It's a wonderful (unemployed) life!

family time and beer

2010-08-16T14:01:00.001-07:00

Hello.

I know it has been a while. But lots of things are happening and keep getting distracted. Erik’s interview in DC went well and we should hear back in 1-2 months. YAY!

I woke to an email on Thursday from the development job I interviewed with saying they decided to pursue other candidates. Damn.

I keep applying to jobs but here nothing back. Arg.

I went and watched Liz, one of my JVC housemates, run part of the Spokane to Sandpoint relay race. That was tons of fun.

Saturday Anthony and Amanda got to town for the birthday week. Thursday my father will turn 60 and a huge party will happen Friday. On Saturday after mass, we went to Laguna Café and I ate the biggest Cobb Salad ever. Anthony and I had the best beer ever, High Five Hefe, from Iron Horse Brewery in Ellensburg, that tasted strongly of ginger and honey, while not being sweet. It was amazing. Becky and Andrew get to town on Tuesday. Erik will arrive Wednesday, just in time to go to Silverwood! Troy will arrive Friday. It is going to be a very packed and very fun week!

All this full makes it hard to work, but I am trying and doing a reasonable job.

waiting...

2010-08-09T11:47:00.001-07:00

I know that it has been a week, but I did move across the state.

On my bus ride back from Seattle I called Erik and he checked my email for me. I received an email about the Development job in Baltimore and they wanted a phone interview. I had that on Friday and I think it went well. They had over 70 applications and my phone interview was about half an hour. I cannot imagine that everyone got a phone interview, and I should hear back about a possible second interview by Friday. I really like this job and I think I could do it very well.

I also got an email from a job I applied to in Denver for a Community Outreach Coordinator job. It seems like it would be a challenging job, but could open a lot of doors. I hope to hear back from them this week.

Erik is in DC right now for 3 days of interviews with the government. I hope he is doing well as this would be a great boost for him.

I sent in an application for a Program Assistant Job just now. It seems like it would be a lot like my job at Lifelong, only actually using more of my time. The listing on Idealist said that the closing date is the 25th of August. I understand that it is only three weeks, but that is a long time to wait to hear from a job. I am really just frustrated with not hearing back from jobs because it seems like they are accepting applications for so long.

I will also be sending out applications today for an administrative assistant position and a campus organizer job. A walk also seems to be in order. It is a beautiful and not too warm of a day, so I might walk downtown and see what has changed. Rumor has it that Spokane is getting an Apple store. Not that I like Apple products, I just cannot imagine Spokane having or needing one.

It's the end of the summer, when you move to another place

2010-08-02T09:05:00.001-07:00

Countdown to unemployment: 1 Day

Today I have made the choice to not apply for a job. Mostly I need to clean my desk.

Today is my last day at Lifelong. It is very sad to be leaving these wonderful people who do such great work. For the first 11 months of my work here, everyone had to take one day off, unpaid, every other week. For people doing social service work, a 10% reduction in pay is a lot. They have continued to do wonderful work in that time and have been an excellent example of what working at a social-profit organization should be. I will miss them all terribly.

Yesterday Elizabeth flew back to Atlanta. Maria and Brendan drive down to Orientation this morning to begin their second years. It is sad to see it end.

Now, to the desk cleaning!

It's the end of the summer, when you move to another place.

friday!

2010-07-30T15:08:00.000-07:00

Countdown to unemployment: 4 Days

After a week where it was tough to find enough jobs today had six jobs that I wanted to apply to. And I haven’t even opened my email from Idealist. Arg. I guess that is how it works.

I also heard back from a job!! It was just sharing the wages and wondering if I was still interested. The pay is not great, but it is a job in development that would offer great future opportunities with other nonprofits. Hearing back was a huge lift for my spirits and will be the highlight of my day. I am keeping my fingers crossed for this one.

Today was my last day up in the Distribution Center. On Fridays I fill custom grocery bags for clients who come into the office. I will miss that. Today was three last days for my housemates. Four of us work on Monday. Then the adventure of JVC will end and unemployment will begin! Hopefully not for too long, but just a short time to decompress after JVC.

Erik gets to Spokane for my father’s 60th birthday party in only 19 days. Now that we are in the teens, it seems like it is just around the corner. Plus with me moving and Erik visiting DC for a job interview and San Antonio to visit his brothers, these days should just fly by. Have a wonderful Friday afternoon!

just keep swimming just keep swimming

2010-07-29T15:33:00.000-07:00

Countdown to unemployment: 5 days

Today I applied for an administrative job in Denver. It would be nice to hear back from a job at some point. Sigh.

Today was my last delivery at Lifelong. In addition to my policy work I have delivered food to three buildings downtown. I saw the smallest glimpses of these client’s lives, but it was usually one of the best parts of their week. I will miss getting to be a part of that, and I fear that my next job will not have that kind of an impact. Sigh.

Only three more days of work!

2010-07-28T15:00:00.000-07:00

Countdown to unemployment: 6 Days

This morning started off well enough. I had breakfast with Brendan, one of my JVC housemates. I had a delicious breakfast Panini with bacon, eggs, and provolone cheese. We sat a couple tables down from Dan Savage and enjoyed our conversation. As I returned to my office, I opened my daily email from Idealist.org of newly listed jobs in the Denver and DC areas. There was not a single job that I was interested in and qualified for. That was very depressing.

My application for the day was a job with JVC at their national office in Baltimore as a Development Assistant. I would love to work in development or events.

Ideally I would like to work for a non-profit, think tank, or advocacy organization. I want to make a difference in the lives of the marginalized in our world. Vague, I know. I want to keep my options open, but be in a job that makes a tangible difference in people’s lives. We shall see what happens.

In terms of skills I have had a broad experience of jobs. I was a courier for a year and have raked up nearly three years of office work in advocacy and administrative capacities, so I feel more than qualified for these jobs. I guess it is just so much easier to consider people from the area and not from out of town. I just need to keep on trucking along.

I hope you are having a wonderful day.

The beginning of unemployment.

2010-07-27T13:38:00.001-07:00

Countdown to unemployment: 7 Days

My attempt to blog during JVC failed rather spectacularly. But let’s not hold that against me. My JVC experience is nearly over now and I find my self entering into the world with no job and a fair bit of uncertainty. I want to lay the groundwork for where I am as I hope to maintain this daily until I find a job.

My year of JVC ends Monday, August 2^nd. I am staying in Seattle for an extra day to pack and clean. I will be taking the big gray dog back to Spokane to move in with the parents! My bus will arrive back home just in time for dinner! I am excited by the opportunity to spend time with my mother and father and to relax after a year of community and simplicity. I am also terrified by the prospect of applying for more and more jobs under the watchful eyes of my family.

I guess that is one of my main points as I enter the journey of unemployment for keeping this blog. It will provide a clear record of the jobs that I am applying for and my thoughts on the application process.

As a warning, I have problems with job postings that say “no calls please” and often feel the need to talk about that.

I am applying for jobs in the Washington, DC and Denver areas. Erik is nearing the end of a very long application process for a government job that would start nearly a year after getting hired because of the security clearance process. We hope that he gets the job, but that still leaves us in Limbo for quite some time. Denver means a cheap apartment that we already have furnished, but DC is where we want to be in the long run. For that reason we have narrowed our job searches to those two areas.

It is hard to apply for jobs when you don’t live in the city. I recognize this daily. We will see what happens.

My goal is to post every day of the unemployment adventure. I am committing myself to that. Because let’s be honest, I will have nothing better to do with my time outside of the 15 jobs I hope to apply for each week.

Tomorrow I will talk about what I want to do and the skills I have. Until then, pray for my resumes.

i have a wonderful life.

2009-09-23T15:44:00.001-07:00

Hello all. I feel so much better right now than I have for the rest of these updates, so I hope you can see that.
Life at Cherry Abbey is looking up. We are starting to get into a good rhythm and that is certainly helping. We are growing more as a community and we have begun to become comfortable with each other. I think it helps that we have also started to become more content in our jobs.
My job has been very slow. Based upon my own memory, I think that my boss has only been in the office for a third of my days in the office. He has been sick and traveling a lot for conferences, but it has been kind of frustrating. I will be okay though. When January roles around and the legislature is back in session things will be a fair bit faster paced.
I have continued to watch Glee every week. I think that show is delightful.
The printer is always broken at work. There may soon be a mutiny.
22 days until I return to Denver. I am very excited for that trip. Sadly though, my boss at the foundation made a mistake when booking my flights and made them for Spokane instead of Seattle. That means I will be taking bus trips to and from Spokane for my flights. This should be fun.
October is also going to be a very busy month. The first full week will be our area director visit. I cannot wait to see what he has to say about our community. The next Wednesday I will leave for Denver and return on Monday. Three days later Anthony and Becky get to town for an impromptu family reunion. And then the next weekend is Halloween in Portland! October is going to fly by!
I have started thinking about next year, which is overwhelming. It will not be grad school, but possibly more service. We shall see.
I will tell you more about work later this week. There are some exciting things happening here.

things are looking up!

2009-09-14T14:06:00.000-07:00

hello all. i find myself in an odd place. today, i find myself with a sick boss and very little work to do. but there is pumpkin ice cream in the freezer at work, so i have managed to find a way to occupy myself.

work is going well. i feel as thought my life is rather mundane inside of a cubicle. i have started to decorate it, but that is coming along slowly. i have a few pictures up, and a few other bits of information. i often find myself trying to memorize the electoral districts of washington.
my projects are interesting, but i am not entirely sure how much progress i am ever making. i think when i get further into the year i will be able to look back and see some very real gains.

life in cherry abbey is interesting. community i always knew would be the most difficult for me. the friendships and relationships i was expecting to form quickly and deeply, have been slow to occur. i know i am impatient by my nature, but even this seems to be taking a little longer than seems reasonable.

last week we had a long conversation about how we see ourselves operating in the house. really it was a conversation about what in the house is helping us to thrive in this year, and what is hindering that growth. we will be talking about it more tomorrow, and i hope that we can continue the conversation in a civil tone.

but i feel very off having that lack of depth with another person that i have actual contact with. erik and andrew, as always, offer great advice, but having actual contact with someone is so much more fulfilling.

i have found a friend, alex, who has been able to fill that roll. he had been dating a JV from last year in portland, but their relationship didn’t survive the distance. alex and i had a very fruitful conversation last night. he would say that it was ‘life-giving’ and i would be inclined to agree with that. and i think that this friendship will be critical to my success in community this year. having that friend outside of the house that can still challenge me and give me perspective on the situation will help me to thrive this year.

there has been an impromptu family reunion announced for the weekend after i go to denver. i am so very excited to have all six of us together again. it will be wonderful.

also, this website took a good 30 minutes from my life today. http://peopleofwalmart.com

2009-08-29T22:46:00.001-07:00

the hardest part of JVC is coming into an incredibly challenging year, having expectations about how you are going to deal with those challenges, and your housemates planning on dealing with it differently. simplicity is the one that my house is really struggling with. the average client of my organization makes under $15,000 a year. finding meaningful employment when HIV+ or having AIDS is very difficult. paying for health insurance is also tough. that is why my current project is working on medicaid.

but this comes back to simplicity because when i deliver food to homebound clients, most of them get 7 heat-and-serve meals and food that would last me 3 days, 5 at most. i cannot imagine how hard that must be for these people; to eat but to not be satisfied. and so my personal challenge for the year is to try to better understand our clients by trying to eat very simply. i am also trying to be aware of how i spend my time away from work. i am trying to engage primarily in activities that i could see our clients doing. it has become my goal to read 40 books over this year. everyone can go to the library, so i do. but for others their version of simplicity is drinking less or no cable or limited internet access. and for me, those were things that i had just expected, and eating simply and reading came out of trying to better understand our clients.

and while that has been frustrating i also have been shown a lot. i have gotten the opportunity to talk with a few clients who are truly amazing, and i wish i got to talk to them more often. i get to deliver meals and groceries to the homebound for the next year. i will have the same clients every week, and some of them seem like characters.

i miss a lot of what we do when i sit in my cubicle and read about policy and then work on it. so these chances to meet with clients and see who i really am working for is a pleasure.

last night was cousins bbq at billy and katie's house. it was nice to see so many cousins again. i think that i might call up the aunts and uncles soon to catch up with them over a meal. i think our community is at the place where they understand the importance of alone time.

i know this sounds really whiny, so i apologize for that. i promise a really good client story next time.

One Week and Counting

2009-07-27T11:19:00.001-07:00

Today marks one week until orientation starts. On Sunday I will be heading down to Portland with a housemate that is making the trip from Montana. I am starting to get very excited for this trip, and for the next year of my life.

Mother and I have been having a custody battle over her carry-on sized suitcase for the last year. Yesterday she bought me my own so that I wouldn’t steal the old one. I live an exciting life!

Last night Andrew and I watched the replay of the final stage of the Tour de France after he got off of work. We had planned on growling at Northern Lights, but when I went to go fill them up, they had already closed. Andrew got off of work half an hour later and we went on a beer run. Neither of us knew that Alaskan made an oatmeal stout or white wheat. They stout was very good. The wheat was a little fruity, but still very good.

Laine texted me this morning, waking me up, to ask if I would be available tomorrow. She and a couple of friends are on a road trip and will be passing through Spokane. I am very excited to see her.

I guess I should also talk about my housemates before I meet them. We have 5 women and 3 men. 6 of us attended Jesuit universities (Regis, Fordham, St. Louis, Santa Clara, College of the Holy Cross, and Boston), 1 from a Holy Cross school (Notre Dame), and 1 went to Wesleyan. We will have degrees in English, Chemistry (focus on Environmental Studies), Human Development, Philosophy, Sociology, Mathematics, Religious Studies, Anthropology, Peace Studies, Politics, Communications, Theology and French. I think that is a pretty impressive spread of majors (those were not minors). I am very much looking forward to meeting all of them and moving to Seattle.

All I really have planned for the week is packing, eating and visiting friends and family.

Okay bye!

2009-07-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

Hello all.

I am going to try to be better at updating this once a week during my next great adventure in life.

I recognize that it has been a while since I updated. Let me give you a recap of what has happened.

In January I spent the early parts bored and alone in my apartment. While Erik started his second quarter I started thinking about my capstone project and my internship. I ended up finding one with the Matthew Shepard Foundation. My capstone was a little slower. It had to revolve around the topic of leadership and I had hoped to write about the leadership that Qatar showed other oil rich nations by investing the wealth in a way that would benefit the people, unlike the Saudi’s who just give the money to the royal family. That idea was rejected and I ended up focusing on the structural deficiencies of the Italian Paramagnet and how that leads to a lack of real or consistent leadership. I don’t particularly want to talk about that any more.

February found me very cold. Becky and Matt came out to Denver for a visit. She had a basketball reunion which was the only game I attended the entire season. The internship really heated up when we started talking about hate crimes legislation. It was a very enlightening opportunity for me. I also filled out lots of applications for volunteer programs.

March was spring break and a nice break from classes. I spent most of the break lounging about and laying out in the sun. I got a little bit of a tan and very much enjoyed it. For Lent I gave up eating and drinking out, which was a difficult task indeed. We also got a few nasty snow storms in Denver which made traveling across the street to school less than pleasant.

In April I made my first trip to Wyoming. I attended a social justice symposium and saw Elton John perform live in a benefit concert for the foundation. It was great fun. Travel was less than ideal with the last 30 miles on the way up and the entirety of Wyoming on the way back being a white out. That was mostly just scary. April also saw my final Ranger Week and Ranger day. I competed in Mr. Regis pageant, but failed to finish the top 3 of 6. It was great fun. I wrapped up all of my classes under less than perfect conditions and fell out of the illusion that the Reigs administration was there to help students.

May found me graduating and feeling sad to leave the amazing students, faculty and staff at Regis. I was able to finish in 4 years despite studying abroad. I received my BA in Politics with a minor in Peace and Justice. I packed and cleared out the apartment and left 3 short days after graduating. I spent 10 days in Spokane celebrating Gonzaga’s graduation before Erik came up for a visit and my graduation party. We visited CDA and Erik fell in love with huckleberries. We did all the touristy stuff before he returned to Denver to finish up the first of two years to receive his masters.

June included the annual trip to the beach and hoopfest. Becky’s team came in second after losing a player early in the first game.

July has been a countdown to Seattle. Erik flew off to Vietnam for his internship with the State Department.

I really need to go lay out in the sun. I will talk about next year soon. Ciao!

2009-01-14T19:07:00.000-08:00

I have no excuse for not updating. Woops.

So, life back in Denver is good. Since my last update:

-Finals were okay. No tests, just lots of papers.

-Traveling back to Spokane despite all of the snow.

-We got lots and lots of snow. I don’t like snow.

-Had lunch with Jackie before taking her to the airport. It was so good to see her again.

-Saddest GU loss ever.

-Amazing Christmas.

-Footie Pajamas.

-More snow.

-Returned to Denver.

-New Years with Erik.

-Finally reading for pleasure.

-Amazing Chicken Tortilla Soup (thanks to Jackie)

-Homemade chili for the first time (thanks Mrs. Langfield)

-Cleaning.

-Rearranging the room.

-Ridiculously awkward movies.

So, then school started. And that is no fun. I am taking my Senior Seminar, Strategies in Dialogue, Human Biology, God and Justice as well as writing my Senior Capstone (topic to be decided) and an Internship (with the Matthew Shepard Foundation). All in all it should be a pretty good semester. With 19 credits I am trying to get as much work to overlap as possible. It should work out, especially with my internship and two of my classes. But, we shall see how that goes.

My new years resolution is to cook more and to update more often. So, hold me to that, please.

Video of the update: My new favorite song

Marianne Ozolins, Requiescat in Pacem

2008-12-06T13:07:00.000-08:00

Marianne Ozolins, born August 15, 1958, in Chicago, Illinois, passed away December 4, 2008, in San Antonio, at the age of 50. A loving, selfless and giving person, she devoted her life to her family, friends and students. Marianne was a 6th grade special education teacher at Jackson Middle School. The school became her extended family; she always kept her students and fellow teachers close to her heart. She created many strong friendships through her life experiences at home, school and even at her favorite bingo hall. Marianne had a gift for bringing people together. She believed that every student, no matter how underprivileged, had the potential to realize their dreams. Having an open mind and heart, she saw the potential in everyone, especially children. She was also an animal lover, finding great joy in rescuing them. We will all miss that sense of humor and creativity she shared with everyone. Marianne was a loving wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, teacher and best friend. She was preceded in death by her father-in-law, Teodors Ozolins. Marianne is survived by her beloved husband, Andris Ozolins; sons, Erik, Kevin and Andrew; parents, George and Gertrud Gromke; brother, George D. Gromke and wife, JoAnne; sister, Angela D'Antonio and husband, John; mother-in-law, Mirdza Ozolins; sister-in-law, Ruta Dzelme and husband, Andris; 4 nieces and 3 nephews; and 4 loving cats, Zoe, Zippy, Sarah and Sophie.

So, this week has been filled with Erik. We had dinner on Monday night. Tuesday Afternoon Mrs. Ozolins collapsed in her house and was not breathing when she was found. She was rushed to the hospital and was in a coma the entire time. I drove Erik to the airport Wednesday morning. Not quite the Christmas good-bye I was expecting. May she rest in peace.

I might be flying down there to visit before Christmas break. I only have 4 papers left for the rest of the semester, so that certainly makes things easier should I be visiting.

On the lighter side of things, Thanksgiving break was wonderful. Ten days home was a little too long though. I certainly got off of the academic track. Seeing most of the Florence crew was a nice treat. Thank you all for the great times, beers and meals. I even met a few new people including Jackie, Andrew’s new girlfriend. Sweet girl.

Other than that I don’t have much to say. I should really be writing about oil tanker safety. Have a great day.

2008-11-14T20:40:00.000-08:00

Author Robert Updegraff who once said, “To get all there is out of living, we must employ our time wisely, never being in too much of a hurry to stop and sip life, but never losing our sense of the enormous value of a minute.” That has kind of been my mantra for the semester. It has also been my excuse for not updating. Woops!

Sorry about that.

So, life is good. I lead a retreat called Kairos this semester. We went on the retreat last weekend, and it went better than I ever could have hoped for.

Classes-wise, life is kind of underwhelmingly-overwhelming. Media and Politics bores me to an unimaginable extent. Book reports seem a little below me. In-Depth Reporting always seems to be a struggle to get out of bed for. I just feel like my story is boring and serving no purpose at all. US Elections and Political Behavior, like any US politics course, involves far to much laser pointer and far too little excitement. Environmental Politics is interesting, but three hours on Wednesday nights are a little much. Also, the paper for that class should be interesting. And finally, International Organizations is fascinating. Well done Dr. Schmidt, you have pulled me into my subject matter and made me care about it.

In other sectors of my life, I am rather boring. I took a nap on my sofa this early evening, which was really nice. Working in the University Ministry office is boring, but at least it pays.

Erik and I had a long over due meal last night at Old Chicago. The saving grace of that meal was the dessert gigantic cookie. Those meals have been my saving grace this semester and my sanity is deeply tied to them. Planning those meals have certainly not been easy; plans revolving around public transport schedules are not nearly as enjoyable as one would hope. But, thanks for being my tie to sanity.

Other than that, I don’t really know what to say. 6 days until I return to Spokane for Thanksgiving. I cannot wait for that. I cannot wait to see the majority of the Florence crew again. I miss them all so very badly.

Video of the Update: A fabulous Special Comment:

2008-07-17T11:23:00.001-07:00

i love you tube, i just wish they would let you pause before the video started. help? but i will say that i love the quicklist.

i went to boise last weekend. it was a nice little three day vacation from work. andrew and his parents graciously hosted and fed me. i saw ‘into the woods.’ it was a very funny first acts and really boring second act. watched andrew run an olympic triathlon. he came in 6^th out of almost 200, and ran his 10k faster than a 6 minute mile. he is crazy but had tons of fun. it was good to seem him and his parents again and to finally meet his siblings. boise is a lot more desert than i was expecting. good trip though.

work is work. one of my coworkers broke his ankle in hoopfest so i am working the same shift for the rest of the summer most likely. it is nice to not be changing every week, but i have a 3-10PM shift, and that is no fun.

other than that not much is up in my life. after florence i didn’t really expect to meet many other gonzaga kids, but i have made a lot of friends and seeing them every weekend makes work totally worth it. and i never really talked to becky after we graduated, but we see each other every weekend now. that is nice. she always introduces me to her friends as her prom date, which she still finds hilarious. okay, i am rambling.

video of the update: feist+muppets=amazing.

florence story: the day that i left for paris, andrew’s parents were in town. they had made a reservation to go to the uffizi for 4 people. i tagged along with sean h., andrew and the rents since i had my museum pass. we walked slowly through the upper floor and were approaching the botticelli room, my favorite in the museum. kate, andrew’s mother, and i had kind of wandered off and were having a good conversation. right as we walked into the room with my favorite painting of all time, she pulled me off to the side and thanked me for a letter i had sent them earlier in the year. it was a heartfelt 10 minute conversation that we had to have before i left for the train station, but did it really have to be in that room? the parents also bought me a pizza the night before, so i guess talking to her wasn’t too bad.

2008-06-12T23:01:00.000-07:00

Today one of the managers at work asked me what I thought of the two major contenders in the Democratic Presidential primary. I told him what I thought and then he said that he thought that from the things that he had heard that Obama was unpatriotic. I immediately rolled my eyes but had to leave before we could discuss further.

Had we had the conversation I would have started with how we would be defining the term, ‘patriotic.’ Is it the person who first thing they do in the morning is put on their American flag lapel pin, or maybe just the person who has enough that they can just keep one of them on each suit jacket. Is it the person who will wake up for the fall at 3 A.M., or the person who will actually is willing to give themselves over to the people? Could it even be the person who votes in every election, no matter the importance? I, in the classic utilitarian sense, would define patriotism as pitting the value of good and evil for every American both currently alive and those yet to be born.

So I really do wonder why Rob would say that. Is the ridiculous bull that the RNC keeps putting out really making an impact? Obama now has a rumor dispersing sight called ‘Fight the Smear.’

In other news, happy birthday to Molly. There was a nice party at Megan C’s house last night. It was a garden party until the storm hit, so it morphed into a under the shelter next to garage party.

DFS #3: I made the train ride up to Bolzano. In northern Italy, most cities have both a German and an Italian name since so many speak German. So, Blozano and Bolzen. I spent a little while there, and then took the bus up to Ortisei-St. Ulrich. I walked around for a little while trying to find a place to sleep and ended up finding a place to eat a pizza and have a nice beer. I continued to wander and eventually set up camp under a tree on one of the hillsides of the valley. I slept for not over three hours because I was just too cold and too excited. I watched the sun rise after sitting in the main square whose temperature clock informed me that it was -10 C. That was no fun. I grabbed a caffe latte and a pastry and then went to a ski shop to rent some skies. I hopped on the tram and went up the hill. I went down the hill and down into the Val Gardena. It was beautiful and cross country skied all day, hoped back down the tram and hoped a train back. It was a great day filled with many falls, beautiful views, good times, lots of peanuts and good time with myself.

Video of the day: 30 Days-Abortion.

2008-06-09T21:03:00.001-07:00

Wow, two updates in a week. I am doing great.

I got an iGoogle finally, and it was a great choice. I now have lots and lots of interesting things on my homepage including email and weather and Wonkette. How great is life.

Work is getting better. I despised the training part, which I have discovered will be the majority of my time as a courier. Luckily, a guy called in sick, so I got to do his route last week. Unfortunately, tomorrow I have to go back to training tomorrow. Grrrrrr.

With the general election just around the corner (…) it is time to start talking policy. Obama has started a two week tour on the economy. MSNBC has noted that if 18 months ago (when the campaign started) you had said that this would be an election on the economy, everyone would have laughed you out of the room. But now it looks like it will be just as if not more important than the war. At some point this week I want to go in-depth into both candidates thoughts and plans and present them to you. You will have to wait for that though.

Daily Flo story #2: One Thursday night I was staying in town because I was going to be going up to the Dolomites Friday morning to go cross country skiing. I went for a nice walk up to the Piazzale Michelangelo. I snapped these two photos. It was the most beautiful I have ever seen the city. Tomorrow will be the rest of that weekend.

Daily video: not actually a video, but the number two and one stories were both very good. This is the new and much improved Countdown website.

2008-06-07T14:17:00.001-07:00

And so it begins again. Life has returned. I have been in the states for seven and a half weeks now and life is good. Words alone, I have learned over the year, cannot get to the true nature of anything a person might actually learn. Nothing has clean lines. Nothing is unattached from every other aspect of my life. You cannot look at my friendships that I made in Italy without being cognoscente of all of my other relationships, good and bad. Only truly great writers can eloquently give you those stings that bind to let you better know the lessons learned. I am no such writer, and had difficulty trying to communicate such complex lessons to something palatable for the internets.

But life is good. Second semester was more amazing than the first. I went to many cities, including Jerusalem. My goal for the summer is to fill you in on what happened. I will give you pictures and try to share some of the amazing times that I had.

My friends from Florence have changed me more than I thought was possible. They helped me to better discover myself, and for that I will always be indebted to them. Things cannot be in the same in this country. No matter how many coffee dates David B. and Lucas have, they will not compare to long talks in Café Cavour after class. And while Andrew and I might talk on the phone once a week, or visit each other this summer, a talk with a beer in his backyard will not compare to a talk on the balcony with a nice bottle of spumonti. I cannot say how much those times mean to me, but I hope over the summer to better appreciate them, the lessons I am still digesting that they taught me, and to make that a tangible change in me.

Lauren, one of my housemates, told me in March that I was a lot more fun that semester. It is true, and that is because I have already began to learn from them. In other Spokane news though, I have met quite a few GU kids. They really are a lot of fun. I find myself on or near campus every weekend. I filled out the transfer application but after lots and lots of thinking, I chose not to send it in. Regis better be ready for me in the fall because they will need help. I cannot wait to try to make a change in that community. Bring on the challenges.

So now we have a summer insert to the update: the daily story from the Flo.

#1: Do you like modern art? I thought I did. Until Vienna… we (Andrew, John, Sean, Sean, Janelle, Shelly and I) decided to go to the modern art museum in the Museumsquartier. Um…… bad choice. The top was kind of cool. It looked at mathematical modern art. Then, as you went down, floor by floor, each thing became a little more bizarre. Until, on the basement floor there was the very conceptual art, including a video of a guy self-flagellating himself while nude, peeing (blue) into a glass and then drinking it. Um……yeah. No thanks!

Video of the day: John and Jimmy’s video to Crazy by Seal. It is good to see Florence again.

2008-03-05T08:50:00.000-08:00

Life is too short. This is one of many, many lessons I have learned in my year abroad. This past weekend was a tragic moment in my time on this continent. Saturday was beautiful. The food market was amazing and I was so excited for the London Philharmonic Orchestra that night. After purchasing my ticket the rain started to fall. And, as we walked quickly through the rain, a gust of wind came and blew you away.

Your life was so short, too short. You never had a chance of making it to the shelter of the Starbucks. I will miss you dearly.

We first met that fateful Saturday in the Cinque Terra. I had taken the train to Bonasolla for the festival of the Madonna of the Rosary. After only three rain drops I bought you for 3 euro. You served me well that night, and many night for the rest of your short life. Your beautiful blue dome protected me more than I could have ever hoped for. Your strong, ever present black handle inspired me to be a stronger person, and I could not have asked for a better friend.
It was once said,

When the sun shines
We’ll shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'll always be your friend
Took an oath
I'mma stick it out 'till the end
Now that it's raining more than ever
Know that we still have each other
You can be my Umbrella

While you blow out of sight due to that gust of wind, you will never leave my heart. I love you. My words cannot say it enough, so Little Miss Sunshine, Rihanna, where you at?

2008-01-17T05:59:00.001-08:00

I learned a very important lesson last weekend: never trust Mr. Andrew Langfield. I had been planning on going to Rome last weekend, but at the 11^th hour I dropped that idea and decided to go with Andrew, and the Seans (Moran and Haffey) to Milano and Como. We went to Milan, walked on top of the third largest church in Europe, and visited the castle. Fun was had, but it was raining the entire time.

We took the train up to Lake Como, which is supposed to be beautiful. On the train Andrew was reading aloud from Rick Steves, particularly the part about the one hostel in town. Andrew had failed to ever reach the end of the description, where Mr. Steve reminded us that the hostel was closed from December to March. I am sure it would have been without all the rain. We had a good dinner, cheese risotto, and a few beers and then decided to find a place to sleep. We decided upon the fairly dry ground under a trampoline. Believe it or not, trampolines DO let standing water through. After an hour Haffey was sitting in a puddle of standing water while in his sleeping bag, and I could not stop laughing. We moved to the train station and slept in the waiting room, only to be awoken at 7 by the Carbonieri, the really really mean police.

We then took a bus up the lake to Menaggio, a small city on the lake. Our bus driver stopped for neither sharp turns nor narrow roads. The rain prevented anything really great from happening, but it was fun. A few missed trains later we made it back home. It was a great trip. Got to know Haffey and here a great story about him and a former coworker, and just hang out with the guys. Pictures here.

Last night was the first ever inter-pensione calcetto tournament. MFP went 1-1, so we are still in it. I played okay and had lots of fun.

I didn’t really sleep much last night because I stayed up late to have some privacy from my housemates when I called Kathryn, Kay and Jean. It was nice, but I have been operating today on only 2 hours of sleep, and sheer determination.

In less than an hour I leave for Innsbruck and a nice skiing weekend. it is a seven hour buss ride, but I am over coming a fear (skiing) so it should be worth it. I hope that all is well with you!

Video of the day: all right Spokane making CNN!!

2008-01-10T12:36:00.001-08:00

well hello. it has been far too long. i am not sorry.
lets start with the biggest news. i got my haircut. it is now shorter than half an inch, which makes it the shortest my hair has been since 8th grade. pictures after the break.
in other news, those who know me the best, in Italy, will note that i have been a much happier and better person since the last time i updated. i certainly feel like a much more enjoyable person since mid-november.
here are pictures that i promised but never delivered: more random pictures from around florence, bologna trip, bosnia and croatia (more to come here), and the vinci trip. wow, lots of photos.
highlights (non christmas) since i last updated
-thanksgiving with the florentine family.
-thanksgiving with the brother. baconed and buttered turkey. lots of wine.
-trash palace (club) with brother and friends
-being a better person that next week.
-november 30 and andrew's magnum challenge and post discussion.
-having the greatest forentine family in the world. i cannot say it enough. andrew, sean, sam, tiffany, maura, lizzy, david, lauren, kristen, alex and dan have been an amazing family to me while here in italy. i could not ask/probably don't deserve as great of friends as all of you are. i love you.
-awkward google chat with manda.
-amazing christmas party for gonzaga
-becoming friends with better friends than i deserve
-becoming addicted to coffee and kicking the habit
-being done with gbikpi and his classes. great guy, and he through a great christmas party, but his classes where of a questionable nature
-late night talks with andrew turning into early morning talks with andrew
-helping some friends out of a sticky situation (a and k, always there for you)
-fake birthday with the siblings, especially dinner at mama gina's
-being done with finals
-finding the greatest beer in the world, called a chimay. briliant.
CHINA TIME highlights of china time.
beijing- arriving, temple of heaven, forbidden city, gigantic square that i refuse to name, breaking censorship laws, summer palace, winnie, "the market for fake things," discovering that we would be eating in restaurants that where attached to factories quite often, university visit, CHRISTMAS DAY!!!!, talking to grandma and the family for the first time in too long, christmas night at a bar with good friends, great wall of china, kung-fu show, best duck ever.
shanghai-more market for fake things, sauna in the hotel, swimming pool, late night club sandwich in a robe, silk market, less pollution in the air, hoover the turtle, blizzard from dq, going up the 4th tallest building in the world, going on a train 431 km/h.
hong kong- learning that it is a special administrative district of china for the next 40 years, krispe kreme, little people racing a camel, awkward noises through a wall, beer that creates true friendship, lunch at cafe deco on victoria hill, abandoning the group and returning to the hotel via tram and ferry rather than bus with the group with andrew and kyler, new year eve!
pictures here, here, here, here, and here.
no video today, not on my own compy. feel free to leave comments or questions. ciao! off to como and milan with andrew, the seans, and lizzy!

2007-11-16T07:45:00.000-08:00

Wow, I am failing to update yet again. Sorry. Saturday was lazy and I accomplished very little. I did find a new Kebabaria though, Kebabji. It is on the NE side of Piazza SMN. It is good, but just a little too sauced, and the wrap fell apart in the end.

Sunday I did make my way to Vinci for the new olive oil and wine festival. It was very nice but a little cold. I took the train from Florence to Empolli, where I spent an hour before planning to hop a bus. I had worked with one of the student life staff to figure out when the bus actually ran on Sunday. Usually the bus runs about every 10 minutes, but Sundays it only runs three times. I arrived in Empolli and found myself some breakfast before returning to the bus stop 30 minutes before it was supposed to arrive. 30 minutes after the supposed departure time, I found myself weighing my options since the bus never arrived. I knew that it was only about 11 km, so I thought about walking. Right before I left I heard an American couple ask a cab how much it was to Vinci. I asked if I could join them and pay a third of the fair. They where very nice and let me hop in.

The town of Vinci is very small, and mostly consists of the museum, which was pretty interesting. The wine and oil were flowing like water and I bought 3 bottles of oil and 1 of wine. I was very content with my purchases, and then the thought of how I was going to get back to Empolli crossed my mind. The couple was staying in the one hotel in town that night. After 45 minutes of wandering the streets and trying to find a taxi I decided to just start walking. 30 meters after passing the bus stop, a bus showed up. It really was my lucky day.

Upon returning to Florence, I found an email reminding me that the scholarship application for the Washington Center’s Convention Seminar. I had forgot this, so I immediately started writing my essay and deciding who to ask to write my letters of recommendation. That was stressful, but everything is in now and I cannot wait to here from the Reg. about whether or not I get it.

Monday was Alex’s birthday, and Wednesday was Tiffany’s (not new kid) birthday, so the pensione split the difference and went out on Tuesday. First at home, then Public House, Joshua Tree, and ending at Astor. When I left Astor at 2.30, I tried to get a Kebab, but Turkuaz was closed, so I decided to try to find the late night bakery on Via Della Route. As I discovered that night, the signs in the school where wrong, and ot wasn’t at 4, it was at 1! I had the greatest fresh cream croissant I have ever had in my life. It had just come out of the oven and was amazing!

I was sick at the beginning of the week, but now am looking forward to a weekend where I honestly will be doing nothing and can get healthy for my trip next weekend to London!!! Tonight I am having dinner at a mystery restaurant, but I get 2 courses and wine for 15 Euro. It should be fun. We will probably end up back at SpaceE, a dance club you might remember from my last update.

So, in the world of politics I am a little late hearing that Tom Tancredo is not planning on running for the House again. He is still in the presidential race, but not going for a sixth term. What is next for him after a <1% st="on">New Hampshire and Iowa? My guesses are either he will end up as a minute man, or maybe joining the national guard and moving to the border. Either way, he did go a little nuts with his latest fear mongering ad. Here is a good article on it. To quote my post of 3 April 2007 “I cannot believe Tom Tancredo gets an MSNBC politics page for himself. I only have one thing to say about him: if he gets one vote, may God have mercy on this country.”

Today in IR I learned a new word: Fungibility.

Video of the Day: A look back at the old Fox Theater

2007-11-09T06:30:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of update. I did make it out of Bosnia-Herzegovina alive. YEAH!!! This week however has been very tiring, so I am only now getting the opportunity to sit down and update.

Wednesday we took a bus from Firenze to Ancona, which took about 5 hours, and arrived at the ferry around 7. We stopped at an Autogrill along the way, which was the last thing I ate until lunch the next day. We boarded the gigantic ferry and we where off, after 3.5 hours of sitting at the dock. The seas where choppy, and I couldn’t sleep. I only got 2 hours of sleep, and the 3-4 meter waves made walking an adventure (yes, someone actually got a scar) and I was more than ready to get off the bus in Split, Croatia. Many apologies to Andrew who, when I thought I was going to loose my stomach at or around 3 AM, I kicked in the crotch while running to the bathroom.

We got back onto the bus for the trip from Split to Medjugorje. Arrived at noon, checked into cute little hotel with lots of rosaries hanging on the wall, and found our way to lunch. Calzone at lunch was very nice, except for the walk we then took. We meet our tour guides in front of the church in town, but most hadn’t finished there lunches yet, so my group left first.

To much to history to write here, but in short, Mary appeared to 6 youngsters in 1981 and to some of them still to this day. More history? Go here.

We walked to Apparition Hill, and then up the hill. It was a nice little walk, and I had the opportunity to say the rosary, which I always enjoy. My only problem was all the vendors (read: pilgrimage service providers) who lined the streets to the hill.

After that my group went to the top of another hill, about a 200 meter climb, called Cross Mountain. Erected in 1933, this 10 meter tall cement cross celebrates 1900 years since the crucifixion, and contains a relic given to the people by Pope Pius XI that is supposed to be a part of the actual cross on which Jesus died. There was a beautiful view, and my headlamp came to very good use on the walk back down.

After walking back from that hike, I found my way to a beautiful statue of the Risen Christ. On the outside of his right knee, a drop of water keeps reemerging. Chemical tests show that the water had the same make up at human sweat. Very cool. They even provide napkins so you can rub it away and take it home with you. I just did it on two rosaries.

Friday we went to Mostar. We meet some university students who are studying English and where children during the Civil War. All the students that I talked to where Muslim, and they all said that they do not see religious tolerance coming about in their lifetime. The city has a unwritten line that the Catholics and the Muslims do not cross. They enjoy being apart. That was no good, hopefully they while realize that they are all good people soon enough. They really love their bridge in Mostar, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Good day trip. Dinner was provided at the hotel, and I just sat there from dinner (7.30) to 11.30 talking with Shelley and two other students. The early night was a good choice.

Saturday we made a day trip to Dubrovnik, Croatia, a beautiful old city on the sea. I had a beer upon arrival at the bar with the most beautiful view in the world. That is how they market it, and it was beautiful and a nice break. Just explored the city and had a great chicken sandwich. That night was Madeline’s birthday, so I went to dinner and a bar with her. The bar was great fun, and the house wine was like water before it breathed, but once it had, it was really bad, which meant I just drank the wine quickly.

Sunday morning I made the trek back over to Apparition Hill for one more time. It was surprisingly empty for a Sunday. On the way back I bought a large jar of very dark honey and a bottle of wine from a nice old lady. Mass in English at the church, then found a sandwich and back on the bus for the trip back.

All and all an amazing trip, and I am very glad I went. I bought lots of gifts, so I just need to decide who gets what. I did bye lots of rosaries.

Last night I went to dinner with Andrew, Erin, Kelly, Darby, and Sonia. We went to a Mexican restaurant named Tijauna. I had the chili con carne, and it was great. I also got to show off my Spanish, while Andrew would only talk Italian to the server. My pitcher of sangria was great. The lime margaritas where also good. After the meal, Andrew and Sonia returned home to rest before their 6.30 train to Rome. The rest of us went to Joshua Tree for a beer, then Space E. Erin was hit on by a large group of 16 year old Americans who where there. We did however return home rather early, 1. Great night though. Today I am finally getting a cell phone and plan on having a relaxing day. Sunday I am going to Vinci for the new olive oil and wine festival. I am very excited.

The train to Rome was so early because transportation workers had a one day strike, and vandalized the front of the school at about 11 this morning while I was in the computer lab. Kind of funny, but they where very loud out front.

Finally, WTF we have a new AG. Dang it! I understand why people voted yes, but it is torture, ever some Republicans admit that!

Video of the day: Special Comment by KO on waterboarding and torture and a true American patriot.

2007-10-31T03:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween and feast day of St. Wolfgang!!!

Not much to report today, but I just want to let you all know that I did in fact survive last night’s Halloween party. I was a kebab. For those of you not familiar with the European conception of a Kebab, it is lettuce, tomatoes, onions, humus, tsatsiki with either beef or chicken all rapped in a tortilla. I had one as I walked home from the party. Pictures after the trip. Last night is the farthest I have ever been gone on a Tuesday. Wow.

Winners of the costume contest were the "Party Bus" and the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." Both lame compared to mine.

Video of the day: when ghosts are more popular than your most important policy, do you really get to complain?

2007-10-30T09:59:00.000-07:00

Not all that much to tell you today, but I just wanted to check in with you all.

Congratulations to Quinn and Brent Waller, both former bosses at Regis, who welcomed their first son into the world this past weekend. Padraic McCoy Waller is apparently doing well and will be dressed as a lobster for Halloween, with Quinn being a chef. She will be caring him around in a pot.

Tonight is the Halloween party. I better win the costume contest. Okay, off to funtimes.

Video of the day: best reason ever to not be anal retentive about signs (cheerleader addition).

2007-10-29T08:41:00.000-07:00

Ciao belli. My weekend was fabulous, and I hope yours was also. I have more than a lot to tell you about, so here we shall go.

Thursday night I went to Space Electronica, a club not far from the train station, after a few drinks at Public House. At the club, there was this random guy who looked kind of firmilair. Apparently it was Adam Brody. No, I have never watched The OC, but I am sure I saw him on TV once.

We left Florence at 8 Friday morning. The short two hour bus ride took us to the Hotel La Posta, a very nice hotel where just over half of the students went to swim in the thermal springs. It was the greatest thing to ever happen, and is a wonderful hang over cure.

After the hot springs we had a nice picnic in the park across from the hotel. Then, quick visits to the cities of Sant’Antimo (crisp, clean, and beautiful church) and Montalcino (where I bought two different kinds of very good honey). We then arrived in our hotel in the city of Murlo, population 1,000. dinner at the hotel and quick trip to the one bar in town before an early nights sleep.

Saturday involved a short walk to the Etruscan Museum and a short bus ride to another quick walk to a winery with wine tasting in Campriano. For this part, the group was broken in two with half going to the wine tasting first and the museum second. Unfortunately, Fr. Paul got lost on the 2 kilometer walk back to the bus after the wine tasting. Thusly, the second group didn’t have enough time to go to the museum. Whatever. After the tasting, we had an opportunity to buy the wines, for pretty good prices, that we had just tasted. I didn’t but any of the four we tasted, but did get a huge, 750 ml, bottle of EVOO for a very reasonable price. The afternoon involved a trip to the city of Pienze, hometown of Pope Pius II. I had a good panino and the view was beautiful from the hill on which the town sits. I bought a bottle of wine and a nicely hand painted box. I also had a sample of Pecorino cheese, goat cheese, which is a staple of the region. Delicious. The evening involved dinner at the hotel again, at another drink at the bar before another early morning.

Sunday had a quick trip to the site of San Galgano’s hermitage and his own sword in the stone. Moderately interesting. I also bought the best gummies I have ever had in my life here. Then, back to Florence.

All in all an amazing weekend, but I also bought far too much. When in southern Tuscany….

I have decided to start making lists of stupid things that I see GIF students doing/saying. This will be the first of many installments, and all happened this weekend.

“I just love being stared at.” Sarcastically said by girl walking with a group of on fewer than 12 other loud Americans.
Students smoking weed on the grass inside the open gated area in front of the church in Murlo.
No fewer than 3 students leaning up against a pot from the 6^th century BC while not listening to the tour guide. They later put their purses on the table holding another pot to fish out their cameras.
2 girls walking through the church in Sant’Antimo while listening to one iPod and signing along and giggling.
WINNER: after walking past the adoration chapel in the same church, and noting the sing that said “Blessed Sacrament, please keep quite” (in Italian being: Sacramento Spirito), practically yells, “Sacramento, WHAT WHHHHAT.” Idiot.

I hope that all is well with you. This week is a two day week. Wednesday we leave for Bosnia!!!

Too much news, so… WTF: Rockies (0-4???), Bush Iraq leadership v. Ghosts (31% v 34%???), and FEMA (fake press conference, who even had that thought?)

Video of the day: While I recommend you watch all of last Friday’s Countdown, I cannot believe it took KO a whole week to get enough quotes from BillO to do another story of Dumbledore.

2007-10-25T08:05:00.000-07:00

Midterms where harder than I expected. My Politics ones kept getting harder as the week progressed, and at the end of the second straight one yesterday I thought that my hand was going to fall off. The Italian one was good though.

Tomorrow morning I leave for southern Tuscany. Wine tasting and hot springs are on the schedule, and I am looking forward to a relaxing trip.

Today for lunch I had the most amazing pear and gorgonzola lasagna. It was the best part of my week. Yeah, it was that great.

Tonight should involve not-actually-Champaign, a BBQ, a huge Italian party in a park, a PH, and possibly a dance club. Wish me luck.

What happened to the Rockies? 13-1? Really? I hope they do better tomorrow.

(Since I didn’t video you on my last) Videos of the day: How did I miss this SNL video about Iran for 3 months? And sights and sounds of the California Wildfires

2007-10-23T15:20:00.000-07:00

only two things today:
A) really, 200 days, wow. hard to believe.
B) what should i be for halloween? really, i need help. without goodwill i am running short on ideas. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
video of the day: nothing, so you get 2 tomorrow.

2007-10-22T02:19:00.000-07:00

Life is good. There has been a major lack of updates these past few days. My parents where in town for the first seven of those missed days (thurs-thurs) and on Friday I had classes so I wasn’t in the best mood.

The visit from the rents and Anthony and Andrew was nice. You eat much better food when your parents pay. We had a day trip to Ravena which was beautiful. I bought a rosary for myself. It has a mosaic cross, and the city is known for the mosaics, so I thought it to be appropriate. Wonderful meals included the unnamed restraint in Fiesole, Pepo, and Mama Gina.

In more pressing news, Dumbledore is gay? Really? Who would have thunk it? Spin off? Odds that a school district now bans it?

I had a very odd dream last night. I was at a political rally in a supermarket produce section, after which I climbed a poll, was surrounded by random spokanites (including Tom and Michelle Prosser) and I did a standing back flip. Any ideas?

Finally, I never actually welcomed Becky to the internets. Her blog, Adventures and Scars, chronicles the life of an M1.

Video of the day: how do people get away with slamming and mocking a 12 year old who is able to be alive thanks to the government?

2007-10-09T23:57:00.001-07:00

so i know that i have been horrible at updateing, but that is becuase so much is packed into the weekend that i am just too lazy to write about it all. so, cinque terre update will be later.

I’m not sure if I ever told the story of how everyone thinks I am writing a book. on the first day of my 19^th century erupean history class I said that I was reading a book on catholic social teaching. half the class, including the prof, heard that I was writing a book. yesterday he asked me how it was going and the truth finally came out. the best part of the story is that he may have already told my politics prof that I was writing one.

Monday night I made a new American friend while I was walking down the street. we talked for a long while and just talked. it was nice to meet someone new. before I meet him, I ran into a group of very lost little old ladies on cavour, where I live. they did not trust me at first, so I just had to lead them to the corner that would properly set them on their way.

I don’t think I am going to watch yesterday’s republican debate. it seems a little like a waste of time.

finally, the video of the day: the worst person from Thursday. THE ELEPHANT IS BLUE!!!!!!

2007-09-30T12:06:00.000-07:00

Hello. Sorry about the long delay. I have kind of been in a panic recently. I had a dream last week that my parents adopted a replacement for me. yeah. I know. The traumatic part was he was a senior in high school. Yeah. The funny thing about the dream is that I recognized the guy. It was very difficult for me especially since my parents where trying to keep it a secret from me.

In other more exciting news I went to mass at the Duomo yesterday. It was beautiful. They have an English mass every Saturday at 5 PM. The homilist was from Ohio and it was good to see another American. After mass, Erin, Sara and I went to Fiesole. The view of Florence from up there is beautiful. We then had dinner at a small little place and I had a great Spaghetti alla Carbonara. It was the most delicious thing ever. We then went back up to the hill to see the city lit up. I love it here.

I finally uploaded my pictures. Berlin, Krakow, and Prague. You might note that there are no pictures from Auschwitz. That is mostly out of the fact that I felt horrible treating that place like a tourist spot. Oh, and yes the photos are on facebook, but the links are the public ones so everyone can see.

I would like to thank the congress for passing the increase spending for keeping children healthy. God forbid we do that.

I almost got a Falafel today but I kept thinking of Bill-O and loofas so I didn’t. I had a kebab instead.

Other than that life is pretty slow, and less than two weeks before the rents and AA get to town!! Yes, I will be referring to them as AA.

Oh, and I will now be doing a video of the day. So, we shall see how this goes.

Video of the day: Baby panda being way too cute.

2007-09-19T12:31:00.000-07:00

greeting form florence. this is a great city, and I love to just walk to school. granted, it has only been two days of class. I love it. beyond words.

for yesterday’s first day of school I took the classic first day of school photo. I don’t know where that family tradition comes from, but I just don’t ask questions about that. I will post it later.

I finally got the chance to watch the president’s address from a few days ago. I always feel as though I must question what he says. it is known that he lied to us in the past, not just in justification for the war, but also in what it will take to succeed. so why should I believe him now? I really don’t know. “I didn’t vote for him, but he’s my president, and I hope he does a good job.” John Wayne was right. I hope Bush does a good job, but I fear that he will not.

also, did anyone find it odd that Bush read from a paper when he read a part of that email. I do not mean to lessen the sacrifice that they made by these comments, but it was an email, not a personal letter. why did they print it out? couldn’t his speech writers put it in a more convenient, less awkward place where he didn’t have to break the rhythm of his speach? no? okay.

Bill O’Reilly really is a horrible person. I usually just link to KO’s nightly roundup of horrible people, but this one must be expounded upon. Billo believes that 1000 more American deaths is worth the next year of the war in Iraq for only possible success. where is his gun? where is his son? where is his sacrifice?

if anyone wants to see Gonzaga get slapped on comedy central they can watch this video from the daily show.

that is all, but I should be updating more often since I am now settled into my room Ciaò

2007-09-15T09:02:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to my parents on the 29th anniversary of the wedding day. their love for each other is a model for all of us. Congrats, I miss you, and i wish i could give you a hug today to celebrate.

yesterday the bus ride to Prague took forever, but then i went to a bar with women dancing on the tables and cheap beer. that was fun and all, but we then made it to the 6 level club. each floor has its own different music style. great fun.

not too hung over today, but tonight i will be returning to this wonderful place. we had a walking tour in the morning. this city is amazing. it is too bad that i will only have 2 full days here, but i now hope to return one day.

2007-09-13T13:04:00.001-07:00

yesterday's Auschwitz tour was beyond word. so much history really got me thinking which is, as we all know, a dangerous thing. the power of politics and politicians to rally people around a cause is phenomenally, and should be respected. the power of fear as a tool to turn people's opinions also need to be watched. by all people.

some people on the bus were talking about how the two party system we have in america prevents people from being able to do that in america. this is not true. the two party system will not automatically balance itself, just look at prohibition. the two party system will work most of the time, but only if both people are willing to play by the rules.

today we went to the salt mine, which was cool but a little long. they never even really showed us how they take the raw material and process it. it was still fun though, and was followed by all you can eat and drink for under 7USDs. all and all a good night, now i am off to the bar in the basement of my hostel. tomorrow, Prauge.

2007-09-11T23:58:00.001-07:00

Krakow is a great city. the conversion rate from the dollar to the zloti is pretty darn good. dinner involved David, Debra, girl who's name i forgot, and myself walking around sketchy Krakow for half and hour and then finding this pizza place. i had a huge personal pizza and ginormous beer for just over $7. i had most of the beer before the food, and after not having eaten since lunch i was a pretty cheap date last night. my pizza involved peas and paprika, and was a little strange, but it was pretty good.
this morning will be a walking tour of Krakow and in the afternoon going to Auschwitz. i am not too suyre about the lattter, but i am fairly sure that pushing myself will be good.
hoping all is well...

2007-09-10T05:20:00.000-07:00

a german man just asked my a question... in german... i panicked, but i do know how to say that i do not speak german, so i was able to get him to leave. today is a very rainy day in Berlin which makes for a rather lazy day. i would go walking around, but it goes from light sprinkle to all out downpour very quickly. last night involved me falling asleep far too quickly and missing out on the fun. but, in my defense it had been a long day.
Berliners live with constant reminders of WWII. monuments and memorials are viable everywhere. if a memorial is not within a five minute walk you can at least see some damaged building from the war or an unattractive building from the time of the two berlins. as i have reflected more and more on the tour yesterday morning, i realize that those who believe the atrocities of the holocaust never occurred need to visit this city. driving away from a shopping district in west berlin you drive past a sign that reads something along the lines of 'never forget these dark places' and then lists the major death camps. our tour guide mentioned that there was much debate as to whether this was an appropriate place for such a sign, but it is just one constant reminder to never get swept up in fear or massive political shifts.

i certainly hope to return to this city in the future. i would like to see the new memorials built for the other groups murdered by the Germans. and that is exactly what i have taken from this city. they accept that it was the country as a whole that murdered 6 million, not a single man, not a political party, not a few narrow minded people, but a country that sat back and let them do it.

on a lighter but still related note, yesterday i returned to a statue that i had been fascinated with during our morning tour. it was the sight of the only recorded civil disobedience resulting in the release of Jewish men from the Germans. i cannot find i picture of it online, but i will post one after in find it. it is located on Rose street and doesn't get alot of foot traffic, which may be the problem.

hoping all is well with you...

2007-09-09T05:11:00.001-07:00

Hello, i hope all is well with you. i am now in an Internet cafe in Berlin. the keyboard is really throwing me off. my flights went well, and check in was fun. there are far too many names being thrown around and i am catching very few of them. this morning i went to mass said in a conference room in the hotel said by fr. paul. followed by an okay breakfast in the hotel and a bus tour of berlin. saw lost of very interesting place. they live with constant reminders of horrible things that happened in their past. the memorial to the murdered Jews is absolutely beautiful in the simplicity. the memorial to all who died in WWII is also amazing in it's ability to calm people.
this afternoon i am going on a walking tour of berlin churches. then dinner with friends and going to a club. last night we went to a bar called aose. it was supposed to be mexican themed, but after 11 they started playing techo. i left pretty early so as to sleep, but some people were out very late. i also didn't drink much because i was meeting so many people and wanted to remember their names. that is all i have for now. hoping all is well with you...

2007-09-05T09:47:00.000-07:00

Hello all. Sorry about not updating sooner, but I was in Denver and then tried to role right into packing. As some of you may have heard, my flight from Denver to Seattle was quite the adventure. Don’t worry I didn’t get the scar!

I boarded the plane on time: 8:00 AM. It was a 757 that was stopping in Seattle then going on to Japan. We took off a little late, 8:45 and I was ready for a quick flight. When I sat down the person next to me started talking and I could tell she was a talkative one. I love to talk and all, but I am not a big airplane talker. She is a hypnotist and was flying to board an Alaskan cruise as an entertainer.
While we were watching the pilot to Chuck, a new show on NBC which was actually pretty good, the pilot came on, said that we were having navigational issues and would be landing in a few minutes. Shortly there after, 10:30ish, we land in Rock Springs, Wyoming. We turn pretty quickly off of the runway, which makes me think it was short, and turn toward the terminal. The hypnotist and I both look out the window and see a fire truck roll on past with its lights on. We both laugh pretty hard. After landing the pilot told us that they had multiple plans in the works, one of which included driving a staircase up from Salt Lake (just like Arrested Development) and that the firetruck was there just to be safe, because we had actually broken a windshield.
They have a one level terminal building, and no stairs tall enough to reach a 757. The pilot came through the cabin to make sure that there were no medical issues and to double check that the two babies on board had enough formula. We sat on the plane for three hours, ate pizza that was delivered to us, and watched Ocean’s 13. Right as it was just starting to get good, they stop it so we can get off the plane. We took a hydraulic lift. Once we got to my group, row 22, they started to have us put out carry-ons in the cherry picker of the fire truck, which meant 5 people on the lift instead of three.
From there they bussed us to Salt Lake City. This three hour bus ride was nice and boring, but they had water for us. When we arrived they had itineraries for each of us. Including all 37 people who had missed the cruise!!!!! They also had a very nice letter from a manager and a $500 voucher. Very nice. I was scheduled on a Seattle to Spokane flight at 8. the plane landed at 7:55. when we landed in Seattle we started clapping, which I was really hoping for because they always do it in the movies, but never in real life. When I told the hypnotist this she laughed.
I went to the United 10:05 flight to Spokane and explained my situation. She laughed and said that they had scheduled me for the 8, 9, and 10:05 flights on three different carriers. She gave me a ticket number and a gate to got to. So I went to the 9 flight and gave them my ID. They asked me where I would like to sit. I laughingly told them my story and said I would be willing to sit in the aisle. The ticket agents commented on the fact that I was laughing and that was a good thing. They put me in first class.
Another lady from my flight, who was not as happy as I was, was two people in front of me boarding. She hadn’t checked in so the guy told her just to present her ID and she would get her ticket. She didn’t like that answer. I sat in first class and told the man sitting next to me and a steward joined in on the story. I mentioned that someone else from that flight was on board and didn’t have nearly as good an attitude. Right then she turns the corner, recognizes me, and shots me a dirty look for being in first class.
Many people got emotional scars, which is why this was an adventure. I came out clean!!!

Highlights of the Denver trip: extreme go-carting, good food, seeing people one last time before leaving, rubbing Quinn’s belly.
Lowlights of the Denver trip: some girl at a party spilling half her beer on my foot, the juggler not juggling fire, leaving.

Last night I hit the point of “what the hell was I thinking signing up to leave the country for 8 month.” Packing is going slowly, and Mother doesn’t like it. I will update one more time before I leave Friday morning, but then I have no idea when I will be able to update again. Hoping all is well with you…

2007-08-27T13:45:00.000-07:00

This is my new “about me” for facebook:

This summer past summer has been amazing. My job, which I originally hated turning out great. I took the time to think and pray more than ever before, and I have come to a few realizations

-the rosary is a beautiful prayer.

-no matter how much I don’t want to admit it or show it, I care more about them than most people will ever know

-I have the greatest family in the world.

-Spokane is a great city to live in

-the Spokane parks cannot be beat

-every (good) meal takes quite a bit of effort to make it.

-there are amazing people in my life and I don’t always realize it.

-gouda is possibly my favorite cheese.

-poached eggs are evil.

-iPods are not inherently evil, but on a college campus they can become very evil.

-Regis is an amazing school filled with amazing people.

-country roads are great places to think.

-when you need to clear your mind you should go for a walk.

-2 seconds can make any normal day amazing.

-as much as I hate to say it, UM has a great staff.

-I don’t appreciate what I have going for me enough.

-fresh nutmeg is the key to great alfredo.

-peas are one of the greatest vegetables.

-the beauty of the rain is how it falls

-you should back up your most important files often.

-blue cheese, strawberries and red onions go together very well

-the SR is a truly horrible newspaper.

-there are no fewer than 6 newer-model silver minivans in Spokane with RWV license plates (268, 468, 668, 686, 829, and 841)

-life is short, so live it up.

Rush Limbaugh truly is a great nominee for the worst person in the world. And while on the subject, congrats to KO for having his first edition of Countdown on NBC yesterday. Best of luck to the many students who started school today. And I am no longer an employee of Café Marron. Work is done, let summer begin!!!

2007-08-24T13:23:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the major lack of updating in the past 2 weeks. My life defiantly slowed down and I have spent a lot of time thinking. I would rather update less often with really good stuff, than everyday with crap.

2 weeks till I fly away to Italy. I cannot wait but there is much to be done before I leave. Tonight I will work for the first of 6 straight nights, after which I will be done at the Café Marron. Sad. Not really. We haven’t had the best of luck in finding new people back in the kitchen. These last two though seem like real keepers.

On the 30^th I have made plans to fly down to Denver for a long weekend to say goodbye to everyone at Regis. This was a very good choice and I cannot wait to see everyone down in CO.

And now a series of announcements I have missed in these past two weeks:

-Congrats to Big Brother for his first published ghost written op-ed.

-Congrats to Billy (cousin) and Katie on the birth of their first son, William Regis.

-Happy birthday to Grandma K., Father, Uncle Steve, and Aunt Marguerite.

-Congrats to Becky passing her first general knowledge med school quiz.

-Congrats to Christine (another cousin) on receiving her second MA (this time in clinical psychology)

Today on my walk I noticed for the first time an absolutely beautiful house on the corner of 24^th and Grand just across the street from the Lutheran Church. It is a beautiful blue with white trimmed house, and if it weren’t facing Grand and had central air I would say I wouldn’t mind living there. On this particular walk I felt very at piece, and realized that today has the potential of being the second best day of the summer. It is amazing how just 10 seconds can make that possible.

In regard to my last two posts, the house on 29^th and Perry doesn’t have an apartment over the garage that could be a granny flat, but in the backyard there is something that looks like a poorly constructed shack that might just be that home office. Also, no direct responses to my letter, but there have been more saying the SPD is doing a horrible job.

My one request, should my parents ever win the lottery, is that they buy the SR and clean things up.

In the past two days of letter to the editor, 5 letter were published with more than the allowed 200 words!!! They had 207, 205, 213, 207, and 202 words!!!!! To most people this will mean nothing, but I always have to cut great words from my letters to get them down to 200. They will certainly be receiving an email from me today since I once sent in a letter with 203 words and was told to cut it down. Maybe if I shared an opinion with them once in a while…..

Sorry about that, I got a little rilled up. Hoping all is well out there in the interwebs.

2007-08-06T11:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday’s walk involved a quick run in with the mayor. It was quite the sight to see. Me: kaki shorts, t-shirt, iPod, running shoes. Him: dress shirt, slacks, blackberry, dress shoes. I had not seen him in quite a while and that run in reminded me horribly of awkward grade school basketball.

Near the intersection of Perry and 29^th there is a house for sale. Attached to the regular for sale by agent sign is an additional sign that reads, “MOTHER-IN-LAW OR BUSINESS SET UP.” I don’t quite know what that means, but I am glad that it can serve two different purposes.

I still have no idea who my anonymous internets friend is. Any help?

Last night wasn’t too bad, but the owners came in and had some concerns. The new guy made the crab cake a little small, and the owner looked shocked to hear that we have no written recipes, and that they are all from memory. Tonight he will probably stop by and talk to Jeff. I am not looking forward to that.

32 days and counting till I leave. AAAGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!

2007-08-05T08:24:00.001-07:00

I had the greatest dream last night. I won’t bore you with the details, but it made my day. The best part of the dream was that it was the dream after I woke up at 6:30 and then fell back asleep. Amazing.

I saw Hairspray with Sarah and Jessica on Thursday. It was good, but leaving the theater I still had a few doubts in my mind. I saw the original in my Civil Rights in Film seminar. The original was a much better film about race and racism. The new one was a much better musical. But I would still recommend you see it.

On the topic on movie to see, everyone should see The Big Bad Swim. Absolutely hilarious. Great fun with a great message that gets stuck in there in the end.

This past Wednesday Police Chief Kirkpartick released more details about the jumper from the Monroe St. Bridge. Apparently, this man had tried to pull an officer over a different bridge during another suicide attempt. That is why they tried to Taser him while he was going to the bathroom. On Thursday there were 5 letters condemning the SPD for using the Taser. I immediately sent off a letter to the editor, which was published yesterday. Here it is:

Don't judge bridge negotiators

Thursday, Aug. 2, this page offered five letters admonishing the SPD for using force in the tragic events of July 27, a perfect example of Spokanites making up their minds before they have all the facts.

Ms. Gervais chose to ignore the fact that there were 20 hours of talks when stating that Tasers should be used as a last resort and in dangerous situations, both of which were present.

Mr. Smith and Mr. MacPherson take the S-R's word as gold when they share what the media was able to glean from the sidelines

Mr. Olsen believes that his past experiences of a warm, helping hand can do more than brute force. With previous experience, then, he should have also realized that no two suicide attempts are the same, and that the SPD would know more about this case than he would.

Ms. Dugger compares the SPD to children with toys, which couldn't be further from the truth. My godfather, who has been with the SPD for many years, has used the Taser in action and respects the incredible force that it has.

Before any of us judges, we should put ourselves into the danger that they do every day.

Robert House
Spokane

That letter is exactly 200 words, which is why the titles of their letters are not present. There is also a letter today that ends, “Perhaps they think that the only facts they need are the negatively biased coverage on law enforcement that the Spokesman is always eager to print.” Well said Debra Clarke of Spokane. Well said.

I have been supremely unimpressed with the coverage the SR has given the people of Spokane in the past many months. Whenever they can shift blame to someone, they do. Just look at the death of Tyler DeLeon, who died of malnutrition caused by child abuse. The SR had a front page story saying the Doctor should have caught the abuse and reported it. They did not blame the state agencies who are responsible for the kids, or anyone else, just the doctor. There have been many very good letters defending him.

Tonight I work with the new hot-side guy alone. This will be the first time that he works without another hot-side guy. Should be an interesting little night. Have a great day!

2007-07-31T10:59:00.000-07:00

Happy feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola. He is probably my favorite saint. It was Iggy who said, "For everything has the potential of calling forth in us a deeper response to our life in God.

Our only desire and our one choice should be this: I want and I choose what better leads to the deepening of God's life in me."
I worked last night and we had an amazing special of homemade crab ravioli with a roasted red pepper cream sauce. It was very good and sold very well. After tonight I will have a three days weekend, but unfortunately, next week I will have a split weekend. Grrrrr.
On Sunday while closing down the restaurant, a server walked out of the big garage door and tripped and rolled onto the sidewalk. I couldn't help but laugh at the old man, but he wasn't hurt so all is well.
My first text book arrived today: Parliamo Italiano! I am so excited to start studying a little, which will also make my mother very excited. I checked out the calendar for the Christmas tour, and it starts only 3 days after the last finals. This, to me, seems like a very quick turn around.

I think I might go see Hairspray with Sarah and Jessica tomorrow. I hear that this one is less wacky than the original, so I have that look forward to. It is off to work with me.

2007-07-28T14:30:00.001-07:00

Yesterday’s hotdog eating contest had a poorer than expected turn out. We tied with 6 a piece. They were very salty hotdogs though and that kept the number down. The game was good and an Indian hit a grand slam. It was great fun.

I kept forgetting to tell you about my experience at work from Monday last. There was a woman who obviously wanted to be Mrs. Robinson. She was all out on the outfit in the way of trying to attract young men. One server, who is at least 55, was obviously trying to pick her up, he failed.

This is the beginning of my work week, and tomorrow I have a double shift. We will be getting new cooks this week, and I hope they are good. I will, on Monday, be the third most senior cook in the kitchen, which should be interesting, but all the people who applied are very qualified, which will be nice.

It is official, I will be in China for the Christmas break. I heard yesterday. I cannot wait to see the far east. It will be like no place that I have ever been. Also, I will be twice as big as most of the natives. I will just tower over them. Great.

2007-07-27T15:58:00.001-07:00

Dinner last night with Shannon was great. We split the special which was amazing. It was a salmon cake served on penne pasta with a cream caper sauce. I wasn’t sure about the cream caper sauce when I first heard about it, but it was actually very good. We talked for a very long time, and it was great. Thanks for the great time Shannon.

Congrats to Pearl who found out yesterday that she is going to appear on Wheel Of Fortune in the near future. She went to the auditions in Denver, and made it to the final round and will record her episode sometime in the next 18 months. Well done Pearl.

The ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ last night was pretty good. It is a dirty little pleasure of mine, but it is an engaging show. Mika was the guest musical act, but I was unimpressed with his performance. And there was quite a lot of hullabaloo about the judge who wore a fashionable jacket that had an upside-down marine symbol on the sleeve. People complained and she appoligized. She war the jacket on the same night when every single competitor danced the same solo to a song about peace. Obviously the military folks weren’t gonna be happy and the jacket only added fuel to the flames.

I have been informed of a grave error in yesterday’s post. Becky, Manda and Rachael ate one and a half gigantic pizzas that year.

Tonight I am going to the Indian’s game for dollar family feast night. Becky’s boy and I are going to have a hotdog eating contest. I better win.

Hope all is well with you. 41 days!!!

2007-07-26T12:26:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the lack of updates in these past few days. I had been avoiding the internets these past few days do as to not ruin the ending of the last Harry Potter. So as to not ruin anything, I was supremely happy with the way it ended. I some of my predictions were right, others were way wrong, but alas, the series has ended and I am very happy with it. now I get to start reading the Italy books my mother has been so kind to remind me to read.

On Italy news, I fly away in just 42 days. It is now officially hunker down time for learning a little Italian before I leave.

Last Thursday I became a 2 gallon donor when I went to the blood center. It was a much better experience than last time. It was happy hour and I got to have a taco in addition to my donut. It was great.

I am very happy to hear that some congressional leaders have called for an independent special prosecutor from outside the DoJ to investigate Gonzo. The embattled AG needs to revise his testimony or his hours will most likely be numbered at his current job. All witnesses are given the chance to review their testimony and fix any errors in writing. It appears as though that will be Alberto’s best chance to quiet Senate Dems.

Today is the second day of my three day weekend, but I will be working a double shift on Sunday. Tonight I am having dinner with Shannon at the Café, and then having second dinner with the family. Amanda is returning from the west side of the state for the weekend to participate in the ever popular tradition of going to extremes. In past years Amanda, Rachael and Becky have eaten a half-sheet cake, three watermelons, and a colossal pizza from Pizza Pipeline. This year the ladies will tackle the McDonald’s Breakfast menu. Best of luck to them. Have a great day!

2007-07-19T15:10:00.001-07:00

Sorry about the major lack of updating. I am really just very lazy and boring. However I have been fuming about something I saw on Monday. While driving back from the pharmacy with my Grandma, I saw a bumper sticker on a truck. It read, “SILLY BOYS TRUCKS ARE FOR GILRS.” I don’t know what silly boys trucks are, so I assume that the maker of the bumper sticker didn’t study commas very well when they were studying. I really did just want to ram the back of the truck for buying a sticker that had a grammatical error. Grrrrr.

In other equally unimportant news, I have become addicted to Days this summer. The hole feud between the DiMera and Brady families is coming to a tip. I have also discovered that the NBC website for the show is amazing and has everything you would ever want to know on it. For once, Wikipedia has failed me.

Today has been rather drab with the rain coming and going. This prevented what would have been a nice long walk in the cool. Darn the rain.

Finally, I have a few thoughts on Harry Potter. If you don’t want to hear anything because it would ruin the fun for you, you should probably stop reading now. First, I owe a big thanks to my cousin Jeff for pointing this out to me, but I believe that Dumbledore didn’t die, and instead that Prof. Trelawney has something to do with his “death.” Trelawney is such an important character in the 6^th book, especially in being kicked out of the room of requirements, but is the only professor who is not accounted for during the fight with the deatheaters. Also, at the funeral at the end of the book, every single person is listed as being there, including a number of past professors and ministry personnel. However, she is never mentioned. Odd? I think so. I believe that in the end Peter Pettigrew and Voldemort will be the two to die. Peter will die because he is indebted to Harry, and Voldemort because I don’t want Harry to die. The second isn’t a good reason, but I am using it.

2007-07-15T23:56:00.000-07:00

100 days is an amazing amount of time. It has beauty in it’s roundness as a number, but it can also hold so much. 100 days is just barely less than a semester. 100 chances to live and learn. And I have taken some of those chances over the past 100 days. I was only out at Camp last summer for 49 days, and that seemed like an eternity, but these past 100 days have just flown by.

In the past 100 days I have learned more about myself and others than any other set of 100 consecutive days. I have learned the fragility and the beauty of life. I have learned the strengths and weaknesses of myself and others. I have learned the importance of turning to others with my aches and pains. And I have learned that people can amaze you for the first time after knowing them for so long.

In the past 100 days I have cried tears of utter pain and tears of complete joy. I have turned to those that I never knew before, and found solace in them. Strangers have given me smiles and I have returned them. I have written letters, many of which have been returned, some have not, but each experience has lead me here.

In the past 100 days I have learned to appreciate the balance that is life. I now see that imbalance in the moment is a part of life, and in the end it will all even out. It was not easy, and it did not come in easy times, but it is a lesson that I am glad I have learned.

In the past 100 days I have seen God in many others, and I hope that someone has seen God in me. In the past 100 days I have learned the lessons of the personal Jesus, and have found one of my own.

Each day is a blessing. We never know when something horrible and life changing or life ending will happen. Take each day as the gift it is. Take each day and run with it. Be open to new things and people. Jump off the ledge and see when you land. Run, take a walk, visit a park, climb a mountain, because you never know if you will get another opportunity to do it.

2007-07-12T09:37:00.000-07:00

Hello all. Sorry about the lack of updates. Yesterday I was awoken from my nap by my boss calling to ask me to come in. His kid was in the hospital and he needed to be with him. I went in because you can’t say no to that. I missed Harry Potter at the Imax to do it, but I had fun and we weren’t too busy.

Today will involve no walk, too hot, and for many good reasons. The last two days on my walks I have come within 3 feet of getting hit twice, been chased by a dog I later returned to it’s home, seen a car come within inches of getting t-boned, and been really sweaty. So, today there sill be no walk, but the will be a carillon concert. The Episcopal Cathedral down the street has a carillon and in July has a Thursday night concert series. A picnic dinner, interesting music, and nice weather will make for a good evening.

In terms of news, I really don’t care about anything. I could make fun of DHS Secretary Chertoff and his gut feeling, but the jokes are all inappropriate and way too easy. So I will spare us. Or I could joke about the new white house press room, but those jokes are also too easy. Darn.

Have a great day and stay cool.

2007-07-07T20:19:00.000-07:00

I am so tired today. Last night I had no problem falling asleep after I actually got into bed, but then I had to wake up earlier than usual for work. I got off of work at 12:15, which was nice because that meant I didn’t have to rush up to the surprise welcome home party for Tom. Big thanks to Katie and Zach for planning that. It was great to see Tom. He is doing well and very good at doing wheelies. I was impressed. I took hummus, tapenade, and baba ganoush with pitas. The hummus went pretty well, but everyone was a little apprehensive of the other two.

I still have no idea who the mystery commenter from earlier this week. Crazy enough to be on the computer at 7:21 AM and still be on it at 8:30. I have no idea.

Yesterday I left for my walk at 9 AM hoping to avoid the heat. I would have succeeded had I not just kept walking. 11 miles all and all was more than enough for me. But I have a few thoughts on drivers that I have noticed during these walks. First, there are a lot of California license plates in this city. Where are they coming from? B, too many people drive with the hanging handicap sign on the rearview mirror. It is scary quite frankly because those things are huge and could block small children from view. Lastly, the honk is a very confusing thing. During one of my walks this past week, someone honked at me. I have no idea who it was, but they had a liscence plate ending in UDD and had a hanging handicap sign. I have no idea who it was. Then, on yesterday’s walk, an old man honked at me, and I have no idea if it was the angry “hurry up crossing the street” honk or the happy “thanks for crossing quickly” honk. Either way, it was an old man who looked like he was going to hit me.

Happy late birthday to Jessica, and happy wedding day to Geoff Arte. Last night for Jessica’s birthday we went to Frank’s and then bowling. The server at Frank’s called me “bud” and touched my arm. He was kind of odd. But then at bowling I totally won. It was great, and happy birthday Jes!!

2007-07-05T12:57:00.001-07:00

Yesterday’s short walk turned into a little over 5 mile adventure around the south hill. I visited both Comstock and Manito Parks. They were pretty empty for a weekday, but it was the 4^th, and really hot so all in all it was a good experience. By comparison, after mowing the lawn this morning, my 2.5 mile walk seamed like nothing.

Yesterday’s BBQ with the family was nice and involved very good ribs and salads. My godson, Jon-Jon, announced that he would like to just be called Jon now. I tried to tell him that I am 20 and still am called Bobbo, which didn’t phase him. However, Jeff threatening to take away Christmas gifts was a good enough incentive to allow the continued used of Jon-Jon.

The rest of today will involve staying inside and avoiding the heat. Right now it is 92, but it should break 100 today. Thank goodness I don’t have to work and my parents have A/C.

I hope that someday I too can write a good check for $250,400. However, I hope mine is not to a court.

And finally, as there will probably be until the final Harry Potter comes out, there is more interesting speculation into Harry’s possible death.

2007-07-04T09:56:00.000-07:00

Hello all. Last nights Special Comment was very well done. KO always seams to say every thing that I want to only better. You might not like KO’s politics, but please watch that video. It is shows how much this President has hurt this country. There is a clear line between politics and government. All too often that line is crossed. Let’s hope that we can minimize that from now on.

Today marks our countries day of independence. A day when we stood up and said that “all men are created equal.” We said that all humans, regardless of class, creed, heritage, or any other factor are equal. We continued, “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” these Men that they refer too are the American people who must live with the government, good or bad, entrenched in conflict or peace, lead by one party or the other. On that fateful July day in Philadelphia that a few men, charged with representing all the people of their colony, stood tall and said that no man is above the law, let alone the law itself.

The king could do whatever he damn well pleased. He could ignore the powers of law that applied to all other citizens because he was the head of the government. America vowed that it would be different because we are all “created equal.” We said that government was to function among the people, implying that those in government had the same value as those who weren't in the government. “But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.” Thank God for elections. Think of how many people will be celebrating today in a show of patriotism, but will fail to vote in the next elections. Those people will celebrate our liberation but will not participate in it. Weird. The Declaration of Independence tells us that it is our duty to vote, so please do it.

Last night involved a fun dinner with a few of my mothers coworkers. Very good food, followed by very good homemade cheesecake. Today will involve a walk and some dinner with family and them a celebration. The Café is closed today and I don’t work tomorrow or Friday, so I need to enjoy this three day weekend.

2007-07-03T16:09:00.001-07:00

I have had some time to think about this, and I still hate George Bush. Crazy I know. Tonight KO will have another special comment, this one calling for the resignation of our deceiver-in-chief and vice dictator. Those are strong words to use, I know, but I think they are correct. I am glad that my internets stranger wrote on my last update. Not only did it get my mind going only 5 minutes after waking up, but it also allowed me to make a clear distinction: I have no problem with any president using the pardon for political or personal reasons, but when that person has failed to follow the order of the commander-in-chief as their crime, then I have a problem with it. Not even just the commutation, but pardon also.

In other KO news, here is his prediction of the 7^th Harry Potter. I think it is a pretty safe prediction.

In health new, one boss from Regis is spot on. She tried to convince me that the goal of each day should be to makeout with someone. Now, doctors say that could lower your blood pressure.

Finally, to all those internets strangers out there. I keep the comments on this blog open to the public. I want to hear from anyone who might wish to comment on my daily life or the news I mention. I can limit it to no comments or only other bloggers but I keep it open so anyone can say anything. I ask only this from now on: that you sign your name. I write most days and share moments from my personal life for your entertainment, the least you can do is share your first name. I don’t mean to say this to discourage comments; I just ask it as a courtesy. Thanks.

2007-07-02T15:47:00.001-07:00

I am livid. George Bush, the man who is charged with keeping America safe for all it’s people from injustice of all forms, is willing to commute the sentence of a man who has been convicted of obstruction of justice and perjury. Uggggghhhhh. Yes, Libby will still have to pay $250,000 and have two years probation, but to be honest that is nothing. This is ridiculous. I cannot wait to see what KO has to say about this. I am so angry I cannot write about it anymore.

In other news, A-Rod’s wife has no personal sense of decency. Who makes that shirt, sells it, buys it, or even wears it? Who would ever think that the shirt would ever be in good taste? Idiots.

Yesterday I got my first bleeding cut at the restaurant when a knife flew up into the air and cut the side of my pinky finger. It wasn’t deep or anything, but I did bleed a little bit.

Tomorrow I have to work with Brian fro 8-2. He is a good guy, but I might just have to have a heart attack to come up with topics of conversation. Today we spent an hour discussing the best song of all time. My choice is “Gabriel's Oboe” from The Mission.

2007-06-29T11:52:00.001-07:00

Hello all, there is no good reason for me not updateing these past couple of days, but now I have something to talk about.

Big brother, Anthony, lives just 30 meters from where today’s car bomb was found, but he managed to sleep through it. Thank God it didn’t go off.

In other news, mad props to the Supreme Court for deciding to hear cases from Gitmo detainees. Last night my father and I had a very good conversation over dinner about Habeas Corpus and how and for whom it was suspended. I had the pesto, goat cheese, and sun dried tomato pizza last night at Rock City with the parents. We got to sit outside and it was a great evening.

Today is the last day of my three day weekend. My next day off is the 4^th, and the restaurant is closed that day, so I should have a good four day time. I am thinking that this weekend with Hoopfest we will either be packed with people on their way to and from Hoopfest, or we will be very slow. Speaking of Hoopfest, I work all day Saturday and the morning shift on Sunday, so I will not see a single game. Good luck to all those competing, stay safe and play well.

Yesterday I went for a nice walk that included two parks and I think I will do that again today.

2007-06-25T11:29:00.001-07:00

6 months till Christmas. The Supreme Court, however, was confused and gave released quite a few decisions today. It is Christmas for dorks!!!

Yesterday was quite possibly on of my best days in the kitchen yet. I had fun, and never really screwed up. YAH!!!!! It only took me six and a half weeks. This morning they changed up the breakfast menu. I don’t work a morning until the weekend, which means this week I will be studying the menu so I don’t screw up too badly next weekend.

Last night was Fr. Natch Ohno’s last mass at St. Al’s. he has been transferred to Seattle, I believe to one of the high schools, but I am not sure. Best of luck to Natch.

I have nothing else to share with you today. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

2007-06-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I saw 1408. It was scary, but I am still kind of confused as to what actually happened. It is a great, thrilling, edge of your seat film that really kept me interested. I want to see it again because I am sure there is stuff I missed.

After the movie I went to Didier’s and Wonderland with Sarah and Jessica. I totally won putt-putt, like always, and then we just kind of walked and talked. It was a good night.

Today I work for 11 hours, but it doesn’t start at 8, so life is good.

Finally, Cheney needs to be smacked over the head with Article 2, and then maybe he will realize that he is part of the executive.

2007-06-21T08:53:00.001-07:00

Have you ever sat down to learn the behind the scenes work of in vitro fertilization? I learned all about it on C-SPAN during the original debate in the Senate. To be simple, sperm and eggs are mixed, and then left to sit. After 2-4 days clusters of cells, embryos, that show proper cell growth are implanted in a woman. After 7 days, cells that now show proper growth are frozen for later implant. Those groups of cells that don’t show proper growth are thrown into the garbage can. What the bill that Bush vetoed yesterday did was it allowed federal money to use the cells that didn’t show proper cell growth, and thus be tossed in the garbage, to be used for research. Bush said, “Destroying human life in the hopes of saving human life is not ethical -- and it is not the only option before us.” However, that is the line that we are taking in Iraq. Argh. I just want to smack him.

I am happy to hear thought that some people are willing to donate embryos.

I am sorry to dwell on this so much, but the policy of “Destroying human life in the hopes of saving human life” is human nature. War and conflict are killing others so that you have more. It was the policy of the US during WWII: killing Germans to save the Jews.

The House didn’t get around to voting yesterday on the SOA bill, so hopefully today.

In other news, Spokane has some great musicians… wait… it has a reference to expo ’74, so I like it!!

I have started to enjoy Spokane’s parks more. Yesterday I went for a walk in Lower Manito. I was walking up the hill behind the picnic area and stopped before I reached the crest. I sat down and just listened to music on my iPod and looked out over the park. As I sat there I wondered if anyone else was on the hill. I looked over my shoulder and there were a couple of teenagers in lust, grinding on top of each other on the hill. There were going at it so I laugh out loud. Needless to say they glared at me. A little while later a lady was walking up the hill with a blanket and a sack for a picnic. She did not see the couple and sat down facing the opposite direction of the teens. They glared at her because with her on the top of the hill, they had to stop. As I left I went up to the lady and said that even though I had never met her, I had to thank her for getting them to stop. Teens of Spokane, I have a piece of wisdom for you: if you have no better place to make out, don’t do it in the most popular spot in the park!!! Go to Cliff Park, when I was there on Tuesday I didn’t see a single person.

2007-06-20T10:35:00.001-07:00

AARRRGGGGGHHH! Today Bush is planning to veto the bill that would loosen restrictions on the use of federal money to fund embryonic stem cell research. I know that this is a very divisive issue. It goes into when life begins, but this bill would, I believe, be more pro-life than people believe. The bill allows cells that were supposed to be used for in vitro fertilization but didn’t show enough cell growth to be implanted or frozen. These cells would be literally thrown into the garbage can, but instead could be used to make people’s lives better. I watched the debate on the senate floor. It was great, and Bush is only hurting himself here. I kind of just want to smack him because he will say that it is a protection of life issue, but the cells are going to be chucked anyway. ARGH.

I watched Waking Life this morning. It is very interesting and got me thinking a lot. However, it is one of those movies that even after seeing it 10 times you will still catch something new. In other words I need to watch it again before I can give you a definite answer as to it’s message.

I am off to watch C-SPAN. Have a great day.

2007-06-19T21:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of update. During the 48 hours before I left for the coast I worked for 29.5 hours. That was no fun, but I made it to the cabin in 4.25 hours. Google predicts the drive time as 5 hours and 6 minutes. They must drive slowly.

Too much to write about, so I will do a list of the highlights

Fresh strawberries with breakfast
Lots of naps
Lots of reading
Never loosing a game of Scrabble
Hanging out with the fam
Anthony being in the country for the week
Not having to cook
7^th inning stretches
Family photos
Winning the stop at the outlet mall
New clothes

So that is really it. I worked Friday after getting back, all day Saturday, and Sunday. I haven’t worked these past two days, but I have gone for a few walks around the neighborhood and some parks. I forget how great Spokane parks are and I am resolved to enjoy them more this summer.

There certainly are quite a few misquotes in my backyard tonight.

Finally, I have to talk about something very important to me, the School of the Americas. This is a very dividing issue with many people, but this weeks House vote will not be to close it, it simply suspends funding while two committees meet to discuss the schools necessity and all aspect of its history and current policies. THIS BILL DOES NOT CLOSE THE SCHOOL. Some people will try to convince you of that and if they succeed, you fall into the politics of terror where they can argue that terrorists will start to train in the rest of the Americas. They will just have to forget the thousands who have been killed by the school’s graduates, including six Jesuits, their house keeper and her daughter. Don’t worry, I wrote McMorris-Rodgers a letter, but you can do the same. I hope that the House passes this bill this week so the Senate can do the same. Later.

2007-06-08T13:33:00.000-07:00

Hello all. This will probably be my last update for a little over a week. These next three days will be crazy busy with work and then I will be heading to the coast to meet up with the fam that left this morning. I work today from 3 till close, tomorrow I work from 7 to 9 (14 HOURS!!!! AAAAHHHHHHH) and then Sunday I work brunch and will be leaving directly from work for the coast. It will be an interesting 3 days.

My jaw feels fine, just soar. Soar sucks.

For all those who only read the daily boredom of my life for updates on Tom Everett, I have an update! Katie sent this to me on facebook: “Well updates are pretty much the same these days. He's not unstable medically anymore so nothing changes there. Now he's just learning to be in a wheelchair. Which is going to be his life now for awhile - learning and adjusting. He drove with hand controls for the first time - said it was pretty easy. He goes handcycling a few times a week. He is working on finishing up school with a tutor. He's home in the beginning of July. His house is busy being adapted for him. He's ordered his own chair. He cannot wait to start skiing again. He's himself: funny, sarcastic, and incredibly obnoxious. He has back pain and nerve pain and there’s good days and bad days for that. He's getting more and more independent every day, and we can't wait for him to come home.” So that is all good to hear.

I still haven’t watched the last debates, but I am just so lazy and don’t want to yell at my computer that much. I also have no thoughts on anything of any importance. I do have thoughts on un-important things though. Damn straight Paris is going back to jail.

I had my neck shaved today since it is about the mid-point between haircuts. The lady cut my neck twice. This is the first time that I have ever had it happen, but the service is so great there I really don’t mind.

Have a great week if I am to lazy to update tomorrow or Sunday.

2007-06-07T11:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday went well as can be expected. I am still a little-bit soar, but I am glad I don’t have to work today. The upsides of getting a tooth pulled are that your mother buys Jello and pudding. The downside is I did nothing but nap yesterday. Wait…

Today I received a piece of mail today from Camp Fire. There were a few particular things about it though: it was for high school kids, and it was addressed to our old address which we changed 12 years ago. Very weird. In other mail news, Thanks to Jean for the letter yesterday, it was nice.

Today Number 1 aka Anthony is flying in from London. The family will meet up with him and sister on the coast tomorrow. I will head over on Sunday after work for the family vacation. I can’t wait to be back on the coast with fresh strawberries and a good book.

I forgot to mention the graduation party in my last update. It went well and it was nice to see everyone. After the party started to die down, I went to see Knocked Up with Becky and some of her friends. It was very funny, and in my estimation ten times better than 40 Year Old Virgin because I didn’t see it for the first time with my parents. The people behind me at the parking pay station were not very quite when talking about my pink pants which made their first Spokane appearance that night.

I am very disappointed with a certain Pearl for quitting her job with the DNC after just 3 days (shaking head and wagging finger)

Finally, a very happy birthday to my friend Kay!!!!

2007-06-05T16:11:00.000-07:00

Kudos to KO for his piece “The Nexus of Politics and Terror.” Quite possibly most important about this piece is what he freely and openly admits that these 13 events might all be coincidences. However, 13 is a large number, especially when you look at WNBC not running the story or 11 of the 24 British “Liquid Bombers” later being released, questions must be asked.

This past weekend at the Café was nuts. The limited menu was a great choice, and the lamb pita was delicious. The music was a little loud, even back in the kitchen, but all in all I am glad I only worked one day in the craziness of Elkfest and Artfest.

Tomorrow morning I will have my one and only wisdom tooth removed! It should make me even less productive than the rest of my five days off.

And finally more kudos are going to the two military judges who told the Bush administration they cannot do whatever they please. Well done.

2007-06-01T13:04:00.001-07:00

It is now June. Scary. But we all know what June means… laying out in the sun.

I found yesterday’s White House media machine fowl up rather humorous. On the same day the White House announced that Bush would lead talks with the 15 most polluting countries in the world, the NASA Administrator announced that global warming was not a bug deal and nothing needs to be done about it. Well done team. What makes me laugh about is the fact that the Kyoto Protocol was designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but we still refuse to ratify it.

Today is Becky’s graduation party. Mother has been running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off for the last 3 days, so tomorrow looks to be great.

Thanks to Amanda and Grandma for a wonderful breakfast down at Café Marron this morning. Set up for Elkfest and Artfest made the view out the windows pretty interesting, but tomorrow when I work it should be pretty nuts. We are serving a limited menu due to the expected crowd, but it should be fun.

I am constantly looking to update, however I have no further announcements at this time.

2007-05-29T12:08:00.001-07:00

Facebook now has a bunch of extra things that you can add to your profile. Music, videos and something called “The Compass.” It is basically a series of 10 questions you answer and it places you on a political compass. Who would have thought that I am a raging liberal? It kind of surprised me. Wait….

In other news, work is going well. Yesterday with the holiday I thought it would be a very slow breakfast. We only had two of us scheduled because that is all we ever have for Monday morning. We ended up having to call in Jeff early, and the owner was doing the dishes. It was the fastest Monday I have ever had, but it was super busy. Hopefully tonight’s dinner will be pretty relaxed.

Today’s news is pretty slow, but I do know that Miss America fell over.

Have a great day, and this is a cute picture from Katie visit to Denver.

2007-05-26T22:44:00.001-07:00

50 days. Wow, and what a crazy 50 days it has been.

Today I worked from 8 am to 10 pm. It sucked, especially because I have to be back at 7 tomorrow morning, but life is good.

Here are some pictures from Katie visit to Denver. Tom needs a haircut, but apparently he just slept on it wrong.

Tomorrow is Pentecost, the day when the Holy Spirit came down in tongues of fire on the apostles. This was their missioning: their call to go out into the world to do good. It seems appropriate to have this be so close to the beginning of the Settlement Campaign: our call to bring an end to this dark time of our diocese past. Also it is a great time to think forward and see where our life is headed, and where we would like it to lead.

Happy memorial day!!! I probably wont update for the next few days, so I just wanted to get that out of the way. I hope that we all remember those who have died for our freedoms. We might not agree as to whether or not that loss of life was necessary, but we should all be thankful for peoples willingness to lay down their life for their country. Also, happy birthday to my cousin Jeffery.

I have no thoughts on any news since I haven’t seen any in a while. I have to go to bed now. Good night!!

2007-05-22T15:07:00.001-07:00

What a day. It is beautiful, I just wish it were a little warmer. If conditions are okay when Becky gets off work we will go play tennis instead of going down to the club to workout. Speaking of Becky, I have doubts that she is actually in the family. First, she is unusually good at sports. The rest of us are okay/bumbling fools in any athletic event. Second, today at Taco Time she didn’t have any chicken. All Houses eat lots and lots of chicken. Suspicious. Finally, she is the only child to get a “real” degree for her undergrad. The rest have/will get a BA.

In other news I like writing thank you notes that I don’t have to write. Forced thank you notes are no fun, but ones that you choose to write just because you can are very nice.

In Tom news, Katie returned from Denver yesterday. I should get to visit her in the next few days to pick up a left over Tom Bloomsday shirt. I can’t wait. I was bored the other day and came across this blog entry from the reporter that did the first News 4 story on Tom. I was confused by the title of the entry until I re-read the email I sent to the station pitching them the story and I used the phrase “apathetic teens.” It all made sense after that.

I may or may not be selling my soul in the next few days. Yes, I might buy an iPod. It isn’t that they are inherently evil, it is that too many people, especially college students, seem to be afraid of being alone with themselves, and instead must have their iPod going at all times. I don’t want to ever be one of those people.

Have a great day.

2007-05-19T16:31:00.001-07:00

My feet feel as though they are about to fall off. My family and friends find it hilarious that my new job (which makes me smell funny and sweat a lot) has yet to tell me how much or get paid, or when I get paid. Weird, I know, but I should make good money without having to lifeguard. And I should make lots more than I did last year at camp.

I couldn’t fall asleep last night. I just laid there in the silence and tried to clear my mind, but it didn’t work. I had to work brunch today, so I only got 5 hours of sleep. Near the end of work I was getting afraid of the knife in my hand, but I still have all 10 fingers, thank God.

I enjoy writing letters and notes. My family and friends are rolling their eyes now, but by letter I mean good letters, nice letters. I just wish I had better handwriting so I wouldn’t have to type them, which to some people might make it seem as though I don’t mean what I write. I really do.

Okay, off to mass. Have a great day. If I am not to tired I will update tomorrow.

2007-05-18T12:42:00.001-07:00

I neglected to mention Rent in my last update. It was great, as expected, but the crowd there was pretty well mixed. There were teenagers who looked apathetic to life and very well dressed old people. We went to dinner at Mizuna before the play with Kira and her friend. I had the tuna which was overcooked but okay.

Last night I had a very weird dream about putting on a play in a grocery store/Muslim temple. We only had a week to put it together. I was disturbed when I woke up.

It is too bad that the Spokane Police Department has had so many deaths of suspects recently. I hope that no police officer would ever go against policy, but we all make mistakes. I just hope that if they did nothing wrong that their names would be cleared. It is too bad if they did break policy, I just hope the Spokane community can continue to have faith in it’s police force.

In clam related news, Café Marron has fresh clams on Thursday during dinner. They were pretty good for my first clams. Last night was pretty dead, which is nice at dinner because there isn’t prep to do, so I can relax and drink my Diet Coke. However, I hear the Friday nights are pretty crazy, so tonight will be my first real dinner. AHHHHH!!!

2007-05-16T22:53:00.001-07:00

Quite a bit has happened since my last update. Sorry. I have just been very busy/tired/lazy. Woops. Sorry.

The drive back from Denver was interesting. We filled the entire back of our Subaru Outback for the trip. We hit the road at 11 am and drove straight on through to Spokane arriving at 2:30 am local time. Highlights: NOT killing a deer, leaving Wyoming, finally being home, “Walking on Broken Glass” and the robot that went with it, and laughs along the way.

After returning home I promptly fell asleep, woke up, got a badly needed haircut and then went to my job interview. I got a job as a cook at Café Marron in Browns Addition. It is a little bistro style restaurant across the street from The Elk, and is located in the old Cannon St. Grill. We have great food, and we just rolled out a new menu with many great salads and other lunch and dinner foods. I started work Thursday (yes, only one day after returning home) and have been very tired because of it. this job does however give me a greater appreciation of the work that goes into any meal I eat out.

In other news, happy Mothers Day to all those mothers. I have one of the, if not the best, mothers in the world. I would be willing to stake money on that.

In Tom Everett news, Katie will be flying down to Denver on Thursday for a five day visit. Please continue keep her and Tom in your thoughts and prayers. If you would like, sending a card to Tom I’m sure would help raise his spirits. You can just address it to “Patient: Tom Everett, c/o Craig Hospital, 3425 S. Clarkson St., Englewood, CO 80113.” So, if you were to do that and just wish him good luck and let him know that you are thinking about him.

On the other side of the spectrum that is my life, this week’s episode of House was not that great. The patient wasn’t that engaging even thought he was just like House. Hopefully next week’s season finally will be better.

And finally, everyone should check out KO’s DC Idol and vote for it. I voted for Clinton because he really is the worst. Props do go to John Ashcroft however for writing his own song. Best of luck to all the candidates, voting ends at noon ET on Friday.

2007-05-07T21:50:00.001-07:00

So, there is so much I want to tell you about that I have a special format. Bellow are the categories of my post today. All the post are bellow, but to just put it all in one update would be a little overwhelming. Or maybe underwhelming. Either way here we go.

-Tom Everett and Bloomsday

2007-05-07T21:47:00.005-07:00

Here is the break down on Tom stories. KHQ and KXLY both did pre-race day stories and post race day stories. The SR printed a story Monday. Here is the story followed by the news pieces.

Friends keep injured teen in race

Paula Davenport
Staff writer
May 7, 2007

One of the largest contingencies of Bloomsday runners belonged to Tom's Team, a grass-roots group formed in recent weeks to help sustain 17-year-old Tom Everett's spirits.

And Tom has no idea.

A Ferris High School junior and cross-country star, Tom suffered a life-changing spinal cord injury on a jump at Schweitzer Mountain Resort in early April over spring break. He just started what friends say is expected to be at least two months of rehab at a medical center near Denver.

They want Tom to know they're rooting for him. So to coincide with Bloomsday, they've sold T-shirts for Tom.

"Our goals were to do something for Tom's spirits and to encourage all the people who wanted to help but felt so powerless … to feel like they were doing something," said Gunnar Evenson, a friend of the Everett family.

A top athlete, Tom has been an on-and-off Bloomsday participant since sixth grade. He finished 12th in the 13- to 15-year-old age group in the 2005 Bloomsday, when he turned in a time of 49 minutes and 48 seconds.

Because he's sidelined this year, Tom's friends are creating a big, tangible get-well wish: a large photo poster of hundreds of friends who on Bloomsday raced or sported bright green "Hey, Thomas" T-shirts depicting a winged-giraffe flying inside a track shoe.

Scott Davis, a 15-year-old cross-country runner and friend of Tom's, donned the signature green shirt for the race.

"It feels good to be here. There's just a huge pack of people (in Tom's T-shirts), and it's really cool to be a part of it."

The photo session, which featured 300 people, took place on Ferris High School's track after the race.

Katie Reichard, who is Tom's girlfriend and a junior at Lewis and Clark, helped organize the endeavor and thinks the resulting poster will be hand-delivered by family or friends who'll be visiting Tom in the next week or so.

"I think the big fulfillment should be the picture – seeing how many people turned out with the shirt," said Reichard, who joined a clutch of 20 teens in green shirts on the race course.

"We saw so many people we didn't know walking with the shirt on," Reichard said in amazement after finishing the course.

While he's been in a lot of pain lately, she said, Tom is upbeat overall.

"He's amazing us all," Reichard said. "He knows he's going to be independent, and he knows what he has to do to get healthy."

One of the first things he told her after his accident was that he has every intention of hitting the slopes again.

"We're thinking maybe of getting him a really cool adaptive ski" with some of the money we've raised, Reichard said.

KHQ pre-raceday (story at 6:30)

KHQ raceday

KXLY pre-raceday

KXLY raceday

I would just like to thank all the reporters and editors and producers who helped create these stories. When I wrote each news outlet in Spokane I only expected there to be one 15 second blurb on a single news station. I never expected the word to get out this well. Thanks to Katie and Eric for planning this. Early counts say they brought in somewhere around $4,000.

2007-05-07T21:47:00.003-07:00

Congratulations to the Regis Class of 2007. Well done. Regis is a better place for your four years in attendance. You will be missed.

Graduation was nice. After a week of steady rain, the weather held out in the morning for the ceremony itself. Once the reception started however, the weather turned south. I got pretty well burned on my face, but it is well worth having graduation outside.

As with any family vacation, meals dominated the weekend. Highlights include the dinners at La Fondue and the Denver Chop House. Many thanks to the rents for an amazing weekend. And congrats to Becky.

The weekends top 5:

5. Drunk, dancing guy falling off the stage at Sing Sing’s (piano bar). And by falling I mean falling hard. I mean nothing breaking a fall onto concrete.

4. Pink pants at Baccalaureate mass.

3. The entire Sing Sing’s experience.

2. Becky graduating with Med school on the horizon

1. Good times with good friends.

2007-05-07T21:47:00.001-07:00

Packing and moving are two of the worst things in the world. As a college student living in campus housing, you move every 8 months. This really should prevent the accumulation of too much junk, but Kathryn and I prove that wrong. I have so much junk that I only kind of need.

I am writing this update now while Becky is packing up her room. She even has to think more about what to keep because she is not just leaving things in storage, but will soon be off to Omaha.

Packing has been especially difficult this spring because it has forced me to think 16 months into the future. Study abroad has made me very excited, but I am also very scared. Packing was the last thing I had to do before it was me officially leaving school and my friends for the year.

2007-05-07T21:46:00.001-07:00

To my family and friends at Regis. I will miss you so much next year. I hope to take what I have learned here at Regis and take it out into the world to share with Florence and the Gonzaga students. I hope that you have a productive year, and continue to learn and to question.

Today Becky and I had a little shindig to say good bye. We had pizza and cake (thanks Sizz) at Becky’s apartment and then went bowling. 6 of us bowled, I came in 3^rd in the first game (112ish) and won the second game (155).

Good bye Regis. These next 16 months I will miss you.

2007-05-07T21:41:00.000-07:00

Plans for this summer:

Work somewhere

Current Job Prospects

Line cook at restraint
Office work
Prodigal son

Earn lots of money for Italy
Learn a little Italian
Hang out with lots of friends
Eat the best bagels in the world
Spend lots of time with the family
Find a special place in Spokane for me to replace the SJFRC
Connect with those I have lost contact with
Buy an iPod

In order for these things to happen Becky and I will have to survive our drive home. Becky and I will not be stopping to stay the night. Tomorrow we hope to leave by 10. Lets see how that works out.

2007-05-03T06:41:00.001-07:00

Last night was very productive. I took a short nap this morning and now am on a break. My education policy is coming together much better now that I am putting it down on paper. Yeah!!!! I have no more test, just another 13-18 pages on my education policy recommendation by Friday at 5. I can do this.

I kept listening to this song last night and this morning as I wrote. I understand that there has been quite a bit of Mika in my updates recently, but when you are procrastinating, finding new music is so much better than preparing for school.

Last night Kay, Jean and I went to The Spaghetti Factory for a good bye dinner. Kay leaves today and Jean leaves Saturday. I will miss the two of them so much next year. I can’t wait till senior year when we will be reunited. The dinner conversation was infinitely better than the service. Our waiter didn’t show up for the first five minutes, so the manager took our meal order. Then, the waiter didn’t show up until we were already more than half way done with our meal. He was horrible, but my food was good. Plus, there was spumoni which helped a lot.

My friends were not suspicious of McMorris from my post yesterday. I swear I am not judging her, I just think it is hilarious.

I won’t be watching the Republican debate today. I will either be writing or spending time with the rents and manda who get into town today for graduation. We are having dinner at La Fondue tonight, I will let you know how it goes.

Okay, back to education policy!!! Have a great day all.

2007-05-01T23:08:00.000-07:00

I just keep making internet friends. YEAH!!!!

I was totally committed to watching Countdown yesterday, but I fell asleep. Woops. However, thanks to the internets I found this to be rather humorous.

I was woken from my nap by Mother calling me to tell me about a story on the Spokane NBC station. The story is at 6:30 on this video. I am very glad that Katie decided to let the story get out. I wish I could be there, stupid college graduation.

Congrats to Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers on the birth of her son Cole last Sunday. She was married on 5 August 2006. 40 weeks later means 12 May 2007. The press release from the Congresswoman’s office said that the baby was due at the end of May, but that means she got pregers the first time around or was lying about her due date. Well done Congresswoman.

KHQ…. Really? Was the exclamation point needed in this email? Really?

Today I have my IR final and a lot of writing to do. Wish me luck.

Finally, Glenn Beck is an idiot as KO reminded us yesterday. On my International Relations test today I will actually be talking about how NGO’s make the world a better and a safer place to live.

2007-05-01T07:49:00.000-07:00

Well hello May. Saying that is scary. May means the end of school and the beginning of work. I have one test left and some 30 pages to write. I can do this, it is just that is so darn beautiful out right now.

I made a new internets friend yesterday. His name is Kelly and his son is a freshman at Ferris. His son runs XC and track with Tom and Nate Everett. He was wondering how Tom is doing. I love the internets. They can bring us all so close together in crappy times like this.

I have a Tom status update. This is what Katie wrote on somebody’s facebook wall. He's really getting going on rehab, spending 4-6 hrs a day in a wheelchair/sitting up, working on balance. He's supposed to start this sweet bike which uses electrodes to signal his muscles to move so he can work his legs even though his brain doesn’t make the connection. Its hard though - he's having a lot of back pain and fevers every day so that slows down recovery/rehab. He's tough and really optimistic about the future which makes a world of difference.

In other news, Becky had her piano recital last night. This was just a collection of people who took a piano class this semester. Some people were really bad, and others were pretty good. Each person only played for at most 4 minutes, and the auditorium was too hot, but Becky played well and I got a cookie so I really shouldn’t complain.

The problem with finally finding a storage space for the next 16 months is that now I have to move in. AHHHHH!!!!! School is almost over and I feel a little overwhelmed.

One last thing. Thanks to Kathryn R. for her help last night. I will miss you next year. Okay, have a great day.

2007-04-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

1 down, 2 to go. Yes, I only have 3 tests for finals, but I have 2 3-4 page papers due on Thursday and a 25 pager due Friday!!! But hey, things are looking up. I have my Asian History test at 10 today, and then my IR on Wednesday. I can see the light.

The key to passing my Spanish final this morning had many parts. First, I watched the Goblet of Fire in Spanish as I fell asleep. Then, for breakfast I had Lil’ Burrito. Then, as a pump up song before the test I listened to this song. And finally I got my final Spanish composition back before the test and got a 93 on it. YEAH!!!

I cannot wait until I finish my education paper. Then, the semester will be over and I will start to learn Italian.

So, in the news, congratulations to Tony Snow for returning to work. Health is a non-partisan issue, and as much as I yell at him when he is on TV, it will be good to have him back. Also, Google appears to be coming closer to indexing all information in the world. I haven’t gotten an email yet asking to index my mind, so they still have a way to go, but it is coming closer.

Have a great day, I sure am.

2007-04-28T18:49:00.000-07:00

I really like this song. It is lots of fun. In other music news, who thought that adding Bright Eyes to my favorite music on facebook would have such backlash? I certainly thought that not that many people would even see. Weird.

Yesterdays top 6:

6. Payday.

5. Kathryn being offered a sexual favor by a stranger over my phone

4. A Brother (I don’t know what order) almost killing me after hearing about my letter to the AB.

3. LAST DAY OF CLASSES!!!

2. Watching the wonderful Mrs. Henderson Presents.

1. Spending part of my afternoon on the Waller’s porch after work.

Here is the main point of my update today. What are your thoughts on education reform. For my Comparative Public Policy final paper I need to do a policy recommendation. I am doing mine on education, but I am having problems creating a broad spectrum reform. Whatever you could leave as a comment would be amazing. Thanks!!!

2007-04-27T08:57:00.001-07:00

This youtube video is another perfect example of why the internet was invented. Warning: that video will get stuck in your head, which is really bad if you want a good quality of life.

Becky had never heard of Flight of the Concords until the Mr. Regis competition last week. This is the song Zach did for his talent. Hilarious.

Last night Kathryn, Becky, Nicole and I had Gang Garee Gai. It was great fun except for the spilled fish sauce, which is in no way a pleasant experience. The potatoes were perfect as was the curry. Kathryn tried to cut off her finger will chopping the potato but did not succeed. Thanks all involved. BEST FAMILY DINNER EVER!!!

If anyone was looking for comment on the Democratic Presidential Debate I have nothing for you. I was making dinner and missed most of it. I will have something for you before the weekend ends. However I do have a comment of the Republican candidates. The Republicans need to stop using fear as a wedge. Keith Olbermann’s special comment from Wednesday night says in all.

I am kind of mad at the weatherman. This weekend is going to be too beautiful which will make studying for finals all too difficult.

Okay, have a great day, after all, it is the last day of classes.

2007-04-21T22:35:00.001-07:00

It has been too long. I am sorry. I am just very lazy and it was Ranger Week, so don’t blame me. Here is a list of things that made the time since my last update great.

More than 100 people came to my peace vigil. YEAHHHH!!

Tom Reynolds (VP for Mission) and Diane Cooper (Dean of Student Life) both were in attendance.

Hypnotist.

Mr. Regis competition.

Stories from the keg race (no mother I did not go, don’t worry).

Lots of free food on Friday (free breakfast thanks to the Town House RAs, free lunches thanks to Earth Week, Res Life, and Athletics, and free dinner thanks to the Hospitality House).

My Spanish teacher calling me smart.

Getting a 95 on my Asian History test.

Not nearly enough dancing to this song.

RANGER DAY!!!!

Reasons WA is better than CO. here and here

Dance Party in UM.

Arguing with people.

The faculty speak out Wed. on the steps of the library. Lots of good things said.

The new Will Ferrell video.

Not doing anything.

Winning “The Weakest Link” on Play Station.

Browbeating.

Minigolf.

A fabulous dinner at ESPN Zone with Drew, Josh, Jerry, and Pearl.

Post-dinner cake from The Market.

School almost being over.

That is all I can think of right now, but I had an amazing week, and I need more sleep, so have a great day.

2007-04-18T07:45:00.000-07:00

This is all you get today.

2007-04-17T16:50:00.001-07:00

Well today was quite eventful.

Today’s edition of The Highlander (the Regis weekly) featured multiple articles on discrimination and diversity. Here is the best place to start. It is a letter written by the faculty regarding the events of last Friday. Next we take you to the letter I co-wrote and signed along with 24 other students. Fr. Sheeran finally decided to take an interest with what has happened on the campus in this letter to the community. And finally, if you are too lazy to read the others, here is the front page article over viewing everything. Oh, and University Ministry and the Religious Studies Department had a response as well.

In addition to all this I am planning a candlelight vigil for tomorrow for peace on our campus. It is going to be at 9:30 in front of the Student Center. Everyone should go.

In other news I feel as though the Peter Paul and Mary song “Light One Candle” would be appropriate. My heart goes out to all those effected by the tragedy at VT yesterday. At Regis we had a prayer service for all effected by this tragedy and the press turned out in droves. There were at least 4 video cameras and 6 photographers there. They kind of messed with the feel of the service. However, I was quoted by the Channel 2 news.

Okay, that is all I really have to say today. Have a good day!!

2007-04-14T10:10:00.001-07:00

First, there is some good news. On Monday Tom will being moving to his rehab facility in the great state of Colorado. He will be at Craig Hospital in there Spinal Cord Injury program. Craig has been listed in the 10 tem rehab hospitals since US News and World Report started ranking them in the 80’s. It is a great facility and I will get to see him for the last three weeks of school. Also, he has been having pretty bad headaches, and he didn’t have any! Please keep praying for him though.

One of the greatest things about America is the fact that the government protects (usually) those who speak out against it. We are given the right to say that our commander in chief, our congress, out courts, our governors, and our mayors are all horrible at their jobs. Not so true in Russia, which is really really scary to me.

In other not so shocking news, “abstinence only” sex education doesn’t work. Who would have thought that teenagers would have sex? It just doesn’t make sense. The next natural question should be “How much did this federally funded study cost?”

Last night at the Hospitality House (which had neither movies nor smoothies as I was promised) we were trying to come up with the phrase that if Googled would most likely have federal agents pounding down the door. I feel the discussion would have been easier if Bush gets what he wants.

Okay, have a great day.

2007-04-12T09:09:00.000-07:00

No new news on Tom, but I hope to hear something today. Any and all of my Regis readers are invited to daily mass on Friday at 11:30 which will be said for Tom.

Congrats to the best big sister ever, Becky, (except for Manda) for winning an ipod shuffle and giving it to me. Thanks Beckers.

I was so incredibly happy on Tuesday when I saw that the Senate was debating a bill that would relax the ban on federal funding for stem cell research. It passed yesterday 63-34. The bill allows embryos that would have been tossed anyway, also known as embryonic stem cells, to receive federal funding. What a great day. The House is supposed to adopt the Senate version sometime next week. Unfortunately, the bill is four votes short of the veto override in the Senate.

I might understand why a college would not have the fiscal year ending on the 31^st of December, but the Regis FY ends on April 30^th?!? School is still in session then. What an odd time to have it end.

2007-04-09T03:24:00.000-07:00

Stay tuned for a rare Monday update…..

Yes, I know that I never update on Mondays, but I am today.

Tom Everett is doing better. During a late Saturday, early Sunday surgery, things went very well. He has what is called an incomplete spinal cord injury. That means that the spinal nerve was not completely ripped in two. He has great control of both his arms, and was able to eat ice cream and drink apple juice. He has pretty much non existent feeling below his belly button, but he did have some sensation of having to go to the bathroom. I ask that you continue to pray for Tom, his family, and his friends. To help raise funds for his medical care, Tom’s best friend is designing t-shirts for Bloomsday. Unfortunately, Regis’ graduation is that day so I will not be in Spokane, but my thoughts and prayers will be with those running for him.

This website has a lot of promising research about spinal cord injuries.

Mad props to Katie Reichard, Tom’s girlfriend. She has kept me updating on everything that is happening. She is so strong, and I ask that you keep her in your heart these next few weeks.

Hopefully Tom will be off to Portland, OR for rehab within a week. Portland will be the best place for Tom to get the care he needs.

Tom seems to have consumed my life this weekend, but I couldn’t imagine a better person to consume it. Just a reminder that if you want to send him a letter you can do that here. Oh, and if you were wondering who the patron saint of paralysis is, that would be St. Wolfgang.

Good luck Tom!! Stay strong. Stay happy. Stay you.

This is a picture I stole from facebook of Katie and Tom. How cute!!!

2007-04-08T09:18:00.001-07:00

I’m dreaming of a white Easter. Especially since we had a brown Christmas.

All in all the Easter and Pre-Easter liturgies went very well. No real large mistakes that were my fault, and the congregation really only knew of one mistake. Grace, I am looking in your direction.

Today will be my day of rest. Yesterday I was pretty worthless, but I should receive more new about Tom today.

I feel obligated to give you some political view today. I haven’t found a single story relating the release of the British soldiers as an “Easter gift” to the release of Barabbas as a Passover gift. Why not? I think it would make a great story.

2007-04-07T14:23:00.001-07:00

Today’s update brings mostly bad news. Yesterday will skiing, one of my JCs from this past summer was in an accident. He was “almost certainly paralyzed” according to the message I received from his girlfriend. Tom Everett is an amazing young man, and if I ever have kids I hope they are just like him.

He was transferred to Harborview Medical Center at the University of Washington a few hours ago. UW has amazing stem cell researchers in the UW Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine. Please keep Tom, the Everett Family, Katie his girlfriend, and all Tom’s friends in your prayers.

If you would like to send Tom a message, you can click this link and it will be delivered to him. Just so you know, that page is kind of slow.

2007-04-06T10:06:00.001-07:00

This week has been a very long week. Liturgy planning actually takes quite a bit. Yesterdays Holy Thursday ceremony was absolutely beautiful. And on the plus side, the water used to was our feet was nice and warm.

Today is Good Friday. The crucifixion has always put me on edge a little bit. It is the true sign of Jesus’ humanity, but in Luke’s account, he seems so much more divine than human. So I really don’t get it. Plus, some times I feel as though there is a lot of Catholic guilt around this time of the year.

On the plus side, I do get to listen to a lot of Jesus Christ Superstar today!

I am currently watching the press conference by some of the British soldiers who were captured and released from Iran. They are very eloquent for their answers, and I am amazed by their poise through such hardships.

Today will involve no meat, a Good Friday service, and probably a nap.

2007-04-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

After screwing up the last facebook update, Facebook has created a group previewing the changes. I am not sure that I like them.

I believe the word “uneceptable” should refer to President Bush’s handling of the war, not the Democrats stance on the war. This does look like the beginning of the Bush strategy to blame the veto on the Dems. Either that or Bush getting a little nervous and is trying to make the congress blink first in this game of political chicken.

I cannot believe Tom Tancredo gets an MSNBC politics page for himself. I only have one thing to say about him: if he gets one vote, may God have mercy on this country.

Snakes on a plane? No, snakes at Google. Thank goodness Anthony is on a visit to a California office, not the infested NY office.

Happy Holy Week to all. Today I only have one class, blood donating, and work. An easy day will be nice.

2007-04-01T21:44:00.001-07:00

While working out with Becky on Friday I weighed myself for the first time in around 2 months. I am down to 206 pounds. I haven’t weighed this little since sophomore year of high school. My mother is of course worried that I am not eating enough.

This guy from youtube is amazing. I wish I could do that. While on the subject of youtube, congrats to all of the Keithies nominees and winners. Good job.

I don’t particularly like the new MSNBC look.

I went on the Regis Men’s retreat this weekend. We went to State Forest State Park which was a little windy yesterday, but was perfect today. It was nice to have a weekend off before these last five weeks of crazy school. This retreat involved quite a bit: my first snowshoeing experience, lots of wind, lots of food, lots of fire, and many great conversations.

This week is holy week, which means a four day week, but I do have a test in International Relations on Wednesday, and a take home test in Asian History. So the week won’t be too much of a breeze.

2007-03-29T03:58:00.001-07:00

So, who would have thought that if you sit at a computer for 5ish hours and only moved to move your laundry it could show about two inches? I love snow in March!!!!

The Keithies might be consuming all my brain power, but he has no problems saying he ripped off the idea.

Today Becky and I are going to a Seder meal here at Regis. I have been told that there will be very good lamb.

I honestly cannot believe that Alberto still has his job. It really boggles my mind that he is still around. I should start a pool on when he gets sacked.

Speaking of pools, I never entered the “which cousin will have a kid first,” but congrats to Bill and Katie Kuder who are expecting a child at some point in the next 9 months. My mother was a little sketch on the details.

Okay, I cant see across the width of the quad right now. It is snowing that hard. I kind of ate this state. Dang.

2007-03-25T19:46:00.001-07:00

The weekends are getting too short as school roles along. However, one the bright side of things, 6 weeks and school is out for summer!!

This past Wednesday the Westword published an article about a former Regis students experiences on campus as a lesbian. Read the article, you will be a better person for doing it.

In other news, it looks as though some members of the GOP seem to be watching the news recently.

Today after mass Becky and I went on another picnic. It was another beautiful day and I couldn’t ask for more.

Finally, this might be one of my favorite songs of all time.

2007-03-20T09:23:00.000-07:00

I have yet to receive any angry comments from my last post. SUCCESS!!!

I found this video the other day and it made me very happy. I cant wait until some little American kid can sing this song. That will be a day when we have made some real progress. It has a very catchy tune and even though I don’t speak Dutch I do get this song stuck in my head.

Today should be easy. We are watching Mississippi Burning in seminar. Very compelling movie and I think one of my favorites from the class.

Finally, if the weather keeps staying this pleasant I am afraid that summer will be bad. I don’t want to use up all the good weather days when I can’t enjoy them because of classes.

2007-03-19T18:07:00.000-07:00

Today, as you surely know, is the 4th anniversary of the beginning of “Operation Iraqi Freedom.” This could also be called the 2nd or 3rd Gulf War or the invasion/occupation/liberation of Iraq. Whatever you call it this is all I plan to discus today.

To start I will quote my brothers update of 12 September 2001:

song of the day: "light one candle" by peter, paul, and mary

the pentagon is still smouldering. the fear of yesterday morning and the confusion of yesterday afternoon have been replaced by anger in all too many. please, pray for those effected. pray for justice. but most importantly, pray for peace. the following days, weeks, months--perhaps even years--will be among the greatest tests our nation has ever endured. now, though, is a time for grieving. grieving our lost loved ones. grieving our lost sense of security. grieving the pain that so many throughout the world have felt for so long. lord, make me a means of your peace...

These years have been a time of struggle: what trade-offs must happen for the security of our nation, what rights do these enemies have, how do we respect their human dignity when they do not respect ours.

The great thing about history is that we get to learn from it. Maybe President Bush should have read a book about Vietnam, and then thought whether or not this war would be a good idea.

Pope John Paul II once said that “War should belong to the tragic past, to history: it should find no place on humanity's agenda for the future.” And that “war is still a defeat for humanity.” He also reminded us that “War and violence can never resolve the problems of men.” But who knows, maybe God tells him something else. Our own Douglas MacArthur, a war hero, said “I know war as few other men now living know it, and nothing to me is more revolting. I have long advocated its complete abolition, as its very destructiveness on both friend and foe has rendered it useless as a method of settling international disputes.”

What is the cost of freedom? Or a better question would be what is and acceptable cost of freedom? Is it worth 409 billion dollars? Is it worth the tens of thousands of humans killed? Is it worth the loss of US credibility around the world?

The president today told us “that the Baghdad security plan is still in its early stages, and success will take months, not days or weeks.” Well Mr. President, we gave you four years, and you did not succeed. How many more months do you want? You only get 22. We gave you 409 billion dollars. How much more do you want? We gave you tens of thousands of lives. How many more do you want? How much more must we sacrifice to finish the war you started but most likely will not end?

I don’t pretend to have the answers, but it is good to question. There is no solution that will solve this war immediately, but lets have a free and open debate where all can be heard, then at least we would be a model of democracy for the world.

2007-03-18T12:49:00.000-07:00

Well hello. First, would everyone please say a pray for the Maloney Family. James passed away yesterday. His sister, Sr. Peg Maloney, is the director of University Ministry here at Regis, and his niece also works in UM and lives directly above me. Please keep the family and James in your prayers.

Here are two groups of photos from the RMAC shootout. There are some photos with me in the background.

In general last week was the greatest weather ever.

On Tuesday night some UM staff filled the student activities office with 720 balloons. Here are some pictures.

Bill O’Reilly is a horrible person, and really needs to be slapped upside the head. For two straight days he was the “worst person in the world” by Keith Olbermann two days in a row. Here is the first and the second. Bill O truly has no soul.

2007-03-12T20:42:00.000-07:00

Today was so beautiful it was hard to go to class. It was the first great day of spring, which doesn’t mean that winter is over, but it does mean we are in the crazy month of March.

I got back my IR and Public Policy Midterms today. A- on both, which is better than I was expecting for Public Policy.

Today was also the first time I listened to Jesus Christ Superstar this Lent. Which, if you are a House, is the true start of Lent. You can find most of not all of the music on YouTube, Which only adds to the other great YouTube Jesus videos.

Becky still has not bought me birthday gift, but we are going to do cake and gifts this Thursday, so she better have it by then.

What's the buzz? Tell me what's a-happening. Okay, here is the news: scary plane landing, signs of the apocalypse, and a story that seems to forget that anything is possible in March.

Let’s see how many Superstar references I can make before Easter. It could be fun!!