I declare this...The Summer of George! Er..I mean, THE YEAR OF CHRISTEN!!!




Hello my lovelies. Today I find myself writing to you on the last day of 2007. Although it's been a good year, I am pretty glad that it's coming to an end. Because-----2008 has officially been deemed the YEAR OF CHRISTEN. And not because it is 2008, but because this year I am 27. Don't ask me what the specific relevance to being 27 is, just understand that I am declaring it... so it will be.

Big things are brewing. I can just feel it.

As for resolutions, I only have one. I don't want to go into to much detail, but it involves giving up not a habit, but a person.

I guess this person actually is my bad habit. Have you ever had a relationship with a person in your life that you know is completely destructive, yet you can't shake em'? My relationship with this person is a lot like my relationship with fast food: I love eating it, but immediately regret it.

It's going to be a struggle, but I'm pretty sure it will be worth it in the long run. I might even look back on this and laugh at how I even had an attachment to this person.

So for 2008, I am going to try to be strong and try to surround myself with people of substance, character and love. And most of all, make the YEAR OF CHRISTEN as meaningful as life should be.

Peace out 2007....

Love: ....like raindrops or toilet paper, it all depends on the usage.

Okay, so I know my post title is a little strange, but some events today have led my thinking to a very strange place.

You ever have a friend that is perpetually in love? Or so they claim. I have this friend, who I LOVE dearly, who has a knack of falling in love the way I fall in lust over a hot pepperoni pizza everytime I see one. And the result of her love, and my lust, usually end in the same way. Lament and upset stomach. Mine however due to the gassyness from my lactose intolerance...but I digress.

It blows my mind really. It's not that she isn't an amazing person, she really is. She has a way of pulling people into her universe and trapping them in her surrounding gravity. It's just that I can't quite grasp how its possible to find that type of love and adoration for another human being quite so quickly, or frequently.

I'm lucky if I see ONE dude a week that I find slightly attractive. But, I do live in Chicago, one of the fattest cities in America.

But its probably better that I don't you know? I mean, knowing my track record, I would probably chase the perfect man away without even realizing I'm doing it.

Maybe its the holidays, or the fact that not one but TWO of my girlfriends called me today to tell me that they are engaged, that has really got my mind spinning on this whole "love" thing.

I guess your experiences with love are greatly determined by what your definition of love actually is. It could very well be that my expectations are WAY too high. Goddamn Disney and all their relationship propaganda.

But then again, I look at my friend, who can always seem to find love the same way raindrops find the earth, and I really wonder....are some people just magnets for it? Perhaps I need to ring Mr. Wizard and have him de-polarize or super-polarize my magnetic energy or something. Hee hee. Maybe afterward we could make some sweet rockets and shoot them into all the slow walkers on the city streets. Damn you all sheep people!

Ahhh.

I'm glad I could get that off my chest. Cause you know, XMAS is over and we are officially on countdown to TWO extremely uncomfortable...er...I mean FUN! times for single gals, New Years Eve and Valenwhores Day. I mean, who doesn't love standing around awkwardly in that moment at midnight while every couple revels in the sanctioned "tonsil hockey" PDA moment of the year. Or better yet, having every jackass you bump into on Valentine's Day ask you if you are enjoying your "girls night out". Its just a day people, relax. Remember, its the unspecial day's moments that mean the most.

Wow, do I really sound like a miser or what? Haha.

Well, so I don't leave you all on a sour note, I thought I would treat you a little "animal porn" (courtesy of AP photos). Come on, you know you love it. :)

R.I. P. Benazir Bhutto 12/27/2007

Tasty People.....They're Grrrreat!

Ok, so I know its a terrible thing that a dude got eaten at that zoo in San Francisco, but really, is it that suprising? I mean, it's a tiger people. They eat like 40 lbs of meat at a time. I thought I would post this tasty tid-bit because for some reason, CNN thinks this story is so shocking that they've had it on a 15 minute loop for the last 4 hours.

What, slow news day CNN? You think that that maybe the landslides were a soft story?

Ugh. And I actually feel bad for the tiger. I mean, I know that if I had to sit, with limited exercise in a fake "jungle" enclosure, day after day as red-faced, tasty-looking meat morsel human babies were dangled in front of me yelling "kitty cat!", I might eventually try to escape and eat the first thing running....just for fun.

Intolerance, injustice and the Jena 6




This morning as I sit watching the thousands of people marching in Jena, Louisiana I can't help sensing the all to common feeling that the slowly deteriorating justice system in our country is failing and like many of the outdated practices of our government, it is in serious need of rehabilitation.

And while it would be easy to jump on the "Free the Jena 6" bandwagon, I realize that a crime, in fact, was committed. All the more frustrating is that many will use this rally as a way of expressing frustration over every personal injustice felt upon them by the "man", and completely lose sight of the issue at hand.

Very simply, we all ARE the man. It's a pretty simple concept but completely ungraspable to most people. The biggest issue we as a country face today and every day is that we live our lives so completely disconnected from others around us and by doing so, allow others to make very important decisions for us.

If the people of America were to get angry and stand together the way they are standing together for the Jena 6, in all the areas needing real examination, we could begin our journey to fix our problems at the root.

Apathy, low-voter turnouts, failing schools, underpaid teachers, a underfunded and severly broken child and social services program, and yes, racism too are just some of the true atrocities in our society. Yet instead of banding together when we really need to, to create change, we watch from the sidelines quietly judging and postulating our opinions upon deaf ears.

For many its easier to point fingers and blame our government for not bringing about change. If you always ride the fence, you never fall into the line of fire. And those who have strong opinions are usually the first ones getting shot. It's sad really.

Today I praise the people, of all colors who are standing up for the right reasons. Hopefully the day will end peacefully and leave a lasting impression on the folks in Jena who have been involved in the push-pull of racial tensions. " You have a rally in my town, I'll put up a confederate flag."

It's strange really, watching CNN, in 2007 and seeing so many African-American faces lined up behind fences patrolled by white, Louisiana troopers. And it is most certainly an image I won't soon forget.

Europe 2007!!!

Well hello everyone! I just got back from my two-week trip to Europe with my roommate Brad and I thought that I would share some pics and stories with you. We started out visiting some of his family in Germany and later we traveled through Switzerland, Austria and Spain.

Let me tell you one thing, Germans love to eat! And coming from me, that is saying a LOT. I just weighed myself and no joke I gained 4 pounds. Seriously.

So without further ado, here is a (sort-of) narrated journey of my trip through pics. Enjoy!



Thanks to US Airways delays and incompetence, me and Brad had 10 minutes to catch our connection in Philadelphia at a terminal 1 MILE away. Literally 1 mile. I haven't ran that fast since...well ever. Needless to say, we were pretty pooped and smelly for our 8 hour plane ride to Zurich.










This is what boredom will do to you.





One of MANY cakes eaten in just ONE day.






Brad catching up with his family.



A farm next door to some of Brad's family in Germany.



Children of the corn.



I kinda have a thing for statues. This guy is known as Father Leche in Landsburg, Germany.


Landsburg at night.





The Leche at night.



Me and Brad.



This creepy huge painting was hanging on a tower in Landsberg and kind of looks like some sort of old fashioned bonage.



A tower in Landsburg at night.





A farm in Landsburg.



Brad's family walking us around town.



This statue was outside of the Landsburg history museum.



Landsburg Cathedral.



The ceiling of the cathedral.



Landsburg.





One of Brad's relatives, Andrea, took us to a German Disco.





Random German boy. They sure do make them cute. :)


The "Robot"




We walked up along these cliffs and waterfalls about 2 miles to get to Neuchweinstein Castle.








View from the top.



Neuchweinstein Castle.


This was the another castle that the king built for his grandfather.









On one of the many long drives through the hills and mountains in Germany and Switerland.


Neuschweinstein from MANY miles away. Just to give you an idea of how big it is.



The port along the Bodensee (Lake Constance) in Lindau, Germany.



Lindau.


Brad's uncle Tom, his Oma and Heinz.



An old city building in Lindau.


The tower Rapunzel supposedly let down her hair. :)


A sunset in Meersburg, Germany.



The Promenade in Meersberg.

Meersberg.



In order to get the full German experience I ordered a beer that turned out to be bigger than my head.



After the beer.



Our first hotel in Meersberg, owned by Heinz.

Meersberg.




These creepy guys were on a statue that spits on you.





This castle is one of the oldest structures in Germany.



Stairs leading to nowhere.







This statue had many wacky characters in German history including a doctor who believed magnets cured many illnesses, and another doctor who believed that you could relieve all of your ailments through laxatives.


This depiction was of a person relieving all of their ailments and demons through the ass. (Laxatives)








Here is a spider that was hanging over my head at a phone booth. (shudder)




Lucerne, Switzerland.













Back in Meersberg, Brad ordered a burger that was bigger than HIS head. There seems to be a theme in Germany.


A really cool bar in Meersburg.



Graffitti in some Swiss town.