Immigration and Border Patrol

Yes, I remember I said I would write about politics. No, I hadn't gotten around it yet. I downloaded this spiffy mac program for blogging called Ecto (haha... windows users be jealous... as a mac users, there's tons more where this came from) and it's helping me at least start the entries I mean to write, then I can go back later and upload them. Right now I have 3 or 4 that are started... look for me to catch up on those soon.

ANYWAY, there are a couple recent political things I'd like to comment on.

I am retarded and still occasionally read the blog of the most ignorant and immature person I know (well, top 3 anyway). I guess I do this because I hope that someday he will open his eyes, but as well all know, you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink. Anyway, yesterday he said this (formatted exactly as I have below):

" 'Justice, for Illegal immigrants'

Is it just me or does that not make any sense at all, i read that in the AJC a few days ago."

Apparently he's forgotten that the purpose of the justice system is to deal fairly and justly with those who do not obey the law, so clearly that sentence makes sense. Maybe he just hasn't looked up the word justice (I wouldn't be surprised). However, even more than this his opinion of immigrants shines through in that simple little statement. I suppose this may be the opinion of many Americans, although this kid actually is on the extreme side as far as it comes to intolerance (he is the one that justifies the war and prisoner abuse by saying they did it to us, so we do it to them). I'm actually quite surprised at our dear President's stance on this, although to be honest I haven't read much beyond him telling everyone not to fear immigrants (the irony of him telling people not to use fear is amazing). So, I figured I'd post my thoughts, being an immigrant.

A little background on my immigration to the United States. I came here with my family when I was just 4 years old. To my knowledge, we arrived legally. We followed all the proper procedure for becoming residents and naturalized citizens. But, if you recall, I did not become a citizen until roughly half a year ago, and my dad and I are the only citizens in my family, despite everyone applying together. So, what happened?

When we first applied (all together) they lost 4 of 5 applications. All except my Dad. He went on to become a citizen in 1996. Because we had to reapply (and hence save up again to reapply, since it's not exactly cheap), I did not receive a green card until 2000. Yep... some 12 years after having arrived. I wasn't that interested in becoming a citizen (much like my sister) until I chose to do AE and realized it would be necessary. So I applied.

Here is what happens when you apply for something with the former INS/current department of homeland security. You send it in. They send it back saying that (although you were meticulous in providing everything they asked for) you are still missing something. You send that something in. They send it back, saying that since your original application date, the fees have increased. Rinse, repeat. Finally, about 1 year after beginning the original application (and considering that I am the daughter of a citizen and that should help me out) I was naturalized. I figured life would be much easier now that I am a citizen. Did the problems end there? Certainly not. Just the other day (Sunday) while waiting to disembark our ship in Port Canaveral, I heard my name being called over the ship's loudspeaker asking me to go to immigration. Hmm... I wondered what could be the problem. When I arrived, they asked for my identification and I showed them my naturalization certificate (I didn't have enough time to get a passport without expediting which I think is ridiculous). Anyway, they asked when and where I turned in my green card, and I told them in Atlanta in August when I received the naturalization certificate. They said they knew, because you have to turn it in in order to receive a naturalization certificate, but that I had been flagged for not turning mine in. WHAT THE CRAP?!? You JUST said that you have to turn it in to get a naturalization certificate... I have one of those, so deductive reasoning says that I turned in my green card. And yet there I am, flagged by border patrol. Now I have to make sure that I get my name taken off this list, or every time I travel I will be flagged.

This little story, of which I have many, I think hits my point on the head. I believe that people would come here legally if they could. Many of the people who come here illegally pay others lots of money to bring them in. So if it's not the money, then what is it? It's the fact that the process that you have to go through is absolutely ridiculous. And your forms are constantly being lost by the lowest common denominator that works for the Department of Homeland Security (funny that they change INS to that, isn't it??) Sadly, bright, well-organized, efficient people do not work for the government. They go on to well-paying jobs with mobility. So, the futures of immigrants are in the hands of people who could really care less, which doesn't help the amount of paperwork the department has to process. In the meantime, there are millions of workers here that are illegal, but contribute to this society and economy more than some people born here, and many more waiting in line to get in.

What this country should do is give a test to everyone wanting to come in. And a test for everyone already living here. Let a person who proves that they will be a productive, contributing member enter, and send a mooch back to live in their place. Do an evaluation a few years later... if the mooch has changed, let them back in.

No, I'm just kidding (sorta). I like letting the workers stay, and especially giving them residence after a few years. Although, many just want to save up for a while then go back home. Don't get me wrong, I don't condone entering illegally. But as a person who has done it the legal way... I gotta say, there must be a better way. I just hope that people can look at the situation from different perspectives.

But I guess I can't and shouldn't expect that from the kid who says it's better to be a female in Darfur than to go to school here.

Time

Friday I had a day off. It was amazing. I slept in til almost 11, then Will and I went to the aquarium, dinner and a movie. It had been quite some time since we had just done fun activities together... usually the time we spend together is at work, cycling, sleeping or running errands. We do eat together a lot too, although we hadn't had dinner together alone in a while. There was an incredible difference in the mood of the day. I knew that life and every day events wore us down, but I hadn't realized how large the impact was.

It got me thinking about yet another conversation I had with Sarah Riley (we always have tons to chat about!) We were talking about people who get married while they are in school or right out of school, and Sarah says she knows friends who are having a hard time coping with the working world because they don't see each other very much.

Really? Less time than this? Is that possible? Perhaps we have a different experience because we don't only have class, we both work, and have a very homework intensive major, so we haven't gotten to do that whole hanging out all the time thing. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I see Will all the time now compared to in the past (although I've been known to say that I preferred it when he lived out of town because then I got undivided attention for a couple of days instead of an hour here and there).

Anyway, it makes me wonder if we will see each other less if we ever make it to the "real" world (we have 2 more years of the school thing to do). I had been assuming all along that it would be easier because the evenings would be totally ours, with no homework or studying to take up the time. Maybe I am wrong though. I also wonder if grad school will improve things a little, since we'll be able to do a lot of class work at "work" work, although I know the first fall semester at the ASDL is supposed to be hell.

V for Awesome

Friday night Will, Lucas, my sister and I went to watch V for Vendetta. It was awesome! I, in general, like to watch fluffy light-hearted happy movies because hey, sometimes you just want a brain break. But I am so glad I went to see this movie and I think the timing is impeccable. I think it should be required watching for everyone 16 and up in this country right now. It deals with intolerance and terrorism, two very hot topics. I think it's extremely interesting that it shows what could happen in the future if things do not begin to change. The movie addressed many of the things that I had been thinking about recently regarding politics and the current state of this nation and I can only hope that many people watch it that discussion regarding the many ideas and issues addressed in the movie ensues. Sadly, I know that many people, including those who most need to watch something like this to open their minds, will choose whatever teeny-bopper movie is currently out. And that makes me sad.

Let me know if you've seen it, I'd love to talk about it.

Playing Catch-Up

It seems like the more stuff that happens that I'd like to write about, the less time I have to write about them. But, this is Spring Break, so I've decided to seize the opportunity to catch up on the past few weeks... before the wave of craziness arrives. I couldn't decide whether to do one long one or break it up, but I'm going to start with the one long post (perhaps with subheadings?) idea and see how it goes. This one is mostly going to be about cycling, because hey, that is what has consumed me and my time as of late.

Weekend in Review...

I last wrote about being concerned about traveling with the Cycling Team to Georgia Southern to race for the weekend (March 4 and 5). I was extremely nervous, although not about the cycling. I had had only a few encounters with the team and guys on the team before the weekend, and they were mostly not good ones. I didn't feel welcome or included with them, which I thought would make spending several days with them very difficult.

We left Friday afternoon. Will was smart and we rode in the car with just 2 other guys, while the rest of the team went in the CRC van (more on that later). This was a great idea, because I already knew and liked the driver of the car and the other guy was also nice. We stopped somewhere at an ihop and had dinner, which went really well. We arrived at the hotel late at night and basically went straight to bed since we had to get up early the next morning.

Saturday there were 2 events, a Criterium (laps around a closed course, first one done wins) and team time trial (fastest time wins). At this point my nervousness about spending the weekend with all guys changed itself into apprehension and doubt about cycling. I felt extremely out of place and out of my league. Fortunately, I was able to overhear some of the UGA girls talking and that made me feel better, because even if I wasn't faster than them, I did have much more knowledge about my bike. Since only one group could race at a time, I got to watch and cheer for the team, which helped my mood and was a lot of fun. Since the women's field was so small, they did only one race for both levels of cyclists (A and B... usually there are 3 but there aren't enough girls to even do that). The event in itself was a lot of fun. Since there were such strong women racing, I couldn't keep up with most of them, but the course was flat and it was just over 45 minutes long, so physically I was pretty comfortable. I also began to feel better because I wasn't the slowest one, and that was my goal (gotta aim low so I have some chance of making it). The best part was passing all the guys from the team every lap and hearing them yell for me like they hadn't just met me 12 hours before. I then watched Will's race, we went to lunch, came back for some guys racing Cs to do the time trial, then did the dinner/evening/sleep thing.

Sunday's event was a road race. They again started Women's As and Bs together, which means I was dropped after about 20 minutes. I decided that I would stick it out and finish the course (it wasn't that long), it was a beautiful day and I would still earn points for the team. It was pretty windy, so it was difficult at times, but I just decided to consider it a tough workout. Things were going along according to plan until I got a flat tire, not even 1 hour into the race. I had to call Will for him to come get me (the wheel car had long since passed). I was extremely disappointed because I was determined to finish the event, but I guess there was nothing I could do about that. I left shortly after Will's road race started with the people in the car since I wanted to get home early, with the van to follow later. Turns out that was a good decision because about 15 miles south of the ATL the van's tire blew up and tore the brake lines. Fortunately Will was driving and was able to get it off the road without harming anyone or any of the equipment, but they were stuck on the side of the road for quite some time. Turns out the tires were dry rotting...

Tell me this, when you sign the Georgia Tech waiver to ride in school vehicle, don't you assume that they are in basic working condition? If you (like me) do assume this, I think you're wrong. I think it's even more amazing that they didn't seem the least bit concerned that the van was left on the side of the road on I-75 south.

BUT anyway... the weekend ended up being my favorite of this semester to date, not to mention definitely one of my favorites of all of "college." Unfortunately, my opinion of the team had been tainted by one or two loudmouths, and had kept me from participating in more events. I was talking to my friend who had also had the same opinion (because of the same guy, no less) and she said "if they were all more like Will, I'd definitely come to stuff and join." The thing is, they are mostly "like Will": genuinely nice, funny, fun and entertaining people. I definitely came away looking forward to traveling and racing with them in the future... which leads to my next subheading

My Fast is Slow

I came away from Georgia Southern with a very good idea of what my weaknesses are. I have a power output problem. That means I am slow uphill and that's where I get dropped from the group. Fortunately instead of being discouraged by my slowness, I was extremely motivated. After talking to Will about what to do, I decided to take my cycling up a notch by doubling the amount of time I was working out every week as well as adding 2 days of weight lifting. The first week went extremely well, especially since I was able to work out twice on Wednesday, which was a good precursor of the upcoming weekend's race events.

Exactly 1 year after my first race, Tech hosted the cycling race again (it fell on the same weekend). I was extremely excited: I would not doubt be able to measure my progress over the year since we'd be doing the same events. The previous year I had participated in the time trial, and was dropped and dropped out of the road race. I wanted to beat my time on the time trial this year and finish the other events. The previous year I had gotten so excited for the time trial that I went all out for the whole time and was extremely sore for the rest of the day/weekend (and hence did not ride the other events). This year I did much better. I pushed but not to the extent that I had last year, and the results were immediately evident. I was still passed by 3 girls, but not until much later in the course and I was able to catch back up to the one who started right behind me. Interestingly enough her name was Olivia and she and I ended up swapping leading and trailing right up until the finish of the course. I felt much stronger and much more comfortable on the bike, and it's a shame I didn't have a working big ring, because I probably could've taken some time off my total time. Regardless, the first year I did the course (almost exactly 8 miles) in 31 minutes and this year I did it in just over 27 minutes. I finished 7 out of 8, and still have a long way to go, but if I can make that much progress in another year, that'll put me up into the winning times.

After the time trial we got lunch and I got to sit around with Jocelyn and all the guys that race men's Cs while men's As and Bs and women's As raced the road race. It was fun sitting around and cheering for the team and just goofing off in general.

My legs weren't nearly as tired as they had been the year before, so I started the road race. I was able to hang on for about half the first lap (way longer than the previous year before) and found myself alone once again. At this point I was a little irritated because I thought since it was only Womens Bs I would be able to keep up, but thanks to some sandbagging that was not the case. I convinced myself to say in, completed the second lap, and as I passed Will he said if I didn't feel like finishing I should just save it for the next day. So I dropped out, and almost immediately I regretted it. I was riding fast (averaging my time trial speed) and I was already 2/3 of the way done, but oh well. That made me 0-3 for finishing road races that I had entered.

I suffered a crisis of confidence Saturday night, but decided to still show up on Sunday to prove to myself that I could. Sunday was rough. This time they started all the women together again, which means I was dropped. The good news is so were 3 other girls, and I stuck with them for a bit, until they also dropped me (damn hills). I wasn't about to let myself not finish again. The course was extremely challenging for me, 3 11 mile loops of rolling terrain. It definitely is the hardest ride I have ever done, and even though I was the slowest person out there (and technically the very last to finish) I was glad that I completed it. Everyone except the group i started with passed me, but that was sort of neat in and of itself because I could see what was going on with the race and cheer for people as they passed by. I finally finished and was rewarded with people on the team handing me a beer (ok, sorta... miller high life doesn't count) and singing happy birthday. The best part of Sunday was Jocelyn surprising me with brownies (even though I knew she called Will the night before) for my birthday... just cause she thought I was cool. What a compliment.

Once again I came away not disappointed or discouraged but extremely motivated to train harder and again looking forward to racing and traveling again. Consider it one of my new favorite things. Sadly, because of a hellacious work week, I wasn't able to get much riding done, but that will all change. I even plan on working out during the cruise (how cool is that, that they have exercise stuff! Hooray!)

Ok... end boring cycling stories...

Slacker

My dear Melissa... and everyone else who reads... I have been swamped with life and have barely had time at my own computer to compose several pending entries. I'll get to it soon, before I get too far behind (like I am with my episodes of Related). In the meantime, please visit my flickr page to see sorta-photo-blogging of my past two weekends of cycling races (a significant part of why I haven't been around to update).

Work and getting older has otherwise kept me occupied... but I'm on spring break as of tomorrow afternoon. At, in the words of Ben, party thirty.

Hilarious!

And also extremely flattering! I read something on a blog today that made me laugh out loud. It's amazing to see how people hold on to things.

Apparently there are those in the world still obsessed with hating me. I am flattered. It truly is a compliment to know that you are so concerned with me that you take the time to stalk me online. Quite possibly this is the new highest form of flattery.

And hey, who could blame you? I have an awesome life and you're probably sad that you're not a part of it anymore (high school shenanigans will always make me exclude people from the pleasure of my company). It's especially great that it's free of the drama caused by you and girls just like you. I kind of pity you: that you have to go so far just to feel special and included. I hope that's working well for you and I wish you the best of luck.

Melissa, we should start a new club or something!

Weekend Preview?

This weekend I'm going with the Cycling Team to race at Georgia Southern. I have never travelled anywhere with just guys, let alone 10-15 of them.

I think tonight's meeting was probably a good indicator of what my weekend will be like.

Scene: Room full of boys and Livia

*Fart*
Laughter

The end.

Guess I'll have to make sure I pack the immature sense of humor. :-p

Bandwagon

I'm going to jump on Melissa's ranting bandwagon:

1) If you want something done, and I work for you, give me proper instructions. "This needs to change" doesn't cut it. If you don't like how I did it, fix it yourself. None of us are mind readers. And none of us thinks it's funny that we have to keep changing what we've already done 5 other times. And I'm not going to stay late and work my ass off for a deadline if you keep changing your mind about what you want. Here's a suggestion to making a deadline: perhaps look at the work before the day before it's due. Revolutionary concept, I know.

I can't imagine 2 more years of this.

2) Everyone judges, this I know. But try not to judge what you don't understand. Especially if you're dumber than me. That does not fly.

3) It's incredibly amusing to hear clueless people wax philosophic about life. Until you realize that they're the "best and brightest" of our generation. The future of this country is fucked.

4) If you are in a class, and you miss what the professor says, try to figure it out on your own before you ask. Also, trying listening: you may find that it helps in understanding what's going on. Before you ask a question, think to yourself: is this something I could figure out on my own? If it is, do it, and quit wasting my time!

It is unbelieveable to have higher degrees and still be so retarded.

But, besides those things, I am having a great day. More random thoughts:

1) I'm ecstatic that I don't look like a 12 year old boy with a mosquito head.

2) I am a workout fiend. Well, not so much. But definitely moreso than I used to be.

3) Sinus infection count 2006: 1 to date

Spoiled

I worked late many nights last week. Will definitely was working on his bonus points. He picked me up a couple times from work so I wouldn't have to walk back. On Wednesday, Will surprised me with a yummy dinner of chicken parmesean, broccoli and cheese, garlic bread, and my favorite beer (yeah, I know it's supposed to be wine but maybe I'm just not that classy). All that was missing was airplane napkins ;-)


Brings to mind the Joss Stone song:

I'm spoiled
By your love boy
No matter how I try to change my mind
What's the point it's just a waste of time
I'm spoiled by your touch boy
The love you give is just too hard to fight
Don't want to live without you in my life
I'm spoiled

Overworked, boyfriendless and rainy

When I started grad school I promised myself I wouldn't be one of those people who were there until 7pm at night.

That lasted all of 5 weeks. We have a contract deadline Tuesday and since my stuff depends on other stuff getting done, I got to stay pretty late all week. Yay me.

Collegiate cycling started this weekend, so Will is out of town this weekend... and next... and pretty much every weekend except the cruise and easter until the end of April. It's funny because when we first started dating I only saw him on the weekends. Spring semester I only see him during the week. I think I preferred the former, but probably wouldn't be thrilled to go back to that format at this point.

Today is yet another rainy Saturday. What is up with that? Yesterday was beautiful, but how would I know since I work in a room without a view. I have a long ride planned for sometime this weekend... but of course it's going to be cold, rainy, or both. I need to go anyway, though because next weekend I am going to go race with the cycling team at GA Southern and I haven't been on my bike for more than 25 miles in quite some time. Definitely need to rectify that before going to a 40 mile race.

No, the reason I'm going is not Will (I try very hard to not be like that), but I figure it's a win-win-win situation. I get to ride, they get a girl to race, and I get to spend time with Will. Although it's not really "quality" time. Should be fun, nontheless.

I've been meaning to sit down and write about the "Cartoon Controversy" but have barely had time to form my thoughts. Look for that soon.

Shout-out to my roomie Melissa, who got accepted to Georgetown, even though she thought she wouldn't! I knew you could do it!

Amazing

It's amazing how people slowly reveal their true character and personality through the little things... or, sometimes the huge things. I've also noticed recently how some people deceive themselves into thinking they are one way, when the world perceives them as completely different. I wonder what people think of me.

I'm incredibly blessed to have not just one but several "real" friends... not the ones that as time moves on you realize wouldn't put as much effort into you as you would into them. And I hope to always be thankful for that, because I realize I know many people who conduct themselves in a manner that suggests that friends, good friends, are easy to come by and just as easily replaceable.

Amazing the things you learn as life goes on.

Ticked.

Yep.

Tons of fun anyway, though.

Here We Go Again

I was on a roll... sorta. Sure, I hadn't been riding weekends (damn weather), and I missed this past Monday cause we actually had class for once, but other than that I hadn't missed a single spinning class workout since I started.

Here I am, because as usual this time of year my sinuses have begun to act up, and I woke up with the most awful earache ever. Since I know an expert in post nasal drip, I called my coach/emotional and mental advisor on the way to the workout.

In this day and age, and with such access to medicine and health care (sorta... and thanks to my mom's new job) there's no reason my lifestyle should be compromised because the plumbing in my head is messed up.

I will beat this (even if it means getting surgery)

And the weather won't stop me anymore, either.

Uphill, both ways

Being a girl is hard.

Being a girl at this school is even harder.

How do they know this stuff?

Me

Your Birthdate: March 13

You're dominant and powerful. You always need to be in charge. While others respect your competence, you can be a bit of a dictator. Hard working and serious, you never let yourself down. You are exact and accurate - and you expect others to be the same way. Your strength: You always get the job done Your weakness: You're a perfectionist to a fault Your power color: Gray Your power symbol: Checkmark Your power month: April

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Will

Your Birthdate: March 25

You excel at anything difficult or high tech. In other words, you're a total (brilliant) geek. It's difficult for you to find people worth spending time with. Which is probably why you'll take over the world with your evil robots! Your strength: Your unfailing logic Your weakness: Loving machines more than people Your power color: Tan Your power symbol: Pi Your power month: July

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Freaky.

Two of My Favorite Things

Will took me to an early Valentine's dinner at Canoe on Friday. Best. Meal. Ever. Even though I felt a little out of place. I had new york strip with mashed potatoes and cabernet. It was awesome. I finally found the perfect cow. For dessert we had this chocolatey thing called "Love Cake" that was just as awesome. Weird thing is there were some families there out like they were out for Friday night dinner. What do kids eat at a place like that?

My second favorite thing: the beach, the sun, the ocean. This past weekend Will and I booked our cruise to the Bahamas. I found a great deal through one of the many travel websites that I monitor. We're heading down to Cape Canaveral on March 22. Thursday we're touring Cape Canaveral in the morning then boarding The Fantasy and heading to the Bahamas! I can hardly believe that I'm so fortunate. It's even more exciting because we'll be at sea on Will's birthday, which quite possibly is the coolest thing ever.To all those who referred to us as boring: How do you like me now? Still jealous? You should be.

All Hurry and No Rest...

...makes Livia forgetful. Usually I am pretty good about remembering things (such as my keys) but I must have lost my mind the past few days.

Saturday night, upon my return to campus at 1am, I discovered that I had no keys. It occurred to me that in my hurry to catch my ride to the aquarium, I probably left them in my desk. One trip with Will to the ASDL confirmed my suspicions.

I forgot to take Elise's video tape back to her Friday.
For several days now I was supposed to bring in Friends Season 1 for Shuo.
I forgot my buzz card in my desk drawer yesterday.
I left my wallet in my room today.
I got my wallet... then I left my computer at work (in the drawer).
Just now, I discovered that my cell phone had fallen out of my purse and was still in the car.

I wonder how much time I've spent in the past few days making trips to retrieve the stuff I've forgotten. It's so frustrating because it's usually not something that happens to me. My brain function must be deteriorating. I'm probably just trying to fit too much running around in on too little time and energy.

But, isn't that how it always goes?

Siriusly Awesome!

I wasn't necessarily picky when it came to choosing the option for my new baby (yes, it lacks a name, just like my bike). No, I didn't really want a sunroof (hardly ever used the bug's), nope, a superly nice stereo wasn't necessary. Neither was a 6 cd changer (my ipod made cds obsolete). So, the one I ended up with is pretty basic. Manumatic (yes, I gave up manual driving cause of the darn city traffic and yes I miss it), air conditioning, power locks, cd player... all the stuff that's pretty standard. It was missing the essential tape player (used for ipod hookup) though. It did, however, have one thing extra though, that I thought I wouldn't use.

Satellite radio.

After doing some research on FM transmitters, I was disappointed. So Will said he'd buy me a month of Sirius satellite radio to try out. If I didn't like it, I could get a transmitter for my birthday. His Dad has XM, so he was convinced I would love it.

And, as much as it pains me to admit it, he was right (just this once, don't let it go to your head!) I haven't missed the ipod a bit. I can burn my favorites to cd in case I ever need to, but so far I haven't. In fact, it's so good I've really only listened to 4 of the 180 channels. What else do you need when you have 2 NPR channels, BBC world news in English and Spanish, 2 comedy channels (definitely my favorites, behind the news of course), Discovery (haven't even listened yet) and every kind of music you can imagine.

Of course, being the news junkie that I am, I doubt I'll get around to exploring the music channels anytime soon. Although I did enjoy some opera (Rigoletto) with my Grandma this afternoon.

Seriously. It's awesome.

Mother Nature Hates Me

My workout plan for this semester includes 3 rides a week (rides that I should never miss) and extras on top for good measure. That means 3 indoor spinning classes (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) and one day on the Silver Comet (Saturday). Two weeks about I made 2 spinning classes and a Silver Comet ride. Last week it was just the 3 spinning classes. I really want to go to 4+ a week...

Of course, the weather has been gross almost every Saturday. Mother Nature is doing it on purpose! :-p

Congrats to Jen S. for getting a new bike... and thanks for reminding me of the joy that I felt when I first got mine.

Now if only I could spend more time on it. :-p

A Change of Pace...

Normally I just use this for writing about what has been happening lately or what’s on my mind. Recently, what has been on my mind has been increasingly related with politics and current affairs in the world. I haven’t written much about that on here… not purposefully, but mostly because I haven’t had time.

Yesterday Elise said that she’s going to stop reading the news because it’s simply too upsetting. And Will says he doesn’t understand why I continue to read things that I know will make me mad or sad.

I will continue, because I think being informed is important. I think the beginning of making a difference is being informed, so I will continue. But, I’m going to post my thoughts here, as a way to vent a little of my frustrations and just make known what I think.

I already know, due to past events, that this is going to make people mad. I want to state right now that what I write here, unless cited, is my own opinion. As an A-mur-i-kun, and contrary to what many of our leaders would have you believe, I have the right to express my opinion. You, as a reader, also have a right to express yours. That being said, please leave any thoughts as comments, I welcome both agreements and disagreements. Part of being informed is knowing both sides of the coin. I don’t, however, want any comments having to do with whether it’s inappropriate to post my own opinion online. Sure, it can be insulting, but it’s a freedom that I am (supposedly) guaranteed here.

Along those lines I leave one of my all time favorite quotes from a movie:

“America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You've got to want it bad, because it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say, "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil who is standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the 'land of the free'? Then the symbol of your country cannot just be a flag. The symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Now show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then you can stand up and sing about the 'land of the free."

- Michael Douglas in The American President

P.S. I’m sure you can infer my opinion on the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy. I find it incredibly amusing that to protest, they turn to violence. This also can be connected to my opinions on stereotypes and the fact that they are, sometimes, very accurate.