my work table
who wants to teach me french?
i spent a few hours on this week helping with a client related spanish translation. although the document was on whistleblower's rights - not quite a beautiful literary piece - it was nice to remember that i have the ability to understand and write another language.
last week, cousin cher introduced me to a juliette binoche and olivier martinez french film. it was a perfect rainy evening to get my subtitles on last night. it was beautiful movie -- olivier wasn't bad to look at either. (though i'm slightly afraid of ever getting cholera).
and randomly, i have been coming across this little girl everywhere in the blog world. she's makes me want to speak french!
kisses and giggles. so sweet.
Love(ly) words from Capucha on Vimeo.
do you remember your stories?
it's ok capucine, i hate carrots also.
Eat your carrots ! from Capucha on Vimeo.
The most important men in my life happen to be veterans.
Last year, I posted that my grandfather was accepted into the WWII memorial here in DC.
Here’s the memorial and his entry at the memorial. Neat huh?
I could sing praises and praises of my Papa, but today, I think I’ll share with you my unsung hero.
This one of my favorite pictures of my family except that my sister isn’t in it (sorry sis).
My dad is one of the bravest men I know. Not only did he survive living in a house with four very strong, opinionated women (my mom, myself, my sister and his mother), but he left the
Did I mention that he didn’t really speak English?
After persevering through all the enlistedNavy stuff, he set a foundation for his life here in
Eventually they had me and my sister. They decided early on that it would be easier to raise me and my sis if we didn’t have to live the military lifestyle. They set down roots and bought at house just right out of DC, near my mom’s family, and settled down. Dad did all the traveling he was assigned and came home when he could; mom worked full time, was the breadwinner and was home to raise us. This was one of the sacrifices they were willing to make to make sure we grew up easier. It was really hard on my mom to not have my dad there for long spurts of time. My mom relied heavily on her siblings; and my sis and I had to adjust every time he came home.
When I was around 10, my dad was stationed in VA beach. Besides being stationed in the Navy Yard, this was the ‘easiest’ for my parents. He would live on the ship from M-F and commute the 3 hours back every weekend to stay in our home. One day after Christmas, as I played my newly received Tetris game, my father was packing up to leave. This wasn’t unlike any other Sunday night, and I thought nothing of it. As I played, I was beckoned to say goodbye to my father, to which I responded with a casual yell “bye daddy!” controller still in han
It was a few weeks later that the Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm were all over the news. As I flipped through a Time magazine article detailing the war efforts, I noticed that my dad’s ship, USS America was in the
I was too young to understand it all, but I knew this was big. We wrote letters to the soldier in Miss Miller’s class and got my best friends at the time to write letters to my da
When a Navy ship docks, the families are invited to stand on the dock and look up at the sea men in their dress whites lined up on the deck and hanging from every opening on the aircraft carrier. USS America was the size of a small city and was big enough to carry almost 80 war planes. When the boat docked, there was literally a sea of white on the boat. I remember my mom and uncle joking around that it was pretty much near impossible to be able to see our dad on the ship. But I searched anyway. And there he was, hanging from one of the lower level ports, waving right at me. It’s something that I’ll never forget.
When I was little, everyone told me I was just like my da
i realize this is late, but it's taken a while to take it all in.
the last two days in dc have been surreal and amazing. realizing that my vote helped turn my battleground state make what i think is the right decision was a humbling and proud moment for me as an american. while i realize that maybe the impact of this election might be more apparent since i live in dc, after reading and watching various blogs, papers, and news reports, i know that this election is not just affecting me but the world. and while i'd rather not taint this entry with negativity, but i can't help to share another reason why i know i made the right choice. i won't say that obama or the democratic party is perfect but the following video proves that the rest of the country saw what i saw: a desperate attempt to win an election by all means necessary regardless of its potential consequences. i'm sorry, i don't want the woman next door to be running my country. i want someone who knows what s/he is doing.
this is from fox news. not exactly the most liberal of the media outlets.
if you're too lazy to watch, the basic gist is that some insiders on the mccain team have admittted that sarah palin was a "hail mary" (aka last resort decision) and that people on the team were concerned about her knowledge of current events, civics, and other general knowledge. case in point: sarah palin didn't know that africa was a continent. may i remind you that she was running for vice president. vice president. seriously.
thanks america for using your brain.
golden delicious | stribling orchard in markham, VA | september 2008
a new addition to my repertoire: apple tartthere's something to say about a local coffee shop where cell phones aren't allowed, where free wi-fi is abundant, local artist's work is displayed on every wall, and is quaint enough that a barely year old child can waddle laps around the coffee shop's mish-mosh of unmatched chairs and distressed vintage tables without disturbing the korean war vet on the couch, the family soothing their newest edition, and the blogger on her computer. the coffee and fresh baked goods while motown pours through the surround sound aren't so bad either.
if you can't tell, i'm enjoying this calm morning.
it's been a long time since i've posted anything creative on here - probably because i haven't any time to pretend martha.
this week, i was fortunate to see my friend, stacy - with no 'e', on her way to her new residence in the sunshine state from the garden state. and while our visit was limited to just one hour, i was able to send her on her way with a care package for the long drive ahead. in it were her favorites: reese's pieces, sour patch kids, some organic snacks aptly named 'pirates booty' and of course, her favorite pita chips aptly spelled with no 'e'. all of it was packed in a beach bucket for her to use upon going to the beach of course -- which by the way is ten minutes from her new house.
as i was saving this photo away into my goodies file, i remembered that i never posted these pictures of other care packages that i've left for visitors to casa leah.
while i was away in africa, m&g stayed at my condo for a weekend to celebrate the cherry blossoms.
A few weeks ago, when I was arranging the photographs for my little nook at my parents house (trying to mooch of their color printer), my aunt happened to be within earshot of my lament that the photos I took would have come out much better with an SLR instead of my point and shoot. She mentioned had one laying around and that I could have it if I wanted. While I did get a little excited, I didn't think much of it. Until today.
Tita B totally pulled through and gave me her NikonD40 to try out and see if it's to my liking. So even on this humid day, after the baptism chaos with the family and being tired after a druken stupor that a good friend induced after my sad state yesterday, I promptly headed to Meridian Hill Park to test out my new toy.
Not bad considering I haven't figured out all the buttons. Once I can figure out the settings, I think I'll love it even more and maybe get some better shots. I can't wait to find a photography class!
... with the olympics.
I've always been (like looking up official rules, checking medal standings during the day, reading athlete profiles) but this time around, I wish I was in Beijing.
There's always Vancouver - yay for curling!
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For those of you that have graced my abode, you've noticed (and probably bugged me about) the hot pink notes taped to the unfilled frames over my couch.
Yes, I moved in here over a year ago. Yes, I just fixed the frames yesterday. Yes, they are a little crooked. Most of the frames are made for table tops and I have yet to pull off the leg in the back. Hey, something is better than nothing! I'll fix the crookedness when I can move the couch out of the way without risk of hurting myself.
The frames took me a year to fill only because I wasn't sure what types of photos (or artwork) that I would put in them. Finally, I decided to fill them with images that I've taken on my travels. I had a set plan with a plethora of images around the nation and Europe. Then I booked a trip to Ireland and decided to wait. I was ready to print and finish this, and then Africa happened. Before my surgery, I finally ordered some prints and hung them up after the hailstorm from yesterday woke me up from my percocet induced nap.
I plan on going to South America next spring so these photos will most likely change (or not) but these are my favorites (most have been featured on this site already).
clockwise from the top:
found on the printer: a printout of a unknown coworker's playlist (no, it is not mine)
I can walk without crutches.
Not for very long. But it's a start.
Range of Motion = still less than 50 degrees (my left leg is at 130)
The stitches still hurt.
imagine:
I'm sitting outside on a beautiful, custom built, scalloped, patio overlooking a large, two-tiered expanse of grass surrounded by overgrown trees, lavender bell flowers, orange blossomed bushes, and a burgeoning vegetable garden of tomatoes, summer squash, and zucchini. A tray with coffee and two perfectly toasted pan de sal with butter lands next to the laptop where I sit typing (and listening to Pearl Jam unplugged).
I don't think I'm in Fairlington anymore, Toto!
As much as I have been pushing to go back to my own condo during this ordeal, I've not-so-secretly enjoyed staying at the parentals. I mean, I'm getting spoiled at this point (see above). They are great at making their "pasyente" feel better even though they are still doing their own thing (going out shopping, laying another patio under the deck, hanging out with my aunts, etc). I get to choose what's for dinner, get continuous ice for me knee, and don't really have to do much of anything but lay around a take drugs and play my mom's Wii. And there's the cable! (btw, I've officially know that I'm not missing much. I really am not getting cable anytime soon. I just need to make time to watch Project Runway online. Sidenote: the Season 5 cast = BO-ring. I miss the likes of Austin Scarlet, and of course, Santos + Andre! Tanning, tyed dyed Blane = annoying and contrived).
Anyway, I really must get on with my own life, get some cell phone reception, leave the parentals alone, stop complaining about the pain, and be able to sleep in my own bed. Nonetheless, I'm not afraid to admit it: I'm going to miss being spoiled. My parents are the best.
... who wants to keep me company?! hint. hint.
It's 4:30am and I'm pretty proud of myself. I just lifted my leg by myself and didn't whimper!
Last night, I was finally allowed to take a shower, a full 48 hours after surgery. Trust me, I was not happy after I heard the news that I had to wait even that long. I was also given directions that my dressings would have to come off, so as to heal and not infect my incisions. I was more than excited about this -- partly because I was curious as to what my knee looked like -- but mostly because I really wanted to be clean.
What I didn't realize is the amount of stabilization that the dressings gave me. Not only did I have two ace bandages helping support my knee but there was a semi-hard (because of dried up fluid - gross) 6x6 piece of gauze/cast that helped the top of my knee stay motionless.
Needless to say, all my showing off to my mom while the dressings were on -- me doing leg lifts onto the bed without breaking a sweat, hobbling around the house, not needing her in the middle of the night to get me ice -- to prove that I could go home and take care of myself -- went down the tubes after I fell into at fit of pure frustration of not being able to lift/move my leg at one point late, last night (there were actual tears involved).
Besides the usual lifts in and out of bed, I guess the added trauma of standing in the shower was too much for my knee in one day. There is nothing more frustrating to me that not being able to do what I know I can do; I was literally willing my knee/leg to move, only to feel shooting pain. The only good thing I learned from that (now that my mom is convinced that I cannot go back to my condo) is that it gave me a glimpse of what PT is going to be like.
So, the honeymoon of the surgery is over. I'm currently sitting here with an ice pack on my knee, trying to assess if I really need that percocet, and really proud that I learned how to use my good leg to lift the other into bed.
PT starts on Monday and I know I have a long way to go. But I'm ready for the pain, because I refuse to taking this all sitting down (literally).
beignets & iced chicory at cafe du monde | new orleans, may 2008
visit medieval castles
cross old, scary bridges
have cocktails a hundred feet away from the drop-off of victoria falls (see the mist behind my head? those aren't clouds)Good: Dr. told me to walk without a brace or crutches.
Bad: still might have a torn acl or mostly likely a torn miniscus. MRI next week.
Ugly/funny: my left pinky toe is broken.
awesome.
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it's been a crazy week. after my stint in the emergency room, i had a pretty pathetic memorial day resting up and packing for a dreaded trip to the airport with crutches. my knee was killing then. luckily, after stabilizing for a couple of days, i was able to hobble along while at my event sans crutches to keep everything running smoothly so not to piss the USSS off. crazy, i tell you. i'm home now, thankful for the thunderstorm so i can sit at home and catch up on my netflix and rest my knee without feeling guilty. there's a possibility that i walked up and down bourbon street one too many times last night.
one night this week, i went out with a few people for dinner. two people who joined me, i've known for just over a year and the other, i've known for five or so. the person i've known longer had commented on my injury as the waiter ran into it resulting in a a little yelp.
him: "you are right, YOU are THAT person."
me: "yup."
other two: "huh"
him: "she's that one person, who always has something happen to her"
me: "i'm just waiting to catch malaria"
other one: "well, actually, things probably happen to everyone, leah just happens to tell people her stories"
him and me: "yeah i guess"
but i still contend that there is a high probability that if something is going to go wrong, i'm somehow involved in it. luckily, it's nothing terrible. just unfortunate or funny enough to make a story out of it.
for instance:
this is winter 2004. and yes, my tires (not just hubcaps) were stolen from my car by some neighborhood thieves. when i was in new jersey. oh, and it was 4pm on a sunday when we discovered it. yes, i had work the next day and was planning to leave. and, of course, mine was the only car that got hit.
my name is leah, things happen to me.
Did you know that your ligaments are strong enough to pull off pieces of bone when stretched enough?
Yeah. Looks like my ACL tore off a piece of something or rather during those bounces. Hence, pain.
Awesome.
At least I get vicodin out of this.
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Reasons why I need - er, would prefer having - a boyfriend, right now:
5) it would be fun.
4) he could have changed that lightbulb that i replaced yesterday - which by the way, i can certainly do and DID, but it would have been ten times easier if there were no ladders involved. hey, i'm short!
3) he would travel with me to new orleans this week (related to possible outcome of #1).
2) sundays. coffee. reading the paper.
1) as his boyfriendly duty, he would drive me to the emergency room... today.
it would probably be bad to drive myself to the hospital when i can hardly stand on my right leg, huh?
one word: TURKMENISTAN (did i even spell that right?!)
as opposed to:
my favorite: "the Iraq everywhere like such as"
this trip to new orleans was pretty much strictly business for 24 hours; i'll be in back in dc tomorrow. but after dinner, we did have a chance to walk down bourbon street. it's back and as nutso as i remember from two years ago. this is probably the most PG of pictures i could have taken on this street...
It's weekend bullet time (hey, it counts as an update).
today, i'm itching to play outside again. so returns sunday fun day. yay for warm weather!Alright so, it's been 3 weeks since I've returned. And I think I'm back. After multiple attempts to correct my internal clock with beer and wine this week, I think Friday night did the trick. I slept in until 9am. That's HUGE.
After a family reunion x2 on Saturday, today, I had the pleasure of hanging out with some my Seattlites for a few hours and of course, ladies night with the girls.
Margaritas + Girls = Good Times. As if you didn't know that.
Of course, I'm not at all tired but I have an early day tomorrow. What time is it? Most people would call that irony, but my name is Leah; things happen to me.
Speaking of, I was able to get some help on my jump video (thanks!) and here it is (so much for being anonymous).
Ok, so it's no surprise that somehow I was able to hurt myself when jumping off of a bridge over a gorge. Who woulda thunk?!
According to the internet, the Vic Falls jump is a 166 meter drop. That's approximately 545 ft. For those that need comparison, a foot ball field including endzones is 360 ft. So, I fell about 1.5 foot ball fields. (I know, what was I thinking?!)
Funny things to note:
it's been one full week and i'm still on african time. failed attempts to get back to DC time have included:
yesterday. holy crazy crowded. but she saw her elephants (asian elephants are not as cute as african ones), her zebras (dude, why are the zebras at the zoo dirty? and not as cute as the african ones, i might add!), and a slew of other animals. she was uber cute yesterday. probably won't be the last time at the zoo for the next couple of years, but definitely will be the last time we go on the first, warm, saturday of the year.Despite the luxury that is B-Class on our 24 hour trip back from Africa, I was unable to sleep. Thank goodness for iPods and forgotten playlists.
Here are the songs stuck in my head (not the best playlist mind you, but at least it's not covers of tracy chapman or bob marley... yay!):
As I sit in the airport that lost all systems (read: handwritten tickets), I'm thinking: I'm ready to get home.
I realize that I am very lucky to have experienced this continent, these countries, these people, and this easy going "hakuna matata" kind of life.
These are the things I'll miss/my favorite moments:
-leaving my room and seeing animals roaming... even those bad monkeys
-getting rained on at victoria falls
-the sun; however burnt I am, its better than snow and rain
-seeing a whole lot of stars in the sky; and the stillness of real darkness-- even though it creeped me out while walking to my building at night.
-laughing about kenya's debacle
-seeing the real africa (albeit from a distance), and realizing and recognizing its pace
-feeding and petting an elephant
-talking to locals even when they bring up the election (barack is a huge deal here)
-"yes please"
-the cute kids that haven't seen an asian girl before; that and being told that I look "almost asian"
-not feeling the need to anything but have fun.
Things I won't miss:
-living out of a suitcase
-stopping in random airports
-being scared that a monkey will jump on my dinner table
-being terrified of jumping to my death
-the miscommunications
-my hostel bed in kenya
-the slow pace when you really need something right away
-tracy chapman
-not being invited to a boma
-the local craftsman invading my personal space and trying to convince me that ten dollars is a good price for a wooden rhino.
-and of course, dial up internet
See you stateside!
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johnny, leah and christine on Liwa the Ele | 04.11.08 | mosi-o-tunya park
clockwise from the top: 
zambezi river sunset cruise on the african queen | 04.10.08
Chella, our driver & the Funky Munky | 04.08.08 | livingstone, zambiai just discovered that there is internet on property. i don't really know how i'm finagling this, but i'm going to milk it.
so instead of writing new things, i'm going to try to upload pictures and videos from past posts as we speak.
enjoy!
EDIT: 3:26am (your time)
it's slow and i still don't think i can get videos uploaded. hmpf. stand by.
I'm here. I'm alive. I'm so burnt (skin is red).
Though I've been lucky to flirt my way into free internet service the last two days, I probably won't have that much luck as I think they are catching on. Internet is expensive, limited, and dial up (GAH) so I'll update more when I get home.
After our sleep filled stop in Jo-burg, we got up early to ensure that we got on the plane to Livingstone. After finally deciphering the reader boards – which was embarrassing to say the least – we were in! with 2 hours to spare. Thank goodness for duty free shopping.
On the plane, the pilot said that it was such a great day that they would fly over the falls. It was amazing to say the least – even with the plane's engine in the way of my shots.
victoria falls from the plane | 04.06.08
Upon arrival, our airport transfer drove closer and closer to the falls – you could tell because the spray from the falls was over 500 meters high and you couldn't miss it. Ends up, our hotel is located a five minute walk from the falls, and is in the Mosi-ao-Tunya World Heritage Natural
Wildlife Park.
Because of this, we have crocodiles, monkeys, giraffes, impala and zebras roaming around on the grounds of the hotel. Let me repeat that, there are animals roaming freely on the grounds of the hotel - near leah. If you know me and my sister, this is just funny.
BAD monkey! eating sugar packets | 04.07.08 | livingstone, zambia
The monkeys are ridiculous. During meal times – everything is open air here – they hover over the dining tables and jump on tables grabbing food and sugar packets. They're a little manic – probably because they eat sugar packets – and are not totally scared of being near people. I'm not a fan; in fact, I'm downright scared. It's the running joke amongst my friends. Obviously, they didn't see Outbreak.
Of course, the first night here, I went to take a walk, and stepped out side our building to find a zebra's butt outside the hall door. The herd had wandered from the other parts of the property was munching on the short grass near the pool/restaurant. The zebras aren't tame by any means, so it's always fun negotiating a safe path to walk around them.
After my photo shoot with the zebras, we ended up at the Royal Livingstone our first night, having wine on deck on the Zambezi River, listening to traditional drumming and singing.
Yesterday morning, I was antsy and decided to hit up Victoria Falls at 7:30 in the morning. I took the quick 7 minute hike and was amazed at how close I was to the falls. They say that to go see it, you either just go in your swimsuit because the spray is so great, that it's like it is raining. It is. Ponchos are useless and another tourist money making scheme here. The falls are ten times the size of Niagara Falls and you get completely soaked even though you are across the gorge. It's like walking through a car wash.
We spent the day relaxing and booking our activities for the week, including an elephant back safari, a Zambezi river cruise, and a jaunt into town. We also booked a segway tour of the property since it was so big and we wanted to get our bearings.
Our segway tour guide took us all around to find all the animals – didn't see any crocs or impalas this time around but we're here for a few more days. We spotted the zebras on the grounds of our sister hotel and some stupid tourist decided he would stand beside them. Consequently, he got a good, swift kick in the butt from a zebra. It was pretty funny. And a great story to tell. Though I'm not sure he'll be laughing today.
Since it is a park, there are paths through the bush, and it's there that we encountered the giraffes, about 5 feet away from us. I was so amazed, as it was almost surreal -- as if they were toys. 
arson, our segway guide & geoffrey, the giraffe | 04.07.08 | mosi-o-tunya park
Afterwards, we had some close encounters with some monkeys during dinner, then walked back to Victoria Falls in the afternoon. But since it was getting dark, it was probably not safe to be outside, hiking on wet stone, in the woods.
This morning, we went to the falls again and were able to cross a bridge that crosses to another island. It was nuts. And very wet. But so much fun! I'm proud to say that I was a trooper and didn't succumb to the ponchos and went with the flow, taking pictures through a ziplock bag.
walking back to our hotel (via a bridge) from the eastern cataract of victoria falls
Ok, gotta go before they decide to charge me a gajillion dollars for this. We're hitting up town in an hour and going to see all that Livingstone has got to offer.
