Thank you Dody!!!

For everyone else who has been using www.nomadlife.org to stay up to date on the devastating effects of the earthquake and tsunamis, you know what amazing job Dody has been doing of keeping us all up to speed on everything that is happening. For those of you who haven't, let me suggest that this site is a great way to see a play by play of what is happening right now in Southeast Asia.

Raising awareness of an issue is one of the most powerful ways to create change in the world, and Dody has been doing so much....letting us know how to donate, making us think about what is yet to come in the next week, showing us the technicalities of what happened, posting quotes from people who have experienced the disaster first hand.

When all is said and done, lives will be saved as the result of the work that Dody has done to raise awareness among all us Nomads about what is happening in Southeast Asia. I hope that you know that Dody....

Sorrow and Anger

Sorrow...the pictures from today's disaster are shocking, over 11,000 dead so far and the toll is only starting. I am praying for all my friends out there in SE Asia...I hope all of you and your loved ones are OK!

Angry... I turned on the television and flipped through 90 channels of US media. Not one mention of the 11,000 people dead. Not one. Do you remember Sept. 11th? Do you remember how coverage was on every channel and there was nothing else on? Why do the 2,572 innocent people who died in September 11th deserve something that the 11,000 innocent people who died today don't? We don't value people's lives equally. The media is making a bold statement that 2,572 Americans > 11,000 "other" people. When will our media finally realize that it is this exact arrogance and disregard for the value of "non-american" lives that fuels the kind of hatred behind attacks like those on September 11th?

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!!

XMAS 2004 010
Originally uploaded by suzannemo.

I woke up this morning and took this picture from my bedroom window.

Over 1 foot of snow so far has fallen on Cincinnati! Everything is closed down...so much for last minute christmas shopping.

What is Wrong With This Picture?

Berber Party!!
Originally uploaded by suzannemo.

This is me with two Berber water-sellers in Djem el Fnaa in Marrakesh Morocco.

Look at the Berber on the right..he is carrying a bag made of traditional animal pelts.

Now look at the fanny pack of the guy on the left (you may need to click on the photo and link the full-sized version on Flikr.)

Moral of the story: Heros in a half-shell have universal appeal..even in the High Atlas!!

WHIRLWIND

The title of this blog says it all. No, its not just a reference to the fact that there are 12 inches of snow on the ground outside. It is a reference to the last two weeks of my life.

In 12 days I have been from Morocco to Spain to New York to Cincinnati to Detroit back to New York and back to Cincinnati.

In 7 days I have decided to apply to start my MBA next fall,...............then decided not to apply to start my MBA next fall.............then decided to go ahead and take my GMAT next week and apply....................then decided that I need to wait because I have no way to finance the $100,000 investment an Ivy League MBA costs...................then decided "if I don't do it now I won't ever do it so I have to apply" and drove all the way to Ohio State in 6 inches of snow to get my transcripts.........................then realized there was no way in hell I was going to get my recommendations in time to apply..................then decided I just need to give up and that I procrastinated too long and that I need to find something else to do................, and now, as I sit here, my mind keeps telling me that there is some reason why it sounds so cool to say "I'm a Harvard MBA"

Whirlwind.

Complete Whirlwind.

So once the whirlwind in my head stops I will put up the pretty pictures and stories of the month I spent in Spain and Morocco wandering like the true Nomad that I am.

Till then... I must do some wandering of another sort...wandering through the depths of my heart to figure out what I really want from life right now.