I'm in LA this week.

I'm staying at the W in Westwood. It's very overcast, so I'm hanging out in my room. They always upgrade me when I visit. It's nice. I have a separate little living room to the bedroom.

I've already wrecked the place with my "piles" of stuff that drive David crazy at home. The room service guy didn't know where to put the tray last night. He almost fell over on some books on his way to the table across the room. Am I messy? I don't think of myself as messy. But, I dunno.

I may go out later to see if I can get a chocolate chip cookie somewhere. I'm craving one all the sudden. And a bottle of wine. And David. We're starting to figure out this dating thing and how to be loving and supportive of each other. It's so nice. I honestly miss him.

Too bad I'm moving in a couple weeks. I'm transferring to LA with the agency. They're putting me in corporate housing starting June 11th. It'll give me some time to figure out where to live. Buy a car. All that good stuff. I really love the people in the new office. I hope LA is full of more like them. They're smart, cool, creative. Real.

I'm here all week. I have to do a quick trip to Chicago tomorrow through Wed for groups, but then back to LA Thurs/Friday. I head home to NY next weekend. And then off to Ted's wedding in St. Croix the weekend after that. That should be fun. With all this going on, I need to figure out when to say goodbye to my friends.

I went to CVS last night to stock up on some of the stuff I forgot to pack -- makeup and junk. I found myself looking for a belated Mother's Day card. I couldn't find one. I guess there's not a big market for that sort of thing. I've got to get better about not letting my personal life fall apart when I get busy at work. Today is Luke's first communion! I would've loved to be there, but it's just so much travel. I'll send him cash or a gift instead.

I bought the movie, "The Break-up" at CVS to watch in my room. I really liked it! It's true Chicago and actually made me a little homesick. I didn't think I missed Chicago. But the movie reminded me of so many of my favorite things -- the Cubs vs. Sox bit in the beginning, concerts at the Riv, the Lake, the Chicago River, Vince Vaughn in those ridiculous Polish Pride T-shirts!! Go Polacks! I grew up a Sox fan btw, so while I've attended my share of games at Wrigley, I've never rooted for the Cubs a day in my life. It's sacrilege.

I haven't done much on my Raising Malawi initiative lately. My last fundraiser idea fell through because I couldn't attend my "One Woman Show" graduation in New York due to this new business pitch I'm on. Maybe I'll do a reprise. I was thinking about a fundraiser going-away party. But that limits me to my NY connections. I have a long way to go to meet my money goal this year.

I need a big idea!

Maybe I'll rent out my NY apartment for charity one week at a time? Stay a week, donate $500 to charity. You get the write-off, plus cool digs in the world's most amazing city. I want to renovate it first. But that could be a good idea provided I can still afford to pay the mortgage.

I've gotta focus my priorities. How much will I do for vulnerable children? In my head, I think everything and anything. But in my actions, I've been stopped.

Hunger and malnutrition kill nearly 6 million children in the world each year. If you have ever seen a starving child, you can't "un-see" it. But for some reason, we all try. Somehow it's not our problem. Truthfully, I'm not a big fan of taking on problems. I am, however, really inspired by participating in programs that deliver smart solutions.

Feed the Children has a cool program going on right now. They recently received a donation of 11-million pounds of rice from the government of Taiwan . Eleven million pounds! This is very exciting. So, they've got the food, but they need money to transport it from Taiwan to Kenya. $20 = 1,000 meals to starving, malnourished kids. If this inspires you, you can make a donation to Feed the Children.

A friend also turned me on to Heifer International. It's a great program to end hunger in 50 countries while providing a means for sustainable living. Buy a family a cow, the cow gives milk to a village. Buy a sheep, the sheep provides clothing for a community. Buy a chicken, you have eggs and food. You get the point.

And, of course, if you've found yourself on my blog for whatever reason, please please please send me a note to let me know that I'm not totally alone out here. You can click on this link to donate to Raising Malawi. And if you do, please RSVP on this blog or send me a private email (jsilka@yahoo.com) with how much you've donated so I can count it against my goal.

If you donated last year, please don't feel like you have to stop there ;) We're not finished yet! Be a channel for the Light. If you give, you will NOT be left without. You'll just have a bigger vessel for giving. It's like pumping weights. The more you pump the bigger your body gets. The more you give, the more capacity you have for giving. Spiritually, what I believe happens is that you expand your capacity to receive. The abundant Universe fills that void unconditionally. You have more so you can give more. You're just the vessel. Let yourself be used. If there is money in your pocket right now, it may be earmarked by some higher good as a gift.

Don't block that energy. Give it already! It'll only come back to you tenfold.

Look, so I started this "charity/tithing adventure" a year ago as a test. And I trusted the process. I gave more than I've ever given before, and my life is bigger today than ever before and only getting bigger. I'm meeting so many great people and I'm falling in love with my life. My life has purpose. I'm happy.

Buddy up with me! Write me a note. Join me on this amazing adventure of expanding yourself and being a contribution in the world.

What else is the point?