Final Exam Fun

So I'm slowly grading a stack of final exams from my Middle East history class and just came across this gem. I had to share.

Q: Who was Mehmet Ali? (The 19th-century military governor of Egypt who forcibly modernized the economy)

A: He was a peaceful man who was always kind and generous to others. He was Islamic and found great pleasure and satisfaction by reaching out to others.

This same student answered an essay question about culture in the Ottoman Empire from the 15th-17th centuries using two examples: 1) women's rights in the Qur'an and 2) a term first coined in Iran in 1979. Her essay about socialism in the Middle East from 1950s-1970s was based on a film about current Syrian-Israeli border conflicts. Her overall grade on the exam for this combined effort: 12/100. Ouch.

play that funky music

Today, my coworker told me I was a good dancer "in a funky white girl kinda way". Compliment accepted.

feminism

Have had a rough two weeks of womanhood. Does anyone else go through rabid feminist waves while most of the time feeling... content/understood/equal? I feel like there are always key incidents that set me off, and then... well, then I go to extremes and find injustice everywhere. Andrew is a saint and listens to all of it.

I feel like it shouldn't be too much to ask to have your thoughts treated with respect, even if they aren't agreed with... and even if you are a woman.

Ironic after the gleaming shower post, I know. I accept I am a happy bundle of contradiction.

free shower?

Would someone please come use our shower? I spent a great deal of time making it gleam yesterday. It is one of those things that makes Andrew and me very happy... but sometimes I wish someone else could enjoy it as well.

Afraid for my life

"Rights Groups Sue U.S. on Effort to Kill Cleric"

A few months ago something extraordinary happened: the U.S. government authorized the execution of an American citizen without putting him on trial. It seems that the government forgot that in the United States of America suspected criminals have Constitutional rights--the right to an attorney, a speedy trial, a jury of peers, habeus corpus, etc. These rights distinguish our justice system (imperfect as it is) from those of tin-horn dictators in Third World countries where justice is a joke and the government does whatever it wants with whomever it deems a criminal. What makes the American justice system different is that in theory the U.S. government cannot suspend these rights, ever. Inalienable rights--even for suspected criminals--are meant to ensure that the government never oversteps its bounds and begins arbitrarily arresting, imprisoning and executing its own citizens. Even if those citizens are accused of terrorism.

Which is why I am so disturbed by the U.S. government's recent authorization to execute a suspected terrorist, Anwar al-Maliki. Al-Maliki is U.S. citizen hiding in Yemen. The CIA believes that he is assisting those who are plotting attacks against the United States and so has authorized his assassination. Here is my problem with all of this: the U.S. government does not have the right to call one of its citizens a terrorist and then summarily execute him. Al-Maliki has the Constitutional right to a trial to determine if in fact he is facilitating acts of terrorism. A jury should decide that. If the CIA has sufficient evidence, then al-Maliki should be arrested, tried in a civilian court and, if he is found guilty of a capital offense, then he can be executed. That is the proper way to administer justice to American citizens. This Constitutionally-mandated legal process is the only thing that distinguishes legitimate state-sponsored execution from state-sponsored terrorism.

I realize that Mr. al-Maliki is hiding in Yemen and capturing him may be difficult. That is the reason that the U.S. government is more likely to kill him. But there is no need for that. We have friendly relations with the Yemeni government. Ironically, our government is currently pouring millions of dollars into training the Yemeni police and armed forces. Surely it would not be difficult to arrange al-Maliki's arrest and extradition to the United States.

So, perhaps for the first time in my life, I find myself on the same side of a legal issue as the ACLU (see the attached NYT article). Like them, I want to know the standards the CIA uses to determine whether an American citizen is worthy of assassination without trial. I would also like to know why the U.S. Treasury Department has the authority to classify someone a terrorist(!) and thereby deny him legal representation. Both clearly violate the letter and intent of the Constitution. It seems to me that we, as American citizens, are allowing our government to set a dangerous precedent with the al-Maliki case. What happens if the U.S. government suspects that Americans who study Islam in Yemen (as I nearly did) have terrorist ties and can be assassinated? Or what if the FBI determines that Mormons represent a clear and present danger to the United States? Can their right to trial be revoked? The U.S. government once suspended Japanese-Americans' Constitutional rights during a time of war so this is a threat to ethnic as well as religious groups.

American citizens have the right to a trial in this country for a reason. It prevents the U.S. government from arbitrarily executing its own citizens. This is a right that should not be suspended for anyone, ever.

what i did at work today

We said goodbye to Gloria, one of our favorites. In her honor, and to mock our boss, who is always trying to explain our mission of "community building", we developed this number. Enjoy.

sometimes I get this song stuck in my head

As a person who is often responsible for wrangling youth of this age, I just imagine what coordinating this music video must have been like. I also like to imagine Dayne, Devon, Christian, Scott, Abe, John, Chandler, and Sam dancing with Fiona.

work week

Monday = 12 hours
Tuesday = 11 hours
Wednesday = 12 hours
Thursday = 13 hours
All in preparation for Friday:
4 hour board event + 25 min speech + 15 minute interview = leaving work early and watching 3 episodes of Bones while eating fruit and cookies and contemplating a 4 pm nap.

And I thought I wasn't good at math.

riddle me this...

Wanted: scenarios in which I would receive 16 mosquito bites on my upper thighs (only) while fully clothed. I do not want to duplicate this itch-tastic feat.

Roman Stuff for Seth

I spent this past weekend in Fez and stopped along the way at the ancient Roman city of Volubilis. Its name in Arabic is Waleelee, which I think is way more fun to say. Here are some sample pictures. The final one is a mosaic representing Hercules' Twelve Tasks, about which Seth recently gave an awesome lecture. Fez is the leather capital of Morocco and I almost purchased a hand-made pair of pointy leisure shoes for Taylor but decided against it considering the activities that such things inspire. I have yet to find any marvels of Moroccan engineering for Garrett, although I did drive past a pretty devastating car crash on the way home that he might have been interested in.

See you guys soon!

even?

Success.

Failure.

I'll take it, I guess that leaves me about even, right? Well, even and with tasty vegetables.

team edward?

Normally, Andrew's tastes lean more towards a particular Edward, but apparently his travels have brought him in contact with this little gem...

In his words, "well, I already know a lot of the storyline, so it is good practice for language." In my words, "I am totally selling you out to Taylor."

Take that, State Department. Didn't think you'd be paying to get grad students well-versed in teen lit, now did you? You should have let wives come. 'Cuz I guarantee I wouldn't be reading any Twilight. Ana le uhib hatha kitaab hawla vampires. See?

long awaited day

Red tomato!

honey dear

I have been thinking a lot about family. Well, my dad, of course. And my mom's dad, Norm, who passed away 12 years ago yesterday. And my grandma's father as we try to solve a little family mystery. I was going through family things today trying to find answers when I found the letter above, from my great-grandfather Neal to his wife. At least I get to call.

In other cool things, check out my g-pa with Jim Lovell. He's the one on the far right with the now-back-in-style skinny tie.

NASA Photo ID: S65-57481 File Name: 10074125.jpg Film Type: 35mm Date Taken: 11/01/65 . Title: Astronaut James Lovell undergoes weight and balance tests. Description: Astronaut James A. Lovell Jr., pilot of the Gemini 7 space flight, undergoes weight and balance tests in the Pyrotechnic installation Building, Merritt Island. Talking with Lovell are (left to right) Charlie Beaty, McDonnell Aircraft Corporation; Karl Stoien, McDonnell Aircraft; NASA suit technician Al Rochford; and Norm Batterson, Weber Aircraft Corporation.

mo-rockin'

I was able to speak on the phone with Andrew today. The line was not awesome, and also perhaps this was going on in the background...

I'm glad that both the Soviet Union and the Chicago Bulls got representation there at the end, since the beginning was so, you know, female-centric.

did you know...

...the Supreme Court legally classified the tomato as a vegetable? They acknowledged that botanically it might be a fruit, but in common parlance it is certainly a vegetable. Nix v. Hedden, 1893. Ba-bam. I know being certificated to teach government was going to come in handy one day, and not just trying to teach a bunch of seniors the concept of NIMBY. They always thought NIMBY was a friend of Gumby.

(Just for the record I stole this Gumby picture from a blog that was debating

"Who is sexier, Gumby or Mr. Bill?")

biting the hand that feeds me... or used to feed me

In the interest of full journalistic disclosure, for the past three years, Andrew has received a small scholarship from BP through the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara. (Why, you ask? First, he's an awesome student, and second, massive oil company interested in kids who speak Arabic? Not really a shocker if you ask me.) This year, a new donor stepped in, so maybe that reduces my conflict of interest.

Anyway, you may have heard that BP execs met with President Obama today and settled on a deal where the company will set aside a $20 billion claims fund to satisfy legitimate claims or damages from clean up entities or individuals. Sounds like a lot of money until you average the total net income for BP's last four years... basically, BP makes $20 billion a year. That's income, not revenue.

I haven't figured out how I feel about this just yet. I do believe in companies taking responsibility for damages. I'm not too sure how I feel about a government commission administering it... sounds like more bureaucracy but heaven knows the MMS can't really be trusted to do it. Also, am I ok with a company just having to do cleanup costs, basically losing a year of income, or should they have to cover additional costs, like the loss of livelihood for a region and longer term issues? I have the sneaking suspicion that fancy lawyers will get most of that and not the actual people who need it.

All my laissez-faire pipe dreams are exploding. Pun intended.

In other, less contentious news, I have TWO baby squash in my garden.

let's say thanks

I like to visit this site from time to time to say thank you. It's a quick way to keep those serving our country in your heart.

congratulations

When I first met Ang, she was 11. When did she grow up... and get freaking gorgeous?!?!

elections

In case you have not studied your official voter information guide as closely as I have, I would like to share with you the highlight. Specifically, Republican gubernatorial candidate Douglas R. Hughes on page 43:

"As your governor, I will ensure all pedophiles will leave the State or volunteer to live confined to Santa Rosa Island, at no cost to Californians, as they will have their own self-supporting village, away from children."

Though I am not a pedophile-phile, I think this plan is less than ideal. Thoughts that come to mind:
1. How can I find more ways to use gubernatorial?
2. How does one get others to volunteer to join a self-sustaining village?
3. Does the tri-fenced border that features later on in his candidate statement come into play?
4. How does he guarantee the pedophiles will not procreate, thus creating children in the self-supporting village?

According to the Office of the Attorney General, law enforcement tracks approximately 85,000 registered sex offenders. Santa Rosa Island has approximately 84 square miles. To simplify the math, let's say 84 miles divided by 84,000 offenders... .001 mile. Which, google tells me, is 5.28 feet per offender.

I don't think even the famous island fox can run a productive self-sustaining village with just 5.28 feet per individual.

parental visit

My dad recently got this present at work. For those of you not engineers, it is an AC-10 autoclave and it is now the largest and hottest on the west coast.

His arrived with a crane, a large hole cut in a wall, many trucks, large rollerskates, and a lot of stress.

Mine arrived with double stuff oreos, lemonade, and designed to relieve stress.

Come visit anytime. :)

did you know...

... the Amish don't pay into Social Security? How do I get on that plan?

closure

To complete this post...
1. Mail crisis averted. We are not a dorm and we will get mail. I am thrilled.
2. My most recent television appearance. And my mother's most recent copyright infringement by videocamera-ing off our tv.

the final blow

So, grad student friends, you know how sometimes you wish you could be a real adult? Like you look around and other people who are 28 have houses, spouses with real jobs, children*, retirement plans, more than one car, washers/dryers**, furniture not salvaged from a dumpster, a backyard... You know, those things.

I had come to terms with (almost) all of the above. Until last night when I came home and received a notice that the USPS decided we no longer qualify for mail service. Ouch. Totally sub-citizens.

I have this song in my head, but I am not going to sleep until this war is over. I have already written my representatives and postmaster and attended a (rather subdued) radical meeting. I plan to Facebook all my politician friends and use the fear of an election year to get a critical mass behind me continuing to get my steady stream of airline-mile-supplied free magazines.



* I recognize you can have children and still not be a real adult.
** Um, check back with me on Friday 'bout that.

BTSA

There is something terrible about taking a "day off" to sit in your house and type teacher paperwork for the state. State of California, do you really want to "induct" me as a teacher (5 years too late)? Send me to get a massage. Buy me dinner. Or, give me credit for the induction program I ALREADY did in Utah. It will help me be a better professional, give me the capacity to care more about my students, and save you cash.

sexiplicate

Not a post about what you thought, I'm sure. Edit: unless you are Krissie Cook.

Today, I found a form at work that requires six copies to be distributed to various different parties. My brain almost exploded. Instead, it made this unflattering face.

see you thursday

Two days of 8 hour career fairs in a row seems like a cruel joke. Must make a mental note for next year.

Lebanon... aka take that, Berkeley.

Andrew's students won the model Arab League competition this weekend in San Francisco, after 3 days of intense debate as Lebanon. I was the official driver, photographer, and Rice Krispie treat supplier.

what have we been up to?

This is a collage commemorating Andrew's quarter. Please note: the hair (which is actually two weeks bigger as he became ill and never got it cut), the books that took over my home, and the things that look like children's art (because it is, but Andrew wrote rough drafts over the top of it and then spent EXTRA time deciphering over the butterflies).


And me. My census came. I am thrilled. I have waited so long to participate in this genealogical dream and civic duty... And the lip craziness you can see in the photo healed after being given topical steroids.

Good times!

sometimes I get this song stuck in my head

This post is dedicated to my husband, who at 4:45 p.m. finally completed all his papers and chapters and who is sporting not only a sexy 'stache, but also crazy hair and a wild beard.

(For those of you who think that video is the strangest thing you've ever seen, it is Divine Comedy from BYU, which Andrew and I used to go see, doing a parody of Justin Timberlake's Sexy/Back.)

Ethnic Holidays

I am tired of ethnic holidays that have an entirely different meaning in the "home country" being hijacked.

St. Patrick's Day. In Ireland, a religious holiday. Took an interesting turn with the mass immigration to the United States, lots of green, die a river, talk like a leprechaun, ok, whatever. Never mind that the color St. Patrick was originally associated with was blue. Don't get me wrong- it has been a feast day for a long time, and that always involves alcohol. Now: excuse to wear green lingerie, go downtown, get drunk.

Cinco de Mayo. Although everyone thinks of this as some kind of liberation day for all of Mexico from Spain, it is really only a big deal for the state of Puebla and it was actually from the French. Not even a federal holiday for the rest of Mexico. Mexico has an actual Independence Day, which is September 16. In finding 'evidence' to support a work argument, I even happened upon one of my favorite sentences on Wikipedia ever: "Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico's Independence Day, which actually is September 16, the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico, nor is it The Day of the Dead, which occurs on November the 1st and 2nd." In other words, don't combine all Mexican holidays into Cinco de Mayo, drunken frat boys. Spread out your opportunities to get wasted throughout the whole year AND appear more culturally sensitive. I wonder if a candy calavera can hold beer?

Look out Chinese New Year. You may be next.

how to defeat your own clone

Michelle Church is visiting!

Michelle Church is kind of like my own clone. In fact, Andrew once inadvertently asked HER on a date because two Michelles lived in the same house...

Ironic then that she would introduce me to her cousin Kyle, who has the ultimate solution to our Michelle #1 Michelle #2 problem:

happy birthday

Many of you have asked about me posting so frequently... Maybe you have not met my mother. She likes to celebrate "birthday month" as in we celebrate all of February. (We consider ourselves fortunate that she was born in the shortest month.)

So I knew my mom likes nothing more than knowing what's going on with her "chillens" AND I knew I would be very busy the whole month. So, I made it my goal to write as close to every day that I could so that she could have birthday month for real, even though we were apart.

Happy Birthday Mom! I'm having fun visiting you this weekend. :)

Stats

Victory is mine. 222 speakers, at least 1 per room, for 4 sessions, educating 2400 students. 0 Magnusson heart attacks.

But my favorite speaker of all? Garrett. I wish I could have sat and seen the whole thing.

When I walked into the room, he was demonstrating to students how to measure how much a car's roof gets crushed in. For example, it could get crushed in 10 inches. Not bad, unless your head was in that 10 inches.

Thanks, friend.

job readiness

What are the most important things you look for/would look for in an employee?
What do you think high school students need to know most in preparation for the world of work?
What do you wish you had learned before you began work?

Your answers will assist me in handcrafting curriculum before our interns begin. Thanks.

family history

Bet I made my mom nervous with that title... like I was going to reveal family secrets.

Nope, just wanted to say how much fun I've been having getting back into genealogy research. I had taken a LONG break from it all but it has been really relaxing and entertaining to continue to solve little mysteries. I've really turned up some neat stuff on dead end's on my dad's side in England. I am finding even more distant cousins also researching. When I was younger, we could only write or email- so interesting to connect in a Facebook world now. Also interesting the vast amount of information available online and free-I can really see an explosion of interest around the world. Pretty cool to be a part of that.

It's also been fun to get together little pieces about me growing up that my mom diligently recorded for her child development class... my two favorites:

1. When I was almost three, every time we left the house I would ask my parents "Do you have my toothbrush?" "Do you have my q-tips?" Still no cavities and impeccably clean ears...

2. I went through a two week phase where I was afraid to go to sleep because I would have nightmares. About what? Robots or the vacuum cleaner. And this was before the Roomba, mind you.

Totally unrelated p.s.
Brenda did an amazing job singing today! I am in awe every time.

next project

I have decided to handle the aftermath of this stressful situation the same way I did the last time I had to handle a stressful situation (delivering my master's degree to a panel). Following that happy July 11, I shut myself in my room and made a quilt. Not really sure why. I still remember the glorious feeling of sitting, alone, quietly, creating something.

In my spare Sunday afternoons, I have been slowly crafting the quilt in my head. Three weeks ago I ordered the fabric online. I have calculated all the hard stuff so come free time, I can just sit and make. I am looking forward to it.

how to get out of a meeting 101

My boss tried to tack on a second meeting in Santa Maria on Monday morning (the last real day to schedule speakers) on a day I had already:
* talked someone (good) down from quitting
* arranged for legal assistance for said good person
* been rejected ten times by veterinarians because they are so busy with National Pet Dental Health Month that they can't come to Career Day (Really?! It was like they had orchestrated it.)
* hosted a 7:30 a.m. meeting
* wrangled 100 (incoming) and 30 (outgoing) phone calls
* returned 15 messages
* answered 110 emails
* generated 68 emails confirming speaker groups
* already accrued three hours of overtime and it was 2 p.m.

What was my mature, well-adjusted adult response?

I totally just started crying, involuntarily, and to the shock of all present.

Got me out of my meeting. Convinced him to hire part-time help. All of this without words. I can see why people do this to get out of tickets.

p.s.
Super not regretting the giant crate of jellybeans and the epsom salt I made my husband drive me to get from Kmart in the rain on the week of his giant book chapter's completion goal.

righteous indignation

Today I attended an all day conference. 'What?' you ask... 'less than a week before Career Day?' Yes. I guarantee it was not my choice. That probably explains why I feel so crazy. Conferences are supposed to rejuvenate you, let you meet with your peers, and then feel like you can tackle the big problems for a little longer before burning out.

Perhaps it is the added Career Day stress, but I did not feel that way this time.

The central theme focused on education, which would normally be appealing to me for obvious reasons. It was tricky, though, one of those speakers that defined success = college which I am personally opposed to. I define success as being able to care for oneself without assistance, support a family, and feel satisfied with the work one does.

Standing ovation to wanting to save all children. Wanting to help them all feel valued and special and able to succeed (read: go to college). Wanting to help them know they can rise above. I guess it must feel good to applaud that, like your two hands hitting together must save some child somewhere.

But this event was held at the Biltmore downtown. Fancy place, like one waiter to every four people or something. All day, people not really caring for their own waste or even acknowledging the presence of the silent army that stood by to cater to one's every need. I have gone to this conference for three years in a row- I even started to recognize some of the staff. When I was teaching on the Eastside, many of my students' parents worked there, or one of the other beachside hotels.

I wonder if this conference, and others like it, are some of the most depressing for them. To listen to people talk about change and community building and social justice and saving the children of poor workers and standing ovations... and then be completely ignored as you provide service to another. I wonder if they feel the irony of it all.

Whose children do all the applauders think they trying to save? Can you really teach all children they have value while simultaneously ignoring and devaluing current adult members of society?

a major life goal, check

I have finally purchased the big jar of Jelly Bellys from Costco. I went for it. Call me crazy, but this is the week I could use a sugar-induced frenetic pace. We have already had a lot of fun guessing the flavors.

garden

A lovely, sunny day off to garden. I have filled 2 of the 4 beds with soil and surrounded them with poultry wire. I also planted four quick peppers and started all the rest of the summer things to seed in pots.

Our winter crop is still plugging along. Beets have been prolific so far- getting almost ready to eat.

What should I plant for summer?

they will hate this picture, but...

David O. McKay loved the quote: “The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.” (and vice versa, of course) I feel lucky that I had a great and loving relationship modeled to me that can form a basis for my own family. Thanks mom and dad!

attic rats

My favorite part of today? Andrew's sister Julina and her friend Ryan came by to have dinner and play games. Near the end of the evening, Ryan politely asked "Do you have kids?" I told him no. He had a confused look on his face. Then I said, "Well, none that we let downstairs." He then looked concerned. Apparently our upstairs hall window had been open the whole time, letting in the sound of a lot of children from the nearby playground that sounded like they were upstairs. He thought we had locked them in their rooms all night.

I have stored that one away as a future parenting strategy.

self portraits

I have a picture story for you today. My office works closely with adjudicated youth working to change their lives. I try and find community support for them as they overcome some pretty amazing barriers. I wanted to you meet them, on their own terms.

You may imagine the young men who are court ordered to Camp might all be tough guys. That is true for some, and some are not yet ready to change.


Others are very scared, and very sad that they have disappointed their mothers.


Some feel like no one cares about them, no one wants them to succeed, and that no one looks them in the eyes and values them.


Some of them feel defined by people's expectations of their potential- especially when they feel like everyone else expects them to fail. Under this picture of himself in camp uniform, this young man had a perfect, smiling likeness of himself. He painted over it in gray and left this.


With budget cuts countywide, there is serious consideration for reducing camp size or even closing it to save money. Without the support these gentleman receive at camp, I believe we will be paying a heavier price in the future. I plan to write in support of the camp.

(All self portraits are copyright by TYS and may not be reused.)

speech, speech

I do not think my witty repartee will suffice for two speeches (45 minutes, 20 minutes) I have been asked to give tomorrow and Saturday.

I am taking suggestions. Child development, career education, 'gang prevention', community involvement. Discuss.

enter stress

Stress alternately comes into my life as a shrieking sound that builds in the back of my brain OR as a plethora of knots in my neck. Ask Andrew, he knows about the knots... and the shrieking because sometimes I just make the 'stress' noise.

How do you manifest stress?

p.s. Amanda Calder Ball:
1. Is that a correct use of plethora?
2. Do you remember the time we accidentally ran over a snake after we ran out of gas?

help

(not sure why there is a dinosaur in this)

Hi.

If you are a(n):
actor
archeologist
anthropologist
architect
astronomer
attorney
coach
counselor
dentist
event planner
firefighter
fitness trainer
graphic artist
hotel/restaurant manager
landscaper
marine biologist
marine diver
multimedia wizard
paramedic
photographer
physicist
software designer
veterinarian

...and will be in Goleta, California on the morning of February 24, I need you as a new recruit. The students of Dos Pueblos High School thank you.

alive

I got in two healthy 'debates' today about social issues. Nothing makes me feel more alive than a good discussion with lots of evidence and comparisons. Mmmm...

And I convinced someone to try and have more integrity. What a great day!

dried gerbil

My parents are kind enough to repaint my former room in an effort to update the space and to accommodate a queen size bed for visits.

Presently, as a family, we are all leaning towards this green color...

(Picture shamelessly stolen from this poor person's blog.)

The color is known as "dried chervil", which we have promptly renamed "dried gerbil". Dried gerbils should taste great with the "butter cookie" of the living room and nearby office.

12 hour day...

... sorting out 2400 students into Career Day sessions. I had so many ambitious plans for tonight, like playing with new fabric I ordered. You know I am just going to lie in bed and catch up on Chuck episodes.

And, rain, please go away. I have four beautiful new garden beds waiting for me to play.

scanner

I am considering getting a new scanner or printer/scanner combo. Anyone have one they like?

girl scouts

As previously mentioned, I am fortunate enough to maintain our social media for work. At the beginning of the process, I only had Egypt pictures on my computer, so this

is the only photo I had to use for a profile picture. Since it is so small, I figured it didn't matter that much, right?

Earlier this week I ran into someone who I had only corresponded via email and Facebook on several different projects. I greeted him by name, and he looked confused. So, I introduced myself and he said "Oh, I didn't recognize you." I mumbled something about my hair being down and usually it's up, blah blah blah... and he said, "No, well, it's because your Facebook photo makes you look like a Girl Scout."

In my mind, I pictured the green shirt and thought, ok, Girl Scouts, I can see it. Then I got back to the office to find a new profile picture and saw the thumbnail image again. All I need to do is sew some merit badges onto my camera case strap and I would be good to go. Maybe the badge for rabbit raising...

week full of Sparks...

I am excited that the far-flung Bostonian Sparks have made an appearance in my life. First, I received a lovely mp3 of the latest Taylor special, which is the only music I have on my work computer and entertains me once everyone else leaves for home. And every mention of Scott Brown makes me think of how happy Taylor must be as he bends all of Massachusetts to his political will. Secondly, I ran into someone today who misses Jodi as much as we do. (Melisa from Girls Inc.) I hope Harvard is treating you well.

We're very excited...

... to go to the Banff Mountain Film Festival!



Someone is going to stay up past their bedtime the day before Career Day #1... this could be bad news.

famous

Noozhawk.com - Schools, Businesses, Community Working Together as Partners in Education - School Zone - Santa Barbara News and Information

one more...

Number of people jazzed to go to dinner at Los Agaves: 2.
Thanks!

vital stats

... in honor of Vivian, who uses this style so well.

Our Friendship in Numbers:
Years since we met: 10
Investigator records on which Vivian is listed as "friend": 1 (in possession of author)
Enrichment meetings attended solely because of Vivian: 8
Musicfests attended: 60 (est)
Instances where I wish I lived on Ellwood and not in Garden Court: 730
Epic bean bag misses: 1
Husbands acquired: 2
Fleece spoils of raffle forfeited to Jerry in my presence: 1
Times I have used the "pick me, pick me" strategy in hopes of winning a raffle: 11
Friends or relatives who have stayed in hotel Magnusson: 3 (that I know of)
Masterful Vivian Young Women's lessons watched: 25
"When we have kids, I hope they are like Levi" discussions: 17
Seasons of Arrested Development re-discovered and purchased after Halloween: 3
Times the YW keys were turned in because "I'm moving to New Mexico": 2
Pity parties Rebecca and I threw for ourselves once you really were moving: 5
Time I was referred to as the "New Vivian of the Singles Ward": Priceless

Number of times I have researched universities in New Mexico since Vivian moved: 6... and counting.

We miss you.

Obama slapped

Umm, I think I just got Obama slapped. I was standing in line at Costco, minding my own business, when an older black lady starts reading my shirt. It says "LOL"--the name of a comedy troupe at BYU that my buddy belonged to.

Her: What does LOL mean?
Me: Laugh Out Loud, its the name of a comedy troupe....
Her: Oh.
Me (bewildered): Does it mean something else?
Her: I've seen it on a bumper sticker. The "O" stands for Obama.
Me: (still bewildered): What does it mean?
Her: It's making fun of him. (Pause) Have you followed what he's been doing since he got elected?
Me: (still bewildered but keeping my unorthodox political views to myself): Yeah, I keep up with the news.
Her: I hope you're happy. You put him in office.

--Really awkward silence--

Her: (snidely) Maybe one day you'll see the error of your ways.

The funny thing is, I didn't even vote for Obama.