One Pope for Sale

I was flipping through a magazine at work yesterday (Star if you must know) and saw a picture of the new pope jamming out to tunes on his brand new ipod. The picture was obviously doctored (unlike those scandalous pics of Nicole Richie who now weighs in at an amazing 82 pounds) so I didn't know whether to believe my eyes or not. Checking some sources on the relible web however, I did indeed confirm that the pope has a brand new ipod nano courtesy of some religious radio station.

Sure the pope is entitled to some good tunes like the rest of us, but since when did part of his papal responsibilities include endorsing brand names and trends? I have memories of the last pope running around in Nikes so maybe this isn't a new thing, but I'm feeling a little conflicted. This is the first media coverage I've seen of Benny since he was appointed and it seems rather trivial and meaningless. Shouldn't he be off somewhere blessing the masses? Shouldn't he be off somewhere increasing awarness for the poor and impoverished?

P.S. Please don't ex-communicate me

Following Suit

the following is inspired by Matt and Michelle who were inspired by those American Express ads in magazines:

childhood ambition> to be a maid at the Circus Circus hotel in Vegas. (its true...ask my mom)
fondest memory> Still waiting on something great to emerge from the ranks
soundtrack> Jason Mraz "Live at Java Joes"
retreat> the slopes
wildest dream> involves extreme declarations of romance and love of course
proudest moment> possibly when my students passed their Private Pilot check rides
biggest challenge> walking into work with a smile on
alarm clock> sucks and should die a long and miserable death
perfect day> Starting the day out skiing, making dinner and then a good movie
first job> Linen's and Things cashier
indulgence> Quaker Chewy peanut butter chocolate chip granola bars
last purchase> sound dock for my I-Pod
favorite movie> cant be narrowed down to just one
inspiration> Every morning I wake up and my heart is still beating and I'm still breathing, so there must be reason God has blessed me with another day

Boils My Blood

My friend and I were riding the lift at Vail last week and had a very amusing conversation with the boarder sitting next to us. She was certainly one of those girls that I'm totally insecure around because she is approximately my age and has obviously given up social norms of the typical work day, for a lifestyle of working at night and spending days on the slopes. I sometimes wish that I had the kind of self-actualiztion necessary to give up normalsy for something I love, but truly I am way to fearful at this point in my life. Anyways, the conversation had to do with this older guy we saw coast down below us wearing nothing but a light jacket. The wind chill that day was freezing and even bundled up in my "cold day" ski coat and two layers of fleece covering my head, i felt like i was mere minutes from inevitable frostbite. My friend on the lift pointed this skier out and the girl next to us replied something to the effect of "Oh...that's probably Bob. He lives here in Vail and was struck by lightening 5 years ago and now his blood is hotter than normal people so he doesn't need to wear warm clothes on the slopes." My friend and I chuckled for a minute, and then we realized she was serious. I am wondering now the medical truth behind this explaination. It seems as though if this were a true reality, this guy should be written up in some medical journal somewhere. Has anyone ever heard of such a thing? When you are struck by lightening does your blood heat up permanently? What does Bob do during the summer months?