Pittsburgh Aviary Post 1

This begins a series of posts based on my visit to the Pittsburgh Aviary yesterday (Friday May 30th). The following is a short video clip I took at the Free Flight Zone show of Max the Parakeet singing Happy Birthday. I wished I had turned the camera on sooner, because he just got done singing opera.

Make-Your-Own-PostCard

I made this postcard for my Mom out of an old VHS cover of Thoroughly Modern Millie. I ripped it to postcard size, added sparkly star stickers, and inked a division for the message and address. Easy as pie, a great way to reuse. Thanks to Jeannie for the idea.

There is No Exit Strategy

It's not so much what it is, but what it is combined with when it is. I saw this on 5th ave in downtown Pittsburgh on April 3rd, 2008. The fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq was on March 20th, 2008. The facts are stated simply, you don't need to add shock and awe for it to be shocking.

Happy Anniversary
March 20
2003-2007
?

"Maybe a hundred years---would be fine with me" --Sen. John McCain

4,000 U.S. Military Dead
39,395 U.S. wounded

....what is best
Who's laughing now?

The placement on a marble building drew my attention to it. I noticed the resemblance to the iPod stickers, though, so did a little research and found this MadTV parody... it's a little predictable, but still has a good message.

I *heart* Math

Addition Combos for 2-10

If I keep trying to convince myself I love and enjoy math, eventually it will be true... right? Well, I spent an hour proving to myself that there are indeed 45 unique addition facts. First I wrote out all the possible combinations of adding positive integers to get the numbers 2 through 10 and then I figured out the 45 unique addition facts. If you memorize these facts, you can figure out any addition problem (well, you have to know how to carry or how to add without carrying, which is what the next math post will be about.

45 unique addition facts

The Water Is Ours

Seen in the Strip District, April 18, 2008, This stopped me in my tracks. It was one of our first warm days of Spring and the streets were alive with people on their lunch breaks. Everyone was walking or eating or smoking and generally enjoying the weather. People kept walking around me when I stopped to read this and take the picture. It was especially poignant because of the water damage, the text streaked by rain, when the topic was the right to WATER. This is what it says:

"The water is ours damnit!" In 1999, under pressure from the World Bank, the Bolivian government, sold off the water system of its 3rd largest city Cochabamba behind closed doors to multi-national investors including the Bechtel Corporation. Over night people were asked to pay 25% of their income for water including collected rainfall and backyard wells. Months of protese ensued. The country was declared under martial law but thousands took to the streets. This, combined with international activist pressure forced Bechtel to flee the country. Despite subsequent attempts to sue Bolivia for $25M in loss of "potential profit," the people of Cochabamba succeeded in defeating a corporate giant and reclaiming control of one of life's most neccessary resources.

Long Overdue Update (Good Stuff)

I haven't posted in a while because, well, good stuff has been happening, and I've been too busy with the happening to get to the telling. But I have a moment to breathe, so I thought I would share now. I started seeing a wonderful guy back in March. I finished up work on my thesis. I successfully defended my thesis. And I got engaged to be married!

My thesis board recommended that I receive my Masters degree. All I have left to do is some small revisions and get my thesis bound. I had a public reading already, at which this picture below of me and my fiance, Rado, was taken.

My fiance is Radoslav Angelov, and he is more than my fiance. He is my true love, he is my best friend, he is my confidante, he is my partner, he is my companion. We have so much in common, and the things we don't have in common only enhance the relationship. We can talk about anything from history to politics to philospohy to poetry to music to our favorite comedy sketches. We love doing anything together.

Rado has been living in Pittsburgh for 15 years, but he is from Bulgaria. We are planning to travel to Bulgaria when I am done with AmeriCorps. When we get married, my Dad will perform the ceremony with my Mom giving me away. My Matron of Honor will be Nancy Heacock, and my Maid of Honor will be Rachel Baron.

I have put together a Wedding Website if you would like to hear more. It is at http://radoandsarah.brides.com/.

Vote on my Jones Soda Photo

I submitted a photo of my boyfriend Rado for consideration for a Jones Soda bottle. Vote here: http://www.jonessoda.com/gallery/view.php?ID=937532& and give this photo a rating of 10 if you want to see it on a bottle!