one SLiCk life

Jack

2009-01-28T13:24:00.004-07:00

"I hope it is true that a man can die and yet not only live in others but give them life, and not only life but that great consciousness of life."

"... the only ones for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars..."

"I like too many things and get all confused and hung-up running from one falling star to another until I drop. This is the night, what it does to you. I had nothing to offer anybody except my own confusion."

Confucius says...

2009-01-23T15:39:00.003-07:00

OK, so maybe fortunes don't hold quite that much weight, but I sure love the little cookies' revelations. Some of my favorites include:

"You will attract cultured and artistic people to your home." (A compliment to you all who have had the pleasure of an 811 visit)

"You will have a bright future." (I am sure I am the only one who has received this fortune)

"Today you will find something you have been looking for." (Can you technically find something if you don't realize you have done so?)

"You have an ambitious nature and will make a name for yourself." (Let's hope...)

"Stop searching forever, happiness is just next to you." (I think I got this one when I was spooning Cole)

Burberry burka, anyone??

2009-01-21T20:33:00.002-07:00

Today, while walking home from the market with Cole, I noticed a woman wearing a hajib coming toward us. As we began to cross the intersection, I remembered that many traditional Muslims believe dogs are unclean, and I swung wide as a courteous attempt at avoiding a friendly greeting by Cole. But, as she got closer, I heard her speaking Arabic, and then closer, I noticed her Bluetooth headset sticking out from the fabric. It reminded me of the large Philadelphia ladies cloaked in burkas, carrying fake Coach bags, "Louis Vuitton" shoes poking out from under the dark cloth with each step.

Oh, globalization...

"There are stories...

2009-01-20T16:53:00.002-07:00

And then there are stories. The ones that come vibrantly alive, carrying you so entirely to other places in time that you feel compelled to tell them all again as if you were there. Of course, each time you do, you add something, embellish something else. You make them yours. And you're not the only one. These same stories are spreading, changing, and growing, telling themselves through others all the time. Because they have a life of their own."

A new year, a new president, a new future. Imagine the stories to come...

some things are better left unsaid

2009-01-19T20:44:00.003-07:00

Today, instead of coffee and cupcakes, my date with Blake turned into yet another trip to the clinic and a few more stitches (this time, in his thumb).

But, one of the more memorable parts of the visit involved a certain P.I.B. (that's [Park] City talk for "person in black," a.k.a. painfully annoying invader from L.A., no thanks to Sundance) talking loudly on her cell phone about the friend she was accompanying.

"I guess they said she has a pelvic infection due to an STD. She is moaning in pain, pooping and peeing and puking, too. They said it is going to be $800, and she doesn't have it, so we can't leave."

I couldn't decide if she didn't realize how terribly uncomfortable everyone else in the waiting room was during her tale, or if she just didn't care. I don't know which is worse. Thankfully, a health care assistant ushered her back into the confines of the billing room, sparing us from any further fearful details.

But, it made me sad, on many accounts. On the fore of my mind, especially as I prepare to write a paper on Obama's proposed health care amendments, is how awful it was that a grown adult, capable of getting herself into this trouble (and, P.I.D. is definitely that), was funding Park City playtime but had no means by which to pay for this predicament.

Then, I felt for this femme whose so-called friend was airing her business to anyone unfortunate enough to be seated in the anteroom. I would hope that someone you'd trust to travel with would care enough about you to maintain some dignity on your behalf.

But I really sunk when I thought about how little privacy there is "these days." You can't breathe in this town without your co-worker's neighbor's mom's ice cream man knowing. What happened to good, ol' secrets? To a bit of mystery? What would the world look like if we chose to file away dishonoring details and smile, laugh, trust, and offer redemption rather than gossip? An interesting idea to ponder...

the silliest question...

2009-01-18T08:02:00.005-07:00

... is, "Can I kiss you?"

If you don't know the answer and feel inclined to ask, maybe you should wait. Or, maybe not. Maybe you should stick your neck out there (quite literally), and go for it. ("Freedom lies in begin bold." -Robert Frost) Nothing takes the romance out of the moment like asking permission. If you want to be kissed, it disturbs the spontaneity. If you don't want to be kissed, you don't say "no" anyway (except for this one time, I did, and that may have actually been the moment I most desired the liplock... long story). Plus, you always have the head-turn on reserve, and that can't be much worse than saying "no." And, why would you do that, anyway?

"A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous." - Ingrid Bergman

God & Politics

2009-01-17T09:51:00.004-07:00

While you may not be able to talk about them in restaurants and cubicles, these topics are the subject of much thought, and the combination of the two is all the more puzzling.

Below are excerpts from an interesting article I read this fall about the (then) upcoming election in a liberal-leaning Christian magazine. Just food for thought.

"One of the things that's so troubling when Christianity and America become fused together is that what becomes at stake when things like Iraq happen is not just the reputation of America, but the reputation of what it means to be Christian, because it's been totally baptized in Christian language and the blessing of God. I certainly learned that when I was in Iraq. One woman said, 'Your government is creating tremendous bloodshed and asking God's blessing. It's the same thing my government is doing. But what kind of God would bless this? What happened to the God of love and Prince of Peace?'

"On many issues, there is no partisan answer. Christians should seek an entirely different path on issues like abortion and the war in Iraq. 'The Republicans want to overthrow Roe v. Wade, and the pro-life side would cheer that. The other side of the story is this: 70% of the abortions in this country are presently driven by economic forces. You have an 18-year-old woman who works at Wal-Mart at minimum wage- she has no hospitalization, she has no opportunity for maternity leave, she has no access to daycare when the baby is born, she's in dire straits. If you are going to be pro-life, you cannot only be concerned about the unborn; you have to be concerned about after they're born. Are we going to have universal health care so she doesn't have to worry about paying her hospital bill? Are we going to raise the minimum wage, because presently that woman cannot pay for her rent, let alone take care of herself and a child? Are we going to provide daycare for her, so she can continue to be employed? Are you willing to give her a maternity leave so that she doesn't have to either lose her job or have an abortion?'

"You can work for the Kingdom of God and align yourself with whatever seems to move us closer to that. It's possible to interrupt with grace and humility whatever seems to be standing in the way of the reign of God. One way of looking at voting is that it's damage control, voting against whatever is going to do the most damage.

"What is more important than how we vote on Nov. 4 is how we live on Nov. 3 and Nov. 5. We must realize that we are already voting through the way we choose to live. 'We vote every day with our feet, our hands, our lips and our wallets. We vote for the poor. We vote for the peacemakers. We vote for the marginalized, the oppressed, the most vulnerable of our society. Ultimate change does not just happen one day every four years.' "

"uses for direct quotation"

2009-01-16T11:53:00.005-07:00

Yesterday, when we were receiving our eight-zillionth APA format briefing, we were told that quotes are appropriate only in three cases, one of which is when the author's original words captivate an idea so well that to alter the verbiage would lose something substantial (or something to that effect). I took this as validation for my tendency to simply dump the words of those far more brilliant than I on my page, with no accompaniment other than a pair of apostrophes as bookends. So, here's to more wonderful words and the maintenance of their essence...

"I think there's a tension between frustration and optimism as a person... Obviously, you can't close your eyes and ignore all of the things that are horrible in the world. But it doesn't do anyone any good to completely focus on only that and not see things that are beautiful. For me it is a day-to-day thing. There are days when I feel really positive and hopeful and really optimistic, and there are days when I wake up on the opposite side of the bed and I can't get to those feelings anymore. I can only get to the other side- the fear and the horror of these things that go on every day in the world. It's pretty much a constant struggle to stay positive and not succumb to those kind of feelings... continuously seeking optimism..."

"If you want to tell a lot of people something and you happen to have a megaphone in your hand, you're going to use the megaphone- you're not going to whisper it."

the grinch that stole kindness

2009-01-09T10:47:00.003-07:00

Today, Michael and I were pulling up to the library when we saw the parking enforcement go-cart stopping beside us. On our other flank was the Volunteers of America "Homeless Outreach Program" van with a flashing red "expired" meter in front of it. Michael and I looked at the van, then the enforcer, I threw him a handful of change and said, "GO!!"

As he was dropping in dimes, a grumpy, FAT, balding senior began the effort of exiting his vehicle, shouting, "if that isn't your car, and you're feeding the meter, you are in deep shit!" Michael looked at him, puzzled, cocked his head, and paused. "Not in this city, boy! Step away!"

Michael looked at me. I said, "I am sorry, sir. This is the season of compassion, and this is a homeless outreach van. I guess I didn't know Salt Lake City was in such dire need of funds. Our apologies."

Michael walked towards me, we turned our backs and left, dreaming up plans to run down the row of meters, tossing coins in each before darting down alleys toward Sherwood Forest, escaping with Merry Men grace, leaving the evil Sheriff of Nottingham to helplessly shake his fists in selfish disgust.

... not to mention the unappetizing food ...

2009-01-07T13:46:00.002-07:00

"England offers the lowest quality of life in Europe despite residents earning the highest incomes, according to new research. The price of fuel and other essential goods, and below-average spending on health and education, place Britain at the bottom of the uSwitch.com European quality-of-life index."

A Song to Save Lives

2008-11-01T13:35:00.004-06:00

A really cool thing happened this week. I was reading an NPR blog and stumbled across a BBC discussion of a study by the University of Illinois College of Medicine recommending the use of 1977 Bee Gees disco anthem hit, "Stayin' Alive," to time CPR compressions. The song's beat is 103 per minute, a mere three away from the recommended rate. The American Heart Association supports this technique to time compression delivery and reports having used the song as a training tip for the past two years.

I found this information not only entertaining, but thought it might actually be really useful, so I sent it out to my program's listserv.

A few days later, a classmate sent an email response to our listserv:

"Just wanted to say this actually works. I was in the ER for clinical yesterday and had the chance to perform CPR on someone. I actually sung 'Stayin' Alive' in my head, and staff members commented both during and afterward that my compressions had the perfect tempo and were very even in rhythm. Thank you, Maren and NPR."

Oh, NPR, I love you...

random PDX bits

2008-10-19T23:04:00.002-06:00

Interesting facts about Portland (c/o Stuff White People Like):

* Named the "Greenest City in America" by Popular Science magazine

* Highest rate of microbreweries per capita

* Citizens are not allowed to pump their own gas

* Rasheed Wallace once lived here

one SLiCk life...

2008-10-09T18:53:00.002-06:00

While this perhaps should have been one of the initial blogs, I thought I'd attempt some sort of explanation as to how I arrived at the title of this little venture.

I love Salt Lake City. A lot. But somehow, I still can't see myself staying here forever, so it seemed appropriate to chronicle this current chapter of life, seeing as though I think it's pretty neat. Before I moved down the big canyon to live amongst the valley people, SLC was pronounced "slick," and the latter has some pretty cool meanings, such as:

slick1

-adjective

1. ingenious; cleverly devised

2. Slang. wonderful; remarkable; first-rate.

And, since I have always been better at loving beautiful things than at creating them, I will continue to post wonderful words written, spoken, and lived by others, along side my own. Enjoy!!

America's Best Beers

2008-10-08T17:21:00.002-06:00

Each year, Men's Journal puts out this list and doesn't post it online. Women's publications don't publish this sort of important information, but luckily I stole the pages from my (step)dad's magazine to share with whomever passes by this page.

Prost!/Cheers!

"American beer has finally hit its golden age. Take a break from imports and raise a pint to these homegrown classics."

If you drink... Sierra Nevada Pale Ale,

you'll love... Smuttynose Shoals Pale Ale

New Hampshire's Smuttynose is a gentler pale ale that has plenty in common with its English cousins. A milder dose of hops makes it less aggressively bitter than other American varieties you're used to, but it's still full and flavorful.

You should also try...

Full Sail Pale Ale: Portland's windsurfing-mad neighbor Hood River is the birthplace for this Northwest classic, with its biscuity malt backbone and delicate grapefruit finish.

Stone IPA: Moving up the intensity ladder, we come to Stone IPA, a perfect specimen of the aggro So Cal India pale ale - but instead of having a too-bitter bite, this one is actually pleasant to drink.

If you drink... Guinness,

you'll love... Deschutes Black Butte Porter

Today, stout and porter styles range from mild purist English versions to American riffs that spin off in wild directions. Take Black Butte, in which tangy Northwest hops balance cocoa, coffee, and toffee notes from a blend of roasted malts.

You should also try...

Alesmith Speedway Stout: This San Diego-brewed, coffee-infused elixir is near perfect: a smoky, roasty, caffeinated - literally, with real joe - revelation that seems to linger forever.

Dieu du Ciel Peche Mortel: While not American, Montreal's Peche Mortel is so good (and nearby), we had to include it. It's one of the smoothest, richest stouts we've ever tasted.

If you drink... Blue Moon,

you'll love... Ommegang Witte

Ommegang Witte is brewed in Cooperstown, New York, under the supervision of Duvel Moortgat brewery in Belgium, which produces the noble golden ale Duvel - except almost everything Ommegang makes is better than Duvel, including this venerated classic.

You should also try...

Ramstein Blonde: Head brewer Greg Zaccardi imports everything from Bavaria, the ancestral home of hefeweizen, giving it an appealingly tart spiceness found in the real McCoys.

Penn Weizen: A perfect emulation of authentic German styles, Penn Weizen has all the spicy aromas of banana and clove that you would expect from a traditional Bavarian weiss.

If you drink... Samuel Adams Boston Lager,

you'll love... Southampton Altbier

Southampton is renowned for its array of beer styles. Its Altbier (a German style with a flavor that falls somewhere between an ale and a lager) is a delicious analogue to Boston Lager, with a caramel color and creamy malt character.

You should also try...

Lakefront Organic ESB: One of the few beers in the world made with 100 percent certified organic ingredients, this ESB (extra special bitter, a British style) is perfectly balanced.

Elysian The Wise ESB: Often ESBs suffer from a fruitlike sweetness. Not so with the Wise. It's drier, and its layering of mellow spiciness makes it perfect for fall's cool nights.

If you drink... Pilsner Urquell,

you'll love... Stoudt's Pils

This clean, golden Pennsylvania beer achieves exactly what a pilsner is meant to: It packs enough taste to keep you interested for the long haul, with a mild, thirst-quenching flavor that encourages you to drink it all night long - ideal between bites of fiery Thai food.

You should also try...

Trumer Pils: Trumer has all the integrity of a European pilsner with the added benefit that you won't get screwed by the brutal euro-dollar exchange rate.

Two Brothers Dog Days Dortmunder-Style Lager: This meaty Dortmunder-style lager is a deep, brassy-colored brew with a little more malty heft and alcoholic kick.

What to order when you're on the road:

Southeast

Abita Restoration

Abita, the quintessential Dixie craft brewery, launched this pale ale to raise money for New Orleans's post-Katrina reconstruction. And it's perfect for the swampy environment - a full-bodied brew that goes light on the malt and hops for hot-weather refreshment.

Northwest

Bridgeport IPA

The PNW is hophead heaven. Portland earned the nickname "Beervana" for its 30 breweries, and Bridgeport was the first and is often regarded as the best. Thanks to its citrusy IPA that goes great with the brewpub's deservedly famous spicy pizza, that's not likely to change anytime soon.

Southwest

Boont Amber Ale

Like its people, California's beer scene runs to extremes: from mild and sociable up north to aggressive and boozy in So Cal. Nor Cal's Boont Amber is a smooth, unpasteurized ale with a lively kick in a glowing garnet color that's as attractive as the copper kettles it's brewed in.

Northeast

Victory Prima Pils

From Philly to Maine, excellent craft beer is flowing. The clean-finishing, grainy goodness of this golden, rocky-headed beer from Pennsylvania makes it ideal on draft, preferably poured into extra-large pitchers and shared among friends. As Sierra is to pales, Prima is to pilsners.

Rockies

Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale

The rough-and-tumble saloon vibe of the Rockies is still there, but next to the lit-up plastic taps these days are genre-bending micros. Oskar Blues made a splash as the first American craft brewery to can its own beer. Dale's is still great on tap, with a classic pale ale's bite and tang.

Midwest

Bell's Two Hearted Ale

Thankfully, there's a craft brew renaissance going on throughout the Midwest. Michigan's Bell's Brewery has long had a cult following, and its vast selection of world-class ales is now available in most beer-forward bars. This is a potent but exceedingly drinkable IPA.

responsibility to heal a fractured world

2008-10-05T22:32:00.006-06:00

[My favorite part about Judaism is] "tikkun olam, the idea that the world has been broken into pieces. All this chaos, all this discord. And our job - everyone's job - is to try to put the pieces back together. To make things whole again."

To life!

2008-10-04T19:58:00.003-06:00

"I danced the only way I knew how to dance: for life, crashing into the chairs, and spinning until I fell, so that I could get up and dance again, until dawn broke and found me prostrate on the floor, so close to death I could spit into it and whisper: L'chaim."

"... though actions speak louder than words, words in the right place speak louder than bombs ..."

2008-10-04T14:05:00.003-06:00

This week, I "lived out a scene from a movie," or so the friend I told this story to said.

In Epidemiology, we were discussing an article by a well-known public health expert about the world AIDS pandemic. While normally I keep my mouth shut in class for fear of offending not only my classmates but also my teacher with a showy display of my global health knowledge, this time I spit out the gag and let loose the words I'd been choking on. After politely raising my hand several times for tame, brief comments but never gaining the floor, while several students were given the chance to repeatedly utter ignorant comments (such as, "Why worry about those dying of AIDS in Africa? They would starve if they survived anyway," and, "I don't know why the world thinks we need to help cure AIDS. Abstinence isn't that tough to figure out"), I lowered my hand in defeat and decided I would swallow my pride and die to myself once again.

But, as the professor was bringing the discussion to a close, we met eyes and she said, "Oh, did your points get covered or was there still something you wanted to add?"

I grinned slyly and shrugged my shoulders.

"Oh, don't want to share with us anymore, huh?" she asked, only half-jokingly.

I smiled again, my heart began to race, and as my lips parted, no one, myself included, had any idea about what was about to happen.

"It isn't that I don't want to share, but at this point, I don't know where to begin. My previous degree is in international relations and business, and I wrote a thesis about sustainable advancement in the developing world, which came to center around the current health problems there. Health care isn't one of the problems there, it is THE problem. 'What about, lack of education? Political corruption? Poor economies? Food shortages? Civil wars?' you ask. I can tell you why these are all just symptoms. You can continue to poor aid money down the drain in the form of programs claiming to fix these ailments, but it is about as helpful as putting a band-aid over rotting flesh."

I followed with a ten-minute briefing on how the tragic state of health in most of the vast and diverse continent of Africa leads to the aforementioned blights, before closing with a final grin. "That was a greatly oversimplified summary of the situation, but yeah, that is what I was going to say, more or less..."

Silence. Crickets chirping.

Then, applause. Seriously.

"Well, I should probably have you teach today's lecture. Um, wow." She sincerely thanked me for sharing my "expertise" with the class and then struggled to regroup.

My friend turned to me, grinning from ear to ear, and said, "No better way than that to prove it's the brilliant ones who keep quiet. We don't need to listen to ourselves talk in attempt to convince ourselves of our intelligence."

After class, I handed in my quiz and was leaving when my teacher grabbed me, asked if she could read my thesis, and encouraged me to submit it for publication.

I headed to the med school library to do some work on my current research project. As I settled into my spot, I heard someone approaching from behind.

"Maren? I turned; it was a classmate I respect but don't know very well. She is from California, married to a return-missionary who speaks Arabic, hopes to relocate and start a family in the Middle East when she finishes school. "I just want to thank you for your talk in class today. It was so nice to hear an educated view on the issue, and I hope it challenged some people to question their beliefs. Really, I want you to know that we really appreciated it. It was a breath of fresh air in classroom discussion."

"Thank you. That means a lot."

What do the children in the above photo have in common?

They're beautiful? Absolutely.

Full of hope and life? Definitely.

But they are also HIV-positive angels, orphaned by AIDS.

"This world demands the qualities of youth; not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. It is a revolutionary world we live in, ... and thus you, and your young compatriots everywhere, have had thrust upon you a greater burden of responsibility than any generation that has ever lived."

"You don't take a photograph, the photograph takes you."

2008-09-30T16:59:00.001-06:00

The beginning...

2008-07-29T13:44:00.001-06:00

So, this little project was supposed to start this past spring, the season of new beginnings, with this last one being no exception. With the departure of a sir I once knew, the start of a new semester (and field of study), the return of a few old friends, and acquisition of this rad little MacBook I like to call Bella, I thought I could perhaps finally find enough fill to justify a blog.

But, alas, time ticked away, shuffling the characters and settings in this fascinating theatrical production that's my life, and I realized that there will always be enough mystery and beauty to sift out a tale or two.

Fasten your seat-belts, pack your patience. Here we depart...