i could save some major $

I wish there was a light-rail here. It's disgusting that our only form of public transit is the bus. Nothing against the bus.....but they're dirty, and not enviornmentally-friendly. I can't believe we try and call ourselves a "progressive" city when we cannot even offer this simple form of rapid-transit. It's green...

The US automobile companies are failing. Let them fail. Let them deal with the consequences of their actions and business decisions. That may sound harsh, but all that fiasco comes down to is GREED.

I think it would be more effective as a culture to turn to public transportation options anyway. It's a win-win situation, really.

Plus, rush hour traffic is dumb. I'd rather catch up on my reading, or meet a new friend on my way to work rather than having to deal with idiot drivers. That's not a real positive way to start off the work-day.

I'd threaten to write the mayor, but he's too busy trying to get his wife un-banned from government buildings.

hr

in other news...

As far as new indie films go, I really want to see "Sunshine Cleaning".

metal - nin

We're in the building where they make us grow
And I'm frightened by the liquid engineers
Like you
My mallory heart is sure to fail
I could crawl around the floor just like I'm real
Like you
The sound of metal I want to be you
I should learn to be a man
Like you
Plug me in and turn me on
Ah, everything is moving now
I need my treatment it's tomorrow they send me
Singing "I am an American"
Do you?
Picture this if I should make the change
I'd love to pull the wires from the wall
Did you?And who are you and how could I try?Here inside I like the metal
Don't you?
All I know is no one dies
I'm still confusing love with need

Speed the Light

Pastor Jeff approached me about planning a walk-a-thon for Speed the Light this Spring. I'm excited about this opportunity. STL is a student-initiated movement to aid missionaries throughout the world, in over 280 countries. The funds go to provide transportation and technology for working missionaries. It's a cause that is near and dear to my heart. I give money, but donating time and effort into a project like this will be much more rewarding than writing a check.

I love event-planning. That's kind of why I wish I worked at a Non-Profit with a heart. Anyway, being involved with CORE has allowed me to do some event-planning and I'd like to organize a few more happenings before I move permanently. I'm hoping to get some sponsorship from local vendors and make a day of it. I drafted up an outline and a donor letter this morning already! I'M SO MOTIVATED TO SEE THIS HAPPEN!

I love volunteering!!! I want to instill this in the students too!

seasons..

i'm so very thankful for the amazing man God has brought into my life. now that i am experiencing true happiness, i am wondering how i have gotten through say, the past 9 years of my life. i've experienced a lot... and somehow i've come out of all of it alive. 7 of those 9 years i was involved in not necessarily fulfilling relationships and now that i've been exposed to how it's "supposed to be," i'm floored that i spent all that time oblivious. every situation we find ourselves in and every relationship we're given is for a purpose in God's plan. Somehow i was supposed to have these experiences. all i can really say is that i am blessed beyond belief...and extremely looking forward to our future together. the end. :0)

It's all about greed baby

I cannot believe how many stories I've heard lately of embezzlement, greed and just plain lack of ethics in America. What is it that drives us towards this greed; this need for money is seemingly never fulfilled. I don't even have to mention AIG's corruption. And now the government's trying to get involved, as if they can somehow convince these people to do the right thing when they enabled it partially. I just do not understand any of it. I just read a news story about a couple that embezzled something like $2million... What the hec? Money is not the answer to our unhappiness, our restlessness, our identity crisis, our rebellious children, our violence, our low test-scores.............

I think money is the root of all evil. I don't know who said this, but I agree with them. I would much rather have love and friendship in my life than loads of money and "stuff". I never want to feel as if I don't have enough money to survive, but it's definitely not something I want a ton of. It's hard for me to understand this fascination...... with a currency. We're surrounded daily by hundreds of people we can interact with, form relationships with and learn from, why in the world would money be so important? I'm much more of a relationship kind of person.

Wall Street drives our world, and our emotions too. Can we re-focus a little people? Because this addiction doesn't seem to be getting us anywhere positive.

march madness

I'll tell you what makes me "mad" in March... when the Executive Committee's in town. We're all on our best behavior this week, and dressed in our best attire. Schmoozing gets old. It drives me crazy that they seem to know all, while we continue to know nothing. Oh My Goodness.

'But I don't want to go among mad people,' Alice remarked. 'Oh, you can't help that,' said the Cat: 'We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.' -Alice in Wonderland.... story of my life in this place.

The weekend will be a good retreat.

Please vote for me...

I saw the most amazing documentary last night called "Please Vote for Me". It was the story of a democratic election held in third grade class at a private school in China. Yes, I said democratic and I said China in the same sentence. These kids are only in third grade, but the documentary reveals they have the know-how to run a campaign, trickery and all. This adorable film captures these students lives in the weeks leading up to the big election as they learn what democracy is and promote their potential to be "class monitor". They prepare speeches, talents for a talent show and recruit "assistants" during their campaigns, and their parents coach them.

I think this is a ground-breaking (and potentially dangerous) move the teacher takes in initiating this democratic election. Very, very good film.

I can't get enough of documentaries lately. I need to make mention of Young @ Heart also. It is about a group of senior citizens who travel the world singing hits from artists like Hendrix, Cold Play and James Brown. It's an extremely touching documentary as well, and worth a watch.

spring cleaning... or not

I went to my trusty prompt generator this morning and this is what I find: "What needs cleaning in your house?". HAHAHAHAHA.... It produced a lot of laughter in me. The answer is simple. Everything needs cleaning in my house! I live with two men who choose to do nothing around the house. It's like living in a fraternity house...with much less booze and promiscuity though.

It's really frustrating. Kinda of a joke at this point, I suppose. I love my family, I really do. All this frustration may turn me into an anal housewife who doesn't allow people to breath in the formal dining room or use the mirrors. It's been a good time living back at home for awhile...it will be fun to re-visit dorm life and one day my own home will be beautiful.

If I had two days off work to clean what needs cleaning in my house this is what I WOULD clean:
1. Carpets (I'd hire this out)
2. Basement
3. My brother's bathroom... this is scary territory but it would make me feel a lot better to have it done!
4. the garage... eek

I can't do it all on my own with no help. I work a minimum of 53 hours a week and travel most weekends.

pretty hate

I have to say that after a long, stressful work week listening to some good old NIN makes everything better. And yes, OLD :) It's amazing to me that one of my favorite bands is as old as I am.... I can't get over the musical genius that is Trent. They are coming here, unfortunately I am broke. I'm making a pact to go for sure next time though!

I'm spending the day de-stressing by watching as much NIN footage as I can on Youtube. I know once the officers get in this weeks going to be ridiculous.

p.s. above is my favoritist song ever!! second favorite video, first fav is Perfect Drug but it's hard to find online

Around Town

I want it to be SPRING so I can go on adventures around town! There is soooo much to do around KC and I LOVE it!! These are some things I want to do and see around KC SOON:

1. Truman Library

2. River Market - FARMERS MARKET!! (cheap/fresh veggies, what could be better?!)

3. KC Symphony

4. Peruse some local galleries in the Crossroads District

5. Go to Lucky Strike Bowl down in P&L

6. Go walking at Burr Oak Woods, and find other neat trails to explore around KC

7. ROYALS GAMES!!

www.visitkc.com has some awesome coupons!! I see a lot of dates in my future... :)

What would you do

Because I work in an office full of women, I hear about a lot of shows. I don't have the opportunity to watch much tv these days, except The Office and Iron Chef America, and I really don't have much of an interest in "reality" tv. However, there's an ABC series I hear about called "What Would You Do". The show intrigued me, so I looked it up.

It's essentially a series of social experimentation. Actors are hired to go into public places and see what sort of reaction they get from standers by. It's a test to see who will call for help, who will actively help and who will continue to walk by. It's eye-opening as far as what kind of culture we live in, and of course the reactions vary. It's a very interesting idea, and I like it.

Who does stop and try to intervene? While these scenarios are staged, I wonder how many times these things happen throughout our country and I wonder how many citizens really step up and try to help? I think of the individual who got hit by a car while onlookers did nothing. He laid in the street and died because no one could even pick up their cell phone and dial 911. Three numbers...three buttons could have saved their life. I want to know what motivates us as humans to assist or ignore.

The human inclination these days is so narcissistic. It's disgusting...

The hopeful thing about this show is that some do stop to help.

Advice - from some divorce attorneys...

I found these tips for couples with differing political views. I think they're good stuff for any couple out there who have a difference in opinions. I don't know any couples personally, but Blogger's got a lot of readers, right?

1. Agree to disagree -- and have that talk openly and soon.
2. Set some ground rules -- that both of you can honor. For instance, should or should you not talk about politics? If so, what are the boundaries for discussion? Should you post yard signs or shouldn't you?See if you can come to terms with some guidelines. Having specifics in place will preserve both your sanity and your relationship.
3. Host your own debate -- with a "non-partisan" friend or family member (even one of your children) as the moderator. Time this debate. When it is over, it is over.
4. Refrain -- from any discussion about politics. Many couples who are staunch about their political beliefs are wise to refuse to discuss political points of view (especially if alcohol is involved!). Refraining is something you both have to agree to though and when you make such an agreement, keep it.
5. Employ a sense of humor -- at all times if you do get into heated discussions over your personal political preferences. Humor has a wonderful way of breaking tension and allowing your communication to hit the "refresh" button.
6. Set time limits -- for any political discussions and make sure each of you has equal time. When the timer goes off resist the temptation to carry the discussion any further.
7. Focus on what you have in common -- immediately after you run out of breath spewing your political viewpoints. This election will come and go, but hopefully it will not take your relationship with it. Realize that disagreeing over politics is not a relationship-breaker. Focus on those aspects of your relationship that indicate you belong together.
8. Promise to make equal donations -- or agree not to make any donations at all to either political party. Couples tend to resent one donating more than the other. Be fair, upfront and honest, or risk having such silly deception impact your relationship adversely.

At your service

I definitely have a heart for volunteer work. I think it's rooted in the strong sense of volunteerism that my mother had. She was constantly at my elementary school doing everything from working in the library, to working on displays, to serving food in the cafeteria for special events... Her presence there wasn't just because me and my brother were there and she wanted to be part of our lives; it was because she was genuinely compassionate and concerned about the well-being of all the students there. Her kindness and always-giving to others spirit instilled in me values I will carry the rest of my life.

It was probably my Junior/Senior year of high school when the volunteer bug actually bit me. It started out with a required number of community service (specifically tutoring) hours I had to complete for Missouri's A-Plus scholarship program. It was a fifth-grade classroom in the school I attended. I never had an interest in tutoring or teaching of any kind. I thought I wanted to major in Marketing/Management and become a real estate agent. Anyway, the experience of volunteering 100 hours in a classroom was life-changing and I realized I had a passion for public service.

My sorority once I got to college offered many opportunities to serve others, and all the opportunities I had to serve were impacting to me as they were to others. We spent time at the local nursing home, animal shelter, elementary schools, etc. serving others in many ways. While it was required, it was an amazing experience to bond with my sisters and to affect others. I became the Philanthropy Chair and was able to lead others in many acts of volunteerism. I was also part of an organization called K.i.d.s. (Kind individuals dedicated to students), which was a college-student mentoring program which impacted the community where I lived. These memories and experiences were great blessings to me. I continue to try to do my part where I am and I know that community service and outreach programs will always be something I am involved with no matter where I am.

The pastor at Brian's church is doing a series called "Servolution" all about how we can (and are called to) serve others and impact them through our service. It's been so inspiring. If I can figure out how to post the audio on here, I will. God commands us to love and help others. Sunday, I learned that if every member that attends Destiny Church did ONE hour of outreach/community service per week, the church would have over 33 DAYS of service per week! Isn't that incredible? It seems to me that 1 hour is potatoes... and when serving is so beneficial for everyone involved, I don't see why we don't all try to volunteer at LEAST that much.

There's a cool website: WWW.Volunteermatch.org which can help get you connected to opportunities in your area.

I Pledge Allegiance

Below is an e-mail I received from our neighbors next door at work. I'm all for patriotism; and I'm all about supporting our troops 100%. But, I feel his tone was completly inappropriate and down-right rude. He makes us out to be heathens!!!

To Whom It May Concern:

I know things get real busy in life and business, and I work next door at Haldex brake corp. I just wanted to ask if you have noticed your American Flag on display in front of your business.

I am a veteran, a U.S. MARINE, and when I come in to work and see your SHREDDED American flag on display I just wanted to let you know in case you just haven’t noticed.

Any Boy Scout Troop when given the old flag you replace with a new one, have a ceremony (Retiring the Colors) and will make sure it is properly disposed of!

Sure don’t mean to offend anyone, it just I have seen American flags in better shape in Beirut.

I have changed the one here at Haldex a few times!! Our American Flag was always the back bone of the Marine Corp, I WILL PROUDLY GIVE MY LIFE TO DEFEND IT!!

Your friend and neighbor!
Gary Park

1. We have tried on more than one occasion to change out flag because we know it's in dire need of changing. 2. We are women with lack of the strength neccessary (because the last male who helped us change the damn flag tightened the rope beyond loosening). 3. We employed the assistance of another male neighbor and they had no success w/ the rope either. 4. We have the utmost respect for Veterans.... MAN!

I guess there's apparently no excuse to fly a mangled flag, even if said flag is stuck on the pole. I was offended by the tone. There's something to the tone in e-mail controversy. I don't know this man, and if he wants us to be "friends" and "neighbors" in the future, he needs to take a nicer tone when correcting us.

Collective Thoughts

Well since I've been having some problems with inspiration for this blog here, I've discovered a neat tool. It's a prompt generator. It randomly tells me a prompt and then I respond. It seems it could be very useful to keep the brain working. Some of the prompts are ludicrious but, hey what's wrong with a little madness once in awhile, right?! I'm a big literacy advocate and a big part of literacy is the art of writing in itself. I used to write poetry and prose in my free time. I used to write quite a lot. I think I need to do more of it. It's a skill that needs to be practiced and since I'm not in school this semester, I can't have my writing abilities go all to hec. So I've decided to respond to a prompt or two from time to time when I can't think of something blog-worthy. It may make for a lot of prompt entries but oh well, as long as I can continue to write. Whether this blog is ever read or not, it's something I will always have to look at and enjoy. I think reflection can be revealing and interesting...

The prompt today is: "What did you collect? Describe in as much detail as possible a collection of something you had when you were younger."

I've learned a lot about collectors and collections at my current job. There's a big difference between collecting something as a child and collecting as an adult. Especially when, as an adult, you collect child play-things... That's a blog for another day but this prompt intrigued me. I was an odd child. I did have a small collection of Barbies and stuffed animals like a normal child but it seems that most of my most prized collections were odd, in one way or another.

1. Dinosaurs: This is odd only because I'm a girl. I wouldn't label myself as a tom-boy by any means but my girl friends found my fascination with these masculine animals strange. I had quite the collection of plastic dinosaurs which accompanied me in the bathtub, sandbox, driveway. They were cool... I wish I still had them! I also studied a lot about dinosaurs. I could spout all kinds of dino-stats !
2. Rocks: Many kids probably have a rock collection. Mine however, was a bit more high-class than the typical childhood rock collection. I did not accept your average off-the-street rock into my collection. None of this "pet" rock mentality allowed. In fact, I saved my allowance and purchased awesome, beautiful rocks for my collection. I kept them in shoe boxes and coveted them. I labeled them and knew what type they were and what they were composed of. I wanted to be a geologist for a time. I remember begging my dad to take me to the Geological building on the MU campus as a child. There were a lot of neat rocks to look at and read about.
3. Stamps: I realize this probably wins the "nerdiest collection" award. Yes, as a second grader I actually had a stamp collection and a huge monument of a book to put them in. There was a neat old hole-in-the-wall store run by an old man with thick round glasses where my dad and I used to go on Saturdays. It was amazing how expensive some stamps were, but I saved my allowance and looked forward to these trips!! Friends of my parents would send stamps they received from people all over the world and I was very proud of the collection. At some point I realized my friends weren't collecting stamps, they were collecting nail polish and other girly such items and something happened to the collection. I stopped working on it and eventually misplaced my book. I know this is so silly but I've actually thought recently of starting it up again. I see a variety of cool stamps since I open hundreds of pieces of mail as part of my job. I saw an Edgar Allen Poe stamp the other day and it jogged my memory. Maybe it's a hobby I'll dabble in in the near future... who knows.

Anyway, those are a few of the things I collected in my childhood. I currently have a doll collection but by no ambition of my own. They've been aquired and hopefully I can sell them and make some bones. I collect books and postcards now as well. Good stuff.

What did you collect? I know Brian collected baseball cards :) How American?!

blog to do about nothing...

man, i need to find myself some real, meaty subjects to write on. idk where my inspiration lies but it's nowhere to be found. maybe when i clean out my closet next i will find it...it's gotta be around here somewhere.

Stuuupid people

Are there REALLY this many stupid people in the world? Or am I just really, really intelligent? I run into the most idiotic of human beings on a daily basis and I'm starting to get really concerned about our country. I know that's a really, really mean thing to say but I can't believe some of the things that come out of peoples' mouths!