March 2009
38 posts
Lunches n Dinners
One great thing about having moved around so much is the number of people I’ve met.
Thank you for making my time in Chicago fun and for having a farewell meal with me:
Ally / Karen (pk family)
Jesus Ramirez Valles (former advisor)
Diana Garcia (former supervisor)
Lawrence / JP / Nick / David (guys in the office)
Dman / Danny (pk kids) - even tho they missed it technically
Susie /...
“I would rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I am not.”
– I dunno….
excerpt from the book "The Reader"
“then i began to betray her. Not that i gave away any secrets or exposed Hanna. I didn’t reveal anything that i should have kept to myself. i kept something to myself that i should have revealed.”
Wow - to hold something in = betrayal. the internal struggle that ultimately cheats both parties.
from another book, “The Kite Runner”
“there is only one...
“so i stopped talking about it. there’s no need to talk, because the truth...”
– Bernhard Schlink
Suffering
Eastern philosophy suggests that life is about learning how to respond to and be aware of the suffering around us. Now, when I think of suffering, I think of something horrific such as someone seriously injured in a car accident. I don’t typically think of small things as suffering such as the pain we feel when we are disappointed by someone or something or the pain from a bad day, but...
Mormons v.s. The Gays
New Charges Filed Against Mormon Church By Julie Bolcer
The California group that in November charged the Mormon Church with failing to report the full extent of its financial involvement in Proposition 8 added to its complaint on Thursday. Fred Karger of Californians Against Hate filed charges with the California Fair Political Practices Commission, accusing the church of creating the National...
Destiny
Do things happen for a reason, or do we find reason out of things that happen? Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
I have been struggling with trying to understand the belief that ‘everything happens for a reason’. I recently watched a movie “The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas”. It’s about Nazi Germany and a concetration camp. I was already questioning...
“This too shall pass”
– I know my mom is not the original source of this, but it’s defs her mantra
“Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss...”
– Eleanor Roosevelt
Facing our innermost selves
As described in Sheldon Kopp’s book “If you meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him!”:
“No patient can recover his/her own beauty and innocence without first facing the ugliness and evil in him/herself. The ways in which we live, the experience of our own sinful souls, still is itself our only hell.”
okay, so i know this sounds dark, drab and kinda depressing, but...
Sunday Funday
The momentum of the last couple weeks, 7 months and year of my life has finally started to diminish…..Growing pain after growing pain, it’s time to finally rest my feet. This does not mean that the work is over, but it’s time to just relax a bit. I started this new venture with a friendly weekend with my best Illinois friend, Susie. We had great food, laugh after laugh and...
Acrostic Poem About PK
PROJECT KINDLE
Promise of hope and freedom
Reaching into hearts and
Opening minds. Advocating for
Justice through education,
Empowerment, support,
Care and equal
Treatment.
Kindling a spark in one that
Ignites a fire of change for many
Needing to be heard.
Determined to succeed; compassion,
Love. In each one of us
Exists the Kindle Miracle.
~by Brett Avila
WatchI sang this song during our interview for the NUDM 2009 Beneficiary spot….. Back by popular demand….. my encore…. WITH the check!
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the...”
– Margaret Mead
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a...”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
WatchJust Awesome………
Dance Marathon - Official Pics and Video of Check... →
“Be the change you wish to see in the world”
– Ghandi
Dance Marathon Fights Recession, Raises $917K
With more dancers than ever, two new emcees and a new venue, Dance Marathon 2009 rocked its way to a fundraising total of $917,834, about $16,000 less than last year’s record-breaking total.
Dance Marathon’s primary beneficiary, Project Kindle, a foundation that holds camps for youth effected by HIV/AIDS, received $576,470. DM gave their secondary beneficiary, the Evanston Community...
$917,834
thank you dance marathon
A Funeral for a Friend
many called him ‘friend’
few called him ‘grandson’
two called him ‘son’
one called him ‘brother’
many knew him as a human being
few truly knew him as Matthew
two knew him as ‘faggot’
One truly knew him as equal
Many questions still puzzle, very
few answers to be told.
To question his sexuality, only to
one, himself, must he...
DJW
I wrote this poem about a friend of mine that was abused throughout his childhood.
Beat, bruise, hug, and beat some more.
Closed concept, know no light in love. Dash! Deadbolt the door.
Your skin is thick, ten tears do dry, only external hide,
Scars remember your memory prick, push the pain aside.
The man is hard. Know tuff, no tuff. Viscous veins shall knot the core.
The boy so...
today
Today I treat myself to karaoke for the first time in 4 yrs!
WatchThank you.
Picking and Choosing God....
so today was amazing. i took 4 kids from project kindle to kiss fm (a huge radio station in chicago) to tell their stories over the air. the show went amazing. our kids are so courageous. so inspiring. they spoke so well and enchanted nina (talk show host). she was exposed to the kindle miracle, everyone showed up. i even had one mom hand deliver her son to me to say ‘thank...
Northwestern University Dance Marathon
Now is the time, eyes wide
Open, to
Realize
That YOU bring
Hope. Making the
World a better place.
Each one of you.
Strength in numbers, you possess
The power to
Enrich the lives of so many.
Remarkable student organization:
Northwestern University Dance Marathon.
Unique opportunity, 30 hours of dance!
Not many people get those bragging rights. Hope
Is
Vital for
Each of the...
Watchmy room
one of my dreams
i want to start 3 scholarships, 2 of which will be to honor my parents, 1 will be to honor shania twain…. don’t judge, i know it sounds silly, but you’ll see why.
so i wanna do something to honor my parents and i want others to know them for the attributes i admire most in my mother and my father. to apply for the scholarship, the student will have to read a bio (not yet...
February 2009
37 posts
What's the meaning of life?
Prayer of St. Francis of Assissi
Make me and instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love:...
Dreams do come true.
so, when i was in graduate school. i listened to 103.5 kiss fm. I LOVED it. i wanted to get on air and have our kids share their stories in a SPEAK OUT presentation. well today, i went to kiss fm to promote NUDM and it just so happened that they loved PK and offered us a spot to come back and present SPEAK OUT. i could NOT BE HAPPIER. how awesome. it will record tues @ 1:15 but will air at...
Job Interviews
so i have a job interview for my dream job. it’s with the school of public health, THE only school of public health in CO. i could work anywhere in the state. i would help the leaders be more effective leaders. capacity building. leaders meaning faculty, staff, students, community partners, professionals and more. my interview is tuesday. i am making a business plan to provide as an...
MILK
By Bob Tourtellotte
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - “Milk” lost the battle for the best film Oscar on Sunday, but a day later activists say it has won a lasting place in U.S. culture wars by energizing mostly young, gay men and women to speak out.
The movie, which recounts the political life of slain gay activist Harvey Milk, did win two Oscars — best actor for Sean Penn who played...
Catching the train.
so …. chicago is known for it’s public transportation. it’s pretty great, at least i think so. however, i think one of the worst feelings is running up the stairs trying to catch the train, only to see the doors close right in front of you and the train depart while you are practically clinging to the side. sometimes when i get off the train and i walk down the stairs...
Blessings
today i am so thankful for my recovery.
i had the distinct honor to attend a benefit brunch at the house of a dean of an ivy league school. i spoke on behalf of a PK. i spoke to the most highly respected faculty. i had their utmost respect and attention. i get to work with such an amazing group of students. i get to help PK’s children and families. i get to do all this b/c of...
Sacrifice
i think my initial instinct is not to sacrifice, but to be selfish and do what i want, when i want. my dad brought this to my attention a few months ago. for example, in considering to move back to chicago for work, i had considered moving all my stuff back out, setting up a nice little pad for my time here and then moving it all back. he made a great point when he said to me, “who always...
Early Bed
I am tired. I am ready to be settled, have a regular work week, have a place to call home and feel like it’s home. Have friends and family around. Tonight, I will be patient for the rest of that, but I will take sleep. I made it to a meeting, I made it through this post. And now dear bed, I will make it to you!
