new blog

My Madagascar travel blog can be found at: http://azafady.wordpress.com

Give me a break!!!

So, Hillary Clinton lent herself money as it became clear that her race to secure the nomination needed a boost. Now, she's boo hooing and getting Obama to ask donors to pay this off for her. Seriously??? When the unemployment rate in America is higher than it's been in years, (8% in MI?) and is completely loaded even taking into account the loss of her 10 million??? She has the audacity to ask other people to pay her debt off for her??? I have 22 grand in education loans that I'm not excited about...but I'm not effing expecting somebody to pay it off for me!
Donors who pay off Clinton's 'debt' should be giving their money to help poor people, fight hunger, or at least help the guy who's actually running for president if they must spend it politically. In my humble opinion, "Hillary, quit your whining, you rich bitch!"

i do not heart children

why is it that children are no longer reprimanded for being noisy and disruptive in public? at the coffee shop this morning there have been 2 different sets of unruly children. apparently, when people become parents they are either so enamored with their offspring or so tired of dealing with them, that they assume that the shrieks coming from said rugrats are cute to the whole world. guess what? they are not. people often say that they derive unending joy from the presence of children - i think that those who say this are just making excuses, trying to make their newfound miserable child-centered existence seem tolerable. i really do not understand. i can only hope that if i ever have the misfortune of becoming a parent, that i will not become infected with this blindness to the real world, who doesn't want to hear and see children wreaking havoc everywhere they go.

ha!

the new recommended chancellor of UW looks oddly like Delores Umbridge from Harry Potter...

what to do!?!?

so, my internship in madagascar will happen. it will start at the beginning of august, and it will cost between 2000 and 2500 to get there. i'll be doing various interesting things, (including fieldwork) and on the 'contract' of sorts that's been written up, i must bring: a laptop computer, a digital camera, and a tent and sleeping bag! it will be great. but, the duration will be either 4 or 6 months. so:

Pros to 6 month internship:
* I get back February 1st, having missed most of winter.
* I can't defend my thesis till the end of that semester anyway, so what's the rush?
* I get experience in 2 or 3 cities (as well with staff in those cities) instead of 1
* The more contacts I make, the more likely it is that one of them will be a networking connection for me to find a real job upon my return.
* Once I get there, it's cheap, so might as well stay another 2 months to get my money's worth.
* The longer I'm there, the more I can see and learn.

Cons to 6 month internship:
* missing Patrick another 2 months
* possibly missing out on money I could earn if I'd be able to get a job in the kzoo area.
* missing Christmas
* spending another 500-700 dollars
* not having enough time to finish theis? (doubtful)
* 2 months less of hardcore Ironman training

So
comments?

Sometimes I feel sort of weirdly alone, like there are certain things about me that people just don't 'get'. I suppose it's just been a longish week of too much winter...

election fun

86% Dennis Kucinich
85% Mike Gravel
83% John Edwards
82% Joe Biden
79% Barack Obama
77% Chris Dodd
75% Hillary Clinton
68% Bill Richardson
38% Rudy Giuliani
29% Ron Paul
29% John McCain
23% Mitt Romney
20% Tom Tancredo
18% Mike Huckabee
10% Fred Thompson

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

project ironman

so now that break is over, i'm focusing on exercise and good health. no alcohol until at least the end of april (maybe a fruity cocktail in hawaii though...) lots of veggies, less carbs and sugar. as part of my plan to do Madison Ironman 2009, i have registered for the Nashville Marathon at the end of April. Also in the plan for spring/early summer is a century bike ride with my dad. we're looking at one in early june that is called the "horribly hilly hundred". my dad described it as having just as much climbing as most of the bike rides out west. it's in WI, and there's a 100k or a 200k. I'm aiming for the 200k, which is 12 miles longer than the bike portion of the ironman. swimming will be my cross training, so i'll hopefully just gradually get better at that. i'm motivated, and excited. hopefully school will allow for all this!

omg, make it end!

so, the last week or so i haven't done much schoolwork after working so hard on my french stuff. i'm currently working on the last thing i have to do for my first semester of grad school: a lit review on ecotourism. i'm reading like 10 articles and writing on them. most of the articles were published in the same book. the articles are interesting, but i just hate writing. i've got 7.5 pages done, and i'm aiming for 12, but i'm only on source 5 of 10. i am tired and cranky. also, the "holiday party" at work tomorrow evening is really just a meeting, so i'm not bringing lasagna like i was planning. i'll probably have to spend the afternoon finishing my paper tomorrow anyway. i also need to pack for being gone for 2.5 weeks, buy kitty litter, clean my apt, and do 2 loads of laundry. did i mention i've been at the library since 10 AM and am probably not leaving till 10 PM? (except for my lunch break around 2)

i just really want someone to give me a backrub, make me some tea, and finish this paper for me.

winter studs and other non sequitors

i got my studded tires in the mail today, thanks to tone! they are now on, and for the short while that i rode on them they seem to make a huge difference. bring on the "winterey mix", biaches!

a regular at work noticed my bike outside and asked if it was mine. when i replied in the affirmative, he said i must be quite the "hearty gal" to ride in the winter.

now that oprah's out there for obama he's bound to get the nomination. hell, maybe she should be his running mate.

i think scherzo is growing an extra claw.