Don't teach me about politics and government: just tell me who to vote for

~Derek Webb ("A New Law")

This is another appropriate song for today

I cannot express how much I am ready for tomorrow. Ready for change. Ready for history to be made. Ready for inspiration and excitement about the future of politics. Ready for new ads on TV.

I have been ecstatic at times this past year how people of all races, creeds, ages, perspectives and political leanings have decided not to vote for party, but for issues and individuals. My pastor gave a good sermon last night on the need to be interested in politics all four years of a term, not just the two months leading up to the election. This resonated heavily with me. I'm no politician, but I need to care enough to keep tabs on what my government is (or isn't) doing for my community.

We see it every election - people impassioned to the point of losing friends (and respect), writing terrible things on public forums, and using religion to justify or ostracize. Enough! It's time for us to see our continual role in politics and to walk the walk on issues we talk a LOT of talk about in October. Some Christians (and hopefully non-Christians too!) are starting to realize that Jesus was not white, middle-class, Republican nor Democrat. The Bible speaks to issues of abortion and homosexuality less than 15 times, but poverty and caring for the poor over 2000 times. Pastor Eugene also made the point that scripture tells us Jesus WAS involved in politics. He called us to be independent, thoughtful, intelligent, respectful and mature in our voting.

That's the key point I'm seeing in all of this: respect. I've been harping on my parents since I got back from Europe in September because they were (and may still be) undecided on the presidential race. It's so easy for me to say: "what are you thinking?" and rant about the insanity of the election, but when it comes down to it, what matters is that each American votes. And by vote, I don't mean showing up at the polls and making pretty patterns out of your chads, I mean thinking long and hard, wrestling with issues of belief, morality, community and future. I mean reading, listening, discussing and caring about the election enough to put more energy into research than is expended complaining about the situations of the past eight years.

There is no right or wrong party. There is no perfect candidate. I have close friends voting for both candidates. I love them all. We don't need to move to another country if our pick doesn't come out on top. What we need to do is be ready for change, get involved and support our president tomorrow, no matter who it is. "Change you can believe in" and "Country First" are great mottos, but let our motto now be "Whatever happens, we're in it together!"

In less than 35 hours, we will be able to move forward. It is my hope that we will do so as a united community that can learn to love despite disagreements.

Now it is time to go put my ballot in the mail.

Of the places I've laid down my [car], I think of two I regret

~Fleet Foxes ("So Long to the Headstrong")

I tell people that I have two vices: swearing and speeding.

Apparently, I need to add a third item to the list: being a complete imbecile.

Today, while working my third shift in downtown Bellevue for my new traveling barista job, I, in typical dumbass form, parked in a strip mall lot because I'm afraid of the cost of skyscraper garage parking.

Of course, a $25 parking ticket hurts worse. Much worse. This is my second in as many months. Yep. Now do you see why I need to add that third vice to the list?

So, let's do the math:
3.25 hours of work @ 10/hour = $32.50
1 parking ticket = $25.00
Gas = $3.00
Taxes = the rest (maybe more)

Perfect, just perfect. Although, on the upside, I got to overhear Financial Advisors talk all day about how manic the market is, how everyone should sell Starbucks stock, how this is the perfect time for ME to invest, how the bailout is a brilliant plan, how redistribution of wealth is unfair (easy for them to say) and other political hot topics. Intriguing. Even though this parking ticket makes me want to rip my hair out, I really like my job.

Just a puppet on a lonely string, oh who would ever want to be king?

~Coldplay (Viva la Vida)

I'm back! It's been so long since I've blogged that I'm in one of those "is it even worth writing anything?" moods. But, I'll fight through it. So much has happened in the last five months worth recording and sharing, and though it will most assuredly be out of order, it will be good to write down memories from my time at camp this summer, Europe, and thoughts from the present craziness in the world and my life.

In a somewhat turbulent time of elections and significant trouble for America, and many big (but less noticed because of our own issues at home) international happenings, I keep wondering what I will remember about 2008. My big 401K obliteration? I think I'll be able to buy some saltines when I retire. That'll be nice. The amazingly interesting and questionable turn of events in the Presidential Race the past few months and the sad but unfortunately imminent questions of how some of our country will deal with a President who is a minority (yes, I'm calling it. deal.)? Or, will I be self-centered enough to remember only that 2008 has been the most random, exciting, busy and growth-inducing year of my life thus far? Admittedly, I am old enough now that forgetting any of it should not be permissible.

I watched Charlie Wilson's War with my parents last week, and while my mom and dad couldn't look beyond the nudity and profanity to admit that it was a good movie, I really enjoyed it. Without forging into a full-on review, I'll say this rather ashamedly: I had no idea that the events portrayed in the movie (the US involvement in Afghanistan in the late 80s-90s) had occurred. Granted, I was in preschool when it all began, but I am still surprised that we did not study that relationship and how it deeply effects the history of the past eight years in high school, especially because September 11, 2001 was the second week of my senior year. This realization is also timely because I am now a graduate student again, this time to obtain my master's in teaching, and I keep thinking about the school's responsibility to arm students with the knowledge and understanding of past and present. History and politics were always difficult but interesting subjects to me - how can students realize that understanding their world is so crucial? I was hit with this again just recently when I visited two formerly communist-controlled cities: Berlin and Prague. I learned quite a bit about their history and have a thirst to understand it more fully. Would American students take more interest in and ownership of their education if their country's history was staring them in the face daily in the form of patched up buildings, memorials, political graffiti, and other reminders of what their families have endured in the last few decades?

In one of my classes this quarter, we talk about teaching styles, philosophies and theories. I know I won't fully develop mine until I am in the classroom and have some experience, but the passions I brought in for teaching have only become more strong, even as I realize how difficult it will be to feel I have creative freedom while being told exactly what to do by the district, board and parents. My biggest hope is that I can present science in a way that students will be able to make connections to the world around them, figure out things for themselves, ask questions and realize that learning is the key.

This presidential race has been quite a rollercoaster and promises to deliver surprises in the last week. Oh, how I long for next Tuesday to be over and for our country to start moving in a new direction - united, I hope! One thing is for sure, I would not take that job for anything. I admire and appreciate that there are individuals who are actually willing to take the helm in one of the least desirable times in recent history.

Change is afoot. They think so in Britain, at least.

(I took this photo in a tube station in London in September...this was everywhere!)

The World is Your Oyster

~ The Cranberries

A snapshot of my time in Berlin and Prague so far. So much to say. 700 pictures might be a start.

And Berlin is so ugly in the morning light...

~Beirut ("In the Mausoleum")

We'll see, Zach Condon, we'll just see about that.

After a three-month blog dryspell while I was working as a counselor, I'm off to Europe tomorrow until the end of the month!! I'm really excited, but very much in that mood of "okay, what am I forgetting?" and "30lb weight limit for baggage? seriously?" and "just how badly am I going to get screwed by the exchange rates?" and "i hope people in europe care less about the election in Europe than BBC would imply."

Armed with some radical new music to listen to (I love Easystreet with all my heart), hardly any clothes, four camera batteries, very hairy legs (I figure, why not?), 2 pairs of shoes and 5 GB of digital memory, I'm about to take eight plane flights and see Berlin, Prague, Venice, Stockholm and London in a mere three weeks! I'm atrophying money at an insane rate, but, these are the perks of saving and being single, so they say.

Stories and photos aplenty will fill this blog either during or after the trip...I can't wait for the randomness and weirdness to ensue!

Look out, Europe, here she comes...

take this sinking boat and point it home

~Falling Slowly (from "Once" - you should see it)

it's been a while. a LONG while. it would take days to recap what has transpired since my last post, but suffice to say, WOW. after deciding to return to SPU for my Master's in Teaching in the fall, i got a weird idea which involved forfeiting the tens of thousands of dollars i could have made all summer at my job in Bend and leaving a beautiful town early to be a camp counselor at the horse camp my brother Alan and I grew up attending.

a camp counselor, katie? isn't that a job for 19 year olds? in a word, yes. but, i went for it anyway. i figured i would just be the camp grandma...

i hadn't set foot at Cascades Camp in Yelm in 9 years when I arrived in mid june. and, having just moved from bend four days prior, my mind was reeling as i wondered what the hell i had just gotten myself into and what i had just left behind: friends, an amazing church and junior highers, a cool job, independence, and one of the most beautiful places to live in America. many things about camp have changed. many are the same. some of my anticipations were spot-on. others were painfully off.

i have just completed seven weeks here at camp. four cabins of girls have come and gone, three to go. one week of family camp, one week of kitchen duty, and one week of training have filled my other weeks. there have been wonderful highs and frustrating lows. i have cleaned bathrooms and cabins more times than i can count, eaten more chicken nuggets than i care to admit, seen more horses defacate than i wish to recall, worn dirty jeans for three weeks in a row, done a million lice checks it seems, still haven't gotten in the lake, and got bucked off of a horse when i was riding bareback on Thursday.

yet, you'll often find me with a smile on my face and a peace in my heart i have never before experienced. to be sure, i'm often exhausted, in desperate need of alone time, or craving adult conversation that will last more than five minutes. but when i came here, i asked the LORD to kick me in the butt - to teach me, challenge me and convict me about the way i will live my life from here on - and HE has been faithful to bring some serious ass-kicking in my general direction.

i started out the summer by learning some things about me -my personality, the ways i work well (and don't work well with others), what i need daily to survive, what energizes me, what brings me down, and what is important to me. "is that ALL i'm going to learn this summer, God??!" i asked two weeks ago, "can't you REALLY bring it and show up?"

it deserves a post of its own, but the nine wide-eyed, beautiful, energetic, passionate, and curious 9th graders that showed up at my door two sundays ago changed my life. God has and will continue to answer my prayers to work in and through me, and to show me what a life lived fully for Him can look like. i want it more than ever before, and that's both exciting and extremely scary. it's crazy to think that i asked Jesus to be in my life 16 years ago and i've only begun to realize what He is all about these past few years. sometimes, in the midst of several amazingly mature 19 year old 'kids" here at camp who are much closer to God that i am, i have the tendency to feel like i've been missing the proverbial boat. feelings of inadequacy and embarassment creep up.

but, i am determined to be thankful for these inspiring examples in my life, for the friends i have met, for the challenges i have faced, for the times my pride has been crushed, for the times the LORD has touched my heart with words from kids and coworkers, for the beautiful nature i am surrounded by daily, for the pure beauty of a child deciding to follow Jesus, for the conversations i have had, and for the realizations that no one but God is doing the real work here - it is my job to love, be obedient, listen and work with a humble and positive attitude while trusting He will do amazing things.

i choose my attitude, my priorities, my words and my actions every day. may i take this once sinking boat of a life and faith and point it towards the only ONE who lasts. my home. my strength. my endurance. my hope. my whole life.

oh God, hold them now

~David Crowder Band

May 2nd: what were you doing?

On the other side of the world, a cyclone hit Myanmar (Burma) with a force I still cannot fathom. Yesterday they estimated 22,500 dead and 41,000 missing. Two Million people are displaced. Today, sources say they believe the death toll will reach 100,000. One Hundred Thousand Human Beings. God cares about them and loves them just as much as you and me.


I think we, as Americans, who are still shaken by Hurricane Katrina (which killed 1,900 people), cannot begin to understand the horror of this situation. I am deeply saddened, but I know I'm nowhere near being able to grasp the suffering that is occuring and will continue to go on until Myanmar's government fully accepts international aid and the whole world comes together in this time of unbeliveable tragedy.



So, what can you do? PRAY. GIVE to the fullest extent possible, then give more. And, please, don't turn your back just because it's overwhelming or because you have no idea where Burma is - these people need our help NOW.

A few organizations to choose from:

Partners World

World Vision

Save the Children
Quest Church
World Aid in Seattle (no website)
Global Giving

Check out:
BBC
Associated Press

"Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray...You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil...spread your protection over them..." excerpts from Psalm 5