Too quiet for too long

It has been a beautiful and relaxing weekend, well except for a fender bender that we got in last night. There was some event at the Lied Center that was getting out when we were driving down Iowa St. last night. We driving south and came to a stop at the Armory. We had been sitting there for quite some time when we got rear-ended, which of course pushed us into the car in front of us. It was a relatively minor impact, and the people in front of us didn't even bother to check for damage. They squealed away. We're assuming they were drunk. As it turns out, the lady that hit us was drunk and got arrested. We're all okay, but our bumper is really scratched up. The good news is that there is no damage to the front of the car. No matter, if she had insurance, she can pay for it. If not, it's staying that way. On Friday night, my mom came down to visit and we went to Wa, which is a Japanese restaurant. They are arguably the best Japanese restaurant in Kansas, and the greater Kansas City area. Their Ebi tempura rolls, wasabi fish egg rolls, and Nabeyaki udon are to die for. Best of all, the prices are reasonable and the atmosphere is lovely. It's hard to beat that.

Despite that, it was a good weekend, which worries me. Things have been peaceful and quiet for far too long. When I got to thinking about it, nothing really bad has happened for a long time and I figure we are due. Whenever things go well for too long in my immediate family it seems like something horrible happens. With a young child, a brother who is a storm chaser and one who is in Iraq, something is bound to go wrong. It makes me really nervous. Oh well, maybe I'm just imagining it. It's like my therapist says, if you wait long enough, something bad will happen, and if you wait long enough, something good will happen. There's no religious or cosmic basis to it, it is just the course of life.

Junk Food Enabling

Grrrr... I am in such a mood. I just got back from Walmart, which is probably part of the problem. We needed to get groceries for the week and at this point, Walmart is the cheapest grocery store in town (except for communist Aldy's which doesn't have a very good selection). Well, at least until Walmart eliminates all of the competition, and then jacks up its prices. Every trip to Walmart is like a lesson in health and nutrition. I see more morbidly obese people riding around on motorized scooters than any other grocery store that I have ever been to. Inevitably, I see these people in the junk aisles, not the fruit and vegetable aisles, and stereotypically they are filling up the baskets on their motorized carts with things like Cocoa puffs, Doritos, Pepsi, snack foods of all varieties, and tons of processed foods. Also, let me clarify, when I say morbidly obese, I don't mean, "I'm middle aged, have three kids and/or a busy career and life, and I don't have time to properly take care of myself." I am just as guilty of letting myself go and gaining weight since I've had Noah. In this society, I think it would be more surprising if people didn't gain weight. I'm talking about obesity to the point that stomach-stapling surgery would be less risky than to stay that obese (and approximately 1 in 10 people die from complications of gastric bypass surgery). There are more and more of these people and they are becoming younger. It used to be old ladies in mumus. Now, I have seen children as young as two or three with beer bellies. Of course, their parents are seriously overweight too.

As we shopped, I observed several things. When we are in the fruit and vegetable aisle, there are probably 5 "foreign-looking" people to 1 "American-looking" person. It is almost as if Americans avoid the fruit and vegetable aisles like the plague. The cookie and pop aisles rarely had any foreign-looking people in them, yet they are congested with people who appear to be Americans. Is this a coincidence? Even if the foreign-looking people were born in America, what is it about their cultural background that causes such a difference in grocery shopping preferences?

My next observation was that junk food in all forms is significantly cheaper than healthful food. As far as I know, this is common knowledge. However, why is this usually the case? If it is organic, I understand the logistics as to why it is expensive. Yet, take for example, all-natural non-organic peanut butter. All they do is grind it into peanut butter and place it in a jar. No preservatives or chemicals, just peanuts. Shouldn't the chemicals add costs to production? Apparently not, because regular peanut butter costs $1.99 whereas the "natural" peanut butter with less work and no additives was almost $5.00 per jar. What's up with that? It doesn't make any sense. What is the motivation for buying non-processed or less processed food if you can buy a more familiar, chemically-enhanced brand for $3.00 less. If you are on a tight budget, there is really no room for comparison.

In addition to the fact that junk food is so much cheaper than healthy food, I notice that Walmart almost always has more sales on rubbish food than health food. I wonder if, in general, Walmart prices their junk food artificially low to attract consumers who make bad food choices, knowing that they will keep coming back to Walmart to get their junk food fix. After all, junk food is not as filling and you need more of it to feel full. Therefore, even though it is cheaper than healthy food, people would be more inclined to buy more of it, and in turn, keep coming back for more, thus spending more money than if the food they ate was healthy.

Despite all of the dangers of obesity, I don't think it is in the interest of businesses such as Walmart to encourage people to eat healthy. As long as people are enticed to eat junk, and healthy food remains more expensive, we are bound to remain an overweight society. I guess the most that we can hope for is that we aren't all wearing mumus and riding around Walmart on motorized carts.

Darin's tornado footage and interview with CNN

My brother Darin's footage of the Greensburg tornado can be found at tornadolive.com. It has video of the Greensburg tornado forming and when they first arrived in Greensburg after the tornado went through. This is his storm-chasing website. It has received an incredible 1,055,509 hits. His videos can also be found on YouTube. Just for your interest here is the transcript of his interview with CNN on Saturday morning.

CNN SATURDAY MORNING NEWS

Tornado Devastates Kansas Town; Severe Weather in the Midwest; Kenya Airways Plane Crashes

Aired May 5, 2007 - 09:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CO-ANCHOR, CNN SATURDAY MORNING: Well, good morning everybody. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I am Betty Nguyen. This is Cinco de Mayo, the fifth of May. It's been a stormy day for a lot of folks.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR, CNN SATURDAY MORNING: It has, a rough day, a rough start to this morning for some folks after a rough night. Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. So glad you could be here with us to start your day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)


NGUYEN: All right, thank you for that Reynolds.

WOLF: You bet.

NGUYEN: Want to toss now, or at least take you to Darin Brunin. I understand he's in Wichita, Kansas. Darin you were there as a storm blew through. What did you see?

VOICE OF DARIN BRUNIN, STORM CHASER: We were actually following the large tornado up Highway 183 south of Greensburg. And it appeared to be a very large tornado when we saw it.

NGUYEN: We've been looking at pictures of it. It looks like a wedge-shaped tornado. When you say "very large," the word that we're getting is somewhere from a half mile to a mile wide. Is that what you saw?

BRUNIN: We're definitely thinking a mile wide. When it hit Greensburg, we were probably three to four miles south of it, and it was just, it was huge. And you could tell it really meant business.

NGUYEN: Yeah, it did, especially looking at the damage that it caused. As you were heading into the path of this storm, a lot of people were obviously getting word that it was coming into their neighborhoods. What was the warning like? Did you hear lots of warnings on the radio as you were headed toward the storm?

BRUNIN: Well, being a storm chaser, we did have live radar with us. Chasing at night it really helps. We knew there were warnings, and we actually talked to some residents in the community, and they said that they had plenty of warning, from what we could tell, at least 20 minutes.

NGUYEN: Was this a slow-moving storm? It caused so much damage. We're just trying to understand how big, how massive and how quickly it moved through the area.

BRUNIN: Yeah, it was definitely a slow-moving storm. I mean, you have a big tornado like that that moves slower, it can tend to do a lot more damage because it's over an area for a longer amount of time.

NGUYEN: But how long was it over the town of Greensburg?

BRUNIN: I couldn't answer that. I mean, I would say, you know, a minute or two. You know, it was moving slow, but, you know, it was still moving along at a decent pace. You can get storms that move a lot slower than that.

NGUYEN: So as you watch this and you're headed to where this tornado is moving into, that being the town of Greensburg, when you got there, what did you see?

BRUNIN: Well, actually, before we got to Greensburg, probably five miles south where the tornado had crossed, right on Highway 183, we actually ran into a resident who was waving his arms at us. We actually picked him up and took him to some of his family so he could get in contact with them. But as we approached Greensburg, we arrived before most of the emergency responders. And it was really a scene of shock, you know, disbelief. You know, there were people walking on the highway just in shock, you know, not even knowing really what had happened, you know. It was injuries and dogs limping around. Before we got to Greensburg there were a herd of cows on the highway that was severely injured. So it wasn't a pleasant sight to see at all. It was very horrible.

NGUYEN: I can only imagine. We spoke with a storm chaser a little bit earlier, and he was saying that, essentially what you're saying, people were just walking down the street like something out of a horror flick. He kind of related it to like a zombie movie. People really didn't know what had happened. All they knew was that parts of their home and their town was just picked up and destroyed, leaving them injured.

So you talked about the people. Well, what about the buildings? What about the downtown area and the communities? What did you see in the wake of any kind of damage there?

BRUNIN: It seemed like the western part of town was hit a little bit harder than the eastern part. Still some houses standing, or more houses standing, I should say, in the eastern part of town, but in the western part of town, it was just, I don't even know how to describe it. It was just --

NGUYEN: Was it leveled? Did you see anything standing?

There was still structures standing, but we did run across homes that were completely leveled and some clean foundations, which would hint at a very violent tornado.

NGUYEN: Mm-hmm, yeah, especially with such a large wedge tornado that blew through there, and you saying fairly slowly, as in the case that some tornadoes will move by, and it caused so much destruction and the fact that they've just been on the ground for so long, even though a minute or so doesn't seem like a lot, when you're talk being really forceful winds that can do the damage that we're seeing right there. Darin Brunin, a storm chaser joining us live by phone from Wichita, Kansas, thanks so much for your information.

T.J., as we are looking at this video here of some new daylight video coming into CNN, you can see just the bricks on the ground, you can see parts of buildings that have just simply collapsed. Don't know exactly which building this is in particular, but we do know that 80 percent of the hospital there in town was damaged. One portion of it, in fact, collapsed, and there were patients inside at the time.

HOLMES: And the crazy number we just heard a minute ago, we've been talking, 75 percent of the town is what emergency officials are saying. But someone from the Red Cross we just talked to a short time ago said they're hearing maybe 90 percent of this town may have been touched in some way, damaged or destroyed by this tornado. So either way, 75, 80, 90, heck --

NGUYEN: It's a high number.

HOLMES: Fifty percent, whatever it is, it's unbelievable for this small town. We are keeping an eye on this story with those folks in Kansas, who went through a nightmare last night and waking up on that nightmare today.

NGUYEN: Still this morning.

HOLMES: Just devastated by that tornado. That story continues to develop at this hour and we will continue to bring you the latest. .

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We're continuing to keep an eye on the situation in Greensburg, Kansas, where the word is that at least one person has been killed and dozens more, up to 60, at least, have been injured after a massive tornado tore through the town of Greensburg, a town of about 1400 to 1600 people. We're continuing to get some of the first daylight pictures, pictures continuing to come into us of the devastation there. Estimates from the Emergency Management and American Red Cross is that 75 to 90 percent of the town has been touched.

This is the high school, we're being told, that we were just looking at there, a high school that has been heavily damaged, at least. But some of the daylight pictures giving us a whole new perspective of what they went through last night. Again, several injured, several possibly still trapped under buildings that have collapsed, and including the hospital that is there that we were told earlier is pretty much destroyed.

We do want to hear now -- we just showed you a picture of that high school. We do have sound now from a student that we want to take a listen to that we just got into the CNN newsroom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have no basement, so my mom stayed with our next-door neighbors in their basement, and we had no idea until like 3:00 in the morning last night when she finally called, so we were worried.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We came to help clean up, but we don't even know where to start, so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And that is pretty telling. That last word we heard from that student came to clean up, and look around, and it just seems hopeless in some of those situations, impossible to really clean up when there's such devastation and such damage. We are keeping an eye on this story all morning. Make sure you stay here with us for it.

More flood pictures

People never fail to amaze me...

People are crazy, there's no doubt about that. However, when people become parents, particularly mothers, usually even seemingly the dumbest person usually develops an animal instinct for protecting their children. Case in point today. Over the weekend and last night, we have had massive amounts of rainfall and the Kansas River here in L-town is raging. I am terrified of flood waters, in fact, I even have dreams that I am caught in the middle of a patch of land surrounded by the type of flood waters that were flowing over the dam today. So when Erik thought it would be fun to go and look at the river water flowing over the dam in north Lawrence today, I thought it would be neat to see, and reluctantly agreed to go along. Obviously, we had Noah with us and so we strapped him very tightly into his stroller. We walked along the levee trail and ventured down a little closer to the water. We were still at a very safe distance. I noticed a sheriff's deputy walking about the levee trail. I remarked, "Surely, no one would be stupid enough to get close to the water." It was so absurd that we put it out of our minds. In the spirit of Frank and Erica (hi Erica!) I took quite a few pictures. Noah was getting restless and trying to get out of his stroller so we decided to leave. It was just too scary to think about. As we began to walk up the hill, we saw a young mother walking with her daughter who was maybe three, and holding a baby who couldn't have been more than five months old. The mother said, "C'mon, honey, let's go stand in the water." We turned around and stared. "No, she wouldn't," I told Erik. Lo and behold, the mom, the baby, and the little girl went and stood in the water and nearly got knocked over by a surge in the water. I was so awestruck and angry, I just stood there. I couldn't even say anything. This woman was risking not only her life, but the lives of her children. Two feet out, there is a steep drop-off. If they would have slipped, the current would have dragged them to the bottom of the river.

I don't pretend to be the perfect mother and I've done my share of stupid things, but for God's sake, why in the hell would you stand in a flooded river with two young children??? If she has a death wish, go ahead, but at least leave the kids on the shore so they don't have to suffer for her stupidity. Once again, my faith in humanity has flown completely out of the window, or at least down the river.

More pictures later. They don't want to upload right now...

The rest of the rat pup photos

It has taken me way too long to post the rest of these pictures, but alas I am doing it. Between law school application stuff, rat pups, having a two-year old, a husband in school, online volunteer work, and my full-time job, it seems like I have had no time to sit down and update this blog. Oh well, I'm doing it now. Here are the photos of my rat pups that are almost fully grown at this point. They are so cute, but the girls are quite the escape artists. Only one has found a home so for now I'm the crazy rat lady. Oh well, being called a crazy rat lady is better than feeding the poor things to snakes.

2 of my 12 rat pups - 1 wk old

Big Rat News

I bought a female companion for my other female rat about three weeks ago. They had been getting along very well until this past week when the new rat became very aggressive. Our friends Becca and Daniel were over on Saturday and I was showing them Mr. Willingham and the girls. Loren bit me for no reason, really bad, which is extremely unusual for a rat. Last night, she attacked again. I picked her up to inspect her and realized that she was extremely pregnant! It virtually happened over night. Apparently she was pregnant when I bought her at the pet store (which is a good lesson on why you should not buy female feeder rats I guess). She gave birth today and she has a lot of pups. However, I don't know how many because every time I try to look she lunges at me and I don't want to press the issue. I'm a rat mom! It was funny because I told Erik last night and he was like, "Oh my God, what are we going to do?" I said, "It's the rat that's pregnant, not me." After that, he was okay. I don't know how I am going to find homes for them, but I have to admit that I am excited. There is an incredible energy of new life in the house, and I have six weeks to enjoy it!

Finally, Spring, and the new Harry Potter trailer!

I think spring has finally arrived! Tonight as we were driving in the country, I actually heard frogs, the first true sign of spring. Yesterday, I did some gardening and was pleasantly surprised to see that my Jacob's Ladder, chives, and other plants were green and happily growing. From myown physical point of view, I can tell because I finally have more energy. Even though I am known for my intense dislike of the sun, I have to admit that when the sun comes out and the temperature warms up, my energy level increases about 10-fold. I clean, organize, and finish projects that I haven't touched all winter. Yeah! Finally, finally, finally!

Oh, on a summertime note, as most everyone knows, the 5th Harry Potter movie, "The Order of the Phoenix, is coming out, as well as the 7th book. I inadvertently found a link to the trailer for the film and it looks really good! The people who have seen the rudimentary screening of the movie are giving it rave reviews, which means a lot because loyal Harry Potter fans are notoriously critical of the film versions of the books because they usually lose so much! Here is the web address to the the trailer. (Sorry I tried to hyperlink it, but to no avail.) Enjoy!

http://www.trailerdownload.net/remote/2239

LSAT Stages of Grief

I finally got my LSAT Score. It certainly took them long enough. My score was decent, but I think I will take it again so that I have a better chance at scholarships. I don't know. The next time I can take it is in June so I think I will decide closer to then. In the meantime, there was a really funny posting on one of the law school forums that I have been reading. The backstory is that for the first time ever, there may have been two different experimental sections on the LSAT. Everyone was going crazy. Kaplan said that the experimental section was definitely Section 1(and according to them, they are never wrong). However, many people, including myself, were absolutely sure that it was Section 3. We all hoped that it was Section 1 because it was very difficult, but we knew that it was Section 3 because it was so easy. As it turns out, depending on the version of the test any given person had, it could have been Logic Games or Logical Reasoning.
Here is that posting by dansmeek at Top Law School Forum.

LSAT Stages of Grief:

i think i've entered into step 5 of my 'realization that my experimental section is section 3 phase'.

i went thru the first phase (denial) rather quickly -- well partly because i've been preparing in the back of my mind that the harder sectino had to be the experimental.

then i progressed to anger 'god damnit stupids tls posters, just tell me its section one and be done' and moreso towards the lsac 'how dare they make more than one experimental, it is my right as a human being to be entitled to a single cross sectional experimental sectino for the lsats, and i have been violated!'

next was my most difficult stage: bargaining. 'Just please, let me have it be section 1... you can change it to section 3 just a few days after the test, but when I get my test results, just tell me its section 1, please? I won't tell anyone, I promise'

i then went to workout where i progressed to depression 'i cant believe i did so bad on section 1. what am i doing. maybe i should forget this lawyer business and become a dentist, or a circle K attendant.'

And finally acceptance. Maybe I didn't do so bad on section 1. Just cuz I guessed on 2 questions isnt that big of a deal. I could have easily missed a ton more on section 3 for all I know. Maybe I actually did better on section 1 than I did section 3. I am ready. I don't want to struggle anymore


now please.... GIVE ME MY SCORE!!

Interview with the Vampire, I Mean Phlebotomist

I donated blood for the first time today. I have to say, it was not that bad. I'm really tired tonight, but it didn't hurt. It was part of the annual blood drive at work. The creepiest part was that the phlebotomists keep leering at my veins, prodding at them, telling me what great veins I had. Now, I'm not one to brag, but I do have plump, voluptuous veins. However, I felt like I was being circled by vampires. Nonetheless, I am really happy that I did it, and I will definitely donate blood in the future.

As for the question of how my LSAT went, I don't know. It definitely wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. Of course, it wasn't easy either, but it was manageable. I was able to complete the sections with a little bit of time left in each section (not in the Logic Games section though). I have a good idea of what section was experimental. However, the January 2007 LSAT was undisclosed so I'm not allowed to say which I think it was. I hope I don't have to take it again, but I suppose that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

I also have a MySpace account now which I am cross-linking with this site. I swore I would never do MySpace, but it will be the easiest way to communicate with Derek while he is in Iraq. He called me from Kuwait, which was pretty cool because no one has ever called me from Kuwait before. He is supposed to be in Iraq very soon. Oy.

Tomorrow's the Big Day

I have my LSAT tomorrow morning. Once again, I am in full panic mode. I keep going back and forth. I'm fine, then I'm very nervous. Tomorrow is the big day. Noah is spending the night away from us for the very first time so that I at least have a chance to sleep well. Everyone has been very supportive. I ask Erik to make me feel better and he always starts out with "I'm going to do well on the LSAT, because I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me." Then he tells me why he thinks I will do well. I've studied as much as I can, I'm prepared, and I know the format inside and out. If I don't do well, I will take it again. It's not like it's the end of my life. At least I'm not going to Iraq like Derek is. He goes back to North Carolina on Sunday and will deploy to Iraq in a couple of weeks. The LSAT is nothing compared to that. He has to survive using every sense he has, I have to fill in a bubble grid with a number two pencil. There's really no comparison. We have his going away dinner tomorrow night and that's it, we won't see him for 7 months (insh'allah). Oh well, I'll focus on one thing at a time. Wish me luck!

Wedding Anniversary Homemade Gift Ideas

Tomorrow is Erik and my 5th wedding anniversary(legal as opposed to Islamic). I have vowed to buy nothing new for an entire year. Admittedly, I can buy gifts for other people, but I would really like to make Erik a homemade gift, but I have no idea what. I could buy him Royals tickets, but that is so predictable because I have done that for about 4 different occasions. If anybody reading this has any ideas for great homemade gifts (besides food because I have plenty of ideas for that), please post them as soon as possible. I am going crazy. On the bright side, Erik hasn't mentioned our anniversary at all. I'm sort of hoping he forgot because that will give me longer to figure out the perfect gift. Ideas please!!!

State of the Union Point by Point

Warning: The following State of the Union response is dripping with sarcasm and indignation. It was done in real time, so it is not necessarily grammatically correct.

Also, there are 30 instances of clapping and/or standing ovations. That works about to be about one standing ovation and/or instance of clapping every 1.7 minutes in a 50 minute speech

8:00

I really hate politicians. Watching as Katie Couric called it, “the cocktail party atmosphere” it is clear that none of them have our best interests at heart.

A standing ovation? What the hell? All he has done is stand there and look stupid.

Aaah, Bush is a champion of womens’ rights. What a crock! I like Nancy Pelosi, but please don’t patronize us. Alright, let’s get on with it. Noah’s clapping, what kind of child am I raising? Time to sell him on the black market so he doesn’t turn into a little Republican. (Just kidding)

8:15 Wow, perfectly choreographed. Cheney looks like crap. This nation has prosperity? There aren’t any jobs. Oh Lord, here starts the clapping. He’s worried about our children’s futures, but won’t acknowledge global warming. I don’t care what he says, we don’t have a growing economy. Wages are rising, where, in India? More clapping, bullshit! Three economic reforms:

1) Balance the federal budget that he unbalanced, without taxes (more clapping and standing ovations, what the f---? Spending discipline, where is this man president. Within the next five years? Hey, don’t we have a war going on? I guess I’m a little confused.

2) No more earmarks. Who cares? More clapping, just kidding. Seriously, more clapping, because he wants to reduce the amount of earmarks by half.

3) Entitlements – Social security, Medicare, etc. Glad I have a 401K stewing because Bush wants to save social security. Public schools, I guess that’s why Bush went to private school. NCLB is a success apparently. How revolutionary! None of the school teachers or educators I know think that it is a success.

Noah was crying, but Bush must have declared himself dictator because he just got another standing ovation.

Two new healthcare initiatives:

1) Tax deduction for those with health insurance. An equal playing field for all Americans. How does he propose to fund this? There must be some sort of Republican junta that pledged to clap for everything. Small association health plans, better information technology, flexible spending accounts, price apparency, and of course, medical liability reform so the physician isn’t penalized when he accidently removes your liver because he thought it was your heart.

2) Immigration – Oh here we go. Temporary worker program. Suddenly the Republicans aren’t applauding. Verifying workers at construction sites, goodbye industry. John McCain looks like someone just punched him in the eye. No amnesty, now no one is happy. Why the hell is Nancy Pelosi standing up? There’s old “Botched Joke” Kerry.

We (dddissruptions) are held hostage by hostile regimes (like the Saudi family that he is such good friends with?) Renewable energy and newquler (sic) energy.

8:30 Once again, perfectly synchronized. We are going to reduce gasoline usage in the U.S. by 20 % in the next ten years. Perhaps someone should tell the military since they are the world’s large consumer of petroleum. Doubling the capacity of the SPR. More clapping… Where does he propose to turn Alaska into a gigantic refinery.

Here’s the part, where he tells the Congress that they better approve all of his judicial nominees or he will kill them. Some booing. How annoying. Every time they mention national security they show Michael Chertoff. Why is Nancy Pelosi standing up again? Don’t stand up you pathetic wench! Once again he is attempting to link Iraq to 9/11, but at the same time, saying there is no link. Another standing ovation, for God’s sake. Stupid look and fake accent. How in God’s name is this man our president?

Alright, “Demonizing Muslims time” Muslims are pure evil that want to impose their will on everyone. Iran bashing time, let’s kick their ass. Hizballah eh? That worked out well for Israel this summer didn’t it? Once again, no delineation between Islamists and regular Muslims. Going to the grocery store should be fun tomorrow. If these people don’t agree with Bush, why are they clapping. “Arrrgh! I say, for the sake of our own security, we must convert all Muslims to Christianity I can’t believe that he is using Afghanistan and Lebanon as examples of democracy. More clapping.

Are we antagozing Iran and Syria now?

Iraq War section 8:45

“We can still shape the outcome of battle and achieve victory.” Another standing ovation. Re-enforcements will be promoted here. The Iraqis are not yet ready. If not now, when, I wonder. Another 4,000 Marines to al-Anbar province, more clapping. Probably because their brothers aren’t going to al-Anbar province. I wonder if he realizes that al-Anbar isn’t the province that Baghdad is in? Securing Baghdad is top priority. If the U.S. pulls out, the government of Iraq will collapse. Epic battle between Shias and Sunnis across the Middle East. More clapping and of course, a standing ovation. Claire McCaskill, sit your blonde butt down and Bush quit smiling. This is not a smiling matter. It is our lives, not yours, ordinary Americans someone you are painfully out of touch with. More clapping and standing ovations. In short, we are never leaving Iraq. Ever. If you don’t support Bush, you don’t support our troops. More clapping, small standing ovation, more clapping, big standing ovation. Nancy Pelosi, you are driving me towards libertarianism. Respectful yes, pushover no. The United States is using the U.N. more clapping, standing ovation, Condoleeza Rice just rolled her eyes, what’s that about? The UN we blatantly ignored when we went to war in Iraq. Now, Israel, North Korea, Belarus, Burma, and Cuba, Darfur, another standing ovation, clapping. Holy crap, we’re declaring war on a lot of countries. “To much is given, much is required?” Now we’re declaring war on HIV AIDS Africans. He won’t provide condoms but he has saved 50,000 lives. Expanded debt relief more clapping. Oh wait, not for student loans, for other countries. Now he is talking about a Houston Rockets player. Another standing ovation. Wow, Dikembe is tall. He could probably stomp some political ass. Wow, the Baby Einstein lady. The great enterprising spirit. Bush More clapping standing ovation. Wesley Autrey, a true hero. I bet he didn’t really say the thing about freedom. Nobody even acknowledged the black man in the gallery till now. SO and clapping. Army guy, Rehman silver star winner, clapping for himself, seems odd. SO and, you guessed it, more clapping. Correction, we are an honorable country, he is not an honorable leader. The final standing ovation and clapping.

The Perfect Turkey Salad

We roasted a turkey last Friday. I brined it for 48-hours before I baked it and it turned out so perfect and moist. Of course, you can only eat so much plain roast turkey. Therefore, I have created the perfect gourmet turkey salad recipe for turkey leftovers. The ingredients are all approximate and I used the best possible ingredients available.

7 c leftover roast turkey, chopped in a food processor
2 c mayonnaise (best quality available)
1 tb whole grain mustard
1 tb lemon juice
1/2 c dried cranberries (apple-juice sweetened)
1/2 c roasted sliced almonds
4 tb celery (finely chopped)
4 tb green onion
salt and pepper to taste

Mix together. We buy rosemary italian round bread from the local bakery. However, I realize that not everyone has that option. Therefore, any good bread such as a fresh baguette will do.

Anyways, in other news, for the record, I cannot wait for the LSAT to be over. I am really tired of it. It is never easy to study for the LSAT, but with a sinus infection it is even worse. I think I'll watch Family Guy instead of studying for the rest of the night. Of course, when I get my disastrous results, I'll be thinking, "Geez, I wish I had studied for the LSAT instead of watching Family Guy." I'm rambling. After two pointless posts in a row, maybe my next post will be worth reading. On the other hand, I did include a really great turkey salad recipe so maybe all is not lost. If anyone tries this, please let me know. I think it is good, but feedback would be appreciated.

Happy New Year!

Hi there! It has been way too long since I have updated this blog. I have so many people I need to e-mail and call and just haven't done it (if anyone of those people are reading this, I apologize). Between a sinus infection, the holidays, studying for the LSAT, having oral surgery for my orthodontic work, and Noah having an ear infection, I have barely had time to think, let alone write. However, one of my resolutions for the new year is to update my blog at least once a week, and I will do it, even if they are short posts. Derek leaves for Iraq in about a month, and I take the LSAT in a month, and Noah has a birthday, you guessed it, in a month. I will post more tomorrow...

My personal statement of hijab

I think I need a break to sit back and re-evaluate why I cover my hair and what it means to my Islamic identity. I think I did it too fast. I wanted acceptance by my fellow Muslims and by wearing hijab, you gain that acceptance. As an American, you face a lot of skepticism when you become Muslim. When I started covering my hair, I gained acceptance from the Muslim community. As of late, I have decided that wearing the scarf for this reason is unacceptable. The hijab is supposed to be a symbol of modesty and a mark that you are Muslim. You wear it because you want to, not because someone else wants you to. That is the freedom of hijab. You make the conscious choice to wear it, particularly when you are not raised in that tradition. Therefore, I don't think that I have been wearing hijab for the proper reasons. I find myself wanting to wear it when I hear that Muslims have been oppressed, or when countries such as France try to ban it. However, when you wear hijab, you can't be a fair weather fan, so to speak. When you make the decision to wear it, you wear it all the time (well, except when you are at home, which is a common misconception). Likewise, if you make the decision to not wear it, with the exception of prayer, it doesn't make a lot of sense to switch back and forth. Professionally speaking, I don't think the scarf is doing me a lot of favors. I think there are too many subconscious insinuations that come with the scarf. It's not an intentional act, but I think it is engrained in the subconscious of most Americans. I think I am more confident without it because I know people are looking at me, for me, not my scarf. Now, in Islamic countries, this would be quite the opposite case. However, the point of hijab is to blend in and not draw attention to yourself. In the United States and Western world, you do draw attention to yourself, something that I am not comfortable with. Hijab and the decision to wear the scarf is a very personal decision and no one else should dictate it for you. Muslim women everywhere have the absolute right to decide if hijab and even niqab are right for them, and no one has the right to tell them that they have to or cannot wear them. This is my choice and no one can tell me otherwise. Now, let's see how accepted I am, how supportive the Muslim community is, and how many rights Islam affords women. I should say, just because Islam does, doesn't necessarily mean that the Muslim community will. Just another chapter in my mid-twenty something jihad, I suppose.

Election Update

After the shock of last Tuesday, I am finally ready to sit down and gloat. I think I have been in a state of disbelief. I honestly didn't think that the Democrats would take control of the House and the Senate. I thought it would be one or the other. Even the Kansas results were pretty remarkable. They are as follows:

Paul Morrison (D) defeated Phill Kline for Attorney General
Kathleen Sebelius(D) defeated Jim Barnett for Governor
Nancy Boyda(D) defeated Jim Ryun for the 2nd congressional district rep.

In Missouri:

The stem cell initiative passed, despite the fact that it was losing when I went to bed. Yay!
Similarly, Claire McCaskill defeated Jim Talent. If you'll note in my last post, I had Jim Talent winning when I went to bed, but she came from behind and won!

Of course, there were others, but these were the big ones that I was concerned about. Now, that the Democrats will be taking control in January, I hope that they do not squander this fabulous opportunity and get bogged down in partisan squabbling and Republican blackmail. I think that this election was a call by voters for moderation. Voters don't want the rightwing or the leftwing, they want moderate, common-sense solutions to very serious problems facing this country. People are tired of the extreme divisions. I have always been more left leaning, but anymore, I just want moderation, and I think that is a sentiment that is mirrored by a great many Americans. If Democrats screw up, they will face the consequences in the 2008 presidential election, and I don't think this country will survive another Republican like Bush.

Viva la democratie!

After a long Ramadan hiatus, I'm back. Eid Mubarak to my fellow Muslims. I haven't written since the first day of Ramadan. Actually, it has been a Ramadan/Harry Potter book/photo album hiatus. I have been assembling my Egypt photo album, finishing the book I wrote for Noah, fasting, and I started reading the Harry Potter series (which I love, by the way). I'm finally reading them. Finally, with election returns coming in, I had to sit down and offer my opinion. I am so nervous that I have butterflies in my stomach. I have e-mailed friends that I haven't e-mailed in ages, I have went grocery shopping, and we took a walk down Mass St. Anything to keep our minds off the election. So far, as of 9:50 pm:

In the 2nd congressional district (which Jim Ryun helped to gerrymander so badly that I don't get to vote in it anymore) Nancy Boyda is maintaining a small but commanding lead. Oh, I desperately want Jim Ryun to lose. However, as long as Phill Kline loses to Paul Morrison in the AG race, I will be be happy.

As of 9:52, Paul Morrison leads Phill Kline 60% to 40%.

The other Kansas races were obviously important, but they aren't near as close as these. However, in Missouri, which matters to me because I have been tortured with the political ads on the Kansas City stations, Jim Talent is beating Claire McCaskill. I despise Jim Talent too. What a jerk! Something about the name Jim and being in Congress. His political ads are shameless.

At the national level, I am thrilled that Rick Santorum has lost. (In your face, you a-hole zealot). I haven't updated the other results at this point. To be honest, I don't know if the Democrats will pick up the majority. It would be a good message to the current leadership that they need to pull their heads out of their asses. However, the Democrats don't really have any solutions to the problems that the Republicans have created so I figure if they don't gain the majority, they will be in a better position in the 2008 presidential election. If it weren't for the fact that my brother is a Marine and going to Iraq in February, I would say, let the Republicans stew in their own juices. However, there are hundreds of thousands of lives at stake so policy shouldn't be made out of spite. We'll see...

Ramadan Mubarak!

Ramadan Mubarak! To our surprise, Ramadan started last night. This is my first Ramadan in two years due to being pregnant and then nursing. It's going to be a tough one, but I think I can do it. Erik and I woke up this morning at 5:30 to eat suhur, or prefasting breakfast. He scavenged something and drank about a half gallon of water. I had no appetite, but I ate a banana and had green tea and water with an "Airborne" tablet in it. I am trying to ward off a cold, but I don't know if it will work. It's worth a shot though. We prayed fajr and went back to bed. Now I am trying to make sure that I have plenty to do today, even though Noah usually takes care of that. It will be interesting to see how it goes. I've never fasted this late in the evening and the time change has always overlapped. Not this year, and I'll also be fasting on my birthday, which I've never done before. I'll keep everyone updated.

Congratulations to my brother Lance Corporal Derek Brunin who was meritoriously promoted for being first in his LVS/Motor Transport class! He was so proud. We are all very proud of him. He is sending me his plaque for safe keeping so I will actually get to see it. Yeah, finally some really good news, for once.