Weenie Wife

Last night I was awakened to the sound of Jake calling me a weenie in his sleep. He was leaning over me and I said, "What?" He proceeded to call me a weenie again. I asked him, "Why'd you call me a weenie?" He just mumbled something and fell back asleep. I guess now we all know how he really feels.

Jellystone 2

Well, I was telling Jess tonight how I really enjoy the things we have done and preserved on our blog so I have decided to give you the low down on our Yellowstone trip before it's too late.

We went up with my family, both my sister's fiances, and two of my mom's sisters with their families. It was really fun having so many people up there with us. We stayed two nights in the Old Faithful Inn, which was great. It's like this huge-log-cabin-hotel-place that is over a hundred years old. Our third and final night was in Roosevelt, where Teddy Roosevelt stayed while on trip to the park. We had several cabins that we all stayed in and it was pretty fun, complete with wood burning stoves to keep you warm.

I think Jess had a good time, minus the dirt and bugs and cold and the random rotten egg smell. I know she likes the confidence that comes with completely prepping herself for the day so it was nice to have showers and such instead of a full on tent adventure (which is happening in Southern Utah come August). She's just great and full of more natural beauty than she lets on.

Anyway, for the most part we just hiked around and picnicked. We saw tons on animals, including some black bear cubs and a wolf, and enjoyed the green scenery spring run off leaves behind. We did get a flat but it was easily fixed while we walked around the Old Faithful Geyser Basin. It was just nice getting away, the minute we got into the pine trees, daily life seemed so far away.

Jake

Two is better than one.

So I played a show tonight at an interesting place called The Boing! Collective. It is an anarchist group living in a house together who often host shows for free. They were very nice. Anyway, during the duration of the evening, I had it reaffirmed again and again tonight that I am so much better with Jess than without her. Even sitting on a hard wood floor, sweaty from just having played for 25 minutes, and listening to a dude with a mustache and a nylon string guitar, is enhanced by doing it next to Jess.

I could not quite put my finger on this "two is better than one" thought until after the show. I had been feeling the emotions that went along with it but the idea was not articulated until we were eating a late dinner at Cafe Rio. We shared a drink, as usual, and Jess happened to spill the whole thing right after I had just refilled the cup. Now, spilling sucks, it is never fun to have sticky pants and sprite in your salad but if I would have been alone, the amount of sucking would have increase exponentially. Having someone to worry about more than yourself is essential for being happy. I told Jess not to worry, that it was about time for a spill and this means that it wouldn't happen again for a while. Reassuring someone that everything will be alright is equally as therapeutic as hearing it yourself, if not more. When I am aspiring to keep "everything ok" for Jess, and anyone around me really, it is much easier to see my own life and challenges with a positive spin.

Thanks Jess.

Jake.

Note to Jess- I know that evenings like these aren't too "normal" for newly weds in our situation but I am so grateful to you for letting me have this musical part of life.

Photos from Jellystone.

Here's a couple of pictures from our road trip to Yellowstone N.P. and Grand Teton N.P.




Jake made a little SweaterCast about the trip as well at the SweaterBlog.

We had a good trip and will post about it soon.

Iranian Elections. (repost)

So, the past few nights I have stayed up into the early hours of the morning reading the Internet protest and update from what's going on in Iran. Their election was stolen from them and they have decided to take it back. I've been surprised at how attached I have become to a few people on the other side of the world relaying 140 character messages at a time. Real time updates from a real life lie effecting millions of people.

There have been students killed, students my age, taking similar classes, thinking similar thoughts, reading similar things, with the same wants and likes as myself. Though twitter is simply a collection of short statements, these people have made it so personal. Whether or not someone can place themselves entirely in another person's shoes is debatable but I have felt their fear, their hope and their outrage to a larger degree than I could have thru other media sources.

There have been many links shared by the Iranian twitters as well. Photos, videos and blogs have been accessible to the world that otherwise would have been very hard to find. This Boston Globe story has some very powerful pictures of the movement thus far:

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/06/irans_disputed_election.html

The giant conversation that is twitter has opened allowed world into the lives of the Iranian people. It is different than reading an article or a book or watching the evening news because it is happening now. Tweets are posted instantly, so we are connected to the "right-now" on the other side of the world. Twitter has made Iran feel like my next door neighbor. It has made me involved, at the least on an emotional level.

Just search #iranelection on twitter and see what is being said.

I send my best wishes and prayers to those fighting to be heard. You have friends around the globe now and we are watching.

with love,
Jake