The Simple Life

As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.

--David Henry Thoreau

Good Morning. I love the quote above. It is the truth. I have seen it proved in many situations such as; when I was a kid I never knew things were bad because my life was simple and my family did not speak negatively around me. Or in the third world, most village people are completely happy in their lack because their lives are not as complex. Check out Shane Claiborne. I need to simplify my life. I always have a really intense schedule. Actually as far as my belief system, my emotions, and my ideals I try to keep everything at a very simple level. I do plan, you should see my Franklin Covey, it’s larger than the Gutenberg Bible, but I try to do everything with a laid back and simple attitude. There is more to worry about then situations that are out of your hands. I love the simplistic mindset of dismissal, love, and freedom.

My weekend… I am looking forward to this weekend because it is going to be really long! Friday I met a friend and went to see the match at Fado’s. I stumbled on the best and cheapest fish tacos in the ATX at an Irish pub! They were absolutely amazing! Portugal tied. Then we went to hear my new favorite singer/songwriter, Trey Durham. He is fabulous! True musician with one of the best voices I have EVER heard. Kind of a Gavin Degraw meets Jack Johnson and Brian Mcknight. After that we went to the lake for a little while and for some reason decided that going to Driftwood for a country concert/fair at Camp Ben. I really don’t know what came over me when I said, “Yes, lets drive an hour and a half to go two-steppin’ with my granny at 10pm”. Sometimes my spontaneous nature doesn’t have a lid. I took 2 Northerners to this hick social. It was amazing. The band’s best songs were, “Huntin’ Bear”, “Nascar” (aggie and UT mix), and “Drinking beer”. My friends were very pleased with the boots, buckles, and hats. It was am experience –totally not worth the drive!

Saturday, woke up to blueberry pancakes. I really love living at home with my mommy! Haha.. Saturday afternoon after running errands, I met up with an old best friend! We went to Fado’s to watch the USA match. Despair. I got there early with Mzungu. Okay, I knew that it’s a chick-magnet for guys to have dogs. Turns out it’s a man-magnet also. Wow, I was getting hit on by so many beautiful men all because of the dog! It is an easy way to slide into conversation. Let’s just say puppy is going everywhere with me from now on. Afterwards we went to Barton Springs! We took puppy on his first motorcycle ride! He actually was not that scared. It was really cute. After that I went home for my uncle’s bday party. He just got back from Liberia and had tons of stories about eating monkey on a stick with the tail and hair still intact in the bush while buying gold. Pretty legit if you ask me! Then went to eat Thai with my sis, and then met my cousin for a few minutes of hookah. Sunday was a great service besides the fact that I was at the church at 7:30am for practice. I have the weirdest texture in my mouth right now. Try a Cliff energy gel shot and you will understand. After an awesome family dinner Sunday I went kayaking for several hours at Town Lake with a friend. It was really windy so my entire body hurt the next day. Later we met up with my African boys at the soccer field at Zilker. I love soccer and internationals, so that is the place for me to hang out because there’s a lot of soccer and like 3 Americans. We then went to Chuy’s and then Elephant Room for a Jazz concert. After work Monday I was toast and we caught a little bit of the storms from the hurricane. I had a Zao meeting planned but I was tired and needed to get other things done so I stayed in. Last night was amazing! It was raining cats and dogs, which I love! I left work and went shopping for jeans and then went and read at a coffee shop. Jean shopping for me is always a love/hate thing. I love nice jeans but I hate shelling out the money and I hate finding the right pair –it takes soooo long to find a pair that is not big in my waist, makes my butt not look huge, and that are short enough to not have tailored. A group of friends and went to MoMo’s for world beat by BEMBA. We had an amazing time. I am a little tired right now though.. Guess that is the payment for staying out on a work night. Yes!!! I have this work mate who has been bringing me his lotto tickets everyday this week! Haha.. he just handed me a stack! Yes!!

Alrighty, I am going to peace out with this quote for all of the Christians. I got a really nice donation for my children yesterday, and it got me thinking.

"We do need to be born again, since Jesus said that to a guy named Nicodemus. But if you tell me I have to be born again to enter the Kingdom of God, I can tell you that you have to sell everything you have and give it to the poor, because Jesus said that to one guy, too. But I guess that's why God invented highlighers, so we can highlight the parts we like and ignore the rest."

— Shane Claiborne (The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical)

My week

JAMBO!! Today is such a great day! Portugal is going to win their match against Brasil and then the world will be a better place. It’s hard because I love Brazil, and when they are not playing against Portugal they are my team. I dressed in Portugal colors today and I am sure everyone is wondering why I am wearing Christmas colors in the middle of summer.. My eyes are acting really weird. I will stop talking about Portugal while the adobe is downloading so that I can watch them play!

(above: The Oasis.. my favorite Atx place)

This week has been a really great week. It was my first week on my new job. I think I am doing okay… or I am not terribly afraid of my new environment. Actually I am not nervous about it at all. Perhaps it is because my mom and auntie work in the same company. Monday Andrea and I had a really great evening. She got a massage and I got a mani/pedi then we went to the Oasis for serious sissy time dinner. Tuesday after work Mzungu and I went on a bike ride. Wednesday I went to a friend’s house to talk about stuff that was way too serious to be in my life. I really can’t stand situations that should not really exist but they do so you have to resolve them. I am a twisted individual. I cannot confront someone when the subject matter is really important to me but I have no problem telling someone off for trivial things that I really do not care about at all. Someone please analyze me. Actually someone called me not too long ago and told me that they had analyzed me and they wouldn’t tell me what they had concluded about my character because I would not be happy with it. Weird… He did say I was twisted. Rubbish! I am not twisted. Perhaps my actions are a little… let’s just say, eccentric. Last night was so great. I went to Vivo with a friend that I have not seen since I was a freshman in High School! It was so amazing! It was great too because we picked up where we left off years ago. I was nervous that it was going to be an awkward margarita and dash episode but it wasn’t at all! She is so awesome. She lived in India and speaks Hindi. Since India is my favorite place in the world, after Zanzibar, we had a lot to chat about!

Dang, we are 74 minutes into the match and no one has scored. I want some goals Portugal. Ivory Coast is doing well.

So tonight…I have no idea what is going down. There is going to be Fado’s www.fadoirishpub.com/austin . I think after that there is going to be Kayaking http://www.rowingdock.com/ (the links are for Edgar! Showing you what you will be doing when you get out of Mozambique and come to the Promised Land of The Republic of Texas!! Haha) I am really excited about tomorrow. My mom is making a huge breakfast and then I am going to feed the homeless downtown, and then I get to go swimming at the Greenbelt with one of my best friends on earth!! It’s going to be amazing!

My quote of the day today is,
How much pain they have cost us, the evils which have never happened. --Thomas Jefferson

I like that quote a lot!

So, Portugal did not win. They tied with Brazil and they are going to the final 16! Yay! Very exciting!!!

I am defiantly in weekend mode. All I want to do is to swim and play with Mzungu! I do not feel like working or writing anymore.. so TK!

This is for everyone who claims my writing skills are going to go “down the drain” if I do not pick it up!

When I said that my life was not exciting enough to document right now I was not lying! I am living with my family in Texas, I have no love life except for my deep love for my new puppy, and my traveling consist of my daily work commute. The only exciting things in my life right now are my weekends when I go to the lake and every day at 10 and 2 when I watch my World Cup match. In saying all of this, I am sure you get-it that there is reason for my lack of blogging. I suppose I could just write about things that are important to me…

The bad thing is that I am really tired and at work and I cannot think of anything exciting to write about!

Okay this weekend I was not feeling the best. I think I had a virus all week. I was at the lake on a boat with a group of friends, and I guess because I was not really feeling up to par they started talking about death. First, there were the common questions like, “Are you afraid of death” and “Do you believe everyone dies when they are supposed to”… I answered, “no, not afraid of death because I believe in after-life which will be a heck of a lot better than this life"... haha, funny interjection. I know this lady who will not say “hello” because it says “hell” so she says “heaven-o”! haha…. WEIRD! I thought of how ironic it is that I said “heck” when talking about Heaven, and I thought of that amazing story…

I decided to find the most bizarre causes of death. Did you know that on average 100 people die a year of choking on ball point pens. I guess the fine roller grips are a safer pen to use… Invest. Or did you know that on average 13 people die a year from vending machines falling on them? Or, in 620 BC an Athenian law-maker, Draco, was smothered to death by cloaks that had been showered on him as gifts by appreciative citizens! That is horrible but also an amazing exit! Oh this is amazing, Chrysippus, a Greek stoic philosopher supposedly died of laughter while watching his drunken pet monkey or was it a donkey, attempt to eat figs. Sir Arthur Aston was beaten to death with his own wooden leg. Or in 1862, Jim Creighton died when he swung his baseball bat so hard that he ruptured his bladder. In essence, I believe we all have a life course and we will go when we are destined to leave. In believing this it I have less fear of death than someone who has no belief system. Did you know that Buddhist in Tibet have sky burials. To complete the life circle for the human they put the corpse on a slab, chop them into tiny pieces and then grind the flesh and bones into a goo like substance, and then feed the goo to vultures. Just burn me please.

I started writing this blog not even thinking about death and now my day has been consumed with reading stories of death. Morbid… To think that my first blog back is about death! Haha.

In conclusion to this weird and boring blog I will say that I hope I die of something exciting like laughter. I had better start watching “A Fish Called Wanda”. Someone actually died while laughing during that movie. Later his wife wrote a letter to the producers thanking them for giving her husband such a nice exit. I know its cliché to say “live like you are dying” But it is true. I guess I am not afraid of it because I never think about it for one, I like the idea of my after life, and I have my life to dwell on!

First blog back on death, maybe the next will be a happier subject!!