Category Archives: Self-Blogging

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.

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!

The First Dance. And Everything After.

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So, Kim and I were talking last night and listening to some music (Tom Waits, just so you know) and started talking wedding.  We’ve lobbed ideas at each other about what type of music to play, but I don’t think we really have too much set in stone.  What we do know is that we’re keeping it cheap by using a playlist and not a band or DJ, but other than that we’ve just named some songs – some cliche, some unique, some you might not have heard of. We’ve built on each other’s ideas, but we’ve also vetoed each other a bit here and there.

Tom Waits’ version of “Sea of Love” is an entrancing must, we’ve known that for a long time. Beyond that, we’re still talking.  Kim has found a good song about a boy and a girl in Michael Franti’s “Say Hey I Love You.” And we’ve considered some of the typicals, like Sinatra or the Beatles.  My opinions vary from my love for the 60s in The Doors to my love for unique sounds like Architecture in Helsinki to my oddly strong favoritism for Ingrid Michaelson’s voice. “Lie to Me” always makes me want to jump around and “My Moon My Man” has a cool beat, but what to choose? I’m also trying to keep an eye out for songs that people know and can dance to.

Problem is, I don’t really dance: I don’t know where to begin. As a person who is much more comfortable sitting there humming along and maybe toe- and finger-tapping, I’m not the best at figuring out what’s the easiest sound to shake your hips to. I just don’t have the ear for it I guess. So here’s where I’m reaching out to you, select readers: what do you dance to?