How to dumpster dive

I know someone who does this, and I think I want to try it at least once:

http://www.wikihow.com/Dumpster-Dive

How to Dumpster Dive

Quick quiz: is dumpster diving a) a sport; b) a popular hobby for the frugal; or c) an environmentally and socially conscious way of life? The answer is all of the above. As the name implies, dumpster diving (known as “skip diving” in many parts of the world) is the process of scavenging trash—not always dumpsters, however—for useful or valuable items. Believe it or not, though, dumpster diving is quickly approaching mainstream status even in affluent countries. Whether you’re looking to furnish your home, fill your fridge, or cash in on other people’s trash, this guide will teach you the ins and outs of dumpster diving.

There are alot of tips on the site, but the one i liked the most: Dive with a friend. Dumpster diving is a lot more fun with company. It’s also a lot safer. A friend can help you out if you become injured or can help defuse confrontations.

Happy Diving

This is my son

My friend Segun is from Northern Nigeria, and went to school with my amazing roomate, Jadine. Tonight he came over to eat dinner and chat, and as we were talking I was curious about what his name means. Segun was named because of the condition of his birth, he was severely jaundiced and sick when he was born, but made it thru! He busted through all the obstacles and lived! So he is named, "My God gave me victory". He has quite a few names actually, and they all are full of meaning.

One of the traditions of his people, the Yoruba nation is for the father to speak the names of the children and their meanings. Every morning, Segun would wake up, approach his father (the children greet their parents first in the morning), and kneel before him as he would place his hand on Segun's head and speak his names, no, i think actually he would almost sing them. He would sing his names and what they meant: God gave you the victory. Your God is great.... and so on. He would also speak about Segun's lineage, where he came from, his father's father's life...

So it brings me to tears now to think about how special this is, how powerful it is to have a father speak over you identity, a life giving identity. To know where you come from. To know you are a son.

And in fact, Segun is a son, he is a son of the Living God, who spoke his name long before he had one on the earth. He sings over him and rejoices over him.. and has given him victory...

He says this is my son...

Video of me and the roomates battling the flood

Our basement was getting alot of water, so my roomates and i decided we had better go out in the pouring rain and do something about it! Check out the video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3824932141987295152

Advice from mom

I just got this email. :) if you knew my mom, you would smile too.

YOu need to be extra careful and you know from living in Texas you cannot be driving into water in your car since it is so low to the ground it might stall out and then you might not have a car at all. Looked at the weather channel and it looks like it is raining more there. love and prayers, Mom

Deluge in D.C.

Mud slides and high water on the beltway. The main road i travel on to work was closed because of high water. I thought i escaped floods and craziness when i left H Town!!! Yikes!

CNN D.C.-area floods scramble traffic, shut down buildings
'Bring an umbrella and a bucket full of patience'

Floods shut down D.C. buildings (1:52)

Heavy rains swamp mid-Atlantic (2:37)

The weather outlook for Monday (2:31)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Flooding from a weekend of heavy rain shut down the Justice Department building, Internal Revenue Service headquarters and the National Archives on Monday and created a nightmare for commuters with washed-out roads, mud blocking the Capital Beltway and delays on the area's rail lines.
District of Columbia officials urged people to avoid the flooded downtown areas

Incident on the subway

Yesterday I was coming back home on the train, and I was waiting on a bench with another lady. I heard some loud shouting and, out of the crowd of people this guy was walking towards me, and with his fist, put his hand right thru the big mirror above us. Then he went to the next bench and put his fist thru the next mirror. and the next one.. and the next one.

Four broken mirrors later, the train came, and although it was packed to the max, I gratefully jumped on.

Question for the ages

There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Four which I do not understand:

The way of an eagle in the sky
The way of a serpent on a rock,
The way of a shiop in the middle of the sea

And the way of a man with a maid.

Prov 30:19

National Religious Freedom Day on Capitol Hill

Yesterday was National Religious Freedom Day on Capitol Hill.

Impacting moment of the day: A Syrian woman, Wafa Sultan got up to the podium and like a prophet spoke of the hatred and oppression Islamic extremism brings to her people, especially to women and children. You could hear a pin drop in the room. Her words seared the air. After she finished i discovered i had tears streaming down my face.

She has been seen on Middle Eastern television, and i wonder how much longer she has on this earth...

Seven years in H Town is alot of good living

Listening to: The Constant Gardener Soundtrack

For the first time, in a very long time, i have been rather homesick. i have moved 1400 miles to start a new job, a fairly new life, in a drastically different community. i am in a way living a dream of mine. i left behind alot though...

i miss my old coffee shoppe at 7 in the morning reading the newspaper with the guys. i miss the familiar smells and smiles of H Town. I miss running around Rice University. i miss montrose and how weird it is and how much i loved that it is weird. i miss The Cactus (even as i know it just closed its doors)...

Seven years is alot of living in one place