Thursday, June 25, 2009

And the guessing game begins...

Another Peace Corps update, my friends.

It seems as if my only medical restriction this time around will be my ears--due to the problem I inherited during PC Philippines. This means I cannot serve in any tropical environment and, if Office of Medical Services doesn't screw everything up, will be placed in Eastern Europe/Central Asia & leave this September. This, of course, is a guess by my hardworking recruiter and should not be taken as fact yet (for those of you who are unfamiliar with the PC system). If OMS meddles and finds something wrong with me, the process could get brutal (as some of you well know.) So I'm trying to be my optimistic self and believe that everything will turn out in the end. And that the process will hurry along this second time. I'm very much ready to get out and see the world again!

More to follow...

Monday, June 22, 2009

Approved!

Today I heard from Peace Corps! I have (finally) been approved for re-enlistment. Yaaay! Which means I am now in the “medical clearance” stage. Luckily I met with my doctor today and she expressed excitement that I have no medical restrictions this time around, considering how hard I’ve been building up the muscles around my knee with kick boxing, etc. So, hopefully, my medical will be cleared by mid-August and I will be placed by the end of that month—which means I will depart sometime this fall, as early as this September. If I’m placed in by this Fall, I would not serve in Asia but on one of the other continents. No idea which one. Worst case scenario, if I’m not immediately medically cleared, I will not leave until January where I will be placed in Northern Asia—which is either China or Mongolia. I’m 95% sure it would be Mongolia…Brr…

I have no aversion to Mongolia, but I really do not want to wait THAT long to leave. That’s more than a year since my release from the Philippines (due to medical reasons). So, hopefully, Office of Medical Services performs a miracle and approves me this summer! Keep your fingers crossed, my friends!

More to follow…

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Forest People

So, today was just really weird.

It started out normal (as normal as my life is at the moment). I worked out all morning and read most of the afternoon. Didn't head outside until 2:00, when I felt it was hot enough outside to suntan and read. I was just about to...ehm...um, tan, when I heard voices. Now, this is alarming only because my parent's home is nestled deep within the woods. People in our woods is a foreign concept. So foreign, in fact, that I assumed the 3 teens I saw from my distant vantage point were homeless. They had buckets are were playing above the our waterfall--which all can be seen from a 100 yards away if you look down from the hill where my father's honey shop is located.

Me, being me, wanted to help. So I made PB sandwiches and went in search for them. This was, of course, after calling my mom--who in turn called my Dad & the sheriff. I received orders to NOT approach them. Uh, yeah...okay. I waited patiently for my dad or the sheriff, but then my dog started freaking out and went charging into the woods. I heard screams, shouts and barking dogs. This made me go charging into the woods to coral the dog. The kids threw a rock at my dog and went running into the woods when they saw me. I should mention this all took place on my parent's 15 acres. I know those woods inside and out. But I had no desire to scare the kids. So I shushed the still barking dog and called out to the kids that I was a friend and meant them no harm. That I only wanted to help. At this point I called my friend, Becca, to let her know what I was up to. She did not like the plan that involved me marching through the woods while strangers were lurking about. I didn't know these kids were kids at the time. They seemed older from the distance I saw them from.

The poor dears. I felt so sad for them. As I was walking home, my mind running wild with story ideas, one of our neighbors drove by me. She stopped to ask if everything was okay. Apparently I looked upset. (I have no poker face.) I told her my worry and she asked if it was her kids. Uh...she has kids? Our neighbors live up the log road about 1/2 mile. We rarely see them, unless we're walking on the log road and they happen to drive by (which was the case now.) She was so embarrassed and kept apologizing. She explained that her kids just loved playing in the creek and really, really loved our waterfall. This surprised me, because we had rules growing up (and still now) to never go on the neighbors property. It just wasn't done! So, I was really glad everything was cleared up. And that the kids I saw were not homeless, only wearing their pajamas in the forest & pretending to have an adventure. I can relate to the latter. Like I said, I grew up in those woods.

This whole situation was disturbing. I am so relieved to learn we did not have poor people living in our woods, but the fact that the idea crossed my mind as legitimate is a concern. The poverty people around the world face right now (even here at home) is heart wrenching to witness. It worries me that someday, possibly soon, that today's misunderstanding could easily become tomorrow's reality. The best we can do for those less fortunate is to offer friendship and no judgment. Be a friend to everyone, acquaintances and strangers alike. For now more then ever do we need to love one another and share the wealth.


ps--the PB sandwiches served well as dinner. :-)

Friday, June 5, 2009

Dreams are not for whimps!

"Take a look at yourself in the mirror.
Who do you see looking back?
Is it the person you want to be?

Or is there someone else you were meant to be?
The person you should have been, but fell short of?

Is someone telling you, you can't or you wont?
Cause you can!

Believe that love is out there.
Believe that dreams come true everyday. Because they do.

Sometimes happiness doesn't come from money, or fame, or power.
Sometimes happiness comes from good friends and family. And from the quiet nobility of leading a good life.

Believe that dreams come true everyday. Because they do.

Believe that dreams come true everyday. Because they do.

So take a look in that mirror and remind yourself to be happy. Because you deserve to be. Believe that!

And believe that dreams comes true everyday. Because they do!" ~OTH season 6 finale


I've always been labeled a hopeless romantic. Since high school, people have been telling me this. But then, and especially now, I'm not so sure. Do I like romance? Of course! But I'm too practical to be labeled "hopeless." My commonsense has kept me safe thus far from the pain romance often brings. I may be sheltering myself, true, but I still believe this is for the best.

To me, it's saner to jump out of an airplane then it is to allow yourself to fall in love. Because at least with one you have a parachute. The other can leave you broken and bleeding on the pavement.

I am definitely and adventurer. I love to do the unexpected and the dangerous. I love Peace Corps for many reasons, but also because it feeds the independent adventurer within. I look forward to tattoos, sky diving and driving really, really fast. But falling in love? That is an adventure I've kept myself from having.

It's not that I don't want to fall in love, or to be loved. I just don't think it's possible. I've seen what "love" does to people. I never want to surrender myself completely to another person only to be betrayed in the end. I grew up with that love and I've come close enough to that kind of love as an adult to scare the living daylights out of me!

But, I also believe that dreams do come true. Just not in the way that we may have expected. So, it is my attitude to continue to secretly dream and to have no expectations. Not lower them, but to cease having them. No expectations leaves little room for disappointment.

So I continue to dream and to wait for love. I wait for the man who's strong enough to capture my heart. Because if he can, I can promise him, he'd have me forever. But I expect an equal trade. I'd settle for nothing less! <3

Monday, June 1, 2009

Be supportive! Care.

Check out the link below, please, and sign the petition to demand better care for women who require Mastectomies. Everyone can make a difference, please do this small & fast task to assure the health and safety of a sister, daughter, mother, aunt, friend, stranger.

[caption id="attachment_115" align="alignnone" width="613" caption="Be a hero! Click on the picture to save lives."]Be a hero! Click on the picture to save lives.[/caption]