Sketchola

Tonight I had a strange day.

I realized I love Subway's veggie patty. MMM.

I had a late lunch and 3 hour consultative session with a friend who I ultimately decided should leave consulting.

For dinner, I went to Lauriol Plaza with members of UVA Law's federalist society; with people who were saying "Dubya" was a good guy, and that they loved Scalia; who praised Romney as a candidate because they shared his values. The most interesting part of the whole thing is that there was no intellectual meat supporting their pronouncements. Let me say that this group donning nothing but Ralph Lauren (literally) were nothing but cordial to me. But, I will not miss seersucker and pearls if/when I leave D.C.

I also will not miss the sketchiness of this city. About 15 minutes ago, Laura and I walked from Lauriol to the bus stop where we usually wait for the 90 bus to whisk her home. On the way, I noticed a sketchy character who I felt watching me; we were in a busy area, but I could tell he was skillfully eyeing us and choreographing his moves accordingly. Meanwhile, he was wearing very baggy clothes and seemed to be checking his pockets a whole lot. Last night was my boss's going away party and my co-worked was telling us that he was mugged in right around that area a while back, so perhaps I was more vigilant than normal. Nevertheless, it was freaky - the chess game - our movements and his. And, I am 90% sure that he planned to mug us. We decided for Laura to take a cab in front of my place. While we waited, we noticed him approach us and when we made eye contact he turned around. The cab was worth every penny.

Macalester

Here is a scathing editorial in the Star Tribune by conservative columnist Katherine Kersten about my alma mater:
http://www.startribune.com/kersten/story/1230403.html

Here is our President's response:
http://www.startribune.com/scripts/setpass.php?goto=http://www.startribune.com/commentary/story/1241939.html

My YouTube Hall of Fame

I had a leisurely Sunday today and decided to compile my list of my favorite YouTube destinations. Enjoy!

Talk Shows:
Penis Power: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAwLYJYsa0A
Geraldo v. O'Reilly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLPuGuaZTx8
Rosie v. Elizabeth: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=817CwlvqjAk
Tyra (Too Many to List):

• America's Next Top Model: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HexJugIqWU8

• Vaseline: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym75B0YkZR8

• Vaseline: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSwYMHkZgLg

Music:
Why Do You Think You Are Nuts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjbtnMz6eQw
Hasselhoff Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgX-hiQdfFw
Remind Me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBvaHZIrt0o
Hot! Hot! Hot!/Appalachian State: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVENWl8uBeg
Dick in A Box: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dmVU08zVpA

Japan:
Take Anything You Want: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W1VY4b9IQQ
Komodo Dragon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUkzFQNHq9c
Prank Show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBSLMGNHuGM
Tongue-Twister: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdFW-hrGX7g

Other:
Breakdancing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqS9N7WJOFY
The Landlord: http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/74
Otters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epUk3T2Kfno
Obsession: http://www.obsessionthemovie.com/trailer-12min.php

Tell me what you think!

Old Times

So lots of reconnections to the past lately. Making me question whether I am going soon or something.

- Seen my long-term exes - my ex of 5.5 years who I haven't seen in 4 years (who brought her mother in tow), and my ex of 2 years who I haven't seen in 7 years (who is married to someone I introduced her to and they have twins), in the last month. Both encounters went well.

- Went back to CT for Arun's funeral for the first time in 3 years; it is NOT for me and hasn't changed a bit. It felt strange to be back - especially given the 3 year intervals from first visiting, to graduating, to being away - and the shifts in my perceptions of the place during that time. I don't know if and when I'll ever go back; what would bring me there...

- Going to Puerto Rico next week (my bday present) for the first time in 15 years.

That's a lot to take in, no?

The weather here has been very nice and breezy. Today I spent a relaxed day in Eastern Market with a friend named John.

While waiting for him, I needed a snack and grabbed and devoured a juicy peach, which reminded me of when I first moved to the Bay Area and revelled in the novelty of fresh produce. I also read an article about the disappearance of bees - which they hypothesize is because of over-harvesting (mass transportation, feeding corn syrup, etc.)

My friend and I had time just walking around, sitting in a cafe, and at the park, and discussing interesting topics. I haven't done that in a while. Our conversations shifted from career issues - that people/friends feel victimized by choice of careers and trying to find that perfect job; and that that problem is a privilege - to transgendered people's perception of transgendered people of the opposite persuasion.

Wandering aimlessly is good.

PS: My roommate and I are hiring a maid to do deep-cleaning. I feel that this is a new rite of passage for me, but one that I am ready for.

Arun

The world lost a great man this weekend: Arun Pereira.

I lived with this wonderful man (the father of a very dear friend) who was so loving and full of life in 2004. He opened his Bolton, CT home to me as a member of his family. He and his wife Probhati made me feel completely comfortable despite feeling displaced in Connecticut. He made the most delicious South Asian food, including beef vindaloo from Heaven, which made me the desi food snob that I am today. He took so much pride in his food; I can't believe I will never enjoy those tastes again. He was a person who got so excited about the simple things in life - food, family, friends, parties, drinking, smoking, scheming and dreaming. What a scrappy and smart entrepreneur! Arun knew how to live. He had a magnetic way about him. We talked about all kinds of things, from law to casinos to family. He was an adventurer, moving to California in his last few years - and opening a restaurant in Davis. His philosophy, which he shared with my brother-in-law, was "we come into this world with empty hands and we die with empty hands." With his departure from this world, he leaves many hearts, including mine, feeling hollow.

When my friend Joe in South Africa was murdered I had a crazy apocalyptic dream. Specifically, I was driving around Minneapolis really late at night. The streets were quiet and a bell started to toll. Some kind of toxic gas had been dropped and we were dying of asphyxiation. The world was ending. I woke up from the dream sweating and gasping for air. I looked at the clock and went back to bed. I woke up, received an e-mail that Joe had been murdered.

Yesterday, at about 5 am, right around the time Arun passed away, I woke up from a similar dream. I was driving through a toll booth in Seattle, late at night, when all the sudden the whole city was under attack. The sky was red and there was no escape.

Low Cost Weekend

I had, for once, a mighty low-cost weekend, which I am happy about. Today was a day of domestic bliss.

Today, after watching a marathon of Top Chef (which has motivated me to want to cook), I performed a belated Spring cleaning, which consisted of seperating out and stowing away all of my Winter gear and disposing of my wire hangers, and replacing same with uniform plastic hangers. I spoke to my mom for a while. She is very excited about a number of entrepreneurial ventures that she wants to pursue as a recent retiree, which mostly involve cooking and decorating. She was exclamatory today about some of the ideas we brainstormed, that my heart was warmed. And, then I went over to Mike's house. We did fun things, like pick lettuce from his backyard, make chocolate cake without a recipe, and play Boggle and Balderdash - I lost both and don't care, which feels liberating. You know what was especially nice about tonight is that I barely spoke about relationships, which as you approach your late 20's, becomes the core of single peoples' lives in a nauseating way.

One of the things I associate with Mike's house is a Chilean drink which consists of about 1/2 beer, and 1/2 Fanta. I love how the beer cuts the sweetness, and the Fanta, the bitterness. What a blend! (Incidentally, I also love kahlua and orange juice, which together, tastes simultaneously like a tootsie roll and a creamsicle).

So, today was a triumph; except for my queue of clothing that needs to go to the dry cleaners and charity.

Masons

Tonight we had a game night. We played the game mafia. See: http://frob.com/connector/mafia.html

It's an interesting game because people either love it or hate it. As such, it's hard to organize b/c you never get buy-in from the whole crowd. It bothers me when people say there is no merit to the game. I think it's clearly a psychological game - similar to poker. You decide who people choose based on relationships, reactions, nonverbals, reverse psychology. It's a game about perception.

Another game that I have become obsessed with is "jawbreaker"; a game I play on my cell phone. I am so obsessed that I have played almost 2000 games (those are just the recorded ones). It is the perfect way to pass time when I am waiting. The reason why I don't know the exact number of games I've played is because I cancel any game where I am not going to beat my median score of 204.

I have been interviewing to become a freemason - mostly for the experience. Until today, I did not feel completely "sold" on this ancient fraternity. Nonetheless, I have been going through a series of interviews and meetings. But I met two folks today who I found to be very fascinating and brilliant people; people who were very different from me, but who I related to on this really interesting level; people who could compliment my life with substance and nonpolitical spiritual and philosophical discussion. I am now confused.

New Money

Steph and I attended a rival university's reunion today. It was lacking one main ingredient... fun! At least that was our perception.

I had an interesting discussion/debate with Stephanie about old vs. new money. I prefer new money; Steph prefers old. Both of our perspectives are based on our socializations. Steph was raised in New Canaan and found old money folks to be very welcoming, philanthropic, and with a calmer demeanor. My perception of old money, in contrast, is based on attending law school in CT with "Skips" and "Trips", and interactions with two folks in particular:
1) a man from college who is bleeding money who borrowed money from me and before paying me back made a contribution to my college; he also criticizes anybody who works in corporate America (even poor immigrants trying to support their families), even though he is a teacher who drives a hybrid and lives large in SF. He is the type to criticize poor people for eating fast food instead of organic fruit.
2) a woman from law school who described the deeply-ingrained habit of incest and molestation in her family.
Meanwhile, my perception of new money is colored by the scrappy, materialistic, upward mobility of my family; being Jewish and Puerto Rican -- I've seen their struggles and seen them rise up the ranks (also members of both of my backgrounds have no choice but to be new money based on their historical relationships to the US). Moreover, I am loud, and love Extreme Makeover (a recent episode, involving a cleft palate, made me cry tears of extreme joy). Stephanie thinks these people are gauche and loud and drive Hummers. And, she's right... We're both right...
Steph and I did disagree over who was more likely to be Republican. I posit it is old money, due to dynasties and generations of wealth preservation/a great interest in estate tax issues.

Anyway, on the cab ride home, the frikkin cab guy charged me for two zones plus a $1 gas surcharge and even after I called him on it, he insisted I pay $9.80. it really pissed me off. I didn't give him a tip. I even slammed the door on him. How new money of me. However, the freemasons really want me. What a paradox I am.