Japan earthquakes & tsunamis

An 8.9 earthquake rocked Japan yesterday, March 10, 2011, causing tsunamis across the Pacific, with Sendai, Japan being hit the worst. Some reports say it was an 8.4 quake... regardless, there have been reports of at least 50 or so aftershocks as high as 7.2.

I first read about the earthquakes and tsunami in Japan and tsunami in Hawaii on Facebook - from a friend who lives in Nigeria! I woke Aaron to watch the news with me and ached in horror at the video and reports of 200 hundred bodies already being found, at least 100 missing.

I quietly drove to the bus stop and continued following the news on my iPhone on the ride to work. Thankfully the news was on in the lobby at work and I quickly found the BBC and Hawaii live news reports online.

The destruction is massive. The loss of life is devastating beyond comprehension. It may not be near the magnitude of loss of life that there was in Indonesia, but a massive loss to those in the islands of Japan nonetheless.

The nuclear power plant has lost cooling. Massive fires at oil refineries. Gas lines breaking in neighborhoods producing moving fires among the floods.

I continue to keep the live news on while I work. It's good to finally hear that they are downgrading the tsunami warnings in Hawaii to "watch".

Obama: "Today's events remind us just how fragile life can be."

It hit so close to home... I spoke to Aaron's father, Larry, who lives in Honolulu with his wife, Aaron's mom, Kozue. They lived through an earthquake of a 6.2 magnitude several years ago in Japan when Aaron was young. They were on the ground floor watching the ground waves; they were rocked a full minute. Larry said he could not imagine what an 8.9 would be like. Last night, he and Kozue gathered candles, batteries, water jugs, the land line telephone, a short wave radio, filled the bathtub with water in their 12th floor condo. Trying to reach out to friends and family, they could only hear the active recordings on the phone lines stating that emergency personnel were using the phone lines through this morning. Larry told me that the surge receded at least 100 yards and that a harbor was the worse hit so far; no major damage in the cities. From what he heard, Tokyo lost 4 million building telephones, internet etc. He also said that an interesting side effect of his earthquake and subsequent tsunamis is that the price of oil dropped a whole $1 per barrel due to perceived decrease of fuel use in Japan. The entire pacific basin was affected - from northern Japan down to the southern-most part of Australia, up to Alaska, and across the west coast of the US, Canada and Central America.

This has been the 7th most powerful earthquake in recorded history. My Japanese neighbor, who spoke to her family in Japan, said that they are expecting another earthquake of possibly the same magnitude within one to six months...

As I type, the official death toll is 350, another 500 missing in Sendai. Amazing video looping that shows sea water taking out entire neighborhoods, people attempting to drive away, a motorcycle stopped short of the wave but the video pulled out just then so we couldn't see what happened to him. The Sendai air port is flooded and some trains are... unaccounted for.

What I think that is so amazing is how humans are so closely connected all over the world, but it takes something like this to remind us...

Thankfully Aaron's family and friends are alright. However, we have yet to hear about Kozue's friends in Sendai. It could be days, and the waiting is the worst part. It's almost impossible to concentrate at work.

New Year 2010

January 1, 2010!
Can you believe it!?
I made my second batch of black eyed pea soup today. A tradition that apparently comes from my grandfather, passed to me from my mother. We had Dad over today just like last year and we watched Slumdog Millionaire and ate banana pudding for dessert. Then I passed along some books back to Dad from way back when; at some point he gave them to me to read and they ended up in my mom's library in Santa Fe. I recently reorganized the bookshelves and brought these back for him to put his library again. I'm also sending some books back to Bonne that, somehow, I knew were hers.
After Dad went home Aaron and I tag-teamed the Christmas decorations and tree and put everything away for next year, nice and tidy. We've made some progress on the extra room and all the junk that was in it. A bit more to go and then it will be clear, though we're not sure what for yet. I'd like a reading room with a work table if possible - I'll call it "the international room," with all our worldly pictures hung up. Aaron would like a work out room. We'll see.
Now, we've eaten again, yakisoba and brownies, while watching Resident Evil: Extinction. It's way past my bed time and I have a feeling I'm coming down with something because I have a sore throat, sneezes and sniffles. I wonder if this is why I've been so down the last few days??
We went to Masood and Stephanie's place last night for New Year's. We were supposed to meet some other friends in Nob Hill but we got too full of fabulous Afghan food and decided to stay. Val and Aaron came as well and it was a nice evening in, champagne and all.
Tomorrow I'll work on the junk room a bit as well as my resume. I'm going to apply to the Regional and Community Planning program at UNM for the Fall. Deadline is Jan 30th and no GRE required! Wish me luck!

Soul food

I hovered over my green chile and beans with cheese today. Passers-by might think I was praying... or smelling... or looking for a bug.

I was smelling. I was taking in the scent of my childhood. My olfactory memory was in full swing. This particular smell was the same as the most memorable enchilada I'd had from Tesuque Market [before it became an overpriced, undertasty, tourist trap with management who apparently doesn't understand the importance of having the support of the locals]. I was growing like a weed at that age and finally finishing everything on my plate. We were eating out on the porch during what I like to believe was Fall, when Tesuque becomes even more magical than it is in every day life.

In fact, today I had to stop typing in order to finish my green chile and beans from Dos Hermanos. C'mon, I had to concentrate on the food. It's healthy to eat consciously, with purpose. My warm tortilla complimented my spoon like they were made in the same kitchen, both supporting each bite from the plastic bowl to my mouth.

Real chile, the chile from my favorite restaurant (see my pic of Tomasita's christmas enchilada), and the kind I find in my favorite kitchens, is THE most comforting food for me. There have been times when the comfort, the savoring, the emotions of the experience of covering my taste buds with the redest red or chopped green have simply been overwhelming. My stepdad makes the most wonderful red chile sauce and a pequi, recipes I've been enjoying for decades. Since I was 13 years old I could be found happily standing over his stove and soaking up the chile with french bread or a doughy tortilla. I make special trips to Tomasita's when I'm in Santa Fe; and believe me, the wait is always worth it.

So, this is my brief and semi-emotional ode to my comfort food. These feelings helped me to recognize my boyfriend's emotions when we finally found a real Japanese restaraunt here in Albuquerque Mirai Express. It was like all the years of his youth in Japan and his mother's kitchen come, flooding back to him. He could barely get the words out to explain how he felt, or all that he wanted for me to take from this experience. We were both elated to have stumbled upon this place near the UNM campus where he could order our meal and speak with the owner in Japanese. We oogled at the food, each other, and sighed with happy tummies as we walked out with our to-go boxes and green tea shake. Here's to soul food in our own metro!

'Bout time for some Mardi Gras pics, no?

Cherish one another

Reality check today.
We need to actively cherish each other.

I lost a friend tonight. He was a special, loving, funny man. His loss is heavy upon those of us touched by his friendship.
I went to the scene of the accident tonight. Maybe to some this is a bit morbid. But I couldn't walk around the house anymore, and felt like I needed to see the place, and to be with his spirit, to show him that someone was present and hoping he could feel my love.
While driving a van load of students back to school, somehow in the midst of having a heart attack, Jerry safely drove his van between trees and across 6 lanes of traffic without hurting any of his passengers. I saw the dented garage, the dented pick-up truck, and the tire marks across the neutral zone. I saw the AED pad package on the ground, the grazed tree branch. I walked in between the tire tracks on the grass back to my truck. My heart was heavy. I saw what he saw.
I ache for his wife and family.

We need to cherish each other. Tell your friends and family how much you care about them. You never know when it will be the last time you see them. You just never know.

Musings...February 8, 2009

Apparently I was feeling revealing when I typed this up (edited and posted January 9, 2010)...

i got tired of being hungry today so i went shopping.
i made a chicken salad; it never tastes like my mom's
i have a little greenhouse in my room now; had to bring all the plants in my room so the kitties wouldn't play so rough with them.
Kingsolver - Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - make me more aware of buying locally and organic products
75 degrees today...
Might as well just make a list:
1. i love driving. i turn up the music and don't care who sees me singing and dancing in my truck.
2. i talk to cats a lot. this may be because I live with 6 of them right now. we have short conversations around dinner time. they talk about what a busy day they've had and I share stories of the collegiate world.
i got a lot done today! - target, walgreens, whole foods, chicken salad, laundry, moved the plants and papasan to my room, Valentine notes, nachos, iTunes, texting an old friend, and more laundry. :-)
funny how so many new words like iTunes and texting aren't recognized by word programs these days.
3.i love hot showers!
4. i want to start my own organic garden. i love the smell of tomato plants!
5. i don't like being interrupted before i've gotten to my point, and I don't like it when people beat around the bush instead of getting to their point.
6. i collect sand from every trip i take.
7. i cry at the drop if a hat and don't understand how more people can't see the beauty in life.
8. i don't like shoes. at most, i'd rather wear flip flops all the time. i did this way before it was cool to do so.
9. i was a ticket agent for Delta for two months. I prefer not to check my bags, and I don't understand what it is about the airport that makes people loose their marbles.
10. i don't trust nail salons that don't have English speaking beauticians. Athough, i do like their prices.
11. i'm pretty sure that any minute now, someone is going to grab me by the shoulders and say, "you are 30 years old! get a grip on your life!"
12. i don't think a girl can have enough earrings or silver bracelets.
13. i heart World Market. I have lost heart for Old Navy.
14. i don't think someone should tell the person doing it that it can't be done.
15. i don't appreciate negative attitudes. in fact, i usually shut down the conversation as soon as politely possible.
16. i've watched Pretty Woman probably a hundred times and it's always a good time!
17. i apparently don't know how to shop for shoes. if they fit and are affordable, i buy them. when I wear them once, they hurt too much to wear again. anyone want some used shoes?
18. i'm really good at getting back in touch with people I haven't talked to in forever. but lately i feel like i'm doing more reaching than being reached.
19. when i was younger i wanted to be an interior designer. i can look at a room now and think of great ideas, but you'd never know it to look at my place.
20. i collect candles and vases.
21. i love Mary Poppins!
22. i love love love Matchbox 20 and Maroon 5. Is there a pattern here?
23. i don't like worrying about what to wear to work. I dress according to shoes, and that isn't much to go off of these days considering my worn out collection.
24. the best concert i've ever been to was Tim McGraw and Faith Hill hands down; then Sarah McGlachlan. i also loved Def Leppard.
25. i still visit my favorite high school teacher.
26. i love scar stories.
27. i've always wanted to be a Godmother since I have such a fantastic Godmother of my own. She never spoiled me, but she was always honest with me. My Godfather owned a mortuary, but was way cooler than you might think.
28. i have zero artistic capability; yet I still try to bead and scrapbook and play with markers.
29. i have a weakness for milkshakes. if you buy one for me you will be my friend - forever.
30. i love to read.
31. i know i'm a lucky person in many respects. I wish others would count their blessings as often as I do.
32. i am a fire sign, and i surround myself with other earthly items like wood and water and plants and sunlight. i want to live in a treehouse on a river. :-) my dad built a bed for himself and my mother one year; but the bed was hung from tree branches out over our little valley's river.
33. i love sleep. i slept in a speed boat on Conchas Lake once, when I was little. My dad would rather sleep there than inside the house, and I agreed.
34. i tought driver's ed - in high school
35. i love to go dancing!! but i get moody if the music isn't right. just ask Aaron.
36. i hate feeling powerless when my friends or family have problems I can't do anything about.
37. i like to housesit.
38. i've always loved to drive! i want to go to a racing school!
39. My Paternal Grandparents won an award for rollerskate dancing. My Maternal Grandparents owned an import shop. But of course there is much more to their lives.
40. i used to work for an oral surgeon who is also a writer; i was his dental assistant, and his editor.
41. I love food. If you put food in front of me, I will eat it. I can't stand being away from Tomasita's!

I wonder what that was all about.

Three decades of life!

So, I turned 30 years old nine days ago. I sure as heck don't feel like 30, or at least I'm not where I thought I would be at 30 in terms of life expectations. I don't have a masters degree, I'm not thinking about kids, I don't even have a start on a solid career. But! I do know that I am happy with who I am for the most part (I'm still the best procrastinator around!), I'm grateful for the blessings in my life, I love my boyfriend and my family with all of my heart, and I have the greatest friends! All in all, I look forward to getting up in the mornings and to what life has to offer. Here's to another new chapter in life, and to only making it better! (Pictured: Aaron, me and my amazing dad, John)

adendum to "Men and Their Cats"

This is Missy, my dad's cat, who can't stand to be away from him. She even puts up with things like this.

Obama Wins!

This has been the most emotional election of my lifetime, and that of others. I know we've made the right choice. I know the next 8 years will be full of CHANGE and HOPE! We will see the fruits of our labor. This is our chance to make this country great again, to realize our American Dreams.
I gasped for air tonight as I reveled in the celebration, and tried to ignore the bit of fear that crept in. I put my hands over the Obama family to watch over them, and our country's future.
I can't wait to begin tomorrow, and next week, and 2009 with Barack Obama, President Elect!
GOBAMA!

Pre-hurrication

These two items - box over window and television - say a lot about what's going on in my life and those of others. The stuff spread all over the floor is also indicative of history in the making.

I am prepairing to move out of my apartment.
Obama just accepted the Democratic presidential nomination.
And I am going to evacuate New Orleans tomorrow to Mississippi.
This hurricane is screwing up my moving plans.

No meGustav!