Some things

So I watched the entire interview with Terry Irwin last night with wet eyes. : ( When she called Steve her prince, I lost it. I was bawling. Crying hard. I really did NOT care for Barbara Walters-she drives me nuts. I thought Terry held up great under the circumstances, and talked about Steve with so much pride. It is so great to see that there are some amazing relationships out there with so much love and committment. They really give people something to look forward to. I know this is looking WAY into the future, but I am wondering how she could possibly marry someone that could measure up to Steve.

It made me think about my prince. : )

On another note, Grady won The Contender!! WOW!

Happy birthday to me : )

It has been a great few days leading up to my bday, and there is still more to come. Los Compadres was awesome Saturday-my Tallahassee friends came, and the waiters at Los (especially Rafa!) got a cake for me from Publix with candles and my name on the cake (they don't do that for anyone!), and of course I had free drinks. They also all signed a card for me. Later, we went to Cafe Cabernet of course and I got free drinks. : ) Today, my askim was the first to call me and sing to me. : ) Mom called, then Mikey, then Dad. Mom and Mikey sent me 29 hot pink roses with a hot pink ribbon, and Mom also had cake delivered. She does that every year and it makes my bday so nice. Hole and others have also emailed, sent ecards and cards in the mail, commented on myspace, called, IMed, etc. Hole and Erin said that presents are on their way too. Yeah! And I think my class is planning something too.... hahaha But really, everyone is making my bday so great. Thank you.

Happy birthday to me : )

It has been a great few days leading up to my bday, and there is still more to come. Los Compadres was awesome Saturday-my Tallahassee friends came, and the waiters at Los (especially Rafa!) got a cake for me from Publix with candles and my name on the cake (they don't do that for anyone!), and of course I had free drinks. They also all signed a card for me. Later, we went to Cafe Cabernet of course and I got free drinks. : ) Today, my askim was the first to call me and sing to me. : ) Mom called, then Mikey, then Dad. Mom and Mikey sent me 29 hot pink roses with a hot pink ribbon, and Mom also had cake delivered. She does that every year and it makes my bday so nice. Hole and others have also emailed, sent ecards and cards in the mail, commented on myspace, called, IMed, etc. Hole and Erin said that presents are on their way too. Yeah! And I think my class is planning something too.... hahaha But really, everyone is making my bday so great. Thank you.

Taxi cab confessions

I was in a cab yesterday, and started talking to the cab driver like I always do. I like to know where they came from, why they are driving cabs, etc. I asked him to wait for me at the place I was going, and that got into a whole VERY interesting discussion. He was VERY nice about it and said it was no problem. Then he proceeded to tell me about these two people who took cabs everywhere. One man he said took a cab to ORLANDO (yes, ORLANDO.... a 4 hour drive, and sometimes more depending on traffic), with a stop in Gainesville (2 hours from here), and back to Tally. It cost over $1,000. Then he said another man in his 60s here in Tally would have the cab driver wait for him for 3 hours while he grocery shopped. I said, "why didn't he just call you when he was done?" and the driver said "well, I told him he should do that b/c it would cost a lot, but he didn't care about the money since he was rich, and didn't want to wait one second after he was done shopping". He was felt secure in knowing that someone was waiting for him too I guess. Wow huh?

Then I said yeah, you must have a TON of stories. He said yes, I don't work the night shift, but the drivers that do have a ton better stories. I said I bet-with all these drunk college kids and things. I said do you ever watch Taxi Cab Confessions and he said no but I should. hahahaha He said what do you study in school and I said well, I did do anthropology and humanities, and he said well if anyone studies psychology or sociology or anthro too, they would love to sit with me in the cab for a day. !! I don't doubt it.

Meanwhile, 3 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : )

And, one more thing. I LOVE ER and THE OFFICE. Thursday nights are so great. ER was emotionally draining last night though, but I loved it. Here is my prediction (and don't read on if you have not seen ER yet-if you taped it or something): I think they are going to make Sam pregnant. What a nightmare that would be. I was crying during that scene.... and the one when Abby yelled at Luca. What high emotions she must have been experiencing. Well him too but he was not on the surgery table.

That's all for now.

5 DAYS!!

:)

Also, as predicted, Steve Forbes made it into the finals of The Contender. I thought he would be fighting Norberto Bravo, but he is fighting Grady Brewer! I love both of these guys (N and G)-really great families and personalities, so I didn't care who won, but I thought N would. This final will be great this Tuesday at the Staples Center. Wish I could fly out to LA for a day and see it.

Words

You know how certain words look weird after a while? Like they are not spelled right? I had to keep looking at the word "beyond" today ten different times to make sure it was ENGLISH. Just my random thought of the day.

THE CONTENDER!!

Just so I have it written down: my pick to win The Contender is Steve Forbes. I think he is unstoppable. No matter who he faces. It's one of my favorite shows of all-time.

American football

I don't know what it is this year, but I just can't get into American football (as opposed to "regular" football, which is known here as soccer). I mean, I will go to some FSU games, and watch important NFL games whenever they are, but even last night when the Manning bowl was on, I didn't really care. This is odd for me, because I usually like football. I still am in love with watching tennis and baseball, but football this year is just... eh. Maybe I am too influenced by Turkish sports. ; )

Three weeks...

... til my favorite day of the year!! : )

Three weeks...

... til my favorite day of the year!! : )

Freaky thing

Yesterday I was walking back to my office after teaching, and I saw a freak accident. Where my building is, there is a hill. This kid on a bike comes WHIZZING past me and a few other people down this hill and runs SMACK into this girl walking to class. He hit her so hard that she fell to the pavement and laid there for a sec and I thought we would have to call an ambulance. After about 30 seconds though, she sat up holding her head while the kid on the bike was apologizing profusely and some people had stopped and helped her gather her books and purse. I kept walking b/c I was on the phone, but I kept looking back and by then, she had stood up and was talking to the kid on the bike. Hope she got his name in case there are injuries. : / Slow down bikers!!

Survivor

What kind of ASSININE idea is it to split up the teams according to ethnic group?!?!?! Society needs to unite and find commonalities, not split apart and make stereotypes even THAT more apparent!! Ugh. Worst idea in the history of tv.

Been a while.....

Sorry for the lack in posts-the Nile cruise ship didn't have internet access, and since then I have been catching up. : P

So I keep thinking about the Egypt trip and I still can't believe I was there and I saw all these amazing things. The Saqaara step-pyramid (2750 BC), of course the real pyramids in Giza, the mosques in Cairo, the Aswan dams, the Roman catacombs in Alexandria.... I could go on and on. Egypt is the most incredible country, and the antiquities police surely are no joke. They guard those tombs and monuments with their life.

I was also so surprised at Cairo. The city was so much bigger than I thought. Our tour guide said that 17 million people live there-in an area that should really fit 4 million. During the work days, that number swells to 20 million with everyone that commutes from local villages. Traffic jams at 3 AM. Man. No wonder the Egyptian government doesn't make people finish their houses before they move in-the over population is so bad there that people need housing asap. Don't worry, I have pics of all of this.

Just had to share some of my thoughts on the trip. Everyone that reads this blog will get the pics anyways, so you will see the daily events of our trip soon. : )

Quick post from Cairo...

Again, I only have a short time, so this will be quick. The sound and light show was amazing last night and I got some great shots of the pyramids and Sphinx at night. Today we went to two mosques, ate lunch on the road, and went to the Egyptian museum. We saw King Tut's tomb, golden mask, and other incredible things from as early as 2500 BC. Tomorrow we have to get up at 330 AM to catch a flight to Luxor and start the Nile cruise! Til then............. sorry so short. Oh, and I can't believe how HUGE Cairo is-17 million people fit into a city that could hold maybe 4 or 5 million (based on land area). It is incredible.

Continuation of the Middle Eastern summer.....

..... or North African-whatever you prefer. : ) I am sitting at the business center at the hotel Mom and I are staying at. The hotel is about 300 feet or so from the pyramids. NO LIE. Today we went to the pyramids, went into one of them (the second largest), took a camel ride which scared me half to death (although Mom was loving it and even made the camel guy RUN with the camel and I almost flipped out), went to Saqqara pyramid (the oldest one in Egypt and the oldest one in the world made of stone-2750 BC), went to the city of Memphis (the old Egyptian capital) and saw a statue of Ramses II, ate lunch by the Sphinx, and went to a kids' carpet school. Their hands were moving SO fast-it was unbelievable. The tour we are with is sooooo organzied and it's great. The tour guide buys all the tickets for us, gives us advice on the pesky people trying to get us to buy souvenirs and following us around, and gives us discounts on things to buy. : )

What else... I am trying to write fast b/c I bought an internet card and I only have a limited time. I fell last night (what's new) in the road at the hotel and hurt my knee. Nothing bad, but it hurts today (not bad enough so I couldn't go climbing down into the pyramid though). haha We also met the cutest little boy on the flight from Frankfurt to Cairo... he said his name is Eliah but people call him Buster. LOL BUSTER. How funny is that! Tonight is the laser light show in front of the Sphnix and pyramids. I can't wait. : ) Tomorrow is another mosque day where we will see the mosque I studied about in my art history classes: the Sultan Hassan.

Okay well guess I will go. Oh, and if you ever fly, take Lufthansa. They are awesome. Just like Turkish Air. All these foreign airlines give you tons of food.

Alaskans in Iraq....

.... present an interesting story. A couple of months ago I read an article about how the adjustment for soldiers from Alaska sent to Iraq is so great (more than the other 49 states) and how their villages suffer without them during fishing and hunting season. I couldn't find the original article I was looking for, but I did google "eskimo" and "Iraq" and found one from the LA Times from June 5, 2006. Here are some exerpts.

The Iraq deployment in western Alaska comes at an especially poignant time: Late spring is known as "breakup" in the Alaskan bush, when the ever-lengthening days finally melt the snow and ice that have blanketed the tundra for more than half the year and kept it eerily quiet.But as the Yupik men at the mouth of the Kuskokwim River ready themselves for the hunting, fishing and seal-catching that still provide a significant component of people's diets here, they find themselves preparing for a breakup of an almost unfathomably different sort.

In this village of 386 people, six men have been notified to report for duty next month. Though all the men knew they could be called when they signed up years ago for Guard duty — an important source of cash here — several said they were struggling to adjust to the reality."When I signed up, I never thought I would go to war; I mean, you never really think of Alaska being at war with anybody," said Harold Azean, 23, a Guard specialist.Ben Lupie, 30, a Kongiganak carpenter who is also going to Iraq, said he was optimistic that all the men would come back alive. "Us being a hunting people, I think it gives us an advantage," he said, going into an impressive series of mimes: the light prancing of a caribou, the ripple of a fish just below the surface of a river, even the flapping wings of the ducks, cranes and geese that are just arriving on spring migration."We notice the tiniest motions," Lupie said. "So I think we'll be aware if something suspicious is up, and we'll know how to react."

The call-up in the marshy delta country to the west reaches villages so remote that there are only two ways to get here most of the year — by airplane or snowmobile — and a third from May to September, or perhaps October in a warm year with a late freeze-up: the river.

So in places with Eskimo names such as Kongiganak, Kwigillingok and Manokotak, elder leaders and wives find themselves planning how to carry on without strong young men who serve as vital providers of food.

Very interesting dilemma. You can find the article here.

Reminders to yourself

Does anyone ever call themselves and leave messages at home reminding themselves to do something that night or get something ready for the next morning? (ie. "buy stamps", "(insert name)'s birthday is today", "call (insert name)", tape "(insert tv show name)")? I do all the time, and I wondered if anyone else does. It's not that I am ashamed, because it's pretty funny, and it works. I was just wondering who else does it. : P

This is why the rest of the world is more cultured than the US

So on CNN, there was a story about how people were freaking out over the cover of "Babytalk" magazine. There is a close-up picture of a baby breastfeeding. Yup that's IT. Here is the link to the article-it's an interesting read. Here are some exerpts:

"These readers weren't complaining about a sexually explicit cover, but rather one of a baby nursing, on a wholesome parenting magazine -- yet another sign that Americans are squeamish over the sight of a nursing breast, even as breast-feeding itself gains more support from the government and medical community."

"Babytalk editor Susan Kane says the mixed response to the cover clearly echoes the larger debate over breast-feeding in public. 'There's a huge Puritanical streak in Americans,' she said, 'and there's a squeamishness about seeing a body part -- even part of a body part.' "

My anthropology professor used to breastfeed her baby right in front of me and pump her breast too. I thought it was great that she could be so open about it. When people travel to places like Espana, Turkey, wherever, you will see magazines with naked people sold right on the street and not covered up with paper like they do here. And you will see tv shows and nude art. Big deal. People are open and proud of their bodies. GET A GRIP PEOPLE! Comments welcome as always.

Personal hygiene

I am going to divert from talking about Turkiye for a sec and talk about gross people. I was in the bathroom today at work and this lady came in the stall next to mine. She sat down RIGHT ON THE TOILET SEAT (how did I know? because I saw her feet not on the ground) and didn't even put toilet paper on it (hello, there are germs and diseases!). THEN she peed, wiped, and DID NOT WASH HER HANDS. UGH!!!!!!!!!!!! I wanted to puke! I wash my hands sometimes two times PLUS put antibac on. It's for reasons like this that I do that. SICK! DISGUSTING! NASTY!

Conflict in Lebanon

I read something somewhere that some evacuees were being transported back to the US through Turkiye-the town of Mersin. I was just there in Mersin. : / It's just kinda surreal.