on my way home from albuquerque, i left my phone charger in the car - the same car that headed to las vegas, and then chicago to finish off the invisible children "rescue". so my phone has been dead for a few days now. plus, my computer at home is no longer working, so i can only get online in public places. sorry to anyone who has been trying to reach me.

good news on the rescue front though - richmond virginia was saved by gavin degraw (spelling?) and chicago is now the last city awaiting rescue. people from all over the country are traveling in caravans to join their plight. it seems they are holding out for either:

Senator Durbin (Illinois)
Don Cheadle
Bono
Vice President Joe Biden
Oprah
Michelle Obama
President Obama

my last blog told you about the Invisible Children. here, i'll tell you how i (and the rest of the world) has been involved over the last week.

on Saturday April 25th, 100 cities world wide took place in "The Rescue". thousands of people kidnapped themselves in solidarity with the children in Africa who are being kidnapped. we met in local areas (including cities in South Africa, the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Tokyo,) to sleep overnight on the ground the way we have done once a year for the last three years. the difference this year was that, since these children are not being rescued, we promised not to leave our sites until we were rescued. "Rescued" for us meant that *1* the local media (tv, radio, and newspapers) had to show up and cover the event AND *2* a celebrity or political person had to come and show their support for our cause.

Tucson was rescued at 8:30 PM on Saturday, so i jumped in a car with some of our volunteers and drove immediately to Albuquerque. no sleep, little food, hot sun, and cold wind...  it was incredible!!! New Mexico was finally rescued on Monday morning. A group of "Rescue Riders" left NM and drove to Wichita, Kansas but i had to return home for work.

kansas city had to go underground because of tornado warnings. chicago started out with 3,000 abductees but went down to 300 when a huge rain storm covered them all. they moved from site to site, being kicked out by authorities. the mexico city site was shut down because of the swine flu.

of the 100 cities, 98 of them have been rescued so far. because Rescue Riders from every rescued city travel to the next un-rescued city, we have large groups of people heading to the last two sites (Chicago and Richmond, VA). there were MANY big names supporting us. here is a sample view:


Washington D.C.: Fallout Boy (band) and Val Kilmer (actor)
Atlanta: Jeff Foxworthy (comedian)
Boise: Acii Nancy- a girl rescued from the LRA, going to school in the U.S. now
Boston: reps from Sen. John Kerry & Ted Kennedy; Justin Masterson- red sox
Charlotte: Ken Block (band, Sister Hazel)
Cincinnati: Bangles player Chinedum Ndukwe
Honolulu: Pam Omidyar (wife of Ebay founder)
Houston: Mae (band)
Kansas City: Switchfoot (band)
Las Angeles: Kirsten Dunst, Tom Arnold, Ben McKenzie, Kristen Bell (actors)
Las Vegas: The Spice Girls (band)
Milwaukee: Brady Poppinga, player for the Packers
New York: Ying Chang (Gossip Girl); Chris Lowell (Private Practice) & more
Orange County: Paramore (band)
Orlando: Aaron Gillespie (band, Underoath)
Portland: Amy Roloff (tv show "Little People, Big World")
Phoenix: Steve-O (tv show, JackAss)
San Diego: Vincent Jackson, player for the Chargers
San Fransisco: former mayor Willie Brown
San Luis Obispo: Nate Henry (band, Sherwood Nate)
Santa Barbara: Tom Curren (pro surfer)
St. Louis: Chris Chamberlain, player for the Rams
Tucson, AZ: Congressman Raul Grijalva

Edinburgh: Billy Boyd (actor, played Pippin in Lord of the Rings)
Guadalajara, Mexico: Ely Guerra (singer/songwriter)
Melbourne, Australia: Nat Pa'apa'a (band, Blue King Brown)
Sydney, Australia: Damien Walsh (tv show, Underbelly)
Vancouver, Canada: Alison Mack (tv show, Smallville)

 

for those of you who don't know, or don't remember...

Invisible Children is an organization that is working to free children who have been kidnapped and forced to into being child soldiers in Africa.

my brother went on tour to educate the nation about them in 2006 and got me involved. we helped to put on an international even, The Global Night Commute, inviting people to gather and sleep in downtown areas, the way the children in Uganda had to sleep (huddled together in cities, away from their villages) in order to escape being taken or killed.

after helping with that, i went through a lot of personal struggles and ended my involvement with the organization. my brother didn't. he moved to Uganda, Africa for one year to help set up a program where schools in America adopted schools in Africa where the children could live, receive an education, and be safe.

in 2007 Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), signed peace treaties, promising to stop kidnapping children. the world was excited, but he failed to keep his promises. it turns out that he used the time to strengthen his army and broaden his attacks to the Congo and other areas.

you can read more about the Invisible Children and the AMAZING progress they have made in helping these children here: http://www.invisiblechildren.com

2-29-08

3 weeks ago i ran 5.3 miles in an hour. it was the longest i had ever run.

i haven't accomplished that distance since, but i've continued to exercise off and on. today i ran 3 miles and did an intense upper body workout.

someone i knew once kept track of the progress she made towards physical goals by blogging her daily achievements. Maybe if i try that i'll be more motivated in my efforts...

3-3-08

ran 3 miles today, and did another intense upper body workout.

3-24-08

forgot about this blog, and haven't been keeping track of my exercise over the last few weeks. starting again today, i'm going to make an effort to keep track of my progress here.

i ran/walked 4 miles on the 24th with my friend sandy. she took me to a trail on very hilly terrain - something new for me.

3-26-08

running  at the community college track - 2 1/4 miles. i'm doing 10 minute miles, excited to get even faster, but don't want to push myself too much too soon.

4-13-08

i was sick and recovering from being sick for a week. no fun, and no running for me. yesterday i walked about 6 miles during the Pride Festival here in phoenix (during the parade and running errands for the Lambda float). it was incredibly fun, but left me with more than a few blisters. i need to run soon!!!

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10-15-08

i have done a lot of jogging, biking, and other exercise over the months - not as much as i would have liked but still a fair amount. my access to the internet has been unreliable, so i haven't been keeping it updated. when and if i get to a place where i can input every day consistently, i will update this blog again. :)

my phone is now entirely out of service.

until further notice, the only way to reach me is through the internet. keep in touch ya'll. :)

~c~

i was hired for the job that i wanted most of all here in tucson! :) i will start training as a cashier at "food conspiracy", the local cooperative health food store. after three months, they are hoping i will be trained enough to be promoted to lead cashier. yay!

so, i will probably be moving into a new space soon and won't have to live out of my bags anymore, taking up the living room floor of my generous friends.

as soon as i can raise enough money to catch up on my bills, i will start saving to take continuing education classes for massage and doula training.

Please visit their myspace site. Right now, they are my 2 friend.
http://www.myspace.com/noon102

Join if you'd like. And definitely, vote

NO!! on Proposition 102.

I must still say, I don't take complete pride in the queer community. I am not proud of the stereotype that many people continue to fulfill: promiscuous alcoholics and drug-users with no respect for social decency, God, or family. I am not one to judge. I have been all of these things and worse. I understand the lure of supposed freedom and independence whether you are straight, gay, or don't fit into any box. Though people of all lifestyles struggle with or happily take part in these risky behaviors, the glbt community is constantly misjudged as being entirely dangerous because of them. I know, and many people know, that gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people who are morally aware, God-loving, and socially-conscious ABOUND.... so why does this yearly celebration of our lifestyle have to be so focused on drinking and sleeping around?

Never-the-less, I had a BLAST this year at Pride! Made some new friends. Danced (sober) all night long, and was ready for church the next morning. 

There was great music, activism for many social causes, churches encouraging people to know the love of Jesus, great food, and more. Check out the pics i posted.