Only Dogs Can Hear

Facebook Friday

So another two weeks gone.  Can barely believe how time flies when you're sort of having fun between trips to the vet and minor heart attacks over jockeying for new job postings.  I will say that Facebook has been exciting during this period.  Hope you enjoy!

• I'm sorry, has Sookie always been that skinny? That's not okay.
• So, is it safe to trust an insurance company who has asked us on two occasions whether it was myself or my husband who had the C-section?
• This election year is going to be interesting. Dear, GOP Candidates..lets play, "Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shut the Fuck Up!" Find a candidate! You are an active Blooper Reel.
• Steve Jobs resigned because of health reasons...probably got a virus
• "If you think you’re too small to make a difference, you’ve never spent the night with a mosquito.” 
• Unsettled by the stubble on the toilet seat at work.
• Just suddenly realized how glad I am that facebook didn't exist when I was into the 'bar scene'. *shudders*

I have to say I'm unsettled by the stubble on the toilet seat at his work too.  I mean, I know where he works...

Have a great weekend!

Facebook Friday

Just so you know, K arrived back from Pretoria yesterday slightly worse for the wear.  If you ever want to discuss the specifics of chemical cauterization inside the nose and sinuses, K is the guy to contact. 

Enjoy Facebook Friday!

1. Cat escapee this morning. Not a great start to the day. Who would've thought that Whiskers could drag her considerable mass up and over the fence! Both cat and fence are fine but maybe time to stop her diet.
2. I know you have a policy on not reading the comments, but these comments use the sentence "How did we get the right amount of gravity?" and also suggest that reading the Bible will cure Stephen Hawking.
3. Deep fried twix bar....BOMB!!!!
4. The best part of waking up isn't folgers in your cup. It's knowing where you are and how you got there.
5. Going to literally make hay while the sun shines this afternoon.
6. *disclaimer* Unless otherwise specified...assume I'm typing in a font Called "sarcasm". Thank you, that's all.
7. Just got served. Seems another John Jones is getting sued. Can't wait to see how much of a headache this mistake will become.
8. Our office phone has not been working for a few days, apparently because of the rain. We reported the issue at the beginning of the week and called back today to find out what is going on. We were told that nothing has been done as they couldn't contact us on our office phone.......

Have a great weekend!

Facebook Friday

Happy Friday! And what a week...phew.  K was in the far south of the country working, just came home this afternoon.  It's so hard when he's away.  Neither of us sleeps very well apart.  And of course there's all the missing and loneliness.  Sigh.

Work was bizarre too.  There was a staff retreat, exhausting, fruitful the first day, frustrating the second.  I had kind of a bad week in terms of my work.  K and I both knew there would be good and bad moments.  But I even think he had a week where he thought, maybe there's something else we could be doing.  

We'll figure it all out.  I'm sure.

Enjoy Facebook Friday! 

1. Beth hopes she will never find myself in this position... But really...Your plane is crashing and you tape it on your phone????
2. Danielle would like everyone to know that insanity runs in my family, it practically gallops.
3. Fran crawled back into bed and is waiting to be struck by energy. Might be waiting forever.
4. Lilly thinks if you start your 1st email to me with "My husbands the one who wanted children" I won't be getting back to you any time soon. Additional emails are doing you no good.
5. Todd can't believe the shit that comes out of my mouth somedays. I'm such a class act.

Have a great weekend!

Facebook Friday

What a week it's been at work.  Seriously.  A very long and tiresome week.  One of those weeks that reminds me why I'm so glad I had that year working for UC Davis before I started this job.  Working at Davis gave me perspective on what work/life balance can really be.  And by that I mean: LIFE CAN TRUMP WORK if you keep the right attitude.  Now here I am in another highly charged work situation where it seems people get really caught up in the drama.  Instead of remembering that the sun keeps inexplicably rising every morning even if we're not around to help it out. 

Now on to something more interesting. 

I substitute taught for a local yoga class on Tuesday.  It was such good fun.  I was a little nervous going into it since my yoga practice is pretty different from what they've been doing here.  Even my little worry was totally unnecessary.  The students were game for anything.  And seemed sufficiently mellow at the end of the class.  Mellow is generally a good sign of post-yoga bliss.  My next move is to start up a regular donation class to benefit a local organization and a series of more specific workshops.  Like sun salutations or arm balances. 

Enjoy Facebook Friday!

1. Julie has Cracker barrel in my tummy. Which means I'm in for a long night
2. Andrew: So...um...funny story. Glee was just thrown into my face and being that Journey is my weakness I'm now a fan.. Dammit
3. Trent had the realization tonight that my "Piggie" voice in the Elephant and Piggie books is just me impersonating Jon Stewart impersonating Queen Elizabeth. "Helloooooooooo..."
4. Kent: Holy Crap...one of the new "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" is that little girl from the 80's flick "Escape to Witch Mountain"! Or if you were a James Spader fan in the 80's, "Tuff Turf"!
5. Sara probably dances more like Beavis than Beyonce
6. Greg faces his old nemesis, The Morning Commute.
7. Charlie is running around like a chicken with a head cold.

Ok.  Off to make carrot cake.  Have a great weekend!

The ultimate 'Facebook Friday' catch-up post

Let's just pretend I've been posting all along.  That way there's no need to discuss the very close to a year gap in posts here where only dogs can hear me talk to myself.  Right?  Great.

Since the last update I learned French and moved to Malawi.  Here, in Malawi, I live in a big house with a big garden.  You could very nearly fit my DC apartment in this house about 7 times...I think.  There is this one very odd feature though.  There is a random foundation behind the house.  As though there was meant to be another 500 sq. ft. addition that was just never finished.  I found out this week that it is in fact the foundation for a tabacco drying shed that previous tenants erected to, that's right, dry the burley tobacco they grew here in the garden.  I guess we're smallholders now, although we won't be cultivating burley tobacco.

There are lots of facebook updates that I've been saving up for this post.  I hope you enjoy.  (Also, I hope you know that burley tobacco is both Malawi's most important export and soon to be banned as an additive to cigarettes by Canada.  Pretty ballsy Canada.)

1. Jenn is thinking, seriously, somebody just called and asked me how to donate their breastmilk to Haiti.  I couldn't make this up if I wanted to.
2. Alison: Mondays...Proudly brought to you by the same people who brought you 6 a.m., that piece of hair in your scrambled eggs, and court dates...
3. Greg just learned that "powned" is a word.  Thank you nineteen-year-olds.
4. Becky was thinking about this this morning: "If Annuale is right for you, go to the store, buy a hat, and get ready to hold the fuck on to it."
5. Fran already uses BigSight, Blogger, Facebook, Flickr, Google Alerts, Google Reader, LinkedIn, Twitter, Tweet Beep, Tweet Deck, UberTwitter and WordPress for both work and home and isn't using Google Buzz.  Sorry.  Unh uh.  Nope.
6. Pat is pretty sure the E-Trade baby, were he a real boy, could look forward to a lifetime of well-deserved playground beatdowns.
7. Danielle thinks colored Easter basket grass is the bastard cousin of Christmas tree tinsel...why is celebrating Jesus so messy.
8. Val: Dear 'Angry at Life' guy, if you don't feel like making a rational point now, I will be happy to wait 5-7 days when you are done with your period.  Might I suggest a heating pad and some Midol?

Have a great week!

Facebook Friday

Aaak!  Here we are again.  This was my last week at the 'office'.  Starting Monday I'll be in language school full-time.  What an opportunity.  I couldn't be more excited.  Seriously.  To keep my job I have to speak French with professional proficiency.  And I get the next 6 or so months to attain that proficiency.  No other work.  Nothing else to draw my attention.  Just French all day everyday.  Wheehoo!

I've also been teaching yoga to 3 colleagues on Monday nights.  I'm hoping it's soon to be 4 colleagues.  It's been hugely enjoyable for me.  They keep telling me they like it too.  Isn't that great?  I finally understand exactly what my yoga teacher in CA was telling me all that time.  That some students are so out of touch with their bodies that they barely know what their thigh is, where it is, or how to move it.  I'm learning so much from this experience.

Today I'm going to a meditation workshop.  This isn't yet the follow on workshop to the Svadhyaya workshop I took a couple of weeks ago.  Which was actually fairly interesting.  The teacher said something there that really hit home with me.  In the Judeo-Christian religions and in Western society "we're taught to talk, ask and plead.  We're not taught to listen."  I've been working on the listening part for a couple of years now.  Of course, I need a lot more work.  These small workshops can hopefully be part of that process for me.

Enjoy Facebook Friday!

1. Abby has lost 15 lbs but an unfortunate amount of that is from her boobs.
2. Tammy has accidentally taken a page from George Costanza's playbook twice this month. This is a bad bad sign.
3. Jake made his first visit to the Crime & Punishment Museum today because a vacation isn't really a vacation unless you see guillotines, gas chambers and Medieval torture devices. Actually, another really good new DC museum _ the police shooting and driving simulators and the interactive "How to solve a murder" exhibit were especially cool.
4. Shelley wants you to know Rep. Grayson is sorry he called you a whore: "I did not intend to use a term that is often, and correctly, seen as disrespectful of women." He followed up his apology with...'you menacing cunt stain.'
5. Dan lost my pants...yea, that's the kind of day I'm having....
6. Elise is getting ready for the Phillies game with a workout. I am sure that my totally sculpted guns will make a huge difference.
7. Mike already wants to hate James Cameron's Avatar...
8. Suzy thinks Ohio should deputize Shaq...nobody really gives a shit about Ohio anyway. Ohio ruins everything.

Have a great weekend!

Facebook Friday

Hello from sunny Northern California!  I flew in last night.  So that K and I would get to spend our sixth anniversary together.  Today.  The day six years ago that we eloped together in a garden outside of Nairobi.  Here's a walk down our little anniversary lane:

• Number 1.  We were evacuated from Afghanistan that year.  He was in India, I was in Pakistan.  Does it say something about our marriage that we spent our first anniversary in countries that can't stand eachother?
• Number 2.  K was working in one of our Ghor (Afghanistan) offices.  I was in Herat (Afghanistan).  Our whole work experience there seemed determined to keep us apart...kidding. 
• Number 3.  We were both in Ghor.  However, he was in Chaghcharan (capital of the province) and I was in Pai Tonda (little village in the middle of nowhere...where our base was).  He and a bunch of our colleagues came back from Chaghcharan the next day with all sorts of presents for me.  I remember that as the best anniversary celebration we've ever had.  Our Afghan colleagues made it incredibly special.
• Number 4.  K was in California fully embroiled in coursework and other fun stuff.  I was in Southern Sudan.  Enough said right?  K went out that night with friends.  They took a big photo of me which took up a full seat at the table.  People had their photo taken with my photo.  Very funny.
• Number 5.  I really wanted to visit my friends in Washington, DC after I moved back to the US.  So K bought a ticket for me to go there.  Neither of us even noticed that I would be gone over our FIFTH ANNIVERSARY.  What's wrong with us?  On the other hand, I had a great time.
• Number 6.  Here we are together in California.  It's been wonderful.  Getting married: best decision I ever made.  Thanks for another great year honey!

Enjoy Facebook Friday!

1. John ran into Charlize Theron in the winner's circle today at Keeneland. She wasn't riding a horse, training a horse, owning a horse or reporting on a horse, so I'm not sure she was even authorized to be there. But I didn't complain. 
2. Ellen thinks the economy is depressing.
3. Mike used a smiley face on a business email. I don't like it, I'm against it, I'm sure my dad never did it on an interoffice memo, but who am I to buck a trend. :( 
4. Chad has made it a month today without a sip of soda _ a significant accomplishment considering I used to measure my daily intake by the liter. Off to do a Mountain Dew keg stand to celebrate.
5. Abby says seriously Kermit, I get that it's not easy beeing green but do you think it's any easier being purple like Gonzo or orange like Fozzie? it's not all about you Kermit. I'm not sayin, I'm just sayin...

Have a great weekend!

Facebook Friday

Aaak!  It's Saturday!  My friend, Charlotte arrived yesterday evening (she took the train!) and in all the excitement of catching up and playing with her very very very cute baby, I forgot to post Facebook Friday.  Understandable right?  I thought so. 

Many exciting things happened this week.  I signed up for a Svadhyaya workshop at a local yoga studio.  It's six sessions total starting tomorrow.  I'm pretty excited!  If it's great, I'll post about it.  If it's not great...I might post about it or I might not.  We'll see.  K and I also booked my travel to California for Thanksgiving.  Fantastic.  I'm discovering that knowing when we see each other next takes away some of the anxiety of being away for so long. 

I also had the opportunity to see a really interesting exhibit on slums at the National Building Museum.  Featured Kibera (Nairobi), Caracas, Jakarta and Mumbai.  I have to say that the Jakarta slums were the most shocking.  Really shocking.  Charlotte and I went to see the exhibit today. 

Earlier in the week I went to a panel discussion on urbanization, slums and US foreign assistance.  It totally changed my perspective on urban housing issues, as well as low income housing issues.  My thoughts have been evolving for years now, but more than ever I'm beginning to see the failure of societies to work pro-actively toward safe, reasonable housing for all as one more aspect of class warfare.  Perhaps more on that later.

For now, Charlotte and I are sitting in my palatial urban apartment considering housing issues and relaxing after an incredibly active day.  In our little corner of the world, life is good.

Enjoy Facebook Friday!

1. Andrea's mom's favorite hospital quote: "Do you know what a creepy feeling it is knowing that everyone in this place is sitting around with no underwear on?"
2. Jack has read one too many references to Dan Brown and/or Stephanie Meyer 'saving' publishing, and he wonders why no one ever says that McDonald's is saving the restaurant industry. (though he does love their fries.)
3. Sam is still trying to regain his composure after learning that the Kanye West/Lady Gaga tour has been cancelled. Where's the humanity?
4. Ellen would like the Twins and the Cards to nut up. Its starting to look like this was the wrong year to move back to the States so I could watch more baseball. 
5. Helen's dog just ate a mosquito. He snatched it from the air. Maybe I need to up his protein intake.
6. Dan likes Obama as much as the next guy but peace prize...really..I guess for the war he is overseeing or the lack of anything peaceful accomplished? Silly Norwegians pining for their fjords and with their hero worshipping ways.
7. Susan knows she's scrolled too far up on the guide menu when she starts seeing titles like 'Amateur Muff Pump'...time to turn around.

Have a great weekend!

Facebook Friday

Up until last weekend I was happily using an unsecured (read free) wireless network for all things internet related in my lovely and palatial 300 square foot apartment.  Last Saturday that network up and disappeared on me.  A sure sign that the world is trying to destroy me.  Am I right? 

Limited network access makes regular updating somewhat complicated, but I'm working on it.  One method of 'working on it' is walking up and down the halls of my apartment building knocking on random doors and asking if someone would like to share their wireless password with me.  So far no luck.  But then again, not may people have been home to answer their doors.  I'll keep trying.

In other news, I leave today for a quick trip to California to visit K.  How great is that?  I'm really happy to have even such a short time to spend with him.  We already have a very nice quiet Saturday planned together.  Plenty of opportunity to reconnect and 'do little all day'.  I'm also planning to visit the Food Co-Op to stock up on a few essentials that are apparently not available on the East Coast.  How uncivilized of DC to lack my favorite lotion?

Enjoy Facebook Friday!

1. Maggie told my students today that I'm pregnant. All were happy and wanted me to name the kid after them. Then a kid raises his hand and asks "Who's the father?". You gotta love 6th grade!
2. Tracy wrote to California today: Dear State of California, You have the 8th largest economy in the world but your welfare system is like a third world country. I wanted you to know.
3. Jane agrees that yes, drugs and incest limited Mackenzie Phillips career...the 'no talent' thing had nothing to do with it.
4. Mike wants you to know you have bad hair. *What did you say?* I said, your hair looks stupid.

Have a great weekend!  I know I will.

Facebook Friday

Back from a HUGE absence.  Since we last spoke, K came back from India energized and refocused from the great new adventure he had.  Exactly one week later he had knee surgery and spent the remainder of his visit somewhat doped up on pain killers.  What a time it was! 

The new work is going along swimmingly.  I'm enjoying this freedom I have to attend interesting seminars, trainings and volunteer to participate in projects that sound interesting to me.  I know when I get to Malawi, I will no longer have such blessed flexibility.  I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

In other news, I transition into language training as of November 2.  Where I will be immersed in French eight hours/day until I pass a proficiency test.  I'm expecting about a six month tenure.  Again, this new job is full of awesome opportunities.  Basically, come hell or high water, in six months, I'll speak French!

You'll find that this week's updates from my friends includes a "best of" from the past few weeks.  I've been keeping them stored for this grand re-entrance into blogging (heehee).  Enjoy Facebook Friday!

1. Jackie doesn't know which incident in the past week did greater harm to Kanye West's reputation- his hijacking of the MTV awards or the revelation that he watches The View.
2. Joan saw a sign on Rt 1 North: We Sell Fences for your Kids, Dogs and Ugly Neighbors.
3. Dan will never get any sleep if this kid keeps farting himself awake.
4. Julie's dog ate diaper cream and is making a disgusting path for me to clean up all throughout the house.
5. Sam is now unable to raise his son as anything other than a commie pinko godless heathen. Mission Accomplished, Comrade Obama. Long live the Glorious Revolution of hard work and staying in school!
6. Molly believes firmly that nothing says, "I'm a tool," like the vanity plate: 2RICH4U.
7. Tina is just completing her application for a job with the Ministry of Strong Opinions.
8. Alicia would like Dunkin Donuts to rename their 'coffee' something more fitting like 'Sewage Milk'...or 'Gutter Grounds'. Desperate times call for shitty coffee.

Have a great weekend!