The Candy Man

I found this so funny when I saw it on television... :)

First Bus Ride

Here's the ticket stub from my first bus ride.

For the past four days, I've been going on 10,000+-step walks. My first walk was just around the neighborhood. On my second, I gave into my curiosity a bit more and got lost. On my third, I walked to the Fred Meyer here in NE Portland then wandered through other stores in the district. On my 4th walk, I took a bus to downtown Portland where I parused through Chinatown, Old Town, Powell's Book Store and the Saturday Market. Here are some pics that I took:

I kept this a secret

for so long that I forgot about it. Here's something I did for fun back in 2006(?) or 2007(?). I used a Pentium II to record and piece together 1 minute segments into full songs, a couple with harmonies. I didn't have very many extracurriculars then... -_- lol. :D

http://www.myspace.com/rachelreyes08

I should start keeping a journal

to help me keep track of my days here. I've been in Portland for nearly 3 weeks now, staying with my cousin and his family. This city is beautiful. Hopping here after the week we spent in Las Vegas really set the contrast with all the green that you see in Oregon. When the plane was descending, me the guy next to me were oggling at the scenery: the trees, the rivers, the mountains (Mount Hood & Mount Saint Helens)... I loved Vegas, too. When we went there for Forensics Nationals, I fell in love with the terrain and the climate. The mountains that just loom on every inch of the encircling horizon make you feel like an ant in a landfill. The dry desert heat mimmicked the feel of gusts of heat rolling out of an oven. I don't know, but something about that landscape really blew my horn. Portland is a complete 180 in environment. "Portland versus Vegas": the two opposite ends of the environmental biomic spectrum. They're both amazing. I'll probably write another blog entry on the Las Vegas trip later.

Oof, running out of time. Gotta scoot. Another cousin of mine staying in Portland will be here in hour to take me out for lunch. More on that later.

One more thing, I miss my friends from back home. I miss the CNMI NFL Team. There are particular people I'd like to mention, but...a phone call from me to you would be the preferred type of hello throughout my 'absence'.

Alright, BYE!

Flipsflops

Do people wear flipflops in Oregon??? I mean...during the Fall? Or... Err... Uh.. Ok.

Au Revoir?

I'm at Java Joe's right now. It is approx. 4:30pm June 9, '08. Officially got my license today. The police officer that escorted me had me drive a long ways away from the Motor Vehicle Bldg. I took a right at the Bldg. and headed towards Garapan, then right towards Middle Road where I drove through Gualo Rai then left towards San Vicente. He then had me take a right into As Lito through Kanat Tabla and up towards Dandan where I curved down-left towards San Antonia and back to the Motor Vehicle Department. I made obvious head movements towards the rear-view mirror as a show of my 'alertness'.

I can only recall one power outage occurring over the past two days. That was really strange to me. Black-outs on Saipan have grown to be so morbid that the occurrence of at least two outages in a single day uproots a sensation of unfamiliarity.

Oh, guess what?! I heard Beautify CNMI is holding a Boonie Dog Pageant next month. Lol! Man, if I wasn't due to leave four days from now then I'd surely mark my calendar for that event. Hai adai...

Sonia, Anita, Caroline, Xiao, Jesse, John, Ryan, Hazel, Ryan, Richelle, Adeleyah, Frank, Andrew and I (Did I miss anyone?)leave for Vegas on the 13th--that's four days from now. WOW, does time fly by or what?! Right after Vegas, I'm leaving straight for college. I'll be in Portland, Oregon-- ;) --staying with my cousin Mark all throughout the summer until classes start in August. Mark lives 4 miles away from my school! My dad will be flying over with Mark's dad--my uncle Frank--in July. I've got another cousin and two aunts staying in the Portland area, too. I'm excited to leave, but pre-departure nostalgia is already starting to take it's toll.

My MHS friends and I want to do something before I leave. Ah, how I love 'bon voyage' rituals. I'd like to have a bon fire at the beach on Wednesday night: put my bare feet in the sand, wade in calm black ocean water, lay prostrate in the sea while gazing up at the stars... Then plant my wet-clothed buttocks in the sand while warming myself by the fire with friends and familiar faces surrounding me. I like the sound of that...

:O

Ok, I've got to go. I mentioned that I'm at JJoes right now, but I did not mention that I've been working my ass off building my FX tub this whole past week. Pardon my French.

Oh, Hi Caroline and Mel! They walked in, then left.

Back to work...

----------------------------------------------------------------------

I've got a ton of books in my room I'm either planning on selling or giving away. Anyone interested? If not, they're going to the library at the hospital. Or my school library.

My Fear/Anxiety

Option 1: Theater Major, Option 2: Theater Major, Sociology Minor, & Option 3: Sociology Major.

I always thought that a degree in sociology would make for great versatility in the job market. Tonight I did a bit more research...looking for first-hand accounts. This is what I've found:

"Life After Graduation (With a Sociology Degree)

When I was given this assignment to write about my degree in Sociology, I initially thought that what was being asked of me was to write an advertisement touting the advantages and benefits of a Sociology degree and to make a persuasive case for taking Sociology as a major in college. Fortunately, this was not the case, as I can’t make a realistic appraisement of my educational background without presenting the negatives as well as the positives. So what I wrote was a description of my experiences as a Sociology major before and after graduation and to let the story speak for itself in deciding how one views the advantages and disadvantages of getting a Bachelor's degree in Sociology.

The College Years
I thoroughly enjoyed my time as a student. I immersed myself in my field of study and took on as my role models those upperclassmen and graduate students who seemed more serious than the typical student about their studies and who had had close connections with professors. It was not unusual to find my role models eating lunch with professors, conversing with them informally in their office hours or even hanging out with them socially over a few beers in the neighborhood bars. These students, if they were undergraduates, eventually went on to graduate school with the full blessing and recommendations of their professors. If they were graduate students they, most likely, eventually got their PhD's and became, themselves, professors. It was inevitable that I became one of the "serious" and academically-inclined upperclassman. I aspired to be an intellectual and took my studies seriously. My grades, awards, and organizational affiliations reflected that: Honor societies, Dean's Lists, Provost Scholar award, English club, Sociology club, etc. In my spare time I worked a variety of work-study jobs: administrative assistant, library assistant, and server in the cafeteria. Eventually, I landed a plum campus job as a teaching assistant for the Sociology department. In this role I was responsible for organizing and leading discussion groups, reading and grading student papers, and occasionally, teaching an entire classroom of undergraduates. I look back fondly on those days.

Life After Graduation
Strangely enough, my life took quite a different turn the first years after I graduated from college in late 1994. Because I was used to high achievement, being taken seriously as an intelligent person by my superiors, and having my opinions and insights valued, I was emotionally shaken up at what I got. I did not go to graduate school immediately like many of my peers. I wanted first to "experience the world" and then decide if I wanted to go for a PhD. So off I went to "the world" armed with my Sociology degree, a lot of hope and optimism, and the self-confidence of someone who felt as he has proved himself and his capabilities. I was in for a rude awakening.

Maybe a list of my first jobs (and salaries) after college will help illustrate what I am trying to say:
1. Internship for an international development NGO (1995)--unpaid
2. Coffee server in a coffee shop (1995-96) $7/hr
3. Temporary research assistant (1996)--$200 for one week's work
4. House painter (1996)-- $8/hr
5. Dishwasher/prep cook/waiter for a restaurant (1996)--$7/hr plus tips
6. TDD (Telecommunication Device for the Deaf) operator (1997)--$8.50/hr
7. Office temp worker (1998)--$12/hr
8. Publications Assistant (1998) 26K/year

The whole time I was working in my less than desirable jobs I was constantly looking for something better and more in line with my educational credentials. But I just kept getting rejected for one position after another. I eventually landed a position working for a professional association of the discipline that I got my degree. It was not until I started on that position that I began earning a salary above the poverty level.

What is it that I am trying to say and what does this have to do about Sociology? Simply, that Sociology was good to me for intellectual and personal growth. It allowed me to develop as a person and to take on responsibilities that gained for me the respect of my teachers, fellow students and my parents.

However, Sociology, once I entered the job market, did not provide an easy way to make the big bucks (or any bucks for that matter). What I learned pretty quickly was that all the good grades, honor societies, and affiliations with professors did not matter in this new arena called "the job market." What mattered were other things which, unfortunately, I did not focus on in my time in school: a marketable major, professional connections, professional experience, software and computer skills, internship experience, etc.

So if you ask me the question "Should I major in Sociology?" my answer would be pick it as a major if the subject really interests you. College is probably the only time of your life where you will be debating and wrestling with the ideas of Marx, Weber, Comte, Durkheim and other giants of the discipline. College is probably the only time of your life where you can be passionate about such things (unless you decide to go to grad school). And I say, enjoy it. Savor and relish it because the intellectual life is its own reward. Many people never even get a chance to experience it.

However, if you are thinking of a major in Sociology, you must balance it with practical skills and experiences that are marketable in the job market. I would suggest taking courses in office applications software and web development. Join a professional association. Most of all I recommend getting an internship while you are still in school. Perhaps take one for every summer you are in school. Because this is the only way to gain exposure, skills, connections and useful information on a field that interests you. These, more than your grades, Sociology degree, and academic awards will decide where you end up in the job market after graduation. As I know very well, the intellectual life is sweet but there is, after all, a life after college that we all must eventually join."

Who, What, When, Where, Why, How...

If I could be anyplace in the world right now, I'd choose to be in a gigantic armchair, by a crackling fire, in a cold room, in an over-sized sweater, with a good book in my right hand, and my left nestled under my pillow-rested skull. I yearn for a feeling of ease, and yet my head is like a ship trudging on the waves of an uneasy heart. While in the womb, we live off and in the liquid of mothers'. Now out, I feel as though I'm drowing in air. I need solace and I need... I need to feel as though I don't need anything. I want to carefree. I want to live free.

I want to be like the air I drown in. I want to meander like the wind--into open doors and vacant sidewalks, into open books for vacant heads, into open arms for vacant hearts. I don't hate what I've been, and I doubt that I ever had. I bask in the knowledge that all I am and I know is a culmination of what I've been, what I've learned, and who I've met, loved, and hurt. I am the result of what the world has done, what I have done, what the world has not done, and what I have not done. But, in the words of great men, I know little. In fact, I know nothing.

What I can do is love blindly and feel wildly. Yes, we shouldn't base our state of emotions on the feedback of people around us. However, it is because we have people around us that we are able to form societies...able to form great states to form great nations. Discussing Rousseau doesn't always get the most engaged interests, but it does relate. The titles "states", "coutries" and "nations" are intangible to tongues and ears. We can't put our ears up against the belly of a state and hear the low grumble of its hunger. We can't run our fingertips on the skin of a country and feel the warmth of its mass and ruling body. We can't bite a nation and taste the flavors of its people as we do with sauteed beef and mushroom fried rice. These abstract entities supersede our most basic human senses, and if they be sensed, it is only possible abstractly. But...the social contract that forms "nations" and "countries" and "states" is formed on the principle that men are humans and must attain to the most human wants and desires, and in order to do so we must establish such entities for the protection of their attainment. The social contract is a big dream based on little facts; but such dreams are as real as the human instincts that bear them. What other big dreams do we bear that come from little facts?

All great men are or were human. All great men need and needed to eat, drink, and be merry. "Mazlow's Heiarchy of Wants" was written by a great man who was human nonetheless. It is this bond--the human bond--that causes me to fall in love with society and convinces me that I so want to fall in love. This bond, like the ionic and covalent that form the most basic atomic units of our beings, convinces me that all men should love and that there is an unfairness in the fact that not all men get to fall in love. I yearn to live big dreams to add to the general welfare of the big big society we live in...but, just as much, yearn to do so for the benefit of a small family, of a two-person romance, that I would haphazardly unravel on some unprecedented day. Great things come from small people, you could say? ;) I mean that abstractly.

The emergence of great things arise out of the big dreams of small ones in billion-people populations. The small summary is that...at the end of my life, I want to have people to whom I can say "I love you", people to take care of and to be taken care of. Also, I want to not care about how it happens, when, where, or why.

C-Day D-Day

It's 12:42 AM this manic Monday morning. I'm up reading cases for this Wednesday's Covenant Day debate. On this here dining room table, I've sprawled across the cluttered mesa an array of "[defendant name here] versus [prosecutor name here]"s's's's; and no that is not grammatically correct, and yes that is ironic given the grammatically correct nature of legal jargon and the time I've spent sitting on this hard chair reading page after page of the grammatically correct black print. Can you imagine what it would be like if case summaries had pictures in them?

*bubbleplopbubblelightbulbplopding!*
TEXT: Justice Blackmun gave an opinion...
PICTURE: Blackmun, wearing Greco-Roman toga, holding the trident of Poseidon.
*bubbleplopbubblelightbulbplopding!*
Text: District Judge Mathers dissented...
PICTURE: Mathers illustrated as putrid rat being dipped into ocean as his tail dangles from the gargantuan fingertips of the ever-so-ever-more gargantuan Justice Blackmun who smiles free-spiritedly 'like a fat kid loves cake'.
*bubbleplopbubblelightbulbplopding!ding!*

Ok. I'm being nonsensical. But, you know what else is? What else is nonsensical?? Do you know?! Can you possibly know?!?

Well... Ok, scrub that. Erase it. White-out it out.

The formalities of legal jargon annoy me because I'd rather have cases be straight to the point. I don't know about other people, but I have to dissect the language to get what the thing is saying. THE THING. It's so incomprehensible to me that I label THE THING after a 70's/80's corny horror flick. THE THING. Bwah!

I think it's just because I'm new to the diction and funky syntax. Give it a while and it'll sink in.

Anyway...moving on to other stuff.

Here's another thought I want to share:
WHAT IN THE MILKY WAY DOES IT MEAN TO BE A COMMONWEALTH?

When I was a wee todd-todd, I was told that I live in the "Commonwealth" of the Northern Mariana Islands. I was told that we aren't a state. We aren't a US territory (as some have said, others beg to differ). We are a "commonwealth".

According to Wikipedia (lol, I wanted fast, succinct info), the world "commonwealth" holds its etymology in the English "Common Wealth" or "Common Weal". Older historical derivations say that the "commonwealth" was a reference to "welfare", or 'common' welfare. I say that this shares the same concept of the "common good"--the good of the entire society, or "general welfare". So...how did that transmute into a TYPE of society? Hai...

The Covenant said that we are a in "polical union" with the United States; it established that we are a 'commonwealth'. But what does that mean?

Well... I read that, during the 18th century and during the tenure of the Articles of the Confederation, some American colonies referred to themselves as colonies. According to the "Letric Law Library", a commonwealth is defined as:

"A commonwealth is properly a free state or republic, having a popular or representative government. The term has been applied to the government of Great Britain. It is not applicable to absolute governments. The states composing the United States are, properly, so many commonwealths."

Through my interpretation of a "free state or republic", I say that this was a reference to the relative sovereignty of each colony. Some commonwealths are very much like coalitions--they lightly tie inherently independent sovereign nations to one flag. If this be true, then the Articles of Confed. was the document that established the "commonwealth" of the American Colonies.

How does this apply to the "C"-NMI?

Take this idea of inherent independence and sovereignty. In my standpoint (you can't take this to be fact, only opinion), since the CNMI was unlawfully claimed by Japan (opinion), the United States upon defeating Japan and overtaking the Marianas decided it best not to claim illegit property (opinion). In that respect, we, as NMI inhabitants, had inherent sovereignty over ourselves and the government we desired. Thus, the United States had to give us the option of choosing our political stance: TTPI, Independent, Commonwealth, US territory... Now, as we all now, we chose to be a commonwealth and through the weight of the CNMI Covenant maintained jurisdiction over labor and immigration.

This is what gets me:
If, through our Covenant, the CNMI has sole jurisdiction over labor and immigration, does that imply that all other US National laws apply? I.e. the US Constitution?

Ok. We know that every state has its own constitution. We also know that through Article IV of the US Constitution, states are guaranteed jurisdiction over all laws not mentioned in the Constitution; meaning they could decide on voting, abortion, capital punishment, etc. Article 1 of the CNMI Constitution, entitled 'Personal Rights', resembles the US Bill of Rights (Amendment 1). Ours explicitly mentions abortion, health environments, privacy, and capital punishment--unlike the US Constitution. If there are state constitutions that resemble our's (Art. I) then I'll drop this matter. But if there aren't...does that imply that we have more jurisdiction over our laws than do states? (Or...have we been making unnecessary inclusions to our Constitution?)

Perhaps I'm losing my head.

Ok, to make sense of what I just said. In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruled that prohibition of abortion abridges a woman's (implied) right to privacy. In the Marianas, we explicitly say a woman can't have an abortion (except in certain legal...forgot the word...in short, it's prohibited but there may be cases where it could be allowed; Article 1 Section 9 I think). Does the CNMI's legal enumeration on Roe v. Wade imply wider jurisdiction over our laws, and thus greater sovereignty over ourselves? Keep in mind, I'm working on what I know. I've still much to learn.

I've got so many questions to ask. In truth, the most basic questions are the most difficult. I'll save them for later.

Here's a recent question, though: What is difference between having a law be 'statutory' or in the constitution?

According to a summary on a recent CNMI case (where the defendant motioned to have non-citizens included in his jury array), it was stated that, in the CNMI, "the right to a trial by jury in the CNMI is statutory, not constitutional".

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

I know that Article 1 of the CNMI Const. says that trial by jury is made available in criminal and civil cases, but it also says something about the legislature being involved. I can't cite it at the moment; it's fallen out of my memory, but I do have some questions on that. Does that violate the concept on the separation of powers? Does the concept of separating powers apply to a "commonwealth" (the same way it applies to states)? Isn't the US Constitution supposed to be the "Supreme Law of the Land"--meaning it has to, HAS TO apply to us in the CNMI? Doesn't it?

Hai adai.... that's not even half of what I want to know. That doesn't even hit the Covenant Day debate topic yet!

RESOLVE: WHETHER JURORS IN ALL JURY TRIALS IN THE CNMI SHOULD BE COMPRISED OF ALL CNMI RESIDENTS INCLUDING NON-US CITIZENS.

Today, Laura, Donghee, and I got together to pool our research. The debate is in three days, and honestly, it seems as though we're all in the beginning process of formulating our arguments. I know I am. I just started reading the cases they gave us today. O_O Or..yesterday, it's already 1 AM lol. Like Lincoln-Douglas debates, we have to research both sides, except unlike Lincoln-Douglas, you only argue for one side and only argue once on the day. I really want to understand this topic. I'm starting at the basics, because that's what I need right now (in order to understand it as much as I want to). The beauty and tragedy of these debates is that the topic is greater than the win or lose, greater than the debate itself. I guess that's why I'm so glad over the debators agreeing to pool research. We'd rather not have a debate won based on the opponent missing information. We'd rather have it won based on logic. Anyway... Ugh. I need to finish reading these. It's such a..."tense" issue.

What makes me..."unbiased" I guess you could say is that my mom is a non-US citizen (green card holder) and my dad is. All of the debators, actually, have origins not from here but are all born here. I feel like we are arguing for the generations before us. I'd prefer not to get personal.

Well... Here's to a Happy Easter! :) A great Spring Break! (Much deserved by all) And... Having the means to every end be as successful as the end. lol. Nonsensical.

Morning, Folks. ;)

?Ross Perot, Ron Perot, Ron Paul, Ron Perot?

Does anyone else find any strange similarities between those two?

Update?

Ok. I'm typing this out in WordPad because my Internet Explorer window just froze. I had around 10 tabs open, hehe. How lond do you thing 1031 words can run for? Over 10 minutes, you think? It's 12:30 in the morning and I'm suddenly in the mood to write an update, which I do admit to having purposely delayed for the past...oh I don't know how many weeks. Lately, I've been getting more and more into country music. That's something new. Last weekend a few friends and I went for an evening swim at some beach. That was fun. It was a better alternative to the typical dinner and a movie. What else... Hah, sorry guys, I really don't know what to update you on. (:P) Oh, my television boycot continues to be successful. The last time I switched on the t.v. was a while before New Years. I get my news online now. I have to admit that I do miss watching FoxNews. Yes, FoxNews, I miss FoxNews. Well, some shows on FoxNews. I never like that "Red Eye" show. Oh, I remember Henry and Jae Hee talking about Juno on our former joint thread (former because I'm outtie now), so I watched it and I LOVED IT. I loved her humor. I also downloaded the soundtrack.

I have to apologize for this being a lame excuse for an update. Not much has gone on with me as of late. I promise to make up for this update with a better one later though.

Oh. I need your help with something. I'm making a list of historical/natural sites on Saipan. Here are a few that I've listed so far:
- Obyan Beach (and the Latte Stone carvings here)
- Laulau Beach
- Paupau Beach
- Marine Beach (and the Hidden Pool here)
- Forbidden Island
- Sugar Cane Park
- Japanese Prison
- Old Man By The Sea Beach
- Susupe Lake
- the place with the 'magnetic sand' at Hidden Beach near King Fisher
- The Grotto
- Managaha
- the place on island where you can see two rainbows at once
***I had a whole list of them, but the sheet (an envelope really) got drenched in some liquid substance that half the list is now indeterminable... O_O

Anymore, you guys?
_____________________
Another thing I've been doing with my time is making scratch harmonics.
Here's one to this Samoan song called "Isa Lei Lia." I was off-key a number of times and I didn't know the words, but hey, it was all done in good 3-in-the-morning,can't-be-too-loud-or-you'll-wake-the-house fun. Hehe. :P

Step 1. The Song.


Music Codes

Step 2. Voice-Over 1.
Download isa lei lia 1.wma

Step 3. Voice-Over 2.
Download isa lei lia 2.wma

You can hear my fan in the background and I talk a lot throughout it all, but eh, it's a hobby.

Blue Moon Poems

trudging the brink
by r. reyes, 2/10/08

trudging through oceans with my head above the water
sometimes with just exactly enough touching the surface
for myself to breathe
my feet hardly ever being able to touch the seafloor
propping myself up with my toes
I push myself up when I fall beneath the surface
those times when I'm entirely immersed into the ocean
those times, sometimes, few times
I let myself fall beneath ths surface
and choose not to jump above into the open air
just so that I could open my eyes while underwater
and look up at the sunlight or starlight through blueblack lenses
some of them who trudge the brink with me
slither down into the sea where the water's warm
and the skylight gleams with ethereal magic
they bask in the comfort of the undercurrent
but then they forget to come back up again
to breathe
and so they stay there
until they bob and sway
I hope I never forget to breathe
then again, the better solution is to learn how to swim

Strange Feeling

Lately I've been overcome by the strangest feeling... Suddenly, a part of me feels like staying on Saipan, or coming back home. After the past few days of Youth Congress meetings I've been harassed by an overwhelming feeling of commitment to Saipan...the CNMI. I feel as though there is so much I can contribute, given I had enough time. I don't have enough time. Maybe that's what makes me feel as though I should stay. Maybe it's a feeling of "unfinished" business. I need to go the States for college. I want to go to the States for college. I want a college degree from a United States college. It's as simple as that. I guess I'm going to have to sacrifice being away...letting my ideas accumulate and develop with my resume before I initiate my own process of contributing to our society. I need to learn the basics and polish myself like a great finish on some mahogany wood. I need to see the world. I need to learn. I need to meet new people and see new places. I need to delve into the uncomfortable. I need all that before I decide to settle down in one place. I need to spread my roots elsewhere--in places I don't call home. I need that.

Ok. :)

I feel better, now. :D

I Love Bread

I hereby declare the song "If" by Bread my official Wedding song. Of course, I don't who I am going to marry, let alone whether or not I am... But, what-the-hey, who cares, IT'S MY SONG. :) I feel very contented at that thought.

In "The Fountainhead", Howard Roark tells Geil Wynand that he can declare anything as his own, anything at all. Everyone can. How you take something, how you perceive it, how it sits in your heart, the significance it holds in your life--it is precisely that that makes something yours. No one object is subject to the ownership of two, simply because those two are not same.

I feel that about the song "If" by Bread.

So, in conclusion! You all should read "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand and download the song "If" by Bread. :)

I'm feeling chipper...lol.

*In pompous airy voice*: You're all invited to the wedding, fabulous, absolutely fabulous, my dahlings.

Banned from K-Mart & Pavement Art

Funny Videos

Sneak, sneak, sneak

Hi. I'm in 2nd period right now. It's 10:12 AM. I'm in AP Government and Politics. Great class.

Been really tired lately. Exhaustion has been easy to attain lately. For the past three days I've been getting these piercing migraines that stem from my right temple to the center of my...skull. It's magageable. I take two tylenol capsules and I'm up again. I can't wait for Bo's birthday party! I'm in need of some serious relaxation time.

During the summer of my...junior year (I think), I found the best setting where I was most at ease. I'd go to the library (these days hardly anyone would go) and I'd skim through book after book and find a little corner in the back of the Adult Non-Fiction section. Then, I'd go out and roam the area. It's a great feeling to keep your secrets in some place you give your own significance, too. I can relate to the girl in The Secret garden. I have a tendency to be very concious of my environment in a sense that I make connections to the places I go to.

During JSA, whenever I'd have extra time away from everyone and inbetween classes, I'd roam the Stanford campus. It's funny recounting on how I never got lost while on my own, but only got lost when with someone else. I remember sneaking into an auditorium at Stanford...hehehe...

Can't wait for college!

The Great African Scandal (2007)

"In this thought-provoking documentary, made with the help of Christian Aid, academic Robert Beckford undertakes a challenging, emotional journey to Ghana in West Africa. This is where, two centuries ago, Robert Beckford’s ancestors were seized and taken as slaves to Jamaica. Now he is making a journey to the land of his roots to discover the hidden costs of rice, chocolate and gold."

Time: 47:17

URL: http://moviesfoundonline.com/great_african_scandal.php

-I've never liked chocolate so much, and this gives me a greater reason to keep doing so.
-I'm not sure what to think of www.freerice.com, now.
-This guy filmed this documentary in Ghana, but what about the rest of Africa?
-Rice, chocolate, and gold... I have a hunch that nearly every mass-produced item, the base ingredients of them, or items that are collectively bartered involve some kind of scandal of some sort. There's "Supersize Me" on the McDonald's scandal. There are chicken farms in China, gold in Thailand, poachers, hooooh boy the list never ends.
-In one point in the documentary, Beckford says something like..."we starve one part of the world, to make the other richer" and "these people shouldn't have to live off acts of charity from me or anyone else". When you think of it...most of the aid granted to people who are considered impoverished come in the form of charity. Why is that? Because fixing the internal workings of a system is too difficult? Or because losing a society's dependence on your "charity" throws off control and skews your from of economic and political dominance?

This documentary made me sick. That's a good thing. Partly.

6:01 AM

Today is Friday--the second day of class after winter break.

Today is Friday.

I need to jump in the shower soon.

What will be lightyears after my shower... I must remember... These things:

1. Today, you must call the Gates Millenium people to find out what in the hell went wrong with my SS# on my application.
2. Today, you must call Ladera Heights to inquire of any job opportunities for a hopeful academic-minded student aspiring to raise a few abstemious dollars for college.
3. Today, I must collect the shirt payments from Mr. Ermand and go to Island Aparrel before 5 PM to get our shirts.
4. Today, I must go to the Student Council meeting.
5. Today, I must pick up the forms I dropped off at my counselor's office, and the forms I dropped off at Mr. Eastons, while returning Easton's books.
6. Today, I must re-check-out my library books.
7. Today, I must figure out how in the hell I'm going to dress up like Jean Rousseau on Monday.
8. Today, I must put together my arguments on why a Laissez Fair system is better than Mercantilism and Communism.
9. What else?

I'll remember later. Dang it. I need to get in the shower.

Goodbye. :)

AMU

A woman called and asked me to send some credentials so that they could see how much scholarship money I qualify for. She called from all the way there to all the way here. I am astounded.

:P

Ok. Back to work.

Partition (2007)

This made me cry humiliatingly.

http://moviesfoundonline.com/partition.php

A two-hour watch, but well worth it.