Thoughts Travel

today

Thu, 22 May 2008 23:27:19 GMT

My man, Barack is doing very well. Just can't wait for the day I hear he is the nominee.

I decided that I will not comment on the plethora of tragedies happening around the world right now. It's just too sad. And as Laoch said, "If you spend too much time thinking about all the bad in the world I think eventually you become immune to seeing the good." It's true.

more news

Mon, 05 May 2008 20:15:50 GMT

While I was out running errands for a few hours the death toll report from Myanmar has climbed to 10,000! I just watched Laura Bush on CNN address this tragedy. She speaks quite well. I'd rather have her as as our president than Georgie any day. She seems like a sensible woman.

Speaking of presidents...tomorrow is the much anticipated N. Carolina and Indiana primary. I am feeling guilty because I did not go to IN to canvass, although I was invited. Seems kind of silly to have trucked it to Ohio but not to go campaign in the next-door state of Indiana.

I am extremely nervous about the primary tomorrow. I'm trying not to think about it because doing so sends my stomach into knots. It's kind of like watching a scary movie...I want to cover my eyes and ears and have someone tell me when it's over.

in the news

Mon, 05 May 2008 13:49:40 GMT

Hello folks.

Scanning the BBC news today it's hard not to get depressed. The death toll of the cyclone that hit Myanamar is up to 4,000. Those poor folks can't get a break.
Let's see what else is in the world news. Thousands in Somalia riot over food...let's move on to the homefront. Gas prices are at an all time high. Food prices are skyrocketing...yeah...honestly I just combed CNN and BBC and I can't find anything even mildly uplifting.

Enough news.

Three Cups of Tea

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 14:34:57 GMT

I'm very excited that my new hero, Greg Mortenson, will be in my area for a fundraiser. Greg is the director of the Central Asia Institute, and is responsible for building schools which made education possible for over 25,000 children in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. His story is written in the book, Three Cups of Tea. I've just finished reading it and I'm very inspired. In fact, I'm so inspired that I didn't hesitate in purchasing the most expensive fundraiser ticket I've ever bought.

Read the book. It's truly uplifting and will bring sunshine to your heart. If you order via the link above, 7% of the sales will go to help provide schooling for a girl in an impoverished area of Asia.

Laughter is good medicine

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 13:31:49 GMT

I've been amusing myself this morning by watching silly videos online. This one is my favorite.

What has come of this country?

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 02:23:52 GMT

My trip to canvass in Ohio was quite an experience. After a long 6 hour drive from Chicago on Friday night , we pulled up to campaign headquarters around 1 am. Surprisingly, the lights were on and a couple people could been seen working inside. We knocked on the door and asked for hotel suggestions. We ended up staying the night at a shabby Days Inn.

The next morning we arrived at headquarters and were issued a long list of names and addresses. We were instructed to knock on the doors and ask for the specific voter on the list. Some kind of system had been set up to formulate a list of likely supporters. (Not sure how they do that- but I did notice there weren't many women over 40 on our lists.) The idea was to focus our attention on getting out the vote for people who were likely to support our candidate.

Our assigned neighborhood was about a mile away from downtown, if you could call it that. The town's center was little more than a Main Street with a few businesses scattered about. The neighborhood which we canvassed was in much worse shape.

The people we visited are on hard times, to say the least. Knocking on those doors was an eye-opening and sometimes heart-wrenching experience. The houses were in a state of extreme disrepair. Windows were broken, boarded, covered with plastic. Houses looked like they hadn't been painted in a decade. Front porches were falling apart. The streets were desolate and there were no business anywhere to be seen. Many of the addresses we had on our lists were empty lots. Despair and hardship hung in the air.

Mostly we knocked on doors and got no response. Once in a while someone would answer. Sometimes you could hear someone stirring inside, but they didn't come to the door. Images of people peeking out of windows, through curtains that resembled filthy rags, will stay with me for a long time.

My heart went out to those people. Something ...a lot of things have to change in this country.

Ohio or Bust

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:07:03 GMT

I am heading for Ohio this weekend to do some door-knocking for my favorite presidential candidate! I've been asked by his peeps not to blog about it...so that's pretty much all I'm going to say.

Leaving in 20 minutes and still am waiting for my laundry in the clothes dryer...gotta go. Will be back on Sunday night!

winter

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:48:54 GMT

Lately, when I come home from work, all I can manage to do is eat dinner, then take a nap. My motivation to do anything that involves going out of my house is zero. I crave sweets and carbs. I cry at the drop of a hat. Even passionate political speeches get my tear ducts going.

This is winter. I'm making the best of it. I've accepted the fact that I will see little of the outdoors for a couple more months. I stay home and lounge in my pajamas and bake cookies. It's not so bad. Except the crying part. Luckily, I live alone so there is no one around to witness my foolishness.

goodnight moon

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 01:56:32 GMT

I'm patiently waiting for the Wisconsin primary election results. The polls close in just a few minutes. Meanwhile, I received a text message from a friend that says, "The lady of the night is shining & sparkling ever so brightly! Oh, how immaculate the moon is!"

I went to the window to behold the moon...and she is lovely. The night sky is clear and dark blue. I am tempted to go take an evening walk...but...it's 13 degrees. I'll admire the moon from my window. I can see her just fine from here.

Happy Birthday, Abe

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 16:29:06 GMT

This election is keeping me in good spirits during this frigid winter. I don't have time to bemoan the cold because I'm too busy focusing on the election. And I don't mind being cooped up in the house since it just gives me more time to watch CNN election coverage. The staggered primaries give me something to look forward to. I think we should have an equally exciting event every winter. It would make winters in Chicago so much more bearable.

I'm having a primary party tonight to watch the Potomac election returns. I'm all tingly with anticipation. I've got the day off today for good ol's Abe Lincoln's birthday. It's kind of silly considering Abe was born in Kentucky, not Illinois. But he lived most of his life in IL and was a senator here, and I guess that was his road to the presidency...hey, just like Obama. Maybe someday, my grandkids will get Obama's birthday as a holiday. ;-)

I look forward to having my brother over tonight. He's a political genius. He teaches me so much. He must spent hours per day looking at political websites and blogs. He knows everything...all the stuff they don't mention on CNN. My brother is a few years younger than me...sometimes I wonder, hey, how did he get so smart?

snowy day

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 22:31:36 GMT

I could barely keep my eyes open by 10 pm last night. I stayed up to hear Barack's speech, then retired to my bed. I woke up at 5 am to hear the news that Hillary won California. Although I'm glad Obama did as well as he did, this primary was a bit anti-climactic for me. There is no clear winner. The game continues.

The weather is dreadful. The snow started coming down hard around noon. My afternoon commute left me covered in snow from head to toe. I am so grateful to be have a nice, warm place to live.

I dragged myself to work today feeling very tired and cranky from the waiting for the bus in the freezing rain. Before I even walked in the door at work I was told by someone outside that the school's new phone system had crashed and the computers were also down (all that is my dept.). No calls could come in or out of the school. This is a problem on a day of bad weather...absent teachers and students had no way to contact the school. To figure out which classes were teacher-less we had to walk the halls after the bell rang to find any groups of kids waiting in the halls. In midst of the phone and server problems I was called to cover for a 1st grade until the sub arrived and then a fourth grade...then a computer teacher was absent. I took over her whole day of classes. It was a very busy day. Now I am home. I've eaten my dinner and ready to relax.

Super Tuesday!

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 22:39:18 GMT

I did end up voting early, and I'm glad I did. Now I'm home and free to spend the rest of the evening glued to the TV watching the election results. I'm going to take a nap now so that I can wake up when the polls close. I don't expect to sleep very much tonight.

I had an argument with my boyfriend this morning. He hasn't been sharing my love for Obama. He has been suspiciously quiet whenever I talk about the second love of my life, Barack. I wish it were jealously...but unfortunately I suspected something far worse. He might be a Republican! Oh the horror. I've been avoiding asking him directly - out of fear.

So this morning I sent him an email reminding him to go vote and also gave a summary of why everyone except Obama is the wrong candidate. Oooh. That did not go over well. Hence, my fears were warranted. My man is on Team RED. This is very bad indeed. I'm not sure if our relationship can survive such a strong blow.

if you're undecided...

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 04:14:40 GMT

Watch this video. I've watched it three times and I'm not tired of it yet.

http://www.dipdive.com/

it's freakin' cold out there

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:10:55 GMT

When I woke up today the thermometer read -1. Ouch. I briefly considered staying home from work. I decided that no one would believe I'm sick today, since I was perfectly healthy yesterday. After piling on large amounts of clothing, I braved the cold and trudged out of the house to the bus stop. Thankfully I caught the bus right as it pulled up to the curb. Then I proceeded to sweat under all those layers for the 40 minute bus ride.

Edwards and Guiliani dropped out of the race. This race continues to get more interesting every day. I can't wait for Super Tuesday.

I got braces yesterday. (Yes, at age 34.) This is the second round for me. I wore braces from 6-10th grade. Somehow, over the years my teeth decided they like being crooked. This time I got the invisible kind of braces- Invisalign. They're not exactly invisible, but certainly look better than a mouth full of metal. My teeth and jaw hurt. I considered using that as my excuse for not going to work today.

in the news

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 22:33:58 GMT

The Election 2008 race gets more interesting every day. Today Obama got the endorsement of Senator Kennedy. That's big.

Primary fun

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 18:01:05 GMT

Watching the South Carolina primary returns yesterday was very exciting. I'm thrilled about Obama's victory.

I devised a new game while watching the Obama coverage. The game is called "Spy the Secret Service Agent". Have you ever seen a "Where's Waldo?" book? My game is kind of like that except, instead of looking for a guy in red and white stripes, you're looking for a tall, usually bald man, who's wearing a fine black suit. Some of the agents are easy to spot, because they follow him closely. If you spot the earpiece, of course, that's a dead give away. Spotting the agents who are mixed into the crowd is more fun. You have to look for the tall men with serious expressions, who are clearly not listening to Obama's speech. And they're usually much better dressed than the crowd.

At one point in Obama's post-victory speech I counted 6 agents in one camera shot. I don't know why, but I find Secret Service to be fascinating. I'd like to know exactly they're looking for. Some agents seem to be looking down at the hands of the people around Obama, while other agents are scanning the crowd. Some agents cruise through the crowds, parallel to Obama's path, while others flank him.

I'm looking forward to Super Tuesday. I was thinking about doing early voting, but then decided that would take away some of the excitement of voting. On Tuesday I'm going to make some snacks and camp out on my couch all night, watching the results. Ay, the suspense!

duty calls

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 01:08:20 GMT

I had jury duty today. I spent a total of 4 hours commuting to and from the suburbs on public transportation + 5 and a half hours sitting in room doing nothing. I froze my butt off waiting for an assortment of trains and buses. I was very happy to get home.

About 60 people sat in the jury in silence for the whole day. Some read, some snoozed (and snored loudly) while others stared off into space. No one turned on the TV, even though were told we could. I thought that was strange. I had loaded plenty of NPR podcasts on my iPod to keep me entertained and brought books and crossword puzzles. Even I got stir-crazy after a few hours. I fell asleep for about 20 minutes and woke up feeling refreshed. Not one of us was called to serve. In fact, no one was even interviewed to be on a jury.

So I've done my civic duty. I'm cleared for a few years. Oh, but I do need to go vote soon. Early voting seems like the way to go. I think the lines at the polls are going to be long on Feb. 5th. Obama and Hillary apparently had some fierce words for each other at a debate last night. I'm catching bits and pieces on the news...unfortunately I did not see the whole broadcast. This election race is certainly getting interesting.

MLK day

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 19:44:56 GMT

I went out once on the dreadfully cold Saturday. It was below zero. The cold took my breath away- I literally had a hard time breathing. I'm glad that the temperature has creeped up into the 20's. I can deal with temps in the double digits.

There's a good special on Oprah today in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.. Catch the evening re-broadcast if you can. The show features an island on the Alabama River, called Gees Bend. Due to its isolation, it was one of the last areas in the U.S. to feel the turn-around effects of the Civil Rights Movement. In1962 the whites cut the black residents of the island off from the mainland to prevent them from registering to vote. Ferry service to the mainland was discontinued and was not launched again until 2006. It's a fascinating and inspiring story.

COLD

Sat, 19 Jan 2008 14:03:25 GMT

The temperature display on my computer reads -1 degrees. When I heard that this weekend was going to be so dreadfully cold I started planning my day at home. I have plenty of food to eat. I have movies and plenty of shows recorded on my DVR. I am grateful that today is not a workday and that I have nothing that will cause me to leave my home. I do have a birthday party to attend this evening. I might wimp out on that one.

left or right

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:55:37 GMT

I did this 2008 Presidential Candidate quiz online recommended by Laoch.

My results were interesting. There is no doubt about it. I lean hard to the left. All of the Republicans were at the very bottom of my list. Here are my results.

Your Results:

86%

Barack Obama

85%

John Edwards

83%

Hillary Clinton

80%

Joe Biden

79%

Dennis Kucinich

78%

Chris Dodd

78%

Photo Album: Obama for Prez!

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 23:14:14 GMT

Obama for Prez!

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obama in Texas

obama for pres

photos in blue

Photo Album: Nicaragua July '06

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 23:41:19 GMT

Nicaragua July '06

Leon's sunset

local transport in Leon

Beauty Salon

El Catedral en Leon

Catedral in Leon

Church boys in Leon

Boys with CIA- in Leon

Bush Genocide- in Leon

Leon's schoolgirls

Granada's plaza

More Photos...

Photo Album: Tepoztlan, Morelos, MX

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 08:13:42 GMT

Tepoztlan, Morelos, MX

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tepoztlan 046

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tepoztlan 044

Photo Album: Panama, Spring '04

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 07:11:14 GMT

Panama, Spring '04

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panama 007

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panama 159

panama 118

panama 222

panama 224

panama 131

More Photos...

Blog list: Blog Buddies

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:11:27 GMT

Blog Buddies

Mocha Mom
You will get blog-envy when you visit her site.
Typical guy, Atypical situation
You have to read this.
Blogography
Dave's just cool.
Laoch of Chicago
Cool Chicago guy
Beth Marie's Little Bitty Space
Beth is my first blogger buddy.

Book List: Current Reads

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 21:45:17 GMT

Current Reads

Greg Mortenson: Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time

Book List: My email

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 20:04:28 GMT

My email

Contact me:
nikolapv@hotmail.com

Custom List: Fave Travels

Mon, 09 Jul 2007 13:41:06 GMT

Fave Travels

Placencia, Belize
Boquete, Panama
Tikal, Guatemala
Tulum, Quintana Roo, MX
Playa del Carmen, MX
Guanajuato, MX
San Miguel de Allende, MX
Tepoztlan, Morelos, MX
Caye Caulker, Belize
Bocas del Toro, Panama
Volcan Arenal, Costa Rica
Granada, Nicaragua
Riga, Latvia
Punta Uva, Costa Rica

Custom List: Guestbook

Sun, 04 Jun 2006 05:36:39 GMT

Guestbook

Sign here, please.

Book List: Book List

Fri, 31 Mar 2006 23:50:21 GMT

Custom List: Blogging in Educ.

Sat, 17 Dec 2005 19:18:13 GMT

Blogging in Educ.

Custom List: Share time:

Fri, 12 Aug 2005 21:27:03 GMT

Share time:

What made your favorite teacher the best?