then i really would have to move to canada

We cannot, I repeat, CANNOT allow Mike Huckabee to become President. Benazir Bhutto was assassinated, thereby proving that we must build a border fence between the U.S. and Mexico?

?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Just when you thought the potential for insanity in the U.S. Presidency had been fully realized...

another way

I imagine that, for personal and professional reasons, I care more about what happens in Ecuador than do most of you. But if you like to hear about alternatives to the corporate, profit-driven, Global North-controlled story of "development" - or if you just like to hear stories about someone telling George Bush to stick it - you'll like this.

hopes and plans

Holiday greetings, dear friends. I hope that you were able to realize whatever you find most enjoyable about Christmas. Even (grudgingly) if what you enjoy most is fighting the crowds in the malls to exchange unwanted gifts today. To each their own.

I can honestly say that Christmas is my favorite holiday. Everything is closed and quiet, it's easy to believe that most people are cozy at home with their loved ones, candles shine in windows, and absolutely nothing is expected of me (aforementioned petsitting notwithstanding).

All that said, I think I will be glad for the new year. There is something unsettled within me now, a small, dark, echo-y place waiting for something to fill and brighten and warm it. This dark time of year feels a bit too encouraging to the hermit inside me, she who would have me stay home and read books and secretly hope for snowstorms to fall in the way of gatherings. These past few weeks have been full of excitement and uncertainty (job, music, coming visitors... hell, even the weather, with our every-other-day-blizzards). I've stayed up too late and consumed too much sugar. Routines have fallen by the wayside. It all combines to make me feel like hiding out and being rather passive toward life. Friends feel a bit too far away, exercise is a distant memory, and the spiritual ground beneath me seems as uneven and slippery as the frozen-slush-covered sidewalk outside my front door.

Of course we should not need such contrived starting lines as the beginning of a new year to motivate us toward that which we want or need to accomplish anyway. But simply because of scheduling, only the new year will bring the opportunities around which I am now trying to stretch my resolve, so it's as good a starting point as any. In the meantime, I look forward to the next few days of reflection on that which has been in this year and that which I hope will be in the next. More importantly, on who I have been and who I hope to be.

In the Jewish High Holy Days service we say: "on Rosh Hashanah it is written and on Yom Kippur it is sealed..." and though it feels kind of sacreligious to say this (as if it wasn't enough to call Christmas my favorite holiday), it is really now that I feel a certain sacredness in the days and a need for reflection, much more than I did in October. In these days of darkness between the solstice and the new year it feels appropriate to take a good look in the mirror and make some decisions. My life is too full of goodness to take one bit of it for granted. I will be more intentional. I will follow through. I will listen more and better. I will trust in (hopefully benevolent) fate for many things, but I will not be passive about who I am in the world.

I wonder if any of this makes sense to anyone but me. Maybe it sounds like I'm trying too hard to be poetic... it's hard to distill things that feel both really personal and really huge into plain old words. But for some reason it feels important to write these things here. It feels honest, and that's the only real place to start.

Happy Holidays.

and in full recognition of my heritage, i might even go out for chinese food tonight

There's something about the pragmatism and self-reliance of New Zealanders that we Americans just don't have. I can say for sure that precious few parents of my study abroad students would possibly have this reaction to this situation. (The fact that there was a shark attack in the Galapagos is also, um, interesting, but I can only hope that our study abroad parents don't have the same Google News alerts that I do.)

On an entirely different note, I must say that I am currently experiencing a level of popularity previously unimagined. Have I discovered the meaning of life, you ask? Or the secret to getting the Town of Brattleboro to removing snow from around one's house in a non-assanine way?* No no, it is not special knowledge that I possess; nor is this sudden popularity about any particular talent. I am popular simply because of who I am.

But before that starts sounding really pompous and egotistical, let me explain what makes me so special: I am young, single, and Jewish.

That is, I am not busy on Christmas.

That is, everyone and their uncle who is celebrating Christmas, and doing so at the homes of relatives or friends who live in other towns, wants me to dog/cat/chicken/house-sit.

And I really don't mind, except a little bit last night when the long, steep driveway where I'm staying was completely coated in ice, forcing me to consider the relative attractiveness of missing my board meeting and a later holiday party versus imminent death (or at least involuntary hibernation in a snow bank until the spring thaw). A night reading on their couch by the stove was OK too. And I certainly don't mind cuddling with my friends' yellow lab or my neighbor's sweet cat.

But I will admit to having a new appreciation for my obscurity of the rest of the year.

*Sorry to get your hopes us; I actually don't think this is possible. Their snow removal "system" is just incredibly assanine. I'm resigning myself to this, and considering its implications for my decisions regarding renting/buying a home in this town in future years. Notes to self: never live on a main road, always have a yard, and make friends with someone who owns a snowblower.

things i learned last night

1. The Vermont Department of Corrections has some really model programs, and some really big problems, and some really wonderful people working for it (and, undoubtedly, some not wonderful people working for it).

2. 80% of incarcerated males in Vermont have not completed a high school education. I dare you to try and convince me crime isn't a class issue.

3. Active listening and asking open-ended questions is really hard. I knew this one already, but I was reminded.

4. There are no substance abuse treatment programs other than Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous offered in the Vermont prison system (and other states' systems? I'm curious...) because if there were mandated programs, SO many more people would have to be sent to prison, because SO many crimes are drug-related. Fascinating.

5. It's particularly tough to be a female prisoner in Vermont (and probably most states) because most women are sentenced to less than a year in prison, which sounds like a good deal but actually sets them up really well for failure. See, men are generally sentenced to a minimum of two years in jail, and therefore have time to integrate into an AA or NA group, to get some education or vocational training, etc. Plus, the last year or eight months of his sentence he's probably working with a caseworker on a re-entry (into the community) plan, finding a job and a place to live, all that stuff. If a woman isn't even in prison for a year total, she doesn't have a chance at any of that. So she gets out and has few options but to fall back into old patterns, because the system has not offered her any ways to work on changing those patterns. Female recidivism rates are much higher than males. Again: fascinating.

6. Life after prison is a paradox - the chicken has to come before the egg has to come before the chicken. This is the thing that just kills me: for most people coming out of the prison system, there is simply nowhere to start and nowhere to go. They might be really ready to turn their life around, but most of society actively thwarts their efforts. Few people will give them jobs, though often they have to have a job as a condition of parole (or they go back to prison). No one will rent them an apartment if they don't have recent rental history, but there's no way to get recent rental history if no one will rent you an apartment. Halfway houses are closing left and right because of lack of funding, and many shelters are already overcrowded and turning people away, and won't take people coming out of prison. What are they supposed to do?

Explanation of why I was learning all this: I'm volunteering for a program with the Brattleboro Community Justice Center called Circles Of Support and Accountability (COSA). We had two nights of training over the last week in order to begin to understand some of the issues facing recently incarcerated folks in this area, and how COSAs and other restorative justice programs try to help break down the barriers. We met two people who have come out of prison and gone through the COSA program, and frankly, hearing their stories made me feel ashamed of myself for anything I've ever complained about or found challenging in my life. I think being part of a COSA is going to be awkward and frustrating and challenging. I can't wait.

impressive

This was a "secret" until now??

I'm sorry, but no wonder the apocalypse is coming. We're just plain stupid sometimes.

actually, this deserves your full attention

I linked to this in my previous post, but after watching the whole thing I believe it is urgently important to share this with as many people as possible. Click on the banner above and go watch the video. Share it with your friends and anyone else who might benefit from a really easy-to-understand explanation of why the way we live is terrible for ourselves and our planet, and how we can do so much better.

This isn't a finger-wagging diatribe, don't worry. It is, instead, 20 minutes of interesting, fun-to-watch, easy-to-digest motivation that the wealthy human beings in this world (and that includes me, you, and just about everyone we know) have a whole lot of power to make much better choices, and that doing so isn't about depriving ourselves, but about changing the system so that it we stop allowing it to take advantage of us.

Note: I wonder about some of the statistics in this video and I'm sure there are more than a few people out there who will call it leftist whining and surely some who will offer opposing statistics. But overall it makes a lot of sense to me and offers a new way to look at the issues of sustainability and responsibility. And that's at least a place to start.

inside day

Happy Snowy Sunday!

(I realize it's not so happy for those who may be greatly inconvenienced by this weather, or worse yet, harmed by flight problems, driving conditions, electricity issues, etc. I hope your situation improves very soon.)

This is weather for staying home and drinking hot tea and reading, or staying home and drinking hot tea and watching the Patriots game, if only I had TV.

And while I really mean reading books (have I mentioned that I finished Harry Potter last weekend? I mean, the series? And I'll say, I've never really had an addictive personality - or at least never given myself the opportunity for addiction to substances and the like - but reading HP#7 was as addicted as I've ever been. WOW), here's something for your internet-reading pleasure.

While I was writing this, my friend Ben sent this, which is actually what you should drop everything else for and watch RIGHT NOW. It's 20 minutes, but very worthwhile use of your 20 minutes, and besides, you're probably snowed in right now like me. What else were you going to do?

if the problem doesn't drive me insane, the problem-solver will

Toshiba Customer Screw-over Man: What is the problem you are having with your computer, ma'am?

Monkeyhippy: The CD drive won't stay closed, and when the computer is on it makes a horrible loud continuous clicking noise. Perhaps you can hear it right now.

Toshiba Man: Well, since this is a hardware issue, what you must do is take your computer to the nearest Toshiba service center. I am seeing that the nearest Toshiba service center to your zip code is in Waltham.

Monkeyhippy: Waltham, Massachusetts???

Toshiba Man: Yes, ma'am. That is the nearest Toshiba service center in your area.

Monkeyhippy: That's two and a half hours away. I can't take my computer to Waltham, Massachusetts.

Toshiba Man: OK well then ma'am, that is the nearest Toshiba service center.

Monkeyhippy: [more firmly and loudly] That is very far away, I cannot take my computer there. Are there closer options?

Toshiba Man: OK well then ma'am, are there other zip codes near you?

Monkeyhippy: [incredulous pause] Yes, my zip code is, in fact, surrounded by other zip codes.

Toshiba Man: OK well then ma'am, perhaps you could give me another zip code near you and I will see what the nearest Toshiba service center is?

Monkeyhippy: [another incredulous pause] Um... if you look up service centers nearest to zip codes near my zip code, that doesn't change the fact that I still live in my zip code and will be traveling from my zip code.

Toshiba Man: [long pause] OK well yes ma'am. If you do not wish to tell me other zip codes near you then I cannot help you find the nearest Toshiba service center to zip codes near your zip code.

Monkeyhippy: That's... true. Goodbye.

surprise!

And then, almost by accident, I got a promotion/new job (at the same organization).

Over the course of the next month or so, I'll stop being a Study Abroad Coordinator (acronym: SAC) and become the Student Affairs Coordinator (acronym: StAC). This is exciting and nerve-wracking and flattering and sad (the latter because I really do like being a SAC and there are things about it - namely working closely with the Academic Directors and students in a particular set of programs - that I'll really miss). Exciting because it's a new position that I'll essentially get to work closely with my supervisor, who is awesome, to create, and it's lots of safety/security and visa stuff, which is right up my various alleys.

The phone message my brother left for me this afternoon sums it up: "Congratulations... I think. Because it sounds like you're excited... you think."

Exactly.

philosophy for these challenging times

"'Any time you put a yarmulke on poultry, it's inherently funny,' explains Jarrod Tanny of the history department at the University of California, Berkeley."

There's just nothing more to say.

but it's so much more fun to preach to the choir

Whenever I get into political conversations these day, which is often because I actually love talking about politics, except for when it makes me feel like hitting my head against a wall and moving to Canada, I often find myself saying to the person with whom I'm speaking "you HAVE to check out this blog called Revolution In Jesusland."

And as they finish choking on their disbelief or looking at me as if I just said "you have to try sticking your finger in this socket," I explain...

I haven't read nearly as much of it as I want, because usually I'm looking at a blog here and there to give my brain a quick break from the endless stream of emails and phone calls and visa applications and troubleshooting that make up my workday (oh come on, you do it too... unless you are my mother or my friend Barb, who are both just far more focused than we mere mortals) and that's not nearly enough time to read and actually process this particular blog. But I want to, and you should too, because the writers say things like this:

"My point is NOT that we should change our views for Christians’ sake. Not at all. They don’t care what we think. My point is that they are something like half the country — and as long as we carry this false and negative understanding of their culture, then we are cutting ourselves off from having a productive social and political relationship with HALF THE COUNTRY. We may as well quit politics.

Please understand what I am NOT saying: I am not saying that we should try to find common ground with a group that stands against everything we believe in. I’m saying: “Surprise! This huge group stands for almost everything that we stand for—and they’re on the move, organizing tens of millions of Americans around our own very same values: people over profit, the environment over mindless growth, meaning over consumerism, means of making a living and health care for all, care for the needy, peace and more.” But we are divided from them by stereotypes and misconceptions."

And I'll be damned if that's not the most radical, and radically important, thing that I've ever heard anyone on "The Left" say. If we listened, which I'm a little too cynical to think many people will actually do, I honestly think it could change the world.

the beginning of my modeling career

Does this count toward my fifteen minutes of fame?

(Thanks for the photo, Renaissance Man. And special thanks for the disclaimer. Indeed, my sunglasses are not for sale, no matter how good the offer.)

Speaking of Turtle Dove:

Concert! Next Saturday (12/15), 7:30pm, Nelson (NH) Town Hall

Workshops! Sign up! They will change your life. I am serious.

as if we needed further confirmation

The President is completely crazy.

And our judicial system is right there with him.

At what point did we, as a country, lose our minds and become vengeful retributive five-year-olds who stick our fingers in our ears and yell LA LA LA in the face of any argument that disproves our predetermined truths? No matter what we want to think about the corruption of the system (and I'm certainly not arguing that point), we're all responsible for this. Cynicism about the democratic process is pretty much the best way to assure its demise.

Sometimes I'm amazed that I'm generally able to sleep well. Maybe it's because the nightmares are here in broad daylight.

better news

But an evening of quiet and YouTube can work wonders, especially when it leads to wonderful discoveries. This NPR guy searches around for the best and most interesting music he can find, and plays it on this show, and then you can download entire concerts from those people (if you have iTunes). Free.

I love NPR.

evidence

Dinner tonight:

- a pupusa from the freezer
- some bread and yummy Irish cheese (yay for the Brattleboro Food Coop!)
- half a pint of Ben & Jerry's (Phish Food, if you really want specifics)
- whiskey on the rocks (only a little bit, don't worry)

Can you tell I had a rough day?

casting stones

Hypocrisy is so annoying. Especially when it's used to ruin people's lives.