I feel it is extremely important, whether you agree with the war or not, to support our military forces with the continuing efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Here are some links where you can get positive news (to help balance the media’s negativity) and information on how to support our troops in their heroic efforts!

www.stripes.com
www.americasupportsyou.mil
operationdearabby.net
marines OORAH!
army
air force
u.s. coast guard
navy

if nothing else, please don’t act like our troops are only “killing innocent people.”

word.

i had never considered that people i knew well were in iraq serving. i went to high school with 2nd lt. john a. zaal who is mentioned in this article.

i’ll have to remind my brother to keep an ear out for him.

just made final flight arrangements for spring break ’05.

first, fly to seattle to see the older (more evil) brother for the weekend. then i’ll fly down to sacramento to see my grandparents for the rest of the week, and fly home at the end of that week.

i’m excited. i’ve never been to seattle and haven’t been to cali in at least a year and a half. and the last time was only the 2nd time i recall visiting. yay for travel! charlie won’t be going with me on this trip–a slight disappointment, but he wouldn’t be interested in hanging out with my grandparents anyway. plus, it was going to be a bit pricey to get him out to seattle. maybe next time (for the west coast visit anyway).

rumors of fred rogers’ (host of mister rogers’ neighborhood and one of the people i looked up to as a child) past dispelled here.

“Happy is he who who dares courageously to defend what he loves.”

–Ovid

i must have bad breath today because people have been offering me gum (formerly gun) all day!! wtf?

my younger (“little”) brother inked tonight. done at ace tattoo by moose.

so what’s the best way for a girl to be honest with a guy she just meets?

for instance, i’m in the labs at school a lot these days (and will be for the rest of ’05). today, a guy was asking for help with some programming, and when no one could help him, i offered a solution. before he left, he stopped by to thank me. i introduced myself, being polite and socialable. then he asked if i was doing anything for lunch. i politely declined since i have to go to work soon, then… out of sheer panic, i blurted out, “…and just to let you know, i have a boyfriend.” he seemed to understand my explanation of wanting to be honest. and i added that i’d be in the labs around the same time, so i’d pr’y see him then.

my burning question: was i too direct in saying outright that i have a bf when we have only had a little interaction? i figure…he’s asking me to have lunch with him, and while lunch is harmless to me…don’t know what he’s thinking of lunch.

i don’t want to go around not being friends with people, but in light of recent events, i’m much more cautious of my friendships with males.

so guys… is it awkward for a girl to tell you she’s committed right up front? was i just panicking? or does it simply depend on the guy? i don’t want to scare people away, but i certainly don’t want to lead them on either.

argh. sometimes, i don’t like being a girl (especially in such a male-dominated field/major).

saw life aquatic last night. what a great film! it was a little weird at times, but i think that’s what i liked most about it. very fresh.

there’s one character on the boat who plays guitar and sings david bowie songs in portguese the entire time. it’s great.

there is so much aid going to the tsunami relief efforts, but what about the other crises that require relief?

that article has some interesting perspective. the author mentions that race is one reason that aid has not been greater for certain crises in africa (the rwandan genocide for instance).

but i’m not sure it’s race so much as it is cultural. at the very least, it’s because there is a small rate of return on that kind of investment. it’s sad to say, but our governments (not just the US) are frequently run like businesses. and rightly so to some extent.

i’m not sure what my point is here… because my own thoughts have been stirred. i would rather donate efforts and money to help the sudanese considering so many people are coming to the aid of the tsunami victims.

there will never be enough aid unless everyone was to give. and that just doesn’t happen.

last night, we had about half the power we normally do in our gigantic house. if you turned the oven on, the fan/light in the pool room would come on. half the outlets didn’t work, etc. it was fun. plus, it blew up our router. that’s the 3rd smc barricade we’ve had. the 4th one i’ve had to deal with. for an $80 router (3 yrs ago), i’d say it did pretty darn well.

let it now be known, though… i am not the internet junkie of the house. my roommate, allen, is the internet/halo2 junkie. we were pricing out routers today, and you can get a decent basic 4-port router for $30-40 online. but he can’t wait even a day or two. he’s going to best buy tonight to spend $50-60 for one he can have now.

at least i’ll benefit from his addiction (and at no charge to me!).