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8 . 3 1 . 0 3 Went to the Okinawan festival this weekend, saw a lot of performances, bought some kasuri clothes and ate a lot of pork. Okinawan Soba (saimin) Ashitibichi (pigs feet soup) was all pretty good. Also had an okinawan corndog made with andagi batter, and a okinwan burrito with rafute pork. and of course they had tons of andagi. My clan group Oroku Azajin hosted a booth on the history of Okinawan-owned eateries and businesses in Hawaii. interesting how none of them featured okinawan food, rather they all featured western and american styles. There were several countries of Uchinanchu represented, Brazil, Guam, Bolivia, Argentina, the Phillipines, and other places that I had never thought Okinawans had immigrated to. Saturday night there was a huge bon dance, mom mentioned how different it was from a typical Japanese bon dance. The festival went for two days and it was pretty packed. Hopefully I'll be able to go back next year. A good end to my 2-week summer vacation back home before school starts up again. Meanwhile there is a hurricane south of Hawaii going west. The north affects are hitting hilo and molokai right now, with tropical storm conditions. Keeping an eye on it, reminds me of Iniki. 8 . 2 5 . 0 3 home for about a week more and getting back into the laid back swing of things. I've shifted into the vacation mode in more ways than one, taking it easy really. Haven't been going to the beach quite as much as I had originally planned, due to a missing mode of transportation, which can't really be helped. Went to Marukai the other day, they had a table of Okinawan stuff for sale, I'm thinking that it was timed with the festival coming up this weekend. Found some goya soba and tea, wondering what it tastes like. I also went to Revolution Books and picked up another anthology on contemporary culture in Hawaii, focusing on Japanese Americans. There hasn't been much written about the current generation of yonsei, which makes me wonder why? I suppose one could write a lot on the assimilation patterns of local Japanese in the recent generations. Went to Hanaki and demolished a couple piles of crab, I think I have a picture somewhere of another pile at one of the cousin's graduation. One reminder of how much I miss home is the food. Although lately I've come to identify with bratwurst and beer. speaking of which, football season is on. 8 . 1 8 . 0 3 Back home for a couple weeks now, still adjusting to the time difference. Went to Gordan Biersch last night to see the Opihi Pickers, definitely a change of pace from the DC and Madison music scenes. I've been reminded by a general sense of calm that local people have in demeanor, quite in contrast to people on the east coast. While it is human nature to have a sense of pride or image, it seems that it is toned down quite a bit here. And its actually cooler in Hawaii for the summer. another reason to come home eventually I guess. Air conditioning would trump this factor on the mainland of course, but you never know when the power will go out or something like that. or maybe when you just can't afford the luxury. So I'm digging through old mail, documents, books what not. maybe I'll be able to clean house a bit while I'm here. it has gotten a little cluttered from last I recall. Although maybe its just because I was used to living out of two suitcases all summer. Having a lack of worldly possessions isn't a bad thing at all. Need to finish this assignment for the summer, I had originally thought I would be able to do it on the plane, but since Northwest has decided to skimp even further on the passenger spaces I couldn't even open my notebook to type anything. Meanwhile I was applying my recently acquired knowledge of the airline industry to make some interesting observations. I think my GAO team was right, after working for a couple months on an aviation job, you'll never quite go back to flying with the same amount of ease again. 8 . 1 5 . 0 3 Back in Madison, almost moved in. Was a little surprised at how much stuff I had in storage in terms of boxes, and also surprised how I was able to fit everything back in this tiny room at the Merit House. I had the luxury of space while in DC, I think my room was about 5 times bigger and had AC. It kind of feels like a homecoming of sorts, I've gotten so used to this city over the collective years that its all too familar. nostalgic. sappy. kind of wished I bought season tickets, afterall I could've sold them for a profit. Big blackout in the Northeast, I missed the shutdown in Detroit by a couple hours. I flew out just in time, good thing I left when I did. Noteworthy that as I'm leaving DC a lot of the federal agencies that I came into familiarization while working with GAO are on the news. HSS, DOE, DOJ, HSJ, FAA. I've heard the president talk about infrastracture about a dozen times in one speech already. Be heading home for a couple weeks, should be a good vacation for what its worth. Will need to be getting ready for this upcoming semester and applications. I don't expect anyone getting off of Wisconsin's waitlist this year, prioritized or not. Looks like some of that nice federal salary I got over the summer will be going to application fees afterall. 8 . 1 2 . 0 3 A couple days left in DC, just about finished packing up and getting ready to ship out back west. I kind of like this change of pace, being able to take it relatively easy while I close out this summer experience with a relatively limited amount of rush. I got a positive review of my work this summer in my exit interview. I always get a little uncomfortable when people say nice things about me. It has been a good summer - working with the GAO is definitely a possible future. I went to see two more of the HK films in the Freer film festival: "Tempting Heart" and "Just One Look". both were notworthy in their own respects, a little on the sappy side but still very well done. I also got a chance to see the National Holocast memorial, got there early enough in the morning to get in without much of a wait. Overall it is a very well done building, very informative and media-intensive. The most powerful pieces of the tour are the actual artifacts of the Jewish ghettos and victim's personal belongings. Also the documentation of the uprising and resistance put up by the prisoners in the midst of the war. however there was a most glaring observation that I took from the exhibit - worth mentioning, I feel that I have gotten an adequate education about the holocast from paying attention in school, and watching hollywood movies to really gain anything in addition from the exhibit. I couldn't help but notice the slanted depiction of the current state in the middle east and the horrors of the holocast serving as justification for the current treatment of Palestinians by Isreal. As horrible and ghastly the systematic murders of more than 6 million human beings during WWII by the nazi regime I felt an emptiness in my heart thinking that history could in fact repeat itself. The current generations of Holocast survivors are no more wiser or in touch with humanity that those a generation ago that stood by and ignored the slaughter. The politicization of suffering is a powerful tool. However when it is used to create more suffering glossed over with a veil of morality it shames the losses of the real victims of history. It is easy to avenge past wrongs in the name of the dead because they are no longer around to express their approval. I think of "Maus", the underlying message about the frailty of human nature and the irony of fate in determining who survives the scythe of genocide. If anything, I think that I was expecting more of that kind of message from the museum. The holocast has served as America's moral justification for the european theater in WWII, despite contributing to the eugenics movement of racial purity, and denying entry to Jewish refugees before, during, and after the war. It is not surprising how many Americans are in blind support of US foreign policy in the middle east, namely our blind support of Isreal. The holocast, has been ingrained into us at an early age, an example of racism at its worst - conveniently set almost a century ago, and in a country across the Atlantic Ocean. I recall while growing up in Hawaii there was a good deal of class curriculum devoted to talking about the Holocast. In fact two of the three summer reading assignments that we had in High school were either on the holocost, or the Jewish-American experience. In retrospect this seems a little odd growing up in Hawaii having much more relevance as to reading about the adventures of blond haired/blue-eyed Jane and Dick playing in the snow. I wonder what American's perception would be if the lessons were to take another step forward, appealing to the humanity involved and what can be done to prevent a repeat. Perhaps the most dangerous thing teach young minds is that once you are a victim, or identify with a disadvantaged group that you are incapable of passing on the misery to another group. put into perspective, I recall as a 1st grader hearing about the holocast questioning what the difference was between a german and a jew - at the time I thought that they were both Haole. I couldn't understand their hatred for each other. I still don't. 8 . 6 . 0 3 Wed evening in the GAO. Its been a busy half-week so far and the next two day should be eventful as well. I'm going to Dulles for a day tour with the PI team, I helped organize the flyer - I hear that its one of the better agency tours. It'll be a good culminating experience for my summer learning about Aviation. I had a long talk with Phillis today after the team meeting, if I do come back to GAO in a year I'll definitely look forward to learning more from her experiences and insights. I've gotten so used to a workout schedule I'm thinking about how I can get some exercise in over the next 3 weeks. I tell myself that I'll be surfing a lot but I say that every break and I never end up going as much as I would like. Maybe this'll be a new beginning, get the blood flowing to help me cope with the next Wisconsin winter. The AASP PA position got filled by someone else. Apparently there was a ton of applicants this year, no doubt with the tuition increases and slashing of public education funding. I can't complain, I already secured funding with La Follette, but I'll have to stretch whats left of my GAO salary over the next year to make it by. Maybe I'll go work in a bar or something. On a more somber note, this week marks the 58th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A little disturbing, that we seem to be on the edge of a new nuclear proliferation. Even more disturbing is that the hibakusha are nearing an age where the rest of the world forgets while many others cling to the American myth of the bombings - in all of its justifications and barbarism. I still recall sitting through a Freshman Comm Arts 100 speech on how the bombings were justified. I was quite upset, but downplayed the feelings to the fact that it was just a damn speech, I don't think anyone really felt strongly about any of the topics that they put on. In terms of human value of course there is an unequality in the scales of policymakers, and looking back on it many of her facts were products of years of American moral spin. I've also heard the argument about the nuclear holocast as being karma for the atrocities of the Japanese empire in Asia. I find it odd that the most vocal of this arguement are Taiwanese and Chinese Americans who have no ties to the mother country/asia in general. These combined with the majority of Haole America makes an interesting focus group. "divide and conquer" sounds relevant. Being reminded about the bomb brings to mind very vivid images, pictures, written accounts, haunting paintings drawn by bomb survivors who were children at the time. There is a pressing human element that binds me more emotionally and spiritually, well beyond any blood tie. Visiting the peace memorial and seeing the area around the epicenter was an experience in itself. recent events make it more and more evident that another city will be reduced to ashes in the future. And I'm adamant in saying that I don't wish it on any city in the world, American or foreign it doesn't matter. Nothing could justify unleashing such fury on a living being. Nuclear war can never be fought in self defense, and as a deterrant I see it as a shoddy justification to exist. 8 . 4 . 0 3 Last week at GAO, grinding out the summer assignment for tomorrow, some re-writes and what not still left. Wondering if flowcharts are in season. either way this has been a manageable project for sure. at least for the summer period. I think i'm ready for a vacation. Went to Mount Vernon this past weekend with Kristine, neat seeing the place that I've read about in all those children books and american history and civics classes. It did remind me in some ways of the plantations back home, with some obvious cultural and historical differences of course. With the heat it felt like someplace out it Waimanalo. I was especially interested in Washington's method of farming - he developed a rotating method so that the soil would have time to replenish over 7 year cycles. he also abandoned growing tobacco as his main crop due to the damage it caused on the land. an innovator, he developed 16 sided barn to process wheat, horses ran in circles on the second floor and the grain gathered on the ground floor through 1-inch thick splits in the floor. Also visited Washington's tomb, and an almost unmarked slave burial mound not too far away. Starting to look ahead to the next semester, have to remind myself to keep on track for the final year, this fall will be crucial in getting apps out early since the competition is to be tighter than last year. At least the LSAT is good for 5 years. at least at most schools, not counting UH. Otherwise this should be a pretty good year ahead. I'm thinking that it'll be my last in Madison. |