HA! It's in the dictionary! Ya'll were wrong!

The word "bubbler" is in the freaking dictionary! All you people from not Wisconsin can eat it! Bubbler is in the Miriam-Webster Dictionary. And it describes a drinking fountain where the water bubbles up. HA! I now declare myself and the rest of eastern Wisconsin smarter than everyone else.

Now, from the "things that piss me off" files..

When the whole "Duke lacrosse player rape" scandal first broke, I didn't pay it a whole lot of attention. I really didn't want to hear yet another story about athletes with overblown egos and sex drives taking advantage of people. I figured it was just the same old, same old, as awful as that is to say about an event that could damage a lot of lives. But, today, I found an article on Slate (MSN's online magazine) that really just pissed me off. http://www.slate.com/id/2148546 There's the link.

So, apparently the evidence that there actually was no rape is mounting. There was no DNA found in or on the victim from any of the three guys that were accused. There was no bruising or physical signs of force. Her main injuries consisted of "nonbleeding scrapes" on her knees. Her stories are incredibly inconsistent, listing as many as 5 and as few as 0 rapists. She described all of them as chubby, when at least one of them was very thin.

And the worse thing, there was a police officer that was kind of known for being quite hard on Duke students, who was helping throughout the case. When she gave descriptions initially of her attackers, she described them all as chubby. But then, later when this police officer wrote descriptions, they matched the three defendants perfectly. Coincidence?? Hmmm...

Anyway, you can read the details in the article, and read about how the New York Times botched this whole thing. My point is that it really makes me mad to hear about women fabricating stories about being raped. For what reasons she did this, I have no idea. Attention? Money? Mental illness? I don't know. But, everytime this crap happens, it makes it that much harder for actual sexual assault victims. It perpetuates the stereotype of the mentally ill attention craved woman telling lies. Grrr....

So, in other news, I went to the most pointless lecture in the history of lectures this morning. I had biology this morning at 8 a.m. My only motivation for going was that I suck at science and that if I didn't go, I would miss valuable course content that I might need for the test. How's this for valuable course content..(remember that this is a BIOLOGY class)..we spent the entire hour discussing the differences between science, religion, and philosophy (which my professor apparently thinks is a complete waste of time). Then we discussed how there can be fundamentalists in all three of these domains, or magesteria (that word is the one thing I learned in class today). And then within the last 5 minutes of class, she FINALLY got around to discussing the scientific method (which, if you can remember, was taught in like the 7th grade..). Now, I like my professor. She's funny. She has a really dry sense of humor. I don't necessarily agree with everything she says, but at least she says what she thinks and means what she says. And, discussing the differences between religion, science and philosophy is definately an interesting conversation. BUT...we were supposed to be learning about BIOLOGY!!!!! We didn't talk about species or cells or genus or ANYTHING LIKE THAT!!! And now, because I was so determined to get up at 8 so I could learn about biology, I have forever to wait around until my next class. Grr...

And now, there's a woman sitting across the hall with a poster that says "Is there a Creator?" Oh lord. I'm sure she wants to get into a discussion about evolution v. creationism. As my professor said this morning "How can you not believe in a theory that's been established with empirical evidence over hundreds of years?" Science and religion don't mix. You can believe or not believe in God. You can believe or not believe that God created the earth. You can believe or not believe in a lot of things. You can't not believe in gravity. It doesn't matter if you don't believe in gravity, it's still holding you to the ground. Whatever. Apparently, I'm angry and ranty today.

I promise soon my opinions of Gnarls Barkley...but not now.

Have you ever transcended space and time?

No. Yes. Time not space. No I don't know what you're talking about.

Moving on...so, I'm back in Wisconsin. Not Sheboygan, but I'm living in LaCrosse now, and commuting to school in Winona. Weird. Two months ago, I had been planning on living in Colorado for a couple years yet. Marvin and I aren't together anymore. I'm living with Sharon and Steve. But, since all of you who regularily check this already know all of this, I don't need to spend a whole lot of time explaining. Thankfully.

So, being back here is kind of weird. All of the sudden I'm reconnecting with a ton of people that I haven't seen in a long time. I get to see Courtney and Josh fairly regularily. I get to see my cousin Dave A, who is living in LaCrosse, and also my cousin Dave K, who is going to school in LaCrosse. Weird. Bizzare.

I'm also realizing that I miss Colorado a lot more than I thought I would. I miss the city of Colorado Springs a lot. The biggest city I"ve ever lived in, and I feel like I fit there. I miss the people I connected with in Colorado too. My friends from the Ark were so wonderful. I miss them terribly. But, of course, it just means that my network of people is slowly growing. I love knowing that I have people all over the country who know and love me, and who I know and love.

So, I started school on Monday at Winona. It's strange but nice to be back in an academic setting. I do enjoy being around thoughtful, intelligent people. Although I do realize that just because someone is attending a college, it doesn't make them thoughtful or intelligent. In fact I see a lot of counter examples to "thoughtful and intelligent" every day in all of my classes. But, at least I'm learning and growing and expanding. Always important things that should never stop happening. I have a geography professor who I think is going to keep life interesting for us this semester. He's very opinionated and makes a lot of masked comments about our current administration, and the state of politics in general. I like people like that. Not necessarily people who bash the administration. Anyone can do that. I like people who have thought through and researched their opinions and who will state them even if they're unpopular. I like people who aren't afraid to question the status quo.

But then, I have a political science professor who is going to drive me crazy this semester. He's the kind of guy who makes comments and he thinks he's funny, but no one else gets it. I spent an hour and a half watching the whole class give this guy blank stares as he struck out time and time again. And, (this makes it worse) he didn't seem like he really had an opinion about any of the stuff he was teaching. Which, some might argue makes for a good teacher. But, I think that a good teacher is a teacher with passion. How can someone have passion for their subject matter if they don't have an opinion about it?

Anyway, I miss working at the Ark very much, but thankfully it looks like there's a treatment center in LaCrosse that I can get a job at. I really developed a love for working with at-risk youth while in Colorado. I think I would like to pursue that more.

Anyway, enough rambling for now. I'm just procrasinating. More updates to come...plus my opinion on Gnarls Barkley.

A modern day miracle

Today at work we had a graduation. One of my boys graduated the program successfully, so we had a little ceremony for him. It was so amazing to watch. This boy is literally a miracle. I mean, yeah, I know, all children are miracles, etc. etc. etc. But seriously, by all standards, there is no way this boy should be alive today. For eight years of his life, he was chained in a basement and tortured. Physically. Sexually. They threw water on him once a week. Maybe gave him some food, but just enough to keep him alive for more torture. For eight years. If any of you have ever read Dave Pelzer's "A Child Called It" books, you get sort of an idea about what this boy went through. And not only did he overcome all of that horrible past, but he has blossomed into one of the most beautiful and memorable children I know. He has a smile that grabs your heart. He is so warm and considerate and forgiving and loving. To overcome what he has overcome, and not only not be angry at the world, but be someone who embraces life so willingly and joyfully...I can't even explain or describe the emotions that I felt today. I felt completely humbled to be in his presence. I feel humbled that I was one of the lucky ones who were chosen to help him blossom like he has. Our cabin was full to the brim with people who wanted to pay homage to him and the work that he has done to overcome his demons. There were so many tears of pride and joy and even sorrow that someone could harm a child as beautiful as he is. Every adult in that room, I know, was humbled by him. He has taught me lessons that I won't ever forget as far as forgiveness, inner strength, and joy.