenda) by Albeniz is my favorite-Asturias is in N. Espana where the weather is tumultuous and it rains and people live off the sea... so the music is fast and sometimes in a minor key. I love it. I was so taken by this music, and so lucky and privileged to be at this concert that I secretly cried b/c it was like a surreal dream world for me. I know it sounds corny, but being in Espana, listening to this music... I don't know-it could be my entire life living there.

After the concert, Manuel was signing his CDs and taking pics with people. He was SO nice, and he took a pic of me and Ramon (the first Ramon) after too! A celebrity doing those things for me! (The other pics of both Ramons you can see on my Snapfish album). It was an intense, magical night, and one that stands out as one of the best nights of my life......... I play his CD over and over again. Here is the website if you want to check him out: www.manuel-gonzalez.com . PLEASE DO!!

The best city in the world, now

Now I see why Barcelona was picked to host the 1992 Olympics. When I was conducting my self-guided tour of this magnificent city last week, I was picturing all of these people from around the world competing in these games, and how they must have enjoyed the mountains, the beaches, the modern (and old) architecture, the nightlife, the people, the food (chorizo, sangria, tortillas, and more), the weather, the water, the music, the art, the Catalan language, and more. The reason I say it's the best city in the world, NOW, is that the best city in the world to me before was Madrid. I still love Madrid, and the best 4 months of my life were spent there 8 years ago, but Barcelona is on the water and has beaches. : ) AND it's still in Espana, the best country on Earth. And it has a very unique language all its own. It's like my Miami of Europe. So, Bcn has taken preference. IF you can believe that. I just cannot describe what it was like to just go off by myself and not have a care in the world. I had been there before when I was studying in Madrid, but that was only for 2 days, and I didn't remember a thing about the city. Now, I can't stop thinking about it.

And how could I not??? Here are some pics to prove my point. #1: Santa Maria del Pi church. 1300s (Gothic). My favorite church in the world now (so far). #2: Port Vell, as seen from the statue of Christopher Columbus. #3: Park Guell, designed by Gaudi. The whole city is Gaudi! #4: Palau Nacional de Montjuic (y Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya). #5: Estadi Olimpic. #6: La Sagrada Famillia seen from Palau Nacional. #7: Passeig de Colon. I LOVE this pic! (the palms!) #8: Port Olimpic and beaches. #9: Inside La Sagrada Familia. Gaudi wanted to represent nature in his art, and believed that copying nature was the art of the future. Inside is supposed to be like trees.... protecting people from sun and rain. A holy place. #10: La S.F. at dusk........ it was worth the 8 Euro to go up it! I love the night pictures.

On my next post I will put some more up hopefully. Deu (adios in Catalan). : )

VIVA ESPANA

Well I am back........ : ) Just so everyone knows. I will post more soon, but I am about to collapse from being on a plane for just about 12 hours (and it is also 630 AM in Espana right now). Hasta pronto.

How would you describe me using one word?

I sent out an interesting email to people on my distribution list asking what one word they would use to describe me. I loved the responses so much that I decided to post them. It is so fascinating to see how people see me!! I will list the words; either the first name, first initial, or occupation of people that gave me the word (in case they don't want their names on here); and my comments after the word:

-Mikey: globe : ) (he has called me that for a long time for obvious reasons)
-Erin: passionate (very true-when I love something, I am forever passionate about it)
-Marsha: phenomenal (no explanation needed haha)
-Friend D: sunshine (I love this one b/c my fav. color is yellow, and I also had a cat when I was little named Sunshine who I called Sunny.... he eventually ran away and I was so sad... his sister's name was Puddles and she belonged to Mikey)
-My cousin G: zany (yeah, I guess I am... we used to do this thing at Thanksgiving where we made haunted houses and competed against my brother and cousin T-her brother)
-Friend Mark and a friend's mom both said: gregarious (yes, I am very sociable! Enough so that 2 people said it!)
-Friend P: vibrant (I love that b/c it implies excitement and always searching for something new)
-One of Mikey's friends B: sister (this is nice b/c I consider his friends like family, as he does with my friends)
-Another of Mikey's friends M: excited (maybe b/c I always end my sentences with exclamation points!!)
-Friend R: cerebral (that is for sure)
-Friend W: latina (GREAT!!)
-Friend J: novel (I like that b/c it implies wisdom)
-Friend C: jubilant (yes I smile a lot)
-Friend L: carefree (most definitely, which is why I love to travel and don't worry about snafoos as much anymore)
-Friend A: cultural (in a nutshell, yes!)
-Friend J: interested (anthropologists have to be!)
-Co-worker N: unique (there is definitely no one else like me haha)
-Co-worker C: caring (most definitely-this I pride myself on and take very seriously)
-Professor L: generous (same as above)

Thanks for replying everyone! I will post more words as they come in. : )

Sad day in the wrestling world

I was going to blog about this weekend and how much fun Marsha and I had, but I feel that I need to talk about wrestling instead. Here is why: I just looked at CNN's homepage and saw that one of my favorite wrestlers, Eddie Guerrero was found dead this weekend. I just cannot believe that this guy, who I JUST saw wrestling on tv on Friday, and who is only 38 years old with a wife and 3 daughters, just died so quickly. In his career, he was a great wrestler, and had traveled the world. He came from a strong Mexican wrestling family, about which you can read here. He was like so many wrestlers that came from a wrestling family (The Rock and others). It is just so unbelievable that he is dead now like so many other wrestlers I used to love and follow for years like Owen Hart (1999), Andre the Giant (1993), Davey Boy Smith of the Britsh Bulldogs (2002), Miss Elizabeth (2003), Big John Studd (1995), and the Junkyard Dog (1998). At least people like Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, KoKo B. Ware, the Iron Sheik, and my favorites, Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, are still here (and now I love Batista and the Mexicools!).

I remember when Mikey and I used to play with his WWF figurines and it was SO fun. He had a wrestling ring too, and we used to spend hours making the guys wrestle and making up stories. Mikey used to also throw some Ninja Turtles in the mix just to make it fun (after he strung them from the ceiling). haha Wrestling was such a big part of growing up for me, and I just hate to see all of these people dying that I used to love (and still do). : ( I'll be thinking about the Guerrero family, and I plan on watching wrestling tonight.

A great day off

It was great having the day off of work today (don't get me wrong-of course we are remembering the veterans, and WHY we have this day off). Marsha and I spent 7 hours shopping. hahaha There were a lot of things we needed, and free samples to get. We went all over Tally: both malls, Wal-mart, and Michael's (so she could buy beads she needs to make jewelry). My number one priority was buying a converter for my digital camera and hair dryer so I can bring them to ESPANA NEXT WEEK!! : )

Well, something funny happened at the mall. Two things actually. We were at New York & Company, and I was looking around. Marsha's legs were getting tired, so she decided to sit on a display and almost knocked it over. I thought I was going to pee my pants from laughing. It's funny b/c she always makes fun of me when I do dumb things like tripping over my own feet (which is pretty frequent), but today she was the weird one. The other thing that happened was that we went into Sears because she wanted me to see the guy that works in the shoe dept. b/c he looks like Ricky Martin. Well, we went there, and she asked the guy who was there where "Ricky" was. SO, the employee actually CALLED "Ricky" at home and had him talk to Marsha. I couldn't believe it. She got on the phone and just talked to this stranger. It turns out that he quit a month ago and won't be coming back. Just as well-he probably didn't look like Ricky anyways. hahahaha (As a side note, the current worker spoke Spanish, and so did "Ricky", so it was even more funny because of that b/c I could understand what they were saying and how they were making fun of us).

I still haven't seen Zorro yet either-maybe tomorrow unless it's sunny out.

Amigos

I haven't posted in a while, and I just realized that. I have just been having so much to do lately..........

Well, not this past weekend, but a weekend before that, was what I called my "friend weekend". I am not going to mention any names, but many people called me that weekend that needed help; some worse than the others. Some had life problems, some were frustrated at people in their lives, some needed advice, some needed proof-reading, some had real, serious crises. I am just glad people feel that they can talk to me-I think I am a good listener, above anything. I may not give the best advice, but I try. I treasure my friends and family, and I can think of nothing more that I would like to do than putting down anything I was doing and helping anyone out. I was once thinking about becoming a therapist/counselor/psychologist since I seem to be a sounding board for a lot of people. Maybe that could be my next Ph.D. hahaha Keep dreaming.

Anyways, this past weekend was a blast. I am sure some people have read Marsha's blog, and hers just about sums up the weekend. My brother Mikey was in town and it was soooo fun. I never laugh so much than when he is around. You know how brothers and sisters have all these inside jokes from their childhood... well, you can guarantee that when Mikey and I are together people can tell that we are the best of friends. : )

He arrived on Thurs and took a cab to where I work (b/c I don't drive). We went to lunch with Marsha at Los Compadres, my all-time favorite restaurant, and chatted a bit with Rafa, our favorite waiter there. Then we just hung out that night since Mikey was tired from his 6 AM flight. On Friday, I took the day off and we went to the mall and shopped around, and we saw "Jarhead". That movie was fantastic!! Then at night, we went to my friend Willy's table tennis practice (since Mikey plays TT), and then to the Downtown Getdown (like a big pep rally downtown where the streets are blocked and there are games and food like a carnival and the FSU Marching Chiefs and FAMU Marching 100 play). Sat was the game (FSU vs. NC State)... we won't talk about that b/c it was a disaster for FSU. Later that night we partied at a sports bar and had sooooo much fun. There was a group of 8 people (Mikey, Marsha, Mark, Phil, Jess, Jon, and Steve.. and me of course) and we just sat and laughed and laughed and watched the Gators and 'Canes pull out wins. It's great how quickly people got along-we had all just met Steve, and he fit right into our group (he's Mark's friend from home).

When I get pics from Jess, I will try to put some up here. I will see which are better between mine, Marsha's, and hers. : )

Hasta entonces.............

Halloween and things

Geez, I just realized that I have a lot to blog about today. Better get started.

I wanted to talk about Halloween. It's a holiday I hate, but one that is interesting and fun too. I hate it b/c when I was little, my family and some other families (teachers my parents used to teach with) would go on annual hayrides. (Mind you, Central NY even around Halloween is FREEZING-sometimes snowing- and hayrides and trick-or-treating sometimes get ruined b/c it is so cold out that you want to go back inside and have hot chocolate... and kids can't even show off their costumes b/c they have to wear a winter coat over them). Anyways, one year we went on a hayride and I was sitting on the back of the cart thing. It was pitch black out and we were riding through this forest with scary things at every corner. One guy in a Jason mask came out of NOWHERE, started his saw, and pulled my leg. I thought I was going to fall off the cart and no one was going to be able to rescue me. Since then, when I was 8 yrs old or so, I have been terrified of people in masks, and of the dark. Funny how things stick with you.....

This Halloween was fun. I went trick-or-treating with my coworker's kids who I babysit for. They were dressed up as Cinderella, some person from the Winks (what is that?), Superman, and a Hello Kitty thing. They loved having me there to run up to the houses with them, which I didn't mind b/c I like looking into peoples' houses to see how they decorate. hahaha There were three really good quotes that night that the kids said:

1. One of the kids said to another kid "what are you?" and the other kid said "I'm just a samurai!". I guess you had to be there b/c it was funny how he said it and then walked away shrugging his shoulders.
2. My coworker said "go to that house over there-it's all lit up" and one kid said "COUNT ME IN!" and ran full speed. hahaha
3. When one kid went up to a house, the people handing out candy missed her bag, so they gave her extras b/c they fell on the ground. The kid said "LOOK I GOT EXTRAS!"

Maybe those aren't really that funny, but I was dying laughing.

Halloween is fun b/c you can be something totally different that you always wanted to be for a day, but then again it's scary too, at least for me.
*********************************************************
**** I also wanted to say that the Prince and Princess of Asturias (Felipe and Letizia) had a baby. Leonor will be the next in line for the throne of Spain after her dad Felipe. The line of succession is incredibly interesting, and how the laws and Constitution reflect changes in the monarchy (especially since the first born of Felipe is a GIRL!). This site has great photos, and the royal family tree. Click on "La familia real" and then "arbol genealogico". What is interesting too is that now Britain is trying to get Tony Blair to reform their laws to have a WOMAN take over as queen if she is the first born instead of the throne being patriarchical. Take a look at an article in The Guardian about equal gender rights in monarchies. : )

That's all for now. Happy birthday to my mom today too, and let's celebrate the Mexican Day of the Dead!

Weird night

Marsha and I had just come back from babysitting her friend's three kids (who were absolutely fun to be with!) on Thursday night around 11 PM. Marsha dropped me off and I started watching my soaps. Around 1130, I heard one of the loudest explosions I have ever heard in my life, followed by a flickering of my electricity. All of the people in my apt. complex (and neighboring apt. complexes too) ran out of their apts. and across the street to see what happened. I, of course, was one of them. There is a big hill near my complex, and it turned out that some wicked drunk kid had gone down the hill at full speed, and veered off the road, hit a pole, and the power box of the complex across the street (which was why the power was out across the street too!). Four police cars came, and I swear that there were over 100 people looking at this accident (complete with their digital cameras and video recorders). I didn't bring my camera initially, but ran back to get it b/c this accident was so bad.

Well, here are some pics. This first one is the scene with people around it.
The second is the actual accident. This kid really did a number on the power supply box.

The third is the kid MISERABLY MISERABLY MISERABLY failing the sobriety test. The cop asked him to walk the straight line and he kept falling over and people around me were just shaking their heads. The cop also asked the kid to put his finger on his nose, and he was falling backwards. He will have a hefty bill for the power supply thing and his truck!! Message of the day: PLEASE do not drink and drive. : /

One of the most stressful weeks of my entire life... is over

I am officially done with my doctoral prelims, and I really don't know how to describe that feeling. On one hand, I am SO physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausted, and I have never felt like this in my life. I have taken 16 hours of exams over the past 4 days, which covered around 12 classes that I have taken toward my Ph.D. I sat in a tiny little room in Dodd Hall just me, the computer, my snacks, and a paper and pen from 9-1 this past Monday through today. My brain could not POSSIBLY hold any more scholastic information. I feel like I want to go home and watch 10 episodes of Maury Povich to bring me back down to reality and out of the bubble that is college. I feel that getting a Ph.D. is half about having the stamina to do it. My major professor said the same thing once. She understood (obviously) the stress, exhaustion, and even depression I have felt over the past week. Don't worry-it's not a bad depression, just a depression over how much work I had to do. It's really hard to describe if you haven't been through it. It's a bit overwhelming.

On the other hand, I am overjoyed at having these exams done that I have been worrying about for the past YEAR. Now comes the orals in the spring (most likely, unless they are going to be in December), and then I finally get to work on my dissertation. I think anyone that says a Ph.D. is not worth doing I am going to kick in the teeth. ; ) I just can't feel too much happiness right now b/c I am so tired. There are bags under my eyes too. haha

So that has been my life for the past however many weeks now. Studying studying studying. I finally get to relax and take a while off. Mikey is coming down next weekend and I cannot wait! The new Zorro movie is coming out too, and I cannot wait for that and to see Antonio again. Today is also my Grandma Wickham's b'day. She died in 1992, and would have been 95 this year. : ( Hi grandma. She's the one who got me hooked on my soaps 23 years ago.

One other thing I find interesting: I saw on Fox during one of the World Series games that the chances of the Red Sox and White Sox repeating their titles back to back like they did in 1917 and 1918 was 1 in a billion or something like that. And now it happened. Life is weird. Wonder if Nostradamus predicted that. hahahaha

After the 2 AM hour

One of my favorite things about living so close to campus, to bars (not to mention one of the most popular clubs in town too), and to the student population is that I get woken up at anytime after 2 AM when the kids start spilling out of the bars. (I hope you can sense the sarcasm in my voice). Normally I would actually think it's kind of funny and just a typical Saturday night in Tally, but since my doctoral prelims last for 4 days this week and I want to get as much rest as possible so I can study and be coherent, I was annoyed. I go out too mind you, but this weekend has been dedicated to staying home and studying. After all, these are the biggest exams of my life.

So, around 230 or so I awake to shouts of guys outside yelling at each other. "Get the (expletive) out of my way" "I didn't (expletive) do that" amidst shouts of a girl yelling "stop stop!". Obviously there was some fight going on that was started at the bar and carried out in a drunken stupor outside my apt. complex. Follow that with jinging keys, car engines starting (great, they are driving drunk too), loud bass, and tires screaching, and it makes for an interesting night. Add that in with police and fire truck sirens going off around town, and I had a great night of sleep. : /

Tales from afar

Well this week has been the week of foreign travel stories. My mom is back from Peru and had an incredible time, which I am not surprised about. : ) She took lots of pics, and bought some great souvenirs for me that I requested (I especially wanted postcards to add to my foreign postcard collection). She said she ate some llama, octopus, squid, and tried guinea pig. All were disgusting. She is like me though-I would try it just to say I tried it (except for the gross seafood), and because I was in a foreign country. I remember in Espana I tried pig's intestines, but that was not as bad as guinea pig.

In my class, I had study abroad day on Wed., and I invited some students I have been advising for years in to speak about their overseas experiences. One student just went to Vietnam (his pics were incredible-house boats, open air markets, Ho Chi Minh City, etc.) and said that he tried dog. He showed my class one pic with 3 plates of different colored meat, and the class said "those 3 plates are all dog?" and he said " yeah, different kind of dog". He was the only person who tried it on the trip.

Peruvian Landslide

My mom is in Peru right now with one of her best friends Gail and her husband Archie. (Which I am a little jealous about since I have never been there, but she is getting me tons of souvenirs that I requested, so that is great). Well, I was supposed to call her this past Thursday at 11 my time (10 theirs). I didn't end up talking to her until 1245 AM my time (after calling 3 times and bugging the hotel receptionist guy and asking him questions in Spanish) because the train that was coming back from Machu Picchu was late. There was a landslide, and apparently the rocks and things blocked the road that the train takes. They all got back safe and sound though. She told me later that local people were banging on the train doors and trying to get on to get back to their villages (for those who don't know, MP is a very remote place and hard to get to-it's amazing that people even settled up there 14,000 feet high I think). The story was even on CNN. I LOVE having stories when traveling!! It's like the one time my knee got caught in the metro train in Madrid and the train started moving and I thought I was going to die and get smooshed between the train and the wall.... or when our boat ran out of gas in the middle of a canal coming back from Tortuguero, Costa Rica. There's just something that happens in me when something bad happens abroad-I don't worry and I feel like it is this one big adventure. Or a movie scene. I hope my mom got some pictures. Erin suggested that she contact the Post-Standard in Syracuse to tell her story. That would be neat to have her story published.

Random thoughts for today

I guess I'll just list the recent events-I don't really have creative energy today to come up with a good post:

1. I dyed my hair black on Sunday (from dark brown) and I LOVE it. Absolutely love it. I think it's going to become a permanent thing. I only did the temporary Clairol Natural Instincts # 36 Midnight - Neutral Black thing that washes out in 28 shampoos in case it came out where I didn't like it, but I do. : ) My class liked it too and noticed right away.
2. I went to Curves last night as usual on Mondays, and the fitness technician Shelby took my monthly measurements. I lost 1.4% body fat, so I must be doing something right. I also won a Curves breast cancer shirt in a drawing they had.
3. Today is my friend Marsha's b'day and she is 30. She thinks it's a good age to be-I might need to take notes on how she is dealing with turning 30, because in 2 years I will be doing the same thing, and I don't know if I am going to have the same reaction. Turning 25 was hard enough for me (knowing that I wouldn't be able to check off the 18-24 age group on surveys anymore really threw me for a loop).
4. My mom is in Peru right now, and she's getting me lots of souvenirs to put on my international shelf.
5. On Sat night, Costa Rica beat the US 3-0 to win a bid to the 2006 Copa Mundial. Felicitaciones! When I go again in May, I'll have to get some gear to wear back in the States.
6. The Yanks' season is done. I don't have much more to say about that other than I guess my team will be the Cardinals. I want to see Pujols get a World Series ring.
7. The weather here has been amazing-upper 80s-90 every day and partly cloudy to mostly sunny. This is one time of the year when I am glad to be in FL and not NY.
8. Speaking of weather, I always remember growing up in NY and having to worry about trick-or-treating in the snow. It is just so nice here for kids not having to worry about picking out a cute little princess costume or a Batman costume and having to put a sweater over it. One year in high school, a bunch of friends (including the Spanish foreign exchange student Ruben!) and I dressed up as a deck of cards (we made them out of cardboard and painted on the designs). It snowed/sleeted/rained and our costumes were ruined, and we were freezing. I remember that the paint ran. Looking back, it was kinda funny, but then it wasn't, right Benner and everyone that went with us that year?

** My heart also goes out to the Pakistanis and everyone that was devastated by this earthquake that has now killed over 40,000. I got an email from a fellow humanities grad student today who is from Pakistan that said she knows of kids that were killed when their school collapsed on top of them.

Until next time...

The Animal Kingdom

Animals are fascinating. I hate science and all of that (but I actually liked chemistry because it was math), but when there are stories of creatures in the wild like the ones I have read lately, it really makes you realize that after so much research, we still don't know a lot about animals!

For example, my frog. Let me preface this by saying that my pet frog is 19 years old. He may be older because I bought him when I was in 4th grade, and obviously he was living before that. His name is Eon Abner Fritz (yes, I was in 4th grade when I named him), and he is cute. He has a little mole on his right side, and cute little eyes and hands. My mom takes care of him for me in NY because I refuse to put him on a plane to bring him to FL for fear he may die from the altitude. I have looked up the lifespan of an African Water Frog, and it said 5 years. I wonder why Eon has lived so long?! I love to play with him and let him jump around on my hand.

Two stories I have read recently have to do with sharks, gators, and snakes. El Mundo (Espana) reported that scientists have tracked a Great White named Nicole from South Africa on its migration to Australia and back for 9 months. The main point of the article was that by tracking her with a GPS transmitter, the scientists have realized that populations of Great Whites might have even less numbers than thought before since now we know that they migrate to and from South Africa and Aus., rather than just staying around those areas; the 2 biggest known populations are on these coasts, and now we know that they are interconnected. The migration was 11,100 kilometers (roughly 6,897.2202338 miles). If you don't know Spanish, you can still look at the pictures in the article.

The other story was in the Miami Herald (that I read courtesy of Marsha) about a snake that was eating a gator whole in the Everglades. This is one of the craziest pics I have ever seen. Apparently the snake just blew up trying to eat the gator (snout first too). Can you imagine what the gator was thinking? Or the snake? Why did he get himself into that mess? Marsha and I had a long conversation about this. Scientists are trying to figure out what lead the snake and the gator to fight. Wow.

One last thing to add: my coworker Mike gets these silly totally useless facts every day on this free website full of stuff. Here is what he emailed me the other day: There is a substantial wild population of golden hamsters living in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Scientists speculate that all the domesticated golden hamsters in the world descended from a single female with twelve babies, which were dug from a burrow in Syria back in 1930. How neat!

I always talk about how interesting people are, but animals are too.

Memorias...

(Disclaimer: Post idea courtesy of Jessie)
If you read this, even if we do not speak often, comment with one memory of me.
It can be anything you want, good or bad (it better not be bad though!!).
Just as long as it happened.
Then post this on your blog/livejournal to see what other people remember about you.
Mil gracias!

People suck: Edition # 2

This weekend was the FSU vs. Syracuse game. I have divided loyalties, and maybe I was a sell-out, but I decided to root for SU. I wore an SU tank top and FSU beads. When people asked me why I did that, I said, well, I have been a fan of SU for longer than FSU. I still showed my support for my school though by wearing the beads. SU needed more fans though. : )

I have to say that the comment of the day was said by a stranger walking up the stairs near where we were sitting. Someone was just standing on the stairs and the stranger in question was saying "excuse me" and they wouldn't move. So, the stranger says "I guess 'excuse me' is a lost art these days". Hum. I agree! That is the problem with people: there are no manners!

After the game I took these pictures. I know that everyone has seen stadiums and outsides of stadiums after game days, but I just had to put these on my blog. When I go to games or the movies, I always bring my garbage to the trash can afterwards. What is SO hard about that? People even made a nice little setup on that first picture and were nice enough to arrange the beer bottles in a nice little circle on the lamppost instead of on the ground. Gee thanks. I saw on the news that the people that clean up our stadium are the Army ROTC students too. Kudos to them for doing this on a Sunday from 9-12 after every game day! Poor kids.

My dad was in town for the game, and we went to Wal-mart over the weekend too. Another thing I can't stand is how people cannot return the shopping carts to the places in the parking lots. There were shopping carts literally 15 feet away from where you can return the carts, and people were too LAZY to walk the extra 10 seconds and place the cart nicely into the thing. Is it THAT hard? I know my brother would appreciate this post because he used to be a shopping cart person at our local grocery store way back when and he used to say how much of a pain people were. Maybe I am just pointing out the obvious, but if people really took time to care, this world would be a much neater and nicer place.

Nothing surprises me anymore

This past weekend I went to Orlando. On Greyhound. There are two things one can always guarantee seeing when you travel on Greyhound: Mexicans (which everyone knows I LOVE! : ) -so this is fine with me), and scary greasy people. When you board the bus, you also see little grease patches on the windows from when people sleep and lean their heads against the windows. I told Marsha about this, and she laughed so hard she almost went to the bathroom in her pants. You also see this on planes, but not as bad. The trip actually wasn't that bad this time... not like the previous time when there were newly released convicts sitting right next to me. (How did I know this? #1-their jail bracelets were still on and #2-I saw their release papers). The bus going to Orlando left at 530 AM so all I did was sleep and listen to my walkman from 10-1130. I was scared that the bus station would be scary at 430 AM when I had to get there, but surprisingly, it was packed. And I was relieved when I saw a security guard there too.

Fast forward to Saturday night after the wedding (see previous post where I mention the wedding). I went out in downtown Orlando with one of Mo's friends. She works for a radio station there, and so we got in free to some places, skipped the long lines, and got some nice drinks. I swear she knows EVERYONE in that city! : ) Well, at this one bar called Knock Knock, it was so crazy and I loved it (I had been there many times before too when I visited Mo over the past few years). It plays great music, and there is a guy who paints in the corner (he sold this one piece he was doing that night for over $1,000 I think). There is a swing that hangs from the ceiling, and the only way to get on the swing is to stand on the bar and kind of jump into it. This one girl was swinging and holding the chains with only one hand, and I thought she was going to fall (keep in mind that the swing is about 7 ft. off the ground). People were dancing on the bar too, and the bartender (who Mo's friend knew) was hitting a huge gong a lot. I wish I took pictures. Girls were doing body shots off each other too-one girl would lay on the bar and the other would lick alcohol off her belly. Then, one girl took off her shirt AND her bra so she was totally naked on the top, and her girlfriend started licking places on her chest..... yes, this was all happening out in the open. I just love how people are so uninhibited and different-it's a breath of fresh air and a reminder of my days roaming the Commons in liberal Ithaca (which is NOTHING like Tally, mind you). I just have to smile when these things happen-good for them for having fun! I am just not surprised by anything anymore. I think that is a excellent thing, because this world needs more tolerant people. My message for the day: appreciate differences, because it makes the world a fascinating place to live in.

People suck

Over the past few days, I have just been dumbfounded at what my friends and family are telling me about things that they either witnessed or heard from other people, and things I have experienced too. For example, my brother went to the Bills game on Sunday. Bills fans are always crazy (I remember one time when my dad and I went to a game years ago in Buffalo when the Bills played my favorite team the Cowboys, and Bills fans were throwing stuff at me b/c I was wearing an Aikman jersey. They asked my dad what went wrong when he raised me haha... keep in mind I was a teenager and that was actually pretty scary when people were harassing me), but what happened this day was a BIT over the edge. He said that around 30 people in his section got thrown out of the game b/c of being rowdy. One person even got stabbed. STABBED! AT A FOOTBALL GAME! What is wrong with people?! Obviously alcohol (mixed with anger and hot tempers when your team is losing) is a huge factor in violence at sporting events. This is nothing new of course, but my brother said it was actually kind of scary. Yes, to say the least, I said.

This weekend I was traveling on Greyhound to Orlando for my friend Mo's wedding (a post will come later about my weekend there), and one of the bus drivers started yelling at this cute little old lady for no reason. I guess she couldn't speak English, and was confused about what door she should be at to board her bus. "Do you speak English?" She shakes her head no. "You have to read this on your ticket and you will know what to do!", he says. Like she understood that. Then her motioned her away with his hand. I don't know why he had to be so mean-why couldn't he have just gotten someone that spoke Spanish (like you can't find that in Orlando), and helped her?

On my birthday on Sunday, Mark and Marsha took me out to BW3 in Tally (sports bar) for some after dinner drinks (where we met Heather Tom last year!!). There were police all around when we got there and we wondered what happened. We ended up finding out that a fanatic football fan had a blow horn there and refused to stop blowing it. When the manager asked him to stop b/c it was so loud and rude to the other customers, he got belligerent and started pushing her around (she is like 90 pounds too). Then the BW3 staff called the police.

I love people, and I love learning about them, but I also cannot stand them at the same time for reasons like these!! If people weren't so self-absorbed and actually made efforts to get along with people and understand them, maybe this world would be a better place.

ENFJ

That is my personality type according to Myers Briggs. Erin, Marsha, and I were so into this the other day that we all decided to post about it. Marsha predicted my type with 100% accuracy! I guess my friends really do know me well. If you would like to take the test, here is the link.

My strength of preferences are as follows: 67% extroverted, 25% intuitive, 75% feeling, 67% judging. All of them are distinctively expressed except for the intuitive part which is moderate. According to personalitypage.com, "in general, ENFJs are charming, warm, gracious, creative and diverse individuals with richly developed insights into what makes other people tick. This special ability to see growth potential in others combined with a genuine drive to help people makes the ENFJ a truly valued individual. As giving and caring as the ENFJ is, they need to remember to value their own needs as well as the needs of others." ** This is totally true. ** "When faced with a conflict between a strongly-held value and serving another person's need, they are highly likely to value the other person's needs." **YES, and I guess this goes along with the fact that I am a Libra and love balance and harmony with no fighting. **

According to keirsey.com, "The Idealists called Teachers are abstract in their thought and speech, cooperative in their style of achieving goals, and directive and extraverted in their interpersonal relations. Learning in the young has to be beckoned forth, teased out from its hiding place, or, as suggested by the word "education," it has to be "educed." by an individual with educative capabilities. Such a one is the eNFj, thus rightly called the educative mentor or Teacher for short. The Teacher is especially capable of educing or calling forth those inner potentials each learner possesses. Even as children the Teachers may attract a gathering of other children ready to follow their lead in play or work. And they lead without seeming to do so.
Teachers expect the very best of those around them, and this expectation, usually expressed as enthusiastic encouragement, motivates action in others and the desire to live up to their expectations. Teachers have the charming characteristic of taking for granted that their expectations will be met, their implicit commands obeyed, never doubting that people will want to do what they suggest. And, more often than not, people do, because this type has extraordinary charisma. The Teachers are found in no more than 2 or 3 percent of the population." ** This might explain my desire for the Ph.D., the majors I have done, and my neverending quest to study people, peoplewatch, and figure out why people do the things they do (especially things you wouldn't expect. **

According to typelogic.com, "ENFJs are the benevolent 'pedagogues' of humanity. They have tremendous charisma by which many are drawn into their nurturant tutelage and/or grand schemes. Many ENFJs have tremendous power to manipulate others with their phenomenal interpersonal skills and unique salesmanship. But it's usually not meant as manipulation -- ENFJs generally believe in their dreams, and see themselves as helpers and enablers, which they usually are. ENFJs are global learners. They see the big picture. The ENFJs focus is expansive. Some can juggle an amazing number of responsibilities or projects simultaneously. Many ENFJs have tremendous entrepreneurial ability. ENFJs know and appreciate people. Like most NFs, (and Feelers in general), they are apt to neglect themselves and their own needs for the needs of others. They have thinner psychological boundaries than most, and are at risk for being hurt or even abused by less sensitive people. ENFJs often take on more of the burdens of others than they can bear.
TRADEMARK: "The first shall be last"
This refers to the open-door policy of ENFJs. One ENFJ colleague always welcomes me into his office regardless of his own circumstances. If another person comes to the door, he allows them to interrupt our conversation with their need. While discussing that need, the phone rings and he stops to answer it. Others drop in with a 'quick question.' I finally get up, go to my office and use the call waiting feature on the telephone. When he hangs up, I have his undivided attention!" ** Again, no need to explain here-everything makes total sense. **

Famous ENFJs (again, typelogic.com) include Presidents Lincoln and Reagan, Sean Connery, Elizabeth Dole, Gene Hackman, Diane Sawyer, Johnny Depp (YEA!!), Oprah, Ben Stiller, Peyton Manning, Matthew McConaughey, and Pete Sampras (YEA!!). Apparently I also make a good advisor (gee, I must be in the right field), neighbor, and tribesman (among others).

** My two cents: I value my friends and family more than anything in this world, and I would drop everything in a second if someone were in need or wanted to talk or share great news. Often times I would rather see other people happy than me, because then that makes me happy. I am always content knowing that people are successful in life, and have no regrets. Maybe that is why it seems that everyone comes to me for advice or want me to be their sounding board. My ENFJ personality might explain my obsession with Dr. Phil lately too. I think I should be a marriage or family therapist for my next career. Or a wedding planner.

Ups and downs

Despite the sadness in my life right now and what may have been one of the worst days of my life on Sunday(which I won't get into on here), my birthday is coming up and that is my favorite day of the year. My mom and my brother Mikey sent me this gorgeous bouquet of yellow and white roses... 28 of them for each year of my life. I LOVE yellow, and I LOVE yellow roses. I always have. Somehow, as always, my family (and friends too during the past 2 days) seems to find ways to brighten up my day.

To make myself even more happy, I changed the wallpaper on my computer screen from a picture of one of my all-time favorite shows "The Contender" (with Sergio Mora and Alfonso Gomez) to a scene I took a picture of at St. George Island last February when we took the ticos there. I absolutely love St. George. It is only an hour and 15 min drive southwest of Tally (depending on who is driving). The first time I went there, I had never seen houses that had stairs on their roofs that led to a pool or a sitting area, or houses that were built on stilts. "Florida's Forgotten Coast" is just that: as much as everyone (like me I'll admit) loves Miami, Jacksonville, Tampa, etc., no one ever thinks of the Panhandle and how great its beaches are. When you drive to St. George, you will even be welcomed by a sign that says "Welcome to St. George Island: The Uncommon Florida". Last time I went to St. George this summer, some guy caught a 3 or 4 ft. long shark (I forget what kind), and had so much trouble getting it unhooked so that he could throw it back in the water without getting bitten. I would stay at the beach there all day for days on end..... I am always so happy there. I have vases full of shells too.

The picture you see here is of some seagulls flying around after some of the ticos had fed them some bread. I just loved how the sun was shining down making the shadows on the gulls. I happened to catch it at just the right moment before the sun disappeared.

One last note: I hope, with everything in me, that this new hurricane Rita is not like Katrina. (Sorry for my randomness today). I hope South FL is spared any significant damage, and anywhere else she may go... our Gulf Coast region cannot handle any more destruction and definitely doesn't deserve anymore of it.

Blog game

Erin said there was this blog game going around, so I figured that would be a fun post for today.

20 years ago I… (1985)
1. Was in 3rd grade with a great teacher Mrs. McCabe who I still see when I visit my elem. school.
2. Was happy that Mikey (my brother) was starting kindergarten and would be in the same school as me!
3. Enjoyed playing dress-up with my friends using my mom's old dresses, jewelry, shoes, and purses.

10 years ago I… (1995)
1. Graduated high school.
2. Started college and got drunk for the first time on rum and coke in the Terraces of Ithaca College (remember Phil?).
3. Met some of the greatest friends I could ever have at IC, some on the very first day of school.

5 years ago I… (2000)
1. Received my masters degree from FSU.
2. Was looking for full-time jobs.
3. Was helping plan my best friend Jen's wedding.

3 years ago I… (2002)
1. Started classes for my Ph.D.
2. Went to Mikey's college graduation at St. Bonaventure.
3. Went to Costa Rica for the first time with the FSU program I continue to coordinate.

1 year ago I… (2004)
1. Had 3 weddings to attend in NY (and 3 bridal showers) within 3 1/2 months. I was in 2 of them.
2. Watched helplessly as my favorite city in the world was attacked. (Madrid, March 11) My host brother was on one of the trains, but thankfully he was alright.
3. Started planning my high school reunion and looking for people (HUGE job).

So far this year I… (2005)
1. Finished classes for my Ph.D.
2. Saw a 6 ft. leatherback turtle laying eggs on the beaches of Tortuguero, Costa Rica.
3. Went home for a wedding Mikey was in, and for my high school reunion.

Yesterday I…
1. Find out the most exciting news a best friend could ever share with me!
2. Taught my first-year experience class (it was academic day-anything they wanted to ask about majors, minors, grad school, taking summer classes, etc.).
3. Had a great workout at Curves.

Today I…
1. Am working and chatting with friends.
2. Will eat at my favorite Mexican restuarant in town-Los Compadres.
3. Am not sure what else will happen since it's only 10 AM.

Tomorrow I will…
1. Go to work.
2. Go to a goodbye happy hour for coworkers at On The Border.
3. Do laundry hopefully.

In the next year I will…
1. Take my prelim exams, and hopefully begin my dissertation (YIKES).
2. Go to my brother's best friend's wedding in July 2006 back in NY and go to Costa Rica again for the 5th time.
3. Hopefully travel somewhere new or somewhere I haven't been in a long time, and go to an ATP or WTA tennis tournament.

Scavenger hunt

It is always fun walking to work on a Monday after 'Noles and Tallahasseans have had a good long weekend of partying, especially if we had a home football game. I live very close to campus, and in a part of town where a lot of the college kids live. So, when I walk to work I see random things in the street leftover from the fun weekend. For example: Zephyrhills water bottles and wrappers, beer bottles (the most common thing I see), spattered tacos (or burritos-I really wasn't sure) from the late night munchie urges at the nearby Taco Bell, a fluorescent yellow straw, a half eaten orange, papers of all kind, a CD of Johnny (or Jonny-I can't remember) Diaz and the case next to it, plastic beer cups, various fast food items (ketchup packets, a plastic soda cover thing, Popeye's bag), a Snickers wrapper, something that looked like a battery, lots of cigarette butts, and many more things. Often times I see undergarments laying in the street-one time there was a bra, another time some guy's shorts and socks, and another time women's underwear. There is also occsionally vomit. I just want to take my class on a walk and have them do a scavenger hunt around campus and see what they can scrounge up. : ) It's always entertaining looking at the things lazy people can't throw away.

Katrina

Yesterday morning I went to Curves (like I usually do on Saturday mornings), and there were two women there who fled to Tally from New Orleans after the hurricane. One woman said that she found out that her ex-husband had walked (YES, WALKED) from New Orleans to Baton Rouge (which she said was 85 miles-I thought it was further) to escape. He had fought in Vietnam, and he said that this was worse because he had to look out for his family too and not just himself like in the war. Also, luckily, her house was not flooded, but just had structural damage. Just had to share that story.

I hope everyone has donated to this horrendous disaster. Even if you give $5 it helps. I don't think that is asking a lot. I was in MIAMI (one of my favorite world cities) visiting Novi when Katrina hit (in Kendall actually), and though it was not nearly as bad as in New Orleans and Mississippi, it did cause some bad damage which is still not cleaned up yet. The entrance to the neighborhood was flooded, trees were uprooted and tore up sidewalks and fell on roofs, debris was everywhere in the streets, and palm trees were snapped in half. I have pictures up on Snapfish, but unfortunately I forgot to save them before I deleted them and cannot upload them on here. : ( That stinks because I wanted everyone to see. Oh well... if you want to see the pics let me know. I just cannot believe that some of these trees survived Hurricane Andrew back in 1992, but not Katrina, which was supposedly a weaker storm. Amazing what gets destroyed and what doesn't. We actually drove through the eyewall of the hurricane with 70-80 MPH winds all around us coming back from Outback Steakhouse (where incidentally the power went out), and that was definitely an adventure. I had never been through anything like that before in my life. I had never seen palm trees whip around so much other than on tv. I guess I have many more hurricanes to come living here in FL so I better get used to it.

Two nights of heaven, literally

I do not know how to describe this amazing group of boys that I have attended performances of for the past two nights. The Tallahassee Boys' Choir is full of energy, spirit, joy, and dedication to music, and to think that they produce such a mature vocal sound at their ages (they range in age from 8-about 23), is simply incredible. It is no wonder that they have been recognized by Oprah, and have performed at the Kennedy Center and around Italy. In a society where we often times forget that children CAN take responsibility for their actions and their future, this group proves that good things can be done early on in one's life. Mr. Earle Lee, the director, takes pride of the fact that these boys are disciplined and respectful, and he shows us that "black men are doing more than being on the news" (quoted from Wednesday's concert). Many of the younger boys look up to the older ones, who set the example of having self-worth, academic success, and social skills. It is just a wonderful group, and I absolutely love them!

Wednesday's concert was a "Back 2 School Explosion" held at the New African Methodist Episcopal Church (Mt. Zion) on Old Bainbridge Road. This was more of a church worship than a concert per se. Singers from the Tally Police Dept. were there too, and there was a service and collection. The sermon was captivating: the guest preacher referred to Exodus 14 and the parting of the Red Sea, and compared Moses caught between the Pharaoh's army and the sea to today's society where we are caught between capitalism's realities and wanting to make money and advance in this world. Being a history student myself, I have discovered that nothing changes throughout history. Back then, people were caught between a rock and a hard place and now they are too (that was the preacher's theme). With the tools God gave Moses, Moses took the problem in his own hands and solved it, and today our success is in our hands too. Now, I am not religious by any means, and I want people to know that you do not have to be religious to understand that the Bible is the most amazing piece of history ever written. From a historical perspective, it is a remarkable piece of literature. Moses wants to be still and not do anything about his problem, but God says don't be still! DO SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR SITUATION! We have the tools to succeed, but we need to be resourceful and use them. This idea has not changed for thousands of years. The Boys' Choir certainly takes their tools (their voices) and produces good things from them.

Last night was the hurricane benefit concert at Trinity Methodist Church on Park Ave. Marsha and I brought some nice non-perishable goods for the refugees. Take a look at http://marshalaurel.blogspot.com for her pictures-hers came out great! I am so glad she goes with me-it is so fun because she loves the group as much as I do. I'm sorry I don't have pics of her, but you can go to her blog b/c she took a lot. Last night was definitely a concert including a mixture of jazz pieces, upbeat African songs with drums, and America the Beautiful. I got shivers at some of the chords the group held-they were beautiful and echoed in the church.
We smiled at the fun the boys were having-they were dancing and singing their hearts out. It was more upbeat than at the AMEC, and understandably so since Wed. was an actual church service. Lawrence is my favorite member, and he had a few solos. He held this one high note that just rang through the church and gave me goosebumps. Marsha and I took a pic with him and the other soloist that you can see on her blog, but I have a pic of him here too.

All in all, the two performances were unbelievable. I hope people get to see them sometime in their lifetime. I plan on donating for their trip to the Astrodome to sing for the hurricane refugees. Oprah asked them to come, and she obviously knows a good thing when she sees it!

My first ever blog post

Well, I finally made it to the 21st century: I have a BLOG now. Thanks to my dear friend Erin Christine Cassidy Whong, I now know how to do these things. : )

Not to start the blog on a sour note, but I just got a call from Novi who is driving back down to South FL in the rains of the newly declared tropical depression, which could turn into Tropical Storm Ophelia by tomorrow. Maybe I should rethink my desire for living in Florida all of my life... okay, I thought it over. Nah. "Paradise Land" (aka Miami-so named by Mikey) is waiting for me to arrive and help all the immigrants.