Proposition 8

It appears that proposition 8 has passed in California. The issue of gay marriage seems to me to be a very simple question of basic human rights, and I find it strange that a supreme court decision can be over-ruled by a simple majority of voters. If given the opportunity, many voters as late as the 1960s would have denied African Americans the vote and equal treatment under the law, and I see many similarities between these two cases.

In my ethics class last spring, one of my colleagues did a presentation on gay marriage and concluded that to respect the rights of those with religious beliefs, a "marriage" should be closely linked with the church, be defined as the union of a man and a woman, and entitle the recipients to a church ceremony. Civil unions, on the other hand, would not be religiously affiliated, would not occur in the church, and would be offered to homosexual and heterosexual couples. Both marriages and civil unions would grant the couple the same legal rights. This makes sense to me and bridges the divide between religion and civil rights.

So why does it always come back to this vitriolic hate between religion and homosexual rights supporters? It just makes no sense to me.

In any case, I fully support gay marriage, under any title the law wishes to give it, so long as the same legal rights and protections are afforded to all our citizens. And I'm sorry to hear that religious creed is now embodied in the California state constitution.

One reason why Pitbulls are the most awesomest dogs EVER

You just don't know their character until you have one. Here's a video of a laughing pitbull.

In honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day

A couple of days late, but the sentiment still remains. Take this quiz to find out YOUR pirate name!

My pirate name is:

Captain Bess Bonney

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. You can be a little bit unpredictable, but a pirate's life is far from full of certainties, so that fits in pretty well. Arr!

Livin' in the moment

Idea borrowed from from Pilgrimgirl.

I am wearing my fluffiest slippers, brown elasti-pants (so comfy!), and a white cotton tank top and faded green cotton long-sleeve t-shirt from Old Navy.

I am reading background material for my independent study, a Cary Grant biography, and the second book in the Inda series by Sherwood Smith.

I am hearing dogs barking, the ever-so-soft breathing of my sleeping puppy, and Grace’s sighs of jealousy as she sulks in a corner by the door. Thankfully all the construction stops around 7PM around here. However, to make up for the reprieve, I do have a contractor here in the house, banging in a new countertop.

Learning all the time how to be a better person. Now I just have to practice.

I am thankful for my friends who shower me with much needed affection now that I am thousands of miles away!

I am hoping that my independent study in the spring isn’t nearly as overwhelming as I feel it will be. (Something about conducting research in Spanish on a topic I know very little about…)

From the kitchen comes the noise of the contractor. But it is also the home of some Tin Roof ice cream that will be consumed the moment the contractor leaves.

I am creating memories.

Bringing beauty to my home by filling it with friends, family and laughter.

Around the house we need an empleada. I am the worst housekeeper ever. At least, it appears that way since every day everything in the house obtains a new coating of lead dust (from the car exhaust - yay for leaded fuel!).

Outside my window is the fenced-in front patio (?). I’m not really sure what to call it – Bubba will be kept here, but now it’s just a stone-paved area, with plants all around and a little shed that looks like Hansel and Gretel’s house (according to da’ Momma).

I am thinking about my independent study proposal and all those internship applications I haven’t yet completed.

One of my favorite things is that the puppy actually SLEEPS once in a while.

A few plans for the rest of the week include a girls-only French-Peruvian fusion lunch at Café Crème on Wednesday and shopping for something to wear to the soiree at the Ambassador’s residence on Saturday night. Gotta find something slightly more dressy than the two pairs of jeans, 5 t-shirts, and 4 sweatshirts that I packed in my suitcase when we left the States in July. (Update: household goods scheduled to arrive in 2-4 weeks.)

Makin' friends, tra-la-la-la

Here's a quick shot of me (looking like a booger) n' my favorite El Sol students, Cathy and Phil. Cathy hails from Ireland (with a nice rich N. Ireland accent) and is the only girl I know whose daddy actually did buy her that pony. She's in Peru for approximately 6 months to volunteer with an organization that allows her to combine her education degree and Human Rights law degree; then she's off to Ghana for another six months to be a something-something-insert-fancy-human-rights-education-consultant-title here.

Phil, on the other hand, hails from Park City, Utah, where he manages a ski resort. Apparently his company hires a lot of kids from South America to work through the winter, as the local rich Utah (or is it Utahan?) kids can't be bothered to make $15 an hour. He's blessed with a spitfire Peruvian girlfriend, who tries to keep him in line, and an interesting lifeview as a reformed (i.e. excommunicated) Mormon.

This week, I'm off to meet a whole new group of students outside the hallowed walls of El Sol. One such gentleman hails from Japan and has been in the majority of my classes for the last couple of weeks (interesting factoid: as a result of a very nomadic childhood, at the ripe old age of 24, Rocky believes he's visited somewhere in the range of 60-70 foreign countries). Since several of his friends will be in town from Japan, we're hosting an El Sol dinner with the Japanese friends and have invited the students and teachers at El Sol: which includes people from China, Algeria, Canada (oh my!), France, and (obviously) Peru. Should be quite the international forum.

For Yael

When we lived in San Isidro, I walked past this building nearly every day. And it makes me think of you, Yael. Although, as far as I know, you didn't attending an engineering-specific high school and Penn's buildings are prettier (what can I say? I'm fond of the place)...

Shown: Colegio de Ingenieros del Peru

Moving!

We're packing up and moving to the new house in the morning...hope to be up and running again this weekend, but can't promise to post more news until da' Momma leaves! And I may not have internet (stolen or otherwise) for a little bit. But, in the famous words of Michele's former and Nicole's current governator, I'll be back!