Anogete's Journal

A cookie to anyone who can identify the source of my icon. That image has haunted me for well over a month.

After days of deliberating with myself over whether I should change the theme I use on my LJ, I finally changed it. It isn't like it was a huge decision. I was just stuck in a rut. It's all pretty now, though.

I thought I might be coming down with a cold, but it appears as if I'm avoided it. My throat was sore yesterday, and I had some major drainage from my sinuses. I immediately went into my 'I'm-not-going-to-get-sick-dammit' routine. This involves eating vitamin C tablets, drinking Emer'gen C, drinking orange juice, drinking lots of water, drinking lots of herbal tea, sticking my face in a humidifier for the majority of the day, and taking some Mucinex (for the gross mucus). I'm much better today. I'm not nearly as tired, and my throat and chest aren't as congested. Take that, evil cold.

I called patient information at the hospital in WV and asked for my grandfather's room number. His surgery went well, but (as with all colon surgery) the recovery bit has been a slice of hell for him. He sounded like he was in pain and was very groggy. I only talked to him for five minutes before I excused myself. He needs to sleep, not to talk to a million people on the phone. I called my mom afterward, and she said he was getting tired of all the visitors. Like me, he prefers to be alone when he's not feeling well. He demanded that my grandmother go home yesterday. Poor guy. I hope he's feeling better when they release him.

I want to knit everything. Seriously. I desperately want to knit this sweater. Isn't it gorgeous? About halfway down the page, there is a second picture with detail of the Grecian Plait stitch. It's so wonderful, it makes me swoon with delight. After posting the pictures of Ferguson in his knitted sweater on a Chihuahua message board I visit, I received a couple requests for custom sweaters for fellow board members. I'll probably work on one of them this weekend after I get the yarn.

I'm nearly finished with Paul Kemp's Twilight Falling. It's very good. It took me a bit to get into it, but by the fifth chapter, I whizzed through the pages in two days. I'm still waiting on the shipment of the remaining Earthsea novel by Ursula K. Le Guin. I've read the first three, but the fourth in line is the one I'm missing.

And in case anyone missed it the last two times I mentioned it, Kiva.org is a fantastic organization. This is my lender page. Mok from Cambodia and Sarah from Uganda have both received their loans. Mok has already made her first payment. I really hope she is doing well. I want her grocery store to thrive. Sarah's first payment is probably due in a couple days. She's a woman after my own heart since she's a knitter. I knew I had to contribute to her loan when I read that. Anyway, I'm very excited to read future updates on them both.

I've been sucked into Kiva. It is a micro-lending site which collects small loans from those able to give and passes it on to the borrower of their choice. People (usually living in third world countries) who are struggling to get their businesses off the ground will apply for loans with local organizations. Those organizations pass the info on to Kiva. Kiva posts the recipients profiles and pictures on their website. Lenders can choose to give $25 (or more) to the entrepreneur. That small donation is combined with others to provide the recipient with a larger loan. Then, over the course of six to twenty-four months, the money is paid back to all who loaned the money. You can even see the profiles of the people who are helping you fund the loan for your chosen borrower. And, for the cynics out there, the site has a 99% repayment rate from the borrowers. I think it is such a neat idea. I spent a few days browsing the site, but I finally made the plunge this afternoon and loaned $25 to Mok Sokhoan.

Mok is twenty-five years old and from Cambodia. She runs a small grocery store while her husband drives a motor-taxi. She needs the loan to stock her grocery store and buy her husband a new motorcycle for his job. There are several profiles up right now of people needing a loan, but this one jumped out at me as a good place to start. It's probably because she's about the same age as me. I can't imagine starting my own business.

From what I've seen, the site is quite popular, and most borrowers have their money raised within a couple days. I'll be very excited when Mok's account has enough money for her to receive her $600 loan. They even collect updates on the borrowers and post them for all the lenders to see. I hope she does well!