::
2008 28 October :: 2.06pm
:: Music: Led Zeppelin - Since I Been Loving You
My dad sent this article to me and some of my uncles today:
http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2008-10-05-1.html
My response: Looking at the recipient list just now, I found myself playing a game of "one of these is not like the other." I do appreciate the opposing viewpoint though. Mr. Card actually had me for a while, up until he started engaging in the same mean-spirited mudslinging and finger-pointing that he accuses our Congress of. To tell you the truth, I'm still boggled we're having this discussion when it comes to our Congress. The Democrats took it over four years ago and have gotten about as much done as the former occupants. It seems, at this point, we should be able to agree on one thing: that the majority of our elected officials are about as effective as the Detroit Lions (please note that this has been the true for both for approximately the same period of time). I can tell you one thing that your favorite bleeding-heart liberal nephew/son believes: he wouldn't have voted for that bailout plan if he was given the chance. God forbid the lenders (and the homeowners, for that matter) take responsibility for getting us into this mess. Then again, this in some way probably highlights my naive ignorance when it comes to macro-economics... I really gotta take a class in that stuff.
I can tell you one (other) thing though, it's never been a better time to be a poor graduate student living in one of the most expensive urban hubs in the U.S. Economic crisis? What economic crisis?
Oh, by the way, you can't give much credence to anything that Orson Scott Card guy says. He writes sci-fi. I read a book he edited about 'Lost.' Seriously. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Scott_Card What, are we going to start looking to Kurt Vonnegut for political viewpoints now? ;-)
I was talking to a student today who has shown up for only a handful of classes this semester and who is serious jeopardy of not passing if they choose to stick with the class as opposed to withdrawing. I felt like I was taking an empathic, but firm, stance on their performance thus far in the class. Then, after the student left, the instructor after me remarked about how nice I was to the student, and that she is a lot tougher/meaner in those situations. Normally, I would have felt discouraged by that, but I'm finally to a point to where I'm comfortable enough in that it just felt more ironic than anything else. It's true, though... except in very rare cases where they really piss me off, I don't know how to be an asshole. I blame my upbringing for my inability to be a true sonuvabitch while in a position of authority. On the other side, I've been on the other side on the coin for most of my life, and I know, or at least believe, that management by intimidation and outright dick-age doesn't work that well either. Where's that thin line between democratic, authoritarian, and outright pushover? I'm still learning. I guess we all are.
Another question: Where's that line between resolute and stubborn? I've always believed in upholding your values, whatever they may be, but when it comes at the cost of everything else, when do you just give in, mostly because that thing just doesn't matter to you enough to get all bend out of shape over? I know I'm sounding overly dramatic, and it's not meant to be. Once again, this is just me evaluating my own behavior, trying to strike that perfect balance. Funny me, I keep thinking an evenhanded temperament is the true key to an utopian society.
In any event, my stomach is screaming at me. Time to feed the beast.
P.S. The titles for the first six episodes of Season 5 are out, and are as tantalizing as usual. Check them out behind the cut. And if you don't know what show I'm talking about, maybe you should take another look at my journal background.
I just finished the house-cleaning of my Gmail account that's been ongoing for a little while now.
I now have a mere 66 total messages, which has to be an all-time low since I started teaching.
Meanwhile, I have 462 messages in my trash...
I find it amazing that if I go in the hallway of our apartment and walk down all the way to the other end of the building (approximately 50 feet), I can still clearly hear my iTunes playing. And yet, we've never received a complaint about the noise. For that reason alone, I'm not sure I ever want to move.
I want to ask you
Do you ever sit and wonder
It's so strange
That we could be together for so long
And never know, never care
What goes on in the other one's head
Things I've felt but I never said
You said things that I never said
So I'll say something that I should have said long ago
You don't know me
You don't know me at all
You don't know me
You don't know me at all
(At all...)
You could have just propped me up on the table like a mannequin
Or a cardboard stand up and paint me (paint me anything)
Any face that you wanted me to be
See, we're damned by the existential moment
Where we saw the couple in the coma
And it was we who were the cliche
But we carried on anyway
So sure I can just close my eyes
Yeah, sure, trace and memorize
But can you go back once you know?
You don't know me
You don't know me at all
You don't know me
You don't know me at all
(At all...)
You don't know me
You don't know me at all
You don't know me
You don't know me
If I'm the person that you think I am (Ahh....)
Clueless chump you seem to think I am (Ahh...)
So easily led astray, an errant dog who occasionally escapes and needs a shorter leash then
Why the fuck would you want me back?
Maybe it's because...
You don't know me at all
(Ahhhh, ahh...)
You don't know me, you don't know me
(Ahhhh, ahh...)
So what I'm trying to say is
What I'm trying to tell you is not going to come out like I want to say it
Cause I know you'll only change it
Say it
You don't know me
You don't know me at all
You don't know me
You don't know me at all
(At all...)
You don't know me
You don't know me at all
You don't know me
You don't know me at all
(At all!)
::
2008 16 October :: 2.34pm
:: Music: Sons and Daughters
To everyone who will never see this:
(This isn't about you. If you think it's about you, it's not. It's about a certain vous.)
Not everyone's religion is your religion. You can't just push your views on me and I can't just push my views on you.
I believe in God. But my god seems to be a little nicer than your god. And if that makes me wrong, or a heathen or whatever, I don't care. I'm living in a happy, nice world with a happy, nice God who loves everyone, where free will means free happiness and where people are happy and love each other. If that's not a world you like, that's fine because it's my world. And I'm happy here.
I just don't understand why anyone would want people to not be happy.
I don't understand how what you do makes you happy. Does judging others make you feel better? Does alienating your friends and family make you happy? If it does, then that's fine. I'd only ever want you to be happy. But if it doesn't? Why do you keep doing it?
Ok, yes I never go on here anymore, but to be fair, I really am not on the internet that much because I still have the computer i started college with and it is...tired.
Here Are my comments on the last couple entries by my Miche;;e though...
CONGRATS ON THE JOB I LOVE YOU.
You saw Jenny Lewis? *jealous* I am so into Rilo Kiley right now and I really like her new Cd too.
As for the whole HArry Potter thing, I could take it or leave it. I like the world of HP as a whole. The guy who plays him is sorta whatev.
I do want to come visit, but right now I am having trouble paying y bills...I guess that means I should ge a real job, but I have no idea what i want to do so I am havign a tough time. I have a really great support sysem here though, so I am optimistic.
I am sorry I suck at woohu, but here is my entry. Enjoy.
Nick's little sister got married last night. She turns 20 in November. As much of a horrible ideas as I thought getting married at that age was, after it all, I am so happy for Jess and Ryan. They obviously love and care for each other quite a bit and share the same ideas and faith. They're both silly and a little ditzy. And besides, people probably think the idea of Nick and I getting married is ridiculous too.
In the end, I had so much fun dancing and dressing up and partying and celebrating with them that none of it mattered. Not waking up at 7 to get my hair sprayed into a fake updo at 8:45. Not getting my makeup done and feeling guilty about Nick's mom spending over 200 dollars. Not the stupid fights we had only weeks before. The only thing that mattered was seeing Jess walk down that aisle yesterday and feeling so happy for her. For everyone.
Lost Character Cup
So, as one of my new Lost-hiatus pastimes, I entered into DarkUFO's (www.darkufo.blogspot.com) March-Madness style tournament where you predict user-favorite Lost characters, and the winner gets a copy of the Season 4 set. They recently finished a similar contest for favorite Episodes, but my predictions were a bit off on that one. I am proud to say, however, that I ended up 33rd (out of 1214 users) for the Character Cup. Alas, I don't have anything to show for it, but it's nice to know I know my Lost characters.
So the doggies went to the vet to get their teeth cleaned yesterday. Since they have to put them under to do it, they do a blood test first. According to the test it wasn’t fully likely that Callaway would wake up afterward, so only Shelby got her teeth cleaned. For whatever reason they did further blood tests, Callie’s kidneys appear to be failing :-(
I filled out my app for degree yesterday and Pichot turned it in to the office today. I'm graduating in May. This is the weirdest, scariest feeling I've felt since those four months in France. And I feel bad eating Tums like candy here.
Classes are going okay. Ceramics class sucks because on a scale from one to a lot, I have negative five art skills. And there are art students in class even though the title specifically says FOR NON-MAJORS. GET OUT OF MY CLASS, ART KIDS, YOU'RE MAKING MY BAD ART LOOK WORSE.
! الØمد لله
I started my last year of college last week. I do not want to talk about how much this is freaking me out.
I am so sorry that I haven't updated lately but things have been crazy. On Mondays and Thursdays, I have class from 9am - 7pm with 5 minutes between classes and work crammed in there too. Otherwise, I have one or two classes.
Here's the rundown:
Mondays/Thursdays
I have Cartography at 9. This class is awesome because I've always wanted to be a useless cartographer and it's taught by Bieneman. Did I ever tell you I had his wife in elementary school? She was my fourth grade teacher. Her mother passed away this week.
At 10:50, I go to work until 1:25.
Don't even get me started on these new kids. They deserve their own post.
At 1:40, I have French Film and Lit. It's only the second week of school and I already am just reading the SparkNotes. The class would be so much less painful with you girls but I'm surviving okay with...the one girl whose name I still don't know after four years and some other girl.
Five minutes after the end of French class, I have Ceramics. It's really just a class to help me calm down but I've already broken two pots and found two very not artistic buddies. I am so not artsy.
Five minutes after the end of feeling dumb, I have Arabic. Which is, quite frankly, awesome. It is difficult but a ton of fun. I feel like such a genius when I get a word right or when I understand what's going on. Also: heritage! I hope I get to talk to my mom's relatives before the kick the bucket because now I know my blood languages (as my mom calls it).
Tuesdays/Fridays
I have a confession to make. Because I couldn't afford the textbook and he stressed homework so much, I dropped my history class. So now I have to take it next semester.
In other news, at 10:50, I have Tai Chi. Which is reaching Folk and Square Dance in awesomeness. The prof learned Tai Chi directly from some famous family who created a form of Tai Chi. He is a hoot. I have a thousand stories from him. He fell off a curb and landed on cement about a year ago and had trouble walking again. His hip hurt when he walked so he couldn't walk across the room until he tried doing Tai Chi. When he walked by doing his Tai Chi moves, his hip didn't hurt any more. Since he is injured, his wife does most of the demonstrations. She also helps him remember how old he is when he adds thirteen years to his age. Both of them are pretty old, 60s and 70s, but they are hilarious. He calls himself Monk and his wife Natalie Teager. Most of the class is taken up by his stories.
On Tuesdays, I have Arabic at 6 (work before that (10:50 to 5) but I have Arabic only Mondays through Thursdays so I just have Tai Chi and work on Fridays.
On Wednesdays, I am not working for the first time in my life. So all I have is Arabic at 6. I sleep, I read, I do homework, I relax.
Overall, this semester is awesome but very stressful. I have a lot of work ahead of me.
So this is what live blogging is like...
I gotta hand it to you, John (or better yet, your campaign managers).
- You waited less than 12 hours (!!) to quell the enthusiasm of Obama's speech to announce your VP pick; I've seen vultures work slower than that. You go steal those headlines, John! Show them how politics is about the people, and not just a game!
- Your pick is a plain-spoken (anagram pun intended), middle-aged female governor from Alaska who shares a name with one of the funniest Monty Python members. Kudos on your successful Hilary-cloning experiment, John! And nice touch picking a brunette... nobody will catch on to that one!
- Not only does your VP pick come from a state whose capital is Juneau (totally boss), she's got a son in the military! Take that, Obama! Michelle, you better ship one of the cute little girls of yours off ASAP.
Standing up to 'politics as usual,' eh? You show them, John. You show them exactly what we are trying to get away from.
