The Girl in the Picture

From this picture you can't see that this girl has any ailments, that she is underemployed, that she worries about things big and small.

From this picture you see a girl who is so caught up in whatever is going on just out of the scene that she doesn't notice that her picture is being taken. She isn't forcing a smile or making a goofy face for the camera. She's smiling a genuine smile and it's beautiful. And she is beautiful.



This girl is me. And I don't mean what I said in a conceited way. When I saw this picture I was surprised that it was me. I don't consider myself to be very photogenic and to make up for it I make silly faces. Even though I think I look fabulous in this picture despite the greasy hair, I love it more for what it represents. I am happy. I am content. I love my life. I love my friends. I love my family. I love my boyfriend. And while everything may not be completely perfect it's damn near close...how could it not be? Do you see that smile? :)

Real Sisters

"anyway ate cacang, i planted more mangroves because it reminds me of you. I also wrote an article about it."

This is an excerpt from a message from my sister (host sister). Whoa. I can't tell you how much and how many ways this touches me. What a wonderful message to wake up to. :)

It's no secret that Kristine and I didn't always see eye to eye. I think she would agree with you on that. The time I lived with her and the rest of our family she was 13-15 and I was 24-26, we're coming from very different places in our lives. I think the cultural differences can be completely bypassed for why we always didn't see eye to eye. I remember being her age. It's awful. The hormones. The crying jags. The temper tantrums. The feeling that no one understands you. A time I would never return to even if you paid me all the money in the world.

Why do I call her my sister rather than host sister? Well host sister seems very cold and distant and to me it diminishes the relationship I have with her as well as her mom, dad, brother, and grandma....not to mention all of the extended family. I lived with them for two years in their house, eating their cooking, sharing in all kinds of family events, it was so much more than being a spectator or anthropologist looking in on another culture. Perhaps it was how they treated me, as one of their own. Perhaps it was just this weird bond that formed between us. One of those once and a lifetime kinds of bonds. They aren't my host family, they are my family.

Kristine is 16 now and will be going to college in a month to study nursing, taking after mom. She's also an amazing writer and I hope she keeps it up. Not as a vocation if that's not what she wants but something for her...that hopefully she will find some way of sharing.

You can never have too much family. There is always room for one more.

tees I want!!

I think someone posted this on Buzz. I refound it on Flicker.com. WANT THIS!!!

I saw this on Dawn's blog http://sweetteaandfireflies.wordpress.com/ and I really really really want this on a Tee!!

What more does a girl need...

I have the most amazing family, the best friends, and the most wonderful boyfriend in the world...

That's pretty awesome! :) <3

Health Care Reform

It's been way too long since I last posted...plenty of topics but didn't feel like typing them. I never wanted to make this a political blog but I also don't want to get into arguments on Facebook where I end up being a jerk or blocking people because I think they're ignorant.

I think its story time...
During my service in the Peace Corps (their views are not represented here just in case you were wondering) I got appendicitis and had to have my appendix removed in the Philippines. Some would consider this very unlucky but considering the US government paid for it and I recovered quite nicely I consider it very very lucky.

An unnamed friend of mine who served her country with me in the Peace Corps bought the Peace Corps insurance for a few months, it's about $158/month which is quite pricy when you don't have a job immediately upon return from two years of service. Yes, we do get a stipend of $225/month after we finish our service, which is taxed. They recently increased it to $275/month...the first time it's been raised since 1961, I believe. Back to the story, she dropped the health insurance because it was too expensive and she was healthy. Rather unexpectedly (turns out you can't really expect these things) at the beginning of the month she started suffering stomach pains and was taken to the hospital. She had appendicitis. No fault of her own. It just happened. No insurance. So now she owes $30,000 dollars. You could argue that she wouldn't have to pay as much if she had insurance. Yes, that's true. If her insurance had been affordable most likely she would have kept it and wouldn't be in the hole $30,000.

This is one of the reasons why I support Health Care Reform. Health Care is a right and everyone should be entitled to it. You shouldn't have to go into medical debt because you can't afford insurance. You're already sick, having to worry about paying your bills on top of that is crap!

Another reason why I support Health Care Reform. I have family members who have diseases that could cause them to be dropped from insurance companies. Thankfully they haven't been. They didn't choose to get these diseases or illnesses and if they were to get dropped from insurance that would be double-duty unfairness in my book (yes I know the world isn't a fair place.) I'm sure my family would somehow figure out a way to pay for the medicine/surgeries that are needed should the insurance companies decide to drop them. But I can and will acknowledge that my family is better off than some, perhaps not most, but some. But what if we weren't how would those bills get paid? This is a reality for many people. And perhaps you're saying well, Why can't they go out and get a job/better job? Perhaps due to their illness or discrimination based on their illness they can't...then what do they do?

What is so wrong with wanting to provide health care to all? Not to get nasty but do you want to see your neighbors, heck even your relatives (they could be ashamed and you may not know their sitituation) suffer under incredible debt?

worries and flurries

While getting my eyebrows and upper lip waxed, so I look less like a furry monster and more like a young professional that everyone wants to hire, worrying over the next two bills I have due (health insurance and gym membership) and which to pay first (health insurance, duh) and when...The cerologist, as they are called at this waxing establishment, engaged me in conversation. Asking where I was from and my backstory. I told her about the Philippines and she asked "Is their human trafficking there?" I was a bit stunned. This isn't normal waxing talk and not a conversation I have frequently with people I do or don't know. I explained the situation and told stories that I had heard. She teared up. And told me about an organization that she supports and apologized for tearing up. Seriously who makes their waxer cry? She asked if I felt like it was a lost cause. I paused for a moment. I am hopeful that the numbers of humans that are being trafficked goes down. But this has been going on for centuries, human trafficking is not new and we haven't found a cure for it yet. We seem to create new ways to enslave humans and poverty makes it easier. Heavy, no?

I walked down the stairs with a heavy heart. I opened the door and gasped. It was flurrying. Life in the outside world already seemed slower and less frantic. I breathed in and out a few times letting the flakes fall. I smiled.

filled with happy

It's rare when I wake up happy. I am the definition of not a morning person. But I woke up smiley. Checking the interwebs for emails, news, weather, gossip, facebook. And on facebook there was an onslaught of good news. Friends having success at work, friends having babies, friends with cheery facebook status messages.

Just a few things that made me happy this morning (it needs to be documented because I AM NOT A MORNING PERSON)

-I have the best bf ever
-I have the best family ever
-I have the best friends ever
-I love my new hair...yes I will shut up about this eventually
-I am positive that I will find a job that becomes a career that makes me happy and it will be amazing
-I love this house
-I love that the daisies Page got me a few weeks ago are still beautiful, bright and cheery
-I love that window, especially in the morning with sun coming through...it makes the whole kitchen a bright happy yellow
-I love this city
-I love that my friend Whitney will be back in the US in less than a week and a half
-I love my Peace Corps family
-I love chatting on the phone for hours with friends who have known me for years
-I love chatting on the phone for hours with friends who have known me for months




*refer to this post when feeling down

something good always does come about

I have 2 jobs this week! 2! Both are temporary jobs, and 1 is only a 6 hour job but still. It feels good to have 2 jobs lined up. Feeeeeels real good. :) I've also found two non-profit jobs that I'm very interested in so we'll see how that goes.
I also got my hair cut...probably over 4 inches snipped off. My curls are so full of life and bounce...I've been hopping around the house just to feel the bounce. As well as tousling it just to feel how light it feels. It's weird how cutting my hair, can make me feel so good, and so new. A weight has been lifted from my...head.
The hair stylist said she knew I was adventurous and fun and had a flair for the dramatic because I wanted such a big change and was so easy going about it. Tis true. Nothing more fun than growing your hair out long and CHOP! love it!

This week started off rough...I woke up Saturday morning with an intense sinus headache and pressure that I thought my head was going to pop off. I chugged along...barely...through a hike to Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, in a snow/wind storm. I called it quits early on which sometimes can be difficult for me to do but I knew I was about to crash. I went to the doctor on Sunday and she said that my nose was very red and inflamed and that I definitely had a sinus infection and upper respiratory infection. She prescribed antibiotics, a nasal steroid spray, water, and rest for a few days before resuming normal activities. The antibiotics are doing a number on my gut...need to eat some yogurt. But I feel somewhat better. The pressure is still there and the headache is only first thing in the morning. I'm using caffeine to get rid of it...which works for me because I don't drink caffeine on the regular. It's an excellent excuse to have chai tea. Therapeutic purposes you know...

So what started off as a poopy weekend ended with a terrific Monday...who knew?

Why I love ACC Sports

Yesterday, I wore my NC State Sweatshirt mostly for warmth and admittedly forgetting that we just beat DOOK. Page and I were at Neptune Mountaineering shopping for some hiking boots...we were talking at the register when a man approached and said as he pointed at my hoodie "Great win over Duke! I went to Wake." Insta-happiness for me. :) As he was walking out with his small son and their skis he said " Now you've got to beat Carolina while they're down!" It's great to see an ACC person out in Boulder. It's ALWAYS great for another ACC team to recognize another ACC team especially when they have a common enemy DOOK and Carolina makes me want to forgive Wake for the nut punch they delivered a few years ago.

I hope his son grows up to be a an ACC fan and go to an ACC school...it's okay with me if he goes to Wake...it'd be better if he went to State :)
Sidney Lowe agrees.

New Year, New Location, New Blog

Where to begin?

I suppose where I last left off. I finished up my Peace Corps service which was a whirlwind of emotions. I think I cried from the time I said goodbye to my Filipino family at the airport til the time I met up with other volunteers in Manila who were COSing as well. At the same time I was excited to travel and see what the world had in store for me next. Thailand and Cambodia were both amazing...in different ways. Thailand was about food, fun, and temples. Cambodia was emotional. I didn't know that much about Pol Pot's Regime or realize it's magnitude until seeing the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Museum.

Back in America now, making a life in Boulder, Colorado. Which I love more than I ever thought I would. Peace Corps made me pretty adaptable so I knew I would make this work and make it home. However, I didn't expect it to be home so soon. I love being able to walk downtown in 10minutes, I love being able to meet a friend for coffee or tea and kill an afternoon watching people, I love being in our kitchen whether its washing dishes or dicing garlic while catching up on the days events...

No job as of yet...that's the only downside. The job search is frustrating because everyone is looking and employer's are looking at mountains of resumes and you are just another name. But I have faith that something good will come about.


My non-Resolutions resolutions...
-find a job that I love
-learn Spanish
-establish an early/regular bedtime
-volunteer more
-go to the gym more
-climb harder routes with no taking and no cheating
-actually boulder without being a scaredy cat
-try to get into running...I hear its good for you
-read more
-write more postcards


I'm sure I'm leaving out something. eeeeep!


I am dedicating this first blog post to Dawn and Elise...Dawn I told you I would start up again if you did...sorry it took so long...Elise thanks for the blogging and climbing push.