This house is warmed.

Friday night - Housewarming party. It was fantastic. So many friends there. Just wonderful. Here are some pics:

The hosts

Luc, Stefan, Meredith, Jill and Carlos hiding in the back

Everyone crowded in the kitchen!

Christine, Lorrena, Efren, Marco and Winter

Brendan, Jill and Mike

Cookie, Stefan, Meredith and Lesa

Thank you to everyone who came out for the party. The house really does feel different now. It feels even better than it did before. It feels like it is full of friends. Thank you! Mike and I are very lucky to be surrounded by so many wonderful people.

Inspiring

Here is what's on the agenda tonight:

Paul Rusesabagina - 2007 Crown Lecture in Ethics
Sanford Inst. of Public Policy
Wed., Feb. 21, 2007 // 7:30 p.m.
Page Auditorium

Paul Rusesabagina, known worldwide as the courageous hotel manager portrayed in the movie "Hotel Rwanda," speaks on "Lessons of Hope for a World in Need" and the duty of individuals to respond to moral crises. Rusesabagina is credited with saving more than 1,200 refugees during the Rwandan genocide, a period of 100 days during which 1 million people died in conflicts between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes. Since leaving Rwanda, Rusesabagina has traveled the world with his message of hope, peace, and "never again." He founded the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation (HRRF) which provides support, care, and assistance to children orphaned by, and women abused during, the genocide. He is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Civil Rights Museum Freedom Award, and the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award. Rusesabagina's autobiography, "An Ordinary Man" was published in 2006.

Somehow, I snagged an invite to the reception and dinner at the Faculty Club beforehand, too. AND I got Lauren a ticket. I will tell you all about it tomorrow!

Happy Mardi Gras

I started watching "When the Levees Broke" today. The irony was not pointed out to me until I was about an hour into the First Act that today is actually Fat Tuesday. On a day where once upon a time, a special city was filled with activity and millions of people, but today, it is but a remnant of what it once was.

I' ve now only watched Act I of Spike Lee's documentary. I've cried three times, and I had to put the movie on pause once to try and digest the images I was seeing. It's a perfect time for me to be taking a class on "Trauma in Art/Literature and Film", for this film IS trauma. We have actually been asked to watch Act III for class next week, but I figured that with Ambassador Joseph's work in the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation and a possible outreach effort from our program based at Duke, I needed to be better versed on the situation. And it isn't just the school and professional obligations that were driving me to watch this film. I have wanted to see the whole thing for some time, but like many things, we put it off. We say "I can watch it later - I'll watch it when I have some free time. I'll watch it when I have time to really think about it and digest it."

But therein lies the problem. The people in New Orleans, and the gulf coast in general, don't have time to think about it and digest it. They are just trying to get back to some sense of normalcy, while dealing with a personal and mass trauma. Yet, here I am, here WE are, not acting on anything about Louisiana. When Katrina happened in 2005, many of us opened our pocketbooks and gave money. We watched appalled as millions of people fought for survival. Some brave souls ventured out to Louisiana and Mississippi to do whatever they could to help.

I didn't. I sent $50 to a church in Baton Rouge and watched everything on TV. I said to myself "Wow - that is terrible for those people. I can't even imagine it, but I can't go help. I have a job, I have bills to pay. Who will watch my cats?" This whole internal monologue occured in about 30 seconds. It was never an option (or, I never allowed the option) of heading out to Louisiana to help. I think this is what probably happened with most of us.

But sadly enough, it is now approaching two years after Katrina. It isn't cool to go help in Louisiana anymore. People aren't giving money the way they were in August and September 2005. Citizens, at least those who have stayed around, are struggling to rebuild their city, and they aren't getting much help. The Times ran a story on how more and more people are finally giving up and leaving the city because rents are soaring, crime is increasing, public services are lacking, and life is nowhere near "normal."

These are just my early ramblings, my off the cuff reactions to just watching the first part of this film. I'm thinking about how this whole situation isn't just about race (although, that is definitely a large part of it), it's about class (poverty doesn't discriminate), it's about money, it's about the priorities of our government. While we fight a war to spread democracy in Iraq, and probably soon enough, Iran, we haven't yet learned how to make democracy work on our own soil.

As much as we would like preach it to the world, all of our citizens don't have voices. We ignore millions of them every day. And the voices we ignore are those too quiet to hear.

How do we spread democracy throughout the world when we haven't even managed to spread it past the Mason-Dixon line?

The next year to year and a half

Yesterday, I had a sit down with the director of my Masters program, Donna Zapf, and she and I had a nice long discussion about wrapping up my degree. Time flies so fast that I am now down to only one more class after the one I am in now - then I write my final project. I started in Fall 2004 - which in some ways seems like eons ago, but when it comes to school, it doesn't seem like it has been that long at all.

For the past 6-9 months, I had planned on doing my final project on South African protest art. Last semester, I started the ground work on this by doing primary research on anti-apartheid posters compared to Dutch emblem books from the 17th century. Sounds like a far stretch, but you would be surprised on the similarities! Then, this semester I am taking a class called "Trauma in Art/Literature/Film." This was meant to back up my final project idea in art.

But when it really comes down to it, is that where my passion is? South Africa has played an important role in my life - it has changed so much about me. But, I must admit, that chapter is coming to a close. This may be my last trip to South Africa for work in a few weeks, and I probably won't be back until I am old and wealthy after that.

But animal issues are always current to me, and they are a passion. I am going on two years now as a vegetarian. Issues of factory farming, environmental impact, moral responsibility to living beings, etc are subjects that are of interest, and concern, to me. There is a lot of academic work that can be done in this realm of issues.

In the summer of 2005, I did a presentation on hog factory farming for a class in Dr. Kathy Rudy's "Animal Ethics" class. That presentation was given again, to a public audience, in the summer of 2006 to a group of Duke undergraduates and faculty. Kathy believes that a further analysis of the effects of factory farming is much needed in the academic literature. So, I have made the decision to drop the art project and go for an animal one - most probably the issue of factory farming (check out www.themeatrix.com).

What this means logistically is that I will take Kathy Rudy's class this summer, and in the fall I will register for my final project. Since I just want to graduate by May 2008, I can work on the paper through the spring of 08 and still graduate on time.

It is exciting to know that I am this close to the end, and to know what I will be writing about - but it's also sad. I have enjoyed earning this degree, and it will be sad to end the experience. Good thing is, MALS lets old-timers audit classes and even sign up for the study abroad sessions, so the door will never be fully closed. But still, it's the end of an era.........

Settling into the new digs

Yay! We are all moved in, thanks to the so many wonderful people who helped us. Those wonderful folks are: Lauren, Jeremy, Rod, Brendan, Matt, Dan, Ben, Alissa, Taylor, Tammy and Efren. Without the help of all these people, the move would have been a huge pain in the ass. Instead, I think we actually had fun on Saturday!

Mike and I have unpacked nearly everything in the house by this point, but we still need to do a fair amount of reorganizing. I will post pics here eventuall, but I really want to wait to do that until we are fully settled in. i know, i know. But I promise - it will be soon!!!

IT'S THAT TIME

So, this weekend will complete the whole move! Last weekend, we got a ton of boxes moved over. This weekend, we move all the furniture. And that completes the transition, folks! Hopefully I will have some pictures for you on Monday of Mike and I settled into the new place. Yay!!!!!

And please keep your fingers crossed that Allie doesn't eat Buddy and Scout....

TONIGHT

....tonight, Duke plays UNC at Cameron. Last year, I had a ticket for the game. I did it once, I will never do it again. Ok, so if I happened across a ticket, I probably would do it again - I would just whine a lot. Line checks, standing in lines, standing in the stands, not being able to move - oy. Mike gets to endure it this year. He was up at 6am to get his place in line (the upper 200s), and he has to start line checks about 5:30pm. Game time isn't until 9, so my sweetie is going to have one hell of an evening. But, when we win, I am sure he will think it is well worth the experience.

For my exciting evening, I plan on watching the game at 9, but before then, I will be knee deep in the Holocaust. I am taking a class this semester called "Trauma in Art, Literature and Film." It is as depressing as it sounds. The professor is amazing, but the material is pretty tough to deal with. I am reading Into That Darkness for next week's class, and I writing my first paper on a scene from Claude Lanzmann's Shoah. It's a short paper - only 8 pages, but I still get stressed out each time a paper is due. Between the paper, the 300 pages of reading, and the move this weekend, I am not sure how I will get it all done.

I guess I COULD be working on the paper rather than writing here. Yeah, good plan.

GO TO HELL, CAROLINA, GO TO HELL!
(it's a Duke thing...)

Please help my fat cat

I have two wonderful kitty cats - Buddy (an orange tabby, a shelter rescue) and Scout (an all white barn kitty). Buddy has some bit of a weight issue, but not overly terrible. He runs around a lot and keeps a slender build to him, he just has a swinging belly under him. But Scout, Scout has some issues. The boy is BIG. He weighs between 13-14 pounds, and he should weigh about 10. That means he is more than 25% over his ideal weight.



Here is a pic I took of them two days ago while they were snuggling. It is a bit difficult to see the extreme size of Scout (okay, so maybe not very difficult to see at all), but you can tell he is a big boy.




As for diet, they eat the dry Iams Indoor/Weight Formula food. They each have a bowl, and I put 1/2-3/4 a cup in each morning. Thy are fed only that one time per day. Scout is not a very active cat. He plays occasionally, but he mainly just sleeps. I am hoping that in the new place, with an addition of several hundred square feet of living space, a stairway and a little girl kitty for him to chase around, it may help his activity level. But, I am still a bit concerned. Anyone have any ideas to make my fat cat a lean machine?????

Readership is branching out

I'm getting a lot more hits to this blog. A lot more than I ever thought I would. Crazy, huh? And there are all sorts of people out there who are now checking in on this. People from the way back past and people from the not so far back past.

So, whoever you are, welcome. My ramblings are self-indulgent. They are a selfish time waster. A free form of therapy. A chance to say hello to friends and foes near and far. I rarely post anything that interesting. Just fun stuff or mentions on life.

And speaking of mentions on life, I have a small withdrawal to make on a previous post. Some time ago, I posted about running across my ex's blog and how angry it made me. My feelings on it have changed substantialy since that day. He is a good guy, I was right. So, just disregard that. We all need to vent sometimes. Thanks, readers, for passing on my frustrations.

A whole semester closer....

Thanks to a fantastic observation by a fellow MALS classmate last night, I am happy to report I am in my 8th class. Which means, I only have ONE MORE CLASS to take before I start work on my final project. You know what this means? Michelle is taking the summer off. I will take my last course in the fall of 2007, and I will write my final project in the spring of 2008. That means graduation in May 2008, as scheduled - with a free summer vacation thrown in there! WOO HOO!

Veggie Sushi, oh yeah!

Last night, Mike and I had Meredith and Stefan over for dinner. Well, we invited them over to share dinner with us - not have THEM for dinner. ANYWAY, Mike had the fantastic idea to make sushi (I suggested sloppy joe's). Since two of the folks at the dinner are vegetarian (Meredith and myself), Stefan is vegan, and Mike as the lone meat eater, we figured veggie sushi would be the way to go.

After scanning various recipes on line, we decided on the following veggies: red bell pepper, mushrooms (portabella), cucumber, zucchini, scallions, and avocado. For the non-vegans, we got some cream cheese and some wasabi mayo. And of course, we had to get the nori (seaweed to wrap the sushi). Mike already had a sushi rolling mat on hand, so we were set to go.

After a glass of plum wine and snacking on some edamame, we decided to try our hand at making rolls. Mike went first - and he did a great job. Meredith went next, passing her "Asian test" with flying colors. I went third and feel as if I cheated a bit since I insisted using cream cheese (helps everything stick together!). Stefan was the last to give it a shot, and after a few random mumblings, his rolls came out to look lovely. A few folks made additional rolls throughout the night, and we really stuffed ourselves. On top of the lovely salad that Stefan and Meredith prepared for us, we had a ton of food.

And I have decided that I doubt I will ever go out for sushi again if it sounds good. Much easier to just make at home - especially if it's veggie. you can prepare all sorts of random veggie varieties rather than paying $5-8 for a standard veggie roll at a restaurant.

I recommend everyone give this a try - it's not as hard as it seems!!!!

Just a bit of stress.....

Yeah, so I think I have been stressed a bit the past week. Due to hormonal issues (welcome, monthly visitor - sorry if TMI); the upcoming stress of moving; some stupid financial issues; some hangover effects from reading what the ex wrote about me; and a sick kitty (Buddy ended up with a bladder infection this past weekend and is slowly recovering), I think I have been operating on shaky ground. I have cried a bit more than I would like to own up to, and I am assuming this phase will quickly be out the window soon. Maybe it's just the winter blahs. In fact, I am pretty darn sure it is.

Last night, I spent a great evening out with Lauren, Cookie, Jeff, Jeremy and Mike - all at different times and in different combos - at Satisfaction's in Durham. What started as "Thursday beers" turned into watching the Duke game. We had a great time, and it was so wonderful to spend good times with friends.

Tonight, Mike and I are having "Chinese food and comedy night" at Lauren's with she and Jeremy. Considering we get to go over in sweatpants and t-shirts, eat and laugh, that sounds like quite the relaxing evening. Saturday, I believe Mike and I are going to go over and do some preliminary cleaning at the new house. Depending on how much work we do, there is a party that evening for a friend's birthday.

Sunday, Mike and I are scheduled to have dinner with Meredith and Stefan - Mike and I get to try our skills at cooking a vegan meal! And no, dear, we have to make more than a bowl of air with a side of air dressing.

Also, I am very much and absolutely truly in love with a wonderful man who loves me just the same. The winter blahs will probably be taking a hike rather quickly....

Yep. It's awesome.

Our new place in Valley Run!

The awesome back patio and yard

Michelle's office (downstairs)

Living room with wood burning stove

Kitchen

Stairs

Master bedroom

Guest bedroom with built in bookshelves

Mike's office (upstairs)

The happy couple!

I'll let you know more as it happens. This weekend, I think we will do a thorough cleaning of the place and start moving a few things in. Will make for a long day, but well worth it. My guess is the BIG move will be within the first couple weeks of February! Stay tuned.........

UPDATE

Well, we got snow. Which is exciting in some sense, but a bummer in others. Because of school closings and some road issues, we had to put off signing the lease until Saturday. bummer.

Wanna help me pack????

I have GREAT news! Mike and I are officially signing a lease on Thursday morning for our new place! It is a wonderful home in a small subdivision called Valley Run, not far from where Mike lives now (and hence not too far from where I live now). It is a 3 bedroom (although one of the bedrooms will be my office), 2 bath house that is energy friendly. The whole home has brick floors, the water heater is solar powered, and there are low energy appliances throughout. Besides having a beautiful view of a plethora of pine trees in the front and back yards, a great outdoor space for entertaining, and lovely sun filled rooms, we will be helping to save the planet a little bit too..... Mike gets his own office downstairs; the kitchen is nice and spacious; we have a dining area and a living area; we have a nice large driveway; and we are super close to all the conveniences we are used to!

Photos coming tomorrow!!!!!!

Mr. Noodle - a Tribute

College. I was broke. A lot. To prove my abject poverty (okay, so it wasn’t THAT bad) I did not purchase condiments at the grocery store. I would just take handfuls of ketchup packets, mayo packets and salt and pepper pouches from fast food restaurants and store them in a drawer of the kitchen in my little one bedroom apartment. Shallow pockets meant creativity in the acquisition of yummy foods.

But there was always one food that was there for me. It was quick. It was easy. It was tasty. And most importantly, it cost about 19 cents per serving. Those tasty tasty bricks of Top Ramen. I loved ‘em. I rarely got tired of eating them. I even perfected the way to prepare them in the tastiest way possible.

Michelle’s Ramen Regiment

1) Fill a small sauce pan about half full with water
2) Turn the burner onto “high” (hey, this is supposed to be a quick meal)
3) Dump the seasoning packet into the water and stir with a fork.
Michelle’s Tip: You boil the water with the seasoning in it, allowing the flavors to permeate and evenly disperse through the liquid.
4) Drop the noodle block into the water shortly after it begins to boil
5) Slowly break the noodles apart from each other with a fork as they soften
6) Once the noodles look done, grab a colander (yes, you just eyeball the “done-ness” – I can’t teach this step. It comes with practice)
7) (This is where I normally receive many objections to my method) I don’t like the tons of salt in the noodle broth, so I drain off the liquid and eat the noodles only – all soaking rich with the flavor of that little metal pouch’s contents.

It’s a ritual I have performed hundreds, maybe even thousands, of times in my life. And oddly enough, I have never taken the time to really think about ramen and where it came from. There is, or I should say “was”, a Mr. Ramen. Well, that wasn’t really his name. His name was Momofuku Ando, a Japanese man who invented the noodle treat back in the late 1950s, and he passed away this week at the age of 96. He wanted to develop a quick, healthy meal for those in the working middle class. Top Ramen was the result of his work.



The NY Times ran an obituary on Mr. Ando, and someone else contributed an excellent essay to him and his lovely noodles. I ask that all of you who have ever taken culinary pleasure from these little noodles to take a few minutes and read through these articles. It’s the least we can do for a man who has done so much for us, our pocketbooks and our tummies.

Obituary
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/09/business/worldbusiness/09ando.html?fta=y

Opinion Essay
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/09/opinion/09tue3.html?em&ex=1168664400&en=96b63f2de85b1b61&ei=5087%0A

Big decision

Well, folks, a decision has been made. Yesterday, Mike and I found a house that was definitely the best we would get for our money. It was a new build, very cute and it would have been a great first home together. But after a few hitches and a lot of talk, we decided to shelve the idea of buying a home for now.

In only a matter of hours of looking for a rental this morning, we have found several contenders, many of which will save us money and allow us to actually upgrade our standard of living. Therefore, we will be renting someplace within the next month or two.

It was a tough decision to make, but I believe it is the right one. And afterall, I really just want to live with my sweetie!!!

Sorry, cool house -
http://www.hpw.com/SearchPages/Detail.aspx?MLS=Triangle&MlsNum=884884

The gall of some people

Today, in my internet perusing, I ran across a blog. A blog that belongs to someone I know rather well. In fact, it belongs to a person who I used to be married to. I had never seen this blog and happened on it rather randomly. I often wonder how he is doing and what he is up to, so I decided to read through it. Seems as if his life is going rather well and is in fact getting married again rather soon. I was honestly and sincerely happy for him. I was glad he found what he was looking for and someone who matched him so well. But then I read further.

I shouldn't have. It was classic "stare at the car accident as you drive by" syndrome. You can't look away. The more I read, the more references I saw to ME. "Cancer". "Leech". "The Blender" ( i don't get it either ). Don't ask me why I kept reading - I know I shouldn't have, but I did. And this was all posted on a public website. It wasn't protected. It wasn't closed off to just his family and friends. Anyone could have read it. And anyone DID.

I was terribly hurt. I mean really, I know I am his ex-wife (second), and in some ways he is required by law to despise me. And I can live with that. I have already made peace with that fact. But to go write nasty quips about me on the internet for anyone to read? Luckily he did not refer to me directly by my name, but those who know him could easily figure out that he was referring to me. I also cannot believe he would post nasty things about anyone on his blog - good lord, we live in the internet world. Everyone can find everything on anyone. Surely he must have known I would see this at some point. And on top of that, some members of his family (who were never that fond of me anyway) chimed in and added their own remarks. Yeah, thanks. I even considered sending you an anonymous card when I heard your cat died. (She knows who she is.)

In all of our post separation dealings, my ex and I were civil to each other. The last time I saw him, it was civil and "nice" for what it was. I cried like a baby that evening (as well as many, many other nights in the year of our separation and even in the years before). I was sad that things didn't work with him, as I know he is a good man. He just wasn't the man for me. It was a death, a loss. I never, in a million years, would go on-line and say hateful things about him. Never. And I was shocked to see he did so about me.

It also made me sad to read that Maggie, the little baby girl that was once the apple of my eye, received little to no mention, and the mentions she did receive were about how ill trained she was. About how all she did was beg for food and act spoiled. Just mentions of her new step-siblings. I'm afraid Maggie may now be the red headed stepchild to her new family. A reminder of the ex's life that WAS.

But, I guess that is what you should expect for having ME raise her, huh? I should have fought for her and kept her when we split up. According to him, she and I are two peas from the same pod. "Selfish leeches" with no regard for others. It took everything in my being to not call or e-mail him and give him a piece of my mind when I read this stuff. I know I did things wrong in my marriage. I know I turned into someone I didn't like. And I am very sorry to have ever hurt him. He never deserved to be hurt like that, and I am sorry that he received pain from me. But I realize now that the decision made was even more needed than I already thought. I never knew him truly at all. I didn't know he had this kind of behavior in him.

And if he happens to stumble on this blog and read this post, I won't regret a word that was said here. I am sure he will see the whole post as a self-indulgent rambling trying to make myself look better than he is. Hell - maybe it is. What do you expect? ha.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Greetings, everyone, and so sorry I haven't posted in quite a while. But I guess we all know that the holidays can get a bit hectic. Mine were very nice though, thanks for asking! I spent a few days in Texas with my family (which was a lot of fun - spent good quality time with everyone, sae folks I haven't seen in a long time, and saw parts of Houston I had never been to - great trip), then back to NC to have my first Christmas with Mike. Shortly after that, the two of us headed down to Lake Keowee, South Carolina to spend New Year's with friends Coddy and Phoebe. That was a super relaxing trip, and it has made it near impossible to concentrate on getting back into work and school. I need to get my crap together here in the next day or so and get my head back into the game.

I am also happy to report we were able to come up with a new list of houses to check out. We go out tomorrow morning at 10am and see 8 or 9 places. I feel pretty good about some of these, so keep your fingers crossed for us!!! Here are the ones we will go see:

(Click on the links for pictures and more details)

Full Listing Details$82,500 1,438 SqFt2 beds, 1 baths
MLS # 9025782525 Chapel Hill RoadN/A SubdivisionDurham, NC 27707

Full Listing Details$90,000 1,008 SqFt2 beds, 2 baths
MLS # 902939521 Eastway AvenueEastway Avenue SubdivisionDurham, NC 27703

Full Listing Details$98,500 1,160 SqFt2 beds, 2 baths
MLS # 845769518 Eastway Ave.Eastway village SubdivisionDurham, NC 27703

Full Listing Details$113,000 1,027 SqFt2 beds, 1 baths
MLS # 8950832519 State StreetColonial Village SubdivisionDurham, NC 27704

Full Listing Details$114,000 1,493 SqFt3 beds, 1 baths
MLS # 8431822224 SUMMIT STFOREST HILLS AREA SubdivisionDurham, NC 27707

Full Listing Details$115,900 1,311 SqFt3 beds, 2 baths
MLS # 8848841403 TaylorEastway Village SubdivisionDurham, NC 27703

Full Listing Details$121,900 1,135 SqFt3 beds, 1 baths
MLS # 8783902512 STATE STCOLONIAL VILLAGE SubdivisionDurham, NC 27704

Full Listing Details$129,900 984 SqFt2 beds, 1 baths
MLS # 8763333924 Old Chapel Hill RdOLD CHAPEL HILL RD SubdivisionDurham, NC 27707

The pains of home purchasing

As many of you know, I came up with the crazy idea to try and buy a house. I know what I can comfortably afford, and I know what the bank says I can afford. These two numbers are very very far apart from one another. Keeping in the realm of MY comfort zone, I have been looking in a pretty modest price range for homes. I won't get anything new, nothing flashy, but I can get something comfortable.

I have been out with the realtor twice, and she has been fantastic. A former contractor, she knows the ins and outs of houses and has been a wonderful teacher through the whole process. Anyway, I have been looking at stand alone houses and townhomes - just to see what is out there.

NOTE: When I say "I" in this whole process, it is a bit misleading, for "I" am not the only one involved. I am thrilled that Mike will be moving in with me to this place, so the search is being conducted by the both of us, as it will be our home together.

Back to the story - the first trip out proved rather unfruitful. Second trip out, we found one. A beautiful townhome - right out of the 1970s, but we loved it. A lot of character, great location, beautiful area, and it seemed to be in the right price range. After some number crunching, we decided it would be on the high end of what we wanted to spend, but it was still in the realm of possibility. The decision was made - we will put in an offer.

As my realtor pulled the full disclosure agreements for the property, we found that the seller's agent had not fully disclosed what the ACTUAL homeowner's association fees were, and when we found out what the real amount was - it about blew our mind's. What we though would be "a tad expensive" turned out to be "mind blowingly ridiculous". Therefore, with hearts a bit broken, we decided to walk away.

The search will continue in the New Year, and hopefully with a bit more success.

Almost the end of the year...geebus.

My gosh - where did the year go? I almost wrote "October 14" as the date on a check today. Nope, not October, Michelle - it is December. And in three weeks, it will be 2007. Eleven years since I graduated high school. Seven years since I graduated college. Insane. Where does the time go?

Here lately, my time has been dedicated to recovering from a nasty strain of the cold bug going around here. Sore throat, stuffed up head, cough - the whole shebang. I am happy to report though that I am at the end of this illness and have decided instead f gift giving this year, I will present all my closest friends here in NC with the same bug I managed to contract. Don't say I never give you anything! ha!

I am getting ready for the holiday season, and I even feel festive this year. I put up a tree, hung a wreath, and I am even going to try and send out holiday cards this year. Woo hoo!

Okay, I'm drawing a blank on what to write now. I think I will go back to cruising the internet and avoiding work.

SO busy.

Hey all - sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. I am sure you have just been waiting on the edge of your seat with baited breath for my next rambling. Hold that thought. Cause there won't be much rambling right now. Here are some quick bullet points:

• I obviously made it back from South Africa. The meeting kept me busy enough to not be able to post at all. The trip home was terrible. It is supposed to take 24 hours, it took 34. Bad weather, mechanical malfunctions, missed flights, lost bags. And the basic fact that Washington Dulles airport is a crap hole made the trip that much worse.
• Thanksgiving was nice. Spent it here in Durham with Mike, his Mom, friends Ed & Amy with their little one Owen. Everything was great until the stomach flu hit on Friday and bad bad things happened. My body is still recovering.
• The semester is wrapping up right now. I have a big paper due next Tuesday - 15-20 pages. I haven't written a word yet. Great.
• Heading home to Texas for a few days at Christmas to see family. Once I return, off to Western NC for New Year's, then New Orleans in early January. Should be a crazy few weeks.

Okay, get back to whatever you are doing. I will write more later.

Arrival of the Americans

Since the Forum starts tomorrow morning, the Americans attending the Forum all arrived this evening. Once they got settled in, several of us went and had a great Italian meal on the Waterfront, catching up and having a great laugh. Here's a photo from the evening:


From front left around the table, ending at front right, we have:
Darryl Lester (Raleigh, NC), Melody October (Cape Town, South Africa), Me, Tim Webb (Baltimore, MD), Esther Benjamin (Baltimore, MD), Adam Taylor (Washington, DC), and John Barros (Boston, MA). The last time we were all together in the same place was in Cape Town last October, so it was a great reunion.

And also, just in case you are interested, at gas stations (excuse me, petrol stations) in South Africa, there are several attendants working at each station to pump gas. It helps to try and keep people employed in some sense or the other - since many of the folks working at the stations never received formal educations due to the apartheid system. I didn't want to be a total asshole tourist snapping photos, but I took a quick one that came out blurry. But I don't know - I kind of like the feel of the picture anyway. So, here is a quick snap of a petrol station in Cape Town at night - there were about 6 attendants waiting at the pumps. And this was taken at about 2am. They were all standing around chatting.....

Okay, I am off to sleep - the Forum starts early tomorrow, and it is already 2:30am here. My sleep schedule is still rather off. That is what naps are for :-)

All work today

Hey there, everyone! I wish I had some crazy and exciting Africa stories to share with you today, but alas, all I have done so far is work. The Forum starts on Friday, so it is all prep work from here on out. We did manage to wrap up shortly after 5pm, which is much better than years past. I remember times when I didn't leave the office until 10 or 11pm each night before one of these Forums! So, I guess we are doing something right. But, since I just worked so far today, the only pic I have to share is of a "table cloth" - when the clouds pour over Table Mountain, making a phantom tablecloth appear, flowing over the mountain. It was sundown when I snapped this photo, so my shaky hand due to the wind and the poor lighting just add to its aesthetic :-)

Enjoy!

Cuba in Africa

So, this evening I decided to venture out for dinner rather than eating the same hotel food I have eaten every stay here since 2002. I have heared some rave reviews of the "Buena Vista Social Cafe", so I decided to make the trek. After calling a taxi and a 3 minute drive to the restaurant, I found out I could have walked over to some of the best food I have ever had in Cape Town.

This is the view from my seat. Of course, there is a mojito (what else do you drink at a Cuban bar???) and some water, with excellent candlelight to read the CSF Monograph I have not yet read (the meeting I am actually here to administrate).

I had some stuffed jalapenos to start (filled with feta and cream cheese - so good), then a vegetarian Cuban burrito - stuffed with carrots, cauliflower, bell pepper, carrots, cucumber, zucchini, and topped with cheese. It was amazingly good. In fact, I am now nearly in a food coma. I think I may visit there again!!! And in the background, the Buena Vista Social Club played nonstop. Since I own a decent chunk of their CDs, I was able to hum along with nearly every tune. Heavenly.

VIVA CUBA! (In Africa!)

SAWUBONA

Here I am, Cape Town yet again. It is 7:30pm USEST and it is about 2:30 am in South Africa. And I'm wide awake. yay. I just took 2 Tylenol PMs, and hopefully they will kick in soon.

The trip went well though - one close call on making my connecting flight to Cape Town, but I rushed up as they were finishing boarding. This will be my shortest trip to South Africa yet. I am here for a whopping 9 days total - and that is with two days of travel on each side. This time next week, I will be about 15 hours from home :)

I am here for a three day forum on civil society that will run from Friday through Sunday. I do prep work in between now and then. The Monday after, I fly home. Crazy whirlwind trip, but it is lots of frequent flyer miles :-)

I will hopefully have some cool pics to post in the next day or so. My camera took a bit of a beating on the trip over, but photos seem to be coming out fine. So, wait on the edge of your seats! I should have some lovely Cape Town beauty to post soon.

Okay, I am hopefully going to fall asleep soon. Ciao!

Don't cha want a.......

I'm the yellow Fantana. Nikki is Red. Lauren is Purple. Tammy is Orange. Don't cha want a FANTA FANTA?

And here is the lovely pumpkin I carved.

I think we're skipping Franklin Street this year. That's probably a good idea. Not really in the mood to hang out with 70,000 of my closest friends this evening. Pizza and a movie sounds a whole lot better.....

Ouch

Turns out I have been walking, running and working out on a stress fracture in my left foot for over six weeks. Due to the excellent state of our mediical system, I had to wait 4 weeks before I could get an appointment with a podiatrist (I tried to just go see my PDC or whatever the hell they call it, but insurance insisted I go right to a specialist to avoid wasting anyone's time). After an x-ray and a mean foot massage from my foot doctor, the problem was diagnosed. Now, i have a stylish new accessory for the next four weeks.

Yet another soapbox. Have you seen that George Bush signed a bill today giving the thumbs up for a 700 mile fence to be put up between us and Mexico? A fence. 700 miles of it. Rumors say that at least 1 billion dollars are already in the pipeline for this project. If a massive river filled with pollution can't keep people out, how in the hell will a fence send them the other direction? http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/ats-ap_top11oct26,0,7133412.story

I was proud to be a part of a generation where one wall was knocked down. I am now downright ashamed to be part of a generation where another wall is being put up.

VOTE ON NOVEMBER 7.

LEARN ABOUT THE CANDIDATES IN YOUR LOCAL ELECTIONS.

CHANGE STARTS IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD.

No, I'm Michelle - not Nicole. HA!

Want to waste time? Go here: www.myheritage.com. You upload a picture of yourself, their program scans the face and matches the features with celebrities in their database. A great way to kill a few minutes.

And here is my result. HA!

Good day for the NY Times

I check the New York Times on a daily basis, but to be honest, I normally scan the "The Most Popular E-mailed Articles" and maybe check out a multimedia slideshow, a travel review or a silly Op-Ed. But today, there are two fantastic articles. One on the industrialization of our food production and another on early puberty in kids. Check this out:

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that our food supply now sickens 76 million Americans every year, putting more than 300,000 of them in the hospital, and killing 5,000. The lethal strain of E. coli known as 0157:H7, responsible for this latest outbreak of food poisoning [i.e. the spinach scare of 2006], was unknown before 1982; it is believed to have evolved in the gut of feedlot cattle. These are animals that stand around in their manure all day long [ahem....factory farming], eating a diet of grain that happens to turn a cow’s rumen into an ideal habitat for E. coli 0157:H7. (The bug can’t survive long in cattle living on grass.)" Michael Pollan, "The Vegetable-Industrial Complex", NY Times, 10/15/06

To see the whole article, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/15/magazine/15wwln_lede.html?em&ex=1161230400&en=fb88bad2f039ed21&ei=5087%0A

Most folks don't know that factory farming is something of a recent phenomenon that has grown rapidly only in the last 20-30 years. I hate to be pushy or throw this stuff in peoples faces, but there are a lot of folks out there who really don't know where there meat comes from - and that is now starting to affect the vegetable industry as well. To get a good idea of where meat does come from without one of those scary flesh-showing PETA ads, go to www.themeatrix.com. It's a cute cartoon in the style of The Matrix which explains factory farming in a quick and simple way.

Anyway, the other NY times article about early puberty in young children describes freakish events as five year olds growing pubic hair and young schoolgirls growing large breasts, and way too early (no laughing - this is serious!!!). You know the reason????

"In 1979, the medical journal The Lancet described an outbreak of breast enlargement among hundreds of Italian schoolchildren, probably caused by estrogen contamination of beef and poultry." Darshak M. Sanghavi, "Preschool Puberty, and a Search for the Causes", NY Times, 10/17/06

Wow. To see this article in full, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/science/17puberty.html?em&ex=1161230400&en=9af920c8ec9f2d1c&ei=5087%0A

okay, enough soapbox today. Actually, enough soapbox for the week.

And, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MIKE!!!!!!!!
and Brendan
and Stefan......

BEERFEST

Hi, all, and sorry that it has been so long since I have posted. It has been pretty busy around here, and I have just procrastinated (imagine that!) on taking some time to write about what's going on around here.

Just wrapped up a visit with Mom, and that went really well. Our variety of activities included watching scary movies at home, attending a gay pride parade, having dinner with friends, and plenty of shopping. It was a whirlwind few days, and very wonderful indeed. It was great to see Mom, as it had been nearly a year since the last time I saw her. Yay for Mom visits! Here is a pic from our Friday night out:

I am also still going strong in class (I think). I finally came up with an idea for my paper in the class. It wll be a comparison of the emblem books of the 15th and 16th centuries to the protest posters of the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa. Both has a strong imagery that conveys messages throughout art and society. I haven't received an okay on this yet, but I hope I will in the next few days.

Yet another exciting thing coming up is BEERFEST. It is tomorrow at the Old Durham Ball Park. Unfortunately, it is scheduled to rain all day today and a decent chunk of tomorrow. That means ball park = mud pit after a few hours. BUT - with plenty of beer and a bunch of friends in tow, it should still be a good time. Here is the site that describes Beerfest: http://www.allaboutbeer.com/wbf/home.html Those who attend look forward to it all year - it is probably one of the best, if not THE best event held in Durham each year. I should have plenty of pictures on Monday to share!

The next cool thing is that Sunday I am volunteering at a show at the Carolina Theatre, starring comedian Jim Gaffigan (http://www.jimgaffigan.com/). I haven't worked at a show in a while, so it will be nice to get back into the theatre - and the stand up show should be fantastic.

okay, I should probably get to work. you too. quit reading this. go outside and play :)

Been a while...

Hello, fanatical readers! My e-mail box is nearly full with requests for my next blog post. I feel terrible I have kept you all waiting. (Actually, I have had ONE person request me to blog.) So, due to "popular" request, here I am.

I have actually held back on blogging a bit because I have been debating the peculiarities of blogging. I have friends and acquaintences who have "real" blogs where they talk about "real" issues and hand out mass statements about the state of the world and how they feel they can fix it. I don't do that. I post silly pictures of parties and tell you what kind of luggage I bought. It seems a big egotistical doesn't it? Or maybe not.

I have friends all over the country and all of the world who use this blog to stay in touch with what I am up to. If I didn't use this space, I may not stay as connected to all of you as I would like. So, maybe's that the purpose of me rambling incessantly on the trivial matters in my life. Who knows????

Fun stuff. My new webcomic addiction: http://www.nataliedee.com/. I LOVE random humor, and I don't think it gets more random than this. Natalie's husband does another comic: http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/ and together they produce: http://www.marriedtothesea.com/. I check all three on a daily basis. Hit or miss, but normally gives me a nice giggle.

Life stuff. The divorce is final. I'm back to "Newman". That's all I really want to say about that subject in this space.

Dream stuff. I have a new dream vacation destination. Dubai. Yes, you heard me right. Look at this stuff and tell me it's not awesome:
HOTEL: http://www.burj-al-arab.com/ You get your own butler and a Rolls Royce to drive you wherever you need to go.
HANGING OUT: http://www.thepalm.ae/
REALLY DREAMING. http://www.theworld.ae/ You can buy your own private island in a manmade map of the world.

Actively opposing factory farming and other happy thoughts...

Hello, everyone! Since Ernesto made its pass through last night, things here are grey and leaf covered, but that makes a nice atmosphere for a Friday at work before a three day weekend. There is just something about the dark sky - making the trees and grass look so much greener than they really are. I love days like this.

So, here's what is going on over here. I signed up to do a "Walk to Oppose Factory Farming" on Sept 30, but the date was changed to October 7. Unfortunately, that is the same day as the Durham Beer Fest. I do have my priorities in line, so I will be attending beer fest rather than doing the walk. Ok, so maybe I AM a terrible person. I am still collecting donations for the cause though, if you are interested in donating. A former professor of mine, Kathy Rudy, visited Farm Sanctuary, the charity coordinating the walk, and she said it was an amazing group doing wonderful work. Therefore, I know the cause and the organization are very worthy. If you are interested in learning more, check out: http://www.farmsanctuary.org/ If you are interested in making a donation to the group for the Raleigh area walk, please go here: http://www.firstgiving.com/mrnewman.

Building on that same theme, I will be giving a presentation on September 23 to a group of 60 Duke freshman regarding the environmental perils of factory farming. Duke news just ran a story on the event, although I didn't get any mention. But once they see my awesome PowerPoints, I am assuming it should be front page, NY Times Sunday Edition. ha ha ha. Anyway, if you want to check out the story on the event, click here: http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2006/08/farm.html

In other news, I have been waging a computer battle over the past few days. A few months ago, my laptop started having sound issues. It was a sudden problem - I just turned it on one day and it happened. The sound would skip, processes started running slower and it just became an overall pain in the ass. I put off taking it in because I had a feeling it was going to be a long process to repair. Well, I was correct in my assumption.

I took the computer into the "Geek Squad" at Best Buy, and I sat the computer on the counter. I said, "It's a hardware problem. I have run every spyware and virus scan I possibly could, and there is nothing on my computer." The guy looked at it and said "Nope, it is definitely software. For $199 we can do a scan and repair. It will take 24-48 hours. Or we can ship it off to Sony for $29, it will take 4-6 weeks and probably not get fixed because this is a software issue." I went with the tech's expertise, and I paid the $199. 80 hours later, I receive a phone call saying, "We have done everything we can do, and there is no virus or spyware on your computer. It is a hardware problem." NO WAY. I never would have though that! (sorry, I am a tad bitter)

Luckily, they automatically offered up a refund of everything except the costs for the diagnostic testing. So, I pay $59 for the diagnostics, but I get the rest of the money back. I will go in today to get my refund and pay the $29 to ship the laptop off to Sony. Which also means I am sans computer for probably 4-6 weeks. Crap.

On a much happier note, I plan on spending this evening in a wonderful manner. With Mike being off at an APSA meeting in Philadelphia through Saturday, I am spending Friday night with another man: Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy and I will be enjoying pizza, red wine, and chocolate cake for dessert. If you have been reading the blog since I was in Oxford, you know I was exposed to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice for the first time. I rented the BBC version of the movie from Netflix and plan on spending Friday night and Saturday morning/afternoon immersing myself in the film version. I am VERY excited!

Saturday evening will be spent at the James Joyce and enjoying the bawdy pub tunes from Paddy & Bill, who I was introduced to a few years ago. Based in Fayetteville, NC, they don't make it out to Durham very often. Therefore, I am looking forward to seeing them perform less than a mile from my house!

Other than that, no major plans for the Labor Day weekend. I will hit Thrift World, who is having a 50% off sale Sept 2-4, and then I will do the opposite of that and head off to Southpoint Mall to see what I can find on sale there.

The last bit of news (my, this has turned into a LONG post), is that Lauren and I are now the representatives of the MALS (my masters program) to Duke's Graduate and Professional Student Council (GPSC). We are excited to become involved and speak up for all of our MALS classmates!

Everyone, enjoy your Labor Day weekend, and I will chat with you soon!

HOT HOT

Here it is, Day 2 - no A/C in the office. Yikes. Luckily, I was sent home early yesterday by the Ambassador, and today may be the same. Albeit, I may even be home before noon today. It is supposed to get up to 95 degrees today, and with these massive windows in the office, we may as well be little rotisserie chickens in front of our desk.

So, a few cool things. Today is the first day of Mike's class at Duke. Not a class he is taking, but a class he is teaching :) I am thrilled and so very excited for him. I don't envy the butterflies he must be feeling at this minute, but I look forward to hearing all about his first day later this evening.

I have stolen some photos from Meredith and Stefan to show scenes from the party on Saturday. My photos are still on my laptop, which is under repair at Best Buy. Hopefully the ol Geek Squad doesn't erase my hard drive while fixing my sound issues. Anyway, here are some pics:

This is Lauren, Jill and I, attempting to do "sexy face". I think I need to work on mine. It looks like I just ate a pickle.

Continuing with the silly face theme, here is Mike and Stefan doing their best male model poses.

Last, but not least, are three of the MALSketeers. Lauren, Jeremy and I.

I actually have some very cute pics of Mike and I, but alas, they are on the other computer. Hopefully I can post those in the next day or so.

Okay, back to smoldering. Have a great day :)

Lovely monday

Fantastic! It's Monday! YAY! I am in the office, sans air conditioning or e-mail access. BUT, I still have the internet, so all is not lost.

This weekend was a nice one. Friday was spent at the Durham Bulls Ballpark schmoozing with all the new and old MALS students. Enjoyed some good food, free beer and great company. Saturday night was yet another successful event held at Mike's house - a kick off the semester party for all the Political Science folks, and of course my little contingent of "must have's" at the party. There was a great turnout - at least 20-30 people. maybe more. The shindig finally wrapped up about 3am, and luckily, we decided to clean up that night rather than leave it for the morning. That was a great idea. Because Sunday was definitely needed to sleep in. I don't think I actually started the day until about 3pm.

But once I started the day, it turned into a very successful one! I got some chores done, did my grocery shopping, and I even made lasagna for the first time! It turned out very well. I found a basic spinach lasagna recipe on line and then spiced it up. I added in mushrooms, garlic and onions as well. Mike loved it, and I am so proud of it! I now know I too can make lasagna :)

That's about it here folks. This week is the start of classes, but I don't have my first one until Thursday. The more exciting part is that Mike actually teaches his first class at Duke on Tuesday. Woo hoo!

Ok, back to avoiding work :) Hope everyone is well!!!

Settling back in

Today is Day One back in the office. I must first say that Lauren did and excellent job keeping up the office for me while I was away. I really don't need to catch up on much - I just need to jump back on the horse and start riding. I am spending today just setting priorities and figuring out what I need to be doing and when.

It was a bit tough getting out of bed at 7:30 this morning though. I have been a bit spoiled by not having to crawl out of bed until about 9:30 each morning at Oxford. Woe is me, I know.

I don't know if I intend to keep posting on the blog for much longer, but I may try to keep up with it. I guess I could talk about my classes, my buddies, etc. But, we'll see. How much self-discipline do I have?????

HOME!

Hi, everyone! I am happy to report I am home safe and sound. I got in at about 9:30pm on Monday, and I was so thrilled to touch NC soil! Checking in at Heathrow was a nightmare - stood in line for almost 2.5 hours just to check in for my flight, but getting through security took only about 5 minutes! Goes pretty fast when all you have is a plastic bag and then get felt up by friendly airline security personnel. My flight was delayed a couple hours out of Paris, and I arrived in NY late. but, I managed to get a great cab driver who got me to La Guardia in record time, and I was able to catch my flight home.

I am so thrilled to be back. I will be popping into work occasionally over the next couple of days, but I will return full time on Monday.

bon voyage

alrighty folks, here it is. my sign off from the oxford experience. it is 4:35am here and i just took my shower. About to get ready and the shuttle will be here at 5:21am. Then I am off!!! Send me good travel vibes, please!!!!!! Talk to you from the states.........

My last day in England

Hey, everyone. I am happy to report I am safely in London, after leaving Oxford this morning. After several bus rides, standing in queues and trying to stay warm, I am now snuggled up in a posh hotel room in the Sheraton Heathrow. I was going to go out and wander the city today, but it took about twice as long for me to get here as I thought it would, and at about 3x the cost. So, I am just going to stay put in my hotel room. It's warm, there is room service, and there are expensive movies to buy off the television set. And I just paid 15 pounds (30 USD) to get internet access for one day. Geez. I am already flying through my Amsterdam money, and I didn't even go to Amsterdam!!! I regret that I never really got to see London, but that just means I will make my way back sometime in the future to see LONDON and really enjoy everything it has to offer. This trip was for Oxford, and I accomplished that.

You probably won't hear from me again until I am back in the states and fairly settled, but I just wanted to tell all of you thank you for your encouraging messages, little comments and overall support. This has been a great trip for me, and I have learned a lot - about travel, academics, and most importantly - myself. You are all so wonderful, and I am thankful to call all of you friends. Ciao, and talk to you soon.....

PS - I have posted all my pics into an account on Snapfish. If you want access to see them all, please just leave me a comment here on the blog or shoot me an e-mail at africandreams@gmail.com. I will send you the invite for all the albums!

Creepy

I must admit, it is a bit creepy around here. Nearly 90 students have left the college, and there are only a handful of us left here. And I am the lone tenant of Staircase 13 - ooooooooooooooo. But, I am meeting my friend Abbi this evening, and the two of us will go off in search pf a decent dinner here in Oxford. Today, I wandered back over to the Ashmolean museum and took more time to go through some exhibits. Then I had a nice long nap...

Tomorrow morning is off to London. I will catch the bus from Oxford to Heathrow sometime in the morning (I am hoping 8ish), get to my hotel, leave my bag, and then wander London for the day. I am pretty excited about that!

I am also hard at work at getting ALL, yes, ALL my photos up on snapfish for people to browse, so I am going to go back to doing that for a bit.

I should be able to access the internet from my hotel in London, but if not, this may be my last post..........

London for breakfast, Paris for lunch, New York for dinner

My plans are now all set, and I have made a couple revisions to the stated itinerary so I can try to see a bit more while I am here. I will stay in Oxford Saturday night. I will get up reasonably early in the morning on Sunday and take the bus to London and make my way by taxi or subway to the Sheraton at Heathrow Airport. I will set up shop there and tour around London for the day on Sunday. That way, I can sightsee a bit and sleep in a bit later on Monday. My flight leaves Heathrow for Paris on Monday morning at 8:45 am. From Paris to JFK in New York. In New York, I have 4.5 hours between flights - thankfully - for I have to switch airports. I will take a taxi from JFK to LaGuardia. At LaGuardia, I will jump onto a small express jet and fly into Greensboro, NC. If all goes to plan, I will be in NC before 10pm on Monday, August 14. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

I'm heading home!!!!

I am SO happy to report that I am heading home - on MONDAY!!!! I called Delta and a very very helpful person there managed to get me home. I will be going through Paris and New York, changing airports in NY, then flying into Greensboro, NC, but I am coming home!!! YAY YAY YAY!! And I get to stay at Exeter College for free over the weekend until I head out. I am so very thrilled. Just thought I would let everyone know the plan.

MY PLAN

Hey, all! Here is the update and my plan of action.

I will actually be staying in Exeter, in my current room. I have cancelled my trip to Amsterdam and will just hang out here in safe little Oxford until I can get a flight home. I am calling the airline tonight after class and am just trying to get on the earliest flight out of London as possible. From what i have been told, the rate here at Exeter is rather manageable, like $85 a night. If I get stuck here for several days, I will just take day trips to Bath, to Stonehenge, etc. It shouldn't be that bad. i feel a lot better about the situation, so hopefully this plan works out okay. If things change, I will let you know. Thank you all for the wonderful messages and for your concern. I am truly blessed!!!!

The current situation

Just thought I would give everyone an update on what I am hoping to do in light of all the terrorism issues floating around right now. It is still up in the air if I will even be able to get to Amsterdam, as most flights out of the UK are being cancelled. Heathrow is closed and Gatwick may be soon. So, I may get stuck in London and scrounge to find a hotel. And I obviously have not been confirmed for a flight out from London on Saturday. That's all such a mess, I will not even try to get on standby on Saturday. If I don't get the call I am confirmed, I am staying clear of the airport.

But if everything goes as best as I can hope, here is what I would like to do:
Check out of Exeter on Saturday morning and head to my hotel booked in London. Stay in London Saturday night and fly to Amsterdam on Sunday as scheduled. Get waitlisted on Delta to head home from Amsterdam rather than from London.

Who knows what will happen though. But there will be hundreds, if not thousands of people in my same boat, so I will get it all figured out and be safe. And will get home soon.

Don't worry folks - all will work out fine...........

Woo hoo!

UPDATE ON GOING HOME EARLY: Not looking so good. I can get a one way flight from the UK to the US for just about $800 if anyone wants to send it to me :) Otherwise, it looks like Amsterdam is in the cards.....

Anyway, back to the other stuff:

I am happy to report that at 12:54am Oxford time, Wednesday, August 9, I printed my last assignments for my Oxford classes. My criticism paper is finished, printed and ready to be handed in first thing in the morning. And I just composed and printed my last poem to share in my Writing Lives class. YAY!!!!! (okay, so i have a short paragraph to write on Wuthering Heights for class on Thursday, but that should be a breeze......I'm not thinking about that at the moment...)

Anyway, I thought you may all like to see the poem I will be sharing tomorrow. We were supposed to write a eulogy. Here is what I came up with:

Eulogy to my passport
by M. Newman

Smooth blue cover

Embossed in gold.

Your pages hold stories

Too heavy for your thin pages.

We have seen

So much of the earth

Together, you and me.

You gave me the world.

From savannah

To warm tropical isle

On top of double-decker buses

And below the bows of ships.

Hymns of Africa,

Steel drums of Bermuda,

Sing-alongs in English pubs.

These are the tunes we learned together.

Each time we touched

I said painful goodbyes,

Then happy hellos,

Only to say goodbye yet again.

Tears stained my cheeks

And streaked each stamp.

My heart broke too much

With the freedom you gave.

Now rest in your binding

Atop of my shelf.

As I say goodbye to you

And cross the border into home.

Just an update

Hi, everyone! First, I want to say thanks for all the messages I have received in support of my going home early. I thought I would get a lot of crap for it, but you have all been so wonderful. So, thank you :-)

Here, I am hard at work on my final projects. As soon as I finish with this post, I will walk over to the office and turn in one of my projects - a final portfolio of poems. It includes the two I have posted on here, as well as three others I have composed. This will complete my graded work for the "Writing Lives" class. In my Literary Criticism class, I have my analytical paper completely drafted, but I have another day available to me to touch it up. I ended up critiquing a poem of Ted Hughes' called "The Thought Fox". It turned out to be a bit more fun to me than trying to critique prose. Who would have thought I would be enjoying poetry so much??

I realize I haven't posted any pics in a while, and I figured the funniest one to post would be our "Heroes" party last week. One of my professors hosted a party in which we were supposed to come dressed as a hero - literary or otherwise. I decided I was going to use only what was in my room, so I had to get creative. I went as Ernest Hemingway. HA!


Me, as Ernest Hemingway. Bottle of wine and six toed cat in my company....

Not much to report

Hi, all - and sorry I haven't posted much here lately. Truth is, there isn't much to report. Final projects are due this week, so that is what most of the weekend has been dedicated to. I have one due tomorrow and one due on Wednesday. Then we finish up on Friday! crazy. I am sure the week will fly by.

The one thing to report though is that I may have a possible change in flight plans, if all works well. I have waitlisted myself with the airline to try and come home without going to Amsterdam. Yes, I know, "Why on earth would you not go????" But the truth is, I am very very homesick. I miss my house, I miss my friends, i miss my kitties, I miss my life to be totally honest. (And of course, I miss Mike terribly)

I know I want to see the world, but I have really figured out that I don't want to see it alone anymore. I want to see it with someone else - whether that be my partner, my friends, my family - I think this about does it on my solo world travels. It just isn't the same without being able to share it with someone else.

SO - I am supposed to call the airline each day to see if a spot has opened up. it is highly unlikely that it actually will, for it is the height of US folks heading to and from Europe. But just in case some individual decides they just don't want to go home, maybe i will be able to. Give me all the crap you want, but I am admitting it - I'm a sap for home. And I am ready to come back...

Catharsis

So, I think I have realized something being here. I am not, not, not a prose writer at all. It's why I normally despise writing in general, and it also contributes to my constant procrastination at writing academic papers. I think I much prefer to look at literature and break it down by device and theme rather than writing the actual source material myself. I have also decided that I like writing poetry for fun - sometimes serious and sometimes downright silly.

Segue (thanks, D) into sharing something with you.......

We had an assignment the other day to use Wordsworth's famous daffodil poem and a coinciding diary entry from his sister Dorothyto be inspired to write either biography, historical fiction or yet another poem. And I, true to form, went with the poem.

The story here is that Dorothy kept very detailed journals of she and William's wanderings through the countryside, etc., and when he would go to write, he would reference her journals for the details of what he had been up to. So, here is the famous poem that i am sure you have head a million times:

'I wandered lonely as a cloud'
by William Wordsworth, 1807

I wandered lonely as a Cloud
That floats on high o'er Vales and Hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:-
A poet could not but be gay
In such a jocund company:
I gazed-and gazed-but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude,
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the Daffodils

Therefore, based on the "back story" of how Williams Wordsworth got his ideas, I composed this funny poem - telling the TRUE story behind the writing of the poem. ENJOY :-)

‘A yellow flower so soft and bright’
by Michelle Newman

A yellow flower so soft and bright,
Which proclaims onset of spring
I wrote of it a Thursday night
Not knowing what gloom I bring.

Brother with his loss of words
Comes knocking at my door.
“Dorothy, oh my lovely bird!
Sit with me on the floor.

‘Twas a day so long ago,
We walked throughout the field
Ambling hither to and fro
Then what our eyes did yield.

Happy yellow flowers that were
Waving in the breeze,
How watching them passed the hours
And made me feel so pleased.

I know you write a daily verse
A memoir to the days.
I pledge to you what’s in my purse
If your diary I steal away.”

Bending at his every whim
To the drawer I strolled.
I had to calm my trembling limbs
If the real truth will be told.

I had no knowledge of his plans
And surely kin would ne'er steal!
For on the margin in my own hand
I had jotted verses real.

He kept it weeks and then a day
When much to my surprise -
A poem receiving greatest praise
Bewildered my flaming eyes.

'Daffodils beside the lake
Dancing in the breeze'
All trust my brother did forsake
These are my words, if you please!

He added couplets at the ends
Of every single stanza.
To claim the poem as solely his
Therefore from guilt he's gratis.

Will’s now blessed the world around
For oding to this plant.
But the lovely rhyming sounds
Were mine – so that is that.

It pains me like an aching blister
God forgive me – you too, mother
That I am known as William’s sister -
And he not Dorothy’s brother.

Another poem

Technically, it is Thursday here, so I am going to go ahead and do another post. I haven't shared anymore of my work with you, so I feel it is about time. i actually didn't get a chance to share this in class, so it has been not worked over at all. If you have any advice on it whatsoever, I would love to hear it. The assignment was to write about our thoughts, feelings and experiences at Oxford and how they relate to how we normally feel, etc at home. This is what I came up with. i am not so worried about sticking to the prompt as I am about coherence, clarity, etc. Anyway, here it is:

Memory

by Michelle Newman

Father and daughter run over green gardens,
manicured and soft. Lovers caress in the
corner seeing no one but the reflection of their
own self in the other’s eyes. I sit, alone on a bench
dedicated to one who is lost – but still cherished.
The sound of water falls around my senses and
I wonder if I, too, will be missed.

In a land where old defies its conventional
meaning, glossy brochures describe our value
of remembrance. Nobility, martyr, wealthy,
genius, peculiar, valiant, beautiful, malicious.
Did they receive their descriptor while alive?

Here, history hangs from the branches of
willows in estates maintained to show
their original glory. As I wander the fragrant
paths, I pause, wondering how I will be described,
if at all. Does one arrive by departing?
I return to my room, wondering if anyone has been
inspired here. Will this room be known as mine?

The day winds to its end, and as my eyes
grow heavy, I write home describing this place.
But before the breeze carries me to sleep, I recall him
looking at me before my voyage away. I feel comforted
realizing memories of me have already begun.

PUNTING

Oh my gosh. I just got back from my first (and last) attempt at punting. My friend Martha and I went down to the river after lunch and rented a boat for an hour. Thinking it would be as easy as a rowboat, we were VERY mistaken. Let's just say there was A LOT of cussing, utterances of "oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh" and "WATCH OUT FOR THE HUGE BOAT!!!!"

If you don't know what punting is, google it. I am far too traumatized to even begin to define in it. In fact, i think my definition of it may be "a way in which you could die upon a river." Lordy. I am not a sportsman. How Martha can even talk to me anymore is amazing. My mouth was spewing things a sailor would blush at. Geez - I'm so embarrased.

I know that at some point in time, this whole thing will be funny. Hopefully as soon as I get done shaking. HA! I need a drink..........

EDIT: Here's the photos, now that I have regained my compuser. Any smile is totally fake and done just for the camera :p

This is Martha bravely saying that she would guide us out from the dock. She changed her mind about 30 seconds after this picture was taken. I ended up doing the initial driving (excuse me, punting.....)


















Here is me, steering us out of the dock onto the river....I kind of look like I know what I am doing, right????

















And here is me as I took over steering for the return back to the dock. I was feeling good here, as I had just been relaxing in the boat before this. Within five minutes of this picture, I was screaming expletives at rich English people passing us in yachts. okay, well maybe not that bad, but I really really wanted to.