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29 August 2008 @ 12:14 pm
My new Mac book  
So I got a Mac Book back in May. Grandmother, Grandfather and My awesome uncle John all pitched in to buy it for me.
Recently (3 days before we planned to move) the hard drive of that Mac just died. Went totally kaput! No boot up, no nothing, dead. It was about 3 months out of the store and kaput. Yes, apparently this can happen to a Mac. I didn't think it could either, and so I hadn't backed anything up...
Fortunately it was still under warranty, so they were able to give me a new hard drive free of charge, which is now installed and up and running, and fortunately Cam's dad had just purchased Mac hard drive recovery software because his Mac had done the same thing, so we were able to save most of the data that was new.

So today I am beginning the process of putting my mac back in order.

The moral of the story kiddies is always, always back up your hard drive, even if you have a superior piece of equipment like a shiny new Mac book. All hard drives fail. Rule of nature. None are immune. Back it up!
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17 August 2008 @ 04:35 pm
Moving to Chicago  
Cam and I made a trip out to Chicago earlier this summer to hunt for an apartment, and now we're packed up and heading out there with the last of our stuff crammed in the car. The apartment is really nice. It's perfect for what we need. It's close to UC, all the bus and train lines and is in a really cool part of Hyde Park with fun diners and pancake places and Mexican and Jamaican restaurants and a limited Farmer's Market every Thursday (during the summer). It has pretty hardwood floors, big windows, great lighting, a reasonably sized kitchen (small counters, but big pantry), and hopefully it won't be freezing in the winter. We also have a door that used to lead to a fire escape that now goes nowhere -- it makes for a great window.

movingout31 movingout40 movingout27

movingout38 movingout39 movingout26

movingout41 movingout11

movingout22

So this is where I'll be living!
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04 July 2008 @ 04:38 pm
Trying to call Meg....  
I've been trying all day to call Meg. I think she moved while I was gone... and I'm a silly person who never learned her new married name that she's had forevvvvvver now. So I can't look her up online in the white pages. I looked up her parents old phone number, and it appears they are still there in Pine, so I may call there and ask them....

But while I'm floundering around trying to reestablish old contacts that have faded some in my 2 years away, I'd like to throw out there that I need your phone number... That's right YOU! Well some of you.

Blaze in particular... I don't have her new Alaska phone number. I hope she reads this and responds because I'm not sure I have her email address.




Being away is hard on the address book.....
 
 
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30 June 2008 @ 09:00 pm
Marriage vs. Domestic Partnership  
So I know I said I was going to organize photos, write some back dated journal entries and get you all back up to date with how my Asian tour went, and I will, when I am less occupied with job searches and planning for housing in Chicago with Cam. So let me tell you a little bit about how that's going. I have a few applications in, and have found a few good online resources. Ultimately though I think the job thing will move better once I'm in Chicago and have a mailing address.

Student housing and Marital Status
So today in an effort to sort through our housing options, Cam and I looked into University Graduate student housing. In order for me to live with him in Graduate student housing I would have to:
a. be another graduate student
b. be in a Domestic Partnership with Cam
or c. be married to Cam
So we decided out of curiosity to look up what the requirements for a domestic partnership are. (more for curiosity than because we're considering it as an option)

Eligibility and Restrictions for a Domestic Partnership
in Cook County IL

1. You and your partner must be at least 18 years old. (no parental consent can change it to 16)
2. You and your partner must share a common household. (Which you must prove with mail, bank statements preferred)
3. You and your partner must live in Cook County, or either you or your partner must work in Cook County.
4. You and your partner must be competent to enter into a contract.
5. You and your partner must be in a close and committed relationship of mutual financial and emotional support and intend to remain in such a relationship.
6. You and your partner must be each other's sole domestic partner.
7. Neither you nor your partner is legally married.
8. You and your partner are not related by blood.
9. If you have been registered in a domestic partnership, you may not enter into another until at least 30 days after legally terminating the previous partnership.
10. You and/or your partner must officially terminate the partnership if the above statements no longer apply. (so unlike marriage, this would prevent us from being legal if say Cam were to do a term in Cairo)
11. You and your partner must fill out and sign a Domestic Partnership Affidavit affirming the above statements are true and correct.
To apply you must:
1. Appear together at the Clerk's downtown office and present valid photo identification with proof of age. (only available at one of the 6 County Clerk's offices)
2. Complete and sign a legal Domestic Partnership Affidavit, which serves as the application form, provided by the Clerk's office. You may view a sample of the Domestic Partnership Affidavit* online.
3. Have the form notarized by a notary public (notaries public are on staff at the Clerk's office to assist you). (not a requirement for marriage, and adds additional fees, and requires the notary to be at your "Domestic Partnership" ceremony if you're having it with family and friends under a gazebo in the back yard...)
4. Pay $30 (cash or money order only).

Eligibility and Restrictions for a Marriage
in Cook County IL

Under Illinois law, only eligible persons can marry. Both the bride and groom must:
1. be 18 years of age or older. Applicants who are 16 and 17 years old may obtain a marriage license with parental consent.
2. be of opposite sex
3. not be blood relatives (Under state law, first cousins older than 50 years of age may marry.)
(No competency required, don't have to live together, don't have to be financially or emotionally supportive, You do not have to be a resident of Illinois, don't have to intend to stay that way, doesn't say you can't get hitched again 24 hours after annulling a previous marriage, and the thing that kills me is where it doesn't state that you can't already be married! (though I'm sure you can't))
To Apply you must:
1. Fill out and sign a marriage license application.
2. Present valid identification with proof of age. Couples must appear together at one of the Cook County Clerk's six locations.
3. Pay the marriage license fee of $30 (cash only). This fee is scheduled to go up $5 in June

CLEARLY you have to be in a more committed relationship to enter a Domestic Partnership than to get Married... and you have to continue to live in the same place because you are required to terminate the Domestic Partnership if any of the requirements ceases to be true (i.e.. living in Cook County). Either that or Cook County doesn't disclose all the requirements of being legally married that exist within the IL Marriage Act, which is an impossible legal jargon document to read.

Fair and Equal? Maintaining the sacrality of Marriage? You tell me....
 
 
Current Mood: disappointed
 
 
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25 May 2008 @ 02:24 pm
Finished, Finished Finished...  
I am finished with Peace Corps...
I am finished with world traveling for a while...
And I have just finished putting the photos from Japan back in chronological order. (and uploading a selection of them)

Due to the computer fiasco(s) I encountered on my trip, I was not always able to remove photos from my camera and relocate them to my external hard drive before starting a new day. This lead to deleting unnecessary photos in the middle of the day to make room for new ones, a process which with my camera, puts the new photos taken into the name of the ones that have just been deleted, shuffling my photos into chaos...

And not every computer I got on was a PC... so my usual method of using the camera wizard to name my photos didn't work... resulting in inconsistent naming.

Anyway.. I renamed and organized 784 photos and movies this week, and that's just Japan. I'll start on Korea later, and the journaling of all 3 after I've reorganized and uploaded the images. For now it's break time.



PS. I don't feel like making links today. You can browse the photos at Photobucket
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28 April 2008 @ 11:22 am
Kickin' it in Daegu  
I am a little burnt out on traveling and journaling about my traveling... today is actually a catch up on the pages in my journal set aside for Korea day. But I'm having fun hanging out with my friend Paige. She shared a video with me that sort of sums up the life of an English teacher in Asia... or at least their life outside the classroom (or in the case of Thai English teachers, when they get to Bkk) that I wanted to share:



My first night here with my friend, we went out for Korean food and then met up with a group of her friends who were going out to try out a new wine bar down town. We spent the evening on the roof terrace of the wine bar drinking champaign that was 50% for the opening, and eating chips with salsa... Now maybe that sounds all very hum drum to you, but I haven't had chips and salsa for a very long time. :)
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Current Location: Daegu
Current Music: Kickin' it in Boomchan
 
 
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19 April 2008 @ 10:15 pm
lack of posts  
I was going to finish of posting about Japan today so that I'd go into Korea on Monday with all of Japan already recorded, but the computer I'm working with clearly has a virus on it. So rather than expose my camera as well as my already exposed external hard drive, I'm not going to download the rest of my photos until I find a way to clean my external hard drive. Oh how I do miss the anti-virus soft ware on the Peace Corps computers... It'd sort this problem right out... Oh well, that's the curse of public computers.
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Current Location: Fukuoka
 
 
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09 April 2008 @ 10:03 pm
Visiting Allison  
I visited Allison 2 times this trip. She had to leave in the middle for the annual Jr. High field trip.
These are some photos from my first visit:



I arrived, we went to her Tuesday night adult English class. The next day we had the local specialty, Udon noodles and I went to the beach. We had dinner with Alsn's friend Sam at one of their favorite local restaurants. The next day Alsn made another authentic Japanese meal for me, and the following day I headed to Tokyo.
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Current Location: Fukuoka
 
 
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07 April 2008 @ 09:37 pm
Kyoto, Japan day 6  
It was raining in the morning. I wasn't going to go out. I was going to stay in and catch up on my journal and post cards. But then two atractive French men talked me into going to temples with them. It continued to rain.
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Current Location: Fukuoka
 
 
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06 April 2008 @ 04:48 pm
Kyoto, Japan day 5  
Today was the day I had to check out of my hostel, because there wasn't space available after that date when I made my initial booking. NOTE: if going to Kyoto during Cherry blossom season, book early, and stay at the Gojo guest house annex. Nice place!
The internet turned up one place that wasn't compleatly full, so I switched. It wasn't full for a reason... It's far from everything, and it's a little shady.. for Japan that is. Compared to some of the places I stayed in Thailand the Orange inn was a 4 star spot! I checked in for 2 more nights, and earned an extra couple of days.
The guest house was on the bus rout to Kinkakuji, or the Golden Pavilion, so I decided to head up that way. Much better spot than the silver pavilion! You actually got to see what you paid for. And for poor people like me they even had a ramen vending machine. Mmmm hot lunch for 2$...


After that I went across town to see if I could find the Philosopher's path. I found people, temples, and cherry blossoms, but I'm not sure if any of them was on said path. Oh well, it was pretty.

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Current Location: Fukuoka
 
 
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05 April 2008 @ 04:24 pm
Kyoto, Japan day 4  
The journal )
Photos:
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Current Location: Fukuoka
 
 
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04 April 2008 @ 09:15 am
Kyoto, Japan day 3  
Second day in Kyoto (3rd day in Japan)
My second day I started out with a pastery, a banana and a strole down to the river where I watched a lady feed the birds. All the birds. Herons and Egrets included! Oh so much fun! I used to get those in my back yard in Thailand, but they would never get close enough for me to photograph them.


Then I started walking north along the river, just following the crowds. I stoped to watch some fishermen. One pulled a big ol' fish out of the water, smiled, and then just threw it back.


I kept folowing the crowds until we started to run out of cherry blossoms. So the crowd headed across a bridge, and into the small alley ways of Gion. A group of Maiko (there may have been a Gaisia or 2 in the group) walked past and headed into a restaurant. So cool!

At this point I should have taken a bus, because I'd been walking the whole morning, but the emperial grounds didn't look that far off, so I walked on toward them. By the time I got there I was tired, and hadn't seen much that was worth the walk between Gion and there. It also turned out that you need to make prior arrangements if you want to see the castle or whatever it is. In the long run it wasn't worth the walk. But the day is long and I still had lots of time, so since being lost had prevented me seeing anything the day before, I decided to press on dispite my sore feet. I took a bus to Ginkakuji temple, or the Silver pavilion as it is also known. 500yen to get in and the darn thing was under reconstruction. They might at lest reduce the fee when there isn't anything to see, or post a warning... So now even more sore and somewhat disgruntled I tried to get on a bus back in the direction of my hostel. Only, at 4:30 you can't really get on a bus going that way. They're all full. The first 3 buses that came by were so full they didn't even stop where I was trying to get on, and the bus after that I had to squeeze into. I ended up with a short woman's shoulder in between my shoulder blades. But eventually I made it back.

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Current Location: Fukuoka
 
 
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03 April 2008 @ 12:43 pm
Kyoto Japan day 2  
Kyoto, day 1
The first 3 days in Kyoto, the weather was simply beautiful! It was warm enough for a light sweater, and sunny. The cherry blossoms were at their peak. Gorgeous! Unfortunately you will have to wait for photos. I transferred my photos to my external hard drive before leaving Kyoto, and last night Allison’s Mac and my external hard drive got in a fight… they aren’t talking to each other, so I can’t post the photos from here.

My first day arriving in Kyoto was spent getting lost trying to find an international ATM and then trying to find my hostel.
International ATMs are not very common in Japan, so getting cash can be kind of a hassle. I finally gave up and called Allison for a suggestion which lead me to a post office, which is the most common place to find an ATM.
From there I got on a bus to my hostel, which let me off very very near to my hostel… I just didn’t know which direction to walk for my short trip to the place. I had printed the sheet of information about the hostel when I made the reservation, and it had a part at the bottom labeled “directions” which was why I printed it. However, I didn’t read the directions at the time because I didn’t need to know how to get there yet, so I didn’t notice that they only included directions for the bus, and then you had to click a further link to see a map of how to get there… not very helpful when you print the page and are now running around without having your brain plugged into the internet…
I wandered for a while, and then spotted a couple of Americans, so I asked them if they were staying at the same guesthouse. They weren’t, they were only wandering through the neighborhood. But they suggested we step into a teashop and look at the map together, get a cup of tea, and ask the man at the counter if he knew where it was. It worked out well for all of us. I needed to look at a map, and they needed to look at a guidebook. They had a map and I had a guidebook. Excellent exchange.
The man at the teashop used the information I had printed to call the hostel and ask for directions, only I don’t think he understood them because he directed me in the opposite direction of where I needed to go, which lead me to a residential neighborhood where a couple called the hostel again, then lead me out to the street where the hostel worker met me. She was probably tired of getting calls to deal with this incompetent guest who couldn’t figure out how to get to her hostel from all the clear directions I’d been given…

In the evening I wandered up the street to Gion, past Yasaka-jinja temple, and into a garden where people were eating and drinking together under the cherry blossoms. I actually really enjoyed the crowd. It made me feel less like a tourist because many Japanese people were here doing the same thing, viewing cherry blossoms.
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Current Location: Fukuoka
 
 
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02 April 2008 @ 11:11 pm
Japan: first impressions  
Japan is cold! Who was it that told me it had started warming up here and that they didn't think I'd need my coat? I oughta wack that person up side the head the next time I see her. It`s cold!

Japan is clean... wow, so much cleaner than Thailand.

Japan smells like Grandma and Grandpa's house. No really! It does, or at least a lot of the interior spaces do... nope, outside smells a little bit like California in winter too. Yup it smells like my grandparents here. :)

Japanese are really helpful, and not at all shy to speak to me in Japanese whether I understand them or not. So not like Thais who would freeze up if they saw me coming because they weren't confident in their English.

Japan is expensive. But they have instant noodle bowls and 7-11s so I think I'll make it.

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Current Music: Kyoto
 
 
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02 April 2008 @ 07:21 pm
Holy Smokes! I'm not in Thailand anymore!  


I officially no longer live in Thailand. I also am officially no longer a Peace Corps volunteer. WOOOOW....

So I'm in Japan for the next 18-21 days. I haven't firmly decided what day I'll take the boat to S.Korea, or if I won't just book a flight. I rented a cell phone, and I have to return it to the Fukuoka airport before I could catch a boat or a flight, and I would already be at the airport.. We'll see. I kinda had my heart set on the idea of the boat, but it sounds like it might be more of a hassle to do it that way.

I haven't done much here yet besides figure out how to get to my hostle on the train and subway system. Tokyo is a little overwhelming, but so much more organized than Bangkok. I'll be glad to go to Kyoto tomorrow though, I think it will be a little bit more low key introduction to Japan. I'll spend 3 nights there (unless I love it too much to leave and I find an empty room) then go visit my friend Alsn south of there on Shikoku Island. Japan is one of 3 countries I'm visiting on this trip, and Alsn is one of 3 people I'm visiting in those three countries. I'll visit Paige in Korea, and Sara in Taiwan. They're all English teachers, and have been doing more or less what I was for the past year, only getting paid for it. Actually I think their jobs may be easier, because none of them had to convince a host country counterpart to lesson plan with them and then drag them through the process. Anyway, they can afford to have me sleep on their floor for a couple of days since they make more money than me.

I'm really excited to start my all new Asian adventure, and really excited by the accessability of internet so that I can keep all of you posted on my travels.
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Current Location: Tokyo
 
 
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23 March 2008 @ 12:14 pm
Dooooooooooooone  
I'm done! DONE!!!
Well sort of. I don't live in Kampuan Ranong anymore. I left my village for good on Friday. I had many emotional good byes on Thursday and then again on Friday morning when I left to go to Tina's site as a midway catch my breath before taking the train last night to Bangkok.

So now I'm in Bangkok. I have a training session to do Tuesday for the new group which will be my last official act as a Peace Corps volunteer. Then I have one more medical appointment and have to fill out a little bit of paperwork, jump the bureaucratic hoops, and then... then I'm done. Then I'm an RPCV (returned pcv). I'll share a cab to the airport with Susan on April 1st and get on a plane to Japan! wooohoo! JAPAN!
... I get to start a new album on my photo bucket! Several! Japan, Korea, and Taiwan!

So stay tuned, I think life is about to get more interesting for me!
 
 
Current Location: Bangkok
Current Music: The sweet sound of Victory!
 
 
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27 February 2008 @ 03:35 pm
compost heap goes garden....  
I accidentally grew tomatoes....
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15 February 2008 @ 10:10 am
10. What would you do if..........?  
.........if you lived in a small village in Thailand and got sick of eating rice?
 
 
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13 February 2008 @ 03:42 pm
humor is not universal...  
I was watching the special features on my copy of 'Shreck' the other night, and felt like looking at the one about how they dub movies into other languages, and how they select the actors. At one point in the commentary the narrator says that ultimately the language of humor is universal.
I disagree. Sarcasm for example, does not make sense in Thai, and is not seen as funny (believe me, I've tried...), while humor that is common in Thailand, doesn't make sense outside the culture.
A recent example of this which I quite enjoyed was on a Thai TV show I happened to see the other night. I was at my local restaurant having yet another plate of rice and Thai food. Being somewhat sick of Thai food, the TV show held more interest for me than my plate, so I began to watch earnestly enough to understand much of the dialog. The scene was a Thai food shop/ convenience store where our female main character is on what appears to be a first date with and incredibly dorky looking man whose conversation leaves much to be desired. She looks a little bored. In walks the show's main male character with 2 of his funny supporting characters, and the 3 of them react in shock to the woman on the date. From the corner of the store they discuss the situation, and we get the impression that the main male lead is romantically interested in the woman, thus his disapproval of her choice of dinner partner. finally a plan is concocted to save her from the bad date. (This is where we need to know about Thai culture. The plan that follows would work in no other culture on earth that I know of.) The main man approaches the table, and exclaims, "Oh my... so and so (insert male Thai name)... is that you? You look so different!" So then he explains to her date that she used to be a man, and that she is a gatoy, a lady boy. The date doesn't believe that someone so pretty could ever have been a man, so the main dude starts talking about all the face work she's had done, pulling at parts of her face to show how ugly she used to be. Finally the date demands vocal prof that she is in fact a "he" and the girl, embarrassed, but wanting to get out of the bad date, pulls out the deepest man voice she can muster and convinces her date that she was once a man, sending him flying out of the restaurant.
Gatoy jokes happen all the time on Thai TV, and perhaps the funniest part about them is their believability. Some humor relies on the gags to be believable, and not all circumstances that make them so are universal. Humor is culturally dependent and not universal.

On the subject of sarcasm, I did have one instance in which a Thai woman said something that seemed sarcastic to me. I don't think she meant to be funny nor sarcastic, but of all the people I know she is probably the most capable of understanding that style of humor. I was at the batik house with Pee Dta, working on a skirt I'd designed for another volunteer. I had just called the leader of the batik group, Hap, to tell her that as Pee Nee is about to pop out a baby any day now she can't help and could Hap please come over to work with us. She couldn't for some reason, which has become rather common the past 4 months (she literally hasn't done any work with the group in 4 months). So Dta starts in about how, "it must be nice to be the president of the group. You don't have to work, you get to travel with the government office to trainings in far away places, or stay at home and rest in front of the fan...." I couldn't believe my ears. It sounded so much like sarcasm because of the bitterness that has been displayed towards Hap these past months. She meant what she was saying in earnest, possibly with a note of jealousy as well. I explained to her about how sarcasm works in English and how I thought she thinks just a little bit more like a 'farang' than your average Thai. She laughed and patted me on the back, and for the rest of the time we were working we practiced sarcasm. It was great fun.
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08 February 2008 @ 03:37 pm
Items for sale at the Chautachauk market...  
I've been meaning to put this post together for a while. My last weekend in Thailand I will be able to hit up this market, and I have an upcoming weekend for medical when I'll be able to buy some gifts to bring home too. So I want some input. Those of you with up coming birthdays (Allison, Danielle, Elizabeth, Patrick, Jo, Kate, Dad etc..) should give me an idea of what sort of things you might be interested in receiving from Thailand. I can of course just pick something myself, but you might not like what I pick...

the catalogue )
T-shirts
Thais love shirts with English on them, and will wear most anything that sports the language. So some of the shirts you see people walking around in are just hillarious. You really can get quite a number of funny shirts.




more catologue )