Sunday, May 29, 2005

everything zen

so, two days ago, i realized my bamboo is dying. ahh! i can't keep a plant alive at all because i forget to water them. this bamboo lived for two years. i've forgotten to water it before, but for some reason, it is choosing to die now. i wonder if it knows it would have to travel with me and didn't want to. or maybe the feng shui in my bedroom has gotten messed up because of the mess in my apartment from moving.

whatever the case, i'm going to try to save the bamboo, but if i can't, at least the timing is good.

i guess i can buy more at IKEA with the great gift card i got from my fabulous RAs! :) i can't wait to have an apartment so i can buy buy buy from my favorite store!

happy memorial day weekend!

Thursday, May 26, 2005

Article: Bush's Calvin College surprise

Interesting article about the Pres, who was commencement speaker at Calvin College in GR, MI.

SojoMail

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

macs

Check this out. My friend Alan has been trying to show it to me for months, and I laughed my butt off when I watched it. The only link I could find that worked makes the picture teeny tiny, but what the guy says is more important than seeing the video.

My favorite line is about Norton. "You idiot!" I still love using a Mac. You would too if you made the change!

macs

Monday, May 16, 2005

graduation!

It has been a few weeks since I've posted. Sorry about that...it has been busy!

Today was graduation day and it was touching to see so many students I knew graduate. I felt like I was "woohoo"ing nonstop. Several of my leaders from the past few years graduated (yay for Mary, Katie, Amie, Jenika, Heather, Meghan, J.D., Heather, Jayleen, Margie, Abby, Scott, Dave (Otis), Emily, Meg, Serena, Angela, Kenna, Erin, Diana, and Jeff). This was also the graduating year for students who came in as freshmen when I was in my first year as an RD. It has always been my goal to be at a school long enough to see a class go through all four years. It was wonderful!! I got to talk with a few of these students who I haven't talked with in a little while....so great!

The exciting news of the day (besides the above) is that my friend Denise, who graduated today, got an award. Denise is my friend who I go to the Gonzaga art gallery with and then we drink tea and talk about things that matter to us, like Fair Trade coffee, animal rights, environmental issues, being anti-Walmart, and feminism. She got an award they give out to one senior, the Servant Leader Award. It was given to two people this year, but both were very deserving. Denise got it because, in my opinion, she will make a significant impact on this world and she has already had a huge impact on the campus. So I was VERY excited to hear her get the award.

Well, tomorrow the RAs will be closing down the building and we're making brunch at 9:30, so I need to get some sleep. It will be a pretty busy day with a bunch of time devoted to closure as a team. Should be emotionally draining but also valuable.

Saturday, May 07, 2005

Central America and Fair Trade

I went to a presentation today that was done by the 24 Whitworth students who just returned from our every-3-years Central America Study Tour. Some of my former residents were part of the trip, as was one of the RAs I hired for Warren for next year. This trip is an amazing and life-changing experience for the students who go each time. They spend time in several countries, including 3 or 4 weeks in Honduras in a home-stay on their own (apart from the rest of the group). They experienced poverty and different cultures and it was so wonderful and moving to hear about the experience.

While in Central America, if I heard them correctly, some of the students worked on farms harvesting beans for coffee, and they definitely became more aware of who the farmers are who pick the beans for the coffee we drink. They also learned about Fair Trade Coffee, an issue that I have been passionate about since I first learned about it in September. In Central America, farmers are not paid a living wage for the coffee beans they harvest, and so they live in poverty while we sip our $3 lattes, oblivious or apathetic that our coffee was harvested by farmers living in poverty. If we only realized that by a little effort on our part, we could help to provide a living wage for the farmers. You see, by intentionally buying Fair Trade Coffee (coffee with a "Fair Trade" label), you are buying coffee that a farmer was paid a living wage for (read the link below for a more accurate description of Fair Trade Coffee).

Unfortunately, Starbucks does not brew Fair Trade Coffee in its stores. A friend told me it does at least sell Fair Trade Coffee beans. Starbucks makes so much money, one would think they could afford to spend a little extra cash for Fair Trade Coffee. It is unfortunate that a company with so much influence on the industry isn't doing this. I believe that they will someday...it just takes us asking for change. Starbucks is a great organization and treats its employees very well from what I can tell, so I am hopeful that they are moving toward brewing only Fair Trade Coffee.

In the meantime, I think instead of boycotting Starbucks, I will ask them to brew me some Fair Trade Coffee when I'm in their store.

Here's a really long article (but interesting) if you'd like to read more about Fair Trade Coffee. I'm thankful for the students today and them sharing their experiences.

Starbucks Facts--Fair Trade Coffee Facts -Starbucks Fair Trade Campaign - Organic Consumers Association-Genetically Engineered free foods, supporting Fair Trade.

Thursday, May 05, 2005

today

Today was a good day, and I just felt the need to blog that since yesterday was a little melancholy.

I had coffee with the other RDs, a couple of one-on-ones with RAs that I like (which isn't tough since I like them all!! :) ), and I even took a nap. Then I went shopping with Brad (who is in town for a wedding), Aden, and Evan. Then I finally got to go to Blended Family Dinner at Dayna's. I haven't been there since like March. I have really missed it. It is such a place of belonging and I love it and it was so good to be there. We laughed so hard while playing Taboo. It's funny what you say under pressure.

Tomorrow may be a good day, too! I don't have any scheduled meetings until noon. Then at 1, my friend Denise and I are going to Gonzaga to look at art. I love spending time with Denise. She is one of the reasons I care about the world and the environment and feminism.

After we look at art (and probably sip some tea), it will be time to set-up for the Warren End of the Year BBQ! Yay! Always a fun event. It rained on us last year and we got soaked and it was a blast....I kind of hope it rains again! Ok, maybe not.

Now I'm going to relax a bit before I go to bed.

Update

I haven't blogged for a while, so here's a little update on my life.

This last weekend, Nicole and I went to Bend to see Brad and celebrate her birthday. We rode down with Keats and April (StewVille RDs) and it was a good time. I was a little melancholy because it's the first real break I've had since February. Sure, I've had a day or two on the weekends, but nothing rejuvenating. So I was definitely just soaking up the fact that I was getting away.

It was a good time away. We went to see The Interpreter (SEE IT...SO GOOD), went to McMenniman's Pub, drove to COCC so Nicole could see Brad's office and the view of the mountains, and shopped. Saturday afternoon, the Dahlvigs came up from Eugene. We spent the last 2 new years eve's with Chris and Jolyn (who was the StewVille RD before I came to Whitworth) and they brought their 2 cute kids. So we chatted and played with kids and it was good. And we went to April's parents house on Saturday night for dessert, and that was fun.

Now I'm back and have a little free time...I had TWO NIGHTS to work on paperwork and getting caught up on my life. I have been working on some resumes and applications to send out for jobs. I'm starting to get depressed about this job search. I don't like it. I think the fact that I'm naming my feelings is good....I just need to keep myself from getting too down. It's just really hard to look for a job. There is one job at U of Oregon doing Career Counseling that I'm most excited about and most qualified for, so I am hopeful that I'll get an interview. I'll just keep plugging away and sending out resumes!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!