Greetings, earthlings...Er, sorry, I got my messages mixed up. What I meant to say is Happy Day After Christmas, or rather Happy Boxing Day.
I can't believe how many things are still open on Christmas and Boxing Day (Kinko's, perezhilton.com, the guards at the gate of a posh neighborhood in Georgetown, the street cleaners on my street)...And then I remember that, not everyone enjoys the job benefits I do, and not everyone celebrates Christmas (for example my Jewish cousins, and my Buddhist neighbor). I am ever so grateful of these few days off.
Enjoy whatever you are celebrating (Christmas, the lack of colleagues at work, the empty streets, the unencumbered shopping) this year!
December 26, 2007
December 17, 2007
A Game of Life!
A friend, who is an avid mountaineer, says that there are three essential things when climbing a mountain: 1) To be warm, 2) To be satiated, 3) To be rested.
If one element should be absent, a climber can still survive the climb. But it two elements are missing, there is real danger to his/her life. For example, one can tired, so long as he/she is warm and full. But one cannot reasonably be expected to climb a mountain on an empty stomach and dog-tired.
This same principle can be applied to life in general I suppose, provided one has: 1) Good health, 2) A stable job, 3) An active personal life.
Right now, I feel like I have good health. My job is stable but not very fulfilling. My personal life is blah.
So the score is
Health % 100
Job % 50
Personal % 0
Hum, better not try to climb that mountain!
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December 14, 2007
Holy Beans!
Lately, I've been trying to recapture that lunchtime feeling from
We would then have to loosen our belts, and deal with that heavy, satiated felling for the rest of the afternoon.
So I bought red beans yesterday, out of nostalgia, and forgot to soak them over night. No worries I thought, I can just boil them for a few minutes, let them sit out for a while, and cook them for 30 mins. Not so. The beans were almost as hard as they were when they were dry.
So I decided to take a break and have them for dinner the next day. The next evening, I took them out of the fridge and cooked them for another hour. Still not soft enough to be edible! So I left them for the next day. On and on, until I had cooked them for what seemed like 4 hours! And they still aren't quite soft enough to eat.
I now have a newfound respect for Maman Cécile, the Congolese office cook.
December 11, 2007
A slice of a (crime ridden) neighborhood
At about 10:30 pm, last night, I heard 4 loud cracks that reverberated in the icy parking lot across from my house. Savvy enough to recognize the sound by now, I ran to my third floor window to figure out who had fired the gun. Instead of a person, I saw a large, dark blue SUV, driving erratically down the street. It hit a car parked on the side of the street (effectively reducing it to 2/3 of its original size), and that car hit the car in front of it, creating a domino effect.
I squinted to see the back of the SUV but couldn't see the license plate number.
Soon after that, a series of neighbors came out of their houses to talk to the policemen that arrived 5 minutes after the altercation. While we were talking to them, a series of 4 shots were fired again, this time one street away, and the cops were on their way again.
While the neighbors took pictures for accident reports and assessed the damage to their cars (there was a 4-car pile-up), we got to talking a little bit. Here are some excerpts of the conversations:
Woman who's still in college (panicked):
"I can't believe my landlord wanted to increase rent for this crap-hole. I told myself I would leave 6 months later, and I'm still planning on doing that. It's too unsafe. Did you go to the meeting at the community center? You should go, they explain all about what's going on with the gangs. It feels a lot better to understand the dynamics. Still though, I'm gonna leave, anytime now".
Man whose car was considerably damaged, to cop (laughing):
"Ya, I wish I could claim that dent from the accident, but the truth is that I damaged it earlier on with my foot".
Man whose car suffered the least damage, after moving it from under the third one (in his pajamas, with a winter coat):
"I'm going back to sleep".
Woman who has lived on the street for 20 years, engaging the surprised onlookers (animatedly):
"It's not the environment…I raised my three kids on this very street, and let me tell you, the eighties were terrible…all these drug-related problems…Two of my kids went to college, the older one here (pointing to her Virginia T-shirt), and the third one is a senior in high school…I tell you, back in the day when my kids were napping on the top floor, I would look out the window, and see the drug dealers stash their drugs…then I would call the cops on them with the location and the description of the drug-dealers…they were always surprised when they were caught…Lavinia had to remove her shrubs from her front yard 'cause they'd always stash to their drugs there…I tell you, it's not the environment…And you know, I should know, I'm white. It's all gang-related now".
Woman who has lived on the street for 30 years, when examining the damage to her totaled car (matter-of-factly):
"Well, at least I didn't fill up the tank".
Adopt a Family for Christmas
I don't know about you but, given that my family (parents, sis and bro) are all grown up, we've decided, for three Christmases straight now, to give each other little-bitty presents that are worth no more than $10-15. They are always thoughtful presents and appreciated, but any present more than $15 is a little pointless given that we are well-off and can generally buy our own items throughout the year.
But the financial freedom is not available to everyone. In fact, plenty of homeless families will not have a Christmas/Kwanza/Hanukkah this year. Community of Hope, a homeless shelter in Washington D.C. (more like a set of apartment complexes for families transitioning into other more permanent housing like their cousin's, or subsidized housing), is looking to get gifts for about 200 families. Here's how people can help:
Click HERE to read more.
or CLICK THE GIFT CARD ABOVE to make your contribution!
http://www.communityofhopedc.org/
If you can't afford it, don't sweat it! I certainly can, now that my family has let up a little on the gift for Christmas.
But the financial freedom is not available to everyone. In fact, plenty of homeless families will not have a Christmas/Kwanza/Hanukkah this year. Community of Hope, a homeless shelter in Washington D.C. (more like a set of apartment complexes for families transitioning into other more permanent housing like their cousin's, or subsidized housing), is looking to get gifts for about 200 families. Here's how people can help:
Community of Hope Adopt a Family Program
Click HERE to read more.
or CLICK THE GIFT CARD ABOVE to make your contribution!
http://www.communityofhopedc.org/
If you can't afford it, don't sweat it! I certainly can, now that my family has let up a little on the gift for Christmas.
December 10, 2007
One Issue Voter
I fear I have become a one-issue voter. My issue? Health insurance.
Surely there's got to be a better way to do health insurance, from a country that is so technologically-sophisticated, and customer-service orientated.
This always happens:
1-I go to the dentist/gynecologist/doctor once a year.
2-I work with the medical office to ensure that my paperwork is accurate and up-to-date.
3-I pay the entire bill. My insurance promises to reimburse the allowable fees. That still leaves with having to pay $538.20 that day, of which $300 will be covered by my health insurance and $248.20 (I sometimes really wonder why I am paying $150 per month and yet still have to shell out $250 out of my own pocket).
4-I go home feeling healthy, yet disgruntled at having had to wait 1 hour to see the dentist/gyncologist/doctor, when I arrived perfectly on time.
5-Three months later, I still haven't been reimbursed the $300.
6-I call the insurance company. They tell me that my dentist/gynecologist/doctor hasn't submitted the claim.
7-I call my dentist/gynecologist/doctor. The office tells me that they did. In fact, they sent the claim months ago. The office is annoyed, but sends the paperwork again.
8-I wait another month until reimbursement.
Can you imagine if you had 3 kids, which means three times as many appointments, and just a 1/3 of the time to follow-up with all of these? What if you were a cashier at Giant on your feet all day, then had to rush to school to pick up the kids at 4 pm, then spent all your evening cooking, checking homework, giving baths, and doing laundry. It's impossible!
No wonder people are reluctant to go to the doctor's.
Whichever candidate proposes to streamline and simplify the process, gets my vote in November 2008.
Surely there's got to be a better way to do health insurance, from a country that is so technologically-sophisticated, and customer-service orientated.
This always happens:
1-I go to the dentist/gynecologist/doctor once a year.
2-I work with the medical office to ensure that my paperwork is accurate and up-to-date.
3-I pay the entire bill. My insurance promises to reimburse the allowable fees. That still leaves with having to pay $538.20 that day, of which $300 will be covered by my health insurance and $248.20 (I sometimes really wonder why I am paying $150 per month and yet still have to shell out $250 out of my own pocket).
4-I go home feeling healthy, yet disgruntled at having had to wait 1 hour to see the dentist/gyncologist/doctor, when I arrived perfectly on time.
5-Three months later, I still haven't been reimbursed the $300.
6-I call the insurance company. They tell me that my dentist/gynecologist/doctor hasn't submitted the claim.
7-I call my dentist/gynecologist/doctor. The office tells me that they did. In fact, they sent the claim months ago. The office is annoyed, but sends the paperwork again.
8-I wait another month until reimbursement.
Can you imagine if you had 3 kids, which means three times as many appointments, and just a 1/3 of the time to follow-up with all of these? What if you were a cashier at Giant on your feet all day, then had to rush to school to pick up the kids at 4 pm, then spent all your evening cooking, checking homework, giving baths, and doing laundry. It's impossible!
No wonder people are reluctant to go to the doctor's.
Whichever candidate proposes to streamline and simplify the process, gets my vote in November 2008.
December 06, 2007
Simple bully math
My parents have a little dog + My parents are traveling = I have to take care of the dog
The dog is little + it is cold and snowing outside = I dress the dog in a green coat
The dog looks ridiculous + we go to the dog park = The big dogs instinctively attack my pooch
(note: the picture is not of my dog, but you have to admit that this one's cute!)
December 01, 2007
Black Rose
The Black Rose website states:
About Black Rose
Black Rose is a not-for-profit organization which provides a forum for the many different expressions of power in love and play. This can include dominance & submission, bondage & discipline, fetishism, cross-dressing, to name a few.
Black Rose is a support, education, and social group for adults who share these interests in the context of caring relationships. Black Rose is a pan sexual group, open to those of any sexual orientation. It is our goal to provide a comfortable, safe, and discreet environment where one can meet others of like mind. We are not a swingers group or a sex club. We do not make referrals. We are not a chapter based organization. We welcome the interested, the inquisitive, and the discerning to join us as we explain, explore, and enjoy.
You must be at least 19 years old to attend any of our functions or to receive our literature or newsletter.
Every person who attends a Black Rose event, in exchange for admittance, agrees that he or she, and his or her representatives and assigns, will not hold Black Rose or any coordinator liable directly or vicariously for injuries or other damages that result directly or indirectly from attending the event.
Hum, I guess that's why I felt like a prey in my little conservative little suit at the hotel, on Friday...
About Black Rose
Black Rose is a not-for-profit organization which provides a forum for the many different expressions of power in love and play. This can include dominance & submission, bondage & discipline, fetishism, cross-dressing, to name a few.
Black Rose is a support, education, and social group for adults who share these interests in the context of caring relationships. Black Rose is a pan sexual group, open to those of any sexual orientation. It is our goal to provide a comfortable, safe, and discreet environment where one can meet others of like mind. We are not a swingers group or a sex club. We do not make referrals. We are not a chapter based organization. We welcome the interested, the inquisitive, and the discerning to join us as we explain, explore, and enjoy.
You must be at least 19 years old to attend any of our functions or to receive our literature or newsletter.
Every person who attends a Black Rose event, in exchange for admittance, agrees that he or she, and his or her representatives and assigns, will not hold Black Rose or any coordinator liable directly or vicariously for injuries or other damages that result directly or indirectly from attending the event.
Hum, I guess that's why I felt like a prey in my little conservative little suit at the hotel, on Friday...
November 30, 2007
The suspence is killing me
I am in a hotel in Capitol Hill waiting to meet with a group of public health people and the hotel is overtaken by people in leather clothing, dark dyed hair and halter tops. I thought some kind of biker convention was going on but apparently it's an "alternative" conference for the Black Rose. I can't check the website from here but the suspence is killing me...
City to Boost Anti-Gang Efforts After Spike in Violence
By Allison Klein
Friday, November 30, 2007
At least five violent ganglike "crews" of young people are warring in the
Since early October, people in the neighborhoods have reported more than 100 gunshots, said D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D- Ward 1), who represents the area and has been pleading for more police attention. Officers have made two arrests in the cases involving the 11 victims.
It's absolutely incredible more people aren't wounded and shot," Graham said yesterday. "This situation is red-hot."
D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) joined Graham yesterday at
The police department is streamlining its gang intelligence unit, giving $1.2 million to community partnerships for gang intervention and spending $1.8 million to expand the ShotSpotter system, Lanier said.
"These crews are a very, very strong driving force behind the crime," Lanier said. "We have to get right to the heart of that."
ShotSpotter, a collection of gunshot recognition sensors, finds gunfire within seconds and alerts police to where the bullets were fired. D.C. police began using the technology last year in the 7th Police District, the southern half of the city east of the
[…]
Halloween night was one of the most violent in
[…]
"Police are reluctant to give us adequate coverage," Smith said. "We've been begging for foot patrols, for them to actually get to know residents, get to know business owners. They don't seem to have any ownership in the community or really care."
November 29, 2007
Apartment troubles
I love my apartment. I truly, truly do. I share it with an architect (female), and a guy who works with a construction company who is never home. Unfortunately, said guy is planning a move outside of the city and closer to his girlfriend.
We each have separate full-baths, so we never fight about whose nasty hair is clogging the sink. We live three blocks from the metro, Giant, dry-cleaners, and have at least 5 bus routes to services our area. It's located a mere 20 minutes by bikes from the White House.
We have a cool-assed dining/living space with tons of light, bohemian furniture, and a nice TV corner. We have the cutest bricked-in yard, a roof space with 2 barbecues, and lots of cooking utensils. To top it off, we have a washer and dryer, and a dishwasher.
So why is it that we've advertised for our house four times and are completely unsuccessful at getting a renter? Could it be that the rent is expensive for the area? It's not exactly
I'm starting to think that I'm not cool enough, or I smell. Sigh, I'm going to start to buy strong bath salts.
November 26, 2007
Omigod it works!
Omigod, the blogging-from-your-email thing works! It's quick too!
I'm happy to report that the stupid fly is walking daaaangerously close to the sticky fly trap. D'oh, it avoided it again. Perhaps it is smarter than it looks? Perhaps it is extremely cautious to steer clear of its pathetic friends trapped in goo?
I'm happy to report that the stupid fly is walking daaaangerously close to the sticky fly trap. D'oh, it avoided it again. Perhaps it is smarter than it looks? Perhaps it is extremely cautious to steer clear of its pathetic friends trapped in goo?
Trying this new thing...
So, I seem to have firewalls bigger than the Great Wall of China at work, and consequently have not been able to access my blog for the last 6 months. I am trying, instead, the blogging feature that allows one to blog from the email. We'll see if it works.
Let's see, it's been months, and what do I have to say? I have a fat fly dancing around in my halogen lamp and I periodically hope to see it land on the fly strip that hangs from it. My mouth is still burning from the reheated turkey soup (courtesy of Thanksgiving of course) from two days ago.
Wow, well, it all makes for a fascinating blog entry.
Let's see, it's been months, and what do I have to say? I have a fat fly dancing around in my halogen lamp and I periodically hope to see it land on the fly strip that hangs from it. My mouth is still burning from the reheated turkey soup (courtesy of Thanksgiving of course) from two days ago.
Wow, well, it all makes for a fascinating blog entry.
October 12, 2007
The Green Revolution
2005 First place winner - University of Colorado, Denver and Boulder
You may have heard that Al Gore won the Nobel Prize for Peace. I was very surprised given that he’s such a polarizing individual. Though I haven’t seen the movie An Inconvenient Truth, I am totally onboard with his message of global warming.
I feel like people react defensively about the subject because they are scared to change their habits. Call me a dork, but I imagine that this green revolution that is taking place, will be a lot of fun. I’m a little biased because I have lived in several foreign countries, where being green was a requirement.
Take Canada, for example, where large households pride themselves on having just one small trash bag to throw out by the end of the day (the rest of the garbage goes into recycling or composting). When I lived in my tiny apartment in Japan, we have 4 or 5 trash containers to sort a variety of things from plastic, to glass, to food waste, etc.
But that’s not the fun part. I think the green revolution will challenge people, their habits, and their environment. In Washington D.C. for example, the Solar Decathlon will quick off a full week of wonders. If you love home-design TV shows, wait 'till you get a load of this.
According to the website:
The Solar Decathlon is a competition in which 20 teams of college and university students compete to design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house. The Solar Decathlon is also an event to which the public is invited to observe the powerful combination of solar energy, energy efficiency, and the best in home design.
The event takes place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., October 12 - 20. The team houses are open for touring everyday, except Wednesday, October 17, when they will close for competition purposes. An overall winner is announced on Friday, October 19 at 2 p.m. See the
Teams of college students design a solar house, knowing from the outset that it must be powered entirely by the sun. In a quest to stretch every last watt of electricity that's generated by the solar panels on their roofs, the students absorb the lesson that
And you should see these houses! They’re modern, have gardens growing on the walls, large windows and sunroofs, collect water in garden cisterns, and make imaginative and efficient use of space. Some teams are so organized that they actually market their houses to potential buyers.
It’s futuristic! It’s entertaining! It’s science fiction!
September 24, 2007
This was my idea first!
I haven't been blogging regularly and it's true that it's just not the same to be in Washington, D.C. with nothing exciting to write about.
It is my duty to report on a new gadget though. I am not really a gadget-kind of person but this time, this is something I can wholeheartedly support. But only because I thought of it three years ago!
It is my duty to report on a new gadget though. I am not really a gadget-kind of person but this time, this is something I can wholeheartedly support. But only because I thought of it three years ago!
The $100 computer!
Can socially responsible design change the world? Fuseproject's product design of the new One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) XO computer can. Honored by "Popular Science" magazine's "Best of What's New" Grand Award, the XO computer marries fuseproject's high-concept design with cutting-edge technological solutions for a very low price.
The goal of the project is both simple and worthy: to give every child a laptop computer, especially in developing countries, where the machines will be sold in bulk for about $130 each. The revolutionary child-size laptop was created by the nonprofit OLPC, which was formed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology by Nicholas Negroponte. It brings learning, information and communication to children where education is needed most: in developing countries.
The result is a cheap and energy efficient computer. The machine's reduction in energy use by 90 percent is ideal for a device that could be charged by hand cranked power in rural villages. The OLPC is designed as a compact, durable and expressive product. Every design aspect of the machine serves a dual purpose to achieve a sense of economy and efficiency. When closed, the entire unit is sealed, protecting it from dust and dirt.
It's not the price tag I like, or the fact that "every child" will have one (that's laughable). But I think the following features are essential for business workers in the developing world:
-a computer that uses a different source of energy than electricity;
-a computer that's durable and can bear the wear and tear of humidity, dirt, and dryness;
-a computer that has very basic functions (word, excel, and picture loading capacities).
Voila! There's no need for super technically sophisticated machine. Rather, the machine has to be adapted to the particularities of developing country settings.
August 29, 2007
A Hodge-Podge of cultures
08. 24.2007 continued
You would think that, after Senegal, the Congo, Australia and Madagascar, I was an adventurous person. But actually, I'm not adventurous at all. I'm just impulsive and make rash decisions. So in the evening of the 24th, instead of roaming the streets of Waikiki in search of a cool dinner place, I stay on the premises of the hotel.
I enter a Japanese restaurant, because it is moderately priced and I ache for proper Japanese food (I live in Nagoya for a year, teaching as my students would say "Engurishu"). Sure, you can get nice bastardized Japanese food in Washington D.C., but it's sometimes hard to find the real thing. The awning is oh-so Japanese, and the waitresses greet me with an "irashaimase!" in their best high-pitched Hello-Kitty voices. It's a great sign already. They sit me at the sushi bar, overlooking raw pieces of fish and thick, curled and suckered octopus. I know a lot of people eat in restaurants alone, but I find it really awkward. I am not sure where to look and whether I should occupy myself by reading a book. Ultimately, I feel very rude to be reading while eating, and just focus on enjoying my sushi. And "oishi" it is! This is the real thing: Japanese staff and sushi chef, who cater to the sophisticated palates of Japanese tourists.
Perhaps feeling sorry for me, a single lady looking uncomfortable yet enjoying her meal, one of the sushi chefs engages me in conversation. He lived in California for 19 years (but speaks English like he only was there for one) where he owned a restaurant. Now, in order to relax, he is in Hawaii, working in this resort restaurant. He has been here for 6 years but professes that he will never be able to own a place, as one bedrooms sometimes go for $1,000,000 in this part of town. For dessert, I head to the cookies place, and sample the best macadamia nut, chocolate-dipped cookie in the shape of a pineapple, I've ever tasted.
On the way back to my room, I see Hawaiian dancers sway their hips and move their hands in wave-like patterns. They wear neon-colored sparkly dresses and assorted bras well-matched to their long long hair, and the men are dressed in Hawaiian shirts. Though the dance has become a cliché, it is really an experience to see it in person, accompanied by a live music arrangement. The bottom parts of their bodies mark the music's beat, the faces are fixed in a seductive smile, and the arms mimic the ocean, the pulling of a neat, the sunshine, and schools of fish. It is so enchanting that I don't see time pass. I now understand why sailors flocked to the Hawaii after long and lonely journeys (Ok Ok, other than food and fresh water)!
You would think that, after Senegal, the Congo, Australia and Madagascar, I was an adventurous person. But actually, I'm not adventurous at all. I'm just impulsive and make rash decisions. So in the evening of the 24th, instead of roaming the streets of Waikiki in search of a cool dinner place, I stay on the premises of the hotel.
I enter a Japanese restaurant, because it is moderately priced and I ache for proper Japanese food (I live in Nagoya for a year, teaching as my students would say "Engurishu"). Sure, you can get nice bastardized Japanese food in Washington D.C., but it's sometimes hard to find the real thing. The awning is oh-so Japanese, and the waitresses greet me with an "irashaimase!" in their best high-pitched Hello-Kitty voices. It's a great sign already. They sit me at the sushi bar, overlooking raw pieces of fish and thick, curled and suckered octopus. I know a lot of people eat in restaurants alone, but I find it really awkward. I am not sure where to look and whether I should occupy myself by reading a book. Ultimately, I feel very rude to be reading while eating, and just focus on enjoying my sushi. And "oishi" it is! This is the real thing: Japanese staff and sushi chef, who cater to the sophisticated palates of Japanese tourists.
Perhaps feeling sorry for me, a single lady looking uncomfortable yet enjoying her meal, one of the sushi chefs engages me in conversation. He lived in California for 19 years (but speaks English like he only was there for one) where he owned a restaurant. Now, in order to relax, he is in Hawaii, working in this resort restaurant. He has been here for 6 years but professes that he will never be able to own a place, as one bedrooms sometimes go for $1,000,000 in this part of town. For dessert, I head to the cookies place, and sample the best macadamia nut, chocolate-dipped cookie in the shape of a pineapple, I've ever tasted.
On the way back to my room, I see Hawaiian dancers sway their hips and move their hands in wave-like patterns. They wear neon-colored sparkly dresses and assorted bras well-matched to their long long hair, and the men are dressed in Hawaiian shirts. Though the dance has become a cliché, it is really an experience to see it in person, accompanied by a live music arrangement. The bottom parts of their bodies mark the music's beat, the faces are fixed in a seductive smile, and the arms mimic the ocean, the pulling of a neat, the sunshine, and schools of fish. It is so enchanting that I don't see time pass. I now understand why sailors flocked to the Hawaii after long and lonely journeys (Ok Ok, other than food and fresh water)!
August 27, 2007
First Impressions of Hawaii: Waikiki
08.24.2007
Work seemed to have sucked all the life out of me lately. A positive thing though, is that my bosses have sent me to Hawaii for a “work” conference. Snicker. "Work", "Hawaii", in the same sentence. That’s kind of funny. No but seriously, I am here for work.
The taxi trip from the airport to the resort was blessedly refreshing after nearly 18 hours of plane travel and airport waits. My taxi driver is a pleasant old guy, with a white, linen shirt and old 1940s-newspaper-boy cap to match the shirt. He has almond shaped eyes that reveal pupils that stare at opposite directions. He is a hodge-podge of ethnicities, perhaps half native Hawaiian, with a hint of Pilipino and Japanese— the essence of Hawaii. He senses my need for peace and quiet, and drives in total silence, except for the Beyonce blaring on the radio (“to the left, to the left; everything in a box to the left”).
I quickly arrive to the resort, set my bags down and fall asleep by 8 pm. The Hilton Hawaiian Village has graciously given me a decent rate, that falls within my per-diem allowance. This is a monstrous complex of hotel rooms, expensive stores, smiling hosts with their ubiquitous flowered shirts and beach drinks. I swear, I almost got lost there.
The trouble with jet lag is that you are up and about by 3 am, starving from last night’s lack of dinner. I wait for 5:30 am, get dressed, and go to the cheapest restaurant in the resort for breakfast. I end up spending $8.32 for a ham and cheese pastry and a cup of Earl Grey tea. This is absolutely outrageous!
Around 6:30 am, I go for a quick run to explore the streets of Waikiki. The sands near the resort have been neatly combed so that the beach looks perfect and pristine. Two people are combing the beach and the swallow waves with metal detectors to find the various gold, and diamond rings wealthy tourists have lost the day before. The day has barely started, and to beach and streets are cool and nearly empty.
The streets are packed with high end stores like Fenti, Louis Vuitton, LeSport Sac, and Bulgari. Interspersed are street cleaners, beach bums sleeping on the sand with their plastic bags and flowered shorts, old Hawaii men parading billboards from water sports, and hotel staff in head-to-toe Hawaiian cloth uniforms. All streets are lined with hibiscus flowers, ponds with potted water lilies, and orchids. Everything is man-made and everything is for sale. The majority of signs are in English and Japanese. A few jet-lagged tourists and joggers are walking in the streets as well, in ill-fitting and neon beachwear.
I stop at the local convenience store, ABC store, that is located every two or three blocks (I swear, in one hour, I saw six or seven different ABC stores). I buy 2 fuji apples, 2 onigiri squares, 2 bananas, 3 instant noodles, for the same price of my breakfast. I'm starting to realize that ABC is much more reasonable option that eating at the resort.
Work seemed to have sucked all the life out of me lately. A positive thing though, is that my bosses have sent me to Hawaii for a “work” conference. Snicker. "Work", "Hawaii", in the same sentence. That’s kind of funny. No but seriously, I am here for work.
The taxi trip from the airport to the resort was blessedly refreshing after nearly 18 hours of plane travel and airport waits. My taxi driver is a pleasant old guy, with a white, linen shirt and old 1940s-newspaper-boy cap to match the shirt. He has almond shaped eyes that reveal pupils that stare at opposite directions. He is a hodge-podge of ethnicities, perhaps half native Hawaiian, with a hint of Pilipino and Japanese— the essence of Hawaii. He senses my need for peace and quiet, and drives in total silence, except for the Beyonce blaring on the radio (“to the left, to the left; everything in a box to the left”).
I quickly arrive to the resort, set my bags down and fall asleep by 8 pm. The Hilton Hawaiian Village has graciously given me a decent rate, that falls within my per-diem allowance. This is a monstrous complex of hotel rooms, expensive stores, smiling hosts with their ubiquitous flowered shirts and beach drinks. I swear, I almost got lost there.
The trouble with jet lag is that you are up and about by 3 am, starving from last night’s lack of dinner. I wait for 5:30 am, get dressed, and go to the cheapest restaurant in the resort for breakfast. I end up spending $8.32 for a ham and cheese pastry and a cup of Earl Grey tea. This is absolutely outrageous!
Around 6:30 am, I go for a quick run to explore the streets of Waikiki. The sands near the resort have been neatly combed so that the beach looks perfect and pristine. Two people are combing the beach and the swallow waves with metal detectors to find the various gold, and diamond rings wealthy tourists have lost the day before. The day has barely started, and to beach and streets are cool and nearly empty.
The streets are packed with high end stores like Fenti, Louis Vuitton, LeSport Sac, and Bulgari. Interspersed are street cleaners, beach bums sleeping on the sand with their plastic bags and flowered shorts, old Hawaii men parading billboards from water sports, and hotel staff in head-to-toe Hawaiian cloth uniforms. All streets are lined with hibiscus flowers, ponds with potted water lilies, and orchids. Everything is man-made and everything is for sale. The majority of signs are in English and Japanese. A few jet-lagged tourists and joggers are walking in the streets as well, in ill-fitting and neon beachwear.
I stop at the local convenience store, ABC store, that is located every two or three blocks (I swear, in one hour, I saw six or seven different ABC stores). I buy 2 fuji apples, 2 onigiri squares, 2 bananas, 3 instant noodles, for the same price of my breakfast. I'm starting to realize that ABC is much more reasonable option that eating at the resort.
Don't erase my blog!
I just signed on to my blog, when I encountered this message:
Blogger's spam-prevention robots have detected that your blog has characteristics of a spam blog. (What's a spam blog?) Since you're an actual person reading this, your blog is probably not a spam blog. Automated spam detection is inherently fuzzy, and we sincerely apologize for this false positive.
We received your unlock request on August 27, 2007. On behalf of the robots, we apologize for locking your non-spam blog. Please be patient while we take a look at your blog and verify that it is not spam.
Find out more about how Blogger is fighting spam blogs.
Blogger's spam-prevention robots have detected that your blog has characteristics of a spam blog. (What's a spam blog?) Since you're an actual person reading this, your blog is probably not a spam blog. Automated spam detection is inherently fuzzy, and we sincerely apologize for this false positive.
We received your unlock request on August 27, 2007. On behalf of the robots, we apologize for locking your non-spam blog. Please be patient while we take a look at your blog and verify that it is not spam.
Find out more about how Blogger is fighting spam blogs.
Source
The message also notified me that if I didn't respond within two days, my blog would be erased! Yikes! That's completely crazy, what if I was on vacation and unable to use the internet for a few days?
Wow, loosing my blog would really, REALLY piss me off.
August 17, 2007
Another one of those emails...
So I just received another one of those scamming emails:
Greeting to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.Thanks for your reply and i am very glad you are ready to recieve my donation and also use it as directed by me and also i thank you very much for your prayers. i want my contributions to be used for the development of churches in your country.I had to deposit the funds in a private overseas credit commission in Europe because my late Husband's brothers are moslems and since i converted to be a christian.They have been very angry with me and they try their best to seize all my late husband's property and assests,i will forward the transfer security code numbers and the contact details of the overseas credit commission which will include the name of the Director but you will have to assure me that you will go to Europe to claim my donation and let me know if you can go to Europe to recieve my donation or not.i want to be sure that i am dealing with the Right person which is you because i dont want anybody to take advantage of my illness. I want to forward to you my photo with my doctor in the hosiptal two days ago.I await your reply
God bless
Mary Collins Jones
This one is particularly good because it exploits:
-the religion angle,
-the I'm-converting-to-Christianity-from-Islam angle,
-the sweet Mary Collins Jones angle,
-the illness angle,
-the taking-property-of-a-women angle.
Again, my main concern with this email, is the grammar and the flow. If this scammer took a little bit longer to draft this email, it would have been so much more convincing. I'll give him/her an C- minus for effort though.
Greeting to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.Thanks for your reply and i am very glad you are ready to recieve my donation and also use it as directed by me and also i thank you very much for your prayers. i want my contributions to be used for the development of churches in your country.I had to deposit the funds in a private overseas credit commission in Europe because my late Husband's brothers are moslems and since i converted to be a christian.They have been very angry with me and they try their best to seize all my late husband's property and assests,i will forward the transfer security code numbers and the contact details of the overseas credit commission which will include the name of the Director but you will have to assure me that you will go to Europe to claim my donation and let me know if you can go to Europe to recieve my donation or not.i want to be sure that i am dealing with the Right person which is you because i dont want anybody to take advantage of my illness. I want to forward to you my photo with my doctor in the hosiptal two days ago.I await your reply
God bless
Mary Collins Jones
This one is particularly good because it exploits:
-the religion angle,
-the I'm-converting-to-Christianity-from-Islam angle,
-the sweet Mary Collins Jones angle,
-the illness angle,
-the taking-property-of-a-women angle.
Again, my main concern with this email, is the grammar and the flow. If this scammer took a little bit longer to draft this email, it would have been so much more convincing. I'll give him/her an C- minus for effort though.
One Man's Amazing Journey
I know I haven't been blogging for forever, but my job's been sucking me dry. I've been preparing various briefing books for a U.S. Government official travelling to Africa, working 60 to 80 hour weeks for the past 3 weeks. Definitely not what I have in mind when I decided to leave the Congo, and come back to the United States.
I just finished my work and the stress is slowly melting off my shoulders. I just came upon this photo-story of a man from Cameroon and his exhausting journey to come to Europe, in search of a better life:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19227137/?story=king1
I have to say, it puts everything in perspective.
I just finished my work and the stress is slowly melting off my shoulders. I just came upon this photo-story of a man from Cameroon and his exhausting journey to come to Europe, in search of a better life:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19227137/?story=king1
I have to say, it puts everything in perspective.
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