Omawhere?
My city is freaking awesome. No doubt, there are times when I'm just kind of.. well, bored, honestly - but it's okay. (Really.) I was out Thursday night with a friend of mine and we wandered all over the Old Market area and I was really glad that I was home.
New York was great. (holy heaven was NY great - www.bayards.com) and SanDiego was phenomenal (no cool links for you, sorry) but home is... Home.
We hit the
Bemis building that is still home to a collage my first art class worked on; I'm not sure the work was all that impressive but I was excited to have it displayed!!
Then we meandered past Ted&Wally's (the BEST ice cream joint in town). And I have to confess that I was *NOT* amused that MaggieMoo's moved in across the street. What's that about? If you want true, bites-you-back cinnamon ice cream T&W's is the place.
We went into
Thomas Mangelsen's art gallery; then the little co-op down on 12th. We both liked Mangelsen's; the coop was "unique" (as artist co-ops are wont to be). I love the nook and cranny art places down there; even the tattoo artists have incredibly awesome displays.
We wandered in the the underground, stopping at the Toy Box (a store), of course. I think he's still befuddled over why there is a toy store in the old market, but I thought the store was great fun. (And apparently the only place in town where you can buy spray-paint side walk chalk for those of us into washable-vandalism!)
Then, duh!, we went sliding and I fed old sugar cookies that my grandpa gave me to the swans. And I don't care what you say those swans are freaking mean buggers.
I heard
GlennBoy on the radio this morning talking about the
Upstream and how they serve a lot of fish there... and his wife was like, "Duh, up STREAM" and I'll confess; I go for the burgers, pool and magic show so I hadn't realized that either... one of my MOST favorite places to hang out downtown. (Forget it! Check these out too:
M's Pub,
Vivace's)
I really love Omaha. And that was just the Old Market!
I must, must! recommend to you
Mick's in Benson - they have fun music and great drinks (okay, I only drink the coke, but hey! Someone's gotta DD) and in the Heat of Summer we have the
College World Series. Sunshine and baseball, who can beat that?
Sometimes I miss New York and sometimes I miss San Diego but I'm so glad to be home.
"you think you know somebody"
I was thinking about this when an friend/acquaintance said it as they commented on breaking up with their significant other.
Then I thought - Really? How well do you really know someone? Think about Ann Rule being good friends with Ted Bundy - during his murdering years. Wow! Not that I am accusing anyone of being a sociopath - just saying. How would you know? I mean Hitler, Eichmann and bin Laden. Did their mothers look at them and go, 'Oh, my sweet little crazies!' ?
Probably not.
What amazes me is that couples who marry quickly (as opposed to living together first) last longer. Why is that? Is it because they recognize going into the marriage that they don't know this person that well and that adjustments will have to be made? Conversely, do the couples who live together for years think, "Well, now I know this person. They won't change. There is nothing that I don't know about them now."
I think of people I have known for more than half of my life and there are definitely things that they don't know about me. There are things that I would rather they Didn't Know about me. (cobankruptcyugh)
No - you really don't know somebody. What's unfortunate is that we are so quick to say, "Oh, well, you are obviously not for me." It's almost like we look for reasons to dump someone or to say, "well, ... I don't want to 'settle.'" Settle? To that I say, "Take a look in the mirror, sweets, because we all have flaws and eccentricities that make us ...
us."
(And, to clarify, I think guys get the worse end of the deal - they *never* know what a woman with PMS is
really like until they marry one. Even then, during the "honeymoon stage" I think they are a bit shielded. suckers.)
I wish that in today's society we would take the time to get to know people. I am sure that I have had complete strangers come up and tell me I am "weird" or "loud" or whatever. And, really, do I have to tell them that I have a slight hearing loss (so I speak loudly) and that I have ADD (funny! I don't hear people calling Ty Pennington "weird") and so my mind jumps from topic to topic (as witnessed here?). No, I sure as heck don't - if something bothers you that bad - well, follow your mum's advice: "If you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all."
my conclusion to this is pretty simple: Friends are the colors in your world - the better you know someone the brighter and more vivid their color is - take time to get to know people. Know their stories and their hopes and their goals. Be their friends, that, at least, is something you (probably!) won't ever regret.
Besides, who knows? You'll probably shock the dirt out of someone else one day.
a tale of two bumper stickers
I am driving on the I-80 yesterday when I see two VERY awesome bumper stickers. The first, simply,
"
If You're Not Outraged You're Not Paying Attention"
Beautiful. I can't think of a better way to look at life, politics, education, well - everything.
<>
The second, too, was incredibly apropos-
"
I Like Your Christ,But I don't like your Christians.Your Christians are nothing like your Christ."
Now, the original quote was Gandhi (who knew?) and it was actually:
I like your Christ. I don't like your Christians. If your Christians lived the way Christ described in the Bible, all of India would be Christian."
Now, for those of you that haven't caught on, I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS). I'm "Christian," regardless of what others might say.
When I say that I am LDS I find there are four camps;
Those that are LDS, too,
those that aren't but don't care that I am,
those that aren't and are "worried about my immortal soul," and
those that are apoplectic. (They are the fun ones!)
(( For those of you who would
still like to debate the point of my being Christian... I'm also American, which means YOU carry the burden of proof to show that I am
not. Have fun.))
Now - some might call me "Mormon," which while I don't prefer it, it's fine with me. Mormon was an amazing, righteous Christian; more so than some that I run into today. He spoke of Christ, taught of Christ, worshipped and rejoiced in Christ. He served his fellow man and set an example that I am more than happy to follow.
It sort of reminds me of those people in the Middle East that burn the American flag --- burn away, darling, because it doesn't hurt
me. I know who I am, where I came from and where I'm going and I know who is allowing me to progress. I know what is expected of me, what I need to do and the importance of loving and serving my fellow man.
This is not directed to any particular group of people but: Perchance if you spoke more of Christ and less of the 'wrongness' of the other religions around you, maybe if you served more and worried less about what others in the community thought of you - -- Maybe if you actually applied those teachings from the Bible that you are so quick to throw in our (collectively) faces -- perhaps you'd find a softer heart and a kinder spirit -- and wasn't that what Christ's teachings were also about?
(aside from the whole you need to be baptized and receive the second witness not to mention the whole priesthood authority issue....)
i sent my kids to a war zone
The middle east has been involved in a family fued for well over 2000 years.
Why would you send your kids, take your kids, involve your kids with:
Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan or Israel.
Okay, I'll admit, I (still) desperately want to go to Israel. Not enough to risk having my person blown to next week, though.
Yesterday I was watching CNN (oh! The *only* other reason I'd go to the Middle East is if I got to help/assist/marry Anderson Cooper) and they were reading emails from "the public." One lady writes in that her daughter wrote, "Mommy, I don't want to die here.." and I thought- "YOU WENT INTO A WAR ZONE."
16 months of cease-fire does NOT a peaceful region make.
Now - just for the sake of my own mind - here's what I am understanding:
2005: Gaza Strip is emptied of all Israelis.
2005: (some) Gaza Strip residents starting digging tunnels into Israel. ? ? ?
Why? Oh, because we are going to harass Israel.
Now- if you are Israel and you feel that you were unjustly kicked out of your home; but you WENT for the better good - are you going to allow those that took your homes to start provoking you? (no.)
THEN! They kidnap a soldier. Not even a soldier who was spying or using aggresive measures against them - he was coming OFF DUTY.
Here is was the Prime Minister said:
"Israel did not seek these confrontations. On the contrary. We have done a lot to prevent them. We returned to the borders of the State of Israel, recognized by the entire international community.
There were those who misconstrued our desire for peace – for us and our neighbors – as a sign of frailty. Our enemies misinterpreted our willingness to exercise restraint as a sign of weakness.
The State of Israel has no territorial conflict, neither on our southern border nor on our northern one. We yearn for the day when peace will prevail between us, for the mutual benefit of our peoples from both sides of our common border.
And in Lebanon, we will insist on compliance with the terms stipulated long ago by the international community, as unequivocally expressed only yesterday in the resolution of the 8 leading countries of the world:
- The return of the hostages, Ehud (Udi) Goldwasser and Eldad Regev;
- A complete cease fire;
- Deployment of the Lebanese army in all of Southern Lebanon;
- Expulsion of Hizballah from the area, and fulfillment of United Nations Resolution 1559.
We will not suspend our actions. On both fronts we are exercising self-defense in the most basic and essential sense. In both cases, it is a matter whose importance and significance go far beyond the size of the military units involved.
We are at a national moment of truth. Will we consent to living under the threat of this Axis of Evil or will we mobilize our inner strength and show determination and equanimity?
Our answer is clear to every Israeli, and it echoes today throughout the entire region. There are moments in the life of a nation, when it is compelled to look directly into the face of reality and say: no more!
And I say to everyone: no more! Israel will not be held hostage – not by terror gangs or by a terrorist authority or by any sovereign state.
In the life of a nation there are moments of transcendence, of purification, when political and sectarian disputes which separate us are replaced by a sense of mutual responsibility. I highly value and appreciate the way the Opposition has been conducting itself in the Knesset these days.
The human competition and personal rivalries are dissolved and instead our feeling of mutual responsibility arises, our sense of partnership, and primarily, our eternal love for our people and our land. This is such a moment!
All of us – Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze and Circassians – now stand as one person, as one nation, subject together to the same hatred and malice, and fighting against it in consensus and partnership. When missiles are launched at our residents and cities, our answer will be war with all the strength, determination, valor, sacrifice and dedication which characterize this nation.
There is nothing we want more than peace and good neighborly relations – in the east, north and south. We seek peace, we pursue peace and we yearn for peace. At the same time, there is nothing we reject more than an attempt to harm us and make us give up our right to live here, in our land, in security and peace.
The strength of a nation is measured not only by its military capabilities.
The strength of a nation is measured by its welfare and morality, its strong and solid economy, its modern and developing market, its export of technologies and products for the most advanced world markets and its ground-breaking academic research.
In all these, each and every one of us has good reason to be proud. But above all, the strength of a nation is measured in times of trial, when the home front becomes the front, when the citizens of the country show admirable fortitude, patience and stamina and allow it to operate against its enemies.
NOW - this is the syrian ambassador:
"We do not provide Hezbollah with arms," Moustapha insisted in a conversation at Syria's embassy in Washington. He also denied charges that Syria had provided Hezbollah with financial support or that Syria enjoyed decisive influence with Hezbollah, calling it "an independent, autonomous organization." Rather, he says, Syria is a political supporter of such "national liberation" movements as Hezbollah. Israeli officials say that some of the rockets, including one that smashed into a train facility in Haifa and killed several Israelis, were made in Syria.
(So , you don't GIVE them arms but you support them. How is that different??!?!?!?)
Moustapha, who was appointed to the post by Syrian President Bashar Assad, laid blame for the crisis on Israel. "We're surprised by the brutality of the Israeli attack," he said. But he asserted that Israel has not importantly degraded Hezbollah's counterstrike capability. "Hezbollah's capacity to retaliate is still intact," Moustapha said. He said Syria supports an immediate cease-fire and the beginning of negotiations and that Damascus would be willing to participate in the talks actively, especially since the United States does not have any known contacts with Hezbollah and the Palestinian group Hamas, which are both designated by Washington as terrorist groups.
Hamas/Hezbollah comment was beyond ridiculous and I have to go to work -
more later. meghan
Wednesday
There are 900 million things that I would love to expound on so - to start with something light but be forwarned I'll be talking about Israel and Bush and on and on. Tag a long, leave a comment and
Apparently, myspace.com has become a "dating" site and ... honestly - no one actually reads and comments on people's posts - so here I am.
When, you might wonder, did myspace become a dating site? Well, in Omaha, yesterday morning a lady on the radio called in to say that 17 people a day/ nationally, make myspace.com sites. When asked what myspace was she replied, "A dating site."
Because myspace doesn't have enough flak coming at it as it is, we now have ignorant people paying only half-attention to the news. I'd rather she be completely clueless. Wasn't there a quote... "a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing."
I would love for parents to start parenting. You should be watching what your kids are doing. Then I think of the woman who drove all the way over to campus to complain because her son signed up for an orientation online (ORIENTATION, not a class, not a vital thing) and he received a flier in the mail reminding him to sign up. It was a mass mailing. I (a current student!) received one and where are you from? Atlantic? 45 miles away? You drove here because your son got a postcard in the mail??
here are some scissors - cut those apron strings, lady!
So, aside from the crazy parents -- you know your kids are swearing when they aren't around you (or, their friends are) and you know that things like, oh... sex, drugs and local artists have come up. Check their myspace, their emails, their school notebooks. If it's really terrible (I'm going to kill... or it vaguely reminds you of Mein Kampf) I'd recommend removing the computer and a good psychologist. Are they (we) going to complain? Yes. Are we going to mope? Yes. But guess what? It's your job!!
Perhaps you remember that evening 18 years and 9 months ago??
This is the consequence, darling, deal with it.
But for those of us that are "of age" (Oh... 25 and counting) keep
your opinions off
my myspace.
talk to you later
