UFO?

Found this on YouTube.com today - do you think it's for real?



Then after you watch that...click here.

What's going on over there?

I have never really been one to devote much time following what's going on in the Middle East.  It all sounds so senseless every time I try to make any sense of it.  Someone told me the other day that conflicts over there have been run of the mill for thousands of years.  Thousands of years!  What's up with that!?

Anyways, something about what's going on now has gotten under my skin.  It's not the oil - I could really care less since our dependence on it is our problem, not the world's.  Two countries fighting or even going to war doesn't bother me much either, it's going to happen - I wish it wouldn't, but it does happen.  The prospect of our, America's, involvement worries me a little.  After watching the movie Syriana last year I have to wonder how much we are involved when stuff like this happens, or escalates.

No, what bothers me about the whole thing is everyone's passiveness about what is going on.  Not the news, not our government, not the United Nations, but everyday people.  Like I said before, attitudes like "this has been going on for thousands of years", or "those countries over there are always fighting" are somewhat unsettling.  How come no one cares?  I mean, surely they care on some level?  Should I not really care?  Is it more religious fanaticism?

Now everything bothers me.  I want to learn about what is really going on.  I want to learn why thousands of years of war and fighting has just resulted in more of the same.  I want to learn why people dying, missiles flying, and bombs exploding isn't that big of a deal to those around me.  I want to learn what kind of religion, or what god could possibly be intermingled in all this violence.  Right now, it is still just senseless to me.

Cool video - fun...

Check out this video - it's about 6 minutes, but pretty neat (especially if you like magic)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwDlQu8IvZI

BIG news!

OK - so this is going to be the biggest news that I have ever posted on my blog. But, let's start at the beginning...

You may recall in my last post that I changed my transmission fluid and replaced the filter on my '98 Mercury Sable. This kind of built up my car repair confidence. So Sunday, I decided to "bleed" my brake lines and replace the front disc brakes. I was having problems with my brakes sometimes having a lot of pressure and then sometimes me putting the brake all the way to the floor - so I knew some sort of repair was needed. In the past month my brakes had started squealing as well.

Much to my and Joe's surprise, everything went great! He helped me bleed the lines and I got my pressure back. I replaced the front brakes with no problem. I don't think they really needed to be replaced, perhaps just sanded down to rough-up the surface, but I replaced them anyways. The car drove like a champ and I was just feeling great that I had saved hundreds of dollars by doing these repairs myself . . . .

But then Monday happened. Monday (drum roll please), I traded in the Sable for a brand new Polar White 2007 Toyota Yaris S-Sedan! Can you believe it!? I still can't...But it's true (I can see it right now in the driveway). Joe put up most of the money for the car as a graduation/birthday gift - he is so good to me :-) I paid for the rest from savings and the trade of course. I don't have a digital camera yet - so here are some pictures I stole from Toyota.com --



I am really stoked about this new car. First, I have never had a brand new car before. I drove it off the lot and it only had 12 miles on the odometer. Now I also understand why everyone likes new car smell. AND, the best part of all - I get the best gas mileage ever! 34 city and 39 on the highway. Now I don't have to worry about wasting gas when driving back and forth from school to work and home again. We can't wait to travel in it out of town - so more to come later on all of our traveling adventures.