Put Some Rice On It or Rather...

Put your cell phone in the rice, wait, and hope. I thought he was kidding as the US Cellular rep says to me instead of willingly trying to get me to spend more money, "Did you put it in a bag of rice?" I understood the concept, but so strange when that was literally the 3rd thing he said to me and #1 was "Hello".

Note to self, always make sure your water bottle is completely closed before you put it in the purse. Duly noted.

This is the kind of shit that will make me laugh, but also put me over. Too bad I can't soak up my anger with rice. I'd lose some weight, too.

Support Our National Community, Por Favor

Presently our country is undergoing an exhausting amount of 8th grade bs. Having said that, there are quite a few opportunities in life we are handed that allow us to contribute to our own better America. Some may think that immigrants don't belong, but others feel they are the foundation of America and how could we deny them the opportunity their ancestors were so fortunate to experience. For the past year or so, I have been a Board member of The Northwest Neighborhood Federation. We provide a helpful variety of community services that range from English classes to neighborhood safety. We thrive on local efforts, but in this economy, our resources are both coveted and thinning. NNF is celebrating 32 years of community service and would like to invite you to our annual fundraiser. Provided below is more information about the organization and its efforts.

Northwest Neighborhood Federation’s mission is to improve the quality of life of residents on Chicago’s Northwest Side. We do this by building powerful campaigns that involve large numbers of neighbors to identify problems, educate each other on the possibilities to resolve the most critical issues of common concern, residents and local leadership have become empowered and thereby assumed a greater role in the civic life of the neighborhood.

Current community campaigns:

Education: English as a Second Language (ESL) Classes for adult residents in the community. Education Committee focusing on relieving over-crowdedness in our local schools, which is a pressing issue for our community at this time.

-Immigration: Citizenship Workshops and Informational Sessions with Pro-Bono Immigration Attorneys are provided to Legal Permanent Residents. Personal appointments are available.

-Neighborhood Safety: Local area residents come together to form Community Block Clubs in order to create a better sense of community and find ways of keeping the neighborhood safe.

-Road Trips: Springfield to support the Dream Act. And to Washington, DC to support immigration.

Please help keep these services available by joining us for our annual fundraiser.

Fundraiser Info:

Wed July 20, 2011

6pm

Veranda Inn

5700 W. Irving Park Road

The cost is $25 per person.

And if you are unable to join us, but you would like to support NNF's services, please send donations by way of information below. Thank you and hope we see you on Wednesday!

Northwest Neighborhood Federation
People United for their Community

3249 N. Central Ave., Chicago, IL 60634
Phone 773-282-9807 Fax 773-282-082

Karate Kid Bus Buddy

Ever ride the bus/train and see the same folks, but never speak? Yeah, here's one of those. When I first started taking this particular bus route, I noticed a gentleman that reminded me of Ralph Macchio. Now, granted, Ralph Macchio is much cuter, but still, the Italian I was riding the bus with gave an indication that he, too, was of the same culture, background, but not from Long Island, NY, necessarily like Macchio.



Every day I'd see this dude and every day I created more thoughts about his personality and you know, 'he kind of looks like he'd be a dick' kind of thing or 'He seems nice talking to that other bus rider'. Over the past 3 years or so, I have been observing his behavior without so much as a 'Howya doin?' from him or from me, but we would almost seemingly want to talk to each other. Well, today's the day. I get on the bus and avoid eye contact with the majority of the riders, as usual, I sit down next to no one and I look up to see a co-worker sitting next to the Ralph Macchio lookalike and he indicates they are neighbors. I indicate that we're kind of bus buddies and the RM lookin' dude smiled and agreed. Didn't get his name, but talked to both of them the whole 15 min bus ride. I so enjoy how our brains work in conjunction with the energy of the universe. I often wonder if folks on the other side of that energy feel the same way.

James of the Crazy

Have you seen the commercial where John Jameson (of the Irish whiskey) goes to save a barrel of whiskey by jumping off the side of a boat? Here it is if you have managed to miss it. My mother is a Jameson drinker as is my stepfather and my dude. Alcoholism was "normal" during my childhood, but there's a diff between functional and belligerent. My folks never abused me verbally or physically, now and again though, they may have been incredibly drunk and drove me home, but I'm alive as are they. I have encountered more belligerence in the last year than I care to admit, but there is something about Jameson. A dear friend of mine in college used to have episodes due to him drinking vodka. I still wish I had been there to see the jumbo bag of Chex Mix get sprayed all over the room (I hope you don't mind me saying it here, I won't mention your name ;) Certain alcohols do things to people and that is the most uncomfortable thing. Generally, if a person acts retarded (not PC) or "weird", it is assumed they are on drugs. It's not always true. In fact, the more I continue on with my use of a certain smokable lifesaver, I wonder how many folks out there would rather take a hit and enjoy a Coke (Mexican, non-corn syrup of course) as opposed to having an alcoholic beverage. If it's laced, it's one thing, but generally, it just slows down the situation as opposed to creating an asshole. I don't judge, but when safety is a factor, then your messin' with my emotions. I have witnessed someone go from funny, sweet, and helpful to belligerent, mean, and fucking nuts. There is a shift in the eyes and you know, it's only downhill from there. A comment given to me on my birthday that rings throughout my head the past couple of days is dirty dishwater blond hair. Seriously? I have had this hair color for the majority of my life, sans a few years where I was frosting my hair. Yes, frosting. I admit, it was near translucent in some areas, but it worked for me and my bangs. Worst insult I have ever received and I fully believe that Jameson was the fuel behind it. I can't give too much detail here as I am constantly working through this situation with breathing, understanding, and forgiveness. I walk away when it gets rough, and this bastard has me hanging on because he is SOOOO much different and good when not drowning in Jameson which, I now believe has a chemical included that makes people want to die or at least express it at the height of drunk. It is something that scares me and I will continue to treat my drunk friends with respect, but until my mother visits again, Jameson will no longer be welcome in my home. Sorry to shut out my Irish liquor buddy, but go save an octopus somewhere else.

More OK By the Day

For the past year or so I have been dating someone who protects his identity by paranoia. It's so OCD it's cute. Also, I have been a little superstitious about writing public descriptions of our journey together thus far. Both of us are no fans of how we look in pics, and it has been so long since I had this kind of love in my life that I don't want to jinx any of it. I always look forward to seeing him. These days are often tangled among moments of uncertainty and anguish for the political war we have on ourselves between the environment, war, religious views, and the constant struggle to keep life somewhat personal, not to mention the economy. It feels pretty cool to have someone to look forward to and for being able to shut out as much of the yucky junk g0ing on around us for continued adventures no matter how no immobile they may be.

I have been dating a manboy for a shade over a year. It has not been easy. There are so many things about him that make it challenging to find one word to describe him other than how my sister did- outrageous. I know that he means to shock, hear his own voice, and to be offensively funny. In most cases he means no harm. He is unbelievably sensitive, caring and snugly. He is intelligent. Adorable. Sweet eyes. Deep dimples. Great, strong arms. He's not techie or a gamer. A couple years younger which is why he gets the pass on some of the immaturity. He opens doors for me consistently. He is loud and can be obnoxious, but is very intelligent by a host of experiences from growing up here in Chicago. Blue collar family, but was in musicals and plays in high school. He works for a theatrical lighting company now (we didn't meet by way of theatre). Got kicked out of seminary school. He's atheist. I am agnostic. We get along and are a good match - similar, with some polar opposite mixed in. He allows me to see some behavior I have developed throughout my life and had not tapped into before. Some of it is not easy to deal with, but most possibility for positivity. We have the Sunday morning I've wanted for a long time. I enjoy my weekends again.

Cheers to the epiphany had yesterday. It made for a fantastic release of anxiety bottled up for sometime. Finally after the last 5 years of gaining experience and up to date knowledge, I have made an excellent breakthrough in my environmental work. Please check out what I did yesterday.

If you haven't checked it out - Leen On Conservation

Being Green Taken Further

I may have been a slackass on this blog here, but I have been otherwise occupied with more physical activities including, but not limited to the wonderful worlds of sustainability and humanity. I have created another blog that will chronicle my continuous work in science and climate change education. If you have a minute, please check out my blog on conservation.

http://leenonconservation.blogspot.com/

Much love! I plan to write more on here and there, but new developments in my life do not allow me to be as cavalier with my words unfortunately. Alas, things are OK, just not as open as they used to be. Let there be more openness going forward, so that I do not have to keep my thoughts to myself. Much obliged.

New Blog

Visit my new blog, too!

I'll continue to work out the words on Stomach again as well.