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4 . 3 0 . 0 4 May is on the horizon and I can hear the graduation calls already. Have to stay focused and finish business here before I look ahead. DC is calling. Strange how I'll be set on course to a new city in less than a month. Already looking forward to a new chapter in dis life. Went to this Marumoto place on King street with Tristan and Khamphian tonight. It just opened recently, and I had wanted to try it before I shipped out. They had a large selection of Sake, being that I am far from being an expert in sake it was hard to judge. I did notice some of the cheap stuff being offered at a high price which was not too encouraging. However the sampler was enjoyable and the ahi in their rolls was very fresh. Plus they had Sapporo, which is hard to come by in Madison. Funny really, the day I leave Madison they start to get some decent Japanese resturants. I guess I would rate it high scale "sansei", if that makes sense. More symbolism and some more ways than one. Not to mention the symbolism in the name. FYI, King street is a long strip that goes from downtown Honolulu all the way to Kaimuki. Lots of places to eat and drink. Been getting homesick as of late. I figured that after 6 - 7 years in the midwest I would be getting used to being away from home. Guess you can take the boy away from island, but not the island out of the boy. Laid back lifestyle, Jawaiian reggae, hawaiian slack key, salt water, local people, friendly smiles, and local kine grinds. some of the many things I miss about home. Also a sense of place, a feeling of belonging. Uchina, Mu, Hawaii nei. Went to this Inasia event sponsored by APAC tonight, it was interesting. Especially some observations on Asian American culture, or lack thereof. The Hawaii club performed as well as a Korean Pungmul drum group. Clash of cultures on stage modern and old. I'm still proud of the group, even though I don't think the audience appreciated the performance as much as the booty shaking and hip hop-pop beats. I wonder as B mentioned, maybe islanders are too subtle in their expression, part of me thinks that they exhibit too much culture in comparison to the mainstream MTV generation. Its really sad. Talking to Khamp about the old AASU days over a bowl of Oxtail soup and wontonmin. When we talk about the old times I kind of feel like I'm leaving her behind. Unfinished business perhaps, from a yesteryear. I wonder if my Karma meter is stronger than I think. 4 . 2 6 . 0 4 Pau with 819 presentation, think it went well. I kind of winged the details, noticing how much more complex my research question is and how limited my time was to discuss it. I still think that I work better explaining things to small groups. It frees up the rest of the week to get a jump on the other final assignments that are coming up around the corner quick. For now its onto 890 hard core. Been heading off campus with Khamphian to study lately. I think that it helps with the change of scenery towards motivation and concentration. I've definitely been staring at the light at the end of the tunnel as of late. Went to Muddy Waters tonight to make good the free wireless access and wash down some spicy Lao-Thai food with iced coffee and honey. The TAA has voted to strike for the next 48 hours starting tomorrow. Its a little confusing since as a PA I am officially under their collective bargaining unit, but my department isn't listed as one that pledged support/participation. I kind of feel like a minority student watching a red gym sponsored event from afar. Belonging to the collective through association, but not through direct participation nor identification. Witte mentioned in class today a blurb about Deconstructionalist/Post-Modernist thinking, and its role in public policy - pretty much minimal. It brought to mind a class I once took a while back that had to do with this frustration of trying to keep an open debate on ethical life issues while trying to maintain a level of realism and pragmatism. Its all good and fine to be philosophical over a cup of coffee or at a bar, but when it comes down to hammering out public policy it pays to work with logic and numbers. Hastings responded in writing this past weekend. So now I'm left with a very limited pool of options in the academic study of law. Have to make some decisions on future plans pretty soon. For now I think I will be going the deferral route. 4 . 2 2 . 0 4 Had a wierd dream last night, well actually it was more like late morning since I was trying to pull a late nughter. something about being a cow, or oxen, but I didn't really take the physical form of one. I had with me a young calf following me around. We were either starving or hungry, looking for shelter in a rural area outside of a deserted city. When we actually found a place, I showed the youngster how to break our bodies into hundreds of tiny glass jars, and then burrow them into the ground. I told him/her that iIn due time the insides of the jars were teeming with life resembling microrganisms and bugs. I told the calf that we would eventually open the jars pointing to the east, north east and breath out into the night. I told the young one that the breath would feel like a raspy exhale, almost like the life and spirit inside would be cutting free from inside each of the glass jars. I warned her/him that it would feel very strange, perhaps even a little frightening at first, but not to be afraid. I woke up with a very sore neck as I was sleeping in an odd angle. I must've laid down for a short rest and ended up falling deep into sleep. It was one of those dreams with a soundtrack, since I had left both my ipod playing and C-SPAN in the background. I have no idea what this means, except that I attribute it largely to a lack of sleep and cherry coke at 4am. Meanwhile I'm going to be pretty busy this weekend. Almost in the home stretch, a couple of papers to finish up, one major one to bust out, and then its 2 take home finals that I need to prep for. Things are coming together, I put down a security deposit on a place in DC, looks like I'll be out there for at least a year now. Got my flight home to move some stuff out of manoa. GAO was asking the other day if I would like to continue on the job I started last summer as an intern. I'd opt for Aviation, Telecom, or Surface Transport for the time being. Meanwhile, I've been put on the prioritized waitlist for Wisconsin Law. Hastings will be sending their decision in 10 business days. 4 . 1 9 . 0 4 The Hawaii club had their now anual lu'au at tripp commons last night, I dragged Sarah, Khamphian and Tristan along for it. It was good program, food was okay, but the hula dancing was very good. It was a farewell of sorts, Aunty Aleina and Uncle John are heading up to Minnesota. Made me recall all of the planning and discussions that the club had back in 1997, 1998, building membership, funding, and of course general interest. the club has come a long way, and I fell that it is going strong. Just what I had always, hoped, that it would be whatever the membership envisioned. My only regret is that I would've had more time to spend with Aleina in the past two years at Lafollette. The club gave them both a seat of honor for the last performance, it reminded me of the countless holoku pagents that I attended and performed in back home. Especially the presence of young and old. The evening was humid, warm like it usually around this time of year. Also the presense of Ti leaves, local flowers, and familiar faces. It made me miss home. 4 . 1 7 . 0 4 Mid-April, and its starting to feel like spring, finally. The terrace is packed today, lots of Madisonians and students enjoying the warm weather and the Rathskeller beer. Lafollette's spring semester pub crawl was tonight, I ended up hitting about 5 new bars. new meaning that I had never been in before. Bunch of dives really, but I tend to like those kinda bars more. Haven't quite gotten the interest for yuppie bars, although some of them are nice. It helps if you're making some money too. Then again I'm wondering really how much drinking I'll be doing in DC. All comes down to what my budget will be. UH is having their welcome reception for 04 admitees, kinda wish that I was at home so I could attend. I'm leaning towards requesting a deferral. I'm torn between getting federal experience and starting law in the fall. Otherwise it might be a couple of years more. been wondering if this is what my dream was about. 4 . 1 1 . 0 4 Mid april and its tax time. Have to figure out what my state tax status is, I did the federal way back in February so thats pau. Bought my flight home after graduation, found a pretty cheap multi-city flight on united for about 300. Surprised at how many good deals are out there right now, I wonder if it has anything to do with macroeconomics, or the price of crude oil. Looking like there might be a snowstorm or two left in the season. It got really warm last week but now its cold again. It did snow a bit on the way to the union today. Had a dream last night that I went home and there were 6 cars in the driveway. All had been either bought or donated recently and they needed some work. One of them was a double decker tour bus, the ones that are colored red. Another looked like a CT cruiser, the old kind with wooden plates on the doors. Another was an Acura Integra. I think I also saw a black mercedes, or a rolls royce. along with my parent's cars. There was also an odd shaped car, which looked a lot like a boat on wheels, similar to one of those old VW vans. I remember picking the last one, thinking that of all the other options, it fit me the best. The Acura looked too juvenile, while the Benz/Rolls way too expensive for someone at my age/career. Both of my parent's cars were out of question because they needed them. The tour bus held too many passenger seats. I think I liked the boat/VW van the best partly because the interior needed some work, the engine needed some tuning, and a paint job. It would be what I would make of it. Meanwhile people continue to die in the middle east. Hostages have been taken. The accounts of military and civilian casulties is troubling. Reports are coming in from all over the internet what the corporate media is not covering. I often wonder about everyday accounts by ordinary people. 4 . 6 . 0 4 About this time, a year ago the dogs or war were looming. Now it looks like civil war and a police state forming in our latest nation-building endeavor. Only 6 days and so far April 2004 is the second bloodiest month since the war began, and the bloodiest since the start of the occupation. The talking heads say that the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force is set to retake Fallujah, a newly formed stronghold of Shiites rallying under a Muslim Cleric. I find it ironic that just a couple days ago the talking heads on the cable news networks were complaining about how negative the reports were from the region, expressing a surprise to the latest violence. And now it looks like war all over again. Some accounts claim that the adminstration had a timeline scheduled to be massing along the Syrian border right about now, just short of 90 days before the political and symbolic reversion of authority to the Iraqi people. Of course these plans have been put on hold, indefinitely. The cost of war in blood and treasure cannot be accounted for in the federal budget projections, nor can a sensitivity analysis of any magnitude capture the costs and benefits of this doctrine of pre-emptive war. With the election year looming, policy decisions will inevitably be colored by political motives. the thought of all this is messy, and ugly. Saw some really good films at the WIFF, or WFF whatever you wanna call it. Sumo East and West featured kama'aina sumo wrestlers competing in the amateur circuit, europe, US, and Japan. There was interviews with Akebono, Konishiki, and footage and background on the sport itself. Jake and Kena were both featured briefly, I remember last time I talked to Jake he had said that they were shooting a documentary on the stable on the north shore. I also got to see some other movies, "Face" an updated version of the Joy Luck Club, and a couple of documentaries, "Saigon USA", and "Wet Sand" about the Vietamese refugee community in Westminster, CA and the 10 year anniversary of the 1993 LA riots. I also rented Comrades, Almost a Love Story, kind of reminded me about moving to new cities, new cultures, and the people you meet along the way. 4 . 2 . 0 4 That has got to be one of my lamer entries. What I had meant to talk about was about the rash of attacks happening in Iraq. Apparently one of the victims has Hawaii ties. It makes you wonder how many civilian casulaties have gone unreported all this time. Even the military casulties have been undereported as of late, the latest death toll hit the 600 mark this week. It equates to thousands of grieving families. and hundreds of thousand lives affected. The WFF had a film on the LA riots, revisited after about 10 years. It brought back some of the imagery and tensions that were felt during that time period. Racial tensions justaposed with economic disparity and outright poverty is an explosive combination that we are foolish to ignore. There was an interesting epilogue that made reference to 9-11. Something to how violent response lacks any trace of intellect, spirit or morals. Vengence only fans the flames of hate and destruction. Many of the survivors of the riots noted that they were only burning and looting the very stores and shops that were in the community. 4 . 1 . 0 4 Hitting the one month mark before my final round of assignments are due. Have to make it point to bust ass from here on. All of this of course after I go out this weekend and enjoy the WFF. |