January, 2010

  1. Guest post: How Novy lost his pants in Ireland

    January 31, 2010 by ChiaLynn

    NovySan sent this out as an accompaniment to my blog post about our trip to Ireland. I’m reposting it here so that Julia can read it.

    “The trip was filled with wonderful people, odd sychronicities, and good Craic. (Craic is the Irish term for good conversation, good times, hanging with friends, etc. Not Crack Cocaine.

    “One story sums it up best for me. It occurred during the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin. We had been invited to participate, rather than spectate, and found ourselves dressed in tie dye, faces painted, pushing a 400 pound sound system up and down the hills of Dublin. (I know, Dublin SEEMS flat. It’s not.) As a set of grandstands approached, I noticed I was having a little trouble walking. My stride seemed clipped. We were halted in front of the grandstand and I found out why I was having trouble walking. My costume pants had worked their way down past my hips, and just at that moment, they dropped to my ankles. Quickly grabbing my pants and frantically pulling them up, I noticed not 5 feet to my left, a seated chap in a green robe, with a very impressive gold necklace around his shoulders, a woman seated next to him, and a police officer with an ornate gold mace staring directly at me.

    “Yes, my pants had fallen to my ankles 5 feet directly in front of the
    Lord Mayor of Dublin.

    “After this I had no trouble smiling for the crowd as I giggled the rest of the parade route. It was only at the end when I told our host what had happened that he informed me that the woman seated next to the Lord Mayor, was in fact, THE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND.

    “So that was my St Patrick’s Day. How was yours? :-)

    “Sliante!”

    Category Love, Travel | Tags: ,,, | 2 Comments

  2. Storm Light

    January 22, 2010 by ChiaLynn

    When I drove up the 405 this morning, the clouds had parted and patterns of light and shade danced across the asphalt and the hills. I merged onto the freeway, fought my way clear of the 405-10 interchange, and looked up to see the Getty, gleaming white in a pool of sunlight.

    This, I realized, is one of the reasons that I love the rain. When it passes, the air is clean, and the light shines from the towering clouds and the wet streets. It leaves the sky a rare and special shade of blue. And here, in a desert that’s suffered years of drought, the earth drinks so deep that the cacti look out of place against the brilliant green that surrounds them.

    There are a lot of pictures of the destruction these storms have brought – the beach erosion and mudslides – but the image I’ll cherish is that white citadel basking in the sun, set off like a jewel against emerald velvet. I passed under a bridge, and when I emerged, the clouds had shifted and the vision was gone. I’m writing it down so I never forget.

    Category Los Angeles | Tags: ,,, | No Comments

  3. On a more serious note…

    January 13, 2010 by ChiaLynn

    I saw something about this earlier today – I’d post a link if I could remember where – and thought it was worth repeating.

    If you’re making a donation for earthquake relief in Haiti, please consider allowing the charity to which you’re giving it to use where it’s most needed, rather than earmarking for the Haitian earthquake. It will allow the charity much more flexibility in allocating funds, and if your dollars don’t go directly to Haiti, they’ll still be helping the victims of the quake, by letting the charity spend money it might otherwise have needed elsewhere in Haiti now.

    As to which charity you should donate to – The Red Cross, Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders and Mercy Corps are some of the highest-profile. They’re all working in Haiti now. Charity Navigator has posted a list of three- and four-star charities in the area. And if you’re ready to go to Haiti yourself, Idealist.org has a list of international charities that sponsor volunteer travel. (Hat tip to Oxfam America for the Idealist link.)

    Category Random Babbling | Tags: , | 1 Comment

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