Medias, The Town of My Childhood

I love Medias, Romania. I really do. I have great memories of living there (none of my memories have my father in them; I think my mind has repressed those memories). I remember exploring the town by walking and taking the bus around. I lived on the north side of the river Mures and crossed over to the south side on a pedestrian bridge built to bring the poorer people who lived in apartment blocks on the north side across the river without having to walk all the way down to where the street bridge was, about half a mile or so up the river. I have a picture of that somewhere, and when i get a chance, i’ll put it up here.

In any case, this guy on Webshots.com has taken a number of great pictures of Medias, and I wanted to put some up here.

Beautiful Mountain Drive

I just went on one of the most beautiful mountain drives that I’ve been on in a long time. Probably not since my drives to Alaska. I went up to the Shickshinny Lake region to see about a property we might be interested in buying and putting a house down on….i drove down this area. So beautiful!

yeah, i’d like a house next to the Lake Shickshinny.

Brasov, Romania – My Favorite Town

Google Maps offers a satellite visualization of your map. They’ve improved on it so much, they now have it down quite close all around the world. This is my favorite town in Romania, called Brasov

This is the town I was born in, called Medias

Getting in Shape

Over the past three weeks, I’ve been steadily increasing my workouts from zero, absolutely none, zilch, nada, to running for 20 minutes at lunch at work, and then speed-walking in the evenings in town carrying 5-pound dumbells in each hand. These workouts have been good at loosening up my body. It is amazing just how stiff my body has been recently, even with going up and down the stairs to the subways in New York City! I remember at the start of my mission just how out of shape I was. My trainer, this 6’3″ tall lanky, long-legged elder who ran cross-country, moved so fast! I know I lost like 50 pounds in the first three months on my mission! I came home off my mission pretty lean and fit. Close to the end of the mission, I played soccer with my fellow missionaries and some of the ward members in Ploiesti. We played for like 3 hours. At the end of it, everybody else was beat, some of the Romanians were laying on the ground getting a rest. Not to boast, but I still felt good, still felt energetic. My companion and I went home afterwards, showered up, and did some more missionary work that day.

I want to get back into that kind of shape.

To do that, what I have to sacrifice is time. Getting off of LDSLinkup was one of the best decisions. It was too bad that that was the way I did get off, but it was such a waste of my time, sitting there at my computer, eating sunflower seeds, drinking Dr. Pepper, and arguing politics with idiots from the other side of the political spectrum. No Linkup means that I no longer have to worry about how people responded to my latest post. It freed up some serious time. I still keep up my Thoughts on Politics, but now with greater thought put into it, and less concern about the response. It’s beautiful. Also, I don’t feel the need to always be there to watch the responses.

To get into shape I need to keep up the working out during lunch, which isn’t that hard, and to continue the walking in the evening. That might be more difficult when the baby is born, in 2 weeks…..

But I’m on the right path.

Another divorce. . . What does it really take?

So another one of my friends is getting a divorce. She did everything “right.” She was faithful, temple-worthy, and found a spouse she thought she could be married to for time and all eternity (and that’s a LONG time!). They were sealed in the temple, and less than 2 years later, their marriage is failing. Apparently he has some body issues (ie. he wants her to be a Barbie), and in honesty, she is— now. She lost 100+ pounds but that left her with some unsightly skin in hidden places. She’s not body conscious, but it’s an issue for him. Hence– the divorce.

As a newlywed and a soon-to-be-parent, I think about this and it makes me sad. I don’t know that I have the “answer,” but I do think Nick and I have something that works. We put each other first all the time. He puts my needs first. I put his needs first. For instance, some nights I want to cook him the 3 course meal with dessert, but I know that my body can’t handle it. He sees that, and normally does something to ease my suffering, whether it’s giving me a foot massage or even offering to cook dinner. I don’t have to worry about myself and my needs, because I know as long as I communicate what I am feeling to him, he will take care of me. And I’d hope he feels the same. Yet in light of my friend’s divorce, I don’t think Nick would ask anything that I *can’t* accomplish. He realizes my limitations and he’s accepted them before we married. Now within the marriage, those limitations are there and he’s not looking to change me but rather to grow old with me.

This open communication and the ability to put someone else in the forefront is what I say is the biggest success of our marriage. It also helps that we realize this is not a marriage of 2 people– really Heavenly Father is involved also, and He will help us when we ask. I’ve felt that help. I’ve felt Nick’s prayers for me and my health be answered repeatedly. I know that the only reason my back has not gone out in almost two years is because Nick is praying for it to be healthy. It is that type of love that helps us to bond together as a couple. I know he is my “lobster”, as Phoebe from Friends would say. I only hope everyone is able to find theirs.

The Bank of Mom & Dad ?

So I just read this NYT article, The Bank of Mom and Dad and it's got me thinking. What type of society are we living in, when college educated individuals literally cannot afford to live on their own without additional support?

Some would argue that the cost of living is too high. Sure this is the case in many of the nation's largest cities: San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., etc. Yet, I managed to live within my means (for the most part) for 7 years in New York City as a teacher. Sure I had to make sacrifices. I had to have a roommate, and we shared a tiny 580 sq ft., 1 bedroom apartment. I didn't eat out all that often. I rarely took cabs, opting to use my monthly Metrocard. Sacrifice helped me to live there.

So what does this say of some of these college grads? They want their parents' lifestyle, without putting in the 20+ years of work to get there. We can't all afford Pottery Barn furniture with Crate & Barrel dishes straight out of college, along with the gorgeous apartment in the city. But most can afford a smaller apartment, in a safe neighborhood, with Martha Stewart dishes and Straight from the Crate furniture. One of the children listed in this article had a dog that his mother was paying $16 per day for doggie day care. What in the heck?! If you can't afford your dog, why do you have it? Why not wait to get the dog until you can afford it on your salary? Why in the world should Mom and Dad have to spend this money after you are old enough and capable?

It is our materialism, pride and greed that allow us to think this is ok. Sacrifice is a word not heard often these days. We live in a society that tells us we *need* it NOW, and we can pay for it later. Credit card debt is not ok. Living off of our parents is not ok once you have the degree and job. Live within your means, and you'll be much better off in the long term. You'll be learning principles that will help you later on in life.

Large Pyramid Found in Bosnia!

now this is cool, apparently a large pyramid was found in Bosnia, the first one found in Europe, and it is larger than the Pyramid of Giza, in Egypt!

Americans Are Fleeing Large Cities, as we did….

Americans fleeing nation’s largest cities

We didn’t plan on leaving New York City so quickly, but we had to with the addition of a baby in our family. But we would have left New York in any case, as we couldn’t really afford a home there, even on two salaries. Now, out here in Pennsylvania, we can afford a home on just my salary….

Meanwhile, New York City continues to build massive new condominiums averaging at least half a million dollars for a one bedroom!

Terrible Floods Plague Romania

Romania is facing terrible floods due to heavy rains and melting snow coming down the Danube from Germany. I hope they are okay….some of those areas are very poor….

Our Various Blogs

So now that I’ve left Linkup, for posting my thoughts I have several blogs. This blog will be my general thoughts, life, frustrations, etc, such as when our Friends DVD disc breaks just as we get to a really cool episodes.

Librarian Thoughts

As a librarian, I have created a blog to have a place for ideas and thoughts on my profession.

RHMD’s Thoughts on Politics

This will be where I keep my feelings about politics. It can’t be helped. I shouldn’t have gotten the degree in International Politics from BYU….I’m now hooked.

My wife has a blog of her own too, for her thoughts. It is called Illuminations on Life, Love, and Liberty

Finally we created a blog for our thoughts on relationships and family called A & N: Eternal Companions

I hope to see you all at any of these blogs. I’m trying to expand out and read what others are writing.