|
2 . 2 5 . 0 2 Almost March and for some reason it feels like late spring in Madison in Hawaii. Several cold fronts coming in, and I'm actually feeling quite at home so far. Gutted the old compaq, power source was burning out, as well as the monitor. I did some frankenstein moves on the dell, added 32 megs of RAM, and took some files off my old hardrive and onto CDs. Actually proud of myself for jumping in and messing with the computer, I guess I have a measure of confidence even in areas where I lack expertise. Found some fun stuff, some programs etc. should keep me busy for a while. Almost finished applying to UH Law, kind of waited till the last minute. need to get some financial aid forms in tomarrow before class. Made it past the preliminaries, whatever that means for one of my Law schools. I guess I'm flattered that I'm better than 1/3 of the 2,300 applicants according to the letter. At this point I just want to get in someplace decent. Madison maybe. Or Berkeley. shit, UH. Read in the paper this morning that the state is cutting UH's budget 5 percent across the board per department. May affect the accredidation of the professional schools, namely the one I'm applying to. My econ prof used it as an example of economic indicators pointing to a lagging economy coming. Apparently a lot of economists employed by the state come from KCC. Slowing getting my pictures developed from Japan, I really need to devote some time to record that trip before the significant points start to fade. so far I only got one posted so far . 2 . 1 8 . 0 2 Been reading some of the books I scored at the white elephant, one of them is "the price of paradise" by Roth, vol I and II. Both are compilations of essays from economists, political scientists, journalists, attorneys and citizens of Hawaii about the state of living here in paradise. both volumes are about 10 years old now, but obviously nothing really changes in Hawaii that quickly. Kind of depressing how true a lot of the observations come by as. A challenge for those who want it, may be to clean out the system a bit. The question is how when and who. Aside from that I read most of my texts for the US-Japan relations course. The Honolulu Counsel General of Japan came and spoke last week about the current state of US-Japan relations. The books and his lecture mentioned the situation in Okinawa as being a major player in the future. I keep thinking about Dubya's trip overseas to talk about that "axis of evil". Meanwhile I've been searching and diggin my Uchinanchu roots. A respected individual to me gave me some learned advice about continuing at UH for law school. Some things that she said were quite to the point, and honest, sometimes a little bluntly received. Nothing that I hadn't already heard, but not in that context and setting. Although i really shouldn't be getting ahead of myself just yet, I haven't been accepted yet. which reminds me...... Working on a major project with Barry, hopefully will have some charts for him when I see him later in the week. I've noticed that I think I have an interest in number crunching, amazing since I hate math. I guess when theres point to all of the equations it makes it easier to swallow. Sat in on the Arakawa trial, heard some interesting testimony from both the city prosecutor and the public defender. OJ would've been proud. Saw Monster's Ball with Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton. It's a dark horse movie of the year, good acting with tense overtones. The only low point I think was puff daddy. guess he's trying to launch an acting career. 2 . 1 4 . 0 2 Not been keeping up with this journal as much as I used to, probably since I've been keeping busy with other things. In a sense while theres much to talk about going on in life, there isn't much of an urging to put in down in type. I guess maybe life is meant to be kept in one's head, simple that way. Decided to boycott V-day for certain reasons. It's actually quite amazing how emotions can go on an up-swing in such a short time. I suppose we're all just weaklings of a species, influenced by the elements, chemicals, social forces, and divine intervention. opps theres some overlap there. Just fucking frustrating sometimes. Picked up a copy of A magazine, only because there was a picture of Kelly in there. no caption, but I guess the editor of the magazine got to meet him during the Hawaii film festival. Usually I just read it in the stands and chuckle. Every once in a while they'll mention something about Hawaii, which is usually an exoticized account of that strange place in the pacific with lots of APAs. sometimes they comment about how ppl in Hawaii like to talk about old fashioned values and nostalgia. I guess some people get sick of hearing about the plantation days. taken out of context, I don't really blame them. Anyway the main reason why I was reading the mag was because of the APA single's guide that was mentioned in the Honolulu Weekly. I thought it was worth a read. Apparently they listed all the "Jappie" joints as well as a few odd ones. I think some of the misconceptions that katonks have when they come here are the most foreign of them all. Kind of like me in Japan. Although I never like pass fo one Japanee. 2 . 8 . 0 2 Winter in Hawaii is known for rain, and cold(er) temps. Thats the seasons for us, rainy or not rainy. A cold front just blew in, windy with temps close to 60. I'm not complaining. Funny how my perspectives on what cold means have changed. Capped off a busy week, putting in full hours at both the court and at the dept. Aced the first econ exam, although the professor seems to have a hard-nose approach towards education. I missed the non-penalty drop date, but I think I might just stick it out. I'm not intimidated. There's an art gallery opening at the Academy, featuring artwork from the Taisho era of Japan, kind of a brief era of Japanese deco. They also have an art house theater that shows old/art films. Osaka elegy from 1936 is showing this sunday as well. maybe I'll have some time to kill. I had a dream last night that my surfboard had some propellor skegs on the bottom of it, and someone broke them off, making hte board just about useless. It was similar to a dream I had earlier about the board shrinking to a soggy mess from waterlog. I recall being pretty pissed. then waking up wondering why. A slice of anxiety I suppose, although I don't honestly feel that anxious about anything right now. now that the apps are pau, its almost out-of-site/out-of-mind. made good some of the perks as being on the state payroll today. I guess in a sense the incompetence the public sees as far as service goes when dealing with state workers comes from not being informed. Part of me is beginning to see the public as a bunch of whiners, who talk shit about state workers and bluntly look down at them, and then expect tip-top service and cooperation in return. all the while being secretly greatful that they don't have to do that work since they're in the private sector which pays better, and carries more "respect" of course. I'd be willing to bet that a good number of the biggest whiners don't even vote, or give a shit about their community either. its a vicious cycle of passing responsibility and sense of entitlement, backing the logic with a monetary value - that someone pays taxes that is. being at the bottom of the ladder I don't think most of the public critique is aimed at me. Still, its a pattern I'm seeing more clearly. Something that I've been born into as well. 2 . 4 . 0 2 Its Feb already and things are starting to pick up, isogashi. Work with Judge is good, reading a court ruling that was decided sometime last year, dealing with constitutional rights and civil commitment. I'm learning that justice is hard to uphold, while I think most administrators have good intentions, sometimes it doesn't come out the right way. I think its a burden that state and federal workers should be held to. I like the common sense aspect of a lot of the law I'm coming across - even if an inmate sues the state for civil rights violation, they need to present evidence the presence of malice on the part of the state. Almost as if as long as you do your job you won't lose in a civil suit. brings to mind the idea of justice being blind as a plus, provided that justice has a heart. Throw in public sentiment and an economy facing a recession, and thats when things get really interesting. Wonder if I'll ever work for the ACLU. have to say that I find it interesting, although some of my more conservative perspectives on the CJ system come into conflict from time to time. On a side note, Carnival was an experience. honestly it made me wonder what was the hype of my 13+ years going there, one thing for sure: the food. made the rounds with Iso and Matt, ran into Kelly, Chad, then Geoff Ike and Neal. Saw 2/5 of Ho Chi Mihn's pride as well. I found myself spending the most time at the white elephant looking at used books. Got a good deal on a bunch. Superbowl also came and went, the Patriots went in 14 pt underdogs and pulled off a decent game. In a sense it reminded me of wrestling, something with the team effort and work ethic that the Pats put in. Pop's thrilled being the first championship for the Pats in about 42 years or so. Maybe it was the Sam Adams we were drinking. |
