Oslo in my thoughts.

"Om én mann kan vise så mye hat, tenk hvor mye kjærlighet vi alle kan vise sammen."
If one man can show so much hate, think how much love we can show together♥
Stine Renate Håheim

Read more...

Letting the monsters win.

I have copied and pasted because David Sirota took the words right off my tongue.

There is ample reason to feel relief that Osama bin Laden is no longer a threat to the world, and I say that not just because I was among the many congressional staffers told to flee the U.S. Capitol on 9/11. I say that because he was clearly an evil person who celebrated violence against all whom he deemed "enemies" -- and the world needs less of such zealotry, not more.

However, somber relief was not the dominant emotion presented to America when bin Laden’s death was announced. Instead, the Washington press corps -- helped by a wild-eyed throng outside the White House -- insisted that unbridled euphoria is the appropriate response. And in this we see bin Laden’s more enduring victory -- a victory that will unfortunately last far beyond his passing.

For decades, we have held in contempt those who actively celebrate death. When we’ve seen video footage of foreigners cheering terrorist attacks against America, we have ignored their insistence that they are celebrating merely because we have occupied their nations and killed their people. Instead, we have been rightly disgusted -- not only because they are lauding the death of our innocents, but because, more fundamentally, they are celebrating death itself. That latter part had been anathema to a nation built on the presumption that life is an "unalienable right."

But in the years since 9/11, we have begun vaguely mimicking those we say we despise, sometimes celebrating bloodshed against those we see as Bad Guys just as vigorously as our enemies celebrate bloodshed against innocent Americans they (wrongly) deem as Bad Guys. Indeed, an America that once carefully refrained from flaunting gruesome pictures of our victims for fear of engaging in ugly death euphoria now ogles pictures of Uday and Qusay’s corpses, rejoices over images of Saddam Hussein’s hanging and throws a party at news that bin Laden was shot in the head.

This is bin Laden’s lamentable victory: He has changed America’s psyche from one that saw violence as a regrettable-if-sometimes-necessary act into one that finds orgasmic euphoria in news of bloodshed. In other words, he’s helped drag us down into his sick nihilism by making us like too many other bellicose societies in history -- the ones that aggressively cheer on killing, as long as it is the Bad Guy that is being killed.

Again, this isn’t in any way to equate Americans who cheer on bin Laden’s death with, say, those who cheered after 9/11. Bin Laden was a mass murderer who had punishment coming to him, while the 9/11 victims were innocent civilians whose deaths are an unspeakable tragedy. Likewise, this isn’t to say that we should feel nothing at bin Laden’s neutralization, or that the announcement last night isn't cause for any positive feeling at all -- it most certainly is.

But it is to say that our reaction to the news last night should be the kind often exhibited by victims’ families at a perpetrator’s lethal injection -- a reaction typically marked by both muted relief but also by sadness over the fact that the perpetrators’ innocent victims are gone forever, the fact that the perpetrator's death cannot change the past, and the fact that our world continues to produce such monstrous perpetrators in the first place.

When we lose the sadness part -- when all we do is happily scream "USA! USA! USA!” at news of yet more killing in a now unending back-and-forth war -- it’s a sign we may be inadvertently letting the monsters win.

Read more...

US of Shame

Then again, maybe it's not so bad that I moved away... bestiality? Really WA?

Read more...

Some practical information.

I have been contacted numerous times by other Americans that are in similar situations to where I was when I first came to Norway and started navigating the labyrinth of immigration bureaucracy. I am more than happy to help in any way I can because I so desperately needed advice and support myself and just didn't know where to find it. I remember so well how many dead ends and frustrated hours I spent trying to find a solution for me and Lars and a life for us here.

Not only has this been a time consuming and exhausting process, it has also been expensive. The first application I submitted cost me a little under 2.000,- kroner, the one that ended up going through cost a bit over 3.000,- kr; I have taken numerous trips to Oslo (train travel is not cheap, let me tell you) to the American Embassy and been charged all kinds of different fees. And today I had to shell out some more cash.

The permit that I was issued last March is only good for a year. So that means I have to renew it. And in turn, that means I have to take a trip to visit one of my favorite buildings in Hamar (drum roll please): the police station.


I sat and waited patiently, like the nice foreigner I am, and made sure all my paperwork was in order. When my turn came I approached the desk, explained my case and was reassured that I had done everything correctly.

All that was left was to pay up... a fee of 1.100,- kr! As of right now that's $186.41! Ugh, killer. I don't understand why it is that expensive just to renew a permit. I do understand that it costs money for the government to employ people to sit there and sift through application after application and make decisions on people's lives, I get that, I really do. But my application is as cut and dry as it gets--they have already issued me the permit! All they have to do is just print out a new sticker and slap it in my passport! Why the heck does that cost so much?

But whatevs. What's one to do really? It's a necessary evil. And to be honest, I would much rather be in my shoes paying a chunk of change every year than where I was in 2008 trying to find a loophole in the system. That's a tough spot to be in. This, believe it or not, is much better.

PLUS, my day could not be ruined. I was so pleased with myself for making the correct decision to wear long underwear, a hat, a scarf and my awesome Norwegian mittens (it was cold today!) that nothing was going to stop me. I have at an age of 24 finally learned how to dress myself properly!

Good luck to all of you trying to work the system, both here in Norway and elsewhere!

Read more...

Bigotry.

I caught wind of the ridiculous debate surrounding a mosque+Muslim community center in New York near Ground Zero and almost threw my snack plate against the wall (this says a lot, I love food). Not only is the debate absolutely insane but it highlights some of the ignorance that Americans are stereotyped over. My bud Ethan put it best:

"The construction of a Muslim community center and mosque so close to the site of an attack by religious extremists is a victory against religious extremism, not for it."


I'm pressed for time and Ethan wrote it so well, so I will repost his post along with the statement that I agree 1,798, 345%:

The New York Mosque

I've been wanting to avoid the whole dispute over the planned Muslim community center, which would include a mosque along with other facilities, near Ground Zero, namely because I thought it would go away. To me, the issue seems pretty clear cut. But the fucking dispute will not die. It's even becoming an issue in the midterm elections. So, since part of the purpose of this blog, for me, is to get myself on record on issues that I care about, I think it's about time for me to comment on it.

I don't plan this to be a long post, because, as I said, I think the issue's pretty simple. There are two issues issues I'd like to cover, the first being, appropriately enough, the First Amendment of the US Constitution. In its entirety, the First Amendment reads:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Legal precedent is that the protections of the first amendment apply not only to the federal government, but to state and local governments as well. Cut and dry. So, when people urge New York to deny Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf permission to build the community center because it has a mosque in it, they're advocating a drastic revision of American legal precedent and political liberties. Quite simply, the Constitution forbids the government intervention that many opponents of the mosque seem to advocate.

Second issue. Many opponents to the community center might not be explicitly or implicitly advocating government intervention, but rather question the wisdom of building a Muslim anything within blocks of Ground Zero. Those people are bigots. In the case of families of 9/11 victims or survivors of the attacks, I understand where their bigotry comes from, in the same way that I understand why a Holocaust survivor might continue to hate Germany decades after the genocide, or why my grandfather refers to "Japs" when he tells stories about World War II (though, to his credit, he does not use racial slurs when discussing Japan in general, just the Japanese in the war). But that does not excuse that bigotry, nor absolve us of the responsibility to combat it.

Islam is a religion of over one billion people--the second largest in the world, after Christianity. Yes, some of those people are fucknuts insane, and commit atrocious acts of violence against anyone who does not believe their specific, extremist version of the religion, including other Muslims. But the vast majority of those people are normal folk trying to lead normal lives. Many of them live in shithole countries with horrible human rights records, but, on the other hand, that's true of many Christians, too. And in the same way that the IRA, Lord's Resistance Army and George W. Bush don't even begin to represent the entirety of Christianity, al-Qaida and the Taliban don't scratch the surface of Islam.

Anyone who knows me well knows I'm not particularly fond of America. It's not because America doesn't look good on paper. It's because so many people in this country seem to have no idea about the values to which this nation is ostensibly dedicated. The construction of a Muslim community center and mosque so close to the site of an attack by religious extremists is a victory against religious extremism, not for it. That's the kind of shit this country is supposed to stand for. If we lose sight of that, then we might as well just have done and let the military run the country.

After all, they couldn't do any worse a job than Congress.
Ethan Jennings

Again Ethan, well done.
I couldn't agree more.

Read more...

Recent reads.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. John Boyne. The story is told from the naive eyes of a 9 year old German boy who is moved from his lush Berlin home to a temporary house outside of Out-With (Auschwitz, which is one of the many words he mispronounces). This book is a controversial one, as the boy's naiveté and general ignorance of what was happening around him really irritates people that have been fighting Holocaust deniers for the greater part of their lives. I agree that this is a dangerous line to walk, but I liked Boyne for that. What can I say, I like danger, I like controversy. Plus it was precious to see how his young brain tried to grasp such evil, even if the realism of the story is questionable. Plus the ending rocked. I laughed, I cried, I liked it. And then I watched the movie. Liked that too.

Read it and decide for yourself if Boyne took a good chance here or if the book is a "profanation" as it has been called by critics. Mostly I am just waiting for Ethan to read it, so I can hear how pissed off he gets. Just do it Ethan, it's a short read.




The Other Hand (published in the US as Little Bee). Chris Cleave. This one pleasantly surprised me. I guess that's because I was a bit skeptical and didn't really have any expectations. Hard to have any really, especially when the back of the book says only "We don't want to tell you what happens in this book...we don't want to spoil it" and you bought it based on the cover design. I guessed it was a marketing trick, but I knowingly fell for it in the bookstore. And I was not disappointed.

We meet Little Bee in a Refugee Detention Center after she has narrowly escaped from violence in her homeland of Nigeria. She tries to "speak English like the Queen" and make a life for herself in England. She seeks out the only English people she knows, whom she met tragically while they were on vacation in her home country. The story was powerful, beautifully and poetically written and explored topics that will hopefully be a part of my career someday (I want to work with refugees).

Most of all, I loved it because it reinforces something we all know and something by which I try to live my life: we all have something to learn from each other, despite where we come from, what language we speak or the color of our skin. I laughed, I cried, I liked it.

The Book Thief. Markus Zusak. Elisa sent me this book for my birthday, and a great present it was. Again, powerfully and poetically written, with intense and complex characters that I fell in love with immediately. Plus, how often is it that you get to read a story told by Death? And would you ever expect to like said narrator? I almost feel like I lost touch with Death a bit in the middle when the Book Thief's story really took over, but luckily, he was always lurking so I didn't miss him too much. I mean the book is set in WWII after all, so he had a lot to do. It was equally uplifting as it was devastating. The style was refreshing, with super short chapters, not your typical foreshadowing and really not too many surprises. Death let us in on his doings. I laughed, I cried, I liked it. I thank Elisa for it and I recommend it.

Now I'm reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo a.k.a Menn som Hater Kvinner. So far I've read only about twenty pages or so and I haven't felt the gravitational pull yet... but am looking forward to getting caught up in it.

I am thinking for the rest of this month I will spend more time painting than reading. Or at least that's a thought...

Read more...

Health "Reform"

I like my friend Ethan. He doesn't like the United States of America all that much. Now isn't there some kind of math rule (geometry maybe?) that could be used to assume I, therefore, don't like the country either?

Who knows...I am not much of a math person. I am much more of a social science person myself. What can I say, I like people! And I suppose that is the explanation as to why I am on one hand I am glad that the health "reform" is making progress across the pond. I like the idea that peope may someday have better access to health services. That's good, right?

So then explain to me all the recent Facebook statuses about how we are all going to die because we are one step closer to becoming a socialist country. These people must also have friends that have been seriously sick and didn't go to the doctor because they didn't have insurance and this couldn't afford it? They must also read the news once in awhile and hear the stories about people struggling with expensive/deadly diseases who also don't have the cash to pay the hospital bills? So why the statuses? Baffling.

So yes, on one hand I am glad that things are this "reform" is getting the support it needs. But on the other hand, I am disappointed that it is not even more extreme. Yes, I would willingly pay more taxes so that everyone had the right to free healthcare. Take that!

No one can say it as well as my buddy Ethan--check out his most recent healthcare post:

Well, the House managed to pass healthcare legislation. Even if the Senate rejects all the amendments they appended to the current bill, the bill as passed by the Senate will be signed into law (unless Obama was joking about the whole signing thing).

Semi-victorious Democrats are calling this "the Civil Rights Act of the 21st century," or comparing the act to the establishment of Social Security or Medicare. Obama perhaps was the most honest in saying: "This isn't radical reform, but it is major reform." Republicans, meanwhile, are demonizing the bill in quite the opposite
terms. They act like the House just passed a law mandating the public
killing of puppies.

It's true, polls indicate that a bare majority of American voters oppose the healthcare bill. These opinions, of course, are based on what Americans think they know about the healthcare bill, rather than an educated understanding of the thing (that might require reading). Nonetheless, they represent a rough guess at the mindset of the American people.

On the other hand, polls still show that the vast majority of Americans are dissatisfied with the status quo, which is what opponents of the bill--and their corporate backers--are fighting to maintain. And if I'd been polled, I would've said that I do not support the current healthcare bill, because I don't. Let's see why!

First, there's no public option. Yes, I understand that a well-executed public option would absolutely gut the private health insurance industry in America. I have absolutely no problem with this. Aside from people in the state of Connecticut, I don't know why any Americans should. What is it about faceless corporations fucking you over that people find so appealing?

All right, accepting that a public option isn't on the table, there's still plenty wrong with the bill. Even by the government's own projections, it leaves 23 million Americans without healthcare insurance. That's about 7.7% of the population, which doesn't seem insignificant to me. (But then, I can run a calculator.)

Also, while it establishes an exchange where insurance companies have to compete with one another, it establishes this exchange on a statewide, not nationwide, level. Meaning that the Washington state exchange has the potential to have drastically different prices from the Oregon state exchange--from the same companies--and that there's nothing you, the consumer, can do about it, other than moving to Oregon.

This is the best sort of exchange system for the insurance companies, because it allows them to maximize their profits. A national-level exchange would've cut a lot of fat out the system--but then, I'm sure Connecticut lobbyists made that well known to our esteemed congresspeople.

I like the idea of requiring employers to insure their employees, but I frankly don't know enough about how this will effect small businesses with limited budgets, and I've heard too much propaganda on both sides to make an accurate judgment. And I have to read 200 pages of shit for my Ottoman class today, so I'm not going to research it.

(Notice what I just did there? I admitted my lack of knowledge and refrained from issuing an opinion or judgment until I gathered more facts on the subject. That's some shit you could learn from, America.)

And I like that, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the plan should reduce the federal deficit by $143 billion in the next ten years. Now if we could just slim down the Pentagon's budget by, I dunno, 75% or so. If wishes were horses...

So, yeah, there's plenty to like in the current healthcare bill. And at least it's fucking something. But the flaws aren't inconsequential--on the contrary, they're central to the plan as it stands.

Point of the story is, we're fucked, and I'm going to marry a Canadian
heiress.
Ethan Jennings

Well bud, I guess I'm one step ahead of you--I've already moved to Norway. Lars isn't an heir or royalty (that I know of) but I'm still here. ;) Good luck finding your Canuck!

Read more...

Patrik 1,5

Patrik 1,5 is now officially on the list of the best movies I have ever seen.

It is a Swedish comedy/drama from 2008 which documents the process a gay couple undergo in attempting to adopt a child. Although they are married, no country is willing to let a gay couple adopt any of its children. Initially they are turned down by the adoption agency. Just when there seemed to be no hope, Sven and Göran get news that a Swedish orphan needs a home and they readily agree to adopt him! This is where Patrik 1,5 comes into the picture--Patrik who is listed as a 1,5 years old orphan baby turns out to be Patrik, a 15 year old teenager with a troubled criminal background and homophobic beliefs. Oops! Just a little typo there!

It made me laugh out loud, it made me think (a lot) and it made me cry (just a little). It is a movie that masterfully pushed and pulled on my emotions. It was brilliant, in my opinion.

Seriously, I can recommend it unconditionally,... unless of course you are narrow minded, homophobic or otherwise intolerant. Then, by all means--STAY AWAY!

Read more...

Glass walls

"If slaughterhouses had glass walls, then everyone would be a vegetarian."

-Sir Paul McCartney

One of my favorite students from BuddySchool named Sergei sent me a video posted on BBC from PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) that seriously made me rethink my everyday life. See it for yourself here.

If you don't have time to see the video (it's about 13 minutes), I'll give you the main idea, even though I insist that you attempt to make the time to see it for yourself. Then you will see with your own eyes how animals are brutally handled so that we can eat them. Brutally handled. They squeal, they bleed and they are conscious of what is happening--sometimes even when their throat is slit and always in the uncomfortable months before their deaths. The thing that is so strange and doesn't quite make sense is that we absolutely do not need meat to survive. So why do we eat it?

I have never seriously thought about being a vegetarian until now. I never knew much about PETA besides what I learned from the headlines about them throwing paint on fur coats. Obviously I was ignorant, not only to what PETA is all about, but also to what is really going on to get that chicken breast into my local grocery store. Of course this is not the first time I have heard about animal abuse within the dairy and meat industries but maybe this is the first time I have really let it sink in.

I was going to make spaghetti for dinner but now I am not so sure...Are any of you vegetarians? Ever tried being one?

Maybe the idea of being a vegetarian is absolutely repulsive to you. Maybe you don't give a damn about animals and don't think they have any rights. Even then, eating meat is really destructive. According UN scientists, eating meat causes about 40% more greenhouse gases than ALL the world's transportation systems combined. Studies also show that vegetarians are less prone to obesity, heart disease and even cancer.

It's amazing how much I learn when I teach.

Read more...

People saw me naked.

I vividly remember when I was about 11 years old that a group of naked Asian women changed me forever.

It was summer time, school was out and we were on a family vacation at Sol Duc Hot Springs in the Olympic National Park in Washington. My cousin Gitta and I spent most of our days swimming in the pool looking fashionable with our matching goggles and nose plugs while attempting to realize our dream of being scouted for the U.S. Olympic women's synchronized swimming team. It was all fun and games until it was time to hit the showers. That's when the group of older Asian women were butt ass naked in the communal shower crouched down scrubbing each other's backs--and that's when I was scarred for life.

Ever since (and most likely before as well) I have been a bit nervous with the locker room culture. My private parts have remained private. As long as underwear was involved I was feeling okay. Girls at my high school rarely showered together and I can count the times I knowingly exposed my own breasts or vagina on one hand.

I don't think it is or was just me that is made a bit uncomfortable in these situations, and I don't think I can lay all the blame on the naked Asian teamwork that struck me as so odd as a pre-teen. I have noticed a trend in American culture that especially girls and women are very shy when it comes to changing and showering in front of each other. Honestly, no girls that I was friends with growing up showered in the locker room, unless it was behind a curtain. However, I remember hearing countless stories of how boys stole each other's towels, whipped each other with said towels and or made ridiculous scrotum shapes at each other and then called each other gay afterwards.

Why is this that men flash themselves and we hide? What a strange fear, phobia, or whatever you can call it. It doesn't quite seem to make sense; all us women have the same parts and I don't believe that we are so ashamed of our bodies that we fear exposing them. I know that is not the case with me, not at all. So why the cover-up? Why the awkward putting on your underwear under the towel routine? Why can't we make vagina shapes at each other and get a good laugh out of it and then call each other lesbians afterwards (heavy sarcasm)?!

My experiences with the Vagina Monologues in college give me some insight into this issue; I think in general women are indeed very shy about their vaginas. I would also like to point out that I have made some generalizations here about men and women and I am the last person to insist that men are alike because they are men and women are alike because they are women. Some girls let it all hang out and some guys change in the stall.

But the point is I am challenging myself to get over this. I showered in my complete birthday suit last night after a kick ass soccer training at the gym in Brumunddal.

People (even people that I knew!) saw me naked and I only minded a little bit.

Read more...

Looking Past Differences

Honestly...just watch, learn and follow the example. Friendship and love comes in all shapes and sizes.

I wish we were as smart as animals.

Read more...

Drømmejobb

Even though I have been having nothing but work permit frustrations, I do have a good piece of news to report in what I hope to be in regards to my career. Recently I found and applied for two jobs with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), or Flyktninghjelpen/Flyktningerådet that are right up my alley. I have yet to hear back, and the deadline for one of the positions hasn't passed yet, but regardless--I am excited.

The NRC is an independent humanitarian organization whose task is to assist and protect people who have been forced to flee their countries, or their homes within their country, due to war or conflict. The NRC is the only organization in Norway that specializes in international efforts relating to this target group and I would absolutely LOVE to be a part of what they are doing! Their Norwegian office is in Oslo, so that would mean a commute...but I think it would be more than worth it (if it works out!!)

Position one: Program koordinator Midt-Østen, Latin Amerika og Kaukasus Seksjon (Program coordinator for the Mid-East, Latin America and Caucasus). Basically I am highly underqualified for this position, but I went ahead and applied anyway because they are looking for someone that can work (speak and write) both Spanish and English. They also wanted someone with knowledge of the Latin American region, which I think I can also swing (or at least I would hope so after majoring in Spanish!). However, they are also looking for someone with a lot more experience than I have, in humanitarian work, administration, international work and other areas. I know that I am not their ideal candidate, but I also think that I am capable and that I can learn if someone can take me under their wing! While it would be awesome, I don't have high hopes for this one.

Position two: administrasjonsassistent (Administration Assistant). This job description was a little bit more vague. It said more or less that this person would serve as a general back up for all the work that is going on during a daily basis and that he or she would need to be able to work in English (in the bag!). I think it includes a lot of office/secretary work. I KNOW I could do this.

Basically, working for an organization like this is like a dream come true! I would be working with an organization that is dedicated to helping others in need and that has a global focus! It sounds like the job offers an opportunity to travel, see the world, experience new things...and that they everyday experience in the office would be different every day as well.

The deadline for the assistant job was the 10th of this month, and the deadline for the program coordinator spot is the 18th. Guess now I just play the waiting game that I am getting oh so used to (and sick of) and see if they contact me for an interview. . . And no...I have no idea how this will play into the current work permit crisis, so don't ask. I am just flying by the seat of my pants here.

Note* Both the positions were posted in Norwegian. If they are looking for someone that only needs to manage English or Spanish why are they posting in Norwegian? Strange...

Read more...

My Vagina is Angry

When I was a freshman at PLU I went to a theater show called the Vagina Monologues. I didn't know what to expect, but mostly had just gone to support my super cool RA Molly Feider who had a small role. To make it short--the show was 100% hilarious, entertaining, moving and most of all inspiring.

A quick note about the The Vagina Monologues: The play is made up of a varying number of monologues read by a varying number of women (although initially the author of the play Eve Ensler performed every monologue herself). Every monologue somehow relates to the vagina, whether it focuses on sex, love, rape, menstruation, mutilation, masturbation, birth, orgasm, the variety of names for the vagina, or simply the vagina as a physical part of the body. And most incredibly, the monologues are based on Ensler's interviews with REAL WOMEN from all around the world. She didn't just make it all up herself! The play is the cornerstone of the VDAY movement which Ensler began over ten years ago in 1998. The first V-Day benefit took place on Valentine's Day of that year. The "V" in V-Day stands for Valentine, Vagina, and Victory. The goal of the movie is to end violence against women and girls across the globe. There is so much to say about the movement and the play, but I think you have the general idea: The Vagina Monolgues is a part of this bigger movement catapulted by Ensler over ten years ago that raises money to help end violence against females. If you are interested in knowing more, check out the VDAY official website.

But back to that special day in February, 2005 when I came in contact with VDAY on PLU's campus... The first time I saw the show performed I was filled with a yearning to join up! I remember talking with Meredith (my endlessly patient roommate at the time) about how I would love to perform what I thought was the best monologue in the show: My Angry Vagina. I thought it was awesome because it was true, it was hilarious, it was real, genuine and did I mention you get to swear and yell on stage (and that it was encouraged!?)? I was, to say the least, intrigued.

So the first two years, I supported the Monologues by buying a ticket and being a sort of unofficial spokesperson around campus. The next year I tried out, and was cast in a piece called Wear and Say, in which I performed with two other girls (including Kristi Greenaway!) in a fun, random depiction of different womens vagina's personalities. If you want to see what it is like...here is a video I found on the tube:

That was fun, but I really wanted to be a bit... angrier. I am not sure if I planned on auditioning my final year or not. The auditions really snook up on me, as I was busy trying to run Kreidler basically by myself, distracted by finishing up my first collegiate attempt at soccer and well you know, I suppose I was also falling madly in love with Lars the Norwegian. So I don't really remember what my plan was in regards to the Monologues. The director asked me if I was trying out, she said that she was hoping that I would. It wasn't until later until I heard that she really hadn't been satisfied with any of the girls trying out for the role of Angry Vagina...because she had me in mind!! So I tried out, and got cast with my dream role (which I really believe will forever be the highlight and end of my acting career). Here is another video from the tube, of what I believe is a very successful take on Angry Vagina.

Where is all this reminiscing coming from you ask? Well besides the fact that VDAY is right around the corner...I also just received this link full of equally terrifying pictures of me from a PLU photographer who shot the Monologues last year. Look at your own RISK. For me, it was an amazing night...lots of people came to support me (even Brenda from as far as Seattle!) and being on stage is an incredible high. People laughed at me. In a good way.

So, the morals are: take a risk, put yourself out there, learn about VDAY, go see it if you have a chance, donate money if you can, educate yourself, ask questions, be supportive and open minded---but most of all don't be violent. Over and out.

Read more...