appalling

okay, here's the scene: i'm at work, waiting for a customer to finish picking out what groceries he needs, when this out-of-town (evidenced by their t-shirts) couple walks by. let me back-track and explain that my work is one of many stores in the river market in downtown little rock. caddy corner to us on one end is a middle eastern cusine and grocery, and caddy corner to us on another end is the river market grocery. both booths are run by families of eastern origin. back to the couple. so they're walking by and i hear this from the woman: "is this whole place staffed by terrorists, or just this store?" WOW. i guess i know in my heart of hearts that people like this do exist around me, but i think i've done a pretty good job tricking myself into believing this was just the kind of thing you see on tv or hypothesize about. i don't really know much about the people that run either of the stores, but what i see is that they are good people. do they love the united states? i don't know. are they wreaking havoc in the river market and terrorizing people? no. in fact, this woman is the only person i've ever witnessed experiencing fear related to these shop owners (who were actually not even present, i suppose it was the mere title of the store "middle eastern cuisine and grocery" that sent chills up her spine).
i'm still trying to process this occurrence...at the very least i'm quite disturbed. and saddened. i feel sorry for that woman, that she harbors such unhealthy feelings towards absent middle-eastern shop owners; i feel sad for the couple that owns the store, that they have probably been present for such hatred, and that this will likely not be the last time ugly emotions are directed at them.
i just don't know.

calling all cars

well, it looks as though i've neglected my blog yet again. so here's a quick line before i head off to work for the day...
riverfest this weekend was fun (though soggy at times). trevor and i spent most of saturday there, and i got a lot of sun. we saw a good show by weakness for blondes (headed up by a fellow i used to work with at take a hike); saw some crazy-awesome tumblers out of chicago...they kept me nervous the whole time; saw my neice lauren frances do a little zebra dance with her dance class; ate some phillipino pork kabobs, a funnell cake, and a carmel apple; and met up with todd and crew for a drink at cornerstone before heading off to see the black crows (which, no, i still didn't recognize a single song).
after work on sunday i drove out to perryville and spent a lazy memorial day with trevor and some new and returning ranch volunteers. cookout with the volunteers, then back to little rock for a knitting party with some college girlfriends.
now it's time to get serious about packing up the house so i can make my move this week. if anyone's bored during the week and wants to help a sister out, let me know.
okey dokey, gotta run!

meat

as i was cleaning out my "keepers" folder in my hotmail account, i came across some interesting and long forgotten things. in addition to my usual saved messages of friends updating contact info, i rediscovered a special email from trevor from before we were even together. how funny that i saved such a thing; i, of course, didn't know then (over a year and a half ago) that our relationship would take us here, but i did know that i liked the way the email made me feel. it's nothing so cheesy as a love note (that's not really trevor's style), but in his own way it was a signal to me that he was diggin on me, too. it was such a treat to find, and i wonder where we'll be when it resurfaces.
something else i found was an email from a college professor with a link about factory farming. it's called the meatrix and everyone who eats meat (and those who oppose it for any reason) should check it out.
well, the party here on saturday was a bit more of a gathering than a party, but it was quite a success anyway. i believe everyone attending had a good time. i know i sure did.

girls just wanna have fun

so i realized that i've not been doing much talking about the tv i've been watching (which probably isn't such a bad thing); the past couple of days have been full of tv shows and whatnot...last night it was over to elizabeth's for america's next top model, tonight at kat and carl's for survivor and the apprentice. to keep myself busy between mowing the lawn and printing out pictures on my mini photo printer, and to help myself stay up late (which probably is a bad thing) i found myself borrowing and watching season 2 of sex and the city from elizabeth.
prior to this marathon i've indulged myself in, i'd really only seen a meager handful of episodes of sex and the city. i've been a fan of sarah jessica parker since my childhood favorite, girl's just wanna have fun; i must say, seeing her "all grown up" and having orgasams is a little weird at first...however, i've taken to the show just as i did dawson's creek (yep, i'm a closet dawson's fan). there are actually some vague similarities between the two shows: relationship troubles, the pretty prudish brunette, all-white cast.
the second to last episode of the season was quite interesting. it was about the differences/challenges between twentysomething and thirtysomething women. how odd to be a twentysomething woman (girl, whatever) and watch this show from the perspective of a thirtysomething. not that i'm some hot single in the nyc dating scene, snatching up the a-list men; but it was intriguing to see it through those eyes. something i'm also curious about is whether it's the ny setting or the age that has these women going on SO many dates??? i'm sure it's just the fictional writing, but come on! i don't have any friends that go on dates. elizabeth and i were talking about this tonight. is it little rock? is it being a twentysomething? is it the water? even when i was "available", i never went on dates. and i certainly don't know anyone (except a particular ex) who regularly went on dates with a new aquaintence...how peculiar...

update

well, i'm not being very consistent with this blogging thing. sometimes i don't feel like there's too much to post about anyways. but there have been some developments in the life of little brooke, that i suppose i could share. first, leah has officially moved out. yep, i'm roommateless. it's pretty weird, the house being empty, going a long time without speaking any words to anybody face-to-face (which will change next week when i start working 40 hours a week). trevor and i spent the much of saturday, some of sunday, and most of monday apartment hunting. it felt like a grown-up thing to do, and i'm not sure i liked it. it's a tough call to make: live in a matchbox and save money or cough it up and be more comfortable. i decided on comfort (money can buy happiness in that regard, i suppose), and will be moving into an efficiency (yep, an apartment without a bedroom is bigger than what i almost went with) apartment on kavanaugh in this really old, pretty cool apartment building. hardwood floors, old appliances, full of character. the garden is coming along quite nicely. for proof, see photos below. i'm also putting in some pictures of trevor and me on our first backpacking trip. we only spent one night because of mother's day, but it was a blast and worth the dusty drive. i'm hoping to get my rear into shape so i can make it farther than 2 miles a day without dragging...

trevor and me before hiking out of crystal prong 

trevorseth hiking over the creek we camped near. 

some of the mater plants aren't looking so good, but i'm hoping they'll perk up a bit... 

finito!

all right! school's finished for the time being. what a relief! my evenings are mine...all mine. so i'll be working full-time soon down at the river market. come check it out and buy some organic and local foods. good for you, good for the farmer, good for our planet. the web page is under development, but if you're interested go to http://www.rivermerc.com and keep your eyes peeled for progress.
i must admit that there's some sadness involved in this last week of school. on friday, while i'm away at work, my wonderful roomie leah will be officially moving out. not only does this mean that the only furniture i've got is in the dining room and my bedroom (not to mention no tv!), but the worst part is the fact that this will be the end of an era. sure, leah and i went a year without living together since moving in together (we've been dorm/rent house roomies since 2000), but this is for good, i'm afraid. we're growing up and our paths are taking us different places (cue sappy music).
on a happier note, it's camping time! trevor and i (and anyone else we can drag along) are going camping...finally! i'm super excited, even though it'll just be a one-night trip.
oh, and look out for some updated photos of the garden. i'm working on it, i promise.

pleading for plan "c"

alright, i have no idea who actually visits my blog, or if any of you are in little rock, but i'm posting tonight to plea for help creating plan "c" with regards to my living arrangements. plan a didn't work out, plan b's looking a little doubtful. so if anybody knows anybody looking for a roommate (to move in or to move in with), or if anybody knows of any available one bedroom apartments (preferably not in west little rock), i'd be ever so greatful for comment posts...