I first heard about Web 2.0 in March 2008 when I saw the bookmarks for del.icio.us on a co-workers Internet Explorer page. I quickly learned how to add that to my page as well. I realized what a boon web-based bookmarks were over browser-based, and since I use three different PCs in the course of my day, a bookmarking site is very helpful. Those bookmarks are always there.

I also learned the value of a web-based calendar for the same reason. Plus, my wife’s schedule can be added to mine, or mine added to hers via the same host. Since I’m a Mac user, I use iCal at home and .ics calendar files to share with others. I found a free calendar hosting site (www.icalx.com) on the web, and then tried Mozilla’s Sunbird open source calendar app. Sunbird work’s pretty well, but the program has to be installed on each client computer. Someone told me about Google calendars, which can import .ics files. So, I set up an account and formated my calendars. Now, just like my del.icio.us bookmarks I can take my Google calendar everywhere I go.

OK, now for the Technology R’nt Us phase: I noticed a Ligit widget on a friends blog and wanted to add it to mine .You’ll see that I have it entered as a blog post. Not where it should be, but I can’t figure out how to embed it in the page’s html. Likewise, the cool speaking avatar I made on Voki. So, maybe some savvy geek out there can help me learn a little more code so that I can spruce up my blog.

Anyway, I am enjoying this O! What a Geek class, and we are having fun at work talking about our projects. Great idea! Thanks!

Smiles all around, a nice sunny day and even a pleasant breeze.
Sweet smell of fresh fruit from a basket, as the sun shines through the trees.
Come on lets go, I hear you say, so happy as can be.
I grab the basket, walk to the car and we’re on the road by three.

Nice pleasant days yes like this, no need to go to far.
All the things around are so sweet as we get out of the car.
This special day for you and me, as we walk into the field.
Looking all around for a nice soft spot, to sit and share our meal.

Now walking together, you and I and were off to find a spot.
A small umbrella to give some shade, in case it gets too hot.
This is so romantic and how I feel as I move to take your hand.
Pleasant sounds of music playing, we can hear from where we stand.

Moving through the fields to that perfect spot, a real nice place to sit.
Placing the blanket on the grass, where we christen this spot with a kiss.
Some fruit for you a sandwich for me as we laugh the day away.
That look in you eyes tells me you’re happy and I hope that look will stay.

Sitting and watching as you smile, it makes the day so true.
I will always treasure this moment that I spent this time with you.
A lot of kisses we both receive as, we enjoy this pleasant spot.
The sun’s going down, our desires are deep let’s explore this love we got.

I’m so afraid of losing you Will…
I don’t know whether it’s just me being insecure, or is it really that I don’t mean as much as I had to him anymore. Lately, I feel less and less appreciated. I feel neglected. Neglect is a form of child abuse! Grrr T^T. You used to call me every single day, yet now it’s “I’ll call you when I feel like it”. I remember once you called me and you exhausted, yet you had the heart to call. I recall you saying “cause if I didn’t call you, you’re going to think what has Will been up to? Why isn’t he calling me?” But yesterday, I was waiting by the couch again, and my phone never rang.

I’m so lost. I don’t know what’s going on. Do you not feel the same? You’ve been asking me if I had lost feelings, but my question to you is: have you? Because clearly to me, some thing’s been keeping you distant from me. It’s not the same anymore. I used to be so happy and giddy when I get your phone call, but now, even sitting next to you feels different. It’s like you’re not even there. Like you said, I do put you up there, on the number one top priority spot. But what about me? Do I occupy even the smallest fragment of your heart?

I’m beginning to have doubts. Last night I was going through my notes and I passed by the letter I said I was writing to you about a break. It was pretty long…
To my fag face Will Fung,
Didn’t want to send this to you on text or on AIM cause I didn’t want to take the risk of having someone else discover this message. I happen to remember you use this site so I’ll make an account here and send you it here instead. Let’s brush up on your reading skills, haha. I think I wrote so much more in here than for school essays, lol. Get ready for a super long message…

Let’s take a break. It’s something I really want to do, but I don’t have the courage for. I know we’ve talked about this before. It’s not your problem. I just want some time for myself to rethink things. Like I’ve said before, I think I’ve become much too dependent on you. I want my strong self back. Right now, it feels like I’m so weak without you, like I can’t stand a day without at least hearing your voice. I wrote this letter in paper for two of my classes! I can’t even perform daily activities right now without having you in my mind. I’m not saying that thinking about you is a bad thing, but I think I’m getting obsessive, and I really don’t want that. And I can’t be too dependent on you. I have no right to. Remember I said I’m pessimistic- that I always think negatively? Well what happens if you really decide to stick around with your girlfriend forever? Then shall I drown in misery forever?

I’m sorry, I want to learn to be independent once again. I’m not mad at you. I understand your situation with your girlfriend. I know it’s hard for you to let her go. I’m not asking for you to break up with her for me, because that would be such a cruel thing to say. But seriously, I’m not so used to the creeping around, sneaking around, love on the low type of thing. I want to finally be able to say “hey look, that’s my man” proudly in front of the whole crowd.

I don’t want you to be cheating on your girlfriend, because like you said, eventually if we ever do get together, my trust in you would be so limited. And also, you’ll have to carry the guilt of cheating on her. Can you face her every night, knowing the moment she steps out that door, you’re going to call another girl on the phone telling her how much you’ve missed her? And what happens if word slips out, and she found out? There’s always a risk in that. Then you’ll be known as a cheater. And not only would you lose Diana, but how would your friends think of you then? You would lose your friends as well. All because of our wrongdoing. Do you understand? What we’re doing is so wrong.

I seriously feel so bad about it. You’re not the one destroying a perfect relationship that has been lasting for five or more months, so you wouldn’t know how it feels inside. I’m a female too. We all want our men to be loyal, to always come home back to us, to only think of us, to only belong to us. I’m guilty of trying to steal someone else’s man!

I was cheated on before and I swore I’ll never do that to someone else. To be cheated on is not a good feeling. Tommy, the guy that I’ve really loved for the first time, cheated on me. While I was waiting for him at his room, he went next door to sleep with his ex-girlfriend! I know the pain of being cheated on, and I feel like doing this to Diana, it’s just so unfair. She hasn’t done anything wrong, she just loves her own boyfriend. Meanwhile, I’m calling the boyfriend’s buddies, asking them to bring him out to see me. You told me I’m not being selfish. But I tell you, I am! I know this guy has a girlfriend at home waiting for him, yet I make him come out to see me!

Remember the first time I came over? I still remember what you said. You said you felt bad and I asked why. You replied “because I just met this girl at the bar, and the next thing you know she’s on my bed sleeping next to me.” That means you still cared about your girlfriend. You knew it was wrong and you felt bad inside. If I didn’t insist to keep seeing you, then maybe we wouldn’t even be like this. Maybe you’ll still love your girlfriend deeply. It’s because I always want to have you by my side that eventually, a bit of feelings grew between us right? If I hadn’t asked to see you so much, maybe you would’ve remained loyal to your girlfriend. I’m so selfish!

I really like you Will, I really do. But it’s not my choice to like you or not. It’s not an option. I can’t like you. You’re a man who’s already been marked as someone else’s territory. I’m so selfish and greedy! I keep trying to keep you to myself. You know how I have your ring? You know why I want it? You know why I want to buy an exact duplicate of it and keep the original? Because rings represent a bonding relationship, a union between two people. I want to keep you to myself and replace your old relationship with a new one! I wanted to replace Diana! How could I think of something so malicious? What have I become? I feel like the evil lady from Moonlight Resonance. I’m wrecking a good relationship so I can be happy myself. Can’t you see what I’m going? All I’m doing is giving more stress, more problems, more damage to you. I said I’ll wait, even if it’s border less and there’s no time limit to the wait. But can I really? I’m not even sure myself.

I’m not saying I’m deciding to let go. I just want some time for ourselves to really think about things. Is this all worth it? Do you really have no feelings left for Diana? Do I really like you so much that I’m willing to be a house-wrecker? Who knows? Maybe during our break, you’ll find that the feelings for your girlfriend wasn’t so long gone. Maybe me and you was just the temporary fun, and it was only because of my persistence that you’re spending time with me. And maybe I’ll find someone else who is more suitable for me.

Sometimes I think that you don’t even want to be with me. Think carefully to yourself, even if Diana wasn’t in this, even if Diana isn’t your girlfriend, would we have ever started one ourselves? Would you have ever asked me out? I don’t think so. It’s cause of my age right? I bet you would have asked me to wait at least until five months later right?

How long is this break gonna be? I have no clue. Maybe when both of us can’t stand a day longer without talking to each other. Take care babe, and hopefully we won’t forget about each other over time. It’ll be really really super duper hard for me, maybe I’ll even have a few restless nights, but I think this is a better decision. I’ll miss you mucho mucho much, but I think this is worth it. Because after this break, we’ll be sure what we really want, figure and work things out better, get them straight, and maybe appreciate each other a bit more.

I’m so glad I’m alone now since Linx and Den are at the gym and Joan is ranting away at Alvin because she failed her skills test. Solitude… just what I need, to recollect myself and breathe again.

But today, God restored me.

When i heard sister Jo’s testimony, God spoke to me with a big pang. About hardening of my heart and that Jeremiah 30:17 says that he will restore my health and heal my wounds, and i should let him do just that. But yet, something within me still held on to the bitterness and anger.

During alter call i went up to the altars. And i received the healing of God. God led me to forgive the person/people, and most of all myself. Perhaps i have been holding many things against myself for many disappointments i had faced. And that distracted me from the voice and direction of God, and most of all, my passion for the will and destiny God has placed upon me.

But during then at the altars, God granted me a breakthrough. The bitterness and anger was released, and my precious passionate self was restored. I could once again feel the desire to serve God and see something change in Fairfield, instead of being the “I dont want to have anything more to do with it” Hannah that i was for the past few weeks. I got it back, I’ve bounced back, ready to serve God, ready to face the challange of faith and trust that is set before me.

For those who want to see something happen in fairfield, lets believe together. Pray, fast, and believe that God is gonna do something great by the end of the year. I see it coming, i know its coming. Lets believe for it together. For it is up to us to let God bring his presence into this precious school, waiting to be changed by the power of God.

Let’s see, what should I catch you up on?… Well, I already wrote a couple of you a postcard about this story, but it’s worth sharing with the rest of you as well. We walked around a lot the other day, and were dead tired and a little sore at the end of it all. thought we’d check out a geothermal pool down the road from where we’re staying. So we changed into our swimsuits and hopped in the showers before going in. Right away, out of the corner of my eye, I saw this hefty woman, hair pulled back in a tight bun, marching our direction. Her name was Helga. I actually have no idea what her name was, but I can really only conceive her being a Helga. In her thickly accented voice she bellowed “take off your suit in the shower.” I said ok and started to untie the top. This either went unnoticed or was not done with enough speed, as it caused her to re-iterate, louder, “take it off!” She then proceeded to stand, hands on her hips, and watch me undress and shower. It was… ridiculous. Oh, Helga. The swim was worth it though.

I really do believe that everyone is beautiful in their own way. Nearly everyone here though, seems to be beautiful in the same way. Which is tall, slim and blonde. They are a tiny island nation of supermodels. They are all wearing very nice outfits, are all extremely fit looking, and drive tiny European cars that they park wherever the hell they want to, just because they fit. Sidewalks are fare game. They also really like seafood. I do not. This hasn’t been problematic, save for the plane ride here, when I was tired and somehow very emotional, breaking into unprovoked tears and fits of laughter on occasion. The food they served us was some kind of sausage wrapped in a noodle (?), some bread (and smjor), and what looked like a little container of cole slaw. I opened it up and took a big bite, only to discover that it was some kind of sea creature mashed up with mayonaise. Nearly gagged, then ate my entire pack of “glitner” mints, which I had originally mistaken for a AAA battery. Then cried, then laughed, then slept, as Bri chatted a little bit with the fella next to us who was a Dutchy from somewhere in Ontario, and (shockingly) new some people from Southern Alberta that she went to school with.

Last night we slept in a park here in Reykjavik. It rained a gentle rain all night long, but we stayed completely dry and warm. It was fairly amazing. I woke up a lot in the night and just listened, in a bit of disbelief that I’m here, doing this. We slept in til 11 this morning, then walked to Konditori, a bakery a few blocks away, and brought back pastries (that Bri described as the most orgasmic thing she’s ever eaten… and I’d have to agree) and skyr. Skyr is this really thick yogurt. Skyr makes me want to eat nothing but skyr. And pastry. I may come home fat. Anyway, it’s about 2:00 here. We’re using the internet and writing postcards, and then in a bit we’re going to jump the fence on an old cemetary we noticed from the bus the other day. It is just ana mazing feeling to have nooooothing to do but whatever the hell you feel like doing.

People in hostels are a funny bunch. Last night we were hanging out in there reading and writing and listening in on the conversations happening in the room around us. There’s this old lady here who has really “hit it off” with a girl here, who seems a little disinterested with her, but is polite nonetheless. I heard bits and pieces of their conversation:
Old lady (very slowly and blandly): “And then I went there, and it was nice, but not really nice. And I think I might eat lunch at the place next to it tomorrow, but I might not. And….”
Girl (unenthused, looking out the window): “Uh huh…”
Old lady: “And then I went walking. And near where I ate the waffle I found this, and I think a goose lost it. And then I found this one.”
Girl (after a long pause): “…and you are bringing these back to your home country….?…”
I REALLY wish I knew what they were talking about.

Ok, that’s probably all, and way more, than you wanted to here for now. I’m just using the internet while I can, before we head out around island in search of waterfalls and geysers and a dense population of tiny ponies. Farewell loves, farewell!

And people wonder why we see ourselves this way. Why we see ourselves as the most important country in the world. We are the axis of the West.

The last administration thought we needed to prove this again. And that we did. We proved ourselves to be like our rulers of 200 some odd years ago, who at the time surely were what Bush thinks we are now.

Now, we have the choice of continuing to throw our weight around, or acknowledge our mistake and pull back. This does not mean we should stop our pursuit of our true enemy, the terrorists behind the tragedy of 9/11. No. It means that we are telling the world we know we screwed up.

But those in the safe seats of power and money would have us continue to be cocky, continue to stay where we are not only not wanted but hated. Because war does not touch them. War is good business.