just laura

Being inspired is hard work. I returned home from Baltimore tonight after 10 long days of training and am thoroughly tired. The training went really well and was full of inspirational women who’ve traveled the globe working in peace, justice, and community development projects. I met women who’d spent 16 years in Peru, 19 years in Brazil, 20 years in Kenya, 10 years in the Congo, 5 years in Malaysia, etc. Inspiring really doesn’t begin to convey the dedication, conviction, perseverance, and commitment to social justice and change that these women demonstrate on a daily basis! It was great to hear their perspective on cultural competence, and great to get my mind thinking on tough topics. I’ll be working with youth with disabilities in a small village in a rural part of the country. One example of a tough topic: When you’re working in a community/culture that believes in Animism, doesn’t have access to health care, and doesn’t always accept youth with disabilities… what do I say to a parent who thinks their child’s disability is a curse? What do I say when they say their disabled child is God’s punishment for the parents sins? Other fun questions, though less tough, concern developing a fabulous relationship when living and working with the same woman for the next 365 days (is there such thing as too much time together)? Anyway, the training was great and our hosts were generous and terrific as always.

In the middle of the two weeks of training, C and I headed to Philly for a little road trip. There wasn’t much rest and relaxation with all of the driving, but it was a super fun weekend. We visited two former members from last year (Alex drove in from Boston and Dave took the train in from NYC). AC is this odd little world where you are only granted an access pass to people’s lives for one short year. You never know at the end who will move away, who will stay in touch, or who you’ll ever see again regardless of location. This weekend was an amazing chance to see two members again, and to meet both of their families, and to hang out for a while in their old neighborhoods. I’m so thankful for this amazing opportunity to spend time with them and their families… it was really great! C and I even took time away from socializing to drive out a ways to visit C’s grandparents. They lived an hour and a half away and were a super sweet couple. That brings the total number of C’s family I’ve met up to six. Crazy. Snow in Philly was pretty strong Saturday night, but the drive home Sunday afternoon wasn’t too bad. We met up with a childhood friend of C’s for lunch and he was great too. He even used to live on a permaculture farm in Hawaii… super cool in my book!

Outside of training, C and I spent many late nights processing the training, and chatting about life, Kenya, dynamics, kids, culture, fears, hopes, and more. We’re incredibly different than each other in many powerful aspects and we process very differently. How are you different?, you say. Give us an example, you say. Okay. Here’s an example: she’s an introverted homebody who drinks lots of coffee and goes to bed early and who wears lots of layers… and while I’m uber-extroverted gal who stays up late and is generally out most nights and weekends and doesn’t do caffeine and only owns v-neck shirts and doesn’t like layering. It’s all very intriguing how the personal dynamics have begun to play out and will continue to play out over the next year. (The caffeine differences and the v-necks are decidedly less intriguing). Regardless, some days I think we’re not compatible and we’re setting ourselves up for some painful failure that will be devastating considering all else we’ll need to deal with being in a new country. However, the other 99.44% of the time I know she’s intelligent, gifted, beautiful, silly, and fabulous… and I genuinely couldn’t imagine anyone else I’d rather spend the year with in Kenya. Our plane ride back from Baltimore to Houston tonight was really nice (as generic as that might sound) and it’s crazy to think how close we are after only knowing each other for a few months. In Sissy’s words, we’ve “become fast friends.” In my words, she’s a weirdo and I love her.

What’d I do on my first Friday night home in Austin? Go party like Euro-trash? Movies with friends? Dinner at some hip place? Nope! Ran some errands, ate dinner with parents in a strip mall, and sorted stuff at the house. Let the fun begin. :)

Yesterday a sneaky friend (who apparently found this site and reads it but never told me so and doesn’t leave comments here, tsk tsk) told me “You’ll be a great aunt” after I shared some family news. She’s the second person to call me an aunt… the only other person was my brother when he called to give me the good news back around Labor Day weekend. I was out camping and hiking near the Gorge, basking in the sun, and believe the phone call went something like this: “How are you? Fine. You? Fine. How does Aunt Laura sound to you? Oh my god!” (Or something to that effect). Anyway, that was months ago and now, somehow, hearing myself referred to as an aunt is weird. This time it actually sank it. I’m going to be an aunt! :)

My one and only brother reads this site regularly (though, with him as well, you wouldn’t know it from the lack of comments). :) Even after 10 years of having this little site, it’s really quite odd for me to be repeatedly on this side of the equation. Even though we don’t talk often, Charlie knows who I hang out with, what concerts I’ve seen lately, where I’m traveling on any given weekend, what I’m manic about currently, etc. Well, today instead of him getting to learn more about his little sister online, y’all get to learn a little about his life. :) Charlie and his wife Stef are due in May to deliver the first great grandchild on the K side of the family! According to Mom, they went to the doctors again this week. Stef is still healthy, they’re close to 20 weeks along (I think), and they’re due in early May. And the most exciting news of the week: they just found out they’re expecting a little baby boy! Charlie and Stef already have a very cute little boy named picked out, though I’m not sure if it’s public knowledge yet that I’m allowed to put on the internet. (Charlie & Stef – can I mention the name? not mention it? do share!).

It’s also funny… Mom and Dad are talking about what travel they’re going to do in their retirement, but even though they don’t mention it in their plans I suspect the retirement will include a fair deal of baby time in addition to the travel time. You see, they’re already obsessed about the future grandkid. Mom’s very proud to have found a stroller and baby backpack. Dad found lots of stuff yesterday on our shopping trip, but exercised great restraint and only went home with two things for the little one. They’re even going through my old boxes of crap and keeping things out that’d be good for the kid. (Personally, I don’t feel the need to keep my old Disney movies on VHS… I suspect the kid will be reared on DVDs since they’re pretty much the standard now). But anyway, it’s fun and exciting and I wish Charlie and Stef all the best. Very very sadly, I’m going to miss the birth and the first seven months of the little guy’s introduction to the world. But I console myself with the idea that he won’t remember it anyway. And I suspect they’ll turn out to be parents that document everything from the kid’s birth forward, so I’m hoping they’ll send photos regularly to Kenya. And more practically, he’ll be much more fun when he’s closer to a year old and can walk and babble and play and giggle and do more than just sleep and eat. :) Congrats Charlie and Stef!

One of my favorite Austin bands is playing live very soon. If you’ve never seen the Asylum Street Spankers before, you’re in for a treat. They play two shows on Wed Dec 28th at The Saxon Pub (8pm & 11pm). Let me know if you’re interested in going with me. I definitely plan to be there!

Another one of my favorite Austin artists, Bob Schneider, will be doing a few upcoming shows. I’d be content with any of the shows, but would love to see the Scabbs. Who’s with me?
Bob Schneider – Dec 19th & 26th at the Saxon, and Dec 31st at Antone’s
The Scabbs – Dec 30th at Antone’s

Oh, and on a related note, Billy Harvey, the monogomous playboy sidekick of Bob Schneider, will be doing a solo show this Wednesday at Hole in the Wall. 11pm.

And speaking of Austin artists I used to see when in town… Chris Whitley apparently died earlier this year of lung cancer. 1960-2005. RIP.

Manuel rocks and this award proves it once and for all.

I’ll probably forget a ton, but for now let’s all wish a Happy December Birthday to…

• Dot!
• Maggie!
• Erin!
• Bill!
• Chris!
• Kara!
• Jared!

If I see another big ass pick up truck with a “Real Men Love Jesus” bumper sticker, I’m going to throw up. Not that I don’t support Jesus or anything, but c’mon. Sometimes I feel like I’m living two completely separate lives. In Texas I have a different name (Laura), I’m a child living with my parents, I can’t eat anything, I’m friends with techies, there are giant trucks everywhere with Jesus stickers, it takes forever and a day to drive to anywhere to do anything, and it’s gloriously warm and sunny in December. In Seattle I have a different name (Cat), I live independently with a roomie, I love cooking and eating out, I’m friends with photographers and nonprofit kids, there is public transit and cars are generally Subarus and Volvos with activist bumper stickers, I can walk anywhere I want to, and it’s cold and gray all winter. At home in Seattle, my house is comfy, casual, and feels spacious. My fridge, pantry, and freezer are stocked full with good food. In Texas, my parents house is cluttered from the recent move and the food situation is bleak. Instead of a freezer full of frozen fruit, veggies, nuts, hashbrowns, and ice cream, my parents freezer is full of meat. Deer meat, chicken meat, beef, you name it. No ice cream to be had.

I’m realizing my plan to be in Texas for three weeks was lovely in theory (ie. it gives me time to run errands and pack, while not paying Seattle rent), but is turning out to be a little sad in real life. This weekend was fine, but in all honesty, it was also kind of sad. This weekend there were many parties in Seattle, and birthday celebrations too, and I’m a little bummed to have missed all of the friends and fun. I know I’ll miss it all when I’m in Kenya… and I’m prepared for that… but to be in the States and sitting around, alone, on a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night was kind of sad. And to sit in my parents empty house on a Sunday night scrounging for food I could eat, instead of being in a warm crowd of people at a Sunday Dinner, was also sad. I love Austin, and love my friends and family here, but it just takes a little bit to get adjusted to being back in town. Friday night I ran errands with my parents and finished too late to go to the socials happenings. Saturday I met up with Stef for a girls day and did some shopping. Sunday I was productive around the house (ie bored out of my mind).

This week should thankfully be a little more eventful than this weekend. I think there will be a slumber party with Miss Beal, movie night at Andy’s place, a party at Dot’s, lunch with Charles, maybe dinner with Will, and maybe a play date or a visit to the Trail of Lights with Alyssa and baby Tyler.

Don’t mind me. I’m content. I’m just blogging to avoid the stack of Christmas cards and Goodwill skirts that face me when I put down the laptop. :) In fact, I think a trip to HEB might be in order to find food and further avoid being productive.

Rockin out to Poison’s Greatest Hits makes Christmas cards oh so much better. Just in case you were wondering.

• Today I feel like I’ve joined the 21st century. Yep, UPS came by and hand delivered my shiny new I-pod! (Check is in the mail, Suzan!) Now I just need to spend forever getting all of my CDs uploaded to i-tunes. I’ve been working on it tonight while cooking and doing Christmas cards. I’m currently up to 1126 songs! (Speaking of… if anyone has the RENT soundtrack and wants to burn disc 2 for me, mine is too scratched to play and I’d love to have a copy with me in Kenya).
• And I’m typing away on my laptop from the guest room because my dad installed a wireless network for the house! Go Dad! I’m quite proud of him. Now if only my parents computer wasn’t having so many problems. I think he got all of their viruses cleaned off, but it’s still super slow and now many of their Word files are corrupt. It’s handy to have the wireless… I can be uploading music while doing Christmas cards at the same time, all from the comfort of my kitchen table!
• The travel clinic at the Austin Diagnostic Center couldn’t compare to the King County public health clinic I normally visit. (I recommend Wendy Dell if you’re in Seattle… she’s knowledgeable, quick, qualified, and friendly). The ADC was more expensive than Seattle’s public health clinic and they didn’t even have a nurse or doctor who could write prescriptions for stuff like Cipro or malaria meds. Lame. However, they can give shots and I’m once again set for my immunizations! Yellow fever? Bring it on! I’ve covered for 10 years! Typhoid? No worries. I’m current again and good for another 5 years!
• I sent an evite yesterday for my holiday party and people are starting to RSVP. If I didn’t get you on the list but you’re in town and free next Sunday afternoon, drop me a note or comment and let me know. :)
• I went to the post office today and dropped off my first batch of holiday cards. More will go out tomorrow. In no particular order.
• I set up my new bank account before I went to Baltimore, and I just now received my new ATM/check card. I’m feeling official!

From Reuters, Monday December 12 2:30 PM ET

Gay cowboy love story “Brokeback Mountain” won three of the top four awards from the New York Film Critics Circle on Monday, building momentum as the critics’ favorite for Hollywood’s top honors, the Oscars.

Earlier the National Board of Review, a New York group of 150 film professionals, academics and students, announced its annual awards, naming George Clooney’s McCarthy-era drama “Good Night, and Good Luck” as best film of 2005.

The awards presented by the New York Film Critics Circle are among a string of second-tier awards leading up to the March 5 Academy Awards. The slew of awards announced in December traditionally helps narrow the field for the Oscars.

Director Ang Lee’s film “Brokeback Mountain” is shaping up as the critics’ favorite, despite concerns that its depiction of a love affair between two men may have trouble winning over audiences in more conservative parts of the country.

The New York Film Critics Circle gave the film its awards for best film, best director and best actor, for Heath Ledger.

“Brokeback Mountain” already won best film from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association on Saturday, and it earned eight nominations for the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday.

Been processing lots this week, and I realize I could have summed up my “adjustment” post yesterday in about 1-2 sentences. I guess I’m just realizing that instead of going through the emotional work of a move and the culture shock leaving Seattle and moving to Kenya, I unintentionally put myself through the move and culture shock twice in two months: once from Seattle to Texas (don’t laugh, it IS an adjustment), and once from Texas to Kenya (also guaranteed to require an adjustment). I’ll be just fine. Just processing, that’s all, and sharing it for all the world to see my insecurities. Yay blogs.

We spent the weekend in and around Philly where we got to see some friends of mine and some friends of Cindy’s. :)

Alex came down from Boston and we stayed at her lovely family’s house

Turns out Cindy and Alex actually met once in Seattle through mutual friends (small world!)

Dave showed great dedication coming into town from NYC for less than 24 hours

We went out to South Street and boy did it snow!

Peter was a childhood friend of Cindy’s

Cindy’s grandparents were very sweet (and they bought us lunch!)

Just cause it’s different, doesn’t mean it’s bad. Happily, since I’m back for three weeks, I’ve got lots of time to see of friends while I’m home. This weekend was lunch at my favorite restaurant with my college MIS crowd (Chris, Lyss, Charles, Laura, Katherine, Steve, and Andy). Movie night (Gods Must Be Crazy) was with Bill, Beal, and Andy. Lunch today was terrific… and not because it was at Whole Foods, but because it was one on one time with Charles. Tonight was high school friends Will, Jackie, Corey, Heather, Lester, and Ben. When we realized Brokeback Mountain wasn’t in theatres yet, we decided to hit Alamo Drafthouse for the Moulin Rouge sing-along! While Lester hated it (as he hates most musicals), I thought it was quite entertaining. And Corey & Heather have announced they’re ready to start trying to have kids! Quite exciting! And Will’s going to process my paperwork so I can do a long awaited police ride along… super fun! And now I’m IMing for the first time in a year (hi Alan!) so I’m going to close this post. G’night!

Yesterday’s hanging out with Chris, Alyssa, and Tyler led to some quality time with just me and baby Tyler. Yep, I’m baby sitting tonight. And when done I’ll head over to Dot’s for a little holiday festivities. Next week Chris and I will spend some time running around town taking pictures… should be fun. Hope y’all are well!

Today I bought a 5G Apple 60gb iPod and for the second time in a week I eagerly await it’s arrival. I’d planned to buy a friend’s last week, but it turns out when it arrived in the mail that it was 20gb, not 40gb, which was a wee bit smaller than I’d hoped for. Anyway, after much debate, I opted to go for the 60gb iPod video version instead of the smaller 20gb version since the 60gb will…

• Hold much, much more music
• Charge faster than the older versions (4 hrs instead of 5)
• Play music longer (battery lasts 20 hrs instead of 15)

I also bought an iPod cover, an AC adapter so I can charge it w/out having to bring my computer to Africa, and and an iPod FM transmitter (since it was free with rebate… I’m always a sucker for anything remotely useful that’s “free after rebate”). I’m still slowly uploading CDs to my laptop… though I tend to get distracted by other things and haven’t even made it through a third of my CDs yet. Current count: 1844 songs, 7gb. Wish me luck!

If any local Austin folks are free and interested, we’re going to bake cookies today at Charles & Laura’s place. There will be beer and such too, so if you’re not into cookies, there are other options. Check your email for details, or call me for directions. 206-383-2285

Cindy and I went to the capitol when we were in DC
(and it was freakin’ cold and windy!)

It was her first time in DC so we took the mandatory tourist photo at
the Washington Monument during our uber-quick tour of the DC sights

I thought I read once that the Washington Monument was a gift from Egypt, but when I just looked it up I was quite wrong. Egypt did give the US an obelisk from ancient Heliopolis, but it stands in NYC not in DC. (Side note: I was in the modern Heliopolis last year, not far away. I also saw the largest obelisk in Egypt down near Aswan). Anyway, here’s a little of the Washington Monument history in case anyone is curious.

Col. Thomas Lincoln Casey, chief engineer in charge of the Monument, revealed that it was to be a larger replica of an Egyptian obelisk -an erected stone carved into a four sided pillar crowned with a small pyramid called the pyramidion. The Washington Monument is a much larger replica than the original obelisks found in Egypt. These were made out of a single block of rock, whereas the capital’s structure is made of 36,000 blocks of stone.

The Egyptians usually erected the obelisks in pairs in front of Egyptian temples. They were believed to be sacred. Scholars are still uncertain about their specific use or function. Obelisks are nevertheless a unique symbol of Egyptian culture. Romans were so fascinated by the pillars that they moved several of them to Rome where some still stand today.

In ancient Egypt, the pyramidion that crowned the monolith was probably covered with gold to reflect the sun’s rays.8 The pyramidion, in all likelihood, also crowned the great pyramids of Egypt. Technically, the obelisk symbolizes a ray of light emanating from the sun. The pointed pillars were perhaps relevant symbols of light and life, and the daily course of the sun as opposed to the pyramids that were symbols of darkness and death, and the setting sun. The earliest obelisks are believed to have been erected in the 4th dynasty (circa 2613-2494 bc). No examples from that era remain today.

In the late 19th century, the government of Egypt gave one of the two Ramses’ obelisks ornating the Luxor temple to France where it stands in Paris’ Place de la Concorde. Two other obelisks were shipped to England and to the United States. Both were taken from Heliopolis. They were dedicated to Thutmose III and bear the inscriptions and legends of two pharaohs: Thutmose III, and Ramses II (1304-1237 bc). One stands on the Thames’ embankment, in London, the other is in Central Park, in New York City.

The connection between the Washington National Monument and the gift from Egypt is, to say the least, a suitable symbol of the continuity between an ancient civilization and an emerging one.

My friend Andy just let me on to this little secret: Austin has a GF bakery/cafe out on 360. I hope to go later this week! www.wildwoodartcafe.com

And that means it’s Winter Solstice… which means from here on out days only get longer! Yay more sun!

And it means tomorrow is Dec 22nd… which means I get another year older! Yay birthdays!

And it means the countdown for Kenya is on… we leave in 14 days! Very exciting!

Thanks for all of the birthday calls and emails (and gifts)! Life is good, and hectic, as always. Party Sunday was nice… great to see old and new friends both in one place. Errands are mostly done. Christmas shopping is entirely done. iPod has arrived (and works!). All is going well. I’m heading out now to Houston to catch up with the old crowd… Hope everyone is well!

Went out last night for dinner in Houston at Thai Cottage then hung out at a bar in the Rice Village. Was great to see old college friends Sameer, Laura, Ajit, and John! Kinda funny to be at a bar where all of the men were in button up shirts… slightly different than the dives I go to in Seattle. No cute little t-shirts, no floppy hair, no tight jeans on men, no 80s punk, no faux-hawks, no tattoos and piercings, no hipsters to be seen. I was more than slightly under dressed, but wasn’t too concerned. I do like hanging out with friends and do like the Rice Village. It was also quite entertaining to meet Sameer’s friends and get the inside track on what boys think of women while at bars. :)

I picked up Gabriel García Márquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude” this fall and really liked it. A friend saw me reading it and told me they “had to” read in high school. I’m always stunned when I hear stuff like that and am pretty bummed at the same time. I never got to read anything of the sort in my lit classes. We always had to read standards like Shakespeare, Huck Finn, A Separate Peace, A Scarlet Letter, Death of a Salesman, etc. All stories about mostly white protagonists in the US or UK.

I’m totally jealous of the more diverse book lists friends have had in their classes… books from ethnically and geographically diverse authors who not only can put together amazingly powerful books, but also open up the world at the same time. Various friends of mine have been “required” to read books like One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel García Márquez is a Nobel prize winner), Interpreter of Maladies (Jhumpa Lahiri won the Pulitzer Prize), and House on Mango Street (Sandra Cisneros won two National Endowment for the Arts fellowships and numerous other awards). And books set in other places, whether by a non-US author or not, are generally high on my list. I loved Ahdaf Soueif ‘s Map of Love (about Egypt), loved Chang-Rae Lee’s A Gesture Life (about a Korean man who moves to Japan then to the US), and think Barbara Kingsolver is always terrific in my book (the Poisonwood Bible, about missionaries in the Congo, is a must read).

I know I have friends that are parents and others that are teachers…. may I be so bold as to encourage each of you to make available a diverse book collection to your kids? I think it’s such an easy thing, and the results can be so powerful. And in the mean time, on a book related note, I’m amassing a collection of books that I hope to ship to myself in Kenya. (I’m told freight is pretty cheap, only takes three months, and can hopefully arrive in Nairobi when I plan to be in town). If anyone has book suggestions, and has a minute to write them down, do let me know. Drop me a title and a sentence or two about your recommendation. And while I want diverse recommendations, don’t take that to mean I don’t appreciate white guys. I love me some Dave Eggers, Tom Robbins, and J.D. Salinger, for sure.

Friday night I decided to stick around Houston so I could see more friends. Samer, Herbert, and I started the day watching 40 Year Old Virgin. I’d heard it was hilarious and I wasn’t let down. Quite a funny movie. My favorite part was the “Know how I know you’re gay?” scene. Good stuff! After the movie I got to see Will after many, many years! It was great to meet up with him… and I’m hoping to see him again this week when he visits Austin. :)

Friday night Fred organized a dinner party in Janette’s honor since her birthday was today. This was perfect because it meant I got to eat yummy sushi and got see more old friends like Janette, Fred, JD, and Wes! Turns out my old coworker Wes is not only running for state rep (he’s got a slot on the ballot), he’s also quitting his job to do volunteer work abroad! Wes was one of my first heroes when I started working after college… and he was one of the very first people I met at my consulting firm. He was the trainer for all of us coming straight from college and was the intro to the working world. He was also in the same stream of work I wanted to do (process management instead of tech/coding), which made him extra special exciting in my book. Anyway, it was fun to see him this weekend at Janette’s birthday. His wife is Cambodian and it turns out they’re moving to Cambodia next fall to see family and volunteer! They plan to live there for two years and do some travel as well. Ahh… I always knew I liked Wes! Fun trading ideas and stories with them! And fun to see Janette and Fred again!

This morning I left Sameer’s gorgeous home and headed back to Round Rock for family time. Sameer was a wonderfully fun and generous host which made the trip quite easy. And I have a lovely rental car right now which made the trip fun. (Yep, my Honda is finally in the shop getting the Neighbors dent out of the side). Am home now and wrapping more gifts! Hope y’all are well!

Merry Christmas from Texas!

Funny to think that last winter I was learning little bits of Arabic from Samer and putting it into use on my first trip to Africa. I was in Luxor last year on my birthday and in Aswan on Christmas and had a relaxing train trip taking pics, seeing sites, and enjoying the views along the Nile. This Christmas I’m back in Texas for the first time in five years and instead of learning Arabic, I’m listening intently to the Teach Yourself Swahili audio CDs that Caroline gave me for my birthday. A few words are shared between English and Swahili… and that makes me feel like I’ve got a nice little head start. My Spanish vocab is still decent, though my few Hindi words are gone and my few Arabic words are seeping quickly away too. Wish me luck with Swahili!

Today was a unique day… and not just because I sat for an hour on the back porch and watched close to 70 buzzards fly over my parents’ yard. Yes, buzzards. About 70 of them. Giant. In an hour. Flying overhead. Huge. Truly a sight to behold.

Today was also unique because it was Dec 26th and the skies were perfectly clear blue skies and the weather was a toasty 81 degrees. Whoever says there’s no such thing as global warming hasn’t been paying attention.

Today was also unique because Mom, Dad, and I went to see a movie in the theatre and Dad actually stayed awake during the whole movie. Must mean Memoirs of a Geisha was a pretty good flick. I know I liked it, but (of course) I still liked the book better.

And finally, today was unique because I had lunch with an old, long, lost friend. It was someone who I hadn’t seen in ten years, but have thought about many times over the years. I have many friends from HS who I’m still in touch with, and others who I have had some contact with at one point or another. However, there’s been one missing from my world for 10 years and until this week I was unable to find their contact info. Well, I finally found it last week, emailed this week, and hoped it’d actually get through. And then I hoped I’d get a reply (ideally a positive one). Well, today we met up for lunch. It was everything I could’ve hoped for, and more. Left me much to ponder and process… and I still have so many unanswered questions.

Guess who stayed up late and played on the computer? Lucky guess. It’s true. And I’m proud to say there are some updates on:

www.travelingcat.com

www.prettyordinary.com

www.flickr.com/photos/catk/

I can’t promise they’re all terribly interesting updates, but there are new pictures on two of the three sites, including road trip photos from the trip Caroline and I did in November. :)

I call him Mr. Irresistible

The mail arrived today and there were more gifts! Seriously, y’all, this has got to stop. The postal carrier woman actually drove up our driveway to hand deliver them since the mailbox couldn’t fit all of today’s packages and cards. You’ve all been too entirely kind… you’re going to make my head even bigger than it’s gotten in the last few months and you’re going to leave me ruined forever expecting this kind of kindness on a regular basis. Not to mention our poor post woman… she might not want to hand deliver our mail every day, ya know. Not to mention you don’t need to send me gifts and that I’m leaving soon and my packing open space is close to zero and that you deserve your money to buy yourself things. : )

That said, I would send the gifts back if they weren’t so damn fabulous. The Lomo camera John sent is very cool, and the wee garden gnome from Erin sent my heart all a flutter. He’s perhaps the tiniest garden gnome I have, and I think he most certainly will be joining me in Kenya. Someone’s got to look after us, after all… And did I mention the Fluxx from Charles a few days ago and the earrings from Katie? And did I mention the two photo CDs that arrived in the past few days? And did I mention the cash from Isabel & Juan, Charlie & Stef, Mom & Dad, and Grandpa? And did I mention the endless stream of meals and drinks from MIS friends? Thanks so much y’all! And thanks to family for even more great gifts that were opened Christmas. And now, really, stop with the gifts already! It’s been two months of kindness that started with Erin and Samantha in November, and just kept going. I’m just a simple girl and this is all going to my head. Y’all mean the world to me and I thank you kindly for your graciousness and generosity and care. Thanks everyone. Now go out and do something nice for yourselves. You deserve it.

Seems Cindy and her parents found the blog this week. Welcome! I think your daughter is pretty fantastic, which should come as no surprise if you’ve found the blog and read any of it. :) Hope y’all had a great family holiday in Olympia! Do leave a comment and say hello when you get a chance.

Just so you know what my procrastination looks like this week: I’m thoroughly intrigued by all of Brian’s self portraits. I met him for a day a few years back, and we never traded contact info or stayed in touch. Randomly, I got an unrelated email from him this week. It’s fun, in a very voyeuristic way, to be able to go to flickr and see one person on so many random days of their life from weddings to Burning Man to art to life on his farm in Mexico. Over 400 portraits, to be exact, all just of him. It’s not like he’s going to battle Tom Cruise for world’s sexiest man, but there’s something mesmerizing about the portraits or perhaps about the glimpse into the life of someone else.

And on a slightly related note… do you think you can train yourself to be more photogenic? Because regardless of what we think is “attractive,” he’s definitely photogenic. Intriguing.

Show is happening tonight at the Saxon Pub. I’ll be at the 8pm show, but there’s a later show at 11pm as well. Yeah Spankers!

And another reminder… the Scabbs are playing Friday. Anyone want to go??

My old friend Dot and her boy Bruce had friends over for cookie decorating and board games!

Josh took this top photo of Bruce, Dot, and Norm the dog! So cute!

This has nothing to do with today’s post, but everything to do with remembering the terrific Thriller dance the Yellow House girls put together last month. It was quite impressive to see three white girls dancing like Michael Jackson, and entertaining too!!

Back to the present now…

Tuesday night I did a police ride along with a friend of mine who’s an officer with the Austin Police Department. I spent about 9.5 hours with him, and other officers, doing their every day things and it was all quite fascinating. I’ll post more once I hear from him that I can post more (just to be sure). But for now I’ll tell you it was super fun and interesting and that I recommend everyone do a ride along! Seriously.

Wednesday night Dave and I went to see the Spankers play at the Saxon Pub. Oddly, this was my first time ever at the Saxon. We had front row seats and the show was fun. It was mellower than most previous shows I’ve seen in Seattle, but that could be for any number of reasons (they’re getting older? it was an 8pm show, to be followed by an 11pm show, which requires conserving energy? they’re recording a kids album and they’re getting soft on us? not sure). Either way, the set was fun, the show was enjoyable, and spending time with Dave was enjoyable too.

Side note for Spankers fans: They’re being joined by Guy Forsyth and Stanly Smith for the month of January and will be doing 4 Tuesday night Gospel shows at the Saxon (starting Jan 10th). It’s been a while since Stanley played with the band, and even longer since Guy was a regular member, so if I were you I’d jump at the chance to see this line up! They should be great, great shows if you’re interested in classic Spankers gospel music. Just like when they used to do the Sunday morning Gospel Brunch at La Zona Rosa… only this month won’t be in the morning, there will be no brunch, it won’t be on a Sunday, and won’t be at La Zona Rosa. Otherwise, it’ll be just like that! :)

After the Spankers show I returned Andy’s call and found out he was only a mile away from the venue, so I stopped by and hung out with Andy, Bill, and Dan for a little bit. Was fun to chat with the boys, but then I had to head home and sleep eventually.

Thursday morning my doctor’s appointment this morning seemed entirely too early, and sadly I have to go back again tomorrow since they didn’t mention that I was supposed to fast for some of the blood tests they were going to run. Alas. After the doctor’s visit Andy and I grabbed a bite to eat. We were going to hit the Gluten Free cafe near his office, but upon arrival we discovered they took closed up operations for the week of the holidays. Foiled! We ended up at a Thai place nearby which was just as lovely (and also GF).

I came home from lunch to find my three last boxes from Seattle had arrived! (Thanks Dieter & Erin!). Now I’m packing and am about 1/2 way done. Still doing fine with luggage size and weight… let’s hope bag #2 is just as easy. I just need to get my clothes narrowed down and need to pick up a few little things like camera bags (to protect my new babies), sunscreen (since we’re white girls at the Equator), and tampons (gotta stock up).

Friday I’ll fast, go back to the doctors for some blood work, and do more packing. I’ll also see the Scabbs downtown which I’m quite excited about. Hope y’all are well!

Austin filmed Austin City Limits for TV for years and years, and there have been lots of movies done in and around Austin for the past 20 years (Sin City, Office Space, Slacker, Dazed & Confused, Varsity Blues, The Alamo, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Michael, Hope Floats, Home Fries, Lonesome Dove, Waiting For Guffman, A Perfect World, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Friday Night Lights, The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl, Spy Kids, Miss Congeniality, etc).

But in recent times we’ve had some TV too… like MTV’s Real World Austin or the WB’s Jack & Bobbie. Now, you can check out Austin’s Roller Derby girls on a new A&E documentary series aptly named Rollergirls. The season premier is Mon Jan 2nd and it looks interesting to me. If I had a TV in Kenya, or had cable, I’d watch the series. :)

There’s also a new documentary series filmed in Texas that will feature the Austin Police Department’s S.W.A.T. team. It’s a new Court TV series called Texas S.W.A.T. and will be premiering Wednesdays from 8-9pm. “With exclusive access to Texas SWAT teams, Court TV takes viewers along for the ride with these elite crime-fighting experts.e-fighting experts. We’ll be there as they use the latest technology and tactics to handle every crisis situation, from diffusing bombs to negotiating hostage situations. ” My friend is part of the APD S.W.A.T. team so that’s added incentive for y’all to watch the show. I’m telling you… the police ride along was fascinating.

I can’t find any of my Montreal pictures online, so I’m reposting just in case. (As we know, while I take tons of pics, I often get lazy about posting many pics). These were from last fall, Oct 2004, on a romantic trip to visit Samer in beautiful Montreal and Quebec, Canada.

Notre Dame Cathedral in Montreal

Montmorency Falls

Old Québec

Fairmont Le Château Frontenac

Outside of Quebec

Canadians can tag too…

The end of a lovely weekend with the lovely Samer