I couldn’t stop laughing AND I was at work which made stifling said laughter a must!

As for the supplements I’m trying out a product called “Nutribalance Complete” which has loads of protein and all the vitamins etc that are supposed to make up a complete diet (it is also delicious). So far so good, I will keep you updated on how it is working for me.

I have included the link for EAS Myoplex products which were suggested in the comment from Erik (I want to call him Mr Vermeulen – he used to be one of my high school teachers – but at 27 years old I’m sure first names are more than appropriate...)

Nothing much is really going down now, I'm back in school and blahdi blahdi blah. Hopefully I'll get my writing juices flowing before it becomes too late!

OH! my messy room, originally uploaded by jnmerrit.

This is it - officially ONE week before our plane takes off. As per usual, I am not ready at all. This is the state of my craft room. You see, I've somehow got it in my head that in order to pack everything, I must first use up as much fabric as possible. I'm making stuff like MAD for Carrie's Hair Shoppe in effort to eliminate what I have to pack. You can see a pile in the middle-back of the photo of what I'll be sending there.

With that said, I have now moved three pick-up trucks worth of my stuff to the storage basement, and I have another load of stuff that will be put into a yardsale on Sunday. Melissa has been doing a relatively good job of directing my madness (I'm feeling overwhelmed by what needs to be done, if you didn't know already). I'm going to pack up the bathroom (as much as I can) tonight, which means I have to make up a first aid kit.

Must go do stuff!

I know, of course, that much of England is now steel and concrete, cement and glass. Bustling cities have built up over the carriage-trenched dirt roads, and stately stone mansions now exist merely as a reminder and gateway to a world that once was....I just haven't fully convinced myself. Not just yet. I want the magic to last for a bit longer.

I know, of course, that it's perhaps a bit childish, a bit petulant to refuse to acknowledge what I know to be true, even in my own mind. But there is something immortal about words embossed on paper, black and white, the contract between myself and the author, asurring me that yes, endings can be happy ones. And now, I am finding the stories of my childhood fully realized. All of them. The names, people, places, houses...they exist. Baker Street, Sherwood Forrest, Buckingham Palace...they aren't just words or photographs or pictures that flicker to commercial before I can drink my fill--instead, they are train tickets or bus rides away. Dickens, Austen, Bronte--whole museums, days, week long festivals in their honor, in rememberance of that magic they created. I will be there, to thank them personally.

It has been so long, such a laborious, patient wait that I think the very word "England" has taken on a sort of magic. England itself seems magic, a foreign and mysterious place that awaits our discovery.

I know, of course, that we will arrive and be greeted by Coke billboards and Nike ads. Supermarkets will carry (some of) the same foods, McDonalds still have BigMacs on the menu. But it is that promise of change, that need for a new place that drives me. It is the wonderment of L's with curly bits for money and buildings over 500 years old. It's wondering what exactly is in a Yorkshire pudding that makes it different from Jello and asking the silly questions like "will they have cool whip there?" (The answer is no).

Tiny, tiny things stacked up to become one great mass of electric excitement, slowly growing brighter as the days tick slowly forward down to 0. It is no longer a far off dream or even, really, a long wait. Twelve days. Then 11, then 10, and then, soon enough, we will be flying away from the mundane and familar into a place completely unknown.

I write now because I know that as the day gets closer, more and more trivial details will come up and I will be want to write and more inclined to pack and repack a few more times, check on a few things or reread those words that have been my companion since childhood in preparation for thier actualization in reality. Basically, I'm going to be hella busy.

I am ready.
12 Days.

Also, liebe zukünftigen Auswanderer - bereitet euch auf eine emotional, aufreibende Zeit auf!

Hier ein Werk, welches ganz Produkt meiner Melancholie ist.

Und um diesen Emo Beitrag noch abzurunden, hier der passende Song zum Titel. Meine Damen und Herren:
Coldplay - The Scientist

[dailymotion id=k49gDCnly7ZA36GKt]

In my opinion, the development in the aviation industry has contributed tremendously to the grwoth and development of societies across the world. To analyze the importance of the aviation industry, especially in the cargo and passenger business, let us take the scenario before the invention of the airplanes to the current stage.

Earlier, people used to cross the borders of the countries mostly through the ships. Firstly, Ships take a long time to travel across two distant countries separted by vast oceans. Apart from the people who lose time, it was almost a death-trap to a lot of businesses as the commodoties fear the value of losing their value and importance with each passing day, thus, incurring losses in the buisnesses. Thirdly, in case of emergency calamities, countires were not able to help each other to a great extent at the much needed hours.

The introduction of aeroplanes have changed the complete scenario. They are much much faster than the ships and thus, they are used as and when there is a need. For example, foods and relief materials are provided to the worst-affected natural calamity like flood areas as in the state of Bihar when the Kosi river showed her cruel intentions by flooding almost the whole northern part of the state. Moroever, during such emergency situations, sometimes a lot of people are relocated to safer places in no time by airlifting them.

Additionally, the time of business interaction have drastically reduced. For example, it takes us a little over 24 hrs to travel across to our headquarters during the crunch release time of our products. Apart from time and fastness, the daily air cargo carries enormous amount of goods across countires, thus, eliminating the deficiencies of one country with the ampleness of the another, thus, eliminating the borders virtually to nothing. Last but not the least, people tend to spend more free time doing some more productive work or spending time with their families rather than wasting it over their travels.

First post!

This is where I am hoping to keep track of all my adventures in Europe during my Year Abroad!

For those of you who don't know, I'm heading off at the end of September to Angouleme, in Central France, to start a position as an English Language Assistant in 2 schools: The Lycée de l'Image et du Son and the College Pierre Bodet.  The position is 7 months, and so hopefully at the beginning of May I will be heading off to Italy to start that portion of my Year Abroad. This will hopefully be in Rome, in a job I am yet to find!

Right now my time is being filled with preparation: I finish work this week, and am currently in the middle of trying to update my wardrobe: "power dressing" is in order to try and impose some authority over a bunch of 16 year olds. I am still to book the flights: my parents are coming out with me, and they want to try and organise a couple of days of "holiday" before they actyally leave me in Angouleme, which is proving more complicated than first thought.

It's my Birthday on Monday!! Pammy is hitting the big 2-0. Having a couple of friends over for wining and dining in Perth, which is going to be so good! Can't wait!

The plan was to take full advantage of our summer hours at work, we get to finish at 12pm if we do our hours during the rest of the week.  Then it was going to be the dull drive up the M1 to Willington to stay at mum's place.  For some reason though (Michelle) we didn't leave work until 4pm.  We did the usual routine when we drive up home, head to the garage, fill up with petrol, put air in the tyres, take a detour back home to pick up what we've forgotten and then set off.

Usually we pack a little car picnic too.  A wrap, some crisps and a bottle of pop or something.  Both of us tend to hate service stations, Michelle for the rubbish food and me for the extortionate prices.  We really should start contributing to 5 Minutes Away.  This time we didn't and I'm kind of glad in a sadistic way since it brought about the only relief from the tedium of a 6hour drive.  I can't remember which service station it was but we decided to stop and grab some food.  I grabbed a sandwich and Michelle did her usual thing of wandering the entire service station before grumbling a bit and deciding on a something.  This time she picked a pasty.  Well, pasty by name and nothing else.  It had pastry but nothing inside it was recognisable.  We decided that it wasn't a pasty after all but more of a baby-sick filled pastry.  I laughed a little (sorry Shell) then we headed off and continued our journey, Michelle stomach still rumbling a bit.  Eventually we got home about 11pm.

The Saturday was a bit more of an emotional day for me.  It started off OK.  We did a little bit of shopping in Durham with mam and grabbed some lunch in The Slug and Lettuce, I was hanging out for Thai but The Slug and Lettuce was closer.  When we got back most of the day was spent just chilling out and hanging out with the dogs.

They look so cute when they're chilling out but I've still got the scar from Murphy.

The major event of the day though was scattering my gran's ashes.  She died a little while ago, strangely when I was due to go up home anyway.  A few days before I went up she was taken into hospital.  Nothing else but old age.  I think she'd kind of given up.  She'd outlived all of her friends and family and when she lost her last friend in the sheltered housing where she lived and think she just decided that was it.  When I was heading up home I was getting regular calls from my family asking how far I was away and how long it would take.  I felt a little helpless being sat on the shitty train I was on.  The crap service laid on by GNER meant I'd been booted off the first train because it was too busy so I sat on the floor of the second train, in between first and standard class close to the toilet, wishing the train would hurry up.  Needless to say it didn't so when I made it to Darlington hospital I was greeted by my sister with the news that gran had passed away a couple of hours ago.  I was gutted that I hadn't made it so I could say goodbye and wish her well.  So I was looking on scattering grans ashes as a way of saying "see ya".  The family went down to the plot where my grandad was buried along with a few other family members I never really knew because they'd died when I was young.  In the films when people scatter ashes it always seems to be quite a fancy affair but this was just another overcast day near Bishop Auckland.  Mum scattered gran's ashes and Rebecca scattered my Aunt Vi's (she died a while ago but, as weird as it sounds, was kept under our apple tree in the back garden) then we headed back home.  The mood was lifted by the thought of Michelle looking after my niece and nephew and volunteering to make flapjacks with them.  We thought we'd get back to carnage but surprisingly everything was nice and tidy and those flapjacks kept us going through the whole walk.  Cheers Sian and Jack!

Then it was Sunday.  the day before the walk and the day we were heading to St. Bees.  In the morning we pottered about, took one of the dogs for a walk up to get a paper and some milk, had an awesome Sunday roast laid on by mam and generally got everything ship shape.  Amy, my youngest sister, had said she would take us over to St. bees but she decided her social life was more important so Sarah, second youngest sister, and her now fiance took us over instead.  The drive was fine, just a little detour around what was probably an accident on the A66.  For those of you who have driven down the A66 from Barnard Castle into the Lakes then you'll know that an accident comes as no surprise.  We parked up in St Bees train station car park after the best emergency turn I've ever seen.  Well done Col.  We headed into the local for a drink with Sarah and Col before they set off.  Of course Col had his Sunderland shirt on and we walked into a pub that was showing the Man Utd vs Newcastle match.  He only got a little bit of stick.

Then they left and it was just me, Michelle and the sobering thought of starting a 192 mile walk the following morning.

I already have a great set of Rapidograph tech pens that I inherited from a previous job. They were going to trash them, so I stepped right on up and volunteered to give them a home. I took a couple of big bottles of ink, too, but they're probably too old to use now. Hey, ink is cheap — but pens aren't!

My position at that place was as a graphic artist, and I created illustrations of computer hard drives for technical manuals using Adobe Illustrator. Their previous artist was truly an artist — he drew the most fantastic isometric drawings by hand with pen & ink, and edited the drawings by pasting tiny pieces of paper with the new part drawn on it. He cut out the new bits with an X-acto knife and glued the revision over the outdated section of his original artwork. I couldn't believe it when I saw his work — in some places, there were six or more layers of paper making up the finalized drawing! I scanned his artwork and used it as a template to create my electronic drawings.

By the time I had created a few drawings using his old drawings as a base, I figured out how to "build" the illustration in sections, so that if a connector had to be changed, I could just delete the old one and pop on a new one from another drawing. Pretty cool, if I do say so myself!

So the only things I'll still need to buy are some new ink, and maybe some drafting film. I have some, but I'll have to see what shape it's in. I've moved a couple of times, so it may be wrinkled or damaged.

Counting the days until my new toy arrives...

As part of preparation we researched a customisable blogging service and wordpress.com seems to be the right service for now. We're going to use this blog to keep friends and family up to speed with where we are in the world. Please be warned that this is a true bilingual blog, meaning you'll find both, German and English posts on this site. If you don't speak German, use the English category or open up Leo Dict by clicking here.

Auszeit by the way translates to Timeout in English and that's exactly what we're getting ready for now.

The waiting is almost over, thank goodness.

I have this little puzzle that sits on my desk which has 8 pieces that lend to success in the business place: Teamwork, Imagination, Knowledge, Determination, Optimism, Leadership, etc.  Fighting cancer has been a little bit like that.  I've called this section of the blog "A Loving Fight", but like a heavyweight boxer, we haven't even begun.  We are one week out from her surgery and are still in the training phases.  We can stop waiting and start recovering.  Waiting is also a misnomer as we've spent the last month preparing.  The "knowledge" piece of the puzzle is what we've been working on to prepare us.  We've been stocking up on meds, food and pillows as well as getting those nagging little errands done like fixing the car, fixing small household projects and other things which would be pushed aside over the next several months.  It's crazy, but our home has never been more efficient.  My wife is finishing off a monster project that has been a godsend as it has preoccupied her mind.

Me?  What have I been doing?  I've been gatehring all the information I can.  Breastcancer.org has been a great resource for information.  The forums have also allowed me to communicate with other peopl in our similar situation.I really do need to thank everyone there.

This week we have our final consultation with the surgeons as well as a psychological visit.  I do think she needs the psych visit as she has had a nagging cough since her biopsy.  It does however go away when she sleeps and when she is running around doing something exciting.  She only gets it at night when she relaxes.  So I do think the cough has to do with her anxiety.

We've managed to keep an even level of emotion in the household so it was a bit of a shock while on a walk to the store with my 8 year old son he asked me, "Dad, is mom going to be okay?"  I stopped and told him everything would be all right and gave him a big hug.  He's always been wise beyond his years.  He then asked, "Are you going to be okay?".  I hugged him and said, "We're all going to be okay".  When we got home, he vacuumed our whole house which made us smile.  I have to admit that if any of you remember the show, "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" starring Bill Bixby, I felt like I was living in an opening episode of one of those shows.

School starts tomorrow so the kids will now be bable to preoccupy their minds with friends, teachers, soccer and schoolwork.  Anyone who says having kids take years off of your life needs to laugh and spend time with ours as they are going to be a big part of our healing process both physically and mentally.  They have a lot of things going around in their tiny little heads, but they aren't immune to the situation.

This trip is a bit unique because it will be a combination of homestays, hostelling and camping.  The camping will primarily be in Eastern Africa.  I have been trying to find out if I can purchase a sleeping bag and ground mattress in Nairobi, Kenya, where my trek will begin, but I'm not having much luck.  I'm sure I read somewhere that sleeping bags can be purchased in Kenya, but for a higher price than what I'd pay for here.  So, I thought: why not just combine my sleep sack with a fleece sleeping bag liner?  That should work.  However, I down-sized from a 70 L to a 60 L pack, and I'm having a hard time fitting in the bare minimum.

First rule: lay out all belongings on the bed, then remove half.

Then I tried to stuff my travel pillow and fleece sleep sack into compression bags.  I figured if I removed the air, it would reduce the volume:

Then, I added my other belongings:

The end result was this (minus my small carry-on):

Which would have been okay.  However, I hadn't yet added my clothes, shoes or books!

I had a panic attack that night.  I only packed necessities, too.  What was poor me to do, only going with half her proposed belongings?  Okay, so I removed prescriptions from boxes, stuffed my knickers into the roll of duct tape, removed 1/2 the bandages, removed 1/2 of my feminine products, and so forth.  I think it will work.  As long as I can bring two carry-ons (no, not allowed, but I'll try), then re-attach the day-pack to the main pack, I'll be fine.

I still have exactly one week.  Within two days, I will have completed my packing successfully.  Just watch.

(Pause.)

However, if anyone wants to join me at any point, please feel free to bring an EMPTY luggage case or pack.  

m

For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us. 2 Timothy 1:7-14

According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.  For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; Philippians1:20-21, 28-29

Richard Wurmbrand, founder of the Voice of the Martyrs

Martyrs for Christ, The History of the Early Christian Martyrs

"Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven." --  Luke 6:22

"Though beheaded, and crucified, and thrown to wild beasts, and chains, and fire, and all other kinds of torture, we do not give up our confession; but, the more such things happen, the more do others in larger numbers become faithful." -- Justin Martyr

Obviously I thought it was a great idea and set up twitter.com/savannahhanna

There are rumors of an evacuation starting as early as Wednesday so if nothing else this Twitter page will reflect some basic knowledge and updates that may reach a population of people not reached by traditional means. I have already had one person mention that they didn't even know there was a threat until she read our Twitter page.

Please feel free to spread the word to anyone living in the Savannah, Georgia area and if you are curious to follow this social media outreach and contribute any news we may be missing please start following us here.

Read on and learn how.

1. Know what you want

The most important step is knowing what you're interested in, the second step is to research and lastly, go for it.

If the first step feels like a struggle, start by creating a list of your passions and your skills. According to Donald Trump, "without passion you don't have energy, without energy you have nothing".  A possible option to find out your strengths is to ask those who are close to you, such as your partner, family, friends or colleagues.   With this list you should be able to start seeing things a little more clearly and a career path should start to become obvious.

Another worthwhile list to create is of the professional people you admire. If someone has a profession that you're interested in, research and email them to ask how they got to where they are today. Many will be flattered you contacted them.

2. More research

Clarity in your interests and skills makes the second step a lot easier. The best part of finding the job you want with today's technology is that you can be both active and passive about it.

Online job boards and recruiters are examples where once you register as a user you can be passive about using them. You can create Job feeds, so when appropriate jobs are listed with the site you can get them delivered to your inbox, rather than having to search the site numerous times a day.

"Looking for jobs online has moved away from simply looking for a job ad and responding to it" says Andrew Mcleod, CEO of JOBX New Zealand, a new online career network and job website. "The nature of internet has changed to being a place of more interaction especially with multimedia tools and it is the same for job hunting online".

With a recruiter it is a matter of going in for an interview, providing them with as much information about yourself and the work which interests you and wait to hear from them.

The newspaper requires a bit of an effort when using, but there are employers who still advertise here so at least once a week, it might be worthwhile scanning the newspapers.

However, if you really want to stand out from the crowd you could make yourself known to desired companies - Google them, look at their website, meet their employees at various industry events, or find them online and network. This way you are one of the first candidates a company would think of when a position opens up.

Be vocal about what employment you want and the career path you are currently on. The old adage of the world being a small one is probably true as you cannot predict who knows who and, the six degrees of separation is often plausible.

3. Presenting yourself well in your resume

One key step that many people forget to do is to tailor their resume to suit the job they are applying for. The purpose of this is to highlight your strengths, experience and skills, and how they match up with the job that you are after. It is imperative to be brief in your resume as no one wants to read the next instalment of War and Peace. The text itself is important in it conciseness but also the layout of the resume as a whole is important, the information which you want to highlight the most being at the very start of the document. This document should be lean and streamlined so that there is no information like how Facebook is a skill or hobby of yours.

4. Tidy up your online reputation

Once you have your resume all ready to go, a necessary step which is increasingly important with the internet is Googling yourself. Employers may Google candidates to see what kind of information is out there, and anything they have left off their resume. It may not be done often but it is worth the extra effort to ensure success in the search for your dream job. Paul Jacobs from the Wellington-based recruitment strategy firm Engage, highlights that a battery of sophisticated tools are becoming available that allow recruiters to run deep searches across social networking platforms (including YouTube) using a candidate's name and/or email address.  Jacobs suggests that as a pre-emptive strike ensure that anything unsavoury about you online is removed or amended or, be prepared to answer any questions to do with it that the employer may bring up. While you are online, another step to take is to ensure that your social network memberships are private. The reason being is that employers may have access to this also and have a look to get a better understanding of what kind of person you are.

5. Preparation for an interview

If you have made it this far, firstly congratulate yourself. Getting an interview is no mean feat. There are a few things to note about mental and physical preparation for an interview. Let's start with the presentation, the basics really - it is better to be over dressed than under dressed. If in doubt wear a suit and nicely polished shoes. However if it is a technology or more creative company the work place dress code will more likely be smart casual. When you dress the part you feel the part and this may add to the necessary confidence boost you need in your interview. Make sure that you are clean shaven, showered with no body odour, bad breath or smell of tobacco. This kind of preparation seems elementary but is often overlooked and can mark the good connection in an interview. There is a saying that you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

Again, research the company to get an idea of their beliefs and any key words or phrases often used by them, take note of your experience which could aid the company's goals. Research the interviewers, if you know in advance who they are going to be. Ensure that you are able to highlight any commonalities you have with them. However, honesty is really important. Also review your resume and cover letter to be able to reinforce in person, any strengths or qualities you have highlighted on paper. Good practice for all interviews is stock answers for generic and yet common questions such as "what are your strengths", "what are your weaknesses" and "do you have any questions for us". Check the location of the interview and be sure to know how to get there in advance.

6. How to conduct yourself during an interview

With your planned travel route to the interview venue, leave early allowing for traffic problems or any other delays. Arriving early demonstrates that as an employee you would be organised and punctual.

When meeting your interviewer for the first time make sure you shake their hand - be firm and confident. Have the correct posture and smile. If you are feeling uncomfortable and nervous, this can give the interviewer the wrong impression. So remember to breathe deeply to relax and be positive, courteous and friendly. More often than not a light sense of humour helps and small talk can go a long way.

It is important to show passion for the company and enthusiasm for the job. As an interviewer key attributes looked for in candidates include seeing how much a candidate wants a job.

Paul Jacobs highlights that some people are uncomfortable talking about their past achievements and successes.  He recommends that though one shouldn't come across as boasting, it is important to mention specific situations where you have made a positive difference.  This could be at work, on the sports field as a captain or coach, and in a team at school, university, or a club.  For example, the interviewer may ask about your ability to work within a team.  In this specific example you should mention a real situation where you were part of a team (maybe one that was struggling initially), and what your role was, or where you added value to the team, to achieve a positive result.

Jacobs also suggests asking the interviewer questions about the role and organisation.   You might learn more about the role by asking what a typical day, week, or month may look like.  Or you may want to ask about the career prospects and development opportunities if you are hired.  It is important to find out if the role is really a right fit for you.  The interviewer will also enjoy talking through their perceptions and you will come across as intently interested.

7. Follow up email or hand written note after the interview

Few people do it, but a follow up email or hand written note can be a very effective way to make you distinguishable.

8. Handling rejection if you do not get the job

If you are not successful in your endeavours this time around it is still a good idea to maintain a good rapport with the interviewer and company. Few candidates actually contact the interviewer and ask in what areas they were lacking or how they could improve themselves. This is also a chance for you to remind them that if any future opportunities arise or they know of a position at another company that they should be in touch.

9. Resigning from your current job

The best thing to do when resigning from your job is to speak to your superior directly before you tell your colleagues. The worst thing you can do is tell your colleagues first and let the news filter through to the boss.

Pick the best time to speak to your boss. Work out a sound explanation for your departure and be brief.

Stay positive, mention the opportunities you were given and review the good experiences you have had with the company.

Prepare for unexpected reactions from your boss. It is important to remain cool and communicate in an even toned manner.

Avoid getting into any personal details about anybody in the organisation, to reiterate it is a small world and you may be relying on your boss or former colleagues to give you a good reference.

End on an optimistic note, perhaps wishing them well for the future or reminding them of your willingness to ensure a smooth transition. This way you make your last impression a good one.  Always confirm your verbal resignation in writing.

10.   Welcome to your dream job

Congratulations on securing your new position!

Useful Links:
http://www.jobx.co.nz

To find out more about what tools and resources JOBX.CO.NZ has to offer jobseekers visit:
http://www.jobx.co.nz/34/31/for-members

To find out more about what tools and resources JOBX.CO.NZ has to offer advertisers visit:
http://www.jobx.co.nz/35/31/for-job-advertisers

To register as a job seeker with us visit:
http://www.jobx.co.nz/MemberAccount.aspx

To register as an advertiser visit:
http://www.jobx.co.nz/advertiser/register.aspx

Contact us:
sales@jobx.co.nz

It looks like I will be doing some cataloging (copy and original) so I am looking through some of the standards set by OCLC, OhioLink and CSU in preparation.

View: OCLC Bibliographic Formats and Standards

View: OhioLink Policy Handbook

View: OhioLink Database Management and Standards

Download [DOC]: Shen, Yuezeng. Procedures for Cataloging Electronic Resources. Cleveland State University, 2008

As Salam Alaikum wa Rehmatullahi wa Barakaatuhu.

Here's an exclusive Ramadan postcard/wallpaper for you to enjoy while I work on more articles for you!
Click the image to view in full resolution.Also, I'd really appreciate it if you could remember me in your prayers, I really need them.

Freedom is the most fundamental right of all the human beings in each and every independent country of the world. A lot of world wars and freedom struggles are fought just for the sake of FREEDOM. If FREEDOM is necessary for human beings, then it is also necessary for each and everyone who has life and can feel. And so, I strongly feel that it extends to the animals also and it is absolutely rubbish to confine animals in the zoos.

There are several reasons for this. Firstly, by confining animals to the zoos, we encourage them to be provocative against the boundaries to break them and set themselves free, thus, endangering the nearby human habitats. As an example, I remember when I was visiting San Francisco late last year, the day we planned to visit the SFO zoo, one tiger broke out of the zoo killing a man and injuring a couple others. How far can such an incident be justified when we ourselves are responsible of having the zoo in the city? Secondly, the reasons given for having a zoo is to protect animals and help save the endangered species. But just imagine what would we do when someone tries to enter our house forcibly or some other country tries to empower us? We actually try to defend ourselves and save out belongings and properties rather than just moving out to some other place, provided by our enemies as the safe Heaven. Now, the animals become endangered due to our excessive neglect, greed and so-called fast development. But we forget that we are disturbing the ecological development cycle in this process. If we don't interfere in the activities of the wild animals, there is no reason why some species should become extinct. Thirdly, sometimes education is also given as a strong reason for having zoos, but can't the same education be provided in a well-protected environment of animals such as sanctuaries, where people can visit once in a while, but not regularly, for study purposes, giving the animals the freedom of roaming and living their life in an open environment rather than confined cages of zoos. Moreover, now a days, the television channels like Animal Planet, Discovery and NGC are much more informative. due to the above said reasons, I strongly feel that it is absolutely cruel to strip any living thing of their basic fundamental right-FREEDOM just for the sake of few bucks and in the name of false-development of the humankind.

Overall, I was pleased with what I was able to accomplish, although I was far from perfect.

On target with the plan:

• setting up the coffeemaker (grinding beans, adding water, etc.) the night before
• choosing my outfit the night before
• setting an extra alarm*
• grocery shopping
• taking a shower the night before (twice)

*On Tuesday morning, I woke up so late (good thing I had taken a shower the night before!!) that I was 5 minutes late to school.  As in, my students (none of whom had met me yet) were waiting outside my classroom 5 minutes after the bells rang.  Not good!!  Luckily, they were forgiving, and I think it made them realize that even teachers are human and oversleep sometimes.  It was definitely not a good way to start the day, but hey, it does happen.

Things I missed the mark on this week:

• working out - first of all, I was dead tired each night when I got home.  There's something about teaching that takes so much out of me, and I have to get back into the routine of it.  All of my colleagues complained about how tired they were this past week, so I know I wasn't alone.  Plus, we had a terrible heatwave (100+ degrees) on Wednesday-Friday, so even less motivation to want to go and workout.
• going to bed early, and not falling asleep on the couch - I went to bed on my own 3 nights of the week, but there were two nights when I simply passed out on the couch.  Remarkably, the nights on the couch found me up and at 'em quicker than the nights I was in my own bed.  Go figure. Guess the bed is too comfy.

Overall, I did feel more organized this week, and if it weren't for the overly tired feeling/heatwave, I think I would've done even better.  I'm going to try to repeat this plan this coming week, and I'm obviously hoping for better results.

Une chose est sûre, c'est que le sac est près, il ne manque plus que les lunettes de soleil. Le chat aussi s'est trouvé un coin de repos, dans une petite famille d'accueil où vivent 3 chattes et un chien, autant dire qu'il aura une vie de pacha et qu'il pourra affirmé sa dominance auprès de ses semblables.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 c'est parti !!!!!

Sweet lord. 2 suitcases at 50 pounds a piece sounds like a lot. But really? It's not.
Jeans, sweatshirts, sweaters, shirts, pants, workout gear/outdoor stuff, shoes, jackets, enough underwear and socks for about a month, headbands, bobby pins, pajamas, swim suit (just in case), slippers...

vitamins/supplements, power bars, bathroom necessities, camera/cables/batteries/memory cards, ipod cable and battery back up....

At the end of all of this, I am hoping I can make a comprehensive list of everything I took that I did not need, and everything I didn't bring but wished I had.

In other news, my laptop broke last week and the nice Geek Squad member was kind enough to tell me that it can be fixed....in 3-4 weeks. I leave in 2. So. Rather than spend the money on a new laptop, I decided that I'll just suck it up and have it sent...hopefully Mom and Dad can throw in some goodies, as well.

It's strange, though. Suddenly, my closet is very empty and this is getting very, very real.

It's about time.