Hey look, it's Moby!

As promised, here's the Moby interview I did. You don't really see me, but you can hear me every once in a while say "yeah" haha.

superstar!

So my last claim to fame was that I got to interview electronic/pop musician Moby a couple weekends ago. I will be sure to post the video as soon as it is up online. He was a pretty interesting dude, we met him at his hotel and he had a lot of good things to say about social justice work, his life growing up, and the new president. The whole time, though, all I could think about was that scene of him in the big fur coat pimp outfit in that music video he did with Gwen Stefani.



Well, Moby is small beans compared with what I found in my inbox this morning from my editor, Rose. The message is replicated here:

Re: Bill Moyers mentions Sojourners magazine on his show Friday night

Thanks Bill Moyers for mentioning Sojourners magazine and “Between the Lines” on his show Friday night! (and total kudos to Jeannie for writing the quoted Stats section of BTL.)--Rose

January 23, 2009 Bill Moyers Journal

BILL MOYERS: We are empowered to think beyond ourselves, to imagine the more perfect union for which this compact was forged. But as Obama himself reminded us Tuesday, stubborn facts crouch just offstage, waiting to pounce. We return to a minefield of tripwires ready to ensnare our hopes and dreams. By chance, Tuesday evening I came upon some of those stubborn facts, in this issue of "Sojourners" magazine.

For the first time in history, more than one in every 100 adults in America is in jail or prison that's 2.3 million people. One reason? The leader of one organization working with prisoners' families told "Sojourners" that "The education system, particularly for inner-city youth where the bulk of our prisoners come from, is abysmal."

Well, check it out folks, because that's an article I wrote! SWEET! Furthermore, as he is saying this, the screen showed images from our cover, as well as the spread with Rose and my byline somewhat clearly shown. I didn't go into the field of print journalism for fame, but this sure is fun. Check out the clip here. (The mention is between 1:09 and 1:40)

snow day = happy day

I woke up this morning to go to the gym, walked out my door, and saw this!



Finally, at the end of January, D.C., gets its first real snow! Damn you Al Gore and your global warming. Kidding, don't kill the messenger, right? But seriously folks, I've been waiting for this first snow for too long.

You see, dear readers, though I am from California, I am an east coast girl at heart. I despise warm weather, humidity can kiss my butt, and going to the beach? meh ... not that great. Give me a snowy winter wonderland any day! I immediately phoned Chris (who was fast asleep, eek! Sorry dude!) and upon hearing his mumbled "mmmhellooogrhgjkafhhr," I sang, "Wal-king in a win-ter wonderlannnddd ..." Thankfully, he laughed, rather than getting mad at me :)

Anyway, here are some more pics for your viewing pleasure.

Some birds resting on a lamp post outside my office window




Remembrances of spring:
dried strawberry flowers on my office windowsill,
still perfect in the dead of winter!




Work buddies Kaitlin and Zab admiring the snow




On such a cold day, I took solace in ... what else? ... my coffee mug :)

What surprised you today?

heart swells

This past weekend, Chris and I had the pleasure of visiting the Hyun family in Forest Hills, Queens, NY. The Hyun family consists of Peter--dad, lawyer, thinker, joker extraordinaire; Jenny--supermom, artist, photographer, and happy homemaker extraordinaire; and Eli--son, baby, cutie, and pooper extraordinaire. They are a lovely family, and Eli is a truly extraordinary boy and I love him more and more each time I meet him in his newest bodily iterations ... in other words, the kid grows fast! Wowzah!

Here are some photos of me and the little boogar.

I <3 Eli




*yawn* Adults are so boring




hehe! Such a cutie!

My job inspires me

Not at lot of people can say that, but it's true for me. Every day at Sojo, I'll come across at least one thing that makes me go, "huh!" The staff, the content, the issues, the advocacy work ... there is always something going on to learn from. Today, i found inspiration in an article by one of my all time fave theologians, Walter Brueggemann, that I already thought was great the first time I read it, but then I read it again and was struck by it's thoughtful perspective on the economic crisis. Here is the beginning:

From Anxiety and Greed to Milk and Honey, by Walter Brueggemann

So far as I know, the Bible says nothing explicit about subprime loans and the financial implications of such risky economic practice. There is a great deal, nonetheless, that the Bible has to say about such a crisis as we now face. I will comment in turn on a biblical perspective of an analysis of the crisis and a biblical perspective for an alternative economic practice.

While the specifics of the current market collapse are peculiarly modern, biblical perspectives are pertinent because the fundamental issues of economics are constant from ancient to contemporary time, constants such as credit and debt, loans and interest, and the endless tension between haves and have-nots.

Read the rest here where you can also find an audio interview between me and "Brueggie" :)

I know that I should consider myself lucky, and I definitely do! Sometimes I wish I could just stay in bed, or play hookie, or move to New York because it is one of the the best cities in the world, but by the time I am seated at my desk, with coffee brewing an arm's length away, and a list of interesting articles to look at, my heart swells full with gratitude for the work the good Lord has set before me.

(My office magnet board)

**delay**

My friends, huge apologies for not posting lately but not only is my plumbing problem WORSE, the internet at my house is down ... but, just as a little teaser: to come ... inauguration reflection ... some outfits that I enjoy ... people in my life ... the BEST Korean restaurant just blocks from my house! ... an introduction to the love of my life ... and more ...

stay tuned ...

Faulty Plumbing

I have been having some serious plumbing problems at my place. I live in the oldest rowhouse in a street lined with very old rowhouses, million dollar renovated condos, and government subsidized housing in quite possibly one of the most gentrified and simultaneously crime-ridden neighborhoods in all of Washington, D.C. It's been quite an adventure--and one that I've taken up with great gusto. Truly, walking from home to work everyday while enduring cat calls and "hola chica's", reading all the crime and incident reports of brothels and shootings, and seeing abject homelessness everyday hasn't taken that much of a toll on me, considering I was just half a year ago living in the calmest suburb in all of Wildomar, California. But what has become truly intolerable has been this: my clogged bathtub, which, after several days of remaining clogged, suddenly began spewing the most heinous primordial sewer water I've ever seen. What this is I do not know, but surely it was produced out of the deepest bowels of Hades.I tried to keep the photo small so you wouldn't have to see the nastiness of it in all it's glory. My tub has looked this way for the past four days now, forcing me to go to the gym in the mornings and shower before work. That's actually been very good for me, since I'm training to run the Cherry Blossom 10-mile run, but regardless, I am absolutely pissed that I have to deal with all this nonsense right now, particularly when I pay rent to live here and it is not liveable! Furthermore, my landlord is giving me trouble about paying a plumber to fix the problem, claiming that it's a tenant caused issue. I assure you sir, my body could not possibly produce the filth that you see here filling my tub.

It made me think about people who might not be able to fight for themselves in these kinds of situations. You wouldn't believe how horrible I feel right now because I am afraid that I'm being taken advantage of, and when my landlord started to refuse to pay to fix the plumbing problem, I just about wanted to kill somebody. But I was able to articulate my case: that I had been using a drain stop from day one, that I was paying good money to live here and that it was the landlord's responsibility to fix this or I would automatically deduct the costs I incurred from my rent.

While working at the social justice magazine, I've heard a lot about speaking for those who might not be able to speak for themselves. This is such a necessary form of aid for so many different situations. I'm often reminded of this when I see Nicholas Kristof's fantastic op-ed's in the New York Times, especially when he focuses on one individual who is suffering from larger systemic forms of injustice. Giving the brothel worker a platform to share their story to all the hundreds of thousands of people who read the New York Times is an incredible gift, something I hope to be able to do one day through my work .... if on a slightly smaller scale :)
But more on that another day. For now, here are some photos of where I take solace while simultaneously ignoring my bathroom problems: my desk and bed!
I think I will just hide here and hope no kind of swampy creature emerges from my tub. Please pray for a miracle!

Ex Files

I had an interesting conversation with a friend over gchat yesterday who had gone through a bad breakup about half a year ago. "I wish my ex wasn't such a curse," he said. That's a sad thought. "I wish I didn't have an ex." Well so do I. I also wish my boyfriend didn't have an ex.

The curse of the ex. Why does it loom over our heads so? Why does it make for uncomfortable conversations? And how is it that it doesn't bother some people at all? A friend told me about how she once told her new boyfriend that her ex boyfriend had emailed and he perked up: "oh! what did he say?" If only I were so pure of heart and motive. Instead, I want to throw his computer on the floor and dismantle the entire world wide web. An appearance from the green-eyed monster is harmless and normal in relationships, but how do you keep it from becoming the incredible hulk?

I have yet to figure that out :(

Hi, folks

Right, so here is another blog for me to work on. It's insane to think how many online obligations I have now that the world of print publishing is going down the drain and everything has moved online. Half my days I spend twittering my brains out ... it's kind of bizarre. In any case, I decided that I should have my own blog because I need to write for me and for my friends and my family, and not for the organization I work for or for a group blog that caters to this demographic or that demographic. There's a place for that kind of work, and then there's this. VintageJeannie. Something I hope to look back on years down the line and think ... well, that's who I was on January 13, 2009. And hopefully be able to track the progress I've made and shake my head in amazement at all the good and bad things God will have done to make me the person I become.

Here's to new endeavors begun with intention, inspiration, and curiosity!

Check, Check, 1, 2 ...

Another one? Really, Jeannie?
here we go.