A LONG Good Week

It is rare that one can say that a LONG week was a good week, but as I sit here and ponder what has transpired I can say that I did have a good week! I calculated that I put in a total of 28 hours at work; during the time I'm there, it really doesn't feel that long, a true sign of how much I enjoy being there. A testament to my boss and mentor, Dr. James Skouge (Jim), and to my co-workers, who make being at work a joy each and every day!

On Friday, I met with Jim's colleague, Mellanie Lee, as we're working together to help empower two deaf girls from Pohmpei State, part of the Federated Islands of Micronesia, in sharing their unique and wonderful story of being the first deaf students to attend college here in America. I will have the honor of working closely with the girls to achieve this goal. I am very excited and grateful for the opportunity that Mellanie and Jim have provided for me!

I also met with Dr. D'Andrea on Friday. We had a productive meeting, as we talked about future plans for the NIMC Newsletter, and I attempted to provide a brief lesson on webpage authoring to him as best I could. I welcome this opportunity to help work on the website, even though it WILL take time and energy on my part, but I fully support the intent of it; if I felt that it wasn't something worthwhile, I would NOT commit to it. I'm one who puts a 100% effort into projects, journeys, and tasks that I feel strongly about. I am not about taking on projects just to take them on and do a less than stellar job...that is NOT me.

Sabrina and I secured our first performer for Art Enabled!! I am very stoked (excited) about this, as we slowly, but surely, work towards organizing what will be a truly special and awesome event. In the coming days we will work towards establishing a clear outline of what it is that we want/hope to see at the event itself. Steve Brown, a resident scholar and professor for the Center on Disability Studies, will do poetry readings at our event scheduled for July 22, 2005. We are honored to have his participation, as he does beautiful poetry and is extremely versed in disability culture. Again, if ANY of you reading are interested in being a part of Art Enabled 2005, please e-mail artenabled@yahoo.com.

I am cognizant of the fact that I'll need to keep myself on track this semester and not fall into the temptation of procrastinating. Yes, the "P" word, procrastinate! A very ugly word, one that I've battled and have fallen victim to throughout my college journey. However, I am determined, in fact I will NOT procrastinate this semester. I'll make every effort to keep myself on task day in and day out. If you remember to tackle tasks in little steps, it becomes a little easier. On the other hand, if you try to take on an entire task at once, you'll most likely feel like you've been run over by a Mack truck! Okay, maybe that was a tasteless analogy considering I'm just days removed from nearly experiencing that very feeling, but I'm doing very well, looking to move beyond that scary incident. Remember, Rome was not built in a day!

Regarding my close call, I must commend the transportation company for taking an extremely proactive approach in dealing with the situation. On Thursday night, the driver who picked me up was the night supervisor for the company and apologized for what had happened Tuesday. I was reassured that the driver from Tuesday would never pick me up again. That is what I consider good customer service! It still felt a little weird passing the area where the near accident almost occurred. It made me reflect yet again on how lucky I really am.

Thursday was a long day, with my being on campus for over 14 hours. I came home and had a good dinner, showered, and proceeded to chat with my friend, Sabrina, something that we hadn't done in a while. We had a great conversation and it was only because I realized that it was 2am that we decided to say our goodbyes for the night! It's a great feeling to be able to talk/chat with someone and feel like you could carry on forever. I definitely value her friendship and know that we have a mutual respect of and for each other.

I encourage you all to take a moment to reflect on the great things that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. contributed to our society. Here was a very brave individual who stood up for what he believed in and helped others to fight the good fight for truth, justice, and equality. I am glad that our State of Hawaii honors him with a holiday; there will be a march and rally as well to honor his spirit.

Randomness for the week:


My iguana friend still needs a name!

Thanks, Elizabeth, for your suggestion! Come on folks, don't be shy to throw ideas my way, just click the Comment link and type away!


I went to Costco on Sunday; it was bustling with activity as usual!


A cool building structure at Dole Cannery Square

Until next week, remember to pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in some way today! Have a wonderful week!!!