It is currently a beautiful, sunny day down here in Chesapeake, Virginia (I’m down here for work). My plan is to go camping this Memorial Day weekend, but I’m hearing some unsettling things about the weather situation.
I just want to make something clear: if it rains this weekend, or gets ridiculously cold, as it had been for the past week or so, I am going to go on an insane rampage. I’ve been suffering in a number of ways lately (you can draw your own conclusions), and I really need a nice weekend away.
I just got an email from Anna, and the response she got regarding Helen was pretty amazing! So far she’s recieved 18 emails from friends and family, and it looks like Helen is going to be taken care of for at least the first year. Below is an email from Helen to Anna:
Anna…i never had such a wonderful friend like you! You make me belive in
myself and I love you so much. You’re the only person that really cares
about me going to this college….you’re the only person who sees how
impotrant this is for me.My host parents didn’t even congratulate me…:
((…but YOU made my day!
If you really try to help me I will NEVER forget that..I mean never!!!
because if you really find sponsors for me you’ll make my life! I don’t
even know how to thank you Anna. Really…I dont know…Thank you…
You asked for some more info. I don’t have the letter right now but as
soon as I have it I will write you everything ok?
Say thanks to your mom too from me. By the way can you give me her email
adress?so I could tell her personally thanks?
Anna…you have no idea how much you mean for me!!! No words could ever
express that!
Well…i will definately keep in touch with you. Can you give me your
cellphone number? Maybe I could call you sometimes?
Thank you again Anna…You are absolutely the best ever…I would be happy
to see you at my Gratuation…:)))
I will talk to you later. I love you a lot. Elena
I’m excited about the progress we’re making, but there’s a long way to go. If you’d like to help Helen out, please contact Anna Morgan. Thanks!
I just got an email from my friend Anna about a girl (Helen) who she knew while volunteering for the Peace Corps in Moldova. I was very moved by this email, and wanted to take the time to share an except of it with you all:
Hi Anna!!! I need a big big big hug! I did it! I won a $10000 grant for my University per year for 4 years! BUT…I have to pay $2,215 for my tuition and housing, $450 for visa, $600 for canteen and $500 for books…I have no idea what am I gonna do…My parents can find only $2,000 and the rest I have to find by myself…I need sponsors but I can’t find them…that’s sad bacause I might refuse to go to the University of my dreams because of $1,000.. Well, those are my problems though so I will not torture you with them…
Many a time, I’ve bailed on doing the right thing because I rationalized that I can’t help everybody. That may be true, but in this case, this is someone I can help. The following is an except from the email I got from Anna:
To give you a little background about Helen, when i started teaching her, she had been studying English for only about a year. After 2 years of classes and coming into my classroom every day after school to study, she was awarded a scholarship to study in the USA. While in the US, she took all of her classes in English, was advanced a grade level, and got a 4.0. She is just an incredible individual and is so deserving of this opportunity.
If you care to sponsor her, please send me an email
(amorgan@morganlewis.com) indicating the amount you wish to contribute. I
will email you again with the details regarding where to send your contribution. Ideally, I would like to collect at least $4,000 to ensure that Helen will be able to complete her studies. Any additional money will go towards her living expenses.
I know that your contribution, no matter the size, will be so appreciated by Helen.
Finally, the following is her essay as to why she would like to continue her studies at an American Institution (AUBG). Very amazing. Here it is…
Let’s run for boobies! We’ve got a team set up (the Naughty Little Running Monkeys) for the Breast Cancer 5K on Saturday, June 7. The start is on Constitution Ave, right near the monument at 9 am. A few of us did this last year, and it’s lots of fun… perfect for every boob-lover. It’s for a good cause and we’ll be checking out places to indulge in some bloody mary’s, screwdrivers, mimosas, car bombs, etc. afterward. We may trek over to the courtyard in my apartment complex in Georgetown, whatever… we’re drinking.
Go to www.nationalraceforthecure.org, click on Registration on the left, then click on the Register button. Accept all the I-Promise-Not-To-Sue-You-If-I-Trip-Over-My-Own-Damn-Feet-And-Spill-My-Drink b.s., and select to join a team. A little box will show up underneath ‘Join an Existing Team’, scroll waaaay down to ‘NLR’ (Naughty Little Running Monkeys) and fill out the rest of the info. It’s $30 and of course, you get a t-shirt!
Sign up even if you are not a monkey, we’ll pick bugs out of your hair and eat them so you feel at home.
Q) Given your explanation in today’s e-mail, what
happens if only two innings have been played at the
end of 45 minutes?
A) It is replayed at a future date.
Q) Can a game be “called” mid-inning, or does the
45-minute rule only apply at the end of innings?
A) Yes. The discretion lies with the ref as to when to call the game. If there’s one out left in the bottom of an inning, they can choose to run a little over.
Q) According to the WAKA rules a ball hit in front of
the plate is a foul. Can this foul ball be
caught-out?
A) Yes. If a team commits a foul, but the ultimate result of the play favors the team that was fouled, the ref shouldn’t “penalize” the fouled team by calling a foul.
Q)I was pitching and the ball was kicked up the first base line. I fielded the ball in front of the runner. I had the options of tagging her out, throwing to first, or simply running to the bag. I chose to run to the bag with the ball in hand. It was the third out. The other team challenged that I had impeded the progress of the runner and she should be safe at first. The presiding official ruled in their favor and they scored three runs that inning. How is it possible for the person with the ball to interfere with a runner? Doesn’t interference apply only to fielders without the ball?
A) If you impeded the progress of the runner prior to having posession of the ball, she’s safe. If you impeded the progress only after having posession, she’s out.
Yeah, so I’m quoting Bends songs, so what?? Today sucked for the most part. and I won’t accept all of the blame. Jesus Christ, it’s just a kickball game you clowns, why can’t you see that?
The next time you berate a ref, or proffer grand ideas about how the league should be run; feel free, step up to the plate, and work YOUR ass off for people you don’t even know.
Sure, the beers (and Car Bombs) will wear off, but it doesn’t change that people in this division need to get their shit straight. And if you disgree, feel free to let me know…
“You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your family. ”
That’s the kind of shit that goes through my head when I spend time with my sister. It’s funny, I’ve learned so much about myself over the years, and I’ve worked so hard to be a better person to my friends and family. And despite this, I’m utterly powerless to improve my relationship with my sisters. It scares me when I see other people who have good relationships with their siblings, because I can’t even fathom what that would be like. When people ask me how my sisters are doing (at that’s assuming they know I have sisters) I always try to change the subject. I mean, what am I supposed to say? That I talk to my sister in California maybe a couple times a year? That she couldn’t be bothered to meet up with me when I went out there to visit? That my other sister thinks she’s doing my father a favor by showing up for dinner once a week and can barely contain her desire to leave? That she gets violently angry when I hand her the phone and ask her to wish her abuela a happy mother’s day?
These are things I try to not think about, much less talk about. And it eats me alive, because I can’t fix this, and I can’t make it go away. It’s a terrible feeling, something I wouldn’t wish on anyone, and I see it stretching before me like an endless highway.
Ok, the standings on the division webpage are now sorted first by wins , then losses and then point differential. This is the ordering that we use to determine the seeding for the playoffs. Based on this, a Monday team that is 1-0 (since the games were rained out this week) will be seeded higher than a Tuesday team that is 1-1. Eventually the games will be made-up, so the weirdness should only be temporary.
Last Monday night brought us the unholy combination of Cinco de Mayo, Easy Focker’s birthday, and rained-out kickball. Truth be told, it was more frenzied energy than any single bar could contain. We started off at the Exchange and ended up at the Adams Mill Grill.
Of course, sometimes things get a little too wild, and my paparazzi-ass captures something on film that people would rather not get posted on the Internet. Which, for me, brings up an annoying dilemma.
Generally, if I snap a shot, it’s going on the Net. And that includes me! I can’t tell you how many unflattering and f’d up pictures there are of me on this site. The reason I do this is because the alternative is too burdonsome: getting everyone to ok everything that goes up. But, at the same time, I don’t want to get anyone distraught because they’re worried their boss/bf/gf/etc might see them doing something stupid.
So, I’m right back where I started. I don’t have time to selectively censor. And if I did, it would be a slippery slope, and next thing I know I’d be asked to crop out zits. At the same time, I want to engender a fun environment, and sometimes random snapshots at bad moments can ruin that. Sigh…
