No wonder.

..."only about 27 percent of U.S. citizens currently possess a valid passport. "

: /

Taken from http://travel.msn.com/Guides/article.aspx?cp-documentid=375729&GT1=8709 .

You know when.....

.... you have been to Curves so many times and for so long that right when you walk in the workers put in the cd that you like so much. And you have the #s memorized. (Disc 7 and 41 are the Latin/Spanish/salsa ones).

.... you call overseas so much that you have memorized the 1-800 number on your calling card AND your 10-digit pin. THE PIN!!

.... you fly so much that you have memorized your Delta Skymiles number.

.... you are so old that the kids you used to babysit are now pregnant.

.... you have been in school so long (even after you quit) that your 5-shelf bookshelf can't fit any more books.

.... you have worked so long that you have memorized all of the course prefixes and numbers for just about every class at the university.

I'll think of more-these just came to me the other day. : )

IRRITATING

LONDON, England (AP) -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday that Islamic head scarves are a sign of separation and Britain's Muslims should be encouraged to integrate with mainstream society in order to improve the quality of their lives.

Blair said Tuesday that the veil "is a mark of separation, and that's why it makes other people from outside the community feel uncomfortable."

"People want to know that the Muslim community in particular but actually all minority communities have got the balance right between integration and multiculturalism," he said.

Blair said evidence shows that "when people do integrate more, they achieve more as well. There is a reason why minority communities that have integrated well then end up doing better, achieving more, attaining more."

Here is the link to the story: http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/10/17/britain.blair.ap/index.html

ARE YOU KIDDING????????????????????? I AM FUMING. I might have to rethink my opinions about Blair now............... the community will just have to DEAL with the headscarves! It's today's society! DEAL WITH IT! ACCEPT IT! What are we teaching our children-that no one can be different??? AHHHH!!!

Trash

I have posted before about trash.... and I felt like I needed to do it again. On my way to work, I saw the following on the ground: the usual beer bottles and cans, the usual crushed water bottles, dented soda cans, paper cups and wrappers from fast food places like nearby Taco Bell and Wendy's and Moe's, the paper bracelets people get at clubs, Oreo and AirHeads wrappers, a pair of blue rubber gloves, and the best one: a thing of K-Y. : / Better than the used condoms I see sometimes and random undergarments.

Everything my brother said was RIGHT

It was torture watching the Yanks tonight. I don't have anything else more to say. Everyone needs to listen to my brother!!!!!! He predicted the whole thing.

What a freaking week!!!

I can't give this past Wed and tonight enough justice, so I will only say that we met AARON NEVILLE and TIEMPO LIBRE!!!! (respectively) : ) WOW. Such nice and humble people too!!

"America"

I was listening to a radio show this morning, and they were talking about how they hate that we are called "America". I started thinking about when I travel. When I go to Spain, they say ah, you are from the US or "los estados" ("the States"). In Costa Rica, they call it the US too. In Cairo they called it America. I tried to tell people in Cairo I was from the United States, and they almost seemed confused, so I had to keep saying America. In Turkey they called it either the USA or America. It's just kind of strange.... when people say America, they are ignoring Central and South America too. After all, what do they matter, right? : ( I am sure the ticos would have something to say about that. It's just so fascinating to travel-you really learn so much about yourself and where you grew up through other people's eyes.

Just one random thought today too: I was in the bathroom after teaching my class one day, and when I went to wash my hands, the soap dispenser was over the opposite sink. I had to reach over and say sorry to the other lady washing her hands to get my soap. We laughed about how dumb it was that the soap dispenser was over just one sink, and that the paper towel thing was inbetween. They both should be in the middle so everyone has access to them. Ugh. Don't people plan out bathrooms anymore?

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. : )