It's Not My Fault!

Okay, so I know I promised to start my Days in Uganda Series yesterday, but then my hubby sent me that article about the Chinese adoption and I felt too passionate about it not to post something on it right away. So I planned on posting my first "Day in" post today, and then I ate lunch with my hubby and forgot my purse in his car which has my journal in it.

I know, I'm sounding like a completely disorganized slacker here and I really do apologize and I promise that I will get at least one post up no later than this weekend! And it'll be a damn good post too, you'll see. Part of the problem is I really want to write well written, well thought out, well edited post on Uganda because I have so much to say and it's all so important to me that I keep putting it off to a time when I can really focus on it. As much as I'm able to blog at work, it's hard sometimes to really focus and concentrate, so I think I'll just need to suck it up and spend some time on it at home, as much as I hate hanging out on the computer at home since I sit in front of one all day long.

Further I must apologize for being such a reading slacker. I had expected to get like a ton of reading done on my trip to Uganda. I mean there's the full day of travel to and back from Uganda and then I had thought that the travel to and from Gulu could count as reading time, as well as the fact that I always read before I got to bed. Well, as it happened, not only was I in and out of sleep on the flights, but also international flights apparently have personal TVs for everyone (which I did not know) and so rather than making myself more motion sick by reading I opted to watch movies and TV shows instead! It was quite wonderful, I'm not going to lie to you. And the trip to Gulu, well try reading when you're being jostled and bumped around every other second by the horrendous roads. I have motion sickness already and reading always makes that worse, but with those roads I would have been puking out of the little matatu window! Also, since I devotedly journaled every night and had so much to journal about, reading before I went to sleep just didn't happen. Exhaustion usually made even journaling a huge task. So yes, I did finally finish Crime and Punishment, I know, it took an embarrassingly long time, though in my defense I often put it down to read other books for specific purpose (as in the other book was being made into a movie, for a book club, etc.), but I have not been able to start another book yet, partly out of just the exhaustion and jet lag I've had since coming home. There are so many books I want to read right now that I think my head will explode, but of course I couldn't resist starting with my dear friend's upcoming debut release, The Cleaner by Brett Battles! I've been very excited to read it and I think going from a psychological thriller in Crime and Punishment to a international thriller is a great transition! Plus, I'm sooo all into international traveling right now, so I'm really pumped to read it. After that, I've been dying to read a couple of books and I've just ordered some highly recommended books on Uganda and Africa that I really want to devour. Sometimes I just wish I could eat books and absorb them that way, I'd get so much more read then! The boredom and monotony of my job just leaves my brain so unstimulated at the end of the day that by the time I get home it's just complete putty and all I want to do is vege in front of the TV, especially since I have so many episodes of The Office, 24 and Six Feet Under to catch up on.

So under that paragraph of excuses, I do promise to get back on track with my reading and return to providing my book reviews. I didn't write a review for Crime and Punishment because I thought it was so well read and since I read it in pieces over such a long time, I didn't think I'd write a well rounded review, it'd probably have been heavily focused on the second half of the book! But if you just absolutely have to have a review just give me a ping in the comments and I'll relent. Overall I can say this, the book was intriguing, dark and just endlessly interesting. The characters were complicated and I felt like I was always learning something new about each character. At first it was a little difficult for me to get into the style of writing but once I did I really enjoyed it and moved through the book fairly easily when I got a chance to actually read it.

For funsies I thought I'd throw out a couple of links for y'all, just since you've been so patient to read through the drudgery of my excuses.

Books are finally cool!!! Well, sort of... do you guys remember when mint was the cool word for cool? Nobody seems to, but I totally do, and it was so mint.

I swear, I really did read Crime and Punishment, but if I were to lie about reading a book, that'd have been a good one... so what books have you lied about reading? Honestly, I really tried to think about it and I really can't remember lying about reading a book. The closest I think I've ever come is pretending to have heard of a book when in fact I haven't if someone acts like I so totally should have heard about it. Still pretty lame of me, no doubt.

The Hidden Genocide

I've wanted to adopt from China since I did a project on the One-Child Rule in China. I learned about the hidden genocide of baby girls that occurred as soon as the law was put into affect in 1979 and I have no doubt that the genocide continues. I read stories of baby girls being found in gutters and allies, often chewed on by wild dogs. Baby girls were drowned and suffocated and thrown out with that week's trash.

Recently, I've been baffled by the recent reports that there's such a high demand for Chinese babies that they're actually running out and have therefore constructed even stricter restrictions for International Adoption. I first heard of this talking to a friend (I honestly can't remember who, otherwise I'd send her this article) who said that they're running out of Chinese babies. I didn't believe her for a second because I was very aware of the situation in China and the fact that baby girls are still loathed to the Chinese who'd rather have a boy as their only child rather than a girl. But I was baffled at the news that the Chinese government has increased the restrictions on adoptions and are granting fewer babies to International applicants. It is distressing news to someone who cares deeply about the baby girls in China and also to a prospective adopter.

This New York Tims article (thanks for sending it my way, hubby!) touches on some of the possible reasons for China reining in foreign adoption:

The issue of abandoned and institutionalized children remains a taboo subject in China, a problem the government does not even acknowledge exists. The impulse to hide it seems to stem partly from embarrassment and partly from fear of revealing the grave human rights abuses the one-child policy has produced; surely, watching a parade of well-off foreigners cart off thousands of babies would make the Chinese authorities understandably uncomfortable.

If I know anything about Chinese culture it's that it is a very proud culture, so I can buy this reasoning. What I can't buy is that nobody's doing anything about a very obvious human rights violation. According the the Times:

According to a February 2005 report in The Weekend Standard, a Chinese business newspaper, demographers in China found a ratio of 117 boys per 100 girls under the age of 5 in the 2000 census. Thanks to China’s one-child policy, put into effect in 1979 in order to curb population growth, and a strong cultural preference for male children, this gender gap could result in as many as 60 million “missing” girls from the population by the end of the decade, enough to alarm even Chinese officials.

And what happened to these girls? According to the International Planned Parenthood Federation (a term that takes on a whole new meaning when referring to China), there are about seven million abortions in China per year, 70 percent of which are estimated to be of females. That adds up to around five million per year, or 50 million by the end of the decade; so where are the other 10 million girls? If even 10 percent end up in orphanages... well, you do the math.

Just to give you an idea of the new stricter guidelines for international adopters:

Under the new Chinese adoption guidelines, the international adoption celebrity Angelina Jolie could not adopt from China (she’s not married, and alas, she and Brad have more than two divorces between them, which is a no-no); nor could the actress Meg Ryan (again, not married). Another person who is not eligible is yours truly. My husband is over 50, so I would have to trade him in, marry again, wait the required five years (another new rule) before beginning the adoption process, and by that time I would be sneaking up on 50 myself.

It is comforting to know that Madonna is still eligible, at least until she turns 50, gets fat (the new regulations call for a body mass index of less than 40), gets divorced or goes broke (anyone with a net worth of under $80,000 is excluded).

Yeah, a little crazy there. Also, no mental or physical illnesses and no disabled persons. So far, once I turn thirty, I'll still be eligible. But then the process right now takes between 16-24 months, nearly double what it used to take. You truly have to wonder if China's putting its image or the children first with these new guidelines. After all I know overweight and disabled people who'd make much better parents then some of those image obsessed people running around out there, so using that as a guideline seems extreme and unnecessary, if not prejudice. But history tells us that China has rarely put their baby girls first over anything, ever. And so one can only assume that the orphanages (which China Rarely lets foreigners visit, you need permission from the government to visit any orphanage in China) are still overcrowded with unwanted baby girls, perhaps not murdered by their parents, but slowly being murdered through malnutrition and disease by the China's pride.

Stalled Peace Talks

As my Uganda trip came to an end, so did the Juba Peace Talks as Joseph Kony decided that the Sudan government was too corrupt to hold the peace talks in Juba anymore. He has since demanded that the peace talks be moved, his suggestion, Kenya or South Africa.

After so much hope expressed by the people of Uganda, particularly in the North, this is disheartening and disappointing for all Ugandans and for the anyone who cares about the safety and well being of Northern Uganda. For me personally, I would be devastated to see war break out again in Northern Uganda where I've seen the faces of hope in person. I've never met people who have been through so much grief and trauma who can still smile, sing and rejoice in life as the Ugandans do. The spirit of Africa is a miracle for a country that's been so devastated so much over the years and are an inspiration to me.

I've tried to start a thoughtful blog on my trip to Uganda many times and have faltered. Where to begin with an issue 20 years in the making and with an experience too profound for words? I finally decided to approach it in an organized systematic way that hopefully will not seem so overwhelming to me. I journaled nearly everyday while in Uganda and I'll follow my journal and blog about the more interesting points that I journaled about. I'll start tomorrow with Day 1: Arrival into the country and continue with my Uganda Series until I've exhausted my journal pages and made you all so knowledgeable about Uganda you'll feel as if you've been there.

As I blog about Uganda, please let me know if you have any thoughts or questions on the subject. I'm deeply interested in an interactive discussion of all things Uganda. I've become quite obsessed, more so than before and anybody who knew me before probably already thought I was a nut about Uganda. Now that I've tasted the Pearl of Africa, my mouth yearns for the sweetness and my tongue flicks at the slightest whiff of anything Uganda.

For more up-to-date news on the Juba Peace talks please visit Uganda-CAN.

Also, a very provocative and controversial article, thanks to In An African Minute for the link. I'm curious to people's thoughts on this article.

It's Official

The rumors have turned into truth. Tomlin is the new Steelers' head coach with a four year $2.5 million a year deal in his pocket. Better yet, it's said that he's keeping LeBeau! I would have been crushed to lose Cowher and LeBeau in the same season! Russ Grimm will obviously leave the Steelers after being passed over for the head coaching spot and so the Steelers are now in search for a new Offensive Coordinator and an Offensive Line Coach. It's no secret that our Offense struggled last year so I'm actually pretty optimistic to get a new look and direction with our Offense. While a little inconsistent due to injuries this year, our Defense has been the team's rock for years now and so I'm happy to have another Defensive minded head coach to keep our rock steady and keep our team's identity in tack. Some interesting insights on Tomlin and his calm coaching style. For those unfamiliar with Tomlin (I wasn't since I'm a Vikes fan), here's some info and links to more on Tomlin. Also, some fans individual takes on Tomlin as our new head coach. In addition to our Special Teams Coach possibly leaving to join Wiz at Arizona (Puhhh-lease take him!) it looks like the Steelers are entertaining Barr again as our punter. After the sorry season Gardocki had (who cares if he has never had a punt blocked if the hang time is next to nothing?) I'm ready to see new blood in our punting game and in our special teams play in general.

I'm excited to see what will happen, I really liked Tomlin with the Vikings and so I'm pretty stoked to see what he'll do with my Steelers. Of course now I have to worry about who will replace Tomlin with the Vikes, our running D was the one bright spot on our team last year so now I'm a little less excited about the Vikings prospects without Tomlin.

Sigh, it's so hard loving two teams sometimes.

Check out Deadspin's take on Tomlin as Steelers head coach... always an entertaining read!

Living On The Wild Side!

And yeah, I was totally showing some leg too. I know, I'm totally out of control.

Taketh From One, Giveth To Another

So the reports are that Tomlin, the amazing Defensive coordinator that took the Vikings sorry Defense and turned it around literally in a year to have one of the best Run Defenses in the league, has been snatched from the Vikings to replace Cowher as the Steelers' new head coach.

Mixed feelings have arisen for me since I am of course a Vikings and a Steelers fan and the Steelers have taken one of the best Defensive Coordinators we've had in quite some time (our D has sucked for a while now, basically) and our team will definitely be hurt by this loss. However, I'm totally stoked at the thought of seeing Tomlin, whom I'd watched and followed closely this last season with the Vikes, take the reigns of my other fave team, the Steelers. I'm not surprised by the pick, I really didn't see the Steelers going Offensively with their coaching pick (hello, look at their last two coaches/last thirty plus years of coaching) and they like going for the young up-and-comer. He must have really impressed them, which is good enough for me and I really hope he does well. My only concern is that Tomlin is more of a Cover-2 guy which really doesn't fit our 3-4 Defense right now, and we definitely don't have the budget to reorg our defense with the type of guys that can do Cover-2 and 4-3 D, so I'm hoping he's willing to adjust his experience to the 3-4 D and I'm really hoping LeBeau will stick around to make that transition easier. Plus, I just really freaking love the 3-4 and would be totally pissed if he changed that!!!

Next year will be an exciting and interesting year, except that the Vikes' D will totally suck again. Sigh.

Dito.

Heck Yeah!

FYI, Josh is the amazing individual who basically organized the whole Kimeeza II. You could say he's pretty awesome, but I wouldn't to his face, he might get a big head. :)

That's Josh on the left (obviously) whipping out his Zoolander pose. The beautiful lady on the right is the wonderful Katie Spencer who was our group Mama on the trip!

Damn, missing them both like crazy already! Though I may try to meet up with Josh in Paris when Hubby and I go on our European excursion if things work out! Can't wait!

At Last...

The long awaited toilet picture.

Yes, I have thighs of steel now.

By the way, that toilet does not flush. See that container in the bottom right corner? You are supposed to fill that with water to wash the waste down. FYI, most of the people did NOT do this. There's nothing like seeing and smelling other people's poo first thing in the morning.

Ugandan Clouds For Elizabeth

And you probably thought I forgot!!!

There are even birdies in the pic as well!

XOXO BFF!

Panic Attacks and Deep Sleep

I had been told that I would probably receive a bigger culture shock coming home than I did going to Uganda, and they weren't lying! As soon as I stepped off the plane in Cincy into the familiar airport I had a mini panic attack and actually though, Crap, I'm back here! Then I felt like I was in an alternate universe as I watched people walk by clean and well dressed, children being picky about their food and crying for some object in the shop window. I was in shock at the stark contrasts of the life I'd just been immersed in and stunned that most of the people around me probably don't even know where Uganda is in Africa. I felt like an alien in my own country, looking around in an almost paranoid state and feeling isolated in my confusion at how one country can have so much and another so little.

It was nice to get home, but it was odd to feel like I was in a luxury spa in my own home. I did have the deepest sleep I've had in a while and pretty much slept offand on all day. It'll take me a while to get used to living like this again and it makes me feel insanely spoiled and more determined to share my privileges with others by devoting myself to helping. It is in this spirit that I've taken on the position of American Ambassador of the Uganda Breakdance Project. I plan on working with the founder, Abramz, and doing some amazing things with his project including increasing awareness and raising funds. This guy is truly amazing, up until now he has been paying for the project mostly by himself with very little help. There will be a ton more info coming, I promise! You'll be flooded with info and ways you can contribute to this project so I hope you get involved in the efforts to build peace in Uganda.

Just to give you a taste of what amazing things Abramz's project creates, please check this out:

And just in case you weren't sure how amazing Abramz truly is and wanted some more evidence, check out his music video with his brother (he's also a rapper)... yup, no drugs or bitches and hoes rapped about here!

Home.

Argh, after a Very long day of travel, in which first our flight was delayed so that we had to literally get special line jumping privelages just to make our connecting flight to JFK, our wonderful British Airways (which I'm Never flying again) lost all of our luggage. Grrr.

I'm tired, grumpy and hungry. I'm going to eat some good ol' American pizza now from Papa Johns and then probably get diarrhea from it since I've been on a diet of basically rice and beens for two weeks now. Oh well, it'll be worth it!

Tomorrow, onwards to Cincy!

By the way, the internet in America is freaking AMAZING! You'd better appreciate it!

And my dear angie, the culture shock has already started, I miss Uganda sooo much! What's funny is I thought I'd miss America like crazy and that after two weeks I'd be dying for home, but other than missing my hubby and family I really could have happily stayed on in Uganda and didn't miss America that much other than little things I could deal with. I already miss Uganda though and feel an ache in my heart that makes me just want to cry. So I know I have to go back! Watch out Uganda, you'll be getting a second dose of Mai very soon!!!

Thanks to everyone for your wonderful and supportive comments!

Craziness and Sadness

All I can say about the Nile River is that it is a completely different world. Imagine that Jurasic Park existed and you got to raft down the river through it. I know, lame comparisn, but that's what it was like for me. I felt like I was floating through paradise or another world. Not that we could bring our cameras, but it wouldn't have mattered. Pictures would never have done it justice. I was absolutely in awe and I got to see monkies (fianlly)! That was my one goal for the rest of the trip to see one monkey and I got see a bunch with baby monkies!! Rafting was fun, though the raft was split with newbies and extreme sportsmen (me having rafted before wanting to go extreme) and so we ended up taking all the easy rapids, which was a little disappointing. I think it would have been amazing to go all out rafting on the Nile! However, the view was more than worth it and it was so much fun hanging out with the group I went with. They were just great and so much fun.

I also got to watch an American football game!! The only guy on our trip, Kris, is a huge Patriots fan and I'm just a huge football fan in general so we went on a mission to find the game and watch it. In the process we found two other Pats fans, had to change bars twice, ALL of us got propositioned by hookers (and yes, by ALL of us I do mean me too and there weren't any male hookers either), and we got back to our dorm at 5am to find the door locked. After an outdoor bathroom break Kris and I then had to scale a concrete block wall with barbed wire wrapped around it! Luckily I've learned to carry my headlamp with me everywhere I go because the lighting around Uganda at night time is not reliable. You'd think that me being as clumsy as I am that climbing a wall covered in barbed wire would result in multiple injuries, but that's the irony of me. I didn't get hurt at all during rafting though my roomie, Lynn, busted her chin open with her paddle and another girl in our group slipped on some rocks climbing into the boat and got scraped up. I also came from my wall scaling experience with out a scratch. And yet I randomly ran into barbed wire here for no good reason the first week I was here, and I just tripped and stubbed my toe again last night for the fiftieth time.

This trip is definitely coming to a close and it's so sad. I feel like I'm just starting to get really close to everyone and now we have to leave. It's been a stressful last couple of days for the group including a odd shooting in Gulu the last night we were there (the rumor is a guy committed suicide) right in front of our hotel at the club we frequented. It was unnerving and scared some of the people. A mugging at night in Kampala of one of my fellow American participants in which she lost all her money and credit cards, luckily her passport was not with her. An eye swollen shut by a bug bite for another one of my friends and finally one of the girls getting malaria even though she was on anti-malaria pills. Everyone's okay and contrary to popular belief in America malaria is Not deadly unless a child or elderly person contracts it, it's kind of like influenza in America, it's just not pleasant to get it. It's just been stressful for everyone around here and the strain of the trip finally hit all in one day. Yes, other than the shooting all of that took place in one day, the day I went rafting and the same day my roomie busted her chin up rafting.

It's been a fantastic trip and I'm very impressed with the GYPA program and the manner in which it conducted the trip. It was perfect and well thought out, though often the schedule was very fluid and not set (which drives me nuts since I'm obsessed with planning ahead) I really think most of what we did was interesting, useful and valid. The greatest thing about this trip is the Action Statement we created and the different relationships that were created. I've really gotten into Abramz project and am goint to help him, but GYPA picked many different community leaders here in Uganda as their Ugandan participants and other American participants are hooking up with other projects here in Uganda through them! It's so great to meet people and find a common interest and passion and create a partnership. Already so many people have planned out their return here and I have a list of different ways I can return and can't wait to plan out which will work out for me. That is the allure and sweetness of Uganda, once you've gotten a taste it's in your blood and you have to return. The fact that I plan on coming back is one of the only thing keeping me from grabbing the ground and not letting anyone pull me away!

I have a full day of travel tomorrow (16 hours on the plane!) and will arrive back into Cincy early Wednesday morning. I'm excited to see my family and to eat some American food! Oh, and I get to watch the Championship games this weekend, only a world war could keep me from watching those games this weekend. I miss watching football so much! At least I didn't have to miss any of my teams' playoff games because neither of them made it.

Love y'all, see you in America!

P.S. I have a ton of awesome pictures that I'll upload once I get home, also the GYPA flickr site will have a ton more uploaded as the American participants get home.

Back Home... er, I mean Kampala.

We took the horrible, bumpy ride back to Kampala this morning... which feels like home.

Gotta go, but wanted everyone to know I got back safely to Kampala... tomorrow's white water rafting on the Nile!

Group Photo!

This is the Kampala GYPA group with the Youth Minister of Uganda. We were Extremely lucky to get many government officials speak to us while in Kampala... more details to come. Just thought I'd share the photo. I'm not in it because I'm taking it, so don't waste your time looking for my gorgeous face! :)

Boda Boda!

So I rode on one of those death traps I was telling you about! It was fun, though I'm not sure I'd ride one in Kampala where traffic goes a bit faster. Today we followed local NGOs around to see how they were run and what they were doing. We split up and I got to follow around Invisible Children whom I've followed and supported from America. It was great to see where my support has been going! Especially the bracelet project, I have subscription to the all the bracelets so I got to meet the wonderful people who were making them. It was really cool. Invisible Children have 2 month volunteer trips that I really want to go on now! I really like their organization and it's really young too, so I'd love to be a part of its growth. The Ugandan participants here in Gulu are so focused and intelligent. I feel that many of them have already been involved in the peace buliding process here in Northern Uganda and are planning and willing to do so much more. I'm very impressed the GYPA has gathered such wonderful and impressive Ugandan participants in both Gulu and Kampala. I'll cry like a baby when I have to leave and then cry like a baby again when I get to see my wonderful and supportive hubby again, then probably cry some more when I get to see my furkids.

We're in Gulu until Saturday morning and today it's been an exact week since we've been in Africa. I can't believe we've only been here for a week! i feel like I've been here for at least a month, it feels very comfortable and like a second home. I'm absolutely falling in love with Uganda and the people I've met here more and more every day. Though I do have to admit, I will have a love affair with my bathroom when I get home. That's the only thing that makes life in Africa a little bit tough for me, but I can take it, it's just not very pleasant at all.

I'm trying to upload some more pictures, we'll see if it works! And on Sunday we're going to Jinja to go white water rafting on the source of the Nile!! Hell yeah, how many people can say they went rafting on the freaking Nile? Yeah, that's what I thought. I'm pretty cool.

Again, I wanted to reitterate that I'll be providing more analytical blogs on what I'm actually discussing here with the Ugandan participants and discussing in more detail some of the activities we've partaken in and my feelings and thoughts on them. I just don't feel like I have adequate time to analyze and write something well written and thoughful right now since I'm always rushing on the computer to get all that I need to get done done on the slow slow computers here!

Much love to all in the US and I hope if nothing else I've sparked an interest and concern in you for Northern Uganda and the 20 year invisible war here.

I Spoke Too Soon...

So as happy I was about the toliet in Kampala, I only had to wait to arrive into Gulu to be tested... It's pretty much just a hole in the ground and so balance is key, of which I have none. I've already had a few attempts and am improving, but it's still quite a challenge to me, I'm not going to lie. I tried to upload the lovely picture, but Blogger's not working with me. I will for sure update it later. I know you're dying to see where my waste is going.

I got to Gulu okay, the trip took a little over five hours and was quite bumpy. Boy, will I sure love the roads when I get home! I was so incredibly sad to leave our Kampala Ugandan participants for this week that I can't imagine how I'll feel when I come home. I miss my hubby and family and pets to death, but I really don't want to leave... I'm already plotting my return. This place feels like a second home and I know that I'm meant to work here because I just love it so much. I want to bring everyone I know here!! It truly is an amazing place.

Anyways, attempting to upload some more pictures, but until then, Nkwagala! (I love you)

Dancing, Fame and Toliets

Let's start with the basics. This is my toilet. At first I was so happy it wasn't just a hole in the ground, as I was warned it might be. But then I wondered how I was going to poo, as anyone who knows me knows I'm not very coordinated. But I did find a toilet with a seat down the street from me, so problem adverted, I'm sure you're happy to know. There are more pictures of my room on my Flickr account.

I'm so sorry I've been slow to get up a good post, but the computers here have been ridiculously mind numbingly slow. I'm on a resort right now relaxing after a Very trying day yesterday and so it has nice (and expensive!) internet. However, I have to take advantage of it to upload all my photos so I can take more at Gulu since my disk is almost all full. We're leaving for Gulu tomorrow morning, so I definitely will not have internet access until Friday at the earliest (when we come back to Kampala).

I've decided that I'm going to die here in some completely random manner. Nope, not by malaria or boda bodas (the taxi motorcycles here that are extremely dangerous) but by tripping and falling and splitting my head open. I've tripped, bumped into things, cut my finger on my razor, cut my arm on barbed wire. I'm a mess. I'm quite known for it actually now amongst my group!

While I'm famous amongst my American group for my clumsiness, I'm actually quite famous to the Ugandan people. To the extent that I was interviewed!! Hehe, okay, so maybe famous is a stretch, and just so you know, the newspaper is government run and I definitely did not "demand" anything, but the quote is pretty accurate... other than the "Sir," I didn't say that and I'm not sure why it was added. I actually kind of panicked when he asked me that question because he was only supposed to be interviewing me about the Kimeeza and why I came and he kind of just sprung that on me. I was also interviewed (on camera, ugh) by a local news station that did that same thing, only they sprung a question about women and work on me. I truly felt like an idiot when answering because I was not at all prepared.

Anyways, more annoying photo uploading news, I was happily uploading when my camera ran out of batteries. Grrrr, at least I got some uploaded. Oh well. Luckily the group will be having a joint Flickr account and so I'll link to that and you can see a lot of the pictures I might now be able to take!

Beyond that, I'm getting used to the living conditions, surprisingly! I thought I'd be a lot more finicky than I am. I'm having so much fun and have absolutely fallen in love with many people here, including my roommate, Lynn, and especially one of the Ugandan leads of the trip, Colin and this AMAZING person, Abramz. You have to check out his Breakdance Project Page to see what a young (he's 24) person can do and what a difference one person can make. The people in general are amazing and I'll be posting many many posts following my trip about many different issues and thoughts that have presented themselves to me on this trip. I've learned a lot about the world and myself this trip.

Alright, since I can't upload any more pictures and it's expensive, mine as well go and get some sun!!

Much love to everyone in the states! I'm really enjoying every minute and they may have to drag me home...

P.S. I'm even more depressed to go home because of the news of Cowher retiring. I seriously almost cried, it's surely an end of an era...

Decent Internet... Almost

Went into Kampala to explore and finally have got decent internet... well almost, still can't download pictures! Grrrr, that's so frustrating, I'll have to do it this weekend when I have more time, etc. I only have 6 more minutes, but wanted to say wuzzzup. I'm just as clumsy as ever here, sliced my finger with a razor, hit my head about 15 times now, and have now cut my arm on barbed wire. I think my finger cut got infected so I have to take antibiotics now. Have a lot to tell you about, but it will have to wait for later. But in the meantime, check out these sites for updates and pictures too! Those are two links, so check them both out!

Lonnng First Day In The Pearl Of Africa

I have yet to have a full night's sleep since leaving home, but what an adventure it's been! Uganda is beautiful, of course, as are the people. It's amazing that I'm actually in Africa, I still can't completely believe it... though when I have to take a cold shower in the dark tonight (my first in two days!) I think reality might hit!! :)

I'm hurrying to get an entry in to let everyone know that I'm okay and got here safely. THANK YOU SOOO MUCH FOR ALL THE COMMENTS, KEEP THEM COMING, I LOVE THEM!!!! I wish I could respond to all of them individually, but as the internet's super slow here and I have limited time on it, it's just not possible right now.

More later, I promise, including pictures!!!!!!!

Travelling Hell

I'm in New York, leaving for Uganda tomorrow morning at the butt crack of dawn.

I hate travelling by myself. I suck at it. First my original flight was cancelled and good ol' Delta decided to let me know BY EMAIL. No phone call. They rebooked me on a flight that would have arrived too late for me to make my flight to Uganda, so luckily on NEW YEAR'S EVE I happened to not be partying it up and checked my email. Then hubby and I sat on the phone with Delta on hold for about an hour before having to acquire an earlier flight to New York today, meaning less time with my hubby. So, being Miss Prepared, I go to the airport super early and not only have to wait one hour anyways, but my flight's delayed another hour. Get on the plane, arrive at the gi-normous JFK airport (at least to me) and get lost on my way to the baggage claim, get to it finally and wait for about an hour for my bag before realizing that it was pulled off and put to the side cuz it took me so darn long to get there, get my heavy ass bag and wander around lost some more sweating and in profuse amounts of pain, finally find the air train, get on the wrong one, finally get the right one, call my hotel for a shuttle, wait an hour, realize shuttle's not coming for me, call again, wait some more, finally get on the shuttle, get to hotel.

Exhausted.

More later, right now I'm going to rest my sore back and try to quiet the butterflies that are dancing in my stomach right now...

Win, Lose... Draw

So it might be incredibly mean spirited of me, but I prefer to think of it as a very fierce rivalry, but I'm thrilled to have been the hammer on the Bengals' playoff dreams this year! Fine, I wasn't the hammer per se, but my team sure was! In what was a thrilling game in which I screamed my throat sore and got in shouting matches with at least one Bengals fan (okay, so I called him a pussy, but he really was being one) my Steelers saved some face and defeated the Bengals in what would later be revealed as the devastation to their playoff hopes. The Bengals had needed Kansas City to Win, Denver to Lose and to beat the Steelers in order to get the sixth seed... all happened except for the Win against the Steelers.

Despite that, I'm in a hustle now that freaking Delta canceled my flight for tomorrow and booked me on a flight that would have resulted in me missing my Uganda flight, so I have to fly in much earlier than expected to JFK tomorrow which means I have much more to do tonight to get ready and much less time alone with my hubby tomorrow (we're having family over for the New Years tonight). That really upsets me, but it is what it is I suppose. The reality of the trip has yet to hit since I've been so busy, but I'm sure it'll be quite the culture shock when it does. Bring it on!

Go STEELERS! There's always next year to regain our Super Bowl title... now how to get Cowher to stay one more year? I'm dreading his press conference next week... and yes, even from Uganda I'll definitely be keeping an eye on my Steelers. At least if we move to Raleigh I can stalk Cowher in his new 2.5 million dollar home... is that a bit too fanatical? Nahhhhh.

P.S. Didn't want to mention it, but thought I should. Yeah, the Vikings blow. But as I tell people constantly, they're in the rebuilding process... right?

P.P.S. I should also mention that I do feel bad for my friends and family who are Bengals fans and I mean no hard feelings towards them. My rivalry is completely with the team and with the dumb ass Bengals fans I have to deal with on a daily basis.

WE DEY!

Ready, Set, Go!

I'm all packed up now with only a few last minute things I'll need to add. And I must say, I think I did pretty well with the packing, there's extra space for presents and it's not unbearably heavy. Okay, so hubby made me unpack some things, but I unpacked some stuff on my own too. I still have to get a couple of things cleaned up at home, finish the laundry, etc., but overall I'm feeling pretty well prepared for my departure.

In the meantime I've been bathing myself in everything Africa, from reading the wonderful and highly endorsed by me Half of a Yellow Sun to watching DVDs on the war in Uganda and reading articles upon articles about the war and its affect on the youth of Uganda, I'm all things Africa right now. Hopefully I'm prepared enough when I go, my worst fear is going and feeling completely ignorant on the issues that the Ugandans are dealing with.

And of course I'm spending every spare second of time I have with my hubby!

I'm nervous and excited. I'm finally slowing down my obsessing about my packing and worrying about whether or not I should bring something and I'm enjoying every day at home to the fullest and not really thinking too much about the trip yet. I know it's only days away, but there's so much going on before that! Most importantly, the Steelers @ Bengals game that I'LL BE GOING TO on New Year's Eve! I'm so excited, even though the Steelers are out of it, I love going to their live games. And with the impending move, this may be my last chance for a long time. I hope to knock every playoff dream off of the Bengals' faces on Sunday! I know, it's evil and ruthless, but hey, I gotta root for something, right?

Hopefully I'll be blogging from Uganda so y'all can keep up with me, though I doubt I'll be able to keep up on reading blogs since I heard the computers are insanely slow there, so I apologize if I don't visit you as often as usual while I'm gone. Please leave comments and messages for me on my blog so I can keep up with what's going on in your life!

Much love and peace for the New Year to everyone.

Half of a Yellow Sun: A Review

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a vivid and haunting novel depicting the Nigeria-Biafra War of 1967-1970. Told through various points of views, the novel touches on the different experiences from poor to rich of the Biafrans in the war, including a white British man. Coming into the novel with little knowledge on Nigeria and having no knowledge that this war even existed, the experience was educational and emotional. I was ashamed that I'd never heard of this war and was glad for Adichie's novel, to bring to light that which has been forgotten and ignored.

*Spoiler Alert*

The novel is told through three characters' points of view: Ugwu, a houseboy for the Odenigbo, an enigmatic professor with strong revolutionary dreams; Olanna, the beautiful mistress of Odenigbo; and Richard, a white, British man who falls in love with Kainene, Olanna's twin sister. I can say that I knew that either Odenigbo or Kainene would die at the end of the book, simply for the fact that their points of views weren't written and that I sensed that the main characters needed to experience real loss. The novel was vivid and harsh in its reality and yet was not grotesque. I never got the sense that Adichie was just trying to shock us with the harsh details, rather, the details always seemed pertinent and real. The violence was reeling and shocking, and the book led into it in a manner that made its impact more powerful.

Rather than starting us off in the war, Adichie began the novel in the early sixties, when the discontent for the government was just beginning. Adichie then takes an interesting approach, jumping back and forth from the early sixties to the late sixties during the war. This structure was confusing to me and I couldn't grasp a clear purpose for it. I liked getting to know the characters before the war began, but going back and forth didn't seem to accomplish much other than creating slight suspense with the whole Richard/Olanna incident. I remember reading in an interview with Adichie that she chose to do this because stories aren't told chronologically when told orally, but honestly, I still don't really get her reasoning or her purpose. Overall, I found it distracting, and possibly the Only criticism I could give this book. Just as I was getting into the war, she'd pull me back into the early sixties and vise versa. For me, it broke up the flow of the book.

The stories of the three characters are undoubtedly powerful and painful. The views were varied by the character's positions, Olanna was from a wealthy family, Ugwu was from a poor, and Richard was British. Adichie built up the reader's trust and care into the characters before testing the readers by pushing the characters to some ugly acts. The affair between Olanna and Richard is not only horrible, but also heartbreaking that Olanna would disregard her sister so much and that Richard was so infatuated with Olanna's beauty that he'd further reinforce the "ugly sister" feeling Kainene had grown up feeling. But perhaps the most shocking and disgusting was Ugwu's rape of the girl at the bar. My heart sank when he participated and I could never look at Ugwu the same again. Although I didn't want him to die and I still liked him, my disappointment was real and lasting. It brought to light traits in Ugwu I had only suspected, an inherent weakness in being easily influenced, shown first by his unabated adoration of "Master" and Olanna. Ugwu is not a leader and he does not like to be thought poorly of, and so it is these qualities that allowed him to gang rape a poor girl. The irony of Ugwu's much loved sister being gang raped might at first seem too convenient, but with the knowledge that it is very common for women to be gang raped during war, it is very probable that Ugwu's sister would fall victim to it as well.

The most painful and most enlightening parts of the novel was how the war changed people. While Odenigbo, the bright revolutionary light at the beginning of the novel, deteriorated in his disillusionment and disappointment, Kainene grew from the cold, rejecting sarcastic woman to a tower of strength and confidence. The rock for all of those around her. Olanna, Richard and Ugwu also changed, becoming more somber, perhaps more cynical. However, they held their own in the brutal war and fought hard for survival. Olanna grew to see things through her own eyes and not Odenigbo's, she learned to be independent. Ugwu found a way to express himself and keep himself mentally safe during hard times, through words, reading and writing. Richard learned to identify himself with a family in a way he was never able to do in England, he finally felt at home. Was I sad that it was Kainene and not Odenigbo that disappeared at the end of the novel? Of course, but I think that was Adichie's intent. Kainene had become everyone's rock, and she was ripped away at the same time Biafra fell. It was Kainene who represented the heart of the revolution, not Odenigbo. He was all show but didn't have the strength to carry the revolution, to support it at it's roots as Kainene did. Her strength was unimaginable and created from years of feeling like the ugly sister, the unfavored sister. An inner strength that none of the other characters possessed and in the end was more beautiful then Odenigbo's charisma, Olanna's physical beauty, Richard's devotion to a culture that is not his own, or Ugwu's devotion to people who are not his family.

This novel made me cry and deeply shook my insides. I feel changed and felt almost lost as I closed the last pages. I didn't want it to end because I wanted Kainene to be found. I wanted to start another novel immediately to fill the emptiness that finishing the book left in me, and yet that didn't feel right either. How could I dive into a new novel so soon after this amazing book? It is a book that will sit with me for a while, deep in my chest were the powerful novels always do, somewhere between fiction and real life.

Truly one of the best books I've read in a while.

If Only You Could Be As Cheese-Free As Davy

Yeah, man, Go Vikes! Fuck Cheese, you know, cuz cheese just stinks and stuff...

All True Vikings will sustain from all cheese eating activities until after the Vikings @ Packers game tonight. So the real question is, are you willing to give up Cheese for the Purple People Eaters?

Davy is.

Holiday Madness

I may keep this post short since after flipping my open hummace wrap flat into my lap so that there was a good smattering of hummace left on my pants, I also burned the tip of my pointer finger in the sauce from my pot pie so that it now has a nice blister on the tip of it and making it very difficult to type.

A few items to note:

I am perpetually the Indianapolis Colts of Fantasy Football. Last year and this year I made it in the playoffs in both of my leagues with either the best record or second best and both years in both leagues I lost in the first round of the playoffs. As my friend said, it's my goal next year to be the Buffalo Bills of Fantasy Football, of course I may be in only one league next year since I won't be in my current job where I'm in the work league, so there will be less chances for me to make it to the big game, but I gotta dream big, right?

I have a huge headache over the strict carry-on policies now-a-days at airports. It's been especially troubling since I have to spend the night one night at JFK on my way to Uganda, possibly by myself. But obviously bathroom products will be strictly regulated making my life just that much more difficult. Most troubling to me, however is the "One item of reading material" rule. Really, what's the point of that? If I spending the night by myself then I'll definitely need more than one item of reading material.

And Steelers' fans are rampant in North Carolina? Who would have thunk it? I guess it makes sense since it's pretty much directly South of Pennsylvania, and Cowher's moving there after all, I wonder if that'll pull some Steelers' fan into the area. But I've heard from many different sources now that North Carolina is pretty much Steelers' Country... all the more reason to move there. What a relief it'll be to finally be in friendly territory!

Pluggin' On

This will literally be me the next couple of weeks until I leave for Uganda, reading away in every spare moment I can find. Not only do I have my From The Stacks Challenge to keep up with but I have oodles of articles that I wickedly printed off at work on Uganda and Africa to read to be up to snuff on the current events. Also, in addition to reading Last King of Scotland for the From The Stacks Challenge, I'll be bringing and hopefully reading a couple of African themed books while in Uganda. Does anyone else theme their book choices with a trip? I've never gone anywhere noteworthy before, so this will be the first time I'm doing it. I'm interested to see how that books will affect me being in Africa as I read them. Right now I'm reading Half of a Yellow Sun and am really enjoying it. It's been a while since I've been able to really get into a book and lose myself in it and I find myself doing this in Half of a Yellow Sun. It's well written and the characters are complex and interesting. It is also giving me some ideas of different feelings and perceptions of "white people" and colonialization in Africa. Even though the book takes place in Nigeria and not Uganda, I feel that these feelings are most likely similar across Africa since many of the countries were similarly colonialized by Europeans at some point in their long histories. Even though I was already fairly up-to-date on the issues in Uganda, I've been reading more and more about the country's history and many of the different issues in Uganda I had not focused my attention to previously, such as their AIDs epidemic or the land issues that are arising with the IDPs (Internally Displaced Peoples) returning home. There is so much content to read in such little time, I'm a little overwhelmed and have recently taken to being anti-social during my lunch break to sit at my desk to read.

I've also started to more seriously pack, though for Christmas my hubby bought me a new travel backpack (you know, one of those huge ones that you can backpack across Europe with... which I'll probably use it for as well) and I'm eagerly awaiting for its arrival so I can start packing for real. Right now I have many items laying in neat piles in my closet (man, it's a bitch keeping your house clean 24/7 when you're trying to sell your house) eager to find a place in my new backpack. I'm happy to get a new backpack though because I would have had to use my hubby's, which is much too big for me and might not be able to be carried on, and it had no pockets other than the main compartment and a shoe compartment on the bottom. Have I mentioned yet that I'm an obsessive organizer and love tons of pockets? So I was in packing hell trying to work it with that backpack. We figured I'd need my own for Europe anyways, so mine-as-well get one now so I can use it for Uganda, too.

I'm getting more and more excited to go as the time approaches. I'm going to feel like a newbie since it seems like most of the other gals going this will not be their first time in Africa, but for me it's my first time truly out of the country. My poor hubby meanwhile is lining up X-Box 360 dates for while I'm gone!

Oh, one bit of exciting news though! Hubby and I requested only money from everybody for Christmas, but his father insisted on at least buying us one thing so that he could wrap something up for us, so my one thing was Suite Francaise which I've been hearing so much about and am eager to read. Hopefully he gets it for me! Wahoo! The best presents will always be books for me.

Why Not?

World's Tallest Man Saves Dolphins.

Cowher's Big Decision Is... Still A Non-Story That Is Being Over-Covered By The Media.

The Proud, The Loud, And The Arrested Bengals Christmas Song:

Enjoy and Happy Holidays.

I'm Really Starting To Like This Guy...

Word.

Double Word.

Tofu = Gay

So somebody needs to come over and push my mouth shut because I literally cannot believe this article:

Soy is feminizing, and commonly leads to a decrease in the size of the penis, sexual confusion and homosexuality. That's why most of the medical (not socio-spiritual) blame for today's rise in homosexuality must fall upon the rise in soy formula and other soy products.

Thanks to The Daily Dish for this enlightenment. Tell you the truth, if this is true then I'd happily feed my son tofu! I've always said that I'd be thrilled to have a gay child because at least I'd know that the child would grow up in a completely loving and accepting home and hopefully will then be better prepared with our support to face the world of homophobes and people prejudice against gay people.

Seriously, though, people have completely taken their fear of homosexuals a bit too far with this tofu bit. Gimme a break!

Thirteen Moons: A Review

Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier is about Will Cooper, a bound boy outcast from his family after he is orphaned by his mother's death. As a bound boy Will falls in love with Claire, a mysterious Indian girl who is the charge of the conflicting character of Featherstone, a cruel and yet fatherly figure to Will. Will is also adopted into a nearby Cherokee tribe by Bear, a wise and kind Indian who clings desperately to the old ways and refuses to move his people from their home land. This novel is epic in the sense that it takes you from Will's boyhood into his old age. It is with Frazier's beautiful and descriptive language that this novel is told in, bring forth the time period so vividly that you feel as if you were there.

I will start off by saying that I adored adored adored Cold Mountain with an adulation that has made me reread the book (something I rarely do now-a-days because there are so many books on my TBR list) and push it onto anybody who shows the slightest interest in literature or reading. I was ecstatic when the movie was made and enjoyed that as well. With this is mind, I approached Frazier's long awaited sophomore novel with great anticipation and expectations. Unfortunately, I was disappointed by it. And I preface this with my adoration of Cold Mountain because perhaps I wouldn't have been so disappointed if I hadn't expected so much from the book. Not only did I expect it to be as intense as Cold Mountain but the storyline sounded wonderful and with all the elements that I usually love in stories. Learning about past times, an intense romance, war, different cultures and redemption. I expected a story that would pull me along by my heart so that I was desperate to keep reading the book, like I was with Cold Mountain. I do warn you, as you can probably already tell, I will compare this book to Cold Mountain often in order to make my point of what worked and didn't work for me in the novel, whether or not it is fair for me to do so, it's impossible for me to separate them at this point.

My first issue was with the point of view, Cold Mountain was in third person narrative and also gave the points of views of both Inman and Ada, which worked wonderful to develop their characters and to build the suspense of their love and their reunion. The intensity of Inman and Ada's love for each other was portrayed perfectly as a representation for other desires, such as Inman's desire to be home and Ada's desire for company and intimacy. Cold Mountain was wrought with desire, danger and heartbreak. Every character was vivid and well developed and the drive of the book was strongly and pulsing. Thirteen Moons was as opposite as you could get. The point of view was first person and I found the voice of Will Cooper to be inconsistent and a bit distant at times. I felt that we lost a lot of character development of some of the main characters such as Bear and Claire through Will's voice. Featherstone, in fact, is the only character that came to me vividly. Even Will's true character was lost on me and felt false. I truly wish the book had been in third person and I would have been interested to have Claire's point of view, though I would have been okay without it. Will's voice was neither convincing nor interesting and the story came out extremely flat to me. The relationship between Claire and him was even less convincing, I didn't feel Will's desire for her except for the first time he met her, and that worked because he'd just been sent out as a bound boy and was lost and lonely and the connection he made with her when he "won" her worked well. However, I never felt it again and much of the story's plot didn't make sense to me. He sometimes goes searching for her and other times doesn't? His search for Claire never seemed desperate or driven, it always seemed like, well, I guess I'll go search for her now because I don't have anything else to do. And Claire was never a person to me, she was a body in which Will coveted. I never once got a sense of who Claire was, she was an enigma, a representation of some sort of perfection that Will made her out to be, but she wasn't real to me and maybe never to Will either. It was an entirely flat romance and got tired and old.

Another issue I had with the book was that the conflict was nearly non-existent, which I find really difficult to achieve considering the book spans over the removal of the Indians to the West and the Civil War. The only time I felt true conflict was when Will and Bear's people were hunting down Charley, and it was from Charley's point of view (told through Will) that presented the conflict and drama. You felt Charley's pain and conflict, not Will's. All the other conflicts seemed glossed over by Will, a quick retelling of the events without letting you experience them. There were definitely not enough scenes and far too much summary in this novel for my tastes.

Overall I was most disappointed because Cold Mountain was such a rich and vivid book and Thirteen Moons was neither. It came out flat and uninspired, even though it had so much potential. I wanted to know Bear and Claire better. I wanted there to be true passion and tragedy between Claire and Will and with Bear's people. I wanted to truly feel Will's love for the Indians and his desire to find a home (I really didn't get this theme at all until I read a line about it near the end of the book). I wanted to experience the tragedy and drama of war, feel the fear of Claire that Will would die, or Will's fear that he'd never see her again. I tried really hard to enjoy this book, and while Frazier's writing was once again beautiful, the story was disappointing.

Now, things I enjoyed about the book. Of course the writing was superb, there's no denying that. With phrases such as:

Writing a thing down fixes it in place as surely as a rattlesnake skin stripped from the meat and stretched and tacked to a barn wall. Every bit stationary, and every bit as false to the original thing.

Often the phrases of description Frazier used were pure poetry and I got to know the land and the times of the 1800s very intimately. I know more about that time period than I did before reading the book and it has led me to be more interested in it. If nothing else, the novel is educational and detailed to an excruciating degree.

Overall, I think my opinion of this book is clear, not one of the worst books I've ever read, if nothing else, the amazing writing of Frazier and the history lesson makes the experience worth it, but definitely nothing to rave about. The good news? The movie rights have already been bought and I guarantee you that the movie will beef up the parts of the novel that were lacking, such as character development and of course the romance between Will and Claire, as well as the drama of war and the removal of the Indians. I look forward to the movie and hope it will fulfill the things that lacked in the novel so I can enjoy the story that was bursting with the potential to be one of the great stories written about that time period in our history.

For some different views on Thirteen Moons, feel free to visit here, here, here, here, and here.

Cool Linkage

I was cruising a cool Steelers Blog, Joey Porter's Pit Bulls (I mean, the name says it all, does it not?), and found a link to Steelers Bars through the States AND Internationally! Now I knew that there were Steelers Bars in most major cities and states, but the international Steelers Bars are pretty cool. I mean, previously, my hubby and I would try to schedule our vacations around the football season so we wouldn't miss a game (yeah, I'm not joking) and the one time we didn't was for our honeymoon but we had made sure prior to leaving for it that the resort would receive the channel the game would be on, luckily it was a nationally televised game. Unfortunately the moment the game started the resort's satellite went down, which resulted in a panicked running around the resort trying to find someone to fix it so we could watch the game. It was the Steelers/Giants game of Ben's rookie year and we sure as hell wanted to see Ben beat Eli's ass... not that we were bitter or anything that Eli got picked before Ben because of his last name. Just curious though, why such a poor showings in Utah and Mississippi? Only one Steelers bar, what'd we ever do to those states?

A mixture of technology and literature in a crazy way.

Orhan Pamuk's Nobel Peace Prize speech.

Now I know what I'll be doing at work for the next couple of weeks. Thanks for showing me this, buddy!

And that's all folks, enjoy your all's weekend, hopefully it's not as bitter cold and horrible as it is here in Ohio. I'll be watching football this weekend, but it'll be more relaxed than usual. Not only have my Steelers already played and won big time (anybody else drooling over Anthony Smith's performance?), but my Vikes have the lowly Lions to play and I've already clinched the division in both my fantasy leagues, so I could lose in both leagues and still make it to the playoffs! Life is good. Next week I'll be back to the stress filled football Sunday with the Steelers playing at Carolina (and they've been lowly on the road), the Vikes playing the Jets (who have been good when they feel like it) and my playoffs in Fantasy Football starting (where one loss means you're out!)

But this weekend, it's all relaxation and fun!

Look for my review of Charles Frazier's Thirteen Moons coming sometime early next week, or this weekend if I'm feeling ambitious.

Some QB Funniness

The new:

And the original:

Don't worry Ben, I still support you even if BradyFan83 has turned his back on you! Though, you have to admit, his video was pretty damn funny. It does beg the question, however, would you rather be adored by BradyFan83 or dissed by BradyFan83? After watching the Brady Tribute, I'm leaning towards dissed.

BradyFan83 apparently has some other vids out there on Randy Moss and Emmit Smith, which I haven't had the opportunity to check out yet, but feel free to and let me know if they're worth it. I did live out the Randy Moss era in Minnesota as a Vikings fan, so I definitely will have to watch that one!

mai wen's Book List of 2006:

Alright, so in a totally unoriginal fashion, I'll be listing some of my favorite books I've read in 2006 (they weren't necessarily published in 2006, but just books I'd read in 2006). I'll throw out a disclaimer that I only started listing books that I read since I started the blog, so I don't really remember all of the books I read at the beginning of the year (gosh, that seems Forever ago!) so the picks might be heavily taken from the end of the year.

1. Without any doubt Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison was my absolute favorite book I read this year, and one of my faves of all time. It'd been a while since I'd devoured a book like I devoured this one. It kept me up at night and I literally stayed up until 3am to finish the book. Song of Solomon is clearly a masterpiece, and the fact that Morrison has other books out that are deemed masterpieces over Song of Solomon makes me eager to read more of her novels.
2. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez was a masterpiece as well, a novel that spans across generations of one family and moves you through the mystical and the real, mixing the two so carefully that it is nearly impossible for you to separate the two by the end of the novel. The novel tears at you and is as intelligent as they come. It was a journey reading it and one that I couldn't shake from my bones for days afterwards.
3. The Known World by Edward P. Jones is also (to be completely cliche) a masterpiece. Another book that mixes the mystical with the real and spans through a time in our history that was as muddied and mixed up as ever. A time when African Americans owned slaves and plantations. A time of transition and ugliness, but also of beauty, hope and strength. The novel is an epic novel that moves you seamlessly through the different lives and experience of its characters and brings you to all the tragic and heroic endings that the book can bear.
4. Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon is an excellent graphic novel the begins a discussing on the war in Iraq. Overtly political, well written and beautifully drawn, I was disappointed when it was over. Even though there was no possible way for a sequel, I deeply wished for one and was sad by the end.
5. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel is another graphic novel! Man, I've really broken into new territory this year! Granted, I've read and adored Maus I and II by Art Spieglman, but that was the extent to my graphic novel experience. Thanks to the literary acclaim of Fun Home that buzzed the book in my ear and a good friend who's really into comics, I was able to be more exposed to this great art form. In this graphic novel, Bechdel was daring and stunning. While I had some issues with the book, mostly it involved a wish that the characters outside of Bechdel and her father to be more fully developed, and that was because I loved the novel and the story so much, I just wanted more!

I told myself I'd limit myself to my top five of this year (not counting the first half of this year, which unfortunately I have no memory of what the hell I read), so there it is. I hope it gave you some good Christmas books to ask for!

What were your favorite books you read this year?

From The Well Known and The Not So Well Known

Via Daily Kos:

"Former secretary of State Colin Powell said Wednesday that it is time to face reality and recognize Iraq is in a state of civil war. Powell made the statement after growing what are known as ‘retirement balls.’"
---Amy Poehler
-

"President Bush met with the Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki. Afterwards President Bush said 'Maliki is the right man for the job.' Just to remind you, President Bush also said FEMA's Michael Brown was the right man for the job. Donald Rumsfeld [was the] right man for the job. Tom DeLay was the right man for the job. Which would be okay...if Bush was the right man for the job."
---Jay Leno
-

"NBC has announced that they will now refer to the Iraq war as a civil war. President Bush said no, no, no, no, no, it's not a civil war until it becomes a series of Time-Life books."
---David Letterman
-

"The White House announced today that it was banning the sale of iPods to North Korea. President Bush said, "If North Korea is going to make nuclear weapons then we won't let them listen to Coldplay."
---Conan O'Brien
-

"A Trainer at Sea World Adventure Park in San Diego was hospitalized Thursday in San Diego after a killer whale grabbed him and twice held him underwater during a show. On the bright side, the trainer did give up the location of three al Qaeda hideouts."
---Seth Myers

Via Overheard in Minneapolis:

Minnesota Woman: Where are you from?

Iowa Man: Iowa.

Minnesota Woman: (singing) What's high in the middle and round on both ends?

Iowa Man: ...that's Ohio.

Minnesota Woman: Oh... I thought that was Iowa.

Via Overheard in New York:

Professor: If you put a frog in a beaker of water and gradually heat it, at about 160 degrees or so the frog will look around and say, 'Oh, shit! I'm dead!'

--NYU

Overheard by: Emily J

Professor, as student closes window and piece of paper floats outside: At least it wasn't a body.

--SVA

Overheard by: jaclyn

Professor spastically spilling coffee on text: I just got so excited by Emerson I ejaculated my coffee all over him.

--Literature class, Columbia University

Professor: The Native Americans used peyote as part of their religion. And if you do peyote, believe me, you're going to have a religious experience. You're going to think you're flying next to God, like, 'Hey, God! Why you going so slow?'

--Columbia University

Overheard by: leilah

Professor: Please turn off your cell phones, beepers, pagers, interactive Gatorade bottles... Thank you.

--College

Overheard by: Kaleena

Writing teacher: ... And I thought to myself, 'These people are artists. They're not supposed to be acting like normal people. They should be acting aloof and riding some sort of bizarre bicycle that they made themselves.'

--Eugene Lang College

Professor: I'm so not used to teaching like this... It's like a classroom.

--Eugene Lang College, the New School

Overheard by: rpk

Also, thank goodness my mother never caught me opening my Christmas presents early!

Packing Away My Life

Okay, so I haven't quite started packing for the big move next year (which probably will take place in May), though I have packed a couple boxes of books so our office didn't look like a cramped library and we could get rid of one of our poorly made bookcases. I tried to lighten the boxes of books by splitting them with clothes, but as my husband will tell you, I don't think it helped much.

I have, however, started packing for Africa, which my husband lightly jibes me for because if it were him, he'd be packing the weekend before the trip, if that! Sigh, I'm destined to be an obsessive over-planner, and hence my packing has begun, as have decisions such as should I get a mosquito net? Should I go with the 30% Deet or 40% Deet bug spray? What's "conservative" dress? Frick, I just realized I didn't think to put PJs on my list, what sort of PJs? I have enough trouble packing as it is for any sort of trip (just ask my husband who has to lug around my weighed down luggage), but for Africa, I mean really, even with lists galore, how can you really be prepared for the completely different world? And plus, we're strongly advised to pack light since we'll be carrying our bags around a lot... yeah, I'm screwed.

Another huge question I had was whether I should bring my camcorder or not. At first I'd thought it'd be a great idea, what a great way to remember all of the events and to relive the experience, especially since it's been a long term desire of mine to write a novel on the child soldiers of Uganda. A video would be an amazing way to document my experience in Uganda that I could use as reference later when I start my novel. However, obviously my first goal and priority is to the people of Uganda and I've since learned that taking pictures and recording video is often seen as rude, depending on the situation, so of course the camcorder is out.

But truly, as I've began my preparations for Africa, I've realized that there's far more to consider than I originally thought. Considerations on how to interact with the Ugandans without being condescending or colonial towards them. I absolutely do not presume to know better how to fix all of their problems then they do and truly I hope to learn from them as much as they learn from me. But then that brings up the question, what the heck do I have to offer them? I'm knowledgeable on the issues in their country right now and have helped raise money for the child victims of the war, but what could they truly learn from me? But maybe they don't aim to learn from me, but only to educate me so that I can come back to the states and educate the people here, and hopefully start a movement that can make an impact - which I hope to do. I'm very curious on what the Ugandans who are participating in this summit aim to get out of this.

There are currently many arguments against short term volunteer visits in developing countries, arguments I was not aware of until I was accepted and started doing some research to prepare for my trip. These arguments make it clear that volunteers can do very little good painting schools, etc. in such a short term visit and that it'd actually be more beneficial to just donate the money that would have gone to travel expenses directly to the people. When you think of it, why would the locals want some people paying thousands of dollars just to travel to their country to paint a school building when they could have hired local help to do it, not only giving one of their countryman a job, but also saving tons of money to be used elsewhere where there's a need. They state that these short term trips are mostly beneficial for the volunteers as a unique experience and a new perspective on life outside of their's, and often all these trips do is make the volunteers appreciate their own lives more. However, most articles do validate the usefulness of volunteers who take what they learned and apply it once they're back home to help the people in the country they were visiting. I'm very thankful that the group I'm going with seems very open and up front about these perceptions and that one of the main focuses for being accepted into the program was what you intended to do with the knowledge learned on the trip after getting home. Also, while the trip is costly, we're attending a summit and not taking a job away from the locals. The aim of the summit is to learn from the Ugandans and discuss at a "round table" (kimeeza) solutions for rebuilding and healing Uganda. We are to come as equals, not as superiors who assume we know more than the Ugandans about their own country's problems. The efforts of this summit is to build relationships that will last beyond the trip and develop into positive relationships overseas in which a mutual goal of helping Uganda rebuild and heal is worked on.

I hope that the youth we visit in Uganda get as much out of this summit as I know I will. I know that this trip and the fact that many view short term volunteer trips to countries in need as a trip more for the volunteer than those in need will inspire and push me to take this trip and make something out of it. I'm don't want to disappoint the people whom I will go on this trip with (who sound like an Awesome group of gals... yes, no boys were brave enough the venture out with us) or the people I meet in Uganda. It is a responsibility that I will carry with me even more so than I already do.

I am excited and nervous about this trip. The last thing I'd ever want to do is offend anybody while I'm over there and I have shed the assumption that people there will be thrilled to have me over there. Ultimately I would feel honored to be a part of the country's rebuilding and healing process, if they'll have me.

What do you guys think about volunteer work in other countries and their benefits or lack thereof? If you think they're not beneficial, what are better alternatives? As a soon to be graduate student of Social Work, I'm truly intrigued by this topic.

For a good summary and up-to-date issues with this conflict, check out this article.

Winter's Bone: A Review

THIRD DAY BOOK CLUB
Hosted by Paris Parfait this month

Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell is about the rough and tough Ree Dolly who's left in charge of her crazy mother and her two younger brothers. She lives in a poor area where she has relatives seemingly speckled everywhere she goes. Her struggles to take care of her family at age sixteen by herself compounds when her father puts their house and land up as security for his bond, and then he disappears. In a determination to save her house and land, Ree sets out to find her father. Through her quest we learn what one will sacrifice for love and the meaning of courage.

I really liked Ree. How could you not? She says things like, "Right now I feel like I want to blow me a big sloppy hole clean through your stinkin' guts." She doesn't take no shit from no one and she loves her brothers and mother so fiercely that she's willing to risk anything for them, even her dreams of escaping the life of poverty and drugs that surrounds her. This novel is rough and ugly at times, showing people's ruthlessness and weaknesses. It is written bluntly and sometimes awkwardly: "Clouds looked to be splitting on distant peaks, dark rolling bolts torn around the mountain tops to patch the blue sky with grim. Frosty wet began to fall, not as flakes nor rain but as tiny white wads that burst as drops landing and froze a sudden glaze atop the snow." Those sentences are an example of the awkward style of writing I found in this book to be very distracting. The first sentence started out alright, but Woodrell's habit of ending sentences with adjectives makes the sentence harsh (which may have been his intention, since much of the language used in this book are sharp and harsh) and awkward. I felt like often Woodrell's descriptions didn't flow because of this style of writing and it was very difficult for me to get into the story for much of the book because I was so distracted by his style of writing. The second sentence re-demonstrates Woodrell's using an adjective as a noun writing style, but not at the end of the sentence, but rather at the beginning. These two sentences do follow each other in the book, and so to have this harsh method used twice right in a row made me doubly cringe. "Frost wet"? I feel like I'm talking to a two year old who doesn't know his adjectives from his nouns. Maybe it worked for some people, but frankly, for me it didn't. Not that all of his descriptions and writing were horrible, just the ones that used that particular style.

The characters are very vivid in this novel and at once despicable and lovable. It is often that a character you have pegged as one thing shows another face in this story. The characters are often complex, especially Ree, who battles her need to escape with her love and determination towards her family, especially her little brothers whom she wants to be raised different than all the other Dollys to make something of themselves. She also battles her love and attraction for a best friend whom she can never have and the fear and love for an Uncle who raped her and for a father who made mistakes that threatened to take everything from her and her family, but whom she comes to realizes loves her and her family in his own way. Ree is a complex character who doesn't ask for much for herself and protects herself with a hard layer of tough talk and attitude backed by her independence and courage.

This novel is dark and encouraging, brutal and tender, a contrast of all sorts that leave you feeling the harsh realities of the world. It is not a novel in which you can escape in and feel all warm and fuzzy in the end, on the contrary, it's a novel that is unforgiving with it's reality and bluntness and perhaps will make you appreciate your cozy life more, as it did for me. The novel's ending is the epitome of reality in every sense. It does not end in the most ideal way, with a nice red bow tied around it, it ends realistically, how it'd probably have ended in real life. It is a good, quick read, but not a novel that will awe you or steal you from your life. For me, it didn't stick either, the novel quickly drifted from my consciousness and I was quick to move on to my next read, Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier, whose writing style vastly fits my tastes better. It's full of long elaborate descriptions that suck you away into another place. Descriptions that are so pretty that sometimes you forget to pay attention to the actual meaning of the sentence and have to reread it. Granted, that takes you out of the story a bit as well, but in a way that you don't mind because, especially as a writer, you just appreciate the writing so damn much.

My review for Thirteen Moons will be coming, pending the completion of the book. I'm already behind on my aggressive schedule for reading it, so I'd better get a reading!

Thatta Boy!

Big Ben is a man after my heart! An avid animal lover, Big Ben bought his hometown a new K9!

Dude, I'm all about the animal love, I was at Petsmart last night with the hubby and almost adopted three cats.

Okay, so I was already all about Big Ben before his animal generosity, but that sure doesn't hurt my unbridled admiration of him.