Quoth the Raven

A reason to celebrate

The last four weeks have been quite the challenge.

• I started part time college 2 nights per week.
• I started seeing a personal trainer once a week to achieve my New Years resolution of losing weight and commiting to a healthy lifestyle.

All is going well with my healthy lifestyle and I am getting to the gym 5 days per week, and have since lost 9 pounds since January 1.

I also had my first Midterm exam last tuesday and on Thursday the results were in. I thought that I would do well as I had committed many hours to study, and sacrificed much in the way of a social life. But self doubt has a way of sneaking in and trying to cause much anxiety, which was the case in the 2 days I endured while anticipating the results. Well, the results are in and I am feeling quite good.

I scored 39/40 or 97.5%

Congratulations to me!

'The Beekeeper' Tori Amos

This is the title track 'Sleeping with Butterflies' of the latest Tori Amos cd, 'the Beekeeper'. In stores February 22.

Tori is one of those unique musicians that we rarely find in these days of 'pop' consumerism. There appears to have been a rise in the 'artist' (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) making it big with plenty of thanks to a great marketing team, numerous props, plenty of make-up and just the right clothing....it is all about the clothing, right....but isn't it supposed to be about the music? The word 'musician' actually has the word music in it? How perceptive of me, and how very strange that most of todays artist are more about the money, and less about the music?

Tori Amos is definitely in a league of her own! She is a genius in her own right, and when her fingers touch those piano keys a certain kind of magic takes place.

I was fortunate enough to be able to see her a couple of years ago here in Seattle, WA and the experience was unforgettable! Her music literally moves you.

How do I love thee?

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

I stumbled upon this poem after watching the dvd 'Shadowlands'; a movie about the life of C.S.Lewis, and felt that it portrayed the love that Lewis shared with his wife beautifully.

Here was a man who devoted his life to the pursuit of knowledge, to attaining wisdom, who would eventually meet a woman that would change him, would challenge him, would cause him to step out of his own comfort zone, and in return he would experience a depth of love that he had only ever knew from the numerous books that lined his shelves. It was an absolutely beautiful movie about a man that I have always greatly admired. A must see for all you romantics.

Behind the Veil

I recently my first volunteer shift with the Seattle Police Departments Domestic Violence Victim Support Team (VST). I must say it was an interesting day?

I have been involved with the program for just over 12 months, which consists of doing an eight week training academy and attending monthly training meetings. It is an intense but rewarding program, both for the volunteers who devote their time, and for the victims of Domestic Violence.

Just recently I have looked inside myself to try to find out what it is within me that causes me to volunteer my time to what could, at times, be a horrible volunteer position. I have not found the answer to that question? But it may have something to do with the fact that I have been a victim of domestic violence, or that I have been a victim of someone else's domestic violence situation, or that I just want to help the people in the community that I live in, or that I love the action involved in this very hands on volunteer role.

I am guessing it is all of the above. I have said it before and will say it again, Dometic Violence is horrific. It can be defined as one person using manipulation and/or force to control another person. When children are involved it is even more devastating. So if there is something, anything that I can do in order to help a person to break the cycle of violence I will do it!

As an outsider it is very easy to say to the victim 'just leave', but not always so easy to do. There are many reasons that cause a person to stay in a relationship with an offender. Insecurity, financial needs, fear....mostly fear of the outcome as was noted in the David Brame situation. His wife finally found the courage to leave him, only to be murdered shortly after. This happens more often than we would like to admit. I think the only good thing that came from the Brame case was that the community became aware of the extent of domestic violence in the community. A reality that most people don't want to know/think about. Unfortunately, there is a high percent of domestic violence victims in our community, and the numbers are growing every year.

The VST program was formed as a way to give greater support to the victims, their children and even their pets during the weekend period, when support was seriously lacking. It is our job to meet with the victim/s after the police have secured the scene and hopefully, apprehended the perpetrator. We will transport the victim to a shelter, to the hospital or even to a relatives, anywhere that they may feel safe. We can supply the necessary resources to enable the victim to get through the weekend. During the week follow up calls are made to make sure the victim is ok.

My day began at 9am with our monthly VST meeting, this month we participated in a training seminar on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. It was disturbing yet really informative! I applaud those people who are able to work with adult and children victims of sexual assault on a daily basis.

I was working the 2nd watch which is from 11am-7pm. I am still waiting for my background to be cleared so I was doing a shadow shift with 2 other volunteers, which was fine with me as it gave me a chance to learn the ropes. I must say that there is a hell of alot of stuff to learn! There are reports to write, follow up calls to make aswell as basically waiting by the radio for any d.v. calls to be reported.

Well I did get to meet my first victim of domestic violence and for confidentiality reasons I cannot discuss the details of the case. Well I realised that I can do this job but you have to keep a level of detachment. At times I can be quite the person of empathy - not often, but it does happen. So at first the natural response is to feel what the victim is going through and feel sorry for her/him. Well I had to pull myself together and admit that feeling sorry, or even wanting to cry with someone who is hurting is not really going to help matters. It was then that I managed to get a grip and figure out how I can help this person in the short time that we have together.

The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

The Bad Beginning: Book the First (A Series of Unfortunate Events)

A few months ago I picked up this book while browsing through my local bookstore. I know it is a book for children, and about children, but I initially bought it to add to my collection; if you haven't read my blog devoted to rare book collecting then you may not know that my hobby is collecting rare books, first editions are preferred, but at times out of my price range, I also collect contempory authors and childrens books.

Sometimes you can judge a book by it's cover? I saw this book and felt compelled to pick it up...after looking over the cover I took a peak inside and adored the illustrations. I turned the first page, and fell in love with the authors particular style of writing...and his introduction

"Dear Reader,

I'm sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. From the very first page of this book when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on through the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. One might say they are magnets for misfortune.

In this short book alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast.

It is my sad duty to write down these unpleasant tales, but there is nothing stopping you from putting this book down at once and reading something happy, if you prefer that sort of thing.

With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket

I have just finished the third book and still have a few to go; the eleventh book in the series has just been released. I love the storylines, they are also great books to read while studying, or taking a break from life.

What can I say? The books are great as I can read them and actually turn of my brain! And maybe just one day, I will be able to share them with my children?

Lets look at some Australian exports

Well I desperately had to make some time to add another post. I, seriously could not go another day looking at Mister Creepy from the previous post. Every time I opened my blog there he was looking back at me....ooooh so gross!

You may have seen this guy around, gazing down at you from a Times Square billboard, or in any number of magazines. Let me introduce you to Calvin Klein model Travis Fimmel; also an Australian.

Travis is a humble lad, handpicked from a farm just outside Echuca, Victoria. When asked to do the Calvin Klein underwear ad he responded with distaste ""No way mate, I'm not wearing jocks." Yes, I always said good things come out of Australia. So here is his bio...

Name: Travis Fimmel aka Travis
Nickname: Rangi
Date of Birth: July 15, 1979
Birth Place: 40km outside Echuca, Victoria, Australia
Star sign: Cancer
Height: 6'0" (183 cm)
Suit: 40R
Shirt: 15 1/2-33
Waist: 32
Inseam: 33
Shoe: 10
Hair: Dark Blond
Eyes: Blue-green
Hobbies: Snow skiing, footy, guitar, motorcycles
Residence: Los Angeles
Parents: Chris, a cattle farmer, and Jennie, a nurse
Education: Attended RMIT University in Melbourne
Agency: New York Model Management

Moral of this story: Don't accept drinks from the Property Manager

OR

'If viewing a rental property, get suspicious if the Property Manager answers the door wearing only a robe and then offers you a drink!'

OR

'What does a serial rapist look like?' Answer: Anybody

While at work the other day one of the Architects wandered over to my desk to have a little chit chat, actually, he wanted to share some the latest gossip?

So it appears that a friend of his; who he went to college with, and who he would meet up with every couple of years at school reunions, was recently suspected of rape. It might be a little less disturbing if he was only accused of raping one woman, but at the moment he is suspected of raping 62* women. Yes people, we obviously have a serial rapist in our midst.

So here is the article, and the lovely photo of our not so decent local, Arlin Jordin...yes, he is a local, maybe not so local to us here in Seattle but still close enough, he is from Spokane, Washington.

He did tell all his friends that he owned property, but he was a Property Manager, just slightly different. He would invite the women over to sign the leasing agreement, and normally greet them in his robe. (This does seem odd to me as I would think twice about entering an establishment with a guy only dressed in his robe. Of course, I am slightly paranoid where as most of his victims were probably really nice trusting women. Thinking about the robe scenario just brings back horrid images for me as I do recall seeing a guy in a robe when I was a 12yr old girl. Any time I walked home from school with one of my friends she would want to pop in to visit her "uncle" (not really her Uncle he was just a good friend of the family - this alone would concern me now with what I know now about predators and the grooming process. So I remember vividly popping in to see 'Uncle' and he was in a white robe. Even then as a naive 12yr old I felt really uncomfortable. We were sitting down at the coffee table playing a board game and I noticed that he was naked under the robe. Actually, the more I think about it the more freaked out I become, I managed to convince my friend that I had to get home and we left). Anyway, enough about me back to the current sexual predator - he would then offer the victims some food and a (spiked) drink, and then he would sexually assault them.

At the moment they have had complaints from women who managed to get away, as far back as 1992 but I doubt that they are the only victims. Someone like this probably started many, many years ago.

*This article was from December the number of victims has since grown.

Your patience and understanding is requested

Due to unforeseen circumstances, well, actually I can see them very well! Due to the fact that my life is oh so very hectic of late I will need to limit the amount of posts that I post to my blog. Yes, I am also disappointed as I have so much to write about? I am actually feeling very un-creative of late, which could have something to do with the fact that all I see/think/feel are math equations; more precisely Algebra.

Hey, now thats an idea? Maybe I should start an Algebra blog and all you wonderful people could be my collective tutor? Well, I didn't say that it was going to be an exciting blog now did I? But your help would not go un-rewarded...I could even end the week with a 'Best Blog Tutor' post and announce the lucky winner...no there won't be any grand prizes for the 'lucky winner' just my gratitude! That's enough isn't it?

Ok a bad idea. I will continue adding posts to my blog, whenever I can. Quality is what counts, right? You all know the saying " It is the quality and not the quantity that matters'...or something? So I will try to add some quality and very little quantity?

"So what is the reason for my lack of blogging of late?"

I am glad you asked that question for I am now into my second week of college and it is totally crazy the amount of homework that we are required to complete. Not that I am complaining. I love learning, love it even more when I actually understand the words that are coming out of the teacher's mouth!!

I have to admit it - I feel very dumb with regard to math. Some things I totally get, and love and then something comes along and it just doesn't make sense to me? What do you do? In this wonderful world of technology you just cannot go wrong. I have a very thorough text book, with a CD that is very helpful, the book also has an awesome website that goes through every problem in the book so I am able to study at work, the college has a math lab with free tutoring, and I am also offered the assistance of my very own math tutor for 2 hours per week, and more if I need extra help...all this for free. Really, there is no excuse for failing at college, unless of course you are not applying yourself.

So I have been applying myself diligently at college, aswell as meeting with a personal trainer once a week, and getting myself to the gym on the nights that I am not at college, so that by the end of the week I am totally exhausted, but it will all be worth it in the end - both mentally and physically!

So for now it is goodbye, until we meet again.......probably in a few days?

A Series of Unfortunate Events

After reading the first three books in the series of Unfortunate Events; The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room and The Wide Window, it was now time to see the movie, and what an absolutely unforgettable movie it was.

I could even go so far as stating that the movie was perfect, with the cast appearing just as I imagined them. I may not be a huge fan of Jim Carrey but he was made to play the role of the Count Olaf, outstanding performance, maybe even too good. If you know anything about Count Olaf he is not the type of person that one would want to resemble. He is a very bad man.

I guess I should tell you a little bit about the movie. Like the books, the movie is based on the lives of three children; Klaus, Violet and Sunny Baudelaire. First impressions would indicate that these three lovely children have the most perfect life one could have, but this will soon change. Fate, or maybe something worse would deal them a hand that would cause them to become three little orphans and the search is on for a relative to take on the role as guardian. This, in itself should not be difficult task but as the movie unfolds, you, the viewer will see that things are not always as they appear?

The cast:

Klaus Baudelaire: Liam Aiken
Violet Baudelaire: Emily Browning
Lemony Snicket: Jude Law
Count Olaf: Jim Carrey
Mr. Poe: Timothy Spall
Uncle Monty: Billy Connolly
Aunt Josephine: Meryl Streep

I do not know who plays the part of Sunny but she is the most adorable little baby, who just like Sunny, likes to chew things with her sharp little teeth. Oh, I nearly forgot to mention the magnificient costumes and the set - spectacular, totally out of this world!

Happy New Year

For you and me, maybe. But this may not be the great beginning that some people were expecting? Apart from my own sickness preventing me from really caring about celebrating New Years Eve festivities, the thought that there are so many people dealing with the devastation caused by the Tsunami killed my celebratory spirit.

The bad news is that the death toll is now estimated at around 123,000, the clean up will take months, even years if you take into account having to rebuild the cities that were hit. Who knows just how many more lives will be lost due to disease and infection from the current living conditions.

The good news is that although the initial emergency aid offered by Bush was only $35 million, that amount has now been increased to $350 million! Now that is more like it! Who cares that Bush probably increased the amount so he wouldn't have to deal with any more verbal abuse from the rest of world, and within the United States. As long as the money is coming in and lives will be saved, cities will be rebuilt, the world can go on as usual, knowing that we have done our part to help.