Back again...

Hmmm. It's been a long while since I posted. I don't really know what to say. Sometimes you've got a lot to say and some times you just don't. I guess I just clammed up because I'd run my mouth enough and snapped my camera enough to satisfy my appetite for exhibitionism. After all, that's our elders' generation's description of our own foibles and explanation of our world view–honestly, it's frustrating.

Anyhow–my, how the world has changed in the last year and a few months. First, Iraq is not an absolute disaster and the surge has worked better than any of us could ever have imagined. The question is, is the improvement in the security situation in Iraq (read: how many people are kidnapped or blown up every day) due to the increase in the absolute number of troops in Iraq or is it more attributable to the insurgents' anticipation of the coming withdrawal. Second, our country has apparently gotten over its long standing antipathy and prejudice against women and black people by roundly supporting Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in their respective bids for the Democratic nomination for the Presidency of the United States. However, will white men be able to put away their long standing distrust of these candidates in order to put one of these two over the top of McCain's limited reach? Third, I've once again fallen in love with a wonderful woman. But, will Gwen Ifill feel the same way about me that I feel about her? After all, she has one of the demanding journalist's career to think about–but apparently no husband or children. Thirty years is only a substantial difference in age if you haven't seen Harold and Maude. :) But in all honesty, this last year has been an absolute rollercoaster. I don't know whether I've just gotten off or whether I've just signed on for another tour of duty.

My job is fulfilling enough. I come home every day exhausted emotionally and physically. I'm sure that my poor diet and lack of exercise don't help at all in that. Who knew that there would be that much to political direct mail. I know more about the postal process than I ever thought that I would. I was all but offered a job as a postal inspector during a recent visit to a Southern Californian postal facility. Do postal inspectors get guns? I can take more wrath, stress, starving, sleep-deprivation, denigration, embarrassment and self-scrutiny than ever before. I can't believe that being a Navy SEAL is any more demanding than my current job–I shit you not. Of all the professional experiences that I've had in my life, my current position outpaces all others in stress, dedication and coordination–combined! You wonder why I don't call you or email you to hang out. I can't, really. Give me a week or two and I'll get back to you.

The library lost a book I returned. This is great. I'm going to have to pay $110 because som esnot-nosed student library employee had a brain fart and forgot to discharge the book. The best part is that the dumb circulation supervisor blamed it on me because I returned it to the wrong slot at the circ desk. Pshaw, I worked in a library for four years - you can't blame this shit on me, I know how the system works!

Finals are in full swing. Done tomorrow. I can't believe there are this many people willing to sacrifice sleep and sanity for the purpose of good grades here in the dungeon-like basement of Moffitt. Some of these people have undoubtedly been down here through the entire day. We're all going to turn in to moles.

I walked at graduation last week. That was fun, but I didn't have the same feeling of excitement that I had during high school gaduation. I think this period in my life is just filled with so much trepidation that it's hard to be excited. Although, what is it, the Chinese word for danger is the same the word for opportunity?

I got my internship in DC the week before last, so that's good. I'll be working in the American Academy of Diplomacy doing god-knows-what. I'm excited about it.

Something funny a bum said to me just now while on my way back from work, "Can I have a dollar-fifty?" Me says, "No." His immediate reply was, "I don't need you, you'll find that out when you get to Satan." Thanks a lot buddy.

Spring break over now

Now that spring break is over we are coming up on the final stretch of the semester - and my final semester of college, at that. There are so many things that I wanted to do during college that I have never had the time, motivation, or money to do. To be sure, I have had a "college experience" over the last four years, but it's hard to say that it was anything like I expected it would be when I was coming out of high school. There are so many things that I would do differently had I to do it all over again. This is a time in young peoples live when we are supposed to be excited about life and our prospects but I am just tired, unmotivated, regretful of my bad grades and wasted time, and especially the crushing burden of debt that terrifies and depresses me. Here's to tomorrow.

Some comments about things going on in the country right now:
1) Immigration: Where did this issue come from? It just kind of popped out of nowhere all of a sudden. Everyone's acting like we have to act on this, like, NOW
or the whole world will be swallowed up by a horde of Mexican immigrants. This has been an issue for years (and is made an issue every few years as a way to get xenophobes riled up) and didn't just sprout up right now. Why is everyone getting their panties in a bunch right now?
Also, it seems like there's an easy solution to this problem. What I think is going to happen is that the McCain-Kennedy senate bill will steamroll the Sensenbrenner house bill in conference and we'll have a guest worker program with an avenue to citizenship and maybe some stepped up enforcement of labor laws and border security. Let's just do it and get it over with.

2) Does anyone really expect a "white house shake up" to change the formulation of policy that is coming out of the white house this late in the game? Swapping out Andy Card for Josh Bolten is about as big of a shake up as switching vanilla for vanilla bean ice cream. If they sacked Rumsfeld and put in Lieberman - bang, that would mean something.

3) Why hasn't DeLay been thrown in jail? The guys is dirty, dirty, dirty and dows damage to America. Shame on him.

Just venting. TTYL.

Spring Break - wooooooo!

We're all on spring break right now. I spent Monday fulfilling my civic obligation through performing my jury duty. I had to go all the way out to Martinez (luckily I had my mom's car). I didn't mind the summons for jury uty that much and I kind of thought it might be an interesting experience if I were put on a jury: I figure it's going to happen sooner or later anyway and I have spring break to do it right now. But when they brought us into the courtroom they told us that it was a criminal trial with the charges of murder and rape and there was the possibility of a death penalty. The judge said that the trial might last two to three months as well! Geez - screw civic obligation. I've got to  graduate. I, and half of the potential juror pool, applied for an exemption. My basis being the financial burden, setting my life back six months, and prior travel plans. The judgge let me go.

It was kind of creepy to be sitting in the same courtroom as a probable murderer. The judge introduced the defense, including the defendent, and the prosecution before telling us what the charges were. When the defendent, Richard Frasier, looked at all of us I could tell that he was trying to look as nice as possible but there was a look of guilt and extreme remorse in his eyes. He knew he had fucked up and that, in all likelihood, he was going to have to pay - big time. Once the judge announced the charges, many of the potential jurors gasped in disbelief and shock and the woman next to me sounded like she was hyperventilating. There he was, an accused and probable murderer and rapist, not fifteen feet away from us, with little more between him and us than a three foot tall partition and a 60 year old unarmed bailiff who looked more interested in hairstyles than justice.

Once I got home from Martinez, I looked up the specifics of the case and was shocked to see how strong the state's case against Mr. Frasier was. The details of the case were grisly and the whole episode left me feeling pretty queasy and uninterested in catching up on my assigned reading.

Anyhow, I've spent the last couple of days hanging out and working at the library. It's amazing how many people are still using the libraries even during spring break - then again I do work at the B-School, which is quite possible the largest depository of human ambition in the East Bay. It's also amazing how abrasive patrons have been over the past few days. Either people are getting worse or I'm just getting sick of dealing with their crap, or probably both. The one upshot of working this week is that I've been downloading a lot of news commentary in podcast format so that I can listen to it and learn when I'm doing some mind numbing task at the library.

Back to procrastination, more later.

David Gilmour's new release

I'm excited to listen to the new David Gilmour album. Most young me go through a phase when they listen to a lot of Pink Floyd and so it's nice to have some more music that sounds like it comes from the same creative vein.

Marvels of modern technolog

I'm blogging while sitting out on Sproul Plaza right now - this is so awesome. I love technolgy.

Back to real life

Right, anyhow. I'm back in the Bay now. It's been a few moths since I posted (if anyone cares). When I got back I started working a lot to save up money for my summer internship. I'll be living in DC (barring any real job openings between now and summer) and making no money working at a non-profit, an congressman's office, or, ideally, some kind of a public policy agency. Between the 27th of December and when school started on the 17th of January I tried to spend as much time as possible with the friends that I hadn't seen much of in the prior eight months and the friends that I wouldn't be seeing for a while.

I made a visit to LA to see my family down there and hang out with some of the kids from Vietnam. We had a really great time. We also saw the Vietnamese culture night show at UCLA and it was pretty good. But I have to say that Berkeley puts one on that is just as good or better - each your heart out UCLA.

Since school started I've been hitting the books pretty hard. I've got a lot of reading to do thanks to professors Levy and Hoshour, but at least all of the reading is interesting and contributing to my humble body of knowledge. I tried to do some recruiting for the EAP Vietnam program but the adviser only contacted us with a few weeks before the deadline so I don't think that we got any kids to come out for the program. Hopefully some of the second year students that we talked to will keep it in mind for next year and maybe they'll apply then.

Anyway, back to real life.

These are the steps that lead into the Perfume Pagoda.

Some of the scenery on the way to the Perfume Pagoda.

I made a trip to the Perfume Pagoda on Sunday. Supposedly it's the most remote pagoda in Vietnam.