Here are some photos from the preparation & organization of the CCF exhibition.

First, we went to Hamra & Gemmayze vandalizing the walls (with the help of Darine & Chantal)

Photo by Chantal Akkary

Photo by Chantal Akkary

at T marbouta

at T marbouta

Then, with the help of Julien Le Bot, was the time to put up the posters at the CCF couloir.

Way in...

Way out...

Last, but not least, the opening! Thanks to all who made it

Photo by Rawad El Hoyek

Photo by Rawad El Hoyek

Photo by Rawad El Hoyek

The exhibition is ongoing at the CCF until December 22!

I’ll now leave you with some spanish guitar to brighten up your day! ‘Big Brother’ by The Stephane Wrembel Trio, from Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona soundtrack. Enjoy it

JVA Consulting is excited to announce that the application period for Year 3 of the Colorado Compassion Initiative (CCI) has officially begun. CCI is a capacity building program for faith-based and community organizations that provide services to people 55 and older and involve this population as leaders and volunteers. JVA first launched CCI in 2002 when it was selected as one of 21 organizations nationwide as an intermediary of the Compassion Capital Fund (CCF), which is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. Over the past seven years, JVA has provided more than 6,000 hours of technical support and/or funding to more than 500 organizations through CCI.

Successful CCI applicants will receive monetary grant awards specifically for capacity building activities and will also receive pro bono capacity building consulting services and technical assistance from JVA through the support of the CCF.

A new feature in Year 3 is the addition of specialized technical assistance tracks. While still providing broad-based technical assistance like we have provided in the past, grantees may receive technical assistance in either social enterprise strategies or health and wellness.

All organizations applying in Year 3 will be required to attend a mandatory workshop either in person in Denver at the JVA headquarters or via Webinar. This includes previous CCI grantees that are reapplying. Click here to register for a workshop.

When applying for a CCI grant, be sure to use the revised Colorado Common Grant Application (CGA). You can find the CGA at www.coloradocommongrantforms.org. All applications are due on January 6, 2010, and JVA will announce awards on January 28, 2010.

For more information about applying for a CCI grant in Year 3, click here.

Keith R.P. Warner, President of Highland Water LLC in Denver, Colorado, has been named Chief Executive Officer of the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation (CCF). The appointment was announced by Richard R.P. Warner, M.D., Medical Director of the Foundation, who said, “I am delighted that CCF’s Board of Directors has selected my son for the position of CEO.  The Foundation was founded by my family and patients in the late 1960s to enable me to continue my research on this rare cancer.  With Keith Warner’s appointment, the legacy of the Foundation will continue.  His background in business and administration makes him the ideal CEO for the fifth decade and beyond of The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation.”

According to Keith Warner, “I am personally committed to changing the statistic that over 90% of all carcinoid/NET patients are initially incorrectly diagnosed and treated for the wrong disease.  We must bring greater awareness to these rare cancers as we all look towards the day there is a cure for carcinoid/NET patients.  I am very excited about the future of The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation as we work with carcinoid/NET patients, the medical and healthcare communities, corporations and foundations, and our Board of Directors.”

An entrepreneur, Mr. Warner has founded or acquired a number of companies ranging from the wine industry to management consulting.  Since 2004 he has been President of Highland Water LLC, a supplier of industrial, commercial, and water treatment systems.  He founded Strategicore Consulting, for which he provided extensive management consulting services to various technology, product, and service companies, including Pristine Health, a venture capital group; All Star Kids Fitness Center; and Stassen North America, a private label tea/herb manufacturer.  He was Co-Founder and President of the Rocky Mountain Spice Company, a spice importer/food manufacturer, and Co-Founder and Vice President of Ready Care Industries, a distributor/manufacturer of locker room beauty care products.  He has also worked for a Wall Street money management firm and in commercial real estate.

Mr. Warner earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Denver and a Master’s degree in Business Administration, with a concentration in marketing and finance, from Boston University, with national honors recognition.  

You’re all invited to the launching of the exhibition ‘Amalgame‘ that will contain brand new posters of comics. See you there!

Date: Monday, November 23rd 2009

Time: 6:30 PM

Place: Centre Culturel Français

This exhibition is within the CCF’s event ‘Point, Ligne, Bulle’ about drawing and all related activities in Lebanon. I got to design the event identity, here’s a snapshot for you

I’m leaving soon to prep for a stage show later, as I’ll be performing my one gal show Deadly Sexy Magic for a private event tonight. But since I promised to help a friend publicize this, I thought I’d blog about this first, because I’ll be back late.

Some folks may be aware that I first started out performing magic for various charity organizations, CCF being one of the many, as I truly felt for the cause. My passionate long-time contact from the charity, Les, shared that they are currently seeking volunteers to help them raise funds and awareness.

Click here or read on to find out how YOU can help the Children’s Cancer Foundation

Tulip Hearts Day is an annual event paying tribute to children who are battling courageously against cancer. Tulips signify hope and celebration while Hearts represent the love and generosity of all those who care. CCF aims to communicate hope and love to children with cancer and their families through Tulip Hearts Day….

This year’s message is “Remembering Children with Cancer in Good and Bad Times”

The colourful handmade silk-cocooned tulips are priced $2 each and will be sold island-wide. CCF hopes to raise at least $130,000 and create public awareness of childhood cancer in Singapore.

Tulip Hearts Day aims to inspire the children and their families to keep their fighting spirits up and to show them that there are many people out there who are for them.

Objective of this street sale:-

· To raise awareness of childhood cancer amongst the public, basically the HDB heartlands. · This street sale is NOT about fund-raising as each tulip sale only brings in $2. It is about approaching the public face to face at their “doorstep” about childhood cancer. For a child and families going through the battle against childhood cancer, a life-threatening illness is very stressful. We really need the public to treat our children as normal children and celebrate with us their resilience and precious childhood.

Registration form: http://www.ccf.org.sg/tulipheartday/THD_Street-Sales_Registration_Form.doc(Register as a group of 5 to 10 people)

Event date: 6 Dec (10am to 4pm)(Group leaders may collect items for members who can’t make it at 10am)

Briefing date: 21 Nov Briefing time: 10 am to 11 am OR 1 pm to 2pmBriefing location: 298 Tiong Bahru Road #03-05 Central Plaza Singapore 168730(At least a representative from a group is required to attend the briefing)

For more information, please visit http://www.ccf.org.sg/tulipheartday/tulip.html, or send an email to tulips@ccf.org.sg.

You know what to do… contact them ASAP if you can volunteer your time, or otherwise, spread da word!

Über diese Frage wurde am 17.11.2009 auf dem Stakeholder-Advisory-Group-Workshop der Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative in Berlin heftig diskutiert. Zur Diskussion standen ein Entwurf für einen Scope-3-Standard, als Ergänzung zum bestehenden GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard und der Entwurf für einen internationalen Standard für die Erstellung und Dokumentation von Product Carbon Footprints.

An dem Workshop nahmen etwa 25 Experten aus Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft und NGOs teil.

Die Entwicklung eines einheitlichen Standards für die Bilanzierung der Scope-3-Emissionen dient mehreren Zielen: Zum einen soll eine bessere Vergleichbarkeit von Treibhausgasbilanzen verschiedener Unternehmen erreicht werden. Da der Ausweis der Scope-3-Emissionen bislang dem Ermessen des bilanzierenden Unternehmens unterliegt, ist der Vergleich verschiedener Treibhausgasbilanzen nur bedingt möglich. Zum anderen ist klar, dass bei zahlreichen Unternehmen ein wesentlicher Teil der Emissionen – und damit auch Potenziale zur Reduktion der Treibhausgasemissionen – entlang der Supply-Chain (Upstream und Downstream) außerhalb von Scope 1 und Scope 2 liegen. Diese Potenziale sollen mithilfe des Scope-3-Standards offen gelegt und realisiert werden können.

Der vorliegende Entwurf wurde vor allem mit Hinblick auf die Definition der Systemgrenzen, die Datenerhebung und –qualität sowie die Berücksichtigung der Emissionen verkaufter Produkte in der Nutzungsphase diskutiert.

Im zweiten Block des Workshop ging es um die Entwicklung eines einheitlichen Standards für Product Carbon Footprints. Ziel des Standards ist es, eine allgemein anerkannte Richtlinie für die Entwicklung von Product Carbon Footprints, die öffentlich kommuniziert werden, zu geben. Bei den Diskussionen ging es vor allem um die Definition der Systemgrenzen und eine Abgrenzung von Zwischen- und Endprodukten.

Bis zum 21. Dezember besteht die Möglichkeit, die Entwürfe für die beiden Standards zu kommentieren und damit zur Entwicklung einheitlicher Standards beizutragen. Ab Januar werden die Standards in einem Testverfahren von Unternehmen verschiedener Sektoren und Größe getestet. Die nächsten Entwürfe sollen dann auf Grundlage der Testphase und der Stakeholder-Workshops Mitte 2010 zur Diskussion gestellt werden. Die Veröffentlichung der Standards ist für Ende 2010 geplant.

Wir werden den Prozess weiterhin aufmerksam verfolgen und Sie an dieser Stelle auf dem Laufenden halten.

Canadian History, Week 8

“Potlach 1,” posted to You Tube by AuroraKismet, 14 December 2007.

George Woodcock. British Columbia: A History of a Province. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1990.

George Woodcock, self-professed pacifist-anarchist and admired B.C. writer, served as the founding editor of Canadian Literature, the country’s first publication exclusively devoted to coverage of Canadian writing. He observes that history is an “art.”[1] His is a popular history of British Columbia, in which scholarly apparatus, such as footnotes, are absent. Woodcock’s assertions must therefore be taken on faith. Overall, his selection of topics and shifts in focus reflect an attitude towards a province indicative of a personal fondness. The history he recounts proceeds in broad epochs — roughly corresponding to Aboriginal and fur trade predominance in the first half of the book, and political and industrial development in the second.

“Potlach 2,” posted to You Tube by AuroraKismet, 14 December 2007.

Woodcock obviously respects the First Nations of B.C., and has sympathy for their claims and causes, as he takes pains to make their presence in the provinces’ territory and history known. He is critical of other historians who have neglected to do so. The narrative organization of his book takes the form of an arc – from ‘equilibrium’ for Aboriginal peoples, to decline, to virtual disappearance as a socially effective group in the first section, then back to equilibrium at the book’s close – thus the trajectory of their history is important to the text’s form. However, in the first section, Woodcock’s description of Aboriginal culture and prospects for survival in the face of Western European incursion adheres to an older historiographical standard. On the one hand he points to: the fragility of their societies; self-directed moves towards material dependency on European goods and instruction; and the tragic proportions of depopulation. On the other he notes their tenacity in terms of: maintaining traditions such as the potlatch (even when outlawed); rejecting (sometimes violently) trader advances; and successfully achieving population regeneration. His description of Aboriginal peoples thus remains an outsider, paternalistic perspective — for comparison, take the works of such writers as Cole Harris, Julie Cruikshank, and Tina Loo, in which forces other than interacting with ‘the white man’ (to an extent that they appear to have done nothing else), are shown to have had an impact on Aboriginal decision making in the past.[2] A final chapter of Woodcock’s book brings him full circle. He acknowledges the survival of Aboriginal culture and the revival of a socio-political presence. His presentation implies a discontinuity that underscores the outsider perspective. In particular, his assertion of decline (and fall), and statement that the politicization of Aboriginal peoples did not manifest until the twentieth century sits uneasily with contradictory evidence that he supplies.[3] It seems reasonable to expect that during the period of marginalization in British Columbian socio-political representation — which in Woodcock’s text extends from the 1880s to the 1960s (page 141 to page 252) — Aboriginal individuals were not invisible to themselves and Woodcock’s silence on the scope of their activities is not fully reflective of their experience.

Women are conspicuously absent from Woodcock’s description of fur trader activity (and from his history as a whole). The notable men he enumerates (and unaccountably attributes a predominantly ‘loyalist’ heritage to), appear to cross mountains, navigate water courses, and begin to establish the rudimentary institutions of Western-European development without the encumbrances, benefits, or assistance of wives or offspring (although he mentions Jane Work and Susette Legace as having contributed ‘Indian blood’ to politician Simon Fraser Tolmie who became premier in 1929).[4] This lends his historiography a dated air, given that it has been well established by other historians (whose work was published not long after Woodcock’s text), that not only did traders have families, they married into native families with extensive connections to a variety of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities. In my opinion, Woodcock’s account implies that a much greater Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal divide existed in the pre-provincial status period than other historiography supports. It also implies that to Woodcock’s way of thinking women had next to no role in shaping Canadian history. The gender-conscious works of such writers as Sylvia Van Kirk, Elizabeth Vibert, Frieda E. Klippenstein, Angus McLaren, and Adele Perry point to the possibility of counter interpretations, based on adopting more nuanced perspectives for analysis of a presumed more complex past.[5]

Female participant in British Columbia’s history: “ Unidentified signalers of the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service (W.R.C.N.S.) and Royal Canadian Navy (R.C.N.) comparing bellbottom trousers, Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada, 22 February 1944.” Source: PO Leslie F. Sheraton / Canada. Dept. of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada / PA-189730.

Woodcock’s description of British Columbia, as he turns to the advent of Confederation and its aftermath, focuses on the political and economic development in the province. His description of trade union activity adds a dimensionality that sets this history apart from Jean Barman’s general survey.[6] He presents the British Columbian past as not only marked by an exploitative view of resources – a standard interpretation – but of people as well. He also makes it clear that the people most at risk of being exploited objected. There is therefore a ‘class struggle’ aspect to his history. He describes the vagaries of fortune that working people faced, showing that competition for jobs (and security during war years), underlay periods of heightened racialization. A particularly acute class division appeared between unemployed vagrant men and employed but financially stressed heads of households in Vancouver during the Depression. He weaves a description of this struggle into the description of unfolding political patterns as British Columbians gradually rejected patterns prescribed by Central Canadian politicians to form a polity with a distinct sense of identity and ability to be self-determining. He charts, with attention to detail, protest movements that gave rise to the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation and the ‘surprising’ Social Credit win in 1952. His political/protest history ends with the installation of the New Democratic Party in 1972. In terms of historiographical usefulness Woodcock’s work in these chapters stands out – it is therefore regrettable that information on sources is not supplied.

[2] See Cole R. Harris, “Voices of Disaster: Smallpox Around the Straight of Georgia in 1782,” in Out of the Background: Readings in Canadian Native History, ed. Ken S. Coates and Robin Fisher (Toronto: Copp Clark, 1996); Cole R. Harris, The Resettlement of British Columbia: Essays on Colonialism & Geographical Change (Vancouver: UBC Press, 1997); Cole R. Harris, Making Native Space: Colonialism, Resistance, and Reserves in British Columbia (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2002); Julie Cruikshank, “Images of Society in Klondike Gold Rush Narratives: Skookum Jim and the Discovery of Gold,” Ethnohistory 39, no. 1: 20-41; Julie Cruikshank,, “Oral Traditions and Oral History: Reviewing Some Issues,” Canadian Historical Review 75, no. 3 (1994): 403-418; Tina Loo, “Tonto’s Due: Law, Culture, and Colonization in British Columbia,” in Making Western Canada: Essays on European Colonization and Settlement, ed. Catherin Cavanaugh and Jeremy Mouat (Toronto: Garamond Press, 1996), 62-103.

[3] See Woodcock, British Columbia, 255-256. I find it difficult to reconcile the statement that First Nations “first developed in the twentieth century a political dimension to their cultures,” with such statements as, “the struggle for the retention of native lands began as early as 1887.”

[4] Woodcock, British Columbia, 210.

[5] See Sylvia Van Kirk, “A Vital Presence: Women in the Cariboo Gold Rush, 1862-1865,” in British Columbia Reconsidered: Essays on Women, ed. Gillian Creese and Veronica Strong-Boag (Vancouver: Press Gang, 1992); Sylvia Van Kirk, “Tracing the Fortunes of Five Founding Families of Victoria,” BC Studies: Native Peoples and Colonialism, Special Double Issue, 115/116 (Autumn/Winter, 1997/98): 148-179; Elizabeth Vibert, Traders’ Tales: Narratives of Cultural Encounters in the Columbia Plateau, 1807-1846 (Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, 1997); Frieda E. Klippenstein, “The Challenge of James Douglas and Carrier Chief Kwah,” in Reading Beyond Words: Contexts for Native History, ed. Jennifer S.H. Brown and Elizabeth Vibert (Peterborough ON.: Broadview Press, 1996); Angus McLaren, “Males, Migrants and Murder in British Columbia, 1900-1923,” in On the Case: Explorations in Social History (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998); Adele Perry, On the Edge of Empire: Gender, Race, and the Making of British Columbia, 1849-1871 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2001).

[6] Jean Barman, The West Beyond the West: A History of British Columbia (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1991.

Tous les enfants aiment les contes mais tous n’ont pas la possibilité d’avoir accès à une culture et à une ouverture littéraire. 

De ce principe est née l’idée d’organiser un samedi sur deux à 11 heures à la médiathèque du Centre culturel français de Beyrouth un atelier de contes pour les enfants âgés entre 3 et 11 ans. Nous avons rencontré Madame Diana Karaki, la conteuse, qui nous a parlé de cet événement…

La lecture est un bon moyen de prendre du plaisir, en se libérant du côté « peur de la réalité » qu’ont beaucoup d’enfants, affirme Diana Karaki.

Bibliothécaire spécialiste des livres pour la jeunesse depuis quatorze ans, Diana Karaki a saisi l’opportunité d’animer des séances de lecture. La conteuse n’a pas fait des études en littérature de jeunesse bien qu’elle trouve  que c’est  important pour  perfectionner sa façon de conter.

Loin de la réalité, l’animatrice transporte ses auditeurs vers un monde merveilleux, extraordinaire, inouï mais certes constructif.

Le samedi 17 octobre Diana conte sans paroles !! En fait, elle laisse les enfants et leurs parents contempler les images du conte pour en deviner la trame narrative. Après avoir écouté les suggestions des enfants, Diana  raconte l’histoire. Cette technique est considérée par la conteuse comme la voie royale pour atteindre l’imaginaire parfois extravagant des enfants.

Montrer les illustrations du conte pour laisser les enfants imaginer l’histoire et fabuler.

Diana ajoute que la lecture d’un conte est un instant exceptionnel qui offre un plaisir évanescent et qui développe la curiosité, le goût, l’ouverture culturelle et le sens critique chez l’enfant.

Chers parents, aimeriez-vous transporter vos jeunes enfants vers un monde fabuleux ? Alors, vous n’avez qu’à venir avec eux pour assister à cet événement !

Soyez nombreux et bon voyage…

La conteuse raconte la vraie trame de l’histoire

C’est parti mon kiki pour les coups de cœurs francophone. Sagapool viens de quitter la scène. Bien que je ne sois pas un grand amateur du genre, ils ont réssuit à me plaire avec leur son manouche aux accents klezmer. Il faut dire qu’ils ont fait du chemin depuis la dernière fois que je les avaient vu. Soit depuis bien avant leur changement de nom.

Maintenant, un peu de Urs karpatz et son univers tzigane. À 7 sur scène on pourrait presque parler de nation tzigane..

Avant d’aller fait un saut au Divan pour le cabaret des anges.

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I know I said it already on twitter But I had to say it again here. So here it goes:

I was asked by Philippe El Hage (yes, THAT Philippe El Hage) to design the poster for his upcoming concert, next Tuesday 10 November at Théâtre Monnot. Knowing that Philippe El Hage is one of my all-time favourite pianists, this made me just a little bit happy!!! Below is the poster design for you to see and comment on if you’d like:

Few days ago I was glad to see that it was hung in the CCF (Centre Culturel Français)!

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Here’s the link to the concert on Live In Beirut, on Facebook, and to the e-poster. Finally, before I leave you to your busy day, here’s one of his songs that I absolutely looove (his solo starting 2′18 is a killer)

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Special thank you to Julien Le Bot for making this possible

More details soon, stay tuned

Happily the trip to Dartmouth over half term wasn’t all hard graft as Sally’s lovely photos so clearly indicate.

And aren’t non-colour photos great? In a world of bright colours they are just so atmospheric.

As JVA prepares for Year 3 of the Colorado Compassion Initiative (CCI), it’s the perfect time to look back at some of the experiences of Year 2 grantees. Funded by the Compassion Capital Fund (CCF), CCI is a capacity building program through which JVA awarded grants to over 30 faith-based and community organizations for the 2009 grant period. Here are some of the results that Extreme Community Makeover (ECM) experienced as a Year 2 grantee of CCI.

In 2008, ECM targeted its community-building efforts at 156 homes in two neighborhoods while utilizing 1,850 volunteers. ECM—a CCI Year 2 grantee that partners with churches and businesses to assist local residents in home improvement activities—experienced a noticeable increase in its reach and impact in 2009. ECM was able to target 260 homes in four neighborhoods while utilizing 2,600 volunteers. The population ECM connects with includes all community residents, and an estimated 30 percent to 35 percent of these folks are age 55 or over.

Based on feedback given by community residents, homeowners, volunteers and others, ECM is making an impact in the Denver community. In the words of Joe, a homeowner that ECM worked with to paint his house, “I’m finding it difficult to express the extent of my appreciation. This has been really outside of my experience—really quite amazing. Very few people have ever seen me at a loss for words. For the time being, ‘thank you’ will have to suffice.”

One of the unanticipated shifts made in ECM this year relates to the language in which ECM is communicated. Last year, ECM was pitched as a way for volunteer groups to come into a neighborhood to meet the needs of the folks living there. Groups would provide all necessary tools and supplies, not asking much from the homeowners.  However, this year, more of an expectation was placed on homeowners’ involvement in the work taking place at their homes. For example, if a group was going to paint a house, the residents would be invited and expected to pitch in their time to work with the group, as well as to provide the paint, if they were able to do that. This shift in expectations put more ownership into the hands of the community.

Through CCI funding, ECM was able to attend an asset-based community development conference in Chicago. The importance of practicing asset-based rather than needs-based community development in order to see the strengths and skills within a community and build upon those was affirmed. This shift has created more of a partnership between community members and volunteers so that the ECM model is truly about working together to impact Denver neighborhoods and communities.

In the coming weeks, JVA will feature information about applying for CCI grants in Year 3 at www.jvaconsulting.com/cci. Organizations that have not previously applied for CCI funding can click here to download an eligibility quiz.

This was two weeks ago. It was 10 minutes to 8pm before I had to move sound equipment with my fellow CCF Worship Team members. It is the routine Wednesday evenings of this fall semester for all of us, whether or not you’re scheduled to play the keyboard or not. I was slated to play for the evening. As I scrambled for my car keys, my cru buddies, Steve and Theo, went off moping about how I couldn’t stay a bit longer to jam with them. If only they showed up sooner, like an hour earlier. Don’t we all wish people showed up earlier or on time, so we could have more quality time?.. well, my worship team beckoned the same from me.

I got to Crosby suites, parked my car, got let into Crosby suite, and did the routine heave-and-ho through the hallways, down the stairs or the elevator, and to the curb. We loaded the equipment; I shottied a ride with Preston to SERC building. A valuable conversation commenced:

Me: Have you been busy lately? You have not keyboarded in a while.

Preston: Yep.. been pretty busy. So you’re playing twice in a row!

Me: I know.. but I’ve been pretty busy with stuff too. You know.. I had to do two papers today, because they were both due today..

Preston: Huh, that’s crazy.

Me: Yup, but I’m still heree

Preston: Great job

Me:.. There is this thing called “time management”

Preston:..Time management? Whoa.. I think I might have heard a term like that before. But tell me more about it! *sarcasm of course*

Me: Haha. Suree. So time management.. you know, when you just plan way ahead of time. You give certain hours for studying, and sleeep..and eating. Say you give 4 hours of studying each day, an hour and a half eating, and 8 hours for sleeping.. that gives you.. 24 hours minus 13 1/2,  equals 10 1/2 hours to do everything else!! And Wednesday Large Group meeting is only..3 hours!

Preston: Mm..but you got classes too!

Me: I’m sure those 10 hours are more than enough for that, exams and many things. So you really have no excuse to skip keyboarding.

Preston: Haha.

[3 hours goes by, CCF large group meeting over, heave-and-ho of sound equipment ensues, and loading of them finishes.]

On the car-ride back to suites..

Preston: Cecilia, you should play for the CSO event.

Me: Why? I don’t even like The Fray. What’s the song they want from us again?

Preston: You Found Me.

Me: Mmm.. I would give it a listen. But why can’t you play it?

Preston: I don’t know it that well. You can’t really hear the keyboard in the song, only in the intro.

Me: I mean, I could try. The thing is my schedule’s gonna get crazier come November.

Preston: Mmm..well, there IS this thing called “Time Management.”

[Two second pause..]

Me: Hahaha…oh wow..

Preston: Yup! There you go.

Me: Dang, you’ve caught on, Preston! Good job!

And there you have it. If you’ve ran out of time for something that you would like to do, it is never because there’s not enough time. There always is, and I speak this in the midst of my worst week of hell ever: exam, 3 long papers due, weekly assignments due. On top of all that, I have til the weekend to submit some applications and extraneous writing projects. Also, it is baseball postseason. Things can’t get more distracting than this, with the Yankees in the World Series and the temptation to head to Philly for Game 3 Saturday. I feel screwed and fatigued. Even so, that is still not enough to argue with Time Management.