I’m writing this while sitting outside of the undergrad library, soaking up the sun. True, it’s a little more difficult to see the screen, but it’s warm & I’m wearing short sleeves & I don’t care. Apparently it’s ‘Greek Week’ & today is ‘diag day’, so the diag is filled with sorority & fraternity types. It appeared they were holding a spelling bee when I walked by earlier?
I sent off my passport application today! It feels very good to have that done. My new one should arrive in about two weeks, which is plenty of time before my departure in 42 days.
Yesterday turned out really wonderful. Here is a short list of the greatness:
- I swept our front proch & wiped down the table & chairs, so it is ready for hang outs
- For the first time this year I got out the hammock & spent some time reading in it
- I took a bunch of plants outside, repotted them & let them enjoy the sunshine
- Some friends came by & we took the dogs to the park, where we ran into other friends with dogs
- I wore a skirt for the first time this year!!
- I rode my bike for the first time this year!!
- There were lots & lots & lots of festive EMU students walking by our house all day
- Hanging out with friends was wonderful as always.
Our friends live close to Sidetrack, which had some bagpipers playing all day [even though thats probably more Scottish...]. Anyway, I made Joel take a picture of me while they were playing [even though everyone said you wouldn't be able to hear it in the photo, just know] – Sidetrack is in the background & I’m holding some Irish beer & a bowl of delicious green frosting.
Enough rambling about my life, here are some interesting things:
A prominent urban planner has been hired in Detroit to help reshape the city through its consolidation & downsizing plan. More good news is that his salary will be subsidized by the Kregse Foundation – a huge relief, I’m sure, to those in charge of Detroit’s struggling budget. I think this is a strong step forward & I’m optimistic about the future of Detroit.
This article about a Kenyan-based human rights reporting system is incredibly inspiring. Free, open source & using simple technology [in this case, cellphones], this system, Ushahidi [Swahili for 'testimony'] was built in a weekend in 2007 after violence erupted in Kenya over the disputed election. It’s since been used in Haiti, India, the Middle East and even Washington D.C. to track information after the blizzard. These few sentences can’t give justice to how powerful this technology could be & I highly suggest reading the article.
Now to go accomplish more things & cross them off my to-do list!
I took a deep breath and listened to the old bray of my heart: I am, I am, I am. [Sylvia Plath]
