kj

2010-05-18T15:06:00.003-05:00

Our first few days in Port au Prince have been trying, on both an emotional and a physical level. There was a major incident just hours after our arrival that left me and my team mates overwhelemed with feelings of guilt, doubt, sadness, and heartbreak.
What's amazing is that while our spirits were low, the spirits of the Haitians were there to comfort us. The Haitians that were more directly affected were not bending over backwards- they were doing double back roundoff handspring triple axle front flips to make sure we were being comforted. What's great about that is that we accepted their servitude. Sometimes that's hard for Americans because of pride and the feeling that we go to countries like Haiti to serve because those people need our help, because we are 'priviliged'. Far from the truth.

Something I frequently hear about from people who have traveled to third world countries is that they come home reminded how lucky we are here in America
(and they don't forget to remind those around them of their so-called luck, either. Finish your food! Kids are starving in Africa!)
However, I am learning that my idea of luck must be constrewed.
I'm lucky to own a car so I never have to walk anywhere.
I'm lucky that I have a warm bed so I can blast the AC and still be comfy n cozy under all those blankets.
I'm lucky that I have a cell phone so I don't have to have face-to-face time unless neccessary.
I'm lucky to have an over-abundance food, most being toxic to my body, available for me to eat 24/7.
I'm lucky to have electricity so I can sit around and watch 900 channels of television while my laptop is on, refreshing my facebook homepage every two minutes or so.
I'm lucky to have so many cute clothes in my closet, some I will only wear once or twice, otherwise I'd always look bad and would constantly do laundry. Drats!!!

Why do we think we are lucky, or blessed, because of things? We are reliant on them.
I rely on my car to get me to school and work. No car= no school and no work = a loser going nowhere in life.

I know we have all heard that we are living in a material world (and I am a material girl), but don't mistake our over-consumption and over-prosterity a blessing when it is a curse.

I'd say more but I g2g check my Twitter.

2010

2010-01-04T00:16:00.002-06:00

i've never been one to make new years resolutions, but this year i resolved to be someone that makes new years resolutions. so, here's my cliche list of 2010 resolutions- without a twist.

1. god first. not me, not guys, not books, not seasons 3 and 4 of dexter.

2. me second. a very close second. not in a selfish way, but in a self-love way (btw i realize this sounds like something sam bradford says in that video circulating facebook. ha).

3. love those in my life that are hardest to love- and show it. this one's a tough one for me.

4. watch the next season of big brother. laura is my big brother watching buddy, and it was something that we did together that was so much fun. we get waaaay too involved.

5. more quality time with my friends. i've been really bad at this, especially when i'm drowned in schoolwork. i'm already a bit of an introvert and stress/busy-ness= me thinking i need more alone time.

6. not procrastinating as much. i wish i could say that i resolve to eliminate procrastination, but sometimes me working under pressure is okay...just not all the time. if you think you are a bad procrastinator, i can guarantee you i'm worse. i couldn't tell you how much money, time, stress, and good grades my procrastination has caused me.

7. reduce my presence at social events with alcohol. breeding grounds for trouble.

8. go to church on wednesday nights. i always did up until probably my sophomore year of college, and i miss it.

9. write/journal more.

1o. read everything i can get my hands on. i already pretty much do this, but i'm the type of person that either reads an entire book all in a day or two's time, or i'll read a few chapters and not pick it up for like a month (if ever again).

11. get a netflix account.

12. alright..this one's going to sound even dumber than #11...don't get too stressed out when looking at my urban outfitters catalog that comes in the mail monthly. same goes for window shopping and just shopping in general. if i see clothing that i feel i must have, i get all stressed that i can't buy the entire store and then i feel like i'll never be fashionable enough...haha, so stupid.

13. manage my money better. or, just manage my money. i'm terrrrrible with money. just terrible.

14. answer my phone/call people back. i screen calls like nobodies business.

15. beat more people at words with friends.

16. i'm a pretty good speller, but there are some words i can't ever seem to spell quite right. i want to be able to spell these words without having to think twice:
-exercise
-definitely
-forward (i always want to put an 'e' after the 'r')
-necessarily
-privilege
..and yes, i had to look up all of the above words on google.

there are a few things that i already do that i want to continue doing in 2010 and to infinity and beyond. such as...

1. exercise regularly. not counting over this christmas break, i've done a pretty good job at having an exercise routine for the past few years.

2. love my job.

3. make smoothies.

4. quote movies all the time.

5. not eating at sodexho.

2009-12-25T01:46:00.003-06:00

brooklynn and aaron are engaged!!!

she broke the news via text (a big no-no, but i forgive her. plus, i was the first she called and told the story to) as i was in the bathtub playing Words with Friends. i got out of the bath to run into the living room to tell the fam but they had already seen it on facebook. ha. typical brooklynn!

i'm so excited for them. their love story is my favorite and brooklynn makes fun of me for telling it to random people all the time. but i can't help myself. aaron is the epitome of a good man and treats brooklynn like every woman dreams and deserves to be treated. he should teach man lessons.
brooklynn is one of my very best friends and has been a constant source of laughter, accountability, and consistancy in my life. she's one of those friends who will always be honest and tell me the things i might not want to hear, but need to hear- not for the sake of bringing me down, but to build me up and have my back along the way. she's so awesome; i hope everyone has a friend like her.

i tried proposing a couple of christmases ago, but my ring of seaweed didn't suit her innermost desires.

re-enacment:

since i'm feeling sentimental- a new friendship...freshman year of college

new years 2008 in maine; this summer in california :)

i would put funny memories on here, but there are too many and they probably would only be funny to us. i'll just say that most of them involve quoting chris farley movies, snl, staying up into the wee hours of the morning crying and/or making embarassing videos, the internet, and laughing our heads off.

*EDIT if this convo (from facebook) doesn't sum up our friendship, i don't know what does.

Katie Johnson ok what the heck on my news feed it says "brooklynn mears is engaged to aaron salvato" and then theres a picture included of karen with an umbrella..???! hahahhahaha

25 minutes ago · Comment · · See Wall-to-Wall

Brooklynn Mears

haha what! where is it?

19 minutes ago

Katie Johnson

its this picture:
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v284/64/31/1526400020/n1526400020_30039129_5566.jpg

Brooklynn Mears is engaged to Aaron Salvato.
7 minutes ago · Comment · Like

17 minutes ago ·

Brooklynn Mears

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

17 minutes ago

Katie Johnson

hhahahaha i know i like can't stop laughing!!!!! what on earth?!?!

16 minutes ago ·

Brooklynn Mears

ok thats a picture of karen in york. she took it and I think tagged me because its in front of my flat and then I tagged aaron because the blue door you see was aarons flat haha so random

16 minutes ago

Katie Johnson

hahaha where it all began...

15 minutes ago ·

Brooklynn Mears

HAHAHAH omg i can tell you are like being so serious...but like not at the same time...but omg that is so true...WEIRD!

15 minutes ago

Brooklynn Mears

its like facebook knew haha

14 minutes ago

Katie Johnson

HAHAHAH!!! it IS like facebook knew! that's weird....maybe a little TOO weird...

14 minutes ago ·

Brooklynn Mears

HAHAHAHAHAHAH ahhhh one night me and bryn literally said that after everything we said and laughed equally as hard each time....we'd be like yeah its so cold in here....maybe a little TOO cold. hahah

13 minutes ago

Katie Johnson

hahahaha! that is so funny!!!! i wish i were there! but since i wasn't i'll just do what i always do- make myself part of the joke

11 minutes ago ·

Brooklynn Mears

HAHAHAHA ahhhhh omg.....

10 minutes ago

Katie Johnson

hahahha im re-reading this and im cracking up at you like putting the pieces together about how the picture of karen got there...such a little detective hahahahhahha

10 minutes ago ·

Brooklynn Mears

hahahahahahhahahahah omg can I type like any more hahahahs remember how we like evaluated our hahahas and like how important it was to have a certain amount of them haha

9 minutes ago

Katie Johnson

hahahahahah yes!
ha= rude, sarcastic
haha=sympathy laugh
hahaha=alright, gotta hand it to ya..that's pretty funny
hahahaha+ = laughing out loud... See More
HAHAHAHA= seriously that's hilarious and i'm laughing aloud.

6 minutes ago ·

Brooklynn Mears

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH hahahahahahahaha i love the gotta hand it to you part

6 minutes ago

Brooklynn Mears

Katie "we are the funniest girls at SNU....dare I say the word"or "maybe a little tooooo funny" hahahahah

5 minutes ago

Brooklynn Mears

haha I said "part like you were doing a joke hahaha

5 minutes ago

Katie Johnson

hahahahahahahahaha! part!! or what if you were like "oh yes, i love that bit where you said gotta hand it to ya" hahahahahah
and yes DARE I SAY THE WORLD!

3 minutes ago ·

Brooklynn Mears

omg so many things to laugh about....I better delete this convo so it doesnt take up my whole facebook and people still see that I am recently engaged hahahahahaha

2 minutes ago

Katie Johnson

ok but NOT YET!

2 minutes ago ·

Brooklynn Mears

hahahaha!

2 minutes ago

Katie Johnson

and it won't take it up itll only show like two comments and then some will have the option to look into it further if they wish to do so.

about a minute ago ·

Katie Johnson

^ dead serious

about a minute ago ·

Brooklynn Mears

yeah I just noticed that

about a minute ago

Brooklynn Mears

omg we are being so serious about this hahahahah

about a minute ago

Katie Johnson

umm did you say that about being serious before seeing what i wrote?! hahahaha

about a minute ago ·

Brooklynn Mears

HAha i typed that before i saw your dead serious thing hahaha

about a minute ago

Brooklynn Mears

HAHAHa omg hahahhahahaha

32 seconds ago

Katie Johnson

AHHHHH hahahahah ok i love you so much right now hahahaha

29 seconds ago ·

Brooklynn Mears

i know im like falling in love with you all over again hahahaha

4 seconds ago

congratulations, brooklynn and aaron! i love you guys!

one of my favorite SNL skits ever.

2009-08-16T15:02:00.003-05:00

i thought of these videos the other day when my sister and i saw a PORCUPINE in her yard.
i wish SNL were still this good.

Brian Fellows Safari Planet Part 1 - The most amazing home videos are here

I hate titling these.

2009-07-23T17:27:00.002-05:00

Last night was one of those nights where I couldn't stop tossing and turning. My mind and body couldn't seem to agree on what to do. Around 6am I saw the light of day peeking through my blinds and I knew there was no way I could sleep now. After giving it some serious thought, at 6:15 I got out of bed and gave into my body's restlessness. I decided I would do my favorite thing- run on the beach.
A few weeks ago, the token nice lady at church ( you know her. Every congregation has one) told my roomates and I that sometimes we have restless sleep because maybe the Lord wants us to pray for someone, or that we need to hear something important from Him. I kind of dismissed her words as "token sweet church lady fluff-talk" but it was a nice thought.

At 6:30 I set out for my run. I'd never seen the beach look like it did; the tide was low and the sand was perfectly smooth. It was cloudy, cool, and practically deserted besides the few old men with their gold-digging machine things.
It was odd the random people that popped in my head mid-run. I got to thinking about Nice Church Lady and what she had said. So, I took the time I had this morning to be alone and to think and pray.
As I got caught up in how great of a person I was being, I was suddenly humbled when "what's your fantasy" by Ludacris had been playing on my pandora for at least a minute without me realizing it (that's the second time that song has played since yesterday).
Good thing the Lord forgives.

Anywho, I will be away from the beach and back to Oklahoma on august 4th. Boo hoo. Snu starts a few weeks after that. I wonder if I'd feel as inspired on a 6:30am run around Bethany after a sleepless night?
Truthfully, I'd probably just lay in bed til it was time to get up. But I'll work on it.

22.

2009-07-01T19:29:00.003-05:00

it's already july. in less than 12 days, i'll be 22. that is old. i don't feel old, but my age sounds old. i think i'll just celebrate being 21 for 11 more days instead.

life updates:
i still love it here. i go to the beach every. single. day. i've never been outside more in my life. i think i only go inside to sleep, really. i walk on the beach like no other.

my roomates are the most encouraging and wonderful friends. we have so much fun together. last night we drove around in regis' convertable blasting rap music in case the neighbors were starting to think we lived in a safe neighborhood.

we also bought some fish for our house. they swim about freely in their tank that sits on the table. mine is a big black fish named tanysha letashion booth bhudda bug.

bryn, fiona, and regis picking out the fish:

bryn and fiona found a cat. over my dead body.

their home!!

aaaand some more pictures:

my beach:

apartment.

my roomate, fiona.

2009-06-20T15:39:00.002-05:00

Right now, I am sitting in a quaint coffee shop on the corner of Cleveland and pier view by the beach...blogging on my iPhone (I know...I'm even annoying myself right now) that mom so graciously bought me for my upcoming birthday. I am one or two more layouts away from being considered "tan" and I haven't been bored since I got here, despite being dead broke with no job (interview on Monday morning though !). I don't think I'll want to leave this place.

Some hilights:

All of my roomates are here! The first couple of days it was just Bryn and I since regis was out of town and fiona hadn't moved yet. Fiona is the girl I share a room with and she just up and moved without planning just like me. She and regis are from philidalphia and immidietly fiona and I were kindred spirits when within literally minutes of meeting her, she was showing me photos he had taken on her phone of her most interesting hospital patients. example: "here's a 700 pound man!" and "oh this is a pic of a wound filled with maggots!" extremely gross and most likely unethical but I love it.

Regis, my other roomate, has this uncle who is an independent film director (he directed the gymnast and is making a new movie called "a marine story"), so we went on wednesday to a party in west Hollywood celebrating his new film. She also has had the swine flu. Literally, she was diagnosed and everything..so that's pretty cool. Ha.

And of course I have gotten hang out time with my other half freshman year of college and funniest person I know, Brooklynn. She is really the best. I had a mini ( okay, big) breakdown the other night because I did something stupid. The first day I moved in, Bryn told me that they had put down an $1800 security deposit and wouldn't get it back at all if anything happened to the carpet so I needed to be very cautious. So, naturally, I leave my straightened on all night ON THE CARPET and burned it. Awesome. I seriously about died. So I went to brooklynns and just bawled. You know when you're crying so hard and you're explaining why you're crying and it just sounds so stupid that you are also simutaniously cracking up laughing? That was me. Inbetween wails of "I burned their carpet with the straightener!!" I couldn't stop laughing. It was a great releasebof emotions and we were up til 4am talking. I love friends like that.
And my roomates are so sweet about it and I feel like it's made us closer because we have been constanty joking about it...something I didn't think would happen for a year at least. Ha.

Okay, enough blabbing. I have photos for you. Feast your eyes:

2009-05-25T14:55:00.003-05:00

^ this is oceanside. in two weeks, i am going to be living in an apartment with 3 other girls that is walking distance from this very spot. for the whole summer.

first order of business:

purchase a bicycle, with a basket, that will be my bff. when i was a kid, i used to ride my bicycle everyday for hours. i cannot wait to do the same in california.

other than that, i am going to work, hang out with brooklynn (my other half freshman year of college), and do my own thing.

it's going to be awesome.

don't you think you oughta know by now...

2009-05-12T22:20:00.006-05:00

for almost 22 years now, i have been alive and kicking; i've been through 22 years of experiences, and whether they be good or bad, i've learned/am learning from them all.
but...as a human being of normal cognitive functioning, there are some experiences that should never need to re-occur because the outcome of said experiences were just crappy and made me feel stupid. so why do these types of events happen over and over again?

by now, i should've known:

-you can't open a bottle of diet coke straight from the vending machine without waiting a couple of minutes. swiftly twisting off the cap will result in an overflow of carbonation onto your hands, possibly down your shirt, and onto the floor (or worse: your shoes). if you are in public, which you probably are because i don't know anyone with a vending machine in their home, you will probably feel stupid as you stand there with your arms out in that frozen and shocked "oh-crap-i-just-opened-my-diet-coke-too-quickly-and-it's-spilling-everywhere" stance. and if you're doing that stance, you're probably making the corresponding face. you know what i'm talking about. the one where you look like a scared child and make that "thhhhhhhhhh!" hissy noise through your clenched teeth.
stupid stupid stupid.

- if you are trying to teach 2nd graders about erosion and need to purchase a piece of sod from home depot, don't try to purchase the sod in a nice white cardigan and no truck or piece of plastic to sit the sod on in your backseat. the home depot employee that is helping you out will probably think you are an idiot. you will pick up on this as soon as he laughs and talks to you like you've never stepped foot in the rugged outdoors before. and if you're like me, you will try to pretend that you knew the sod would get your nice cardigan and your backseat dirty and that you didn't care. end result= a car that smells like a garden and a dirty sweater.

- don't procrastinate on paying your phone bill that is due on the same day every month. with that comes the hassle of your phone service getting turned off only to, minutes later, go online (can't call), pay bill and $35 late fee, and get your phone back on. on top of that comes the added anxiety over what calls or texts you could have missed, then the discontent with yourself being so concerned that you may have missed important calls and texts over a period of probably 20 minutes.

-when the parking lot at school is full except for the empty space by the tree, don't park there. especially in the cold months when massive amounts of birds travel to oklahoma. trees are a popular hangout for birds. birds poop. if your car is parked near a tree, birds will probably poop all over it.

don't be stupid. happy summer :)

makes me smile...

2009-04-09T14:50:00.007-05:00

i am overloaded with work this week. let me just give you a rundown of my homework that is all due by wednesday:

-consonant thematic unit- my consonant is "p" so i am doing my unit over pilgrims. a thematic unit entails a lesson plan for math, science, social studies, a language arts reading and writing connection activity and comprehension, an alliteration, poem and song, a word wall, bulletin board, game, activities, and ten trade books/book reviews. examples and artifacts required for each lesson plan/activity/game.

-for primary science: a science lesson plan and practicum at the school for children. so i will be teaching the science class my lesson.

music/art- another practicum at bethany elementary. music and art lesson. shoot me.
also, 25 music and art lesson plans are also due.

characteristics of early adolescence: an hour and a half presentation over gender...entails problems/stereotypes/characteristics, etc.
also, i have to read a "teen" book and present that as well.

there are some writing assignments thrown in there, too.

being an education major is lots of work. teachers do not get enough credit.

aaaanyways, what DOES make me smile is my job and the kids at my job. it makes all the work worth it. please look at the hilarity of these videos. the first one is tanysha. she has asperger's (we think) and is the highlight of my day (Even when she tells me she hates me).

and please note that it is not my voice talking in the beginning. that would be ms sherry. i just don't want anyone thinking i have developed a hick accent or something ;)

and here is brendan showing his best moves.

:)

stereotypes of the modern homosexual male

2009-03-25T05:14:00.004-05:00

oh, my elementary music and art class . it's from 6-8 pm on tuesdays. i don't plan on teaching music or art. the professor hates kaylee and i. i can't stand her either because she talks about herself the whole time. and she loves gifted children. who loves gifted children?! they're super annoying.

but that's not the point.

over spring break we had an assignment called a "blackout poem". we were handed a piece of paper with a random article written on it. mine was some article about masquerades in the 1500's or something. with said paper, we are to "black out" with sharpie the words we don't want and keep the words we do want on the paper to create a poem.

since she assigned this over spring break, my plan of action was to create my poem quickly in class and turn it in. you can't really give anyone's poetry an "F" so i was not willing to waste any time on this knowing i would get the same exact grade had i worked an hour on it .
luckily i was chosen to present my poem last so i had time to conjure something up as my classmates presented. their poems were either very cutesy and elementary school-like (not in a bad way- that is the class, after all) or really dark and awkwardly depressing. not to mention some were elaborate and artsy.
i was gazing over my paper and i saw the word "gay". my ten-year-old boy brain went on autopilot as i quickly spotted some other words that would fit the "gayness" of the poem quite nicely. even more fitting, i did not have a black sharpie handy- only a purple marker.

here was the result that i presented to the class (keep in mind EACH of these words were separated by paragraphs)

i titled it "stereotypes of the modern gay man"

gay.

folly,

fine eye for colors and fashion,

embellishments of glitter.

he steps to and fro merrily

stiff they venture to indulge in their gaieties (it was just too good to leave out. sorry)

night life buzz

expressive appearance.

i don't think prof anonymous liked this too much by the look on her face. but the class did.

for old time's sake.

2009-03-18T17:40:00.002-05:00

over spring break (well, over allie and phil's spring break) team india (minus 1...) met up in the lovely city of boston to bask in one another's company once again. we hadn't seen each other since the summer so it was really nice to reminisce on our times in india with those who truly understand those memories. we decided that our meeting place was exactly the opposite of india- cold, clean, and full of convenience.
we re-lived stories such as phil's voice cracking during a song, the night by body broke out in hives literally from head to toe, auntie watching television and saying "britney spears wants to die...very funny", and the night our electricity went out (for longer than normal) and we sat around telling scary stories.
but, in true nostalgic fashion, we seemed to forget all the annoyances we had with india during our two month visit. annoyances such as nothing being efficient, no control over our schedule or lives, dirty feet, humidity, and bad attitudes in general.
that said, we fully intend to go back. together. mark my words.

the break-up

2009-02-15T21:32:00.005-06:00

since i didn't have a boyfriend to break-up with on valentine's day this year (or any other year, really) i decided to instead break-up with my brown hair.

my brunette hair and i have had a good two and a half years together- going dark rescued me from having to spend $80 at my hair salon every 6 weeks to touch-up my roots (brown hair can be done at home for $10). even though i know low maintenance is generally a good thing, it can get boring and repetitive at times. "rich caramel brown" and "dark chocolate brown" always end up looking the same. always.

i could have gone back to being Blondie McBlonderson like i was in high school, but i instead chose to go back to (almost) my natural golden blonde color that i haven't seen since i was 14.

voila! mom is sure glad to see blonde back. she's missed it since the day i came home brunette.

other tidbits:

- jessy and i are writing a book compiled of funny stories...kinda like david sedaris and better than chelsea handler. it's going to be amazing because we're hilarious. and we're seriously writing it so stay tuned.

-the gerber commercial always played on TLC with the woman giving birth while she feeds the camera her line really creeps me out. not just that part- the entire commercial is just awkward.

-my grandmother along with all of my extended family members over the age of 60 have created facebook accounts while on some sort of enlightening family reunion in atlanta. i was already weirded out that i had to deny my mom's friend request several times..then when i saw all of my other relatives getting on facebook i gave up and let the inevitable happen. looking at their pages as they discover this technology is actually pretty funny.

- i'm going to boston for spring break to hang out with the team i went to india with. we're all excited to see what each other look like when we aren't ugly and sweaty.

-my roomates and i are currently watching the girls next door. i don't know whether to laugh at this show or be disgusted, so i laugh.

me in a box.

2009-01-20T20:53:00.014-06:00

oh, the lovely first days of the semester. these are the days when i arrive to class on-time with my neatly organized binders (they're fun to organize when there's nothing in them but paper and maybe some of those subject separators), brand new writing utensils, hilighters that i FULLY intend to use for underlining the key study points in my textbooks, and an eager attitude that maybe this semester will be the one that i won't have to participate in any type of "getting to know you" games with my other classmates.
...and each semester, along with my poor hilighters (they didn't stand a chance) and attempts at organization, my idealistic hopes and dreams get shot to hell by at least one professor who feels the need to "break the ice". because at southern nazarene university, with an undergrad population of like 1500, none of us know each other.
at least i've got the name game down; my name starts with a "k" which leaves me with very few options. if i have to say my favorite food, i always say "kit-kat". favorite animal= koala. one word self-description limited to the first letter of my name? kooky.

tonight as i was walking to my first elementary music and art class ( i missed last tuesday night's class because i enrolled in it late) i was informed by kaylee that everyone was expected to bring five items in a box that represented who we are and we were to then explain/show the items in front of the class.
i remember having to do this exercise multiple times in middle school and hating it. the only good "me in a box" experience i had was in my 6th grade math class when a fellow classmate named pryncess hughes (seriously) stood in the front of the room with a brown paper sack that contained a stapler and some paper because she "liked to staple paper". either pryncess forgot to bring her "me in a box" items and scrambled those together last minute, or she had an extremely advanced sense of humor for a twelve year old and was sarcastically making fun of the whole stupid activity. either way it was hilarious and memorable for me.

otherwise, i see "me in a box" as a cruel way for middle school teachers to torture his/her students. since the average 11-15 year old is highly egotistical (except for pryncess hughes), this activity provokes stress and anxiety. what to bring? a picture of the family is out- could be seen as childish. POGS? are those still cool? maybe i could bring the eminem CD that i secretly bought with the "parental advisory" sticker on the insert. would it look like i was trying too hard? let me tell you...these were some tough times.

each student shows up to class the next day with five things in a bag (no one ever uses a box). and don't forget- the bag is another chance to nonchalantly strut your coolness. don't even think about toting around your items in a wal-mart bag, it's social suicide. you have to make sure you use an abercrombie, american eagle, or hollister bag. it makes people think that those stores are the only ones you shop at so therefore you had plenty of those bags just lying around.

in my experience most kids showed up with things like a copy of tiger beat magazine containing a JTT centerfold, misc. photos of them and their friends awkwardly making goofy faces (smiling isn't cool at this age), the hideous bracelet and/or necklace from claire's that they received from a friend their last birthday, a PG-13 or R movie stub that was probably found in their mom's purse, and other stuff that in no way represents who they are as a person at all. and to top it all off, they all spend so much time freaking out over how their peers perceive them and their belongings in a bag that they don't realize that everyone else in class is just as worried about their own presentation . so worried, in fact, that they are staring at the student in the front of the classroom with glazed eyes anxiously awaiting their fate without even listening to anyone else's "me in a box".
not that i know from experience or anything ;)

so basically what you have is a bunch of insecure pre-teen students sharing a false sense of themselves...to themselves; and due to lack of maturity and development they normally do not realize this-- which is why i think "me in a box" is worthless and just plain mean.

fast forward to college students doing this activity. like most did today, i will probably grab five things right before class and bore everyone to tears explaining what they mean to me.

...or maybe i'll bring a stapler and some paper. it'd surely be more interesting than the crosses and bibles everyone else brought.

take a moment to soak up the cuteness

2008-12-29T13:28:00.011-06:00

i would just like to brag that i have the cutest and sweetest little cousins alive.
the proof is in the pictures.

i'll have to start with the obligatory christmas photos.
on christmas eve the grandparents and i headed over to kara and nate's to decorate COOKIES! for some reason, kara had only purchased cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies. i told her this was not acceptable. in order for it to be an official christmas cookie decorating...thing...the cookies must be sugar and they must be in christmas shapes along with red and green frosting and sprinkles. wow, kara is so lucky that i had been there to guide her. we headed to schnucks and $15 later we were ready to decorate!

it's a very serious process. also, that awesome sweater i am wearing was handed down by my grandmother who is a former teacher. isn't it perfect? it breaks every rule of fashion and is still fabulous. ha.

how nice
as you can see above, our poor cookies that we spent so long cutting out expanded in the oven beyond normal cookie-expansion. a lot of them ended looking like giant blobs. oh well.

moving onto the family christmas party.....
here is a photo of my grandfather looking like he is plotting to murder the entire family at any moment.

prepare for your heart to melt at this next one of michelle and grace. they are so sweet! can you see the family resemblance?

it was a merry christmas. although, i've noticed each year that christmas is less and less exciting. it's more fun when you're a kid. thanksgiving is so much better.

anyways, the next day my cousin grace was having her 6th birthday party. she had a princess party. the girls got dressed up in the many costumes that grace and michelle have. they decorated princess crowns with jewels and ate cupcakes.

prepare yourself for the cuteness of the next photo.

the two on the left are not my cousins. notice on the far left the little girl not wearing a crown or a dress? she was the one at the party who didn't like anything. she didn't like dressing up. she didn't like cupcakes. she didn't want to wear her crown. after my aunt ann took the photos, she said "i didn't smile in the pictures, i just went like this" (she then showed that her mouth was just in a straight line...NOT a smile) it sounds super annoying but she was actually hilarious. it was just so ridiculous it was funny. she told us she liked "boy stuff" like transformers and wii. at least she isn't afraid to be who she is. ha.

after the princess party i took my cousin madison on our long awaited date to starbucks. she couldn't wait to go and get a treat. she asked me if the treats would be shaped like dog treats. haha.

notice the silver purse on the table. that is madison's "big girl" purse, filled with all the essentials: nail polish, lipstick, and other varius makeup that santa brought her. she is the girliest little girl of them all. we get along quite nicely.

i love it. love them all.

speaking of "cute", jon and kate plus 8 are having their marathon of favorite episodes today. YES! being on christmas break means that i can sit around and watch television all day. how wonderful. anyways, i love kate. everyone thinks she is controlling and obnoxious but i think she is great and funny- despite the fact that she always wears capri pants. and how sweet is little aidan with those glasses!! and poor maddie...no one likes her. she is such a snot. and the sad thing is if you were to ask my mom, she would probably say that i was like maddie when i was her age. and i would have to agree with her. sorry mom. us oldest girls just have to be the boss.
jon and kate plus 8 makes me want to marry an asian guy and have like 15 cute little asian babies...and get my own show. leslie said it can be called "jon and katie plus 80". sounds perfcet.

reunion crashers

2008-12-26T16:12:00.005-06:00

i came up to the beautiful lake st. louis this week to visit my family for christmas. i also came because my best friend leslie's (is the miley cyrus song in your head?) sister was getting married on the 20th. i had to be there for two reasons:

1. i have known leslie and her family for 11 years. we grew up down the street from each other. i wouldn't miss it for the world.
2. the setchfield family knows how to throw a good wedding. seriously. i know from leslie's wedding last year.

laura had her wedding reception in downtown st. louis at an art gallery. the first half was the cocktail hour complete with a jazz band. loooovely.

being an art gallery, there were plenty of weird, artsy things. like this boars head. (i think it's a boar. who really knows).
then after heading upstairs for dinner, we came back downstairs to a different band and an open dance floor. yes!
leslie's daughter and her uncle moose were bustin' the moves.

leslie's husband and i. i think he hates me.

....or he hates all of leslie's friends. ;)

leslie's mom and i groovin.

so. the wedding was wonderful. it ended at 11pm...well...leslie, katie, krissy, amy, and i were not ready to call it a night. leslie's family and all of us had rooms at the omni hotel and a shuttle back and forth from the art gallery. the omni hotel is fancy shmancy, so leslie and her husband graciously allowed all of us girls to sleep over in their room. ha! poor bryan.
we caught the shuttle to the hotel. mr and mrs setchfield were with us and we headed down to the hotel bar. there was some sort of event happening in there so we asked about it at the door. the doorman told us it was a reunion party for everyone who graduated in the st. louis area. ummm, ok? so are we allowed to come in? the doorman told leslie it would cost us each $15. well, forget that. we told him "thanks but no thanks" and turned to leave. the doorman then said we could come in for free.

we walk in. there is a DJ and a buffet of some sort. this party was...predominantly african american. ok, we were the only white people there. i loved it.
while the setchfields took advantage of the buffet, us girls decided to go dance. why not?! after requesting some beyonce, we had the party going. this was seriously the funniest thing in life. i mean what kind of situation were we in?!
we were actually the youngest people there. most of the people there had graduated high school in like 1998. leslie said she saw one that graduated in 87. are you getting how awesomely funny this was?
mr. setchfield decided to head over to the dance floor. we got in a circle and danced to "whatever you like" by TI and mr. setchfield was impressed we knew all of the words. i told him i was impressed by his awesome dance moves. who knew the "grocery cart" was still cool and hip?
oh, and the best part...there was a king and queen crowned. the queen was pregnant. i kid you not. the king got a ridiculously huge crown and a crystallized bottle of absolut vodka. seriously..they couldn't splurge for some grey goose?! i mean, this is the reunion for all of those who graduted in the st. louis area!!!! COME ON!

really though. i didn't understand the concept behind this party. but it was fun nonetheless.

today there is a marathon of "what not to wear" and "say yes to the dress" on TLC. so, you can find me on my grandma's couch...doing nothing all day.

gossip girl

2008-12-08T20:07:00.007-06:00

every monday night between 7 and 8 pm is 'gossip girl' time. it's highly anticipated by laura and i. we text message our opinions and analysis of each episode as it is being aired. tonight was a big cliffhanger/big deal episode and i would like to share with your our text message conversations word for word. it's almost embarassing. actually..it is.

me- are you watching it?

laura- yeah! oh dang! bart died! i'll have to watch it tomorrow (last week's). good for rufus but i'm scared for lilly! and serena and dan better not get back together!

me- i know! it's crazy. ok lilly's mom on the show must be her real mom because they are twins.

laura- i know! i thought the same thing!

laura- did you just see jenny's purse?

me- no, what was it?

laura- it was a black clutch with a massive gold safety pin as its handle.

me- god serena is such a selfish bitch.

laura- i know. i can't stand her. i hope she pulls a mischa barton and gets killed in a car crash off a cliff! they could use the golden gate bridge!

me- hahaha!the golden gate bridge? don't you mean the brooklyn bridge? haha! but i agree. why the HELL does she care that dan is there?! like who does she think she is?! i'm so mad! haha!

laura- you know they are going to play that love triangle up. yeah, i meant that bridge. ha ha!
did rufus and lilly sleep together?

me- yeah i'm sure. they dated. during season one i always thought one of the humphrey kids was lillys. or vice versa. serena a humphrey! and i hate the stupid love triangle. this whole show should revolve around blair.
ok and jenny needs to shutup and dye her roots.

laura- i know! haha! i meant did they sleep together last week?

me- ohh. no they didn't.

laura- haha! roots don't really bother me until they are inches long.

me- omg! lilly! everyone is pissing me off!

laura- they did last season.

me-did they? i don't remember that!

laura- at the end. the night before she married bart.

me- oh i forgot!

me- ok. i'm really sad chuck didn't tell blair he loved her back! but i'm also glad they are building up this relationship so long. i think that means it'll last on the show. i hope! and i really want to see that bride wars movie. ha!

laura- i agree about the chuck and blair thing! and bride wars! ha ha!

me- i love that the bald teacher from clueless is blair's future stepdad. haha! and her outfit! i want. AND serena's new boyfriend looks like a child molester.

laura- i think he's hot! the bald guy is from princess bride which is what i keep thinking!

laura- i'm so scared for lilly and rufus! can't they just be happy for a little bit?!

me- haha he is! i forgot! is lilly really going to go away with another man the day of her husband's funeral? pffft.

me- i know! and dan is about to ruin it for them!

laura- she's going away with the love of her life!

me- still. she could have at least waited a day! it will look bad.

laura- BUT! maybe serena will remember and keep it that way? since she kind of owes her mom?!

me- yeah she owes her mom! and she owes the watchers of the show to make a selfless move! haha! i wish that in high school i had a college boyfriend that took me to buenes aires for christmas. i'm sorry he is just way creepy.

me- dan is so awkward in every scene. blair will never need serena's fashion advice.

laura- i know. he was more hot last year!

me- he was! actually his best days were in john tucker must die!

me- clueless teacher is wearing a yamaka! haha! i really love them.

laura- please make it!!!! please...

me- i know! ok we better know the reason behind the mental institution tonight.

laura- i have a feeling it's rufus. like her mom wouldn't let her be with him or something and she couldn't handle... i don't know. we won't...don't get your hopes up!!!

me- but what would that have to do with bart bass? like why was chuck so mad? there has to be another part.

laura- that's not it. Hmmm...

me- omg. here it comes.

laura- dan is so selfish too! kids these days!

me- hahaha! he is! aw! blair and chuck are spooning!

me- omg! so she had an abortion? what?

laura- what did the end note say? they had a freaking kid!!! I KNEW IT HAD TO DO WITH RUFUS!!!! january fifth?! that's so long!!!

laura- her mom! i'm telling you!

me- ugh. always leaving us hanging! i really think either serena or her brother is rufus' kid. and i know! i can't wait that long! her mom what?

laura-no, dude...they would have stopped them from being together! that's nasty!

laura- it's lilly's mom! that's why she had an abortion!

me- no serena's brother. no one was together with him he is gay! there has to be something more than just an abortion. she went away to france to have the baby and made it look like she was at the mental institution. then the baby was given up for adoption. and rufus is mad since she never told him.

laura- well...we shall see...

now wasn't that fun?

recession hangout

2008-12-03T18:46:00.003-06:00

monday afternoon i had the boring task of running some grown-up errands i had been putting off for the longest time.
my first and most important stop was at bank of america. i had to re-open my bank account that i had opened before going to india and never used. but who cares, that's boring.
anyways.
i've never been one of those personable, approachable people who would enjoy talking to a complete stranger in a place as unsociable (is that a word?) as a bank lobby. when someone i've never met feels the need to tell me their life story (or ask me about mine) because we happen to be standing in the same grocery line or sitting near me on an airplane or something, i grin and bear it while secretly grinding my teeth in annoyance.
well, at the bank of america lobby was where i saw him. a cute little old man shuffling through some papers and drinking coffee with a smile. i knew i would be grilled the moment i sat down. i was wrong- he actually started speaking a few moments before my butt hit the chair.
he told me he hoped i had a wonderful thanksgiving and wished me an even merrier christmas. that's nice...so i said the same back. then he started to tell me that he had the greatest thanksgiving. he was with all of his many grandchildren and it was crazy and loud and fantastic.
he then asked me if i had always lived in oklahoma. i said that i hadn't and i actually grew up in st louis before moving here.
as he started to tell me that he lived his whole life here, that was the point in the conversation i was no longer uncomfortable with a stranger. this man reminded me so much of my grandpa i knew what was next- he was going to tell me all that he knew about oklahoma, and if he was even more like my grandpa he would tell the detailed history as well.
i was right.
he started with turner falls. he was shocked i had never been. he explained how in the depression they built some CC cabins down there and they had this place where they hung out with a juke box and he and his friends would go dancing, and that's how he met his wife.
we talked together for about fifteen minutes. he asked about my family and how old i was, and then again brought up more places in oklahoma that i MUST visit. he told me all about the weather differences between the panhandle and the eastern part of oklahoma. apparently this state isn't all dust and ugly flat..who knew?
i was actually very much enjoying talking to this old guy when it was my turn to see the bank lady (that's her job title). i told him goodbye and promised him that i would visit turner falls.
after walking into the bank lady's office, she told me that the sweet old man comes in EVERYDAY for hours and sits in the comfortable lobby just to talk to people.

completely adorable..and smart. this guy has basically created his own starbucks inside of a bank of america lobby with free coffee. i really think it's going to catch on during the recession.

polyvore

2008-11-21T11:33:00.002-06:00

i would like to introduce you to my latest obsession: polyvore.com.
what is polyvore, you ask? well, it's a website where you can browse through literally every item for sale in the free world and create outfits. i'm talking shirts, pants, skirts, shoes, belts, accessories, sweaters, coats, EVERYTHING. i love it because i can be as creative as i would like, and create outfits i normally wouldn't be bold enough to wear.
i have a deep and meaningful infatuation with cardigans. if i see a printed cardigan, i have to own it. they aren't just for grandma- they look good on everyone and they can be paired with anything- a belt, brooch, fun shirt underneath, etc. you can dress them up or dress them down. what's not to love?! on polyvore i find myself browsing the cardigans and wishing i owned all of them.
unfortunatly i cannot afford the $950 oscar de la renta...and i probably never will be able to afford one being a future teacher. but i can dream.

anyways, i love winter. i love winter clothing. it's so very classy, yes? i'm super excited to wear a scarf everyday.

i'm aware this blog entry is extremely shallow and ridiculous. mom, if you're reading, i want the entire j.crew store for christmas. thanks!

slutloween

2008-11-02T13:11:00.007-06:00

usually on halloween i can guarantee that any halloween party i go to there will be some girls there dressed in some sort of slutty cop/firefighter/maid costume.
i was pleasantly surprised this year when the majority of the costumes i saw were actually creative and non whore-ish.
i seriously hate the tradition of dressing like a skank on halloween. it's the one time you can have fun with what you're wearing and it gets ruined by some costume you bought for $50 that comes in a plastic bag. i think this hatred stems from my mother who never EVER allowed becca and i to wear store-bought costumes. we always had costumes that were home-made and awesome. i hated this when i was younger, but i am thankful now. i recall one year when my aunt ann made becca and i beautiful bride dresses and i was pissed because i wanted some lame costume from the halloween store. mom wouldn't have it and bride it was for me.

i was sarah palin this year and while this isn't original, i didn't see any other palins. and i bought my costume the day of halloween at a thrift store (except my shirt, shoes and tights) for about five dollars.

mom and i swallowed our pride and dignity and went to republican headquarters to get these buttons. i hated it, but they complete the costume.

kenzie and mat were al and that girl from tool time. love it!

me and some guy that dressed like a woman. he looks like stuart from madtv.

aaaaaand for grandma...anniversary pictures from st louis! (PS i don't know why some are cut off. just click on them.)

apple picking with my sweet cousins!

aunt ann and the fanny pack.

the view from the winery..it was my first time going since turning 21 and i forgot my ID. mom wine tasted alone.

missouri is so much better than oklahoma.

happy 50th anniversary to my grandparents!

oct 25th, 1958.

sweet madison.

i don't know what she's gonna DOOOO when she sees the BALLOOONSSSSS!!!!!

cousin kara. i'm finally old and cool enough to hang out with her. ;)

well...go vote tuesday.

cawfee

2008-10-18T23:16:00.007-05:00

hello, fall break. you are a welcome addition to my life right now.

i've spent the break at the herbert house in dallas and have thoroughly enjoyed myself. danae is the type of friend that we both have a mutual understanding of things that annoy us, and we each have no problem voicing them. so that means we don't get sick of each other. nice.
the herbert family also has a way of welcoming me with their southern hospitality so that i feel "at home" when i am at their house.
yesterday, danae, will, and i went four-wheeling and then had a bonfire at her house in wills point (aka the small-town, country america.) what is more fun? nothing.

now we're back at the dallas house blasting some ABBA and having a dance party with some excellent blended coffee drink that i made myself. the ingredients are top secret.

coming soon (i promise) : pictures from the big anniversary for my grandparents. stay tuned!

i'm gonna sell it to charity

2008-09-26T14:36:00.007-05:00

EDIT:
i'm just going to say that this video is the funniest thing ever. and brooklynn and i made a similar video over this past christmas with the same song. except we're not 11.

after a miserable attempt at making a decent grade on my math test at 9am this morning, i decided i would take the rest of the day off. i went home and did something more productive than going to class- i took a really great nap. then i looked around my room at my clothes completely covering every inch of carpeting (i had forgotten how messy i am when i live without a roomate). i thought i might as well clean up.
as i was hanging up/folding my clean clothes i realized i just don't have anymore room. my cloest is completely stuffed and my dresser drawers couldn't hold one more sock. i actually had so many clothes on my floor because that's the only room i had for some of them! i even have some things in my mom's closet.

it was time to give some of my crap away.

this is something always hard for me because i love to create new outfits with old clothes, but i decided to get rid of anything i haven't worn in a while, anything that was ugly, or anything out of style. the pile on my bed accumulated to a huge heap, and after about only 20 minutes of sorting, here is the result:

pictured above: 2 pairs of capris (WHY did i own capris?! ) 3 pairs of jeans, 1 jacket, 7 shirts, 7 tank tops, 4 dresses, and 3 sweaters. talk about EXCESS. and that isn't even counting the "throw in the garbage" pile.

that's completely ridiculous. but, in my defesnse, i AM an excellent bargain shopper and get most of my stuff on sale. and i have a small closet.

i don't know what she's gonna DOOO when she sees the BALLOONSSSS!!

2008-09-12T18:02:00.002-05:00

my favorite thing right now :

kristin wiig is wonderful.
this video is fitting because it seems that all of my friends have had birthdays this week. but, no birthday compares to that of laura's 21st this wednesday in stillwater.

laura made her dress.

in other news, i got asked to write the "left" political opinion column each week for my school's newspaper (they have opinions on a specific topic each week from each side). i said no when i first got asked...i didn't want to make anyone mad... but the second time i decided to go for it. this week's issue is "seperation of church and state". should be a piece of cake...i don't even know what the argument would be for this one. ha.

thank you, at&t.

2008-08-21T17:14:00.005-05:00

when i arrived in india it was a pleasant (and unpleasant) surprise that my phone got service while my team mates had none.
"When it comes to staying in touch, you can trust AT&T for fast, easy, and reliable connections worldwide."
^ it's the truth. and you can also trust that when you buy calling cards, that they AREN'T going to work, and you will come home with a $700 phone bill.
so i get on the phone with at&t, and i told the lady that i had bought calling cards and everything, and she puts me on hold. then she comes back and says "well, those charges are for roaming, so they are legitimate.and you still get charged for the minutes. but i can take off $26!"
well whoop de doo! thank you so much! now that you have taken off that $26, i can pay. psh. if i had to pay for roaming when using a calling card no matter what, then WHY would i pay for a calling card? wouldn't i just make a call? it makes no sense. so then my mom comes home and i beg her to call and be mean because i can't, and she makes me do it. but they still tell me they will only take off the $26. so i'm on the verge of tears and i just hand my mom the phone. of course, after about 5 minutes, mom got it "down" to $350. bleck.
ok, another batch of photos!

the cows and i just waiting in line for some ice cream

this is in khopoli:

the market!

this is prapaula, the head of the school in the slums.

some sort of joke.

auntie louisa john isaac! haha. she is so sweet!

we took a ferry ride to elephante islands. this is the gateway to india and the taj mahal hotel

saris! yeah they are pretty..but imagine wearing one in a crowded church for four hours with no air conditioning. i felt like a baby swaddled in a blanket.

here are pictures from the red light district i wrote about. the street going horizontal is where the centre is, and if you take a right by where the lady and the big trash heap are, that's one of the four "lanes" where the prostitutes are living..

you can see it better here..

the centre where the kids (and some of their moms) go during the day since they can't go to school.

these women are practicing and their children are at the centre.

the kids! they stay here all day and sometimes well into the night.

these girls got into a real school!

2008-08-09T01:55:00.005-05:00

one night during our stay in mumbai, all of us in the house heard music coming from outside, and it continued to get louder and louder as if it were coming towards us. being in mumbai for a few weeks now at this time, we were used to loud commotion outside the windows, but nothing like this. it was well after 10 or 11pm, and we had kind of been scared into staying inside after dark. but of course, i was curious and i needed to see what was going on. allie was brave enough to come with me out onto the streets with what seemed to be a thousand other people as well. we saw a large circle with music playing and people crowding around everywhere. we were intrigued and wanted to discreetly slip into the circle and video this, because it was awesome. we should have known by now that white girls in india cannot discreetly do anything. as we were walking towards the circle we were practically bombarded by all these men/boys (not many women come out at night) wanting us to take their picture. it was madness. i was trying to be nice so i took a couple and then couldn't handle the large circle that began to crowd around US. so, allie and i ran back inside and decided to watch the indian wedding from the terrace... and here is the video we took:

now, i will continue to do post some heart- warming video of the sweet kids at the orphanage. get your tissues out.

home

2008-07-30T14:40:00.004-05:00

being back home is a bittersweet feeling. at first i was so excited to be in america- to smell the fresh air, throw my trash in trash cans that are conveniently located within a 20 foot radius of anywhere i walk, and just to be in a familiar place. eating at chili's for the first time was almost a religious experience.
now the excitement of seeing my family and friends is beginning to deteriorate and i am finding myself actually having to sit alone and think of what i have seen and done this summer. the alone time that i was looking foreward to all summer can get sad at times (which i was warned about). when people ask me how india was i don't know how or where to start to explain the things i saw to them, so i usually say "it was great" and maybe tell a story or two, explaining to them that i have full intentions of divulging more information to them when i have the time. after that, conversations of boyfriends and other normal everyday topics start and i just can't fully engage.
the truth is, i have had plenty of time to call some of my friends and family and tell them about my summer but i just haven't really wanted to. i've been procrastinating and that is why.
i'm sure it will pass.

in other news, oklahoma is super hot. mom is keeping the air conditioning on to what must be about 40 degrees, because i am now sleeping with two large blankets over me and long sleeved shirts and sweatpants. it's so nice to lay in a soft bed.

laura and i are going to watch "born into brothels" later today. it's a documentary i saw a few years ago about a woman who goes into the red light districts in calcutta. she lives there for a good period of time and finds out the children there are fascinated with the camera (which is something i experienced in india as well, ha). she starts selling their photography to help pay for them to get an education. it's an amazing movie and i'm really excited to watch it again. you should definately see it.

ok, i will be putting a couple more posts on here later. i still have plenty of picture to share!! here is a video of sweet prana singing happy birthday to me.

sonapur (red light area)

2008-07-21T01:56:00.004-05:00

today we went to sonapur, a red light district that is up and running less than ten minutes away from the home we have been staying at all summer in bhandup.
a social worker took us first to the sneha center, where the children of the prostitutes stay and learn english and have a schoolday there. the children stay there sometimes past mindnight so that they do not have to see their mothers practicing their prostitution. what's sad is that it is almost impossible to enroll these children into local public schools because they do not know the name of their father. the school wants to know the names, and they just have no idea. their motheres are seeing sometimes 10, 20 or more customers a night, and a lot of them are just passery-by truck drivers that they won't see again.
this center is in what looks like a storage shed, probably 60 feet long and 20 feet wide. they are fighting getting it taken away because the landlords said that they can get more money from the prostitutes that want to rent it out. we were told that this storage shed would be used as an area for about 50 practicing prostitutes...all in this open room.
a few of the women took us to see their homes where they practice. as we walked down the alleyway where the homes were, my feet were covered in mud and there were prostitutes all sitting in front of their homes. they all had on a lot of red lipstick and some had revealing clothing. their faces were so unhappy and cold it was hard to look them in the eye. the homes we went into were difficult for two or three of us to squeeze into. they had a few bunk beds and that was about all there was to the homes.seriously- it was a door, four walls, and some beds. there were about six women to a "home" and they all practiced in there..at the same time. their children would be in the corner sleeping while all this is going on. i can't even imagine being a child in that situation.

these women cannot escape. a lot of them are from different states in india and some from nepal. they are from villages and are tricked into coming there for promise of a husband and a better life. then, they get there and are sold to these "mothers" that take all the money they make from prostitution and let them have a place to stay and a meal. that's it. so many of the women were asking us to please pray for them to find a way out. these women cannot get away also because there are always men out looking for them, and they always have to answer to someone about where they are going and what they are doing.when/if they get away, if they are found, they are beaten. they are someone else's property and not their own. i just felt so helpless.

tomorrow we are driving about two hours to bhadlapur, where we will go to the transformation center where some of the women who got out are living.

lately.

2008-07-17T10:58:00.011-05:00

funny story:

a couple of weeks ago, the girls and phil (can't leave him out) were asked to attend a women's church service while we were in khopoli. whitney was thrilled to be able to speak, so we were all excited for her big moment.
the women there were so sweet to us and happy to see us. for some reason, they felt the need to seat all four of us awkwardly in the front in chairs...facing the congregation. all right, whatever floats their boat. anyways, whitney gets up to speak and as she is greeting the women, i felt a sting on my cheek. i thought it could have been the wind blowing my hair but then there was no way that could be. so i flicked my cheek and onto my lap is a SPIDER of some kind i've never seen.it was big, trasnparent, and had a weird black design on its back. sick. if you know me, you know i hate spiders. when i was younger (okay, like 15...maybe even yesterday) if i saw a spider in a room i was in, i would need to see it killed. and when i say killed, someone else has to kill it for me. SOOO..we are still sitting on front of the congregation when i tap allie on the shoulder and whispered to her to get the it off of me. allie has the same prediciment about spiders as me, and when she saw it she freaked out. THEN the spider JUMPED from my lap onto my shirt so i start freaking out, too and we caused a great scene. all the while whitney is so confused and phil is covering his face in disgust and shame. allie and i could not stop laughing throughout the whole service.
but wait...it gets better. for some reason, people like to hear us sing english songs. none of us are singers but we can somewhat carry a tune so we just do it. well, we start singing when we hear phil's voice crack. allie made one of those laughing noises that you would hear if you were to have water in your mouth and spit it out (leslie- think of the laugh you did during my cousin's wedding. hahaha) and then i started laughing. so allie and i are up there trying so hard not to laugh and we are trying to make it look like we are being blessed by the song with our smiles. hahahha. it was so funny. surprisingly, they asked us to sing another song.

picture time!

on our way hiking up to a village.

the girls home we visited. their mothers are prostitutes working in the red light districts.

they were amazing. we played cricket with them!

this is the day we took all the kids from the orphanage up to the waterfalls for a picnic one day.

khopoli!

this is the school for the mentally handicapped. the government only gave them three classrooms. mentally handicapped children are seen as an embarassment and as the woman's fault for having them, so usually the fathers will be really harsh to them and won't even bother to send them to school.

she runs the school. sweet lady.

the karla caves! they were built by the bhuddists over 2000 years ago. it was amazing. my grandpa would have loved it.

the view.

the team at the caves!

a family we met at another village

it's nice to take pictures next to indian women because their average height is about 4'11"...so i tower over them at 5'3". BUT they also weigh about 100 pounds. you win some, you lose some.

happy happy birthday to me

indians always have to shove their face in the cake. i acted super annoyed when phil pushed me in it, but i have actually always wanted to do that. ha.

this is propauli and i think she is my favorite at the orphanage. she's really sassy and i taught her the lyrics to a backstreet boys song and how "peace out". they've learned more bible verses in a week than i have in a lifetime, so i thought i'd teah them something new.

we went to this weird arcade. i really have nothing more to say about it, i just wanted to put this picture on here to embarass my family.

it's july 11th.

2008-07-11T00:45:00.002-05:00

that means it's my best friend's 21st BIRTHDAY!!! which means that mine is tomorrow! it's kind of sad because leslie and i have been friends since we were ten and never have celebrated apart (except for maybe last year, too?) i don't know, but i miss you leslie and i can't wait to see you!
i was looking through old pictures to put on here and all of our photos together are completely ridiculous. we were some strange kids.

oh this was just an afternoon at grace's when we would go in her dance room and put on all of her costumes. this happened often.

our 16th birthdays at bull shoals lake! AT ROCKYS! HAHAHA! here we are seen coloring and wearing our tie dyed shirts we had recently made. remember the slide?!

oh. this was in 8th or 9th grade at before the infamous cardinals game..where leslie and grace were tapping me on the shoulder with a stick and telling me the old man behind me was throwing peanuts at me. i was VERY angry. ha!

thanksgiving 2004. the original picture....

...thanksgiving 2008: the re-enacment.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

ok. i don't have much time now so here is a short update of what we've been doing in india:
- we went to a center for girls and women who grew up in india's red light districts. if not for this home, they would be living as prostitutes with their mothers, who are prostitutes. it was probably my favorite day here. to look at those girls and see what they are doing now, like getting ready to go to college and pursuing their interests, was amazing. it was hard to think of what these girls could have been. we are going to visit the red light districts the last two days we are here. we're going with a social worker who goes there daily to talk to the women there. there are thousands of sex workers in mumbai alone.

- we are still living at the orphanage. we thought we would be going back today to mumbai, but now we're going to say until next week. i'm excited because i love spending time with the kids!

- the other night, i broke out in hives all over! i got pretty sick the next morning with some stomach problems. but i was fine halfway through the day! the food here is hard to digest.

- we went to go see these muslim caves last week. they were about 2000 years old. i'll put pictures up when i'm back in mumbai.

- last thursday (i think) we took all 16 of the kids on a short hike up the mountain to a waterfall. we played in the waterfalls all afternoon and had a picnic up there. it was so gorgeous and so so much fun. i never thought i would go on a picnic and eat hot rice. i really wanted a sandwich. ha.

we only have a couple of weeks here left...actually, less than that. i'll be sad to leave, but i'm really excited to come home. i've been getting bouts of homesickness lately.
things i miss about america:

-not eating rice all the time

-communication

-driving

-trash cans

-electricity that stays on all day

-family/friends

-clean feet

..we really have it so good.

2008-07-01T02:19:00.002-05:00

the car ride to khopoli takes about two hours. one of the things i like most about india are the car rides. like i said before, the driving is absolutly insane, so while in the car you have adrenaline from the very thought of losing your life at any moment along with the entertainment of what you see out the window. i've never been on drives where i see so much. there are people occupying practically every inch, and they all have something to do or somewhere to go.

about halfway into our drive, we start to reach a more rural part of india. it is exactly the opposite of mumbai. it's absolutly gorgeous. khopoli is a small village in a valley, so there are mountains surrounding us with waterfalls trickling down them (it's monsoon season, so the rain brings lots of waterfalls). living in the village at the orphanage has been nothing short of amazing. it's kind of like in america how things are different in the country than in the city. the people are friendlier, and life is a little more slow paced and simple. it has been a nice change.

since we are living at the orphanage, we are getting to know the children there so well. they are the sweetest kids i have ever met, and need constant affection. we watched The Lion King on saturday night and we all really enjoyed it. when we are sitting and watching movies with them, they will come gather around us and at times i'll have 3-4 kids sitting in my lap. the ones that aren't there will, every once in a while, put their hand on my arm for a couple of minutes while facing the opposite direction towards the TV. i guess it is re-assurance that we are there. we're going to have a hard time leaving them!

yesterday, we hiked up one of the mountains to visit a couple of VERY small villages to see some of the tribes and people groups living up there. they are living in huts in the most beautiful place i have ever seen. i took a lot of pictures, but i'll have to upload them when i am back in mumbai or even back at home since they are on my computer. anyways, the people there were so friendly, but it was still hard on us because we couldn't speak their launguage... but they were very hospitable to us.

anyways..my 21st birthday is coming up and i will be spending it at the orphanage! i'm so excited. i never thought i would celebrate my 21st birthday on a mission trip with children...but right now i can't think of a better way. hollar!

off to khopoli...

2008-06-25T04:35:00.014-05:00

i can't believe we have been here over 3 weeks already! the team is heading out to khopoli tomorrow afternoon where we will be living at the orphanage for the following two weeks. i don't know if i will have internet access there, so i might not be able to contact anyone, unless you are one of the lucky few i like enough to send a text message to. just kidding.

our team has really gotten attatched to the house and community we are living at in mumbai. at first, it was rather difficult at times because the indian people are very impersonal. it is hard to establish relationships with people who, initially, seemed like they didn't really want to talk to us. now we are really starting to form friendships with a few of the younger people and we taught them some card games and it was like we were old friends. it was a really nice change. also, we have become pretty good friends with a couple of the pastors. they are beginning to get our humor and joke around with us a lot. one of the woman pastors even does a dead-on impression of reverand wankhede.
the same thing has been going on in the slums. the children were hesitant towards us at first and it was hard to get even a smile out of some of them. now they are very comfortable around us and even let us hold them sometimes.
the church is really running low on funding over there. at one time they had a hot meal to serve the children at the school each day, and there would be a program to give pregnant woman vitamins and a meal everyday as well. there is no money there now for these things, and they are essential. it would cost only $400 a month to get the meal program back on. also, most of the kids come to school wearing the same tattered clothing everyday, some with no underwear on...and this is one of the "better" slums in mumbai.
i don't know if i mentioned earlier that there is very much still a caste system here in india. the people living in the slums (which is half of mumbai...9 million people) are known as the "dilits" and are politically and socially oppressed. a lot of times they are considered unclean because they are the people that handle dead cows and trash, etc. it is just astonishing that this is still going on. but my team and i have discussed it and we feel the most comfortable in the slums. the people are the most friendly there and we have never had anyone beg us for money (We go downtown or to the mall and children will literally hit us and tug/open our purses).

it's just a really hard situation to see and experience. if it's hard for us, imagine what it is like for the people living in it.

on a lighter note...

funny story- reverand wankhede's wife, ujwalla (We call her "auntie"..that's what they call older women here) had her birthday a couple of weeks ago. she was showing allie and i her ring that she got. her ring was placed on her middle finger, and apparently flipping the bird here means nothing, because she was holding up only her middle finger to show off this ring. it was all we could do to not burst out in laughter as she was parading her middle finger around saying "see? isn't this nice? very expensive ring. nice ring". haha.

ok. here are pictures from our ESL classes that we have been doing:

view from our classroom

HENNA!

hot train-y mess

2008-06-21T13:01:00.008-05:00

today, the team and i ventured out to colaba to do some shopping. colaba causeway is a huge market in downtown mumbai where you can purchase everything that is indian and awesome..and a little ridiculous at times. we went the first week while we were here but we decided to go again. last time, though, reverand wankhede's wife drove us. she couldn't drive us today so we opted to make use of mumbai's finest mode of public transit..the train.

if you are ever in mumbai, you need to take the train at least once for the experience. i've taken trains/subways in LA and boston, and they were pretty ghetto at times, but at least you got a seat and could breathe. mumbai is a city of almost 20 million people and a lot of those people rely on these trains for their daily transportation. needless to say, the train station was was packed.

we purchased our trickets at the booth for a mere 8 rupees each (about 23 cents). after waiting about 30 minutes for the train (there was a delay because of a shooting at the mall the day before..the sichs against some other religion...we were at that mall hours before it happened and saw the sich man the other religion people were mad about. he had an enterauge of men around him carrying guns. one man was killed. don't worry mom, we're ok!), i saw that there was a mad rush at the platform: the train was coming and i was in the line of fire. mara, phil, and whitney somehow quickly managed to get inside the train while allie and i were not so fortunate. people literally hang on the outside of these trains (there are no doors) because of how crowded it was. i was right outside the door when the train started moving. i started to panic a little and back away. allie screamed at me to get on and i jumped on while the train was moving. luckily, the men were very nice (and laughed a little bit at us because we were obviously scared) and let us squeeze through to come inside. it did not smell good in there, but after about twenty minutes we got to sit down. the people on the train were very nice and helpful. as i sat there on the train, though, it just occured to me how many people in this world there really are, and how many people i will never get to know. it was a strange thought to look around and wonder about their stories: the woman with the crying baby; the man carrying a really large book in marathi; the guy across from me that kept falling asleep...there are just so many people!

(this guy was hanging on the outside of the train while it was moving)

when we finally arrived at colabo, it was the madness we expected. calabo is a very long street with little stands set up covering every inch. it gets a little overwhelming when the vendors are shouting prices at you and telling you they will "make you very good deal" on their jewelry/purses/etc. at first i am always nice and say "no thank you" but after a while, i had to start ignoring them or shaking my head "no" and walk away quickly. i've become quite good at haggling, but sometimes the vendors can be stubborn. i literally got bombarded about 20 times with different men selling these stupid drums. it was RIDICULOUS. they would come by and bang them in your ear and say "you like drum? very good price, 200 rupees just for you". after i tell him i don't want one, without missing a beat (ha), another man with the drums comes up and tells/asks me the same thing. maybe he thought his drums had tighter leather or a better twang than the previous man's drums, and he had to let me see his...i mean i could have changed my mind in that two second time span.

anyways, i am still loving india and its craziness. i'm having a great time and i can't wait to go live at the orphanage for two weeks. we are also planning on visiting a home the church helps that is for child prostitutes trying to get out of the red light districts that are all over mumbai. the average age of the girls there is 7 years old. that will definetely be an experience...pray for us!

I'll have the rice with a side of rice...and rice pudding for dessert.

2008-06-17T13:46:00.013-05:00

The India team has been in Mumbai for about 17 days now, and we just can't handle anymore rice. The Indians eat rice at every meal; typically with some kind of super spicy curry to mix in with it. I really enjoyed this the first week. We live with an amazing cook. Seriously, Auntie is the lady in town that everyone knows makes the best food and loves to come over to eat; it's just our poor stomachs cannot stomach anymore spice. or rice. the past week i have been eating rice and soy sauce....rice and soy sauce..rice and soy sauce. after that got old, we decided it would be best for us to venture out to a great american establishment right here in mumbai:

ruby tuesday's.

seriously, i don't think anyone can understand just how wonderful this was for us. we walked in and sat at our booth with wide eyes and smiles as we awaited our salads. of course, i had to document this monumental event, as it was probably the best thing the india team has done for ourselves while here. it was a real morale booster.
come to find out, it was tuesday night and that meant prayer meeting night. in india, when one has people over, it is custom to feed them a full meal. even though we had already eaten, we were no exception to this custom. while we're usually pretty good about eating most of our food, we were all just too full and too burnt out on the indian food. we all found creative ways of hiding it on our plate: i hid some rice under my poodhi and when others werent looking i scooped some curry onto their plates. allie and mara would hide some of theirs under and inbetween the little bowls we had. when it came down to it, we just couldn't eat it all. we felt bad, but i think they understood...at least i hope so.

here's phil being "so over the rice and curry" :

in other news, we are teaching an english class in the slums everyday for all this week and all of next week. reverand wankhede took us to this slum last week to show us around. the living conditions were like nothing i have ever seen before. when we first drove through the enterance, we could hardly breathe because of the smell. trash is all over at the front because most of the people living there collect and recycle trash as their main source of income. the smell gets less prominant as we keep driving. we parked sort of near the front and we got out to walk to the school. reverand wankhede told us to watch our feet because urine and feces flows through the streets (i wouldn't call them that- they are about one to two yards wide and are dirt) because there is no plumbing or running water. there are naked kids playing in filth and trash everywhere, along with very large rats and dogs that look like they haven't eaten in months. it was definetely hard to see, but we kept straight faces as we walked to the school. we met a family of eight people living in a room about half the size of my dorm room.
i took one picture discreetly out the window of the sewing classroom the church also runs. this is a little bit of a "nicer" part of this particular slum.

we had our first day yesterday (monday) teaching the ESL class. the first day was rough, because the kids were only ages 2-5, and they hardly know marathi-let alone english. we also had some trouble with the teacher because of the language barrier and expectations she had and the ones that we had. allie and i went to the store and bought some supplies and games in order to make it more fun for the kids. it definetely worked! they had so much fun and we taught them colors and shapes with play-doh. so i was a little disgruntled the first day, but now i am really excited for the next two weeks.

after we are done with this class, we are going to be living and working at the orphanage for two weeks. i am really really anticipating this because the kids there are the sweetest children on the face of the earth. i can't wait.

more pictures:

this is from a coffee shop we found and LOVE. they have delicious mango smoothies (everything here is mango).

auntie and jyoti.

the lizard i went to the bathroom with.

i have no idea why anyone would ever want to own a parrot.

nausea, heartburn, indegestion...upset stomach, diarrhia.

2008-06-13T11:19:00.002-05:00

i've spent my day and all last night laying in bed in agony over the fact that i have had it coming out both ends. yes, i've gotten the dreaded "travellers sickness" 12 days after being here. i'm not sure of the cause; it could be not always brushing my teeth with bottled water, the delicious mangoes auntie feeds us that are in season here in india now, or maybe the chocolate bar allie and i bought that, unbeknownst to us, expired in february of 2007.
no matter the cause i knew one thing: i was miserable. let me tell you one thing that is unpleasant- being sick with a stomach virus in a foreign country like india. there is no air conditioning (although the fans here are heavy duty and really help- they aren't kidding around with fans here in india..but they do not get rid of the humidity). i am also sharing a room with two other girls. that is another adjustment that only gets worse when sick. also, to tell the truth, i have never been sick with a stomach virus outside of the comfort of my own home with my mom tending to my every need. more 7-up? more ice cold water? a new barf bucket? mom got it.
my mind began to wander and i imagined what it would be like if i were at home. i would be in my nice, comfortable, soft bed (there is no such thing as a soft bed in india. the matresses are as thick as my pinky finger- it keeps the beds cooler). i would be flipping through the 700 some-odd channels on my television in my room with the air conditioning blowing, and maybe even my laptop on checking facebook every five minutes. and, of course, mom coming in to check on my condition the whole time.
then i realized that even if i were at home, i would still be miserable. along with the air conditioning, soft bed, and other luxuries, i would still have a barf bucket right next to my bed. these things would not make me feel any better. so, i told my mind to stop it, and i drifted off to sleep thanking the good lord that the wankhede's have indoor plumbling and a toilet that flushes.

i woke up some hours later to my team members giving me 7-up, crackers, and pepto bismol that they purchased at the store. i felt a lot better.

the rules of the road: indian style

2008-06-10T13:38:00.008-05:00

1. Our system is that we have no system

2. painted lines on the road really serve no purpose. if the 2 lane highway is not suitable for you to make it where you need to be on time, go on ahead and make it a 4 lane highway. actually, 6 and a half lanes might be even better. it'll save time.

3. there are no street signs, so i hope you know where you're going!

4. using your horn is highly encouraged. if you can't remember, don't worry- there are reminders on the back of every "goods carrier" truck.

5. using your headlights at night is not neccessary; turn them on at will.

6. if you need to make a turn two inches before a bus/car/rickshaw/cow is coming head-on, go ahead. they will stop for you (abruptly, but they will).

7. if you really have to urinate, don't wait to stop at the nearest gas station! you can just pull over on the side of the road and do your business. (please face away from the cars- we don't want to be rude).

8. the road is not just for cars. if you are a pedestrian or a cow and you need to take the highway along with the vehicles as a better route to your destination, you are welcome to. the same rule applies to all stray dogs and goats.

9. speaking of goats, if you have a herd of goats you need to take to be slaughtered or somewhere else important, the highway is there for your use as well.

10. most cars don't have seatbelts. hold on!

finally some pictures

2008-06-07T06:11:00.010-05:00

here are some homes and those buildings are apartment buildings. they are everywhere. like i said, the city is very dirty and smoggy.

some cute kdis across the street. they love cameras.

what an average street looks like:

this is komala, the little girl i wrote about at the orphanage.

the sweet kids at the orphanage!

aren't they so cute?! the little boy in the pink got adopted and is moving to colorado in october.

that would be phil walking amogst the cows that are all over the place. haha.

we went to the gateway to india. there were ilke 5 families taht asked to take pictures OF US! ha! they even asked phil to hold their baby in the picture. don't worry, i caught the moment on camera.

the "paparazzi"

taj mahal hotel.

TEAM INDIA!!!! allie, phil, me, whitney (and the indian ocean)

today allie and i ventured out and rode our first auto rickshaw. they are basically ATV's with shields on them. ha. it was exciting and we felt very independent. walking aruond india as a white person is very..interesting. we felt like britney spears as we are always stared and pointed at, and sometimes people take out their camera phones to try and discreetly take photos of us. now i know why britney went crazy. pray i don't come home bald, or sporting a pink wig.

first days in mumbai

2008-06-04T12:22:00.002-05:00

mumbai is probably the dirtiest place i have ever seen. there is trash strewn about everywhere and the smell of smog is prominant, among other whiffs of unpleasant grossness. think of LA times 375839532.
i love it here, though. rev. wankhede has graciously opened his home to us and i couldnt be more thankful for a cold shower! it's very hot and humid here. the rain is starting soon, though. apparently it will cool off a bit, but i'm sure that will equal mroe humidity.

we have gotten to see a lot of things just walking around i could tell you about, but i don't have a lot of time.

today we visited the orphanage run by the nazarene church of a district here in india. it was an amazing experience i'll never forget . there were about 16 kids there, ages four to ten i think. they were all very small, though. i have never seen more well bahaved, sweet children in my life. they spent hours a day praying on their own, woke up at 5am for devotions, and had memorized (in marahti) every book in the bible, tons of psalms, etc. it was incredible. they were SO SO CUTE! they taught us their songs that they knew in english as well as some marahti songs. they all just embraced us with kisses the whole time. when they prayed, they really prayed. the littlest one was a girl about four, prana (i think). she led many prayers and was very articulate.
my favorite story is komala. she hung aruond me the most and kissed me constantly, and always wanted me to hold her. i later found out from rev omega that her father was an alcoholic, and would occasionally come to try and get her. komala would pack all of her bags, come downstairs, get to the gate and would go no further. she would wave "bye bye" to her dad, to show him the disappointment that he had shown her his whole life. she would walk back in with her suitcase, to show that this is her home now, and her home is not with him anymore. keep in mind this girl is no older than six.

i wish i could say more but others want to get online. i will hopefully have pictures asap! i have some really cute videos of their songs as well.

it's about that time

2008-06-01T01:36:00.004-05:00

**EDIT
phhil's USB chord works with mine...so thanks to a four hour layover in newark i can put pictures on here!

all the lame campers..me included.

new mexico!

my team

our past-time in the airports..and in general

okay..how cool is a rupee?! seriously.

i've got the largest suitcase that i could find packed full of charmin travel rolls and clothes i probably won't even wear. it's time to go to india!

the past five days or so, i have been in new mexico to meet my team and to train for our trip. i was super pumped to meet my team, not so super pumped for training camp. i didn't think five days were neccessary and the outdoors in the summertime just isn't my idea of fun. and don't even get me started on stupid "getting to know you" games. but i was surprised and had a really great time! my team (me, allie, phil, whitney) is AMAZING. i couldn't have asked for better. we bonded instantly with literally no awkwardness. besides being incredibly good looking, we were probably the funniest people there. ;) i have pictures, but i need to buy a new USB chord because i lost mine (let me remind you i purchased said camera last week). but they will be up soon enough.

anyways, new mexico was beautiful and perfect weather. i like it when the tempurature feels like the inside of an air conditioned building with the windows open to let in a breeze, and that's what it was. haha. after hearing lecture upon lecture on keeping my body well hydrated in altitude, we went the second day and "hiked" a little ways up to the ropes course. of course, i had only drank like one cup of water that day, but i always assume i know myself and body better than anyone else...and that i'm always right. i realized the error of my ways when i got up there and almost puked on someone. then i was informed that myself and a few others were the only ones that could lead this particular ropes course, and that the others in the group couldn't talk. awesome...i then drank bottle after bottle of water from then on. lesson learned.

i also woke up EACH night around 3:30am with an incredibly stuffy nose. all day i would be fine, and all night before and after it would be normal. it was the strangest thing. so, here i am waking up and probably annoying all the other ten girls in my cabin with my incessant sniffling. of course i don't want to get up because i'm exhausted, so i try to tough it out. i'm aware that it's inevetable that i'm going to have to get up and blow my nose, but for some reason i still wait and sniff...and sniff...and sniff. have you ever tried to quietly sniff when you are so miserable, and you know that just one blow of the nose could solve all your problems? it sucks. so after about ten minutes of this sniffling, each night mind you, i wake up and as quietly as i can walk to the bathroom to blow my nose. and i don't even have to mention that i run into every suitcase on the way, and that the bathroom door creeks and the inside echos. blowing your nose quietly is almost as excruciating as sniffling quietly. when i'm done, i go back to bed and am fine. odd.

okay, i have a bajillion hour flight ahead of me and i can't sleep on planes. so goodnight.

pedicures with grandpa

2008-05-25T02:24:00.006-05:00

well, i only have a few days left in america now. i'm in st. louis along with my mom and sister for grandpa's 75th birthday. i always love going to my grandparents house- hearing them argue at the television and insulting bill o'reilly has become a comfort to me (and it's also funny...grandpa has some creative insults). when my family and all the kids get together we always have a good time, because we all make each other laugh. but nothing like today has ever happened before...

...grandpa got a pedicure.

that's right! i had been telling my mom and cousin all day we should all get pedicures, because i wanted to bask in all the ridiculous luxuries of western culture before i came back from india feeling guilty about them (mom and i also got our eyebrows threaded). after looking at the sad state of grandpa's feet i jokingly suggested that he come, too. the joke turned into all of us rooting for him to come, and it surprisingly didn't take much to convince him. he must have secretly wanted to go all along because grandpa can be stubborn ;)

nail worker lady: "sir, would you like anything to drink?"
grandpa: "i'll take a scotch."

i think he's already booked his next appointment.

EDIT*
pictures from the big 75th b-day:

sweet cousins.

grandpa and his grandchildren (most of them)-

might as well...

2008-05-08T21:58:00.001-05:00

well, i wasn't going to start this thing until i got to india, or at least to training camp. but i thought i might as well write some things before i go and i guess compare them to what they are after i come back in late july. also, i have a lot of time on my hands and plenty of finals to study for...so i figured there is no better time than now to start blogging! (actually, the latter is most likely the main reason i am writing now).

in a few weeks, i am leaving to go to india for about two months with youth in mission. i will be posting on here as much as i can to share with you my pictures and stories. i don't know how often i will be able to update, but i'm hoping every week or so. when i get there and see how things are i will be letting you know.

i found out today that mom and i (and i think becca?) are going to drive up to st louis labor day weekend, and i'll be coming back the day before i leave for training camp. i'm so pumped! i'm really glad i get to see my family and leslie..who i guess is part of the family as well...before i leave! i was really upset that i wouldn't see them until august. so i'll probably write a little about that trip and then i promise the rest will be from india! :)

anyways, you have to watch this video. this kid is ridiculous.