Support Heritage Watch

I have the honor of interning with this organization for the summer in Cambodia. I'm so excited to be working with an organization that has made such a positive impact on the issue of heritage-friendly tourism in such a short time since its founding.

I love the idea of protecting Cambodia's invaluable ancient Khmer heritage for its future generations. With an amazing architectural wonder like Angkor, and the truly fabulous cultural wonder of Cambodia's living arts, Cambodia is the best place to visit in Southeast Asia.

Take the time to look into this organization and support it!

Mystic Wonder and Prill Beads

I am totally amazed by all of the products on the Mystic Wonders Inc site. From the laundry Wonder Ball to the Prill Beads, it all amazes me.

The Wonder Ball and Wonder Dryer Balls are a really cool laundering concept that is environmentally and financially friendly. Here's was the site says about them:

A laundry aid & chemical free cleaner

Simply throw the laundry ball in your washing machine, allowing you to use less laundry detergent or none at all along with this laundry aid, you be the judge.

The Prill Beads are even more exciting. This is what the site says they do:

When Prill beads are placed in a gallon of yucky tap water... in 24 hours, that water is transformed into pristine water that is free of chlorine and most contaminants are neutralized. After 1 hour you can draw off and use 3 quarts, and by adding three quarts of tap water to the remaining quart you can then draw off 3 quarts of pure water every hour for the rest of your life!!

These could really come in handy in Cambodia to start cleaning up the water sources over there. I need myself a bag or two to get started.
Mom Most Traveled is having a giveaway for the Complete Laundry System. Plus there's tons of other giveaways, great stories and timely advice, too.

Get yourself over to either of those places and check them out!

The Politics of Toilets

Article originally posted on April 22, 2009, by Rose George on Newsweek's online section called Post Global.

On Earth Day, let's not forget the dirt. The planet is soiled with sewage, on land and sea. Our waste is the biggest marine pollutant there is, according to the United Nations Environment Program. In the developing world, ninety percent of sewage is discharged untreated into oceans and rivers, where its high nutrient content can suffocate the life out of seas, contributing to dead zones (405 worldwide and counting).

There are dead zones on land, too. Human waste contaminates environments all over the world, rich and poor. Imagine getting up at 4 a.m. in darkness, trekking to a nearby bush or field, and going to the bathroom out in the open. Imagine then being hit by a farmer who doesn't like you toileting in his field, or being raped by someone taking advantage of the dark, which you need to preserve your modesty.

The quarter of the world's population without access to sanitation - not even a bucket nor a box - don't have to imagine this. It's their daily reality. What's more, all that excrement lying around has deadly consequences. More children - up to 2 million a year, or one every 15 seconds or so - die of diarrhea, 90 percent of which is due to fecal contamination in food or liquid, than of TB, malaria or HIV/AIDS. Diarrhea is the world's most effective weapon of mass destruction.

That's the gloom. The good news is that it's solvable. And solving the world's sewage mess would be such a bargain that it should appeal to politicians holding the purse strings even in these straitened times. Investing $1 in sanitation reaps $8 in health costs averted and labor days saved. Look at it another way: not investing $1 in sanitation loses you $7.

Last year the World Bank calculated that poor sanitation cost Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam between 1.4 and 7.2 percent of their GDP. When Peru had a cholera outbreak in 1991, losses from tourism and agricultural revenue were three times greater than the total money spent on sanitation in the previous decade.

If numbers are too technical, let's get practical: Installing latrines and clean water supply in a typical village has dramatic effects. . .

Continue with the rest of the article here

If you would like to help support building toilets in a village in Cambodia, leave a note in the comment section with a way to contact you, and the author will give you all the information you need to make sure this project happens.

The Cambodia Village Development Organization is trying to raise $2,000 to build a set of toilets in a small village of rural Siem Reap Province.

KR momentos up for sale likely fake, officials insist

Photo by: KYLE SHERER


Written by Sam Rith
Thursday, 23 April 2009

Former Tuol Sleng photographer Nhem En is trying to sell what he says are Pol Pot's sandals, Tuol Sleng cameras.

Nhem En with his cameras and Pol Pot's purported sandals in Siem Reap.

GOVERNMENT officials and members of civil society have expressed doubt over the authenticity of sandals supposedly worn by Pol Pot and a pair of cameras that former Khmer Rouge photographer Nhem En says come from Tuol Sleng prison.

On Sunday, Nhem En said he wanted national and international companies to bid on the shoes, made from tyre rubber, and cameras at a starting price of US$500,000, even though outside sources have not confirmed their provenance.

Youk Chhang, the director of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia, said it would be difficult to determine if the sandals were actually worn by Pol Pot, for the simple reason that many sandals look the same.

Nhem En was unable to provide the Post with any evidence that the shoes were Pol Pot's or that his cameras had come from the infamous torture centre.

But he disagreed with Youk Chhang, saying that their authenticity could be proven "with modern technology".

The former Tuol Sleng guard who photographed prisoners said he received the shoes in 2000 from General Khim Tean, a former Khmer Rouge army commander, and that he had personally brought the cameras from Tuol Sleng to his father's house in 1977. Many, however, remain sceptical.

"I do not believe [the shoes and cameras] are real, because I have not seen them yet," said Culture Minister Him Chhem.

Pen Samitthy, president of the Club of Cambodian Journalists and editor-in-chief of Rasmey Kampuchea, turned down Nhem En's request to hold a press conference announcing the sale. Nhem En said he will hold his own press conference on Friday in Siem Reap.

Poverty = Desperation. Cambodians will sell anything to make a "buck" even if it means devaluing their own history or cultural heritage.

Evicted to life in limbo

Photo by: SOVANN PHILONG

Written by May Titthara
Thursday, 23 April 2009

Thousands of people living in Phnom Penh slums say they will soon be relocated, and many fear their new homes could bring more hardship.

Chun Bunthol, from Phnom Penh's Rik Reay community, stacks car tyres to be burned in protest against the construction of the Bassac Garden City, a residential project that Rik Reay villagers say will force them from their homes. He told the Post that a demonstration planned for Wednesday had been put off because the developers did not come to the work site, "but we have prepared everything. ... If they do something to us, we will protest. We are waiting for them". Rik Reay is one of several Phnom Penh communities facing destruction at the hands of development companies. The posters on the wall read, "The company is causing us great pain" and "If you want the land, you have to buy it. You cannot use a gun"

As I am doing research into local affordable housing issues, I can't help but compare it to the stark contrast of the lack of housing equity in Cambodia. Affordable housing there is made up of some pieces of sheet metal, cardboard, or if you're lucky, some bamboo strips and thatch. There is no equity in housing development in Cambodia.

Country leaders are being driven by the needs/wants/desires/hunger of developers (both national and foreign) who can shell out endless amounts of money without concern for the real needs of the county's citizens.

I guess that is left up to the non-government organizations to deal with. Poor people are not considered good investments, apparently, but the land they live or squat on is worth more than they're being compensated.

Pain of Khmer Rouge Era Lost on Cambodian Youth

I once took my Cambodian fiance and his buddies to the Tuol Sleng (S-21 Prison) Museum because I felt it was important that they see and experience their history, despite how disturbing it might be. They were all born after the Pol Pot regime existed in Phnom Penh, though they may have seen some of the activities of the Khmer Rouge soldiers, as they were still active up until the mid-1990's until Pol Pot died.


I have heard and read some of my former students' stories about their experiences from that time while they were growing up-listening to bomb blasts and ammunition fire.
I have tried to encourage my fiance to talk to his parents and grandparents about that time period, but he won't, insisting that if they wanted to talk about it then they would. I did get to experience a great ceremony one year that they grandfather organized as a thank you to the man who saved him from being taken by the Khmer Rouge. Grandfather still experienced the atrocities as he lost his arm in the attempt to save his wife from a grenade thrown by drunken soldiers.


Facing an ugly history is not easy, especially since young Cambodians don't seem to make the connection to their history and why they have so much available to them today.

Arantxa Cedillo for The New York Times

So Mei, 5, and So Sei, 12, at the Tuol Sleng Museum in Phnom Penh. A survey found that few Cambodians under 30 were aware of the current Khmer Rouge trials.

Article by SETH MYDANS

Published: April 7, 2009

TRAPAENG SVA, Cambodia — Sum Touch has stopped trying to tell her grandchildren about the killings, starvation and terror she lived through when a Communist Khmer Rouge regime ravaged Cambodia 30 years ago.

Seth Mydans/The International Herald Tribune

Visitors looked at skulls displayed in a memorial at Choeung Ek, one of Cambodia's killing fields during the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979, during which 1.7 million people were killed.

“It seems that even if I tell them they don’t believe what I say,” said Mrs. Sum Touch, 71, who lost many members of her family. “It hurts my heart that they don’t know what happened.”

There is a former killing field nearby and a shed filled with the skulls and bones of some of the victims. But many of the young people here, it seems, have no idea why or how they got there.

As it struggles to leave its past behind, Cambodia today suffers from a particularly painful generation gap: those who survived the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, and their children and grandchildren, who know very little about it.

“I don’t like it, but what can you do?” said Ty Leap, 52, who sells noodles and fruit drinks from a roadside stall. “It really is unbelievable that those things happened.”

For nearly four years, from 1975 to 1979, the Khmer Rouge caused the deaths of 1.7 million people from starvation, overwork and disease as well as torture and execution as they tried to construct a harsh peasant utopia.

Almost everyone here of a certain age has stories to tell of terror, abuse, hunger and the loss of family members. But those stories often fall on the deaf ears of a new generation that either cannot conceive of such brutality or seems unwilling to learn about it.

“Some older people get so upset at their children for not believing that they say, ‘I wish the Khmer Rouge time would happen again; then you’d believe it,’ ” Mr. Ty Leap said.

As much as 70 percent of Cambodia’s population is under the age of 30, and four out of five members of this young generation know little or nothing about the Khmer Rouge years, according to a survey last fall by the Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley.

That ignorance — among both young and older — seems also to embrace the trials of five major Khmer Rouge figures that began last month, a process that is meant, in part, to begin a process of healing and closure.

Read more here.

Cambodia Drives up HIV/AIDS Awareness

I just wonder how they get so many people to take a drivers license test.

Cambodian Government Plans To Use Drivers License Tests To Raise HIV/AIDS Awareness

In an effort to increase HIV/AIDS awareness among drivers -- particularly professional truck drivers, many of whom visit commercial sex workers while on the road -- the Cambodian government plans to add questions about the disease to the driver's license exam administered by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, the Phnom Penh Post reports. The test later this year will include approximately 12 questions about HIV/AIDS. The ministry receives about 2,000 applications for licenses monthly, Keo Savin of the Land Transport Department said, adding that there are 1.14 million registered cars and motorbikes and 405,00 registered drivers in Cambodia. The project is receiving support from the Asian Development Bank.

According to Ung Chun Hour, the ministry's director-general of transport, the ministry is collaborating with the National AIDS Authority at the Ministry of Health to finalize the questions. Chun Hour said, "It is important that drivers -- particularly professional drivers -- know about HIV/AIDS. Professional truck drivers live far from home and are more likely to use sex partners."

Teng Kunthy, secretary-general of the National Aids Authority, said plans to include questions about HIV/AIDS on driving tests come in light of the fact that Cambodia's roads are improving, resulting in more truck drivers traveling within Cambodia and to other neighboring countries, the Post reports. He said, "We are worried that when they stop along their route, they often look for sex partners -- that's why we want to educate them during their driving test, so they know to take care of themselves." According to Kunthy, the next stage is to raise awareness among people who live on the busiest trucking routes (Channyda/Kunthear, Phnom Penh Post, 3/27).

Saving children from Cambodia's trash heap

If we could all be as bold and courageous as Noun. To turn an emotional response into action is very admirable indeed. Here's a bit of her story.

Walking down a street in Cambodia's capital city, Phymean Noun finished her lunch and tossed her chicken bones into the trash. Seconds later, she watched in horror as several children fought to reclaim her discarded food.

Noun stopped to talk with them. After hearing their stories of hardship, she knew she couldn't ignore their plight.

"I must do something to help these children get an education," she recalls thinking. "Even though they don't have money and live on the sidewalk, they deserve to go to school."

Six years after that incident, Noun is helping many of Phnom Penh's poorest children do just that.

Within weeks, she quit her job and started an organization to give underprivileged children an education. Noun spent $30,000 of her own money to get her first school off the ground.

It is no easy task. Hundreds of them risk their lives every day working to support themselves and their families.

"I have seen a lot of kids killed by the garbage trucks," she recalls. Children as young as 7 scavenge hours at a time for recyclable materials. They make cents a day selling cans, metals and plastic bags.

Noun recruits the children at the dump to attend her organization because, she says, "I don't want them to continue picking trash and living in the dump. I want them to have an opportunity to learn."

Read the rest of Noun's story here.

Or, visit the People Improvement Organization website to see how you can get involved.

What stirs your soul?

What gets your fire burning?

Act on it!

Volunteer and you might find your soul mate

If you're looking for love and not having much luck, maybe you could increase your success by getting a bit more passionate -- about helping others.

When singles write to advice columnists complaining about being lonely, they are often urged to volunteer.

Read the rest of the CNN article here.

Personally, I have not met anyone while volunteering on a project together, but I guess you could say I met my fiance while working in Cambodia. It could have been considered volunteering at the rate I was being paid. We didn't work together, but he became my trusty driver and only friend for my first 9 months there.

We now have a small tour operation and try to put together small scale development projects out in the countryside as a way to give back. We both like the idea of helping others who have less opportunities.

If you are lonely, go out and find somewhere to volunteer today!

Camping in my uncle's house

I was so excited to have a weekend off for camping up in the Santa Cruz area. The weather had been great all week.

Then the weather reports came in...RAIN predicted for Saturday and Sunday. NOOOOO!

I persisted and went anyway, irregardless of the threat of rain. After all, it seemed sunny enough.

And it was very lovely upon arriving in Santa Cruz. With bright skies with few clouds above.

Alas, it would not remain. Thankfully I thought to call my aunt. I recall hearing that my uncle was down spending time at his house (sorting through his "collections" no less). I thought I would check in to see if he was still in town.

Unfortunately he was back in Oregon, but the good news was that the house was available. My aunt had to check with the tenant, but the upstairs was available.

I passed the next couple of hours waiting for a call back at Costco (looking for dried black currants, but finding towels, Maranatha almond butter, trail mix and Jodi Picoult novels).

I was hungry, so I wandered over to Planet Fresh for a tasty burrito. I chose the Thai chicken with black beans and white rice wrapped in an onion/garlic tortilla. As I was eating it, the rain began. There went my beautiful day.

Thankfully the tenant called me to let me know where I could find the house key as she would be leaving town for the weekend. Rock on! Now I just had to get directions. I knew where the house was but just couldn't recall how to get from point A to point B.

Since I was in the vicinity of the public library, I decided to drop in on the internet section to see if I could Google the address. Unfortunately, their computers required library cards and a password. I didn't have my old library card with me and certainly didn't want to pay for a replacement. All I needed was a phonebook. Where to find a map?

I scoured the entrance area for any kind of map or public phone to no avail. Finally I walked back into the library to ask where they kept their phone books.

As I was searching for phone book map, my aunt called me back. I was not talking loudly and even moved towards the main entrance to find something to write down the directions. It wasn't good enough because one of the librarians was pointing and mouthing to me that there was no talking on phones. Oops!

But there was NO sign saying this.

All's well that ends well. I got the directions and then I was off to the house.

It had been awhile since I had last been in the house, and I had never been upstairs before. The last time I was there it was completely full of my uncle's collections. Now it was mostly cleaned out with only a couple of rooms full.

Because it's such an old, rundown house, it has the old house musty smell. But staying there was like a little discovery adventure since it still has a lot of the old fixtures.

I spent the evening relaxing and reading one of the newly purchased books by my new favorite auther, Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult. Listening to the rain splattering the roof and dripping from the eaves is so calming.

The only downside was trying to sleep amidst the sounds of rodents scurrying about overhead in the rafters. It was a reminder of my nights in Cambodia when I was fighting the small plague of rats in my ceiling and kitchen. At least the stray cats were happy.

By morning, the rain was gone and sun was peeking through the windows. I had no hurry to go anywhere and enjoyed sleeping in late reading my book.

Now that's a relaxing weekend getaway!

I only got up to go visit Vintage Faith Church for the 11 o'clock service. It would be my first time to attend since it changed from Graceland four or so years ago. What a treat it was as Dan Kimball spoke on being missional. I could have sworn that he kept looking at me throughout the service, but maybe that was because I was the only one wearing a fuzzy, sky blue knit hat.

I can't wait to go back to spend another time at my uncle's big old red falling down musty house.

Choosing a spouse

I have recently been confronted with the question of how to choose your marriage partner. Do you go for "love", or potential financial stability? What if there is a commitment made, but another opportunity arises that may seem a better fit?

In doing a simple Google search for "how to choose a husband," the following sites proved interesting:

eHow's "How to Choose a Husband"
Choosing the right husband is just as important as choosing the right shoes that go with the handbag, that goes with the belt, that goes with the dress, that goes with the house that Jack built. Wait a minute, something in that sentence isn't right . . .

Back to the point: Marriage is or, rather, should be a lifetime commitment. With that in mind, there are a number of qualities a woman must keep in mind when choosing her partner.

Read the the four steps here.

Ezine Articles' "10 Low EQ (Emotional Intelligence) Ways to Choose a Husband"
In choosing the right man for you, you need to use your Emotional Intelligence (EQ).
Here are 10 LOW EQ ways to do it that will guarantee disaster.

1. Choosing the obvious ones to avoid.
2. Choosing by sexual attraction alone.
3. Choosing by externals alone.
4. Rushing.
5. Rushing.
6. Rushing.
7. Not checking out his attitude toward women.
8. Trusting only your intellect.
9. Trusting only your feelings.
10. Misunderstanding the nature of feelings.

Read the details here.

Your Tango's "How To Choose A Husband: Dating advice from a priest via The New York Times."
Trumping news of war, health, food, pets or fashion, the most e-mailed item currently on The New York Times' site is Maureen Dowd's column from July 6 called "An Ideal Husband."

In light of celebrity divorces stealing recent headlines, Dowd turned to a man whose motto on marriage would have to be "Do as I say, not as I do": a Catholic priest.

His advice is not of the "Thou shalt..." variety, in fact spirituality is mentioned only as a cautionary tale of the heartache experienced after the failed marriage of a devout Catholic and a devout Muslim. Instead he offers tidbits that, regardless of one's take on marriage or religion, serve as good guidelines for choosing a partner. To list a few:

• avoid mother-obsessed men
• a man with close friends and family signals an openness to intimacy
• watch out for financial inequality or irresponsibility
• laugh! a sense of humor is hugely important

That NYT readers were compelled to e-mail love and marriage advice during the past three days more than any other story reminds me of the tale about survivors of harrowing experiences, like war, who–more than anything else including the trauma itself–talk about the person they were crushing on or the one who got away during these times of stress. Ah, love.

Read the full article here.

Search Your Love's "Choose a Husband"
Whatever they tell, men marry. Men marry young, marry late in life, marry for the second and the third time. Nowadays it is rather difficult to find a real “never-marry” man. However, each has his own reason and motives to lead her down the aisle. Let us try to divide men into 8 categories, based on the reasons for making marriage proposal.

Read the 8 categories here.

Happy reading!

An Ironic Twist of Fate

U.S. Deportee Brings Street Dance to Street Boys of Cambodia

Tuy Sobil, or K.K., a former gang member from Long Beach, Calif., founded the club after being deported in 2004.


While this is an old article from November 2008, it's relevance remains. Nothing is more exciting than to read about someone who could have fallen by the wayside, but chooses to give back rather than give up.

It may be the only place in Cambodia where the children are nicknamed Homey, Frog, Floater, Fresh, Bugs and Diamond.

And there are not many places like this small courtyard, thumping with the beat of a boom box, where dozens of boys in big T-shirts are spinning on their heads and doing one-hand hops, elbow tracks, flairs, halos, air tracks and windmills. And, of course, krumping.
It is a little slice of Long Beach, Calif., brought here by a former gang member . . .


Read the rest of the article here.

"I'm Yours"

Last night's service was called "Missing the Point of Work."

Here are the main points:

1. Work should be done with GRATITUDE. (Ecclesiastes 5:18b-19) Wealth is what is accumulated, not a measure of who we are. This has been God's intent from the beginning. Your attitude affects your "fragrance." (2 Corinthians 2:14)
2. Work should be done with DILIGENCE. (Proverbs 10:4; 12:24; 22:29a) Work hard, work smart & work healthy. (Proverbs 6:6-9) Remember these points about ants: 1) initiative; 2) planning-are you proactive or reactive?; 3) timing; 4) persistence; and 5) longevity-how long before you wear out?
3. Work should be done with EXCELLENCE. (Ephesians 6:5-6, where slaves = employees, masters = employers) Work with motivation to be faithful and having integrity. Be an honest worker. Follow the "2nd Mile Principle" (Matthew 5:40-41, 44, 46).
4. Work should be done as MINISTRY. (Colossians 3:17) Your occupation is WHAT you do. Your job is WHERE you do it. Your vocation is WHY you do it (as a minister of Christ). We all have different ways to operate, but the same function: to be ministers of Christ.

The evening ended with a song written by our worship minister, though he was not there. Tears found their way streaming down my cheeks because its message matches how I feel about my life.

I'm Yours by Kevin Ross

You, O Lord created me and passioned me

You, o Lord have blessed me with ability

So what else can I do

But give myself to you

And let my life display your woner

Everything I am is according to Your plan

I'm created to praise You

Everything I have is Yours

I wanna live my life for Your glory

I'm giving You my life, my dreams

I'm Yours

Everything I hope to be

Is under Your authority

There's nowhere else I want to be, I'm Yours

You, O Lord laid down your life as a sacrifice

You, O Lord have rescued me and set me free

Fun Contest Giveaways!

Mojave Tui from EcoGear


I try to regularly check in on my friend living in Laos who runs a regular blog called Mom Most Traveled full of eco-friendly and kid-friendly product reviews. She brings a fresh face to "mom-test, kid-approved."



She's got this great one for EcoGear which sells fun and eco-friendly backpacks that are super well made and comfortable to wear. I really want to get the Pig backpack from the Ecozoo line because it will be great advertisement for the Siem Reap Pig Project. The other backpacks just look really cool, and I could always use a new one since my North Fake from China has got a hole from where a rat chewed into it back in 2004.



The post for the EcoGear stuff is found here on Mom Most Traveled.

NEWS FLASH!!! I just found out that Just We Moms is having a contest to win this very same Pig Pack! Yippee!

I hope I win.

I hope I win.

I hope I win.

Get out and vote woman!

This was forwarded to me, and though I don't usually forward forwards, I did send this one along (after cleaning it up a bit) to some of my favorite femail addresses.

While I know that women had to fight for the right to vote, I don't ever remember hearing about specifics of what that fight entailed. After reading this I'm reminded that it is not only a privledge and a right to vote and that by exercising that right we honor the memory of these feisty, couragous and strong women. So no matter your political affiliation by all means GO VOTE!!!

A message for all women
HOW QUICKLY WE FORGET...IF WE EVER KNEW...WHY WOMEN SHOULD VOTE

This is the story of our Grandmothers and Great-grandmothers; they lived only 90 years ago.
Remember, it was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote.
The women were innocent and defenseless, but they were jailed nonetheless for picketing the White House, carrying signs asking for the vote.

Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing went on a rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of 'obstructing sidewalk traffic.'Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women.

Thus unfolded the 'Night of Terror' on Nov. 15, 1917, when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right to vote.

And by the end of the night, they were barely alive.

They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air.

They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cellmate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead.

When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks until word was smuggled out to the press.
For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their food--all of it colorless slop--was infested with worms.

So, refresh my memory. Some women won't vote this year because why, exactly? We have carpool duties? We have to get to work? Our vote doesn't matter? It's raining?

Last week, I went to a sparsely attended screening of HBO's new movie 'Iron Jawed Angels.' It is a graphic depiction of the battle these women waged so that I could pull the curtain at the polling booth and have my say. I am ashamed to say I needed the reminder.

All these years later, voter registration is still my passion. But the actual act of voting had become less personal for me, more rote. Frankly, voting often felt more like an obligation than a privilege. Sometimes it was inconvenient.

My friend Wendy, who is my age and studied women's history, saw the HBO movie, too. When she stopped by my desk to talk about it, she looked angry. She was ---- with herself. 'One thought kept coming back to me as I watched that movie,' she said. 'What would those women think of the way I use, or don't use, my right to vote? All of us take it for granted now, not just younger women, but those of us who did seek to learn.' The right to vote, she said, had become valuable to her 'all over again.'

HBO released the movie on video and DVD . I wish all history, social studies and government teachers would include the movie in their curriculum I want it shown on Bunco night, too, and anywhere else women gather. I realize this isn't our usual idea of socializing, but we are not voting in the numbers that we should be, and I think a little shock therapy is in order.

It is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be permanently institutionalized. And it is inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn't make her crazy.
The doctor admonished the men: 'Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity.'
Please, if you are so inclined, pass this on to all the women you know.

We need to get out and vote and use this right that was fought so hard for by these very courageous women. Whether you vote democratic, republican or independent party - remember to vote.

History is being made.

Oh the trauma!

Daisy, pre-attack, with one of her favorite toys.

This post is dedicated to my mom's dog, Daisy. She survived a horrific and traumatic dog on dog attack by a humongous Mastiff while we were walking on the beach Saturday morning.

It started as a normal Saturday morning where my friend met me and we took Daisy to the beach to walk. We started at the Grand Avenue beach ramp in Grover Beach and walked towards the Oceano beach ramp.

As we neared the Oceano ramp we both noticed a large dog on a very long lead which had spotted Daisy. The owner was fishing behind his jeep. As we came closer he stopped fishing and dragged his dog to the side of the jeep so that we could pass. Sadly, we were joking about how the dog kept "peeking" out from under the jeep to get one more look at Daisy.

At this point I had the choice of walking betweent he fishing pole (stuck in the sand) and the back of the jeep (approximately 10 feet wide), or going on the other side of the pole which was the ocean side where the waves could potentially break and get us wet.

I unfortunately chose the former.

What can only be described as an out of body experience was the sudden rush of the giant dog towards us. I attempted to flee to no avail. Daisy was in its grasp immediately as it clamped down and started to shake her violently. The owner rushed to his dog to begin pummeling it to get it to release Daisy. All I could do was stand there screaming, "Oh my God! Oh my God!" over and over again.

By a miracle the dog released and Daisy bolted. She ran and ran and ran as far away as she could get from that horrific scene. I was frozen. Thankfully my friend ran off after her (little did I know how far she would have to run until later). I stayed to call 911 and get someone out to the beach to respond to this attack.

The man was apologetic and claimed that he was an animal lover. He said he would take care of this situation and didn't want me freaking out. Too late for that buddy!

I was eventually forwarded to the Park Rangers who sent out two rangers in response. I gave my information and details of the incident. Of course I couldn't say how badly Daisy was injured since she had run off and was not captured yet. Meanwhile, the giant dog was sitting in his owner's jeep with gobs of drool spilling out.

A young woman approached me to say that they had Daisy in their car and someone knew a vet somewhere. At this point the ranger told me I could go take care of Daisy. All I could think was how hard the call to my mom would be. Thankfully I had my mobile phone with me.

My friend was sitting in this Good Samaritan's front seat holding Daisy in a bloody sheet. Daisy seemed calm but it was clear that she was hurt. The ranger came up and took a couple of pictures and we took off to the Pet ER.

Now, we didn't go to Daisy's regular vet because when I called them, the receptionist told me that there were other clients there and the soonest we could get in was 11:45am. It was about 10:15am at this point when I called. What!?! Even though I explained that this was a dog attack and an emergency, the woman had nothing else to offer. We're going to the ER.

The ER took Daisy in and cleaned her up. She was put on IV fluids and pain medication. My mom showed up and we waited for the update. In the meantime the attacking dog's owner arrived. He paid for the ER deposit (50% of the estimated bill of over $1,000); and promised to cover all of the costs for Daisy's recovery.

This was truly and amazing thing! The Pet ER staff was thoroughly impressed and shocked as they regularly see animals victims of dog attacks where the owners of the attackers do nothing.

We were able to pick Daisy up later that evening. The man returned and took care of the balance of the ER bill. He was truly sorry that this happened and was doing the right thing.

The unsettling thing to me, however, was that his dog was not taken from him. In fact, he made a comment to us in the Pet ER that "No one could take his dog from him unless it was out of his cold, dead hands." The other thing that he had said earlier is that even though his dog had never attacked another dog, it did show aggression to other dogs, small dogs in particular. Very chilling. I just hope that he never brings his dog to the beach again!

This event was even more traumatic to me considering Daisy is my mom's dog AND this is the weekend I am supposed to be working on one of my midterms for the Public Policy Program.

So, PLEASE, if any dog owners read this and think that their dog is good enough to roam freely in a public space, THINK AGAIN! Keep your dog on a leash at all times in public areas. And if your dog is difficult (and you know what I mean), LEAVE IT AT HOME!

Week 5: Grad school update

I'm at the start of week 5 in grad school and this means midterms. Actually they're next week, but I still have to get my notes together and make sure I understand everything (which I don't).

I'm feeling better about my classes, but that may change once I'm in class tonight. I know that last week was an emotionaly draining one for me when it comes to public policy. I was so frustrated by my lack of comprehension of economic and market issues, especially since I need to have a grasp of it for what I would like to be doing.

I have reminded myself that I don't have to be the best, but just passing will suit me fine at this point.

Polo is for dummies!

I've been playing this new game of polo for a couple of months now. And a couple of weekends ago the match was played in my hometown again. Either I wasn't in the right frame of mind for playing, or the game just became less interesting, because afterwards I felt a bit disappointed. It just wasn't as exciting as I had remembered from previous games.

Part of the let down was that a particular strategy that I prefer not to engage in was attempted. The irritating thing is that this was the second time that I had to warn the other player and stop the game midway. There are just certain game plays that I don't like even if the overall game is enjoyable.

The game went on way too long, and rather than staying to finish it, I left early. I returned the next day to play in the 2nd match, but the interest level and excitement were much too diminished. In fact, the day's playing was preceeded by a lengthy discussion about different strategies by other players from other games. The opinion was that I would achieve greater satisfaction by utilizing and accepting more game strategies, and that somehow by not employing these strategies my life experiences would be diminished.

Um, I have traveled the world as well as lived abroad for long periods of time. How would not utilizing certain game strategies diminish my overall life experience? This is what I was dealing with that left me so disappointed. As it was the 2nd match was only half-hearted and listless.

Lesson learned: pick your players well and choose game time wisely. Too many matches reduce the excitement of overall game play.

Economics for Dummies

I have just finished my 4th week and I'm feeling totally overwhelmed. All this reading about markets and economics is making my head spin. The frustrating thing (well there's more than just one) is that for what I want to do I need to know all that stuff, but I just can't seem to grasp it.

I need the Cliff Notes for Economics, or Econ for Dummies, because it's just not gettin' into the noggin.

Now I'm also trying to develop my research question and topic for 2 classes. The topic and literature can be the same, but I have to write different information for each one.

At this point I feel like bailing out of the program. However, I know I can hang in there and manage. I think what gets me in such a bind is my high expectations of myself to always do well. I don't like the idea of scoring less than A work. In this case, I will settle for average.

A little camping trip

After the stress of starting classes I decided I needed to get away by myself. Camping would be just the cure. I found a spot and made my reservations. I needed to get away and just relax. The sound of the ocean waves soothed me to sleep. The weather couldn't be more perfect as it's sunny but not too hot. I will come home refreshed.