Attack of the Environmentalists.

You've got to be f*&#ing kidding me. The basis of the article (linked in the title above) is that some hippie-freak-pink0-commie-tree-hugger who used to advise the leader of the free world is a major part of an organization who plans to unveil a 'cause' to give Mother Nature her own human-rights. Yes, you read that correctly, folks. The Earth gets human rights. Who cares about the Chinese, oppressed people in Africa, women all over the world who are viewed as incubators and not humans... we've got to give Mother Earth her rights. When the hell did we all become freaking Druids?

This is ridiculous. It trivializes every bit of work any humanitarian has ever put into providing human rights to any one on the inanimate object that they're trying to give rights. If you want to recycle, go ahead. Want to turn the medians in your neighborhood into a raised bed? Please do. Lets even work on technologies that do really cool 'eco-friendly' things. But human rights to a planet? And don't start giving me that awful argument about how the planet can't fight for itself. It's ridiculous. It's insane. It makes me so damned angry that this is even an issue. I can't even actually describe how frustrating this is in the face of every other actually relevant thing that these great minds should be worried about solving. I'm actually half-surprised I can even type because after somebody from some worthless South American country said that capitalism is the enemy of the earth I started spitting tacks.

I'm reading Michael Chrichton's "The State of Fear" and it is fabulous. At one point one of his characters says, "the only thing worse than a champagne-liberal is a Gulfstream environmentalist." And what is Mr. Jones doing? He's headquartered in LA and jet-setting off to Rio for an environmental conference planned on a date suspiciously close to Festival.

Yes, we should be considerate of our environment... after all, we don't want to look like we live on the set of Idiocracy. But do we really need to spend millions of dollars trying to pass legislation and spearheading and international initiative to give Mother Nature, the Earth, this really large piece of gravitationally controlled rock human rights? I know, and fully believe that God gave us this Earth and it is ours to take care of but... c'mon people.

Plant your trees, recycle your water bottles, but please for goodness sake... drop the get-the-whole-world-involved-so-the-cause-will-make-money marketing crap.

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In Other News, I made home-made donuts today. That is all.

(No really, that's basically all I've done today.)

What Tolerance Looks Like

With Easter upon us, and many people looking forward to adding whatever they gave up 40 days ago back into their lives, its amazing how much of it I’m surrounded by here in Doha.  It’s a Muslim country, right?  Then why the Easter sales?  Why the Easter brunches?  Why the chocolate bunnies and eggs?  Because it’s just another commercial holiday that has nothing to do with the resurrection of Christ… partially.

The other part is that the Muslims are actually quite tolerant of Christianity.  Crazy, huh?  My American friend and I went shopping today on the Pearl and realized that there were all kinds of Easter things going on.  When we discussed this with one of the shop girls (Indian) she said “Just wait until Christmas.”  We both said, “Wait… what?”  Apparently Christmas is lights, and pageantry and Christmas trees in all of the shopping malls and gifts, gifts gifts.  Sure, they miss the whole point of it being the celebration of the birth of Christ and one of the largest events on the Church calendar but… they still do it.  We asked if anyone tries to stop the celebrations, or if they’re offended, and she said, “No, why would they?”  like we had just asked the dumbest question ever.

Tolerance isn’t what the US makes it out to be.  It isn’t welcoming everyone and everything with wide open arms no matter how it affects our society, and then throwing a fit when something offends our delicate sensibilities.  Tolerance is saying, “Yeah, we’re a Muslim country.  Cover your shoulders up but please, have the Christmas tree… oh, and do you have enough plastic colored eggs for this weekend?”  They even had a Muslim man on a sign at the mall handing a presumably English man an Easter egg.

When we thanked the girl and left the store she said, “enjoy your religious festival!” (her English was great… but some things just sound funny).  If everybody in Qatar has that attitude then this may be the greatest Easter and then, eventually, Christmas ever.  Sure they use X-Mas to write everything but in chrismons “x” is the symbol for Christ so I’m not too worried about that.  And maybe they’re into the commercial side of it but they’re going to let me have my Christmas… no matter what they personally believe.  And, this Easter, I get to go to Church and celebrate who we want… because this Muslim country is tolerant.  No making concessions for their feelings or being careful not to offend because they know we won’t.  They know if they’re polite about it we will be too. 

Take note, liberals.  I’m feeling more tolerance for our beliefs in the Middle East than I did in the states.

In Other News, I walked around in a $2300 pair of heels for about half an hour today.  They were the “standard” heel height (15cm, which is 5.9in) and were covered in grey crystals (the pink ones are pictured).  The sole of the shoe was coated in silver glitter and I was in love (to be honest, the picture online does no justice to the shoe itself… they’re sparkly and decadent and amazing and not nearly as clumsy as the picture makes them look).

  They let me “try them out” and just asked me to bring them back when I had decided.  Life, and shoes, is good.

Statistical Observations

William showed be how to view the stats on my blog today (how is it that he's been on here just a few months and I've been writing for years and didn't know these existed?).

I'd like to state for the record that 15 people in Iran have read my blog and I haven't received a single angry e-mail from any of them. All the angry e-mails I've ever received have been from Americans (and always from people I knew personally).
Also, the ways that people have found my blog are pretty amusing as well. Why would anyone Google "men who own cats"? I really don't want to be a link in someones search for their cat-owning soul-mate or creepy Google image search.









Also, Staci... you're practically my publicist. I'm not sure if you should be concerned that people are googling you so often or excited that you are such a popular google search. Either way... thank you. :)

Acclimating.

It has been freakishly rainy over here lately. Instead of the two days a year of rain that usually occurs we've had ten days of rain. Granted, they count anything that drips from the sky as rain but still... a little drizzle out here goes a very long way toward flooding the streets to a remarkably high level.

Because of the rain the weather has been a bit cooler (read: absolutely lovely) and just about everyone is taking the chance to be out during the day for a bit longer than is usual this time of year. I've been told, though, that this won't keep up and within another week or two we'll be back at 98degrees (Fahrenheit) and I'll have to turn our A/C on again.

The title of my blog doesn't entirely apply to the weather though. I'm getting used to running around not understanding half of what anyone (including the English) says, being treated differently because I'm a white woman, and being called 'madame' by everyone who's from any country besides the UK, USA and Qatar.

As far as the language barrier is concerned it is amazing how vastly different the English language is depending on where someone learned it. We have friends from Yorkshire who are harder than Eliza Doolittle's father to understand and then another friend from Nigeria who is the funniest, sweetest man but is nearly impossible to understand. On the other hand, my usage of context clues in order to carry on a conversation has increased exponentially. It's fascinating how varied the vocabularies are as well. You think that everyone knows what s'mores or molasses is, and that everyone knows the "six of one, half dozen of another" figure of speech but... they don't. It's cultural. Every version of the English language is influenced by so much more than your region, what languages your parents speak. It takes a huge hint from the culture you grow up in. We have a Dutch friend who says "shall" and "oughtn't" like they're words that everyone in the world uses everyday. But, often times, the only times you'll hear words like that in a conversation is if you're speaking to a very polite Southern lady in a very proper situation or someone is speaking Legalese.

Granted, I feel like I knew all this before... I just hadn't sat down to examine in. It's like this place puts a magnifying glass on everything that was, prior to coming here, just part of traveling. Or, possibly, this is the first time I've lived overseas since we were in Iceland (and I was 5). Other than that is was a month or so here, and a month or so there. Either way, I'm appreciating the differences, appreciating the culture I've grown up around and (inevitably) expanding my vocabulary.

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In Other News, we got our household goods shipment today so I need to go unpack! I'm so excited to have my guitar back. If you need me, I'll be in the backyard playing. Don't bother calling... I can't hear the phone from there. :)

A Whole New World

There is a lot about my world that has changed lately. First and foremost, I packed my bags and moved to Doha, Qatar where my civil-engineer of a husband is working for the Army Corps of Engineers. Second, I'm back in the job market and searching has never seemed so tedious. Finally, after only having spent about two weeks together this entire year we're now up to three weeks. Being the individualists that we are, living together again is requiring some adjusting... but that's not the big story here.

I've never been quite this culture shocked before. Amazed at the differences, yes. But truly surprised? Not until now...

The first night I was here the call to prayer woke me up at about 4:30am. Granted, I had heard the sound before but it gave me the same eerie feeling it had previously. The first time I had heard it was in Guantanamo Bay as I was coming out of the water on Windmill beach just a stones throw from the detention camps. It was about 3:00pm, the sun was still pretty high, there was little to no wind but you could hear the Azan (call to prayer) very clearly. My bikini-clad, red-blooded, American self fully appreciated the irony of being scantily clad on some of the best beach real estate in the world in the midst of the Muslim call to prayer. But the sound still gave me goosebumps.

Since then I've heard Azan five times a day for the past six days and it has become quite commonplace. My husband likens it to hearing the liturgical singing that is done in a lot of Christian churches, particularly the very traditional Lutheran ones I've suggested we attend. It really is fairly similar. Sure, the cadences and language are different but the concepts and the intent both encompass the same things... solemnity, respect and spirituality.

A large number of Americans find the call to prayer as unusual as I used to, some think its a sign of fanaticism. I've had people tell me that they believe only an extremist religion would require the followers to pray five times a day. But the Azan is just a reminder to Muslims that they need to pray, whether it be at that exact moment or not makes no difference. Now, I really enjoy the call to prayer, the song is a nice familiar part of my day and often I take that time to say a little prayer of my own.

There is another axiom of Islam that I'm having a lot more trouble with than I had thought I would.

We all know the women have to be covered. Their varying degrees of cover are decided by their families. Some women are allowed to go out in blue jeans, long sleeves and a head covering while others absolutely must be covered head-to-toe with black fabric, including gloves and shoe-coverings in the same material. I find myself trying to look past the veil over their faces and see if there really is a person in there. With the women who only have to cover their heads, and wear modest clothing, its obvious that they're individuals. They're all on their hot pink cell phones, wearing Louboutin heels, walking up and down the main drag in the Souq like they're trolling for fish. They've got spark to them, they laugh, they're beautiful. But it's the women who walk two steps behind their husband, fully covered, holding a squirming child's hand and not saying a word that bothers me.

Now, I've never been much of a feminist. Yes, I have always wanted to build a career, an impressive resume and be respected for my professional skills but if my husband wants pie with dinner then I'm going to make sure I have all of the ingredients necessary for homemade pie crust and filling and by the way, would you like some coffee with that, honey?

But these women just seem so hidden. No one is, legally, allowed to look at them but they stare to try and discover even a fragment of a figure under the burqas. They shuffle around in small groups, usually with a few small children with them, and seem to come and go like ghosts. I know they're there, they're obviously standing in the grocery line in front of me, but it doesn't seem like there is an actual person there. I know it's just clothing, it is just a few layers of fabric but I feel like there's an entire universe separating myself from these women.

It makes me wish I could do something for them. Introduce myself to them and be a friend. Give them someone or something outside of their sheltered world. But that's not my place. And that's not the way the Middle East works. Partially because I'm stared at and ignored as well.

The other night a man asked if he could use the extra chair that was at our table while William, our neighbor Harry and I were out to dinner. He specifically said, "Sir, would you mind if I used this chair?" and I answered "Oh of course not." But he wouldn't take the chair until a second later when William spoke up and said "Of course". I didn't even notice the man's hesitation until William explained to me that not only was the man definitely not talking to me, he wasn't going to take an answer from me either.

The other thing I'm getting used to is the social hierarchy. The Qataris are at the very top of the food chain. You cannot get any higher in status unless you're a Qatari with "His Highness" or "His Excellency" in front of your name. The second tier? White people. Whether you're American, Australian, British, Canadian or any other variation of White you've got privileges. Privileges that I'm not quite used to. The other day we were in the VIP box at the Racing and Equestrian Center for H.H. the Emir of the State of Qatar's Swords and Trophies Race. I had such a hard time giving orders to the Phillipino girl's waiting on us that I couldn't bring myself to hand the girl my half-empty plate and ask her to take it away because I was done. I wanted to find somewhere, a table or bus-cart or something, to leave it. I didn't just want to hand it over and say, "Oh and could you bring me another mango juice?" (p.s. Not even kidding about the mango juice, it's delicious) I wanted to be the one who was being nice to them, who was treating them like more than the help. But by doing so I was making myself look silly because over here there's still a caste system that is alive and well. Not just well, it's thriving. Everything from public beaches to the Souqs to places of employment works the same way. I can't get a job as a cleaning lady because that is reserved for the Ethiopian or Syrian women, I can't work as a nanny because that's a job (along with waitstaff) for Phillipino women. The public beaches charge 3,500 QR (Qatari Riyal) for 'tickets' to the beach so that the 'riff-raff' can't just come and flood the beaches. Otherwise you would have thousands, literally, of Southeastern Asian men crowding the beaches. William says that they cordon off the malls and lock certain doors so that the day-laborers who go on their day off can only be in certain areas and not bother the rest of the population. The Qataris don't want to be bothered by the help and so the help are all corralled like cattle and that's just the way it works over here.

I think I'm going to continue to grapple with the idea that the only reason I'm given any luxuries or leeway is because I'm white and my husband is a white male. My post-civil rights-movement sensibilities all tell me that this is wrong (we're all humans aren't we?) but it's just the way life is over here... and not just here but in a lot of other places in the world. I guess, no matter how much traveling I've done I'm still astounded at how incredibly naive I can be.

This is my first experience outside of the normal North American travel spheres (Eastern Asia to Western Europe) and I'm going to make the absolute best out of every moment we have here whether its for a year or five. However, that doesn't mean that I'll ever truly assimilate. Keep an eye out for my name in headlines... I can't guarantee there won't be an international incident or two.

Also, yes, I will probably be making Aladdin references from now until the day we move out. You might as well go watch the movie with your kids so will have the same song stuck in your head, too.

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In Other News, our house is amazing. We're turning one of the three bedrooms into an office/computer room and the second bedroom will still be a guest room (come visit!). Our bedroom is so great, it's almost like two adults live here. :) We've already gotten to go out and experience so much. This weekend we're going to go camping. I think I'm going to talk William into heading to the Singing Dunes. I've heard they're just beyond belief. Finally, we have a MagicJack now so once the internet is a bit more consistent I'll be sure to make some calls!

Weather in Doha today: High of 84, 57% humidity. Low of 73, 55% humidity. Slightly overcast.

Facebook

Earlier this week Facebook really made me angry. Not so much the entity itself but the people who use it and how it's being used. I swear I'll explain but let me say this first. Yes, I am the girl with the Facebook app on her Blackberry, and yes, I do check it at work... occasionally.

I posted the following as my status announcing my frustration:

"Emily Hall

is going to delete Facebook off my phone and will not be signing on anymore. I just cannot handle seeing you post your for all to see horoscope again, or spell "this" without an 'h', or whine... for the hundredth time today. This is ridiculous. Does no one have anything relevant to share?"

And in return, a number of people commented but one in particular stuck out. (Ahem, Mr. Director-Man):

"Its your fault for thinking you need to have mind-blowing material every second of everyday in the palm of your hand... Stop checking facebook so much. Remember when there was no facebook? Get back to that, and you'll be happy."

I'd like to point out, I don't actually check my Facebook that much. Daily? Yes. Hourly? No. Also, I have a bachelor's in Communication with about 27 hours of that degree consisting of media literacy classes. The point of media literacy is to understand and be able to communicate effectively via any medium... social networking included. As such, I firmly believe and do not expect that anything (read: anything) with user generated content will never, in it's entire lifespan be comprised of "mind blowing material." And please allow me to clarify what I meant by "relevant." Relevant = something that anyone other than yourself and your mother care about; including but not limited to photos of your kids, interesting articles, something you're thankful for, trip plans, trip photos... anything other than you having something to whine and complain about.

What I do expect is for the people I choose to surround myself with (even in the online setting) to not suck so much. And that's exactly what they're doing. I do not care what your horoscope has planned for you today, I hate the way you type/speak, I really don't like any of the songs your 'deep and meaningful' lyric posts come from, and you couldn't come up with something witty if your life depended on it.

On top of that, I do not want to see your vague "if I post this people will ask questions and make me feel loved" status updates, I do not want you to justify your drama with your baby daddy's other baby mama, and I do not want you to give me updates on whatever MTV/BET bullshit you're watching right now.

I love my Facebook. I get to talk to my Mommy on it, I can keep tabs on my little brothers, I get to laugh at my little sisters pictures, the ladies in my family and I even have a little book club going and when I feel all warm and fuzzy I can view the myriad of pictures of me and my husband at the drop of a hat.

I will not allow you to ruin this for me. Hence, you will be deleted.

If you would like to petition your deletion from my page that would be fine, and might even amuse me enough to make you not-deletable. In the mean time, "but we had chem together!" isn't a good enough excuse to keep you around. People and their hurt "but I thought we were friends?!" feelings be damned.

This is not a "beware you will be deleted!" blog. This is a "I'm reformatting those I surround myself with and don't feel like having all your crap in the electronic version of my life."

In short, I will not be completely signing out of Facebook... I will simply be improving my own experience.

Hypocrisy.

I'd just like to briefly state a few observations.

1- If there were a Republican President in office and the economy was still in the state it is (and has been) and so many other agendas of the administration had been unpopular and virtually bombed then focusing on yet ANOTHER social issue would never fly. The Democrats would crucify the Republicans for trying to force their morals onto a government entity and there would be no end to the dissent.

Democrats would be beating a drum of injustice and whining that the Republicans are just trying to assuage the indignation of a new demographic so they weren't failing at everything. Shouldn't you complete at least one goal successfully before moving on to five-hundred others?

2- Don't Ask/Don't Tell shouldn't have ever needed to be in place because your sexual orientation should never have bearing on your career. EVER. If so many homosexuals think they need to be recognized in the military then maybe they need to move to a career where your sexual orientation is a key component.

3- I've said this before. DADT is not an issue of eradicating ignorance. It's a housing/logistical issue. If men can't be housed with women then why would gay men be housed with straight men? Separate but equal facilities are available when people don't have to be split in five different ways. A gay men's barracks, straight men's barracks, gay women's barracks, straight women's barracks, transexual barracks, and what about bisexuals and those people who just aren't sure? This is ridiculous, folks. RIDICULOUS.

3- Quit forcing people to be one acronym or another. LGBTQ? Seriously. Live and let live.

I feel like we're going down the drain so very, very quickly.

Blame Game

I think it is truly sad that so many kids have committed suicide because of whatever pressures they were under. What I think is more sad is that we're convicting other teenagers for doing something that people have been doing for centuries... bullying. Yes, I said 'centuries'. People have been making fun of other people for being weird/different/strange/whatever for longer than any of us can remember. Only in recent history are we hearing about kid after kid after kid killing themselves because they're being picked on. Decades ago you let the bully pick on you until you got fed up then you mustered up your courage and socked him in the eye. Even more recently you told your mom and then your mom told the bullies mom and the bully got grounded. If anyone was commiting suicide is wasn't for bullying. Bullying was just part of growing up. You want to know what the difference is between then and now?

The parents.

Yes, grieving Mom's and Dad's I am pointing a finger at you. Don't pawn off your short-comings on other kids who are still dealing with this growing up thing just like your kid was. Don't cry on TV about how awful being a teenager must be.

Own up to the fact that you were not there to teach your child to LAUGH at bullies for being so small-minded and insecure that they have to pick on the skinny/gay/short/whatever kid.

Own up to the fact that while your child was crying themselves to sleep you were making sure your DVR was set correctly.

Own up to the fact that you talk to your children so little they never had the chance at the dinner table to tell you what was wrong so you could fix it.

Like so many celebrities who are now standing up against the 'atrocity' (p.s. that's my sarcasm font) that is bullying, I was bullied too. And you know what happened? My Mom asked how my day was at one point, and she talked to me enough that it was standard operating procedure to actually tell her how my day was. I told her what was happening and she said, "the next time you see that girl tell her you like her shirt, smile and walk away. She will never know what hit her." And that's exactly what I did. That girl continued to pick and pick and pick and each time I would laugh with her and make a lightly self-deprecating bad joke ("Yeah, I didn't want to look too smart this morning so I wore my stupid shoes.") And after a few weeks it stopped and I was on top of the world.

And what got me through those few weeks of her incessant picking? My parents.

And what made me smile through my teeth and laugh at her even though sometimes she was really hurtful? My parents.

Stop being cowards.

Stop being the most selfish generation known to man.

Stop blaming children for your shortcomings.

Your children killed themselves. No one else did bodily harm to them. And all that psychological hurt that they were going through could have been fixed, helped, healed by you. So no, I will not participate in your rememberance and wear rainbows day. No, I absolutely will not endorse whatever bullshit bullying legislation you're trying to pass. What I will endorse is you taking better of the kids you are damned lucky to still have. I absolutely will support you taking responsibility for your inaction and letting these bullies learn their lessons like teenagers will.

Yes, I know. I have no sympathy bone. But that's not entirely true. I feel for every teenager who feels like their inadequate, weird, unaccepted, studid and just plain old not good enough. And each and everyone of them should know be weird and unacceptable. Be unique. Be quirky. Get picked on. And then you know what, show some true character and laugh it off, or take care of it.

Too Gone for Too Long

Well, I have been told more than once that I ought to get back to blogging so here I am. Lacking inspiration but feeling like if I don't write then I'm being a bit of a disappointment.

What's that you say? How could I be lacking inspiration in the middle of the wreck of a mess our Federal government has us in? How could I live in New Mexico's equivalent of Berkeley, California and not be, at the very least, upset? That's simple.

It's overwhelming.
But, fear not, faithful reader.
I haven't given up the good fight.

Instead of being frustrated and ranting on the internet about how and overqualified white girl cannot get a job in Albuquerque, NM I simply gave up being angry and channeled my energy into starting my own consulting business. And now we have DGConsulting LLC (DGC for short).

And instead of being upset that there are protesters that flood the streets of Nob Hill, but usually only when the cameras are on, to be so eloquently expressive about their opinion on Arizona's immigration law I simply stay home and write letters to Governor Jan Brewer telling her how much I appreciate the serious position she's taken on making something that is illegal actually illegal.

Recently I had a friend (Thank you, Mr. Matthes) point out something interesting to me that shows up in the "Political Views" section of their Facebook profiles. People have things like, "Political Views: OBAMA!" or "Political Views: I hate Sarah Palin" written where things like "Raving Liberal Nut" or "Socialism Rocks!" should be. Now, let's assume that a large portion of my Facebook friends have a college degree... after all, a huge portion of them did graduate with me. Everyone who graduated from ODU had to take POLS 101; meaning they all know the fundamental differences between liberal and conservative and so on. So instead of going through and asking each one of those people to re-read a textbook they more than likely sold back.... I'm going to keep blogging. Then at least they will have some point of reference for what God-fearing, tax-paying, Libertarian registered ranting looks like.

So, Ms. Smith and Mr. Matthes... this one in particular is for you. The rest of my blogs I would like to hereby dedicate to the morons who don't know the difference between a politician and a political party. Cheers.

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In Other News, I got so excited about writing again that I burned my sponge cake. This, I believe, is what we call a bittersweet moment.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

It's been a million years since I've written. Luckily, I feel like getting back into the swing of things. Enjoy :)

There is a reason "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is in place, and it certainly isn't meant to oppress any one type of person. Military work spaces should be completely devoid of any sexual orientation for organizational reasons. Next thing you know tax payers have to build six different kinds of barracks separating Homosexual Males from Heterosexual Males from Transgender Males and then all over again on the female side; instead of just one male and one female. Can you imagine six different sets of berthings and showers on an aircraft carrier? Sure, they're huge... but you have to have room for more than just personnel.

What we should be spending money on it classes that teach "Live and Let Live." It's none of my business, or anyone's business, if the person next to me is gay or not. As long as their doing their job not really anything matters. If we focused on people's capabilities instead of their personal choices we would all just be humans with resumes. Sexual preferences are meant to stay between you, your significant other and whomever you believe will be judging you in the end.


Either way, this all gets back to my usual points...

Do your job well.
Be responsible for yourself and no one else.
Live and let live.

Private Sector.

In his first public speech since leaving office, former president says his administration's interrogation policies were within the law, asserts the private sector -- not government -- will fix the economy and rejects nationalization of health care.

You know when you just get tired of saying the same old thing and posting the same old ideals? Well, it's come down to simply finding headlines that mean exactly what I want them to. Check out the big bold letters above and then go read the article. It may be about President Bush and he may have not gone about it right but the ideals are right on target. Gitmo has always been run to the letter of the law. Saying it hasn't means you're small-minded and lumping it in with Abu Ghraib. Also, the private sector and dedicated capitalist businessmen are what's going to pull us out of this one. Not "for the greater good" politicians who simply seem to be lining their own federal pockets with money and power.

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In Other News, I'm miserable. But I'll be fine. I'm keeping up with my responsibilities and obligations and doing what I can because that's what adults do. I hate when people disappoint you... and then do it again and again and again. And who cares if it's been a week since it happened, I'm still devastated and trying desperately to get my equilibrium back. Wish me luck.

Quoting Someone Smarter Than Me.

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me".
Erma Bombeck

Caught My Eye

On my google homepage (my never-ending source of inspiration) my quotes section has something from Abraham Lincoln.

It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues.
- Abraham Lincoln

This, ladies and gentlemen, makes me feel pretty darn good about myself. I have a fair amount of vices and thus, according to Lincoln, must have at least a few virtues. In fact, I'm pretty sure my virtues are proportional to my vices. And if you really want to get technical, not only are they proportional but also of equal weight. So the more "vice-y" something is the more "virtue-y" my other habits/traits are.

Now that that nonsense is out of the way. I haven't actually slept well in approximately 4-5 days. The exceptionally busy road in front of my house gets incredibly noisy at approximately 445am and I am forced to retreat to my couch at 515am after I realize (for the umpteenth time) that burying my head under my pillow does not work. So, in short, I am cranky and so tired I might cry. That is all.

I lied. You should look at this website. It's about hipsters embarrassing themselves.
You're welcome. :)

HAHAHAHAHA

So the gist of this story is that the NAACP is going to meet to discuss whether or not to boycott a Nascar race in Florida because of the presence of the Confederate flag.

NAACP Branch Readies for Confederate Flag Fight

Let me get this straight. Angry black Americans are going to meet to decide whether or not to boycott a social/sporting event that is rarely attended by anyone other than rednecks and race fans who are 9 time out of 10 of the very white (and usually incredibly sun-burned) persuasion. Excuse me while I go roll with laughter because this is just ridiculous.

Seriously, kids, live and let live. Who cares if someone else flies a Confederate flag? It's their own choice to still think the Civil War rages on. On another note, go read Larry Elder's book The Ten Things You Can't Say in America. One of his first chapters is about how Black American racism is worse than that of White Americans and he makes some seriously convincing points. Now, I'm not saying the NAACP is an antiquated over-zealous group of hate-mongers who are intent on keeping themselves and their race "down" in order to maintain the benefits but I kind of think the NAACP is an antiquated over-zealous group of hate-mongers who are intent on keeping themselves and their race "down" in order to maintain the benefits.

I personally don't care what flag you fly, what group you join, what candidate you support, or what sporting event you attend... just don't mess with mine. I'll keep my W stickers around for as long as I feel like it, I'll continue to be a member of the National Libertarian Party, and I'll hopefully get to go to the 500 next year. In the mean time, do whatever you feel like. Live and let live... I really don't see how that's so hard. In short, Brian France CEO of Nascar said it best, "It's not a flag [the Confederate flag] that I look at with anything favorable, that's for sure," France told CBS in 2005. "I can't tell people what flag to fly. I can tell you the flag we get behind — it's the American flag." Amen, Mr. France.

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In Other News, I had the best Memorial Day weekend. We had a pretty crammed social calendar which was a very nice, though slightly unexpected change. Being social is a great reminder of how much more I like my amazing significant other than I do other people. I haven't talked to the familia in probably a week and it's getting difficult. Audrey, if you're reading this and you don't immediately email me the link to refill the phone card I may be forced to call Janet Reno and tell her never to say hi to you again... and also to punch you in the face. Nothing big happening in the near future... but at the end of June my favorite Hawaiian cousin is coming to visit! Can't wait :)

Little Late, Don't You Think?

Apparently 78% of Americans don't believe the Government is "investing" their tax dollars... 78% of Americans thing the Government is simply spending willy-nilly (that's the technical term). And about 2/3 of Americans want less government in their lives.

So about seven months ago it was totally cool to want the government to take over and make everything better and we were all hoping that the world would be a better place. Now 2/3 of us are being realistic and want the government to butt out. The problem is the public didn't vote in the guy who wanted less government. They voted in Mr. I-Heart-Socialism himself who was quoting commie party lines at the ASU commencement speech he gave the other day.

If the general public weren't a bunch of fickle, media-controlled, mindless, self-absorbed, lackadaisical sheep this wouldn't be an issue. Unfortunately it took 2/3 of the American public this long to realize we don't need the government... they need us and we want them to leave us alone.

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In Other News, my wonderful significant other is out of town for another two days. Which means I've got the whole apartment to myself... WOO! Par-tay! And by "par-tay" I mean "re-organizing my closet and cleaning the bathroom". Yeah, I know... I live on the edge.

Complete Waste.

The government, specifically the National Institute of Health, is spending $2.6 MILLION to get hookers in CHINA to DRINK MORE RESPONSIBLY.

Yeah. Cool. That makes sense.

Seriously, kids, I think the entire government got a dart board out labeled it with legitimate things to spend money on, blind folded themselves and then accidentally hit other things in the room while trying to aim for the board. Now they are assuaging their guilt by helping Chinese hookers be not drunk.

This is so incredibly stupid.

sex with emily

This is completely off my usual topic.

So... I googled my name. Not my whole name, just "emily." And after a little bit of scrolling I found a blog. It's called "Sex with Emily." Naturally I was intrigued. So I started reading and I think she's brilliant. She doesn't espouse ridiculous touchy-feely opinions or provide 101 Ways to Turn Your Man On or go on some uber-feminist tirade against men. In short, I love it.

As the Comm major I once was I couldn't help but be dragged into a research frenzy after reading one of her blog entries. "Be the person you want to find" She recommends that you cultivate the things you want from someone else in yourself.

Makes sense right? If you want someone smart, motivated, energetic, outdoorsy, and well-dressed then you should probably look smart, act motivated, do something kinetic, hang out under a tree and wear socks that match. On a superficial level that works brilliantly... but what about then you start getting into more depth after covering a wide breadth of subjects? This brings us to my very favorite communication theory... the Social Penetration Theory. Once you get into your deeper feelings on a subject do you really want to find someone who is like you?

Here's the part where we break out the therapists chaise-lounge and see what you really like (or not) about yourself. Now don't give me that "Uh, I'm a happy well-adjusted person so of course I like myself." I know SexWithEmily says you should cultivate what you want from a person you date but what do you do if you're conditioned to look for exactly what you don't like about yourself? How many people have horrible significant others with the same horrible traits they have? How many boyfriends did I go through that drank too much as a distraction, spent too much time on their unneccessary hobbies, and were really horribly untidy because they didn't care? In recent history my own deep dark dirty habits have changed a bit. And though I could never fathom dating myself (Sometimes I'm difficult like whoa), I can certainly see how the positive things I've cultivated in myself are major traits in the amazing significant other I have now (and luckily, he's better at being those things than I am).

So here's to girl's of my namesake who make sense, write great blogs, are objective and cause me to further appreciate the changes I've made and the wonderful people around me who I am so very fortunate to have.

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In Other News, I forgot to update $1000 yesterday so I'm off to do that right now. Despite my up-beat mood and rather positive outlook I kind of feel like a blue whale today (in size, not color or biological classification). I've been doing a ton of research lately and it make my brain feel good though. Also, my toes have fallen asleep in my heels and even though I'm really hungry and want to go make some lunch I can't stand up without practically falling over. If you work for a delivery restaurant and are reading this. Help.

As always, some pretty fun links connected throughout the whole thing. Enjoy :)

National Day of...

Whining... is what it seems like; instead of the National Day of Prayer (which is tomorrow).

Apparently some religious groups are upset that Obama will only be noting the occasion with a "paper proclamation" as opposed to a public address. In keeping with my theme I'd like to say, "Who cares?" The point is he's still taking part of it and prayer is a personal thing anyway. Quite whining about it and go do some praying for a different President if you feel like this one has done you wrong. Quit throwing a fit and go pray for some tolerance from everybody. Or you could just shut your mouth, pray, and thank God that the National Day of Prayer is even recognized in a society where religion is more and more frequently ostracized.

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In Other News, I've been updating another blog as well as this one. The other one is an experiment where we (my significant other and I) try to live off $1,000 a month. The 'poverty line' for a two-person household is set at $1,166 a month so we're trying to help ourselves to live more frugally and tracking it in public seems to help. Little sister left for Italy on Tuesday and arrived safely. Oh! And last weekend (Birthday weekend for those of you who didn't know) was phenomenal. We didn't end up going to the Derby. Partly because it rained and partly because we didn't want to spend four hours in the car, end up super drunk, sleep in the 'Burban, and then wake up early to drive another four hours back. So we found a nice quiet little town and spent Saturday night there. Logansport is adorable and has some seriously cool old buildings in it. We came back perfectly relaxed, and a little sunburned and went to Sol Fest. Rounded out the weekend curled up on the couch with the greatest guy ever watching The American President (or at least half of it before we fell asleep). This weekend, you ask? Eh, probably not a lot. Maybe going to see Grandma (his) for Mother's Day. Maybe a trip to the range? Maybe just snoozing and trying not to spend any money?

Brand New

$1000

It's an experiment. Help a sister out and leave me some feedback :)

Seriously?

I'm still in the phase where I'm giving this President a chance. Yes, I'm tired of hearing about his dog and his wife's shoes. Yes, of course I'm certainly not a fan of some of the legislation he has pushed. And if I see another headline declaring his ubiquitous popularity I'll gag. But there's one thing this morning that made me feel just a bit better... kind of like I'm not the only one left questioning his capabilities. Oddly enough my reassurance came from the Washington Times of all places; granted it's not the most liberal newspaper on the planet but it's certainly not a conservative bastion.

"President Obama's media cheerleaders are hailing how loved he is. But at the 100-day mark of his presidency, Mr. Obama is the second-least-popular president in 40 years."

His 56% approval rating is still more than half but that means a little less than half of the country still doesn't understand what he thinks he's doing. I know Glenn Beck is on this "You are not alone" campaign with the 9/12 project. But it's hard to see us all 'bonding together' so our 'angry voices can be heard'. It just doesn't look like it's happening... it looks (and feels) like I'm swamped by a bunch of brain-washed zombies who are enamored with a media-manufactured Manchurian Candidate. This all becomes even more frustrating when I see fact check lists like this. Last time I checked embellishing the truth is also considered lying... kind of like a lie by omission. My favorite 'fact'?

OBAMA: "We began by passing a Recovery Act that has already saved or created over 150,000 jobs." -- from news conference.

THE FACTS: This assertion is dubious on several levels. For starters, the U.S. has lost more than 1.2 million jobs since Obama took office, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Even if Obama's stimulus bill saved or created as many jobs as he says, that number is dwarfed by the number of recent job losses.

Seriously? Just lay it out flat for us, Mr. President. Just because you think we're all stupid doesn't make it true. If the government isn't scaring us into believing things we actually handle it pretty well. Anybody remember how we reacted when FDR said 'look we're going to war and we all need to work together?' (ok, well sort of said exactly that) All we need is someone to stand up and say "Look the economy is crap and we all need to work, literally, together. No hand-outs, just plain old American work ethic and ingenuity."

I really think I'm going to hate (with a passion) the incoming Socialist onslaught.

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In Other News, the Kentucky Derby is this weekend! I'm really, really anxious to go but... I think because of the weather and the lack of usual birthday festivities I'm not as excited as I want to be. It's not the family I miss this time... it's the week of ridiculous birthday things that I got used to over four years. And possibly the fact that nobody withing 100 miles of me thinks the day is nearly as important as I do. I don't know. I sound unbelievably spoiled but that's because I am. Moving on... my grad school application is very close to complete and I cannot wait to turn it in. I'm a bit worried about balancing school and work but I don't believe it's going to be an issue. With work during the day and a few classes at night I'll just have to cut back on my Prison Break watching time. (Do not start watching that show... it's addictive) Anyway, here's to having adult birthdays where people don't fawn all over you and wonderful guys who take you on amazing road trips. Derby Day here we come!