Soodhalter’s Informagoriam

Hobbs praises the wedding analysis and adds a fact that I had completely forgotten. He wore fake hick teeth throughout the wedding rehearsal and dinner that followed. He also suggests a possible future occupation for yours truly.

Kirk,

Brilliant! I love that shit! The only part of the experience that you didn’t mention, that stands out in MY mind at least, is the whole false teeth thing at the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.

Otherwise, it is remarkable the amount of detail you remember. You should go into some sort of comical writing. Or maybe you could be some rich person’s personal diary writer. He can take you around with him to all his events, and you can write comical diary entries.

Talk to you later,

Hobbs

Native New Orleanian objects to an earlier story by Juston Western. He also makes a recommendation that is being followed. I am working on upgrading the site and will be using the wordpress software integrated with the photo album.

Kirk,

You should look into something like Drupal (drupal.org) or Wordpress (wordpress.org) so that people can comment on your site. I liked the Hilton story.

I’d also like to complain about the “things to do before leaving new Orleans” page. You, through Mr. Juston W. Western, have listed the following things that should not have made the list:

-Attend Voodoo Fest (It’s not even close to a tradition)

-Eat at Emeril’s (He’s not even from here. Anyone who knows, hates him)

-Andygator is spelled without a space

-The hornets suck.

I am also offended that there are so many shellfish related things to do. Being someone who cannot eat shellfish, I feel like less of a New Orleanian, and this should not be allowed to happen at your site.

You have also left out the following things to do:

-Anything related to sex, strippers, and/or hookers.

Matt Miller, Unpleased Reader

She settles down for a tick with a host family before moving to some islands.

So in case anyone was wondering what I have been doing for the last few months, here is the link to some images of adventures in the Eastern Hemisphere. I will upload my pics from New Zealand and Austrailia tomorrow. I can’t get the link to work directly, so here’s my username and password and the album is the one labeled 23-06-2005. Sorry if it’s confusing. [Redacted so as not to release the password into the wild]. Be forewarned, however, I got trigger happy being spoiled with digital technology and there are more pictures than you ever wanted and will probably be bored and begin cursing me before you are even part of the way through. I have not had time to label them corrected yet either, sorry. But if something intrigues you I will be more than happy to detail it for .

I am currently residing in Bangkok trying to find employment/volunteer opportunities down south while I get my dive master certification [to] do a little independent research on the reef ecology and fishes down there. That being said, if anyone needs a vacation to some tropical islands that are fairly cheap but exquisitely beautiful both above and below water…give me a holler…you can come share my bungalow on the beach any day. Hopefully I will accomplish this in a few months, get some work, and have enough money get to come back at least for a few weeks to visit all of you. I’ve got a few contacts through my host family so things are looking good.

I have spent the last few weeks traveling down Vietnam and then crossing into Cambodia via the Mekong river, visiting minority villages and enjoying the amazing tropical scenery. I did swim, but have to admit that visions of the infamous giant crocs made me not linger too long in the murky waters. Unlike many frustrated travelers I met, I really liked Vietnam; Hoi An was definitely my favorite. Although I loved the people and country of Cambodia up and down, the highlight was definitely when I visited a school with some French girls I met in Phnom Penh. It’s run by a French NGO (specifically one couple opened it) that takes kids that were working collecting recyclables from a nearby landfill to earn money for their families and gives them proper education…learning French and English along with the normal subjects, and then trains them in culinary arts, homemaking, mechanics, and other practical jobs. They have been so successful that the embassies often order food for events from their kitchens (the French of course know their food! We ate lunch at the restaurant and it was pure heaven of Asian French fusion!). They compensate the families for the loss of income by giving weekly rice allowances, and bring breakfast to those who still unfortunately live and work in the landfill. We visited the landfill where houses are literally built on rubbish, children playing in soot from trash fires, people working in putrid conditions digging ditches and washing discarded plastic bags. They are trying to get it closed and get a recycling factory built, but as always the process is slow and money is tight. Moreover, the people actually have to pay rent to the owners of the landfill. But if you ever wanted to see a success story of development work, it’s here. Although there is always more to be done, they have taken in over 4,000 kids with the funding from foreign “godparents,” who contribute and then can come visit and stay at the school to see their money in action if they wish. The secretary who showed us around was one of the first students they had (she showed us where she used to live in the landfill) and spoke fluent English and French; she helps run the school now and is traveling next month to France for more opportunities. The facilities are awesome, the staff is smart and friendly, and the kids are obviously benefiting enormously because of it. They also have nursery where they care for infants whose mothers can’t care for them. I truly believe many of these kids will grow up to shape the future of their country. If anyone is looking for a place to volunteer overseas (they welcome foreign volunteers in many capacities) or a place to donate where they can be assured their money is being used correctly, I will gladly give you the contact information.

After a few days on the lake I moved on to the wonder of Angkor. Although I had only a day and a half to tutor myself on the history and wander the temples, it was phenonmenal. I won’t say much more since you really have to see it to believe it, and my pictures do not do it justice. All I can say is if you think we’re really advanced with all our technological and structural accomplishments, you will probably be as humbled as I was if you see the amazing things the Khmers were able to do thousands of years ago with just some rope, animal and human physical strength, and their awesome mind power…although it is good to remember also much of the work was done for the king and high priests by peasants treated extremely poorly under their hard labor. But like the pyramids, it’s still a wonder and great achievement of humankind. And for everyone in our generation, I think it’s inevitable that the theme song of Indiana Jones will softly creep into your head as you wander the dark halls covered in pictograms and bas-reliefs…

At the bottom is a link to John McDermott’s work. He is a photographer with amazing talent to capture the light and majesty of the temples with infrared film, and he also helped found the local hospital there for kids and victims of landmines; part of the proceeds from all his work go to funding the hospital and the Friends without a Border organization. These organizations are working to get Cambodian health care up to par after the destruction caused by the Khmer Rouge regime. It is a long and uphill battle, however, since people are still killed and maimed daily by the thousands of landmines buried by the troops all over the country. Cambodia is the most heavily landmined country in the world, and it shows just about everywhere you look. But miraculously the people are still genuinely happy and friendly for the most part.

Ok, enough rambling, but I hope to hear from y’all soon. My phone line at my host family’s house is below, and I have free internet ‘til I move down south to the islands. Keep me updated with your adventures and be safe and happy wherever you are!

Peace,

Lisa

[Phone Line Redacted]

Some Photos

There is a pact among dudes that says elements of the bachelor party cannot be divulged. I subscribe to this belief.

As I understand it, Jose played golf with his brothers and cousin at a nice par 3 course. I already had plans at this time to watch Tulane win its game against Oregon State in the College World Series (ROLL WAVE!!).

Later, Jose called me and told me of the plans for the evening. At the prescribed time, I got in my car and drove somewhere. I stayed there for a while. Some things happened. Then I came home and went to sleep. It was an excellent evening.

Recently, my mother alerted me to a sale on “Ultimate Polo’s” at Target. She thought I should get some.

My mother called and told me that Target was having a sale on Polo shirts. I decided to head over there and see if they had colors I would like.

Target just built a new story near where I live, so I drove there. However, that store is not yet open. That was unfortunate. There is another Target on Main and I decided to go there. So, I got on the 610 loop and drove there. When I got there I parked.

When I went in, I started looking for the polos, but they were not easy to find. Mother had told me they were called “Super Polos” so I was confused at first. Then I asked a store employee and he was able to correct my mistake. We both laughed about it, except for him.

I started looking through the polos and I found an olive one, a brick colored one, and a white one that I liked. Then, I noticed they also had some exercise shirts on sale. These were the kind that draw sweat off one’s body. I thought, “Wow, this is the best thing that has happened to me since that time I got a free pair of carpenter shorts!” I bought one exercise shirt.

I then went to the checkout line and paid for my shirts and left. The drive home was uneventful. At home, I sat by the phone, hoping someone would call me to go do something, but nobody did. So, I went to bed at a sensible 8:30PM.

Who is this mystery woman that has swept Christopher off his feet?

This actually happened a few weeks back, but I have not had a chance to sit down and write about this event. I will only touch on it briefly now, leaving a more extensive discussion for later.

A few weeks back, Chris had some friends secretly decorate his apartment so that when he brought Kim back, he could surprise her by getting down on one knee and proposing. They have been dating for a year or so now (I do not know exactly how long).

Chris had a house warming party, which ended up doubling as an impromptu engagement party about a week after the proposal. Gran happened to be in town, so he was there for the festivities. As it stands, Wilson is currently his best man. Other than that, I do not yet know much about this wedding. There will be a manly day of bachelor activities, though. That should be enjoyable.

I am happy and excited for Chris. I feel that he will finally be able to apply some of that Knight Rider knowledge to good use in the wedding preparations. I will update this story more in the near future when I have more information. Congrats Chris and Kim!!!

Since when is a business doing what it is supposed to considered a feature?

I decided to stop at the Luby’s on OST on the way home for a bite to eat. As I was parking the car, I noticed the marquee for the Hilton hotel located on the adjacent plot of land. The marquee was touting something that I must assume the hotel staff considers to be an exceptional accomplishment.

Cobbled together with large plastic letters was the message, “Hilton, we honor your reservations”. I found this to be really impressive. I can only assume, the implication is that the other hotels do not. To these lesser hotels, reservations are like stop signs, optional and mostly for show. The only other explanation is that the hotel is bragging about the fact that it routinely fulfills one of the most basic obligations in the hotel industry. It’s like when Chris Rock talks about those guys who brag about taking care of their kids as if that is something exceptional or worth praise. I will posit whoever is in charge of the marquee is not the most effective person for that particular job.

A middle-schooler discovers a flaw in his calculator; we’d better interview him.

There is a story on CNN about a kid who found a flaw on his TI-30 calculator. These are special state-approved calculators that can be used on standardized tests. As such, they do not have a button for decimal to fraction conversion. This kid, we’ll call him DB, found that by pressing two buttons simultaneously, the conversion function was still available. There are two things that I would like to highlight about this article.

First, the quote from the school administrator is a bit odd. “ ’His fellow students were so proud of him and congratulatory. They thought it was really, really cool. They didn’t call him a nerd or anything,’ said Michael Bolling, a school official…” What exactly does that mean? What would they think this kid is a nerd? UNLESS, he is a huge nerd, with Urkel levels of nerdiness. Then this comment would make sense. The school official is actually shocked they did not call him a nerd. The official could also just be defensive about the kid’s nerdiness. If so, he is showing his hand by offering an unsolicited nerd denial, which just proves the kid is a nerd.

Second, “Calls to the boy’s school and his parents to arrange an interview with the youngster were not immediately returned.” Arrange an interview? Why?! ‘So what was it like, accidentally pushing those two buttons?’ Then the kid is going to sell his life story to some script writer for $10 thousand and a movie will come out called “Button Combination: The DB Story. An ABC-Family original movie.” It’s not just the reporter either. The article continues, “Chesterfield County school officials held a low-key ceremony to honor him, and Texas Instruments sent him a graphing calculator, ‘which he loved,’ said Lois Williams, the state administrator in charge of middle-school math.” These people have a low threshold for what amazes them, I guess.

This is quite a feat considering how small air travel and technologies such as the internet have made this ball of dirt and water.

Kam na bene ni mauri-o! Hello Everyone!

Well, at last. I have received my official Peace Corps invitation.

I have been invited to depart in August for the Republic of Kiribati (pronounced Kee-ru-bus) to begin training as a Community Health Worker on August 12, 2005 until October 25, 2007.

Kiribati? Where is that? Good question. It is a small group of island in the Central Pacific that straddles the equator and the International Date Line. The country comprises three island groups: the Gilbert Islands, Phoenix Islands, and the Line Islands. I will be placed on one of the eighteen outer islands of the Gilbert group. It is composed of 33 coral atolls scattered over two million square miles, yet its total land area is only 264 square miles. Pros: Every coral atoll has a lagoon, miles of crystal clear Pacific Ocean, and I finally get to live in a thatch-roofed hut by the water. Cons: Serious Isolation, Average 91 degree temperature, and nothing but fish, coconut, and canned corned beef when the ship comes once a month… Did I mention there is no electricity, no phone, and no internet anywhere but the main island of Tarawa? Don’t worry, the Peace Corps has emergency methods of contacting us (by their own special Peace Corps AM station—lacks privacy but very effective, I hear)

I have been told (in the extensive materials that arrived in the mail yesterday) that “Kiribati is considered one of the most challenging Peace Corps assignments in the world.” They later say, “this is no easy task.” And I say: when have I, Kate Earle, ever backed down from a challenge?

I am told that every foreigner in Kiribati is referred to as an “I-Matong.” That is to say, all foreigners are thought to have come from the mythical land “Matong” where the sun sets.” The people are known to be the most warm, generous, and good-natured in the Pacific, talented fishermen, and know more ways to cook and prepare fish than anywhere in the world (for obvious reasons).

I will be spending the first three months being trained on the Southern tip of Tarawa. For those interested here is a link with some photos for you to peruse [See Link at Bottom].

So that is it. I am excited to say that I am going to accept this position unless there are unforeseen complications (and this is quite probable, this is the Peace Corps). In the meantime, I hope everyone is well and keeps this tiny corner of the Pacific in mind from this day forward… You can also be thinking about how much you love me and thus begin planning some care packages full of batteries and books and chocolate. Evidently, packages can take anywhere from three months to one year to arrive, if they arrive at all…

The most beautiful adventures are not those we go to seek. ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

Bon au kaantaninga b’a N na waetata n rabakau,

All the best,

Kate Earle

Information on this place she is going

How did they know?!

I was shocked to receive this in the mail the other day. How did they know?

I’ve already said too much…