Change....what change?!

I'm kind of annoyed. Our dear Obama has not yet even been officially instated as president, and already there is great reason to become quite skeptical about the great "changes" that he's promising to enact. Take, for example, Obama's emphasis on having "new blood" in Washington, even hinting at crossing party lines in his choices for Cabinet members. And then when it actually comes down to it, he chooses more "Washington insiders" than either Bush or Clinton. "Obama's first four likely Cabinet choices, including former First Lady Hillary Clinton, bring a combined total of more than 60 years of Washington experience" (go here to read the full article). Let's look at some of his selections so far:

• Secretary of Health and human Services: Senator Tom Daschle, a 30 years in Washington AND most recently working as a Lobbyist (mems, Obama, how you said you weren't a fan of Lobbyists?)
• Attorney General: Eric Holder, 20 years in Washington
• White House Chief of Staff: Rahm Emanuel, a strongly partisan Democrat, and, according to wikipedia and npr, kind of scary and emotionally volatile
• Senior Advisor to the President: David Axelrod

and the most TERRIFYING of ALL:

• Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. Heaven help us!
  

Please bear in mind that I have never had any strong dislike for Obama, so I'm not complaining about this out of some kind of I'm mad McCain or Romney or Huckabee or Nader or whoever didn't get elected so I'm going to complain about it vendetta. I just think if you're going to run a campaign based solely on the promise of change, maybe the first official acts you do as a president elect should reflect just a little hint of change, rather than the Clinton administration all over again.

And then there's that whole I'm 47 and have written 4 dozen books about my life because I have so much to say...but that's a complaint for another time.

Today, I was told by one of my Korean students that I am "pretty...but smart."

He sounded surprised. Does this mean all semester he's been thinking I'm dumb? Exactly how am I supposed to take that?

So I was just wondering if you peeps were more likely to think have lots of kids or just have kids in general. It appears that have kids in general wins. I've always gotten the impression, probably incorrect and spurred by my rabid fear/distaste/displeasure at the thought of having children any time in the near future, that it meant have lots of kids, which would also explain why many Mormons are so prone to reproducing like rabbits. Not that it mattered, for, as you've noticed, I still don't have any kids. Which I'm totally fine with.

Take that all you people who shall remain nameless who want me to have a babby asap! :P

I would really be much better of if multiply and replenish meant grow a nice garden and plant trees. I'm really quite good at that...

What does this phrase mean to you?

"multiply and replenish the earth"

Please try not to let other comments sway your opinion. I want to know what you think!

*And will someone other than my family PLEASE comment. I'm trying to win an argument and I need real comments!

Here is one of the journal questions my level 2 writing students were asked:

Complete this sentence: If I were rich, I would... Describe the things you would do.

Here is 1 student's answer:

If I were rich, I would start a new enterprise. However, I fail a project because that project is beyond my power. Nevertheless, I like a venture, so I'm busted to beggary, so my wife leaves me, and I go to subway, and I beg.

Hm- Maybe this is only funny if you're an ESL teacher.

the pains of fashion

So I've been searching for a new pair of black flats for weeks, trying to find something attractive, marginally comfortable, and definitely cheap. What I discovered was this: there are no comfortable, cute, cheap shoes. If you want them comfortable, you either have to pay a bootleg of money, or they're doomed to be hideous. Why is that?

The ones I bought are very cute, but appallingly stiff, wreaking havoc on my no-longer-tough-because-it's-almost-winter feet. It didn't help that I had to walk all over campus today...or that I think my feet magically grow or shrink, depending on the time of day and my location.

Because of the ginormous blisters threatening to form in 3 locations per foot, I taught barefoot for nearly 3 hours. When several of my Korean girls asked me why I wasn't wearing my shoes, all I had to say was "I got new shoes" and they instantly responded with a knowing smile. Girls just understand the sacrifices required to look good.

It's raining today.

Today is a good day.

An ode to my veteran

Ok, it's not really an ode because an ode usually implies good rhythm, a poetic way with words, and even music. Since this post will have none of those things, it's not really an ode...more of a tribute. But ode sounds so much more interesting.

So today is Veteran's Day, a fact which I had completely forgotten until I heard it on the radio this morning. American never really pays much attention to Veteran's Day (probably because us regular peeps don't get school and work off), but this year I'm going to be a conscientious citizen and remember it by introducing you to my veteran brother. He's the only veteran I associate with on a regular basis and is probably not exactly what pops into your head when you head the word "veteran" (I don't know about you, but I usually think of old grey-haired men wearing WWII uniforms that are dusty and possibly bursting at the seams). Nevertheless, my 22 year old brother has served in Iraq on 2 deployments with the Marines, and is scheduled for a 3rd (somewhere). He originally signed up because he didn't know what he wanted to do with his life, but liked the idea of getting paid to shoot guns. Because he was a little too excited at the thought of shooting at people, he volunteered to be in the artillery division when he could have had basically any job he wanted. But as crazy as he may be, my brother loves his country and what it stands for. He loves the guys he serves with and the job he does.. So thanks, brother, for serving our country. And for staying alive.

*Alas, I didn't have any brother-in-uniform pictures lying about...he really is a marine, I promise.

Obama mania

I've noticed that I always get the most comments on my blog whenever I post about politics...and since I'm a glutton for comments, even when they're not always perfectly harmonious (be nice, fautie), I decided I should say something about our new President Elect.

First of all, what do you think?

My opinions of Obama (as well as McCain) have long been mixed. I voted for Nader because I couldn't make up my mind between Obama and McCain, and, of course, because I firmly believe that a strong third party would keep US politicians on their toes. Whether Nader should lead that third party, or whether that third party should be the Green Party is definitely questionable, but I digress. Back to Obama. I question his health care plan, tax increases, his lack of experience, and the fact that many people I consider to be absolutely nuts are obsessed with him.

BUT. Whatever my personal opinions of Obama may be, I am satisfied that he, rather than McCain, will be our next president for this reason: for some reason, people find hope in Obama. You can joke about him being the "Messiah" or whatever, but I think it will be good for America to have a president that the majority, and an especially vocal majority at that, believes in. He makes a good symbol of America (ie. he looks/talks pretty), and I think it is always good for a country to have a change of pace. Whether these changes will be good remains to be seen, but I for one have hope that he will take America in direction that will be an improvement.

Election Day...from an ESL perspective

So I voted at a voting both for the first time today (I've always had to do an absentee ballot). It was much more interesting than I thought it would be AND I didn't even have to wait in line (good thing I skipped my German class!). After voting, I went to my first ESL class proudly wearing my "I Voted" sticker, which, of course, progressed into a political discussion beginning with a whiny "why isn't today a holiday" (good question- I've often asked myself the same thing) and progressing into deeper things like the electoral college. When I asked my students who they would have voted for, the conversation went something like this:

Me: Would you have voted for McCain or Obama if you could vote?
Overwhelming majority of students: OBAMA!
Me: Why? What do you like about Obama?
Student 1: He's handsome!
Student 3: He's black!
Student 2: He likes South Korea
Me: McCain doesn't like South Korea?
Students: silence
Me: Why don't you like McCain?
Student 3: He's OLD!
Student 4: He's UGLY!

I wonder how many Americans will vote on similar lines...