Wedding Announcement!

Mike and I are working on putting together a website that has all the wedding details, but it isn't quite ready to go at this point. Therefore, I am going to use this forum to announce that today, formally, my bridesmaids all gave their formal acceptance. Yay. Thanks to a gift certificate Miss Laurenita had for a free lunch for 4 at Piedmont in Durham (and her willingness to use it for this occasion), I had a chance to sit down formally with all three of my lovely ladies for a wonderful wedding planning lunch. Many of my readers know these ladies, but just in case you do not have the pleasure of interacting with them every day, they are:

The always charming Miss Lauren

The sexy mama Miss Meredith


And last, bit definitely not least,
my darling Miss Cookie

And do you not LOVE the fact that I was able to find a picture of each one of them making a kissy face????

Just a quick update

Hi, everyone - no long post today, but if all goes to plan, I should be able to return to fairly regular blogging sometime in the near future. I am now coming into work as early as possible most days so I can try and spend some extended evenings in the library. I have been meeting my buddy Tim at the library on Wednesdays (sans this week) from about 3-8:30pm for the past couple of weeks, and this week, I will be spending 3:30-8 at the library on Thursday and Friday. If need be, I will spend Saturday morning in the library. My goal is to send off the first full draft of my masters project by Saturday evening. I have already handed over the first half, and to good review from my adviser. Hopefully she will like the second half, too. Once she reviews the whole thing, I am sure I will have a series of rewrites, but right now it looks like I am on track to finish. GRADUATION, HERE I COME!!!

PSA: Don't drink and skate

Last night, Mike and I, along with our out of town visitors Phoebe, Coddy and Ed, went to a birthday party for our good friend Jeff. Jeff, along his buddy King, often throw massive parties around Durham. Last night's festivities were in honor of Jeff's birthday, along with a few girls who I don't know. Anyway, here's the kicker. The party was at a roller skating rink. And the party was BYOB. You read that right - drinking and rollerskating. Let's just say that today I hurt. I took two big spills near the end of the evening. I may have cracked my tailbone (oh it hurts), and I have a bruise on my left wrist that is about 2.5 inches long and an inch wide. From what I have heard from a few others, they are a bit sore today, too. Take a bunch of people in their late twenties, put them on skates, and tell them they can bring their own alcohol. Only from the party mavens Jeff and King. But it was awesome. Absolutely awesome. Everyone looked so happy - it was a chance to be a grown up and a kid at the same time. Going around that rink at full speed was absolutely liberating. But hitting the puddle of Bud Light going around the corner then busting your ass was not so wonderful.

The whole point of this: drinking and skating may be fun at the time, but the next day, you will regret your actions, kids :-)

My evening as a teacher

Last night I had the opportunity to teach a class at Duke. My adviser is teaching a class called "Animals and Ethics" this semester, and she invited me to do a presentation on hog farming in North Carolina. I did a presentation for a class project back in 2004 (I believe) on the topic, and since then I have updated it and changed information to make it more relevant for my masters work. I gave the updated presentation for the first time last summer for a group of Duke students and faculty heading out to visit a local farm, Cane Creek Farm in Mebane. We started out with my presentation, a short clip from Earthlings, and a viewing of The Meatrix. After a tour of the farm, we had a catered BBQ lunch of pork from the farm we visited (I didn't imbibe, but several on the tour did).

Anyway, last night I presented the most recent version of the presentation, along with some of the supplemental information I am using in my paper. The class went really well - there were a lot of questions and some interesting observations. It was also rejuvenating to talk about the topic with people and hear how interested they were to learn more. I needed that - especially since the writing process is getting rather tough. After the class, several students came up and asked for my e-mail address, as they were considering studying the topic further for their end of semester papers.

The last person to talk to me was an undergrad woman who introduced herself and said she had attended the talk I gave last summer. She then told me that after that after that day, she hasn't eaten meat since. WOW! It was a pretty cool feeling. It wasn't just me that got her to that point, but it was pretty cool to hear that in some way, I may have helped someone decide to make the switch to vegetarianism. I'm not out to "recruit" people, but I do like to think that when I talk about this stuff, people will internalize it and at least start to ask more questions and be more conscious about the food world around them. It was an excellently profound moment.

Last night in the class, a student asked me what I want to do to end factory farming - I said that I can't end it - we all have to choose to make that a reality. People need to at least reduce their consumption of meat and when they do purchase it, shop responsibly and don't buy from factory farm providers. If all goes well, maybe a few students in the class heard the message and will shift from Smithfield pork to Cane Creek or Fickle Creek. I can only hope anyway!

I am happy to announce......

... that Mike and I officially have a wedding date and location! It has been a huge struggle over the past month to lock down a location that would not break the bank but still have A/C and the ability to hold 100 or more people. Today though, we were able to secure a room on Duke's East Campus for the evening of August 2. To say we are thrilled is an understatement. A link for a wedding webpage is coming soon!!

Amazing Video

My adviser sent this to me this morning, and all I can say is WOW. The animals are the pets of a homeless man in downtown Santa Barbara, CA. There are several other videos of the man and his pets on YouTube. Absolutely amazing!

Going into work this morning

For some strange reason, I had the urge for a $5 cup of coffee this morning. There’s a Starbucks in the American Tobacco District near my office, so I decided I would stop in and get a cup of mocha joe and a breakfast pastry. As I stood in line, I noticed a woman picking up her coffee. I wasn’t the only one who noticed her – everyone in the place did. She was about 6 feet tall, blonde, and thin. She wore 3 inch heels with a perfectly tailored camel colored wool bias cut skirt. Her jacked looked like something from Neiman’s – it was frilly, but still wool, cut perfect to her frame, and the pinnacle of winter fashion. She wore dark sunglasses (in the building), and she sauntered off to her office, looking at no one who looked at her, after receiving the cup of coffee she coached the barista to make.

I looked down at my Levi’s, my Oxford rugby shirt, my brown jacket from Sam’s Club, and lastly, at the brand new Van’s I wore for the first time today. They are brown with a pink stripe. I found them at TJ Maxx for about $12. These are some cool shoes. I’m wearing no make-up and have my hair in a ponytail. I am probably about 3 or 4 years younger than the tall blonde, but our worlds couldn’t be more different. We work down the street from each other, but she’s in the ultimate office apparel in supermodel shape while I am in nonprofit land with the figure of an almost 30 year old, well, non-supermodel figure. I forget sometimes that the places I choose to work are very different than a lot of places in the world. I don’t seek out the jobs where you have to dress up or have “the look” to make the deal. Sometimes I forget that.

As I pulled into the parking lot behind my office building, I saw a homeless man pulling an old suitcase down the sidewalk behind my building. It was cold this morning. He probably slept in the cold or just left the shelter down the street. I got my stuff together and suddenly felt guilty for spending $5 on a cup of coffee and a danish. The man behind my building should have the $5 cup of coffee – but he went around the corner too fast. I didn’t see where he went. So, I went up to my office and drank my coffee – which wasn’t very good. In fact, I’m craving a cup of the stuff we usually make in the office. And the danish was stale. For $5. What a rip.

Voting Facts for NC

The North Carolina Primaries are coming up in May, so to get you ready, here are some facts and general information about voting in NC. This copied directly from an e-mail for NC for Obama.

Need to register or re-register: Print out a registration form and mail it to your county board of election http://www.ncdp.org/register

Find your polling place (or make sure your registration is accurate): http://www.sboe.state.nc.us/votersearch/seimsvot.htm

What if you've moved since you last voted? Then you need to re-register at your new address. More info here: http://www.sboe.state.nc.us/NCSBE/VR/vr_update.html

Registering voters: At no charge you can get blank voter registration forms from your local Board of Elections. Find your local board here: http://www.sboe.state.nc.us/NCSBE/about/directors.asp

What's the deadline to register in NC? The deadline is technically 25 days before an election. However, now you can still register in NC if you miss the deadline (April 11th for the primary). You must go to an early voting site (in the two weeks before an election), register with proper identification, and vote immediately. This is known as same day registration. However, you can not register to vote on Election Day (May 6th). So essentially, the deadline to register is now May 3rd, which is the last day of early voting. More info here: http://ncdp.org/sdr

Can independents and Republicans vote for Obama in NC's primary? Yes and No. Independents (called unaffiliated in NC) can vote for Obama by requesting a Democratic ballot when they vote. Registered Republicans cannot request a Democratic ballot. So tell your "R" friends and family they must re-register by April 11th if they want to vote Obama in NC! (They cannot change their party affiliation after April 11, even through the same day registration program).

Other facts about voting in NC: It is state law that 17-year-olds who will turn 18 by Nov. 4th (and therefore be eligible to vote in the General Election) may register and vote in the primary. Also, many ex-felons do not realize that they can register to vote in NC (in some states they are disenfranchised forever). They must have completed all the terms of their sentence and be finished with parole before they re-register. College students can register at either their school residence or other home residence but they must chose only one (preferably wherever they'll be on election day).

Missing Pit in Durham

For my Durham readers, please see below. I do not know these folks personally, but the information was passed on from a friend. If you have any information, please call the number on the flyer! Thank you!

Oh Crap.

I just found out from my final project adviser today that I need to turn in a full first draft of my final project by March 1, although February 23 is preferable. I have 6 pages done. I have a lot of writing to do in a very short amount of time. You will have to excuse me if I am absent for a while. Yikes.

Veggie Life in the Triangle

This week's Independent Weekly focusing on vegetarian dining in the Triangle. I haven't flipped through it yet, but I look forward to doing so this weekend. I had to copy and paste the Indy's reason for doing the issue - I just love the exchange they had with the waitress. It's amazing what people think is veggie and what is not (or what is vegan and not)!

Slim pickins' 02/06/08

At a lunch meeting in a Durham restaurant a few weeks ago, Indy Editor Lisa Sorg and I sat down to plan this week's Dish issue. Our waitress caught Lisa's attention with a yummy, vegetable-filled description of the soup du jour. A longtime vegetarian, Lisa knew to ask: "Is it vegetarian?"

"Oh yes," the waitress assured us. "It's made with chicken stock, though, so it's vegetarian but not vegan."

Exchanges like that are one of the reasons we decided to examine local dining options for vegetarians, vegans and even those carnivores among us who occasionally crave a meatless meal.

Our diagnosis: We could use a few more options. More veggie-only restaurants. A wider variety of regular restaurants that offer truly "veggie-friendly" fare. Waitstaffs that know the vocabulary. Chefs who embrace the challenge of non-animal-based cuisine.

—Jennifer Strom

I also must agree with the "wish list" below: - my comments are in yellow

Vegetarians'
Wish List Café

(A restaurant that doesn't actually exist in the Triangle)

TODAY'S SPECIALS

Soup not based on chicken broth
(this is actually hard to find at most places!!)

Beans without lard or ham hocks
(I must admit, this is one of my 'don't ask, don't tell' moments at Mexican restaurants - although I am sure that slight nausea I feel after a meal may have something to do with refried beans. I am trying to get better about requesting black beans - which in most Mex restaurants are made meat free - but it is tough to make the switch)

A variety of sandwiches featuring something other than portobello mushrooms
(may I also add that we also don't always want eggplant at an Italian restaurant, either)

House-made veggie burgers cooked on a meat-free grill

(please please please stop serving Boca burgers - gross)

Side orders fried in veggie oil
(again, I usually don't ask...)

Salads without bacon bits
(bacon bits are the least concern - next time you go to a restaurant, see how many salads - besides the house salad - that aren't topped with meat. when did that switch happen???)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Well, Happy Chinese New Year! February 7, 2008 begins the Year of the Rat. Go celebrate.

You said WHAT?

Mike and I were shopping in Target the other day when Mike stopped in the middle of the aisle and said, "uh - what are they saying?" He was pointing to a display in Target's photo department advertising Kodak photo printing. What is this married couple saying to us? Should I be offended??