Week 2 in Review

Squeaks's Top 5:

1. A look back with fellow volunteers at our year-end stint at four colonias in Ensenada, Mexico. Missing those carne asada and adobada tacos from El Poblano...
2. Thanks, Blood Centers of the Pacific, for my "1-gallon donor" pin...and then poking and prodding me for another >300 mL. Couldn't fill the pint-sized bag this time (blasted tiny veins!), but assured that they could use what they got.
3. Four thumbs up (borrowed my guy's two) for "The King's Speech," which we enjoyed even more with Mum who remembers listening to King George VI on the radio as a child in Singapore. It may not have fared as well as hoped at the Golden Globes tonight, but at least (dreamy) Colin Firth represented.
4. Relnsp Bldg 101 update - Good times with cool neighbors (mmm...lamb tagine), close family (Skype date with overseas aunts; Happy Birthday, big sis!), and church community (take the 1-minute testimony challenge). So very grateful!
5. New restaurant picks of the week: The Vault (brunch), Green Chile Kitchen (New Mexican), Lilly's/Da Pitt BBQ (take out).

The BBC's Top 5:

1. Flooding in Brazil, "the worst natural disaster in at least 40 years," has killed >600 people in the mountainous area near Rio de Janeiro. Steady rainfall is expected to continue into next week.
2. Former President Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier returns from exile in France to his homeland, claiming intentions to "help the people of Haiti" -- as the country enters its second year of recovery from ruins following the massive earthquake.
3. Scientists are exploring the Marianas Trench, the deepest part of the ocean, to "enhance our understanding of how the deep trenches contribute to carbon cycling in the world's oceans." (Big grins in nerd-dom.)
4. "Tensions remain high in Tunisia," which has been in a state of emergency since ousted President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali "fled amid widespread anti-government protests."
5. U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, shot in the head last weekend in Arizona by alleged gunman Jared Loughner, has been upgraded from "critical" to "serious" condition after being successfully taken off a ventilator. (Go girl!)

A new week (with new opportunities) ahead. Ready,... set,... GO.