Ordinary day

Today went pretty well. It is as "normal" as any ordinary day for me I suppose.

I work up around 9:30, and decided to skip breakfast and do some quick shopping before Carie brought Josiah and Kelly over. The previous day, Carie had watched Josiah for me because Brandy has evening classes. I typically watch Kelly for Carie on Saturdays and Sundays. But this week I had Monday off because I got in trouble at work. I also watched Kelly today.

Walked to WellsFargo on Franklin Avenue first for the ATM. Wish I had gone to the teller, because I usually get some dollar coins. It seems that there are some problems with the new dollar coins - some are called "godless dollars." The inscription "In god we trust" is missing, as is the mint mark. I want to get one! Maybe tomorrow....

INTERNATIONAL PHONE CARDS

Then I walked to Shabelle, and purchased some phone cards. Friends told me which cards are best for when calling East Africa - specifically Kenya: One, MN, and Giant. I got one called African Princess and the MN. The others were not there. The connection was great on African Princess, and had I hung up before the voice-mail kicked in, I would have had more minutes with Phanice! The MN ( STI ) was okay, but the connection was weaker.

I do not like cards from Alosmart any longer. There connections are poor, and always give you fewer minutes than the site claims. The ones at Speedy Pin that are good - and have amazing connections! Connection fees vary at that site.

But what is crazy is that it is cheaper to purchase international phone cards at stores! You would think there would be some cheap websites out there, but no. Vonage, Dialpad, Skype, and OneSuite all charge over 35 cents a minute or more to call a Kenyan cell phone! I can get them for 12 cents a minute at Shabelle or any store on Cedar Avenue.

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Next went to Seward Coop for some food shopping.

Then I went home to call Phanice. She had just got home from work, taken a shower, and a friend was making her dinner. It's always nice to chat with her, no matter when it is! But the STI card cut off. Got the message in Swahili and English that "The mobile subscriber cannot be reached" by a Kenyan woman with a British accent.

So...I went to the library picked up my movie, V forVendetta, and some cds - including Willie Nelson's new reggae album "Countryman."

Walking home from the Franklin library, I saw people waiting for the Mystic bus on Bloomington Avenue. They noticed me too, so I went over to say hi. I decided to stay so I could hop on the bus and say hi to Dureti also. Dureti is working for me today, because she wanted Saturday off. And I do not mind switching my weekends off to help friends out. I didn't chat long, and forgot to ask her about her trip to Miami.

After getting home, I called Phanice to say good-night. It was nearly 11P.M. her time, but she had her dinner and was ready for bed. So I wished her sweet dreams and she wished me a good day.

Siah and Kelly got home and I have watched them most of the day since. I would have taken them outside for more than a short walk, but with the snow melting, it doesn't make sense to have them play in it. They will get all wet or muddy. Not good.

So indoor games like Hi Ho Cherrio and other such funness were inevitable.

I am actually getting tired of watching Kelly for the sole fact that Carie is getting exasperated about Brandy. Brandy will no longer watch Kelly, and I get to hear about it. Carie is lucky I came through for her this week. Next week will be another story. I work Monday and Thursday, in addition to Friday. Saturday and Sunday should be okay - as long as I do not have to watch Kelly overnight ( meaning mornings too). That way Siah and I can do shopping, errands - even go to the Clouds in Water Zen Center - without Kelly.

Anywho, it is getting late. 12:30AM Friday. Carie is here soon to pick Kelly up. Gonna call it a night.

Last thoughts: Would Al Gore really be okay not having a car and walking as much as I do? Maybe he can offset more of his carbon usage by paying people to live without a car and eat less meat. But can you offset gaining weight or is that called liposuction? :P

Nother day with Siah/Kelly

It seems that Carie was unable to find her boyfriend today. Sometimes people disappear, but I don't know what I would do if Brandy were unable to watch Josiah for long periods of time. ( she has threatened to, even made me stay home a day from work last January because she was stressed out over watching him)

Well, things went fine. Overall, another slow day for me. Just cleaning around the house and organizing. As well as catch-up time blogging/writing - when they are getting along.

Anywho, Brandy was home for dinner which was bean/potato soup with cornbread. Twas very good!

Apart from that, found some CDs with photos from Iraq. I looked up the PMOI and they are still involved in their form of activism as usual. Anywho, nobody cares about Maryam Rajavi or the PMOI, but their own nations in relation to Iran.

I also did a google of Brandy's name and found that the state of Minnesota owes her a little over $100! Crazy, but at least we in Minnesota keep track of such things.

Holidazzle with Kelly and Siah

We stayed home most of the day. Carie Krogen needed someone to watch Kelly, so I had no problem helping out. Kelly and Josiah get along great!

They were able to play with many neighbor children outside as it was very warm! Then when everyone went inside, so did Siah and Kelly. Brandy returned home with faraway friends Ruth Sherman and Derrick. Josiah was acting awful with two visitors, so I was unable to stay chatting with them because I had to discipline.

I usually discipline Josiah by using time-outs. These can vary depending on the severity of what he has done. But most the time sitting/standing in the corner suffices. But in some cases I have to take him to his room and sit in front of the door or other times hold him in the corner until he settles down.

Eventually, when our visitors left, we left for downtown via Hiawatha LRT. Brandy opted to stay home and take a bath. Kelly had never seen the train before, and was quite excited. I never get bored of LRT, because it is the future of transportation in America. But with so many going downtown for the same purpose, the trains were all packed! Luckily I am only one person and have 2 little guys who can squeeze between anyone!

We went to the Holidazzle and found a spot by Target Corporate HQ. This was convenient because afterwards we went to Chipotle. Their outdoor sign was unlit, but it was obvious by the line that they were still open. Kelly said she had never been there, but enjoyed her burrito nonetheless.

We then went home and Josiah could not act decent with her on the train. So we had to get off early at Cedar/Riverside and walk home from there. Josiah was very upset we had to walk, but Kelly was just fine. So it was a very good lesson for Siah in having to listen/act decent on the train

After Josiah and Kelly went to sleep, I read Persopolis by Marjane Satrapi. I LOVED it! Quite an excellent manga about her childhood in Iran in the late 70's and early 80's.

I am SO fortunate to live in a land where I can express myself and not face authoritarian persecution to such severity. Yes, the corporate world check up on applicants ousing MySpace/Google. I wouldn't want to work for someone who fired me over these blogs. I am also harassed in South Minneapolis by missionaries, who tell me I will go to hell by being Buddhist. The so-called homeless batter me with ridiculous stories ( which usually contain a part about being saved by Jesus ) and then refuse free food. Yes, it's annoying at times - but it's a lot easier living here than in Iran.

Brandy came home and explained how she brough the remainder of my injera & red lentils to a party. She also gave an album by the Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars to the birthday girl: Anjelica. It seemed to be quite popular at the party, of course this is another band I have found through my various resources. ( Paste magazine and 89.3 the Current )


[ note: I would have more photos, but our Kodak camera is broken. Josiah most likely tried using it and broke it. Coincidentally, there is a sale on digital cameras this week. I can get a 7MP camera for a lower price than Brandy bought the 6MP camera for - same brand: Kodak.]

Watching Kelly - DVD archiving

1) Kelly Krogen (age 4 & 11/12)

I watched my friend's daugher Carie today. Kelly is a wonderful 4 year old and about to turn 5 soon. Mayhaps Josiah can go to her party! Carie is moving all of her possessions to her new Saint Louis Park apartment, and Kelly isn't exactly assisting. I was okay watching her because she is very calm and listens well - unlike Josiah. But they really enjoy playing with each other, so it works well.

Anywho, that is how the day went. I did some cleaning while they played. They didn't like the rice and stir-fry I cooked up. Of course I didn't like the Chinese Cheese preserved hot bean curd that my acquaintance Hang gave me! Ickiness! This vegetarian loves tofu - just not this particular Asian style! I plan to make tofu with berbere and eat it with Injera. That sounds yummilicious!


2) DVD copying

On a Mac, I am unfamiliar with how to copy DVDs or make MP4s. So I found awesome software that can do both.

Handbrake can make industry standard MP4s , H.264 , wonderfully!

And MacTheRipper will allow you to copy even copyrighted material to your hard-drive. The US Supreme Court has authorized the use of copying DVDs if they are already owned by you - so archiving is okay. Hopefully this isn't abused by Netflix and library users - though it probably is -I doubt Hollywood will go belly-up. But the music industry has been hurting lately. Or is it just the major labels?