Last week, I posted about Mocha Club and said that I had more information to come. Sure enough, today’s the day!

I NEED AFRICA MORE THAN AFRICA NEEDS ME

When I think of Africa, the following images immediately come to mind: Starvation. AIDS. Child soldiers. Genocide. Sex slaves. Orphans. From there, my thoughts naturally turn to how I can help, how I can make a difference. “I am needed here,” I think. “They have so little, and I have so much.” It’s true, there are great tragedies playing out in Africa everyday. There is often a level of suffering here that is unimaginable until you have seen it, and even then it is difficult to believe. But what is even harder is reconciling the challenges that many Africans face with the joy I see in the people. It’s a joy that comes from somewhere I cannot fathom, not within the framework that has been my life to this day.

To read more, go to the Mocha Club launch blog.

Anyone have any Cheetos? I’d like to pull a stunt similar to this commercial. I took my laundry downstairs to wash it, put it in the washer, came upstairs, and returned 30 minutes later. The washers take 25-30 minutes. I get down there, only to discover that my clothes have been taken out of the washer, set on top of a dusty washer next to it, and someone’s put their clothes in. My clothes are still practically dripping wet! This isn’t the first time this has happened, nor is it the second, or even the third. It happens quite frequently. So there I was, with a pile of wet clothes on a dusty washer (so much for washing the things, seriously) and a bag full of dirty clothes waiting for the washer, thinking how wonderful it was that I dragged the bag of clothes down there to wash when there was obviously no washers left, since they had to stoop to taking mine OUT of the washer… Except, there were two washers right next to the one my clothes were in, completely empty. Call me stupid, but if you open a washer and there’s clothes in it, wouldn’t you go look for one that didn’t have clothes in it before taking their freshly clean clothes out and leaving them in a big pile? I sure would. Maybe I’m in the wrong here.

Add to that the fact that I woke up early this morning, was all prepared to face the day, and a half hour later, Matt walks in the room and says “The cat puked. Twice. In the bathroom.” So, lucky me, I got to go clean that up, and while doing so, the toilet decided to overflow. Not to mention the fact that despite the puking incident, I highly doubt Matt’s dad will stop giving her half a bag of treats per day. Okay, I exaggerate. But I have the right to, on a day like today!

Can I just go to bed and start over? It’s only 11:30 - maybe if I do it before noon?

Wow, I can’t say this was expected. As soon as I heard it, I knew what it was, but didn’t expect it! The song itself is fantastic anyway, but the voice/words totally caught me off guard!

Matt recently bought The Orange Box so that he could play Half-Life 2: Episode 2 and Team Fortress 2. Included in this was a game that sparked my interest: Portal.

Portal™ is a new single player game from Valve. Set in the mysterious Aperture Science Laboratories, Portal has been called one of the most innovative new games on the horizon and will offer gamers hours of unique gameplay.

The game is designed to change the way players approach, manipulate, and surmise the possibilities in a given environment; similar to how Half-Life® 2’s Gravity Gun innovated new ways to leverage an object in any given situation.

Players must solve physical puzzles and challenges by opening portals to maneuvering objects, and themselves, through space.

Absolutely awesome game. I beat it the other night, and started working on some of the advanced levels. They’re difficult, but still fun. I like that you have to think to do it, instead of mindlessly wandering around killing things. Don’t get me wrong, I like that stuff as well, but once in a while brain power is so much more fun to use!

I have one. She’s a few months old, with grey fur, and very sharp little teeth.

I woke up to my cat gnawing (gently, of course) on my arm. She gnawed on it until I opened my eyes and sat up, and then she started licking the spot she was gnawing on and meowing at me. I really think she was telling me “It’s 11:00, time to get up!”

Speaking of the kitten, I uploaded a new video of her latest trick. Go watch it!