Buns and Guns; Thanksgiving at the Ingersolls

The first picture is my uncle, then the buns and guns motif, finally my uncle and my dad...in the kitchen of my house.

Apparently my dad is now into guns. My uncle was in the army for decades, and is also into guns. I'm not quite sure how to respond to this...

Don't let this inhibit any of you from visiting me in Wisconsin...I swear it's much friendlier than these pictures imply!!!!

Bangor Base: Disarmament of Nuclear Weapons

A year ago, Father Bill "Bix" Bichsel and four trespassed onto Bangor (Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor and Strategic Weapons Facility-Pacific). This Friday, they will be arraigned, and sentenced to possibly 10 years of prison and a $250,000 fine.
Bix has been a friend of my family's and community's for a long time. This is not the first time he has been in trouble. It is, however, the first time he has been in trouble with the workplace of my husband's parents. I was actually legally on base this Saturday, and was given a tour. I didn't mention my connection to Bix.

So what is so bad at Bangor that people are going to prison over?

"The Trident submarine base at Bangor, just 20 miles west of Seattle, is home to the largest single stockpile of nuclear warheads in the U.S. arsenal, housing more than 2000 nuclear warheads. In November 2006, the Natural Resources Defense Council declared that the 2,364 nuclear warheads at Bangor are approximately 24 percent of the entire U.S. arsenal. The Bangor base houses more nuclear warheads than China, France, Israel, India, North Korea and Pakistan combined."
"The base has been rebuilt for the deployment of the larger and more accurate Trident D-5 missile system. Each of the 24 D-5 missiles on a Trident submarine is capable of carrying eight of the larger 455 kiloton W-88 warheads (each warhead is about 30 times the explosive force as the Hiroshima bomb) and costs approximately $60 million. The D-5 missile can also be armed with the 100 kiloton W-76 warhead. The Trident fleet at Bangor deploys both the 455 kiloton W-88 warhead and the 100 kiloton W-76 warhead."

Also, Desmond Tutu has said about this group: “We know that nations need teachers, schools, books, drinking water, productive farm land, food and shelter. We do not need weapons of war, and we do not need nuclear weapons which threaten to destroy all of God’s creation."

What exactly did they do?
"The defendants entered Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor in the early morning hours
of November 2, 2009, All Souls Day, with the intention of calling
attention to the illegality and immorality of the existence of the Trident
weapons system. During the action they held a banner saying."Disarm Now
Plowshares : Trident: Illegal + Immoral", left a trail of blood, hammered
on the roadway and fences around Strategic Weapons Facility - Pacific
(SWFPAC) and scattered sunflower seeds throughout the base."

On the other side of it, the guards at the base were ordered to shoot on sight, and were very young men. THey were likely scared, and didn't want to shoot anyone. However, they also didn't know if these trespassers were planning on getting to the nuclear arms or not, or trying to set off any weapons. Which, to me, shows the danger of even having them.

It's really sad and mixed up and confusing.

to hijab or not to hijab

I recently got invited to a Muslim wedding and have been advised to dress modestly, hijab would be best. I'm a bit torn here though. My friend (a female) is not muslim, nor is she converting, but is marrying a muslim man. Apparently only men are allowed to marry out of their faith. Here are some of the rules on the website of the mosque where the wedding will take place:



Parties wishing to get married at XXXXX Mosque must comply with the following requirements before making appointment:

1. Marriage will not be performed between a Muslim female and a non-Muslim male.
2. Approval of the Marriage by respective fathers or recognized Muslim guardians shall be demonstrated prior to the performance of the marriage. This condition especially applies to the bride. Written permission from the Parent / Guardian of the bride consenting to marry.
3. An agreement on the Dowry (Mahr) to the bride between the bride’s guardian and the groom must be completed.
4. Marriage performance/reception shall conform to Islamic standard; no alcoholic beverages, no drugs of any kind, no sensual music, dancing or singing, no free mixing of men and women and immodest dressing
5. Two Muslim male witnesses.
6. Presence of the ‘Wakeel’ (guardian) of the bride at the time of marriage

There are some rules on here that, in my opinion, seem oppressive and unnecessarily outdated. By the way, I did not add any of the bolding or italics, that's straight from the mosque's website.  I have somewhat of a superficial understanding of Islam and its treatment of women and would love to learn more, but I do feel that some of the tenants of Islam conflict with my personal values. I'm definitely planning to attend the wedding and promise to not mingle with men or dance sensually. But do I hijab? I don't know. I want to out of respect for my friend and her new family and a general respect for people's religious views. Any thoughts? -Alex

Looking for Something to Do

My friend introduced me to this website, which happens to be run by Alicia Silverstone.

Anyway, when I saw this post I thought, "That's something an AmeriCorps person would take on in their community, or on their campus."


Remember how we would get that little baggie of vegetables from the taco truck that nobody ate? I actually do order takeout pretty often, so I'm going to start it personally, but it would be cool if the restaurants in my block changed their policy to asking whether or not people wanted the plastic, rather than just assuming and giving it to everyone.

Besides that thought, I hope everyone is doing well! Miss you all.

H is for Reunion

Yesterday, a couple of us got to visit the new recruits. They fed us food acquired from the neighborhood walk. We talked about how awesome we are and how impossible it will be to match our cohort. Truly, it's an amazing new bunch. How badly I miss the rest of you -- Summer

International Yummy

Hey guys! John and I got back from the Honeymoon. It was so fun and we had a great time- my first big adventure to Europe.
Anyway, I'm probably going to post like a million photos on Facebook, so I thought I'd just put some yummy food photos on this blog, since that was the best part of the trip (in my opinion). I've already decided my next trip is going to be an official "eat your way through _____" trip!

written while eating roasted red pepper hummus

nothing too exciting in my world these days. i just got back from savannah where i was visiting my sister. did you know that you can walk around outside there with open alcohol containers? i thought i was in russia again.

anyway, i'm back in seattle studying like a maniac for the lsat. happily not looking for a job. and i got an letter in the mail from our dear health insurance company (for one more day). apparently they decided to cover the iud. i was kind of secretly hoping for a battle but they just mailed me an updated bill. no letter saying they decided to cover it or apologizing for being asses in the first place. just a new, much smaller bill. thanks summit america.

other than that the only thing exciting on my horizon is fall quarter. i just registered for classes and its gonna be HOT! my classes are 1)intimate relationships, 2)refugee women, and 3)interracial sex. i'm not kidding, somehow i got assigned to a class called interracial sex. is there something about it i don't know? what is it like when people of different races have sex? it makes me think of stacy explaining that guatemalan men have smaller penises so they need smaller condoms. what really kills me is that there are no books for the class. it'll probably all just be links to youtube videos. i can't wait.

miss you. alex

Does anyone know what the social determinants of health are?.....

Hello dear friends!

I feel like it's no surprise that I feel about the same as everyone else---overwhelmed, confused, unable to process this transition in my life, and endlessly finding myself comparing everything here to Seattle/HealthCorps/etc.

Went from one depressing good-bye to 4-days of driving to WA-BAM school. I often find myself throughout my classes questioning as to why I convinced myself to go back to school.....Hmm, but I believe it's a matter of time. Just need a bit more time to process things and become fully present in what I am doing here. Having any sort of commitment past 5pm is a big adjustment and having homework, impossible.


With all that, things are pretty good here. Got my basement room with the "crazy" roomie and "cool" roomie. Turns out the "crazy" roomie is reasonably cool (nothing like my past roommate in Seattle). She just seems slightly clingy and unable to be alone.....something that I believe I can handle. The basement room is ok. It is an incredibly weird shape with an uneven floor-which truly makes for a good time when shutting drawers in my dresser. There have been 4-5 creepy centipedes with insanely long legs.......so I'm only hoping they never find my bed. Fingers crossed. The neighborhood is nice and I constantly long to find where the water and mountains are. Not the same as West Seattle :(

School is decent but I quickly become uninterested and unmotivated when one of the first lectures we had was on "What is population health, SDOH's, and health disparities." I found it rather amusing, though, that the first lecture in my outcomes/measurements class in maternal/child health was literally on the topic I researched with my ISP. Even some of the same articles were referenced. Indeed, small world and clearly-well-prepared from the ole AmeriCorps. And all I could think about was the fact that I have written a song dedicated to the SDOH's....if they only knew.



And for the record, I definitely reference you guys WAY too much. I think my roommates are already sick of hearing about "well this one time in AmeriCorps...." "Oh well, in our clinic..." "Oh in Seattle...." But, I can't help it. Nothing, thus far, has measured up to the standards of last year. I feel like this year is lacking the sense of adventure I felt in Seattle. Maybe that's because I actually know a few people here or knew the area before I got here---but I feel less motivated to explore it. I'm getting there, I swear.


I guess I'll leave it at that but Jenna, agreed- the vegetarian life is a difficult one in the midwest. One girl in our orientation literally said "I'm vegetarian" in her intro as her INTERESTING FACT. She's got nothing on the Seattle specialty of vegans.

Miss you all dearly. Come visit asap.

News from Jenna's World

Hello Dear Friends,

A whirlwind, indeed. Though my transition was speedy and smooth, Sea Mar is popping up in many various locations. The first day I went to school, for the rural medicine symposium, I learned about the WWAMI program that Terry and Anna will be in. Way cool. At the end of the day, I sat down at a table with "The gift of touch" inscribed on it with another heartwarming quotation. Not bad.

In the first class period of Epidemiology, the teacher asked who had seen Unnatural Causes. Check.

And today, I learned that the doctor who will be my preceptor - I'll be working with him three times per semester for the next two years - his clinic is on South Park Street. Yikes!

What a tangled web we weave.

Three things I miss very much about Seattle:
1) Being a vegetarian here is a big deal. That sucks. I miss when it was normal.
2) Bike helmets. Bike helmets are optional here....bad idea.
3) All of you. I'm slowly meeting people, but they don't seem cool enough quite yet. Still waiting for that breakthrough. Although today, a girl knocked over her water bottle ONTO ME! This soaked my pants (as only urine could) and the sweatshirt I had sitting on the table top. Though I was very uncomfortable and cold, I think we're better friends now. Hooray!

Thinking about all of you often,
Love love love,
Jenna

Wow. What happened?

One day, I walk into an interview for a job at a homeless clinic. Next, I’m shedding blood, sweat, and tears. I use lots and lots of paper. Then I’m driving away from a farewell party, my hands sticky with gingery berry juice. The program ends. New friends disperse across the country.

This is oddly sudden. On the one hand, I’ve planned on the end date from the beginning. On the other, too many new distractions arrive in the same two weeks: moving, school, Grandpa’s lump, my own lump. I get out of my apartment with my second sloppiest move ever. Friends pack and haul all five hundred square feet while I lamely hold my arm at my side. The landlord keeps fifty dollars to clean the oven. I barely succeed at community college registration. So far, I’ve settled for one class online and the wait list for another. Squeezing in quality time with grandpa has been angering and rewarding. I watch him twist the doctor’s words into better news. I also teach him the five stages of grief. Then there’s the business of Lumpy, my own body’s unwelcome new growth. If anyone ever tells you to get a needle biopsy or mentions anything about gadolinium, punch them in the face. Lumpy is now officially a benign fibroid, thank you very much. Grandpa’s prognosis, however, is aggressive and he’ll be starting chemotherapy soon.

The first week after the program, I was taking two naps a day and couldn’t wake up before 10am. Anyone else do better? There have been a lot of radiologists, babies, baby bumps, and a duodenal surgery. Never mind exiting the program with so many distractions. Exhausted from a marathon, I’ve learned that I’m actually in a triatholon. Getting a job has been overwhelming. And people’s innocent “what’s next?” questions make me want to throw up.

On Thursday, I park outside the dental building, knowing that this time there won’t be a snarky Jon comment about my car. I walk into The Office, no longer greeted by my favorite Meredith/Gemma/Alex/Imani/WhoElse smiles. That’s where I find the grief unique to the ending of the program. I finally get to miss you all. It’s a victory in this chaos.

I'm starting a creative housing-work exchange in September, living with a woman declining from lung disease. Tomorrow is a job interview. Class(es) start in a couple of weeks and my spotless report card will lead to nursing school application(s) in December. I can’t wait to hear from the rest of you.

--Summer

Gemma's Update

Hey guys! Thought maybe I'd be the first to post, since I don't have a TON going on right now, unlike you crazy kids in grad school!!

I'm working on a tobacco-related internship that is only about 6 hours a week, from my apartment.

On the real-job front, I just tried out at a daycare for children from abused/neglected homes. (I won't name it here, but it rhymes with schmild schmaven). I think it went really well, and it would be so fun to work with young kids, especially after seeing the effect a neglected childhood has on teenagers. However, I won't find out for another 3 weeks if I got the position or not.

Also, if your Facebook newsfeeds haven't been filled up with my wedding pictures, you can see them at a website: LunaBellaEvents.com -> clients -> Stilley (you know, if you want.)

And if anyone else already has a blogger account & wants to post under that name (like I'm doing), it's pretty easy to do.

Now, I have a week left of sunny Seattle and some time in Portland, and then I'm off to Europe!! So excited! Can't wait to hear about more of your lives, too.

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