top 10 tuesday (mardi)

someone who (or whom?) i respect very much did wrote something similar like this and it made me remember my forgotten resolution to write a thank-you each week. so here it is, my top 10 things i'm thankful for, present day.

1. Health - i see children each day who have something missing or something not functioning right. i see the atypical one's and i realize how amazing it is to persevere in spite of that, and how profound it is to be born and develop typically.
2. Career - which is only beginning but i know it will forever challenge me to continue personal growth each day.
3. Plants - i get joy out of nurturing them, though i also get sadness when they take a turn for the worse.
4. My Apron - i got it as a gift and it perfectly fits my style and my recent ambitions to cook & bake everything & anything that i can manage!
5. Stable & Dry Gruond - it is unreal the tragedies that happen daily around the globe that i hardly know. i am thankful to have yesterday and right now in peace and calm.
6. Music - maybe it's a secret or maybe not, but i love dancing. i'm untrained, clumsy (only when walking), & self-conscious, but when you feel it, it's very freeing.
7. Warmer Weather that is moving into spokane as the season changes according to time.
8. Mom & Dad - for checking up on me, always being there, pushing me (even if i don't like their ways), and loving me for me.
9. Jordan - for offering new perspectives to life and challenging the way i see things. for making me feel relaxed, calm, and at peace.
10. Patricia - being my sounding board so that i can somehow make up some sort of decision about my life.

Done (it's a good thing)

stick a fork in me because i am done with graduate classes foreva!

Oregon Coast

i went to the northern portion of the Oregon coast for my spring break last week. it was very beautiful, not to mention the clouds parted and the sun shone especially for my visit. this is typical of my visits to the northwest coastline. temperatures soared close to 70! spectacular!!!

i saw my first whales in a cove. it was the perfect beach. there were 6 other people there. mostly i think this is b/c it's a 2-mile hike, which really isn't so far, but it's steep. either way, it keeps the place isolated & pristine. the whales were likely migrating gray whales, on their way up to Alaskan waters. my guess is that we saw a mother & calf, but since i was on the beach, i don't know the size of either of them. i watched for quite a while. it's kind of funny to think that the spouting every so often and the glimpse of fins & backs can be so appealing.


i was extremely excited to finally arrive at the beach after driving overnight for countless hours. it was windy but the sun was coming out. this is seaside, or. it was just a stop along the way.



haystack rock at cannon beach, or. this is probably the sea stack you've seen as desktop pictures & in photog books. but this is my photo b/c i was there! the tide was coming in but i'm not sure i could've gone out to the rock at low tide. something about minus tides... i don't know what those are.




i also saw harbor seals & sea lions, and starfish & anemones in tide pools. it was an exciting trip w/plenty of new sights. this portion of the coast seems to be littered with miles of beaches separated by looming cliffs. sea stacks were at nearly every beach to which i went. sunset was always great, and the atmosphere was enhanced with bonfires being lit and vehicles driving on the sand. definitely a different experience from the east coast beaches.
i did go in the ocean one day, a few times, but never for more than 30 seconds. it hurts b/c it's so frigid!
there was so much hiking to be done. we spent so much time on the beaches, climbing rocks, looking through tide pools, hiking on trails. the landscape changes so quickly. there were also sand dunes which i would've liked to ride 4-wheelers on. maybe another time...

some of my summer in photos

first day of graduate school














best camping spot i've experienced--- middle of nowhere northwest washington. crystal clear, placid waters. mountains. trees.














cool morning campfire














huckleberry picking ijn northern idaho. bear/cougar/wolf/moose country. delicious berries picked wild on the mountainside. no predator sitings.

break from blogging ...

Pain Is Gain

okay, so I didn't run Bloomsday as planned. Life happened. However, I'm not disappointed or regretful. After all, my purpose in registering at all was to have a goal to keep me committed to running. And I have been... well, that's relative to just me, not other runners. Anyway, I've grown to enjoy running over the past 5 months. It's good once you minimally condition your body physically. After that, it's about your mental stamina. I recently read this great book that I must recommend called Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-night Runner. Though I have little desire to achieve the things that he does, I still enjoy the book. I think it's full of great life lessons, not because he's some guru, but just because he is very articulate in his reflections.

sunny days are here!!!

Accepted

Wow, I feel distant from my realm of blogging. Word is I got accepted into WSU's graduate program for Speech & Hearing Sciences. Classes begin in August, exactly one year and one day after I moved to Spokane, giving me in-state tuition.... a difference of $6k per semester.
I've been having more fun lately. I'm not sure if it's the change in season or a change in attitude. I really would like to think it's the latter, but I'm sure the former helps out, too. I'm looking forward to awesome spring and summer days filled with sunshine and blue skies.

Bloomsday is about two weeks away. Yikes!! I've plateaued and thankfully my friend brought me to that realization after a pitiful jog one day. So now my motivation has returned to drive myself and push myself running.

Picatures

The following are photographs from my recent trip to Cincinnati for my cousin's wedding.



Me and my sister at the rehearsal dinner. As I recall, I shouted burst of light for the inspiration, yet she looks like a carnivorous dinosaur.







Family portrait at the country club reception.








My cousin, Monica and her husband, Pat. I chose this picture because to me it shows the fun of the celebration.

Kalaloch [a good place to land]

[Joke from five-and-a-half-year-old Carter]
What's the difference between roast beef and pea soup? Anyone can roast beef but no one can pea soup.

Me: Dinosaurs lived a long time ago.
Carter: Like in the 80s?

Spring is coming...possibly. We had mist instead of snow for a few weeks, but then the snow came back. Now it is still cool, in the 30s and 40s - I feel betrayed by nature. It seems when seasons are scheduled to change, I've already been lined up and waiting.
At the end of February, we had rain - real rain that can reach your skin. I would even give it the hype of being called a storm because of the thunder and lightening. I noted this occasion because my last six months here have yielded no rain, only mist without thunder or lightening. I miss Georgia storms. That night was special and comforting; I was content stalling my sleep for the sounds.

I went camping at the Washington coast in Olympic National Park!! The ocean there is cold year-round, and the air temperature was below freezing, too. It was in the 20s overnight and that was another new experience for my life's book. No complaints, just lessons learned like extra blankets would've been great. It was car camping after all and the SUV could have handled a little more fleece weight. And from all of this, I didn't learn anything new about building a campfire because I left that duty to my friend. Anyway, here are some photos of the campsite and beaches in the area.

we walked underneath this treecampsite view of sunset

sea stacks we made cairns

The beaches were edged in most places with cliffs and dimpled with rocks that looked like the buttons on decorative pillows. Waves crashed around sea stacks, but unfortunately we were only at that particular beach during high tide so neither could we climb on the rocks nor view any tide pools. At high tide some beaches were impassable due to the narrowed pass between ocean and driftwood, leaving a risky path if a large wave loosened the logs from the sand. But at low tide, the storm beaten driftwood, with sunny skies, emanated a warm, worn and welcoming energy. Beach access points from the cliffs and wood trails were made from the driftwood, nature's own recycling.. well, with some human labor.
Walking around and over the driftwood was fun for balance practice, except the morning that they were covered in frost. That particular morning was so cold and my hands very quickly ached in the cold air as I went exploring my first day at the ocean.
During the day we drove 20 miles inland to hike the temperate rain forests in the park. One of my favorite things was the varying hues of green that created shadows and depth in the forests and the complimentary red undertones of the wood, especially the red alder. The cedars and spruces were giants that really only demonstrated their size to ground dwellers when fallen. I hugged 400- and 500-year-old trees and climbed inside dead ones with toadstool-like fungus for storybook inhabitants to climb. Here are some photos of the forests.Our 10-hour drive back to Spokane took a different route through the Northern section of the Olympic Peninsula, as well as the Puget Sound. After the ferry across the sound and then the mountain pass, we were back in the land of wheat fields. With all of our exploring days before and little rest, it was exhausting.


So the update on graduate school is that I've been wait-listed at both of my prospects. This really means nothing more than a big series of I don't know, We'll see, or Let's see if all these other people are going to go or not, first. So, I don't know what's next yet. Yikes! but okay I can deal with that. ...considering massage therapy...

comic en{Courage}ment

photologue And Then Some

This is one of my good friends out here, Tsacha.

One of my friends from Georgia came to visit so >>> lots of really fun outside exploring!! This is me and Young in Hood River, OR.

Hiking at Riverside Park in Spokane.

Young and I took a scenic exploration drive through the Columbia River Gorge after wine tasting in Walla Walla, WA. These next few pictures are from that trip between Washington and Oregon.

Twin Sisters

See if you can find me... we climbed up to the Twin Sisters on the backside.

Columbia River Gorge before sunset.

Columbia River

Liquid gold sunset!!

In the midst of my explorations of land and people, I'm finding tat I still have things that need to be dug up inside of myself. Those same skeletons of years past stayed hidden last time I checked inside, escaping the rounds of self-examination and growth, but my God is more than strong enough, wise enough, and most importantly patient enough to help me with this. Apparently I'm not only changing physically and mentally with my athletic ambitions, but spiritually and emotionally, too. :)

Triathlon Sampler

Again I've switched gears: cycling to swimming to running. Maybe I should try a triathlon? That was my sister's input and I am liking that notion. I'm in an awesome phase of wanting to do things I previously hated, feared, or could care less about. For starters, I've committed myself to run in Bloomsday on May 3rd.

I haven't lost all interest in swimming, but the Christmas season turned the pools to ice (just kidding, I am not swimming outdoors). I have every intention of going hardcore back to swimming as my other cardio training because it feeds my motivation to run. My body and mind are still in the adaptation stages with my new goal. Running has always been a mental challenge I needed to overcome. I needed to learn to ignore the physical discomfort and struggles, and finally I am only beginning. That is why I'm running a 12k road race.
For all things active and outdoors I am in the land of opportunity. Moving here has inspired me to be active - especially outdoors. It's the norm to have sidewalks for running, see people bike to work or cross-country ski when conditions allow.
In such an unexpected way, I'm really loving life out here. Even without roots here, I missed being in Spokane during my Christmas vacation. It shocked me because I'd never felt that way towards any place (save my hometown of 20 years), and I've barely been here 5 months! But it's a blessing and treasure, and no matter where I'm at after June, I'll have loved this experience.



Recently I ate Romanian food at a potluck style cooking group. It was really delicious and I met someone from Florida there. It was nice to share a connection to Southern culture for a moment. We managed to agree on the definition of the word beach as well as celebrate the absence of large bugs, alligators, and venomous snakes (except rattlesnakes) in the area. Natives to this area refer to the beach as the sandy section at Lake Coeur D'Alene - that is to say that a body of water nestled by mountains with no salt, no waves, no undertow, no seaweed, no jellyfish is a beach. No kidding.
I've been meeting new people lately now that I'm finished applying to graduate school and mostly staying in town on the weekends. My off-days consist of errands, running, library outings, and knitting in coffee shops or bookstores. Somehow, in my jogging clothes, I manage to attract strangers to come over and start conversation. So even if it sounds creepy, it's not so much in a public place. Also, it brightens my day to meet new people quite frequently.
Big Al's
What images flicker when you hear that name in conjunction with a club? You should be thinking of Hope Floats. At least I did. My only reference to a country western club was watching Sandra Bullock dance with cowboys. Big Al's is much more colorful. I wanted to ride the mechanical bull, but didn't after noticing flashing cameras in the hands of many a random guy lining the pen. Most everyone had on tight jeans, not to be en vogue with skinny jeans of course. I had walked into another culture and was very entertained.



Now here is a brief lesson in local history: the white supremacy organization Aryan Nations was formed and headquartered in Hayden Lake, ID (45 minutes drive from my house) for nearly three decades until 2001. I always say everyone has their secret lives (credit to the fantastic Water Deep), but going to a place like Big Al's provoked questions of how many in the crowd upheld the same pro-segregation ideals. It hasn't even been a decade since this group held rallies and marches in downtown Coeur D'Alene and that blows my mind. I am ignorant of the happenings in different regions of the country - what morals, philosophies, beliefs, priorities, etc. dominate the different subcultures. I guess that's what makes traveling appealing to me - you never know who you could possibly meet or what you could learn.
I compare America's own running history of violent "terrorist" groups to extremist Islam terror groups. Both grow from the same seeds of hatred. Instead of focusing on fighting a group of a completely different culture, why not get to know the people around you. I believe the biggest way any person can affect change is through relationships.

To: Family & Friends

I love all of my relationships with everyone that is a part of my life! And if you're hundreds or thousands of miles away, I definitely miss you a lot right now, but I'm happy that distance only impacts the social aspect of our relationship. Geez, I think that I am so sappy from those Georgia pines. <<< please watch this video.. i love this song!!!

I cannot express how wonderful it is to have friends over the years... I don't care if I see you over holidays or breaks or even if you make an effort to visit - I understand that life happens. And I don't care if you ignore my "desperate I need you at 2:00am phone calls" - at age 25, my body has turned against my night owl habits. I don't care if we haven't talked in six months or if the last time we did it was like we were strangers - we all need personal moments.

And that's all I wanted to say for now - just wanted to express the sentiment inside.

Visual Aides

Apparently my camera tells the story that all I do is play in the snow with the boys...I'm working on my defense case.

{not yet} Six Feet Under

In three weeks, Spokane received a record five feet of snow for the month of December, and now I've seen enough distressed plowing trucks on the side of the road to turn my heart to the prowling, I mean plowing, yellow CATs. Prior to Christmas month I was ignorant, having only a mere appreciation for snow plows, but my feelings quickly matured and blossomed into love, yes, even before Spring - the season that brings about twitterpation. Just before snowfall reached two feet, I was leaving the house in the studded snow tire outfitted, four-wheel drive suburban when a knight in yellow armor came to clear the berm at end of the driveway. Oh, the savior of my hips, as I haven't yet managed to safely navigate the driveway on foot, and doing so while shoveling is even more a feat. My tribute to the city workers and volunteers that make my driving possible.

A funny thing has happened to me - acclimation. When I moved here I was sad that temperatures dipped into the 50s at night because that meant I couldn't convince too many people to go camping. However, now 50 degrees is quite a warm, unheard of, and uncomfortable winter day, not to mention the slush that would pour into the roads and sidewalks (though I am getting to experience the slushiness this week with temperatures in the 30s). Anyway, so going to D.C. for a week was like changing seasons with temperatures hardly going below freezing. So, I've come to like the cold weather which is good since this winter is filled with storms of late. Living in an area with a change of seasons is new to me and I quite like it. In fact, I think to have anything less breaks off a piece of my smile.
I like to count my life in terms of experiences and a new one for me today was snowshoeing. With snow shoes on in this type of snow [that I cannot describe or name because I have yet to be introduced to snow vocabulary other than the word berm], you do not stay completely atop. However, one benefit is that you do not sink all the way down and have to push your mid and/or upper body through the snow. Is this making any sense? Someone said it's like walking in the ocean, but somehow that was a lot easier for me... oh well, sandcastles - igloos. I enjoyed it though we hardly went any distance. It was more of "let's just try this because neither of us have gone" than to get a good workout or to go exploring.

In line with the weather yet again is my return to knitting. While visiting my parents, I retrieved my small stash of knitting materials and have since made a beanie that merits a generous B- and a coaster that gets an A. I feel ashamedly accomplished. My latest knitting adventures include wool socks!! Wool socks from a store are quite expensive, so knitting them is permitted within my budget. It falls under the areas of entertainment and necessities as my toes get quite cold tromping about. On a side note, the eldest of the boys I nanny has requested that I teach him to knit. As I am only an amateur this will be difficult for us both.




Some video from Christmas Holiday in Washington, D.C. with my parents, sister, and brother-in-law.

Brad and Julie thought they were taking a photograph.

More adventures at the bowling alley.

Winter

Buzzard Lake freezing over

I'm walking on water. I don't feel as accomplished as I thought I would. More tarnish developed as each complaint formed. The glory is yet to come.
I quickly learned that I have to realize who I am--- no, no, I did not say finding myself.

Anyway, what I meant is that I have to believe things about myself that I ritually deny. Writing essays for grad school admissions knocked on the barricaded door of my confidence. And somehow the words sneaked past the guards to show what I have to offer.
Living life as a child and free spirit, can never broach that door; there is only approach and retreat.

Lake Coeur D'Alene cruise to see the holiday lights

I guess it's been suspected that I haven't biked in a long time, mostly because I'm still scared of roads. And now this weekend, the ice and snow are coming to put an end to all things requiring balance outdoors. I had my first two falls this morning after dropping the boys off for school. I went down the sloped driveway to bring in the trash, but never made it. I was wearing flip flops and on my second fall I actually slid down the driveway towards the street. That was a new experience - always gotta have those in my life.
I started swimming again. It's one of those activities that draws me into a world of peace and reflection, even as I struggle for breath before reaching 200 meters. I'm excited because it pulls me out of my slumps. And I reached a milestone, one mile mark!!
I'm hoping to find snow sports soon... after our less than blizzard storm approaches in a few hours.

. my first snowman ever does not have a face

Thanksgiving [not turkey day]

Thanksgiving was fun!! Maybe amazing even, considering I was in a new place with no family but new relationships to substitute. I'm always in for meeting new people and having purposeful friendships but it's a hard thing to accomplish, especially the former part while being a nanny. Anyway, I went out of town, north of Spokane to the mountains and woods and lakes and it was my piece of peace. I spent the day with a family and some international students. We did some mild hiking which was more about getting out of the house than getting a good view. Honestly it was damp, the trees were bare, and the fog frozen across the horizon. I did manage to cross my first frozen lake, but it looked more like a pond.

The snow came after Thanksgiving day. Going walking alone out there was probably just short of heaven. I've hardly been in snowy places, particularly apart from cities and suburban sprawls. The snow really does silence everything, and things are more serene. Somehow that quiet feeling of solitude didn't leave me feeling lost or fearful, but perfectly placed. Okay, so now I'm rambling, still inarticulately arguing my point. I wish I had the most amazing camera to express where words cannot, but I left my camera at home. As of late, part of the reason I gallivant without my camera is because I believe in the beauty of nature as it exists, not as my amateur digital camera presents it. Somehow it ruins the whole memory for me.

"For his unfailing love towards those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth." Psalm 103:11

That is something I read today that I particularly enjoyed in my current state of mind and emotion. It's nice all of a sudden have a burst of joy, love, comfort, basically a bunch of mushiness, just come up and out towards you when you hardly expect it.


Back up plans in life:
move to Canada
teach ESL in Asia

my next step is into ... .. ..... ..

I'm already walking out onto the water for my future now. I just hope I don't sink. I'm applying to graduate schools for Fall '09 in Speech-Language Pathology.

I reference a biblical story I love like Peter Pan loves Neverland. And coincidentally (or not) the disciple who climbs out of the boat to walk to Jesus across the water is also named Peter. Whether you believe this story literally, figuratively, or even as a folk tale, the message of doing something you can't believe you can do is pertinent to all opinions. It wouldn't matter to me if I were on that boat and everyone else knew that I could walk on water. What would matter, and this is the only thing, is that I believed, even in the slightest, that I could do it. Faith is allowing yourself to have the tiniest speck of hope that what you can't see, understand, or imagine, could be real, could happen.

This yacht illustrates the size of my faith that my purpose in life will work out, and with my efforts I will steer in the direction of my skills and desires. However, my faith in knowing exactly where I should gravitate, each time I need to reposition myself, is not visible in this photo by the naked eye. My faith would actually be the size of an oxygen molecule in the air. And that's on a good day. Most days my faith is like the needle in the haystack, except I'm confident that there is no needle after all.

Those are the thoughts that surface now. I can hardly shake the pictures of rejection letters pouring in next Spring after admissions departments review scores of application packets.
I cannot say that I don't mean to sound pessimistic for I am purposely sitting here sharing my fears in just simply applying to graduate school. Let's save all the worries of relocation, loans, work, etc. for beyond the horizon, somewhere over the rainbow. But even with the fears I'm going to go for it anyway. I'm going to apply for the things I want the most. Cue inspirational symphony music with bold kettle drums pounding and staccato trumpets forging the way.

So if you must take pity on me and want to encourage me, please pray for me. I've talked about these things with professors, family, friends, and nothing has dashed the intrusive, looming doubts. I've had to defend my jobs and education choices as though I was incapable of plotting a course for my life. All of those conversations have in some way benefited me and I appreciate them, but all I need now is God's reassurance that I will not be left with nothing. That there will be a purpose connecting all the dots of my studies and jobs together. That failure or success does not define me, they are only things that happen and pass.

Fotos

picnic!

toting calvin

fall leaves

evergreens

mountains

playing rock band at a halloween party with bonnie & clyde, from the dead

Soapbox On A Bike

Maybe this should be my cycling blog. I hardly have more stories to tell than those.
My workdays go like this: I wake up at 5:45am. I get the boys ready for school and walk them to the bus stop, protecting the youngest from wild soccer ball kicks and wheelies in the stroller, attempted by his older brothers, usually the oldest. I go for exceptionally long walks with the all-terrain stroller which is a necessity in order to avoid boring sidewalks. I do laundry and I try to carry as many toys as possible anytime I cross the living room or climb the stairs. The foyer overlook is a great ramp for toy car, as well as an easy goal for footballs and soccer balls. I make return trips to the bus stop to pick up both of the boys separately, kindergarten is on a half-day schedule. I host jam out parties when I want everyone to be together. I save the kittens from stranglings, tail sprains, and dizzy circles. I am a dictator when there is homework or whining. Did I mention the stinky diapers?
Occasionally, I meet up with friends in the evenings, or if not, then I ride my bike or go for a walk. I read books a lot. I try to go to the library every week. I love that, too. Sometimes I talk on the phone with friends "back home." I eat home-cooked meals. I go to bed at 10:00pm. I like this lifestyle, abruptly changed from last year in good ole' college town U.S.A., Athens.
My weekends are completely different. Sometimes I am with the family but most times, not. I usually get out of the house and go somewhere, even if it's solo. I like to have a break from the work environment even if I'm not working.


Cycle Blog Begin: I've been riding Fish Trail again. I've graduated to figuring out how to change gears. I've conquered one of the hills on the return ride home. I had my first tumble.
Those are my biking accomplishments. Yes, I feel humbled and embarrassed to publish them on my blog, but my tumble makes me feel like I'm on the road to veteran-hood. I tried to hop a curb, from an acute (less than 90 degrees, go GRE) angle. It was unsuccessful, but as far as I knew there were no observers of the incident. Yes! And the gear change problem is partially not my fault. The back one is temperamental and only shifts to a higher gear once per ride.
But in great news, Julie will retrieve her newer bike from the lake house soon... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
[in blogging, at least my blogging, ellipses indicate a drum roll]

it has SHOCKS!!! Oh, how spoiled will I be to ride on graded gravel with something to protect my bum. This will surely make me an undeserving, pampered, beginner cyclist, especially after getting gloves to keep feeling in my fingers when I ride with the temperature hovering at 55. But to go over the top in indulgences I'd need to acquire a cycle-odometer to inform me of the distance I am covering. I really don't even know how long this trail is. By my Google Map guesstimate, I've probably ridden 7 miles in one direction on the trail, making a round trip of possibly 16 miles, starting point- the house.

I discovered Queen Lucus Lake which sits off of the trail to the east, at the bottom of a slope. However, this post is more like a requiem of the lake and it's splendor. I was unknowingly trespassing, as that section of the trail is indefinitely, temporarily close. So now that I found a gorgeous lake, now that I made it to within 2 miles of my final destination, well bolt that door, pull the gates, no more.
But alas, I'll share with you the beauty and excitement of it all. Its shade of blue reflected the sky and it changed to marshlands on its ends, with a snake-like stream trailing off on one of them. I saw herons all over the place. Usually when I see these anorexic swan lookalikes, it's only one or maybe two, but here I counted about five, some getting feisty and talking loudly, chasing others from their personal space. By the way, I like herons. I know they take no offense to that description. Some things have beauty due to their aesthetic shortcomings. And herons are especially pleasing to me because you usually have to sit and wait for them. So anyway, I also heard what I'll call "chirping". I knew it wasn't the ducks or the herons so I scanned until I saw dark bodies bobbing above and below the water. Otters!!! Yes, my first sighting of the playful cuties outside an aquarium.
Now the other side of the trail were impressive, tall rock walls steeply climbing to a top I could not see. But on an edge was a shack flying a rebel flag. Freaks me out!!! I realize that you may wonder why is this shocking, I am from the Deep South. Well, simply because I was naive in thinking that outside of my home region, such attitudes were mostly absent. By the way, that's far from the truth, I've since learned. I must now live in one of the whitest cities in America. No joke about that either, I think someone may have told me this, actually. The "Caucasian" population hovers around 97%. Goodbye, diversity. My hometown might have been closer to the 35%. I simply feel uneasy around people with strong, hateful notions of the world because I view it as a presence of evil. It's okay if you laughed just then. I realize also that I'm pretty idealistic sometimes. I mean my only pet peeve is mean people, after all.

What is caucasian anyway, other than the color of my skin? I could have so many other racial mixes and still come out caucasian, so what does that mean? Please, refrain from responding with denotation. And if a news anchor tried to be politically correct, substituting African-American for black, when talking about a Caribbean-American, would that be ignorant? Okay, I apologize for turning this post into a soapbox, yet I obviously decided not to delete it. It stays because though I feel racial statistics only reinforce racism, I use them, too. What detriment.



Will post pictures soon!!