Militant Girl Scouts

Well, it's that time of year again...


What will it be? Samoas, Do-si-dos, or Thin Mints?

I must report that the Girl Scouts of America have descended upon the University of Arizona like a swarm of locusts during the past three days. There must have been 50 young Brownies and Girl Scouts hawking their carb-ladened treats in the center lawn area of the university, set up in no less than EIGHT cookie-selling tents.

WTF?!?!? OK, I was a Girl Scout. When the cookie time of year rolled around, I dreaded it because it meant that I had to walk around my tiny neighborhood of about 12 houses and awkwardly ring the bell and force people to buy something they didn't necessarily want from me. (I've never enjoyed sales.) Of course, the goal was to sell as many cookies as possible for... THE PRIZES IN THE CATALOG! I always aspired to win the boom box or the mini-television or the Sony Walkman. However, my paltry sales generally qualified me for nothing more than the Girl Scouts bookmark set or the ballpoint pen and pencil kit. My parents were NOT taking my cookie sales sheet to work and selling them for me as appears to be the case today -- oh no, I was learning how to market and sell those cookies myself. And yes, I sucked totally and paid the price. There was certainly no sitting outside Safeway with my mom, there was no setting up in mall parking lots, and there was certainly no tent on a university campus. I know, there are a lot of child molesters out there today so it's not safe to go door-to-door anymore, but it just seems so easy now.

How have I become bitter about Girl Scout cookies? Perhaps it is the reprimand I received yesterday from a militant Brownie, who was positioned smack-dab in the middle of the sidewalk as I tried to maneuver my bicycle around her, as she shouted at me to buy her cookies. I had just come from the rec center pool, my hair was standing up in 10 directions from the chlorinated water, and I was trying to scurry through the middle of campus en route to my apartment to take a shower. Bitchy Brownie decides to step forward and shout at me, "Do you wanna buy some cookies?" Feeling as though it would be rude to ignore the child, I yelled out to her, "I already bought some yesterday," in a light-hearted tone, right at the same time she was ending her sales pitch with the word "...cookies?" Had I waited for her to finish her line, I would have been about 10 yards down the pavement (as I was riding quite quickly on my bike), which clearly would not have allowed me to give her an answer. As a result of this small overlap in our verbal exchange, this little nazi screams out at me, "It's rude to talk when other people are speaking!" My mouth dropped in appalling shock... was I just chastised by a Brownie? Should I turn back and confront this little moralistic witch or should I just keep riding? But then I thought, maybe her parents are sitting there and that could get ugly. And honestly, what the hell am I thinking?... the kid is only about 7 years old, and I am a lot more powerful than her. I don't want to scar her early memories. Although a u-turn on my bike followed by a lengthy evil-eye staredown might have been appropriate...


"Buy some cookies from me, bitch, or face my moralistic wrath!"

Cheers!

Sasha chokes again! (Plus a plug for Juan Cole)

I believe this says it all about the Olympics tonight...



My sorrow runs deep. My poor little Sasha choked again... and the Japanese girl was not even all that good!

On another note, outside of my sad skating addiction, I went to a fantastic lecture earlier tonight given by University of Michigan Professor Juan Cole, one of the top Shia Islam scholars in the U.S. He hosts a great blog (uhhh, far more intellectual than mine...) at www.juancole.com. I highly recommend reading it if you want to know what's going on right now in Iraq. His speech was incredibly good (a well-articulated and easy-to-understand explanation of what the hell is going on in Iraq, and what to expect... ummm, more war for many years. Big surprise.) Juan Cole also gets major cool points for being named one of David Horowitz's "101 Most Dangerous Professors," according to the right-wing a**holes anyway. Wow, Juan Cole actually tells the TRUTH about what is going on in the Middle East. I guess that makes a person dangerous.

Also, because I pride my blog on being almost completely non-intellectual, I just have to mention that Juan Cole is extremely similar to Harvey Pekar's co-worker in the movie, American Splendor (ie: "I am going to a mooovie. It is called Revenge of the Neeeerds.") You know who I'm talking about if you've seen the film. But seriously, not only does Juan Cole talk very similarly to the character, Toby Radloff, but he actually looks rather like him too (except that he's loads smarter of course):


American Splendor's Toby Radloff (left) separated at birth from Juan Cole?

It's late, and I have devoted far too much time this evening to figure skating (doing Arabic homework on commercial breaks).
Time for bed. Ciao...

PS - Lamest commentator comment tonight on the Olympics: Sasha doesn't just perform in Romeo and Juliet. She is Juliet. Barfbag please...

Weird and Wacky Tucson

I have discovered over the past seven months that Tucson is a freaking weird place. Some people think it's a good weird, but I have generally concluded that it's more of a bad weird. Here are my thoughts:

1. Pebbles, pebbles, pebbles. They are inescapeable. As there is nary a blade of grass to be found in this town (minus a few apartment complexes, golf courses and small sections of U of A), the general landmass is covered in small brown rocks. These rocks easily get caught in the tread of your shoes, meaning that there are flipping pebbles all over my apartment all the time, on my car's floor mats, and generally anywhere else you can think that your shoes tread upon. Plus, most driveways or parking areas are full of these damn pebbles, and it's one of the first things I noticed upon returning to Tucson from winter break. I couldn't even roll my suitcase from the car to my apartment door! I never thought I'd utter these words, but I really miss pavement. Grass too.

2. There is a bizarre affection for vertical blinds. No matter how old or new a home or apartment is, there is at least a 75% chance the windows will be reeking with vertical blinds. Reeking of the 80s that is, which is when every other city in America realized how totally passe' they looked by the time we hit the 1990s. Tucson keeps chugging though! Here is a photo of the window of a brand new house they are building next to my apartment.


Can you believe they put vertical blinds in a brand new custom home? Yuck!

3. There are more helicopter chases in Tucson than in any other city in which I've lived. For the record, I have lived in many cities, including a residence in Adams Morgan, the heart of Washington, D.C.'s nightlife. OK, fine, it's not Southeast D.C., but still, if there were to be helicopter pursuits/searches in Northwest D.C., I believe Adams Morgan would qualify for a likely venue. Which brings me, weirdly, to Tucson. Not a hot nightlife scene, quiet, dark (no streetlights here), and seemingly peaceful. But when the bewitching hour of 11pm rolls around, especially on Friday nights, this place sounds like a scene from "Cops." So weird.

4. I would like to see demographic statistics of this place because I swear that 50% of the population is under the age of 25, and the other 50% is over 45. Where are mid-range people? Where, oh where?

5. Finally, I am going to address the issue of Tucson's old cars. Today, I decided to scout around my neighborhood on my bicycle after class. Mind you, I only tapped into about six total blocks of street area, yet check out the treasure trove of 70s and 80s automobiles I found in such a tiny radius. The really amusing bit is that my grandmother's old 1988 Honda Accord (with flip-up lights, thank you very much) that I drive here is actually young compared to some of these machines. Here is a photo record of my findings... again, one day --- one neighborhood... the number of old cars simply boggles the mind:

First, the Japanese collection (there are far more old Japanese cars around than American cars, and I attribute that completely to the superiority of Japanese engineering):


My god, what is this car? Its shape says "Datsun" to me, but the back of the car had NO make or model on it so I'm just venturing a guess. Definitely 1970s vintage.



Lo and behold, it's another Datsun. I believe I checked the back of the car, and this is a Datsun 610 Wagon, year unknown. Anyone want to venture a guess?



Oh look! It's a Honda Prelude circa 1979! We had a little 1980 Honda Civic when I was growing up, but I think this is an even older model (when the Civic had that really round little back on its hatchback). Can you believe how much the Prelude has changed? I took this pic in a church parking lot, and the only other car in the lot had all of these crazy Jesus stickers all over it. It reminded me of the Koresh compound so I snapped the picture and scrambled away so as not be questioned by the firebrands.



Here is the Datsun pick-up truck, likely from the early 1980s. Note the "Datsun" logo on the front grill. My dad had a truck just like this when we lived in Florida in 1980, but his was a green Toyota.



This is a Toyota Celica circa 1980 (I must admit to taking this photo in the airport parking lot... but this is the only one taken outside of my small neighborhood). This was the car I had in high school, except that mine was colored butter yellow.

The American Collection:


I was quite sure this was the sedan version of the AMC Eagle (better known as the car given away by Wink Martindale on "Tic Tac Dough"), but upon closer inspection from the chain link fence surrounding this pebble-strewn home, I concluded that it was some type of Chrysler. If anyone can enlighten me in the comments section, I would be a better person for it.



This baby here is a Chevy Nova. Too cool for school.



I love this one. Although it doesn't appear driveable, I have a special affinity for the old Thunderbird because my aunt and uncle had a green one back in the early 80s. I distinctly remember riding in the back seat and being totally psyched about my "mini-window" that I could peer out of.



Let us not forget the 70s workhorse, everyone's favorite: the El Camino. I'm not sure if its owners were protecting the hood from the sun or if they were covering up a gaping hole that spelled out "no engine, " but either way, I had to include it.

6. On a final happy note, I purchased a very eccentric plant over the weekend at the Phoenix Botanical Garden. It's latin name has "fenestreria" or something like that in it (meaning window), but its common name is "baby toes" because it looks like, well, baby toes. However, I assert that it looks much more like a little sack of french fries. Apparently, it gets light through the ends of its stalks, which have these little clear windows. It's really bizarre but oh so cute. It looks bigger in this photo than it really is. It's only about 3 - 4" high and the pot's diameter is only about 5". Here he is perched on my bathroom window sill:


Meow!

Emmett & Emily... Is There a Connection?

OK, I think I'm on to something here. I spotted an interesting connection tonight while watching the women's ice skating short program... here it is: Emily Hughes has hired "auf wiedersehn'ed" fashion designer, Emmett (of Project Runway) to be her costume designer. Maybe it's just the color, but I think I see a link. If you look closely at the first picture, you will see that this is the episode where Emmett was OUT. (I must admit, rightly so.) Sadly, I believe one of the judges might have called his outfit "vulgar" -- and frankly, the only saving grace to Emily Hughes' very dated and rather frumpy garment was the fact that she was at least wearing white skates. She did perform admirably, but I just want to put her in a pantsuit, such as that worn by smart little Irina Slutskaya (who has the same body type). She looked fabulous! Check the pics:

THE EMMETT & EMILY CONNECTION:

To be honest, I think Emmett's "out" dress is actually more attractive than the real deal. Can you even imagine what Michael Kors might have said about the dress on the right?

I AM SO LOVING THE PANTSUIT!

Any "muscle-y" girl should really wear the pantsuit.

I must finally state that if I were a lesbian, I would be marrying Sasha Cohen. Even not being a lesbian, I love her. Not only did she come in first, but she looked great! She might be a diva, but she rules. It's really too bad that Johnny Weir is so flamboyantly effeminate as they might have made an interesting couple...

Waving from the "score booth" -- my mom is annoyed by all the little kissies and hugs and baby waves that go on prior to the release of the scores. She thinks it's very fake.

OK, that's my commentary for tonight. On a final note, I do promise to update on my trip to Phoenix last weekend, but I will leave you with a final image of my glorious Saturday morning, picking fresh tangerines off the tree in my cousin's back yard. Oh, my goodness, is it really February? Are you scraping ice off of your car windows and shoveling snow and seeing your breath while shivering in wind chills below zero? I'm soooo sorry... and here I am picking citrus in Arizona (OK, yes, I am dorky enough to take an "artistic" photo of my own hand selecting fruit):


Good night!

Hanging Out with a Nobel Prize Winner

I mentioned earlier that I am taking a class this semester with the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Shirin Ebadi, who is a human rights advocate and lawyer in Iran. She has been teaching a class here to liberal arts grad students and to law students regarding Islamic Law in Iran for the past two weeks. Our last class is tomorrow (it's only a two week pass or fail course), but it's really been a great experience. She is a tough woman (ie: not a lot of smiles or jokes) but she has a powerful message... which is basically that Islam has been totally misinterpreted by ignorant men to put down women and children. One of her quotes today was that the combination of religion and ideology in the hands of a government is equal to a gun. The woman really makes sense. If you want to read more about her, here is a link to her biography: http://nobelprize.org/peace/laureates/2003/ebadi-bio.html.

Here I am today photographed with her outside of the U of A Law School! She is pretty short...


So tomorrow, I am driving up to Phoenix after my Arabic mid-term exam in the morning. I am going to visit my mom's cousin, Ardith, who has lived there for a few decades. She's making me a "well-needed home-cooked meal" (her words) and then we are going hiking on Saturday morning. Not bad for a woman over the age of 70! She seems very cool... and I am looking forward to spending some quality time with her.

Well, I have to go study for Arabic now, pack my bag for tomorrow night, and then watch Johnny Weir kick some ass on the Olympic ice.

Toodles, Kit

Everyone is Procreating

It's very late here, and I must go to bed, but for some reason I'm still sitting here in front of my computer. I did not watch the Olympics tonight because I had to watch my "Wednesday TV programs," which consist of ABC's "Lost" and Bravo's "Project Runway." I still think Lost is getting more and more ridiculous every week. One of my favorite parts in this week's episode were the clearly fake backdrops/backgrounds they used for Zayid's memories of Iraq. They looked completely computer generated.

As for Project Runway, GO DANIEL V.! I knew Kara would get voted out... she's just too boring and uninspired. I was, however, surprised that everyone turned on Chloe at the end. OK, she's tailored and "safe," but she also designs rather classy-looking garments. However, really, Daniel V. is definitely set to win the finale. Santino doesn't stand a chance with his frilly, goopy, overdone dresses. Yuck... I really don't like his style.

Finally, just a note to say that I got yet ANOTHER phone call from ANOTHER friend who is "with child" (hint: her name starts with a K) and an e-mail today from a different friend that I used to work with in Seattle whose wife is pregnant. This makes a sum total of four pregnant friends now and a friend with a pregnant wife, and a plethora of others who've just had kids. The most interesting part is that every single one of my friends with the exception of one (J. Mack & lil' Kate) have had boys. So this is just a warning for any of you considering childbirth... I seem to be the golden touch for male children. Therefore, if you know me, you have a 95% chance of having a boy. If you want to have a female child, I suggest you cease and desist all contact with me.
Good night to all!

What Would Brian Boitano Do? Go Olympics!

So I'm sitting here at home tonight watching the Winter Olympics, and guess who was in the stands of the men's figure skating short program tonight? Brian Boitano!!!

And guess who met Brian Boitano a couple of years ago at a silent auction in DC? Moi! I met Brian Boitano! He's quite tiny and a bit pale and doesn't look overly "athletic" but then again, 1988 was long time ago... But good lord, who am I to be critical? Look at me in this photo! I look like I weigh about 50 pounds more than I really do ... in fact, I resemble a cow! Eegad, bad picture! But for the sake of celebrity, here is our photo together:


Brian Boitano, 1988 Olympic Gold Medalist, and yours truly. Go Brian!

Let's sing Brian's praises a la South Park:

What would Brian Boitano do
If he was here right now,
He'd make a plan
And he'd follow through,
That's what Brian Boitano'd do.

When Brian Boitano was in the olympics,
Skating for the gold,
He did two sow cows and a triple lutz,
While wearing a blind fold.

When Brian Boitano was in the alps,
Fighting grizzly bears,
He used his magical fire breath,
And saved the maidens fair.

So what would Brian Boitano do
If he were here today,
I'm sure he'd kick an ass or two,
That's what Brian Boitano'd do.

Now here are my final few thoughts on the Olympics (especially for you geeks who are as into watching them as I am):

1. I love the Chinese figure skating couple, Pang and Tong, just because of their names.
2. How about the other Chinese couple where the lady fell and looked like she mangled her knee but then got back on the ice and ended up winning? Very impressive, but their outfits were really garish.
3. I'm liking the pants/tights worn by women in ice skating now, and I think they should ditch those frumpy little skirts. Also, on the whole, I think people should not wear burgandy or brown on the ice. It does nothing for their coloring, and the brown especially looks rather dung-like floating around the white background.
4. NBC is remarkably CHEESY, which is totally unsurprising, but the whole Michelle Kwan memory montage made me want to barf.
5. Bode Miller is an overrated chump.
6. On the other hand, that red-head Shaun White, the snowboarder, is really cool, and I'm glad he won.
7. I love the uber-gay ice skater, Johnny Weir, especially with his dramatic red glove swan short skate. I enjoy that he likes freaking conservative religious people out and even told them to "eat it" in his NBC personal profile.

Blast from the Past

Yesterday turned out very strangely. I started my morning by heading to an early yoga class with my drill sergeant instructor, Katherine, who is an older woman who should really have been in the Gestapo. Isn't yoga supposed to be relaxing and calming? Not with Katherine! She barks out orders and even smacked my leg when I wasn't moving one of my muscles correctly. One of my big problems is the fact that my hamstrings are about as stretchable as a hunk of petrified wood. So when everyone else is lifting their legs up at a 90 degree angle (or more), I'm laying there like a retard with my foot cocked at a pathetic 45 degree angle, wincing in pain even at that effort. I was definitely not one of the kids in gym class that could do the splits, and I quit my efforts at any sort of gymnastics around the age of 4, when even a somersault proved challenging for me. I won't even go into my dismal performance in ballet, which I also quit within several months of starting. Anyway, yoga is also presenting a challenge for me, but I do like it, and the next day I feel as though I have undergone a serious weightlifting session.

OK, so moving on --- I had the world's most bizarre phone call yesterday. My phone rang in the late afternoon, and when I checked my caller ID, I saw that the number said it was from a 494 area code. I had no idea where that could be, so out of curiosity, I answered it. I heard a foreign accent on the other end asking if he were talking to me... who in the hell could this be? I wondered...
Lo and behold, it turned out to be an old German boyfriend of mine (Marc Breuer for those of you that remember him) ... calling from Germany... that I hadn't spoken to since 1999!!! He and I met at an Air Force/Luftwaffe joint training program in, of all places, southern Arizona about 7 years ago. He was a C-160 Transall pilot doing tactical training, and I was the intel briefer during the training sorties. Anyway, he came to visit me once when I lived out in Seattle, but things ended quite badly, and I thought he was pretty much an ass. Apparently, he felt bad all of these years, and so he looked me up and called me out of the blue to apologize for everything that went wrong and to just say hello and see how I was doing. Pretty shocking to hear from him, to say the least!

Anyway, the interesting thing about Marc is that he got out of the Luftwaffe around 2000 and had to make a decision on whether or not he should apply to Lufthansa and be a commercial pilot or whether he should just take a plunge into something new. He ended up taking the risk, enrolled in audio production school, and now owns a music production studio. He's also in a band called "Mafuba" that plays very loud and totally non-Kit-like music, and his hair is down to his mid-back. It's hard to believe how much some things change in just seven years!! He's also married with a seven month old daughter. Here are some pics of Marc and his band for the truly curious:


Marc's promo picture on his band's website


Marc is the guitarist.



In concert.

My Friend Hall of Fame

To My Friends -- the Wing Beneath My Wings... Did I ever tell you you're my heroes? Haha, just kidding before anyone starts gagging...
BUT I did want to take a moment to sing the praises of my wonderful, excellent, and most amazing friends... who have been SO GREAT and SO SUPPORTIVE of me in this endeavor, and I want you all to know how much it has meant to me!! So here it is... my Friend Hall of Fame... and the nominees for most incredible friends are (in alphabetical order to alleviate any concerns regarding favoritism):

NOMINEE #1:

Aspen -- World traveler extraordinaire and true friend. Sent me a delicious box of treats here in Tucson just because she's sweet. Drove me to the airport in Dubai at 5 o' something in the morning to catch a flight. Held my hand throughout my visit to Yemen and proved fearless in the face of Indian curry. Keeps me updated on Arab world events. Gifted linguist and even more importantly, she's pretty damn hilarious.

NOMINEE #2:

Kelly C. --- Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority sister and my most faithful care package sender. So far she's sent one per semester to keep me going! And not only that, she even included potato sticks, Snickers minis, and a very large array of generally unhealthy snacks to keep me smiling when I have an urge for chocolate or sugar. My dentist might not approve of Ms. C, but she gets my vote as one of the best friends a person could ask for. Not to mention, she wins big cool points for eloping in Hawaii last year.

NOMINEE #3:

Marianne -- Prepared me for my move by sending me the fabulous book entitled, "Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life" and sends the nicest and most sincere e-mails on a regular basis. Excellent correspondent. Down-to-earth, realistic, and honest. Always there when you need her. Enjoys dancing with strange Latino men wearing antlers. Thanks, Marianne, for being such a great friend!

NOMINEE #4:

Johanna "JoJo" -- now known as Preggers Forkner (due to hatch next month). Sent the most amazing Thanksgiving care package to me here in Tucson that included almond champagne (drunk a couple of weekends ago... mmmm), cranberry sauce, turkey napkins & centerpiece, and some turkey noodle casserole item in a can that continues to languish in my cupboard. Jo is the best friend ever... so many Seattle memories... what happened to the days of kissing street signs and rejecting lame dorks in Teeny Bigs? Alfredo and The Eagle live on forever...

NOMINEE #5:

Stephanie -- Not only did she donate two 12" ponytails to "Locks of Love," but she also found the time to send me the best care package ever last semester... including hilarious and totally non-pc notes about how different school supplies could help me learn about the Arab world a little bit better. After all, we've lived it! Ahh, all the fun we had in Turkiye... between the rental car mafia, flirtatious gate guards (Ekrem), and stinking solche, I couldn't have survived it there without Steph. Mmmmwwwaaa... big kiss.

NOMINEE #6:

Eleanor -- (OK, her husband Dean can be included too) My number one graduate school advisor, critic, and empathetic ear. Without her help I never would have made a clear-headed decision about grad school. Thanks for all the great advice... no one quite "tells it like it is" like she does. Plus, Eleanor is often very funny without even trying, and that is a great trait. Thanks too for the delicious dinners on football nights, and thanks to Dean for the invaluable Enterprise rental car help! Congrats too on the baby boy... woo hoo!

NOMINEE #7:

Katrina -- A great friend since 1996... we survived San Angelo, Texas together and our first year in the Air Force! Smart, witty, and ALWAYS in a good mood. Also a great hostess en route to Arizona. Thanks for the delicious dinner of REAL Kansas beef (even though we are all semi-vegetarians!!)... I still dream of burnt ends at Jack Stack's. On top of all that, last semester she sent me a really cool wooden lion from her safari in Kenya that is now perched upon my living room end table.

NOMINEE #8:

Kelley O. -- Just as goofy in real life as she is in this photo, which is why I love this girl so much. My bunion partner in crime. Italian opera and toe cheese breath afficianado. Men in southern France swoon over her. My European travel buddy (or at least she was until her husband took my spot!). Absolutely high energy all the time. Moves from 0 to 60 in the blink of an eye. Surprised me with a wonderful package last week full of tasty items... while the healthy pretzels and Emergen-C continue to fester at the bottom of the box, I have already cleaned out the Sourpatch Kids and shortbread cookies. Am I sensing a theme here?

NOMINEE#9:

Paola -- Always up for fun. Always on the go. Always ready to share some expensive wine. Best make-up and jewelry collection of anyone I know... and is willing to share it all... even better. From Vegas to Key West to South Beach to Assateague, it's been a fun several years, but nothing beats the NYC bus ride! Special thanks to Paola for sending her old cell phone out here to me in Tucson when I dropped mine last fall... I would have been S.O.L. without her fantastic phone... with zillions of U2 ringtones, of course.

NOMINEE #10:

Jen -- (and her husband Tom is pretty cool too) Long-time friend and Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority sister. Extremely loyal and always up for dinner, wine, and reality television. Progressed from Melrose Place and 90210 addictions to the Apprentice and Project Runway! We do love our reality programming. Also very generous and sends me postcards from EVERY single country she ever visits (which is a LOT of postcards). Thanks too for sending me the lovely and colorful scarf this Christmas... it's really gorgeous!

NOMINEE #11:

Dana -- My favorite southern belle. Moved to New Haven last year... thus DC was never the same again. Always up for fun. Always happy. Definitely a glass-half-full-type. Planned hilarious river tubing trips every summer in which all of her friends traveled to the West Virginia mountains via St. Alban's school bus. Loves to sing Duran Duran... bonus points for knowing every word to every song Simon LeBon ever sang. Best recent perk: Arranged to have a Yale doctoral student live in my apartment over Christmas break... thanks for helping me find a subletter!!!!

NOMINEE #12:

Miguel -- My sweetheart boyfriend. Baked cookies for the first time in his life last semester and mailed them to me. Said he didn't believe in the consumer holiday of Valentine's Day but then sent me a box with a gift last week (that I haven't opened yet). Knows me better than almost anyone. Reads my expressions like a book. Sends me a card every single week to tell me he's thinking of me. Funny funny funny... always makes me laugh. Does great impressions and makes hilarious faces. Quirky like me. Plus he's pretty hot. xoxoxoxo

NOMINEE #13:

Nichole (and her darling husband, Luis) -- Gorgeous hair and a great cook. Always ready to have a good time. Loves red wine and dinner parties and is an excellent hostess. Luis is a master of the grill and a Mexican taco-maker extraordinaire. Threw the world's best wedding celebration in Mexico in 2004. Top-notch party-planner and general organizer. Loyal, faithful, and kind friends! Thanks to both of you!!!

NOMINEES #14 and 15:

Lindsey and Shauna -- My Tucson support base. Thank you, ladies, for making my life a lot more entertaining out here in wild and wooly Arizona. Between the cats and the Indians, we've had quite a bit of fun, I suppose.

NOMINEE#16:

The Ladies of ITA -- (especially Katy and Mack) Thanks for all the laughs over the years and talking to me ad nauseum about my decision to go back to grad school. Thanks too for not giving me a gold and walnut wall plaque when I left. Thanks for the gorgeous silver necklace and earrings. Thanks for being f***ing hilarious every single day in that nitnoid office! I couldn't have done it without you ladies!! Hey, am I wearing the infamous green skirt in this photo???

NOMINEE #17: (no photo available) Sara -- Thanks for all of the happy hours, advice, and sharing of frustrations! Thanks also for the Bed, Bath and Beyond gift certificate. I got myself a "Yankee Candle" wax burner so my apartment smells fabulous all the time!

AND... I would be remiss if I didn't recognize my clearly adorable and very hip mother, Victoria... see how cute she is? I won't get all sappy so just thanks for EVERYTHING, Mom... (packages, gifts, phone calls, etc etc)


Also big hugs to my brother, Taylor, his wife, Cameron, and my oh-so-cute niece Isabella. Thanks for the Starbucks card and the amusing phone calls reminiscing about goofy childhood memories!!!


THANKS TO ALL OF MY FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just studying for yet another Arabic test

Well, it's time for another weekly Arabic test. I am feeling much like the character in the drawing here to the left. By the way, for those of you who are into Project Runway, which should be, like, ALL of you, this is a cartoon by Diana Eng, who was one of my favorite contestants until she got auf-wiedersehn'ed by Heidi Klum. Sidenote: Chloe did deserve to win last night, and my favorite comment was by the uber-gay Michael Kors, who said that Daniel V's dress looked like an "80s Bitch Dress from Knot's Landing." I still think that Santino should get the heave-ho soon. His poo-brown 70s jumpsuit was incredibly ugly!! I have to say that Nick's purple sharkskin suit was pretty bad though. If I'd had my druthers as a judge, I would have gotten rid of Nick during the "garden/plant" contest, and then ditched Santino this time around. Andrae should have stuck around!

Well anyway, back to the cartoon... luckily, I don't have any real jerks in my life at the moment, but I've had my share of them over the last 10 years. Oh, well, now that I think about it, actually I was sort of hit on this morning by some unattractive painter who is painting the exterior of the new house next to my apartment complex. He asked me if I wanted to help him paint, and I told him I would help him if he paid me. So he said he'd be happy to pay me, but then I said I had to go to class. So he told me to "stop by" after class and continued hollering things out to me as I hot-footed it toward campus. Well, when I did get back from class, I was so paranoid about having another weird and awkward conversation with the guy, that I fell off my bike trying to get it up the curb, fearing that he would spot me and come out to "flirt" --- but luckily I did make it inside in the knick of time before he saw me.

On a last note, I would just like to say that I have the best and nicest friends EVER! Today I got my SECOND care package of the semester from my lovely friend, Kelley O'Connor. Check back tomorrow for the wall of fame celebrating my wonderful friends... I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SUPPORTING ME!!!!

Tucson Gem & Mineral Show... and other tidbits

Hello again,

I am going to try my best to start writing again here at least every few days (as opposed to my lazy once a week efforts of late), but it's been really hard for me to get back in the swing of things again after my delightful trip home to DC over Christmas. Sadly, I have been spending more time this semester watching TV and fooling around on the internet than I did last semester, which also means that I have been neglecting my blog. So... here is what's going on:

1. I got an A on my Islamic Law paper (written about a few entries ago), which I am thoroughly pleased about considering I have never looked at the Quran (or a Bible for that matter) in my life. Woo hoo, I guess even a God-doubting agnostic can understand something spiritual.

2. My Arabic class is rapidly getting a lot harder this semester. I got (oh horrors) an 85.7% on my first exam! No way! That stinks! I made the dumbest mistakes, but it was a really difficult test! The other new addition to Arabic class is that we have to have native speaker "conversation partners" who we have to meet with about twice a month. I got matched up with this Saudi engineer named Ammar, who is from Dammam (Eastern Province). He's in his early 20s, and I've only met him once, when all the Saudi exchange students came to meet us in class one day last week. He's a portly little guy, but he seemed the friendliest of the bunch, even though he barely speaks English (which makes setting up meeting times quite the challenge). Our first meeting is this Friday at 3pm (I think... haha) at Starbucks so I will report more later.

3. My cough is slowly diminishing although I am still hacking away every now and then. One cool thing this semester is that I am signed up in an Islamic Human Rights seminar for the next two weeks with the (2001?) Nobel Peace Prize winner, Shirin Ebadi, who is a female lawyer from Iran. Her first class started last Monday, and so far it's been really very good. We covered Iranian history on Monday and Tuesday, and today we discussed the Iranian Constitution and government structure. Very interesting. The reason I bring this up with my "cough" paragraph is that I had the worst coughing fit in class today. I tried to suppress the tickle in my throat because I had already coughed through a good bit of her lecture (the class only has 50 students in a small lecture room) so I already felt self-conscious, but then I realized that I really was going into a bit of a coughing seizure. My attempts to hold it in left me turning red in the face, watery in the eyes, and feeling as though I were about to explode. Putting my head down toward my backpack, I had no choice but to let the cough loose, and so I spazzed out coughing for about a good minute, just enough so that everyone sitting near me could not even hear her interpreter. I have no doubt that Shirin Ebadi now must think of me as "the sick girl on the side of the room" although she did keep talking as though she didn't even notice my gasps for breath and disgusting phlegm-like coughing fits. I did appreciate that greatly.

4. My yoga class went well, although I had an aforementioned coughing fit at the beginning of class on Sunday, when the teacher was chanting in Hindi and the class of 8 people was sitting Indian-style semi-meditating in what was supposed to be silence. I was definitely a bit of a mood breaker. The teacher finally asked me if I needed a drink of water (as if that would quell the virus emerging from my lungs) and I was forced to apologize repeatedly for ruining the mood of the class. Luckily, I got most of it out of my system and was able to get through class... I really enjoyed it although I feel certain I will never be able to touch my toes without bending my legs. I have the flexibility of a steel beam.

5. I also went to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show on Saturday with some girls from my department. I really enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I was not overly enthused about looking at rocks and geodes for half a day, but as it turned out, the show had some really cool jewelry and TONS of beads, rocks, silver, etc etc for jewelry making. I spent oodles on supplies (mostly small rocks & beads), but I figured that in the long run, I can make lots of necklaces for friends and save myself money on gifts in the future (yes, my friends, prepare yourself for my creative efforts!!). The show is set up at about 10 budget hotels all along the frontage road of I-10. Indeed, a rather weird set-up. I thought it would be at a convention center, but instead these small hotels put tents up in their parking lots and courtyard areas, and sellers also set up booths inside the hotel rooms along the courtyards. Below are some photos of the show...


This is a typical tent at the show.



Above is an example of another type of booth. Now, listen when I say that there are ALL TYPES of people at this event, from all over the world, as this is the biggest gem show in the world, and it draws thousands of merchants and buyers. However, there is one type of person that really loves this sort of thing. This person is known as "the Cherohonkee" --- here is a quick description: "White babyboomers (male or female) who are obsessed with Native American culture. They live in the southwest or west, preferably in adobe homes. Their hobbies include hosting drum circles, making chamomile tea, and dancing with wolves. They have a unique affinity for turquoise jewelry and prefer living in the country or in a liberal-minded town that hasn't been spoiled by McDonald's, the Gap, Wal-Mart, and other scourges of the white man. Cherohonkees believe that Americans have lost their undersanding of the interconnectedness of all things. They begin emulating the traditional cultures of Native Americans in protest of the post industrial pillaging of the earth." The booth above provides an example of the ultimate Cherohonkee exhibit at the gem show (the CDs for sale are of Native American music, and speakers were playing the flute-like music a la Kevin Costner in "Dances with Wolves").



Here are the girls with who I went to the show: Alana, Shauna (my god, check out that sourpuss face... I think someone really DISLIKED the gem show and just wanted to be home snuggling with her Persian lovegod), and Rachael.


Oh and finally, here is a picture from a party I went to last Friday evening at the home of the head of the Middle Eastern Studies Department here at U of A:

I found this picture particularly amusing because Shauna a) has a giant hamburger placed before her, and b) is sandwiched between the two men of her life... Dr. Talattof, her Persian instructor, on the left, and her main squeeze, Rouzbeh, on the right. Hey, wait a minute, is that a "Members Only" jacket? :-)

Cough Cough Cough

Hello, cough, I (cough) am cough (now sans parentheses) sitting cough in front of my cough computer and I cough am coughing (cough) a lot. I must cough be driving my neighbors cough insane. Really, cough, this is how often cough I am coughing. I think cough that I must have some cough sort of cough bronchial infection. I have cough no energy at all cough. And sadly cough I must do a lot of cough homework tonight cough cough cough. I am also starting to cough notice how weird cough the word cough looks when cough you're writing it lots of cough times in a row. This coughing cough cough sucks!!!!!!!!!!!! I will write about what I have cough been doing (I PROMISE) cough when I am feeling better, but cough right now I am in recovery cough mode. I have cough been coughing for almost a full week cough non-stop. I must do my homework cough and go to bed cough before my head cough implodes. Cough cough cough cough cough.
Good(cough)night...
THE COUGHER FROM HELL, AKA Poor Little Me

Gem Show and Yoga Weekend

There are only two things going on in my life right now aside from school:

1. Spending far too much money at the annual Tucson Gem and Mineral Show (more on this in a later entry)

and

2. I am going to my first yoga class tomorrow here in Tucson! My mom got me a gift certificate for an Iyengar yoga studio out here, and my first class starts tomorrow!

Tomorrow I will update you with a full status report on the above two items. However, tonight I must go to bed in order to wake up rested for my morning yoga class. Not to mention that I have contracted the world's most annoying and tiresome bronchial cold and have been coughing non-stop for 2 days now. My head feels as though it is about to rupture. Therefore, I just want to climb in my bed right now, put chapstick on my running nose, snuggle into my flannel sheets, and cough myself to sleep...

Until later...
Typhoid Mary

Serious Procrastination

This will be quick because I was supposed to be studying all day, and it's now 6:45pm, and I haven't cracked a book open yet. I have an Arabic test tomorrow, but I'm not overly concerned. I'm also supposed to be doing a lot of reading that I haven't done yet, but I do have the evening ahead of me. Ahh, the joys of working under pressure. (insert Freddie Mercury singing.. "under pressure... doo do do daa dee" --- a la Vanilla Ice later on).

Anyway, whatever, I am rambling. I had a good weekend. Went to a grad student happy hour on Friday night that was absolutely packed with people, to my surprise. I thought it would be dork central, but it was refreshingly decent with some fun looking people there. Lindsey and Shauna didn't have quite as much fun as me though, and they pulled me away around 8pm. So we came back to my humble abode, invited our classmate Christina over, and played my new card game from Christmas, "Pirate's Loot" and some Boggle as well. A rocking Friday night if ever there was one!

Then on Saturday, Shauna invited me on a picnic up to Mt. Lemmon with her new man "Rouzbeh" and his friends, Farauz and Farsheed (I haven't a clue how to spell these names). Farauz is a bit husky and a little older (ahem, 27) and plays classical guitar very well. Farsheed is a bit edgier, and to be frank, he's really sort of right off the boat, having arrived from Iran only 6 months ago. Interesting to say the least. It was sort of a day out of Iran except that we were still in Arizona (ie: Persian spoken about 50% of the time, Persian music in the car on the drive up the mountain, Persian singing at the picnic site). And if you've ever been to the Middle East (esp. in mountainous areas like Turkey, or Iran) you will know that picnicking is a popular weekend activity. Especially grilling. Which is exactly what we did -- a delicious mix of ground beef kebab and a steak and saffron kebab were the offerings (more red meat than I have eaten in years), and the most tasty salad ever --- known as Shirazi salad -- with the usual mix of cucumbers, red onion, tomato, and a zing of lime juice and olive oil. Ahh, delicious!

I had to do some serious laundry this morning, however, to eradicate the scent of burning pine wood from my clothes. Today, I didn't do much except hit the swimming pool (as usual). Otherwise, I have been hibernating in my studio apartment, cleaning the floors, kitchen, and bathroom, and just blathering around.

Ta-ta for now!

Sitting in my chair all day & night

Hello, lameness. I have been attached like glue to my olive green, $9.99 plastic chair from IKEA for approximately 12 hours. It looked like a beautiful day outside, from what I could see through my vertical blinds. Too bad I was fixated in front of this damn machine, reading an exceedingly long chapter of the QURAN and assessing its legal and ethical injunctions. Oh, and as my professor asked, also feeling free to comment on any verses that fell outside of that binary framework. Huh? Yeah, huh. And as an additional treat I also got to spend 2.5 hours reciting (in Arabic) on my little webcam a minute and a half monologue about some guy named Khalid who "dekheltu koolayit ettajara" -- entered business school. Thrill a minute my life is. I realized something was really wrong when I drove over to my department's building tonight to drop off my 6-page Quranic paper and couldn't find parking anywhere. Finding this odd (one can usually find parking next to the building in the evenings), I completely illegally parked in a construction zone and walked toward the building. In so doing, I ran into a number of 20-something young females all decked out in tight jeans, hoochie tops, UGG boots (frankly, the uniform around this place), and loads of make-up, and suddenly remembered that it was Saturday night. My outfit? Pajama pants, long sleeve t-shirt that I slept in last night, an old blue sweatshirt, thick navy socks with the Grinch on both sides, Speedo slide-on sandals, and no bra. Oh, and might I mention that I haven't even combed my hair today. God, I'm hot.

Don't Give Up On Me!!!

For those of you who think I've died, I just wanted to confirm to you that I am still well and breathing. I'm starting to get frantic notes in my e-mail inbox inquiring as to whether I have been kidnapped by government agents, but alas, I am alive and well and now back in Tucson. Bah humbug...

The good news? I am taking fewer credits this semester and the weather here still rocks. (I have already been swimming outside multiple days since I've been back...)

The bad news? I still don't really like anyone in my lame department, and my closest friend here (Shauna) has all but evaporated with the discovery of her new Siamese-twin boyfriend, also known as Rouzbeh (pronounced Rooz-bay... it's Persian). Miguel is now calling Shauna "Rouz-babe." Indeed.

So now it's just me, my old teddy bear, and my computer on Friday and Saturday nights. Yes, how insanely crazy and wild my college life is! I have decided to focus on getting in serious shape this semester by varying my work-out routine from just swimming. I'm adding weight-lifting and doing the eliptical trainer for at least 30 minutes as well, and so far I feel very healthy!

Miguel also bought me an MP3 player for Christmas, and I made use of it tonight at the gym. Definitely an added plus to any work-out.

I'm also seriously into watching "Project Runway" -- what a great TV show. Not only is it reality TV (my personal favorite genre... how embarrassing to admit), but it involves people with creativity and talent! How marvelous! BTW, my favorite designer is Daniel V. (with the longish hair and big nose) --- always tailored and classic. He is the best...

I used to be really into the show "Lost," but it's just really jumping the shark this year. The new characters, the opening of the hatch... all lame. My mom told me she watched an episode last week (with Mr. Eko's story) and said that his intense facial expressions through every single scene annoyed her to no end, and she said she didn't know how he didn't just burst out laughing during the filming b/c it was all so ridiculous. I had to agree in retrospect.

Nothing more to report. Just living life as a hermit... waiting for spring 2007 to arrive and my escape from Tucson...
Cheeri-o,
Kit