facebook me?

So I've succumbed to the peer pressure. And joined the online community revolution. And, in the craziness, got blocked by the site for adding too many friends in a 24-hr period. (why would such a site prevent the very thing that it promotes though? hmmmm.)

Anyway, if you're wondering, I am now officially on facebook.com. I even added 60 photos of my time in Colombia. Check me out!

The excitement builds

Today I "bit the bullet" and bought my plane tickets to Oklahoma. Only I fly in to Dallas TX and out of Wichita KS. Somehow Oklahoma is now a very pricey destination. Regardless, I am very excited to return to OU and Norman, to visit with friends, meet with Lance (my faculty advisor), and perhaps even attend a class or two.

On Jan 30, I depart Barbados for Atlanta and the annual American Meteorology Society meeting. On Jan 31, I give a scheduled talk entitled "Examples of the value of strong climatological signals in tropical cyclone track forecasting." Sound interesting? It's a summary of the article that I recently had accepted toMonthly Weather Review, a peer-reviewed scientific meteorology journal (my first publication!).

For the record, here's my schedule for the next 3 weeks:

Mon Jan 30: Depart Barbados, arrive Atlanta
Tue Jan 31: Give 15-min talk at AMS
Thu Feb 02: Switch rooms at the Holiday Inn downtown
Fri Feb 03: Depart Atlanta, arrive DFW
Fri Feb 03: Join an old past-time of mine, ultimate frisbee
Sat Feb 04: Groundhog's day party
Sun Feb 05: Wildwood Sunday* (*amintajane 2003)
Tue Feb 07: OU Departmental Seminar: "2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season"
Tue Feb 07: UNC-Duke watch party at Celia's
Sat Feb 11: Depart Wichita, arrive Atlanta
Sun Feb 12: Depart Atlanta, arrive Barbados

As you can see, I hope to give a talk at AMS, visit Wildwood church, play a game or two of ultimate frisbee, give a seminar to the OU meteorology department, and meet with people and hang out with friends. Should be a great blend of academia and fellowship!

Who is my neighbor?

I have returned to Barbados. No more globe-trotting for now. I've departed the latin culture, leaving behind gyration-inspiring music, their incredible spirit of community, cities so full of life, and perhaps most of all, the many poor. For the past 72 hours, I have been reflecting on my recent experience: the fun times, the peoples' faces, the amazing foods. And I read an article today that jolted me to consider my neighbor, especially those displaced or impoverished.

It seems to me that if the church took up the challenge of being neighbors to refugees we could do so much more than what governments are doing, or not doing, as the case may be. And in this case, Matthew’s words are eerily true, as Jesus was a refugee:

“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Matt 25: 40

http://www.urbana.org/wtoday.neighbor.cfm

I am praying for specific ways to reach out to those around me - to serve them, to honor them, to cherish their lives. Will you join me in discovering who is our neighbor?

Pásame La Botella

Pásame La Botella

Enjoy a taste of Latin America with a theme song from my voyage through Colombia and Peru.

One, two, jaaa ...
Pásame la botella
Voy a beber en nombre de ella
Pásame la botella
Voy a beber en nombre de ella

Eah, eah
OhOhOh (yeah you know), yeyeyei
Match and Daddy (x3)
Pásame, pásame, pásame, pásame
OhOhOh (yeah you know), yeyeyei (aaaah)

Hay algo que quiero decir
Esto no me puede estar pasando a mí
La chica que quería para mí
Es traicionera y me quemaba hasta morir

Hay algo que quiero decir
Esto no me puede estar pasando a mí
La chica que quería para mí
Es traicionera, es traicionera, y…

Pásame la botella
Voy a beber en nombre de ella
Pásame la botella
Voy a beber en nombre de ella, ja

Todo lo que le brindé
Le di mi amor y mi cariño también
Lo que ella me pedía se lo daba también
Un carro, una casa, y me pregunto por qué, por qué
Ella se fue con otro hombre
Ahora de la barra solito me quedé
Borracho, tirado con ganas de beber
Y le dije al cantinero otra vez

Pásame la botella
Voy a beber en nombre de ella
Pásame la botella
Voy a beber en nombre de ella

Todos los que han sido traicionados
Y con la botella se han desahogados
A la cuenta de tres
Quiero ver a todo el mundo con el coro
One, two, jaaa

Pásame la botella
Voy a beber en nombre de ella
Pásame la botella
Voy a beber en nombre de ella

Hay algo que quiero decir
Esto no me puede estar pasando a mí
La chica que quería para mí
Es traicionera, es traicionera, y…

Pásame la botella
Voy a beber en nombre de ella
Pásame la botella
Voy a beber en nombre de ella

Pásame, pásame, pásame, pásame la botella
Quiero brindar por ella
Pásame, pásame, pásame, pásame la botella
Pásame la botella

All I want is a postcard

Hello loyal readers -- stay tuned for a thorough update on my trip to Latin America (Colombia and Peru). I am back in the states, and have to share my experience of the past half hour. It is preposterous!

Many of you know that one of my favorite things to do is to write postcards to my friends while I travel. I use it to keep in touch- even though the space is limited, I still try to write small and cram lots in. I also use postcards as a friendly "reminder" that I also would like to hear from my friends.

I wrote the first set, about ten, in the airport in Bogota (Colombia), and mailed them once I got to Peru. Do you know that a postcard to the US from Peru costs 5.50 soles, which is about US$1.75. YIKES, thats expensive! So the last 13 cards that I wrote in Peru, I saved to mail once I returned to the US (which was today). So I borrowed Paw Paw's car (I had to go to the bank, etc. too), and after driving up and down Kildaire Farm Rd. 3 times, I finally found the post office nestled back way off the road.

When I arrived, I immediately went to the automated stamp dispenser-- seeing as thats what I needed: 13 postcard stamps. For those of you living abroad, and others who are still hungover from the new year, the US raised its postal rates effective Jan 8. Of course, the automated machine has not yet been updated, and still dispenses old $0.23 stamps, not the new $0.24 ones.

No worries, I'll just get into the 25-person line (no lie) and wait for the friendly counter clerk to dispense my stamps. Surprisingly, the line moved fast, and I only had to wait about 15 minutes. When I was called to the counter, I kindly informed the officer that I would like to purchase 13 postcard stamps. He curtly replied, "we don't have any." I asked "why not?" He says, "they have not been shipped yet." Puzzled, but not detered, I asked to buy 13 old stamps and 13 1-cent stamps. He replied, annoyed by my persistence, "we are out of those too." Out of options and upset at having wasted 20 minutes in the post office, I shot back "well you should put up signs to tell people so they do not wait." He grew colder and equally shot back "they are posted everywhere", to which I could think of nothing to say but, "oh, ok, bye then." On my way out, feeling pretty stupid for not seeing these ubitiquous signs, I glanced around, then stopped and looked around - at both sets of doors and the windows between - only to see one sign: Post Office Holiday Hours.

Ahh, the life of the USPS! Raise the rates but do not provide the proper stamps. And then humiliate your customers by posting invisible signs! Oh well, its only 30 minutes of my life, and it makes for a good story!

¡feliz ano nuevo!

Happy New Year from Medellin Colombia! I will update this post later with a photo ... but just wanted to say hi to all and say that i am having a PHENOMENAL time in south america. today i crossed the equator for the first time. hello summer in lima, peru! more to come . . .