Unanswered Prayers.

I'm sick. It's been a miserable three days, and I'm still not completely better. I don't think I have ever taken this long to recover from any sickness - besides the ten days I spent in the hospital in 1988, recovering from pneumonia - but that was so long ago it doesn't count.

With so much time on my hands, and the complete lack of ability to do anything with it, I have been thinking a lot. Most recently, my thoughts stumbled upon a song I heard the last time I was driving in the car; Garth Brook's "Unanswered Prayers." In the song, he talks about how he thanks God for unanswered prayers - particularly the prayer he prayed in high school to marry the homecoming queen or whatever.

This got me thinking about how I used to pray to God every night in middle school that he would let me marry Jonathan Taylor Thomas - Home Improvement hottie and pre-teen idol extraordinaire of the mid-90s. I prayed so religiously that I still remember the exact words of my prayer: "Dear God, please let me live a long, long, happy, happy, healthy, healthy life. Please bless mom, dad, Megan and Caitlin, Grandma and Grandpa, everyone else in my family and everyone else in the world who needs help. And please, please, let me marry Jonathan Taylor Thomas. Thank you, Amen."

See, I used to pray "please let me live a happy, healthy, long life," but then I felt that I really needed to emphasize that prayer by saying those three words twice. That's a side note however.

Anyway, I would like to take this time to thank God for not answering my prayer to marry Jonathan Taylor Thomas. For one, he's probably gay at this point or something, and two, he's like 5'4, and three - there are many other reasons. So, thank you God, for unanswered prayers.

Whew, writing that took a lot out of me. I am going to lay down for a bit and try to get the energy to shower for the first time in days. It will probably take an hour nap or so to motivate my will, so here I go. Amen.

Marley and Ollie's Christmas Duet

My mom's goldendoodles sang a duet for us on Christmas Day. It takes about 20 seconds to get going, but then, it's hilarious.

Avatar

Last night I somewhat unwillingly acquiesced the request of seeing the new, ultra-hyped movie Avatar. I definitely had my doubts, but all in all, it wasn't too bad. I would say it was a mixture of Ferngully and Dances with Wolves on steroids. The message was essentially a blend of the two. I mean, the indigenous people were dressed as Native Americans. James Cameron wasn't exactly subtle about the similarities.

We went to the 10:00 movie. So by the time 12:30 rolled around and the movie was still going, I'm not going to lie (again!), I was ready to go to sleep. Perhaps, though, I would have felt differently had it been another time. The special effects in Avatar were nothing short of amazing. I still don't know how they did the scenes where the humans and Avatars were holding each other. And, even though I became a bit bored towards the end, no one else with me felt the same. They all loved it.

Apparently it's playing in 3D at select places. Not going to lie, that sounds like motion sickness waiting to happen. Ugh. Though you would have a pretty sweet experience before throwing up so maybe it would be worth it.

So, my uneducated movie review: pretty good. I wouldn't see it again, but I feel like most people would disagree with me.

What Matters Most

Hello!!! Five more days of school left. That means I am wasting more time online than ever. Perhaps this will benefit others because I am also finding more cool stuff online than ever. Like this ebook I stumbled across. It's cool. It has lots of interesting contributors. It is about answering the question, "What Matters Most."

Back to surfing the net.

America the Beautiful

I just finished watching the most disturbing documentary - disturbing in a good way. It's called America the Beautiful and it's about America's beauty obsession. Some things I learned:

- The FDA doesn't really protect you from unsafe beauty products. It's banned seven ingredients, the EU's administration has banned 450.

- Plastic surgery=scary! So, in 1977, Congress passed a law saying that anyone with an MD could call him/herself a plastic surgeon. Many of the plastic surgeons today, aren't actually board certified and were trained as Obgyns or something. Additionally, most people who die from plastic surgery, don't actually die from the surgery, but from anesthesia.

- Model sizes really aren't normal. Like, really, they aren't. One of the reasons designers want them so skinny, is so they don't waste expensive fabric. A size four, is way cheaper to produce than a size 10 when you're dealing with high-price lace and cashmere.

- Women learn from their mothers. Never insult or complain about your body in front of your daughters.

- America's beauty ideals are seriously messed. We all know this, but now, I really know it. Yet, we're caught in this viscous cycle. Men see beauty ads/porn/whatever, expect women to look like that. Women want to be wanted by men -- not only by men -- but other women, so we spend and do all we can to conform. We get suckered in by those stupid mascara ads that promise to ad worth to our lives by adding length to our lashes.

- In a completely non-egotistical way, my body is great as is. I have recently been lamenting about gaining a few pounds and perhaps a size. But, now, I am asking, why? What's so great about a size two? A size two isn't normal if you're 5'7. I am normal and unique and normal and unique is great. And every woman I know is beautiful so don't get plastic surgery, because after watching this video it's clear if you do, you just might die...(da da duuunnn).

I realize this post got a little cheesy there in the end, but I'm feeling a bit emotional after watching the disturbing ideologies presented on my screen. It's a good film. Everyone should definitely check it out. Until then, don't go on any unhealthy diets. Good advice from me, once again:).

Money, Sex and Happiness

I think my blog's content is going to consist more and more of random things I find online --- since I'm being a lazy writer lately. I read this blog by Penelope Trunk, and the latest post I read was about money and happiness. Apparently, once your basic needs are met, researchers have found that more money does not make you happy. Social relations, on the other hand, are key determinants to happiness. Here I will begin the P. Trunk quote:

"And by social relations, most researchers mean sex – with one, consistent partner. So consider giving your career aspirations a little less weight than you give your aspirations for sex. For those of you who like a tangible goal, David Blanchflower, professor of economics at Dartmouth College says, 'Going from sex once a month to sex once a week creates a big jump in happiness. And then the diminishing returns begin to set in." He adds, to the joy of all who are underemployed, 'It’s true that money impacts which person you marry, but money doesn’t impact the amount of sex you have.'"

Interesting. I am particularly intrigued by the "one, consistent partner" part.

The things you learn.

Back to my book review presentation.

Redeeming Love

My friend who worked at HEAL Africa in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo just sent me this story. I thought it was heartwarming thus, wanted to post it. Ta da:

This is the picture that gave me most joy today! She is one of our patients from Masisi territory from 2004. I remember finding her one evening in that horrible UNICEF tent you may remember. She had just arrived after walking for days and then riding on a rotten road from Masisi to Goma. She was far from term, with a baby conceived in terror and violence. Not surprisingly, she had gone into labour that evening. She nursed her baby in the incubator for 6 weeks. This is the baby! What else is this but redeeming love?

Ishara Lyn and her mother (Ishara means Miracle).

Darfur Relief Beads

So I haven't been blogging lately because I've been lazy, but I wanted to give Darfur Relief Beads a quick shout out. My roommate showed me these bracelets she bought from Patina. Apparently, the purchase of one bracelet provides two months of education for a child ($13), and the purchase of five can save the life of a malnourished child. So if any of you are looking for stocking stuffers, you might want to check them out. Here they are at Patina:

On an unrelated note, did I mention I'm going to India in January?! Yeah! Look forward to some killer blogging from Spice country.

Ma Salaam.