No pain, no gain!

Ugh - I'm sore. Especially my glutes. The girls and I headed back to the gym Wednesday afternoon for a workout. I hadn't been in that place in months! So my body aches. But I like it. It's that masochism thing, ya know? And gosh - men are such gawkers! I need to get ugly friends so that won't happen. lol, nah... That's not nice. :-P But still - men are such pervs. I bet a lot of 'em were married or had girlfriends. :-/

Today looks like such a lovely day, from what I can see through the window. Haven't been outside. Don't know if I will set foot out the door. But I do need to head back to my old apartment to get a few things and to give back my keys.

I'm so bored and I don't feel like doing some of the things I need to do. :-/ Blah.....

Tryna get domesticated, lol. Went to the commissary with my mama yesterday. Then helped her out in the kitchen. Kinda had to since she's got this cast kind of thing on her wrist. She had surgery about a week ago for carpal tunnel syndrome. Jeannie and Tara had some of the food before we headed to the shoe store, where we met up with Belinda. And I had to wash the dishes that night since my mom couldn't. Man, I'm gonna have dishpan hands. :-P And look at me - I even did my laundry and I don't have to 'cause my mom will do it.

Despite that she's kinda workin' with one fully functional hand, my mom continues to do manual labor. Not long after she had surgery, she was out in the yard gardening and shit. I'm talkin' pullin' up and cuttin' roots, and what not. But it's cuz she's bored and cuz she has time since she's out of work for the time being. Anyways... I'm hungry. Gonna raid the 'fridge.

The month is almost over. And I still haven't done my assignment that I should have handed in over a month ago. Ugh... It's gonna be an arduous task.

Sunday, Tara and I met Sherlene, her parents, and boyfriend at some Chinese buffet for lunch. Her parents paid for all of us. That was very nice of them. Then later that evening, we all met again, along with Taneka and her boyfriend (and minus the parents) at the Olive Garden for dinner. I did not like the Tortelloni that I ordered and they all told me I should send it back. I was so scared to do that cuz I'd never done that before. But they all said it was permissible and this and that, so I sent that shit back and ordered dessert.

Yesterday, I went to the mall with Jeannie. I ended up buying a cute little purse, shoes, two shirts, and some driz-awls. lol. I do not need to be spending all this money at malls and restaurants since I'm unemployed. Where's a sugar daddy when you need one? :-D

Today I went with Tara to various locations. After she dropped her dirty clothes off at the cleaners, I saw this girl I hadn't seen in quite some time. I need to hit her up and see what's good cuz she headin' up to NY soon. I'm tryna go. Tara and I also hit up the library and got some language materials. Let's see how our self lessons go. Then we went to the mall, got bubble tea, ate... Saw someone from undergrad... Eventually, we proceeded to Borders. I ended up getting a couple fashion mags.

Oh, the other day when me and Tara went to Wal-Mart, I copped me a copy of "Creep Show" from the bargain bin. Yay! Haven't seen that movie since like '84. I wonder if it'll scare me still.

Okay... nothing exciting is really going on. I'm bored writing this. Bye.

Last night I went out to eat with Tara and Taneka and Copeland's. I'd never been there or even heard of it before then. It was a nice place. Saw a cat from undergrad there. Gosh - it's been over two years since I must have seen him. Anyways... After our meal and some chit-chat, I went back to Tara's house where I finally watched "The Sweetest Thing." It was a fun movie, I guess. But now that I've seen it, I'm not sure if I'm really bajiggity or not? lol

I need to clean my room. I moved all my stuff from my apartment back to my parents house over the weekend and it continutes to sit on my bedroom floor. I scarcely have room to walk. And it takes me FOREVER to clean my room. I always have to do it in stages. I can never do it in one sitting. I am easily bored or distracted. I'm gonna try to put some shit away today. *Try* is the key word. What I need is public storage. I've got way too much stuff. And I'm a bit of a pack-rat, so, I don't throw out a lot of my stuff. You know, like old school papers from high school... middle school... even elementary. Cuz, you know, I'm gonna wanna look at it one day. Or cuz you just never know. :-P Whatever...

What's on the agenda for today besides staring at this clutter on my floor? No sé. May hang out with one of my girls whom I haven't seen since before Christmas. To do what? Not sure. She was talkin' about checkin' out this one play. And for me to see her new apartment. We'll see...

And my girl in Mexico e-mailed me askin' if I was goin' down there or what. Maann... I don't know. I'm on the fence about it. I was kind of deciding that I just wouldn't go, but since I got her e-mail, I'm reconsidering it again. We'll see. I don't have a whole lot of time to think about it. And I still need to do an assignment for my Arabian Nights class. My professor should be coming back to the country very soon and I don't wanna disappoint him. This sucks.

I was listening to Minnie Ripperton's "Loving You" not too long and I finally heard what one of my internet friend's mentioned: that Minnie calls out her daughter's name at the end of the song. I thought it was gonna be, like, one time, in a sort of whisper or something. But no, she's actually singing her daughter's name. How sweet!!

Okay, time to tip-toe across the room through my mess and attempt this organization process...

Happy Birthday, Malcolm X!!

If violence is wrong in America, violence is wrong abroad. If it is wrong to be violent defending black women and black children and black babies and black men, then it is wrong for America to draft us, and make us violent abroad in defense of her. And if it is right for America to draft us, and teach us how to be violent in defense of her, then it is right for you and me to do whatever is necessary to defend our own people right here in this country.
Malcolm X

People who know me and with whom I don't keep in regular contact with may think I've become some kind militant with some of the things I express in my blog. But the fact of the matter is, each day I just become more cognizant of the world - via school or my travels or whatever medium. I'm realizing the truth that is not exactly hidden from us, but is simply not presented to us, rather. And actually, a lot of the pro-Black things I say, I think I've always had it in me, yet just needed a catalyst to bring it out. And with all my pro-Black sentiments and my tendency to stick up for my peoples as much as I can in the face of injustice, I must admit, being of Asian descent and with some of what my mom has instilled in me, I believe in all honesty that Asians are the superior race. Hey - it's true! :-P I even said this in front of a classmate, whom I believe to be a "closet racist," and, surprisingly, he agreed! Yeah, he know wassup. ;)

Alright, enough with my ethnocentrism... My birthday celebrations are officially OVER! Goodness - what were we thinking? This Saturday, me, Tara, & Jeannie hit up that one club where that one chick (see the May 11 entry) works. She hooked us up - got us in VIP, had free drinks all night. My, my - we drank a lot, we danced a lot. We were crazy. Some of the night is a blur to me. Yikes. That's not good. It was another one of those nights after which I suffer from a hangover and vow to never again drink. LoL. We slept in the car that night. Hehe. Tara and I even heaved a bit. Gross. I don't think I wanna go out again in that manner. My clubbing days are over. Unless, of course I end up visiting my girl in Mexico. Then I'll have to party Mexican style. :-P But seriously, I'm gettin' too old for this shit. I need to chill for a bit. Dancing on top of bars and talking to all these guys I would never give the time of day to is gettin' old, too. Hehe. It's time for me to settle down. What I need is one good man. To a certain Boricua one state up - holla! ;)

The further jazz moves away from the stark blue continuum
and the collective realities of Afro-American and American life,
the more it moves into academic concert-hall lifelessness,
which can be replicated by any middle class showing off its music lessons.
--Imamu Amiri Baraka [Leroi Jones]

For all the years of slavery and suffering my people have experienced, it just never seems to end. This country was founded on the blood and sweat of my ancestors. The indebtedness is infinite. And Black culture continues to be hijacked by a lot of non-Blacks. It should be a compliment that so many have an appreciation for or should want to imitate African-Americans. But somehow it's not, due to who's profiting and who's not, who's getting credit and who's getting gypped. You took away who we were when you brought us here and separated us from our family and our roots. We regrouped, we overcame, we became strong, in spite of it all. Hey, Mr. White Man - can we have our culture back? You took our history. Can we have something that belongs to us, whilst we're still not equals in this nation we helped build?

I've always had this thought in the back of my mind. But this current blog was inspired by the June 2003 issue of Ebony magazine. There's an article inside entitled, "Why White Stars Are Ripping Off Rap and R&B." I never liked Eminem. Even though I heard Blacks talk about how he's quite the lyrical genius. But I couldn't stand seeing a white person get props for excelling in a Black art. And it's not about prejudice. It's something more than that. I'm not sure I know how to put it into words, but maybe if you read the article, you'll understand. But only just a little. You know that phrase, "It's a Black thing - you wouldn't understand"? I believe it wholeheartedly. And I'm only "half."

I am black: I am the incarnation of a complete fusion with the world, an intuitive understanding of the earth, an abandonment of my ego in the heart of the cosmos, and no white man, no matter how intelligent he may be, can ever understand Louis Armstrong and the music of the Congo. --Frantz Fanon

Justin Timberlake? Psshh... Another annoying example. Back Street Boys and N'Sync getting airplay on both Black and white stations. But the music they sing - it's nothing new. They're singing what we've been singing for years. But it only gets the wide exposure through white artists. The article in Ebony mentioned how the record conglomerates market the artists differently based on race. They believe a white person has a better chance of upping sales, reaching a wider audience. Maybe sad, but true, but it's all still B.S. When will it end? Elvis took Rock from us. Lenny Kravitz has kind of taken it back. Even he admits to all the Black genres robbed by whites.

Oh, and back to that annoying-voiced white rapper - when I was in London, I was talking to my friend's housemate, Ralph. Ralph, who is white, is into all kinds of music and is trying to get into the business himself. He's actually working on something, which I believe he said is kind of rap, but very hardcore. Maybe a metal feel to it. Something "dark." I asked him if it was anything like Triple-6 Mafia and he kind of affirmed. I expressed to him how I felt about whites being successful and getting credit for doing Black music. He brought up some lyrics from one of Eminem's songs: "Look at my sales/Let's do the math - if I was black, I woulda sold half." Ain't that the truth.

So, the Blacks who do support these white artists in whatever capacity - be it choreographing, writing beats - they're in it as much for the money as anybody else. I think that's what they get caught up in. They're not seeing or acknowledging that Blacks who may be even more talented than these white superstars are being ignored, or not receiving the attention they deserve. It's all about the almighty dollar. Sell-outs - they're always bringin' us down. Well, you probably won't catch me buying these albums by white artists if it's a hip hop or R&B they're makin'. I'd much rather give back to the community...

Color shouldn't even matter. But the fact of the matter is: it does. And I believe this to be a unique case to the United States regarding such an issue.

The Afro-American experience is the only real culture that America has. Basically, every American tries to walk, talk, dress and behave like African Americans. --Hugh Masakela

"Public transportation's for jerks and lesbians." - Homer Simpson

So I didn't make it to mass yesterday. D'oh! I was gonna go to the 11 o'clock one, but I was running a tad late. So I figured, I'll go to the one at 12:30. But after I started looking for stuff to wear, I got tired cuz I really hadn't slept. I thought I would take maybe an hour nap. Everytime I pull one of those numbers, setting my alarm to wake me up, I always decide I need more sleep. So I thought I would go to a mass later on in the afternoon. Well, I finally get my butt up and dressed and what not trying to make the mass that started at 7. And dagnabit - after walking 20 minutes, I arrive at the chapel to learn that there is no mass. Starting just that very day the mass schedule had changed. (I go to a Catholic university, so, that's why there are masses all day long.) They're on some summer schedule or something. And the next mass wasn't gonna be until 10pm. So there I am on campus and no mass to attend. I go to the library thinkin' maybe I can go pick up a book I'd requested and the freakin' place was closed!! Ugh. So, I ended up going to the campus convenience store - at least that was open. I got some rations since I'm still starving. The past week or so, I've been surviving off of a "meal" or less a day. When I say "meal," it's really not a meal. More like a snack. Anyways...

Nadine and I are in our Center's computer lab. We're, like, the only ones here. We both have to finish our papers that were due Friday. But she's much, much more farther along than I. Right now she's workin' on work for a different class while I sit here lollygaggin'. It's what I do best. :-P I'm SOO not motivated!! Hope Dr. Esposito don't get on us for handin' our joints in late...

I checked my grades online today. I guess I forgot to make sure my Hebrew class was "audit" cuz it said withdrawn and I didn't go through the procedures to withdraw from it. But I did withdraw from this other course successfully after the withdraw date for grad students had already passed. And I got an A- in my translation course. Of course I got nothin' for Esposito yet. And my Arabian Nights course... I still have yet to hand in the paper that was due before Easter. I thought the prof was just gonna give me an "incomplete." But, whaddya know? I got an "A." :-D Cuz I got it like that. ;-)

Allergies suck...

Still slackin'...

Ugh! Why can't I just get shit done? I've basically got two papers to write - and they're both overdue. One was due before Easter, and I believe I will receive an "incomplete" in the class. Although I am not looking forward to writing that paper, I am not extremely worried about it since the professor likes me. :-) Anyway, he's in Tunisia right now, so, I got time to hand it in until he comes back. Then the other paper I got was due Friday. But I just can't get my mind into it. I've been too busy celebrating my birthday, which is a week-long celebration. :-)

Friday night, Nadine, Shireen, Afshan, her brother and his girl, Nawal, Tara, Jeannie, and I went to this Thai restaurant for dinner cuz Nadine wanted to go out for my b-day. Then afterwards, Jeannie, Tara, and I hit up some bars and had a pretty decent time talking to different people. We met some crazy, older Afghani men and there were lots of Moroccans. I dazzled the Arabophones with my Arabic skills. Hehe. I mean, I'm not that great at it, but they appreciate it when Americans make an effort to learn their language and what not. And I gave this one guy my number, even though I wasn't really interested in him. Besides, I gave him a number I won't be at much longer. Hehe. And then we got home at 4:30am.

And damn - the guy I gave my número to, that fool already called me! First message, he's all yellin' and I guess he didn't realize he got the voicemail. Then there's another message that he left in Arabic and I didn't fully understand it, but I caught some of it. Then he calls again later and I really didn't care to talk. But damn - he all sweatin' me. LoL. He was talkin' to me in Arabic and he kept asking me if I understood him. And I didn't always understand him. Especially since the Arabic I learned is formal and I think he was mostly speakin' dialect. And he said something in Arabic about me entering his heart. Haha...

Then Saturday night, Jeannie and Tara took me to my favorite Vietnamese restaurant. We got our grub on and Tammy came by to say hi and give me a little gift. Cam on, em! And salamat, Jeannie, for the happy bunny mints. lol. I liked that. =)... And at the restaurant, I try to say things in Vietnamese when I can. And that's usually a mistake cuz then they bust out in Vietnamese on me thinkin' I understand it. Dammit. I've gotta learn that language. It's frustrating not being able to speak your mother tongue! Maybe I'll find me a Vietnamese guy. But damn, I'm on the Puerto Rican tip right about now. LoL.

So, after the dinner, we hit up the bars in the same area as the night before. But it wasn't as fun and we called it a night fairly early. Around 2am. Oh, and we saw a couple people I used to (and maybe Tara did, too) at the commissary. Anyways... upon arriving home, I discovered that the shirt I ordered on eBay came. Yay! It's this yellow t-shirt with the continent of Africa in black and kinda bubble yellow letters inside of it, fitting the shape of the landmass and it says: Black Power. Can't wait to rock it. =)

Oh, when we were in line for this one bar Friday night, I saw some peeps from my undergrad. Theeeenn - I end up seeing this chick that we all knew from middle school walk by. So, I call out her name, unsure if it was really her. And it really was her. That girl had been on the Jenny Jones show for whatever crazy topic - boob job and having men buy her stuff or whatever. And I knew she appeared on the show again, but not as a guest but as, I dunno. Some kinda "prop." And I'd heard about her being on certain kinda... websites or whatever. And then I actually saw her website and, like, whoa - who knew she posed in Playboy or Playmates or whatever? Anyhoo... she told us she works at this one club and she told us to go in two weeks and she'll get us in VIP and we'll have champagne all night or something. Heh. We'll see if we go...

And this night, we went into one of the same bars we went in the night before and there's this one guy that works the door. When I went in Friday night, I asked him what his ethnicity was cuz he looked interesting and sort of attractive. He told me Greek and Ethiopian. I was like, cool. And he asked me what I was and thought I had a pretty neat-o mix, too. Hehe... So, I saw him again the second night. When he let us in, he ends up calling me back to get my number. He said he'll take me out and show me a "good time." Whatever that means. I'm not really interested, but at the same time, I don't mind making friends. But if I go, then I'll probably give the wrong impression, right? Hmm... Plus, I'd feel awkward if it were just he and I. We'll see. I'd rather go out with this Puerto Rican hot boy and... Haha - Tara and Jeannie say I'm "bajiggity." They got that word from a movie I haven't seen, "The Sweetest Thing." Jeannie called me it first and when I told Tara, she totally agreed. But this Boricua is fine! And he really seems like a good guy. Tara said he was "cute" and Jeannie said he was a "cutie patootie." LoL. And I say, ¡está bien rico! Mmmmm...

Okay, I need to stop. And I have a 15 to 20-page research paper waiting to be written and I know it's not gonna write itself. I don't wanna turn it in extremely late. But sheesh, it's gonna take me a lifetime to crank out these pages. I'm slow when it comes to these things. .

Ah - I spoke to my homegirl in Mexico yesterday and she wants me to head down for her graduation. I'm still thinkin' about it and I need to hurry up cuz it's a little less than a month away. And she was talkin' about goin' to Acapulco, too. And goodness, we always talked about Costa Rica and how we should go there one day. But I thought I was kinda-sorta joking, but I think she's for real about going. Like this summer! That's crazy! But, hey - it could happen. If we went, it'd be in July. But I told her - what about Puerto Rico? Hehe... But the PR hottie won't be there in late July. He's goin' a month earlier. I wanna go, too. :-D

And it was mother's day in Mexico yesterday. Itzel and her mom wished my mom a happy mother's day. I passed on the message already. But now I need to call my mom up in a few hours cuz I never did get around to sending her a card. D'oh! Maan... it's another scam of greeting card companies and what not. And they don't even celebrate this in Vietnam and Cambodia. Well, who knows about nowadays, but they surely didn't when my mom was growing up. Why she hafta pick certain Western traditions to celebrate while constantly reminding me that she's not American and that I'm not American either since I came from her? :-P But that's the way it is...

So... today I'm going to try to keep my nose in the books and with this damn research. And I need to go to mass, get some prayer and worship in so He can help me write this paper. God - through whom all things are possible, and the only way I truly survive this life.

¡Feliz Cumpleaños, Enrique!

Jeje... Today is Enrique Iglesias' birfday. He's 28. Nice and ripe. Yeah, he could get it!! LoL... I don't know what it is about him. He's not the greatest of singers and he's not the finest man in the world and I know he's a bit of a ho, but I find something so sexy about him. And in that one video where the chick lifts up his shirt to reveal those savory abs... Haha. I dunno. I guess there's just something about womanizers. hehe. He's just like his dad.

Anyways... Thanks to all who wished me a happy birthday: Tara, for calling me at midnight and sending me a lovely bouquet of roses, Nadine and Shireen for the well wishes via IM (and for the dinner you will take me to on Friday), Jeannie for the IM birthday wish (as well as the dinner she will take me to on Saturday - my choice of McD's or Hardees, lol), Ayanna for calling me up, my momma for calling me, too, Charles for leaving me a message, JP for shouting me out in his blog, Marcos, my internet friend whom it seems we have quite a few interests in common concerning the Arab world and I'm trying to convert him to my frame of mind (hehe) and the strange coincidence that we have the very same birthday!, et cetera, et cetera. :-D Thanks, people. This makes me very happy. I'm regaining some faith in my American friends, which I believe I sort of lost over the years, enough so that I was ready to just up and leave to another country if I had the chance, thinking there would be no one to miss. Heh... Yeah.

So, I need to write this stupid paper, which is going VEEERRRY slowly so I can party all weekend long. God grant me the motivation!

Estas son las mañanitas
Que cantaba el Rey David
Hoy por ser día de tu santo
Te las cantamos aquí

Despierta, mi bien, despierta
Mira que ya amaneció
Ya los pajaritos cantan
La luna ya se metió

Those are the first two verses of one version of "Las Mañanitas," a traditional Mexican song sung for birthdays and anniversaries. Why did I put it? Cuz today's my day. I was born 24 long years ago at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Year of the Sheep. But I won't be celebrating. Not today, at least. I still have to write my research paper, so, the festivities won't begin until Friday night. Watch out - I'm gonna wreck shop! Hehe... Naw. But I do intend to spend time with my good friends. It's gonna be good times. Yay! Can't wait.

Despite that I have yet to graduate grad school and I have an enormous amount of debts to face, I am looking forward to what my life will be like in the next 6 months to a year. I'm hoping for some big changes. I'm getting up there in age; I need to move on in life! Maybe Tara and I will move out together and she's gonna help me become domesticated. Hehe. That's something I need to work on. I am so dependent on Mom and Dad. How many of you out there have mothers who still wash your clothes for you? Voluntarily? I wasn't spoiled, but babied. And I also never had to do chores or anything. Anyways, we'll see how that goes. :)

Did ya'll see the "Alias" season finale? Had all these twists in the plot. The end was really weird.

I need to hurry up with school so I can think about this summer. I got no plans. I should get me a jiz-ob so I can start to pay off student loans. But I'd also like to travel. I wanted to hit up Southeast Asia, but with the SARS thing, that kinda deterred me. But then again, I still reconsidered it. I looked up the travel warnings for the motherland and it went down from, like, travel advisory to travel alert, or something like that. Basically, they were saying don't go if you ain't got no essential business there. And now they're just saying, be aware of all the health risks. But I'm not to thrilled about the price of airfare. I only checked one website and leaving from one particular airport, but I chose different dates throughout the summer and everything was over $1500. I'm not feelin' that. There was even a ticket for like $12,000. Who would pay that?

Anyways, it looks like Brazil is out the question. Jeannie faked on me again. :-P Talkin' 'bout she ain't got no money. Neither do I! Oh, well... I'll go some other year. But Mexico is a possibility. My girl is graduatin' next mumf. (hehe). So, I may head down there. But oddly, I do not find myself as eager to skip town as I normally would be. Usually, I woulda done bought my plane ticket to Mexico. Now I'm just kinda like, "I dunno..."

But hmm... there's that Puerto Rican papi whom I've yet to meet, but he did say I could go to PR with him. :) We'll see about that. I would go anywhere with his sexy azz. LoL. I'm kidding. Sorta. :)

Ugh, today... or yesterday, rather... I had a translation assignment due at 4pm. Well, I ended up sleeping more than I intended this morning, so I had less time to work on it. I just did a semi-half-assed (haha) job and rushed to campus. I got there at about 3:50, where I then had to get to a computer, open up my e-mail, and print out the damn thing. Then I had to get the text I translated photocopied so I could hand it in as well. After seeing some classmates, I realized that I didn't have all my old assignments, which we were supposed to turn in also. It so sucked - I had to rush back home in this sucky weather - it was drizzly and it takes like 20 minutes each way for me to and from campus. But I booked back home and back to campus. Luckily, the prof hadn't arrived to campus yet since she said she wouldn't accept any late assignments. But that was such a pain!

Then I went to the library to return some books that were due. When I was eventually home, I realized I still had one of the books I thought I had returned. So, I think one of the books I gave back was probably one I checked out for this paper I have yet to write. D'oh! So I renewed the book I meant to turn in online so I wouldn't be charged late fees. And now I wanna see if the library can tell me what books I had returned, like from some patron history thing.

Anyhoo... then I went to the food court to get a 7-Layer cuz I ain't got no food at my house. The guy at Taco Bell always talks to me and he asked me if it was raining. I tell him it's drizzling. As he hands me my burrito he tells me, "You be careful out there. Sugar melts." Hehe... Then I head over to the little convenience store on campus to get some "vital vittles" so I can have something to snack on while I'm starving at home. But I'm wondering what would happen if I started eating just one meal a day regularly. Like, is that super bad healthwise? I mean, it'll be me fasting. It's stupid for me to just eat "just because." Cuz I can throw down when it comes to chow. Hehe... And I'll slim down, not that I really need to. But I don't wanna indulge so much on the food in this country. This processed American food I got all around me. But maybe I'll eat if I can get a hold of more natural foods. Besides... it's not fair that I can just pig out and throw away food when some people would love to have that luxury... Whatever...

happy cinco de mayo!

Sike. That's shtupid. Nobody in Mexico freakin' celebrates that. :-P

Last night was fun. Tara and Paul came to my house after 11:30 at night and went out for a looong night. First, we went to McDonald's cuz I was hungry as hell and had not eaten in quite some time. I got no food left and I don't really plan on going grocery shopping cuz I'm almost done with school and I hope to move out of my apartment in a couple weeks. Plus I'm lazy. It takes like 15 minutes to walk to Safeway empty-handed. No fun. Wish I had a car. Anyhoo...

So, after getting some grub, we went to a pool hall. Now, the only time in my life that I ever tried pool was when I was in Morelia, Mexico back in '99. But it was fun. I still gotta get used to that darn game. We drank some Heinies and we laughed quite a bit. Afterwards, it was maybe 2am and we went back to Paul's house. It's funny, I hadn't seen Paul in a few years, since undergrad. Now we're all "grown-up." The whole night he was marveling at me and Tara. Hehe... Well, not really, but he found it amusing to have the two of us over for a "slumber party." Haha... I didn't sleep, though. You know my sleeping habits. We talked, watched TV, listened to music. Paul even mediated a few discussions between me and the Tarmeister.

We finally left there when I woke Tara up around 11:30 in the morning. We got some breakfast at McDonald's - again. Then I had Tara meet Nadine and Shireen, two girls I study with. We ended up staying over a few hours joking and what have you. Finally, my best friend from grade school got to meet my best friend from grad school (Nadine). I've told Nadine some stuff about Tara, and Tara stuff about Nadine and Shireen, and now they have names to put with faces. It was a pretty pleasant encounter. They liked each other. The one thing I didn't appreciate was when Tara and Nadine ganged up on me, but... whatever. Bitches! :-P

Right now I'm listening to The Apologist. He's a Catholic rapper I stumbled across by chance a long time ago. I would like to get his album, but it's only a mini-album and I'm not tryna pay full price for a CD with only 6 songs. But anyway, lemme tell you about this guy right quick. First, he's from Chicago and grew up with rap music. He only became a Christian when he was in high school and he became Baptist. But he wondered what was it about Catholicism that he wasn't Catholic? So, he did his research and eventually converted to Catholicism. And theennn... he enters seminary and eventually takes the vows of poverty, chasity, and obedience. I think that's pretty tight that there's a Catholic rapper. The Apologist wants to reach people who enjoy rap music and send them a postive message. He is using rap as a vehicle to spread the word of God.

Man, I've got about half a day left to finish an assignment that's due by 4pm today. Dagnabit. Why do I procrastinate so? Ugh. And once I finish that, I'm gonna hafta start a research paper. What a chore! Once again I'll be spending another birthday in solitary confinement. But instead of writing about the Jewish lobby's affect on American foreign policy, I'll be researching the Abu Sayyaf Group, a militant Muslim group of the southern Philippines.

I'm sure looking forward to finishing it all... Pray for me, guys!

"Who Would Jesus Bomb?"

That was a bumper sticker I saw the other day when I was on my way home. Pretty powerful message, no? I thought so...

Anyway, I finally spoke to the nurse today to find the results of my throat culture and she said it was normal. Hunh? I thought I had strep? But, apparently, I didn't. She said something like it could have been some viral something or that it was or wasn't bacteria or whatever. I don't get that science mumbo-jumbo. Hehe. Anyways, she said whatever my deal was, my body must of resolved it itself, that it could have been allergies or whatever. Whatever... I feel better. I should be happy. And I am.

But now I gotta write papers. Boo... I don't wanna. :(

Oh, today I went to a mass in Arabic. This pastor of the Lebanon Maronite church said mass. It was done partially in English and Arabic. And what's cool about Maronite services is that there are parts in Aramaic. That's one of the important characteristics of Arab Christians. They carry on the traditions of the old churches. The Palestinians, for example, are, like, the descendants of the disciples of Christians. They have this continuity that some one like me can only be almost envious of. So, yeah, there were parts in an ancient language. The Bishop who presided over mass pointed out how they include in their services the actual language that Jesus spoke. Neat. And I thought the singing was nice. I wonder how it would be to really go to the mass completely in Arabic. Perhaps I'll go to one when I return to the Arab world one day. Until then, the Vietnamese mass I attended over a year ago was the best by far!

Anyhoo... I hope I get to meet this Puerto Rican hottie Friday. *crossing fingers* hehe... I should get back to research. Peace out, B's!

I overslept yesterday. I thought I had set my alarm for 10am. Enough time to study before I met with my class at 2:30 and do whatever else I had to do. I woke up several times throughout the morning, but I just kept going back to sleep thinking, "I'll just wake up when my alarm goes off." Well, when I finally did decided to "get up-get up," I saw that it was just about 2:30. D'oh! Usually, I can pull of a "out the door in 10 minutes" bit, but it just didn't work this time. I knew it was posta be hot, so I wanted to wear something different. And I just had trouble with the outfit I picked, but I was determined to wear it. So, I didn't leave the house until about an hour later. I got to class all late, missed everything. But I was there in time to fill out the evaluations, which is what the prof wanted.

Anyhoo... I'm still experimenting with fashion. I mean, I don't really have an extensive wardrobe, so, I can't really wear the things I want, but sometimes I try stuff... If I had money, I would re-vamp my wardrobe. And I don't have a particular style. Just like my music tastes, so are my tastes in clothes. Yesterday, I was more punk casual or something. And today, I don't know whatchoo call it, but it's attracting attention. Everyone's staring at me. I don't know what the girls are thinkin', but the blue-collared workers like it. Hehe... Walkin' down the street to campus: *honk honk* *woo woo* *hey hey* LoL... And this one guy was like, "When can I take you out to lunch?" or "What time you want to go to lunch?" Silly man.

I'm such a slacker... I'm just wastin' time. Should do some research. But I really don't feel like it... Hope I get to go somewhere this summer...

Celebrity Sighting

Beautiful weather tonight. Sunny, breezy, cloudless. Went to campus today. Thought I'd try to get some work done then head to mass. I wanted to find a spot somewhere to plug into ethernet. But to no avail. Everybody was inside and outside. The white kids all sun-tanning everywhere. Wait just a few more years when they have skin cancer and saggy skin and sunspots all over. See if they think it was all worth it. If you are pigmentally challenged or melanin deficient, accept it! :-P

So, anyways, when I was walking to the library, there were chairs set up as if they were having commencement and a few cops and an ambulance (for just-in-case). This one police lady was directing people to walk around whatever was goin' on to get to the library. I was confused cuz we ain't done the semester yet, so I couldn't understand why they'd be having graduation right now or any kind of practice like this. As I was walking behind it all, at the top of the stairs of this one building to get to the graduation stage appeared a few figures and someone announcing the President of the United States and the president of the university. Well, whatever name the announced for the U.S. President, I was like, hunh? But I kept walking...

I was moving around and about on campus. Then I saw a flier on a bulletin board that was for a lottery to be an extra in the filming of the "West Wing" for today's date. So, then I figured it out. And that's why I didn't recognize the Prez's name. Hehe... And check this, I was like 15 feet away from Martin Sheen. They were allowin' some students to take pics with him. He's mad short. Wish I could've spoken to him, give him props for bein' the activist that he is. He's the man. :)

So, after mass, which was longer than usually because there were a few initiates (I don't know what they're called - the people who are formally becoming members of the Catholic Church. In other words, converts) and confirmation candidates there, I went to the shopping district to look around. I wanted to check this one shoe store, but it was closed. But I went into Urban Outfitters and this other store with punk kinda stuff. I'll hafta go back sometime. Figures I would decided to not bring my money and credit card, when I usually always have them on me. But that's okay. Maybe it was for the better. :-P

But anyways, now I'm home and waiting for the number one show on ABC to come on: "Alias." =) 25 more minutes.

"Idolater, your soul is required in hell!"

That was a quote from the 1991 film "New Jack City." I just now saw it for the very first time last night. Took me long enough. I usually find time for things I really don't have time for when I have lots of homework to do. It's one of my procrastination techniques. Heh... But yeah, this quote was said by the old man to Nino Brown. And I believe it's applicable to much of the Bush administration. :-P There were some murders in the film. But you know what? So were there in the city of my birth. Goodness, Washington is back at number one in terms of homicides. It's murder rate has increased, making it once again the Murder Capital of the World. What an honor, right? And damn, in my homestate of Maryland, Baltimore placed a lofty number three. Greeeattt.

But, ah... that's what America's all about. Then I'm reminded of all those people who say America is the greatest country in the world and I'm like, riiighht. The murderers are on a roll these days. In the D.C. Metropolitan area, while the President has his compound safely guarded, just short distances away, people are getting killed, there are homeless people loitering around, there are hookers. It just doesn't make sense. I think three people were shot at a playground in the suburbs of D.C. last week or so. And there was some other shooting at a tavern before then. And just over this weekend, I believe, a father killed his three sons and then himself. Then there was an attempted murder-suicide at a parking garage on the campus of College Park. And then another man kills his estranged wife and in-laws in the county where I grew up. What the fuck? I guess that's democracy for you. Every one can have their guns and are free to choose their victims. Man, I need to go see Michael Moore's "Bowling for Colombine" where I hear he talks about our gun problem.

I think I should become a Dixie Chicks fan. They were talking with Diane Sawyer last night. I can't believe the backlash they've received. Kinda makes me wanna go out and buy their records. I like to support people who've got something good to say. One of the members of the group recited a quote by ex-President Theodore Roosevelt: "To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." (I also found this quote in an article, which is relevant to my views.) How is it that in this country, the KKK by law is allowed to "peacefully" protest knowing full well what they feel about your and my peoples, but the Dixie Chicks can't voice an opinion, on foreign soil, even, without getting harrassed. Something just ain't right.

Enough of that crap... I've got a soar throat. I hope I don't got the SARS. Syke. Went to the doctor's yesterday and he said my tonsils look terrible, my lymphs were swollen or whatever. And my temperature was a little high. Ninety-nine something. He did a throat culture, but I gotta wait 'til Monday to find the damn results. Dr. Walsh said it's probably Strep since I'm not exhibiting any of the other symptoms associated with cold viruses. But he also told me if it wasn't strep, the next thing they would check is to see if it's Mono. Ewww... I don't want it to be mono! That's the kissing disease, ain't it? Well, damn. That's probably how I got it. Note to self: beware of handsome, over-confident Dominican men. But dang - he knew he had it goin' on. LoL. Mmm... those Latinos. I think I'm in a Latino phase again. As much as I got love for the Middle Easterners and South Asians and stuff (haha - and "stuff"), I don't know... Latinos just have this... sabor! ¿Sabes? Hehe... My friend, Shireen, asked me, "What is up with you and Latin men?" I'm like, come on now - she GOT to know. Who isn't drawn, at least initially or for some kind of split second to a fine man? :-P And my girl, Nadine, when I was tellin' her about some Latino guys, she was like, Sheena, I can see you with an ethnic man; I can't picture you with anyone else. Hehe. Me neither! And there's that comment crackhead Tara made, "Look at your most recent track record. They've all been Ricky Ricardos." D'oh! Whatever. ¡Viva la Raza!

Happy Easter to the Western rite Christians! and next week for ya'll Eastern Orthodox peeps! :)

Kelly Clarkson on why she would never go the anorexic Hollywood route: “What? Don’t eat carbs? I’m gonna eat bread. Jesus ate bread. Eat bread! Shoot, I ain’t got this ghetto booty and big cheeks for nothin’.” Puwahaha. That made me laugh. I don't know how badly I misquoted her, but I saw that on one of them shows like ET or Access Hollywood or sumfin' last night.

I saw "Anger Management" with Tara and Taneka last Monday. It wasn't that good. I was rather disappointed with how stupid it was. And how there were idiots in the theatre laughing all hard, stompin' their feet during parts. It was really not all that funny. Wait for it to come out on TV to watch the subliminal messages in this film. They kept showin' this one billboard I swear was a recruitment for the Army. They even mentioned twice in the airplane scene that our country is going through a tough time. Hmph. We shoulda gone and seen "Bend it Like Beckham" or whatever it's called. I only heard that movie earlier that day from my translation professor and my Pakistani classmate cuz they were discussing it as we were on our way to visit this Arabic translator at the World Bank. Then I asked one of my other Pakistani friends if she'd seen the movie. She had and she said it was good. Wish I woulda gone and seen that one instead. Ah, well...

The next night, Tuesday, I went and saw the Afro-Cuban All Stars. Some may be familiar with the Buena Vista Social Club, a famous Cuban band. Well, a member of the BVSC started the ACAS. His name was something like Juan de Marcos Rodriguez. And the Afro-Cuban All Stars is an inter-generational band. It combines old and young members playing traditional music with contemporary innovations. It was cool. They played about 2 hours. The one guy who played the violin was cute. Most the girls in the group I was with agreed. Hehe. I went with people from my undergrad institution. I've still got my old e-mail address and I'm on this e-mail list and I saw there were free tickets to this show, so, hey - free's the magic word. They were actually posta have this show a while back, but after all 9/11, because of whatever security concerns, the concert was cancelled.

Anyhow, since I went with peeps from my old uni, I saw two of my old Spanish professors. I caught Dr. Schneider and Dr. Bell on what I was up to. Professor Schneider was happy to hear about what I was doing and curious as to what I thought of everything. You know, Iraq crap and what not. She was telling me how she holds peace protests/vigils around her neighborhood and occasionally you get the cars that drive by yelling at them. She said that one time this guy starts yelling at them. She had to leave early, but some of the other women stayed and were able to get this irrate man to stop and talk to them. In the end, do you know what he said? That fool said something along the lines of: "Well, after September 11, we had to go after somebody, right?" Arghh! Isn't that the kinda stuff that makes you wanna pull out your hair? To think, he is not alone in how he feels. Stupid Americans...

And Dr. Bell wants me to e-mail him my info cuz he wants to publish a little sumpin-sumpin' 'bout me in my old department's newsletter. He also told me how he wants to form an Islamic Studies program there. He said we owe it to the UMBC community, with all it's diversity and given the current situation. He said he's working in conjunction with another one of my old professors in the Poli Sci department. Dr. Bell would take care of helping institute the Arabic language aspect of the program (since he's in the language department) and my ex-prof, Dr. Cantori, would handle the Islamic studies, since that's more his area. I think that's cool if they get this goin'. But they still need more contacts cuz it's gonna take some more people to be able to run such an endeavor. Yup...

So, what the heck is up with "them" putting in Garner as the interim leader of Iraq? What kind of sense does it make to put a pro-Israeli butthole in charge of an Arab country like that? Oh, how sensitive the US is to other people's feelings. Jerks. Got some Zionist tellin' them what to do. I'd be mad if I were Iraqi. Actually, I kinda am. That was something we talked about in my one class: how General Garner was appointed interim president and that he was pro-Israeli. He signed public documents that testify to that. And he was also president of a company that manufactured missiles. So, where the heck are those weapons of mass destruction we were posta find over there? Could it be cuz that's not even the real freakin' reason we bombed the hell out of them? Well, it's not. Check out this article by Arianna Huffington. She's someone I wanna check out now. Her latest book is "Pigs at the Trough." Maybe I'll check it out along with Michael Moore's "Stupid White Men."

Anyways, I'm gonna go chat with Tara 'til I start to get sleepy. It's 10am and I should go to sleep soon. Heh - told y'all - I'm a vampire. :-P

:*(

I just got off the phone with my mother and found out that my favorite priest died: Father O'Meara. He suffered a stroke and was in the hospital, unable to really respond. He was an elderly gentlemen with a lot of spunk. I think he was a lot older in age, but he didn't act like it. He may have been in his 80s. 86, maybe? He was from the old school and he spoke his mind. He always said what some people didn't wanna hear. But that's because the truth hurts. He would tell it like it is from a Catholic perspective. I admit I was a tad scared of him, but I respected him. He would always say what he thought. The Catholic Church today is quite lax, I think. It's more or less "come as you are," so, oftentimes people are wearing things like jeans and t-shirts. Just dressed very casually. But I remember when Fr. O'Meara was gonna preside over the mass the following week, we would be warned beforehand to make sure we came in our "Sunday Best." lol, cuz Fr. O. would complain about coming to church dressed as bums. Like I mentioned before, he was from the old school, when life was harder, yet simpler, and things were just stricter.

Fr. O. also once made a comment about how a young female in another mass he said was dressed. He was talking about how this young girl was wearing an inappropriate outfit and how he was thinking, wow, does this girl's mother know how she's dressed? And then he sees his answer: this girl's mother is dressed the same way. He would just tell us these things. One time around Valentine's, I think this was last year, how he was in the mall and he passed by Victoria's Secret and saw the underwear with hearts on it, and he stopped and added, "I'm a priest, but I'm not blind." hehe... That man. I loved him. I hope there are still plenty of other Church leaders like him left. This world we live in is just way too liberal and I need some more strong moral guides.

I remember once I forwarded Fr. O'Meara an article about the dwindling population of Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land. He wrote me back with this response:

Sheena,

Before your piece, I knew about the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant populations in Israel. Five years ago I was subjected to Israel "security" during my visit to the HOLY LAND. At the airport, a padre companion and I, in our clericals, were grilled about our intensions in visiting and our relationship. After our first night in Jerusalem, we were boarding a bus with other tourists, when two truckloads of young
Israel troops suddenly appeared, cordened off the street, pushed people up against walls, surrounded the bus with pointed rifles and demanded our documents. All the places and shrines were closely policed by Israelis. They were the conquerers

I applaud your efforts to separate the US and Israel. Tanks against rifles is hardly a "level playing field". Compare the number of Palastinian fatalities with the Israelis. Israel cannot be trusted to accept agreements. Nuff said!

Blessings,

Fr. O

May you rest in peace, Father O'Meara. You will be missed!

God Bless America?

On one of the websites of which I am a member, there's a message board where people talk about a variety of issues and, also, a lot of nothing. Naturally, people voice their opinions on many topics. One of the forums had a post entitled "God Bless America!", from the end of February. It was some bullcrap forward one of the members received and enjoyed. One of those forwards that brings out the psuedo-patriot in some idiots. In other words, propaganda. What came thereafter were many responses expressing different persuasions. What follows is one of my responses to some of the things that were said. The opening quote is actually what one of the stupids in the forum said:

Monday Feb 24, 2003

"ain't noone coming to shoot you and your family"
say what?? i fear for my life more on an American street than in some strange country. shiet - u can get shot by one of ur fellow americans for ur nike air jordans. what kinda b.s. is that in such a 'civilized' country?

and i grew up on a military installation and know people who have been, are, or went into the service (including my dad and sis). i can tell u that a good number of them are NOT patriotic (unless they get brainwashed enuff). they go into the military out of need - not any desire to serve this country. they go cuz they can't pay for skool or whatever other reason. so, while our government officials are safe in their mansions, my friends and family are gettin' sent over to fight some war that they don't even want. and whatever happend to the hunt for osama and what israel's pullin' on the palestinians? this war propaganda sure is takin' our minds and eyes off these and many other issues.

and hey - iraq is guilty of killing iraqi kurds and the U.S. condemns 'em for it. but turkey has killed an even greater number of its kurdish population, yet we're givin' the turks money so we can use their land for this stupid azz war. well, good for turkey for gettin' the U.S. to give them extra dough for use of their land. (and too bad for us tax-payers.)

and in this 'great' country of ours, did ya'll know that about 40% of the wealth lies in only 1% of the population?? yeah, stuff that in your pipes and smoke it, you warmongers.

and please - never-ever tell someone if they don't like amerikkka to F'in' leave. thass bullcrap right there. we complainin' about our government for bein' so cruddy. so that means we should leave? well, if that's the case, people like martin luther king, jr. should have been told to get the hell out this country for complainin'.

finally.... GOD BLESS AMERICA????? fukkkk that --> God Bless EVERYone!!!!! :)

Mommy Didn't Abort Me!

What is up with this weather? I hate it. It's so fickle. Before I went to London, I was hopeful that Spring was well on its way. It was sunny, cool, and fresh. There were dozens of little Robin Red Breasts feeding in the grass. Yet we even had some snow after the first day of Spring had already passed. One weekend I looked outside and saw sleet. Another evening I was walking home from school through an extremely light snowfall. I don't get it. We have these beautiful spring days intermingled with cold fall/winter-like days. Last week I wore a skirt and t-shirt and needed no kind of jacket. Then the very next day I've got my gloves on. I wish the weather would stay warm already. This week is rainy. Rain depresses me. In conjunction with gray skies - I just don't like it.

Know what I also don't like? The way this country works. Last week, MSNBC gave foreign correspondent Peter Arnett the axe. Again in my one class on Global Terrorism and Islam we talked a little about this. Professor was saying how that when Mr. Arnett had initially made his comments to Iraqi TV, they were applauding him for giving his analysis on the American military. The next minute, they've retracted their approval and fired Peter. (Mr. Arnet is now working for the British "The Daily Mirror." At least the Brits' media isn't as censored as ours). Yet, on this same note, widely disliked Geraldo Rivera discloses sensitive info that the Pentagon says could have given the Iraqi army an idea as to the location of American troops. He potentially reveals the position of the Americans, possibly giving the Iraqis a slight one-up, endangering our troops. But does this man get the boot? Nope. So this Jewish man releases classified information and he's just told to leave Iraq, while a sharp man like Arnett who speaks the truth gets fired. Our professor also had told us that MSNBC got rid of Phil Donahue for being too pro-Arab. So much for freedom of speech. Bastards.

Now, I've got no problem with Jews. I just dislike the blatant prejudices demonstrated by Zionists and the favortism that America shows for Israel. You know how espionage is punishable by death. Well, several years back, this Jew, Jonathan Pollard (check out Court TV's Crime Library to read about Mr. Pollard, the American who committed treason), stole stacks of files from the Pentagon to give to Israel, files he was not really privy to. But hardly got punished. He got away with it. Had anyone else done that same mess, all hell woulda broke lose. The double-standards are just unbelievable.



Thus, modern, mature democracies representing the end of ideology have, in effect, separated ethics from politics; and modern ideology, in so far as it continues to exist as a force in society, is nothing more than a cynical propaganda cover for the specific self-interest of competing groups. (from "American Politics and the End of Ideology" by Stephen W. Rousseas and James Farganis).

"Bombs Over Baghdad"

This U.S. war sucks! I hate the talk I'm hearing from some people. Pretty much I'm isolated from the outside world, I don't follow the news or anything like that. But occasionally I hear these people all proud to be Americans for the WRONG reasons! Bastids... I'm tired of warmongers. If there was really some kind of justice, it would be you fawkin' jingoists that we would send to the frontlines. Argh! So, hopefully, despite the fact that most of the world despises the arrogant American administration, they will get rid of Saddam this time. Gosh - why didn't they just take care of things in Gulf War 1? Stupids.

We were talking about in one of my classes how the U.S. was one of the countries originally pushing for an International Criminal Court. Yet they, along with Israel, refuse to be consignatories to such a court. The administration (Bush, Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, and Perle(?)) all cite international law. They talk about fighting fair and clean on the one hand, yet on the other, they do not accept the laws that the U.S. helped develop. This war that everyone says is an illegal one, the U.S. tries to justify. They say that a preemptive strike is allowed because we are living in a "new world." WTF?? Why does the oligarchy get to define everything? And only to their terms? (How do you think the colonized felt? They had a "new world" imposed upon them. >:-( ) This country also redefines how we can treat detainees, even including some amounts of torture. (Those Afghans in Guantanamo Bay are detainees, by the way, as opposed to POWs, which would mean the Geneva Convention could be applied to them).

Also in this class of mine, which is lectured by a professor well-known for his expertise on Islam and the like (he's an Italian-American from Brooklyn), we discussed the notion of "just war." The professor said that most mainstream religious leaders in this country say this war is not just. But if you take a poll of Americans, many will choose nationalism over their religious leaders.

I dunno... I think it would serve the U.S. right if the Middle East, which possesses about three-quarters of the world's known oil reserves, busted out the oil weapon, a là the 1973 Oil Embargo. Too bad all these governments the world over are tainted with corrupt leadership. My mom was complaining to me last night about her job; about a couple of her co-workers, specifically. She was tellin' me how some people act when they're at a certain level. That is, when they have higher ranks, like title of manager or superviser. They get these attitudes. They act like their position gives them the right to certain privileges and to disrespect people, and double standards and what-have-you. And I was thinkin' how this is at such a micro level. Imagine what goes through the minds of leaders of nations with all the power they wield. What potential differences they could make in people's lives in positive ways! Yet people get greedy and selfish and only work to benefit themselves and their friends and family. Just makes you sick. I guess a lot of it centers on part of a verse cited in the Bible: "For the love of money is the root of all evils..." (1 Timothy 1:6). Sad, but true, right?

And while I was looking for the exact location of this verse, I saw another that kinda made me shiver. Though we don't know exactly when this world will end, check this out: "But understand this: there will be terrifying times in the last days. People will be self-centered and lovers of money, proud, haughty, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, irreligious, callous, implacable, slanderous, licentious, brutal, hating what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, as they make a pretense of religion but deny its power. Reject them." (2 Timothy 3:1-5). I dunno... but I think that last verse of using religion as a pretense may be applicable to the likes of Bush and bin Laden and Saddam... :-/ But actually, many believe that Bush truly believes in what he says.

Ugh, I hate this crap... I once asked a professor of mine why is it that the U.S. supports Israel so much (it's only the size of Jersey or Vermont, with about 5-6 million friggin' people) versus 22 Arab countries. My teacher didn't have an exact answer, but he said other people have asked the same thing. Hmm... I wonder if I could do a research paper on it. I wasn't gonna do a thesis... But would this be a feasible topic? I mean, I don't plan to graduate this semester, although I ought to be done with all my coursework come May, so, I've still got time. I was gonna take the comprehensive exam (or "comps," as we call it). But since I don't think I'm ready for it, I'm delaying my taking it... And starting with my incoming class, the thesis option became available in lieu of the comps. That's something for me to think about...