Dex's seminar at Johns Hopkins ends...Oregon tomorrow!

Well, friends, the next photos you see of Dex will be taken here in Oregon during
his seven-day visit with Michael and me. You may have wondered exactly how his trip to the U.S. came to be. The images above will help me to quickly explain (quickly, because my "to-do" list still has items to check off):

• A couple of months ago Dex emailed to let me know that he had applied for a scholarship through the Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health. It would cover his round-trip airfare and two-week accommodations at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.

• He indicated that he doubted he would be awarded the scholarship.

• He was awarded the scholarship to attend the 8th Annual Institute in Reproductive Health and Development. 

• He had a wonderful contact person at the Institute who arranged his travel, while he took care of the travel visa in Manila.

Dear Mom,
Just a quick message to tell you that the kind consul at the US embassy has approved my J-1 visa this morning. I am very happy now that all is certain...

• We arranged for his one-way ticket from Baltimore to Portland and will pick him up Saturday early evening. 

• Saturday happens to be the day of the Portland Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade (we attended last year's parade) so the city will be hopping and festive for Dex's first impression of Oregon. 

• I am anxious to hear all about the seminar and more about his stay on the east coast. As you can see Johns Hopkins arranged for a day of sight-seeing in Washington D.C. for the seminar attendees. The first three shots were taken in Baltimore, the last three images are in Washington D.C. and my favorite is the one of Dex at the statue of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his dog, Fala.

• Ironically, back last December Michael had arranged next week in June as a vacation week - how perfect is that?

Regarding my "to-do" list, not all that I had planned to accomplish in the house can be done at this point. The house and yard are in pretty good shape for company now anyway. I have been made miserable in the last month with an allergic rash that my doctor is now treating with oral steroids and antihistamines, so a little relief is accompanied by some spaciness from the meds until my body adjusts to them, and an allergist must hone in the source of the allergy after Dex leaves. So when my i-Google horoscope for today showed on my personal page this morning I took it to heart:

Capricorn
By Rick Levine
You may be fighting against your worst enemy now: you. Your friends may be going out of their way to be very nice to you because they can see that you're more stressed out than usual. It's hard for you to concentrate today because there are so many little things vying for your attention. But even if you have many chores to do, it still may be wiser to delay them until after you take some personal time for yourself.

.

"I like turtles"

You are absolutely free to describe me as a turtle or something.
-Paul Giamatti, actor

It's OK to do cute little things like kissing a turtle, but you can't kiss another person because he's a different color? Give me a break. And you have to remember, I'm from Dallas, Texas.
-Aaron Spelling, director

And the turtles, of course...All the turtles are free- As turtles and, maybe, all creatures should be.
-Dr. Seuss, author


My favorite turtle quote was spoken during the 2007 Rose Festival in Portland, Oregon, by 10-year-old Jonathan Ware. He had just left a face-painting booth at Waterfront Village when KGW-news reporter, Nancy Francis, stopped him for a quick 17-second interview about his new zombie look. In response to her question Jonathan said: "I like turtles!"

Someone stuck the news clip out on YouTube and the rest is history. Jonathan became an overnight sensation, a national media hit, and his fame spawned I like turtles t-shirts and gifts. The original video has been viewed over 5 million times, and there are now dozens of remixes and take-off videos on YouTube.

The 2008 Rose Festival is now upon us, with the Grand Floral Parade coming on Saturday, June 7 that will be broadcast locally and in various syndicated markets in the United States (check your local listings). A new Rose Queen will be crowned, thousands of people will line the parade route to be wowed once again by floats composed of only plant/floral materials, and there will be tours of Navy ships in town for the festival.

Waterfront Village is again bursting with color, flavor, sound, and energy. It has already rained on the Village and may even rain on the parade this year. No matter; nothing can top Rose Festival for joy-making in Portland, and nothing at Rose Festival can top this:

(P.S. I just realized that after viewing the video, a video strip appears at the bottom. It shows some remixes of I like turtles that others have done, +plus+ that clip of South Carolina's 2007 Miss Teen USA contestant with her now-famous map theory.)