The Dutch are taking over

So, funny story: First of all, to get the connection straight, meet my boyfriend Dan:

And this is his roommate Matty:

For the sake of ridiculous pictures, this is their friend Igor. But Igor isn't a critical link in the chain of my funny story:

Surprisingly to all of us, Matty has got an actual girl to like him, despite his ridiculously hairy chest. Her name is Sarah and she is Fantastic:

Everyone has been really intrigued by her last name, and one Wing Night too many resulted in coming up with a fairly interesting nickname for Fantastic Sarah. When I found out the Dutch heritage of said last name, I made a little giggle to myself, and explained how I had a Dutch friend in high school we used to tease. I almost felt like asking "you wouldn't know Stephanie, would you?" but then I realized how stupid that would sound. Its not like every Dutch person knows every other Dutch person.

Tonight, as Sarah and I were discussing Paul's description of women and marriage in the bible, she said "I should call up Eva. She'd know." The first thing I thought was - Is there an Eva in EVERY Dutch family? Then I realized that none of her siblings were named Eva. "Who's Eva?" I asked. "My cousin". "What's her last name?" I asked?

This girl I've been hanging out with for weeks, this girl who had me over to her house to watch and Grey's Anatomy and CSI, this same girl who cuts open dead people in school is our Stephanie's cousin.

Its a small world.

Free Hugs

Well, it was Jocelyn who brought to my attention the Free Hugs Movement a while ago. I watched the movie, and I started to cry. What is so incredible about this is that it makes us stop from our busy busy days and remember the beauty of hugs. There is something we forget when we start to become adults, and that is the ability to really truly hug. Just think back to those sometimes wonderful and sometimes not-quite-so-wonderful teenage years. At least personally, I used to hug so much more than I do now. And the hugs were so much more sincere. Why is that? There are some really memorable hugs and huggers in my lifetime. Bryn, you certainly are at the top of my list. Mike, you're there too. There is just something so wonderful about the feeling of arms wrapping around you, wrapping your arms around someone else, that is so pure.

On Monday, Oprah flew 'Juan Mann' to America so that she could get one of his famous hugs in front of 22 million viewers.





What is it that makes this a world wide phenomenon? Why is it that this was on Oprah and 22 million people watched? Why is it that the original YouTube video brings so many people to tears? It is because we as a society are in desperate need of a hug. We are a world full of stories who just need to be held and cherished. It is a touching story because for once, our media isn't consumed with people looking out for themselves, loving only themselves. Here is One Man trying to reach out to individual people. All the self love in the world will never be as fulfilling as a simple, sincere hug.

Watch the YouTube video, even if you have watched it before. Watch it all the way through.





Hug somebody today. Don't do it because it's the current 'it' thing to do. Don't to it because you need it. Do it because we all need it. Free Hugs. And I promise, the next time I see you, you'll get such a big, loving, sincere hug. Promise.

Code Name: Jack O'Lantern

Two days before Halloween, I asked for help on deciding on a costume. Although I didn't take anyone's advice (although Bryn's was my ultimate favorite, and we couldn't go with MJ's suggestion because Matt doesn't seem to have his shiny pants), I did end up dressing up for Halloween with my other half. This is how it came about. Tune in later to see the pictures from the actual night).

Sorry about the shoddy camera work. If this doesn't make you go seasick, nothing will. (CLICK IMAGE TO WATCH). I had a really hard time getting the video on this site, so its in Windows Media format. Sorry, that was the best I could do.

click here to download

Barista Laura

I now count myself as one of the employed. Tonight I walked into the new Starbucks on Queen and Spring Garden to pick up my coffee and tea passports, in which I am encouraged to try as many Starbucks drinks as I can stomach. Empire Theaters never did that. $3.00 off over priced combos doesn't serve as much of an incentive to buy lots of theater food, (not that you would want to anyway). But with Starbucks, I get STAMPS! It actually is like a real passport. I should put Adam's picture at the front of it and try to board a plane with my Starbucks passports. Maybe this new experience of trying all the coffee and tea that Starbucks has to offer will serve as a new blogging thread! I can blog about my initial impressions of each drink. That sounds mildly exciting.

Matty expressed a certain amount of animosity towards the Starbucks brand. Although he admitted that they served good coffee, according to him, in Europe Starbucks is as American (that means bad) as McDonalds (ouch!). I, on the other hand, really enjoy Starbucks. They have thoroughly sucked me in to the entire experience, and I love it. Now, I don't go so far as spending eight hours a day there like some people I know, but I enjoy the drinks they serve and the environment. The only way I could make it better would be to make the coffee fair-trade. Now, I am part of the experience!

**EDIT** I may be wrong on the fair-trade bit. As I read, it seems like they are at least partially free-trade. Yay Starbucks!!