This past week I’ve written and deleted three drafts posts with dissatisfaction.  So whatever I write here gets published.

It is becoming harder and harder to avoid writing a political post so I’ll try to get one out soon.  Just to be upfront, I have gripes with both the Democratic and Republican sides.  I have problems with the whole political process.  I might have to add a “Political” post category by the time we get to election day.

The economy is frighteningly unstable.  I think with all the Hurricane Ike news and with a ton of people still without power, people haven’t really taken in the stark realities of this week’s events.  I think it’s interesting to see the heavy handed government interventions in the financial markets this past week from a Republican administration.  This just goes to show that there are no promises after someone gets into office.  There’s really no telling whether McCain will provide little government or whether Obama will provide all the programs he’s been talking about.

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I’m disappointed that Apple issued a recall on their ultracompact USB power adapters for the iPhone.  There’s reportedly only a small percentage of adapters that are faulty but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.  You can either exchange it in store in October or fill out the web-based form now.  Thanks to MacRumors for letting me know about this.

October is also when the MBP is supposed to come out.  I’ve been waiting for this redesign for — is it two years now?  Crazy.  But what’s even crazier is I’m considering not getting one.  Well, I’m really hoping that they make it lighter in this new redesign.  But if they don’t, I might consider getting a Mac Pro or a iMac for my photo processing and a lightweight, compact laptop for travel and mobility.  One or maybe both of those will probably have to be refurbished since my tech budget is pretty limited.  Has anyone ever bought refurbished from Apple?

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My internship this year is at Texas Children’s Hospital in Adolescent Medicine through BCM’s Leadership Education in Adolescent Health Fellowship program.  It’s been an interesting experience so far in that I feel like I’m getting a sneak peak at what medical or nursing school is like.  It’s a really robust environment where you’re surrounded by sharp people and you can learn as much as you possibly want to.  It’s also nice to be able to disassociate hospitals with terrible events.  I’m also helping to facilitate experiential groups at a local high school and will be also be working with Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program (JJAEP) students both in Houston and in Baytown.

It’s because of these two things and my full load of classes that sockparade might suffer a bit this year.  But I definitely consider it a worthwhile trade-off — hopefully it won’t get too bad.

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I never used to like cars.  I mean, I never appreciated their beauty until after I met the husband.  My brother-in-law was over last night and they were talking cars and while I’m still drooling over the Audi A5, the brand new Audi A4 is pretty fantastic too.  The headlight redesign is amazing.

Speaking of cars, I love car commercials that use great songs.  There’s a Saab commercial that has cool female vocals but I don’t know who she is.  Let me know if you’ve got a clue.

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This is the first weekend we’ve had where we have no plans and no place we’ve committed to visiting.  It’s the first real weekend I’ve had in a long time.  I can’t wait!  See you on the other side.

I just ordered another iPhone 3G case.  I debated between several brands and styles and finally settled on the Beyza Apple iPhone 3G SlimLINE - VSL20 Vertical Leather Case Flo Light Blue.  I originally had decided on the Sena Ultra Slim Pouch but the light blue color I wanted was backordered so I went with the Beyza.  I’m actually glad the Sena was backordered so that I would be forced to explore more options.  I think the Beyza might provide a bit more padding and protection without adding too much bulk.

I really wanted the Beyza Roadline case with the strap but it’s a little too pricey for a case.  At least it was too pricey for me.  There are people out there buying custom-made Vaja Leather cases starting at $220 a pop, so the Beyza Roadline is actually still relatively cheap at $49.50.

Just a tip, I didn’t order from the Beyza website.

I ordered from Cases.com (Aluron, Inc.) which got positive web reviews.  I also found a coupon code that took off 15% so the total came out to be $32.05 (includes $4.00 for shipping).  This was better than ordering directly from Beyza which is based in Turkey and charges $13.90 to ship to the USA which would have brought me to a total of $47.40.

So why am I getting a new case?  I like my naked case that I got off of Ebay, I really do.  Touch sensitivity is great and it feels pretty secure but I can’t stand the dust getting into the cutouts for the speaker and underneath the case.  So I’m going to try not putting a permanent case on it and just using the Beyza sleeve.  Here’s to hoping I don’t drop it!

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Speaking of Turkey, here’s the paper I wrote on the Gulen Movement for my summer course.  The writing is pretty weak and I was fighting time to get my ideas down on paper but it’s a start.  The paper will probably a sort of work in progress.  I’d like to revisit it and beef it up with more ideas sometime in the future — maybe around winter break.

I’ll let the photos speak for themselves:

Most people hate Martha Stewart.

I don’t.  I’m kind of fascinated by her.  I know she’s rumored to have a horrendous temper towards her staff and she did participate in the whole stock selling scandal.  But she’s got a pretty incredible biography and I respect anyone that’s been able to make a successful living off of what they love doing.  And I really like people who are at the top of their game.  You don’t have to like someone to give respect.  She’s a business-guru and I know Oprah gets a lot of attention for being one of the most powerful businesswomen out there but I’d venture to guess that Martha’s got Oprah beat when it comes to business.  (Oprah’s interview with Martha.)

I really liked her Blueprint magazine before it shutdown and I still subscribe to the Bluelines blog which has something to do with that.  I’ve recently started reading her personal blog (The Martha Blog).  It’s surprisingly personal and I like that she takes mediocre photos of her vacations and her 4th of July weekend with Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon on her boat.

Here’s a fun blooper reel of Martha Bloopers:

And here’s a fun segment that her production crew put together:

Through Bluelines I also discovered Dinner Tonight which has different recipes and food ideas for you to try.  I’m making Chicken Lettuce Wraps tonight.

Part of me feels like I need to train up to be a better wife and a better future mom.  And practicing these recipes and home ideas will help somehow?

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I went to WaMu this morning to withdraw some cash and they have a new system where you complete your transaction at the pod counter with the teller and then the teller hands you a receipt and you get your cash from the cash pickup station.  This way the tellers do not have access to the cash and they can’t get robbed.  I think it’s a pretty smart system.

Design*Sponge is one of my new favorite RSS feeds and they recently had an article on Lisa Congdon’s kitchen. What caught my eye was her beautiful plate wall. I investigated a bit further by reading this article from Bluelines (another great RSS feed) and I’ve now decided to start collecting plates for a plate wall. Lisa says that it took her 2 years to collect the plates for her wall so it’ll be awhile before I can complete this project. Especially because I’m not a regular antique hound and I don’t frequent cute stores enough. I do like the idea of collecting the plates over time and from different places so that when I put the plates up, they will serve as home decor as well as a memory wall.

The Tsuis were in full force this weekend in Houston and apparently I am the last person on earth to discover Hulu. It was fun watching all of the primo The Office episodes that I’ve missed over the years. Now I can catch up this summer.

We went home to my parents house this past weekend and we found that they have completely assimilated to the Wii world. My arm is still a little sore from boxing. Wii games are fun but I don’t think I’d buy a Wii. We’re still holding out for a PS3. I was also reminded again of how great my parents are. They’re pretty great.

I like how there are so many politically active people in Taiwan. Here are some photos from a rally/parade in Taiwan for the green party. Notice the slogans “Demand self-determination for Tibetans” and “Stop cultural genocide in Tibet.” I’m really torn as to what party I support there.