Obama Story

Once upon a time there was a far away land called America. America was full of people who thought they needed more and more stuff even though, compared to other lands around America, they had the most. America thought getting this precious "stuff" was all they needed to feel fulfilled in life, so they bought more Spoozles and Floozles and Wizzies and Fizzies. And even though their relationships were deteriorating and they became distrusted by the rest of the lands for their selfishness, they just kept looking for gold-plated Spoozles and the latest Fizzies. The people of America got together and placed a man in charge named Twig to run the country of America. For eight years, Twig delivered bad judgment after bad judgment and the world outside of the land of America began to fear how far America would go to attain it's quickly tarnishing glory.

Because America was built on working hard to get stuff, The people of America (in order to pay for all these unneccesary Fizzies) took out Lorcacs from the Blatoms. A Lorcac was something that allowed you to buy a Spoozle or Wizzie but pay for it later. The people of America thought Lorcacs were great so sometimes they would get dozens of Lorcacs to pay for all the stuff they didn't need. One day, the Blatoms, or the people in charge of giving the Lorcacs, realized they had overstretched themselves...that there was no more support behind the Lorcac to make it possible for them to keep giving them out. This was when it became scary to live in the land of America. Blatoms started firing the people who worked for them, the people couldn't pay their Lorcac, and eventually the Blatoms realized a vicious circle had started because of their greed. But what could stop it? The people of America began to live in fear every day. They lived in fear they would be attacked by one of the other great developing lands. They feared losing their jobs and having to get by some how. They feared that this downfall of the Blatoms and by President Twig would lead to the economy of the land of America crashing down and anarchy taking over. For years, the land of America had been so powerful and now, they felt powerless ... even to help themselves and their families. The dozens of religions the people of America practiced, strengthened their hope and faith for this to all just "get better" or "be solved quickly and painlessly." In some cases, that gave them hope, but when they were laid off, they realized they needed currency to buy enough food to feed their children and keep shelter over their heads and the heat on in winter. Even for those with a life of faith, fear began to creep in.

But, for some, there was a ray of hope. During this scary time, when the Blatoms were crashing and the people were losing their jobs, a new president was selected to take Twig's place. His name was Hopema. Hopema was either loved or hated by the land of America. The good thing is, that the majority of the people approved of him more then the other guy, so that's why he was president. He took the oath and was sworn in and immediatley started taking action. The people of America were overwhelmed by his honesty, his consistency in his messages and his faith in the goodness of his people of the land he was elected to rule. The land of America, crumpled and ragged, now had a new ray of hope to show them a way. Hopema's leadership didn't take the place of religion, rather he strengthened all that was good with his people in the land of America, including their faith and their hope for the future. The world rejoiced that America had decided to elect Hopema because they could see what a wonderful and honest man he was. No longer would America be seen as a beacon of Gluttony, Paranoia and Selfishness.

"It is time to change," Hopema said to his people. But it wasn't until Twig was finished and Hopema took office, that people with no hope were able to lift their tear streaked face and repeat...

"I have a dream."

New Thing #76: Tokyo, Japan

Kevin and I had a wonderful 9 days in Tokyo, Japan. I'll upload pics when I get the chance! Such fun. Here are a few highlights:

1.) Own Japanese garden in our hotel

2.) Meiji Jingu and Sensoji Shinto Shrines

3.) Tokyo Disneyland

4.) Sumo tournament!

5.) Watching a tea ceremony

6.) Akihabara electronic and manga shopping

7.) Kimono (yakuta) from Kevin in Kyoto

8.) Partying at night

9.) Dinner at a restaurant on tatami mats

10.) Pepper Lunch!

Promotion!

I got promoted to "Marketing Membership Specialist" at the Y! I'm totally excited and happy!

25 interesting things about me

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. If you have the time, reply to this comment and post your own "25 Things" on your blog. Why you ask? Because the weather sucks and you're a friend and I want to know more about you. Here we go:

1.) I have an interest in Japanese tea ceremony and I plan on taking a 10 week class in it (and other Japanese cultural aspects) come January at a local community college.
2.) I love jumping in elevators (or generally messing) with people who are afraid of heights.
3.) I've never been brave enough to start a food fight, but I fantasize often about throwing food in public cafeterias.
4.) I have an irrational fear of apocalyptic events thanks to the book "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. I want to learn how to shoot a bow and fence (so I can kill my enemies) and learn how to forage for food in the wild.
5.) I am a level 68 Human Mage... if you are a World of Warcraft geek, then you know what I mean.
6.) I wrote a personal essay for my mom to the MS Foundation and she won a grant to get a special wheelchair easel so she can paint again. We are looking to get her set up now.
7.) One of the reasons why I want to own a German Shepherd is because they would look so good with a Siamese Cat. The other reasons are their brains, easiness to train, loyalty and size.
8.) I am scared to go fast snowboarding but I love going fast on the Jetski or on the runway in an airplane.
9.) Even though I enjoy riding horses, I have a new respect for them since I got kicked as a kid. I tend to be timid with them and like the more docile ones. I haven't ridden in years but I would like to ride again. If horses weren't so expensive, hard to take care of, and difficult to house, I would want a half-dead mare of my own :P My aunt has my mother's saddle so if I ever wanted to ride again, I'd just ask for her tack back.
10.) After living in NYC, I hate watching dogs poop on concrete. Plus you always see these brown smudges on the sidewalk and it just grosses me out. It takes forever to wash off.
11.) I am frightened of global warming. Thanks Al Gore. Thanks a lot.
12.) I spend more time with "South Park" then most people do with their children.
13.) I think our government needs to shift toward socialism instead of capitalism.
14.) Ever since my lung collapse and Michelle's death, I've been less willing to take chances. I think people who escape death and who have seen death understand what I mean.
15.) One of the most interesting movies is "Sliding Doors" with Gwenyth Paltrow. It's about what happens when Gwen's character misses her train and a parallel story line when she makes it. Basically she finds out her boyfriend is having an affair when she makes it and she doesn't when she misses it. I find myself wondering those same "parallel stories" with the choices I make with my own life.
16.) My favorite movie is Mulan because the ending scene is a father telling his daughter how proud he is of her and how thankful he is to have her in his life.
17.) I LOVE reading art history text books and taking notes. It helps me retain the information. I'm studying cave art right now. Fascinating to think that 200+ generations of homo sapiens have come and gone from the earth since those paintings were made.
18.) The time when I feel most alive is when I am partying with my friends.
19.) I have been to all the Disney theme parks except Disney Tokyo and I hope to go to that in January. I love them!
20.) As a profession, I have considered becoming a doctor, a dancer, a yoga instructor, a dance teacher, and a photographer at some point in my past.
21.) I am anal when it comes to coloring books. I think it's important for the artist to sign the page their name and the date they completed it and I think the person should finish the page before moving on to another page. They don't have to be in order... just completed, signed and dated.
22.) Even though I struggle with math and science, I realize that reading the text book, having an open class / group discussion, and doing all of the possible homework really helps with understanding and retention.
23.) I am frightened about the current state of the economy and I may start to stockpile resources and knowledge to help me in case our society collapses. (See #4, #13)
24.) I firmly believed in the power of knocking on wood... until my uncle knocked on wood that he had never broken a bone, knocked on wood, went out to the freezer in the garage, and slipped on ice and broke his leg.
25.) When I travel, I love delving into a country's history so I can improve my chances of understanding the culture.

New Thing #75: Quilting 101

Hi everyone, It's been a while since my last post. I am sure I've done a few things since last time I was on but I will tell you what I can remember:

1.) Took a lovely walk in the snow (I know!!) and looked at all the Christmas lights!

2.) Made Chocolate Chip cookies from the Gourmet cookbook.

3.) Writing in my hand-made Christmas cards that I stamped, embossed, glitter-fied, and sequined!

4.) Made a blanket for my mom and (gasp) quilted it all by myself! Since forever I only thought there were 2 ways to baste a quilt: by hand or by "gun". But now I have discovered that they make "quilter's basting pins" They are like safety pins but slightly curved. So now, I don't feel so bad about quilting and I was able to make a Christmas present for my mom.

New Thing #74: Beautiful Venetian Lady

New Thing #73: Mud face

I put Lush's Cupcake mud mask on and it freaked me out when I looked the mirror. This is one of my lamer posts because I was sooooo stressed out at work this week with the banquet and all. But hopefully you'll forgive me :)