Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Authorities dismissive of missing children | Deccan Chronicle

Authorities dismissive of missing children | Deccan Chronicle

Friday, May 27, 2011

Anger in the Air

Yesterday I responded to a post on Facebook and made people angry. The person I was writing to had written a poem or writing and used curse words, the worst ones too. So anyway, I couldn't hold back, I had to respond. I said that there were better words to use and that those were icky words. So then his friend wrote a comment saying that it was so horrible of me to try to censor someone's writing and she used curse words too. Then I noticed that from then on the cursing just got worse. Like, "In Your Face!"

I'm not bothered that I made someone angry. I am bothered by the fact that the person has changed. I wonder what has happened that made him a different person. He comes from a good family of loving people, but there is a lot of hatred in his heart and darkness. Is it like Anakin who went to the dark side?

This incident has also made me feel old. These young kids, who are in their early 20's, seem so immature to me. And then I started thinking about more and more kids their age and I see a connection to anger. Too many of them are boiling in hate.

As I ponder this further I see another factor. Several of these angry young guys went in to the military. Not the real military, but the want-to-be military. I didn't even know there was a short military. Maybe that is new too. But anyway, these guys did the 6 week course of bootcamp and training. It seems they came out with a chip on their shoulders. But in reality I think they had pent up anger before they entered and the short military training made them feel tough and not afraid to let their anger out. I am almost afraid to have these guys get a gun.

I don't want my baby to grow up. (as I just told him to give me a minute and not talk to me while I am typing, so he threw something at me)

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Ugly People

Have you ever looked at a picture of a person you know and thought to yourself, "Boy, this person sure isn't very attractive." I have. I know, I'm a horrible person for admitting this, but it is true. I was just looking at a person and thinking to myself that they are really nice and fun to be around, but they really are a bit weird looking. It is weird how you no longer notice a person's looks once you get to know their heart. But it also makes me sad. How many people are overlooked because of their looks? How many times does the pretty person get noticed? I can look weird sometimes, but I also can clean up nicely. But since I have these mean thoughts about peoples' looks, does that make me ugly?

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Fitness Circle #2

The Grand Re-Opening of Fitness Circle #2 was last month. The gym is located in Darbungu, Bihar in India. Bihar is a state in India which has the most illiteracy and I think it is the poorest state.

The gym has been in Darbunga for several years, but had to close last year because of problems with the landlord. A new location was found and ladies are starting to join. The manager called me this morning to say there were already 5 members. That is great for the first month in Darbunga. So I am excited to hear what happens with the gym there.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Global Earthquake

There is suppose to be a global earthquake on Saturday, according to a self-proclaimed prophet.

Way back in the 1990's there was a similar prediction. I think it was actually just for Portland, OR. But there was suppose to be a big earthquake that was God's judgment on us. My best friend and I made big plans for that day. I spent the night at her apartment because it was only a single level. My place had an apartment above me. We also wanted to be at her apartment because it was only two blocks from the chocolate factory. Our plan was to go loot the chocolate factory right after the earthquake. For some reason we saw nothing wrong with this plan. I guess it would all be wasted anyway.

So for this coming Saturday's global earthquake, I don't have any big plans. If I knew where a chocolate factory was, I might plan to go there. It seems like I have matured since the first prediction. I think now that if there was a huge earthquake I might actually be concerned about people. Instead of running to go steal chocolate I might want to help rescue trapped people. Life use to be so much simpler.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

No P in the Pool

Now that the temperature is scorching, I am happy to put on my swimming suit and jump in a pool. The problem is in finding a pool. Yesterday we did our best at looking for a pool, but failed miserably.

The first hotel we went to is the one we use to have a pool membership at. We paid an arm and a leg one summer to be able to use their pool. It was such a welcome relief from the horrible heat that summer. So we drove to the hotel and had our bag of swimwear and walked to the pool. I didn't notice the signs that said, "Pool under renovation." Sure enough, to our disappointment, it was closed. Now, who works on a pool during the best swimming time of the year? Why not work on it in March or February?

The second hotel is one that doesn't have a great pool, but I thought it was worth a try. We drove to it and I went in. We could see the pool from the car. No one was in it. It looked cool and refreshing. But the manager said it is only for hotel guests. Strike two!

So we decided we would try the 5 star hotel that is close to our home. We were with our friends who even offered to help pay for our pool experience (because I am cheap and they really wanted us to swim with them because we are fun people). I wasn't really going to let them pay for us. So we all walked down to the pool and went outside to the pool man. Again, no one was in the pool. It looked so lovely. We knew it would be expensive since it was expensive 8 years ago. Something like $10. to swim. The pool guy looked at his list and quoted us a price of around $23 per person. And it would only be for two hours. Then a swim class would be starting. We couldn't bring ourselves to spending that kind of money on a swimming outing, so we left. Strike three!

And our last try was the community pool that is close by to our house. Men have to wear speedos there. We didn't feel like driving all the way over there to be disappointed again, so we called. Last week, when our friends went to go swimming there, it was closed for renovations or something. Since no one answered the phone, we didn't drive over. We just cried and drove home.

By that point we were all hot and tired and getting grouchy. Very disappointed. I would say I was as disappointed as I would be if I opened a birthday gift and found it was empty. A cruel joke. So we never got a chance to P in the Pool.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Freezing

When I was a child, we lived in Oregon and often drove to Eastern Washington for Christmas at my grandparents' house. We made the trek in our old, white van. It was kind of a camper van. It had two seats in front, with the motor cover in the middle that we could sit on. And it had a sink. And a bed. We would put in folding lawn chairs to have two more seats.

On this particular Christmas trip, the van didn't have any heat. We usually started our trip out at 4 or 5 in the morning, when it is already cold. We would go in our pajamas and rest on the bed for a few hours. Well since we didn't have heat, we took our thick sleeping bags and bundled up for the trip. My dad wore his ski mobile outfit. My sister and I and our mom huddled together for most of the trip.

Who in their right mind drives 8 hours in the freezing Northwest without a heater? Well I guess our family did.

And now I find that I wish I was in that van right now, driving through the freezing Northwest. I would be happy to snuggle up in a sleeping bag with my sister and know that my parents knew what they were doing and we weren't going to die. OK, mostly I just wish I was freezing.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Moms

I have four moms! I started out with one. I never dreamed of having four. But God must of known that it would take four moms to help raise me. My mom did the hard part of getting me to adulthood. Then I guess I really needed some work. So God saw that it was best to spread out the job to 3 more ladies. My mother in-laws took turns at speaking into my life in their own ways. And now I am what I am because of these moms. (so don't blame me)

Anyway, I have three mother in-laws. Life is funny. My first mother in-law is Steve's birth mom. She has always been a part of his life of course, but he hasn't always lived with her. Second comes my ex step mother in-law, but I prefer to drop the first part and just say mother in-law. She did a lot of the hard years of raising a boy. She probably had the hardest work of all three. And thirdly, my step mother in-law, or momette (I pretend that is French). She became part of the family a year or two before me, so she got the easiest job of raising a grown son.

I am a ten year mom now. I remember that first Mother's Day. We had only been in India for a couple of weeks and it was very hot and dirty. Micah was a bad sleeper, so we were all tired. All I wanted for Mother's Day was to be left alone so I could sleep. But Steve wanted to celebrate my first Mother's Day. He wrote me a nice card and we went to church. I was miserable. What a horrible mother I thought I was because I just wanted some time away from my kid on Mother's Day. But I don't feel that anymore. I realize I was overly tired and very much in culture shock and probably heat stroke. I love Micah very much and I love spending time with him. I also love sleeping and not being interrupted. I'm glad we are through those first years and on to the more sane years.

Mom's do a lot and their job never ends. From the first moment that you know you are pregnant you are a mom. You realize that a life is dependent on you. It is a huge responsibility. And when you get your kid raised it still isn't over. You end up paying for them whenever they come to visit. You worry about them. You miss them. You can't believe how short the time was. You never stop being a mother.

So thanks to all my mothers for the jobs you have done! This is how life goes. On and on it goes. Until one day we all end up as orphans.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Burger




Craving one of these!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

I Cooked

Last night I had to come up with a meal for the three of us. Thankfully, my mom had sent a package with some food items in it, otherwise there would have been a call to Dominoes. So I made some Mac N Cheese and some eggs with refried beans. My mom had sent the Mac N Cheese and the refried beans. I just had to have eggs.

We were all tired after a long day out, so I was trying to save time. I didn't actually wash the pan that I made the eggs in. The night before, eggs were made in it and my househelp hadn't come to do dishes, so it still sat on the stove. I rinsed it out, but there were still a few dried egg spots in it. And I rinsed off the eggs. They come farm fresh here, which means they have chicken poop on the shells still. Maybe one of these errors were the cause of the effect that happened to Micah's body at 1 AM.

Micah was having a hard time falling asleep. We moved him into our room with a mattress on the floor so that he could enjoy the a/c. But he kept getting up because he was restless. So finally I traded places with him. I went to the floor and he got to be in the bed. I actually think the floor was cooler. Around 1 I heard some commotion. Then Steve and Micah were up. I guess Micah was getting sick. So after he came back from throwing up, I had him sleep with me so I could make sure he was okay. That was all fine and dandy until I felt a warm, wet spot on the back of my shirt. I was sleeping with my back to him and he had his face nuzzled against my back. He got sick in his sleep and tried to keep it in, but had to let it out... ON MY BACK! So we all got up and cleaned up the mess. I took a shower while Steve cleaned the mattress. Micah also changed and we all got back in bed.

So the moral of the story is..... Don't cook. Tonight we have ordered Dominoes.