It’s always good to spend a bit of time with old friends and experience a bit of their lives. I had the chance to do that with the Blumes. I spent four days in Porto Alegre between Santiago and Rio with them. My time included new friends as well and I’m not really going to continue talking about it because Kevin did us all a favor and wrote about my time there.

Here’s a bit:

We don’t stop much in our day to day lives. We told Garrett to jump in wherever he wanted to as well as just stay home and chill when he needed to do that. We told him he could stay with us as long as he wanted. His two night stay turned into a 4 night stay… Continue reading at The Blumes in Brasil.

More photos on flickr from Machu Picchu. I will blog soon. Sorry for the wait.

It began in Sydney, Australia in 2007 and spread across the globe. Today at 8:30P (your local time) cities around the world will participate in Earth Hour by turning off their lights to raise awareness for energy conservation. I am happy to say Chile has committed to participate in this global energy-saving event.

Be a part of the action and turn off the lights and unplug all non-essential appliances to show your support for government policies to take action against global warming. The Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009 will convene soon and this is one way you can show your desire for change.

Learn more at Vote Earth.

Take a break today (in the US) and tomorrow (international) from the endless consumption. Shop less , live more.

Express Your Vote
FedEx Express is offering free ballot return from Singapore, China, New Zealand, Australia, and several other countries in Asia — see the countries. In other regions they are being offered at a highly reduced rate. You must sign up at the Overseas Vote Foundation website for this service; it has been developed by OVF and FedEx and is only provided by the organization.

Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot
Since the ballots have been sent out very late in a couple of states due to late primaries (particularly NY and Massachusetts), OVF provides an emergency ballot (FWAB) on its website. The Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) is an emergency ballot if your regular ballot does not arrive. OVF has an online program to generate the FWAB. It will pull up the candidates running for federal office according to your zip code. Check out Hey, Where’s My Ballot? (YouTube)

Still not registered?
You can still register to vote in some states. In addition, some states accept the FWAB as a simultaneous voter registration application and voted ballot. Register here.

Not much blogging has been going on over the past month. Well I’ve been in Texas and two other states to the north since the beginning of July. I have about a week left. It’s been great fun and plenty of things to write about. For now though, it’s bedtime.

Enjoy some chocolate.

I was browsing online to make sure I was registered to vote and stumbled across the Overseas Vote Foundation which led me to the Youth Vote Overseas (a young voters registration site that appeals a bit more to a younger crowd). It blows the Federal Voting Assistance Program website out of the water. The FVAP site looks poor, overloaded with text, and not easy to navigate. Some how I made it through the site two years ago to receive my ballot abroad.

In short, if you’re over the age of 18, abroad, and an American citizen, you should register to vote. Your state’s deadline to register may be approaching. Well, even if you’re not abroad, you should register.

Today is the hollowed Spring day anticipated by thousands of school children across San Antonio. Today is Battle of Flowers. It was started back in 1891 a few days after the event was originally scheduled.

Several ladies of San Antonio’s elite had planned a parade and battle of flowers in honor of President Harrison. As often occurs, the Texas weather turned quickly and rained out the event. Not to waste a well planned shindig the event was held anyway, three days after the President had left town. The tradition still continues, just a parade nowadays, and is one of the highlights of Fiesta. Held on the Friday of Fiesta; it is the big event that kick off the ten days of festivities. Most schools and public offices are closed in honor of the many brave and hallowed souls that never died in battle.

Yes, Fiesta has arrived in San Antonio. Sadly I am not in San Antonio. I never got too much in to the event until high school. I went down to NIOSA (Night in Old San Antonio) with my parents to volunteer at a drink booth and had a BLAST! I’m missing the cascarones, King Antonio, El Rey Feo, the food, and the overall atmosphere of the city.

If you’re in town and read this. Smash a few cascarones over some friends’ heads for me.

Learn more:
Fiesta San Antonio
Battle of Flowers
NIOSA

Sorry for the gap in posts. My computer kind of semi-died last week, so my computing has been a bit sporadic. Something will be up soon.

Here’s some music I am enjoying on the FM radio:

Molotov – Yofo (below)

Miranda – Perfecta

Veo Veo – Guajiros

Every blessing You pour out
I’ll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

Yes, thank you to the MacArthur Park Church of Christ in San Antonio, TX. I am now almost fully within my budget. It has been a long, prayer-filled process, but I have been blessed to have received this. Praise be to God.