You've changed, man.

Someone said two words to me today that I have been pondering all day. "YOU'VE CHANGED." We've all probably either said this to someone or have heard it from someone. After thinking about when I've used this statement and the places I've heard it used, I've come to the conclusion that it's usually said with a negative connotation and is meant as 'you used to be better.'

I really don't know why these two words became my subconscious' favorite snack today. (wrap your mind around the hilarious things hiding in my subconscious mind) For whatever reason it stuck with me. I guess mostly I have been pondering questions like:

Have I changed?
How have I changed?
What exactly prompted these changes?
What exactly has changed?

I've come to the realization, that he was right. I have changed. Now I could have you pull up a chair and explain to you some of the major reasons I feel I have, but I fear losing at least half of my five readers.

My favorite Tony Horton quote...

"We stumble. We fall. But we move."

I'm GLAD I've changed and continue to change every day. Change almost always seem to have a negative connotation and certainly can be bad. However, change at least means I'm growing.

Maybe I did used to be better at some things in my past years. (no, wii tennis is not one of those things) But ya know what - in some other things I'm better. I'm growing everyday and am smiling alot while I enjoy this fabulous life God has given me to live.

A Challenger (what was he thinking) for the WII Tennis Champion of the World

You heard that right. A crazy fool has challenged Maddog to a tennis match. The showdown will be Thursday, 22 at9pm. The foolish challenger calls himself the "Sunscreen Kid" and boasts that he is able to bring Maddog down off the throne.

Sunscreen Kids says, "If you screw things up in tennis, it's 15-love. If you screw up in boxing, it's your ass. So I chose tennis."

Maddog is confident that she will make him eat the tennis ball before it's all said and done. First challenger to win ten games wins.

Tickets are available, and if you would like to place a bet let me know.

Time to get back to blogging

I recently heard the story of a young lady from Pakistan that touched me so much I had to spread the word about her. Women are undoubtedly the strongest creatures ever made by God, but this lady takes the cake.

Mukhtaran Bibi was sentenced by a tribal council in Pakistan to be gang-raped for an alleged offense of her younger brother. Now...first off, if I had to be sentenced for the transgressions of my younger brothers, I would be in T-R-O-U-B-L-E. Imagine what it feels like to be before a judge and be sentenced to a GANG RAPE. I wonder if I would've been as mouthy as I am if I were born in the middle east....

Anyway, several of her neighbors were "kind enough" to carry out her sentence and brutally raped her, forcing her to walk naked through her village. (never complain about your neighbors fence again)

She was supposed to be so shamed that she would commit suicide, but instead she decided to instead try a different method. She took her case to Pakistani authorities, and her story drew international attention and press attention. Basically, she started telling this disgusting story as loud as she could and it worked.

The press attention shamed the government into prosecuting her attackers. Mukhtaran received $8300 in compensation, a substantial sum in her remote region of Pakistan. Instead of using the funds to move somewhere else, she decided to start a school for girls in her village.

Yep - that same village. Are all you women reading this standing up and shouting with me!?!

With additional contributions from many who learned of her efforts through the media, the school now provides elementary education and literacy training to 130 poor and orphan girls. Mai and her friends operate the school themselves, and until now they have been supplying books, uniforms, and shoes to the girls without assistance from the Pakistani government or any non-profit organizations.

Amazingly, on March 3, 2005 a Pakistani court overturned the death sentences of all six men who raped her and ordered five of them freed. The case has become an embarrassment for the Pakistani government as her story became more widely known, forcing the courts to yet again reverse themselves.

The exploitation of women, particularly in poor countries, is the most serious abuse of human rights in the world today...yet this woman had the courage to stand up no matter what the cost. I SALUTE HER.