Two more of my mom’s pieces have received awards from the National Flute Association in the newly published music category.
That makes five pieces with awards over a period of three years. Prior winners were:
Way to go mom.
I bought two new hard drives for my Xboxes and will be installing them tonight. This guide in particular will be useful.
The Complete Evox.ini Guide: “The Complete Guide to Setting Up Evox.ini
Evolution-X Version 1.8.3752
by Vidgms4me”
The roommates (Scott and Adam) and I went camping and white water rafting this weekend in western Massachusetts. There were six of us total, for Scott brought three of his friends.
On Saturday, we loaded up Scott’s truck and headed north around noon. After picking up a friend and meeting two others, our convoy headed up to the Massachusetts mountains. Though we have all had real camping experiences, we ended up staying at a family campground.
Our camping plot was right out in the middle of a field, wide open for all to see. So it didn’t really feel much like camping. We played cards, horseshoes, and Frisbee while enjoying hot dogs, hamburgers, and drinks. The usual camping stuff. Come 6:30 a.m., we woke, broke down the camp, loaded up the trucks, and headed off to start a day of rafting.
There are three rafting companies that service the Deerfield River. We chose Moxie Rafting.
After going through the required safety briefings much like that you’d receive on an airplane (except exits on a raft are located just about anywhere and the likelihood of using your flotation device is much greater), we loaded onto a bus and headed out to the river.
I sat next to one of the guides on the bus. Today was going to be her first training run as a river guide. Her husband, Ray, was going to be our guide. She assured us he was a great guide, so long as he remembered to take his medication that morning. We laughed.
I could tell she was nervous about making her first run. It was easy to figure that out, for her raft’s passengers included her parents, her husband’s mom, and two friends of the family. If she screwed up, she’d never hear the end of it.
She screwed up.
On the second rapid, she managed to not only hit a large rock in the middle of the river, she wrapped the entire raft around it. All of her passengers (family members, remember), ended up stranded on rock in the middle of a class 3 rapid. Paddles and gear floated downstream and word spread throughout the 10 Moxie rafts that were out that day that one of their rafts was in trouble.
Ray, hearing the news, pulled our raft to the shore, grabbed a gear back with safety ropes, and set off on foot upstream. The six of us? Well, we sat around for nearly two hours waiting for the rescue to complete. The sun wasn’t out, the water was cold, we were hungry, and we couldn’t even see the action, for it was too far up stream.
We did see another raft from another company flip over on the same rapid, as well as a few folks in kayaks. So we were semi-entertained. But all in all, the day was spent waiting and not rafting. Though some of the rapids were cool and exciting, we were glad to make it back to camp to get dry, fed, and to begin our journey home.
It was a good trip.
Wired News: Bloggers Opening Western Eyes
Humanitarian workers abroad use blogs to chronicle the lives of people in strife-torn societies in the hope that the West will finally comprehend, and respond. Not a far stretch from my Peace Corps blog.
Last month PeaceCorpsOnline.org ran a story about a group of 60 Peace Corps volunteers in the Dominican Republic who had planned a peace demonstration at the US Embassy against US policy in Iraq in March and asked RPCVs to comment on whether Peace Corps Volunteers retain first amendment rights while serving overseas to protest actions of the United States Government.
This story provoked more comments than any other story they have published in a long time. More than 50 messages have made on the topic; one of them was mine.
Since making this post on June 16, 2003, traffic to my site grew 344 percent (which is to say three more people showed up). Kidding aside, my story is being read by others.
PeaceCorpsOnline.org Publisher Hugh Pickens sent me an email the day following my post requesting if he could feature me in an upcoming issue. Yesterday, he followed up with an email saying my story is being considered for their August issue.
I’ve also received a few emails from people who read my comments at PeaceCorpsOnline.org and followed links to my site. Here are a few excerpts from emails I’ve received from visitors:
From: “Peter”
Subject: Peace Corps
Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2003 18:19:01 -0500Jason,
I just read your posting on the RPCV website. I am very sorry to hear what you went through. It’s something we were threatened with in Sierra Leone as well.
I served in that country for three years, from 1979 to 1982. As I recall, the Peace Corps handbook allowed volunteers to speak to the US press without hindrance, and suggested caution in talking to host country media. Against that background, we received a sneering (the best word that I can think of that the moment) letter from the Peace Corps Director saying any volunteer who spoke to any media, at home or in-country, would be terminated, and any staff member who did so would be fired. The idea was that we might win an appeal, but could never return to Sierra Leone.
This came after someone in the media interviewed a PCV. I was told the story came out very positively, but I don’t know for sure — I lived at the remote end of the country. It nearly caused a revolt among the volunteers, especially when he sent out a second memo saying there was a correction, and it was exactly the same as before. There were other problems with this director as well.
Peace Corps has been gone from Sierra Leone for nearly ten years, but it remains very popular and now that the war is over the government wants it back. I would still advise volunteers to be cautious in talking to the press. Many of the publishers in Freetown are now friends or acquaintances of mine, and I make the statement in full knowledge of the perils that anyone might face with the media. Still, I think that is their right.
Regards,
Peter
And this one…
Date: Tue, 08 Jul 2003 10:06:15 -0500
From: BiancaGood Morning Jason,
I’ve read most of your website regarding your “adventures” with the Peace Corps.
It was nice to hear/read something negative. I have an idealistic view of the PC and its services. It was refreshing to hear it’s not all peaches and cream. I find it hard to believe that everyone has a positive experience with the Peace Corps so reading your story made the organization a bit more human, flawed at times.
Thanks again,
Bianca
For those who are visiting my site for the first time and wish to learn more about my Peace Corps experience, here are a few helpful links:
- Early Termination
- An extensive section documenting my early termination. This section include memos and emails exchanged between myself and the Peace Corps.
- My Monologue
- You’re in it. It is here that I share my experiences (dull and exciting) with the world. Posts appear in reverse chronological order.
- First Peace Corps posting
- I arrived in Guyana on Wednesday, June 5, 2002. This is my first posting.
- Last Peace Corps posting
- My last post was made on Wednesday, August 21, 2002. I was sent home Friday, August 23.
- Audio Diaries
- Two 10-minute MP3 audio diaries that I recorded and posted while in Guyana. Country Director Earl Brown took such offence to these two files he took them to Guyana US Ambassador Ronald Godard.
- Letters of Support
- Letters and small notes I received from most of my peers in disgust of my early departure.
Thank you all for visiting and sharing your thoughts.
