this is new/esto es nuevo

http://alisgravenil.blogspot.com/ (soy yo)

a full week

i think Janna is going to kick me out soon. the guys come over every day, and the drop-in-quality of our home is a bit wearying at times. i get energies for it all from somewhere other. the numerous games of checkers have begun to affect my brain, replaying games in my head, devising strategies. my heart beats in reggaeton rhythms. most treasured to me are the moments of private conversation with individuals, still, though hosting large groups is more common and has its attractiveness. After two bad weeks for Gerald, this one was better, with him talking about his parents desires to get him into a Rehab centre ("Internar" was the verb he used..."commited" into an institution)...after which i told him about the stuff I have been trying to look into over the past weeks, Teen Challenge in Quito and similar Christian centre's in Guayaquil...I was glad I had at least some of that information ready to give to him once the subject came up. And Gabriel has been another encouragement this week. He is different from the other guys.

While that last comment of yours would make a good title for a blog, Katie, I think it is a bit lengthly. I think my "quiet and contemplation" comes when threading beads onto a nylon string these days. Three times comfortably around the wrist, makes for two times comfortably around the ankle, makes for one time around the neck. 5 green, 5 black, 5 clear, repeat. I have some reflections on Plato to write about soon. It might take me three more bracelets to come to a satisfactory conclusion, and who knows how the frazzling writing process will go.

im going to start a spanish blog, can anyone think of a good name for it?

i can be geniunely happy for people who i know who are getting married, but at the same time, its like a death in some ways...i say "congratulations" but my heart says "goodbye".

yeah Pam, i meant she's derechista...i get my directions mixed up sometimes. shoulders a bit sunburnt today. hot season is on its way! mango and ciruela street vendors re-appearing. the return of the orange sunsets and the early rising moon. I love this season! learnt some more about people today. i can't remember what it was. learnt some more about myself, it wasn't flattering so i wont blog it. first sunday in months that i wont see the guys for the meeting. a bit lonely that way.

Politica Ecuatoriana

Si ví el debate, Daniel, así que no me vengas con tus achaques de que no veo televisión. Ecuadorian Presidential Elections: October 15 Candidate summaries: CORREA: Frontrunner clown, loud-mouthed energetic baboon with milions of mystery campaign contributions and grandiose promises. Sounds real smooth, ranting against the traditional parties that hold historical power in the country...I don't trust him! SERÍA UN DESASTRE, POR MÁS BONITAS QUE SUENAN SUS DISCURSOS...verdad es que escuchando sus posturas políticas concuerdo en algunas, pero creo que es un charlatán y no confío en él para nada...NO THANK YOU. NOBOA: Me mato si este pendejo gana. But I don't think he will win. Extreme right wing, said he'd sign the FTA (TLC) with USA without polling...(because it would be voted down)...he's so slimy you could squeeze him though the eye of a needle...and he'd need to get through one anyways, to get into heaven, the camel-headed twit. He LOOKS like a drunk uncle, but is the richest person in the country, own all the bananas. Despite how many votes he's tried to buy with all the campaign hand-outs (a campaign that has lasted 12 years because everytime there is an election he runs, and hasn't won yet), nobody's fooled. VITERI: Me cae mal porque es izquierdista...during the debate today, too much store set by economics, too much selling-out to America. She spent half of her time cutting down Correa...he's trying to look like the extreme left candidate, appealing to the popularity of that position in the continent currently...and the other half tip-toeing around the quesitons. I forget everythig she said, except she liked the TLC and Plan Colombia...ugh. ROLDOS: I like him. He's not an orator, that's for sure, but he has experience and he places importance on education and health-care. He wont sign the FTA (TLC) without many negotiations...and his brother was the best president this past century...though that may mean nothing to many of you. ¿Tu que dices, Daniel? ¿Todavía con Viteri? Yo digo, cualquiera menos NOBOA. Y Correa se larga a Panama después de 6 meses de electo, con 10 millones, vas a ver.

quote from Rick Mercer's blog

"Conrad Black, a man who once had more than any of us could ever imagine, gladly gives up the one thing we all share and hold dear, a Canadian citizenship. And why? So he could go to England and become Lord Black of Cross dresser. And now after telling the entire country to shove it he wants back in.I have to admit, the idea of Conrad Black down at some god awful immigration office stuck in the back of a line behind some poor Somali dude with a bullet in his leg fills my heart with joy." The thing with Canadian politics and news items, they are much more straightforward than Ecuadorian ones...and its much easier to find the alternative voice.

the guys bible study was cancelled yesterday...its a big deal to me, because they are a big deal to me, and i understand the reason why the group was cancelled, but i am still sad sad sad...i wish no...pray that the boys know in their hearts that we are still committed to seeing them quit drugs, alcohol, violence and other destructive behaviour...that we DO believe they can change...but not as a group...they need to now individually decide to do so. maybe separate. they need to step out alone. i thought it was a good meeting, a good last meeting, except for the looks of defeat i saw on some of their faces, and hearing them afterwards....they have given up on themselves. they need to come around to see we have not given up on them, and they should not give up on themselves. they need to come around to many htings.