Author Archives: scott

Making History

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For the past few weeks I’ve been pestering Senator Jon Kyl’s legislative aide, Peter, about the senator’s co-sponsorship of the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act.  A couple of weeks ago, he assured me that Kyl had co-sponsored (something he rarely does), but we had no proof.  I bugged him again. Yesterday, he told me it was officially reported to Senator Russ Feingold’s office (one of the two original sponsors).  I was elated! And I was even more elated to hear this. In short, Kyl was the bill’s 51st co-sponsor in the Senate, making this the first sub-Saharan Africa-related bill to be supported by a majority of the Upper House since at least 1973 (maybe even earlier, that’s as far back as electronic records go).  Four senators got together to announce this landmark, showing unprecedented bipartisan support. If you’re interested, you can find some good excerpts from their announcement on Feingold’s site here.  The support in the Senate is great, but we’ve still got a ways to go:

Bad news is, the bill already would have passed the Senate if it wasn’t for one fiscal conservative. A while back, Senators Feingold and Brownback hot-lined the bill for passage, meaning it would automatically get 100 yeas unless a senator specifically blocked it. Right before the deadline, an anonymous hold was put on the bill. We now know that Senator Coburn is standing in the way of the best chance to end the longest-running war in the most conflict-heavy continent. In addition to that, the House is stalling.  150 representatives have co-sponsored, but we’ll keep pushing.  I’m trying to set up meetings with Mitchell’s and Flake’s district offices, so we’ll see. Got to keep fighting the good fight!

BFD

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No, not the usual B.F.D., although last weekend’s Bridal Fashion Debut was a pretty big fucking deal.

On Sunday, Kim and I took our moms to the Arizona Bridal Expo to see all things wedding.  It was a big day, and I ended up with  roughly a fifteen pound bag after four or five hours of walking around.  Among these things numbered cards, pamphlets, brochures and other such material from 76 – yes 76 – photographers. And that’s not including the half dozen photobooths and countless other vendors I said ‘hi’ to.

Highlights: Got a lot of contacts like woah – we saw quite a few pretty places and talented photographers that should give us a good starting-off point.  Despite seeing some neat venues, Kim and I are still leaning towards a particular location – more word on that later.  Also, I saw Taylor! She is my wonderful photographer-friend whom I hadn’t seen in the better part of a year, so that was nice.  Also also I think I was entered in at least few score sweepstakes and drawings for things from coupons to engagement photo sessions.

Lowlights: That “lot of contacts like woah” statement means we have to sift through 80-odd photography companies and however many other vendors.  In addition to Taylor, I got a hug from another photographer – a woman who claimed she knew me and put me in a place of utter confusion. (Can’t pick her for the wedding!)

Overall it was a lot of fun.  We just have to take the piles of papers and cards and sift them into something manageable.  We’re hoping to get a few more appointments/visits set up and attended to before we get into the thick of things at school.  Got to get moving!

WIP Wednesday: Bedroom Blues

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So, I’m hopping on the bandwagon.  Don’t know if I will keep it up, but this is my first Work in Progress Wednesday update.  Topic: the second bedroom.  Ever since we moved, it was the mess that loomed down the hall, and on Sunday I resolved that every day this week I would spend some time unpacking in there.  So, this is a half-way point for my progress with the room.  I didn’t get pictures of pre-Sunday, but I updated each night after organizing.  I don’t expect to get all of it unpacked in one week, but I hope to make quite a dent in it in these seven days.

Sunday, I started by unpacking my Invisible Children and IRIN media and taking out our yearbooks.  I put the bookcases together and unpacked quite a few boxes of books.  The room, after day one of resolved unpacking, looked thus:

WIPW Room1

Monday was a short day for me.  I put up all of my collection books (like LIFE photo books and such) and my World War II books.  One little thing about my WWII books.  For probably the past 6 years or so, I have set little toy army men all over the shelf that has these books.  Green versus Brown.  So, I got distracted and spent the rest of my clean-up time setting the field.

WPIP Room2

Yesterday’s unpacking actually seemed a little bit more productive.  I emptied all of my books onto the bookcases and even got rid of some extra stuff.  With some floorspace opened up, I moved some things around to make it more roomy.

WIPW Room 3

So, still a lot of work to do.  It truly is a work in progress, but – with a little hope and a lot of motivation – it will shape up by week’s end.  I have every intention of having a work-still-in-progress-but-my-resolution-was-successful post on Saturday or Sunday.  The boxes need to go.  The CDs need to be put away.  Christmas decorations need to be packed up.  Filing cabinet needs some sorting.  And that really does put a dent in the unpacking that we still have to do.  Here’s to the last half of this resolution and to my first work in progress!

A year in review

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It took me less than 72 hours to realize that my intentions of declaring ten goals for 2010 were misplaced.  Why?  I’m not one for New Years resolutions.  I tend to resolve to do things as I think of them, and I decided at the last minute that coming up with ten things on New Years Day just wasn’t right for me.  I’ll try to do plenty of things in the next year, for sure, but I won’t be starting on day one but adding to what I’ve already got in the works.  However, I will make it up to you (as I’m sure you are all tuning in for my resolutions).  Instead of making resolutions, I am going to take one last look back and revisit my old tradition of reviewing the year.  No restrictive numbers or formats, no rules or audience – just remembering.  A lot of this may look like the last post, and I’m sorry for that.  This is just me pouring everything into a post.

This year started off between semesters at school and a couple of months into independent living.  I delved into what would be a very momentous year, but I had no idea at the time.  Kim and I rang in the New Year at the Tempe Block Party.  It was our first New Years together and it was quite a bit of fun despite quite the crowd.  Starting there, the following have happened:

-The Rescue hit.  I joined about a thousand people in a march where we abducted ourselves to raise awareness for the abducted child soldiers in Uganda.  We proceeded to sleep on a field in a makeshift camp alongside 100,000 others in 100 cities in 10 countries.  Several of my friends moved on to Albuquerque, then Wichita and finally Chicago while I called public servants all over the country to help them out.

-Kim and I celebrated seven great years!  Just one big step in a long line of getting closer and closer.  The celebration weekend was a lot of fun and we got to enjoy a lot of things we had wanted to do for a while – a concert, a museum, a zoo and painting.

-I went to LA with Kim, Cristina, and Zach.  The trip definitely had its ups and downs, but it was really nice to be on a trip with Kim again and it was pretty fun running around with Cristina.  California is always fun, but it was especially nice to see Los Angeles, which I don’t see too often.

-I flew to Washington, DC for something huge.  I joined 1600 people in the biggest lobbying effort for an African issue in American history: the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act.  For me this was a huge reunion with dozens of great friends and a chance to meet some of the coolest people.  In the end I had a great time and am stoked to do more lobbying.

-Kim and I took a huge leap in buying a townhome in Tempe.  After months of saving and discussing, we have settled down in our very own home and are enjoying it very much.  It’s roomier than our quaint apartment and we’ve got a little garage to match our little patio.

Final statistics are thus:

Places visited: Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; Washington, DC.

Places lived: Mesa, AZ; Tempe, AZ.

Concerts attended: No Doubt.

Altruistic/Political events: Project CURE; Rotary River Rally; Malawi Dinner; The Rescue; How It Ends; Gulu Walk; Rock ‘n’ Roll Paint-a-thon; Hometown Shakedown; Schools For Schools.

Anniversaries: Seven years dating; twenty years alive; one year engaged.

Courses taken: History Methods in the Community; France in WWII; Human Development; SEI Endorsement II; Intro to Violence, Conflict, and Human Rights; Teachers and the Law; Technology in the Classroom; Physical Geography; SEI Endorsement; The Vietnam War; Content Literacy; Religion, Nationalism, and Ethnic Conflict; Global Trends; SGS Internship; Inquiry into Religion and Conflict; Facing the Past.

Blog posts: 14.

People annoyed: Probably whoever reads this and the previous post.  Whoops.

Nine

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Recapping nine important things that happened to me in 2009.  It was a great year, and I am ending the decade by starting what I hope to be a couple of new trends – first by summarizing a year with that year’s number of events and then by forecasting the next year with that year’s number of goals (the two will not be linked).  So, without further ado, here are nine important things that happened in 2009.

Twitter. Let’s be honest, getting on Twitter was a big thing for me this year.  It got me back in touch with a lot of friends and reinvigorated my thirst for news via New York Times.  Also, I got to join in on The Rescue and the Iranian Election via trending topics.  Also, Twittertracker!

Fellowship. This fall semester I was one of eight undergraduate fellows at the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict.  It made for a very interesting semester with many fun debates and some pretty cool speakers as well.  I got some experience, and a resume-booster, in working for a DoD grant studying conflict in Thailand too.  It also marked a corner around which I never thought I’d turn – religious studies.  I learned quite a bit about religion in the context of conflict, and I got to meet some very interesting people among fellows, staff, faculty, and guests.  I’m hoping to intern with them if possible.

The Golden Gate. I went on a trip with my parents to San Francisco this summer.  In the old days, our family tradition was a triangular trip to San Diego and Las Vegas.  For the passed few years, this has been replaced with a long haul to San Francisco where we do a variety of things.  This year we did the usual and wandered Chinatown, walked the Embarcadero, visited the Haight, and trekked the Golden Gate Bridge to see my grandpa.  New ones were the Pier 1 Farmer’s Market (lots of fun and delicious food), hung out in Sausalito, and walked through part of Golden Gate Park.  Lots of fun with the family and it was nice to be in the coldest city ever one more time.

Los Angeles. Kim and I went on our first friend-filled road trip this summer.  It turned out to be a love-hate occurrence with quite a few ups and downs.  Regardless of any low-points of the trip, including getting lost multiple times, enduring cold beach morning weather, and dragging dead weight across town, there were a number of great things.  Kim and I got to experience Six Flags together, which was an amazing thing.  Cristina, Kim, and I almost achieved our goal of riding every roller coaster.  And it was hopefully the first of many friend-filled, fun-filled road trips.

The Rescue. This April, Invisible Children embarked on a massive endeavor.  100 cities in 10 countries on 1 night.  I joined 100,000 people that night in abducting myself to help the abducted child soldiers in east-central Africa.  At the Phoenix camp I met up with a lot of friends and helped set up the abduction site around old Hayden Mill.  From there, I photographed the march and subsequently was rescued and spent the night on a field.  I was unable to join some of my friends on what turned into a seven-day trip that went Phoenix-Albuquerque-Wichita-Chicago and ended at Harpo Studios, but I did call my way to rescue sites all across the country.  In the end, all cities were rescued and it was a successful and amazing event.

Lobby Days. In June, I went on a lonely flight to our nation’s capitol.  After a half-day of isolation, I met up with Heather and Kristi.  The next morning I met dozens of friends.  The two days I spent in DC were a great lesson in lobbying and politics and were a reminder of why I am involved in the type of things in which I am involved.  It gave me a tingly feeling that I hadn’t felt in about a year and a half – like I was an integral part in something huge.  Oh, and I got to see Luis Moreno-O’Campo and John Prendergast speak in addition to getting to hang out with Jason Russell, the Resolve Uganda crew, and the Keeseys. In the end I made even more friends and completed three lobbying meetings, plus there was a lot of fun had.

Anniversary. The seventh anniversary of our first date was marked by a weekend full of fun.  I took Kim to Cricket Pavilion to see No Doubt.  The show was great and a lot of fun, and it was nice to finally have Kim see one of her all-time favorite bands play live.  We also took a short trip to the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and got to see some pretty cool stuff before heading to the Wildlife World Zoo.  This zoo has some funky, exotic animals and it was really neat to see so many things.  I also got to pet a stingray for the first time in my life!  That was a weird thing.  We ended the weekend with a sit-down at As You Wish, and Kim made a really cool cupcake-shaped sugar bowl while I made a waffle cone-shaped ice cream cup.  All in all, a great way to celebrate a great occasion!

Winter Wedding. A little while ago, we made a checklist.  We talked through two topics and made a choice: winter wedding.  The timing, while moving things up a bit, makes for better planning for us with school.  Honeymoon would be more achievable.  More family and friends could attend.  Mixes her parents’ winter feel with my parents’ holiday feel.  It was just one decision, but it’s essentially the precursor to all other wedding decisions including venue and color and whatever else.  Now we just need to make those decisions! Oh and get married.

The Townhome. Kimberly and I became homeowners in November.  After a lot of talking, money-inspecting and talking with my parents, we decided to seize an opportunity and buy a townhome.  Now we are partially unpacked in a roomy unit, with plans to bring in pets and get truly settled.  It’s a little two-story place with a tiny garage and a no-yard small patio.  The neighborhood is a cute one with little lakes and flower patches.  We have plans for painting, bringing in some furniture, and decorating more as we get time and money.  This will be our home for the foreseeable future, including the rest of our undergrad years, the wedding, and maybe subsequent career-maneuvering.  It’ll be a great place to stay for the next few years and I’m very happy to be here :D

And that’s a year in review.  Stay tuned for ten goals early in the new year, and have a happy celebration while you wait.

’tis the Season

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Christmas has come and passed.  Kim and I have gotten close to calling the first floor unpacked, and have had a couple of guests over to check the place out. Still have some boxes down here to sort through, and a room full of boxes upstairs.  But, in the spirit of secular gift-giving, we spruced up the place a little bit and put up a pretty (fake) tree.

Our holiday tree, with a few of the gifts for giving

We had a work party in the middle of the month, but I was forced to miss the family parties.  After not getting sick for probably a year and a half, I got a cold on Christmas Eve Eve and it has carried through to now. Yesterday I felt well enough to at least be in people’s company and got to see Kim’s family for Christmas Part II and a few of my family members for dinner at my aunt’s restaurant.  Hopefully I’ll be rearing to go with another night’s rest and can get through work just fine.

This week, Kim and I will be looking at some venues for the wedding.  We are still in the far off beginning stages, but need to at least figure out the basics (i.e. venue and date) since we’ll have some out-of-towners and the holiday-season.  Hopefully we’ll fall in love with an inexpensive, easy-to-work-with venue that’s willing to be lax on house rules.  We’ll see! I’ll update after the first few visits.

The Big Move

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Recent weeks have been consumed by the big move.  The last days of November consisted of disorganized packing (throwing whatever was left into boxes and bags) and the first days of December have consisted of organized unpacking (the kitchen has been the easiest).  We have functioning rooms and are well on our way to sprucing up, but there are still some boxes.

The brightest star of unpacking was probably my day two auto faux pas.  We had finally cleared the garage of the excess entertainment center and desk.  I excitably pulled Mariah in and parked all nice and pretty.  Made the last minute decision to move slightly to the right to make room for laundry.  A few seconds later my passenger side mirror was flying across the garage.  Since then a hefty amount of tape has patched it up rather nicely, and its held against freeway driving and a couple windy days.

Other than my mishap, the move has been relatively pleasant.  It’s an uncomfortable but very exciting thought when we find a minor problem but cannot call it in since we own the place.  Far more good than bad, definitely.  Hopefully the boxes will unpack themselves while we go through finals and come mid-December we will be ready to have visitors and I can put up a few pictures.

In the mean time, enjoy the taped mirror:

Adventuring Abroad

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So, a specter that has been looming over me recently has been my obligation to go abroad as a part of my studies. I’ve been scouring circles of friendship, professional networks, and the ever-expanding internet. I’ve talked with Kim about what I can afford to do – both for financial and physical/emotional (my/her) safety.  I’ve sectioned off parts of the world and am following up with all sorts of potential groups.

I’m getting close to being six months out now, and have run into a lot of disheartening dead ends.  I will continue to wheedle my way through the channels of Invisible Children and Resolve Uganda to get my way there. But in the mean time, I’ve found a plethora of internships that are no-gos. The high courts in The Netherlands, Sierra Leone and Tanzania have all turned me down. Cambodia is still a possibility.  The Australian Human Rights Commission has turned me down. I’m still waiting to hear back from a few others. State Department decisions go out in December. And I’ll be hitting up some research groups in East Africa asking them to shorten their internship requirements. I need to work with Gisela to figure out what I can do. Maybe I can just go work at Huruma in Nairobi.

I just want to find something that I’m interested in that will actually work out with everything going on here at home. Africa would be nice. Research or aid would be nice. But who knows? Maybe I’ll end up teaching English to a bunch of Austrians or something. I’ll probably end up talking to my friend Kevin about getting help from AISEC. Hopefully they can put me in touch with a development group. Here’s to a decisive next month or so in figuring all of this out!

Winter Wedding?

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So, it seems like we’ve made a decision.  It might move a little, but our outlook is that Kim and I will get married on 1-1-11. We’re starting the hunt for venues now, and I think we’re narrowing down colors, guests, and other important things. The big one is going to be the budget. With a wedding there are soooo many different aspects to know, and each one has a price tag.

Kim and I saved up for a while before moving in together. Then we saved up for a while before buying the townhome. Now we’re saving up for  a wedding! The kink in the saving is me. Right now everything’s gravy, but somewhere in the summer I will be abroad, and when I get back I’ll be student teaching without making any money. I need to save better now and find a sustainable way to do everything. Until those trying times come, I just need to keep earning and saving. And getting ready for 1-1-11!

Against All Odds

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So, I’ve been a part of Invisible Children for several years now. But even before then, I have always been a big fan of the 60s.  I’ve always wanted to make a big impact but could never figure out how. Sure, the 60s look fun and impacting but they didn’t make any kind of direct influence on what was going on. Protests prevented escalation but the Vietnam War ended because Nixon (and Johnson) made mistakes. With Invisible Children, my goal has always been to directly influence what’s going on and really make a difference.  Is it possible?  Why wouldn’t it be possible?

Right now, I’m diving headlong into the We Want Obama campaign along with the work I’ve been doing over the passed six months to get the Bill through Congress.  What does all of that mean?  Well in May I e-mailed the heck out of McCain’s district outreach lady – she is not so good at her job. From there I went to Washington in June and met with staffers from the offices of McCain, Kyl, and Flake (Rep. Flake himself made a pleasant, positive appearance at that meeting that was a great boost for all of us!). When I got home I went to a meeting with Rep. Mitchell’s district outreach staffer, who was very nice and encouraging. All of these meetings went really well and gave me a sense of success.

None have co-sponsored the Bill.

So, I’m redoubling my efforts. I’m e-mailing every person I’ve met with in person and telling them my story, giving them my point of view. Arizona has two Congressmen who have co-sponsored, so I’m going to tell them thank you and ask them to bug their colleagues. I’m promoting the We Want Obama campaign which is a petition – which you all should sign at wewantobama.com – to achieve something the 24-year war hasn’t seen: a sitting American President to make a public statement about the LRA. I’m not going after him because he’s a Democrat. I want him to do something because he is the President of the United States. The Bill I mentioned would make him do something too. It would be wonderful if the two went through by the year’s end.

I know what most people say when I rant about this. Why this cause? Yes, I do have my opinions on Iraq and healthcare and prayer in schools and immigration. Yes, I know that the children and schools here are suffering to – I want to be a teacher specifically to help them. But why does it have to be one or the other? Why couldn’t a person advocate for a better life both abroad and at home? I do my community service to help Arizona in one club at school, I raise money and awareness of a war in Africa in another. I am majoring to help give American students an education, but I’m also studying why conflicts occur in hopes of stopping them. So I’ve taken November as a fresh start and am contacting everyone I need to contact.

To my readers: go sign the Citizen’s Arrest Warrant at http://www.wewantobama.com or learn about the Bill at http://www.resolveuganda.org/legislation

To my elected representatives: watch out! I’m writing e-mails and making calls and setting up meetings!

Here’s to everything working out.