Simple Pilgrimage Blogs

US Automakers Disgust Me

danielfarrell76@gmail.com — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:13:17 -0500

All day long in my news reading there have been basically propaganda pieces(like this) in favor of a bailout of the US automobile industry. Politicians and executives pointing fingers and saying “if you don’t do this it will be on your hands” and other stupid stuff like that. If GM fails the only people whose hands it is on is the execs at GM for leading a company that puts out crappy cars that no one wants to buy. I’m sorry to the people who will lose their jobs… but that is not a reason for everyone in this country to chip in and cover a private company that is burning through $5 billion(!!!!) a month.

No Stinkin? Boys Allowed!

alicia@farrells.org — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:18:53 -0500

Ladies,

It’s time for another book club gathering! This time we will be discussing the second section of Eat, Pray, Love - so, that would be the “Pray” part. Even if you didn’t make it to our last meeting, feel free to join us for this one.

Eay Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

I will provide plenty of Mimosas and coffee, but am asking everyone to bring something yummy to share for brunch and 1 discussion question/point.

Feel free to invite other friends - just no stinkin’ boyz!

Date: Saturday, 12/13

Time: 11:00 am

Where: My house in Church Hill (email if you need directions)

Like what you read? Bookmark it or share it with others.

Fear

alicia@farrells.org — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:44:13 -0500

I’ve been struggling with my grief over Jarrett, and decided it is time to get some help. I know that my life will not be the way it was before he died, but I need to learn how to live a healthy, happy life without him, and I need to learn how to remember him.

Yesterday, I had a meeting with someone who is going to help me through this difficult time in my life. The meeting went really well, but as I reflect upon it I am really struck by how I was feeling in the moments just before the meeting.

I was very nervous. How could I not be? I was about to walk into the office of complete stranger and have to tell her about my greatest pains and how each day is a struggle. It takes a lot of courage for me to do that because I am very protective over my story, my loss, my hurt. What if she was to tell me that my problems are minor, “Do you see the world we live in, there are much bigger problems!” Or, what if she told me that I should be able to “fix” my problems on my own, and if I can’t then I’m a very weak person who does not deserve to live - let alone live a happy, healthy life.

Yeah, it seems ridiculous to think that anyone would actually say those things. But, those thoughts were at the forefront of my mind as I pulled into the parking lot of her office. There is a voice inside me that often tells me that I’m making these things up - my pain, suffering and sadness -it’s all a lie the voice says, or nobody really cares. The voice usually only speaks up when I’m about to do something in attempt to make myself healthier. I’m not sure where it comes from, but I know it is the same voice that tells me I’m not a “real” writer each time I sit down and stare at a blank page.

And even though that same voice tries to make me feel alone, I doubt I am the only person who has a “discouraging” voice, a voice that feeds us lies and tries to use fear to keep us from living the life we want.

Like what you read? Bookmark it or share it with others.

My Friends

alicia@farrells.org — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 04:50:21 -0500

Dear Friends,

I’m sorry that I have ignored your phone calls, Facebook messages and smoke signals this week. It’s not that I don’t like you, because I do, I love each of you madly. But, it’s just been one of those weeks. You know, the kind of week that beats up on you some, and leaves you wanting to forget about the world while soaking in a warm bath.

Next week I’ll return your calls and messages. Maybe we can even get together and you can tease me for being so pruny from all the tub-soaking.

xoxo,

Alicia

Like what you read? Bookmark it or share it with others.

Flavor of the Week

alicia@farrells.org — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:58:31 -0500

On my iTunes: Searching for podcasts about copywriting, marketing and starting your own business.

Book on my nightstand: Gave up on Atlas Shrugged and instead I have picked up A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf.

Drink in my cup: Champagne. Loving it with grilled cheese!

Latest add to my Google Reader: No new finds.

Biggest Adventure: Trying to start my own business.

Sweetest Moment: This week’s sweetest moment happened to be captured on video!

Favorite cat of the week: Audrey. Who am I kidding with this….she’s my favorite all the time!

Challenge for myself: Launch a website for my jewelry.

Like what you read? Bookmark it or share it with others.

Election Day BONUS!

alicia@farrells.org — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:59:02 -0500

Tomorrow we all get a chance to express our opinion, let our voice be heard and act on all our hopes for a better future.

BUT THEN….

We can reward ourselves! Each of these businesses are offering a free treat to people sporting an “I Voted” sticker.

Starbucks is giving away coffee.

Krispy Kreme is serving a star-shaped donut with sprinkles!

Ben & Jerry’s is giving away ice cream from 5-8pm.

Don’t you wish everyday was Election Day?!

Like what you read? Bookmark it or share it with others.

Who I am voting for on Tuesday

danielfarrell76@gmail.com — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 21:14:18 -0500

Well, this is going to be the first presidential election that I’ve ever voted in. Two years ago I documented who I was voting for right before my first ever time voting. I figured I’d do the same thing this time around. Here we go:

President

Obama(D) vs McCain(R) vs McKinney(G) vs Nader(I) vs Barr(L) vs Baldwin(IG)

I’ll be voting for Obama. I probably line up more with Nader or McKinney but being in a swing state and definitely lining up more with Obama than McCain I can’t do third party. Not that I think poorly of John McCain. I have a lot of respect for him and his service for this country, just have philosophical differences. FYI, any personal attacks against any candidate will be deleted from the comments so don’t waste your time.

US Senate

Warner(D) vs Gilmore(R) vs Parker(IG) vs Redpath(L)

This one is easy, Warner was a good Governor who worked across the aisle and seems to be a solid guy. He will represent the Commonwealth well in the Senate.

US House

Bobby Scott is running unopposed and people seem to like him.

Richmond Mayor

Grey vs Jones vs Pantele vs Williams

This is the one that has interested me the most so far. I’ve been down to Grey and Jones for a while now and keep going back and forth between them. I said before that Grey lost my vote in the second Style Weekly debate… but I think I’ll still end up voting for him anyways. I don’t trust Pantele AT ALL so he’s not even been an option. I’ve liked some of what I have heard from Williams but he didn’t run a serious campaign.

City Council District 7

McQuinn vs Kenney

Last election I opposed McQuinn but she had a quality opponent last time in Reggie Malone. This time Kenney only seems to be running because he has issues with Delores. She’s got my vote this time as she has done a reasonable job over the past 2 years.

School Board District 7

Coleman vs Edmonds vs Bond

It’s amazing to have such a small election with 2 high quality candidates. Either Don or Torey will serve us well. I’ll be voting for Don since I know him better and wish I would have voted for him 2 years ago. Part of me wishes Torey had run for City Council. I probably would have supported her there over McQuinn. Maybe in 4 years.

Update: I voted. The only change is that I wrote in Torey Edmonds for City Council. I guess that is my way of showing her support while still voting for Don for School Board.

Halloween

alicia@farrells.org — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 15:03:48 -0500

Finally, Halloween has come and gone. Finally, the nightmares about unfinished sheep can stop. Finally, I will be able to have conversations without bursting out into uncontrolable “baaing”.

As a thank you for listening to all my complaints about this horrible fabric that made my house look like a crime scene for the horrific murder of Lambchop, I present to you Lil’ Bo Peep and her sheep.

Like what you read? Bookmark it or share it with others.

If at first you don?t succeed, try again!

jrfarrell@comcast.net — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:41:11 -0500

In July 2006, I had total knee replacement surgery on my right knee. Since that time, the knee was better than if I had not had the surgery but it was not what I expected. I was examined several times by the surgeon who did the operation but he was no help. I found another surgeon through networking with other doctors who diagnosed the problem to be instability due to the joint being loose. The fix was to replace the replacement with a different design - this is called revision surgery. That operation was performed on October 15. The results are very encouraging so far. For the past two weeks, I have been doing exercises at home as my body transitioned from the anesthesia to oral pain meds. The metal staples were removed yesterday. Today I had my first visit to outside physical therapy so I’m on my way to rehabilitation!

One of the fears some doctors had about having the first surgery at the young age of 60 years old was that the joint would wear out in 12 - 15 years, at which time I would have to undergo revision surgery. Well, I now know that revision surgery is much easier that the total joint replacement because the bones do not undergo the trauma of being cut - this is not to minimize revision surgery but what I recently experienced was not as difficult as the first surgery. Some credit for this needs to be given the surgeon, Dr. Henry Boucher, and the hospital staff at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore. They were all world class at what they do.

I am greatly encouraged but the real test will be how the new joint does over time. I expect it might take six months to tell if this was totally successful. All the signs point in that direction, for which I am very thankful!!

Video of your Mayoral Choices

danielfarrell76@gmail.com — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 01:45:58 -0500

I provided the video coverage for RVANews for the last 2 Mayoral Forums but on by Style Weekly. The videos from the Arts and Culture Forum that happened a couple weeks are all in one place on RVANews.com. I’m working on getting the video clips of tonight’s Living and Working in Richmond Forum up as quickly as possible. They will be on RVANews’ Vimeo page as they go up. I’ll also amend this post with a link when they get their own page. This time I got to do cool stuff like patch into the sound system and since I decided to leave the liveblogging to others I actually did some work to make the video turn out better. Good learning experience for covering future events. I hope you enjoy getting to know the candidates!

Update 1: The videos are all up on the RVANews Vimeo page. They will get their own post on RVANews soon.

Update 2: The page got up on RVANews this morning. Enjoy!