Sunday, September 30, 2007

Quite the Week - Part 2

so to conclude the recap...

post obamatization, nam graciously organized a small little get-together for my 23rd birthday. ethiopian food...interesting, definitely tasty, but interesting.

seeing how it was only a 23rd birthday...and things can only go downhill from here...i kept it low-key and just had dinner and a few drinks afterwards. seeing how most of us had to wake up early for school or work the next day, i've come to the realization that i have officially become 'old'.

since the actual date of my birthday fell on a wednesday, nam and i had planned a trip to NEW YORK to make up for it. being as how neither of have ever been there, it was new experiences for the both of us. and being our first time...instead of packing normal clothes, we opted for the high white socks, fanny pack, and video camera in hand. and of course, we did all the touristy things...
finally escaping the confines of a 5 hour bus ride that left us cramped and groggy, it was a nice escape to be able to walk the paths of central park and sit with a view of the upper east side (you can see the apartment where carrie got stoned with the comic-book kid while eating kfc)

luckily our quaint little hotel room was fairly close to the the park and conveniently located near a subway stop...making it much more difficult to justify a new york cab ride...even though we could have found ourselves on cash cab, or unknowingly divulging all our secrets on another taxi cab confession.

instead, we continued on our journey through manhattan...scaling the empire state building for a view of the new york evening skyline...and finding ourselves taking pause in the congestion and clutter of times square. i know that isn't me in the picture to the right...but i just thought nam looked really cute in it...and seeing as how i'm not a complete narcissistic ass, i'm fully capable of posting pictures of non-me. besides, the concept of everyone else being out-of-focus only symbolizes the transient nature of the city...allowing only brief moments like this one for some reflection and momentary peace. yeah...load of crap, but whatever, she looks good.

but who can go to new york and not catch on the staples of the city...experiencing a broadway musical. and that is where watching a pale pre-pubescent dude show his ass and a nubile teenage girl flash a nipple are allowed. but hey...thats what you get when you put a group of young, sexually repressed teenagers on a stage and have them sing and dance their way through puberty.

and who leaves new york city without remembering both 9/11 and visiting lady liberty.

found in the extended version of this post...you will also find director's commentary on our trips to moma and the guggenheim. as well as possibly one of the best pre-theater dinners i've ever eaten in my life.

but as we shuffled our way back onto the tin-can of a greyhound bus, i made my judgments of new york...great place to visit, but i wouldn't want to live there. but i will be back...if not just for the food.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

An Interlude

for everyone who has ever played an instrument or follow music closely enough...there is typically a section of the piece that strays from the rest. that section is called the "bridge". it is meant to transition between long sections of the overall piece, and in that sense, i might be faulted in alluding to it. but in my context, i'll use it in a more harmonic/musical sound type of way.

so in that sense, the bridge comes up right when you've fallen into a flow...where the notes form a continuous and comforting melody...where your mind and soul intertwine with the sounds that carries you along its bars, and makes you jump at their staccatos. and then, with the flick of a baton, the orchestra pulls you away from that bubble and draw you into a transitional section with notes strewn together violently and erratically...you've been expelled from the symphony of music and impaled on a cacophony of noise.

life also has a similar way of doing that to you. when you finally feel comforted in the consistency of the ebbs and flows of existence, you are jerked overboard and are forced to swim in currents that pull you down, push you left or right, and seemingly keep you static. your body is so accustomed to the melodic waves that you need a moment to regain your footing, to allow your muscles to readjust to the atrophy...

with your body and heart beating together like the percussion section of the orchestra keeping the beat, your mind is the conductor that...again, with a simple snap of the baton...steers you away from the rip tide and brings you back to softer currents. where the music harmonizes and the beats are steady...where life slows down and the externalities minimized.

just like a symphony, life contains its many bridges. but what we cannot ignore or forget, is that no piece ever ends on a bridge.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Quite the Week - Part 1

to open, i'd like to apologize for my brief sabbatical away from this blog. though i'm glad that my readership has remained at a constant ONE (so whomever you are, thanks for checking up on good ol' huspot). but there has been a whirlwind of activities surrounding my life this past month, but i shall focus my particular attention on this past week or so.

with nam making her second visit of the summer, it brought a great amount of happiness to my typically monotonous day of school and bumming. the only downside was that i had to start up working again the week she came...good thing i was recruited back at NACHC for this fall, which meant i had some pull in dealing for half-days that week...too bad on top of work, i still had school to hold me back.

but not to worry, this first part of the recap will have a topic point of interest. having decided to strongly and more actively back a presidential candidate in Barack Obama this year, i decided to partake in one of his rallies that have drawn so much attention.

and i'll tell you this, his stage presence and oratorical prowess definitely meets up to expectations. though he gave his stump speech, just being amongst the thousands that were there to hear it live has quite the feel to it. i've always been an obama supporter, and after hearing him speak...i've never been more secure in that decision. i have securely been "obamatized".

BUT...thats not all...nam and i were lucky to be situated perfectly on the rope-line, which means we were nicely positioned to shake hands with the next president of the United States.

my hand briefly appears...but when you see him do the reverse handshake, THAT'S MY HAND HE SHAKES!! (oh yeah, and he shook nam's hand too)

and in case you never get the opportunity to see him in person, here is a bit of his speech that i got to capture on my new camera (thanks nam!)...

Monday, September 10, 2007

We're Number 1!!!

warning!!! political ramblings follow...

not my only...but more current inspiration for this type of rant...

is it ironic that the one thing Americans need to realize actually sound the most un-American? and that notion is that we must prepare ourselves for the day that America is no longer the world’s everything, that we are no longer the world’s only superpower, that we are no longer the world’s hegemonic master.

the problem is that in order to prepare ourselves for this day, we need leadership that can take us away from our current mantra of “America - What Are You Gonna Do About It?”. we have somehow managed to alienate ourselves from the entire world while still feeling superior to it. how can we take any credible “for the people” stance in Darfur when we, in a unilateral and imperial fashion, invaded a sovereign country and left their citizens exposed to civil war? how can we take a moral high-ground to China’s political prisoners when we went through Abu Ghraid? how can we continue to take credit for the largest producing economy when we’re in a consumer-induced trade deficit?

i don’t say this to promote an isolationist environment or believe that that is what this country needs. quite the opposite in fact. i believe we should continue to provide foreign aid and that we should continue to pursue free trade. both those things lead to an America that the world can respect and an America that the world can relate with. sooner or later, China or Russia or India or any of the other up and coming nations, will join us on our world pedestal. and we’ll need to abide by the Golden Rule and learn how to share and treat others with respect. our continued path of world superiority can not sustain much longer.

if we keep this up, an old saying comes to mind:

“What do you call a leader with no followers? Just a guys taking a walk.”

Sunday, September 2, 2007

True Friends

as i take stock of the people i call my friends, i realize that i am proud of them all. they have all done so much and accomplished so many things...some are going on to pursue masters, others md-s and jd-s...and some are already prospering in the work force. and as i was taking stock, i began to compile a list of needs attributes that each of us need in our close friends, or at least on your respective peripheral circle.

1. the computer "technology" guy
everyone masters the use of technology at their own pace. there are those who will have one eye focused on the video playing on their iphone while being wirelessly connected to "LEETaznPWN95" via their nintendo dses at the local mcdonald hotspot. and then there are those who still think 'mac' is short for mcdonalds and 'pc' stands for price club. so for everyone who falls into that latter category, be sure to have a computer guy in your web of friends...to deal with that pesky virus that keeps eating up your harddrive or to remind u to unplug ur power cable during long vacations for fear of unexpected power surges.

2. the lawyer
this one is almost a must. not that any of ever plan on getting dealt the type of charge even roberto gonzalez can't forget his way out of, but it's still nice to have a lawyer friend handy every now and then. whether it is to help you weasel your way out of that annoying parking ticket you got from that meter maid that just wanted to check out ur ass or when you need help annulling that regrettable vegas "i do" you vowed a few years back. whatever your reason, offer to help turn the pages of that 5,000 page tax evasion textbook he has to study, for you never know what can come up.

3. the doctor
now this one can get a little trickier. though doctors are bound by doctor-patient privileges, friends are not (i guess this could go for the lawyer bit too...but i still find it a little more embarrassing to ask a friend to check out that rash you got from that girl you thought was so nice than it is to ask a friend to get you out of some lewd sexual conduct in some local bathroom). so whether it's to get your monthly physical or a discreet prescription for those little blue pills, keep providing the caffeine for when they're pulling that all-night study session for their next exam class.

4. the pr specialist
this friend may be more vital for the social-butterfly, but even the most reserved of us would enjoy a night out on the town every once in a while. so keep this friend at close calls for their rolodex buddy list may be able to get you that table no one else can book or get you into the sold-out show or the hottest party of the month. as long as your friend doesn't represent the likes of brit brit or lilo, i think you'll be okay.

of course there are those special few who you would but on your alltel inner circle, so make sure you keep those too. but it definitely wouldn't hurt to have a few of these guys on your list too...so keep in touch with those friends of friends of friends, you never know what kind of friends with benefits you might have.

Saturday, September 1, 2007

B.O.

to most, B.O., or body odor, is that nasty coating smell that you exude after an intense cardio workout or the nervous anxiety you feel after trying to hide the fact you ripped the nastiest fart in a crowded room and you hope no one knows it was you...but typically, B.O. is simply removed by applying a solid coat of deodorant...and generally, that's the solution that most of us think about when talking about B.O.

but no...there's more to it than just that. now that i live in a city basically built on a swamp, i have to deal with those pesky mosquitoes. besides the fear of contracting west nile everytime i get bitten, i have to deal with incessant itchiness and the constant desire to scratch that will lead to all levels of insanity. it's been a curse of mine that mosquitoes seem to be attacked to me.

i know it's a bad picture, but yes...that is a swarm of bites on my right bicep. if you can count them, it would be five bites...but that's not all!!! i also have a few on the other side of my arm as well as one on my left forearm. damn them and my sweet, sweet blood.

now there seems to be research as to why that is. and yep, as i foreshadowed before, it is my B.O. my specific mix of sweat and gases seem to be a very attractive and delicious scent to my mosquito nemeses.

so for all my fellow well-scented members of the "mosquitoes love me" congregation, let's all pray that they will come up with that ultimate of ultimate deet filled repellents, and we can be spared from this annoyance.