MLK day

I can't believe that we are here in this day January 19, 2009 on the eve of the inauguration of our very first black president. On this day we also celebrate the life of a man who played an enormous role in gaining equality for African Americans in this country. Yesterday, President-elect Barack Obama stood in front of a crowd of thousands as America celebrated him and what is to come in his presidency. He stood in a similar spot as Martin Luther King Jr. did on a day in August 1963. I think this is the first time that America can say that we have made true progress in the battle over race. In 1963 Martin Luther King was speaking of a dream he had that one day everyone would be equal regardless of their skin color and I think that we are closer to that than ever. For the first time in a long time I can say that I am proud of America. We are all blessed to have been born here or to live here but that doesn't mean we can stop fighting these battles. Equality is far from being met but we can now say that we have made great strides. Here's to America, here's to two remarkable men, and here's to our soon-to-be President Barack Obama!

Rising Tuition and Such

I am upset about this rising college tuition thing. Don't you think it's odd that everyone encourages kids to go to college but then when the time comes no one can afford it! I for one am paying my own way and I have already racked up credit card debt just buying books and paying tuition. That just leaves the rest of my living expenses to cover with a part time job. I know for a fact that there are a huge amount of kids out there that are in the same boat and it makes life even more stressful aside from going to school. The good thing about UNM is that it has the lottery program and a low in state tuition cost. What a blessing! Someone was thinking when they put all of that into place. So, I think that I can speak for a lot of us college kids when I say that the tuition cost should stop rising so much each year! Yet another project for Obama?

Winter

It is snowing here in the 505! I am glad it's snowing. I never thought that I would say that after having lived in a place with too much snow for me. The good thing about this snow is that in half a day the amount of snow equals approximately two inches and I guarantee that in a few days it will be sunny again. This also makes hiking in the Sandias extra fun and really what it all comes down to is that any moisture in the desert is a blessing! So, let it snow!


Here's a song called "Winter" by Joshua Radin. I don't think it has much to do with winter but it's a good song nonetheless

Duuuuude

So, turns out that people REALLY like to eat carbs during the holidays. Just in this one day our bakery sold 1,041 loaves of bread! That doesn't even take into account all of the cookies, muffins, scones, pies, brownies, cobblers, and other desserts that we make. I just thought I would share because I thought it was pretty awesome especially because this is a local deal and people could just as easily buy bread at the grocery store (even though there is no comparison).

13 Things

OK, 13 things you probably didn't know about me...

1. I went through a HUGE tomboy phase in my life. It was when I was around 9 to when I was 14 and at some points in there you probably couldn't even tell I was a girl until I said something.

2. I hate loud chewing, that is my #1 pet peeve. That is the one thing that can completely consume my thoughts if it is near me.

3. I have a half sister that I have not talked to in about 5 years now. It's complex but we never grew up around each other and she is distant (and much older). Instead I have someone who is a similar age who I consider a sisterly figure.

4.I have a fear of being home alone. It has to do with some robberies that took place while I was home alone so I think that makes sense.

5. Even though I participated in the highest level of band in high school for three out of the four years, I didn't know how to read music.

6. I had a boyfriend in kindergarten. We held hands to the library and played Lion King in the sandbox.

7. I played ice hockey for six years and three of those were on boys teams.

8. I have 17 first cousins on my mom's side of the family. There are a lot more on my dad's side.

9. I was an only child for 8 years and when my sister came along they wanted to name her Jessica. I refused to let them name her Jessica because I already had a baby doll named Jessica and I swore that they stole that name from me! They won that argument though (I still think Jamie is a nice name).

10. I once bolognaied (sp) someones car with some friends. We were very smooth about it because we had on paper bag masks and the victim never suspected a thing...hah.

11. I started a band when I was eight years old with some of my friends at the time. These were my pre-drumming days and so I was the lead singer. Not a good one which is why I suspect we went our separate ways.

12. When I was 11, I wanted to play the drums more than anything. My mom told me that I had to prove to her that I really wanted it and so I made a drum set out of pie tins (cymbals) and those big popcorn containers that you get from boy scouts.

13. One of my favorite things to do is to walk behind all of the housing developments in the still untouched mesas. I think that it reflects our city and state well because overall it is beautiful but there are pockets of rough parts and parts of the land that have seen better times.

The Fifth of November

It's one day after the election. The polls were not even closed here in New Mexico yet, but the counting was well under way. This was the point where McCain and Obama were as close as they would ever get in the race and we were all getting a little nervous. I just remember the feeling of well, there were a lot of feelings. One that stands out the most was of course, the feeling that Senator Barack Obama has been stressing all along, hope. This is the first time in three or so years that I have felt that feeling. It's hard to put one's finger on exactly why he makes us (half of us) feel hopeful but he just seems to exude it. Hope is a very precious feeling and it's not very easy to come by. It's indescribable.

Another strong feeling I was having, was the feeling of flying. African Americans have been treated like crap for TOO LONG! No one deserves even one millionth of a fraction of what they have endured in this country. Our history does not necessarily make me proud to be an American. This was the first time that I can remember being able to say this. I am proud to be an American citizen. Barack Obama is a gift to this country and we didn't overlook that. He is the only man that I can think of, who can get us back on track even if all he is able to do in these four years is to get us to stop thinking solely about ourselves and our money. Greed must be stamped out, the poor must helped, and the rich better be a big part of that helping. Let's become peaceful within our own borders as well as outside of them.

I could list many many things that were going through my head but there are too many right now. Barack Obama is inspirational, wise, intelligent, kind, thoughtful, a good listener, and he has the potential to be one of our few great Presidents. I don't think he will fall short of being great and we can all feel a little bit safer here in our country. I feel love of this land again among so many other positive feelings. I think that it is very safe to say that Bob Dylan's song "the times they are a changing" was a song well ahead of it's time. I encourage you to listen to it and I encourage everyone to go over Barack's speech last night. It brought tears to my eyes.

R.I.P Patches O' Hullihan

So, after much debating and arguing with the insurance company Patches O' Hullihan is totaled. He is worth a decent amount according to the blue book and that is all that they are willing to give. The other option is to take a check for us to fix him, but they rip us off by giving us $900 dollars less than the cost of fixing! Talk about trying to screw us over! Now there is no doubt in my mind that they will put a very small amount of money into the car and turn around and sell it for more than the value. They won I suppose is what I am trying to say. It makes me wonder how they sleep at night really. This seemed like a simple fender bender but it has become a disaster and the poor guy that hit me does not deserve the punishment they will give him. He is a young male, about my age, and his insurance is going to soar! I feel so bad for him because he made this process very simple, he was so honest, and he took full responsibility. I'm pretty sad right now because I had no clue a few weeks ago would be the last time I ever drove Patches. He was such a good car and if you haven't noticed we formed a bond. He was my very first car and he got me around for three years, one being my first year of college in snow and rain and blizzards. Something that does make me happy is that he is not done driving yet. He has a lot of miles left on him and I'm glad that he isn't out of commission. So, I guess it is on to a new car, but this next one has a lot to live up to. You all will have to help me in the process of naming it! Especially you Janul!