My blog is intelligent, thus I am intelligent.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
CAITLIN went on a DATE?
Well, if impromptu International Cinema and Pita Pit plus getting stuck in a snow ditch is a date, then I think I just had my first official date of the year. And by year, I mean SCHOOL year. And, it was great. My parents would be so proud of my newfound social skills.
Monday, January 28, 2008
What a wonderful weekend
I had such a beautiful weekend. On Friday night, the Veg Club hosted a potluck at someone's apartment and the food was phenomenal, for the most part. Some guy made this like Manicotti, except it was completely vegan and it had some strange ingredients but it tasted delicious. Mary and I made chili, it wasn't that great, a little too soupy and not thick enough but people liked it! There was also some good tofu stir-fry and someone made like beefaroni with the Morning Farms meal starters and it tasted great! I've used the chicken strips from that brand but have never been brave enough to do the ground beef, but I will definitely buy some of that next time I go shopping.
After the potluck, Mary and I went over to another friend's house for an Africa party. We watched Darwin's Nightmare and then discussed it... Eric Darsow was there so I got to talk to him for a while and it was great. We don't see each other nearly enough!
Saturday was great too- I slept in, went to the temple, and then headed to work. Work was uneventful but I did get a ton of work done so at least it was productive.
Sunday- great church meetings, great lunch, great movies (Titanic), and then great party when I met great people. The only, I suppose, not so great moment was the prophet Gordon B. Hinckley's passing... but I can't help but just be joyous imagining how elated he must be to be with his beloved wife and the Savior. He did momentous things for the Church these past 13 years, but we all knew we had to let him go eventually.
On another note, my mission papers are filled out! Dentist appt down, doctor appt to go. Two interviews and that's that. I'm pretty stoked.
After the potluck, Mary and I went over to another friend's house for an Africa party. We watched Darwin's Nightmare and then discussed it... Eric Darsow was there so I got to talk to him for a while and it was great. We don't see each other nearly enough!
Saturday was great too- I slept in, went to the temple, and then headed to work. Work was uneventful but I did get a ton of work done so at least it was productive.
Sunday- great church meetings, great lunch, great movies (Titanic), and then great party when I met great people. The only, I suppose, not so great moment was the prophet Gordon B. Hinckley's passing... but I can't help but just be joyous imagining how elated he must be to be with his beloved wife and the Savior. He did momentous things for the Church these past 13 years, but we all knew we had to let him go eventually.
On another note, my mission papers are filled out! Dentist appt down, doctor appt to go. Two interviews and that's that. I'm pretty stoked.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Oh, and by the way
PS. I got floor seats for the forum on Tuesday... with Paul Rusesabagina. As in, Hotel Rwanda. I'm going to shake his hand. It will totally rock.
I hate Provo drivers but I love citizen lobbyists
This morning on my way to class, I was crossing the street at the bottom of the hill when a speeding car came out from a corner and almost ran me down. First off, she should not have been gunning it across that crosswalk since it was 10 am and there were a thousand people walking to school. THEN, as I stopped in the crosswalk to go past, she had the audacity to HONK at me. Seriously? I have the rightaway sista. Then she looked annoyed and "waved" me past. It really disgusted me.
But last night was phenomenal. I almost stayed behind to work on WomanStats that was due last night, but I went with SID to the state capitol to a citizen lobby training meeting. It was so informative and interesting. We toured the newly-renovated capitol building and it's beautiful. We got to the chambers of the House and actually see the desks and everything. Then we learned how to approach our representatives and write them little notes to be delivered to them while they are in session. It was neat. Afterwards, a bunch of us went to grab food at Wild Oats/Whole Foods. The food was amazing!! We got an eclectic mix; my favorite was probably the BBQ Tempeh Salad or the delicious organic oranges. And by the way, soy yogurt is much better than dairy yogurt. I think I'm going to have to go buy some at Good Earth today, along with whatever I am going to make for the veg potluck tonight. Mmmmm. I'm excited. AND then the Africa party. Yay. I love SID.
But last night was phenomenal. I almost stayed behind to work on WomanStats that was due last night, but I went with SID to the state capitol to a citizen lobby training meeting. It was so informative and interesting. We toured the newly-renovated capitol building and it's beautiful. We got to the chambers of the House and actually see the desks and everything. Then we learned how to approach our representatives and write them little notes to be delivered to them while they are in session. It was neat. Afterwards, a bunch of us went to grab food at Wild Oats/Whole Foods. The food was amazing!! We got an eclectic mix; my favorite was probably the BBQ Tempeh Salad or the delicious organic oranges. And by the way, soy yogurt is much better than dairy yogurt. I think I'm going to have to go buy some at Good Earth today, along with whatever I am going to make for the veg potluck tonight. Mmmmm. I'm excited. AND then the Africa party. Yay. I love SID.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Healthy, sustainable, green
If this was in Provo, I would eat there every day. Can we say franchise??
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Liberal because of my religion (not in spite of it)
I've been itching to blog about this for a long time, but have never devoted the necessary time. Taking a break from coding, I think I'll begin to tackle the issue now.
I feel as if the reason a good majority of members of the Church affiliate themselves with the GOP is because of controversial platforms including that of pro-choice and gay marriage. However, being liberal transcends these superficial issues and to me, it is about more than that. It is about compassion and living a Zion-focused life. How can we be against wealth redistribution and welfare when in the scriptures, Christ teaches to "impart of all your substance to the poor." Alma 1:26-27 says "...they were all equal, and they did all labor, every man according to his strength. And they did impart of their substance, every man according to that which he had, to the poor, and the needy, and the sick, and the afflicted; and they did not wear costly apparel, yet they were neat and comely" [emphasis added]. Christ did not judge the poor as lazy; are we above our Savior to think that we can? Of course there will always be those who abuse the system. But by cutting social programs to lower taxes for the middle-class hurts more of those people who depend on those programs to make ends meet or even to maintain a subsistence lifestyle. As the richest country in the world, to have our people hungry or sick due to lack of healthcare is simply unacceptable. There are also those who will argue that the only way to become the richest nation in the world is to rely on capitalism, a system that is inherently not equitable, and there will always be losers. Conservatives purport that those whose lifestyles are above middle-class deserve them because they have worked hard to earn it, and those who are lower-class have brought it upon themselves. However, if you take a peek at history, it is quite clear that the playing field has never been level. There will always be those born into privilege or with opportunities that others do not have. Moreover, I believe that everything given to me and those around me comes directly from our Heavenly Father. All that we have is not ours, it belongs to Him. Thus, it is not necessarily our wealth to hold on to and keep to ourselves rather than sharing it with those who Heavenly Father imparted a more challenging life. Although it is hard to fathom, I am one of a small percentage of women in the world who are able to receive an education, not to mention part of the even smaller percentage who receive higher education. I have been blessed beyond all reason and it would be disrespectful to my Father in Heaven to not use everything he gave me to help my fellow man. What kind of person would I be to one day have my wealth and not wish to share it with those of my brothers and sisters who are not as fortunate as me? And no, I am not simply advocating hand-outs to the poor. But more money needs to be funneled into social programs like job training, child care, health care, and social security. Not to mention in poor rural communities and urban slums, the public schools are not well-kept and the education received is far beyond the level of more affluent public schools. And No Child Left Behind is no solution either... it is implausible to think to cut funding to schools where students are performing poorly because A) it's those schools that need funding the most, and B) it's not practical to base a school's quality purely on standardized test scores.
Another issue that has recently become important to me is the preservation of the environment. God appointed man to be stewards over the earth, a creation and gift from Him. Yet, the earth is constantly abused and degraded for economic gain by monolithic corporations. The earth is being deforested, oil is seeping/dumping into the delicate ecosystem of the world's oceans, and air pollution is destroying natural weather patterns and climate changes are experienced all over the world. Yet, the United States thus far has not taken any substantial action to reduce such environmental degradation.
Moreover, man was given dominion over animals. Man was not given permission to slaughter and torture animals for their gain. I promise I'm not a PETA freak or anything, but there is something innately unethical about inflicting so much pain and misery on animals for our temporary pleasure and satiation. Not to mention the plethora of other reasons to abandon eating animal products...
Thank you for your patience with some of my newly-acquired beliefs; I've worked through a lot in my head, but I am going to make the disclaimer that I know next to nothing about most of these issues and I'm still trying to learn how to articulate everything that is in my head. But I'm still voraciously trying to find out more, and maybe one day, I'll be able to make some sense of this messy world.
I feel as if the reason a good majority of members of the Church affiliate themselves with the GOP is because of controversial platforms including that of pro-choice and gay marriage. However, being liberal transcends these superficial issues and to me, it is about more than that. It is about compassion and living a Zion-focused life. How can we be against wealth redistribution and welfare when in the scriptures, Christ teaches to "impart of all your substance to the poor." Alma 1:26-27 says "...they were all equal, and they did all labor, every man according to his strength. And they did impart of their substance, every man according to that which he had, to the poor, and the needy, and the sick, and the afflicted; and they did not wear costly apparel, yet they were neat and comely" [emphasis added]. Christ did not judge the poor as lazy; are we above our Savior to think that we can? Of course there will always be those who abuse the system. But by cutting social programs to lower taxes for the middle-class hurts more of those people who depend on those programs to make ends meet or even to maintain a subsistence lifestyle. As the richest country in the world, to have our people hungry or sick due to lack of healthcare is simply unacceptable. There are also those who will argue that the only way to become the richest nation in the world is to rely on capitalism, a system that is inherently not equitable, and there will always be losers. Conservatives purport that those whose lifestyles are above middle-class deserve them because they have worked hard to earn it, and those who are lower-class have brought it upon themselves. However, if you take a peek at history, it is quite clear that the playing field has never been level. There will always be those born into privilege or with opportunities that others do not have. Moreover, I believe that everything given to me and those around me comes directly from our Heavenly Father. All that we have is not ours, it belongs to Him. Thus, it is not necessarily our wealth to hold on to and keep to ourselves rather than sharing it with those who Heavenly Father imparted a more challenging life. Although it is hard to fathom, I am one of a small percentage of women in the world who are able to receive an education, not to mention part of the even smaller percentage who receive higher education. I have been blessed beyond all reason and it would be disrespectful to my Father in Heaven to not use everything he gave me to help my fellow man. What kind of person would I be to one day have my wealth and not wish to share it with those of my brothers and sisters who are not as fortunate as me? And no, I am not simply advocating hand-outs to the poor. But more money needs to be funneled into social programs like job training, child care, health care, and social security. Not to mention in poor rural communities and urban slums, the public schools are not well-kept and the education received is far beyond the level of more affluent public schools. And No Child Left Behind is no solution either... it is implausible to think to cut funding to schools where students are performing poorly because A) it's those schools that need funding the most, and B) it's not practical to base a school's quality purely on standardized test scores.
Another issue that has recently become important to me is the preservation of the environment. God appointed man to be stewards over the earth, a creation and gift from Him. Yet, the earth is constantly abused and degraded for economic gain by monolithic corporations. The earth is being deforested, oil is seeping/dumping into the delicate ecosystem of the world's oceans, and air pollution is destroying natural weather patterns and climate changes are experienced all over the world. Yet, the United States thus far has not taken any substantial action to reduce such environmental degradation.
Moreover, man was given dominion over animals. Man was not given permission to slaughter and torture animals for their gain. I promise I'm not a PETA freak or anything, but there is something innately unethical about inflicting so much pain and misery on animals for our temporary pleasure and satiation. Not to mention the plethora of other reasons to abandon eating animal products...
Thank you for your patience with some of my newly-acquired beliefs; I've worked through a lot in my head, but I am going to make the disclaimer that I know next to nothing about most of these issues and I'm still trying to learn how to articulate everything that is in my head. But I'm still voraciously trying to find out more, and maybe one day, I'll be able to make some sense of this messy world.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
The End of Poverty
Jeffrey D. Sachs, in Time Magazine's special edition on the "End of Poverty":
"Since Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. has launched a war on terrorism, but it has neglected the deeper causes of global instability. The nearly $500 billion that the U.S. will spend this year on the military will never buy lasting peace if the U.S. continues to spend only one-thirtieth of that, around $16 billion, to address the plight of the poorest of the poor, whose societies are destabilized by extreme poverty. The $16 billion represents 0.15% of U.S. income, just 15 cents on every $100 of our national income. The share devoted to helping the poor has declined for decades and is a tiny fraction of what the U.S. has repeatedly promised, and failed, to give."
"Since Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. has launched a war on terrorism, but it has neglected the deeper causes of global instability. The nearly $500 billion that the U.S. will spend this year on the military will never buy lasting peace if the U.S. continues to spend only one-thirtieth of that, around $16 billion, to address the plight of the poorest of the poor, whose societies are destabilized by extreme poverty. The $16 billion represents 0.15% of U.S. income, just 15 cents on every $100 of our national income. The share devoted to helping the poor has declined for decades and is a tiny fraction of what the U.S. has repeatedly promised, and failed, to give."
Liquor store outing
So, today I had a cultural experience that most will not whilst at BYU. I went to the PROVO LIQUOR STORE. Yeah, that's right, you heard me. Man, that place was hopping, who would've thought? The line was way long so I thought I tried to have conversations with those in line with me. I feel like there should be some sort of brotherhood among those of us standing together to purchase illicit substances. I have never felt so awkward! I've been to liquor stores in SC and everyone is very friendly and chatty. Probably because they are all shameless old alcoholics or USC students who think getting trashed is still cool. But that's not the point... these people averted my glances and slight smiles and stood in line in complete silence with bowed heads. Oh, and NO ONE in line before me got their ID checked but then I did... I suppose I still don't look quite my age. But I was slightly happy because I like the fact I can now PROVE I am indeed 21. Ok. **
WomanStats is already taking over my life and consuming all of my thoughts. Not necessarily a bad thing in itself, but I have devoted so much time to coding this CEDAW report and keep forgetting to do my other homework.
In other news, I made a new friend/nemesis. Muahahahaha.
And last but not least... Becca's ring ...because you know you want to see it but just hated to ask.
**Disclaimer: I went to the liquor store to buy dry white wine to make some amazing mushroom and tomato soup. Who knew they didn't sell that stuff in grocery stores?
WomanStats is already taking over my life and consuming all of my thoughts. Not necessarily a bad thing in itself, but I have devoted so much time to coding this CEDAW report and keep forgetting to do my other homework.
In other news, I made a new friend/nemesis. Muahahahaha.
And last but not least... Becca's ring ...because you know you want to see it but just hated to ask.
**Disclaimer: I went to the liquor store to buy dry white wine to make some amazing mushroom and tomato soup. Who knew they didn't sell that stuff in grocery stores?
Monday, January 14, 2008
J'etaime francais
Bonjour. Comment allez-vous? Moi? Tres bien, merci. Mais, je suis fatigue. Et je suis une etudiente. Je suis americaine. Je suis une fille. Ouvrez la porte.
I'm pretty sure that might be grammatically incorrect. I just want to say I LOVE FRENCH and anyone who speaks it. Especially the Africans who speak it.... man.
I'm pretty sure that might be grammatically incorrect. I just want to say I LOVE FRENCH and anyone who speaks it. Especially the Africans who speak it.... man.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
I long for the days of rationing...
So, in my new life of liberation and feminization, I have one weakness I have yet to conquer: the wearing of pantyhose. I know, I know, it's a male invention that was created to make women even more uncomfortable in the name of beauty. However, I just can't seem to shake my mother's urging to not leave the house in a skirt in winter time without hose on-- to do so would be an utter fashion faux pas. I hate wearing them though... they are itchy, often too small and tight, and you must constantly tug them so you don't get the dreaded "elephant feet". Who said I needed black legs if I'm wearing a black skirt?? What's wrong with my ghost-white, slightly fuzzy legs on a Sunday morning? Besides.... isn't this war-time? Don't they need my nylons to make parachutes or something?
Well, I suppose for now I must be off to Church, scratching and tugging along the way.
Well, I suppose for now I must be off to Church, scratching and tugging along the way.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Back by popular demand
Sorry to those of my loyal blog-readers for the slight lapse in my dedication. Christmas break was really lazy and pretty dull so there wasn't much to report there. But now I'm back in Provo (thank goodness because I was dying to get out of Columbia) and things are really shifting into gear. Classes started on Monday and so far they are AWESOME. Here's a brief summary of my classes this semester:
1. Pl Sc 472- International Political Economy of Women: Easily the class I am most excited for. Although I did read for 7 hours the material for one lecture, it really is an interesting class. We are basically just examining the status of women, mostly in developing countries, and how political and economic institutions improve or degrade it. We also have a unit we are doing on health, and one of our books is the Politics of Breastfeeding, one of my personal favorites. The last section of the class we are going to be evaluating the status of women in the Church and their place in the eternities. Dr. Hudson has written a lot about this subject so I think it be incredibly insightful. Her favorite quote is that the Church is the most feminist organization in the world in that it allows for complete equity between men and women. I'm interested to find out how that is....
2. Political Islam: My professor has a British accent. And it's an interesting subject. Enough about that.
3. Intro to International Development: Awesome class, one I've been looking forward to taking for a while. The professor is Ralph who I have gotten to know a little through SID and I think the class will be incredibly interesting. Our final project is going to be reviewing the proposals for funding from several NGOs, and our reviews will be given to SID (which I'm in, so I'll be giving it to myself...) to evaluate and decide what NGOs will get funding from the Hunger Banquet.
4. FRENCH. I'm auditing it, which rocks. So basically I get to learn French sans the stress of taking the tests and getting an A. Even though it's super easy so far so I could probably get an A but now if in the middle of the semester I decide I can't do it anymore I can just stop going...
5. Well, I was taking Quantitative Political Methodology but it's pretty intense and I'm not incredibly motivated this semester to learn in-depth statistics. So.... I guess that will have to wait until another semester....
6. New Testament: My professor is Stephen Robinson, one of the foremost scholars of Christ's life and ministry. If any of you have read Believing Christ/Following Christ or any of his other books, this is the guy. Not to mention he cusses in class, which is pretty much awesome.
7. I'm going to sit in on Mission Prep with Brother Bott but I'm not going to add it because it's already very full. And I don't need anymore religion credits.
And WomanStats!! We had our first training meeting last evening and I am so stoked about starting to code. In fact, I'm going to start my Albania CEDAW report as soon as I finish blogging. I basically just read through the report and assign all of the relevant information to any one of 240 variables. Word on the street is it's tortuous to learn but well worth it after a few weeks. To be part of a project that is SO important and substantial is exciting!
Also good news: Austin is moving back to Provo!!
And the most wonderful news of all is that my dear friend in blogging Kayla had her sweet baby boy Wes last week. Congrats Moncurs because I think he is one of the most beautiful babies I have ever seen!
I promise to never ever abstain from blogging for so long, and I truly apologize for any distress I may have caused. Also I do not feel like editing today, so please excuse any typos.
1. Pl Sc 472- International Political Economy of Women: Easily the class I am most excited for. Although I did read for 7 hours the material for one lecture, it really is an interesting class. We are basically just examining the status of women, mostly in developing countries, and how political and economic institutions improve or degrade it. We also have a unit we are doing on health, and one of our books is the Politics of Breastfeeding, one of my personal favorites. The last section of the class we are going to be evaluating the status of women in the Church and their place in the eternities. Dr. Hudson has written a lot about this subject so I think it be incredibly insightful. Her favorite quote is that the Church is the most feminist organization in the world in that it allows for complete equity between men and women. I'm interested to find out how that is....
2. Political Islam: My professor has a British accent. And it's an interesting subject. Enough about that.
3. Intro to International Development: Awesome class, one I've been looking forward to taking for a while. The professor is Ralph who I have gotten to know a little through SID and I think the class will be incredibly interesting. Our final project is going to be reviewing the proposals for funding from several NGOs, and our reviews will be given to SID (which I'm in, so I'll be giving it to myself...) to evaluate and decide what NGOs will get funding from the Hunger Banquet.
4. FRENCH. I'm auditing it, which rocks. So basically I get to learn French sans the stress of taking the tests and getting an A. Even though it's super easy so far so I could probably get an A but now if in the middle of the semester I decide I can't do it anymore I can just stop going...
5. Well, I was taking Quantitative Political Methodology but it's pretty intense and I'm not incredibly motivated this semester to learn in-depth statistics. So.... I guess that will have to wait until another semester....
6. New Testament: My professor is Stephen Robinson, one of the foremost scholars of Christ's life and ministry. If any of you have read Believing Christ/Following Christ or any of his other books, this is the guy. Not to mention he cusses in class, which is pretty much awesome.
7. I'm going to sit in on Mission Prep with Brother Bott but I'm not going to add it because it's already very full. And I don't need anymore religion credits.
And WomanStats!! We had our first training meeting last evening and I am so stoked about starting to code. In fact, I'm going to start my Albania CEDAW report as soon as I finish blogging. I basically just read through the report and assign all of the relevant information to any one of 240 variables. Word on the street is it's tortuous to learn but well worth it after a few weeks. To be part of a project that is SO important and substantial is exciting!
Also good news: Austin is moving back to Provo!!
And the most wonderful news of all is that my dear friend in blogging Kayla had her sweet baby boy Wes last week. Congrats Moncurs because I think he is one of the most beautiful babies I have ever seen!
I promise to never ever abstain from blogging for so long, and I truly apologize for any distress I may have caused. Also I do not feel like editing today, so please excuse any typos.
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