|
8 . 3 0 . 0 2 Hung out with Reid today, helped him move some boxes and stuff out of Aleina's into their crammed apartment on University. Amazing how much stuff one can accumulate in 4 years, let alone 5. Luckily I'm not quite at that point yet, moving in with the bare minimum. Lets see how long I can keep that up. Meanwhile I'm working on transfering the mp3s I've collected over the years onto this new VAIO. trying to save some space for word files and excel sheets for research, so I've been making some selective choices. Interesting what a trip through memory lane based on music. There are several songs by bands that I associate a certain memory, place, person or time. Art is supposed to be relative, response-orientated although not entirely literally. Maybe music is a form of identity afterall. for me its been mellowed out a lot. 12 hours and 43 minutes worth of music spanning some interesting genres, I chuckle at the comment someone made when they saw me gawking at MTV a while back who dismissed my tastes as "pop". Take a look here if you're curious. I really feel old being back. thats probably a good representation of my reactions so far. Not much of a desire to go out and party anymore, or at least not as often. And with specific company. Tonight I opted to go hang out with Aleina, John, Reid, Randi over some homemade laulau and poi. Kind of miss home already. Been taking a glance at the weekly lately, seeing several comparisons to be drawn with the the isthmus. no wonder I anticipated Weds in Honolulu so often. 8 . 2 8 . 0 2 Just attended a meeting for new graduate assistants, benefits and insurance coverage. have to say its a pretty bug headache. Never really thought i would need any kind of health care, at least not yet. however in thinking about the future it probably wouldn't hurt. plus I should be putting this stipend money to good use afterall. Some of the plans cover eye exams. Although the part on life insurance was a trip for me. apparently one of the dental plans includes a $5000 life insurance policy for accidental death. I think these sorts of things are what has made coming back up here different, I'm older and more mellowed out, realities of life outside the bubble are creeping inside. bought my books for the fall, pretty reasonable considering my course load. debating on taking a 4th class though. part of me thinks it would be better to stick with 10cr and find an internship with the AG's office, or another agency. will see how things come out. Ran into Rolly the other day after looking for something that I misplaced the night before. It was really a chance meeting, being that he was just in town to close out a bank account, and I was passing by on a mission of my own. went to the Med cafe on state street, caught up on some developments some good some not so good. Rolly seems to have a pretty good attitude about it, always was a cool headed guy. Afterward i went out to go and try to find this thing I lost the other day. funny how in all my years as a crazy undergraduate, I never once lost anything until now. Maybe its true what they say about being the sum of the people we have drawn influence from. quote Hanko here on my own "aho-ness". will see. It turned up later. maybe its a reminder on something I need to remember this year, think maybe I need some more ammonia salts. 8 . 2 6 . 0 2 orientation for LaFollette has been keeping me pretty busy since about 8 this morning. Wore my "Hawaiian suit" today, dress pants, shoes, and a dark aloha shirt. it was just as well being that everyone else was in casual wear. They did a bit of the scare tactic at first, telling us to expect challenging econ and stat problems, good preparation for a field in public policy. Each of the faculty came and introduced themselves, and one of them gave an extensive history of Robert M. LaFollette, and his contribution to the Progressive movement. Interestingly, LaFollette was actually part of the machine that he later sought to overturn. He got into politics for very selfish and personal reasons as first, but when he started campaigning, he saw the faces and lives accross the state that he could help and it was that humbling experience which defined his legacy and gave him a purpose. The professor went on to say that Wisconsin's state history is embedded in the abolitionist movement fromt he civil war, which eventually gave birth to a one-party system. Corruption and favortism lasted almost a generation, and then LaFollette overthrew it. Couldn't help but make personal comparisions to whats going on in Hawaii. Just got back from a 4 hour math and econ review, glad I took that year of econ at KCC. The school is having a welcome picnic in about an hour. I already ran into some of the old Madison activists, one of them is actually in LaFollette with me. Otherwise its kind of neat not knowing anyone again, Madison is a little different, but in reality I think I've changed a lot over the past year. Guess I got a taste of the real world. 8 . 2 5 . 0 2 Made it back to Wisconsin in one piece, sort of a last minute family affair. Spent a day in Madison moving into the Merit house, afterward had dinner with Aleina and John at a place called Quivey's Grove in Verona that had an underground tunnel from the bar to the farmhouse. Merit house is nice and quiet, got a single room this time, and surprisingly ran into about 4 former village people. Then it was off to Green Bay and Door County to visit the Gerbers, see Jason & Tanja and a whole bunch of new family members. Very scenic place, sparsely populated and peaceful. My folks got to meet the new extended fam, taste a bit of the Midwest. got aaron to try some cheese curds, as it turns out it was a big hit. Caught the greyhound bus back to Madison this morning, everyone else is flying out of Green bay today. Madison is pretty much the same, although it feels a bit different. realizing that the part that is different aside from some new shops and resturants on State St., is really me. Orientation for LaFollette is tomarrow morning, another chapter will be beginning quickly. On a side note, I stopped by 4 star my first night back and came across some killer deals on used videos. Movie madness in the mad towne continues where I left off I suppose. Still need to get my laptop set up, these laptop ethernet cards are so expensive I might as well get a wireless one. also need to get a new student ID as the girl working at the Memorial library gave me a nasty look. 8 . 2 0 . 0 2 Well its off to Madison again. Hope the Mad towne is ready for me. actually its not saying that much, I've mellowed out a lot and I have a more focused attitude towards school. Khamphian is going to be in town for the year, need to drop her a line. Yvonne, Pachia, Reid, Lucy, I wonder who else is still there. Aunty Aleina and John and the gang of course. Driving throught the streets of Honolulu last night reminiscing on a good year home, new experiences and reaffirmations. The city has changed over they years I have been away, although many things still remain the same. There is a certain sort of nostalgia that lingers from Hawaii, one that I will never long for less. fortune abound being able to call this place home. Flying into Madison for a few days, moving into the dorm, and then its off to Green bay and Door County to visit my new extended family. Jason and Tanja are meeting us there. Orientation starts next monday, and then its nose to the grindstone pretty much. Iso is in Texas starting combat training, Kyu and Prid and maybe Eric are set to head out to SF soon, and Matt will be at home working. 8 . 1 3 . 0 2 Returning back to the Mad City in about a week now. Wonder if Wisco is really that much different. Nostalgia and anticipation are the key words for the past couple weeks, new experiences that corraborate with the old. Iso just left for combat training in Texas, Kyu leaves in about a week for SF. Prid and Eric are back, possibly for good, maybe temporary. Things are kind of in a lull. Still going to work, the court, partying. Pretty happy overall. Talked to Hanko the other night, first time she wasn't busy doing her plays and what not. I'll be arriving in Wisconsin a couple weeks after her trip back home. Got "High and Low" on DVD, thinking about how I'm going to transport my growing Kurosawa collection up to Madison in one piece. Things at the court are winding own. Working on the facts in a very big case set to start up in October of this year. a little hush hush in some areas, otehrs not so much. have to admit that the interest of the media really varies according to mood and newsworthiness of the hearings. Had an interesting dream about Judge the other night, and an even more interesting interpretation. Reading a very interesting book about a convicted serial killer who faced the gas chamber several years ago. Apparently the author of the book interviewed the subject while on death row for 32 weeks, in the process obtaining consent release forms for every institutional record that he had - school records, state hospital diagnosis, police rap sheets, etc. Gives a good, in-depth cross section into the mind and history of a killer. Have to say that I wassn't really creeped out entirely until the middle of the book. Transitions in life are something that I have become accustomed to, not something that I long for, nor dread. Sometimes I wonder if I am an antithesis of Zen thinking. I have relatively little attachments, let I cling to the idea that that in itself might be wrong. |