zen.org Communal Weblog

Last February I gave a local farm, Cherry Grove Organic Farm of Lawrenceville New Jersey, a few hundrad bucks for weekly dips into there harvest. Yesterday was the first pickup day. The first thing I noticed when I pulled up was a car with a Dennis Kucinich for President bumper sticker, I was pretty sure I was at the type of place I was looking for.

I went through the list of vegetables I was to pick up: spinach, arugula, bok choy, kale, collard greens, and three or four others I forgot by the time I got home! Next time I will take notes. Weekly acces to the herb section, plus pick your own peas! It’s how one should get produce is season, direct from the local farm.

At home, after playing with the baby and rebooting Rerun (sorry about the down time) I cooked and froze the spinach. I’m sure the other leafy greens can be frozen too, but feezing spinach in a know issue with me. After getting my Mother to take a good portion of one of the forgotten salad greens, and Zoë to bed, I sat down with a big bowl of arugula salad. I’m not a big fan of arugla, but it was the best argula I’ve ever had.

I wonder what’s in store for next week.

I cannot believe the disgust I have for the US Government right now.

Magda wants to come to the states, and we’d love for her to visit us. So she’s coming in late summer. We jumped through the hoops to get the forms she needed and photos and the 80 euros for the tourist visa (80 FREAKING EUROS!?). She got an appointment at the embassy. And I went with her, cause if she’s gonna be staying with us, I thought I should be there.

Now, I’ve heard stories about the embassy, but I thought they’d be decent to someone who wanted to come, spend their hard-earned money, and experience the land of milk and honey, then go home and not suck up valuable tax dollars by trying to claim welfare. Apparently, I was wrong.

The clerk who helped us (after we waited 45 minutes after our ‘appointment’) was one of the rudest men I think I have ever come across. He actually said that they needed to assume that everyone who is coming to the states is trying to sneak in and live there. No, he really said that. Basically, since Magda is a student and is young and from Poland (and living in Ireland), he thinks she doesn’t have good enough family ties (FFS, she lives with her dad and brother and boyfriend) and if she was married it would be better. He didn’t talk loud enough to hear him all the time through the bulletproof glass of the counter (after having to go through a security checkpoint to even get into the ‘complex’, including no keys or mobiles, and the security guard checking my travel mug of tea), which was a problem for both Magda and I. Things he didn’t like about Magda:

She was young
She was Polish
Her family situation (ie dad is a carpenter not “someone who works at IBM”)
Unmarried
Student (not working)

I can see how that would be an issue. No, really. But the rudeness, and the attitude, MAN. I just can’t get how ANYONE would want to go to the states after that fun. And then we still have to deal with immigration in Shannon (or whereever she flies from). Argh.

I am embarassed that the US would treat someone that way. No matter who they were. I can now understand why people do what they do. I read recently that the US is like a drunk waving a gun around in a bar. No one’s going to mess with him, but once he passes out or drops the gun, his ass will be handed to him on a platter.

Never before had I thought about revoking my US citizenship. Now, I wonder. I’m disgusted by the comments the man made, and the assumptions.

I got a spam about a training kit (DVD, guide, and audio tape) for how to teach kids in cultures of poverty. Then in big letters in the middle of the message it told me if I ordered it soon it would save me $40, at only $355.00!

A 5-hour expert training session on learning to teach kids in impoverished nations is probably worth the money, but the paradox of spending nearly $400 to figure out how to help those in need cracked me up. Put on top of this how under-funded many schools are, regardless of the country they’re in, and you wonder where the money could come from. Certainly not most teachers’ salaries.