30 day challenge, Day 5

Day 5-Your siblings

I already mentioned that I'm the oldest of six kids. Out of respect for their privacy, I won't put anything in here that isn't on facebook :)  Seriously though, I'll keep it simple.

Next after me is a sister who is a little under 18 months younger. She's married to an Air Force officer, and they have a beautiful nearly-four-year-old daughter.

Then come the boys, one almost 4 years younger than me, the other 6 1/2 years younger. Both are married, and both are enslisted in the Navy. They're both nuclear-trained Machinst Mates. One is finishing up instructor duty at nuclear power school, and the other is on a submarine in Hawaii.

I've mentioned my two younger sisters before on this blog. One is a little more than 11 years younger, the youngest a little more than 14. There is no better form of birth control on the planet for a teenager than for there to already be a baby in the house. I was NOT trying to have one of my own!!  They're both amazing young women, extremely smart and funny and witty.  Every time I see some bratty teenage girl on TV or out in public, I'm reminded of how proud I am of my sisters and of the fact that it IS in fact possible for teenage girls to be polite, productive members of society.

And there you have it - 5 siblings, 3 siblings-in-law. Holidays are never boring!

30 day challenge, Day 4

Day 4-Your parents

My parents pretty much rock.  I'm not even sure where to start on this. Any couple that can successfully raise 6 pretty damn awesome kids.... I mean, you have to admire that.

My dad spent his career in the Navy. He was gone a lot when I was a kid, but I never felt like he wasn't around.  Of course, I'm definitely a little jealous of my youngest sisters, since he left sea duty for the last time when they were pretty little. But he was what I strived to be as a Naval officer, and to be honest, what I strive to be even today. He taught me that as long as you can wake up every morning, look yourself in the mirror, and feel good about yourself and who you are, nothing else matters.

My mom stayed home most of my childhood. She'd watch a neighbor kid after school here and there, and when my youngest brother was in pre-school, she started teaching there. When my parents moved back to the DC area after I graduated from high school, she went back and has been there ever since. Even after 6 kids at home, she still loves being around children, and is amazing with them.

Both of my parents volunteer any spare time they have with the Arthritis Foundation.  They're amazing people, and as bratty as I was as a teenager, I admire them and appreciate them now more than they'll ever know.

30 day challenge, Day 3

Day 3-Your first love

Ha.  This is kind of a funny one, I'm not gonna lie. My first love was probably Lionel from the Thundercats.

But no, really. I said "I love you" as a high schooler, just like everyone does. But I think my first actual love, or at least something that actually represented love, was a guy that I'd known in high school and reconnected with in college. I thought it was love at the time, but hindsight is always 20/20, and it turns out that it really wasn't.

Of course, nothing is actually real love until you find the one. Luckily for me, I've found him :)

30 day challenge, Day 2

Day 2-Meaning behind your blog name

Its actually pretty simple.  When I was in school, I was dating this guy who, instead of saying things were cool, he said they were "the business."  I, like plenty of other people, will pick up sayings or phrases or speaking styles from the people I spend the most time around, and I used it a few times. In front of my USNA sponsor brothers. With whom I had just recently been discussing my lack of nickname where they all had them. So I became Franchise. When I started this blog, I of course assumed that it would be INCREDIBLY amazing, so it became The Business.

The subheading, "These words are my diary screaming out loud," comes from the Anna Nalick song "Breathe" - you've probably all heard it before, especially if you watch Grey's Anatomy or listened to the radio ever in 2005. It just fits, I think.

So there you have it!

Just something to ponder

I found this post linked on a blog that I follow. Take a read, I think it pretty much sums up how Congress sucks.

A Letter to Congress from a Military Wife

Please excuse my ranting

I know what you're all thinking: "3 posts in one day? Holy crap, Rebecca must be bored at work. No wonder she's not considered essential and is going to be furloughed when the government shuts down!"

And that, my friends, is what I'm going to take a few minutes to rant about right now. Sorry in advance for the tons of caps. I'm angry.

1. Just because a position is considered non-essential for this shutdown DOES NOT MEAN THE JOB IS NOT NECESSARY.  The documents that I own are all for federally-mandated programs. My Agency wouldn't know what to do in this shutdown if it wasn't for a couple of the things I'm responsible for writing. All non-essential means is that if I'm not here for a little while, the world will not end and the sky will not fall. IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT MY JOB SHOULD BE CUT.

2. If the government shuts down solely over the conflict about funding for Planned Parenthood, I WILL BE PISSED. Do I like abortion? Not really, but I can only decide that for myself. Do I like all the other services PP provides, like birth control and cancer screenings? Hells yeah I do. And oh, by the way, funding said organization IS NOT A BATTLE WORTH SHUTTING DOWN THE GOVT AND F-ING TONS OF PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR PAYCHECKS.

3. I love how the Tea Partiers want to talk about how the Military is untouchable budget wise, but say go ahead and shut the government down. I wonder if these people realize that their kid in Iraq / Afghanistan / underway / whatever WILL NOT GET A PAYCHECK ON TIME. For all those junior enlisted guys who are barely above the poverty line as it is, that's gonna be a HUGE problem. So Tea Partiers, wanna rethink that?

4. All those sightseers who want to come to DC and see museums and monuments are going to be roaming around our fair city BORED TO DEATH, because all of that stuff is going to be closed. Sucks to be you, especially if you thought the shutdown wouldn't affect you.

5. I apologize to any and all people that I have been straight bitchy to this week. This shutdown thing is affecting my mood because who doesn't prefer their vacation paid? I mean, as much as I miss spring break, at least when I was in school my (itty bitty) paycheck was still the same in the months when I had breaks. This one? Not so much. And since all of the free things to do (see the museums and monuments referenced in #4) will be closed, its not gonna be much of a vacation. Maybe I shouldn't have taken April off from classes after all...

6. There has been SO MUCH rumor and misinformation put out about this whole thing that it makes me sad. I know the individual agencies have been limited in what they're allowed to put out, but at the very least they should be allowed to do some rumor control. Its REALLY bad. Slowly, as we get closer to the actual day of, the info is getting clearer and more accurate, but I heard and saw more BS at the beginning of this week...

7. REALLY??? The Republicans propose another week CR that completely funds the DOD for the rest of the year and WANTS TO INCLUDE A BAN ON FUNDING ABORTION IN DC IN IT??? THIS IS NOT THE F-ING TIME FOR THIS PEOPLE!!!! Of course the President rejected it. But now the Republicans (esp the Tea Partiers who seem to think most Americans care about abortion RIGHT THIS SECOND) are going to say see? The President and the Democrats want a shutdown! NO THEY DON'T - THEY WANT YOU TO STOP BEING STUPID. GRRRR.

OK, that's enough. You get my drift, I'm annoyed and angry and to make it clear, I blame everyone for this. Perhaps the Republicans a little bit more in the moment, but if the Democrat-controlled Congress had just passed a damn budget before the start of the Fiscal Year (WHICH WAS OCTOBER FREAKING 1ST) then we wouldn't be in this position.

But hey, on the plus side, the weather's supposed to be getting warmer, I'm behind on several of my TV shows, and my "to read" list in my Kindle has been building. So at least I've got that...

30 day challenge Day 1

Day 1-Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts

Hello, I'm Rebecca, but you all knew that already.

Here's a recent(ish) picture of me with my youngest sister at my 30th birthday party.

And my 15 facts, although I can't promise you'll find them as interesting as I do:
1. I am borderline narcoleptic and take Ritalin every day to stay awake. Yup, like an ADD kid, except not quite.
2. I'm the oldest of 6 kids. Which means I have maternal instincts. But I still prefer other peoples' kids, for now.
3. I can't (nor would I ever want to) imagine a life without music.
4. I have an extremely low tolerance for stupidity.
5. I have never met a potato that I did not want to eat.
6. I like to argue. Probably a little too much. I think sometimes it annoys people. In fact, I'm sure it does.
7. If you really want to irritate me, use their instead of they're or mix up your/you're or write something plural with 's instead of just s.
8. I speak French. Rusty at the moment, but pretty well when I'm on my game.
9. I find crossword puzzles, spider solitaire, and minesweeper extremely relaxing.
10. I still watch Desperate Housewives. I can't stop. I know its awful.
11. I've been writing songs since I was 12. Some of them are pretty darn good. Some of them really suck.
12. I may look cluttered, but I'm actually quite organized. And efficient.
13. I spent 10 years in the Navy. As awesome as many of the experiences were and as much as I love the people, I'm a happier person now that I'm out. But I still love being around the military and working in a military environment.
14. I had the biggest baseball card collection on my street when I was 9. So what if there were only 2 other houses with kids on my street, and one was a girly girl? Not the point.
15. My car's name is Jethro, and I only have 2 more payments til he's all paid off.

Another blog challenge

I did much better about blogging every day when I had a challenge. I've done two now, and while they were excellent, they were very deep and thought provoking.

I came across this one on my friend Sharla's blog (which is awesome, you should all go read it, especially if you are looking for new recipes - she's some sort of domestic goddess, which if you'd known her in high school would shock you as much as it kinda does me. But I love you Sharla!) and its much simpler - just kind of a "getting to know you" type of thing. But not like those lame surveys on myspace.

So here are the posts, and I'll do day 1 in the next post. We'll just call it the 30 day challenge, OK?

Day 1-Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts
Day 2-Meaning behind your blog name
Day 3-Your first love
Day 4-Your parents
Day 5-Your siblings
Day 6-A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 7-Favorite movies
Day 8-A place you've traveled to
Day 9-A picture of your friends
Day 10-Something you're afraid of
Day 11-Favorite TV shows
Day 12-What you believe
Day 13-Goals
Day 14-A picture you love
Day 15-Bible verse
Day 16-Dream house
Day 17-Something you're looking forward to
Day 18-Something you regret
Day 19-Something you miss
Day 20-Nicknames
Day 21-Picture of yourself
Day 22-Favorite city
Day 23-Favorite vacation
Day 24-Something you've learned
Day 25-Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs
Day 26-Picture of your family
Day 27-Pets
Day 28-Something that stresses you out
Day 29-3 Wishes
Day 30-a picture

Sometimes the strangest things will help you let go

I started watching Army Wives right after I got out of the Navy, I think at the beginning of Season 2.  I wasn't sure about it at first, but the more I watched and realized that it was just about the ONLY military-oriented show on TV that actually did its homework and got the details right, the more I found myself getting into it. I've been kinda hooked, and gotten somewhat attached to the characters on the show.

SPOILER ALERT: If you're a fan of the show, and haven't watched last night's episode yet, stop now.

They've pretty much dealt with every possible situation that a miltiary spouse, family member, or friend could deal with in real life over the years on this show. They've had relationship troubles, kid troubles, transfers, battle injuries, dealing with the aftermath of losing a colleague in action. But up until now, while they'd had some legitimate scares, none of the main families had ever had to deal with a KIA. That is, until last night's episode, when the son of Catherine Bell's character was killed in Afghanistan.

I try to keep bad words off my blog, even though I don't do well with keeping them out of my speech, but last night, while I was watching this show, I LOST MY SHIT. I mean, the show was sad, and I can understand tearing up. Which is all I did at first - I mean, they had the official notification crew show up to tell Denise that her son had died during his fiancee's bridal shower. SERIOUSLY? If that doesnt make you cry then you have a cold, hard lump of coal where a heart should be.  But it wasn't until later in the show, I think the scene where Emmalyn spoke at his funeral, that I really lost it and started sobbing uncontrollably. 

At first I couldn't figure out why I was crying so hard at all of this. But then it clicked. A little over a year and a half ago, in August 2009, a friend and Naval Academy classmate and company mate, Capt Matt Freeman, USMC, was killed in action in Afghanistan. While we weren't super close, we had always gotten along well in school, and we had kept with each other's lives through the years through myspace and later facebook. When I got the news that he had been killed and that his funeral would be in his hometown near Savannah, I knew I had to go. Its only about a 4 hour drive from Atlanta, and I felt like there was no other option. Up until that point, my class had been very lucky. While we'd lost several classmates since graduation, none had been combat deaths. This was a new experience for all of us.

Nine members of 12th company class of 2002 made it to funeral. Most of those eight others had been much closer to Matt than I was.  Two in particular were the ones that had always tried to be "tough guys" at the Academy, as much as one can exist there. They did a pretty good job holding it together, but I saw them both cry the day of Matt's funeral. I don't really know how to explain it, but I think maybe I felt like I didn't have the right to just let it out if they weren't. No matter that women are much more likely than men to let it go in public. But I felt like I couldn't.  And while I cried a couple of times, I don't think I ever really cried for the loss of my friend.

I realized near the end of last nght's episode of Army Wives that I wasn't crying for the fictional Specialist Jeremy Sherwood, I was crying for Matt Freeman.  I was letting out the tears that I'd been afraid to let out that day in August 2009, that I felt I had no right to let out. I wasn't crying for the fictional fiancee, I was crying for the real Theresa Hess Freeman, who had married her husband just a few days before he left for Afghanistan.  I was crying for Matt's parents, for his friends, for his neighbors, and, finally, crying for myself.

So thank you, Army Wives. Thank you for giving me the chance to finally cry for my friend, and to finally let go of the grief I had kept welled up inside of me that day. And thank you for reminding those who watched the show that may not always remember that we ARE in two wars right now, for reminding them that our Soliders, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines are still over there, fighting for freedom, and paying the ultimate sacrifice.  I don't think I have to tell anyone here that war sucks.

On a final note, one of the things that struck Matt during his short time in Afghanistan was the fact that kids wanted pens and pencils and school supplies more than anything else, more even than food. They were starving for education.  He asked his mom, a teacher, to send some supplies, and two days later he was killed. His mom started the Freeman Project soon after, not because of his death, but because of his life.  More information can be found on the Project's website.

Please pardon my progress...

I'm experimenting with some new looks for the blog. I really want to kick it up a notch, so over the next few weeks I'm going to be playing with the look and feel a little bit. It'll settle out soon enough, I promise...

Everyone should have a cause, here's a little bit about mine

So, I had this great post written, and I just accidentally deleted the whole thing. I HATE when that happens!! So here's an attempt to recreate the greatness....

First and foremost, I want to welcome those of you that are new followers and readers of my blog. Please say hello and let me know you're reading!! I know I'm not always the best blogger ever, but I think its really cool that anyone, especially people I don't really know, are even remotely interested in anything I have to say.

However, the real reason for this post is to tell you about a cause that has been extremely important to my family for the last 16 years. In early 1995, at the ripe old age of 3, my little sister Emily was diagnosed was Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis.  "Wait," you might be thinking, "arthritis? I thought that was for old people!" Believe me, you're not the only one who thinks so. But according to the Juvenile Arthritis Alliance, nearly 300,000 children in America live with JA.  In 1998, my family (minus me - damn that Plebe Summer) attended their first Arthritis Foundation event, a conference specifically for families dealing with JA.  It changed all of their lives, especially Emily - this was the first time she had ever met other kids like her other than the occasional passing in the doctor's office. Since that time, my whole family has been involved in the Foundation and its events.  For the past 8 or so years, the Arthritis Walk has been a big part of that.

Now, I'm not here just to ask for money. Don't get me wrong - if you want to donate, please click here and your money will absolutely go to an amazing cause. But what would make me just as happy, or even happier, would be if you would click on one of these links to learn more about JA and see if there's a way that you can help:
Find a walk near you
Be an advocate for health legislation and policy
Learn about Arthritis Foundation events
Volunteer at your local AF office
Other ways to donate

Again, it means the world to me that people are reading my little blog. Hopefully I can use it for a good cause!

Oh, and by the way, Emily is doing AWESOME. She was lucky in that she had an amazing doctor from the start and her body responded well to medications. She's had some rough times, but for the most part she's your normal college freshman. She's studying nursing, hoping to help kids like her some day. Pretty cool, I think!  She's an amazing young woman who's likely been an inspiration to more people than she'll ever know, and I think will continue to be. Here are a couple of pictures from last year's Walk - Emily's the one with the cool yellow glasses, and the other one is our equally awesome youngest sister, who's been as much of a support system to Emily over the years as anyone else.

I really need to .... what? Squirrel!

I'm bored with my car.  There, I said it.

Don't get me wrong - Jethro is a great car. He's been good to me, he's held up well even after having to get most of his passenger side replaced over the years. He drives wonderfully, and gets good gas mileage, and has room in the back seat for two adults to sit comfortably. But I've also had him for almost 5 years, the longest I've ever kept a car, and I've got the itch.  Thing is, I've only got 3 payments left, and I really need to wait at least another year to use the car payment money to pay down some credit cards and save up for a down payment on whatever I want to do next and build a little more savings back up. But I'm constantly looking at other cars, and wanting something newer and shinier and with some more features. Lately, it seems to be three in particular. And I'm starting to have a really hard time not looking.

The ones I'm looking at right now:

Honda CRV

Ford Edge

Nissan Rogue

What do you think?

I got a new toy

My mom got one of those single serve coffee pots for Christmas. Its super fancy, holds a ton of water, perfect for her. Ever since I saw it, I wanted one. I hate having to wait for coffee to brew, and wasting coffee, and having to clean the pot and the bits... basically, I hate regular coffee pots. This one, though, is easy - no mess, just the occasional cleaning out. All the mess stays in the little cups.

I couldn't bring myself to get the same big fancy one she got, but I did get myself a mini version of it today. (Hooray for Bed Bath and Beyond coupons never expiring!)  The biggest difference, other than the obvious size, is that while hers holds a reservoir of water, mine has to be filled every time you use it. I also got a neat little drawer that it can sit on and can hold 36 cups - a plus, since counter space is at a premium in my kitchen.

I bought a box of Twinings Earl Grey tea (one of my absolute faves) and it came with a 12 cup sampler, which included just one decaf. Can't wait to try it out after dinner!!

Let's call it a moment of clarity

You never really know when something you're doing might be affecting someone else.

I started this blog in 2005 just for fun. It was a great outlet for me, a diary of sorts, but one that others could read too. I've gone on and off with it over the years, and lately I've been trying to do a little more with it. But I've never really thought much about it.

But yesterday, my friend Lee blogged about her day, and revealed that my blog was part of the reason why she'd started blogging regularly. I was FLOORED. I mean, she does SO MUCH with her blog, and she's an amazing writer, leaps and bounds better than me. How in the world could I have anything to do with that?

I still don't know the answer, but it made me feel good to know that perhaps I've had a positive effect on someone else's life.  It is absolutely not what I ever set out to do, but I'm glad. So Lee, thanks for sharing that with me. It really made my day, and reminding me that we may not always know how our actions are affecting others, even in positive ways.

On a similar but entirely different note, this week in Tampa has confirmed the fact that I really do miss living  in a warm climate near the water. Perhaps the job search will start soon...

I love a good story

Some of you may know that I'm a This American Life junkie.  I get the podcasts every week (although iTunes hasn't been updating them right lately, so I've been missing weeks... grrr.) and I'm not gonna lie, I kinda look forward to some car time on the days when I have some fresh podcasts to listen to. It makes my day.

For those you that are not familiar with This American Life, its an hour-long weekly radio broadcast put on by a public radio station in Chicago and broadcast on public radio nation-wide.  Every week, they pick a topic and tell stories about that topic - usually 3 or 4 "acts" to fill the hour.

The one I listened to yesterday was called "Slow to React," and one of the stories was just so sweet.  It was about a man who was always a good kid, always quiet, never a partier, and the last person anyone in his family would expect to find love and settle down. As a young man stationed in Korea, though, he had met a woman and fallen in love. When he wrote home to his mother that he was in love and wanted to bring this woman back with him, his mother suggested against it, and being a good Irishman, he listened to his mother. 

He lost touch with the woman, and some years later realized he'd made the mistake of his life. He spent the next several years trying to track this woman down - calling people, taking out ads in Korean newspapers, doing anything he could think of until he finally found her. He wrote her a letter asking to meet, and it took another year for her to agree.

At their first meeting, he asked her to marry him, she said no (she'd apparently built quite a life for herself in Korea), but they kept meeting a couple of times a year, having a great time together.  Every trip ended the same way - he asked her to marry him, and she said no. Seven years later, she got really sick, and he called her every day, sometimes even twice a day, while she was sick. It was then that she realized that she needed to marry this guy. Her doctors had told her that she shouldn't work anymore (she was some sort of trainer and owned several gyms), and she realized how much he truly loved her.

So soon after she was cleared medically, she came to the US, and 2 days later they got married. Now mind you, the man had not told his family ANY of this while it was going on, so the first they heard was when he announced that she was coming to the US and they were getting married. So for most of them, the first time they met her was at the wedding. But the overwhelming opinion was that they were perfect together. The mother said that if she'd known then what she knows now, she never would have told him not to bring her back to the States back then.

After 20 years, this couple, against all odds, got married and are living happily together. Doesn't that just give you hope? It sounds like a movie plot - a feel good, romantic comedy, perfect for a girls night in with popcorn and wine kind of movie plot. Sigh...

Oh, and you can listen to the story on This American Life's website by clicking here - you can pay $0.99 for the download or stream it for free.

Defeated.

That's how I feel today.

I spend a lot of time at work running around going to meetings. There are a lot of people that ask me questions. My boss takes me with him to meetings because I'm his subject matter expert. Several other people around the Agency get nervous when I'm not at their meetings.

That's what makes the last few days so hard. Wednesday when I came into work I found out that I had, for the 3rd straight quarter, not won the Agency-level employee of the quarter award that my bosses had put me up for.  Then, on Thursday, I found out I hadn't won the next level down employee of the quarter type award that my bosses had put me up for. Then today I found out that I had not been approved to attend the leadership development program I'd applied for.

I don't want to sound petty. I really don't. At first, I didn't care all that much. But my first line boss did - he was mad at the first, madder at the 2nd, and really pissed off today. And you know what? I kind of am too. Maybe its combined with this whole pending government shut down thing - Congress will still get paid for not doing their job, but to make a point, they're going to screw the rest of us by not paying us? Please tell me on what planet that makes sense. I'm also still exhausted from last weekend. I think maybe the roll up of everything is just hitting me all at once, and I feel defeated. I don't feel a burning desire to do a whole lot of work now. I feel like going ahead and starting to look for some positions at the next higher level outside of DC a little earlier than planned. 

I've never been one for demanding recognition for things - I just want to get the job done. So maybe its just expectation management - maybe I just don't want to know next time I get put up for an award, so I'm not disappointed when I don't get it again. Who knows.

Sigh. I wish that when I got this way I was one of those people who wants to work out, not one of those people who wants to go eat fried deviled eggs and drink beer...

Mental Health Days

Certain things don't exist in the military. You can't quit. You can't really call in sick. You can't pick your own clothes or decide to randomly change your hair. And you surely can not just take a mental health day.

Which is why yesterday was my very first one. Ever.

Well, sort of.  I mean I did, but it wasn't just totally random.  We got back from Tallahassee on Monday, leaving a beautiful day of mid 70s and sun to return to cold, rain, and a forecast showing snow and ice over night. Awesome, right? I was already not really looking forward to waking up for work on Tuesday morning because I was so exhausted from the trip, mostly from the 4 hours of sleep I got Saturday night followed by a day of activity.  So when I woke up at 4am to an email from OPM (the guys that dictate this sort of thing) saying that the government was open, but with unscheduled leave/telework, I decided to take the unscheduled leave. I would have taken a couple of hours anyway, since our street hadn't been treated yet and there was a good looking layer of ice, but normally I'd have just gone in once they looked OK. But I decided I needed the day, and I took it.

And I did exactly one productive thing. The entire day. I did the dishes. After sleeping until around 10, vegging in bed until nearly noon, and getting lunch at Rustico. Then I spent the rest of the day vegging in my recliner. I did no school work. I did a little unpacking, but nothing major. I did no cooking. I did no cleaning. I did absolutely nothing, and was asleep by 930 last night. And it felt AMAZING.

Now I understand. Sometimes, you just need a day like that...

This is why I love books

I used to be a really avid reader. I taught myself to read at the age of four, and my kindergarten teacher basically let me choose my own reading curriculum because I was so far ahead of my peers. By the time we moved back to the States (middle of my 1st grade year) I had read almost every book on the "up through 4th grade" shelf in my school's library.  All the way through high school, I read all the time, because I didn't raelly need to study - school always came pretty easily for me.

When I hit USNA, that all changed. I was too exhausted to read, it would put me to sleep. And for the first time in my life, I didn't really have time to read for pleasure - I had to actually study. This continued through my years in the Navy - once I had my SWO pin, I read some books on deployment, but that was about it. I started reading a bit more when Matt's dad started sending me books, and I did the audiobook thing for a while. When I was unemployed, I read a bit more, but still not as much as I would have liked - I was broke, books aren't cheap!  Last fall, though, I decided to get myself a Kindle. I figured if I didn't have to go to the bookstore, maybe I'd read more. Its semi-working :)

A few months back, I joined a Book Club with a few ladies I met through Yelp!  The first few books we read were good, but the one we read for this month's meeting absolutely blew me (and the rest of us, based on the discussion we had) away.

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea, by Barbara Demick, is one of the most compelling works of nonfiction I have ever read.  Demick, a reporter for the LA Times Seoul bureau, spent several years interviewing North Korean defectors, and profiled six of them for the book. She told their stories factually, with no agenda or attempt to bias a reader one way or the other. She stuck to the facts and the stories, with very little mention of what the average American thinks of North Korea - nuclear weapons. As someone who maintains a fairly tunnel-visioned view of North Korea based on my line of work, I can truly say that I was moved nearly to tears more than once in this book.

I'd forgotten what it was liked to really be moved by a book, to feel such a connection to the characters that you feel as if they're real people. In this book, they really are real people, yet the concept of what life in North Korea is like is so foreign to those of us that have grown up with the benefit of being Americans that it doesn't seem as though its possible. Books like this are why I love reading so much, and reading them makes me miss reading.

Do yourself a favor and get your hands on a copy of Nothing to Envy. Its not super long, and a fairly quick read. It doesn't read like non-fiction, in that the stories are really well told. You can get it on Amazon for under $10, hard copy or Kindle, and you should be able to get it at your local bookstore or library, although I hear a lot of libraries have pretty long waiting lists for it.

The State of the Union

Yes, I watched the State of the Union last night, because I am a politics nerd. I'll get that out of the way right up front. I get a kick out of the whole affair, especially now that I'm back in DC.

My first thought was that it was so different seeing Boehner behind the President as compared to Pelosi last year. Where she looked like she was swooning over him the whole time, he looked as though he was trying very hard to look like he cared the whole time. Or like something very large was stuck in his rear end. Either one.

I thought the speech was pretty decent, until the President spoke these words:

"The competition for jobs is real. But this shouldn’t discourage us. It should challenge us."

My first response: How about you go looking for a job for a while, with nothing but $300 in unemployment every week to live on (until it runs out), and come back and let us know how that goes.

Other things I liked: his direct, dead on talk to House Republicans about Health Care reform. I think this might one of the only times I've ever heard the President admit that something he put together and championed could use improvement. I hope that Republicans will take this as an opportunity to work together and fix things, instead of an opportunity to say I told you so and create more vitriol. 

Also, the part where he said that if a bill shows up on his desk with lots of earmarks, he'll veto it. This one, I think, is opening up a can of worms, in that it could be used against him later, but I do agree that the earmark thing has gotten out of control. I just don't want to see people adding earmarks to bills, getting them on there because others think the legislation is too important to risk not getting it passed, and then have the President either go back on his word and allow an earmark, or stick to it and not pass an important piece of legislation solely because there's an earmark.

I also liked the mixing of the parties - I feel like that kept the mood of the room a little more civilized. I also felt as though he did a good job of addressing moderates on both sides of the line, as well as independents. Too much of politics these days focuses on the extremes at either end.

A couple of things I didn't like: There were some specifics lacking - lots of big ideas, but no real HOWs. Granted, this probably wasn't the place for them. But still.

Also, I was a little lost near the end of the speech. I felt like he drifted a bit, and while it seemed like he was trying to make the point that we have things we need to fix, he kinda went into "look how much better other countries are than us right now" territory.

All in all, not terrible. But I'd still love a report back on how the job situation should be a challenge instead of discouraging. What? Not gonna happen? I thought not.

Happy birthday, Capt Freeman

As I was getting ready this morning, I was thinking about my friend Matt, a Naval Academy classmate and company mate who went on to be a Marine, and was killed in Afghanistan a year and a half ago.  Then when I logged on to Facebook this morning I realized it would have been his 31st birthday today.  God really does work in mysterious ways....