Felicia is so going to be jealous of me if she sees this when she comes back from China. HAHA. I’m not a fan of Zhang Yao Dong. Infact, don’t really like him at all. LOL. But Jaz and I saw him yst when we were at Ion. LOL. He just walked past us. HAHA~ But whatever. He looks the same, as not good-looking as always. Opps… =X

Celebrated Jaz’s birthday yst! With surprises and all that. Kevin, You Jun, Abbas (duno how to spell =/), Chris, Roger, Jocelyn were there too!!! Kevin and You Jun were the masterminds. HEHE. LOL. So we went to some turkish restaurant for dinner and I tried their lamb leg. Not bad. At least the portion is not very big so I don’t feel very “fattened”. Haha… AND we went drinking after that! Woots… Happy me =) But just realised I drank the day before too. HAHA~ weird I almost forgot. But I think I drank quite abit last night. Felt abit tipsy. =/ Anyway, Orgasm is nice. HAHA~ *winkz* LOL. It just so funny when the waitress said “Organism”. LOL!!! HAHAHA~

Jaz, Chris, and Abbas left. So the few of us – Kevin, You Jun, Roger, Joc and I – wanted to go catch 2012, though I’ve alr watched it. I dont mind sleeping there. HAHA. Did stupid things last night. Gees. Wanted to msg him but actually also forgot what I wana msg alr. And ended up calling him =X Didn’t realise until he called Jaz. =/ GEES. Crazy me again. urgh.

after a series of walking, craziness and such, we were outside zirca. Somehow ended up there. =/ 5 of us, so hard to get a cab. So we called 1, and eventually decided to head home instead. You Jun was the last on the journey list and oh man, i think the cab fare must be damn ex. Okay, my thoughts are disorganised once again. =/

Is it okay to have flings? =X Gees. I can’t imagine myself doing that. =/ But if you’re attached it’s like betraying your partner right? What if you’re single? Hmm. When I was in secondary school, my bestie used to tell me about how good her fling makes her feel when he kissed her. Gees. And I was like … ERRRR….. OKAY….. and she was attached! =/

Okay, anyway, I just hope that Jaz enjoyed herself last night =) And I’m glad she like the jacket Welcome to the 20-club!

P.S. What happens when 2 emo persons get together? Loads of thrash-like-but-very-true opinions about the things they’re emo-ing about! And I think he looks abit like Clarence =/

There is enough time between boarding calls for people to make plenty of new friends. Some travelers seem to keep to themselves because they want to ensure that they have a safe trip. There are other passengers who travel for the adventure of it and will take every opportunity to make a new friend at every access point to them that is in an airport.

Some of these friendship encounters might be very brief but very significant too. An attentive traveler can pick up quite a bit of useful information just by listening to conversations that two strangers have that might last only a moment or two. They might learn about the city where a person is traveling from or they might find out where the person is staying when they reach their final destination.

Some people are aged and fearful of striking up conversations while they are in an airport terminal. They are experienced with the ways of the world and feel comfortable with keeping their distance from many of the young people that surround them. The other passengers who are just as aged though are the ones that they will converse with about many things to pass the time, and by the end of some of those conversations they realize that they have made a new friend for life.

Some people are curious about the inner workings of the airport industry. They will make contact with many flight attendants and inquire about security precautions, uniforms and eventually about whether they are single or not. Some flight attendants have met their mates through conversations that started in this manner. They continue making new friends while traveling by air but realize that there is a special someone that is waiting on the other end for them.

Business travelers are apt to make many friends while traveling by air. Some of these business travelers are salesmen whose natural instinct is to make contact with the public in a variety of situations. These new friend opportunities are also client opportunities and with the right amount of friendly talk it is quite possible for salesmen to pick up many clients while traveling from one business meeting to another.

Some air travelers make new friends along the way by identifying with another traveler whose life situation is closely related to their life. Some travelers with children might live in the same town and simply have different places to go on that day. After conversing for a while in an airline terminal, these people might choose to exchange telephone numbers so that they can get together later for drinks and more conversation about their family life and the things they like to do in their free time.

Munch Fryd rescued from the Pinal County Animal Shelter in Casa Grande, Arizona.

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving. What were your favorite conversation topics over your big meal?

Here were the ones that made me think:

1. Texting – If you are 30 years of age or older, reflect on a high school moment and then try to imagine how that memory would be different with texting in the equation…might help you understand what teenagers are going through now as there is no need to anticipate anything if they are texting all the time.
2. Virtual Reality –A holiday Wii match and rocking out to the Rock band game are great ways to create a holiday memory. What about the family member that sneaks off to play a game on the computer alone? Do you know all the things you are allowed to do with your avatar online?  Younger generations and gamers do, ask someone…that conversation will blow your mind.
3. Companies trying to be “clever” with Social Media – I am still not sure what to think about this one – http://www.giveitaponder.com. Is this humorous or making a point?
4. New Holiday Traditions – My favorite – Putting notes of what you are thankful for in small wrapped boxes to put away and unwrapped the following holiday season.

Special Holiday Note:  SocialBling.com has teams up with TheLEK.com to bring people in the Los Angeles area, “Nomads Unite,” a special holiday offering for those who might not be traveling home for the holidays or are just looking to meet some new friends. For details go to: http://www.socialbling.com

Het is al een tijdje geleden dat ik een blog geplaatst hebt..

Momenteel ben ik in Nieuw Zeeland. Duntroon om precies te zijn.
Ik werk hier nu bij een melkveehouderij. De boerderij is van een Nederlander die meer dan 15 jaar geleden hiernartoe is verhuist en die ik via een oud-collega (Monique en Emma bedankt!) heb leren kennen. In Nederland had hij 16 koeien en hier heeft hij nu 13 boerderijen en bijna 5000 koeien.

Toen ik hier vorige week zondag kwam was ik zo moe, van Bangkok naar Sydney (9 uur vliegen, het duurde een kleine 6 uur om Australia over te steken!),  toen een paar uur wachten in de airport lounge en weer 2 uur vliegen naar Christchurch. Eenmaal in Christchurch heb ik een snelle wandeling gemaakt. De meeste winkels in het centrum waren dicht want het was zondag, de Kathedraal bezocht en Starbucks opgezocht. Daarna ben ik de bus ingestapt, de rit naar Oamaru duurde 4 uur en de bus reed zo langzaam, maar mooi uitzicht. Bergen (met en zonder sneeuwtoppen) en heuvels, droogliggende rivieren, akkers en aan de andere kant zee. Eenmaal daar ben ik door Otto (de boer en baas) opgehaald. De ontvangst hier was zeer goed, iedereen was heel aardig en al heel snel voel je je dan thuis.
De volgende een rondleiding gehad en zelfs al wat werk gedaan. Met Tume (Otto’s vrouw, momenteel hoogzwanger; verwachte geboortedatum was 21 nov.) naar Oamaru gegaan voor boodschappen en bankrekening openen.
De volgende dag was gelijk al mijn eerste echte werkdag, ik was kapot en smerig erna. Koeien melken en ander boederij werk is echt hard werk! Elke dag worden 550 koeien 2x gemolken, door 2 collega’s en ik. Maar aan het einde van de dag val je met een zeer goed gevoel in slaap.

Dit is ong. de dagindeling;
4.00 am -  Opstaan, koffie en boterham met pindakaas en jam
4.30 am – Dit verschilt per dag; Of koeien van het veld halen/of naar de melkschuur om de machines te starten.
5.00 am – Starten met melken
7.30 am – Melkschuur schoonmaken
8.30 am – Breakfast Break
9.30 am – Andere klusjes op de boerderij doen o.a. hekwerk, koeien of kalveren vaccineren.
1.00 pm – Lunch break
2.00 pm – Dit verschilt per dag; Of koeien van het veld halen/of naar de melkschuur om de machines te starten.
2.30 pm – Starten met melken
5.00 pm – Melkschuur schoonmaken
6.30 pm -  Einde van de dag, snel naar huis voor eten (Tume kan zo lekker koken!), douchen etc.
9.00 pm – Slapen

En dat 11 dagen achter elkaar! Het ritme is 11 dagen werken, 3 dagen vrij. Mijn eerste vrije dag is a.s. zaterdag en zondag. Sinterklaas en mijn verjaardag! Komt goed uit. Omdat ik net begin en niemand die met elkaar werkt tegelijk vrij mag zijn heb ik nog geen drie dagen. Nieuwjaarsavond en dag ben ik gelukkig wel vrij!

Wat ik deze week ook gedaan heb:
- Sportdag bezocht van een lokale basisschool (Mai de dochter van Tume deed het goed)
- Motor leren rijden, skill die je hier moet hebben.
- 4×4 gereden door een veld
- Een shotgun geschoten
- Koeien+kalveren gevaccineerd
- Koeienvlaaien ontweken
- Koeienpis ontweken
- Geleerd dat wat koeien ook doen; ze kunnen altijd en overal schijten of pissen
- Mijn werk auto kapot gereden op dag 1, heb nu een “nieuwe”
- Met de jeep van de heuvel afgeslipt
- Een aanval van een stier ontweken
- De vetste functieomschrijving ooit gevonden; the Inseminator.. hij insemineerd koeien. (Terminator is one of my favorites)
- Geluncht in The Flying Pig, Duntroon lijkt op het Wilde Westen

Wanneer de baby geboren is verhuis ik naar een huisje hier verderop, want later in de maand komt er ook familie hier.
Maar ik ben nu al veels te laat, moet er over 5 uur al uit! Foto’s kunnen jullie hier vinden!

does selling things make you a "sell out"?

Hiiiiiiiiiii guys.

What’s new?

Blokes from Down Under

This weekend I had the most interesting opportunity to help translate  for a band that came to Buenos Aires from Australia. I was translating. Well, at least that’s what I was told I would do. I ended up doing various other tasks as well. Yes, I got to be “behind the scenes”. Glamorous? No.  Really, it wasn’t them, it was more me. I had slept for 3 hrs the previous night. I was on my feet (but like, literally) for 17 hrs. I had one hot dog to eat in the entire day, and I got to deal with yelly and demanding people.

It was tough. I won’t lie. But I will say that just when I was on the verge of breaking down, something positive happened. I was extremely thirsty and a guy insisted on buying me a coke. I didn’t have a jacket (weather.com lied to me…said it was going to be 60F with no rain; more like 50F with rain and wind) and a guy offered for me to use his jacket. I didn’t turn down the offer. When I was taking the bus home, it was packed like sardines. I began to black out because I was so smooshed. Just when I was about to get off the bus and wait for the next one… the couple next to me got out of their seats and I was able to sit down for the rest of the ride. I suppose my story does have a positive side.

really, the pic wasn't my idea. it actually made me feel foolish.

The only thing I couldn’t recover well from was the fact that it was my dad’s birthday. And I couldn’t give him a call for anything. My cell phone doesn’t dial out to the states and I was out of my house from 7AM- 6AM. It was impossible. And not being able to tell him happy birthday and that I love him… well, that hurt me a lot. It was icing on the cake.

The weekend wasn’t a complete loss, however, I did get to hear my DJ professor perform (and WOW! he’s AMAZING!).

Also, I made 2 new friends from here in Argentina. They’re sweethearts and I hope to get to know them better soon!

Serving

Whether you wait tables or are “serving someone/church/organization”, you learn a lot. Patience is key. You are not someone of worth. You are not the invited guest. You are expected to perform the task at hand and do it with excellence. You won’t receive strong words of encouragement, but if you do a bad job, you will get an earful. Really, doing this takes a lot of energy out of you. You’re bound to feel drained and to loose your sense of purpose quickly.

But you have to remember why you are doing it all to begin with. You can’t really be doing it for man (the person/organization/etc), even though what you’re doing is done in the physical. You see, all the little things you do, the details that are put into the job….those things will never be seen by the person you’re serving. Even if they saw them, they probably wouldn’t really care; or maybe if they do say thank you, maybe you don’t feel as if that’s enough.

I think serving is easier when you serve someone you love.

And serving is easiest when the love is mutual.

Perhaps when you love someone (or the organization/cause/whatever) you won’t feel like serving is work! Maybe it will just be something that comes naturally, and maybe it’s something that you’ll volunteer for with joy.

People who have never truly served will never be able to fully appreciate whenever they are living life in abundance. They hadn’t paid the price…how can they understand the cost?

Either way, when I am or I am not serving someone/something that I love, I have to remember to always serve unto the one I love: Jesus. Maybe this is one of the ways of storing up your treasures in Heaven. (Matthew 6:19-21) This must be what He meant.

me "serving" starbucks. well, not really. it's my friend's (barista) apron.

Matthew 6:1-4 (NKJV)

“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in Heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.”

parts of Matthew 6:19-21

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth …; but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven,.. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

A Four Letter Word

People will take advantage of you if you allow them to do so.

They won’t remember the sacrifices you’ve made and instead act as if you’ve never sacrificed.

Everyone is selfish. It’s all about self interests and convenience for yourself.

But in order to be happy, we need each other. Well, obviously, we need God first. Then we need each other.

You can have confidence in someone and not  show them love.

But you can’t love someone and not be confident in them. Love always holds hope for a person.

Remember that what you’re doing is ultimately not for them, and their selfish ways.

What you’re doing, you’re doing for a bigger reason, and a bigger cause. You’re serving God.

Love.  The four letter word.

Do you know?

• How much a decent recording software costs? Sonar, Soundforge, or something similar?
• How snot is formed? I have been battling allergies for a full month now, and I always have so much snot! It’s disgusting and it makes no sense to me. It’s like I have a snot factory in my head.
• Why do people rush to get somewhere, only to wait for another hour?
• Does anyone want to help me get signed up for the Master’s program here in the Universidad de Belgrano? I’m considering paying someone to help get me organized and do the dirty work for me. Not. Even. Kidding.

Ok Ok guys… again, thanks for reading. I appreciate your thoughts and comments.

In fact…feel free to comment. You don’t even have to register or anything!

I leave you with a youtube vid of a remix that my DJ professor did. The name is Hernan Cerbello…and he’s the bee’s  knees.

You guys are quality.

Peace.

Fo’ Realzzzzzzzzzz.

<3

I’ve learned the hard way that just because you’ve been “friended” on Facebook, doesn’t necessarily mean you have new friends.  There’s no guarantee that you’ve reconnected with a very old friend either. Really, all you have done is clicked a button that possibly signifies ” we knew each other in passing 45 years ago.”  It’s not a given that you will renew these friendships with vigor.  It’s not the ideal setting for an old fashioned reunion .Been there, done that. I’ve learned the hard way that just because someone accepts your “friendship” does not mean they want to be your friend.

I  have friends that I have great fondness for because of our shared childhood. Race to the present and I have nothing in common with them anymore or them with me. Is that enough to call it a friendship?  A past friendship? An acquaintance? “A long-time acquaintance?

I was truly too naive for Facebook.  Initially I thought that once we were “friends” we really would stay in touch or reconnect, even meet.  That’s not always how it works, that’s how I wished it worked. Cynical and distrustful  doesn’t come naturally to me but I’m learning fast. “Facebook” as we know it is really is a facade.  Faux friends.

My children collect ” friends” on Facebook like my son used to collect baseball  or Pokemon cards. The more you have, the cooler you must be. Some adults fall prey to this as well. I’m not one of them.

A friend to me is one that I can count on. Always. I may not see this person more than a couple of times a year but I know for sure that if I needed him/her at 3AM for any reason, they would be there. No questions asked.  That is a true friend. One that holds you in their hearts, and would do anything for you at anytime. It’s more than just someone you have had  brief experience with in the past. Someone that is there for you through thick and thin, hot and cold, ups and downs and all around.  The truth about friendship is that you really don’t need 623 friends. It doesn’t mean anything. What matters is that you have a few people in your life that you count on and they count on you. It’s common sense and a no-brainer but I fell for the whole new concept of being “friended” too.

I actually felt hurt when some of my so-called friends  on Facebook did not have any interest  in planning a reunion or picking up the pieces that were dropped years ago.    Facebook is not a real reflection of the amount of friends that you have. It’s only the amount of people you can collect.

So, for many of the people I “friended” I’m sorry.  Fantasy is nice, but reality is what counts. For all the Matthews, Linda’s, Susie’s that I” friended” I should have known better.I’m old fashioned and I wanted to believe that we could just pick up where we left off 25 years ago. I should have known that when you don’t hear from people it’s because they don’t want to be friends with you anymore or do not have the capacity for it.  True friendship comes with instinct and the feeling you get when you know you like and trust a person.  It also comes with time.

Recently I became friends with a woman named Sarah. We’ve known each other for years and I often thought I would like to get to know her but neither of us did anything about it.  This year, when I saw her, I took a chance. I plunged. I  asked if she would like to get together sometime for coffee. She said “yes.” We’ve gotten together many times now and I consider her one of my new best friends. We talk about our children, we talk about us as parents, we share things, and we don’t judge each other. We are here to support each other. When I was sick, she brought me flowers and DVD’s to watch.  The true meaning of friendship does not come by way of Facebook, it comes with chemistry, instinct and a slight bit of chance.  Making a new friend is fairly uncommon at our ungodly ages but it worked. And, as the kids say, she’s my new BFF and I didn’t meet her on Facebook, I met her half way.

After the supervision ruth and I set off to the emergency unit. It is Susan´s birthday, and we had promised her to visit her. Janet stayed at home with our individual case adviser, a person who is especially assigned by the youth welfare office to help children and their families to cope with different problems in education, at schools and with authorities. Janet would not be able to manage the situation of meeting her sister, as she had to cope with her own problems.

Susan showed some appreciation of the presents we brought for her: some new pieces of clothing and a portable radio-cd-player. She had already attended us and welcomed us cordially. We were spending about twenty minutes in her room which she was sharing with another girl. Still, she was not willing to leave the unit with us, although the wardens would have allowed us to do so. She seemed to feel protected in some way in the emergency group. After all, maybe she felt just embarrassed by the situation and guilty, although we did everything not to give her any reason for that. Everybody tried not to talk about any critical topics, so you could really call it small talk. How are you doing, have you made any new friends, what about school. What else could we have mentioned without hurting. Susan did not show any signs of distress due to the fact that Janet did not accompany us. We only mentioned that she is not well.

Susan told us that her room mate had visits by boys and smoked in her room; something which really irritaed us. Asthma had been diagnosed with her since the very day when we took custody of the girls. The warden had noticed what was going on and put an end to it.

The social worker in charge for Susan told us that Susan had been beaten by a class mate. Otherwise she was calm and adapted well to the group.

On the way home we tried to explain the situation to each other. What we had not wished for had now taken place. Susan was now in the company of youngsters who had been taken into custody for different reasons, and were spending sometimes only a few days in the emergency unit. Was anything going wrong at her school? Was she well? What did she feel and think about? For the first time, we noticed that we were not responsible any more and didn´t have any influence. Back home, I would have contacted her school immediately and would have put everything right. We were out of power now and not any more part of her development. We were happy that her social worker in charge was reacting very professional, as well as sensitive, also in relation to ourselves.

What stayed was a vague feeling and the certainty of not being able and not being allowed to do the best for Susan.

This is Mary

 I had a surprise sent to me and her name is Mary.  She owns The Bargain Lady resale/consignment stores in Oklahoma.  I invite you to visit her web page at www.bargainlady.com.  I will say God always places someone in your path for a reason.  She arrived to thank me for a small thing and what happened when I went to learn more about her, I  find myself encouraged once again by visiting her pages.  She is on a precipice and it is large.  She could use some clarity so let’s send up prayers that God will guide her to a successful outcome.  Life is a wonderful mystery.  Wishing you all a Blessed and Abundant day. 

Karen

De tempels van Angkor Wat zijn zo mooi! En groot ook, en daarom ben ik twee dagen gegaan.

Op zondag ben ik van Bangkok naar Cambodja gevlogen. Het was maar een vlucht van iets langer dan een uur, maar het verschil is zeer groot. Veel armoede, meer mensen op een scooter tegelijk dan ik ooit het gezien (6!), slechte wegen, veel krotten en heel veel straatkinderen en honden. Nadat ik een taxi de stad in genomen had samen met een andere Nederlanders werd ik belaagd door straatkinderen die iets probeerde te verkopen. Na zelf heel veel nee te verkopen een aantal Zweedse meisjes tegen gekomen die zelf in Okay Guesthouse verbleven. Hun verhalen klonken goed, dus ben ik met de motortaxi daar naar toe gegaan. Backpack en gewone rugzak gewoon achterop de motor!

Okay Guesthouse was heel gezellig. Restaurant waar ze ook gelijk die nieuwste films vertonen en een heleboel jonge reizigers. Na ingecheckt te zijn in mijn eigen “shoebox” wat gaan eten beneden. Toevallig ging ik naast twee Nederlandse meiden zitten en we hebben de hele avond gepraat over van alles en nog wat, ze gaven me ook allemaal nuttige tips.

De volgende dag naar een van de Killing Fields dicht bij Phnom Penh gegaan. Dit was heel indrukwekkend.
Er staat een monument met schedels en andere botten en je loopt zelfs over botten heen. De regering is gestopt met opgraven omdat het er gewoon teveel waren. Ook zie je overal kleding van de slachtoffers liggen. Ik had een gids die alles in geuren en kleuren vertelde, wat ik best wel gruwelijk vond. Moet eerlijk zeggen dat ik niet veel van die geschiedenis wist, maar het is iets meer dan 30 jaar geleden en het Pol Pot regime heeft meer dan 2 miljoen mensen zonder aanleiding uitgeroeid. De gids vertelde zelfs hoe baby’s vermoord werden om kogels te sparen etc. Ben er niet lang gebleven en ging echt misselijk weg.
Volgende stop met de motortaxi was de S21 gevangenis. Dit was een middelbare school waar Pol Pot en zijn mannen en gevangenis van hadden gemaakt. Nu is het een museum, maar niet zoals je gewend bent. Eerlijk waar echt gruwelijk en ik kreeg er een heel naar gevoel. Ben door het museum heen ge-snel-wandeld, en terug gegaan naar de motortaxi.
Ik was boos en gefrustreerd; waarom weet ik hier zo weinig van, en waarom word het niet netjes onderhouden? Bij mijn motortaxi chauffeur aangekomen vroeg hij of ik interesse had om een koe met een bazooka op te blazen voor 50 US dollar, of misschien een kip of hond afschieten met een AK-47 of pistool… Dat kan dus echt! Ik geloofde de verhalen niet. Volgens mij was mijn blik voldoende, totale waanzin daar!

De dag erna ben ik naar Siem Reap gegaan. Busrit van ong. 6 uur, lange maar mooie rit.
Siem Reap was heel anders dan Phom Penh, gezellig maar moet wel zeggen dat het hard op weg is om Bangkok na te gaan doen met een Pub Street en een night market. Dus wie nog rustig wil genieten moet nu gaan!
Ik verbleef daar in een guesthouse op aanraden van Karin; Baca Villa. Erg gezellig!
Vanuit Siem Reap kun je naar Angkor Wat en dat was echt top! Wel druk, had dat niet verwacht. Veel gezien en heel indrukwekkend dat het er al zo lang staat. Toen was Cambodja hun tijd voor, in vergelijking met nu. Zelfs de zonsondergang gezien vanaf 1 van de tempels, ik zat toen naast een groepje Duitse meisjes en met hun heb ik 1 dag andere tempels bezocht. Was gezellig en met hun heb ik ook lekker Khmer eten geprobeerd, ook lekker!

Vanuit Siem Reap weer terug gegaan richting Bangkok, waar ik nog spullen in een locker had. Terug naar de luide straat genaamd Khao San! Gelukkig was het maar voor 1 nacht.

Foto’s zal ik proberen in Sydney online te zetten. Ga zo aan boord van me vlucht naar Sydney, daar heb ik 2 uur voordat ik naar Middle Earth doorvlieg. Zit nu bij de gate te bloggen op mijn eigen Mac! Helaas te weinig tijd om snel Sydney in te gaan, dit bewaar ik voor wanneer ik naar Japan ga, dan moet ik langer daar wachten. Heb er zin in!!

I began to write today’s post as I was in the process of having various procedures done today.  Here is what I wrote while preparing for my PET scan:

Harold is 70 years old. Harold has seen and done a lot more in his life than me.  Yet it is his first PET scan too.  And I am willing to bet Harold is just as scared and anxious as I am. Harold is a very nice gentleman.  Being the curious person I am, I really wanted to know why he was there but didn’t ask.

They came to the waiting room and walked me to the mobile unit where they do the PET scan (aka trailer). Next I got pumped full of radioactive drugs. In a small room with two recliners, Harold and I let our drugs settle in for about 45 minutes.  Harold and I chatted a bit, and I reviewed a business plan while waiting…have to sneak work in sometime!

From here I go to lay under a big machine just like an MRI or CT machine that will scan my body for about 20 minutes. The nurses tell you not to be around children for a few hours after the procedure because you are still radioactive.  But adults are fine…hmmm.  Sorry if I made you any weirder Dad.

They just took Harold to the other end of the trailer mobile unit for his scan.  I think they are bringing me a replacement soon.  I wonder who it will be! And….it’s an older lady named Totsie.  She was a bit more talkative once the nurse left and wanted to know if this was my first time, etc.  She said she had a piece of her lung removed about 10 years ago, and the doctors told her it was a “good cancer”.  I am guessing it might have been lymphoma – she didn’t know. Now they are concerned there might be something on her other lung.

My turn! In the trailer mobile unit, they have country music playing loudly which makes me laugh. One of the nurses is a Clemson fan (Linda).  The other nurse (Liz) is a USC fan.  Go Tigers!

Time for the echo-cardiograph.  I got to wear another one of those trendy plastic bracelets with all my information on it.  I should be saving them to see how many I can accumulate.  Of the ones I haven’t thrown away, I already have 3.  I know I have thrown some away too!

The nurse who conducted the echo-cardiograph was Mindy, and she was great.  She was only 27, and at 14 she had a tumor removed from her neck.  She had chemo and radiation at Shriner’s for a year. I can’t imagine going through that at that age. She was convinced she wouldn’t lose her hair even though the doctors told her she would.  She did. She said that was one of the hardest things and that it was really good that I had cut mine already.
She said her parents are quite protective of her now because of going through that.  She said the tumor was one that normally occurs on the brain but for some reason came on her neck. She hasn’t had a problem since. It is interesting to me to hear stories of others health journeys. The ones that end well, of course.

Tomorrow Matt and I will meet with the oncologist in the afternoon.  I really like her which makes a big difference.  And I hear she has great shoes. Anyone who knows me knows she is good in my book if she has killer shoes. Ok, ok, in this situation I am considering the medical part too. (But the shoes still count.) I am praying that we find out I am in early stages and will have fewer rather than more chemo sessions.  However, I will be fine with whatever happens as it is God’s will. He will get me through this with the help of all of you. I came across a quote in “The Purpose Driven Life” that I really like, “Don’t be afraid; nothing under His control can ever be out of control.”

I will be praying for Harold and Totsie.  I hope that all goes well and according to God’s plan for them.  I pray that they have a support system that is as wonderful as my family and friends.

“So don’t be anxious about tomorrow.  God will take care of your tomorrow too.  Live one day at a time.” Matthew 6:34

Melissa

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dave_Offen

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Clapp

Intro: G#m F# Fm7b5 Emaj7   x2

  G#m                                F#
The days were long and the night so cold
        Fm7b5                         Emag7
The pages turn and the tale unfolds
 G#m          F#        Fm7b5 Emaj7
He left me for another lady
  G#m                     F#
She stood so tall and she never slept
          Fm7b5              Emaj7
There was not one moment he could regret
G#m        F#        Fm7b5  Emaj7
He left me for another lady
E            B
He took my hand one day and told me
Eb
He was leaving
G#m
Me disbelieving
       E        B
And I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I
Eb     G       G#m F#
Had to let him go

CHORUS:

          E
Her name was New York
B
New York and she
Eb          G   G#m      F#
Took his heart away from mine
            E
Her name was New York,
B
New York
        Eb       G     G#m    F#
She had poisoned his sweet mind

The wolves they howl
For my lost soul
I fell down
A deep black hole
He left me for another lady
She poured the drinks
And she poured the power
Diamond girl
Who could talk for hours
He left me for another lady

Now I am on my own
He told me
He was leaving
And I was pleading
And I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I
Had to let him go

CHORUS

    E
The greatest times
   Dbm
I don't want to hear it
     G#m
Your new life tonight
  F#
I don't want to hear it
    E
The new found friends
    Dbm
She introduced you to
  G#m
I don't want to know them
       F#
I just want to be with you
        Dbm                E
Please don't make me go to

New York
New York
She took your heart away from mine
Her name was New York
New York
She poisoned your sweet mind
She poisoned your sweet mind

If you’re waiting for the weekend and can’t wait to get started, there are a few places left on tonight’s socials – an excellent 80’s inspired Fondue night, great live music in Camden or some drinks & conversations at one of London’s most historic and welcoming pubs…

And heading into Friday, we’ve got plenty to keep you occupied! If you’re central, join us for drinks in the West End or in London Bridge, both at popular, lively bars.

Get out and about on Saturday with a special Beatles walking tour or a visit to the Fashion & Textile Museum to take a look at a stunning 1960’s exhibition. For the night time,we have two excellent oppotunities to have a few drinks and a dance in Soho or West London.

And Sunday, lovely lazy Sunday, is best spent near Hampstead Heath, eating and drinking with a great, new crowd. Stroll in the Heath afterwards optional.

Have a good one!
Carla (London Editor)

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marlene_Budde

holler ballers! how is everyone’s weekend going? ahh.. i have been missing everyone and missing blogging but it seems like things have been non freaking stop since friday afternoon!

it is already quarter to midnight but i wanted to throw something up in hopes to not be too much behind the times   how about a friday recap!

my mom, marisa, my 3 nieces & i arrived in san fran around 2 PM.. it was pouring buckets of rain and marisa was having mayjuh anxiety issues with the driving sitch. fortunately the rain did let up once we parked and walked into a restaurant and all that jazz.

another fortunate thing was danica & her husband rolled into the city at about the same time we did.. with food on the brain!  naturally.  we all met up at taylor’s automatic refresher which was located in the ferry building~right along the water.

my homegirl suggested we eat here and i had also heard danica rave about it.. and i knew they had a vanilla bean ice cream shake, um.. no brainer.  i really respect the fact that they

i ordered the blue cheese burger and of course i added mushrooms

i also ordered some sweet potato fries!!

i was so, so, SO SO SO excited to finally meet danica

the perfect end to any lunch.. ice cream!! right?

after lunch i tagged along with danica & her husband and we checked into our hotel.  which is incredibly baller and i will have to show you some photos.. after i take them.. but i will tell you that the room has freaking houndstooth carpet! meant for janetha b? i think so. special thanks to danica (you are going to hear her name a LOT!) for hooking us up with such posh sleeping arrangements!!

it was really exciting to go up to the room and meet quinn, allison & jasmine.  unfortunately ashley’s flight was canceled and so she  hadn’t arrived yet. SUCH a bummer for her to have to miss the first night of events!!

said events started off with a cocktail party which was outdoors on a large balcony area of the hotel vitale.  spectacular view! and the weather had really cleared up. bonus.  this is the ferry building, where i had lunch..

we enjoyed a drink and started seeing some familiar faces!

i spy some insanely amazing ladies sophia, coco, brandi, maggie & myself.

suuurrious about food blogging.. it is so rad to be around a bunch of folks who photograph every morsel!

after the cocktail hour we headed over to the ferry building for a street food fare!

it was all about the hand held eats.. although i was so busy chatting with everyone that i really did not eat that much!!

i did have firsts AND seconds of this delicious raw, vegan amazingness.

and of course.. a mushroom pillow of love. it was a puff pastry type thing with all different varieties of mushrooms on top. marshall’s nightmare, i am sure

i tried a really delicious basil cocktail.. the basil definitely added a nice twist.

this little handheld pot pie full of steak & gruyere was quite possibly the best bite all night.

oh wait no. the vanilla bean ice cream was!!!

it was the perfect end to the night.. dude.. ice cream is the perfect end to anything and everything.  and i am so glad i had copious amounts of it yesterday!!

well friends, that is about all the time i have for tonight’s blog posting.. i am beat. saturday was super jam packed.. think friday times five.  tomorrow is the last day (sad face) and so i need to get some rest so i can get up early and enjoy the rest of my time here! i don’t want to go home!!

p.s. in case you wondered… everyone is just as amazing as you would expect.  i think we all need to buy an island and move there and blog about our food in harmony and hang out everyday. there, i said it.

Qs~

1. favorite handheld eat? this is an easy one for me. in norway there is something called “kebab” and it is not like the kebabs here. it actually looks like a gyro but tastes like heaven in your hand.  if you ever find yourself in scandanavia, it is NOT to be missed!

2. what is your “perfect end” to any and every meal? vanilla beannnn. love.

miss you all! have a great sunday!

xo. janetha b.

Na heel veel stress op woensdag uitgezwaaid op Schiphol door mijn ouders en Patrick, Cindy, Yuana, Kwok en Sammar.
Na een sprintje was ik dus bij het vliegtuig dat me naar Luton zou brengen. De stad waar ik dus een semester gestudeerd heb.

Daar aangekomen ben ik naar Annie haar huis gegaan, ik mocht haar kamer lenen en zij ging naar haar vriend toe. Enige voorwaarde was dat ik haar katten eten moest geven. Geen probleem!
Die woensdag en donderdagavond oude vrienden gezien en al een boel nieuwe vrienden gemaakt! En een heleboel informatie van Annie gekregen die uit Bangkok komt. Was echt top!
Vrijdag vertrokken naar Londen en daar Renai en Jimmy gezien, was ook heel gezellig. En aan het einde van de middag moest ik naar Heathrow om mijn vlucht naar Thailand te pakken. De Londense metro tijdens spits met een backpack en een kleine rugtas is niet leuk.
Op Heathrow ingecheckt, en op het vliegtuig gestapt. Was echt een goede vlucht (Quantas), 500 days of Summer gekeken (aanrader) nog een film geprobeerd te kijken maar later viel ik in slaap. Tijdens de vlucht ook kennisgemaakt met een Engels meisje die een korte trip maak met een reisgezelschap.

En nu dus in Bangkok, het is hier druk, lekker warm en heel gemoedelijk.
Zit in een hotel aan Khao San Road (Karin: dit is echt cool!) ga zo even wat eten halen, en de pub in met Kate.

Foto’s komen spoedig! Beloofd.

PS.
Mijn macbook heeft opstartproblemen, dus hij werkt niet meer, dit internetcafe helpt nu wel. Maar weet iemand wat het kan zijn? Hij deed het, toen heb ik hem gerestart en nu blijft ie hangen bij het Apple logo + mac zandloper… Help anders is de trip voor hem al klaar!