Things I'm Really Digging Right Now

1. Ban.do. I know, I know, very reminiscent of Kenley from PR season 5... but seriously, I think they're great. I'm thinking I could make a pretty good replica too.

2. My space heater. That thing has been with me for 8 or so years, and is probably my favorite material possession right now. When I'm away for the day, all I can think about is going back home and curling up with it.

3. Gustav Klimt.
I just bought a set of 12 of his prints at work on sale and with my discount... 6 bucks. I've been in love with his work since high school, and I had the honor of seeing this one in person in Vienna last year.

4. Rat tails on little boys. You heard (read) me. I saw a friend's 3 year old son with one this week and almost ate his face off.

5. Cascadian Farms All Natural Chocolate Chip Granola Bars. These things are the best granola bars I've ever had. They have a huge amount of honey in them and I eat like 3 a day.

Something else I wanted to mention is that I'm trying to drink more water. Sometimes, when I'm brushing my teeth at night, I'll realize that the only other time I drank anything that day was when I brushed my teeth that morning. So I thought maybe if I wrote it down I would make a larger effort.

Isaiah

i saw my first live birth in sudan this summer. it was intense. the woman was pushing, even though her water hadn't broken yet. guess where i was standing as she was pushing? yep, right between her legs. thankfully one of the nurses gave me a good shove right as the water broke- spraying about 3 feet forward in the exact location i had just been in. whew- glad i missed that one.

anyways, i've been thinking a lot about that birth lately. i later had the pleasure of naming the child (isaiah), who's mother made barely a sound when she delivered. only occasional "oooh loo-loo", in just above a whisper. this is just one many many instances which proves that african women are a hell of a lot tougher than most american women can dream to be. including myself. in fact, the only time the mother showed any sign of great pain was the day after the birth, when murielle had to sew her lady parts back together. she was squeezing my arm so tight during that procedure that my arm literally went numb and then i thought i was going to pass out. i think the squeezing was justified.

did i mention the absence of any anesthetic throughout the entire procedure? including the lady parts part? yeah.

that wasn't the only time i thought i would pass out in that hospital. in fact, before any of the action had even begun in isaiah's birth, i was imagining what was about to happen as murielle described it to me, and i had to leave the room and put my head between my knees. case in point.

Laugh With Me

I saw this a few months ago on a blog that I follow. Not only is this video hilarious, but it brings to light a few great points about birth control. Disclaimer- might make boys uncomfortable.

False Alarm

So you know that really mean guy who stole one of my photos? Well, I remembered today that I submitted some photos for the FULAA newsletter (the organization sponsoring my Sudanese babies), and it turns out that the dude who allegedly stole my photo is like the president of the organization... and the Facebook application is actually to raise money for Cornerstone (the orphanage)... Mystery solved.

I stumbled upon this fundraiser application thing on Facebook the other day (and really? am I really writing about Facebook on my blog? I'll try not to make a habit of it...) only to discover that the host was using one of my photos to advertise. At first I was a little surprised. Then I got kinda territorial. It was one of my favorites from Sudan. Then I realized that I haven't ever actually posted any pictures from Sudan, except for a few weeks ago on this here blog, and it wasn't the same photo anyways. So I'm a little confused. How did this person get my photo? The only place it has ever existed is on my camera and on my computer. I can't decide if I'm upset that he would use one of my copyrighted photos without asking, or if I feel violated in some weird computer way. Or maybe I just don't know how this whole computer/internet thing works and maybe I'm making a bigger deal out of this than need be. Lend me your thoughts.

I'm living in the darkroom. I would say that I'll post some photos soon... but now I'm all paranoid. In other news, I know that Drew needs to get his own place, but having him live at my house temporarily was so fun and convenient. Selfishly, I'll be sad to help him move out next week. Also, I'm experiencing a renewed appreciation for my city of Columbus. Working in a gallery downtown has been really insightful not only to the industry, but also to the art community of Columbus. I'm not saying that I don't still dream of being in Denver again (more on this later- plans to come), but for now Columbus is a really good place for me to be.

"I wish we could have a cessation in the use of the word Africa for just 18 months while America learns that Africa is a continent; that just in sub-Saharan Africa has 48 separate countries, and that it's not just the geography, it's the politics, the culture, the language, everything is different, and that yes, there's been bad news in Darfur, yes, there's been bad news out of Zimbabwe, but you have country after country after country with very high growth rates and remarkable progress. I mean, Rwanda, genocide in '94, 10 percent of the country dies in 90 days. Four years later, their per capita income still well under $300 a year, 10 years later, $1,000 a year. Nearly quadrupled their per capita income. That's the real Africa. That is far more representative of what the African people are doing and can do tomorrow than the other, and I really wish every time we talked about it--you should discuss it with your news people--whether we would mention a country. You might say, "Oh, by the way, it's in Africa," but we've got to stop thinking of Africa as a monolith."

Bill Clinton--September 28, 2008