Maybe It's Best I'm Taking A Break...

I don't know how many of you have read about the Times Square Bomber or about the SUV that they found at 45th and 7th in Times Square. I've been reading a lot about it...

Yet again, it WAS parked beside my building.

Yeah...that car bomb was at an exit to my building. How insane is THAT?! There was actually a shoot out not that long ago on that side of the building.

I SWEAR NYC isn't that dangerous!!

Here's a comment by MSNBC:
The location of the bomb suggests a number of possible targets. The SUV was parked near offices of Viacom Inc., which owns Comedy Central. The network recently aired an episode of the animated show "South Park" that the group Revolution Muslim had complained insulted the Prophet Muhammad by depicting him in a bear costume.

Maybe it's for the best that I'm taking a few weeks off starting this Saturday...

How are your weeks going? I'm sorry I've been absent a lot lately. Work has been so SO busy. :) Have you been busy?

Hurting Your Parents

You never want to see your kids hurt, you know? I had surgery once and I mean, I was at least 20, but I could NOT handle the IDEA of an I.V., let alone putting one in my arm. Now that I've donated blood, you could stick a needle in and I wouldn't notice, but at that time, I was almost screaming in the hospital. My mother was with me before they took me and right when they were putting the needle in my arm. She's trying to hold me still so they can put it in and I'm having a nervous breakdown. I remember her tears too that day. I don't remember much after that because of the ridiculous amount of drugs, but she told me silly stories about myself. But she cried first.


Please ignore that ridiculous look on my face. That's my mom and me this past Christmas.

My husband's father had a heart attack and I was left alone in New York City while he flew back to Ohio. Not a big deal, right? I dropped my keys on the tracks and, as I was going to donate platelets (my favorite Sunday activity, after church, at that time), I passed out on the 6 train platform. A train attendant had to help me and call and ambulance. I called my mother in the emergency room waiting area and she got upset and said, 'What do you want me to do about it?'

My parents live in Hong Kong. That's 13 hours away and it takes me at least 15 numbers for me to dial their phone number. I didn't want her to do anything. I didn't want to come up later and she be like, what?!?! She told me later that she was upset because there was nothing she could do.

I'm old enough to make my own decisions now, of course, along with my husband. And I feel that I'm being called.

But how do you tell your parents that you're giving up a kidney? And I'm not just giving up my kidney...it's to a woman at church, not a family member.

I like my mom's approach that she's using with her parents. My mom, dad, and brother all live in Hong Kong (my brother is young enough to still be in school) and they were supposed to be moving back to the US this June. They've signed on to stay in Hong Kong for 3 more years so that my brother can graduate from high school. But...my mom doesn't want to tell my grandparents. Because they talk ALL the time about my parents moving back to the United States. She just wants them to find out when my parents don't move back in June.

I'm kind of feeling that approach.

When I was a teenager, I suffered from depression and self-harming. Long story short, I (kind of) told my parents. My mom didn't talk to me for weeks. She was upset; she thought she was a bad parent. That was a long time ago, but I still get nervous: what is she going to say when I tell them?

In the end, it doesn't matter. But I still get this pit in my stomach whenever I think about it.

My mother has told my brother that he can do MMA fighting and that he can play rugby. She will sit on the sidelines and she'll support him, but she may close her eyes and I know that she sits at his rugby games and cries. She doesn't get up to help him because she knows he can make it on his own.


This is my 14-year-old brother. Covered in mud and his own blood after being kicked in the head during a rugby game.

I'm kind of hoping that's how she'll feel with me.

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For those of you in the US (or even those outside), tonight is the Hope For Haiti Now Telethon. MTV is hosting it so that means I'm working! But I think you should watch it. WHAT?! YOU DON'T WATCH MTV!!?? (That's okay, neither do I) But that's okay! Because the Hope For Haiti Now telethon will be on ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, Facebook, Myspace, MTV.com, CBS.com, Palladia...you get the picture.

If you are outside of the United States, Hope For Haiti Now will be streaming on MTV International in 21 different languages. Just visit hope.mtv.com

And thanks for listening to me. :) I really appreciate it!

Friend-Makin' Mondays

Oh, how I love Friend-Makin' Mondays!! If you'd like to join in, please click here!

What Makes You Happy?

What makes me happy...

1) God makes me happy. I don't give Him as much credit as I should, but I'm pretty sure He's doing a ton of good stuff in my life and I need to acknowledge it more.

2) My husband. He's ridiculous and caring and always there when I need him. He's my travel companion, my right-hand man, and my partner-in-crime.



3) My family! Sure, I'm being very cliche, but that's fine by me! I only see my family twice a year and so it makes me appreciate them more and more.



4) Vindaloo!! We've only had her for about a week, but she's cute and I love her. Even when her butt is in my face at 6am or she's knocked my wedding ring over. Or that she's meowing her head off while I'm in the kitchen. No, cat, I am not feeding you again!



5) My voice-over work. I haven't really mentioned it on here, but I do voice-over work for MTV.com (also where I am a production assistant). It brightens my day every time that I can get in the VO booth and do some recording.

6) Sweater weather. Not what we have now, but when it's like...say...60-65 degrees. As of the moment, it's freaking freezing!!

7) Hong Kong. It's become like a second home to me and I can get around Central like I've lived there forever. If I could move there, I would.

8) My friends. I should say now, that this list is in no particular order. I love my friends from college and the friends I've made in NYC. AND all my blog friends. If you would have asked me a year ago if I'd ever have blog friends...but I LOVE you guys!!

This is my friend Rachel. She ran after an ice cream truck to get me chocolate ice cream. I love her :)


9) Getting mail. I LOVE receiving mail. LOVE IT. I've always loved getting mail, even as a kid. I was always the one who walked across the street or, later in life, the quarter of a mile down our driveway to pick it up.

10) Bubble tea. I was supposed to get some this weekend, but I didn't. Oh well. It does make me happy!!

11) Baking and cooking. I was the girl who used to burn all the macaroni into one big rubber ball. But I've gotten a LOT better and I love to cook and bake (I'm better at baking). It makes me happy...but not the cleaning up part!



12) Okay, last one. Random incidents. I love random things. I love finding forks in the road in upstate New York or...when I used to have a yellow car (A yellow Ford Focus hatchback, to be exact!), I was pumping gas at a gas station. A van comes roaring in beside me and three people jump out. They say, 'We're doing a church scavenger hunt and we need to get a picture pumping gas into a yellow car!' So they take the picture and I'm like...ooookkkkaaaayyyyyy. So I'm about to get into my car and...another van pulls in! They jump out and start to explain and I say, 'They were just here a minute ago!' So they run, take the picture, and speed away. What a crazy day!

But this picture has to be my favorite. I was with my family about a month before the Olympics in Beijing. A school class saw us and, recognizing we were probably English speaking, all started to yell, 'hi!' So we got together and took a picture with them. They then asked my sister if she would stay with them and if she was a movie star.



So what makes you happy?

Sorry!!

Sorry I keep disappearing. It's been really crazy here. So if you wanted an update:
1) We're moving! We've decided to move to New Jersey. It'll save a little money, be an apartment with a WASHER AND DRYER!!!, pet-friendly, and be near some friends.

2) My LAST wedding of the year is this weekend.

3) The Video Music Awards are coming up this weekend too. Ack.

But here's what all went on this weekend. Uncle Steve is particularly cute with cousin Lillian. ;) And Mrs. Paskiet was radiant on her wedding day!!

I Feel Like a Whore

As most of you know, Michael Jackson died yesterday. I helped MTV cover it a little bit before going home. I found out my co-workers were here until 1am fixing up the website so that it's all Michael, all the time.

Now, I am putting up promos for people to buy his records.

I feel like a whore.

Yes, this is a big deal, but people dogged him all his life and he's finally at peace. Why are we profiting off his death? People are selling t-shirts and water bottles at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem and people have to stand in front of his body so people won't take a picture of it.

Can't we respect the dead just a little bit?

Thankful Thursday

It's Thankful Thursday! I like these things. I need to do them more often.

1) I am thankful for my Toms!! Have you ever heard of Toms Shoes? For every pair you buy, they give a pair of shoes to a child in need. I need some new shoes (my old shoes smelled. My mom tried to make me get rid of them last time I visited and I refused. They couldn't be in the apartment, they smelled so bad).

2) My church family. We were just inducted as members of our church and I've made so many wonderful friends so quickly! It's a great community that holds the same beliefs I do and shows so, SO much love. I don't think I've been in a church with this much love before.

3) That we will have enough money for rent! NYC rent kills. Even in Harlem. So I'm just thankful we got it!

4) I am thankful that I'm going to California next week. I work for MTV and if you have teenage kids, you'll know that this Sunday is the Movie Awards. I will be working them. I start working Sunday evening at 5pm, work until 4am, then I have a hotel room in Times Square, then back to work at 9am and I may be working until midnight. But we'll see. Either way, California will be a welcome respite! I wish it were Hong Kong, but I have to wait for that.

5) It is my parents anniversary today! And, if he were still with us, it would be my Papa's 77th birthday. It made me really miss my family. I can't see them until August, but that's better then December (that would have been a year!)

My Papa LOVED my mom's food. Loved it. And if you knew my mom, you would know that she puts LITERALLY a pound of butter in everything she makes. I told my husband that I knew that my Papa would be eating the most buttery, heart-clogging thing at God's table. Steve said that, no matter what it was, it probably only had half as much butter as my mom uses.

Oh, oh!!! I have a 6.

6) That we got our new sponsor child!! I know this sounds weird, but for our anniversary, Steve sponsored another child. An 11-year-old boy from India and he looks so sweet in his picture!! I can't wait to send letters. :-D

Happiness, Silliness, and the Like

I like to bake. A lot. It makes Steve a little irritated because I make a TON of dirty dishes. But I can't help that. I made bagels the other day and it was great. Here's the next goal I have set for myself...

CINNAMON ROLLS!!!
I'm so excited to try them. I think I'm going to try them over Memorial Day.

So I found out that I am fo sho going to South Korea this summer! I am so excited. I know this is going to sound gross, but I'm thinking about trying dog's meat soup. If I can get my brother to do it, then I can go. Once he's in, at least I know that someone will go with me. I don't really need to wander around Seoul by myself.


My goal in life at the moment is spoiling my neice. Sure, her parents don't entirely want it, but I think it might be my job. So when we go, I'm thinking about getting some things for her.

This absolutely adorable dress is called a hanbok. They make them specially for certain occasions or just have them for everyday. This one looks like it'd be a first birthday special occassion one. As long as my sister-in-law doesn't mind, Lillian is freaking GETTING ONE.

That's my excitement so far. Silly excitement.

My happiness for today/this week is:
1) Steve is getting his bonus soon. Which is really nice so that we can pay some things off and such.
2) Though I'm not entirely excited about working Movie Awards, it'll be good to get some comp days, otherwise, I'm not going to be paid during all my time off.
3) I'm just feeling like God made this a beautiful day!! He is so freaking good to me for no reason and I'm trying to appreciate that in all the things I do and say and think.

How are you guys? How has your week been and all?

My Happiness

It's been awhile! I was actually at a wedding. I should put some pictures up. It was beautiful! I loved it.

I've had some happiness and I thought I'd share it! Feel free to share your happiness too.

1) I thought that I had really let down a friend. I felt like I hadn't been there for her. But she showed me true love and really, how cool God is. How big He is.

2) I've been doing lots of voice-overs lately, which is awesome, because (almost) all my voice-over money goes to our travel fund. I'm hoping that 1) we can get to South Africa and 2) we could go on a safari and bring some kids with or something :-D

3) I can't even begin to tell you how kind everyone was at this wedding this past weekend. I had booked the flight in September and they were giving me hotel info. They asked if my husband was coming (we decided to split up to save a bit) and when I said no, the bride's parents let me stay at their house AND they had someone pick me up from the airport. So instead of spending almost $400 (like I thought I was going to), I only spent cab money to and from the airport in NYC. God at work :)

4) Had a progressive dinner with some church people on Sunday. I think they're all very nice, very fun, and will be a great community. I'm glad we found this church and that we're joining the membership on Sunday.

My job is NOT included in my happiness. But that's okay. Steve had his LAST CPA exam on Saturday and we're hoping that he can get a job that's a bit more ethical once he's a certified CPA (certified public accountant). And if it's still a job in NYC, I hope that I can find something to do that I enjoy.

Are you happy today? Or maybe not so happy? Either way, God is with you all the way :)

Itchy Feet

Ugh.

This will be a rant.

So I have "itchy feet" again.  In Danae-speak, that means any number of things.  1) I need to leave the country for a week or two and come back.  2) I want to quit my job and dig wells in Vietnam or help build orphanages in South Africa or drive a van through the US without showering.

Maybe it's because I had a really bad day.  Maybe it's because I'm reading a book about quitting your job and driving around the country.  Maybe it's because I've been moody all day.

And I keep jumping back and forth between wanting to quit my job and move to a third-world country and wanting to adopt.  

Steve says that I can say these things knowing that he'll hold me back and I won't actually have to go through with my plans.  Mainly, that my talk is cheap.

But it doesn't FEEL cheap.  It doesn't FEEL like I'm saying these things in vain.  I FEEL like I could turn away and not look back as often as people think I should.  My friend Vanessa says I'm cold like that.  It's not that I'm cold, I don't think, it's that I know when it's time for something to pass on.  Maybe that's why I deleted most of my high school friends on Facebook...

And it would be hard.  It would be SO hard.  But I don't know, at times, if it would be harder helping people and seeing heartache every day or slowly dying at MTV.  

WHAT IS THE POINT OF LIFE IF YOU NEVER LIVE IT?!?!  

And I've lived it more than other people have.  But always in sort of a bubble.  I've walked through streets with my family.  My mom with her Burberry purse and my sister with her bleached hair and Dior sunglasses and I love them for who they are.  But I wonder what it would be like to actually stay in a village instead of the most expensive hotel in the city or what it would be like to build something with my own hands.

Maybe I just want to f- up my life a little bit, to be a little less responsible while there's still time.  I still want to adopt.  I still don't want to own a house.  There's little things like that that I don't mind.  But who says we have to be responsible all the time?  Maybe God's not at a 9-5 job.  But maybe He is...just not mine.

I know that God will be with me and that He'll guide me as he always has.  Could this be God pulling at my heart?  And if it is, why won't He pull on my husbands too?!  I'm praying for guidance and wisdom and fasting for it and...I just don't know.  I'm at a loss.

Maybe I just need a vacation.  Hell if I know.

My article is up!

I wrote an article for MTV News about The Rescue done by Invisible Children.

Please read it and send it to everyone you know (or don't know). This is something so, so important. The raping and murdering of innocent children needs to stop.

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1610077/story.jhtml

What?! And Happy Moments

I received an e-mail from Laren Poole today. Laren Poole. In the Invisible Children world, Laren Poole is up there. He's one of the creators of both the movie and the non-profit. And he's like, please, if you need anything, please let us know. HOLY COW!!! Me?!

And I'm starting to wonder if God put me at MTV for all these stinking years for this. I mean, I could see it. Maybe this is why I needed to be in NYC all this time...

Maybe I'm looking too much into it. But maybe not. Either way, FREAKING AWESOME.

I have all these pictures, but since I stink at putting pictures up here, I'll have to remember to do that at home.

It's still super early in my day, but I may have a few happy moments already!
1) Laren Poole e-mailed me and that's crazy.
2) Steve and I figured out how we'll be doing rent this month.
3) My friend Sam's older sister got a job!!! And a job that pays more than she's ever made before!! :) Very excited.

Do you have any happy moments today?

God's Got His Hands Full With Me...

MTV News didn't want to cover a story about Invisible Children, but I bothered the VP and so now I'M doing the story.

The Invisible Children people are treating me like I'm a legit journalist.

I am terrified. I am beyond terrified.

Everyone is telling me that it's going to be okay, that I'm going to do great, that this is what I'm born to do...and all that jazz, you know? And maybe they're right...but I'm still terrified. I'm going to be doing a whole lot of praying over the next few days.

And I'm going to try and stop giving myself migraines!!! :)

My Happy Moments For Today

So today has been INSANE. And I've freaked myself out to a point of a headache. It's a good headache and it's all good freaking out, but it still makes me want to shove popcorn in my mouth and throw caution to the wind and pay NO ATTENTION to the scale.

1) I am now writing a blog story about The Rescue for Invisible Children on April 25th for MTV News. That means, I guess, that I'm interviewing celebrities. I just want this story to go up. I would talk to someone's pet as long as it got this out there. But now I have this fear that I won't do Invisible Children justice.

2) I'm doing ANOTHER voice-over today. I did one yesterday for College Life for MTV and then I'm doing one for 16 & Pregnant. (By the way, I'm a production assistant for MTV.com and I just get pulled into other things. Which is fine. Voice overs pay.)

3) I'm taking tomorrow off to spend some time with my husband. :) I am so excited!!!

What has made you happy today?

Also, could you please pray for Lori? There's a button to her blog over to the left. She is such a wonderful person and she could use your prayers for her son's adoption.

10 Things That Make Me Fuzzy

So I noticed that my blog has been really depressing so far.  I'm really not like that!!!  Promise.  So I thought I'd do this fun thing that I saw on Vashti's blog from All That Is Good.  I thought it was cute.  10 things that make you "fuzzy"  (AKA: Mad)...

1) Sexism.  Yeah...I get it.  At work.  I'm the only female in my group and every once in awhile there are "Danae-the-men-are-talking" moments.  Oh well.  I know that I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and dog-gone it.  People like me.

2) Receiving the pink mail slip that I've missed a package.  I know that this is slightly anal retentive...I really REALLY hate missing packages and as SOON as I know that I have a package, I want to have it...It's really bad.

3) Slow people.  This seems to be a prevalent one.  I work in Times Square and almost EVERYONE is stopping right in front of me to take a picture of a tall building.  There are lots of tall buildings that you don't need to stop in the sidewalk for.  Please move.

4) Subway smells.  How many people have to urinate in one spot for the MTA to clean it?

5) Speaking of the subway...MTA weekends.  Is the train going local or express?  Is the train even running?  Why can I not get off at 96th street?!

6) Red-tape.  It feels like that's all I get at MTV sometimes.  Constant red tape.  How many e-mails does it take to get something posted on the website?!

7) Bent paper.  When I want to present something, I always want the paper to be completely flat.  No creases, no bent corners.  Once again.  More anal retentive then I ever thought.

8) Blue pens.  I really don't like blue pens.

9) Racism.  Living in Harlem, I get racist comments every once in awhile.  It's kind of weird...and it's always at times that I don't expect it.

10) People hurting children.  I was told once that sometimes the anger in our lives come from our great love of something.  I don't have any children, but I don't understand how someone could harm them.  Ever.

Invisible Children

So I work at MTV.  And I have a LARGE space in my heart for children.  The Rescue is coming up April 25th.  The Rescue is where tens of thousands of people will sleep outside in solidarity with the children who must walk miles and miles per night to be safe from kidnap.  Who would kidnap them?  Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, has been kidnapping children to train them as soldiers or use them as sex slaves.  So this one night, we will be "abducted", like those children have been abducted.  And we will wait for rescue, just as those children do every day.  We will ask for our rescuers to be "moguls" and "media".  We need someone famous who can elevate the story and make it more than just a blip on the radar.  We need help!  We need hope!

Unfortunately, without anyone famous, I don't think MTV News will do anything.  I've been praying that God will change their hearts and just let them say yes and cover the story - hell, I'll even write something for it!!!

think.mtv.com said that they'd put a promo up for it.  I can only hope.  I may even see if Buzzworthy would be able to do something (it's an MTV blog).  Would you want to help us out too?

http://therescue.invisiblechildren.com