So, the blog writing has been spotty as of late.  I'm finding that after I come home from work, where I spend 8 hours looking at and typing on a computer, the last thing I want to do is get on my laptop and write a blog entry. (Although I would have had a great one on Tuesday night when I was angry about the moths in the kitchen, bummed about the breakup, and disgusted by the loud gross sex going on in the room next to me. But I digress.)  Unless my feelings on this matter change in the near future, I think this blogging thing is going to have to be a weekend only activity. Consider this your first weekly installment.

So, overall I had a good weekend.  Went out for dinner with the roommates on Friday, which was something we'd never done before.  It was generally good, although I have to say I'm a little unsure about Emmet. I would say something and he would kind of chuckle to himself and shake his head in an "oh my god, she is so embarrassing" kind of way. I know I probably sound paranoid, but from previous conversations I've noticed that he does this a lot when he's telling me about someone who's done something weird or stupid or lame in his opinion.  I know it's because he has serious self esteem issues, and I can see why, considering he has a totally f'ed family, but I don't like having it taken out on me.  It reminds me of hanging out with Kate. Not the Kate of Kate and Scott in CT with the zoo of animals, but old college roommate, Kate. With her, things were fine when it was just the two of you talking, granted she would always be judging someone else through out the whole conversation, but when you threw someone else in the mix, suddenly she had to look cool and put the third person down.  Emmet's not that bad.  He's not blatantly bitchy about it.  It's really more of a subtle thing with him, but there's enough of it there that I'm made uneasy by it.  So the summary here is: dinner with the roommates out = kinda fun, but probably gonna just stick to hanging with Sally.

On Saturday, I decided to do some necessary household shopping, and then before I knew it, it was almost 4pm and I was already late for a birthday bbq.  One of my former coworkers from the software company turned 27 and she and her husband hosted a bbq at their place. My other former coworker and her husband were there and so were 2 other soon to be married couples.  One other guy showed up who had just moved in with his girlfriend and then one other random dude was there. And then there was me.  Needless to say, there was much talk of weddings and housing matters and also computer games and Medieval reenactments since these were computer geeks.  Everyone was really nice and the food was delish (luckily they all belong to CSA's and brought their organic/locally grown yumminess to the party.) But I was a little out of the loop on a lot.  I don't mind listening to people talk about these things, but I find that I can't add anything because I know nothing about computer games and Medieval stuff or I shouldn't add anything cause no one wants about to get married wants to hear about your experiences that only ended in divorce.  It just kinda kills the convo.  So I just try to keep the convo going by asking questions to keep the other person talking.  After the party, I came home and decided to go out for a nice long walk.  It had finally cooled off outside, but my apt was roasty toasty, so out I went. It felt really good to stretch my legs and clear my head.  And don't worry, I had my phone and my mace with me, just in case.

That brings us to today. Today I met up with Evelyn for lunch.  She's in the process of moving and had some clothing that she wanted to donate, so I went to pick it up for her since she doesn't have a car.  Then we went out to lunch at a crepe place near Harvard Sq.  It was muy delicioso.  Afterwards we went to walk around Harvard Sq for a while and then ended up going to a mexican place to grab some drinks. Yeah, it was 2:30pm on a Sunday. Yeah, we bellied up to the bar.  It was actually kind of funny that we did because there were two good looking bartenders there, who chatted us up.  One guy was your typical cute American boy, who knew he was good looking and you know had gotten through life on his looks, so although he was easy on the eyes, he wasn't particularly interesting.  The other guy was a little more quiet and kept sneaking glances our way, eventually coming over to us to ask if we wanted another round.  He looked possibly Latin (we were in a mexican restaurant) but we weren't convinced he was, and then when we spoke to us he started speaking in French.  I caught "mademoiselle" but that was about it.  Turns out the guy is Lebanese.  How random!  So, of course, having a little liquid courage on my side, I decided to try out my Arabic on him. I bust out a little, "what are you doing?" and he fires back with a string of stuff that I have no idea what he's saying.  Then I ask him "how are you doing?" and he gives me the answer I expect (from the little conversation script I learned). Whew.  But at that point I had pretty much exhausted my Arabic conversation skills.  I could have said even more had I ordered some food, but since they didn't serve Lebanese food there, I don't think it would have made much sense. ;)  Anywho, that was kind of fun.  And it didn't hurt that when we got up to leave he said, "bye pretty."  Whether it was sincere or not, I don't care.  I'll take a little ego boost like that. :D

So that was the weekend report. I guess I should now hit the hay to get some rest for my next big week ahead.  Later.

Hi everyone!  I hope you all had a good weekend. I know I had a very chill time, sleeping, reading, going to a family bbq at Jack D's house on Saturday afternoon and kickin it with my roommate, Sally, at a bar on Sunday afternoon.  A bar on a Sunday afternoon, you say?  No, we weren't their to get sloshed.  We actually didn't have anything to drink. We just went to watch the Spain v. Italy soccer match.  It was actually really fun.  Soccer is a fun sport to watch since it moves so quickly and some of the maneuvers the guys do are unreal.  It's also really fun to watch when you've got a bunch of people screaming at the screen in foreign languages. :)

Now it's Monday and I've spent the day doing laundry, shopping for a new suitcase and other travel necessities for my trip, and trying to write my essay/book report on the conference.  So far, so good on all fronts.  I got a totally pimp new bag at the Target (it's a carry-on sized rolly bag), and I'm hoping that I can use it along with just a backpack for my trip. I don't want to take a lot of stuff because carrying heavy bags is no magusta. I had a HUGE heavy suitcase for my Seattle trip and my arms just stopped hurting today from lugging that thing around.  I'm not going to do that in Europe. So I have a couple more days to get packed and finish my essay and then I'm off on Thursday!

In other news, I'm about to finish Jon Krakauer's "Under the Banner of Heaven," which is really eye-opening.  Although it explores the history of the LDS (Mormon) church and evolution of the modern day fundamentalist LDS sects specifically, a lot of the general psychology/sociology examined in this book could be associated with religious fundamentalism and fanaticism of any brand.  So not only is the specific history associated with the LDS church horrifying, but the whole way in which people think and act and can become part of "crazy" religious groups like this is truly frightening.  To be fair, I would imagine every religion has some dark days in its past (I am no religious scholar and cannot provide specifics), so I can't blame mainstream Mormons of today for the sins of their forbearers 200 years ago.  But I still think some of their beliefs are f'ed up. In any event, it's a good book and an interesting read. I think after I finish this one, I am going to step away from the Mormon literature for a while. I think I just need some space.

But I shan't end on that note.  No, I have something way better to share with you all.  Heidi Montag has released yet another single, and boy is it a gem. No cool video to mock as of yet, but the lyrics by themselves are laughable enough.  I'll admit, the beat is kind of catchy, but I know she had nothing to do with that part; her gun-for-hire producer probably came up with that on his own.  But the lyrics sounds like Heidi. Just think Fergie's single for Sex and the City, only dumber.  Yeah.  It's that stupid.  Check it out.  http://tvwatch.people.com/2008/06/23/listen-heidi-montags-new-dance-track/

For the past couple of weeks, my life has centered around volunteering, Mormonism, and that so-good-it's-like-crack show, Dexter.  Kind of a strange mix of interests, no?  Maybe, but at least 2 out of the 3 things are good for you. ;)

Yesterday, I tutored at the GED prep place for the 4th time.  3 out of the the 4 times I have worked with the same woman. I have really liked working with her and had hoped that what I was explaining to her was making sense.  At end of our session, she told me how much she appreciated my help and how my explanations were making things clearer for her.  That was a totally awesome feeling.  To think that for even a few minutes, I was helping her learn.  <warm fuzzy feeling inside>  Then in the evening, I went to volunteer for the Prisoner Book Program.  They needed volunteers to help scan in donated books, read letters from inmates requesting books, select books to send back to the inmates based on their stated interests, and then package up the books for shipping.  Some of the letters were really, I guess, touching.  Some of the inmates clearly had a desire to educate themselves, requesting dictionaries and GED study materials in addition to pleasure reading, and they were most appreciative of any help the program could provide to assist them.  I was really happy to see that these folks were taking an interest in bettering themselves, and I think that one of the best ways for them to create more opportunity for themselves is through education. 

Attention: SOAPBOX ALERT!  In my limited, but varied, volunteer work thus far, it's has really hit home how deeply intertwined socioeconomic status is with opportunity in this country. And what a large role education plays in all of this.  I think we all believe in the American dream, albeit to varying degrees, and can point to some extraordinary stories of overcoming serious obstacles to achieve a better life in this country.  But I think those stories are generally few and far between.  I know I'm not saying anything new here; I'm just trying to verbalize my experience with all of this.  Seeing real people is very different than thinking about their situation academically, in the abstract, as so many of us in a position of privilege do.  But again, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to pretend that I really know anything about it.  Just because I handed out food at a food bank and helped do some tutoring does not mean that I could even imagine for a second what it would be like to live the life that some of these people live.  I have just had a confirmation of my beliefs that not all people in this country have the same opportunities for education, employment, housing, health, etc. and many of these things are dependant on socioeconomic status.  It is so hard to change any one of these things when you don't have any money or know what to do with the little money you have.  So, instead of ending my soapbox with a Love Mom, I should rather like to end it with a plan of action.  In addition to the tutoring work and book program I just found, I plan to focus my volunteer efforts on education projects and also begin collecting GED prep books to donate to the book program.  I guess when you come from a family of educators, it's only natural to feel so strongly about the importance of education.  :)

Well, that was only my first big interest as of late.  The second, Mormonism, really fits more into my lifelong interest in religion.  But I recently read, Leaving the Saints, by Martha Beck, and am now reading a question and answer book about the basic beliefs of Mormonism.  While Amy may warn that Martha Beck may not have all her marbles, I still found the book to be fascinating and the writing quite well done.  I could go on and on about how crazy I find some of the beliefs and how horrific I find some of the conduct of this church, but I will simply say that although I recognize that most religions have some fantastical elements to them that need to be believed through faith, there are some that are just so far fetched and they border on the absurd.  In any event, I recommend the book as an exploration of one person's journey to find faith, deal with a dysfunctional family of origin, and overcome a history of abuse.  Hey, I never said it was light reading.

Now, for my third, and most obsessive, interest as of late.  Dexter.  Oh, how in love with this show I am.  It's really kind of bizarre that I'm so obsessed.  Well, come to think of it, not really.  I do have a dark streak (exhibit A: Depeche Mode, and exhibit B: my high school years), and I do love the "justice" of it all. It's just a very interesting twist that the main character that you sympathize with most is also a serial killer.  But you can push those troublesome moral worries aside since he's only killing people who deserve it, right?  Eh....  All I can say is thank god it's just tv.  I think since it's all make believe, I don't really have to worry about the morality of it...right?  Seriously, it's an awesome show.  I tried to pace my self on Season 1, but of course I blew through those DVDs in no time flat, and was very sad to discover that Season 2 (which I had started watching On Demand at Jack Doneghy) is not out on DVD yet.  AND WON'T BE UNTIL SEPT!!!  Deep breath, in, out, in, out...  Oh well. It's just a tv show.  I was just so hoping to get my next Dexter fix when I went up to Blockbuster today.  I guess I'll just have to see if Jack will be kind enough to invite me over in the near future to let me use his On Demand, I mean, hang out with him... wink wink...