Who am I?

This is a question many philosophers and people in general have grappled with for centuries. As we grow up, many of us struggle to find our true identity. Sometimes, when I see all my flaws so clearly, and I'm tempted to throw my hands up and say, "Well I am who I am." But then I know that's a cop-out. With God's grace and my willingness, I am able to change....thankfully. And there are times when we change and wish we hadn't. Like, growing older and losing abilities that we used to enjoy. Or sometimes our feelings towards people can change. Often we lose interest in something that used to captivate us before. One thing that seems definite for us human beings is change. Perhaps that is why this question is never fully answered. We can't just say, "I am who I am".

As I thought about this today, I thought about how only God can truly say that about Himself. God calls himself the "I AM" or the "I AM THAT I AM" He requires none else and He still is. His existence is not a question. It may be a question for the puny minds of some of us, but it's not in reality. And most encouraging....He doesn't change. He has created us and desired a personal relationship with us since the beginning. We may change. We may flounder and flip and flop in our relationship with him. Sometimes we're hot and sometimes cold or luke warm. But he remains faithful.

For me, once I have acknowledged my many shortcomings and downright failures, and realized that He remains true to His promise to me and that He still is who He is (despite the fact that I am ever changing), it is then that I have come to appreciate and love Him more. To love the great "I AM".

Meet the Bhutanese! (updated)

What a fun time I've had recently!

Coming home from a conference in NYC back in mid-September, I shared a row on the plane with some scared and very out-of-place looking people. Any of you who know me very well, will know that I love most foreigners (almost to a fault) and I love talking to strangers. So, I struck up a conversation with them. In broken english, they explained to me that they were from the very distant country of Bhutan, which neighbors Nepal. They became refugees living for 17 years in a camp in Nepal due to religious and ethnic cleansing in Bhutan. (that is the short story of it...for more info, google "Bhutanese refugees in Nepal")

Anyways, through great international effort, many Bhutanese are now being resettled all over the world.

Somehow, I have been blessed to be on the receiving end now, of a very special friendship. Below are two of my friends Kumari in orange and Maya in white both about age 20.
(note the colorful Nepalese scarf they draped over me as a token of their friendship ;))

Below are three of the four young guys who have been also very special to me. Narayan, 17 years old, is on the left in the gray sweatshirt, Bikash, 16, is in the middle and Narayan's younger brother Pashu Pati, 16 is on the right.

Here they are again, all excited about their new computer!

Below was a very special day when some family members of the above friends arrived. Maya, Narayan and Pashu Pati's aunt, uncle, cousin and grandparents arrived. They invited me to come to their new home to welcome them. In the photo below, they are searching frantically for their I- 94 forms which allow them to stay in the US.

(thankfully they did find them, after a short scare)

Below is Gopi Neopane, the mother of the three Neopane kids I've mentioned earlier, with Asmitah, her 5 year old neice on her first day arriving in the U.S.

Still not used to the coooold Syracuse weather, the Bhutanese often sport coats and hats indoors. But they are also great hosts, always serving tea, milk and ethnic food to their guests.

Gopi Neopane's Grandparents on the day they arrived...so tired.

Maya and her cousin Asmitah.

Vegetables are always on the menu at the Neopane home.

Being treated as a welcome new part of the family. They call me DiDi (which means sister)

We had a blast at the Museum of Science and Technology and then watched the Majestic India movie and Ring of fire about Earthquakes.

Rock wall climbing at the MOST.

Stay tuned for more great photos to come! (Lord Willing)

Beautiful Fall Foliage at a Marathon...in Fulton

Ok...so I will set the scene for everyone. I work with a nurse in the E.R. Her name is Ruthie Ripley. At age 40 she began running marathons. She's run one in every state and ran through her time battling breast cancer and etc to get to this big day of running her 100th Marathon. This momentous marathon was held in the location of her first marathon ever...Fulton.

Above, Julie Corsoniti, (my boss) checking in for her race. We all got up around 5am this freezing cold sunday morning, October 12, 2008.

Elaine Devereaux, another nurse I work with and a marathon fanatic brought yummy chocolate chip cookies to share.

I was unprepared for the beauty that I would encounter in Fulton this fall day. I didn't even know they had a lake there.

But...as this sign shows, they do...Lake Neatahawanta...who knew?

More of the pretty lake as the sun rose.

Here's Missy, Social Worker (in the white), Ruthie center, and Annette, Social Worker (in red). They are always that smiley, though it may be hard to believe.

Dr. Skopek, the Ironman himself. It takes a real man to be able to wear pink with pride. He wore it in honor of Ruthie's Breast Cancer fight.

Diane Goode,RN lacing up for the big run.

Kate, Social Worker. BRrrrrr...it was like 30 outside. Let's get running!

Diane Traver's is a nurse and friend of mine #1540 with arm around Ruthie. Not sure who the man in the way-too-short red shorts is, but...yikes!

On your marks! Get set!

And I'm gone...completely distracted by the beautiful scenery around me....that was the last of the race pictures I took (oops).

More natural fall beauty.

See the fog rolling on the lake and the ducks....sooo peaceful.

ahhhhhh.....

Some of the dew-kissed foliage up close...

So, now, once I caught the photographing bug, I just couldn't stop. This was along the side of Rt 481. The fog in the field with the sun rays...couldn't resist.

More rays of sunshine burning through the fog.

This too is along Rt 481...Oneida Lake, maybe?

Check out this picture, I didn't retouch it or anything. You can see the fog just rolling up and the foliage reflecting on the water. Who knew Rt481 had so much beauty?

Train Tracks run out to the horizon...

Well then I just kept going...I reached Syracuse, and it was only 8:30 so I still had a couple hours before church was going to start. So, I kept photographing.

Downtown Syracuse.

And more...of Downtown Syracuse in the fall.

I just couldn't get enough.

To some they're just dead leaves...but to others they are beautiful works of art. (usually they're just dead leaves to me)

Continuing down James Street.
Into my back yard. The Poison Ivy turning colors amid the lush green English Ivy.
The jungle of my backyard...ahhhh such beauty. So that's all...hope you enjoyed seeing these as much as I did taking them.

Third TRI--Shrewsbury, Pennsylvania

I'm so excited! I found this new traveling buddy, his name is Tom, well TomTom to be exact. And thank God we met, because with this new goal of a triathlon in every state and all the other traveling I do, I've been getting lost far too much.

So, me and Tommy took our first trip down to Lancaster, Pennsylvania this weekend where we stayed at the bed and breakfast that I always enjoy so much, Jonde Lane Farms run by a mennonite family. It was so cozy and romantic, just the two of us!

Anyways, I arrived at the farm yesterday. The weather was fine. So when I woke up at o'dark hundred (5am to be exact) to get ready for the triathlon that was in Shrewsbury (according to Tommy 1 hour away), I was unprepared for the weather to take a turn for the worst. Well, Tommy was wrong, it only took me 45 minutes to get there. But I was wrong too. The triathlon wasn't scheduled to start till 8am, not 7. Oh well, I was able to hang out a little with the triathlon junkies who had gotten there early...on purpose.

The sky was ominous at dawn.

The swimming leg, fortunately was done at the YMCA indoor pool. While we were swimming, you could hear the thunder booming outside, and the sky just opened up and poured out rain. Well, that didn't stop us.

After a short 500meter swim, we took off for the bike leg. It was about 16 miles, which is approximately the distance from the Grist mill to camp and back. And the hills were basically the same. But just add water...lots of water. We plugged up those waterfalls and then down the hills. Going down was actually alot more dangerous as I would get going so fast, that with the rain pelting down, I couldn't see anything.

By the time the run came along, I was beat, and entirely soaked to the bones. But the run was only 2 miles, through grassland and up muddy hills.

Anyways, truth be told I had a really good time. I just love nature. The smells and sounds and mmmm just everything about it. And while I was riding I got to thinking about how I have begun to enjoy myself. Enjoy just being alone. It's not what I ever wanted. And I worry that I am growing too independent and solitary at times. But it's what life has given me. I thought I'd be married with 10 kids by now. But God has given me something different, at least for now. So, I'm learning to be content with whatever state I am in. And I do really like all my fun ideas. I'm a real fun person to travel with so at least that's cool. lol

So, that's it for now. I had a blast. Looking forward to the next one. And on a side note, now I think I'm getting sick...achy all over, cough, earache, cold chills...the works. Every up has it's down, right?

The New York beyond Manhattan

As I bumped along on the subway, ping-ponging from one location to another all over New York City, I couldn't help but think about the many ways there are to travel around this town. For example, if you were wealthy and just had gobs of money to waste, you could be picked up like a movie star in your own private limo. Cameras could be flashing, people watching with envy. Once, some of the girls from church and I rented a limo for a ride down a few blocks. It was fun, a bit over-rated and definitely too expensive, but nice.

You could drive or take a taxi. Both options involve careening through the overcrowded fast-paced streets, stopping and starting for lights and bold pedestrians. Taxis can be expensive, though necessary at times. Driving your own car can be risky and frustrating as you attempt to navigate down one-way streets all the while trying to avoid the scrapes and dents that so desperately want to find your car. Parking is an expensive treat too.


Some choose to ride their bicycles. This looks like a dangerous, but exciting way to maneuver through NYC's streets. Walking too is a healthy option. In fact, you really can't get around NY without being prepared to put some serious miles on your tootsies.

And of course there's the metro system. For $7.50 you can buy an all day fun pass and go wherever you want to. Now granted, the subways are often smelly and grimy. You rub shoulders with some....well interesting (for lack of a better word) folks. But what an experience! From the artsy mosaics that adorn the walls to the subway performers that blow their saxaphones or sing their hearts out, what's not to love?
(click on the map to see in greater detail...if you are so interested you want to see more, that is)

For sure, taking the subway requires a bit of street sense. But I had the pleasure during this trip to NY to stray out of Manhattan for the first time. Usually my friends and I stay around Times Sq, Little Italy and Chinatown, Battery Park, Ground Zero, etc. But during this most recent trip, I had other places on my agenda.

Of course I started in Times Square because that's where the conference was that I was attending. They put me up in the posh Hilton right on 6th Avenue. I spent the first day at the conference, but afterwards, schlepped my way over to Queens where I was to visit a college that one of my friends who will be immigrating to the US is hoping to attend a Language program. Traveling to Queens was quite an experience. And I wouldn't recommend trying to drag a carry-on around with you like I did. Going up and down the stairs and on and off subways/busses was not too fun.

It was interesting to see as the neighborhoods changed. The Queens subway goes through Hispanic, Middle Eastern and finally, last stop, Chinese neighborhoods. When I got off the rail, I didn't see one American-looking person. Nor did I see a sign written in English. Thankfully, I got on the right bus and made it to the college before it closed.




That night I stayed at a hostel in Brooklyn. Another interesting experience! I've already shared this with many of my friends, so I'll spare you the details. The next morning I schlepped my way back to Times Sq to leave my carry-on at the Hilton's storage area and be free from my burdens. Then I got a $3 freshly-made smoothie and a $.75 bagel from the street vendors. I have to be honest, although I was alone, I enjoyed myself immensely!

Later I meandered back to the subway to visit a friend who recently moved here from the Dominican Republic. Maritza and her husband Carlos are christians. They were a great blessing when I was in the D.R., driving me to church each service and introducing me around to their church family. They moved to Yonkers this year and had their first baby. So, of course I had to pay them a visit. This meant getting back on the subway and riding through the Bronx and then the last stop on the 1 train to Yonkers. Maritza, baby Joshua and I had a wonderful time walking the streets of Yonkers to an excellent Mexican Restaurant called Santa Fe, which we will visit again, hopefully.

I must admit to being pleasantly surprised to find how interesting and easily-navigated the neighborhoods are outside of Manhattan. I'm looking forward to exploring some more on my next adventure to the Big Apple!