Race for the Cure and Race for the Ridiculous

We are doing the Race for the Cure on Mother's Day, May 11th. We all know the good Komens is doing, not only for cancer research but also to support women (and men) who have breast cancer.

If you feel moved to give a donation, that would be wonderful. You can find our race web pages here (Laura) and here (Joshua). Thanks!

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In other racing news, in September we are joining Patrick and nine assorted friends on a 182-mile "adventure-fest" called Ragnar. We will be running/traveling through the Potomac River Valley -- starting in Cumberland, MD, along the C & O Canal, through a bunch of historic Civil War-Era towns and then finally within the shadows of the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial in D.C.

Sounds cool, right?!

And, added bonus, this Ragnar race is not for any cause. So you are free to give generously for our May race listed above in full confidence that in September we won't be hitting you up for money again!

Muay Thai

Last night we went with a bunch of friends to a Muay Thai Kickboxing event. Nothing too cultural. Just 26 men facing off and then beating the crumb out of each other. Because we knew some people (who knew some people who knew some people...), we got VIP seats right behind the judges. This is a blessing because the NYC and Philly crowds who were in the general seating were pretty wild.

When I studied abroad during college, I went to a Muay Thai event or two in Bangkok's famous Lumpini Thai Boxing Stadium. We had such bad seats that it took us a long time to realize that all the bouts we could afford were young kids. And the loser of the match often left on a stretcher. Some times both fighters would leave on stretchers. It was a little too intense so we stopped going.

Luckily, the amateur fights that we saw yesterday were college-aged kids with protective gear and the ref would stop the fight if someone was getting pummelled without having the energy to protect himself. It may it much more enjoyable to watch!

CCOP Annual Breakfast Fundraiser

This gives you an idea of how awesome the CCOP Annual Fundraiser Breakfast was last weekend. The event was held in a beautiful conference room at the Camden Adventure Aquarium where one of the walls was a HUGE SHARK TANK!!! FULL OF SHARKS!!! It was awesome.

The Philadelpiha Police Commissioner Ramsey was the keynote speaker to a full house of supporters, activitists and assorted CCOP cheerleaders. As always, these events are fun because they are full of feisty folks who truly want to fix up the city.

First video

After Joshua and I had been dating for one month, I got a digital camera with soundless video capabilities. To test it out, we made the following video during a walk around Greenlake in Seattle.

I'm not going to admit to what we thought we were doing. Although, I will admit that this video does a good job at capturing how I feel about being married to Joshua. It's odd and I couldn't love it any more.

Even though I was excited for it, I did not truly believe that marriage would be this much fun. I thought it would be like having a nice roommate whose schedule matches mine more often. However, life with Joshua is the best -- funnier and more wonderful. The number of times I've choked on food due to laughter is embarrassing. I often have to call a time out. Not only is he incredibly handsome and funny, but I can barely begin to explain how selfless and devoted Joshua is.

I am so grateful to be married to such a passionate, hilarious and thoughtful individual. I couldn't be happier or more in love.

Happy 20th month of marriage, Joshua!

At the Subway Station

Last Sunday after the Phillies baseball game, a uniformed female officer was talking sternly with a very intoxicated older gentleman who was holding a can of beer. It went something like this:

Officer: Sir, you must give me your beverage.
Man: Why?
Officer: Because it is illegal to have an open container.
Man: Ok, I'll throw it away over there.
Officer: No hand it to me.
Man: No offense ma'am, but you're on duty.

One would think that he made this last remark to be a smart alec. In reality, he said it like he really didn't want her to get in trouble.

People in Philly are just that nice. Really.

Special Prayer Request

Please keep the wonderful Smarker grandparents in your thoughts and prayers ... along with the whole Chisholm/Smarker family. They are having a rough go the last few months.

Rugby photo from the game this past weekend

This is why watching rugby is exciting.

29 is not quite 30

Another great birthday weekend....

Friday night: Dinner at my favorite neighborhood pub, POPE, which stands for Pub on Passyunk East. (Although who doesn't want to drink with the POPE?! He's German so I bet he would be a great drinking partner.)

We got all dressed up and walked the few blocks to the pub. It was especially fun because the weather was great and it was prom night so there were lots of people-watching opportunities. Coming home we got caught in a sudden rain shower, which is always fun!

Saturday morning in bed: Yummy chocolates from South America (Thanks, Kate and Neal!) and presents. A beautiful shirt from the Gap, a lotus bowl from Ten Thousand Villages and a CD of meditation music. What a bounty!

Saturday: Hanging out the M&D, B&B and Little Flicker Francis. He is getting bigger and even cuter. Big event for the day was watching him take a sponge bath!

Saturday night: After Joshua came home from his rugby match on Long Island, we went over to a bbq at our friend's house. Dan and Sarah are great -- they made a cake and had party hats. It was really fun.

Sunday: Phillies vs. Cubs with a bunch of friends. Phillies lost in the 10th. The entire game was exciting, which I believe is somewhat rare for baseball. (Oops, we didn't take a picture of everyone, I guess.)

I'm so blessed to have the opportunity to hang out with my wonderful husband, family and friends all weekend! It really was a great birthday weekend. I'm actually looking forward to the next one!

Update on Sam Malkandi's Trial

As someone who was present at the trial said, "It was pretty intense and I was quite surprised about how many "old" arguments they brought up despite the criminal case about Sam being dropped by the FBI long ago."

Sam's neighbor, Joleen, did a great job of summing up yesterday's court hearing....

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Hello everyone,
Thank you so much for the support regarding today's hearing. I figure that there about 60-65 supporters there today, filling up the court and also in the hall. The judges noticed and commented on the fact that there were "even people in the hall". A few minutes were taken at the start so that more room could be made for people to come in and sit.

The beginning was a bit rough and I think a lot of hearts felt a bit heavy, but then it seemed to turn around in Sam's favor. The opposing attorney from Washington, DC did not seem very well prepared and was not able to provide documents or evidence when asked. (I'm trying to be nice and not say what I really thought of him and what he had to say!) Sam's attorney, Shaakirrah, did a wonderful job and we are all very proud of her and the job she did. Shaakirrah was interviewed following the hearing by Dave Pippin of KBCS and can be heard Thursday morning between 6-7 am on One World Report channel 91.3 in Seattle. Mali was questioned but not interviewed, but was interviewed by Evergreen University who is completing the original documentary regarding Sam's case.

The toughest part today was watching Arvin's face when he heard his dad called "a liar". He looked at his mom and whispered "my dad's not a liar" and then burst into tears. My husband spent the rest of the hearing with him in the lobby and explained to Arvin that this man doesn't know his dad, nor does he really, truly know anything about him. This made Arvin feel much better.

Thank you again so much for those of you who took the time from your day, job, etc. to make it to the hearing. It did matter! Thank you, also, to those of you who could not be there but prayed. I will let you know when we hear something. It could be 1 day or 6 months!

Joleen

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A recording from the hearing (Case Number 06-73491)

Thoughts and prayers for the Malkandi family are still needed for Sam's case to be favorably resolved.

Today: Sam Malkandi's Trial

Prayers and good energy are requested for a former client of mine. Sam Malkandi was an Iraqi refugee who fled Sadam Hussein's army and eventually made his way to America. When I met him, he working three jobs -- at a sandwich shop, as a janitor and teaching American troops how to interact with Iraqi soldiers. In his own country, Sam was a successful theater professor. The US government hired him to set up and act out possible scenarios with soldiers before the went over to be in the current war.

When I joined the Refugee Resettlement Office in Seattle in 2003, Sam and his family had already purchased a house and were well on their way to taking ownership of the sandwich shop where Sam worked. On the morning of the business deal closing, he was arrested by the Feds. He is mentioned in the 911 Report for trying to help an al-Qaida operative into the country, which is a laugh because all he was doing was setting up a medical appointment for a friend of a friend who he had met in the mall one day.

[I'm not going to go into all of the details, but listen to this report for more information ...the NPR segment on Sam Malkandi.]

Sam has been held for the last three years without any charges against him. When Jenelle, my awesome boss at the RRO, helped to put media pressure on the case, Sam was put into solitary confinement.

Now they are trying to deport him -- not on charges related to criminal acts (because they have no evidence!) -- but because he lied on his immigration application. Having working in the refugee resettlement world for a while, I can safely say that in effect EVERYONE lies on their refugee application. They are coached to lie to make their situation sound worst that it really is. They are in a lying competition of sorts, as those who lie the best get to escape the horrors of life in war-torn countries. Heck, I would have lied too.

The government started this process, found nothing to prove him guilty and are now pushing hard to split up a family for small, crappy reasons. A lovely wonderful family.

Even though you may not know him personally or even if you don't really believe his story, please send some good energy to the Malkandi family that they will get through whatever is decided in court today. Thank you.

More pictures of the house

You know, I don't think that I ever posted pictures of our living room and dining room after we finished all the work on our house. Well, here you go!

Nothing too spectacular, but we love it.

It's crazy to think of how it looked when we first bought the house... stained and falling dropped ceiling, no lighting or fan or chandelier, wood paneling, mirrored walls (not shown) and tons and tons of stained brown carpeting. Trish Kelly, our real estate agent, was caught in this picture. I'm so grateful that she found this house for us.

And thanks again to Dad for helping with all of the work we did. We proably owe you more sushi!

Walkin' the Talkin'

Yesterday we had a bunch of neighbors over for coffee and doughnuts so that we could say hello after a winter of hiding in our warm homes. Also, the row home right next to ours just sold to a young couple, Erin and Randy. It was a fun way for them to meet everyone.

Our block is really great and the people who showed up to say hello are especially wonderful. It's neat that such a diverse group -- all ages, educational levels, backgrounds, etc -- can have such a fun time together.

I am extremely hopeful that enough of these events will parlay into a block party this summer. Dave, who lives across the street, has a jam band that practices every Tuesday (they sound pretty good, believe us, we hear them every week!) + the new guy, Randy, dreams of getting a huge fryer and making 20 lbs of potatoes and two large turkeys to feed the block + I just want everyone to hang out together = it could happen!

RUGBY!

A video of Joshua's rugby team (Media Rugby Football Club) playing against Pittsburgh.

Joshua is the far left winger who runs really fast.

Our church!

Finding a good church is always a challenge. Luckily, we found Ephiphany! While the readings are sometimes a little difficult to understand because we aren't fully fluent in the "South Philly mumble" yet, it's friendly and only three blocks from our house. Moreover, Father Pigeon is very animated and his sermons are more engaging than the typical "old man rants" we have heard at other churches.

Truth in Advertising

We live near Passyunk Ave, a main road in South Philly that has become a mix of old and new stores. Here's a shot of one of the older sections of the avenue -- the chocolatier and the Catholic school uniform shop, which is currently focusing on First Communion outfits.

The other day when Patrick was visiting and we were walking down the sidewalk, he pointed out an interesting aspect of the Catholic school uniform shop...
Why yes, that does say "CHUBBIES" as one of the possible sizes.