Monthly Archives: August 2006

My grandmother was once a south Vietnamese freedom fighter against the Viet Cong. Here’s a recent picture of her at her home in Idaho, where she now specializes in weed-whacking. Watch out, Commies – here she comes! Happy birthday, Grandma.

You’re probably wondering how my Mister Diplomat show went last Friday. Well, I can tell you that I was extremely nervous about it, right up until the part when I got to run up on stage. But once I was up there, the bright lights of show biz made me relax. [Actually, the bright lights made me realize that I wouldn't have to actually look at all the people in the audience!] I then told stories, from audience suggestion, as they popped into my little head. Everyone laughed, and the improv troupe did an amazing job of using the material. Doing Mister Diplomat was a really fun experience, and I thank our friend Mr. J. Morningstar for recommending me as a special guest on the show!

This week was the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. I’d now like to dedicate the following electronic moment of silence for the people who lost their friends, family members, pets, homes and life plans to that fateful storm. (MOMENT OF SILENCE.)

Important alert: You people should be on the lookout for a Chapel Hill News story that will be coming out this Sunday, September 3, written by local reporter Valarie Schwartz. It’s about me and Clinton (!!!) and our lives in the Raleigh-Durham Triangle area one year after Katrina.

If you didn’t already know, tomorrow (September 1) is National Impeachment Awareness Day. I will be standing at the Crown Gasoline Station at the intersection of two major North Carolina state highways tomorrow during rush hour, waving and holding homemade signs along with three of my fellow impeachment activists. I bought outdoor paints at the craft store and spent this evening painting slogans. One side of my fancy sign says “Visualize Impeachment” and the other side says “Our country deserves better!”

Why outdoor paint, you ask? Because !$%#*@ Ernesto is bringing it down from the sky over the next couple of days, that’s why! Oh well, our group’s organizer says he’s bringing four special umbrellas with impeachment slogans on them, in case we get rained out. If you haven’t heard much about the national impeachment movement, you should check out this article by the Smirking Chimp. Here’s an excerpt:

There is a growing grassroots campaign demanding the impeachment of George W. Bush. Across the nation, towns and cities have been passing pro-impeachment resolutions. Websites promoting impeachment keep springing up. In several states, bills have been introduced in state legislatures that, if passed, would become formal bills of impeachment in the U.S. House of Representatives, requiring initiation of impeachment hearings under congressional rules dating back to the early 19th century.

So, on my desk at work I have this paper calendar on a stand from The Joy of Cooking. You know those little standup calendars that are sold at Barnes & Noble? Yeah, I have one of those. Well, it has a page for each day of the calendar year. So each day I rip off a page, and it gives me yet another obscure cooking tip from the “pros”. Usually, it’s something like How to Make the Perfect Dumpling or Rehydrating Dried Chili Peppers. Well, this morning I flipped the page, and it said Pulverized Nuts. Yes it did. So you just KNOW what kind of day I had today!

Meanwhile, our nation is growing fatter and Chinese people are teaching their dogs to drive. What next?!

If you haven’t heard, the FDA approved over-the-counter provision of Plan B (aka Emergency Contraception or “EC”) in US pharmacies for women aged 18 and older. Finally, we caught up (somewhat) to the developing world in the family planning arena!

Here’s what to do, ladies: go out TODAY, and get yourself a few packs to keep around the house as a back up to your regular birth control method. And then make sure all of the under-18 girls you know are aware that you have some and that you will show them how to use it should they need it!

Meanwhile, we need to keep working to change US policy so that Plan B is quickly and easily available to all women, regardless of their age. The struggle to get this approved is NOT an issue of drug safety. This issue is about old, white, conservative men (and a few psychotic freak robot women who are possessed by them) and their unwillingness to let women have control over their own reproductive lives and bodies.

A few very important facts to know about Plan B*:

• Research from the Guttmacher Institute suggests that in 2000, use of emergency contraceptives prevented more than 100,000 unintended pregnancies, 51,000 of which would have ended in abortion.
• Plan B is most effective the sooner it is taken following contraceptive failure, unprotected sex or sexual assault. Up to 120 hours after unprotected sex is the best time to take it  – the sooner the better.
  
• Emergency contraceptives do not affect an established pregnancy.
• There were about 270,000 pregnancies among US women and girls younger than 18 in 2002, the vast majority of them unintended. Delays caused by the need to obtain and fill prescriptions (particularly over weekends and holidays) can reduce Plan B‘s effectiveness and may prevent many women younger than 18 from accessing it in time to avoid a pregnancy.
• Studies show that Plan B is safe for young teens and that easier access to Plan B does not lead to greater risk taking.

* Thanks to the Guttmacher Institute.

Our trip to DC/Maryland this past weekend was a blast. Clinton took three big finals, and we stayed, conveniently, at the Marriott right there at the University of Maryland just north of DC. He has a whole new enthusiasm for being a college student right now, which is really great. On Saturday morning before his first test, we drove to beautiful historic Annapolis, where Clinton used to live, to check out Chesapeake Bay and eat breakfast at Donna’s Corner Cafe, the cutest place ever. Next time Clinton has to take some finals, we will stay in Annapolis!

The weekend sort of had a Peace Corps theme. One night we visited Cynthia from my Peace Corps Gabon group, her boyfriend Babek (vegan, lawyer) and their interesting friends over at Babek’s place near Logan’s Circle. As a side note – Cynthia was actually down staying with us in Durham last week to interview at Intrahealth (Chapel Hill, NC), where she’s just accepted a position! It was the first time I’d ever seen Cynthia in the USA, because up until that point, we’d only seen each other in Gabon and Vietnam! Apparently, that now makes five, yes FIVE, ladies out of my original Peace Corps group of 17 who are currently living in North Carolina. Coincidence? I don’t think so!

The next day I had brunch with Hannah and Laura from the Peace Corps group that arrived in Gabon one year after us, as well as Sherry and Julia from the group TWO years after us! So far, it sounds as though about 90% of us Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) from Gabon that I encounter are working in international public health jobs. Coincidence? I don’t think so!

This week at work has been awfully exciting. We’re preparing for a big visit from the USAID folks (our biggest donor) in early September. I’ve also been working like madwoman on our system for collecting evidence of program impact. My database and “evidence-trolling” systems are revolutionizing our M&E unit at FHI. Someday when I actually learn how to program, the world won’t know what hit ‘em. On top of that, today it was confirmed that I will be traveling for two weeks in mid-October to Nigeria to work on one of FHI’s microbicide trials – probably the first in a series of trips over there.

I’ve always wanted to travel to Nigeria but never could before, because everyone told me that a woman traveling alone there would “surely die”. (This time I’ll be traveling with a very experienced team of people, so don’t worry.) Lagos in particular has always had a powerful allure for me. I think that ever since I started reading Ben Okri (read Dangerous Love, if you can stand the heartbreak) it has made me want to go. A true urban jungle, Lagos is one of the most densely populated places in the world. (11th most populous city worldwide, overall.) A undulating sea of nearly 9 million hot, sweaty, moving bodies, tin shacks, exhaust, grease, sweat, and filth – the city itself lives and breathes like a human. I can’t wait to finally see it. I look danger in the eye and spit in it.

Hah! That being said, tomorrow night is my debut in showbiz, and I’m getting awfully nervous. It’s not that I don’t have plenty of stories. My fear is the audience suggestions. What if I freeze up and cannot think of anything when they say something like “railroad cars”? Accckkkk!

Friday night I went to see Mister Diplomat at the DSI Comedy Sports Theater so I could mentally prepare myself for my debut in show biz, which is coming up in just a couple of weeks!

Yesterday’s run was great, and once again I went to the Durham Farmers’ Market afterward – it is such a treat for me. Speaking of treat, I ate a mini homemade apple pie (!) from the baker lady while I was shopping around for produce. Delicious!

Lastnight, it was just me and the animals at home. We got Chinese takeout and watched sci-fi movies until 2 AM. Today was all about walking Charlie, paying bills and cleaning the house.

Hope ya’ll have a great work week!

Today I had the best pedicure of my life, thanks to a tiny moustached Vietnamese man at a place called, yes, “Hollywood Nails”. Think it’s creepy to have a man give you a pedicure? Yeah, I did too, until today. Turns out he takes his job very seriously and is ultra-professional. If I can help it, I’ll never get my feet pumiced or toes painted by anyone else again.

Happy Sunday, everyone!

This morning was the first official day of the 18-week half marathon training program, attended by an impressive number of serious runners – 40 or 50 of us, I would say! A handful of them are training for a full marathon, the rest of us for the half. I had a great run with six others in my pace group, four of whom I just met today – all really nice people! A runner’s training pace is always slower than her race pace. Right now our group is training at 10-minute miles; our race pace is between 9 and 9.5, depending on the heat, humidity and the length and layout of the course.

Today was my first time running in a week and a half, as I’d been out sick with a cold. It made me (re-)realize how great running makes me feel! Yes, my biggest motivation is the enormous mental health benefit I get from sweating, panting and putting in all the effort on those trails and hills. Gotta love that runner’s high!

My favorite part of the day was visiting the Durham Farmers’ Market in downtown Durham right after running. Couldn’t believe I’d never been before. What fun! Bought green onions, tomatos, eggs and fresh-cut flowers, all organic and directly from the farmers who grew them. As much as I can from here on out, I’ll try to make sure all the gifts I buy for others are local-made things from the Farmers’ Market – I think this is the best way to support local arts/crafts.

Hope ya’ll are having a good weekend.