Wanted: Band Members

Well, it's been snowing here. And if my camera wasn't lame and broken, there would be beautiful pictures posted below. But alas, no camera = no pictures.....

Today I decided to start a band. I don't care what instrument I get to play or what kind of music we create. As long as it's honest and compelling. I forgot my CDs and had to listen to the radio all the way to Downers Grove and back again- and it was awful. The Christian station was even worse. SO- as Ghandi would have it- I've decided to BE the change I want to see in the world and start a band.

Any takers? :)

One Man's Mission to Promote Peace

I read Three Cups of Tea awhile ago, but never posted about it. I didn't want to read it, because it seemed like everyone on the train was reading it- and I'm SO not about trendy.....hehe....but I got over it and LOVED it. Read it- it'll change your life.

I liked Mortenson's way of telling the story. Very straightforward, very practical, non-political. It is very compelling, a quick read and will give you a hope for peace in the middle of the "war against terrorism."

There was one chapter in the book that was fairly political, because he was in Afghanistan during 9/11. These exerpts are from that chapter, so if they overwhelm you, know that this is the only section of the book like this:

Mortenson talked of the tribal traditions that attended conflict in the region- the way warring parties held a jirga before doing battle, to discuss how many losses they were willing to accept, since the victors were expected to care for the widows and orphans of the rivals they have vanquished. 'People in that part of the world are used to death and violence,’ Mortenson said. ‘And if you tell them, ‘We’re sorry your father died, but he died a martyr so Afghanistan could be free,’ and if you offer them compensation and honor their sacrifice, I think people will support us, even now. But the worst thing you can do is what we’re doing- ignoring the victims. To call them ‘collateral damage’ and not even try to count the numbers of the dead. Because to ignore them is to deny they ever existed, and there is no greater insult in the Islamic world. For that, we will never be forgiven.’

'…as best as I can tell, we’ve launched 114 Tomahawk cruise missiles into Afghanistan so far. Now take the cost of one of those missiles tipped with a Raytheon guidance system, which I think is about $840,000. For that much money, you could build dozens of schools that could provide tens of thousands of students with a balanced nonextremist education over the course of a generation. Which do you think will make us more secure?'

I Heart Friday!

Exciting things from today:

Our phone lines have been down all week (so I've been sending BILLIONS of emails) and today !8! AT&T vans were parked on our block outside. Yesterday they said that a cable just got wet. Somehow, I'm thinking it's something more involved than that.....

I watched this with no sound and learned how I would tie a scarf if I were a beautiful, stupid boy model.

I read Writers on Writing during my lunch break and am going to a live reading tonight after work. If I don't become a writer this week, I probably never will!

Oscar, the maintenance guy for the building, came in our office for like an hour and put up plastic over our windows. [Anything different is exciting, ok?]

I discovered that Jewel has Sushi! I probably shouldn't ever justify buying it, but I figure maybe someday- if I'm having one of those days- I'll splurge on the $6 container of California Rolls!

AND- I'm officially planning another lazy weekend. The weather is supposed to be terrible- 40 degrees and raining both Saturday and Sunday- so movies, tea and books here I come!

Cute Little Kid Video

Who doesn't love cute kid videos?

Proud To Be An American...Finally

Yes, my co-worker Susan (who took this picture) really was this close!






This feeling of pride is due to 2 wonderful people: Obama and my sister Amanda.

President Obama, because I think he actually will bring about change. If not through his policies, through his ability to awaken the American people again to who we want to be...and what we need to do to get there. I can actually see myself living in this country again and working hard to help people come together. YES WE CAN!!!

Amanda, because she drove all the way back to Kansas just to vote. To make her voice heard. And to do what she thought was right- even though every else told her she was wrong. And I think that's really cool....And we can learn a lot from people like her!

Here's to the Hope and Change of 2009!

I love my life...

It's true. The past few weeks have been stressful, long and exhausting. But now, today, I am SO happy because:

This past weekend my new favorite person visited me.
Tomorrow I will be in Grant Park when Obama accepts his nomination for president.
Tonight I'm eating Jambalaya for dinner and *hopefully* starting a new book.
Election day I get to do what I thought my job was going to be all along: collecting stories from everyday people who are struggling with their health care.
AND- this evening I will be baking something from scratch!

Oh Brian

So my friend Brian is visiting this week because he and his brother are going to the Children's Film Festival. I am posting about him, because he HATES blogs- even though he has one....

Last night Brian and I ate at our favorite Thai place- which is probably only our favorite because we haven't tried any other ones.

We also attempted a puzzle, which he quit because he said that "it's only fun for old people" while slamming down yet another piece that didn't fit.

Then Brian proceeded to read aloud from one of the Christian novels in our house. He picked his favorite paragraphs and together, we traveled through the lives of Summer, Peter and Gross Mutter- who we finally figured out at the end was not a slobbering monster- it was the German mother-in-law. (I know you wanted to know).

My favorite conversations from the night:

"No Brian. I wouldn't date Jesus."
"Yeah- you'd be so thirsty. He'd always be turning your water into wine. And you'd be like, 'Jesus, stop it! I'm so thirsty and I just want some water!' It'd be awful."
"Yeah."

"Brian, you're not even helping!"
"I am morally against this."
"It's just taking apart the puzzle pieces so we can put it back together!"
"That makes no sense. Why would I do that? I can't do that."

"I hope my wedding and funeral have the exact same service. You know, like ridiculously large pictures of my face in the front of the church. And don't worry, you'll be the flower girl."
"I don't want to be the flower girl."
"Last time you made me swear you could be the flower girl!"
"Oh. Oh yeah! Ok- yeah I want to be the flower girl. And for your funeral: an excerpt about Gross Mutter!"