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1 2 . 2 9 . 0 3 Just got back from SF last night, hit the ground running. Went to Bedroqs and Magoos, ran into a whole mess of the old 97 gang. About half of them are all over the country now, working or going to grad schools. Same ole, same ole, really. Matt got a job in LA working as a consultant for an accounting firm, I was thinking in terms of human capital, the old gang has developed a substantial collective mass that could be harnessed one day. Jase and Tanja have a cool setup in San Matteo, along with Julio the cat. It was neat spending xmas outside of hawaii for a change, something that I'll probably start getting used to over the next couple years. Might be making a trip out to visit them again. Also went to see lord of the rings again. It was good the second time around. Had a good time in SF, ate a lot of good food and saw a lot of interesting stores, galleries, shops, people. I found a sanshin for sale in chinatown, and a bunch of decent sushi bars all over the city. I also was impressed with their Japan town center, lots of things to read and look at. I've reaffirmed that the bay area would be an ideal place to live and work if the wind takes me there. who knows maybe after a paying my dues in DC I'll opt for a transfer to a field office or something. I still have some interesting impressions of Cali asians though. Something about being too comfortable in your surroundings, never questioning identity has the potential to breed a certain type of ignorance. perhaps it is only through struggle and a baptism of fire that one finds one's spirit, or one's voice. 1 2 . 2 0 . 0 3 PAU! 1 2 . 1 9 . 0 3 2:47 in the AM, do you know where your Kano is? He's at the Lafollette Basement, finishing up the last assignment of the semester. Send Pizza and nourishment. Almost pau. Thinking about where to go get breakfast in the early morning. 1 2 . 1 7 . 0 3 Halfway through finals and I'm doing ok. Honestly, the change in my prospects for next year has altered my attitude and outlook, just a tad. Went out to Madison's tonight with Tristan, Bee, and Milda, got into some political conversations, along with relationships, philosphy, capitalism, socialism, and well, the whole nine yards. I ended up talking to Milda for a while about Lithuania, another regional history that I need to read up on. The US caught Saddam. This in itself seems like a good thing, an obvious war criminal and dictator. But his capture in itself doesn't change anything towards justifying the pre-emptive invasion and occupation of Iraq. Thats what confuses me, the way the media depicted his capture made it seemed like the whole war was justified in itself. It's like we should just forget about the state of the union, and all the saber rattling talking about weapons of mass destruction, and imminent threat. Honestly, his capture changes nothing. Meanwhile, US forces kill 18 in a protest just a day after Saddam's capture. 1 2 . 1 1 . 0 3 week before official finals but my finals have already started. Finished a lit review at about 5 in the morning today, my 855 Law class paper is due tomorrow. Probably be up for most of the night, debating on getting some sleep and when it would fit in. Diggin this Dunn Brother's Coffee shop on Lake street, they have free wireless, reminds me of the old Cyberstop in DC. and its really really cold outside. Had the first snow storm of the year, temps with windchills in the single digits is a reminder what state I'm in. Ice on the ground and bitter winds, moisture in the air that chills your bones. ah, back to work. 1 2 . 8 . 0 3 Got a call from GAO this afternoon, haven't had a chance to check the message yet. Wonder if its good news or bad news? If anything at all I'm pretty sure that it'll give me some idea of where I'll be in about 5-9 months. Probably want to stick around in Madison for the summer, but we'll see. it might be beneficial to get into the swing of things during the summer. of course the other factors have still yet to be determined. looking like another hell week for me. after Monday I should be able to breath a little bit easier, then there'll be a 875 paper and catching up on my PA work. I've fallen behind on the projects big time. probably spend the Xmas break researching. Had breather this weekend, much needed after a shitty week. Good to have something to look forward to, take your mind off of some things and focus on life's more important observations. such as the width of one's feet relative to shoe size to the value of having a second toe longer than the rest. Also to give into distraction is a form of release. It snowed again this weekend. couple of times unexpectedly, but it honestly was just a matter of time. I do appreciate the seasons here, it gives you a sense of change and renewal. 1 2 . 4 . 0 3 I hate Microsoft. Or at least the malfuntioning nature of MSWord. at about 2:45am CST I had just about finished my already overdue draft for my SLIS class, ready to email it to my prof when word konked out. Deleted both my copy and my backup copy??? strange. maybe its an omen. anyway, it looks like an all nighter that didn't have to be. woke up at about 4:00pm. now my clock is really shot. off to the SSML lab to work on 881 now. and then it'll be lit review for 875 and trying to rework out the SLIS that I lost about 14 hours ago. Looks like a busy couple weeks from here on out. Somewhere along the line I need to get some of these apps out as well. 1 2 . 2 . 0 3 December and I'm sick again. shouldn't be complaining, its only the second cold of the semester, but it always seems to hit me at the worst possible time. In other words, it looks like crunch time from here on out. Kind of hazy, distracted, not getting much sleep here and there. some strange dreams lately. one was about digging for human remains in manoa. apparently mom had found a jaw bone dated back to the 18th century in the backyard, and then the entire valley got caught up in a digging frenzy. Strangely I was part of a crew that found a mass burial of bodies in one area along the road - the skulls were the size of large boulders, giant's heads in proportion. I could feel an aura about the freshly unearthed bodies, an energy of sort, ancient, powerful, mysterious. A bunch of the diggers formed circles around each of the skulls, sang and chanted old songs, some in Hawaiian, some in another language that I can't put a name to. I felt a warm wind gust up from the ground, swirling up into the heavens. I looked up, tears of joy running down my face. This morning the alarm in my building went off, aout 7 or 8am. ended up standing in the cold for about half an hour before the all clear signal went out. I was on my old surfboard, looking out into the swells along a desolate beach, around dusk. The waves were choppy, cold, not good for surfing, but I paddle out anyway. Somebody else is out there trying to make thebest of an otherwise sub-par situation. I paddle out in the choppy waves, as the sun goes down I think about the threat of sharks. An old man surfaces nearby, with two kumu on his spear. he tells me that this is the right season for the red fish, with the tide unusually low and the water clear. it is night when he hands me a flashlight and I dive in the water. underneath it is clear and I can see far, the light penetrating the depths. I see concrete embankments, and a trail that leads off into the distance. eventually the water becames murky again, and i a resurface. looking over the embankments I lead the old man and some kid(?) along to the other side of the now exposed shoreline. the water is dead calm, and the shoreline rocks reveal old human ruins, stone arches and carved steps along the coast. The old man follows me excitedly, mentioning that further down is where they laid john?joshua? to rest many years ago. I watch out to prevent from stepping under the arches, observing some old tradition. Maybe I should read up on dreams this Xmas break. if I have time. |