The Forgotton Millions

fair warning, this is purely a rant piece on the shameless and inexcusable system with all health care in America. now its not a random venting on how we should socialize medicine, or a propaganda piece promoting my personal beliefs...but more of a plea for some human decency. so hopefully u'll continue to read this...

i've been a pretty big advocate of socialized health insurance and care since i grew interested in politics...and the issue is definitely getting a lot more attention with the elections rolling around. but its not enough, and its moving too slowly. i read this article about the failure of our system both on a logistical and human side. seriously....it's just sad.

i don't see how Americans can have so much pride and camaraderie under the ominous daze 9/11, but at the same time can be so ignorant to the millions of us who are slowly dying because they can't afford to take care of themselves in our system. sure on 9/11 we were attacked and we were killed...but by ignoring these millions, aren't we attacking their rights to live? and aren't we killing them?

anyways...hearing stories about this makes me disappointed in our system. but it makes me proud of what i'm trying to do, and it makes me work harder to get there at NACHC.

Orientation

how quickly do we forget how wondering it is to have nothing to do. having spent the past several months mastering the skill of spending an entire week to accomplish things that could have been done in one day...having a set work schedule has definitely been a jolt.

*its not actually a picture i took...but thats pretty much the view i have

since i've started my internship at NACHC...i've had to wake up early, make the 45 minute commute downtown, grab my customary iced caramel macchiato, and spend the next 7 some odd hours in an office building. now all of this wouldn't be worth it if it wasn't for the fact that i'm getting paid, earning valuable experience, actually doing something worthwhile, and a view of the White House every morning.

so after one week of work, i've realized how cliché the image of me working is. everyday...i'm in slacks, a dress shirt, and a tie...sling my bag over my shoulder...slip my ipod into my pocket and stick the headphones in my ear...hop onto the bus/metro...and head to work. i feel like a movie extra in the peripheral being overshadowed by the pervading presence of the star.

but all in all...not too shabby first few weeks.

A Humble Abode

so it's finally done...through blind online searching, a stroke of luck, and quick thinking...but i've finally settled down into my OWN place. though it's not yet completely furnished and i'll be living off of paper plates and frozen food for a little bit, it feels good to be home



*more pictures here

yeah i know it looks fairly sparse, and it sure as hell feels that way. but it'll be cozy once i get the time to put my touches on it...so basically, it'll look like this months from now until Ting gets here and does all the decorating. don't worry though, i've already bought one item that is a must for survival. now if you just so happen to be in a generous disposition...house warming gifts are always nice :)

Is A Soda Too Much To Ask

having spent the past few hours meandering about the streets of DC in a desperate search of a Bank of America, i turned to the local 7-11 outside the foggy bottom metro stop to rehydrate. as i perused the tiny store, i was drawn to the fridge full of sodas and other sugary soft drinks that my health conscience tells me to avoid (seeing how a trader joe's was only a few blocks further...but as i had just spent the last 2 hours metro-ing and walking, i was too lazy to make the effort.

now i wouldn't say its hot by any DC summer standards, but it's definitely too warm for my san "perfect weather 75% of the year" diego ass. so i succumbed to that little person inside of me that says: eat and drink whatever, i'm still young and heal...i was gonna say healthy, but i had just almost passed out from walking about 2 miles. i ended up pulling out three bottles of soda...all of which would definitely be considered unhealthy by any means.

having escaped from the heat of the unwelcoming and scary "outdoors", i returned to my haven of Digg-ing and updating myself on Lindsay Lohan's rehab recovery DUI. and in the daily navigating of the web, i stumbled upon this article about the increasing health risks of drinking soda.

already feeling the effects of not having exercised in the past YEAR...now drinking my beloved dr. pepper may put me at risk of serious disease. damn you health conscious scientists!! wasn't the world just dandy when we were getting sick and dying earlier and thereby not over-populating the planet which has now been super saturated with our toxic wastes to a level where we face catastrophic risk from an unstable environment when world leaders who were meant to work for their respective constituencies are busy trying to shape their legacy around policy and wars that has made no one safer and everyone angry...

so all i'm saying is...can't i drink my soda without having to be worried about dying one day?

East Coast Madness

now this is a story all about how, my future came calling right about now. so take a moment, just sit right there, while i tell you how i became the "fill in the blank yourself based on how much you like me" of a town called DC.

in west America, born and raised, breathing in smog is how i spent most of my days. chillin' out maxin' and relaxin', enjoyin' SD weather out there on the beach...when an ungrad degree, after a grueling four years, i was finally forced out to see the world in the clear. so my mom was proud, she said, "ur gonna get a masters out in DC"

i landed with my folks and when we arrived, the hotel said wait so we left to go play. and after the red eye, i had nothing to give...but i said naw forget it, lets go get me someplace to live.

three, four, five days later and not having seen a sight, we closed a deal and realized DC was alright. so i've looked at my kingdom, i was finally there, to challenge my future, as the "fill in the blank yourself depending on how much you like me" of DC.