|
1 1 . 2 0 . 0 7 Thanksgiving break this week, and of course I'm pretty swamped with work and school coming up towards the end of the semester. I just realized that this is the first year since I started night school that I've actually been in town for turkeyday. The last two years I spent thanksgiving in Vegas of all places. Have to say that it was a fun distraction from business as usual. Busy stretch for work, I think in my few years in the workforce I've learned quite a bit about the inner workings of agencies and the ongoing dance between the various power players that drive the process. I got a kick out of reading the list of the various types of professions that are supposedly a good and/or bad match, based on my myers-brigg temperment, which is still a solid ENTP. The P to J deviation is not nearly as prevalent as before. On a more somber note, I got news recently that one of my mentors from Madison recently lost an ongoing bout with cancer this past week. I had heard that she was going through a rough time earlier this year which in part lead to her decision that it was time to retire. She was definitely the type of person you just feel fortunate and blessed to have met, one to hold up as an example of a kind and caring human being that we should all strive to being. She always had a moment to spare for the random student who stopped by the office, whether you were a sleep deprived graduate student, or naive freshman in the first week of college. I remember seeing so many students go from timid and apprehensive to being visibly more comfortable being around her even for a moment. She was a dedicated civil servant, one that broke the stereotype of lazy government workers, even towards the end of her career in an academic program that ranked low on the priority of the ivory tower food chain. I was very impressed with how seriously she took her position, and the amount of passion and zeal that she put into making do with what little resources she was given. It was her personality and presence that drew students, myself included, to volunteer their time to help the program out. She made it very easy to want to help and more importantly, to get involved and in to learn in the process. She was a mentor, a friend, a teacher, counselor, and spiritual guide to everyone that stopped by that office, whether they stayed for tea, or went on their way and never came back. I especially remember her sheer strength of her spirit during her chemotherapy and her ability to keep a sense of humor, everything from the silly hats during the wintertime. I will always remember her laughter and a broad smile accompanying her occasional serving of brutally honest, real world advice, much of which I have found on point years after I left Madison. I am a believer of the saying that we are all the sum of the people we have met in life, and in living life to the fullest you honor their wisdom and spirit after they have moved on. Linkes 11/20/2007 Primo making a comeback Political psychology and Ron Paul Myers Brigg Rationals ENTP Ongoing battle between TSA and GAO Can you imagine being $500,000 in student loan debt? 7 Saving Tips and all that fun stuff American Lawbreaking and Prosecutorial discretion Cargill recall listing moo, cow Seg fees continue to increase and increase Polling the leaning Empire of Debt unraveling or crashing 1 1 . 5 . 0 7 The semester is picking up right about the time that work has as well. Its been a pretty busy few weeks, and it looks like will continue until the end of the semester. Seem to be on more of a morning schedule lately, crashing after I get back from my late night classes and getting up before the alarm clock goes off. Something that comes with my shift in schedule is that I remember my dreams much more vividly. Last night's was vivid enough to recall, and interesting enough to be worth mentioning. I am walking from my house to the university in the pouring rain, there is a small group of people with me some my age and some kids from the neighborhood who are coming along for the ride. We all talk and laugh along the way, jumping in puddles and sticking our feet in the small storm drain streams that are forming along the sidewalk, forcing the water to overflow over our feet. As the rain gets heavier, the streams become small rivers, although nothing too unusual for the rainy season. As we get closer to faculty housing the rain picks up even more, and I start clapping my hands to the rhythm of the rain pouring around us and the sound echoes. Some of the people I am with start dancing to the rhythm. After a short while, a middle aged, wily, professor-type lady appears from the nearby building and calls out to us smiling, motioning us to come into the courtyard. We make our way into the building entrance to find an open air courtyard with towering bamboo shooting up the middle in between the large concrete slabs, forming a sort of grove surrounded by the concrete of the building. The sky above is gray through the enormous glass skylights which either due to intentional design or disrepair are funneling the rain down to the ground below in large globs. The sound of the rain constantly coming down makes a very loud sound on the ground, and now all of us are clapping to the rhythm, some of us start dancing in a circle in the middle of the courtyard. Eventually the sound and laughter catches the attention of a nearby class or meeting of much older women, whom happen to be either friends or students of the professor. The older women quickly join us, forming their own circle of dancers, although they are moving in a slower yet deliberate and choreographed motion. The mood overall is joyous, and spontaneous, with everyone laughing and having a good time, all in the pouring rain. Linkes for 11/5/2007 Remember the 5 of the November? Interesting article about the bomb as a war atrocity against Christians This is called a budget? The three "As" Dropout Factories Zipcar Acquiring Flexcar in Merger 1 1 . 4 . 0 7 Haven't had much of a chance to comment on the status of the football teams that I follow, following one of the biggest hyped pro games tonight, maybe a brief post is due. Its a little past mid season for both college and pro, and two of the teams that I follow are undefeated, (Pats, Warriors) one with one loss (Packers) and the other still with a winning season at 7-3 (Badgers). Growing up I followed Hawaii for college ball, and thanks to my Dad's loyal following from his time living in Boston, New England. Spending a collective 6 years of college and grad school in Madison I traded Hawaii to become a faithful Wisconsin fan, and to some extent started following Green Bay, but still considered the Patriots my pro team. Some people think its lame to have more than one college and pro team, but given all the miles I've had living in different parts, I think its more than justified. At least the teams are in different conferences, so they'll rarely play each other except inter-conference play or in a bowl game. The thing I get a kick out of is how people are quick to lob that comment about me being a bandwagon fan or something, since Boston seems to be having a lot of sports successes recently. Two world series, 3 Superbowl wins since 2000, and I guess the Red Sox and the Pats are challenging the Yankees for the most hated teams out there. Not too long ago one guy I talked to said that he didn't believe me that I had been following the Patriots as long as I can remember, and that I remembered how much they used to suck so I'm just enjoying it while they are playing well. He said that he still didn't believe me, and that every bandwagoner says that. I kind of sat there and stared at him, not really knowing what the point of the conversation was, or why I should even have to convince someone about something as stupid as fan loyalty to a team that happens to be having a good season. I suspect it had something to do with him being a Redskins fan. With the mess of the BCS which relies on polls and perceptions of sports writers, both Wisconsin and Hawaii tend to get the short end of the stick as non-traditional powers. Granted this year hasn't been the best for the Badgers, every year it seems like Wisconsin is considered overrated and as soon as they lose, the sports writers are dying for a reason to drop them in the polls. This week Wisconsin kept up with #1 Ohio State and actually lead until they imploded in the 4th quarter, which I think was better than anyone thought they could've done. Hawaii on the other hand usually has trouble getting ranked, and despite having an undefeated year so far this season, are being kept out of the top 14 BCS, mostly being dinged for not playing anyone good on their schedule, despite the fact that nobody seems to want to fly out and face Brennen and June Jone's run and shoot offense. I remember all the years that Northwestern was ranked and even won a few big ten conference championships after breaking the smashmouth football tradition and going with a spread offense, but no one claiming that it was just a "system" therefore not legit, or worthy of national recognition. One thing for sure, I think its time for a playoff system for college ball. Make teams qualify based on their records, and then fight out for wild card games, seeding in a 2-3 week tournament instead of bowl games that most people don't even follow anyway if it isn't on Jan 1, or the national championship. To make the season more doable, they could cancel the conference championships in favor of wild card spaces. They could even create a system to restore some of the traditional match ups, like keeping the Rose Bowl between the Big 10 and Pac 10 team that qualifies with a certain record. |