" . . . "

Unbelievable. I just read, that combined with the threat of communicable diseases, the death toll in SE Asia just might reach 100,000+ people.
Natural disasters are, well, I don't even have a word for them. i just can't believe all of the devastation.
And me here in my nice warm house, with my entire family. A perfect Norman Rockwell portrait.

How can we help?

A Dreaming Soul

Thanks to
Annelies for this cool site....

You Are a Dreaming Soul

Your vivid emotions and imagination takes you awy from this world So much so that you tend to live in your head most of the time You have great dreams and ambitions that could be the envy of all... But for you, following through with your dreams is a bit difficult You are charming, endearing, and people tend to love you. Forgiving and tolerant, you see the world through rose colored glasses. Underneath it all, you have a ton of passion that you hide from others. Always hopeful, you tend to expect positive outcomes in your life. Souls you are most compatible with: Newborn Soul, Prophet Soul, and Traveler Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

icky

so, it seems that everyone has at least one of these types of entries on their blogs. so here's mine. i'm sick. icky icky icky.
i woke up sunday morning with a sore throat feeling gross, and decided to sleep in. i went about my day, and even went to the opera later sunday to see my friends perform. yesterday, still gross, but surviving. cut to last night. woke up as i was in so much pain. it seems that one of my tonsils is staging a coup d'etat on the rest of my throat. i'll leave out the gory details and just mention that something is so swollen in there that it is hampering my neck movement. that can't be good, right?
i'm going to the doctor at 4pm. that's only 4.5 hours from now. thank you, Jesus, for getting me an appointment today!

ps: az's party was a smashing success on friday. one of the best i've ever been to/involved with/whatever. it was actually a really good weekend all around, except for the tonsil-thing.

Sweet tea and candied yams . . .

crawfish, catfish and shrimp. Yummmm! So, as promised from last week, I do have a few things to say about my trip to the great state of Louisiana. The south is a different place - it might as well just be a different country. But different does not mean bad.

Growing up, my parents made sure that my brother and I often visited our relatives in Louisiana. Holidays, birthdays and vacations found us in Mansfield, Zachary, Monroe, West Monroe, Baton Rouge, Shreveport and Gueydon. Once we got older, and our grandparents all passed away, we visited less frequently. Now, we've been to New Orleans twice in the last five years for weddings, and when I lived in Dallas, I stayed with my aunt in S'port a couple of times.

Being there makes me realize how much I value this side to our family. We have deep cultural ties to Louisiana. I love the history (well, not all of it is great- hello, politicians/etc). I'm a big fracophile, and I think maybe this LA has something to do with it.

I noticed in my cousins traits that we all shared from the Daniel side of things. Similar noses, height, curly hair, gait. And how my dad and his older brother both cannot sit still for more than 30 minutes without having to get up and do something, anything. Or just take a drive to nowhere.

Other observations from the trip:
-there is a tendency for large, wooden Christmas cards to appear in yards, typically surrounded by large, inflatable snowmen.

-sweet tea is considered 'regular' in most places. My mom, being diabetic, doesn't drink sweet tea. Here is an excerpt from an order we placed at lunch:

Me: "I'll have a sweet tea"
Waitress: "And you, ma'am?"
Mom: "Regular tea, please."
Waitress: "Ok, so that's two sweet teas"
Mom: "No, regular tea for me"
Me: "She means 'unsweet' "
etc etc ad nauseum.......

-You can find the best blue plate specials at the little restaurant Monroe's airport. Their food is delicious! And you can't beat the price (under 6 bucks!).

-Monroe is the birthplace of Delta Airlines.

-Small town Christmas parades are amazing. Everyone comes out to see them, and there are cheerleaders, boyscouts and elk lodge members galore. All throwing lots of candy.

-I had forgotten what is was like to go to church in the south. Everyone goes. We went to First West to see their Christmas program on Sunday morning. There were probably 1000 people, just at one service (out of three). And the choir members were all wearing sequins.

-The town "Cheniere" is pronounced either 'shinny' or 'cheney'. what?! hahah

-my family rocks!!!!!

Yay!

I finally bought "How to Dismantle an atomic bomb" (U2's new album, in case you're from another planet and thought I was actually interested in learning how to, well, dismantle an atomic bomb). It is great! I am soooo pumped. You better believe that if they come ANYWHERE near the bay area, that I am there!!!!

in other random news.....

I'm off to the great state of Louisiana tomorrow. Headed to West Monroe with my parents a cousin's wedding. Well, not actually a wedding, but a wedding reception. Said cousin got married in the carribean last weekend. Aparantly, if you live on the island of Ste. Lucia for 3 days, you can then get married there. Kind of a planned eloping.
Anywho, I'm looking forward to seeing all of our various and sundry family members. Considering we are a southern family, we're quite small, so when we all get together, it's a lot of fun---we all know each other fairly well (despite my parents being the black sheep and becoming . . . ack . . . westerners in Colorado)!!
It's been 3 years since I've been to Louisiana, and almost 6 since I've been to the bustling metropolis of West Monroe. Stay tuned for post-family reunion/wedding weekend recap next week.

pps: check out this freaking hysterical site:

Badly Drawn Observations

Thanks to

End_user X

for the link.

I JUST CAN'T DENY. . .

that I am my parents' daughter. Do you ever have those "OMG, I'm turning into my parents" moments? Maybe because I've been around them this week I'm noticing more just how influential their attitudes/thoughts/behaviors/tendencies have been on me. Let me give you a couple of examples:

1. Went to dinner at this deli last week with the 'rents. My dad and I both ordered hot tea. I opened my tea bag, smelled it, then dropped it in the hot water. I just happen to look at my dad who, at that exact moment, lifted his teabag up, smelled it, and dropped it into his cup of water. Needless to say, the three of us just about died laughing, much to the curiosity of our dining neighbors.

2. I was backing out of a parking spot today, with my mom in the passenger seat. Just as I was getting close to the car behind me in the lot, I said, "I'm going to try and not hit that car." Cue the response (from both of us): "Well, that would be preferable." duh.