waste not...

Man oh man, if any of you read Chris' blog about those beautiful mother-of-pearl-inlay wardrobes which he wittnesed distroyed because they couldn't sell second-hand, this blog will give them a little redemption. If you haven't read it, you can do so here. Anyway, my co-worker Ann and I were walking home from work at 10:00 last night and passed the exact same situation: three wardrobes (one double and two smaller) were curbside, with garbage piled around them, waiting for the dooms-day truck to smash them and carry them to the dump. They were even faced inward to one another so passers-by wouldn't be able to see their beauty! Ann and I fawned over them and said how sad it is that they'll be thrown out, when I decided to go to work early this morning and try (with my Korean limited to numbers and sounds, no real words) to rescue them.
Which I did.
I went in and through hand gestures and Konglish (Korean+English slang) managed to make it known that I want them. The woman managed to get my address (it takes a bit for them to understand my verbal instructions because my accent is so terrible), charge $20 (transportation fee) and establish that I do not have a one-room apartment and can actually fit them in my place. She then plopped me down in a comfy chair in front of a tv and handed me her half-empty cup of hot tea to drink while her man put them in the back of the truck. I was elated.
Wait, AM elated!
It JUST HAPPENED!
The man was unsure when we finally got here because they really don't fit well, but he followed directions and I shoved a table or two upstairs to make more space. I'll post the double one online and sell it for the $20 it took to get them here (my co-worker may take the two smaller ones), and that'll be that. Chris is going to take pictures tonight.
Wardrobes saved.
Whew.

a humanity lost

Although I will continue to write here, I have begun a new blog. It is about my desire to stay informed on world news and find a way to make a difference to those who are suffering at the hands of other people. What I hope is that someone will read it who knows of something I can do because I don't know where to start.

Here it is:
http://ahumanitylost.blogspot.com/

Somalia

I am ashamed at my lack of knowledge in the world and have begun reading headline world news daily, often trying to read both the headline stories as well as less-covered-but-still-important articles. Lately I have come across something that shocked me.



Alright, so I saw the movie Black Hawk Down and read the book (partly) and felt horror and sadness for the people living in Somalia, but I never did follow-up research on the country. I assumed that, since I saw the movie years after it had been made, that the unrest had most likely been solved. Or, if not solved, I assumed someone important was working on some way to help the people living there to establish peace.

Nope.

I was wrong.

On my igoogle I get BBC and CBC headlines which pop up and the other say one which popped up was UN Says Somalia Needs More Help. I read it and moved on to the next article, then the next one, the next, the next, and finally, the last one.


How is this country not receiving more attention? How can this country have been going through so much turmoil and chaos with barely a peep out of the media? Maybe I've blind and deaf; maybe I've been an ostridge with my head in the sand. I hope so because if that's the case then something has been done and I've simply not noticed. Does anyone know of some way I can help? Some way I can influence change? Anything?


I feel helpless and useless; knowing something HAS to be done but doing nothing about it myself.