Sayonara Facebook

Well, I decided to ditch facebook. Thing was, I realized it had ceased to be fun for me and instead had become a source of guilt and shame. Guilt because it would take me forever to get back to people who contacted me. Shame, because every now and then I would get a rare extroverted streak and message or comment, only to feel mortified afterwards. (Social Anxiety in action.)

I think a lot of people feel more outgoing online because of the semi-anonymity of it. I never felt that way. I figure, if you embarrass yourself online its worse than if you do it live. In real life people quickly forget your social faux pas, and only the people present have to know that it ever happened, whereas online, your stupidity remains, available to the public for all eternity.

So that's that. What's done is done. If anyone wants to keep in touch with me it will have to be through blogging or email, or preferably, when at all possible, we can meet in real life.

On other news, Curtis and I got to see Michelle Obama speak at Camp Pendleton a couple weekends ago. Actually we had to go see her speak, Curtis was volun-told to go. Here is a picture Curtis took of her on his phone.


It is not a good picture. Clearly the phone camera focused on the wrong black woman. Ah well. We were much closer than this looks. It was kind of neat I guess to see the first lady, but showing up two hours early to get through security and then standing (there were no seats) in the hot sun with 3500 other people waiting for it to start, the country music blaring through the loudspeakers serving as the only form of entertainment, was not even close to tolerable, much less fun. Still, I had no idea there so many cheesy, patriotic country songs in existence. Indeed, they found and played two hours worth of them. You learn something new every day.

We did not learn anything new from M. Obama's actual speech.

And my final story for the day... My watch broke a few months back, and I've been reluctant to buy a new one, seeing as how money has been tight around the Helsley household-- and will be until we finally move. Fortunately, this weekend I got a happy meal which included a watch as the toy- can you believe it? And to think I was going to blow twenty bucks on one... So glad I held out. Luckily I have freakishly small wrists.




I think this will help me fit in better with the extremely young kids that I have found myself surrounded by at college.

Five Paragraphs

1. People always say San Diego is a beautiful city, but I never understood why. It seemed like a dull and brown sort of place to me. Until spring hit. We got a month straight of rain and afterwords the place just erupted with plant life. Everything turned a gorgeous green, and I've never seen more wild flowers in one place. I hate to admit it but it really is beautiful.

2. Our neighborhood is going in a bad direction lately. A couple of weeks ago, Curtis's car got broken into right outside our house. Someone smashed in the passenger window and took his Ipod. Additionally, there have always been homeless people who wander the main road near our place, but lately they have taken to visiting the dumpsters of our apartment complex. I'm thinking this was a bad time for me to lose my house key.

3. College is going ok. I am getting A's in three out of four of my classes, however, my English class is a different story. The problem is the teacher. His grading is wildly inconsistent- I've been turning in pretty solid work all semester, but the grades he's given me have ranged anywhere between a 33% and a 100%. His feedback is confusing at best, and his teaching consists of asking students what they think, and never, and I mean ever, telling us what he thinks. The only thing that I have learned from him is that you should always check a teacher out at ratemyprofessors.com before enrolling in his or her class.

4. I got my green belt in Taekwondo a week ago. Which is pretty cool, it means that for the first time since high school I've managed to stick to a Martial arts class long enough to get somewhere with it. The day class is a nice little group of adults who I actually talk to and even go out to lunch with sometimes. The class is probably the only thing I will miss about San Diego when we leave.

5. We're moving in September or October, but we still don't know where. Curtis says he will probably not be able to decide on a job until one or two months beforehand. It kind of drives me crazy not being able to plan for the move yet. On the other hand, just knowing we're moving can be liberating in a way. It's like, anything I don't like about my life right now I can tolerate, because I know it's only temporary.

Last Minute Pics

A couple times each week I walk the nine oldest kids from house 2 home from school. Since today was going to be my last time doing it, I thought I´d bring my camera.

Some of the kids were a little reluctant to have their pictures taken initially, but when I reminded them that I was leaving and told them I wanted pictures to remember them by they started posing for me left and right. It was so very sweet, and the pictures came out really well I think. These are just a few.







Walking the kids used to make me very nervous, as we had to walk down and cross a rather busy road, and the kids would act out the whole way. But finally I figured out a way to get them to behave for me and since then, this has been one of my favorite responsibilities. We just have a lot of fun talking and joking around on the way.

100 Foods From the States That I Miss

1. Pizza Hut Pizza
2. Red Baron´s Four Cheese Pizza
3. Bacon
4. String Cheese
5. Chai Lattes
6. Happy Meals
7. Bagels with Cream Cheese
8. Pasta Roni
9. Fried Mozerrella Cheese Sticks
10. Buffalo Chicken Strips
11. Swiss Cheese
12. Feta Cheese
13. Ricotta Cheese
14. Sliced American Cheese
15. Maple Ham
16. Lemon Pepper Turkey
17. Pimento Spread
18. Doritos
19. Sunchips
20. Sour Cream and Onion Chips
21. Barbeque chips
22. In N Out Burgers
23. Chipotles Tacos
24. Egg Rolls
25. Crab Rangoon
26. Egg Drop Soup
27. Cream Soda
28. Mountain Dew
29. Dr. Pepper
30. Orange Juice
31. French Onion Dip
32. Ranch Dip
33. Spinach and Artichoke Dip
34. Hint of Lime Tortilla Chips
35. Subway Subs
36. Stuffed Crazy Bread
37. Manicotti
38. Tortellini
39. Fetticini Alfredo
40. Enchiladas
41. Taco Bell´s Mexican Pizza
42. Meatloaf
43. Taquitos
44. Fresh Sandwich Bread
45. Cocktail Shrimp
46. Biscuits
47. Hamburger Helper
48. Tuna Helper
49. Cookie Dough Ice Cream
50. Slice N Bake Cookies
51. Cinnamon Rolls
52. Golden Oreos
53. Hershey´s Miniatures
54. Chocolate Cake Donuts
55. Slim Jims
56. Beef Jerkey
57. Grape Juice
58. Pretzel Rods
59. Fish Sticks
60. French Onion Soup
61. Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
62. Hot Pockets
63. Microwave Popcorn
64. Movie theater popcorn
65. White Cheddar Popcorn
66. Sour Cream
67. Crab Legs
68. Bubble Tape
69. Organic Cherry Tomatoes
70. Croutons
71. Waffles
72. French Toast
73. Berry Lucky Charms
74. Cheese Dogs
75. Girl Scout Cookies
76. Lunchables
77. Pepperoni
78. Spagetti O´s With Meatballs
79. Bloomin´ Onions
80. Huhsh Puppies
81. Root Beer
82. Baby Spinach
83. Sloppy Joes
84. Cottage Cheese
85. Mushroom Swiss Burgers
86. Stuffing
87. Brown Gravy
88. Chicken Gravy
89. Curly Fries
90. Onion Rings
91. Honey Roasted Peanuts
92. Salt Water Taffy
93. Skim Milk
94. Chex Mix
95. Frozen Mac and Cheese
96. Lean cuisines
97. Iced Tea
98. Milk Shakes
99. Tic Tacs
100. Chocolate Chips

A Momentous Life Changing Decision

I have recently made a very important decision, which is going to have repercussions- some negative and some positive- on me, and to a certain extent to the people closest to me as well, for the rest of our lives.

I have to admit, there is nothing like working with orphans in an impoverished third world country to make you re-evaluate your life, and to change your heart, mind, and body in ways you never imagined.

Of course, if there is one thing I have learned in my life, it is that making life-changing decisions is a risky thing to do during tumultuous times. Discerning the difference between a genuine call from God and a temporary emotional state is difficult to do even on the quietest days, and a wrong decision can potentially ruin your life or the lives of the people you care about.

This decision however, has been one that I knew I should make for quite some time now, and for that I feel sure that this is not simply a knee-jerk reaction, but instead a true and exciting new life path.

So, without further ado, I have decided...


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To switch from Coke to Coke Zero!!!!!
Yes it is true. I have switched to diet soda! And since it has been two weeks now, I thought it was safe to call it official.

I know you, my readers, must be reeling in shock right now, and for that I feel I must apologize and say thank you, for bearing with me during this ridiculous rollercoaster of a life that I live.



This is a photo of me with a coke zero in my hand, in case you still did not believe it. The proof is in the pudding, as they say. Although I´m not sure why it would be.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Today has seriously been one disaster after another. (Exaggeration, yes, but still.) I woke up early this morning to take a shower and head to my Spanish class. I could not take a shower because the water was out here. It came back on 5 minutes before I had to leave. I left dirty and took two buses to get to where my Spanish class is. When I got there the building was dark and empty and after waiting for 30 minutes for anyone to show up I left, Spanish-lessonless.

On the way home, I experienced my first Bolivian blockade- a political demonstration which is conducted by a group of people blocking a major road while holding signs. A police officer redirects the traffic from a block away, ensuring that no one can get close enough to actually read the signs. The bus I was on was forced to take an hour long unmarked detour which included a scenic tour of some of the poorer streets in my neighborhood here on cobblestone and dirt roads. We even got to drive backwards on a bridge with no railings.

So...When I finally got home, I discovered that while I was gone, my room had flooded somehow with stinky water from an unknown source. Well, as it turns out, the water was coming out of a pipe that has always been in my room, but I never knew what it did. (Now I know what it does- it fills my room with stinky water.) Well, some of the ladies that work here helped me figure out where the pipe led to (a sink outside) but none of us could figure out why it happened to leak, or pour rather, into my room on this particular day. (It has never happened before.) I had to move all the furniture in my room, mop up the floor and wash the rugs. I'm not sure if the room still stinks or not- I have a pretty bad cold right now and can't smell a thing.

Anyways, so just when I figure this day can't get any more troublesome, I get online and find out there is a virus on the house 2 computer. Some of you have been fortunate enough to receive infected emails from me today. (Truly Sorry.)

In conclusion, I've decided to lock myself in my room for the rest of the day. Not sure if I should risk trying to cook dinner or not.

Nope, I think not.

The pesky pipe in question which seemed harmless enough at first.

First Pictures

Well, we got a computer here at the Home where I am staying so I finally have a place where I can upload photos. Which is cool. Although I haven't really taken that many yet. But well, here's some anyway.

This is the sock tree. It does not in fact grow socks, but it is an excellent place to hang wet socks to dry.

This is one of the many, many spiders I have found in my room. These little guys are anywhere from the size of a nickel to the size of a half dollar. They're semi-creepy but like I said before, they are not nearly as bad as a tarantula. Not even close.

And these are the three youngest kids in House two. I made them homemade playdough. It was a difficult thing for me because they were watching me make it so I had to set a good example and not eat any of it.

This little guy was very shy when I first met him, but now he gets all excited when he sees me and gives me lots of hugs. He is absolutely wonderful. He has some speech delays, so I was thinking he was the one person at House 2 who spoke worse Spanish than I, but he is getting better every day so I am not sure how long I will be able to claim that.

And... that's all for now. Thanks for reading.