Artemis

I haven't written for awhile because I was getting sick of writing about the same things all the time. I noticed that all I ever write about is the family I work for (kids supply endless topics) and the environment (President Bush provides endless topics). Then I realized, those things are my life and frankly, I have nothing else to talk about. So I will continue to talk about them. However, I found something else for today. I am sure a lot of you have heard of YouTube . I discovered it when someone emailed me a link to the Evolution of Dance . Then today I was reminded that I saved the web address (as I often do so I have things to look at later when I have nothing to do, which is always) when the Today Show featured the website. So tonight I explored it. And the first video I looked at was one called Where the Hell is Matt? There isn't really a point to this entry expect to recommend YouTube and this particular video. Something so simple brought me much enjoyment, I hope it ...

Whales are safe for now. Japan needed 75% percent of the nations in the IWC to be on their side for whaling, only half were. The bad thing is that the vote was 33-32, the bigger number being for whaling. It is looking more and more like commercial whaling will eventually be back. Even with the ban still on, 2,400 whales will still be killed in the next 12 months. The sad part about this all is that there is no way to know for sure how many whales there are, they are too hard to count. When a whale is killed, it could be the last of its kind and we may not even know it. I won't let this happen, not without a fight. There has to be more I can do.

This is a question people have asked for a long time. Is it true? Is love all we really need? I think it would depend on who you ask. When it comes to young children, love is all you need. You know your parents love you and spend time with you, that is what is most important to a child. You don't understand the importance of money or work or health, all that matters is love. Maybe that is what is so appealing about childhood, why we would all do anything to go back, because we were innocent and love really was what made the world go round. As an adult, I now see things differently. Love isn't all there is, we need so much more. Some would say that makes me cynnical, but I am not. I want to believe that love is all we need and for the most part I agree with that statement, however I see that there is a lot more that goes along with love. As a parent, your role is not only to love, but to protect, comfort, support, provide, but common sense says that those things automatically go...

Today the voting started. One vote down, I am not sure how many more to go. Japan lost one thing, porpoises, dolphins and small whales are safe for now, no commercial hunting of them. Next hurdle, large whales. Cross your fingers, because at this point that is all we can do.

Today Bush is expected to announce the creation of the world's largest ocean preserve near Hawaii. It will cover 84 million acres and will protect 7,000 species of animals. It is about time he did some good for the enivironment. However, we all know the reason he is doing this is to turn around the low numbers in his polls and to alter the name as "the worst environmental president ever". He thinks that by doing one good thing, it can reverse the hundreds of things he has done and is doing wrong with the environment. He knows that this will put him in history books, some are already comparing him to Theodore Roosevelt. The president of The Ocean Conservancy said "Teddy Roosevelt is largely considered the father of our national park system... President Bush may be securing a similar legacy in our oceans.” Just what Bush wanted to hear. He is far from being compared to Teddy in my book. Teddy started our national parks system, which Bush has done very little to help a...

Please sign these petitions to stop whaling, they are different than the previous one I put on my blog (please sign that one too, Petition 1 ). It may not seem like much, but for now it is all I know to do and the more people that sign, the better. We can't let this happen again. Petition 2 . Petition 3 .

Three days until the vote on whaling. I read that Japan has not aquired enough countries to be able to win a vote for whaling, which is great news. However, I also read that they will have enough swing to change some policies, which unfortunately may mean that the International Whaling Commision may need to go back to regulating whaling instead of prohibiting it like they do now. With whaling back, the IWC has no doubt that many species of whales will become extinct, including the often hunted Minke and Fin Whales. Damn Japan.

You have got to be kidding me. 8:04 am. Bang, bang, bang. Baby screaming. S talking. They are in the playroom again. On Sunday morning. What the hell? If this becomes a habit, I can tell you now, I will have to say something to the mother. Granted, this morning I was already awake, I woke up at 7:30 am because I went to sleep really early last night, but that is besides the point. Only 6 months and 4 days and counting...

I don't pretend to understand what is going on in Iraq. And I certainly don't believe what our media or our government portrays. I haven't agreed with this war since day one, it was just a reason for our leader to go oust their leader. I found someone's blog that sheds some light on what it is really like in Iraq for the Iraqi people and the last 2 entries have been really interesting. What this country says is happening is certainly different from what this person says. Who are you going to believe, our government that doesn't want America to look bad, or an Iraqi living day in and day out in Baghdad? I know who I believe, even if this is only one person's account of events. I highly recommend you check it out, it is called Baghdad Burning .

Since my week off, I am learning that I am appreciated at my job, but for who I am, not for the work I do, at least when it comes to the father. The parents really like me. I knew the mother (L) did, but I questioned what the father (P) thought of me. Last week when L and the kids were gone, P was going out of his way to invite me to things. First he invited me to a Strong Man competition, but I said no. Then he invited me to a car show. I had made other plans (with myself), so I said no again. That night, when I returned home, he invited me to a movie. I agreed because I would feel bad saying no again and it was a free movie. At first I felt weird about going to a movie with him, but I am friends with L, why can't I be friends with P too? I realized that he enjoyed my company, which was nice to finally know after 7 months of working here. But yesterday was when I realized he takes me for granted when it comes to my job. We got home from gymnastics the same time as he got home from...

After having a long week off, it was back to work today. I am not sure if it is because I am well rested and relaxed or if I missed the kids or if things were just generally better, or all of the above, but the day didn't suck. S was great, there was no whining or brattiness, she listened, never argued, and was genuinely happy. Baby S wasn't perfect, she was still hard to get down for a nap and wanted to be held all day, but it was easy to look past that because she is so damn cute and I really missed her. When I told my mother that she wanted to be held all day, she said it was probably because she missed me. And as the day went on, I think that is true. When I would try to put her down, she wouldn't just cry, she would hold onto me so tight and scream. When I would go get her out of the car or out of her crib, she would start laughing and would start bouncing with excitment. And when I would pick her up, she would wrap her arms around me and put her head on my shoulder an...

One year ago today, my life was about to change forever. One year ago today I started photography school. I remember that night of orientation like it was yesterday. I remember how terrified I was for so many reasons, because I was in a new place with new people, I was on my own, I was about to pursue a dream that I could fail. I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know what I was doing. But I did it. And I am so glad I did. Just thinking back to last summer, it reassures me that photography will always be my passion, my dream, even if sometimes I have to set it aside, it will always be first in my heart, what I really want to do. Last summer changed everything. I can't even begin to describe how it made me feel, what it meant to me, the love I have for everything about it. When people ask me what it was like, to this day I am still at a loss for words. How can you sum up what is potentially the best thing you will ever do with your life? What words are there for that? It...

I made an attempt to see An Inconvenient Truth today. However, I could not find the theater. I have never been to this particular one before, so I made sure to get directions off of Google today. At first I thought Google failed me. But it wasn't Google's fault, because when I also tried to get directions off of the web on my cell phone, they too led me to a dead end. Maybe this theater doesn't exist at all. I was disappointed, I was really looking forward to seeing it. There is one other theater about a half hour away that is playing it, I could make an attempt tomorrow to head there, but I have already spent entirely too much money on my time off, so driving there (I had to pay for my own gas this week, yuck) and the price of a movie ticket (which are insane) may deter me until next weekend. On another note, I just read an article in the New York Times Magazine about Walmart and organics. It was depressing. They pointed out the positives, that this will make organics mor...

Girl of approval asked me what can be done when it comes to whaling. I don't completely know. But for starters, you can sign this petition . Maybe it isn't much, but its a start. The IWC votes on June 16th. So whatever I can figure out to do before then, I will keep you posted.