Blizzard time!!

As you probably know Colorado got blasted with a blizzard over the past couple of days. Here are a few pictures of my house, and my car... I'm sure those in the area have similar shots.

My house

View from my kitchen window, the garage on right

My car
(the one under the snow, the black dot is my side-view mirror)

The snow is past my knee!!

The long process of digging out..


At least a foot of snow on top of the car
(and the car is only 4 feet tall..)


A little snow tunnel..

And after 45 minutes... the result of hard labor

Quick trip to England

So quick in fact that I'm not even going to thoroughly blog it... basically the story goes, I went to England the last week of October (yes, I realize its now December and this entry is long over due), I stayed for seven days, saw friends and hung out with Darren and then we parted at the end of the week - in more ways than one.

The week was very fun. I saw some old mates of mine in Oxford and couple of my sister's friends, new arrivals in ol' Blighty in Cambridge. Also met up with my former work colleague in London and spent a couple days with Darren's family in Epsom. That pretty much sums up the experience. Two highlights were - the huge family party in Epsom and going to see Lord of the Dance in Oxford (yes, I am that dorky). Below you'll find pictures of the fun and good times.

Visit to England

Nickels and Dimes

There is a scene in the movie Before Sunrise in which a Parisian bum writes a poem for the two lead love interests, Jesse and Celine. The poet asked for one word from them and he would write a poem incorporating that word (I believe their word was "milkshake") and asked only that if they liked his work that they give whatever cash value they felt like giving.

I thought that that was a really good, creative way to make a little cash. Instead of just holding a sign or cup, create something and ask for something in return. That's why I'm much more likely to give money to a guy with a guitar on the street rather than the one with a "God Bless You" sign. Maybe I'm a middle-class bitch for that, but that's just how it is for me.

The day before I was to leave for England in late October, I was walking home from work and a 'bum' (is there now a PC term for that as well? I don't know) came up to me on Larimer Square. He asked if I had a minute to spare for him to read me some poetry he had written and like his fictional Parisian counterpart only asked me to give what I felt the reading desevered. I can't remember much about the poem he read to me, except that it really moved me. It was entitled "Nickels and Dimes" and was about walking around the streets asking for money and how some people ignore the homeless and the beggars (myself included at times) and how others do stop to give a little something. I told the wandering poet that I didn't have any nickels or dimes for him, so I gave him a dollar, it was the last one I had in my wallet. I would like to find that poet again and perhaps our paths will cross once more. Until then I hope he finds his nickels and dimes, nickels and dimes.

The Best of the Best

Ok, here's a little shameless advertising for Darren.

Basically he got on a community website to promote his business called - thebestof.co.uk (that's the website, not his business) and he needs your help!

Very simply put: The Best Of website uses Google Adwords on a pay-per-click system to get the advertisers website high up on a Google search. All you need to do is type "minibus in Abingdon" into google.co.uk or google.com and you will see Dazbus (or thebestof.co.uk/blahblah/somethingorother) somewhere on the first page. Now you just need to click on the link, and then go from the webvert to his oh-so-amazing (Thanks to Dave!) website. This will then elevate him in the Google rankings and increase his business so that he can make enough dough to come visit me!!

I'm depending upon you all as my friends and family to support my man in his endeavors. Also this link has a special component so I know who does and does not follow through in this humble request, so be warned, I know where most of you live and I'm a travel agent, I can get there.... hehe. Thanks!

Food, culture and ziplock

I have a couple good stories (with picutres) to tell, unfortunately I don't have the pictures on me and therefore can't tell the stories yet. However I did want to share with you some other amusing stories so I'm borrowing some one else's.

Lonely Planet's Blue List is a wonderful source for travel tips and just fun tales to brighten your day.. Here is some highlights from my recent browsing.

Little tips of the road-
Traveling and Ziplock Bags

Also good tips, not something to read before lunch -
Most vomit-inducing Chinese foodstuff

And finally, in honor of my upcoming trip to England -
Things to avoid in Britain



Ok.. one more just for good measure -
Things to bring travelling

Negligence (so bad that I even forgot to add a title)

I have been negligent in my reporting about my life and times. For that my sincerest apologies and here I will try to make amends.

I am now again gainfully employed - and I bet you'll never guess where! STA Travel has seen it in their hearts (aka pocketbooks) to take me back. So after an almost 2 month hiatus or outside-imposed sabtical as I call it, I'm back to being a travel agent. This time however I am spending my days at the Denver office in the historic Tivoli Center (right), meaning that I now commute from Boulder. At first I was a little skeptical on how the comutting would go but since I take the bus (which stops very close by to both my work and my house) it has turned out to be greatly beneficial for many reasons. First I get about an hour and a half of reading or sleeping time every day on the bus ride as well as about an hour of daily exercise walking to and from the bus stops.

As for the office itself, it is practically a mansion compared to the store in Boulder where I worked (a glorified broom closet). I'm still trying to remember all the tricks of the trade and the Sabre system as well as getting back into the habit of actually waking up early in the morning, but let me tell you how nice it is to see that pretty little pay check deposited in the ol' account again! That will induce me to do almost anything (within reason of course).

So in celebration and honor of my renewed relationship with STA here's a little travel advice, courtesy of Lonely Planet's Blue List.

	5 tips for happy travel (Or: The Wisdom of Retrospect) By: HappyGecko - 12 Jan 2006	Rating: 3.03 49 votes
	Keywords: Worldwide, food poisoning, toilet, hairstyles
not play “chicken” with a Tata truck (Nepal) Your hired tin-box taxi is no match for these monster-trucks protected by blessings of marigolds, Hindu icons and Christmas tinsel. Encourage your driver to adopt "might is right" as a new mantra. Plan to pack crash helmet next time. And Valium. WorldGuide: Nepal
Think carefully before trusting a Thai beauty salon (Thailand) Tropical sun and cheap beer may inspire exotic hairstyles. If you want braided extensions avoid hairdressers wielding orange horsetails and tubes of superglue. Especially if they don't know how to plait. Sober up and remember you are not Snoop Dogg. WorldGuide: Thailand
Beware of prawn curry on overland flights (Thailand) Kinda obvious? Prawn curry = landing, grabbing a cab and taking the first hotel room, with toilet, that you find. Realise in the morning the hotel is a brothel (how did you miss the hire a lady-boy sign??) Beef is always a wiser choice, or go hungry. WorldGuide: Thailand
Choose your toilet stop wisely (Nepal) You think the hillside where buckets of washing water are tipped is an OK night toilet? No! Himalayan temperatures turn water to ice. In darkness you tumble, pants down, mooning the moon. Not a good way to meet campers sleeping at bottom of hill. WorldGuide: Nepal
Chew thoroughly – the Heimlich manoeuvre may not be known (Egypt) Masticate well in cruising restaurants. Being whacked on the back by your spunky Arabian host shatters the Nile’s ambience. So does regurgitating the hunk'o'chunk like a snake eating a rat in reverse. Next time, order soup of you want to flirt. WorldGuide: Egypt

My sister's a freak

What can I say, I love my sister and look up to her (as younger sisters are apt to do) but sometimes I wonder and worry about Stephanie. And now I'm really worried about her summertime activities.

I understand she lives in Alaska now and that things happen a little differently there, and obviously nature plays a large part in her life up in the last frontier, so I shouldn't be too surprised by her recent ecological adventure.

(Be sure to watch all four exciting installments of the Fireweed Project!)

A blast from the past

Below is an article from the DU Clarion online. I've copied and pasted it here for your convenience as you have to register to see the articles online. Enjoy!

World View

DU students invited to explore the world

ROXY DODD

Issue date: 1/31/02 Section: News

Media Credit: Stephanie Homsy/Clarion Students Jonathan Lin, Shoko Yokota, Rui Korotaki, Michiko Sato, Melissa Thornhill and Dacia Dyer pose in traditional Japanese kimonos at the International House. The International Student Scholar Services and the International House and Study Abroad grou

Students traded in their shoes for kimonos this week, as they learned about and participated in an event highlighting Japanese culture at the International House.

International Student and Scholar Services, the International House and Study Abroad are sponsoring a month long series called "Eyes on the World," a program that spends one week focusing on a different culture around the world.

"The main target audience is American students at DU who want to go abroad, and we want to get people interested in countries that people don't typically study in," said graduate student Annique Petit, program coordinator for ISSS.

This series is "using international students as mentors to educate the American students about their cultures because they are the experts," said International Student Advisor Lisa Bares.

Last night a representative from the Japanese Consulate and a representatives from the Japan-America society and the Colorado International Trade Office to discuss opportunities for Americans to work and study in Japan.

The series began Monday with Japanese calligraphy, chopsticks and kimonos as students received an overview of Japanese culture.

Putting on a kimono is "kind of like clothing origami," said junior Dacia Dyer, referring to the many folds and tucks that are necessary in the otherwise one-size-fits-all clothing.

Tuesday, international Japanese students presented skits that showed possible culture shocks that Americans would encounter in Japan, such as the differences in physical contact.

Tomorrow is the last day that the series will focus on Japan; traditional food and music will be available at the International House.

Students who have already participated in the month-long cultural workshop have found it to be rewarding.

"I thought it was a good experience to promote interactions between local students and international students," said graduate student Lucia Ishikawa.

Next week "Eyes on the World" will concentrate on South American culture with events that include a tango presentation followed by tango lessons and a Peruvian cooking lesson.

The series will end the last week in January with focus on East Africa.

Anyone interested in culture or studying abroad is encouraged to attend the meetings from 7-9 p.m. at the International House, 2200 S. Josephine Street. Students can also contact the I-House at 303.871.4912.

Midwest - Here I come!

In about June I bought tickets to fly out to Bloomington, Indiana - well to fly to Indianapolis actually, but the final destination was Bloomington. Why?! You ask. (I know you ask this as that is the response I got from everyone I told I was going.) Well, I reply, to visit a dear friend of mine who is trapped in a 20-year long PhD program. Ok, maybe not a 20-year program but she'll definitely be out there for the majority of a decade!

Anyways, Brooke and I met many years ago now when we were both young and spry college juniors studying abroad in St. Petersburg. Since then we try to visit each other on average about once a year, taking turns who will travel out to the other. This time was my turn as she had just come for a fabulous visit to England over New Years. I had originally bought tickets that would allow me to visit her and miss a minimal amount of time off of work, as I had foolishly assumed I'd still be working at STA throughout the summer and into September. Silly me. As it happened I only had a weekend with Brooke and the University of Indiana. But that was more than enough for us girls!!

Arriving super late a few Friday nights back, damn delayed plane!, we returned to her lovely little apartment and talked for a while. Managing to get up fairly early considering our late night we first hit the biggest farmer's market in the country, where we bought some cheese and a beeswax candle. Then we went to a fabulous Thai restaurant and had some delicious lunch! After that fulfilling meal we had to take a break and a little nap. Hehe.. naps are fun.

After the repose we were ready and rearing to go to a local winery and do a bit of tasting. It was my first time to do such a high-fallooting thing and it was fun! We tried a few very interesting and delicious wines and I brought two home with me. After the winery we rested a bit before we had to go to her professor's house for an Anthro department get together BBQ. Never have I seen more wieners. No, seriously, the prof had about a dozen different kinds of hot dogs and other meats. We schmoozed with her colleagues for a time and were treated to a fire-eating show - no kidding!! Anthro kids are crazy. :)

Sunday started out pretty chilled after a late night of socializing and midnight movie watching. We slept in until about noon on Sunday and then just hung around the house, more movie watching until we finally had to go to Brooke's birthday bash at a wine bar. (Notice the theme of the weekend?) I got to meet and speak with her closest friends and enjoy a tapas style meal. Eventually we cleared out of there, walked around the town of Bloomington for a bit where I discovered they have a little bit of England in their famous and popular Nick's English Hut pub.

And of course right across from Nick's was the STA Travel branch in Bloomington. A little twinge of sadness ran through as I remembered my days as a 'Travel Advisor' with longing. But that was soon dissolved in some local brews at Nick's. Yet the night was not over yet! We then went to a friend's house and had some champagne, and then on to another friend's house for a little party which lasted until about 2 in the morning for us (keeping in mind that we needed to leave at 4am for the airport.) At this point it was useless to sleep so we went back to her place and putzed around until the time to leave. I had it easy as I could sleep on the plane home and for the rest of the day as well if I wanted, since I had neither work nor school. Poor Brooke on the other hand had an early morning Russian class, work and a faculty meeting to push through with no sleep. Oh well, that's what friends are for I guess.

All in all, it was a wonderful welcome break from well... nothing. It was also, as always, a great pleasure to see Brooke and talk about life or just veg and watch movies.

'Till death do us... what?!

Eventually all my friends came and went leaving me alone again in my little rented room in Boulder. Jobless, friendless, hopeless - ok, ok.. it wasn't that bad. But I was jobless and my friends did go back to their lives elsewhere, I however was ironically still working for STA for a few weeks. After initially a week off, they called me back in to help move all the equipment, supplies, and randoms bits from the branch on the Hill (now closed) to my former workplace in the UMC (University Memorial Center - student union like place). I graciously gave them my assistance, for a small fee of course, helped set up the computers and got things running.

The timing of the closure and move was bad in that not only had my former boss been on a month-long vacation but also my friend and former co-worker Betsy was also away for a few weeks. Luckily that turned out to my advantage as I was able to work through the last few weeks of July, gaining much needed extra cash. At last everyone who was still employed returned and I was turned out again. But at least I could celebrate in style at my friend's wedding!!

I didn't see the actual ceremony but heard it was good - still waiting on photographic evidence of that but for now you and I will have to contend ourselves with the party pics!

Chelsea doing her bit as the maid of honor

The happy couple, Melissa and Andy dancing the night away...



...as all Melissa's girlfriends watch them...

Then comes the father-daughter dance...awwwww...

Now the real party starts!! Go David, Go David!

Looking at Jilly putting on all the moves! And then there's Scott too...

The whole gang gets in on the fun!

Pictures!

I realized that I didn't actually have pictures of the 4th of July fun, so I asked Melissa to send some my way. Feast your eyes on these little gems while I work on updating with more stories!

Jenga Madness
(record height achieved)

Fireworks Fun
(Melissa's husband is the middle, I'm just a back support)

Month o' fun!

July was an exciting month for me. Not only did three of my best friends come to Colorado for a visit, but I also lost my job. Now that's not really the type of excitement that one craves but nonetheless it was there.

First Melissa came from Seattle for the 4th of July festivities. She was here a week and though she spent most of her time with the family and in-laws we got in a little photo swapping session. I was kindly invited to a BBQ at her house on the big day and a viewing of the usual fireworks at Stenger field in Arvada. The great news about this was that I managed to finally meet her husband! I'm afraid I have no pictures as evidence but I'll get them at some point.

Next Stella journeyed all the way from Hong Kong to do a little three-stop US tour to visit family and friends, and I was privileged to have her company for two days. We didn't do a whole lot in way of activities but mostly hung out, took it easy, chatted and of course our usual - watched tons of movies! It was nice and relaxing.

I should mention it was on the day Stella flew out that I discovered I would no longer be part of the STA Travel team. The vice president of the whole company came out to Boulder to inform myself and my colleague Todd of the closure of one of the offices in Boulder and the subsequent merger of the branches into one office. Of course the merger was going to combine 6 employees into a space barely able to accommodate 4, so the two of us were cut loose. Our former manager was magically turned back into a travel advisor and Todd and I were issued severance packages.

I will admit there was a bit of tearage on the day and then boozing it up later that night with Scott. He was kind enough to listen to me yammer on for quite a few hours before I finally had to go pick Stella up from the airport. It was then that I found the poem you see in the prior entry. It was hanging on Scott's fridge and in my inebriated, depressed state it really struck a cord with me therefore I copied it and brought it home. I hope it strikes a cord with you too.

After Stella had moved on to her next destination it was time for my old friend Mike to make his appearance. He was swinging out this way before heading to a business trip in San Francisco. We had the obligatory Starbucks chat session and managed to get a few of the old gang(s) (mixing of high school and college friends) to go to a play in Boulder for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. Good times were had as we watched As You Like It (a first for myself).


One night, I was even allowed to tag along when the old home boys (those from Mike's elementary) had their "piss up" - British for drinking session. It was great as we bar hopped and eventually crawled back to Scott's place that was "20 minutes away". Scott language for about 5 miles away. We made it to his place at last and all crashed. The next day those of us who were awake (that being everyone but Scott) managed to meander our way back to the center of town and find our cars for the rest of the way home. It was a great time and there is evidence of that but it is in Mike's possession. See his blog for the photo proof of our fabulous night.

All this took place in just the first two weeks of July! Wow, my head's still a-spinnin' from the excitement. Next time I'll fill you in on the last few weeks which included a bachelorette party and a wedding (usually the two go together). Stay tuned!

The Invitation

By Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life’s betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain. I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wilderness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me it true. I want to know if you are disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty, even when it’s not pretty, every day, and if you can source your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lade and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes!”

It doesn’t interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I wan to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

Freak Hail Storm

So perhaps its not all that exciting, maybe it's making you snore just from reading the title, but in order to appease the Blogger Police (who have been hounding me for weeks now to update) I thought I'd share with you something mildly exciting in my life - the freakish Colorado weather.

One fine day in late June, I was talking with Darren via Skype (great way to keep up with long distance calling) I suddenly heard strange sounds outside my window. The rain, for it had been raining a while turned into something else.. something harder, scarier. I looked out and saw this:

"A hail storm! Oh dear god, my car! Oh well, it's a piece of crap anyway.." Quickly my mind is all absorbed by the storm, my eyes glued to the window to watch as the hail covers the streets like snow. I realize that I'm no longer listening to Darren's story (told in the manner of Nathaniel Hawthorne - too many descriptors for his own good).

I exclaim like Tattoo "the hail, the hail!" as Darren ever so-subtly jibes - "there's no rain in Colorado, ever!" Which compared to Darren's home country of England, yes this is fairly accurate.

Before the excitement vanished I excused myself from the conversation for a minute to snap these few photos. I like how the hail formed a little river going down the sidewalk. Of course the minute it all ended the moisture was dried up in a matter of minutes but it was exciting for a little while.

And that dear friends is that. I hope its enough to keep me out of trouble for a while and next time look forward to hearing how once again I am jobless. Until then, good night and good luck.

She's aliiiiiiive!

It's true, the time has come. My friends are starting to have babies!! Now at first, I was dismayed at the surge of marriages that have been plaguing those mid-twenties free spirits for a while but now babies! Come on, people, what is the world coming to?

Actually, I'm estatic for my dear friend, Mary (Maryanne to many, but not me) who gave birth to a beautiful giantess on Sunday morning. You heard me right, giantess indeed!

Kaitlyn Rose Brankin, born 4:20am Sunday, June 11th, weighing in at 10lbs, 21 inches long, the girl is destined to be a basketball star!

The new auntie adores her little cherub..

Mom and Dad lovingly adore their new addition!

Nap time for Kaitlyn!

But first her little baby prayers...

Life in 1995

Because of the utter boredom at work today I managed to pick up the latest edition of the Onion Newspaper, a fine reputable news sourse (repution of a unique variety that is) and found an amusing and all too poignant article - Recently Unearthed E-Mail Reveals What Life Was Like In 1995. Having lived through the transition of old-school DOS operating systems to the prolific Microsoft monopoly, and the break up of the AOL monopoly to a plethora of ISPs, I remember well the beginning of the 'new fangled' world wide web and all that came with it. For those of you out there who also remember the "days before" you maybe be horrified to hear of late how there is a movement to limit the freedom and neutrality of the internet.

"Gasp! How can this be?!" You ask.
I answer, "It's all too true."

Therefore, I and billions and billions of bloggers (said in Carl Sagan like intonation) have been asked by MoveOn.org to blog about this catastrophe to help raise awareness. So here it goes...

SAVE WILLY! I MEAN THE INTERNET!! (sorry, bad joke, losing all ability to be funny)

Anyways, below you'll find some really awesome links and I hope you take the time to look at them and get involved. Nothing will change unless we decide to change it! Let's be of one voice on this and let the big gurus know, that they may take our lives but they'll never take our world wide web!!! (end of horrendous pop culture humor)

First - Sign MoveOn's petition
Then, check out famous bloggers - actress Alyssa Milano blogs on Internet freedom
Make friends with MoveOn's coalition MySpace profile – including a video explaining this issue
And lastly, find out where your representative stands on the issue


Here are some other good articles on the matter, though perhaps not as amusing as the Onion:
"Net Losses," New Yorker
"Why You Should Care About Net Neutrality," Slate - Prof. Tim Wu Guest Column
"Gun Owners, Librarians Unite Against Bells,"Telephony Online
"New Group Aims to ‘Save the Internet’" CNet News
"Average Joe And Saving The Internet," Webpronews.com
"Panel Vote Shows Rift Over 'Net Neutrality'" Los Angeles Times

The Ugliest Dog in the World

There once was a dog.. so ugly he frightened little children and some grown adults, (such as myself). I hadn't known about this dog until my friend Melissa sent me his picture. Apparently he was in the news before and after he died. As a Chinese Crested he was primarily hairless but maintained a little tuft of hair on his head to keep his look as vengeful alien intact. He died last November at the ripe old age of 14 having secured three consecutive wins as the World's Ugliest Dog. Way to go Sam!

And now a moment of silence for the ugliest dog in the world...

A night with Madlenka

In a typical Mike and Dacia uber-goober moment I had a nice little interlude with the former Secretary of State. No, Colin and I didn't have our midnight rendezvous; rather his predecessor and I shared an intimate moment of mistaken identities.

Last night the Tattered Cover Bookstore hosted this rofessor/diplomat/author/all around amazing woman for a book signing of her recent foray into publishing - The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs.

It was Mike who last time Madeleine was in town, so graciously waited in the line to have our copies of her memoirs, Madam Secretary, signed. Now it all came down to me.

Having gotten there fairly early I was happy to find I was only the 15th in line to meet and greet this renowned heroine of modern politics. Before the presentation began each person got a ticket with their number in line and had the choice of personalizing their signature with a name. Since I had two books I asked for Dacia and Michael. The organizer lady dutifully wrote the names down on a sticky note and put it on the inside of one of the books. Then we sat and waited, Madeleine came out and after a bit of a speech and some lively Q&A (Questions & Answers this time), we all excitedly queued (yes, you heard me right, queued) for the big moment.

So all was going well until the moment I reached the signing desk. She asked how I was, I responded with the usual “Fine, thanks. How are you?” and then suddenly felt emboldened! I managed to sputter out, like in some horrific scene of a teenage girl getting a hold of her boy band idol, “Mike and I are DU alumni and we owe so much to you and your father!”

Mad: “He loved that place.”
Dac: “We love it too. We’d like to go back and teach there someday.”

Just when it was starting to get good in the conversation and I could feel an invitation to join her on her next assignment, I realized that she’d signed the one book with the sticky note “To Dacia and Michael, Madeleine Albright”.

Ahhhhhh! No, wait, not right! I was then determined that to save much unnecessary embarrassment I’d keep the doubly dedicated book and have her sign the other one just to Michael, since I know he’s not much one for sharing. But before I could slyly pull off that task the organizer lady realized the mistake and was already handing Madeleine a new copy to sign just my name! Now there were not one or two, but three copies that she’d signed for me, (although I only walked out with two). Having completed my task of getting signatures, more than expected, and feeling much too chatty for my own good I resolutely walked out of there on a cloud of excitement and giddiness with a hefty helping of embarrassment on the side.

Walking as fast as I could without drawing too much attention to myself I made it to my car and immediately dialed Mike’s number. The second after I finished leaving a message and hung up the phone the parking inspectors came down right behind me and I managed to slip away ticket free!

In retrospect (I’ve now had many hours to digest the event, and after an exhaustive philosophical discussion with Darren quite calmed from the excitement) I realize it wasn’t all that big a deal. However, as Mrs. Sparks can attest when she met Bill Clinton at a similar signing, the prospect of meeting a figure only known from a distance can be overwhelming and in some cases freeze a person completely. Had I been so lucky!

And now to end, I will finish with a bit of my own Q&A, Humanities style:

"Ours is a country of abundant resources, momentous accomplishments, and unique capabilities. We have a responsibility to lead, but as we fulfill that obligation we should bear in mind the distinction pointed out by John Adams. Liberty, at least in the sense of free will, is God's gift, not ours; it is also morally neutral. It may be used for any purpose, whether good or ill. Democracy, by contrast, is a human creation; its purpose is to see that liberty is directed into channels that respect the rights of all. As the world’s most powerful democracy, America should help others who desire help to establish and strengthen free institutions. But, in so doing, we should remember that promoting democracy is a policy, not a mission, and policies must be tested on the hard ground of diplomacy, practical politics, and respect for international norms. Our cause will not be helped if we are so sure of our rightness that we forget our propensity, as humans, to make mistakes. Though America may be exceptional, we cannot demand that exceptions be made for us. We are not above the law; nor do we have a national mission to spread Christianity. We have, in short, the right to ask—but never to insist or blithely assume—that God bless America.”*


*Quote read by Madeleine from The Mighty and the Almighty, pg. 32.