I want to open my own non-profit organization that helps take inner city kids to enjoy activities in the outdoors such as hiking, snowboarding, camping, learning about environmental issues, etc.
See more progress on: open my own non-profit
Opening my own non-profit
January 24th, 2008A New Adventure
January 13th, 2008On 11.10.07, my best friend asked me to share in the adventure of a lifetime and be his wife! Of course I said YES :)
We drove up to Rocky Mountain National Park to enjoy some of the last nice days of the fall. As we were driving through the Morraine Park area of the park, Joe asked if we could pull over to the side and take some pictures. Morraine Park is a beautiful valley, surrounded by mountains on all sides. The elk typically gather in this area of the park as well.
We got out of the car and crossed over a creek that was running along side of the road. We had previously tried to cross this creek early in the summer, but without success due to the current. Once we crossed over the creek, we decided to scramble up some rocks to reach the top of a small mound that was in the middle of the valley.
As we were sitting on the rocks, Joe began to tell me the things about me that he appreciated and loved. I might add, that he was being extremely sweet and cute while he was telling me these things too :) Between each sentence, he was giving me kisses.
At one point, Joe got nervous and started stumbling on his words. I got butterflies in my tummy at this point, in anticipation of what he was going to say next.
In the most beautiful moment of my life, and in my relationship with Joe, he got down on one knee and asked me to share in the adventure of a lifetime with him and be his wife. And I said YES!!
Joe surprised me even further by sneaking champagne into the park and we had a celebration toast.
It was a beautiful day :)
When Neighbors Unexpectedly Get Along
December 26th, 2007For the entire two years that I’ve been living in my studio apartment in Capitol Hill here in Denver, my neighbor and I had probably muttered no more than the occasional “hi,” “hello,” or “how are you?” I’m sure I’ve annoyed him when playing records at odd times of the night, and I’ve scoffed each time I’ve witnessed him driving and parking his ungodly behemoth of a monster work truck that he somehow manages to fit in our tiny basement parking garage.
Anyhow, everyone in our building in general tends to be anti-social, so it’s easy to fall into the pattern and perpetuate it, even if you are a very social person who likes to get to know people, like I am.
Nevertheless, in one of those funny situations that neighbors who don’t talk to each other get caught – and that there’s no way to get out of – we were forced to communicate with one another.
I was walking up to our building after getting off the bus and noticed he was getting his mail, and my mailbox is directly next to his. For a few seconds I thought of killing time standing outside, walking to the back of the building, or even just walking past him and going upstairs to my place, but I knew that would be petty.
So up I went and did what I do best in these situations: I sprang up some small talk about how annoying it is to get junk mail, and we both related our frustration. Afterward, he rushed upstairs quickly, obviously trying to escape the uncomfortable moment, even though it was a futile effort since I’d have to walk past him to get to my studio.
I walked up the stairs slowly to minimize the agony of having to cross paths again, and when I got up to our floor, I tried to walk by him as quickly as possible. To my surprise, as I walked behind him, he commented about the huge snowfall we’re supposed to get.
I said “That’s good news,” and asked him if he was a skier or snowboarder. He opened up and told me that this year he skipped out, since he was buying a house. I told him that’s great, and since we were both going into our apartments, I felt the need to say something to end the conversation on a good note.
Without thinking, and not realizing until later how strange it may have sounded, I said “Well, it’s good to see you again.” He said “Likewise,” and we both smiled and went our separate ways.
For a moment after stepping inside my place I thought about how I may have sounded dumb, but I soon stopped caring. I found myself feeling unexpectedly happy and good about our neighborly exchange. For a person as cynical as myself, this was a refreshing change from the norm. At least for one instance throughout our time living in these apartments, my neighbor and I treated each other with respect, and a degree of friendliness that we all could afford to show more often.
It’s good to be alive
December 17th, 2007
I was sitting in church with Christina when suddenly I felt a sharp, piercing pain in my heart. After the first pain and I began to hold my chest, I experienced three more, but less intense waves of pain. Around the last few waves, I also felt very slight pain in my left arm and also on my right shoulder. I just sat still, breathing carefully until it passed.
I’ve had some similar pain in the lungs from time to time when I try to breathe too fast or get up too quick, but not in my heart, and not like this. I didn’t think I could be having a heart attack since I’m relatively young (24), so I just sat through church and went shopping for groceries with Christina afterward.
After a few hours had passed without incident and we came home and ate a good meal though, I sat down to read up a few things about what had happened. By this time, my heart wasn’t hurting, but I had faint feelings of the muscle being tired or worn, similarly to how an arm or leg muscle feels after having a cramp. My breathing wasn’t terrible, but it was a bit slower than usual.
Now, I’m not normally a WebMD diagnostic freak and definitely don’t enjoy reading about symptoms on the site, somehow trying to match them up with major problems I *know* I don’t have. However, being that I had pain in my heart, I did go to WebMD and learned about what the typical symptoms and causes of heart attacks are.
The things that immediately stood out were the descriptions of the pain and also the pain the pain extending to the left arm. I began to worry seeing as I had an experience that somewhat came close to what was being described on the site, and especially after reading the warning that those symptoms can sometimes be a sign of a heart attack just waiting to happen.
Three years ago, I was diagnosed with a small hole in my heart and was told it wasn’t life-threatening and that I should keep an eye on it. Well…needless to say, I can’t say I have. My diet hasn’t always been the greatest either, and I almost stopped exercising altogether in the past year and gained a good thirty extra pounds. I’ve become very active recently (biking, hiking, climbing, camping, snowboarding, futbol, running, walking) and stopped eating beef and most meat products…so I’m getting better.
Still, I decided to call my grandmother and grandfather in Sylvania, Ohio, to get their opinion. John, my grandfather, has survived multiple heart attacks and has a defibrullator implanted. He’s a strong man and if there was anyone that was going to know about the symptoms and pain, it was him. Even though he said I was probably too young for a heart attack, he basically said the best thing I could do was get to a hospital ASAP and get checked out to diagnose any possible damage.
And I’ll cut the story short here because I’m falling asleep (never write when you were already dozing off after installing 15+ Wordpress plugins)…but we did go to the hospital and after 6 wasted hours of our life that we’ll never get back, I was told my heart was doing good.
They ran an EKG test (6 hours after I had arrived) and everything’s cool. Nevertheless, I am supposed to see my primary care physician and get a referral to a cardiologist. Before that can happen, I also have to get my medical records from the OSU Medical Center, so that should be fun!
All in all, it was an eventful day because although I was OK in the end, there were moments I was very happy to be alive, and really hoping that I would get an opportunity to do all the things I want to accomplish and do in life. I felt myself praying very hard and hoping as much as possible that my time wouldn’t be cut short today, or hopefully not in the near future.
It’s so easy to just brush off pain for me and never think twice…but today was certainly a day that made me strive to pay more attention to my body and my health in general.
Finally…it was a day that truly made me realize again just how lucky I am to be alive, and most of all, how lucky I am to have Christina in my life. She was at my side throughout the whole ordeal, and I am truly blessed to have her love, caring and kindness. I want to make sure to stay healthy and keep my heart strong, and I hope we can grow old and enjoy a lifetime of happiness and joy together.
Peanut Butter Jelly Time…With A Live Banana!
November 26th, 2007It just doesn’t get any better than this. I wish I could have been at this game :D
Awesome Classic Video Game Live Pixel Art
November 25th, 2007
Flickr user and SomethingAwful forum goon Flogera has gotten lots of views lately – he’s made some of the coolest video game fan art ever conceptualized. Using perler beads, he’s made really accurate and kickass “live” pixel art versions of classic Nintendo and Sega character sprites. Check out the full Flickr set, but don’t get too excited – he’s not selling these anymore :(
Hello!
November 18th, 2007Greetings from Joe and Christina and welcome to our newly created site! This is a place for us to keep you updated on the things going on in our lives and post some fun stories and pictures of our adventures together. Check back soon because we’ve got lots to share with you :)