I'm going to keep this account to continue to stay in touch with friends. But I'll be blogging (a lot, as I suddenly find my life interesting again) over there.
Damn it if I don't feel like an undergrad! I'm hopped up on coffee, anticipating a sunrise as I finish a paper. Well, the finish will happen around 3 PM. I'm resolved to work straight through the day.
This time, it's not procrastination to blame; we had a major discussion in class about the professor's expectations, and I realized that what I had written up to this point wouldn't work at all. It's my bad luck that my paper is one of the first ones due for review. Instead of freaking out or letting the crap paper slide (both things I'm shamed to have done), I'm kind of throwing a brain party; Just lock myself away from the world with my books, and crank away until the dang thing is done. It's going to be a heck of a piece of research, I hope.
Have you followed the mild controversy surrounding conservative spokesperson Rush Limbaugh suggesting that American servicemen and women who speak out against the war in Iraq are "phony soldiers?" I mean, he didn't even use a specific example of a phony anti-war soldier, he just said that any soldier speaking out against the war is a phony soldier. That's not even really insulting, that's just a really, really idiotic statement.
Well, there was, of course, a response. www.votevets.org has released this : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKM_NsTswco . Essentially, the ad is by a single soldier. He is against the war. According to Rush, he would therefore be a phony soldier. However, the ad provides proof that this soldier was wounded seriously in combat in Iraq, something phony soldiers haven't experienced. Ergo, Rush is wrong. The soldier goes on to challenge Rush to either face this soldier with the accusation of being a phony, or to stop telling lies about the soldier's service. That's a pretty simple request. Stop lying about this. Go on lying about anything else, just stop lying about the service of people who happen to have different opinions about the war. This simple request of course, is answered by RUSH LIMBAUGH COMPARING AN AMERICAN SOLDIER TO A SUICIDE BOMBER.
Seriously.
"This is such a blatant use of a valiant combat veteran, lying to him about what I said and then strapping those lies to his belt, sending him out via the media and a TV ad to walk into as many people as he can walk into.
This man will always be a hero to this country with everyone. Whoever pumped him full of these lies about what I said and embarrassed him with this ad has betrayed him, they aren’t hurting me. They are betraying this soldier."
Now, remember, we are talking about a particular soldier who happened to have suffered massive brain injuries BECAUSE OF A SUICIDE BOMBING. And Rush Limbaugh compares him to a suicide bomber. I mean, when Don Imus screwed up, he didn't go on and speak himself further into trouble. And that man is an idiot beyond categorization. Why can't we come together and admit that this sort of commentary is so idiotic, unpatriotic, and mean spirited, that Rush Limbaugh no longer deserves an audience?
Know what though? The man still deserves access to an audience, and a hard corps praetorian association of right wingers will still tune in with him, no matter how many tautologies and idiotic statements this man will make. I don't know if I should be proud that this American system provides that sort of freedom, or if I should be worried about the danger that the stalwart listeners represent.
* What's that symbol mean? It's a butthole. Kurt Vonnegut died today. Damn if that guy is way too under-appreciated in America. I've been going back through America's great modern authors, and Vonnegut was one of the best. Without Vonnegut, Hunter Thompson, and Jack Kerouac, we are a poorer society.
Edit: Well, he died four months ago, and somehow I missed it. But I will still miss him.
West Virginia is a slice of heaven on Earth--it's got amazingly beautiful terrain, unique and charming towns, good cheap food, and some great hiking. I really had a great time, and I'm planning on going out there again. I had a little trouble with the weather, but otherwise it was a great time.
Highest point in West Virginia, Spruce Knob. The jumping off point for the rest of the adventure.
A neat little rock cairn with a weird mushroom/lichen growing on top.
Little hillside meadow on the hike down to Seneca Creek.
Not bad for a camera set on top of a water bottle, set to a timer.
In other news, I'm interviewing for a promotion to bartender at the restaurant. I'm not holding out a whole bucketful of hope since they are looking for someone long-term and I'm not. I'd really like the change of pace, the extra money, and at the end of the day, bartender is just a cool job. Wish me luck.
Time needed to get your bike gear together and get dressed: 30 minutes Time needed to maintenance your bike: 40 minutes Wrecking your bike ten minutes into a test ride: Priceless
Yep. I ate grass ten minutes into a ride yesterday, trashed my knee and banged up my poor bike. I'd hit a pothole in the road, and my handlebars came loose. I couldn't reach my brakes, and was already going 25. I dodged between two cars, and decided to ditch off to the side of the road rather than go into an intersection. I'm limping a bit, but I'll be able to work today. It could have been worse; if I'd have hit one of those cars I'd be in pretty bad shape.
I just got home to find the John Stewart of the Daily Show interviewing Sig Hansen, Captain of the crab fishing ship Northwestern as seen on the Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch. Awesome. Never seen Deadliest Catch? It'll change your perspective on reality TV, and give you a new appreciation for crab meat. And the interview? Fantastic. You could just tell that John Stewart was unable to wrap his head around why a smart, articulate guy like Hansen would live such a dangerous lifestyle.
Good lord what a great day today is... DC's been experiencing some perfect weather lately, and I've been reaping the benefits with extra running and biking.
A few nights ago, I had a 6th grade girl at one of my tables show me a stack of post cards with impressionist art on the front--they were beautiful, and I figured her parents had purchased the cards at the National Gallery gift shop. However, she introduced herself as the artist. I thought she was pretending, which was kind of cute, so I played along. Her parents played along too, it seemed, and offered to let me pick one of the cards to keep. I pick one up, turn it over, and there's the girl's picture on the back. Turns out she's a child prodigy, and has been painting since she was seven. She's been diagnosed with Asberger's Syndrome, but doesn't seem to have any communcation disorder other than the propensity to ramble excitedly about her art (and heck, what 6th grader doesn't ramble about their favorite topic?).
You can find her stuff at http://www.amandalamunyon.com/paintings.html ;it's reasonably priced, purchasable via paypal, and 25% of the proceeds go to the Children's Medical Research Institute. I've bought a print, and if it arrives in good shape I'm going to buy a canvas print.
Happy early Passover for those who celebrate--I was invited to a Seder but sadly had to decline because I have to work. I'd actually love to attend. Bah.
I'm running an 8k race tomorrow, just for the helluvit. I found out about it at work where we were warned because of the traffic situation, and figured it'd be a nice way to finish off Spring Break. When I told my coworkers, they looked at me like I was telling them I planned on a life of celibacy. I guess us food service types aren't much for exercise or early mornings.
My old man just broke the news that he's selling our house in Texas... The one we've owned longer than any other place in our family history. So, if you know anyone in the market for a 1600 square foot place on a nice big lot with a boat dock and easy access to the Gulf of Mexico, I'm your guy.
Nasty weather outside right now. Freezing rain, rain, and snow, all with 26 degree air and some pretty gusty winds. I'm in the library, and have no intention of walking home until it gets a little more survivable out there. Gives me a good excuse to get some work done. I've cracked the code on the research project, having figured out a way to get data coded and laid out in 1/5 the time it used to take. Now I just need to find the endurance to perform the operation about 8,000 more times, to fill in the data for cell phone users and internet users in every country for every year since the technologies were invented.
My bike is in intensive care at the Hudson Trail Outfitters bike shop. I'm guessing the final bill will be around $350-400. Yeah, that's practically the price of a new bike, but not one as nice as King Rory. It was funny, taking him in to the shop. The guy took about a minute before realizing that it was a classic Colnago frame, and freaked out when he finally figured out what it was. It'll all be worth it to have a smooth-riding, fast-shifting roadie back in action... Especially since it'll be a few years before I can really start building King Rory Jr.
Here's hoping everyone is warm and dry right now. Cheers!
Well, I passed the Foreign Service Oral Assessment yesterday down at the State Department Annex in downtown. There were four other candidates, all nice and intelligent people. One was an older former cop from Philly, another a student from Chicago, a guy who was on vacation from living in Taiwan (!) and a former Peace Corps volunteer who is now teaching ESL students here in the District. Of the five of us, only the ESL teacher and I passed. My score was kinda low, a 5.4 out of 7, where 5.25 is the minimal passing score.
I've got two things going for me that can make the low score into less of an issue: First, the career track I've chosen is in pretty high demand, and there's a smaller waiting list than the popular choices like Political Affairs. Second, I can take a telephonic language test in Spanish, and if I pass I'll get an additional 1.7 points added to my score. Why is the score an issue at all since I passed? Well, Foreign Service jobs are handed out according to score. My 5.4 puts me ahead of everyone with lower scores, even if they have been waiting for a year. On the other hand, someone who scores a 5.45 next year will move ahead of me in line. If no spots are opened at the Foreign Service Institute within 18 months, I'm dropped from consideration.
I'm not quite sure what passing this test means for the short-term, as far as jobs and such goes. Should I keep looking for an office job in order to get a little more respectability and some professional experience, or should I just stay at the restaurant where I make good money?
In other, related news, I have a Top Secret security clearance. How freaking cool is that? The background investigator told me during my security interview that my Border Patrol clearance transfers over.
I just watched a short film made here in DC. It was a computer-animated satire of Don Giovanni, sung in Italian but with creepy-looking bathroom implements like a sponge, a shampoo bottle, and Don Ivory, a bar of soap.
I'm now a little bothered by the idea of going into my bathroom, lest my sink start crooning.
Yay for school. Seriously, it's fun to have all the people back on campus. It was eerie walking into an empty gym, swimming in an empty pool. Speaking of athletic facilities, I've been a good boy about working out. It has helped that for the past week my apartment has lacked flowing water, meaning I'm getting my showers and such in the gym. You know that creepy dude that brushes his teeth in the locker room? It's me. Ewww.
I'm still digging that the AU library has a grad student lounge... I get to feel all elitist and superior. It's not just an ego trip, however. It really is the most well-lit and comfortable room in the library, with a nice view of the quad.
I'm thinking of hosting some sort of shindig at my place within the next few weeks... I was thinking of a sushi-and-cocktails party, to give me an excuse to roll some sushi. And because my place is so small, it'd be a good way to keep things relatively low-key and quiet.
I also need to think of a good use of my Spring Break time... I guess it all depends on what happens in five days when I interview with State. Holy cow, I interview with State in five days!!!
I'm still floored every time I go to the Library of Congress to research. You have no idea how amazing the place is. Three massive buildings, underground tunnels, conveyor belts to transport books and documents... And the main reading room is the most luxurious, beautiful academic space I've ever been in. Stained glass windows, old stained wood desks, wrought iron staircases, it's really a temple of knowledge. You can't take pictures inside, but here's a shot I found online looking down on the main reading room:
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