So... really?

Hello all,

I know its been awhile but I was just waiting for something crazy to happen so I could get riled up enough to write. Well, thank you Capitol Hill you've done it again. You know, they're right, it makes perfect sense to shutdown the non essential government and pay the workers to do nothing because of disagreements over CUTTING FEDERAL SPENDING.  Just perfect, clear as day, sense. I feel like I'm in Frane all over again. I know I didn't go to Harvard or Yale, like most of the people running the country, but even I, with my lowly state school education, can see that this is very stupid. Especially since it all hinges on a social issue... and a few other things I'm sure. I know my family and friends think I'm a die hard liberal but I'm not. I'm usually pretty impartial because lets face it neither side is all that awesome. I'm mentioning this because I want to be taken seriously. I don't want to be written off as the crazy Austin hippie who hates Republicans. That being said... WHAT THE FUCK republicans? How can you say that you are unsatisfied with the deficit and the proposed budget cuts because they aren't enough, and then cause the inefficiency that you're preaching against? Democrats are willing to make at least a small effort why aren't you? It doesn't make any sense. I'm baffled. How does it get to this point?

I mean what are we really talking about here. Republicans want to cut funding for Planned Parenthood because they provide (privately funded) abortions. Abortions are NOT federally funded, there's a law against that already. So what's the end game here? If you want to ban abortions, overturn Roe v Wade. Or maybe this is just a petty way to prove a point against social welfare programs. Are you really going to cut funding to an institution that provides birth control to a population that needs it most? If so, are you prepared to provide welfare to those children who's families live below the poverty line? I've done the math... birth control is cheaper. F.Y.I

I don't care which side of the abortion coin you are on. Anti, Pro I don't give a shit. You have a right to your opinion. But we've voted on this issue it's done. Right now abortions are legal. Deal with it. Planned Parenthood provides other vital services to women. Without it, many women would not be able to afford STD testing and thats not good for anyone. What about education and prevention? I mean, some girls think that you can't get pregnant when you're breastfeeding. (Sorry to burst your bubble.) What about general gynecological healthcare. It would be really terrible if cervical cancer numbers went up because girls couldn't afford to get PAP smears. To be quite honest, I'm not sure how I feel about abortion. I hope I'm never in a position to have to make a decision like that. I do, however, know how I feel about preventative education. It is great. We should be teaching sex ed. We should  be psychologically preparing people for the decisions they are going to face BEFORE they face them. Maybe if people knew how not to get pregnant they wouldn't need to get abortions. Planned Parenthood provides those things. But I guess that makes too much sense.

You're probably asking yourself "Man, Leah what a rant. I thought this post was about the government shut down. What does that have to do with abortion?"

Fucking exactly. I bid you good day.

Leah

PS A friend from the Ivory Coast says Ouattara is the thug and the bully and that Gbagbo should remain in power. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it American Media.

Technology Shmechnology

Disclaimer: I know I'm guilty too, but I'm gonna say all this anyway.

Nothing frustrates me more than people who make no effort to understand or be understood. It boggles my mind how some people can go through life and not want or care to make any sense whatsoever to their peers. I'm not venturing to say that life is simple but it does not have to be overly complicated. There are way too many people on this earth who hold no accountability for their thoughts or actions, and then just pretend like they don't know any better and just say "thats life". Bullshit. I have a lot of patience for people, even now the only reason I'm all riled up is because I'm afraid that I'll never understand anyone fully. Why don't people ever have normal interactions anymore? I blame social media networks and my overly coddled generation. People are so conscious of feelings nowadays that they are afraid to have any. Whatever happened to the pride that comes from speaking your mind and standing up for what you believe in. Sadly, it seems my generation, and those after, have no beliefs... or minds for that matter. I'm being harsh. But I think its disturbing how many important deep conversations people have over text message or the internet because they're too afraid to say it to someone's face. Its pathetic. Not only is it pathetic, but its often counterproductive because its so easy misconstrue a message like that, when there are no verbal or visual cues. Which brings me back to my original topic; I think people refuse to have real, face to face conversations because it makes them accountable for what they say. If a text is misinterpreted, its the readers fault. If a speaker is misunderstood... well its really no ones fault but their own. I still don't get why people are ok with being misunderstood. Is it lazyness? Is it fear? I don't know. I'm not blind to the irony that I'm typing this particular message on a blog but hey, if you want to have this conversation face to face I am totally down. All I want is for everyone to be straightforward. Our time on this planet is much to short to be guessing all the time what everyone needs or wants when we could just tell each other.

Easier said then done I guess, but my new New Year's resolution is that I will not send a text message that is longer than one sentence. Also, in that same vein I will refrain from having more than 4 text exchanges in a conversation. Good luck to me.

Love Leah

0 to 60 in 24 Hours... Degrees that is

This was on Friday morning. At noon there was little trace of snow save the few spots that hadn't been in the sun yet. The next day was so warm that you would have never known the morning before had snow on the ground. Weekend was awesome. Friday night I saw some old friends that I hadn't seen in way too long of a time so that was really nice. I also didn't know that they worked with me at Computer Place, so now I have new chat buddies! Then we saw Elephant M (a band with some kickin bass lines) and continued on to my friend's house party, where there were some other cool bands playing. The house is magnificent; floor to ceiling windows overlooking Zilker Park. It's an older house so it has lots of charm and personality which is added to by the eclectic way it's decorated. This chick was singing, I think they were called White Dress , and it was mesmerizing. Looking back on it, I don't think it would have taken a lot to mesmerize me, but I'm pretty sure they were good.

Next day was a rough one. I was like a pitiful, shivering zombie with empty eyes, turns out all those zombie movies got it wrong... coffee is the only cure. After some java, I was raring to go and we met up for some soccer in Zilker Park. I haven't played soccer since my days at the YMCA (when I would only play while wearing a tiara) so I was a little apprehensive but it was super fun... minus the ball I took to the stomach. Then we feasted on Polvos. I recommend the fish fajitas and the maragaritas. After all that I went to bed at 10:30, on a Saturday. I'm proud of me.

Sunday was a lovely if not very very lazy day. Of course it was the superbowl so I went to a superbowl party and I'd be lyin if I said I watched the game. There were so many people that I had never met before that I was too distracted by mingling. I think the Packers won... right? Oh well.

I wish I had some more pictures but my camera died so next post should be a little more interesting. I hope everyone had an amazing weekend!

Listen to the Two Gallants station on Pandora, specifically My Madonna

"And I curse my own comfort for the deaf and the blind,

cause it's dark as a dungeon way down in my mind

And I wake on the floor with my country at war,
and I wish I could care but my liver's too sore.
And if liquor's a lover, you know I'm a whore,
if liquor's a lover, you know I'm a whore"



Love Leah

If Winter comes can Spring be far behind?

These pictures were taken on Sunday January 30th. The most beautiful day, I think, that has ever existed in January. It was 77 degrees and the sky was speckled with just a few puffy clouds to provide a smidge of relief from...yes... the heat. In January. I post these pictures in remembrance because it is now around freezing and the threat of rain/sleet is imminent.

This post of happy thoughts is dedicated to the nice old man in the Wal Mart who let me cut in front of him. I only had two things and he was stocking up for World War 3, so he was nice enough to let me go first. God speed my friend.

Happy thought 1- Even though it is disgustingly cold and windy right now, it is not snowing and it will be warm again soon. I have evidence... a slight tan from my long Sunday bike ride.

Happy Thought 2- My parents are coming to visit in two and a half weeks and I couldn't be more excited. I miss them and I'm pretty sure they miss me. It's even cooler because we are going, as a family, to see Grace Potter and the Nocturnals at La Zona Rosa. I was boycotting this venue but have lifted it for this special occasion.

Happy Thought 3- I know how to read. It's something I think most Americans take for granted, especially this generation. But reading is amazing. You can learn so many things; consider so many ideas that you might have never otherwise considered. There's not really an excuse to be uneducated if you can read. I suggest reading The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. It's short and beautifully written and truly insightful. Right now I'm reading Oil! by Upton Sinclair.

Happy Thought 4- I get off work at 5 now which means I can go to spin class. My mother knows why this is exciting.

Happy Thought 5- Life is good to me and she's good to you too, as long as you put on the right glasses. It's all about perspective, people. You can sit around and think about how shitty your life is right now, or you can think about how much better it was at one point and therefore can be again. Life is not a downward spiral or an upward one for that matter, it's a rollercoaster. It's a majestic range of mountains with awe-inspiring peaks yet intimate knowledge hidden in its valleys. Be strong enough to climb back to the top after you've slid to rock bottom.

Love Leah

Hot damn I love this City

Every Day is Sunday

I'm not sure there is anything scarier than riding in the backseat of a mini cooper with a questionable driver (sorry dude) and the top down, zipping around 35 traffic, clutching a metal bike frame in front of me that's ready to break my fall in case of accident. Luckily, I came out of it unharmed.

We began the night at Gingerman. For those of you who don't know Gingerman, it is a bar with somewhere in the ballpark of 40 taps, I'd say. The kind of place where you get judged for ordering a Coors light. But then, I guess that's most places. Anyway they have a lovely patio, and my friends and I were just hanging out drinking various types of ales and hefeweizens and shootin' the shit. There was a beer brewed by Spaten, called the Optimator. It's double bock and is delectably sweet and malty. Worth giving a shot if you're an adventurous beer drinker.
Finally, after a few hours and a few pitchers we moved on. My Cameroonian coworker showed up right as we were leaving and told us about another bar further south. I was positive I knew which bar they were talking about because, before I left for France, there was only one bar there, Lustre Pearl. So they got in the car and I hopped on my bike ('cause I'm eco-friendly like that) and I met them there. Except when I got there, 3 new bars had popped up. That's cool I guess but I didn't know which one so I stood around and talked to the door guy at Lustre Pearl for awhile. He was a cool guy, used to be the guitar tech for Cory Morrow until he got "laid off". I wonder if he got a severance package...
Eventually, I found my friends at a bar called Clive, it was nice in there. One of those new, trendy Austin bars, a lot of 30 something ex hipsters. But the tables and benches were all solid blocks of wood, I'll hand it to their designer, it was pretty in there. My Cameroonian friend and his bud, also from the homeland, were telling some pretty ridiculous jokes and talking about Africa... I've decided that my next big trip (if I ever get one) is to Africa. Hopefully by the time I can go there it may have settled down a little bit, but I won't hold my breath.

Last stop of the night was Star Seeds which was surprisingly quiet. I got an eye opener which is biscuits, gravy and scrambled eggs and ate Every. Single. Bite. I went home (this is where the terrifying car ride came in), my friends dropped me off and I immediately went to sleep. Guess my food didn't really live up to its name now did it?

It's a beautiful day. I'm going to take advantage of it on my one day off. My last piece of advice... Listen to the Bandulus (I think their on Itunes) and turn your subwoofer up. Their bass lines are kickin' and their singer got soooouuuullll.

Love Leah

I'm alive

I'm bringing back the blog. I haven't touched it since I got home from France and a lot has changed since  then. I suppose I can give you a quick rundown, my life in a bulleted list if you will. Here goes:

•  Came home from France. Ate lots of Mexican food. Discovered I was Lactose Intolerant
• Lived with Mom and Dad. Got job as bartender (it was the best job ever)
• Went to Austin. Got hired at a computer company. Moved back in with Sarah in Austin. Was very happy
• Mathieu came to live with me. Broke up with Mathieu. Mathieu moved back to France
• Learned to camp and snowboard. Survived.
• Still work at said computer company. Am single (and content with that). Decided to apply to nursing school. Made Mom very happy.

So I guess that is the very quick version of my life from May 2010 to January 2011. The one good thing about this job at Computer Place is that I have a lot of time to ponder while waiting to have 2 minute conversations with people. Its interesting how much you can learn about someone in a two minute phone conversation about technical support. One, you can quickly assess what region the person is from based on accent (obviously) but also, more comically, word choice. I can pick a Canadian out faster than he can say zed. Two, you can learn a lot about their patience level. They are calling because their computers are broken and their businesses aren't running. That can piss a lot of people off, not to mention the less than 5 star service Computer Place is known for. So, I also commend people on not speaking to me like I'm an idiot. Some people, however, are ignorant and rude for no reason. I think they've just gone through life getting their way by being belligerent (sadly it often works). I was raised with a thick skin, thankfully, so they ain't rufflin my feathers. I mean come on, don't bite the hand that feeds, you know?

Anyway, I still speak French everyday with my coworker who's from Cameroon. I still have a lot to say about things so I figured I should dust off the old blog and see if she still fits. 'Spose she does.

Should I change the name?

Leah

Je ne sais quoi

I thought about describing to you my doings of late. My trip to Montpellier (which was the best weekend of my life), my trips to Paris or even my mundane daily activities of... well...nothing. Instead I think I might just talk about random things.

Have you ever seen the movie or read the book the Outsiders? I like it because it talks about what it actually means to be an outsider. It seems at some point or another everyone in the book feels like they don't belong in either their own group or the other cliques that exist. I've been thinking about this situation a lot lately because lets face it I am an outsider in many ways. Then I realized that its ridiculous. It's a weird defense mechanism. Protecting yourself from being judged by giving others something to judge on purpose. That way what they are judging isn't you its your fake image. Brilliant. Now though, not only are you protecting yourself from the people that aren't in your "group" but those who are in it as well because once you step outside your house wearing a mask...you have to wear it all the time. Its not like Ross's british accent where you can slowly, sneakily get rid of it (it didn't even work in tv world). So en gros I shouldn't be afraid to talk to people just because I'm afraid they won't like me. Because that's stupid. The end.

Next I'm coming home on Monday and I've been thinking about lots of things lately.
Notably:
Dos XX
Refried beans
tortilla chips
baked beans
the 4th of July
outdoor swimming pools
ceiling fans
orange dogs that breathe in peoples faces

Last. All you LOST haters should just be quiet and let those of us who like it bask in the glory of the sweetest ending ever. Sure it didn't answer all of the questions that were ever posed on the show but hey, when in life do you have all the answers? Exactly. AND the show wasn't even about the questions it was about the people and I think the ending was perfect and open leaving you the viewer to interpret how you see fit. RIP Lost.

Love Leah