So, when I was working at Cyberbrew, I got lucky whenever the heavens smiled upon me and gave me 5+ dollars in tips per shift. Every blue moon, the rarest of rare time, I would get a total of 15+ dollars in a shift in tips.
I worked my first shift as a bartender yesterday. I was just training under another bartender who, graciously, cuz he didn't need to cuz i didn't do much, gave me a portion of his tips. So a 1/4 of his tips, on a slow weekday night gave me 15 bucks. That's what I'm talking about. I could stand to get, in tips alone, around 70 to 100 a night on a regular night and 100+ on a weekend.
Besides the obvious perk of money. Bartending is cool. Due to the fact that it's a hotel, the crowd is a little older than I had hoped, but hey, they tip better anyways. The people I work are cool too. Everyone has been extremely nice, helpful and courteous.
I only made 2 drinks yesterday though, a Whiskey Sour and a sex on the beach. The rest of the drinks i served were beer and wine. A heck-of-a-lot-a people order beer and wine.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
On a much lighter note...
Life's been kinda bleh the past few weeks. That's how you know someone is important to you. They aren't around for a minute and you're all fucking emo/senti. whatever. i've been trying to just get my mind off of it.
The best distraction I have is that I start bartending tomorrow. I'm gonna work the pool bar and the mainbar which is currently a karaoke bar, but will be converted into a jazz/blues bar. Awesome. I'm gonna get paid to make booze. YES. I'm gonna get paid to talk to people all day. Sweet. Like I've said before, i hope it's like being a barista, but instead of people getting wired and trying to get shit down, people are getting buzzed and trying to relax.
On another note, I realize that this blog's journey, in theory, should be coming to an end. I will no longer be bored in San Marcos as my last day will be this friday and bartending consumes my worklife. But, blogging to you 5 readers has been a method of venting and self-realization, so though I am no longer BISM, I will continue to blog. Huzzah.
The best distraction I have is that I start bartending tomorrow. I'm gonna work the pool bar and the mainbar which is currently a karaoke bar, but will be converted into a jazz/blues bar. Awesome. I'm gonna get paid to make booze. YES. I'm gonna get paid to talk to people all day. Sweet. Like I've said before, i hope it's like being a barista, but instead of people getting wired and trying to get shit down, people are getting buzzed and trying to relax.
On another note, I realize that this blog's journey, in theory, should be coming to an end. I will no longer be bored in San Marcos as my last day will be this friday and bartending consumes my worklife. But, blogging to you 5 readers has been a method of venting and self-realization, so though I am no longer BISM, I will continue to blog. Huzzah.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
true love
The problem with having a blog instead of a journal is that you know people read it. And it this case i generally know who reads it. The problem lies in that one of them is that of whom i speak of in the title... true love... and the other is my friend who doesn't believe in "one-and-onlys." If you two somehow mix it up, i will shank someone.
I love this girl. I think I have known it for awhile now, though my dumbass broke it up with her. I feared following in my family's footsteps and all sorts of unwarranted fears of infidelity. But, though I blame myself, only now have a realized what she means to me.
In the before time, I loved her. She was the love of my life, first and only. In the now time, I love her still. She was the love of my life, first and only. Only with her around do I ever feel content and complete.
And if not for our break up, we would still be together. But, you know what? As wonderful as that road may be, I would have taken her for granted. Quite contrary to normal logic, these things I know are from NOT having her. Obviously this raises the qestion, which would I choose, a life of us together with me taking her for granted, or a life without her, but truly knowing what she meant to me.
Well, I am a hopeless romantic i guess. I just can't take a pick of either dreary scenario. This girl doesn't deserve that douchebag that she dated before who didn't know exactly what she was worth to him. She deserves this current douchebag is still madly in love with her and knows why. Ironically enough, though she loved the old douchebag, she doesn't want the current douchebag who is the clearly superior guy.
I believe in true love, though the person who comments most on my blog may disagree, and with that assumption of true love, I need to be with her.
Only time will tell. God, that is such a cliched thing to say.
I love this girl. I think I have known it for awhile now, though my dumbass broke it up with her. I feared following in my family's footsteps and all sorts of unwarranted fears of infidelity. But, though I blame myself, only now have a realized what she means to me.
In the before time, I loved her. She was the love of my life, first and only. In the now time, I love her still. She was the love of my life, first and only. Only with her around do I ever feel content and complete.
And if not for our break up, we would still be together. But, you know what? As wonderful as that road may be, I would have taken her for granted. Quite contrary to normal logic, these things I know are from NOT having her. Obviously this raises the qestion, which would I choose, a life of us together with me taking her for granted, or a life without her, but truly knowing what she meant to me.
Well, I am a hopeless romantic i guess. I just can't take a pick of either dreary scenario. This girl doesn't deserve that douchebag that she dated before who didn't know exactly what she was worth to him. She deserves this current douchebag is still madly in love with her and knows why. Ironically enough, though she loved the old douchebag, she doesn't want the current douchebag who is the clearly superior guy.
I believe in true love, though the person who comments most on my blog may disagree, and with that assumption of true love, I need to be with her.
Only time will tell. God, that is such a cliched thing to say.
Monday, June 18, 2007
I'm done
Sure, I've got 1 summer class to go, and 2 classes at some community college, but this quarter represented more than just a set of classes to me. It was THE test of my character. It was a culmination and of my college experiences. With this quarter under my belt, I conquered the beast that was college and the concurrent fecal matter stained goodness that is life. It has been a fucking long ass 11 weeks. 22 units and of course, things were due every week, and there were midterms upon midterms to study for and essays to write. Work sucked the life out of me despite not doing anything strenuous. It's the negative energy in this place that fucks me up. My stupid ass decided to take bartending classes during week 8 and 9. On top of that, me and my roommate hung out a lot. FYI, greatest roommate I've had. Period.
Obviously I couldn't have done all that without things suffering. First came my sleep and sanity. Then, came classes I missed. Then, most tragically were friends that I flaked on and didn't see nearly as often as I wanted. I bolded and italicized the "I" in the beginning of this paragraph because both my roommates prove you can do everything with only 24 hours in a day. That's what I need to learn how to do. Either that or just accept my limitations and not commit to so many things. All quarter, if you saw me, I'm sure i bitched about on of those above mentioned things. But, not once did I blame myself.
It is amazing to me how much a person can grow (emotionally... jokes are too easy to make) in a span of 1 school year. During community college, I thought to myself every semester, "this is it, I'm gonna come out of my shell this semester." And when I didn't, I blamed it on the fact that I didn't want to hang out with these deadbeats who don't care for higher education. And, as true as that may have been, I had missed out on opportunities. Last year, during my first year at UCSD, I told myself every quarter "this is it, I'm gonna be the extrovert I am supposed to be." When that didn't happen, I blamed it on my living situations. I have always blamed people and things other than myself.
Of everything I've learned this year, what is most important is that we must all take full responsibilities of our actions, or in my case inactions. I heard a joke yesterday about Lao Tzu and the misinterpretation of "action through inaction" and realized that as funny as that joke was, it was talking about me and it wasn't funny in context. I have had this false pretense that everything will just work out... So i miss class to do an essay that is 1 day late. It will be alright. They won't mind if I flake out on them, I need some sleep... etc.
I still believe that everything will work out and that everything I plan to do can be done, but now, I know I need to put my everything into it... just like those damned roommates of mine. Fucking girls that put shit into perspective... makes me so mad. haha.
I'm more or less done with undergrad school. I've got to make some choices in my life. I think I still want to go to grad school. I've held onto that goal for more than 2 months so that's gotta mean something as I am as fickle as a baby with OCD.
I've been scared to take risks and to put myself out there. I'm trying to change all of that. I'm quitting my job by the end of June. I will work my ass off to pay rent and everything else this summer. I will get that fucking bartending job. School may be done (kinda) but life is still gonna be fucking harsh. I will take it one step at a time.
This summer will be a new challenge.
Obviously I couldn't have done all that without things suffering. First came my sleep and sanity. Then, came classes I missed. Then, most tragically were friends that I flaked on and didn't see nearly as often as I wanted. I bolded and italicized the "I" in the beginning of this paragraph because both my roommates prove you can do everything with only 24 hours in a day. That's what I need to learn how to do. Either that or just accept my limitations and not commit to so many things. All quarter, if you saw me, I'm sure i bitched about on of those above mentioned things. But, not once did I blame myself.
It is amazing to me how much a person can grow (emotionally... jokes are too easy to make) in a span of 1 school year. During community college, I thought to myself every semester, "this is it, I'm gonna come out of my shell this semester." And when I didn't, I blamed it on the fact that I didn't want to hang out with these deadbeats who don't care for higher education. And, as true as that may have been, I had missed out on opportunities. Last year, during my first year at UCSD, I told myself every quarter "this is it, I'm gonna be the extrovert I am supposed to be." When that didn't happen, I blamed it on my living situations. I have always blamed people and things other than myself.
Of everything I've learned this year, what is most important is that we must all take full responsibilities of our actions, or in my case inactions. I heard a joke yesterday about Lao Tzu and the misinterpretation of "action through inaction" and realized that as funny as that joke was, it was talking about me and it wasn't funny in context. I have had this false pretense that everything will just work out... So i miss class to do an essay that is 1 day late. It will be alright. They won't mind if I flake out on them, I need some sleep... etc.
I still believe that everything will work out and that everything I plan to do can be done, but now, I know I need to put my everything into it... just like those damned roommates of mine. Fucking girls that put shit into perspective... makes me so mad. haha.
I'm more or less done with undergrad school. I've got to make some choices in my life. I think I still want to go to grad school. I've held onto that goal for more than 2 months so that's gotta mean something as I am as fickle as a baby with OCD.
I've been scared to take risks and to put myself out there. I'm trying to change all of that. I'm quitting my job by the end of June. I will work my ass off to pay rent and everything else this summer. I will get that fucking bartending job. School may be done (kinda) but life is still gonna be fucking harsh. I will take it one step at a time.
This summer will be a new challenge.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
hope to blog again soon
will... blog... sooon.... must convey thoughts.... stupid finals and papers and problem sets... fuck
Friday, May 25, 2007
Pretense in the Wine Circles
Shit, I just blogged like an hour ago, but I got inspired real quick(probably due to the boredom here at work).
I attended my 4th bartending class last night and it was about wine. I liked white wine and could stand red wine before this class, but I left with a greater appreciation for wine culture as well as a 1/4 of a bottle of fume blanc. It was awesome. I learned to properly serve wine at the table and i learned the proper way to drink wine. It's quite the complicated process, but does it ever make a difference! Wine that tasted austere and acidic and overly tart became agreeable and grassy when you applied the right method of tasting. FYI, those are some of the proper words to use when describing the quality of a wine. But, along with all the good, I learned of the snobbery of wineheads. Now, I knew they were pretentious asshats. But, I did not know how much pretense or asshattery was, in fact, involved.
"Still wine" (all the wine that people drink, not including champagne) is only still wine if using the classic set of french grapes. It's got to be made of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet, etc to qualify as wine. You can make alcohol from concorde grapes the same way as other grapes from france, but you can't call it wine. It's "Fortified Wine."
Did you know that wine packaging does not matter for the finish product of wine? I was led to believe, due to the my impression formed by the winers that only in a corked bottle does wine mature properly. But, if you put the same wine in three separate containers, a corked bottle, a screwtop bottle and a plastic bladder for boxwine, THEY WILL TASTE THE SAME! The reason why boxwine is usually not good is not because putting it in a plastic bladder makes is awful, it's just that the younger vineyards, who don't have as reputable and good wine are more likely to be putting their product in such contraptions. "Legitimate" wineries (the old and established) legitimize their wine through adherence to traditions. They scoff on the cheaper packaging of box or screwtop wine for fear that they would be considered of lower quality by those aforementioned asshat wineheads.
True, wine in a bottle just looks so much better than wine in a box, but hey, its potentially the same shit. And yes, part of the experience of wine is screwing off the cork. Boxwine and screwtop wine should be served when this experience doesn't matter. But, due to the potential judgment that those winos could pass, restaurants don't usually serve this less expensive alternative.
Now, I'm just ranting, so ignore me.
Point is, wine is awesome, and it could be more awesome if stripped of its elitist snobbery.
But, at the same time, it's probably from this elitist snobbery that winemaking has been refined into the art form it is today.
I attended my 4th bartending class last night and it was about wine. I liked white wine and could stand red wine before this class, but I left with a greater appreciation for wine culture as well as a 1/4 of a bottle of fume blanc. It was awesome. I learned to properly serve wine at the table and i learned the proper way to drink wine. It's quite the complicated process, but does it ever make a difference! Wine that tasted austere and acidic and overly tart became agreeable and grassy when you applied the right method of tasting. FYI, those are some of the proper words to use when describing the quality of a wine. But, along with all the good, I learned of the snobbery of wineheads. Now, I knew they were pretentious asshats. But, I did not know how much pretense or asshattery was, in fact, involved.
"Still wine" (all the wine that people drink, not including champagne) is only still wine if using the classic set of french grapes. It's got to be made of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet, etc to qualify as wine. You can make alcohol from concorde grapes the same way as other grapes from france, but you can't call it wine. It's "Fortified Wine."
Did you know that wine packaging does not matter for the finish product of wine? I was led to believe, due to the my impression formed by the winers that only in a corked bottle does wine mature properly. But, if you put the same wine in three separate containers, a corked bottle, a screwtop bottle and a plastic bladder for boxwine, THEY WILL TASTE THE SAME! The reason why boxwine is usually not good is not because putting it in a plastic bladder makes is awful, it's just that the younger vineyards, who don't have as reputable and good wine are more likely to be putting their product in such contraptions. "Legitimate" wineries (the old and established) legitimize their wine through adherence to traditions. They scoff on the cheaper packaging of box or screwtop wine for fear that they would be considered of lower quality by those aforementioned asshat wineheads.
True, wine in a bottle just looks so much better than wine in a box, but hey, its potentially the same shit. And yes, part of the experience of wine is screwing off the cork. Boxwine and screwtop wine should be served when this experience doesn't matter. But, due to the potential judgment that those winos could pass, restaurants don't usually serve this less expensive alternative.
Now, I'm just ranting, so ignore me.
Point is, wine is awesome, and it could be more awesome if stripped of its elitist snobbery.
But, at the same time, it's probably from this elitist snobbery that winemaking has been refined into the art form it is today.
Webcomics to read...
So what does BISM (bored in san marcos, i'm totally going to use this as my blog moniker) do with his free time while he is, in fact, bored in san marcos? Well, BISM reads webcomics. He's always looking for new ones, but he's loyal to a handful. Also, he enjoys spontaneously switching from third person to first person...
These are the webcomics I adore:
Order of the Stick (OoTS) is based on a D&D (dungeons and dragons) world complete with the battle systems and everything. Specifically, it's the on going quest of a set of PCs (player characters) to defeat the ever evil, yet ever hysterical Lich, Xykon. It's quite the laugh, but presents a good deal of drama.
Questionable Content (QC) is about a group of friends in Massachusetts. The ongoing story arc has been about Marten and his roommate Faye (with whom he had been infatuated with, without her reciprocating) and their ragtag group of friends who include eccentric baristas, a girl with OCD and metalheads. It's laced with dry witty humor and is chock full of indie music references. Art in the beginning is crap compared to what the new ones look like.
Erfworld is the story of Parson Gotti, a tabletop gamer (warhammer and other turnbased strategy games) who is sucked into an alternate reality in which he must lead troops to hold back an invading army. In this alternate reality, wars are not realtime, but turn based, like his games he played.
Misfile is a totally fucked story. The premise is that our existence as human beings lies in a manila folder within celestial filing cabinets. to alter the contents of a folder would change the person that folder represents. For Ash, he wakes up one day to find out he is and has been a woman all his life. For Emily, she wakes up to find out that the past two years of her life had disappeared and that she was back in her sophomore year of highschool. The only way to get it fixed is to help a pot smoking angel get back into heaven. Sounds contrived? I know, but it's actually really not once you start reading.
Abstract Gender is the story of two friends who are abducted and on whom experiments were performed. Ryan Hawke wakes up and is a girl. Brian wakes up and finds out the same, except he switch back and forth on command. The story revolves on Ryan's adjusting to his situation in the high school setting.
The Noob is based within an MMORPG called Clichequest. It follows Oforf'ssake throughout the world leveling up and meeting all other PCs in Clichequest.
Fuzzy and OJ is a tale of two endearing misogynists. Enough said.
Sexy Losers is a creepy and odd set of comics that revolves around the topic of sex. Unfortunately, they stopped updating two years ago, but it's worth a read through if you've ever been disturbed by the Japanese sense of sexuality.
These are the webcomics I adore:
Order of the Stick (OoTS) is based on a D&D (dungeons and dragons) world complete with the battle systems and everything. Specifically, it's the on going quest of a set of PCs (player characters) to defeat the ever evil, yet ever hysterical Lich, Xykon. It's quite the laugh, but presents a good deal of drama.
Questionable Content (QC) is about a group of friends in Massachusetts. The ongoing story arc has been about Marten and his roommate Faye (with whom he had been infatuated with, without her reciprocating) and their ragtag group of friends who include eccentric baristas, a girl with OCD and metalheads. It's laced with dry witty humor and is chock full of indie music references. Art in the beginning is crap compared to what the new ones look like.
Erfworld is the story of Parson Gotti, a tabletop gamer (warhammer and other turnbased strategy games) who is sucked into an alternate reality in which he must lead troops to hold back an invading army. In this alternate reality, wars are not realtime, but turn based, like his games he played.
Misfile is a totally fucked story. The premise is that our existence as human beings lies in a manila folder within celestial filing cabinets. to alter the contents of a folder would change the person that folder represents. For Ash, he wakes up one day to find out he is and has been a woman all his life. For Emily, she wakes up to find out that the past two years of her life had disappeared and that she was back in her sophomore year of highschool. The only way to get it fixed is to help a pot smoking angel get back into heaven. Sounds contrived? I know, but it's actually really not once you start reading.
Abstract Gender is the story of two friends who are abducted and on whom experiments were performed. Ryan Hawke wakes up and is a girl. Brian wakes up and finds out the same, except he switch back and forth on command. The story revolves on Ryan's adjusting to his situation in the high school setting.
The Noob is based within an MMORPG called Clichequest. It follows Oforf'ssake throughout the world leveling up and meeting all other PCs in Clichequest.
Fuzzy and OJ is a tale of two endearing misogynists. Enough said.
Sexy Losers is a creepy and odd set of comics that revolves around the topic of sex. Unfortunately, they stopped updating two years ago, but it's worth a read through if you've ever been disturbed by the Japanese sense of sexuality.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
From barista to tender of bar...
I'm almost halfway done with a bartending course I'm taking. I love it so very much. The types of people you meet are some of the coolest people to hang out with (though i hear they are a bunch of a-holes to work with). Like being a barista, it's minimally about skill as you can learn to make a perfect cappuccino just as easily as learning how to make the perfect martini. What is most important to both fields is the character behind the person. No one comes back to the same coffee shop day in day out only because they have good coffee. Shit, some people come back to starbucks every day despite the sludge they get. What matters is the barista behind the bar, whether they be pleasant or sassy or flirty or whatever floats that clients boat. for some different barista personalities, read this webcomic.
Anyways, it is the same with bartending. A bartenders personality will get him the jobs he/she wants and will keep the same customers ordering drinks from him/her and will rake in the money.
What I want to find out is if my charm as a barista will translate to this foreign world of drinkology. I like to think I'll do just fine.
Anyways, here are 4 of my favorite drinks thus far (which I have ingredients at my bar here at home):
Grasshopper (chocolate mint cream drink served chilled in a martini glass)
Brandy Amaretto Alexander (i tweaked the Brandy Alexander, its a chocolate almond cream drink with brandy in it)
Appletini(sour apple schnapps and vodka... John Dorian's drink of choice, except he likes him "easy on the tini")
Watermelon Martini(watermelon and vodka duh, but i totally wouldn't order this at a bar, actually none of the above would I order at a bar, I'd lose my "guy-cred")
What i will continue to order when I'm at a bar is my Johnnie Black and Coke, which, incidentally, I found out is a bartending faux pas.
Next week, we learn all the fuck me up drinks eg Adios mother fucker, long island/long beach iced tea, Tokyo tea etc along with maitais and margaritas.
Anyways, it is the same with bartending. A bartenders personality will get him the jobs he/she wants and will keep the same customers ordering drinks from him/her and will rake in the money.
What I want to find out is if my charm as a barista will translate to this foreign world of drinkology. I like to think I'll do just fine.
Anyways, here are 4 of my favorite drinks thus far (which I have ingredients at my bar here at home):
Grasshopper (chocolate mint cream drink served chilled in a martini glass)
Brandy Amaretto Alexander (i tweaked the Brandy Alexander, its a chocolate almond cream drink with brandy in it)
Appletini(sour apple schnapps and vodka... John Dorian's drink of choice, except he likes him "easy on the tini")
Watermelon Martini(watermelon and vodka duh, but i totally wouldn't order this at a bar, actually none of the above would I order at a bar, I'd lose my "guy-cred")
What i will continue to order when I'm at a bar is my Johnnie Black and Coke, which, incidentally, I found out is a bartending faux pas.
Next week, we learn all the fuck me up drinks eg Adios mother fucker, long island/long beach iced tea, Tokyo tea etc along with maitais and margaritas.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
too much on the proverbial plate
It seems like the most cliche way to start a blog or journal or something is to introduce an even more cliche saying pertaining to what you will start to talk about. As for myself, I choose "when it rains, it pours." Also, I think that "the grass is always greener..." falls in very well as well. This last quarter has been everything I wanted from school. And, there should be a strict emphasis on last. Sure, I've got summer school. And sure, I might be taking that Econ 199 in the fall. But, as far as regular school goes, I'm almost done.
I've made new friends, gotten closer to others and just finally have gotten as involved as I can. And it has been so much so that other parts of my life have started to suffer. I've been constantly late and flakey. I haven't been making enough time for school. I'm writing this very blog while i should be taking notes. Interesting lecture, but frankly i don't care enough to take the notes that I have been doing since the beginning of the course. I think I have senioritis. I don't have too many free nights anymore and now that I've achieved more or less what I wanted, I want a good nights sleep and a quiet night at home.
But, all in all, life kicks ass. I love the person I am becoming as a result of everything. I've chosen only people that I want to associate myself with based on what I can potentially gain from being around them.
School is almost done and I will hate to leave it. But, I really can't wait for all the free time and the freedom of money (due to the possible bartending job, but i'm being way too optimistic) to just spend time with friends that I have not been able to spend time with and do all the things I've been wanting to do but haven't had the time to.
I've made new friends, gotten closer to others and just finally have gotten as involved as I can. And it has been so much so that other parts of my life have started to suffer. I've been constantly late and flakey. I haven't been making enough time for school. I'm writing this very blog while i should be taking notes. Interesting lecture, but frankly i don't care enough to take the notes that I have been doing since the beginning of the course. I think I have senioritis. I don't have too many free nights anymore and now that I've achieved more or less what I wanted, I want a good nights sleep and a quiet night at home.
But, all in all, life kicks ass. I love the person I am becoming as a result of everything. I've chosen only people that I want to associate myself with based on what I can potentially gain from being around them.
School is almost done and I will hate to leave it. But, I really can't wait for all the free time and the freedom of money (due to the possible bartending job, but i'm being way too optimistic) to just spend time with friends that I have not been able to spend time with and do all the things I've been wanting to do but haven't had the time to.
Monday, May 07, 2007
I have alienated my readership
So my entire readership of 4 or 5 has been alienated due to my incessant econ speak. So, at least for this post, I will not mention it (except in mentioning it's being incessant.) Instead of that topic which shall not be named, I will spend my time posting about yogurt
I love Yogurt World. Back in LA, maybe half a year or more ago, some lady started a craze called Pinkberry. Simple idea, charge a good amount of money for yogurt and fresh toppings. But, the catch is that it's not your run-o'-the-mill yogurt, but something else. If you're truly asian, let me just say it taste like yakult. If you don't know what I mean, you're not really too asian. But, anyways, this shit is bomb. So a mountain of special yogurt with fresh fruit/cereal toppings.
Fast forward to Kearny Mesa, in little SE asia, convoy street. There is a place called Yogurt World, which I just mentioned, I LOVE. It has the flavors of Pinkberry (and then some, and by some, I mean like 6 times as many) and the toppings of Pinkberry (and then some, and similarly, a factor of 6). The greatest part though?
YOU BUILD YOUR OWN YOGURT!!!
Sure, it'll cost you a pretty penny if you just happen to go nuts and get everything your heart desires, but once you get a hang of it, it's quite affordable. I am about to go, if Lindsey ever calls me. I'm almost about to just up and leave cuz I'm craving it bad.
So, my favorite combinations:
Plain Tart yogurt with strawberries, mangos, kiwi, fruity pebbles and mochi
Cookie and Cream/Vanilla Custard with Graham Cracker crumbs, strawberries, blueberries and mochi
Combinations I want to try:
Cheesecake yogurt w/ graham crackers, strawberries and blueberries
peanut butter w/ nuts and more nuts
If you ever want to get some Yogurt world, lemme know. I'm always down for Yogurt World. FYI, if you're scared of mobs of asian people, it would be a bad idea for you to hit up Yogurt World.
I love Yogurt World. Back in LA, maybe half a year or more ago, some lady started a craze called Pinkberry. Simple idea, charge a good amount of money for yogurt and fresh toppings. But, the catch is that it's not your run-o'-the-mill yogurt, but something else. If you're truly asian, let me just say it taste like yakult. If you don't know what I mean, you're not really too asian. But, anyways, this shit is bomb. So a mountain of special yogurt with fresh fruit/cereal toppings.
Fast forward to Kearny Mesa, in little SE asia, convoy street. There is a place called Yogurt World, which I just mentioned, I LOVE. It has the flavors of Pinkberry (and then some, and by some, I mean like 6 times as many) and the toppings of Pinkberry (and then some, and similarly, a factor of 6). The greatest part though?
YOU BUILD YOUR OWN YOGURT!!!
Sure, it'll cost you a pretty penny if you just happen to go nuts and get everything your heart desires, but once you get a hang of it, it's quite affordable. I am about to go, if Lindsey ever calls me. I'm almost about to just up and leave cuz I'm craving it bad.
So, my favorite combinations:
Plain Tart yogurt with strawberries, mangos, kiwi, fruity pebbles and mochi
Cookie and Cream/Vanilla Custard with Graham Cracker crumbs, strawberries, blueberries and mochi
Combinations I want to try:
Cheesecake yogurt w/ graham crackers, strawberries and blueberries
peanut butter w/ nuts and more nuts
If you ever want to get some Yogurt world, lemme know. I'm always down for Yogurt World. FYI, if you're scared of mobs of asian people, it would be a bad idea for you to hit up Yogurt World.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
quest for knowledge
You know that cliché saying about: the more you learn, the less you realize you know? It's hitting me hard. I have read bits and pieces of a few articles and intros to books and realize how much and how many disciplines are involved in my chosen field. I may be decently studied in econ, but there are sub schools of econ and conflicts between them that I was unaware about. Anthro and Ethnography are entire fields upon themselves that I must gain proficiency in.
But, simultaneously, I truly am learning more. It forces me to constantly reevaluate what I wish to pursue and what I want to write about.
Consider this:
Economics (in the traditional sense, which typically still captures the majority of the field) tackle the issues of progress and innovation as such. Innovation is necessary for progress and growth. The mechanisms for stimulating innovation are issuing patents to guarantee monopoly and subsidies or other forms of monetary compensation. By economic standards, the innovations we produce are far too few. The number of innovations we create are said to be “inefficient” (the notion that the sum of societal costs are not equal to the sum of social benefits). Society would gain, as a whole, if we were able to convince people, who are primarily motivated by profit, to undertake these tasks. But, the values involved in such a model are values of A WESTERN SOCIETY. Economic Anthropology would argue that a society with a differing value set, in which “the base” (Gudemen), a set of norms, culture, and other defining aspects of a people, could have a more efficient number of innovations. If I lived in a society in which my values put my community ahead of myself, I would think not of my own gains (personal or Private Benefit) but that of society as a whole (Social Benefit). Thus, I would gain value from pursuing the innovations because I value my community because of the norms and morality instilled in me.
Though this analysis is starkly different from that of traditional Econ, this is not at all inconsistent with some aspects western society! Consider teachers, social workers, people that do nothing but surf, the homemaker and others. Each does not solely pursue the profit motive. Each puts a certain weight on wages (probably considering some subsistence wage, for the surfers and homemakers, it would depend on their support systems). And each puts weight on another facet of life, be it teaching children, helping others, surfing and being at home with the kids (also, eliminating costs of fast food, cleaning services, babysitters, and other functions which can be seen as part of the profit motive).
There is a varied distribution of people and their respective values of differing aspects of life. Economic Anthropology is a cognizance of this fact that tries to add to the Economic models without taking away their validity within the western sphere.
Traditional econ tenets include that people want to maximize their utility (happiness) and that in “a perfect system”, if everyone tries to do so, we will reach a point of efficiency. This “perfect system” is one where everyone’s incentives line up perfectly. Every choice I make, I must feel the full costs. This Econ-Anthro analysis is consistent with traditional econ but realizes that value we get form a choice is a function of culture.
But, simultaneously, I truly am learning more. It forces me to constantly reevaluate what I wish to pursue and what I want to write about.
Consider this:
Economics (in the traditional sense, which typically still captures the majority of the field) tackle the issues of progress and innovation as such. Innovation is necessary for progress and growth. The mechanisms for stimulating innovation are issuing patents to guarantee monopoly and subsidies or other forms of monetary compensation. By economic standards, the innovations we produce are far too few. The number of innovations we create are said to be “inefficient” (the notion that the sum of societal costs are not equal to the sum of social benefits). Society would gain, as a whole, if we were able to convince people, who are primarily motivated by profit, to undertake these tasks. But, the values involved in such a model are values of A WESTERN SOCIETY. Economic Anthropology would argue that a society with a differing value set, in which “the base” (Gudemen), a set of norms, culture, and other defining aspects of a people, could have a more efficient number of innovations. If I lived in a society in which my values put my community ahead of myself, I would think not of my own gains (personal or Private Benefit) but that of society as a whole (Social Benefit). Thus, I would gain value from pursuing the innovations because I value my community because of the norms and morality instilled in me.
Though this analysis is starkly different from that of traditional Econ, this is not at all inconsistent with some aspects western society! Consider teachers, social workers, people that do nothing but surf, the homemaker and others. Each does not solely pursue the profit motive. Each puts a certain weight on wages (probably considering some subsistence wage, for the surfers and homemakers, it would depend on their support systems). And each puts weight on another facet of life, be it teaching children, helping others, surfing and being at home with the kids (also, eliminating costs of fast food, cleaning services, babysitters, and other functions which can be seen as part of the profit motive).
There is a varied distribution of people and their respective values of differing aspects of life. Economic Anthropology is a cognizance of this fact that tries to add to the Economic models without taking away their validity within the western sphere.
Traditional econ tenets include that people want to maximize their utility (happiness) and that in “a perfect system”, if everyone tries to do so, we will reach a point of efficiency. This “perfect system” is one where everyone’s incentives line up perfectly. Every choice I make, I must feel the full costs. This Econ-Anthro analysis is consistent with traditional econ but realizes that value we get form a choice is a function of culture.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Jumping the Academic Gun
I've being doing my research for my chosen field of Economic Anthropology. I emailed a few professors that came up on google, which led me to Dr. Chris Gregory at Australia National University, and he recommended I get in contact with Stephen Gudeman at University of Minnesota.
What have I learned thus far?
What have I learned thus far?
- It's an infant field. Very few schools have a program and very few professors specialize in it.
- As such, I would probably be doing a lot of inter-disciplinary academia. I've already put a request for a book from the guy from ANU. And I'm about to leave for school and pick up a few books from Dr, Gudeman at UMN. Also, I'm reading some entries from a blog called "This Blog Sits at the Intersection of Anthropology and Economics." The author is a very fascinating Ph D of Anthro and a man interested in Ethnography and Economics. He shows much interest in my "dismal science" and shows a few good understanding of the material. But, his anthro bleeds through. I hope to emulate some of his integration, but truly make my Econ side come out.
- It's an anthro field. So far, it's been all schools of Anthro that offer the programs. If i want to do things my way, I would really have to do things from the ground up. And truly, that's fine with me. It seems like a wonderful thing to spend my life doing.
- I love academics. Fuck, I love studying for the sake of studying. It's a thrill doing all my research, even at this stage.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Voicing some possibilities...
Victoria has suggested that I bust a Truman show and hijack a human being so that I could somehow teach them the concepts of economics without any societal influence(if horribly confused and frightened, read the previous blog). But, how would I have this person gear towards econ? I don't think this idea (as illegal as it would be) would work anyhow. The only way to lean the person to learn econ is to teach econ (which as I think is based on Western thought.) So, I think this idea is busted...
Her other gem was moving into a primitive society and engross myself in their culture, then figure out econ from that perspective. I like this, but I don't want to have to do the field work (unless there are hottie native chicks and surfable waves). Otherwise, good way to research.
My own idea, not as inventive, is that I study JUST history/anthropology of different parts of the world WRITTEN BY THOSE CULTURES in those languages and then try to figure out econ from scratch in their language, with no math and no graphs. For now, just intuition, as the math and visuals might translate too much. I would try not to learn economic history of those places and derive ideas from scratch in their native tongue.
I need to learn spanish/Portuguese and whatever variants, i think. I need to read up on Latin America. It's the place where economists struggle to find western paradigms that fit the reality. I'd do chinese or japanese, but that's too hard a language to learn to read. At least the first are Roman alphabet based. My german is useless for this research.
Her other gem was moving into a primitive society and engross myself in their culture, then figure out econ from that perspective. I like this, but I don't want to have to do the field work (unless there are hottie native chicks and surfable waves). Otherwise, good way to research.
My own idea, not as inventive, is that I study JUST history/anthropology of different parts of the world WRITTEN BY THOSE CULTURES in those languages and then try to figure out econ from scratch in their language, with no math and no graphs. For now, just intuition, as the math and visuals might translate too much. I would try not to learn economic history of those places and derive ideas from scratch in their native tongue.
I need to learn spanish/Portuguese and whatever variants, i think. I need to read up on Latin America. It's the place where economists struggle to find western paradigms that fit the reality. I'd do chinese or japanese, but that's too hard a language to learn to read. At least the first are Roman alphabet based. My german is useless for this research.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
on what I want to do with my life...
I just got back from a school-based vegas trip, and besides alcohol poisoning, what i got from it was a sense of what I want to do for the rest of my life. Yes, I know I already spoke of being an econ major. Yes, I went through that whole spiel, and nothing is changing!
I was with 3 other social science majors, all of whom are involved in interdisiplinary fields of study, be it, psych and anthro, cog sci and psych, etc. Econ does have some ties to the social sciences, (behavioral economics (econ/soc/psych), but I think that anthropological economics (if i could name it, i think i would go for universal economics or something of that sort) is a necessary field that is, as far as i know, non-existent or not very developed.
I present to you the thesis question I hope to attempt to answer throughout my career in academia:
"Is economic, as a whole, ethnocentric? Would economic principles be starkly different if not developed from the western standpoint? What would economics be if not developed (and overwhelmingly taught and researched) in the west? Is economics, as we know it, a derivative of a biased western academia? Further, what are these differences and how can we rectify them?"
I have no idea how to go about doing this, so if you all have any ideas, I'll be taking any advice from now til when I retire from that field.
I was with 3 other social science majors, all of whom are involved in interdisiplinary fields of study, be it, psych and anthro, cog sci and psych, etc. Econ does have some ties to the social sciences, (behavioral economics (econ/soc/psych), but I think that anthropological economics (if i could name it, i think i would go for universal economics or something of that sort) is a necessary field that is, as far as i know, non-existent or not very developed.
I present to you the thesis question I hope to attempt to answer throughout my career in academia:
"Is economic, as a whole, ethnocentric? Would economic principles be starkly different if not developed from the western standpoint? What would economics be if not developed (and overwhelmingly taught and researched) in the west? Is economics, as we know it, a derivative of a biased western academia? Further, what are these differences and how can we rectify them?"
I have no idea how to go about doing this, so if you all have any ideas, I'll be taking any advice from now til when I retire from that field.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
cho on VT tragedy
thanks to Vonessa for posting this. Cho succinctly puts into eloquent words why Political Correctness, and the subsequent focus on race, with all it's great intentions is faulty. I found myself guiltily in the same racial train of thought. As Cho writes, we should focus not on the race of the shooter, but on the tragedy itself. This focus takes away from the inherent sorrow we should feel for such an event.
Friday, April 20, 2007
on this day
Happy 420 to all you fcuking stoners out there. I, myself, don't like the bud. The allergies and heart palpitations that come along with it suck, so I ain't touchin that shit. But, whatever makes you happy i guess. Thoughts on weed real quick.
People think that weed creates losers. At an early age, I tend to agree. Among kids, its effects in fucking up their futures are unbelievable. At that impressionable stage of life, it would be crucial to not be around it.
For a college person, weed should not have this effect. Truth be told, weed can be a part of a person without getting in the way of the rest of life. Some use weed as a means of motivating themselves. A dude I know got into law school smoking weed, constantly using it as a motivation for deadlines. "I just need to finish writing this paper, then i can smoke a bowl."
But, what weed can do is that it highlights those destined for loserdom. Weed is to liquid paraffin what loserdom is to gunpowder. And the signs that they are losers pop up just as clearly as the dots of a liquid paraffin test. It lets us easily know which fuck heads are losers. Then, it accelerates that descent into failure like mad.
In the long run, we should see it as a Darwinian tool. Sperm counts go down for weed smokers, so these loser genes are less likely to not beintroduced into the future gene pool.
So for this 420, tell all your friends destined for loserdom to go smoke a bowl, lower their sperm count and get their genes out of our pool!!
People think that weed creates losers. At an early age, I tend to agree. Among kids, its effects in fucking up their futures are unbelievable. At that impressionable stage of life, it would be crucial to not be around it.
For a college person, weed should not have this effect. Truth be told, weed can be a part of a person without getting in the way of the rest of life. Some use weed as a means of motivating themselves. A dude I know got into law school smoking weed, constantly using it as a motivation for deadlines. "I just need to finish writing this paper, then i can smoke a bowl."
But, what weed can do is that it highlights those destined for loserdom. Weed is to liquid paraffin what loserdom is to gunpowder. And the signs that they are losers pop up just as clearly as the dots of a liquid paraffin test. It lets us easily know which fuck heads are losers. Then, it accelerates that descent into failure like mad.
In the long run, we should see it as a Darwinian tool. Sperm counts go down for weed smokers, so these loser genes are less likely to not beintroduced into the future gene pool.
So for this 420, tell all your friends destined for loserdom to go smoke a bowl, lower their sperm count and get their genes out of our pool!!
Proof of my revisionist politics...
Just a a few fridays ago, I wrote passionately about how, in the wake of the current war, my political stance had changed to one that sided with our current presence in Iraq. I have often shifted sides, which is evidence of my constant political revision. But, a weekend with my politically minded father changed my views, seemingly for the good.
IN THE SHORT RUN, Iraq will only be stable if we provide stability with our presence. As comedian and political mind Bill Maher said, it's like the husband who stopped beating on his wife while the police are on the porch. Once, they leave, the that woman better run.
IN THE LONG RUN, Iraq will be stable if: (a) they figure out their our political identity, and as such, the means by to run the country, or (b) we're still there providing that stability through military force.
We are trying to fit the Iraqi people and similarly their political structure into our American mold. We wonder, it works with us, why can't they do it? We forget the 231 years of constant change and revision to get to where we are now. Hell, thats like asking those people to, in an instant, create the US constitution with all of the Amendments already in place. In 1789, if they had written all that stuff in the constitution, we would have failed as a country. It's been a process of acculturation and constant miscegenation that has allowed our country to be the relatively liberal place it is today.
Joe Enrique Rodo's essay, Ariel, written in 1900, speaks of how Latin America does not fit the shoes of the American Industrialism, Capitalism and Democracy. In his introduction to Rodo's Ariel, scholar Carlos Fuentes says about Latin American countries, "we must pass from nationalism to interdependence, but interdependence is senseless without a basis in independence. Only independent nations can become independent partners. It not, they become protectorates, neocolonies, subject states."
This speaks of the economic dependence of the Latin American states on the US in their export based economies. This dependence is what had crippled them throughout the late 19th century and well into the 20th.
If this economic dependence crippled and delayed the growth of so many Latin American states, what leads us to believe an all-encompassing dependence on the US by Iraq will yield any better results? They have become a protectorate of the US.
The US' birth was that of denying our being a protectorate of England. Since then, we have developed a culture that is, though varying throughout, distinctly American. And that culture and the politics of this country has grown with other and changed each other simultaneously.
Now, we propose to impose our mode of politics on a completely juxtaposing culture.
We need to get out and let them figure it out on their own.
IN THE SHORT RUN, Iraq will only be stable if we provide stability with our presence. As comedian and political mind Bill Maher said, it's like the husband who stopped beating on his wife while the police are on the porch. Once, they leave, the that woman better run.
IN THE LONG RUN, Iraq will be stable if: (a) they figure out their our political identity, and as such, the means by to run the country, or (b) we're still there providing that stability through military force.
We are trying to fit the Iraqi people and similarly their political structure into our American mold. We wonder, it works with us, why can't they do it? We forget the 231 years of constant change and revision to get to where we are now. Hell, thats like asking those people to, in an instant, create the US constitution with all of the Amendments already in place. In 1789, if they had written all that stuff in the constitution, we would have failed as a country. It's been a process of acculturation and constant miscegenation that has allowed our country to be the relatively liberal place it is today.
Joe Enrique Rodo's essay, Ariel, written in 1900, speaks of how Latin America does not fit the shoes of the American Industrialism, Capitalism and Democracy. In his introduction to Rodo's Ariel, scholar Carlos Fuentes says about Latin American countries, "we must pass from nationalism to interdependence, but interdependence is senseless without a basis in independence. Only independent nations can become independent partners. It not, they become protectorates, neocolonies, subject states."
This speaks of the economic dependence of the Latin American states on the US in their export based economies. This dependence is what had crippled them throughout the late 19th century and well into the 20th.
If this economic dependence crippled and delayed the growth of so many Latin American states, what leads us to believe an all-encompassing dependence on the US by Iraq will yield any better results? They have become a protectorate of the US.
The US' birth was that of denying our being a protectorate of England. Since then, we have developed a culture that is, though varying throughout, distinctly American. And that culture and the politics of this country has grown with other and changed each other simultaneously.
Now, we propose to impose our mode of politics on a completely juxtaposing culture.
We need to get out and let them figure it out on their own.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
I hate anti-establishmentarianists who do it just because...
There is an idiot in my Humanities class who has earned my loathing of him. He is the type of person who feels the need to undermine everything said by the TA. And while, on occasion, he has made a decent point, he constantly and needlessly interjects discussion with his idiocy. And yes, I know it's called discussion, but when you spout nonsense, I don't think it contributes to that thing called discussion.
This is why I hate lower division class. Mandatory discussions are horsecrap because if I don't want to be there, I shouldn't have to listen to that bullshit.
This is why I hate lower division class. Mandatory discussions are horsecrap because if I don't want to be there, I shouldn't have to listen to that bullshit.
Friday, April 06, 2007
The thing i learned from surfing.
It took an aussie surf magazine to teach me what seems to be such a simple and poignant point of life. The moments of true happiness and satisfaction in our lives, measured in times, pales in comparison to the amount of time that we plan for those things. But, despite this bleak statistic, it makes those droplets of joy in the buckets of preparation, more than worth it. Take surfing for example.
Of all my time i spend on the sport, be it working on my board, prepping my gear, finding a break, paddling out, fighting waves or actually standing up, i spend less than 1% of that tune doing what I actually mean to do, standing up on the board and riding the wave. Those are mere seconds compared to the hours upon hours of work I take upon to do the sport.
eg. A few days beforesurfing , I would spend 3 hours working on my surfboards, fixing dings and delaminations and the like. This includes all the shopping for materials and equipments and the actual work. The day of surf, I take about an hour to prep all my stuff, cleaning my wetsuit, packing my board and everything. I take another 30 mins to drive to south carslbad. 15 mins to get ready to go out. I'm in the water for 4 hours or so. After, 15 , 30, and 60 mins to do all those things in reverse, and I've spent a good 7 hours 30 mins of a saturday on surfing and about 10 hours 30 mins out of my week for that one day of surf. What more, much of my paycheck goes to this sport, so hours on hours a week a drained by surfing just to pay for gas/wax/other supplies.
What gratification do I get out of it? Well, being very generous to myself, at a rate of 1 wave per 5 minutes (which is doable if I surf for an hour only, prior to fatigue setting in), I've ridden 48 waves. Each wave would last between 5 to 10 seconds (being very generous to my skills again, just to make the point). At an equally generous rounded up average of 8 secs per wave, I have spent 384 seconds, 6 minutes and 14 seconds, actually surfing.
And in each of those short spans of seconds, I feel sheer joy. For a moment, I forget everything except for that wave. There is a still peace about me. It makes the 99% + of my time spent on the sport more than worth it.
Real life, as in surfing, is overwhelming preparation and perspiration for relatively minuscule spans of joy. My sister-in-law planned for a year for a 3 hour wedding reception. My friend is going to med school for for 5+ years to become a doctor. He makes a decision to destroy his social life for his goal. When he graduates he will have a few moments of joy and ecstasy only to start again once he starts working to pay off all that crap. People save money and vacation time for years to take a few weeks off with their families. I and thousands of others spend 4+ years getting a BA or BS, for a brief 10 seconds on the stage to be recognized for it. People spend an hour+ to get on a ride at disneyland or magic mountain.
I have spent the past 3 summers and 1 winter of my life trying to surf. And yesterday, it all came to fruition. For at least a year now, I've been able to, more or less, consistently ride waves (as it breaks). But, yesterday, in an unreal time and space, I rode the face of a wave that had not broken yet. It managed to paddle as fast as this ripple in the ocean and catch it. Angled to the left, I glided across the clear and unbroken wave, not feeling the tumultuous ride I'm so accustomed to. I freeze and don't know what to do. I just ride.
I became a surfer
Of all my time i spend on the sport, be it working on my board, prepping my gear, finding a break, paddling out, fighting waves or actually standing up, i spend less than 1% of that tune doing what I actually mean to do, standing up on the board and riding the wave. Those are mere seconds compared to the hours upon hours of work I take upon to do the sport.
eg. A few days beforesurfing , I would spend 3 hours working on my surfboards, fixing dings and delaminations and the like. This includes all the shopping for materials and equipments and the actual work. The day of surf, I take about an hour to prep all my stuff, cleaning my wetsuit, packing my board and everything. I take another 30 mins to drive to south carslbad. 15 mins to get ready to go out. I'm in the water for 4 hours or so. After, 15 , 30, and 60 mins to do all those things in reverse, and I've spent a good 7 hours 30 mins of a saturday on surfing and about 10 hours 30 mins out of my week for that one day of surf. What more, much of my paycheck goes to this sport, so hours on hours a week a drained by surfing just to pay for gas/wax/other supplies.
What gratification do I get out of it? Well, being very generous to myself, at a rate of 1 wave per 5 minutes (which is doable if I surf for an hour only, prior to fatigue setting in), I've ridden 48 waves. Each wave would last between 5 to 10 seconds (being very generous to my skills again, just to make the point). At an equally generous rounded up average of 8 secs per wave, I have spent 384 seconds, 6 minutes and 14 seconds, actually surfing.
And in each of those short spans of seconds, I feel sheer joy. For a moment, I forget everything except for that wave. There is a still peace about me. It makes the 99% + of my time spent on the sport more than worth it.
Real life, as in surfing, is overwhelming preparation and perspiration for relatively minuscule spans of joy. My sister-in-law planned for a year for a 3 hour wedding reception. My friend is going to med school for for 5+ years to become a doctor. He makes a decision to destroy his social life for his goal. When he graduates he will have a few moments of joy and ecstasy only to start again once he starts working to pay off all that crap. People save money and vacation time for years to take a few weeks off with their families. I and thousands of others spend 4+ years getting a BA or BS, for a brief 10 seconds on the stage to be recognized for it. People spend an hour+ to get on a ride at disneyland or magic mountain.
I have spent the past 3 summers and 1 winter of my life trying to surf. And yesterday, it all came to fruition. For at least a year now, I've been able to, more or less, consistently ride waves (as it breaks). But, yesterday, in an unreal time and space, I rode the face of a wave that had not broken yet. It managed to paddle as fast as this ripple in the ocean and catch it. Angled to the left, I glided across the clear and unbroken wave, not feeling the tumultuous ride I'm so accustomed to. I freeze and don't know what to do. I just ride.
I became a surfer
Friday, March 23, 2007
Absolutes are bad... talk of my political agenda pt. 2
I have been procrastinating on this blog because I have not found the topic that is both appropos and (what i hope it to be) insightful. I've written a bit about this or that, concentrating more on having an endless ie instead of the one necessary eg. After much thought, and some KPRI inspiration, I present to you the war in Iraq. Let me over generalize for a moment to capture a good 90% of the population. I believe it would be fair to say that for 90% of Americans, the issue in regarding Iraq could be summed into two stances. Side one is the "War on Terror, preemptive measures, spread democracy" clan; and side two, "support the troops but not the war, oil for blood, patrolling the world is bad" clan.
Consider the following. Is your stance as solid as the ground you stand on? More importantly, is it important to stick to such convictions? If you are anti-war before the war, should you follow through and be anti-war after?
DOES THE CURRENT SITUATION EVEN WEIGH INTO YOUR CONSIDERATIONS?
I, myself, was completely against war in Iraq. I did not see the need to patrol the world. In that scenario, I didn't believe that the ends justify the means. Preemption requires premonition and I don't believe that that is a skill that we possess. I did not want to be a generation of citizens, disenchanted by the political machine. I've only read about it, but I didn't want another Vietnam.
But, come wartime, I did some soul-searching and saw past my previous politics. I still fervently believe in what I did, FOR THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES. The thing is that once there is war, once we have made our move, once we are involved, things changed. We started something and it would be only right to see it through. We can't support our troops without supporting the cause.
In the political world, I would be labeled a flip-flopper. I struggle each and everyday, constantly forging my politics. If the democrats and republicans asked me to step on either side of the line, I would ask them, which topic on the agenda are we speaking of for I am no mere 1demensional political mind.
to be continued again
Consider the following. Is your stance as solid as the ground you stand on? More importantly, is it important to stick to such convictions? If you are anti-war before the war, should you follow through and be anti-war after?
DOES THE CURRENT SITUATION EVEN WEIGH INTO YOUR CONSIDERATIONS?
I, myself, was completely against war in Iraq. I did not see the need to patrol the world. In that scenario, I didn't believe that the ends justify the means. Preemption requires premonition and I don't believe that that is a skill that we possess. I did not want to be a generation of citizens, disenchanted by the political machine. I've only read about it, but I didn't want another Vietnam.
But, come wartime, I did some soul-searching and saw past my previous politics. I still fervently believe in what I did, FOR THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES. The thing is that once there is war, once we have made our move, once we are involved, things changed. We started something and it would be only right to see it through. We can't support our troops without supporting the cause.
In the political world, I would be labeled a flip-flopper. I struggle each and everyday, constantly forging my politics. If the democrats and republicans asked me to step on either side of the line, I would ask them, which topic on the agenda are we speaking of for I am no mere 1demensional political mind.
to be continued again
Friday, March 02, 2007
Elephant or Donkey? Maybe Donkephant or Elephonkey?
I asked myself a few weeks ago, "what political party am I affiliated with?" I'm from an immigrant family, so maybe I'm a democrat. On the other hand, I am for having english being the official national language of this country, so maybe I'm a republican. I'm all about tax cuts for the middle class, so maybe I'm a donkey. At the same time, the economist in me says that tax cuts for the rich do indeed trickle down in the long run, so darnit, I must be a elephant. I am a political conundrum, but I like to think that deep down, most of us truly are.
We tend to see political allegiance as being 1-dimensional. Imagine, if you will, a number line going from -20 to 20. Looking at this line, we define democrats as being to the left and republicans being to the right. at about zero is a true moderate. But, how is our political affiliation in any way, shape or form, 1-dimensional? More accurately, our political identity should be represented in some grandiose n-space, where there are n issues we care about and have opinions about. With such a space, it would be near impossible and, if possible, impractical to attach some name to each and every set of political identities.
Our political views should not be defined as being either republican or democrat. Quite the opposite, our political identity should be defined by a summation of our political views. I, myself, see my identity as being politically moderate. Not moderate in the ways that it is used today, implying that I ride the fence on every issue, but moderate in the sense that there is always a gray area that is a better solution than the black or the white.
The problem here in lies with the inherent flaw of the two party system. The two party system relies on marketing extreme ideas. It is in a party's best interest to take a absolute stance on an issue, showing their fortitude and conviction. In response, the other party takes stark the contrast of that view and viola, the right and the left. If two parties are so alike, what would motivate a person to choose one or another? Rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat, and we've got our most liberal of liberals and our most conservatives of conservatives preaching absolutes.
Absolut is a pretty decent vodka but makes for horrible policy.
to be continued...
We tend to see political allegiance as being 1-dimensional. Imagine, if you will, a number line going from -20 to 20. Looking at this line, we define democrats as being to the left and republicans being to the right. at about zero is a true moderate. But, how is our political affiliation in any way, shape or form, 1-dimensional? More accurately, our political identity should be represented in some grandiose n-space, where there are n issues we care about and have opinions about. With such a space, it would be near impossible and, if possible, impractical to attach some name to each and every set of political identities.
Our political views should not be defined as being either republican or democrat. Quite the opposite, our political identity should be defined by a summation of our political views. I, myself, see my identity as being politically moderate. Not moderate in the ways that it is used today, implying that I ride the fence on every issue, but moderate in the sense that there is always a gray area that is a better solution than the black or the white.
The problem here in lies with the inherent flaw of the two party system. The two party system relies on marketing extreme ideas. It is in a party's best interest to take a absolute stance on an issue, showing their fortitude and conviction. In response, the other party takes stark the contrast of that view and viola, the right and the left. If two parties are so alike, what would motivate a person to choose one or another? Rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat, and we've got our most liberal of liberals and our most conservatives of conservatives preaching absolutes.
Absolut is a pretty decent vodka but makes for horrible policy.
to be continued...
Thursday, February 22, 2007
indecision
Under economic analysis, we go to school to build upon our human capital, the set of attributes we possess, the aggregate of our being be it our skills, talents, education, training, etc. Your crocheting is as much a part of your human capital as an econ degree will be to mine. Under a different analysis, school serves as a means to agglomerate. It's a place were ideas are shared and expanded upon. It's a birthplace of new ideas and the incubator of those needing tweaking.
To certain people, school is a means by which we figure out the rest of our lives.
College is a marvelous place where we figure out what we are passionate about doing lower division course work and expand on our love for that by declaring whatever we love as a major and then learning what wonderful differences we can make in the world!!
To those people, I say "Nay! And please get off my lawn, you're making all my flowers grow with you damned optimism!"
But, these past 2 years at UCSD have made me really try to figure out what my life will be. At my least ambitious, school was a means to take advantage of the ever increasing wage gap. I would guarantee some greater average income with the investment in school. I have come upon the point in my academic career in which I am the most ambitious. I know what I want, and I just need to do what is necessary to achieve those goals.
I want to teach Economics. I want to teach econ in a university. I would LOVE to teach econ at UCSD. I am a person not easily motivated. What, you ask, would drive a man to want to teach a subject of which he has complained for the past year and a half?
I love econ.
Micro interests me. Macro is okay. Econometrics is fascinating. Game theory intrigues me.
I LOVE public policy, urban development, economic development.
I HATE HATE HATE econ professors (with exception).
I HATE HATE HATE econ textbooks.
I HATE HATE HATE how dismal econ looks to outsiders.
For these reasons, I want to be a professor of econ. I will continue to study what I am in awe of: our market systems, incentive and incentive management, correlation of macroeconomic variables and all these new and wonderful things econ brings. I want to be part of that exception. I want to revolutionize how econ is taught. I want to change people's mindset regarding my supposedly dismal science.
But, to do this. I must pursue a Ph D in econ which would take another 4 or 5 years. I would be 28 by the time I finish.
To certain people, school is a means by which we figure out the rest of our lives.
College is a marvelous place where we figure out what we are passionate about doing lower division course work and expand on our love for that by declaring whatever we love as a major and then learning what wonderful differences we can make in the world!!
To those people, I say "Nay! And please get off my lawn, you're making all my flowers grow with you damned optimism!"
But, these past 2 years at UCSD have made me really try to figure out what my life will be. At my least ambitious, school was a means to take advantage of the ever increasing wage gap. I would guarantee some greater average income with the investment in school. I have come upon the point in my academic career in which I am the most ambitious. I know what I want, and I just need to do what is necessary to achieve those goals.
I want to teach Economics. I want to teach econ in a university. I would LOVE to teach econ at UCSD. I am a person not easily motivated. What, you ask, would drive a man to want to teach a subject of which he has complained for the past year and a half?
I love econ.
Micro interests me. Macro is okay. Econometrics is fascinating. Game theory intrigues me.
I LOVE public policy, urban development, economic development.
I HATE HATE HATE econ professors (with exception).
I HATE HATE HATE econ textbooks.
I HATE HATE HATE how dismal econ looks to outsiders.
For these reasons, I want to be a professor of econ. I will continue to study what I am in awe of: our market systems, incentive and incentive management, correlation of macroeconomic variables and all these new and wonderful things econ brings. I want to be part of that exception. I want to revolutionize how econ is taught. I want to change people's mindset regarding my supposedly dismal science.
But, to do this. I must pursue a Ph D in econ which would take another 4 or 5 years. I would be 28 by the time I finish.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
First Surf of the Year
So, after much consideration regarding the physical state of my leg, i decided that it would be a good idea to go surfing today. Me and Albert headed out to shores with my 7'6" and his 6'6". When surf reports say poor conditions, by the by, they truly do mean it. We were continuously pummeled by wave after unforgiving wave for an hour. I found out today what poor conditions meant, and I will not go out to surf until conditions are at least fair. I am by no means a good or even decent surfer and thus, I can not paddle out past the break in poor conditions. I truly think that they should just change that in the surf report from "surf conditions" to "level of surfer needed to get past the break." Then again, maybe that would convince me to go out to surf (due to the teasing of the websites) even when in my heart of hearts, i know I'm not good enough.
Anyways, tossing this day aside, I'm really looking forward to surfing this year. I have a renewed dedication to the sport. I regret the fact that I lost the winter due to my foot, but am glad because I would've gotten killed by those double overhead waves. I hope to make it at least a bi-weekly venture (through the rest of winter and spring) and step it up to at least 3 or 4 times a week in the summer. This is in part because of how much I really love to surf, but in part due to the fact that I've lost Capoeira. I'm currently too poor (and the foot is still not feeling 100% quite yet) to pursue the sport that I love. I plan on training on my own, but it's been quite tough.
Anyways, tossing this day aside, I'm really looking forward to surfing this year. I have a renewed dedication to the sport. I regret the fact that I lost the winter due to my foot, but am glad because I would've gotten killed by those double overhead waves. I hope to make it at least a bi-weekly venture (through the rest of winter and spring) and step it up to at least 3 or 4 times a week in the summer. This is in part because of how much I really love to surf, but in part due to the fact that I've lost Capoeira. I'm currently too poor (and the foot is still not feeling 100% quite yet) to pursue the sport that I love. I plan on training on my own, but it's been quite tough.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
same leg, different shit...
So, I will go into UCSD student health for the second time in this school year and for yet another serious injury. I'm not too sure what it is this time, but I have a feeling I'm not going to like it. It just might be a fracture in my knee. I'm hoping that it won't need surgery. It doesn't hurt too much when I walk, but it feels very odd and weird. At Target today, at some point, it started to feel very tingly and weak.
I don't want to rehab again. Sweet mercy, I don't want to rehab again. I would miss out on school. I would miss out on friends. I would miss out on so much, all because of drunken chin-ups.
I don't want to rehab again. Sweet mercy, I don't want to rehab again. I would miss out on school. I would miss out on friends. I would miss out on so much, all because of drunken chin-ups.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Winter slump...
So, I've come to my own personal diagnosis over the years. I am a victim of S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder). Now, it's mild form compared to other. I ponder my mortality, etc, but I get through it with relative ease. It always goes away come spring and doesn't bug me til old man winter is back. This year was the first year I did not show any real signs of it. I simply went through the fall quarter and christmas season without really getting all emo. But, the past few weeks has taken quite a toll on me.
I have aforementioned life deadlines to meet which i have put off for months, as I usually do. I've been told off my victoria already, and i deserve every earful. She's an ass by the way. I was talking to her on the phone yesterday and i guess that i was close to being sleepy and she knowingly started saying weird shit and got me to just say uh huh... uh huh. obviously, i myself don't remember it, but she told me she had a grand ol' time fuckin around with me. what an ass.
i'll continue talkin about my slump later...
I have aforementioned life deadlines to meet which i have put off for months, as I usually do. I've been told off my victoria already, and i deserve every earful. She's an ass by the way. I was talking to her on the phone yesterday and i guess that i was close to being sleepy and she knowingly started saying weird shit and got me to just say uh huh... uh huh. obviously, i myself don't remember it, but she told me she had a grand ol' time fuckin around with me. what an ass.
i'll continue talkin about my slump later...
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Super Happy Fun times with Victoria!! YATTA!!
So, I have not spent a single weekend in SD since before my toe got fractured. And I decided to stay in SD because I was able to convince my souliest of soulmates to kick it with me in SDizzle... Things are never boring with Victoria. Sure, all we do is lounge around, eat and be unproductive, but it's all I could ask of my first weekend in SD in ages. It kept my mind off of the things at hand. Different things that have been plaguing me for the past couple of weeks. Life deadlines to meet, work to deal with. I'm currently on call with my work. I've gotten barraged by clients and caregiver calls, and I've got a lotta shit to deal with once I get in tomorrow. But, all in all, I'm content. Some highlights from the weekend:
'Jane Fonda" by Mickey Avalon... I pretending to dance like an old person to that song.
Learning that the pee smell of downtown SD is the same as any metropolitan city (if you compare the per capita figure, that is).
Getting to sushi deli and getting our name called a minute later despite there being people ahead of us (gosh, i love it being only a party of two).
Random beach goings, whenever the fuck we wanted.
Going to bookstar and not buying a book.
Ramen and okonomiyaki... YATTA!
How Victoria reacts to an overwhelming number of asian people.
Pizookie and beer.
Renaming my laptop from sony VAIO to sony VATO homes.
'Jane Fonda" by Mickey Avalon... I pretending to dance like an old person to that song.
Learning that the pee smell of downtown SD is the same as any metropolitan city (if you compare the per capita figure, that is).
Getting to sushi deli and getting our name called a minute later despite there being people ahead of us (gosh, i love it being only a party of two).
Random beach goings, whenever the fuck we wanted.
Going to bookstar and not buying a book.
Ramen and okonomiyaki... YATTA!
How Victoria reacts to an overwhelming number of asian people.
Pizookie and beer.
Renaming my laptop from sony VAIO to sony VATO homes.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
The first day of the rest of my college life..
I sit here in my Econ 110B class. the clock has just passed 3pm. i'm not at home or san marcos, but i'm blogging. yes, i have a new laptop. i love this thing, not for its specs and such (although, for what i paid, its an awesome piece of machine) but for what it does for me. I am in my last class of the day and have actually attended ALL my classes and have nor slept a wink. i realized that my learning style is one where, as long as i'm in class, I absorb shit like a sponge. so, as long as I sit here, half-listening, I learn. and in my free time, i do everything else i need to do.
I resolve to go to more than a simple majority of my classes. Victoria has challenged me to go to all but maybe 2 days. 90% attendance is unheard of for me, and i think it's a good thing to try to resolve to do.
And in this spirit, here's my list of things I hope to do for 2007.
***sidenote, prior to this point, this was written on 1/9/07, after this note, it is on 1/11/07 in my econ 100B class.
2007 resolutions!
-do 10,000 push-ups by the end of the year.
-make beats (hip hop beats)
-lose weight like i did last year...
-get back into capoeira again, after i'm fully healed
-pay off my debt (parking and traffic violations, and credit cards)
-make some more friends in class
okay, i should pay atytention a little bit.
I resolve to go to more than a simple majority of my classes. Victoria has challenged me to go to all but maybe 2 days. 90% attendance is unheard of for me, and i think it's a good thing to try to resolve to do.
And in this spirit, here's my list of things I hope to do for 2007.
***sidenote, prior to this point, this was written on 1/9/07, after this note, it is on 1/11/07 in my econ 100B class.
2007 resolutions!
-do 10,000 push-ups by the end of the year.
-make beats (hip hop beats)
-lose weight like i did last year...
-get back into capoeira again, after i'm fully healed
-pay off my debt (parking and traffic violations, and credit cards)
-make some more friends in class
okay, i should pay atytention a little bit.
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