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1 1 . 3 1 . 0 0 Got a call from the Queen B, apparently she's been keeping up with this journal--it still serves it's purpose afterall. Anybody else out there still reading? Drop me a line, wouldn't mind hearing from ya. Drama as always across the distance. Life is interesting. Rented "The Hurricane", supposed to watch it will sis sometime this weekend, all depending on how much time there is crammed into an eventful week of meetings, assignments, and othe obligations. It's coming down to the wire pretty soon, about 2-3 weeks left to go. My presentation in Forensic psych on the Juvenile Death penalty went pretty well, we had a discussion on a large array of issues and topics, I think I got a little verbal and showed my radical liberal side--blurting out ideas of getting rid of the entire system we know as the prison. Sometimes I think Jenny is right, I may consider myself as a moderate, but with some pretty crazy leftist tendancies. I bought this Wisconsin jacket with a zip-out liner, one of the ones that they give to the athletes for free, It was discounted, probably due to surplus, part of me is getting a little nostalgic from realizing that I have only a semester left up here as an undergraduate, and that I might be gone for good. The red and white also makes me think about freshman year, walking on the team, getting my okole kicked by all those big mofos. I wonder how Coach Davis is doing. Maybe I should stop by and say hi. Also realizing that my grades are coming in, and they're not as bad as I had originally anticipated. I'm not sure if it is due ot my academic ability that I have honed over all these semesters, plain luck, or just maybe instinct. Maybe its just a reassertion that school is superficial and subjective in general. something that I've come to realize already anyway. Medium snowfall today, something wonderful about waking up to a white world outside your window. Don't worry, 31 days isn't that long. 1 1 . 2 7 . 0 0 Fun and eventful weekend. Lotsa flying, about 24 hours to be precise roundtrip, but it was damn worth it. Wisconsin had some trouble with the Bows, but in the end it turned out to be a domination effort by Bucky, 34-18. had me a little worried there for a sec actually, I won't lie. There must've been 1 Badger fan for every 2 UH fans there in the stadium I swear, half of them pounding beer and wearing ugly aloha shirts. We got to sit on the Wisconsin side, but in the middle of a huge UH following. All behind me was green, and I got a little shit for cheering Bennett from the local guy next to me. I was glad that pop finally got to go to a game, too bad it wasn't at Camp Randall, that would've been a trip. not quite the UW student section, but it was still fun. Bucky came out with a grass skirt too. Kinda sad that it was my last Wisconsin game as a student. Jess got booed by some tailgaters on the way to the parking lot in the car, she was holding a Ron Dayne Jersey in front of a bunch of UH fans. funny that they didn't know what school she's going to right now. the lady at the gate wouldn't let me in cuz "braddah, you wearing da wrong colors". heh. I guess I still look local even with my haole feet and accent. comforting thought. On the plane back I there was this priest that sat across the aisle from me, he had a small bag and was in his garb. I guess they wear them everywhere, even while travelling. never dawned on me before the sort of regimented life a holy man lives. I guess its similar to buddhist monks buying tofu at Safeway. Lots of similarities that we chose to ignore. equality in generic terms in itself is not the answer, but rather a celebration of true diversity of the similarities and differences is what we're supposed to be striving for. Life is boring if everything is just so amiable and simple. It changes and grows from the individual to the global spectrum, it isn't supposed to be limited to any one dogma or institution. Especially in terms of the heart, afterall, isn't that were it comes from in the first place? One month....823 1 1 . 1 9 . 0 0 3 days to Hawaii nei, and a break from all this cold. Kind of odd thinking about actually leaving town for thanksgiving. I'm not complaining. It's pretty fucking cold in Madison now, temps close to the teens and wind chill near zero. I've been hearing that this is more what is to be expected of this time of year, not like the last three years. Apparently we've been blessed with mild winters with the weather siblings. Spent the large part of the weekend in academic mode. Took a break to hang out with the lil sis, took her to clap for credit and the civic center. they had some art fair in place of the exhibits, but it was neat anyway. Also saw Red Planet with Val Kilmer and that chick from the Matrix. It was OK. I'm still a pretty good sci-fi fan. VSA & HASA had a thanksgiving dinner at Barnard last night, being back in the dorms was a little nostalgic of sophomore year, afterwards I studied with Hanako at the siftskellar listening to polka music in the rat. All set for classes next semester, pending some conflicts I should be settled for a final semester. should be interesting. See you in paradise 1 1 . 1 4 . 0 0 Still no commander in chief. guess the winner of the election will be the one with the better lawyers. got a chance to spend some time with family up here, my little sisters to be specific. talked about a lot of deep things, APAC, life, and lights for the matter. Ended up watching part 2 of Les Miserable at about 6am and then waking up to eat pizza rolls and gumby's. Funny how conversations start with connections and progress. Went to a Rave Saturday night with Hanako, Pheng, Koo-them, and a trio of the Vang sisters, pretty fun. It was at the Dane county expo center, and I was there from 8pm to about 6am. crazy crazy. Lots of observations in social interactions not to mention some trippy visuals on the walls, lights, smoke, and of course sounds. I was asked about 5 times if I had any drugs for sale, struck me as kind of odd as I don't think I look like a dealer, but then again you have to take into account rave culture a bit. I'm sure that the large majority of ppl there are looking for something. I wonder if it had to do with my state of mind that night--unconscious communication? Drank a lot of water from the Blue Penguin stand and got into some Ragga drum & Base by some group called "Bad Company". DJ Q-bert was there too. Saw the Tao of Steve with Hanako Sunday night, still thinking about the philosphical jokes and credos involved with it. A definite see. Can't help but wonder if the stuff actually worked for me inadvertently in the past......Never know really. First snowfall of the year yesterday in Madison. came down in a feather of flurries, can't help but get a little nostalgic...temps are dropping down too, windchills well below freezing. Makes me thankful for my thanksgiving plans for a change this year. for more than one reason. 1 1 . 1 0 . 0 0 3 days post election and the country is still in a gridlock as far as who is the next prez--specifically gridlocked in Florida, last I checked it was about 229 votes difference, Bush in the lead. kinda crazy how the entire country's decision has come down to one state, one battleground. Makes a statement as to the dwindling democratic process. I've been getting some fun emails, courtesy of the "Bip Report" about the election, a lot of Nader bashing, surprising, but then again not really. got a bunch about the palm springs voter controversy with the butterfly ballots and a anomolous Reform/Socialist support from an 80% democratic county. Looks like Gore might end up contesting the results and there's going to be an ugly legal battle. American style. Thornton ended up voting for Nader too. APAC facstaff banquet went very very well, considering some last minute mishaps, and a smaller turnout than expected. Hopefully this event is the one thing that we need to get reorganized and motivated for a collective push--too much internal conflict has taken a toll on the organization, and we could really use a positive accomplishment. Partied pretty hard afterwards. I have no shame when it comes to Karaoke, Sapporo and 80s music. sometimes I wish I really had some lil sisters. Side issues go without mention, as much as I try to distance myself from the counselor-mode until I am (if ever) legally certified, I can't say that all those classes have been a total waste. The application of that psychobabble is what really brings it to light sometimes. both interpersonal, and internal. Sing some Aretha for me babe. 1 1 . 7 . 0 0 I guess the day has come, fate of the country lies in the balance of the voter turnout today. 9 long months of campaigning for both Bush & Gore will lead to some kind of an outcome, good, bad is anyone's guess honestly. Moore has some good comments on his page, a lot of which I agree in, but my vote is still in the balance honestly. I have about 5 hours until the polls in Madison close, so I'll be doing some soul-searching then. Have to realize that for the cynic, this election actually does put a ray of sunshine into a windy gray day--this race is close, and votes do count. not like they usually do. I like several other passerbys in the street today were bugged and stickered by student supporters of the various candidates. In a sense I'm glad to see that American democracy at least as we know it is not entirely dead. Something along the lines of Socrates comes into play with the optimism and drive for change as being at the hands of the young, the youth, the dreamers. All this and I just had a midterm on Marxist theory in Sociology class. The questions were all about revolution and personal freedoms, utopian society with the ousting of the bourgeousie and the rallying of the proletariat. yeah yeah. it's one that I barely studied for. kind of ironic really being on the election day of the leader of the capitalist free world. did I mention that I'm running a 102 fever? not like anyone cares, but poor baby. At least I'm still going to vote. for myself anyway. 1 1 . 3 . 0 0 Election day is coming up in 4 days. First presidential election I'll be participating. even though the popular vote in this country doesn't matter, we are a democracy of the electoral college. I thought I'd devote this entry to the political agendas and opinions I've been immersed in living in this Mad city. Interesting is that Madison has a large Nader following, very visible, and very young too. A lot of the students on campus have become Nadar endorsers, foolhardy liberals, genuine societal freedom fighters, or frustrated citizens, nonetheless I've enjoyed hearing the debates between the factions. "A vote for Nader is a vote for Bush"--is a pretty common phrase being said lately, interesting how the system that we live in today is an all or nothing system of democracy, each vote is crucial because a vote for a losing party/candidate is a wasted vote. All or nothing. I know in Europe the parliment is decided by the percentages of the votes collected by the population: a 45/45/10 split between parties A/B/C will give 45%-A, 45%-B, 10%-C. It makes a lot more sense, being that every vote really does count. It really is a sad case in our country. we're the "leaders" of the free world yet we have a system that is one better than the former soviet union, a two party system, which wouldn't be all that bad actually if we would at least recognize it as a fact that we live in an oligarchy of representation backed by capitalists and lobbyists. The recent elections in Serbia boasted almost 97% voter turnout, while Slick Willy got elected 4 years ago with less than 20% of America taking advantage of their right as citizens of this great country. You'd think by now with advancements in technology, and being such a large global leader, we would be able to muster more than 20%. Then you pull into the whole mess of race and class and gender relations and then you get another headache. makes a young voter as myself torn. It still amazes me how anyone can justify a vote for Bush. |