responses

I am so excited that you have found some musical outlets, Katie. Aside from my random singing to myself and being part of a church choir for our church's 100th anniversary mass, I have not really been involved in music this year. A friend here has been looking a little into joining a choir at Indiana State that is open to the public. If they go by the semester and if it is free (or inexpensive), I might try to tag along to that. Otherwise, I secretly really want to try out for the community theater in the spring. They are doing a musical murder mystery. How fun would that be?! It looks like the cast is only 10 people and I have not acted in a long time, plus I have no idea how competitive the community theater is here, but I might try out anyway. We shall see.

Yay for you and your friends wanting to change the world Margaret!! I understand feeling like our ideas might be too simplistic or too idealistic (maybe mine are sometimes), but think about where realistic and complex ideas have got us... I think the world needs way more people like you-- wanting change, believing in change, bringing about change. There are plenty of people who think that change isn't possible. So, please keep being a dreamer, a challenger, a hope-giver! I'll get off my soapbox now, but I did want to encourage you. Your post reminds me of a speaker I heard this weekend. He talked about the need to move from rational people to faith filled people. I heard him at the School of the Americas/Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation protest this weekend (I finally got to go!). It was cool to see the 20-25,000 people who showed up to say that they wanted to see the US make a positive change. There was such a diversity of people there: nuns, hippies, anarchists, priests, lay people, young people, old people... all coming together to sing and protest and learn more. The weekend was definitely different than I expected, but it was good.

Teenie-- hello friend! I have not forgotten about you. I hope you are knocking the socks off of those law books (because they have feet, of course) and law profs etc. I'm sure you are doing wonderfully! I look forward to more crazy law school stories as they come!

I will be home this weekend from Wed night to Sun afternoon. We have some family coming in from Georgia (Aunt Patsy and Uncle Ronnie- Marg knows them!) and also at least one, if not both, of my volunteer friends are going to be coming in with me (since their homes are too far away for a long weekend). Therefore (I feel like I am doing a proof, but I do realize that I did not set up the first part correctly. My proof would not pass the Highstone beautiful and elegant test), the weekend will be a little hectic for me. Still, it would be nice to see you all!! Maybe we could do turkey trot (at walk pace so we can talk and so no one could notice how out of shape I may or may not be). Or maybe we could find a time for breakfast or something. Otherwise, I will definitely have to see you all for Christmas...

my love to you all,
Laura

I can't wait for Thanksgiving

I miss playing Eric Whitacre. I am definitely taking advantage of all that I have at Purdue this year. My favorite class is probably a class called "OIL!". I've learned an incredible amount about politics of oil and also some about how oil is formed. Taking classes outside of your major is the best idea ever. I am also applying to graduate schools to study environmental toxicology. It appears that the end of college isn't in the near future.

I spend a lot of time these days simply enjoying the company of a few close friends. This weekend we took a road trip to Minnesota and debated current energy policies and if there was anything we could do to change them. The mindset of college kids is that we can change the world and that a few simple changes could make a huge difference. I'm sure that in the real world it's not that simple at all. It gives us something to talk about though.

Frisbee has been at a minimum this semester because I sprained my ankle really badly at the beginning of Oct. I haven't really been able to run on it yet although I've been trying. It's hard to sit and watch all of your friends continue to be active and play a sport that you love. I would definitely be up for a slow jog or maybe a walk through the Turkey Trot. I'll be heading home on Wednesday of next week and I'll be around until Sunday. I would love to see you kids.

warmly

Hi ladies,

I am ever enchanted by all of your words. Laura, I can't believe you made me get that Mikado song stuck in my head. Ahhh the forced laughter. Remember how great that old choir room was? Ah...windows.

In any case, I just wanted say hi to everyone. After three months here I think I'm starting to settle in a bit more. I'm actually playing in a band - Margaret, I'm sure you would really appreciate our director - he reminds me in many ways of Mr. P and we're playing things like "October", "Festive Prelude" and "Variants on a Medieval Tune". We're also doing a band arrangement of "Magnum Mysterium", which I remember fondly from choir. It's odd, being part of these ensembles - (I'm in two - the adult band comprised mostly of elderly men and/or professional jazz and dixieland musicians, and Dr. Taylor's college band, which was devastated by Katrina and is comprised of mostly sarcastic and ambivalent college folk) - it makes me think of High School so much. I guess it's nice to have something feel familiar in an environment that has been otherwise completely foreign.

I hope everyone is doing well - Margaret I envy you for still having school. I miss college so much. Is anyone going to be in town for Thanksgiving? Maybe willing to run the Turkey Trot? Let me know!

Missing the North and all you beautiful people hailing from there,

KS

randomness

Hi girls!

Happy almost Halloween. Can you believe it is already almost November?

We are finally having fall weather here-- frost the last few days. That took out the eggplant and probably the green peppers, but I do not mourn their loss. They had a great run, a long run because of the warm weather we had so late into the season. Frost can be so beautiful, and it is fun to see it remain longer in the shadows than where sun warms the ground. Still, I'm not super crazy about the coolness-- luckily I get to work inside more now.

A random little thing-- I started singing Three Little Maids from the Mikado today (Three little maids from school are we, pert as a school girl well can be, filled to the brim with girlish glee-ee three little maids from school...), accompaniment and all. Do you remember those days in Choreliers? With the awful forced laughing in the middle of the song? Ah, good times. And so I thought of you all and hope you are having your own good times as well. I miss you all but carry you in my heart!

Short and brief for a change,
Laura

farmer jane

I just have to say that I learned to drive a tractor today! I felt very farmgirl-ish and I liked it!

coolness

That's so cool Margaret-- whose speech was it (which politician)?

Another cool thing: an article about the Pope and his support of sustainability as a "moral obligation". Yay Pope! A co-worker sent the article to me; you can read it below...

"Pope to make climate action a moral obligation"
Independent Online Edition
Europe 09/22/2007 11:32 AM
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2987811.ece
Pope to make climate action a moral obligation
By James Macintyre
Published: 22 September 2007
The Pope is expected to use his first address to the United Nations
to deliver a powerful warning over climate change in a move to adopt
protection of the environment as a "moral" cause for the Catholic
Church and its billion-strong following.
The New York speech is likely to contain an appeal for sustainable
development, and it will follow an unprecedented Encyclical (a
message to the wider church) on the subject, senior diplomatic
sources have told The Independent. It will act as the centrepiece of
a US visit scheduled for next April the first by Benedict XVI, and
the first Papal visit since 1999 and round off an environmental
blitz at the Vatican, in which the Pope has personally led moves to
emphasise green issues based on the belief that climate change is
affecting the poorest people on the planet, and the principle that
believers have a duty to "protect creation".
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, head of the Catholic Church in the
UK, said last night: "This is a crucial issue both today and for all
future generations. We are the stewards of creation and we need to
take that responsibility seriously and co-operate to care for the
created world."
A Papal tour of America will be particularly potent during election
year in the US, where Catholics number around 73 million, and is
being discussed in Rome after Pope Benedict accepted an invitation
from the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon. For the Pope to take his
climate-change message to the high-profile UN platform will be
considered hugely influential to the fifth of the world's population
who are Catholics, and will act as a rallying call for action in
Africa and Asia, which have seen a rise in Catholics in recent years.
News of the speech comes as Vatican City has become the first fully
carbon-neutral state in the world, after announcing it is offsetting
its carbon footprint by planting a forest in Hungary and installing
solar panels on the roof of St Peter's Basilica in Rome.
It also follows a series of interventions by the Pope on the
environment. On 2 September he told a 300,000 youth audience: "Before
it is too late, it is necessary to make courageous decisions that
reflect knowing how to re-create a strong alliance between man and
the earth." On 7 September, he said there was a "pressing need for
science and religion to work together to safeguard the gifts of
nature and to promote responsible stewardship".
UK diplomats have held a number of behind-the-scenes meetings with
Vatican officials on the environment. A Whitehall source said last
night: "Benedict is the spiritual head of 19 per cent of the world's
population and a highly respected figure. If the Pope's words are
taken on board by his community that is one big constituency for
change and could well turn the tide on climate change and
environmental degradation."
© 2007 Independent News and Media Limited

Hey guys, I don't know how up to date you are with our presidential candidates but I thought I'd pass along a blurb about Mark Robbins that I stumbled across (actually Laura Bringer heard this speech and told me about it). It comes from the last two paragraphs of his "Speech on Iraq". Crazy how small the world actually is.

"In closing, I'd like to bring to your attention the gallantry and patriotism of
one American who served with distinction in Iraq, a Navy SEAL, who refuses to
quit his mission and let the country he loves so well suffer the terrible harm
our defeat would entail. A few days ago, Petty Officer First Class Mark Robbins'
unit was ambushed outside Baghdad. During the ensuing firefight, he spotted an
insurgent with an RPG, and immediately stepped out from cover and exposed
himself to enemy fire to take out the terrorist before he could fire. He saved
the lives of his comrades, but was gravely wounded as he did so. He was shot in
the eye by another insurgent with an AK-47. The bullet exited the back of his
head about three inches behind his ear. He was initially knocked unconscious but
came to, continued to fight and then, despite the severity of his wound, walked
to the evacuation helicopter. He was eventually taken to Landstuhl military
hospital in Germany. As is the custom of Navy SEALs, he was accompanied by one
of his comrades, Petty Officer Second class McLean Swink.

"On our way home from Iraq, our delegation stopped in Germany for refueling and
crew rest, and I had the privilege of visiting some of our wounded at Landstuhl.
I briefly stopped in Mark Robbins' room, but he was sedated and unable then to
communicate. I spent a few moments there, and talked to his buddy, before I went
to visit other wounded soldiers. Not too long after I had left Mark's room,
Petty Officer Swink found me and told me Mark was awake and had asked to see me.
So I returned. When I entered his room and approached his bedside, he struggled
with great difficulty to sit up, stiffened his body as if he were trying to
stand at attention, grasped my hand tightly and wouldn't let go. And then he
whispered to me not to worry, 'We can win this fight. We can win this fight.'
Mark, as another person observed, looks like the 'toughest kid on the high
school football team.' He is tough, and brave, and very young. But more than
that, he's an inspiration to those who are only called upon to subordinate a
temporary political advantage to the security of our good and great nation.
Petty Officer Mark Robbins, an American hero, believes we can still win this
fight. I'll take his word for it, and accept my responsibility to help the cause
he sacrificed so much to defend. Thank you."

hi ho, hi ho, its procrastinating I go!

You would think that procrastination ends when school ends. You would be wrong.

I'm supposed to be researching the Farm Bill so that the Sisters can send letters/phone calls to their senators. I've done some research, but am not done yet. I enjoy learning about the farm bill. But somehow I do not feel motivated to finish this project. And its stressing me out. And the FB will be on the senate floor soon...

That's ok. In 10 minutes we will have a birthday party with brownies and ice cream for one of the sisters on my floor. I'll deal with my procrastination after that. haha.

I'm getting better at being with the alpacas. I'm slightly less paranoid. Plus, I think they like me alright. Little Simone is very social and she'll run up to me sometimes, to sniff my boots. I'd like to think she knows who I am. Regardless, she lets me pet her. She is so soft-- that baby alpaca fiber is great. She is my favorite baby so far (I probably shouldn't have favorites though). We now have 6 babies born, with maybe 4 or 6 more on the way by the end of October. I got to watch one birth. It was pretty cool. The mom was so calm. I don't think I'll be like an alpaca if I am ever in labor. One of our alpacas is about 16 years old, so she's probably had 12 or 14 babies! Crazy, huh?

Mags-- about your quest to eat less meat, good for you! One vegetarian cookbook that came recommended to me was Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison. I have not tried it, but apparently it is very good and some of the recipes even suggest how to add meat to them, if you were in a meat mood. If I every try it out, I'll keep you posted. Oh, and if you ever are feeling lonely and want a visitor, or a visit destination, let me know and we can plan something!

Teena-- I'm glad to hear the law school is going well so far and that you are adjusting. You always have such funny stories!

Katie-- I hope you are doing well still!

Hi Chris Conrad, hope school is going well!

That's all for me!

love you all,
Laura

Alfalfa, Bastardy, and the College of Law!

Hi Ladies!!

First of all, my apologies for taking so long to actually post something! It's been pretty crazy and it has taken me what seems like forever to settle in here at NIU. I like it here so far. DeKalb has the perfect quality of being close enough to home where it's a quick drive and easy to get home but its not so close that I let family stuff get in the way of school. Plus, it's so much like Champaign that I feel so at home!

I'm living in these brand new apartments that are actually owned and run by the University. They are pretty much located in the midst of vast alfalfa fields and I do have a great view of the sunset every evening... quite pretty! The downside however, is that brand new means not really done.... the construction has not been completed as of yet. We had to move in later than anticipated which meant placement in temporary freshman housing for a week or so (ick!) and they're still working on paving the parking lots, finishing the community center, landscaping...etc, etc. So it's been really tough settling in and it'll be a pain in the butt for quite some time but I'm hoping it'll be worth it in the end.

The school aspect is going really well though! (So far, at least!) It's definitely a lot of work and intimidating at times for sure. The one week orientation pretty much consisted of a bunch of different people telling us that the next three years would consist of us being "eviscerated." So far no blood has been shed, unless you count the bloodshed in the murder cases I get to read of course. I did cry in my contracts class today though. But, it was from laughing so hard. We were going over this case, Fiege v. Boehm, that's referred to as "the bastardy case." (Yes, it's actually a word.) It's from the fifties and basically this woman got pregnant and she got the man to sign a contract to pay child support in exchange for her promise to not file bastardy proceedings (it was a crime at the time). Then he stopped paying and she went to court. He got a blood test and it turns out he's not the daddy. She still wants him to pay, he says the contract is invalid and also states that he never actually slept with her. Apparently, he only agreed to pay her because he didn't want his mom to find out about the whole thing. Then there's the notion that the contract could not have been in good faith if they had never slept together. Anyway the funny part was really my professor's comments. I'm telling you girls, you haven't lived until you've heard your professor, an old white man, say, "This was the 50's. Maybe she thought you could get preggers from what we used to call heavy petting. I'm telling you the demise of it is what has led to the demise of drive-ins all across the country." I don't know... maybe it's one of things where you had to be there but let me tell you, there were definitely tears involved.

Let's see, what else...? I have an awesome roommate, Nicole. She's from California but her parents are both originally from the Chicago area and they're NIU alums. She's doing her Master of Fine Arts in Acting and it's pretty fun to listen to her and her partner do their exercises.

I can't think of much else and I've already written a thousand pages so I'll stop. I hope all you are doing really well and I hope to hear from you soon!!!

Love ya =)

~Teena

Purdue

Purdue is so-so. Classes are going really well and I love my research but my good friends are minimal. It works out because I'm learning to be independent and enjoy alone time. The best part about being a 5th year senior is that I've gotten over school and I don't let it stress me out. It's fun to realize that - especially when I'm living with a sophomore. It's also nice to know what's going on in my lab. We have grad students that are rotating through different labs and I like having more of a clue about what's going on than they do...some of them are seriously idiots and the post doc and I spend time contemplating how they even managed to get into grad school in the first place. I'm working on looking into graduate schools. Right now my list includes Cornell, Duke, University of Washington, Minnesota, and Case Western. We'll see how it looks in a couple of weeks when I start to fill out applications.

I have also minimized my meat consumption. All summer I ate vegetarian dinners and I have let it carry over to how I eat during the school year. I looked at the cookbooks at Borders last week, but couldn't decide on one. I'm sure that pretty soon I'll be tired of falafel - my new staple. If you find any really great recipes, Laura, you should send them my way.

I'm glad to hear that both of you are doing well. It sounds like all of your newest adventures are both exciting and thought provoking. I'm sure that you treat the alpacas just fine.

With much love,
Margaret

i'm a fruit-tarian like that crazy woman in Notting Hill

just kidding!

But I am trying to be a vegetarian. Or eat local meat. I feel like it's more environmentally sustainable that way, and this year I am at a place where there are a lot of resources and other people with similar views.

So, I'm going to try not to eat meat as much as possible. I caved for a hamburger, I admit it. But it was a pretty good one. But I'm going to try again.

I got some books today on being a vegetarian, because I want to do it in a healthy way (aka, not just eat lots of carbs and a few vegetables here and there). I have little motivation to cook, since we have a cafeteria here and that's just easier, but I think I will try to do a little bit of cooking, so I can make sure to be eating healthy-- doing the right combinations to get the correct vitamins and protein and such.

In one of the books, the author used the phrase "gastronomically sensational," as in: "A good vegetarian diet meets all today's requirements: it's nutritionally sound, both quick to prepare and easy to follow, and gastronomically sensational" (The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook 9). I really enjoyed that sentence :)

On a totally different, but somewhat connected note, I read a different sentence today that I did not enjoy. It was on our webpage. It had poor (as in, a lack of) subject/pronoun agreement. Two sentences later was an incomplete sentence. I stopped reading.

Enough rambling from this girl. I must go because I need to call my sister and because my computer is being funny and I'm worried it might have a contagious worm again and I want to get offline before I spread any potential virus or sickness to the rest of the computers on our system.

But in a nutshell, I am doing well. Still liking my work, though I am with the alpacas more now and they are causing me a little anxiety because they are animals and I'm afraid I will make a mistake that will cause harm to them (whereas if I make a mistake in the garden, it feels like less of a big deal). But hopefully over time I will get more comfortable and confident with what I do. Plus, I work with 1 to 2 other people, so they can answer my questions and calm my nervousness. That's good. And it is an exciting time, as we have baby alpacas (crias) coming. They are sweet and very soft!

Hope you all are well too!!

laura

Southern Comfort

Hi Ladies,

After a few weeks of craziness, I finally can take a minute to sit down and tell "ya'll" about my Southern adventure. I've been really busy with work already, so I apologize for the delay. I love reading about what you've been up to!

I moved down here the first weekend in August. It was something of a nutty trip down - my parents wanted to stop in Memphis, so we visited Graceland (I never loved Elvis so much!!), and I had some of the best BBQ of my life. We walked down Beale St. and heard some great music. It was a really odd little city. It felt like I was on a Mock Trial trip or some bizarre high-stress vacation because everything felt so rushed and foreign.

After one night in Memphis, we made it down here to New Orleans. The drive in was amazing - there's a gigantic bridge over Lake Pontchartrain leading into the city - the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway - it's the longest bridge in the U.S. and it's somewhat terrifying. We drove in over all the swampland, a landscape littered with little swamp boat-houses that looked like they were part of a movie set. As we got closer to the city, we started to see all the mess from Katrina. It's unbelieveable what that did to this city. Everyone here still talks about it like it just happened yesterday (this week marks the 2-year anniversary, so it's very much on everyone's mind). About a week ago I had to go down to the clerk's office in the city to pick up a copy of an old complaint. When I was checking out at the register to pay for copying the document, the lady behind the counter was talking about Katrina.

You never know what will happen, she says, I never that that the 30 years I spent making my life would end up like this. Now I've got my grandchildren living with me in a trailer and we still don't have a house.

She was a black woman - race relations are unbelievable here - and she went on to say that that morning she saw a white man begging for money at the side of the highway. A white man, she says, just think anything can happen to anybody.

She got tears in her eyes as she talked about her grandchildren and her deceased son. It was overwhelming.

I'm actually learning a lot about Katrina not only because her effects are felt everywhere, but also because we have a huge Katrina-levee break case we're litigating. It's unbelievable, this legal system of ours. My job is keeping me really busy. I've developed a website for one of our cases - you can see it at www.toxicfematrailers.org - we're working on a pro bono formaldehyde sickness case.

There are so many other things to say, but I have to cut it short now. I'll say more later - I hope everything is going well with you girls! I smile too whenever I think of you.

I hope your families were ok after the storms this past week in the Midwest. Did you guys get any water or damage? Keep safe and healthy and take care.

Hasta,
K

living la vida loca is an example of spanglish

yum-o
I think I liked the bird pepper the best. When did you have guinea pig?
This week I started my work in Indiana (after a week of orientation). I've been working in a garden the past few days-- today we harvested for a farmers' market and I got to pull carrots and see potatos be dug up and cut some leafy things and pick rotten tomatos (well, that is to compost (not to sell of course) so that the rotten tomatos don't attract bugs).
I haven't gotten to work much with the alpacas, but they are darn cute. You all should come visit sometime (I guess Margaret is a little closer) and you can see them. I think you would like it here.
The nuns are pretty cool. they are these cool women of faith and action. Plus, they are breaking some of my silly stereotypes of nuns-- for example, we probably have more beer in our kitchenette (in our wing of the building) than I've ever had in my frig in college (all 4 years combined).
I'm still getting used to having extra time and being in a new place. The two other girls seem quite nice and we get along really well, but this year will still be strange.
That's all for now. I hope all is well as people are moving onto new things (near school years, new cities, new apartments). Keep me posted as you have time, loves!
I miss you all and smile when I think of you!

In case anyone wanted to see what a guinea pig looks like just before you eat it...

Laura - I loved the poem
Katie - I hope that you have a safe move to New Orleans this weekend.

I have decided to go to Colorado for a couple of days this week so maybe something cool will happen there. I will also be adding teena to our blog so we will have more people writing and keeping us company in the years to come. That's it for today, I hope that everyone has enjoyed their summer thus far and I wish us luck to come for the following year.

Love, Margaret

be proud of me!

Hey chicas--

Are you proud of me? I joined our blog today. And I'm posting. I'm slowing creeping into the modern world, I suppose. And I'm giving you something to read, Katie.

I do not have a good nickname, so I had to go with perti-- in case any other Laura's join, which would have gotten confusing had I used the name Laura.

A poem for you:

roses are red
violets are blue
I like my friends
especially you two!

Haha. I realize that this post is a little pathetic, but it will get better when I have more things about which to write!

Enjoy the lovely weather. Peace!

Hello ladies,

I'm so glad we're going to be making this space for ourselves in the digital world. I really liked seeing both of you on Friday - it was quite the welcome diversion from my previously uneventful summertime. This week should be really busy for me - I'm going to be flying down to New Orleans to find a place to live...yikes. I'm rather new to this blogging thing, so I think I'll leave this post in its currently short state.

Oh one more thing... "bones"? I'm sure there's a wonderful story behind that, Margaret. The greatest nickname I ever acquired in college was "tripZ". Nothing nearly as catchy as bones, though :) I'll let ya'll know what NOLA is like - My only hope is that the bugs down there aren't too dreadfully big.

oh, and in my posts will always show up as from bones, it's what my friends at school have been calling me lately in case you were wondering.

here we go

off to the real world. this is our blog. you can feel free to mess around with the settings. for a quick link you can go to outofelmhurst.blogspot.com. in order to invite people to join go to customize, settings, permissions, add author. also, we can be friends on gmail so that every time you log in you can be reminded about people that you haven't contacted in awhile. thanks for hanging out tonight, i had a blast.