Foul Play.

Nostalgia.

Disappointment.

Mother Nature's Greatest Gift.

One Small Step Towards Peace..

On April 25th, 2009, people from 100 cities around the world gathered together for one purpose and one purpose only: to free Joseph Kony's child soldiers.


Salt Lake City had over 1500 people gather at the President's Circle on the U of U campus. From there, we symbolically abducted ourselves and marched to the Gallivan center, or the "LRA camp".


We all held on to a rope while traveling the distance, demonstrating our unity.


After we arrived, we patiently waited to be rescued by the Media and the Moguls. Simply because this is seemingly the only way these abducted children will have a chance at being brought home. Through the media and moguls, we will raise awareness about the sad fate of these children, and bring them to safety.



At only 7:30PM, we were rescued. The red flag symbolizing media attention, and the purple flag showing that we had at least one mogul show up and give a speech on behalf of the children.


The next mission: travel to the next closest city who has not yet been rescued, and increase the numbers until they are unavoidable. Many people traveled to Idaho and Nebraska soon after we had been rescued.


We were lucky to have been rescued so quickly. It was due to the effort that so many compassionate people had put into the event. Previously, we had emailed, mailed, and telephoned countless news broadcasters, governors, senators, mayors, etc. We made sure they were going to be there.


Our job wasn't done, however. We still had three flags that needed to be raised. Green: showing that we had raised an equivalent of five dollars per person that were attending the event. White: showing that each person had written at least two letters to a local or national mogul. Black: showing that at least 45 people had signed up for Lobby Days held in Washington DC on June 23rd and 24th.


It was due to these countless compassionate people that our goals were reached. I began to feel so thankful. I was thankful for everything; my family, friends, strangers, compassion, love, peace, freedom, everything. I couldn't begin to imagine what it would be like to have these things taken away.


I am extremely glad that the night was a success. This just proves my point even further that a good cause is nothing without good people to follow along with it.


Let 'em go, Jo.

Eyes of Sincerity.. or Betrayal?

We see beauty through the barriers set in front of us.

Be a see-through-er, not a look-at-er.
Darrel Scott

The Peacock.

The creature that is renowned for it's beauty.

The Wonderful Hogle Zoo.

Ah, the zoo. I love it.
I love the chances of photography.
And not just any kind of photography, animal photography. My favorite.
I feel as though you can capture so much with a picture of an animal, such as their feelings and emotions.
Animals also don't complain that they "look back in that one". Most of the time they don't need to, animals rarely have a "bad side".




Some of you may be wondering "If you love animals so much, how can you stand to see them in captivity?"
Well, I have two sides to that question.
A lot of zoos take exotic animals in that have been injured and cannot return to the wild. I like this aspect.
However, I have to agree that it is sad sometimes. The exhibits are often far too small for the animal it contains. Unfortunately, there is not much we can do about this.





But some animals seem to be enjoying themselves.













We enjoyed ourselves, as well.




My long-lost love, Ernie the Colobus Monkey.


When I'm lonely, I talk to the prairie dogs. :)













Future posts will be filled with pictures from the zoo, these hardly even make a dent!

A nice stroll in the park...?

Oh Trixie, you never cease to embarrass me.
And Cole, you're no exception.

A walk in the park is supposed to be a pretty peaceful thing, right?
No. Well, not with Trixie and Cole, that is.

Erin and I had our hands full, so we decided to tie them up to a tree while we picked up trash for my Biology project.
That didn't last long..
I didn't take into consideration that other dogs and their owners may be using the park..
And I also wasn't really thinking of Trixie and Cole's hatred towards other dogs..
Until I saw two little Pomeranians running towards my dogs..
I bolted.
As I was holding onto both of my dogs' collars for dear life, I began to wonder, "Why can't they be normal?!"
Once the Pomeranians left and they were out of reach of Trixie's deadly jaws.. Everything was okay, for about 2 minutes.
Erin and I were told to "move down a few trees" so that we wouldn't get hit by any baseballs.

Erin was a little upset with this :P.
As we were walking away, a few more dogs came up behind us.
And of course, they were off the leash.
For their own safety, Erin and I kept a good distance away from them.

Cole, oh Cole..
Must you lift your leg at EVERY SINGLE tree and pole you see?
I mean, really, is it THAT necessary?
Sometimes I just don't understand.
I can't even take you into Petco anymore, because you think you need to "mark" every corner.
Gahh...

And Trixie, you just think you're all that.
Ms. Territorial.
And I was so proud of you, just sitting out in Erin's backyard and minding your own business.
But when Erin's mother walked out.. couldn't you have shown atleast the TINIEST bit of respect?
Barking at her? Like it's your own yard?
COME ON!!!

I wish they could hear me chew them out, so they wouldn't embarrass me all the time!
Jeez.

Hahahhh.

We call it.... Meditation.

How to Meditate on Anger:
1. Light a candle and set it in front of you.
2. Vegin in a comfortable meditation posture.
3. Close your eyes for the first part of this exercise.
4. Observe your breathing.
5. Acknowledge each inhale bringing energy to your body and each exhale releasing energy to others.
6. Be mindful of your breathing for several minutes.
7. Invite the anger you feel into your space. Focus on this anger. Acknowledge it. Observe how it feels in your body.
8. Open your eyes and focus on the flame of the candle. Consider the light of the candle to be an illumination of your personal awareness of your anger.
9. Transfer the anger you feel inside onto the light of the candle.
10. Observe your anger as it dances in the flame before you. Talk with it. Try to understand it. Spend as much time as you need experiencing this energy.
11. When you are done visiting with your anger for this meditation session, thank it.
12. Blow out the candle.
13. Close your eyes and take three, deep cleansing breaths.





How to Meditate on Sadness:
1. Begin in a comfortable meditation posture.
2. Close your eyes if you prefer.
3. Observe your breathing.
4. Acknowledge each inhale bringing energy to your body and each exhale releasing energy to others.
5.Be mindful of your breathing for several minutes.
6. Invite sadness you have felt into your body. Acknowledge it and observe it. Spend as much time as you need with it in this safe space.
7. Now imagine you are sitting beside a waterfall, but due to a drought, there is no water going over the falls. You hear nothing but silence.
8. Sit with this for a moment.
9. In the distance, you hear a thunderstorm. Feel the energy in the air.
10. Out of the silence, you hear the sound of a single water droplet, then another, and yet a third. Droplets of water begin to go over the falls. Perhaps you have been unable to cry with your sadness. These droplets may represent your unshed tears.
11. As the storm intensifies in the distance, the amount of water over the falls increases. Eventually, the drops turn into a steady stream, which becomes a heavy flow, and then raging water.
12. Observe the raging water for as long as is necessary. Note how your body feels as you experience the flow of water over the falls.
13. When you are ready to leave this visualization, take three deep, cleansing breaths. Return to the present moment.



Erin and I would like to thank Takami for putting up with our randomness and talking with us about our troubles. It felt good to be reassured that at least one person in the world doesn't think we are extremely and unavoidably weird.. when together (although it is a bit true).


TIP: Apparently meditation comes easier when balancing on your head. Erin had this information relayed from Andrew, and she said it worked.

WARNING: DO NOT laugh while attempting to balance on your head. It may cause in injury, and prolonged periods of excess giggling.