My big sis and I are two veeeeeery different beans, indeed. Like, in pretty much every way possible: looks, likes, dislikes, music, etc. If she is digging on something, chances are I am bound to hate it, and vice versa. She hates on my beloved Marilyn Manson and I bag on her electronic/gush-gush “music” (I totally just put that in quotes to mess with/irritate her, hehehe). We also live together. This makes life interesting.

However, this weekend big sis (in this blog we call her “C” because I am all cryptic and secretive like that) did the sweetest thing EVER and gave me the very bestity best of birthday* presents: tickets to the San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker. A lot of you know that I started dancing right around the time they cut the umbilical cord and just stopped a few years ago when the warranty expired on my knees…and hips…and ankles. This particular ballet is extra special to me because not only did my sis and I dance in the Nutcracker for years and years and years, but the San Fran Ballet was always the company I wanted to dance with the mostity most. All together now: AWWWWWWWW!!!! So the ballet was SO beautiful and it was SO great to see it (I seriously cried all the way through it since I am such a little bitch). It was also super specialness to see my God Ma and her family when we stayed with them Saturday night…and if this blog was all about sentiment, I would just focus on these things…but I don’t dig on mushiness, SO back to my point…

It was the getting there and back that had me worried. As much as we heart each other, my sis and I DO live together and we ARE sisters…so, you know, we tend to bicker…and 12 hours in a car together made me just a teensy weensy bit apprehensive. Especially because we simply cannot agree on music and who can drive without music!!?!?!? But then I dug deep in the depths of my Caselogic and out came Skid Row. And Guns & Roses. And Whitesnake. And Poison. And these 80s Metal Gods showered us with sweet salvation. What followed was some intense headbanging bonding sisterly love (not like that) action. And it was good. Oh yes. We totally rocked Interstate 5, my friends. I don’t want to point fingers, but one of us (it wasn’t me) might have even been inspired to flash a Greyhound bus.

It IS the holidays, and a lot of you might be seeing family. I know I am not the only one who doesn’t hail from Cleaverville, so this Christmas, I invite you all to discover the bonding powers of Sebastian Bach and Bret Michaels. You’ll thank me later.

*It’s next Tuesday, ya’ll…yeah, Christmas. Yes, it IS Christmas Day, OMG!

Again, thank you all so much for your generous contributions and amazing support. I continue to be deeply, deeply moved by the responses I have received, both financially and emotionally/verbally.

To donate via debit or credit card, please click on the PayPal link in the upper right corner.

Please contact me directly at dori_jennings@yahoo.com if you wish to donate via check.

Again, thank you so very much!!!! To learn more about our work in Kenya click here and here.

I don’t know how to fix the formatting so it shows the whole screen, so you can click here to go to the YouTube page. Thanks!

World of Difference specializes in giving African children a chance by helping communities build schools and train teachers, as well as assisting them with supplies needed to provide a proper education. The group will be composed of about 25 volunteers from all over the United States, and we will work in partnership with the local community volunteers to inspire and teach principles of self-reliance. You can visit their website http://www.makeaworldofdifference.org/ to find out more.

The cost of participating in the World of Difference 17-day expedition, which includes air travel, food, lodging, transportation and, most importantly, the building materials used to construct the school, is $3,750.00. I am working hard to raise this money through a variety of projects. Since all volunteers are responsible for covering their own expenses, I would be grateful for any donation you can make. It seems we’d all like to help those less fortunate than ourselves, but we often don’t know how. You can help sponsor me, while at the same time, help to provide schools for less fortunate children in Kenya. Any amount is appreciated, and every donation makes a difference. If you choose to lend your support, you’ll be pleased to know that World of Difference is an all-volunteer organization, so 100% of your contribution goes directly to aid this project. World of Difference is also an IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so your gift is tax deductible. My payment deadline is March 31, 2010.

You can donate with a debit or credit card via the PayPal link on the upper right side of this page. Should you have any questions about this volunteer humanitarian program, or to learn how to donate with a check, please email me at dori_jennings@yahoo.com. Your support, as well as that of your friends who might be interested in endorsing my endeavor, would be greatly appreciated. As I did in 2009, I plan on recording the expedition daily and posting my experiences here on this blog upon my return, and I look forward to sharing this extraordinary adventure with you!

Thank you in advance for your support!

The deadline for applying is approaching quickly so don’t delay! If you are at all interested (and I know you are!), please go to the website (http://www.makeaworldofdifference.org/), and fill out an application for Team A or Team B, whichever dates fits your life best.

As far as the job was concerned…it just became blindingly clear that commercial real estate appraisal would never be for me. Now, I THOUGHT this was maybe somewhat totally clear last summer when I was laid off from my other appraisal job. It had been the only firm I had ever been with and when this most recent firm called me up and offered me a job I thought “maybe I should try another firm”. Yeah…its the actual occupation. The thing is, I will just NEVER care all that much about a number. To me, that’s all it is. If you don’t know, commercial real estate appraisal means that you value income-producing real estate, which is anything from a four-plex apartment building to a downtown high rise office to a shopping center. It is the appraiser’s job to tell everyone a dollar figure for how much that building would get on an open market. And I just couldn’t care less is the REAL bottom line. When my coworkers are working 80+ hours every week and not going home to their spouses and children and are cranky all the time and swearing and shouting constantly…I just don’t get it. And I don’t really WANT to get it, you know? So for both of our best interests, I left.

And immediately jumped on a plane to Hawaii to camp on the north shore with the boyfriend for ten days. It was so freaking wonderful and awesome and totally worthy of its own post…which is coming…

…after I get through this first week of being back in school FULL TIME. It is so scary and exciting and rough and wonderful to be back! However, I might have totally forgotten how to study and do homework since its been about a hundred years since I’ve been in school. My bestest fried A Serious Girl (who OMG moved back to LA from NYC while I was in Hawaii and THAT is another AWESOME change in my life! OMG!!!) reminded me this week “growth only happens when you leave your comfort zone”, and I am certainly out of my freakin’ comfort zone right now, I’ll tell you! But you know what’s awesome? I am SO on my way to achieving the career that I actually dream about and for which I have SO much passion. And that? Is just about radical.

Before pressing “play” please remember that this is a horror film and, as such, some images and subject matter might not be for everyone.