My Striptease :-p

My Trip to Ecuador

Hey guys,

I’ve been in Ecuador for a little over a week and it’s been a fascinating experience. I’m so lucky that my work allows me these opportunities. I figured I’d jot down a few things I’ve found interesting about Ecuador. So here’s what I’ve got. I’ll just spit these out as they come to mind:

1. They use the Dollar as they’re official currency, except when using change – weird.
2. The tallest building I’ve seen is no more than 12 stories.
3. They call pets “Mascotas” meaning mascot – I found this super interesting – so your pet represents you as a mascot would. Hmmm.
4. No one washes their cars. A car is to get from point A to point B, who cares if its clean??? I didn’t see a carwash in the whole city!!
5. The KFC has fried shrimp!!!! Awesome!!!
6. The fastfood joints are all off the chain, better than in the U.S. – with granite counters inside and even at the drive-thru!!
7. All the drivers are constantly honking for “preventative measures”
8. Their art is absolutely amazing!!!!!
9. Summer starts in Jan. so school is off until May.
10. They’re religious by tradition but there aren’t a lot of churches…although I see a lot of pictures of Jesus on people’s windows…
11. People are nowhere near as overweight as we are in the U.S.
12. I’m the only blonde.
13. The people are ridiculously nice.
14. All the roads are one-way’s.
15. I’m the only crazy person hauling my dog around in a tiny bag…
16. They’re fascinated by my mac.
17. They don’t use daylight savings so the time never changes.
18. The people are very enterprising, there’s like a billions stores everywhere and you can buy lotto tickets, corn, magazines, crackers or water from people, even kids, standing at every intersection.
19. Water bottles are 20 cents!!!! I’m buying a truckload to send home.
20. They’re soda’s come in like 4 liters!! “What the hell can u do w/ a 2 liter?” is apparently they’re motto.
21. They have store knock-offs: lol! They have a Sunglass Hot and a store just like Macy’s with the red name and star but it’s sooo not Macy’s – I forgot the name.

I gotta give it to them though, I don’t really miss home all that much. They really got it together here. I’ve truly enjoyed my stay and will most definitely miss the people here when I go home.

Chaise

Am I Atheist?

This blog is in response to a question that was posed to me..

Question:

I was reading your profile and I have to ask you – what exactly is an atheist? Say for example that I make the statement, “There is no gold in China.” Well, for that statement to be true, I would have to know everything there is to know about China (in every cave, under the ground, in every home, and in every Chinese persons’ tooth). The minute I find even the smallest gram of gold, then my statement would have to be incorrect – right?

Therefore, when the atheist says, “There is no God” she is essentially saying that she knows every conceivable thing about the universe, under every premise, and with 100% certainty. This is completely impossible – even for you.

It’s like making the statement, “There is no truth” because what you’re actually saying is that “It’s true that there is no truth” which is a logical
contradiction.

Creation is proof that there is a creator.
If something is made, then there must be a maker. That is the proof of the existence of God plain and simple. The burden of proof lies on you to disprove that something that was made has no maker.

So your not really an atheist, you’re an agnostic right?

Let me know your thoughts,

Anonymous

My Response:

“Atheism is either the positive belief that no deity exists, the rejection of the belief that at least one deity exists, or simply the absence of this belief.” -wikipedia

I don’t believe there is a creator or some personified version of an entity that deserves to be worshiped. I don’t believe in the bible as truth, I don’t believe Jesus is the son of God or that he even existed for that matter. I’m not saying that it’s an absolute truth that there is no God, but I, don’t believe there is.

I’ve done weeks of research (my dad was a preacher and I had to make a strong case to get out of going to church) to come to the conclusion that religion is a made up institution along with any God’s that any religion refers to. I believe in science. I believe in evolution. And I have no reservations about saying this.

Finally, the idea that “Creation is proof that there is a creator. If something is made, then there must be a maker.” is a contradicting statement, because if we decide to agree with this, then how do you explain how God got here. Was he not created?? And further, if he wasn’t created and he’s just always been here…can we not say the same for the universe? Why can’t IT have always been here? You see how this doesn’t make any sense. It’s not a valid “case and point.”

I’ll quote you here: “The burden of proof lies on you to disprove that something that was made has no maker.” So are you saying God MUST have a maker? And if so, his maker must also have a maker and so on.

Look, I’m not trying to convince anyone that God doesn’t exist, I’m just saying WHAT I BELIEVE, and I respect what you believe. YOU CAN’T PROVE THAT GOD DOES EXIST, AND I CAN’T PROVE THAT HE DOESN’T. So we’re back to where we started.

Sorry if I’ve once again offended anyone with my stance on this subject.

Chaise

Blogging from Ecuador

Hey what’s up guys. Checkin in from South America. I Arrived in Ecuador on Tuesday and I’m here for about 12 days. I was sent here to do some photoshoots for Quaker Oats and Buchanan’s ads – super cool. Everyone here has been really nice and I’m truly enjoying my stay. I love to travel and experience different cultures – and this place is SO different than anywhere I’ve ever been. Mainly because it’s so poor – around 70% of the population is living below the poverty line – so you can imagine what it looks like. Most of the houses here have metal sheets for roofs and there’s kids on the street offering to clean your car or selling corn – some of them are even barefoot! It’s kinda sad but all the people here seem really happy.

Anyway, tomorrow I leave to Salina’s – near the Galapagos (which is part of Ecuador). That should be interesting. I’ll be there for the weekend and I should really go diving and explore but I’m the biggest punk when it comes to getting in the ocean. Yes, I’m scared of being bitten or attacked by some creature who’s not very happy about my visiting them. I prefer to stay on the sand and work on my tan.

I started a photoalbum here on myspace for my pictures from Ecuador, check them out when you get a chance. I’m posting some here on the blog to save you come clicks. I’ll check back with you guys later.

Besos (kisses) from ya girl,
Chaise

Right America?

I’m pretty sure I may offend some folks with this entry, although those that may be offended I’m sure are less likely to read this blog anyway…so here it goes. Yesterday I watched HBO’s special “Right America: Feeling Wronged.” Here are my thoughts.

“In 2008, I followed the McCain campaign across the country to listen to Americans who did not want Barack Obama to be their President. While not representative of the entire Republican Party, these are just some of the party faithful who turned out at campaign rallies along the way.”
- Alexandra Pelosi

If you haven’t already seen this you should do yourself a favor and check it out. I have so many things to say about this that I don’t know where to begin. First, I just have to say that these people have to be some of the most ignorant amongst us. They completely lack introspection and any desire to gather and understand factual information. And do you want to know what the culprit is for this kind of behavior? RELIGION. Christianity…especially Evangelical…this religion teaches the worst thing any human being can be taught – NOT TO QUESTION. You must believe what’s in the Bible and if you for one minute question the existence of God or that this book actually contains the story of the beginning of humankind, then you’re going to hell for eternity.

When I was a little girl, my parents joined one of these churches and they quickly became obsessed. Soon we were going to church every day and this reality became my whole world. Imagine The Truman Show if you will – that’s what it was like for me. I remember being in middle school studying evolution and refusing to stay in the room to learn these LIES!! “We came from Adam and Eve” I proclaimed, and stormed out of the classroom. Soon after this experience I learned there was an entire world out there that I had not been exposed to – no wait, that I was being kept from.

The point is that, I understand where the ignorance grows from – how you’re taught that, and that it’s hard to change, but c’mon folks – I was questioning the entire fabric of this institution when I was 12. You’re 40, what’s your excuse? And the fact that this character flaw, instilled in you by religion would roll over into other parts of your life like political decisions is inexcusable.

Why is it that this belief is supposed to teach love, peace, and unity. Yet it only professes judgement, hate, and disapproval of all who do not share your belief?

Here are the changes you now face:

You have a black president.
Gay people will soon have the same rights as you.
Roe v. Wade will not be overturned – give this a rest already, it’s been 36 yrs.

I know it seems like the world is going to end, but believe me it will not.  How immature and self-absorbed do you have to be to cry about these changes? Oh and please explain how you’re the right america and we’re the wrong america? How you’re more american than I. Do you mean that you’re a traditionalist and the rest of us are not? Because that is a more accurate depiction of our differences. Is this not how people who rode horses in the past felt about automobiles? Well the traditional one’s at least – the rest of the world embraced the change. Just as you now have to or you will be left behind along with our former modes of transportation.

“Change is hard. Change is hardest on those caught by surprise. Change is hardest on those who have difficulty changing too. But change is natural; change is not new; change is important.” – David Schlesinger

Chaise