Its that time of year, the time when the calendar changes from December to January and the numbers on the year go up by one. The TV networks usually do something like recap what has happened over the year and I tend to do the same thing, reflecting on a year that has been and what really stood out over the last 12 months of my life.
I started the year in Cuzco, Peru with a nice headache - and not from drinking. I was on vacation with friends from FDR and the altitude of the city was doing more damage to my brain than any drinking did but I was better off than another person whom I was traveling with - he would have to get the assistance of a doctor to get over it. I went to Machu Picchu with Rik and Laurie (and her son Connor), friends of mine from school. About a week later, I joined up with another group of teachers from FDR and hiked through the Colca Canyon - as much as we could anyways. Five days of adventure later, we split up and my friend Tim and I headed out on an epic adventure down South America. After almost two months of traveling and having gotten close to the southern tip of the continent, I headed home and prepared for my last semester of teaching abroad.
I knew from the end of the first semester in Lima that FDR wasn't the school for me and March was the beginning of the end of my tenure there. I struggled at times to endure the second semester but had some fun along the way, making a trip to Huancayo with three lovely ladies (and good friends), and doing my best to stay focused on getting everything done that I could while still enjoying Peru. I may not have enjoyed the school but I did enjoy the country. Like many places I have visited or lived in, there are pluses and minuses with each and Peru was a good place to be in a lot of ways. But my time there was limited due to my displeasure with my job so in June I packed up my bags and ventured my way to New Mexico.
Albuquerque is not what I had envisioned, the city was different than I had expected but in a good way. I got here and decided to crash with my parents for a bit until something else came along. I thought that with my teaching expertise and ability to do just about anything that someone put in front of me, that getting a job in the States would be an easy prospect and I was in for a rude awakening. I came back to the country just in time for an economic crisis and the job market I was hoping to tap was a bit on the thin side. Some tough times ensued and I must admit that August and September were not good months as unemployment was not the most enjoyable of times for me mentally. Time off is good but the idea of not being a viable and/or usable commodity doesn't feel good for anyone's ego and I definitely fell into that category. Slightly discouraged but still optimistic, I trudged on. A glimmer of hope came from a surprising venue and a sand volleyball team led to an interesting turn of events.
I signed up for a co-ed sand volleyball team where I knew no one but I wanted to meet people in and around Albuquerque (ABQ). One of the people on the team was a teacher at a local private school and she got me in to substituting there. *The school will remain anonymous until I get a job there.* The school reminds me of the attitude that I enjoyed in Holland when working at AISR and I found that I really wanted to work there full time next year (09-10). The science department chair took a liking to me and subbing there has been a good way to get my foot in the door, hopefully it will pan out to something more in the following months.
The substituting also led to the fact that I needed a new pair of shoes and so I ventured into REI one afternoon to get me something more suited for the classroom. While walking in, I saw a sign that seasonal help was needed and so I applied. Sure enough, I got the job as a cashier and started working there around Halloween and have been enjoying the position ever since. Retail is never a ton of fun during the holidays but I gotta admit that working at REI is a whole lot better than if I was at Wal-Mart or something like that. And now with the holiday season over, I find myself being carried over as a regular part-time employee - a good thing indeed. So with employment being taken care of (sorta), I also had time this year to focus on something else - someone to start a family with.
Previous posts on here have told about my dating exploits and the problems that I have had with it. After some awkward dates, short-time relationships, and frustration with learning how to date again in the US, it looks like something has panned out. A young lady (11 years my junior) recently made her way into my life and while the romance is new (since Thanksgiving), I would like to report that all is well and progressing nicely. We share a lot in common and I would expect that readers here will here more about Pipes as we continue our relationship and I continue to blog here.
For me, 2008 was filled with a lot of news. I lost two members of my family (maternal grandmother in Feb and paternal aunt in Dec), I traveled most of the western coast of South America, I returned to my native country after 5 years abroad, and I learned what it was like to be an American once again. There have been a lot of ups and downs over the last 12 months but I am grateful for all that I experienced and cannot believe how wonderful my life is. My thanks to my family and friends for all their support and kind wishes with my return home. And here's to looking forward to 2009 and all that it may hold for me. What news will come out next? Tune in and find out...
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
veterans day
The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month - the time to remember those who served their country and possibly gave their life to defend what they hold most sacred in their heart. I salute those who came before and after me and especially those who currently serving.
As a veteran of the Persian Gulf War, I am honored to have people remembering what I did for those years I was on active duty. But my sacrifice was small, not anywhere near as great as those who didn't return. My thoughts are with those who made the greatest sacrifice on the altar of freedom and those who are currently standing on the wall to defend us.
Thank you one and all for keeping America free from all enemies, foreign and domestic. No matter what branch of service and no matter what you do, thank you for keeping our country safe.
As a veteran of the Persian Gulf War, I am honored to have people remembering what I did for those years I was on active duty. But my sacrifice was small, not anywhere near as great as those who didn't return. My thoughts are with those who made the greatest sacrifice on the altar of freedom and those who are currently standing on the wall to defend us.
Thank you one and all for keeping America free from all enemies, foreign and domestic. No matter what branch of service and no matter what you do, thank you for keeping our country safe.
Friday, November 07, 2008
scrum-deli-icious
Don't these cupcakes look amazing? I'm getting hungry just looking at them. I gotta go get some sugar in me now...
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
losing my religion
No, I'm not going to comment on the famous R.E.M. song or how it was written or anything like that. If you want that, go to the wikipedia page for it and read for it yourself. Instead, I'm taking a note from my dear friend Mozzy who has given me yet another wonderful idea to blog about.
The discussion that he started had to do with souls and whether or not animals have them. The original discussion was started with his mother and he did a fine job of recapping it for me in an email and it got me to thinking. My religion as of late has been ALL over the place, from agnostic to atheist and nothing in between but perhaps this view that Mozzy has will help me to define my spirituality. So after thinking about what he had to say, I've thrown off the previous notions of religion that I've had and decided to go with something that makes a lot more sense to me.
In his discussion with his mother, Mozzy brought up the idea of Star Wars and 'the force'. His idea was that all living things give off energy vibrations and those can be sensed by the universe. People who have ESP or paranormal senses may be able to pick up on the vibrations of previously living people that the rest of us are unable to tune into - kinda like how dogs can sense higher pitches of sound than humans. I found a connection between the two in my mind. This connectivity really struck a chord with me and after thinking about this for the better part of almost 2 weeks, I've come up with something that I can grasp in terms of spirituality.
As a Physics teacher, I see how the universe is described through the beauty of its simplicity. Newton's laws of motion, Maxwell's equations for electromagnetism, Einstein's mass-energy equivalence principle - they are all simple in theory and explanation. Much like Ockham's Razor, which is often paraphrased as "all other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best", the description of everyday events by Physics are beautifully simplistic.
Current theories that are emerging from the field of Physics includes the idea of a unifying theory that will attempt to explain the way universe acts completely. Einstein searched for this, a grand unification theory, that would tie together the cosmos and the atom, his theory of general relativity with the realm of quantum mechanics. Don't worry if you don't know why those two don't work together, just know that they don't at this moment in time. Theoretical physicists have been working on a unifying theory, called string theory. It was when Mozzy said "vibrations" and "energy" in his discussion with his mother that my new spirituality became apparent.
String theory is the idea that the smallest particle of matter is actually not matter but a vibrating string of energy. Take the atom and break it down into smaller parts and you get protons, neutrons, and electrons. Break those down and you get quarks. Keep dividing subatomic particles enough and string theory predicts that you wouldn't have matter at all, rather a vibrating string of energy. Einstein's mass-energy equivalence principle (you all know it as E=mc2) fits perfectly into this idea (at least in my head it does) and how everything is interconnected.
For those of you whom have seen a movie called The Secret, you will note that the ideology put forth in the movie suggests that there is a natural harmonic to the universe and positive thoughts will yield positive results in life. While I don't subscribe to that specific philosophy, it does relate to the concept of interconnectedness of everything and has some aspects that I agree with. The book/movie talks about the 'law of attraction' where good thoughts attract good events/outcomes where negative ones will attract the same. While this sounds a bit hokey and many feel it falls into the realm of cult status, it does start to blend in scientific ideas with the parts of the universe we do not understand (the supernatural). Bare with me, let me try to explain.
If our body and mind is composed of energy, as E=mc2 demonstrates, and the energy we are composed of vibrating strings, then we each have a natural vibration - called a harmonic. Scientists over the years have also been great musicians as they believed that the universe was just a grand symphony, only out of our auditory range. Just like musical notes don't always work together well (dischord), people do not always get along. Is this due to the idea that their energies are disharmonious? Do people not have soulmates but rather have harmonious energies? If a person alters their mental energy by thinking different thoughts, do they possess the ability to change the energy that physically surrounds them? The Secret argues for this, I'm a bit more skeptical than that.
In a spiritual sense, this all ties together for me in cosmology - the study of the cosmos, not makeup application (that's cosmetology). There is a debate about the fate of the universe and the three possibilities are open, closed, and flat. Two of the three don't make sense to me (open and flat) but closed does. A closed universe suggests that the gravity of the universe will eventually pull everything back to one single point (a singularity) and the Big Crunch will possibly lead to another Big Bang. I like this idea. It says that the universe is like a giant balloon that is continually expanding and contracting, creating a universe over and over again in this process. It tells me that the entire cosmos is connected and comes down to a single moment of creation from destruction, life from death, the cycle of the Phoenix repeating forever. There is no God for everything is the creator and the created. Everything is interconnected. In essence, energy is divine and if we are all composed of energy, we are all divine.
Organized religion has bothered me in its pretense for years. Too many things are done in the name of an Almighty. Tithes are paid to build a church stripping money from people through guilt, a jihad is started to purge the land of infidels because of fear of difference, genocide is considered acceptable to attain a master race of genetic purity to reach a perfection. To me, organized religion is nothing more than people with charisma writing rules for people who don't think before they act. Why else would stoning by written into the Bible or jihad to non-Muslims in the Koran? People use fear to maintain an organized society and breaking the rules means punishment must be passed down. I think the basic premise of religion had it right - respect all life in all ways. And then man got his hands on it and found it a useful tool to control people to do what they wanted, altering meanings and using their charisma to convince the controlled that they were divine and beyond reproach. Organized religion is nothing more than a power play where people are instructed on how to live their lives because others deem it so. I've got plenty more I would like to say about that but that's for another post...
So it all comes down to this. Every creature, object, atom, whatever you want to look at, is the same at the basic level. The universe is energy and we are made of that energy. If a human has a soul, then so does a dog, a tree, your cell phone, a planet, and the Sombrero Galaxy. From the Big Bang, the cosmos was created and everything is a part of that creation, no matter how big or small, how warm or cold, how apparently life-filled or lifeless. You are connected to every person, bug, windshield, asteroid, drop of water, and star - whether you think you are or not. In cosmology it sometimes is overwhelming to think of how big the cosmos is and what is all out there, it can make you feel completely insignificant in the big picture. But that's not the way I see it anymore; I am a a part of this universe that is unique and will never be experienced again - the universe better enjoy me while I'm here just as I will enjoy it. And just maybe I'll see you all again the next time this universe is created once again. Hope to see ya on the flip side. :-)
The discussion that he started had to do with souls and whether or not animals have them. The original discussion was started with his mother and he did a fine job of recapping it for me in an email and it got me to thinking. My religion as of late has been ALL over the place, from agnostic to atheist and nothing in between but perhaps this view that Mozzy has will help me to define my spirituality. So after thinking about what he had to say, I've thrown off the previous notions of religion that I've had and decided to go with something that makes a lot more sense to me.
In his discussion with his mother, Mozzy brought up the idea of Star Wars and 'the force'. His idea was that all living things give off energy vibrations and those can be sensed by the universe. People who have ESP or paranormal senses may be able to pick up on the vibrations of previously living people that the rest of us are unable to tune into - kinda like how dogs can sense higher pitches of sound than humans. I found a connection between the two in my mind. This connectivity really struck a chord with me and after thinking about this for the better part of almost 2 weeks, I've come up with something that I can grasp in terms of spirituality.
As a Physics teacher, I see how the universe is described through the beauty of its simplicity. Newton's laws of motion, Maxwell's equations for electromagnetism, Einstein's mass-energy equivalence principle - they are all simple in theory and explanation. Much like Ockham's Razor, which is often paraphrased as "all other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best", the description of everyday events by Physics are beautifully simplistic.
Current theories that are emerging from the field of Physics includes the idea of a unifying theory that will attempt to explain the way universe acts completely. Einstein searched for this, a grand unification theory, that would tie together the cosmos and the atom, his theory of general relativity with the realm of quantum mechanics. Don't worry if you don't know why those two don't work together, just know that they don't at this moment in time. Theoretical physicists have been working on a unifying theory, called string theory. It was when Mozzy said "vibrations" and "energy" in his discussion with his mother that my new spirituality became apparent.
String theory is the idea that the smallest particle of matter is actually not matter but a vibrating string of energy. Take the atom and break it down into smaller parts and you get protons, neutrons, and electrons. Break those down and you get quarks. Keep dividing subatomic particles enough and string theory predicts that you wouldn't have matter at all, rather a vibrating string of energy. Einstein's mass-energy equivalence principle (you all know it as E=mc2) fits perfectly into this idea (at least in my head it does) and how everything is interconnected.
For those of you whom have seen a movie called The Secret, you will note that the ideology put forth in the movie suggests that there is a natural harmonic to the universe and positive thoughts will yield positive results in life. While I don't subscribe to that specific philosophy, it does relate to the concept of interconnectedness of everything and has some aspects that I agree with. The book/movie talks about the 'law of attraction' where good thoughts attract good events/outcomes where negative ones will attract the same. While this sounds a bit hokey and many feel it falls into the realm of cult status, it does start to blend in scientific ideas with the parts of the universe we do not understand (the supernatural). Bare with me, let me try to explain.
If our body and mind is composed of energy, as E=mc2 demonstrates, and the energy we are composed of vibrating strings, then we each have a natural vibration - called a harmonic. Scientists over the years have also been great musicians as they believed that the universe was just a grand symphony, only out of our auditory range. Just like musical notes don't always work together well (dischord), people do not always get along. Is this due to the idea that their energies are disharmonious? Do people not have soulmates but rather have harmonious energies? If a person alters their mental energy by thinking different thoughts, do they possess the ability to change the energy that physically surrounds them? The Secret argues for this, I'm a bit more skeptical than that.
In a spiritual sense, this all ties together for me in cosmology - the study of the cosmos, not makeup application (that's cosmetology). There is a debate about the fate of the universe and the three possibilities are open, closed, and flat. Two of the three don't make sense to me (open and flat) but closed does. A closed universe suggests that the gravity of the universe will eventually pull everything back to one single point (a singularity) and the Big Crunch will possibly lead to another Big Bang. I like this idea. It says that the universe is like a giant balloon that is continually expanding and contracting, creating a universe over and over again in this process. It tells me that the entire cosmos is connected and comes down to a single moment of creation from destruction, life from death, the cycle of the Phoenix repeating forever. There is no God for everything is the creator and the created. Everything is interconnected. In essence, energy is divine and if we are all composed of energy, we are all divine.
Organized religion has bothered me in its pretense for years. Too many things are done in the name of an Almighty. Tithes are paid to build a church stripping money from people through guilt, a jihad is started to purge the land of infidels because of fear of difference, genocide is considered acceptable to attain a master race of genetic purity to reach a perfection. To me, organized religion is nothing more than people with charisma writing rules for people who don't think before they act. Why else would stoning by written into the Bible or jihad to non-Muslims in the Koran? People use fear to maintain an organized society and breaking the rules means punishment must be passed down. I think the basic premise of religion had it right - respect all life in all ways. And then man got his hands on it and found it a useful tool to control people to do what they wanted, altering meanings and using their charisma to convince the controlled that they were divine and beyond reproach. Organized religion is nothing more than a power play where people are instructed on how to live their lives because others deem it so. I've got plenty more I would like to say about that but that's for another post...
So it all comes down to this. Every creature, object, atom, whatever you want to look at, is the same at the basic level. The universe is energy and we are made of that energy. If a human has a soul, then so does a dog, a tree, your cell phone, a planet, and the Sombrero Galaxy. From the Big Bang, the cosmos was created and everything is a part of that creation, no matter how big or small, how warm or cold, how apparently life-filled or lifeless. You are connected to every person, bug, windshield, asteroid, drop of water, and star - whether you think you are or not. In cosmology it sometimes is overwhelming to think of how big the cosmos is and what is all out there, it can make you feel completely insignificant in the big picture. But that's not the way I see it anymore; I am a a part of this universe that is unique and will never be experienced again - the universe better enjoy me while I'm here just as I will enjoy it. And just maybe I'll see you all again the next time this universe is created once again. Hope to see ya on the flip side. :-)
Sunday, November 02, 2008
something from my past
I was cruising around on flickr and came across this interesting shot of the Kubuswooning (Cube Houses) in Rotterdam. Cool place to take a tour of, if you get the chance but then again, not many people take tours of Rotterdam!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
i <3 my minivan
It used to be the bane of my existence, my mom's Mercury Villager. "The Pickle" (its very green) was purchased new back in 1994 and has been my mother's prized possession until about a year ago when she bought a Honda Odyssey (I don't know about her fascination with minivans, we never had them when the kids lived at home). As a result of the addition of the Honda, the Villager became mine and I must admit that it has grown on me.
"The Pickle" was purchased in my waning days of my military service so I didn't see it much when it was new. A few years later I was given the keys to the green monster and sent off to my 10 year High School reunion. How embarrassed was I to show up to the reunion single, unemployed, having not completed my undergrad yet, and driving a minivan. I was mortified to have to take it but drove it because my normal car (Honda Accord) was in the shop getting work done on it. Who shows up for a reunion driving a minivan when they don't even need one? Talk about "ways to unimpress the chicks"...
This particular minivan has served the family well and we almost lost "The Pickle" about a year ago when my sister nearly donated it to some charity. It couldn't pass CA emissions and so she had no use for it. My mother knew that I was going to be returning to the States and would need transportation outside of my motorcycle. So she rescued the green beast and brought it back to NM where it awaited my arrival. I was being given "The Pickle" to use and I was gracious to accept it. I was (still am) in no position to look a gift horse in the mouth and drive my 'new' mode of transportation whenever the bike isn't a feasible option.
At first I was reluctant to take the beast out. I wanted to ride my motorcycle as much as possible and did so when I first came to Albuquerque. The summer weather was perfect and I had been sans scooter for the years in Peru and missing it terribly. Occasionally the need for driving "The Pickle" required that I use it to get places but I lived on that bike for the first 2 months I was here.
As the weather is starting to cool and the brakes on the bike are awaiting to be replaced, I've been driving my Villager a lot more. It is really starting to grow on me and not for the typical reasons. What I love about it is the fact that it is perfect for the utilitarian use that I need at the moment. I can easily throw in all my hockey gear without straining my back, I can change clothes in the backseat when I want to go for a run after work, there is a ton of open space (I took out the captain's chairs and only have the back seat) to lay down and sleep in the back if I want - this van completely serves my needs and I couldn't be happier with "MY Pickle".
This isn't to say that there aren't difficult moments. A packrat took up residence in it recently and chewed its was through a couple of sets of spark plug wires (he has been removed), the car has virtually no acceleration, the rust from living back in Ohio is starting to make its way to the surface, and the list goes on and on. I won't even go into the whole deal about being able to start it without keys in the ignition... But van accurately describes who I am at the moment and that makes me happy.
I have taken "The Pickle" out on dates and not been apologetic about it. I figure that if a girl wants a super fancy car and doesn't understand utility, then she doesn't understand me. My friend Gilles in Peru taught me that lesson well with his approach to life and I can't thank him enough for instilling that in me. In a way, the minivan and I have a lot in common. My rust is starting to show through, my acceleration isn't what it used to be, and I've needed to replace some of the things in life to keep me going. The key in the ignition? Let's just say that what starts me up at this point in my life has changed from what it was before - just like "The Pickle".
So yes, I do love my minivan for what it is, what it represents, and what it does for me. Unpretentious, utilitarian, and fun - is there anything better?
"The Pickle" was purchased in my waning days of my military service so I didn't see it much when it was new. A few years later I was given the keys to the green monster and sent off to my 10 year High School reunion. How embarrassed was I to show up to the reunion single, unemployed, having not completed my undergrad yet, and driving a minivan. I was mortified to have to take it but drove it because my normal car (Honda Accord) was in the shop getting work done on it. Who shows up for a reunion driving a minivan when they don't even need one? Talk about "ways to unimpress the chicks"...
This particular minivan has served the family well and we almost lost "The Pickle" about a year ago when my sister nearly donated it to some charity. It couldn't pass CA emissions and so she had no use for it. My mother knew that I was going to be returning to the States and would need transportation outside of my motorcycle. So she rescued the green beast and brought it back to NM where it awaited my arrival. I was being given "The Pickle" to use and I was gracious to accept it. I was (still am) in no position to look a gift horse in the mouth and drive my 'new' mode of transportation whenever the bike isn't a feasible option.
At first I was reluctant to take the beast out. I wanted to ride my motorcycle as much as possible and did so when I first came to Albuquerque. The summer weather was perfect and I had been sans scooter for the years in Peru and missing it terribly. Occasionally the need for driving "The Pickle" required that I use it to get places but I lived on that bike for the first 2 months I was here.
As the weather is starting to cool and the brakes on the bike are awaiting to be replaced, I've been driving my Villager a lot more. It is really starting to grow on me and not for the typical reasons. What I love about it is the fact that it is perfect for the utilitarian use that I need at the moment. I can easily throw in all my hockey gear without straining my back, I can change clothes in the backseat when I want to go for a run after work, there is a ton of open space (I took out the captain's chairs and only have the back seat) to lay down and sleep in the back if I want - this van completely serves my needs and I couldn't be happier with "MY Pickle".
This isn't to say that there aren't difficult moments. A packrat took up residence in it recently and chewed its was through a couple of sets of spark plug wires (he has been removed), the car has virtually no acceleration, the rust from living back in Ohio is starting to make its way to the surface, and the list goes on and on. I won't even go into the whole deal about being able to start it without keys in the ignition... But van accurately describes who I am at the moment and that makes me happy.
I have taken "The Pickle" out on dates and not been apologetic about it. I figure that if a girl wants a super fancy car and doesn't understand utility, then she doesn't understand me. My friend Gilles in Peru taught me that lesson well with his approach to life and I can't thank him enough for instilling that in me. In a way, the minivan and I have a lot in common. My rust is starting to show through, my acceleration isn't what it used to be, and I've needed to replace some of the things in life to keep me going. The key in the ignition? Let's just say that what starts me up at this point in my life has changed from what it was before - just like "The Pickle".
So yes, I do love my minivan for what it is, what it represents, and what it does for me. Unpretentious, utilitarian, and fun - is there anything better?
Sunday, October 12, 2008
darth's gaze
Today marks the end of Albuquerque's International Balloon Fiesta and unfortunately, there have been no launches this weekend due to weather conditions. So I decided to put something up to remember the occasion of this, my first of hopefully many, balloon fiestas.
too much information?
No rant this time, just a question that I'm asking of myself on a public forum. I have a site counter down at the bottom of the page and occasionally click on it to see who is visiting the site. I have friends from Maine to California, Canada to UAE (with a little Myanmar thrown in for good measure), and I know they will stop in from time to time to read on my latest ideas. And believe you me, I've had some interesting ideas float out on this forum. Some were political in nature, others on a more personal front, but clues as to whom I am and what I think about certain issues.
The site meter allows me to see who is clicking in from where and how they got to the site. Believe it or not, the most common search that brings people to my site is "how to drag your knee on a motorcycle" on Google. It comes from a post that I put up almost 2 years ago about a picture that I found on flickr. But there are a great deal of people from around the world that find this site and it brings me to the question posted in the title, am I giving too much information?
I guess the scare a few months ago with identity theft really got me to thinking about the whole issue. This site - expatnomad.com - also has an email address associated with it and I've been giving that email address to ladies whom I would like to date. Its not something that I thought about terribly much but it gets me to wondering which of my potential dates has stumbled upon this site and given it a read (site meter says 'none'). I've never been one to be shy of my opinions or telling anyone what I truly feel and I make no apologies for my stances on whatever issues are being discussed. I just wonder what brings people to this site (aside from wanting to learn how to drag their knee on a motorcycle) and how much information is enough and how much is too much. Are people using bots to gather information about others on their blogs and then using that information for mean, nasty things? Is it really a good idea to share your private thoughts and ideas on a public forum? Are blogs just the laypersons way of becoming a public icon? Is this the way that the average person gets their 15 minutes of fame? Hmmm....
The site meter allows me to see who is clicking in from where and how they got to the site. Believe it or not, the most common search that brings people to my site is "how to drag your knee on a motorcycle" on Google. It comes from a post that I put up almost 2 years ago about a picture that I found on flickr. But there are a great deal of people from around the world that find this site and it brings me to the question posted in the title, am I giving too much information?
I guess the scare a few months ago with identity theft really got me to thinking about the whole issue. This site - expatnomad.com - also has an email address associated with it and I've been giving that email address to ladies whom I would like to date. Its not something that I thought about terribly much but it gets me to wondering which of my potential dates has stumbled upon this site and given it a read (site meter says 'none'). I've never been one to be shy of my opinions or telling anyone what I truly feel and I make no apologies for my stances on whatever issues are being discussed. I just wonder what brings people to this site (aside from wanting to learn how to drag their knee on a motorcycle) and how much information is enough and how much is too much. Are people using bots to gather information about others on their blogs and then using that information for mean, nasty things? Is it really a good idea to share your private thoughts and ideas on a public forum? Are blogs just the laypersons way of becoming a public icon? Is this the way that the average person gets their 15 minutes of fame? Hmmm....
Monday, October 06, 2008
sunrise
This week is Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque and it is amazing to see 650+ hot air balloons launch. I was able to go last Saturday morning and see the festivities. Perfect weather started off the day, as can be seen by the picture shown here.
And for once, its not someone else's photo - this one was taken by me. :-)
And for once, its not someone else's photo - this one was taken by me. :-)
Thursday, October 02, 2008
new banner
Well, I figured that since its been a few months now that I've been gone from Lima, it was time to update the banner. Gone is the "Live from Lima, its Saturday Night!!!" which pictures of Tim surfing and the Cordilleras Blancas outside Huaraz in Peru. While I thought that was a great banner, I knew that I had to put up something that reflected the change of locale.
So this morning I put together something different, a new look at my new home, New Mexico. Albuquerque is known for its annual "Balloon Fiesta" and a picture adorns the left side of the banner to address that. The right side, my friend - the cactus. A bad experience hiking in the Sandia Mountains urged me to put something in that was something to chuckle at. And the tag line? I'm not sure why New Mexico is known as the "Land of Enchantment" so I merely had to question. Nothing against Albuquerque or New Mexico, I am enjoying both; its just a question.
A new look for Expat Nomad, enjoy.
So this morning I put together something different, a new look at my new home, New Mexico. Albuquerque is known for its annual "Balloon Fiesta" and a picture adorns the left side of the banner to address that. The right side, my friend - the cactus. A bad experience hiking in the Sandia Mountains urged me to put something in that was something to chuckle at. And the tag line? I'm not sure why New Mexico is known as the "Land of Enchantment" so I merely had to question. Nothing against Albuquerque or New Mexico, I am enjoying both; its just a question.
A new look for Expat Nomad, enjoy.
Monday, September 29, 2008
ahoy captain - iceberg ahead!
Well fellow Americans, how does it feel to be on the modern-day equivalent of the Titanic? After today's vote against legislation that would have injected $700 billion into the credit stream of our country and possibly save it from a recession, our elected representatives voted with the idea of saving their seat in Congress in the upcoming (and arguably worthless) November election. I say worthless because by that point in time, the US may actually be worth nothing. McCain and Obama will be vying for a bankrupt country and may have to pony up their campaign contributions to pay for moving expenses into the Citibank White House. I figure the government will need corporate sponsorship by that point in time.
Lawmakers said they rejected the bill because their offices were flooded with phone calls and emails from their constituency demanding that they not vote in favor of the bill. Ya know, the same informed public that can't find the home states of McCain or Obama on a map, the same informed public that more obsessed with what Britney's hair style is than figuring out their finances, the same informed public that bought the houses that they are currently defaulting on and have put the country in the crisis that it is in. Screaming and yelling, the constituents said, "Make sure those money-grubbing executives don't get one dime in severance!" even though the $700 billion is designed to pay for the mortgages that they couldn't afford (and I blame the banks too but they are run by the people who vote, hence why I say constituents). So Democratic and Republican members of the House voted against bi-partisan legislation in order to ensure that they got the votes of the people who may not have a clue about what is really going on and are quite possibly the reason for this mess to begin with. They voted to protect their seat in Congress instead of voting to preserve a country. Do they not get that it could be a Pyrrhic victory in that they will be re-elected to a country that may not exist by the time the election is over? Blinders on, the mantra of "must get re-elected" was heard out of more than one lawmaker today.
Listen, I am not a Bush fan, not by any stretch of the imagination. I've criticized him before on this blog and still think he's made some incredibly HUGE mistakes while in office. But I will grant him this - he understands the severity of this situation and is working his tail off to get this country upright before he exits from office. He's not trying to preserve his legacy at this moment, he's just trying to preserve the country so that history will be able to note his legacy. And on top of that, his own party put him out to dry? This was legislation that was proposed by his administration with bi-partisan help to draft it, and then voted down BY HIS OWN REPUBLICANS. When a President is stabbed in the back by his own party, you gotta question why and what motivation these people have. Even John McCain, the Republican nominee to be the next President, knew that it would be suicide for the House to vote this down; and yet down it went.
And so did the market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell by 777 points. Look it up folks, that's a record. Even during the collapse of the Great Depression the stock market didn't fall that much. Now to be fair, 777 points in today's market was 7.0% of the total value whereas the worst days in history saw a 20% drop. Nevertheless, I'm not thinking that this 777 is exactly a lucky number. Other measures of the American markets showed similarly bad numbers; NASDAQ was down 9.1%, S&P 500 was down 8.8%. American markets weren't the only ones affected. Japan - down 4.6%, Australia - down 5.3%, Canada - down 7%, England - down 5.3%, and the list continues.
Some blame Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for the failure because she made a speech criticizing Republicans as the voting was taking place and some think that some Republicans voted against the legislation just to smite Pelosi for saying that. I really hope for the sake of this country, and possibly the world, that those representatives were NOT that spiteful. Why the world? If the US falls, who becomes the superpower to take care of the world? Who stands up to aggression by terrorists or radical fundamentalists? Who patrols the seas to ensure that shipping isn't pirated? You think the Russians or the Chinese can step up at the moment? As a former sailor I can tell you this - neither one of those navies (or armies for that matter) is ready to step up and conduct operations on a regional or global scale.
So tonight I am absolutely amazed at the turn of events that has happened in the United States over the last 96 hours. The warning was shouted from the crow's nest long ago about the economic iceberg yet people still think that we are on the unsinkable ship. Can anyone think of a time in US history where they has been worse time in our country? Economic collapse is imminent, fighting a war on two fronts against a word (terror, or unknown opponent if you want to get more technical), and Janet Jackson was hospitalized tonight, unable to make her concert (had to throw in a jab at the entertainment press). We only need one more bad thing to happen and the four horsemen of the apocalypse will come riding into Washington to announce their own takeover. Citibank taking over Wachovia will look like nothing compared to that.
My rant to Congress is this - people with a whole lot more knowledge about the impending financial meltdown are telling you what to do and you're listening to people who can't balance their checkbooks. For once, defer to those who know and make the right decision. Fuck politics, fuck your re-election, fuck the pissed-off voters. Doing the right thing may be the hard thing, especially when it may cost you your elected position but in the end, at least you'll know that you did the right thing in trying to save this country from an epidemic of unemployment and depression.
Lawmakers said they rejected the bill because their offices were flooded with phone calls and emails from their constituency demanding that they not vote in favor of the bill. Ya know, the same informed public that can't find the home states of McCain or Obama on a map, the same informed public that more obsessed with what Britney's hair style is than figuring out their finances, the same informed public that bought the houses that they are currently defaulting on and have put the country in the crisis that it is in. Screaming and yelling, the constituents said, "Make sure those money-grubbing executives don't get one dime in severance!" even though the $700 billion is designed to pay for the mortgages that they couldn't afford (and I blame the banks too but they are run by the people who vote, hence why I say constituents). So Democratic and Republican members of the House voted against bi-partisan legislation in order to ensure that they got the votes of the people who may not have a clue about what is really going on and are quite possibly the reason for this mess to begin with. They voted to protect their seat in Congress instead of voting to preserve a country. Do they not get that it could be a Pyrrhic victory in that they will be re-elected to a country that may not exist by the time the election is over? Blinders on, the mantra of "must get re-elected" was heard out of more than one lawmaker today.
Listen, I am not a Bush fan, not by any stretch of the imagination. I've criticized him before on this blog and still think he's made some incredibly HUGE mistakes while in office. But I will grant him this - he understands the severity of this situation and is working his tail off to get this country upright before he exits from office. He's not trying to preserve his legacy at this moment, he's just trying to preserve the country so that history will be able to note his legacy. And on top of that, his own party put him out to dry? This was legislation that was proposed by his administration with bi-partisan help to draft it, and then voted down BY HIS OWN REPUBLICANS. When a President is stabbed in the back by his own party, you gotta question why and what motivation these people have. Even John McCain, the Republican nominee to be the next President, knew that it would be suicide for the House to vote this down; and yet down it went.
And so did the market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell by 777 points. Look it up folks, that's a record. Even during the collapse of the Great Depression the stock market didn't fall that much. Now to be fair, 777 points in today's market was 7.0% of the total value whereas the worst days in history saw a 20% drop. Nevertheless, I'm not thinking that this 777 is exactly a lucky number. Other measures of the American markets showed similarly bad numbers; NASDAQ was down 9.1%, S&P 500 was down 8.8%. American markets weren't the only ones affected. Japan - down 4.6%, Australia - down 5.3%, Canada - down 7%, England - down 5.3%, and the list continues.
Some blame Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for the failure because she made a speech criticizing Republicans as the voting was taking place and some think that some Republicans voted against the legislation just to smite Pelosi for saying that. I really hope for the sake of this country, and possibly the world, that those representatives were NOT that spiteful. Why the world? If the US falls, who becomes the superpower to take care of the world? Who stands up to aggression by terrorists or radical fundamentalists? Who patrols the seas to ensure that shipping isn't pirated? You think the Russians or the Chinese can step up at the moment? As a former sailor I can tell you this - neither one of those navies (or armies for that matter) is ready to step up and conduct operations on a regional or global scale.
So tonight I am absolutely amazed at the turn of events that has happened in the United States over the last 96 hours. The warning was shouted from the crow's nest long ago about the economic iceberg yet people still think that we are on the unsinkable ship. Can anyone think of a time in US history where they has been worse time in our country? Economic collapse is imminent, fighting a war on two fronts against a word (terror, or unknown opponent if you want to get more technical), and Janet Jackson was hospitalized tonight, unable to make her concert (had to throw in a jab at the entertainment press). We only need one more bad thing to happen and the four horsemen of the apocalypse will come riding into Washington to announce their own takeover. Citibank taking over Wachovia will look like nothing compared to that.
My rant to Congress is this - people with a whole lot more knowledge about the impending financial meltdown are telling you what to do and you're listening to people who can't balance their checkbooks. For once, defer to those who know and make the right decision. Fuck politics, fuck your re-election, fuck the pissed-off voters. Doing the right thing may be the hard thing, especially when it may cost you your elected position but in the end, at least you'll know that you did the right thing in trying to save this country from an epidemic of unemployment and depression.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
a load of crap
Forgive me readers but I'm not my usual self at the moment. However, I wanted to take this opportunity to express myself about a topic that is current and relevant to me, and maybe for others out there.
About a month ago, I celebrated my 38th birthday, marking a point of roughly 20 years worth of dating. Yes indeed, I don't know quite how I've managed to make it this far without finding the right woman for me (it must be a talent). I've also come to the conclusion that 20 years of any experience makes me an expert in the area and I've decided to put up a post about the load of crap that is put out by certain magazines and advice columnists.
"A solid romantic relationship should be built upon a solid friendship." Or something along those lines... The myth that is published over and over by gossip magazines or people who write for papers that have been married for a ba-zillon years. The people who write this crap are full of what they write. After 20 years of dating in different styles, I can assure you that this method does not work. Women do want their lover to be their friend but not vice versa. A tip to all the single boys out there who might read this - do not follow this advice of doing the friendship thing first.
Yes I am writing this because of a recently failed attempt at a relationship, one where I laid the ground work of friendship (to make her more comfortable) and then attempted to move this on to the next stage. What happened in this case, as has happened in the past, is that the woman knows she has a friend in waiting and can break glass in case of need of penis.
Being a friend first is the wrong tactic to take if you are interested in someone. The relationship that develops is one that puts the wrong ideas into each person's head. The interested party believes that being a friend first means gaining trust and becoming a significant part of the others life. To the person who is being befriended, they believe that they have made a friend of the opposite sex and that this opposite gendered friend will always be there but they also know they can take advantage of this friendship when needed (being horny does amazing things to people).
So since this last failure came to be, it got me to thinking about my tactics used when it comes to dating. I surveyed my memories of the last 20 years and thought of my successful (2+ years) romantic relationships and those that have flopped. Of all my successful relationships, precisely zero started off as friendships and progressed from there. To put that into perspective, that includes 3 significant others in 6 years of relationships (over 30% of my dating time) and a fiancee in the mix. While none of those relationships resulted in a long, lasting commitment (hence why I'm still single), I can relate back to those relationships and note the following. My long term relationships were not built on friendship but romantic intentions.
I then looked at my data for relationships that started off as friendships and the attempt to develop it into something more. I stopped counting when I got to 10 because I was starting to make myself depressed to think of the time that I wasted. The time that it takes to lay the foundation for a friendship and develop it further is many fold greater than if the woman knows where you stand up front. The relationships I counted spanned the time of almost 12 years (!) and not one has produced a single, viable, long term, romantic relationship (although I did get laid once by one of them; she was desperate I guess).
The last category is "women who know your intentions and still don't want to date you" and while there are plenty of women in that classification, at least the failed relationships took less time to fail than the friendship route. When a Dutch woman said she didn't want to see me again after the second date because I reminded her too much of her ex, at least it was quick and relatively painless. Another woman, this one from the States, decided she didn't want to continue our relationship of two months because she had found another man; it was over quickly again. In both of those cases (any many more), the romantic side was quashed and I was able to move on to the next person who could be a better match for me.
With time not exactly on my side, I've realized too late this fundamental flaw in the Cinderella media - friendship does not make good romance. The movies show it this way and the good guy/girl friend ends up being the best companion but that's just Hollywood. In my real world experience, this isn't the case and you shouldn't waste your time. So if you're in the dating world, take this advice: Be clear from the start what your intentions are and save yourself the hassle, heartache, and wasted time.
About a month ago, I celebrated my 38th birthday, marking a point of roughly 20 years worth of dating. Yes indeed, I don't know quite how I've managed to make it this far without finding the right woman for me (it must be a talent). I've also come to the conclusion that 20 years of any experience makes me an expert in the area and I've decided to put up a post about the load of crap that is put out by certain magazines and advice columnists.
"A solid romantic relationship should be built upon a solid friendship." Or something along those lines... The myth that is published over and over by gossip magazines or people who write for papers that have been married for a ba-zillon years. The people who write this crap are full of what they write. After 20 years of dating in different styles, I can assure you that this method does not work. Women do want their lover to be their friend but not vice versa. A tip to all the single boys out there who might read this - do not follow this advice of doing the friendship thing first.
Yes I am writing this because of a recently failed attempt at a relationship, one where I laid the ground work of friendship (to make her more comfortable) and then attempted to move this on to the next stage. What happened in this case, as has happened in the past, is that the woman knows she has a friend in waiting and can break glass in case of need of penis.
Being a friend first is the wrong tactic to take if you are interested in someone. The relationship that develops is one that puts the wrong ideas into each person's head. The interested party believes that being a friend first means gaining trust and becoming a significant part of the others life. To the person who is being befriended, they believe that they have made a friend of the opposite sex and that this opposite gendered friend will always be there but they also know they can take advantage of this friendship when needed (being horny does amazing things to people).
So since this last failure came to be, it got me to thinking about my tactics used when it comes to dating. I surveyed my memories of the last 20 years and thought of my successful (2+ years) romantic relationships and those that have flopped. Of all my successful relationships, precisely zero started off as friendships and progressed from there. To put that into perspective, that includes 3 significant others in 6 years of relationships (over 30% of my dating time) and a fiancee in the mix. While none of those relationships resulted in a long, lasting commitment (hence why I'm still single), I can relate back to those relationships and note the following. My long term relationships were not built on friendship but romantic intentions.
I then looked at my data for relationships that started off as friendships and the attempt to develop it into something more. I stopped counting when I got to 10 because I was starting to make myself depressed to think of the time that I wasted. The time that it takes to lay the foundation for a friendship and develop it further is many fold greater than if the woman knows where you stand up front. The relationships I counted spanned the time of almost 12 years (!) and not one has produced a single, viable, long term, romantic relationship (although I did get laid once by one of them; she was desperate I guess).
The last category is "women who know your intentions and still don't want to date you" and while there are plenty of women in that classification, at least the failed relationships took less time to fail than the friendship route. When a Dutch woman said she didn't want to see me again after the second date because I reminded her too much of her ex, at least it was quick and relatively painless. Another woman, this one from the States, decided she didn't want to continue our relationship of two months because she had found another man; it was over quickly again. In both of those cases (any many more), the romantic side was quashed and I was able to move on to the next person who could be a better match for me.
With time not exactly on my side, I've realized too late this fundamental flaw in the Cinderella media - friendship does not make good romance. The movies show it this way and the good guy/girl friend ends up being the best companion but that's just Hollywood. In my real world experience, this isn't the case and you shouldn't waste your time. So if you're in the dating world, take this advice: Be clear from the start what your intentions are and save yourself the hassle, heartache, and wasted time.
Monday, September 22, 2008
times of turmoil
This culture shock thing sure has my brain looping all around. Or maybe it is the gravity of the situation that currently grips the country that I've just moved to. Or maybe its a combination of both of them - I can't quite tell. In any case, the days are feeling a bit on the surreal side here and I'm not having such an easy time wrapping my head around it all.
The government bailout of Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and AIG are unprecedented in history. The Albuquerque Journal's Saturday front page story was a black background with white lettering stating the severity of the financial crisis that was averted. Quotes from politicians and economists splattered across the black, crying out how the country was days away from a meltdown and ATMs across the country were hours away from being turned off. If things work out, Ben Bernanke could considered to be one of the smartest and greatest patriots of 21st century America.
My father called for a family meeting on Saturday to discuss what happened last week. He was furious with how we got into this crisis and how Democrats were to blame for this. The facts (not all verified by me) as stated by him were these:
In late 1999, Bill Clinton repealed the Glass-Stegall Act of 1933 (another bill taking its place, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, was sponsored by Republicans and voted into effect by Congress with such numbers that it was veto-proof). The act was created in the wake of the 1929 crash of the stock market to prevent investment banks and lending banks from becoming one in the same. When Clinton repealed the act, the division between investment banks and lending banks became non-existent and the two were free to dabble in the other.
Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank (D) then led the crusade to get homes for every American. Banks were fined for not lending to people and people were buying houses left and right - even ones they couldn't afford. Banks just figured that if an owner couldn't make their payment, the bank would repossess and the increased value of the house would make up for it. Only problem is that the bubble on the housing market finally started to pop about a year ago and foreclosures could no longer cover the costs. Lending banks took a gamble on investing (in real estate) and were losing - big time. Lehman, AIG, Morgan Sterns, Freddie & Fannie - all were in the papers last week as they became the beginning of what could have been the end of the banking system in the United States. Check your history; when banks fail, so do countries.
It took almost 9 years for the collapse to happen but it came to head last week and it instantly put my father into a tailspin. A quick flash to the Great Depression and its 25% unemployment had my father preaching to me to get a job, no matter what it was, just get a job NOW. My father rarely tells me what to do, leaving me to do what I need to in order to make myself happy and fulfilled, but the impending doom of another possible depression sent him reeling. I imagine that his exposure to the markets and with his company small enough to get crushed by a recession/depression, he has plenty of reason for concern. It is this turmoil that makes my return to the US an uncertain thing, one that makes my head spin in oh so many ways.
So what is to happen? My gut feeling is that Bernanke will prove to be a great patriot and this financial crisis averted. Hopefully Congress will keep their paws off of this and let the people who know best do what they do best and revive the economy. But it does put things into perspective and being unemployed isn't the greatest of feelings at the moment.
The government bailout of Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and AIG are unprecedented in history. The Albuquerque Journal's Saturday front page story was a black background with white lettering stating the severity of the financial crisis that was averted. Quotes from politicians and economists splattered across the black, crying out how the country was days away from a meltdown and ATMs across the country were hours away from being turned off. If things work out, Ben Bernanke could considered to be one of the smartest and greatest patriots of 21st century America.
My father called for a family meeting on Saturday to discuss what happened last week. He was furious with how we got into this crisis and how Democrats were to blame for this. The facts (not all verified by me) as stated by him were these:
In late 1999, Bill Clinton repealed the Glass-Stegall Act of 1933 (another bill taking its place, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, was sponsored by Republicans and voted into effect by Congress with such numbers that it was veto-proof). The act was created in the wake of the 1929 crash of the stock market to prevent investment banks and lending banks from becoming one in the same. When Clinton repealed the act, the division between investment banks and lending banks became non-existent and the two were free to dabble in the other.
Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank (D) then led the crusade to get homes for every American. Banks were fined for not lending to people and people were buying houses left and right - even ones they couldn't afford. Banks just figured that if an owner couldn't make their payment, the bank would repossess and the increased value of the house would make up for it. Only problem is that the bubble on the housing market finally started to pop about a year ago and foreclosures could no longer cover the costs. Lending banks took a gamble on investing (in real estate) and were losing - big time. Lehman, AIG, Morgan Sterns, Freddie & Fannie - all were in the papers last week as they became the beginning of what could have been the end of the banking system in the United States. Check your history; when banks fail, so do countries.
It took almost 9 years for the collapse to happen but it came to head last week and it instantly put my father into a tailspin. A quick flash to the Great Depression and its 25% unemployment had my father preaching to me to get a job, no matter what it was, just get a job NOW. My father rarely tells me what to do, leaving me to do what I need to in order to make myself happy and fulfilled, but the impending doom of another possible depression sent him reeling. I imagine that his exposure to the markets and with his company small enough to get crushed by a recession/depression, he has plenty of reason for concern. It is this turmoil that makes my return to the US an uncertain thing, one that makes my head spin in oh so many ways.
So what is to happen? My gut feeling is that Bernanke will prove to be a great patriot and this financial crisis averted. Hopefully Congress will keep their paws off of this and let the people who know best do what they do best and revive the economy. But it does put things into perspective and being unemployed isn't the greatest of feelings at the moment.
Friday, August 29, 2008
lost in transition
A friend and former roommie of mine from Holland wrote to me yesterday and the conversation gave me some ideas to write about. Since he has the occasional minute to read this blog, I decided to take some of what he wrote and run with it. Going with the feelings of spontaneity, here goes.
The title of this post comes from a feeling that I've had recently; perhaps its been about a month now. A lot of people saw the movie "Lost in Translation" and didn't like it. This movie spoke volumes to me and perfectly put into perspective the idea of what its like to be a foreigner in a foreign land. The way that Tokyo was shot, the din of the city streets, the apparent bizarreness of it all - its something that I've lived many times over and while I love the experience, I'm no longer in translation, but transition.
Mozzy brings up something in his email me to that strikes a chord. "I have been back over a year now and find it still challenging every day. I believe that an experience similar to what we both shared changes you to some extent, permanently, in a way so that you can never go back to see the old things in the same light you used to see them. It becomes frustrating since you can't see the old familiar things in the same comfortable way you used to, and you see the changes in yourself from your experiences being projected into your daily life." Pretty good insight, even if he is an accountant... ;-)
Seriously though, Mozzy brings up several valid points and it sheds light on the process that repatriation is. What has happened is that the US has continued on for the last 5 years and I've not been a part of it. The experiences I've lived through while being overseas are not shared by the overwhelming majority of Americans and those experiences mean that I do see this country in a different light.
As a child growing up, I spent a good portion of my time living abroad and knew nothing different; it was my life and I didn't know that others didn't live like I did. When I got into high school, we settled down for a while and I spent the years of 1984 until 2003 living in the States (with brief periods of traveling abroad either on my own or while in the military). During those 19 years I became very adjusted to seeing the US from a certain perspective and that became my norm as I grew from a child to an adult. I came to know America in my own way and when I moved to Holland, my perspective of the world was going to change - especially how I view my native culture.
The process of repatriating is hard to explain although I think Mozzy did a pretty good job of it. While I'm an insider by birthright, I'm not an insider culturally. I've moved to New Mexico because I didn't know where else to go, making me an outsider to the community while being a virtual outsider to the nation. Yes, I am an American and yes, this is my home country but no, I do not feel like I am an American at home - that will take time. I don't see America like I did before and that's part of the reason why I feel a little lost.
But this is not designed to be a pity-post, instead a view into what it feels like to be in global transition. Combat vets talk about PTSD and not seeing the world as they saw it before. While my experiences in the world cannot compare to what they've endured, I understand their feelings of being different, outside and looking in. What to do in this case? The same as every other expatriate who comes home - take it one day at a time and appreciate the vision that I've been given. Seeing things, even countries, in a different light is a good thing and it makes you grateful for the life I chose to live.
Thanks Mozzy, my good friend and an awesome Jenga Warrior.
The title of this post comes from a feeling that I've had recently; perhaps its been about a month now. A lot of people saw the movie "Lost in Translation" and didn't like it. This movie spoke volumes to me and perfectly put into perspective the idea of what its like to be a foreigner in a foreign land. The way that Tokyo was shot, the din of the city streets, the apparent bizarreness of it all - its something that I've lived many times over and while I love the experience, I'm no longer in translation, but transition.
Mozzy brings up something in his email me to that strikes a chord. "I have been back over a year now and find it still challenging every day. I believe that an experience similar to what we both shared changes you to some extent, permanently, in a way so that you can never go back to see the old things in the same light you used to see them. It becomes frustrating since you can't see the old familiar things in the same comfortable way you used to, and you see the changes in yourself from your experiences being projected into your daily life." Pretty good insight, even if he is an accountant... ;-)
Seriously though, Mozzy brings up several valid points and it sheds light on the process that repatriation is. What has happened is that the US has continued on for the last 5 years and I've not been a part of it. The experiences I've lived through while being overseas are not shared by the overwhelming majority of Americans and those experiences mean that I do see this country in a different light.
As a child growing up, I spent a good portion of my time living abroad and knew nothing different; it was my life and I didn't know that others didn't live like I did. When I got into high school, we settled down for a while and I spent the years of 1984 until 2003 living in the States (with brief periods of traveling abroad either on my own or while in the military). During those 19 years I became very adjusted to seeing the US from a certain perspective and that became my norm as I grew from a child to an adult. I came to know America in my own way and when I moved to Holland, my perspective of the world was going to change - especially how I view my native culture.
The process of repatriating is hard to explain although I think Mozzy did a pretty good job of it. While I'm an insider by birthright, I'm not an insider culturally. I've moved to New Mexico because I didn't know where else to go, making me an outsider to the community while being a virtual outsider to the nation. Yes, I am an American and yes, this is my home country but no, I do not feel like I am an American at home - that will take time. I don't see America like I did before and that's part of the reason why I feel a little lost.
But this is not designed to be a pity-post, instead a view into what it feels like to be in global transition. Combat vets talk about PTSD and not seeing the world as they saw it before. While my experiences in the world cannot compare to what they've endured, I understand their feelings of being different, outside and looking in. What to do in this case? The same as every other expatriate who comes home - take it one day at a time and appreciate the vision that I've been given. Seeing things, even countries, in a different light is a good thing and it makes you grateful for the life I chose to live.
Thanks Mozzy, my good friend and an awesome Jenga Warrior.
Friday, August 15, 2008
holy light.
Its been a while since I've posted a picture I found on flickr. Here's one I found today that I really like - a great play on light...
poco a poco
"Little by little", a familiar phrase I learned while in Peru and now it is aptly applying to my life again. Originally it was used on me by locals to signify that I was learning Spanish and adjusting to Peruvian culture in small increments, now I use it to describe myself as I readjust to being in my native culture again.
I returned to the States about 6 weeks ago and haven't quite settled back in yet. The first few weeks I was in "teacher summer mode" and didn't get a whole lot done but that was the norm. My usual routine during my vacations was to take off a good portion of time and do absolutely nothing, rest the brain after the ordeal of the school year. At the end of the normal break, I took a couple of short trips to Colorado and Ohio before returning to New Mexico. Colorado had a strange feel to it but I couldn't put my finger on it; Ohio felt just as strange and it was there and then that I realized what I was going through. My brain was starting to wrap itself around the idea that I no longer was going to return to Peru (or any overseas location for that matter) and I needed to adjust to my new surroundings. I didn't have to learn a new place but rather relearn an old place. Driving around NE Ohio was interesting from the perspective that I knew the general structure of the place but I needed to relearn what it was like in a familiar place as things do change slightly.
The idea of driving around in Ohio perfectly reflects how I feel as a person who is repatriating. I know the general structure of the US but its still going to take me some time to get used to the changes that have taken place since I left. While five years isn't a long time and not a lot has transformed about this country, there are still small things that I need to become accustomed to and that will occur, albeit slowly.
When asked by my classmates whom I saw at the reunion in Ohio about the changes that I had noticed, I came up blank. I could feel there was a difference but I just couldn't put my finger on it. Yeah, traffic patterns can be slightly different and money has a weird red tint to it in some cases but when asked about other specifics, I just couldn't nail it down. And maybe it isn't the culture or anything else of the States that has changed that much, maybe its just me. Something tells me that it is more of the latter than the former but then again, I'm not the best of impartial judges.
So I find myself living in a land where I grew up, speaking my native language consistently and listening to accents that are almost the same as mine but still feeling like a stranger. I know that it is just the process of repatriation and all expats comment similarly about feeling the same way but this is my first time doing it as an adult. Why not record it on this blog like my other expat stories? So I have decided to put it down here and use it as a tool for reflection for when I do this again. And yes, I do plan on going overseas again in the future (Africa sounds like a great adventure) and perhaps writing it down this time will make it easier on the next move that involves repatriation. A tool for my use and for others, especially those are going or will go through it.
Getting over culture shock is a gradual process that I will go through, something that will take time. In other words, poco a poco.
I returned to the States about 6 weeks ago and haven't quite settled back in yet. The first few weeks I was in "teacher summer mode" and didn't get a whole lot done but that was the norm. My usual routine during my vacations was to take off a good portion of time and do absolutely nothing, rest the brain after the ordeal of the school year. At the end of the normal break, I took a couple of short trips to Colorado and Ohio before returning to New Mexico. Colorado had a strange feel to it but I couldn't put my finger on it; Ohio felt just as strange and it was there and then that I realized what I was going through. My brain was starting to wrap itself around the idea that I no longer was going to return to Peru (or any overseas location for that matter) and I needed to adjust to my new surroundings. I didn't have to learn a new place but rather relearn an old place. Driving around NE Ohio was interesting from the perspective that I knew the general structure of the place but I needed to relearn what it was like in a familiar place as things do change slightly.
The idea of driving around in Ohio perfectly reflects how I feel as a person who is repatriating. I know the general structure of the US but its still going to take me some time to get used to the changes that have taken place since I left. While five years isn't a long time and not a lot has transformed about this country, there are still small things that I need to become accustomed to and that will occur, albeit slowly.
When asked by my classmates whom I saw at the reunion in Ohio about the changes that I had noticed, I came up blank. I could feel there was a difference but I just couldn't put my finger on it. Yeah, traffic patterns can be slightly different and money has a weird red tint to it in some cases but when asked about other specifics, I just couldn't nail it down. And maybe it isn't the culture or anything else of the States that has changed that much, maybe its just me. Something tells me that it is more of the latter than the former but then again, I'm not the best of impartial judges.
So I find myself living in a land where I grew up, speaking my native language consistently and listening to accents that are almost the same as mine but still feeling like a stranger. I know that it is just the process of repatriation and all expats comment similarly about feeling the same way but this is my first time doing it as an adult. Why not record it on this blog like my other expat stories? So I have decided to put it down here and use it as a tool for reflection for when I do this again. And yes, I do plan on going overseas again in the future (Africa sounds like a great adventure) and perhaps writing it down this time will make it easier on the next move that involves repatriation. A tool for my use and for others, especially those are going or will go through it.
Getting over culture shock is a gradual process that I will go through, something that will take time. In other words, poco a poco.
Friday, July 18, 2008
gluttony gets a calling card
The more I read the news the more I seem to notice that America is being served a big-ass portion of "shoulda thunk more about what you were doing". There are lots of signs out there that Americans have been overdoing it for over 50 years and now its starting to catch up with us, in a super big, ugly, nasty way.
We've been the gluttons of the planet ever since WWII came to a conclusion. Since the Americas were untouched during the colossal war, our resources were undamaged, infrastructure in place, and the United States was the big beneficiary of it. Mexico and countries south used this advantage to start building themselves up while Canada used the time to recuperate and get back to figuring out a way to make their cars not freeze so much (I joke, don't get upset).
America in the post-war era really jumped. Manufacturing was retooled after the war for the returning solider and his family to supply the needs of the family. America didn't have to spend billions on rebuilding and as a result, we spent the money on consuming. Over the course of the last five decades, Americans have become the very best at being consumers. From petroleum and all is by-products to food and all of its processed derivatives, we've done a great job of gobbling up everything in sight.
The time has come to pay for that gluttony.
The signs were evident in the 70s. Carter tried to get the country to realize its need for an energy policy and the gas crisis of his Administration should have awoken us to the upcoming dangers. Instead his ideas were buried when Reagan came to office as that Administration spent its time and money buying out communism and ignoring the need. We stormed ahead with giant cars, dubbed SUVs, and expected that cheap gas was something we would always have. The last few years have showed the error of that belief.
American industry was also given notice back in the 70s but it failed to listen as well. The environmental disaster of the Love Canal in western New York and the flammability of the Cuyahoga River in northeast Ohio were indicators that we couldn't treat our environment as a dump site and expect any type of animal to flourish - human or other. Yet Hinkley, California still made headlines as PG&E was sued by residents for the hexavalent chromium it polluted the water with some 15 years later, as made famous by the movie Erin Brockovich.
We lived for 50 years thinking that what we did would have no consequences and ignored the idea that "everything should be in moderation". Yet there was no moderation, no limits, no reflection to see if we were acting appropriately. We assumed that we could do no wrong, that the might of America would mean that our values were never questioned and our beliefs adopted by one and all. We now reap what we have sown and America looks much the worse for it.
Our economy is tied to oil that we do not control. We are currently spending hundred of billions (the numbers range from 330 to 600) of dollars EVERY YEAR in our demand for oil. Americans are the donors of the largest transfer of wealth from one nation-state to others ever seen in history. Pretty soon there American dream will be alive and well somewhere in the Middle East or Venezuela.
We raped our environment with over-fishing, over-ranching, and over-spraying of pesticides. The fishing industry in reeling now and realizing their error after 50 years of giving everyone what they wanted at a super-low cost; only the cost was passed on to the remaining sea-life, decimating the populations so that they are dangerously low today. Alaskan King Crab, Maryland Blue Crab, and Atlantic Cod are examples of over-fishing that have devastated those species to the point where they may not be available soon in your supermarket. In search of places to raise the almighty cow, native grasslands are chewed down to nothingness to feed the hormone-laced beast. We despise bugs so much that we are willing to put horrendous chemicals on our food to prevent them from eating it (bugs need to eat too ya know) and end up ingesting those poisons in the process. I won't even go into DDT and what that can do...
But all is not gloom and doom, there is hope for Americans - provided we take a long, hard look at our practices and recognize what moderation truly is. It may mean completely changing how we think but as a young country and we have that ability. Americans are known for overcoming the odds, never giving up, always fighting to the end. We show it in our movies and in our actions (United Flight 93) which is a testament to the idea that we can accomplish whatever we set out to do. We can change in a moment's notice, we can mend our ways, and we can show others what the true path to maintaining a sustainable environment is all about. American leadership is not waning but it could do better.
So America, when do we start leading again? Show it in your actions, not your words.
We've been the gluttons of the planet ever since WWII came to a conclusion. Since the Americas were untouched during the colossal war, our resources were undamaged, infrastructure in place, and the United States was the big beneficiary of it. Mexico and countries south used this advantage to start building themselves up while Canada used the time to recuperate and get back to figuring out a way to make their cars not freeze so much (I joke, don't get upset).
America in the post-war era really jumped. Manufacturing was retooled after the war for the returning solider and his family to supply the needs of the family. America didn't have to spend billions on rebuilding and as a result, we spent the money on consuming. Over the course of the last five decades, Americans have become the very best at being consumers. From petroleum and all is by-products to food and all of its processed derivatives, we've done a great job of gobbling up everything in sight.
The time has come to pay for that gluttony.
The signs were evident in the 70s. Carter tried to get the country to realize its need for an energy policy and the gas crisis of his Administration should have awoken us to the upcoming dangers. Instead his ideas were buried when Reagan came to office as that Administration spent its time and money buying out communism and ignoring the need. We stormed ahead with giant cars, dubbed SUVs, and expected that cheap gas was something we would always have. The last few years have showed the error of that belief.
American industry was also given notice back in the 70s but it failed to listen as well. The environmental disaster of the Love Canal in western New York and the flammability of the Cuyahoga River in northeast Ohio were indicators that we couldn't treat our environment as a dump site and expect any type of animal to flourish - human or other. Yet Hinkley, California still made headlines as PG&E was sued by residents for the hexavalent chromium it polluted the water with some 15 years later, as made famous by the movie Erin Brockovich.
We lived for 50 years thinking that what we did would have no consequences and ignored the idea that "everything should be in moderation". Yet there was no moderation, no limits, no reflection to see if we were acting appropriately. We assumed that we could do no wrong, that the might of America would mean that our values were never questioned and our beliefs adopted by one and all. We now reap what we have sown and America looks much the worse for it.
Our economy is tied to oil that we do not control. We are currently spending hundred of billions (the numbers range from 330 to 600) of dollars EVERY YEAR in our demand for oil. Americans are the donors of the largest transfer of wealth from one nation-state to others ever seen in history. Pretty soon there American dream will be alive and well somewhere in the Middle East or Venezuela.
We raped our environment with over-fishing, over-ranching, and over-spraying of pesticides. The fishing industry in reeling now and realizing their error after 50 years of giving everyone what they wanted at a super-low cost; only the cost was passed on to the remaining sea-life, decimating the populations so that they are dangerously low today. Alaskan King Crab, Maryland Blue Crab, and Atlantic Cod are examples of over-fishing that have devastated those species to the point where they may not be available soon in your supermarket. In search of places to raise the almighty cow, native grasslands are chewed down to nothingness to feed the hormone-laced beast. We despise bugs so much that we are willing to put horrendous chemicals on our food to prevent them from eating it (bugs need to eat too ya know) and end up ingesting those poisons in the process. I won't even go into DDT and what that can do...
But all is not gloom and doom, there is hope for Americans - provided we take a long, hard look at our practices and recognize what moderation truly is. It may mean completely changing how we think but as a young country and we have that ability. Americans are known for overcoming the odds, never giving up, always fighting to the end. We show it in our movies and in our actions (United Flight 93) which is a testament to the idea that we can accomplish whatever we set out to do. We can change in a moment's notice, we can mend our ways, and we can show others what the true path to maintaining a sustainable environment is all about. American leadership is not waning but it could do better.
So America, when do we start leading again? Show it in your actions, not your words.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
transition
Life is always in transition but for me, this seems to be a common theme. Coming back to the US, I moved myself for the 25th time. Needless to say, I've become pretty good at packing and relocating quickly, Peru being the ultimate testiment to that. I was able to pack out my entire Peruvian life in just under 12 hours - and that included quite a bit of dawdling on the computer (damn Conquer Club!). When all was said and done, I packed up everything I cared to take with me into 4 suitcases and a box for a grand total of 100 kg (220 lbs) worth of cargo. $670 later, I had all my personal goods back to the States where it joined the rest of my crap, which had been waiting in storage for 5 years since leaving California to go teach abroad. Yes, my stuff is sitting currently in my parents' garage and I'm currently living in their basement - feel free to poke fun of me if you so desire.
Now that I'm back, I'm starting to settle in. One thing that I've noticed is that a lot of my friends that I had before I left the States are really starting to get in contact with me and they share a common theme.
"When are you coming back to visit?"
Sorry friends but I'm going to admit something publicly that may offend some of you but hey, its my blog and I'm gonna write what I wanna write.
My initial thought to answering this question was, "Soon, just let me get settled and I'll come out to visit." But then I got to thinking - why should I have to do all the traveling?
I've been traveling for the better part of 30 years and have always been the one to go somewhere else to visit my friends because they were located there. In my youth, that is completely understandable as kids are somewhat tied to their parents. But we've all entered a point now where we (as people in the 30something category) have the choice to travel anywhere we want with the family that we have. So when my brain got to pondering, it made me think, "Why don't you come visit me for a change?"
I recognize that vacation time is precious in the States as most people tend to get about 2 weeks a year when they start working. By now, most of my peers have been working long enough that they should be in the 4 week range, depending how long they've been with an employer. I also recognize that I've always been extremely mobile and willing to travel great distances to see my friends (its easier when you're single) but at this point in my life, I'm starting to get weary of being the weary traveler.
So my friends who are reading this - New Mexico is a wonderful place to visit and you should do so before I find a job and leave the "Land of Enchantment" because you never know when you might come back. For those of you who are reading just because you are reading, when was the last time YOU made the long trip to go see a friend?
Now that I'm back, I'm starting to settle in. One thing that I've noticed is that a lot of my friends that I had before I left the States are really starting to get in contact with me and they share a common theme.
"When are you coming back to visit?"
Sorry friends but I'm going to admit something publicly that may offend some of you but hey, its my blog and I'm gonna write what I wanna write.
My initial thought to answering this question was, "Soon, just let me get settled and I'll come out to visit." But then I got to thinking - why should I have to do all the traveling?
I've been traveling for the better part of 30 years and have always been the one to go somewhere else to visit my friends because they were located there. In my youth, that is completely understandable as kids are somewhat tied to their parents. But we've all entered a point now where we (as people in the 30something category) have the choice to travel anywhere we want with the family that we have. So when my brain got to pondering, it made me think, "Why don't you come visit me for a change?"
I recognize that vacation time is precious in the States as most people tend to get about 2 weeks a year when they start working. By now, most of my peers have been working long enough that they should be in the 4 week range, depending how long they've been with an employer. I also recognize that I've always been extremely mobile and willing to travel great distances to see my friends (its easier when you're single) but at this point in my life, I'm starting to get weary of being the weary traveler.
So my friends who are reading this - New Mexico is a wonderful place to visit and you should do so before I find a job and leave the "Land of Enchantment" because you never know when you might come back. For those of you who are reading just because you are reading, when was the last time YOU made the long trip to go see a friend?
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
recent shutdown
If you've tried logging in much over the last few weeks, you will have noticed that you've been denied access. A precautionary measure was needed for a short period of time to ensure against a possible problem that crept its way into my life.
I got notification a few weeks ago that my personal information had been possibly compromised. As a result of the information superhighway, items that used to be confidential and personal can sometimes be accessed by people that we don't necessarily want to have that information. Since we rely on computers so much nowadays for all of our record-keeping, you have to be extremely careful when it comes to what personal information you share on the net. I always knew that but a recent set of events caused me to really look at what I was sharing.
With my personal information compromised by another agency, I was put on alert by said agency. I went through the process of having my credit checked and monitored to see if anything might happen. Sure enough, I was notified that someone attempted to get a credit card in my name. When I called the security company back to tell them that I was not the applicant, they took the appropriate steps to ensure that my identity was protected. Needless to say, I am happy to have paid for the service that monitored my credit and personal information. Peace of mind comes at a cost but a cost I was glad to have paid.
Now that all is said and done, my identity still intact (I think), I'm back to being up on the internet here at Expat Nomad. With the move to the US coming up very soon, check back for more posts in the near future that chronicle my journey back to the realm of repatriation.
I got notification a few weeks ago that my personal information had been possibly compromised. As a result of the information superhighway, items that used to be confidential and personal can sometimes be accessed by people that we don't necessarily want to have that information. Since we rely on computers so much nowadays for all of our record-keeping, you have to be extremely careful when it comes to what personal information you share on the net. I always knew that but a recent set of events caused me to really look at what I was sharing.
With my personal information compromised by another agency, I was put on alert by said agency. I went through the process of having my credit checked and monitored to see if anything might happen. Sure enough, I was notified that someone attempted to get a credit card in my name. When I called the security company back to tell them that I was not the applicant, they took the appropriate steps to ensure that my identity was protected. Needless to say, I am happy to have paid for the service that monitored my credit and personal information. Peace of mind comes at a cost but a cost I was glad to have paid.
Now that all is said and done, my identity still intact (I think), I'm back to being up on the internet here at Expat Nomad. With the move to the US coming up very soon, check back for more posts in the near future that chronicle my journey back to the realm of repatriation.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
outside looking in
All I read about nowadays is the economic recession (the one not officially announced) in the US and how it is affecting the country. I read stories that people are digging around for aluminum cans to pay for their mortgage and having to choose between gassing up the car or paying for groceries. It was an article on Yahoo!'s MLB page that inspired this entry as I look in at America from the outside.
I understand that times may be hard in the States but I can't help but wonder just how hard they might be. The stories I read talk about the hardship that people are facing but when you start to read between the lines, it becomes obvious that the people mentioned in these stories could be making better financial decisions. For example - there is a couple mentioned in the baseball article that are having trouble making their mortgage payment. They scour Dodger stadium and its parking lot after games to get recycling products to attempt to get extra income, sometimes gathering $80-90 worth for their efforts. Oh by the way - they pick up the recycling AFTER they've watched the baseball game, which they own season-tickets to see. That's right, the two of them paid nearly $1600 for 40 Dodger games when they are struggling to pay off their mortgage. At $40 per game, it looks as though the recycling gig is a good one, helping to pay for their pastime as well as a little extra. But when you look at the cost of owning and driving a vehicle, cost analysis shows that this isn't the case - they are losing money by going to the baseball games. At least they don't buy the $10 beers or $5 hot dogs when inside.
But these two aren't alone. Major League Baseball says that attendance figures are up this year compared to last (which saw 2007 set an all-time attendance record) and there is no sign of slowing down, despite the tough times people are complaining about. The average cost of taking a family of 4 to a baseball game - $200 (tickets, food, drinks, souvenirs, gas, parking, etc.). If you take the family to one game a month for the season - that's close to $2000. For some families, that's a mortgage payment. Alas, baseball isn't the only drain on the American pocketbook and I shouldn't pick on just that.
Americans are currently complaining like crazy about the price of gasoline and they have no one to blame but themselves. No one has demanded an energy policy out of a President ever and no President has had one since the Carter Administration. Remember Carter? That guy in the 70's who saw the future of America being tied to oil and tried to change that path. He installed solar panels on the White House, he tried to push through legislation that would require car manufacturers to increase gas mileage, and he provided incentives for those developing and using alternative energy resources. And then came Reagan, who dismantled the solar panels (his first day in office), vetoed the legislation, and spent the incentive money on arms to fight the Cold War. Sadly enough, no President since - Democrat or Republican - has tried to ween America off of oil.
Before we all attempt to blame a select few in the government for not watching out for our best interests, let me remind you that we all share the blame. As consumers we dictate the marketplace and the car manufacturers will make cars that we demand and we've demanded large SUVs that have huge amounts of power but suck down the gas. We ignored the common sense that has been staring us in the face for the last 30 years (technically more but I'm only going back to Carter) and always figured that there would be an unlimited supply of cheap gas. Everyone knows that oil is a non-renewable energy resource and there is only so much in the ground. The more we take out, the less there is and the higher the price. And the cars we've been driving use A LOT of that expensive resource. Americans knew this was coming, we've been told this since we were kids in grade school, but we shirked the responsibility of telling the car industry what to make and got "security" with the SUV market. Our own damn fault...
If America truly is in a recession and there is a need to cut back, we are going to need to take a look at the "essentials" of life and seeing if they are truly essential. Cable/Satellite TV is not a necessity of life, you can do without the mindless entertainment that is modern television (I've been doing it for the last couple of years). You don't need to drive everywhere - try riding a bike or walking. Not only do you save gas but you also get exercise which could help with the obesity epidemic, a topic I won't go into here and now. Professional sports events are nice but you do realize that the money you spend makes the elite richer and you, the average consumer, poorer - right? Is anyone who plays a sport really worth $25 million a year? C'mon, its just a game. How about we value the truly important people of our society and pay them the big bucks? Aww, just a pipedream.
So America, take heed and start taking stock of the true essentials of your life. You need a house, food, and basic transportation to get from home to work and back. Meet those needs first and then see what else you can afford. Turn off your Dish Network, ride a bike to work, spend time with your family doing something rather than sitting at a game and watching someone else have the fun. There is a way out of the recession and it isn't on your Visa or American Express card...
I understand that times may be hard in the States but I can't help but wonder just how hard they might be. The stories I read talk about the hardship that people are facing but when you start to read between the lines, it becomes obvious that the people mentioned in these stories could be making better financial decisions. For example - there is a couple mentioned in the baseball article that are having trouble making their mortgage payment. They scour Dodger stadium and its parking lot after games to get recycling products to attempt to get extra income, sometimes gathering $80-90 worth for their efforts. Oh by the way - they pick up the recycling AFTER they've watched the baseball game, which they own season-tickets to see. That's right, the two of them paid nearly $1600 for 40 Dodger games when they are struggling to pay off their mortgage. At $40 per game, it looks as though the recycling gig is a good one, helping to pay for their pastime as well as a little extra. But when you look at the cost of owning and driving a vehicle, cost analysis shows that this isn't the case - they are losing money by going to the baseball games. At least they don't buy the $10 beers or $5 hot dogs when inside.
But these two aren't alone. Major League Baseball says that attendance figures are up this year compared to last (which saw 2007 set an all-time attendance record) and there is no sign of slowing down, despite the tough times people are complaining about. The average cost of taking a family of 4 to a baseball game - $200 (tickets, food, drinks, souvenirs, gas, parking, etc.). If you take the family to one game a month for the season - that's close to $2000. For some families, that's a mortgage payment. Alas, baseball isn't the only drain on the American pocketbook and I shouldn't pick on just that.
Americans are currently complaining like crazy about the price of gasoline and they have no one to blame but themselves. No one has demanded an energy policy out of a President ever and no President has had one since the Carter Administration. Remember Carter? That guy in the 70's who saw the future of America being tied to oil and tried to change that path. He installed solar panels on the White House, he tried to push through legislation that would require car manufacturers to increase gas mileage, and he provided incentives for those developing and using alternative energy resources. And then came Reagan, who dismantled the solar panels (his first day in office), vetoed the legislation, and spent the incentive money on arms to fight the Cold War. Sadly enough, no President since - Democrat or Republican - has tried to ween America off of oil.
Before we all attempt to blame a select few in the government for not watching out for our best interests, let me remind you that we all share the blame. As consumers we dictate the marketplace and the car manufacturers will make cars that we demand and we've demanded large SUVs that have huge amounts of power but suck down the gas. We ignored the common sense that has been staring us in the face for the last 30 years (technically more but I'm only going back to Carter) and always figured that there would be an unlimited supply of cheap gas. Everyone knows that oil is a non-renewable energy resource and there is only so much in the ground. The more we take out, the less there is and the higher the price. And the cars we've been driving use A LOT of that expensive resource. Americans knew this was coming, we've been told this since we were kids in grade school, but we shirked the responsibility of telling the car industry what to make and got "security" with the SUV market. Our own damn fault...
If America truly is in a recession and there is a need to cut back, we are going to need to take a look at the "essentials" of life and seeing if they are truly essential. Cable/Satellite TV is not a necessity of life, you can do without the mindless entertainment that is modern television (I've been doing it for the last couple of years). You don't need to drive everywhere - try riding a bike or walking. Not only do you save gas but you also get exercise which could help with the obesity epidemic, a topic I won't go into here and now. Professional sports events are nice but you do realize that the money you spend makes the elite richer and you, the average consumer, poorer - right? Is anyone who plays a sport really worth $25 million a year? C'mon, its just a game. How about we value the truly important people of our society and pay them the big bucks? Aww, just a pipedream.
So America, take heed and start taking stock of the true essentials of your life. You need a house, food, and basic transportation to get from home to work and back. Meet those needs first and then see what else you can afford. Turn off your Dish Network, ride a bike to work, spend time with your family doing something rather than sitting at a game and watching someone else have the fun. There is a way out of the recession and it isn't on your Visa or American Express card...
Sunday, April 06, 2008
watch your p's and q's
So one of my friends had an interesting weekend, one that I'm sure he would rather forget as it brings to light some of the pitfalls that go along with living in a foreign country. In some places, the police and/or government are not to be trifled with and Peru is one of those places, especially for a gringo. This story all starts for me on Sunday night about 8pm when a phone call from my friend Michelle comes through.
"Hey Expat, I need your help. I need you to call Embassy Chick and see what we can do for Tim. He's been arrested by the Peruvian police and they've been holding him for a couple of hours."
"OK, I'll be happy to do so. What happened so I can tell her what's going on?"
"Tim got into a car accident this afternoon and doesn't have a valid international driver's license."
"That's not good. I'll give her a call and see what we can come up with."
I am the contact for Embassy Chick as she and I are currently dating and when the shit hits the fan, you normally call in the Calvary to bail your ass out. Embassy Chick is the Calvary and I'm the lucky man who gets to call her with this little gufaw that Tim has managed to get himself into.
So I call her and after a short conversation, I find out that the US Embassy can do nothing for my dear friend Tim. Just as the US government wouldn't want people asking favors of our police when a foreign national does something wrong, they don't get involved when it comes to something like this - you have to respect the authority of a nation's sovereignty. Regrettably, I called Michelle back and informed her of the lack of response the Calvary would be able to provide and that Tim was basically on his own. Embassy Chick suggested that we actually try contacting our school administration and see if that might grease the right wheels as they are probably better known here than the staff of the US Embassy.
To make a long story short, one in which they are multiple phone calls to me asking for the Calvary, I get to the heart and solution to the problem that Tim is in. Our Peruvian director went down to the station, bribed the cop with $100 (and the promise of a toaster oven on Mother's Day - I shit you not!) to bail Tim out of the custody of the police. He went home just before midnight, dignity shredded but ass still in tact.
I talked with Tim today, got the low-down on everything and told him why Embassy Chick wasn't able to come to his rescue. He nodded and appreciated the effort, recognizing that he got off lightly with what have been turned into a serious event. In a country where bribing the police is an every-day occurrence, you gotta be careful. My words of advice to Tim (and others who travel abroad) was this - keep your shit straight and don't ever try to pull a fast one on the local authorities (Tim had doctored his int'l driver's license and they figured it out). You never want to give them (police, military, government, etc.) any excuse to hold a gringo for whatever reason.
While you may be familiar with your native culture and customs, understand that other countries work differently and what may be a slight offense to you may not be to them. Keep all your documents in order and up to date, the more normal you appear to them, the less likely you are to be detained. Minimize your exposure to extraneous events and you're more likely to be able to walk away with everything still intact.
And don't ever forget to follow through with any bribes you may promise...
"Hey Expat, I need your help. I need you to call Embassy Chick and see what we can do for Tim. He's been arrested by the Peruvian police and they've been holding him for a couple of hours."
"OK, I'll be happy to do so. What happened so I can tell her what's going on?"
"Tim got into a car accident this afternoon and doesn't have a valid international driver's license."
"That's not good. I'll give her a call and see what we can come up with."
I am the contact for Embassy Chick as she and I are currently dating and when the shit hits the fan, you normally call in the Calvary to bail your ass out. Embassy Chick is the Calvary and I'm the lucky man who gets to call her with this little gufaw that Tim has managed to get himself into.
So I call her and after a short conversation, I find out that the US Embassy can do nothing for my dear friend Tim. Just as the US government wouldn't want people asking favors of our police when a foreign national does something wrong, they don't get involved when it comes to something like this - you have to respect the authority of a nation's sovereignty. Regrettably, I called Michelle back and informed her of the lack of response the Calvary would be able to provide and that Tim was basically on his own. Embassy Chick suggested that we actually try contacting our school administration and see if that might grease the right wheels as they are probably better known here than the staff of the US Embassy.
To make a long story short, one in which they are multiple phone calls to me asking for the Calvary, I get to the heart and solution to the problem that Tim is in. Our Peruvian director went down to the station, bribed the cop with $100 (and the promise of a toaster oven on Mother's Day - I shit you not!) to bail Tim out of the custody of the police. He went home just before midnight, dignity shredded but ass still in tact.
I talked with Tim today, got the low-down on everything and told him why Embassy Chick wasn't able to come to his rescue. He nodded and appreciated the effort, recognizing that he got off lightly with what have been turned into a serious event. In a country where bribing the police is an every-day occurrence, you gotta be careful. My words of advice to Tim (and others who travel abroad) was this - keep your shit straight and don't ever try to pull a fast one on the local authorities (Tim had doctored his int'l driver's license and they figured it out). You never want to give them (police, military, government, etc.) any excuse to hold a gringo for whatever reason.
While you may be familiar with your native culture and customs, understand that other countries work differently and what may be a slight offense to you may not be to them. Keep all your documents in order and up to date, the more normal you appear to them, the less likely you are to be detained. Minimize your exposure to extraneous events and you're more likely to be able to walk away with everything still intact.
And don't ever forget to follow through with any bribes you may promise...
Monday, March 31, 2008
who's the idiot?
So I checked my email this morning and found that a certain Anonymous user from Yucaipa, CA had left a comment on my previous entry. With a little investigation, I see that my dear, old friend Harry Ervin (of Yucca Valley HS and Colton HS fame and notoriety) left the comment. It read -
Mr. Curry,
As a reminder, you were an idiot under my administration and today I see nothing has changed.
Really? If that were the case, I would have been in the same situation as you. Instead, I've managed to find and keep employment in various locations around the world, including one of the top schools in South America. Yes Mr. Ervin - I'm such an idiot that administrators from excellent schools around the world recognize the value of a good teacher and have not only given me a job but also write wonderful letters of recommendation saying that I am an idiot. I've managed to be such a confounded idiot that my students are scoring in the top percentiles of the International Baccalaureate program and procure spots at universities such as Penn, Yale, Cambridge, TU Delft, Vrije Amsterdam, and other slouching institutions.
Or were you referring to my leadership skills within the MTA (Morongo Teachers Association)? Those leadership skills that led to a presidency at my school in Holland where I successfully led the teachers for 2 years. Or the leadership skills that allowed me to move into a coaching position that saw my team advance to the finals of South American schools? Perhaps you were trying to compare my leadership skills yours...
Let's take a look at Mr. Ervin - in less than 2 years you were relieved of being a principal in 2 separate school districts, one were a near-riot occurred. Now you have a position at Heritage College-Ready Academy in Los Angeles. Congrats on getting another job but when I visited the school's website, I noticed a disturbing trend. Is there any particular reason why 6 of your 18, fully 1/3 of your teaching staff, is leaving the school? Do they disagree with what is happening and looking to go elsewhere? Its not like THAT hasn't happened before. I also noted earlier that the message was sent from Yucaipa - why are you still doing long commutes to your place of employment? Is there some reason why you won't live in the communities where you work? What kind of message does it send to a community about a leader who won't live amongst the people? And why exactly did you write? Its been almost 5 years since I left YVHS and fully 3 years since the events at Colton. Were you saddened to see the top Google searches of your name come up with negative stories about you? Gee, so sorry to hear that your actions have consequences.
Sarcasm aside Mr. Ervin, I am happy (truly) that you have found employment and can continue to support your family despite the adverse situations you have managed to put yourself into. I appreciate that you are looking out for the best interests of students when you do some of the things that you do. You do have good intentions and I applaud your determination to improve the lives of those students whom you oversee. However, has it ever occurred to you that while your message is good, your method of implementation could be improved? I understand that in the Marine Corps, a chain of command is good and following that CofC is important to do without reservation or hesitation. And while classrooms may sometimes resemble a war zone, it may not always been necessary to adopt a Joe Clark of Eastside HS of Paterson, NJ mentality. Beating someone over the head with an idea doesn't mean they'll adopt it any quicker. Please keep that in mind when you are dealing with people - not everyone reacts as we would like when a certain stimulus is applied.
Mr. Ervin, let it go. You don't always need to have the last word (remember that wonderful email you sent to me when I left and the response it got?) and you've moved on in your career. Accept that people will not always be a fan of you or your decisions and go about your life. You've got a wonderful family, a well-paying job, your health, and the prospect of a good future, why trouble yourself with the petty aspects of someone who thinks ill of you on another continent? C'mon man, life is too short for that. Toss back a beer, chalk it up to another life experience, and enjoy the present. If you need a way to see how your life is so good, come visit me in Peru and I'll be happy to show you places where life isn't so grand, places where you'll appreciate the life you live and the hand you've been dealt in this world. Do yourself a favor and get out of Southern California on your next vacation - see the poverty of the world and then you can complain about something...
Mr. Curry,
As a reminder, you were an idiot under my administration and today I see nothing has changed.
Really? If that were the case, I would have been in the same situation as you. Instead, I've managed to find and keep employment in various locations around the world, including one of the top schools in South America. Yes Mr. Ervin - I'm such an idiot that administrators from excellent schools around the world recognize the value of a good teacher and have not only given me a job but also write wonderful letters of recommendation saying that I am an idiot. I've managed to be such a confounded idiot that my students are scoring in the top percentiles of the International Baccalaureate program and procure spots at universities such as Penn, Yale, Cambridge, TU Delft, Vrije Amsterdam, and other slouching institutions.
Or were you referring to my leadership skills within the MTA (Morongo Teachers Association)? Those leadership skills that led to a presidency at my school in Holland where I successfully led the teachers for 2 years. Or the leadership skills that allowed me to move into a coaching position that saw my team advance to the finals of South American schools? Perhaps you were trying to compare my leadership skills yours...
Let's take a look at Mr. Ervin - in less than 2 years you were relieved of being a principal in 2 separate school districts, one were a near-riot occurred. Now you have a position at Heritage College-Ready Academy in Los Angeles. Congrats on getting another job but when I visited the school's website, I noticed a disturbing trend. Is there any particular reason why 6 of your 18, fully 1/3 of your teaching staff, is leaving the school? Do they disagree with what is happening and looking to go elsewhere? Its not like THAT hasn't happened before. I also noted earlier that the message was sent from Yucaipa - why are you still doing long commutes to your place of employment? Is there some reason why you won't live in the communities where you work? What kind of message does it send to a community about a leader who won't live amongst the people? And why exactly did you write? Its been almost 5 years since I left YVHS and fully 3 years since the events at Colton. Were you saddened to see the top Google searches of your name come up with negative stories about you? Gee, so sorry to hear that your actions have consequences.
Sarcasm aside Mr. Ervin, I am happy (truly) that you have found employment and can continue to support your family despite the adverse situations you have managed to put yourself into. I appreciate that you are looking out for the best interests of students when you do some of the things that you do. You do have good intentions and I applaud your determination to improve the lives of those students whom you oversee. However, has it ever occurred to you that while your message is good, your method of implementation could be improved? I understand that in the Marine Corps, a chain of command is good and following that CofC is important to do without reservation or hesitation. And while classrooms may sometimes resemble a war zone, it may not always been necessary to adopt a Joe Clark of Eastside HS of Paterson, NJ mentality. Beating someone over the head with an idea doesn't mean they'll adopt it any quicker. Please keep that in mind when you are dealing with people - not everyone reacts as we would like when a certain stimulus is applied.
Mr. Ervin, let it go. You don't always need to have the last word (remember that wonderful email you sent to me when I left and the response it got?) and you've moved on in your career. Accept that people will not always be a fan of you or your decisions and go about your life. You've got a wonderful family, a well-paying job, your health, and the prospect of a good future, why trouble yourself with the petty aspects of someone who thinks ill of you on another continent? C'mon man, life is too short for that. Toss back a beer, chalk it up to another life experience, and enjoy the present. If you need a way to see how your life is so good, come visit me in Peru and I'll be happy to show you places where life isn't so grand, places where you'll appreciate the life you live and the hand you've been dealt in this world. Do yourself a favor and get out of Southern California on your next vacation - see the poverty of the world and then you can complain about something...
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
defending a position
Thanks to Shamash who wrote a comment on my last post. I do love lively conversations and this looks like it could be a great one to discuss. I value her opinion and want to take this opportunity to answer the questions that she raised and also provide some clarification to ideas I previously posted. Her reply is in italics, my response is below that.
Hi, Expat.
I'm not sure of the qualities that the USA has for being, as you say, "the greatest nation on earth." Do you mean because we are powerful, and have more military might? How IS the USA "better" than, let's say, Canada? Or Denmark? Or Switzerland?
What I use as a premise to make the claim that the US is the "greatest nation on the Earth" comes from a few different markers.
One - economic strength. Despite the current weakness of the US dollar recently, the US economy is still the world's largest (the EU isn't a nation) and what happens to the US economy has immediate global effects. When the US markets tank, so do the Japanese, Korean, British, German, etc.
Two - military strength. In the arena of executing war, the US has no equal currently. While our exit strategies are less than optimal, the brute force of the US military is unmatched by any single nation on the planet.
Three - political strength. While there is the odd country that enjoys being the antagonist to US politicians, most of the world recognizes that having the US as an ally and maintaining good diplomatic relations with the country means that there is the possibility for good things to happen. When the US gets behind a certain political agenda, it is hard to win the counter argument, no matter how rational or legitimate that argument might be. Case in point, the Iraq War - it might not have been right and people around the world protested it (including many Americans), but the plan was still implemented.
To be clear, I didn't state that the US was any better than any other country although that is implied by my statement of being the greatest nation on Earth. I do not think that the US is better than any other place, every place has its appeal and disgrace. If I didn't believe that, I would have never left my native country to seek out the pleasure of living and enjoying other countries.
I know that being an American is important to you, and that your identity is deeply connected to your nationality.
I think everyone has some degree of nationalism in their blood. The Olympics are based nationalism (and commercialism) and the prospect of finding a common ground for people to come together - sport. In this day and age, we all belong to a country and are identified by the culture that is prevalent in that nation. I am proud of who I am - as an American, educator, and human being. Everyone's outward identity is connected to their nationality, I'm just not ashamed of mine like those whom I was criticizing in my post.
I'm of a different breed, I guess. When I look at a person, I don't see a nationality: I see a face. There are many people I know from different countries who, like you, think that THEIR country is the "greatest nation on earth", and their truth is no less valid than yours.
No arguments there. You are indeed a different breed because no one in their right mind would go for another master's degree after the perfection we shared at MSU. ;-)
Seriously, my opinion of the US being the greatest nation currently is up for debate and I gladly welcome it. I would like to hear from someone who does think that their country is the greatest nation currently and why they think so. As Shamash can attest, I am indeed open to all ideas, even if it means that I have to admit that I'm wrong.
Jingoism, though important for the armed forces and the enlisted, is actually the root for fundamentalist regimes who use the "we are better than them" ideal to rouse citizens to rally around a cause.
Once again, I couldn't agree with you more. When people start thinking that they are better than others, bad things happen. The Armed Forces do need to have that mentality for the main reason of staying alive. When you start to doubt yourself, your equipment, and your fellow soldier - the espirit d'corps goes to shit and before you know it, a lesser force rolls over your position and you're dead. If you don't believe your are the better trained fighting force, then you won't be.
To reiterate without beating a dead horse, I don't claim or believe Americans are better than anyone else - just different. Any regime that preaches they are better than another is only preaching one thing - discrimination.
Under the guise of "fighting for freedom", the war in Iraq has been about oil. Otherwise, the same military might would have helped Burma to free a leader who was elected by 80% of the vote and who, as a Nobel Peace Prize winner, has spent most of the past 20 years under house arrest. As thousands of of peaceful demonstrators, many of them monks, were teargassed and shot at, where was the USA?
Point #3 that I agree with Shamash. The Persian Gulf War and subsequent Iraq War were nothing more than a father and son team ensuring that America had oil in its immediate future. Despite the attempts of the Carter Administration to get American weened off oil with its energy policy back in the late 70's (and its idiotic repeal by the Reagan Administration), Americans are using an INSANE amount of oil. Regardless of how I think about W, I imagine that he will be viewed as the President who secured an oil source for our energy needs and America's future. The house of Saud will fall sooner or later and America is going to need another oil source if the country becomes less than friendly to the US. Until Americans stop being the energy gluttons that we are, there is going to be a high demand for oil and having Iraq and Saudi Arabia (and who could forget Kuwait!) as suppliers is necessary to keep the country running.
But what about Burma? Why aren't we there bringing democracy to a country that desperately wants it so? They have elections and still the military junta is in control, where is the US? You said it earlier - there are no resources that the US wants in Burma in the moment and as a result, it is easier to ignore such a travesty. I'm not saying its right; in fact, its completely wrong and off platform for Bush. If he really wants to show the wonders of democracy and what it can do, then he would have committed troops to Myanmar soil and returned it back to the Burmese. But no natural resources means no attention. I hate to admit it but that's what is happening with our inaction.
The government of the US, has, as "the greatest nation on earth" detained suspects without trial, tortured suspects, invaded a country under the pretenses that there were "weapons of mass distruction", and killed thousands of citizens of Iraq. Rather than spending billions on education and developing better energy sources, the US has raged an illegal war which has broken international law, and awakened anti-American sentiment across the world.
The United States of America is highly flawed at this moment in time, there is no doubting that. I feel that this comes from a lack of credible leadership in the White House and thank goodness there is an upcoming "regime change". The pendulum swung WAY to the right when Clinton (Bill) left office and the radicals have been in the driving seat too long. The Constitution implies that there is to be a separation of church and state (the First Amendment states there is to be no state religion), it has not been a practiced method for as long as I can remember. Since when did a person's ability to lead come from the fact that s/he has a relationship with God? I get scared when W says that God told him to do certain things - it makes me wonder if he truly has a brain or is a mindless cretin (enter your own "W being an idiot" joke here). I can't wait to be a part of an election where religion has no bearing on who gets elected - rather the debate on personal politics and leadership ability is the main focus.
America isn't being the moral compass that the world is looking for, we are massively underwhelming the world with how we conduct our business and I do hope that this comes from the current administration. I can't believe that the Bush Administration didn't make torture illegal (even though it is by the Geneva Convention, which we subscribe to) and still continue to do it. Its deplorable and the Administration should be held accountable for such. Clinton lied about getting his wiener polished by Monica and he almost got impeached. Bush commits the multitudes of violations of moral and ethical treatment of humans and nothing happens? I'm surprised no one hasn't tried to haul his ass off to The Hague to stand trial at the International Criminal Court. Its not genocide but it certainly is a crime against humanity.
As I said, America has a generous number of flaws at the moment but as the eternal optimist, I feel like the country can right itself and change to become the beacon we once were to the world.
Right now, I am NOT proud to be an American, and I do NOT believe that the US is the "greatest nation on earth." Instead, I believe it is the "greatest bully on earth".
I appreciate your opinion and respect it. You have reason to not be proud to be an American and even more reason to think that the Administration that runs the country is indeed a great bully. However my post pertained to the idea of not shirking your responsibility as an American and owning up to being one. Every though we are expats, we are still Americans and we enjoy the benefits of having that passport. Imagine this scenario - the 3rd world country you live is going through massive turmoil, something goes horribly wrong and you are abducted by radicals. Who do you want to come pull you out of the wreckage? I mean no ill-will towards any person, armed force, or creed when I say this - I'd want to have the passport of being an American citizen so I would know that they would do whatever it would take to get me out. If you are a captor with gringos sitting in front of you as hostages, who are you going to fear more - the Swiss, Danish, or Americans? And I don't just mean military options because we know that a lot of situations like that are resolved in diplomatic means. The eagle on our passport is clutching two items in its talons, olive branches and arrows; the head is facing the olive branches but when that doesn't work, there is a bunch of whoop-ass ready to fly. Personally, I'd want to be an American at that point in time but then again, I'm a little biased.
To wrap it up, you can be an American who has a beef with the country and a fed up with the way the country is being run or you can be an American who has a tattoo of an flag covering your entire back or you can be an American who is complacent and hasn't done anything to help the country out but just don't be an American who claims to be a Canadian, or Dane, or Swiss when its convenient. You are who you are and if you are embarrassed to be something, then change it. Whether its a personal trait or nationality, you have the choice to be whatever you want - don't be ashamed of who you are.
Hi, Expat.
I'm not sure of the qualities that the USA has for being, as you say, "the greatest nation on earth." Do you mean because we are powerful, and have more military might? How IS the USA "better" than, let's say, Canada? Or Denmark? Or Switzerland?
What I use as a premise to make the claim that the US is the "greatest nation on the Earth" comes from a few different markers.
One - economic strength. Despite the current weakness of the US dollar recently, the US economy is still the world's largest (the EU isn't a nation) and what happens to the US economy has immediate global effects. When the US markets tank, so do the Japanese, Korean, British, German, etc.
Two - military strength. In the arena of executing war, the US has no equal currently. While our exit strategies are less than optimal, the brute force of the US military is unmatched by any single nation on the planet.
Three - political strength. While there is the odd country that enjoys being the antagonist to US politicians, most of the world recognizes that having the US as an ally and maintaining good diplomatic relations with the country means that there is the possibility for good things to happen. When the US gets behind a certain political agenda, it is hard to win the counter argument, no matter how rational or legitimate that argument might be. Case in point, the Iraq War - it might not have been right and people around the world protested it (including many Americans), but the plan was still implemented.
To be clear, I didn't state that the US was any better than any other country although that is implied by my statement of being the greatest nation on Earth. I do not think that the US is better than any other place, every place has its appeal and disgrace. If I didn't believe that, I would have never left my native country to seek out the pleasure of living and enjoying other countries.
I know that being an American is important to you, and that your identity is deeply connected to your nationality.
I think everyone has some degree of nationalism in their blood. The Olympics are based nationalism (and commercialism) and the prospect of finding a common ground for people to come together - sport. In this day and age, we all belong to a country and are identified by the culture that is prevalent in that nation. I am proud of who I am - as an American, educator, and human being. Everyone's outward identity is connected to their nationality, I'm just not ashamed of mine like those whom I was criticizing in my post.
I'm of a different breed, I guess. When I look at a person, I don't see a nationality: I see a face. There are many people I know from different countries who, like you, think that THEIR country is the "greatest nation on earth", and their truth is no less valid than yours.
No arguments there. You are indeed a different breed because no one in their right mind would go for another master's degree after the perfection we shared at MSU. ;-)
Seriously, my opinion of the US being the greatest nation currently is up for debate and I gladly welcome it. I would like to hear from someone who does think that their country is the greatest nation currently and why they think so. As Shamash can attest, I am indeed open to all ideas, even if it means that I have to admit that I'm wrong.
Jingoism, though important for the armed forces and the enlisted, is actually the root for fundamentalist regimes who use the "we are better than them" ideal to rouse citizens to rally around a cause.
Once again, I couldn't agree with you more. When people start thinking that they are better than others, bad things happen. The Armed Forces do need to have that mentality for the main reason of staying alive. When you start to doubt yourself, your equipment, and your fellow soldier - the espirit d'corps goes to shit and before you know it, a lesser force rolls over your position and you're dead. If you don't believe your are the better trained fighting force, then you won't be.
To reiterate without beating a dead horse, I don't claim or believe Americans are better than anyone else - just different. Any regime that preaches they are better than another is only preaching one thing - discrimination.
Under the guise of "fighting for freedom", the war in Iraq has been about oil. Otherwise, the same military might would have helped Burma to free a leader who was elected by 80% of the vote and who, as a Nobel Peace Prize winner, has spent most of the past 20 years under house arrest. As thousands of of peaceful demonstrators, many of them monks, were teargassed and shot at, where was the USA?
Point #3 that I agree with Shamash. The Persian Gulf War and subsequent Iraq War were nothing more than a father and son team ensuring that America had oil in its immediate future. Despite the attempts of the Carter Administration to get American weened off oil with its energy policy back in the late 70's (and its idiotic repeal by the Reagan Administration), Americans are using an INSANE amount of oil. Regardless of how I think about W, I imagine that he will be viewed as the President who secured an oil source for our energy needs and America's future. The house of Saud will fall sooner or later and America is going to need another oil source if the country becomes less than friendly to the US. Until Americans stop being the energy gluttons that we are, there is going to be a high demand for oil and having Iraq and Saudi Arabia (and who could forget Kuwait!) as suppliers is necessary to keep the country running.
But what about Burma? Why aren't we there bringing democracy to a country that desperately wants it so? They have elections and still the military junta is in control, where is the US? You said it earlier - there are no resources that the US wants in Burma in the moment and as a result, it is easier to ignore such a travesty. I'm not saying its right; in fact, its completely wrong and off platform for Bush. If he really wants to show the wonders of democracy and what it can do, then he would have committed troops to Myanmar soil and returned it back to the Burmese. But no natural resources means no attention. I hate to admit it but that's what is happening with our inaction.
The government of the US, has, as "the greatest nation on earth" detained suspects without trial, tortured suspects, invaded a country under the pretenses that there were "weapons of mass distruction", and killed thousands of citizens of Iraq. Rather than spending billions on education and developing better energy sources, the US has raged an illegal war which has broken international law, and awakened anti-American sentiment across the world.
The United States of America is highly flawed at this moment in time, there is no doubting that. I feel that this comes from a lack of credible leadership in the White House and thank goodness there is an upcoming "regime change". The pendulum swung WAY to the right when Clinton (Bill) left office and the radicals have been in the driving seat too long. The Constitution implies that there is to be a separation of church and state (the First Amendment states there is to be no state religion), it has not been a practiced method for as long as I can remember. Since when did a person's ability to lead come from the fact that s/he has a relationship with God? I get scared when W says that God told him to do certain things - it makes me wonder if he truly has a brain or is a mindless cretin (enter your own "W being an idiot" joke here). I can't wait to be a part of an election where religion has no bearing on who gets elected - rather the debate on personal politics and leadership ability is the main focus.
America isn't being the moral compass that the world is looking for, we are massively underwhelming the world with how we conduct our business and I do hope that this comes from the current administration. I can't believe that the Bush Administration didn't make torture illegal (even though it is by the Geneva Convention, which we subscribe to) and still continue to do it. Its deplorable and the Administration should be held accountable for such. Clinton lied about getting his wiener polished by Monica and he almost got impeached. Bush commits the multitudes of violations of moral and ethical treatment of humans and nothing happens? I'm surprised no one hasn't tried to haul his ass off to The Hague to stand trial at the International Criminal Court. Its not genocide but it certainly is a crime against humanity.
As I said, America has a generous number of flaws at the moment but as the eternal optimist, I feel like the country can right itself and change to become the beacon we once were to the world.
Right now, I am NOT proud to be an American, and I do NOT believe that the US is the "greatest nation on earth." Instead, I believe it is the "greatest bully on earth".
I appreciate your opinion and respect it. You have reason to not be proud to be an American and even more reason to think that the Administration that runs the country is indeed a great bully. However my post pertained to the idea of not shirking your responsibility as an American and owning up to being one. Every though we are expats, we are still Americans and we enjoy the benefits of having that passport. Imagine this scenario - the 3rd world country you live is going through massive turmoil, something goes horribly wrong and you are abducted by radicals. Who do you want to come pull you out of the wreckage? I mean no ill-will towards any person, armed force, or creed when I say this - I'd want to have the passport of being an American citizen so I would know that they would do whatever it would take to get me out. If you are a captor with gringos sitting in front of you as hostages, who are you going to fear more - the Swiss, Danish, or Americans? And I don't just mean military options because we know that a lot of situations like that are resolved in diplomatic means. The eagle on our passport is clutching two items in its talons, olive branches and arrows; the head is facing the olive branches but when that doesn't work, there is a bunch of whoop-ass ready to fly. Personally, I'd want to be an American at that point in time but then again, I'm a little biased.
To wrap it up, you can be an American who has a beef with the country and a fed up with the way the country is being run or you can be an American who has a tattoo of an flag covering your entire back or you can be an American who is complacent and hasn't done anything to help the country out but just don't be an American who claims to be a Canadian, or Dane, or Swiss when its convenient. You are who you are and if you are embarrassed to be something, then change it. Whether its a personal trait or nationality, you have the choice to be whatever you want - don't be ashamed of who you are.
Monday, February 25, 2008
national pride?
While on vacation this summer (that would be North American winter), my travel partner Tim and I had a lot of entertaining and spirited conversations. One that comes to mind is how poorly America treats its veterans and how there should be some way that they are compensated for putting their lives on the line. As a veteran, I completely agree with Tim and wish that there was something that could be done to recognize my service (aside from being a member of the American Legion) to my country but I'll live without it. But this isn't the topic I wanted to deal with, at least not directly. What I really wanted to write about is the lack of pride in being an American, especially amongst travelers.
We saw a lady wearing a hat with the Canadian flag on it while hiking in Torres del Paine in southern Chile. We listened to her and tried to determine where she was from in Canada by her accent but it was to no avail. It wasn't until days later that we overheard her say that she was from Ontario and then her accent became relatively apparent. But for a few days, we suspected that she might be an American incognito and was hiding behind the Canadian flag to avoid confrontations. Being an American outside of America at this moment in time can be rather tricky and many have taken to pretending that they are Canadian to avoid any problems. Spots on CNBC have even highlighted Americans buying Canadian flags to put on to their luggage to mask their nationality.
Tim and I both find this appalling. Tim's perspective was this - being an American comes with certain rights and responsibilities. If you are an American than you get the benefit of being an American just by your birth and believe me, there are plenty of benefits to being an American. So don't enjoy the benefits of being an American just when it suits you, live up to it all the time. When a President is unpopular, deal with the burden of being part of the society that elected him but don't pretend that you are something you are not.
I served in the US Navy from 1991-1995, making me officially a Gulf War veteran. Technically I didn't serve in the Gulf when we were "reclaiming" Kuwait from Saddam Hussein but I did have a part in making sure that things didn't go pear-shaped after the ground war was over. I didn't enlist in the military for some noble reason like defending the country or something like that, I joined for the same reason as a lot of others along side me - we were kinda lost and needed some direction, the military being it. People from the ghettos of Atlanta, the farms of Decatur (IL), the fishing towns of Kodiak (AK), and everywhere in between are the ones that sign up for duty. Those who don't have very much defending the rights and freedoms of those who do have a lot. The poor defending the rich, it sounds almost like modern-day serfdom.
People who don't ask for much and get paid even less, they are the ones who put their ass on the line for us and we repay them with being ashamed to be an American? When one person believes enough in an something to die for it, that is worthy of my respect. And while I do not think that the radicals of the Muslim faith are correct in their ideas about the West, I do respect their belief that they need to die for that faith. Now as for their gullibility...
As if on cue, Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" popped up on my iPod shuffled its way through the 4000+ songs that are on it and is playing in the background as I write. The lyrics are poignant as Lee sings them while I write...
I'm proud to be an American
Where at least I know I'm free.
I won't forget the men who died
Who gave that right to me.
I'd gladly stand up
Next to you
And defend her still today.
Cuz there ain't no doubt I love this land
God bless the USA.
So please, for all of those Americans who travel near and far, don't do yourself and those who died for your liberty any dishonor by claiming to be something that you aren't. You're not Canadian, or British, or whatever - you're from the greatest nation on the Earth and don't be ashamed to admit that. You're lucky enough to be from a country where questioning your leaders is not only allowed, its required. You are from a place that the world thinks is the promised land and that anything is possible. We are the example that the world looks to and sometimes we fall quite short of those lofty expectations. Even so, being an American is not easy and being a citizen can be trying at times but that's what makes being an American worth while. I'm not saying that you should be waiving the flag all the time and being an "ugly American" (which I must say there is a double standard for us, but I'll save that one for another post) when you are abroad, just live up to your birth rite.
The next time you are asked where you are from, hold your head up right and proudly (not arrogantly) state, "I'm an American."
We saw a lady wearing a hat with the Canadian flag on it while hiking in Torres del Paine in southern Chile. We listened to her and tried to determine where she was from in Canada by her accent but it was to no avail. It wasn't until days later that we overheard her say that she was from Ontario and then her accent became relatively apparent. But for a few days, we suspected that she might be an American incognito and was hiding behind the Canadian flag to avoid confrontations. Being an American outside of America at this moment in time can be rather tricky and many have taken to pretending that they are Canadian to avoid any problems. Spots on CNBC have even highlighted Americans buying Canadian flags to put on to their luggage to mask their nationality.
Tim and I both find this appalling. Tim's perspective was this - being an American comes with certain rights and responsibilities. If you are an American than you get the benefit of being an American just by your birth and believe me, there are plenty of benefits to being an American. So don't enjoy the benefits of being an American just when it suits you, live up to it all the time. When a President is unpopular, deal with the burden of being part of the society that elected him but don't pretend that you are something you are not.
I served in the US Navy from 1991-1995, making me officially a Gulf War veteran. Technically I didn't serve in the Gulf when we were "reclaiming" Kuwait from Saddam Hussein but I did have a part in making sure that things didn't go pear-shaped after the ground war was over. I didn't enlist in the military for some noble reason like defending the country or something like that, I joined for the same reason as a lot of others along side me - we were kinda lost and needed some direction, the military being it. People from the ghettos of Atlanta, the farms of Decatur (IL), the fishing towns of Kodiak (AK), and everywhere in between are the ones that sign up for duty. Those who don't have very much defending the rights and freedoms of those who do have a lot. The poor defending the rich, it sounds almost like modern-day serfdom.
People who don't ask for much and get paid even less, they are the ones who put their ass on the line for us and we repay them with being ashamed to be an American? When one person believes enough in an something to die for it, that is worthy of my respect. And while I do not think that the radicals of the Muslim faith are correct in their ideas about the West, I do respect their belief that they need to die for that faith. Now as for their gullibility...
As if on cue, Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" popped up on my iPod shuffled its way through the 4000+ songs that are on it and is playing in the background as I write. The lyrics are poignant as Lee sings them while I write...
I'm proud to be an American
Where at least I know I'm free.
I won't forget the men who died
Who gave that right to me.
I'd gladly stand up
Next to you
And defend her still today.
Cuz there ain't no doubt I love this land
God bless the USA.
So please, for all of those Americans who travel near and far, don't do yourself and those who died for your liberty any dishonor by claiming to be something that you aren't. You're not Canadian, or British, or whatever - you're from the greatest nation on the Earth and don't be ashamed to admit that. You're lucky enough to be from a country where questioning your leaders is not only allowed, its required. You are from a place that the world thinks is the promised land and that anything is possible. We are the example that the world looks to and sometimes we fall quite short of those lofty expectations. Even so, being an American is not easy and being a citizen can be trying at times but that's what makes being an American worth while. I'm not saying that you should be waiving the flag all the time and being an "ugly American" (which I must say there is a double standard for us, but I'll save that one for another post) when you are abroad, just live up to your birth rite.
The next time you are asked where you are from, hold your head up right and proudly (not arrogantly) state, "I'm an American."
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