Sabatasher Yooleeyoo.

"Sabatasher Yooleeyoo." That means 17th of July in Arabic. That's a date that will stick in my head forever because it was the day I returned from Egypt. I said those words over and over during the weeks leading up to my departure as people asked when I was leaving. I can't believe it has already been a year since I returned from Egypt.

I haven't had many things to say about my experiences there recently, but I did have one of those monetary conversion flashes the other day. I was at the Georgia Dome for a DCI competition (more on that in another post) and bought a jumbo dog and a medium drink at lunchtime. It cost me $8.50. That one meal could feed one Egyptian for probably two weeks, if not more. I then spent another $8.00 at dinnertime at the CNN center.

Granted the prices were inflated. Perhaps that's why I was suddenly jolted into thinking about conversion. I used to do it all the time when I lived in Egypt. "Let's see..." I would think. "How much does this tameya sandwich cost? 17 cents? Wow!" Now I am on the other end of the conversion, when things seem ridiculously expensive.

Republicans "diss" the NAACP

Check out this fantastic blog entry by a guy named Jeffery Feldman about how the Republicans completely alienated an entire demographic. http://jeffrey-feldman.typepad.com/frameshop/
2007/07/frameshop-a-p-1.html

My "Order of the Phoenix" review

I went with two friends to an opening day show, and overall I am pleased. The only negative comment I have is this: it was really rushed. That's quite a statement because while The Order of the Phoenix is the longest Harry Potter book to date, it is the shortest movie. In hindsight, I wish the filmmakers had made it slightly longer so as to flesh out some of the abbreviated scenes.

My greatest disappointment was towards the end. [If you don't know the ending of the movie, and you don't want to just yet... skip this paragraph] In the book there were so many fascinating, strange rooms at the Ministry of Magic that I was looking forward to seeing, and the movie left out a hefty portion of them. Among the missing were the rotating-doors room, "brain room", and the scene where one of the death eaters gets his head caught in a time loop - all very memorable to me.

However, the scenes that were cut made way for a very well-done battle scene at the end. Great special effects, great acting all around.

The jewel of this movie is Professor Umbridge, played by Imelda Staunton. Physically, she barely resembled the character I had envisioned from reading the book, but she won me over with the subtlety with which she portrayed her. Just the quiver of her cheeks spoke volumes. The cheery-sinister mix of personality reminded me of a high school English teacher I had that would speak in a happy, lilting voice, but would stare you down with an ice-cold glare if you crossed her. Not that I did that on a regular basis... not intentionally anyway.

Overall a great experience. Simply too rushed. Like going down a water slide. Just when you are getting to enjoy it, it's over.

Frosty Treasures

I made this wonderful dessert tonight. It's a recipe from my childhood called Frosty Treasures. It's made of Crispix, a chocolate mixture that you pour over the Crispix, and finally a (not-so) healthy coating of confectioner's sugar. Mmmm. Good stuff.

Happy 4th of July

Happy birthday America!

A new site completed

I picked up a job from a fellow church member who does massage therapy. I just completed the project today and the site is now live. Check it out at: www.colewellnessmassage.com

Create your own Simpsons avatar

I created this Simpsons avatar (it looks like me, right? I mean, it even has khaki pants!) at the Simpsons movie website. Create yours now!