Wednesday, November 5th, 2008 is the 14 year anniversary of the day I first saw Michael Stipe in person. How do I remember that that happened on Tuesday, November 5th, 1994? Because I wrote about it way back when.
I had this whole series of articles and short stories about Michael Stipe, about how our love was destined, about how he had joined REM back when I was born in order to vent his frustration over the fact that his soulmate was an infant, about how his lyrics were secret messages to the world over this cruel twist of fate that would have him waiting until he was nearly forty for his soulmate to be legal, about how he "pretended" to be "gay" as a cover-up for this torment, about how I searched for him my true love and soulmate everywhere I went, including Westpoint (which had a good chance of housing him because there were so many bald men there) and the organics section in Kroger (because he's a vegan) and the men's room (because he's a... he) and my own back yard just to be sure because it's always the last place you look.
And then, it happened. I found him in the Memphis pyramid, on stage, "pretending" to sing "to" thousands of people, but really it was all just to me. That was on Tuesday, November 5th, 1994. Also, I remember it was on Tuesday, November 5th because I asked for permission to go in March. I made sure to say "Tuesday, November 5th", and it totally worked. Mom heard the "November" part, but not so much the "school night" part, and permission was granted.
Ha! That was the night that Paul (my boyfriend at the time) had his car stolen -- and then returned. It was such a piece of junk that not even thieves wanted it for free.
And you know, the fourteenth anniversary is the ivory anniversary. I don't really know what that means, but it seems important. So why am I going to miss this day? Because I'm skipping it. I'm jumping over the international date line, leaving Honolulu on the 4th, and arriving in Bangkok on the 6th.
I'm crushed. Not only will this be the fourteenth time Michael Stipe and I won't be celebrating our anniversary together, but I'm not even going to exist within timespace in order to celebrate it at all!
I mean, sure, I'll get to have two November 12ths, but pfft! Who cares about November 12th? Stupid November 12th. Always going on like "Hey! I come right after November 11th!" Useless friggin' day.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
I'm going to Thailand
Yup. It's official. I"m going to Bangkok. And that is the bigfrigginhugeexcitingohmygodIcan'tbelieveitwtfetc news!
This completely fell into my lap. An email was sent out to the Psychology Department saying that a grant was available that would send a social sciences student to Bangkok to participate in a workshop looking at the effects of air pollution on people. So I emailed back and said I was interested because one of my major research interests is environmental justice. Well, six hours later, I was more or less confirmed. Twelve hours after that, I was totally confirmed.
I'm going to friggin' Bangkok!!!!
Out of nowhere!!!!
I can't believe this just happened!!!!
I can't stop squealing like a twelve-year-old!!!!
And, it all happens in less than two weeks. I'll be going to Asia for the first time, crossing the international date line for the first time, participating in an international think tank of smart people trying to save the world for the first time, and it happens in under two weeks. I'll be heading out on the 4th (after I vote) (not that it matters in Hawaii whether I vote or not), will arrive there on the 6th. I'll leave there on the 12th, arrive back on... the 12th. I think it's like a 18 hour flight (I was wrong, Mom, what I told you before), so in total it'll be 8 days of travel; 6 days in Bangkok.
Did I mention that it's expense paid?
Did I mention that I'm the luckiest person on earth?
This is my super happy dream goal of what I want to do in life, and I thought maybe, MAYBE in ten years I'll get to do things like this once or twice ever. But then this just fell into my lap now! I can't even believe it. This is the coolest thing ever. Squealing like a twelve year old, all over again.
This completely fell into my lap. An email was sent out to the Psychology Department saying that a grant was available that would send a social sciences student to Bangkok to participate in a workshop looking at the effects of air pollution on people. So I emailed back and said I was interested because one of my major research interests is environmental justice. Well, six hours later, I was more or less confirmed. Twelve hours after that, I was totally confirmed.
I'm going to friggin' Bangkok!!!!
Out of nowhere!!!!
I can't believe this just happened!!!!
I can't stop squealing like a twelve-year-old!!!!
And, it all happens in less than two weeks. I'll be going to Asia for the first time, crossing the international date line for the first time, participating in an international think tank of smart people trying to save the world for the first time, and it happens in under two weeks. I'll be heading out on the 4th (after I vote) (not that it matters in Hawaii whether I vote or not), will arrive there on the 6th. I'll leave there on the 12th, arrive back on... the 12th. I think it's like a 18 hour flight (I was wrong, Mom, what I told you before), so in total it'll be 8 days of travel; 6 days in Bangkok.
Did I mention that it's expense paid?
Did I mention that I'm the luckiest person on earth?
This is my super happy dream goal of what I want to do in life, and I thought maybe, MAYBE in ten years I'll get to do things like this once or twice ever. But then this just fell into my lap now! I can't even believe it. This is the coolest thing ever. Squealing like a twelve year old, all over again.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Re: the way good news changes your mind
Wherein "changes" means "alters"
Something pretty damned cool has potentially fallen into my lap today. Between the minutes 10:00 and 10:01, my life potentially got a whole lot cooler. Then, between the minutes 4:35 and 4:36, the potentiality got a whole lot more probable.
Only thing is, it's gonna be another 24-48 hours before it becomes definite, or before it all comes undone. And the fact that it's leaning a lot toward definite has got me all squiggly inside, but I keep trying to force myself down to earth and trying to tell myself to be reasonable and not tell everyone I know about possible good news until... well, until I know for certain that I got some good news.
Also, the times listed above are approximates, but who really cares?
This evening, I was so excited with possibilities that I just could not sit still long enough to get my work done. So I took a trip to Longs, which is like Walgreens if you don't have them in your area. The sun had just set, but the sky was still lit. The air was cool and I could see rainclouds over Manoa valley, could feel a light mist dust against my face. Sometimes, here, rain blows over and hits you from other parts of the island.
By the time I got to the footbridge over Kapiolani, the mist was full-on. By the time I hit King St., the rain was falling. I was wet and frizzy and I couldn't stop smiling because of the possibilities, and I thought, good news changes your mind. The burgeoning night was alive and beautiful. The wind was sweet. I could feel my hair frizzing and maybe I looked like a crazy woman, but at least I looked like a kindly crazy woman because people smiled back at me as I passed them.
The tree in the park out front of Star Market, that tree that is big enough it could shade half a city block, it was loud with the songs of myna birds. Myna birds are the gangsta bullies that strut about and push all the other birds around. Sometimes they squawk, but sometimes they have very lovely songs. I've heard they can speak human languages too. Tonight they were singing lovely.
I'll know within two days if I have good news to share, or a near miss with which you can commiserate with me. I'm hoping for the former. Because, really, it would be so badass.
Something pretty damned cool has potentially fallen into my lap today. Between the minutes 10:00 and 10:01, my life potentially got a whole lot cooler. Then, between the minutes 4:35 and 4:36, the potentiality got a whole lot more probable.
Only thing is, it's gonna be another 24-48 hours before it becomes definite, or before it all comes undone. And the fact that it's leaning a lot toward definite has got me all squiggly inside, but I keep trying to force myself down to earth and trying to tell myself to be reasonable and not tell everyone I know about possible good news until... well, until I know for certain that I got some good news.
Also, the times listed above are approximates, but who really cares?
This evening, I was so excited with possibilities that I just could not sit still long enough to get my work done. So I took a trip to Longs, which is like Walgreens if you don't have them in your area. The sun had just set, but the sky was still lit. The air was cool and I could see rainclouds over Manoa valley, could feel a light mist dust against my face. Sometimes, here, rain blows over and hits you from other parts of the island.
By the time I got to the footbridge over Kapiolani, the mist was full-on. By the time I hit King St., the rain was falling. I was wet and frizzy and I couldn't stop smiling because of the possibilities, and I thought, good news changes your mind. The burgeoning night was alive and beautiful. The wind was sweet. I could feel my hair frizzing and maybe I looked like a crazy woman, but at least I looked like a kindly crazy woman because people smiled back at me as I passed them.
The tree in the park out front of Star Market, that tree that is big enough it could shade half a city block, it was loud with the songs of myna birds. Myna birds are the gangsta bullies that strut about and push all the other birds around. Sometimes they squawk, but sometimes they have very lovely songs. I've heard they can speak human languages too. Tonight they were singing lovely.
I'll know within two days if I have good news to share, or a near miss with which you can commiserate with me. I'm hoping for the former. Because, really, it would be so badass.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Regarding the "real" America
This video is great. It's an interview with the Mayor of Wasilla, AK from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, along with some other stuff about Wasilla spliced in with Palin's speaches.
So, apparently, senior McCain campaign adviser Nancy Pfotenhauer has gotten some flack recently because she said that people who live in Virginia but don't support McCain are not part of "real Virginia."
And then there's Palin always going on about "real America," which doesn't include liberals, environmentalists, or people who exercise abstract thinking skills. And then there's Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann on Hardball, below. Because this clip is rather painful to watch, I'll sum it up for you. Chris Matthews asks her many times, loudly and seemingly to her confusion and/or discomfort, if she thinks all liberals are anti-American. Eventually, she says yes, she thinks there should be a media expose about anti-Americanism in Congress.
We see this and Michael says, "McCarthyism wasn't that long ago. People were alive. People remember it. How the *expletive deleted* could this be happening again?"
Maybe there wasn't an expletive in his quote. Maybe that's all me. But I think it's a valid question either way. WTF, yo?
But less seriously, a community organizer with responsibilities, eh? Yeah, that's what I thought. Score one for the community organizers. Boo-yah.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Pride and Cubicles
Well, Michael and I just watched the debate online at cnn. I missed the second one, but am definitely going to catch up on it now. This is mostly because I spent the whole debate wondering when it was that McCain became so crazy and incoherent. I disagreed with him on the first debate, but he didn't seem nuts back then. Is it just me? I didn't imagine it, right? He really did seem to be a mildly raving lunatic?
And why exactly does he keep accusing Obama of "spreading the wealth around" like that's a bad thing? I'm beginning (beginning-ha!) to suspect that McCain pals around with billionaires more than with the other 95% of the country, because I feel pretty confident that most people in the US are not opposed at all to some of those richies "spreading the wealth around."
Since I'm not a major news source, I don't feel particularly inclined to an even-handed analysis where I try to see the good in both sides' performances. Obama was great. And while I disagree with him on some pretty significant points, I couldn't help thinking, "You know, I would be kind of proud to have a President like that." I haven't been proud yet in my life of a President we've had. It was new and surprising to me.
But when McCain would start bustin' out with illogical and incoherent arguments about ___fill in the blank thing that has already been widely and roundly discredited___, I would just think, "If he gets elected, he'll be President. And then if he dies in office, Sarah Palin would be President." And then I'd feel that sort of sick desperate dread that has churned in my belly since I was first introduced to Dubya.
I think we all know by now that it would be an idle threat if I were to say I'd leave the country if McCain won -- after all, I stuck around both times Bush managed to find himself in office without being elected. It's just an idle threat. It would only serve as that extra incentive to get my PhD in record time and convince some international social justice agency to put me up in a foreign community-based job. Hell, I'd even take a foreign office cubicle. Hm... no, I take that back. I'd need a Palin Presidency to get me into a cubicle.
And why exactly does he keep accusing Obama of "spreading the wealth around" like that's a bad thing? I'm beginning (beginning-ha!) to suspect that McCain pals around with billionaires more than with the other 95% of the country, because I feel pretty confident that most people in the US are not opposed at all to some of those richies "spreading the wealth around."
Since I'm not a major news source, I don't feel particularly inclined to an even-handed analysis where I try to see the good in both sides' performances. Obama was great. And while I disagree with him on some pretty significant points, I couldn't help thinking, "You know, I would be kind of proud to have a President like that." I haven't been proud yet in my life of a President we've had. It was new and surprising to me.
But when McCain would start bustin' out with illogical and incoherent arguments about ___fill in the blank thing that has already been widely and roundly discredited___, I would just think, "If he gets elected, he'll be President. And then if he dies in office, Sarah Palin would be President." And then I'd feel that sort of sick desperate dread that has churned in my belly since I was first introduced to Dubya.
I think we all know by now that it would be an idle threat if I were to say I'd leave the country if McCain won -- after all, I stuck around both times Bush managed to find himself in office without being elected. It's just an idle threat. It would only serve as that extra incentive to get my PhD in record time and convince some international social justice agency to put me up in a foreign community-based job. Hell, I'd even take a foreign office cubicle. Hm... no, I take that back. I'd need a Palin Presidency to get me into a cubicle.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
A short treatise on the importance of expeditious mail
Today in the mail I received a large envelope with a clear plastic window revealing what was inside. On the back of the envelope was the following message:
"Dear Valued Postal Customer:
I want to extend my sincere apology as your Postmaster for the enclosed document that was inadvertently damaged in handling by your Postal Service. We are aware how important your mail is to you. With that in mind, we are forwarding it to you in an expeditious fashion.
The U.S. Postal Service handles over 202 billion pieces of mail each year. While each employee makes a concerted effort to process, without damage, each piece of mail, an occasional mishap does happen.
We are constantly working to improve our processing methods so that these incidents will be eliminated. You can help us greatly in our efforts if you will continue to properly prepare and address each letter or parcel that you enter into the mailstream.
We appreciate your cooperation and understanding and sincerely regret any inconvenience that you have experienced.
Hugs and kisses,
Your Postmaster"
Except for the hugs and kisses part, which I threw in there to lighten up an otherwise rather dour message. I mean, some valuable piece of my mail had been damaged, probably irreparably! Something important enough that my Postmaster was like, "Holy Shi Tzu! Valued Postal Customer is going to be well pissed at this inadvertent damage unless we enclose this document in a huge white envelope and forward it on in an expeditious fashion."
But back to the front of the envelope-- the side that has the huge clear plastic window that allows me to see what the inadvertently damaged document was, and how bad exactly was that damage... and... well, it's a Pier 1 imports mailer. Addressed to "David Suzuki Ung or Current Resident". The damage is that one of the little round stickers that holds the mailer shut is slightly torn. Otherwise, it's still a viable piece of junk mail.
'Or Current Resident.' Really. How important could any piece of mail possibly be if it includes that in the mailing address?
Well, no worries, my dear, kindhearted postmaster. The expeditious fashion of your big-envelope-mailin' has totally made up for any inadvertent damage done to my document. In fact, the novelty of it kept me well entertained for some moments today.
Hugs and kisses,
Valued Postal Customer
"Dear Valued Postal Customer:
I want to extend my sincere apology as your Postmaster for the enclosed document that was inadvertently damaged in handling by your Postal Service. We are aware how important your mail is to you. With that in mind, we are forwarding it to you in an expeditious fashion.
The U.S. Postal Service handles over 202 billion pieces of mail each year. While each employee makes a concerted effort to process, without damage, each piece of mail, an occasional mishap does happen.
We are constantly working to improve our processing methods so that these incidents will be eliminated. You can help us greatly in our efforts if you will continue to properly prepare and address each letter or parcel that you enter into the mailstream.
We appreciate your cooperation and understanding and sincerely regret any inconvenience that you have experienced.
Hugs and kisses,
Your Postmaster"
Except for the hugs and kisses part, which I threw in there to lighten up an otherwise rather dour message. I mean, some valuable piece of my mail had been damaged, probably irreparably! Something important enough that my Postmaster was like, "Holy Shi Tzu! Valued Postal Customer is going to be well pissed at this inadvertent damage unless we enclose this document in a huge white envelope and forward it on in an expeditious fashion."
But back to the front of the envelope-- the side that has the huge clear plastic window that allows me to see what the inadvertently damaged document was, and how bad exactly was that damage... and... well, it's a Pier 1 imports mailer. Addressed to "David Suzuki Ung or Current Resident". The damage is that one of the little round stickers that holds the mailer shut is slightly torn. Otherwise, it's still a viable piece of junk mail.
'Or Current Resident.' Really. How important could any piece of mail possibly be if it includes that in the mailing address?
Well, no worries, my dear, kindhearted postmaster. The expeditious fashion of your big-envelope-mailin' has totally made up for any inadvertent damage done to my document. In fact, the novelty of it kept me well entertained for some moments today.
Hugs and kisses,
Valued Postal Customer
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Things that fly
So, there's this bird that flies down into the parking lot outside my place every morning and plays with its reflection on the top of one of the cars. Maybe it's trying to mate. Maybe it's trying to fight. Maybe it's trying to play. Maybe it's trying to take a waterbath in the shiny metal. I don't know. But it entertains us every morning. So this morning, I slowly slipped outside through the screen door and recorded it with our nifty digital camera.
In other news, the Conference went great. I really enjoyed hanging around a large group of Community Psychologists in the Southeast of the US. I had no idea there were so many of us out there, and it was nice to know that if I wind up getting a job round there after I graduate, that there is a community of us there waiting for me. I met some really great people. My talk went really well. I was quite pumped by the experience, and would definitely like to do it again.
Also I had a great time hanging with the family. I got to carry around Diego a lot, and that was cool because he's awesome. I got to hang with my sisters and brother. Got to meet Kate, who is also awesome. Got to go to school with Mom and speak to, and then with, a bunch of teenage girls about mission and vocation and social justice. Got to drink coffee with my Dad, and then he showed me how to make bullets in the garage.
So, yup. Totally successful trip. I'm dead beat, though, and I've been sleeping quite well these past couple days since I got home. I'll write something thought provoking later on. For now, about all I can handle is wibble wibble.
peace, y'all.
In other news, the Conference went great. I really enjoyed hanging around a large group of Community Psychologists in the Southeast of the US. I had no idea there were so many of us out there, and it was nice to know that if I wind up getting a job round there after I graduate, that there is a community of us there waiting for me. I met some really great people. My talk went really well. I was quite pumped by the experience, and would definitely like to do it again.
Also I had a great time hanging with the family. I got to carry around Diego a lot, and that was cool because he's awesome. I got to hang with my sisters and brother. Got to meet Kate, who is also awesome. Got to go to school with Mom and speak to, and then with, a bunch of teenage girls about mission and vocation and social justice. Got to drink coffee with my Dad, and then he showed me how to make bullets in the garage.
So, yup. Totally successful trip. I'm dead beat, though, and I've been sleeping quite well these past couple days since I got home. I'll write something thought provoking later on. For now, about all I can handle is wibble wibble.
peace, y'all.
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