26-so big it gets a holiday!

I feel like I just wrote my top 25 blog... must have been a good year.

And it was. Highlights include:

A year of a master program, which meant lots of intellectual debate, a few papers and a cohort of great friends.

An ever changing relationship with family and friends back home in California, which has its ups and downs with distance. I don't talk to people back home nearly enough, but I look forward to reunions so much more and appreciate each moment with them. It has also lead to things like online gamin with my bro or phone games with my sister to keep in touch. And skype and google hangouts are magical.

Its has meant travel. Since 25 I have been to Philadelphia, Louisville,Cleveland, Beijing, Wuhan, Xi'an, Yichang, Shanghai, and DC. I've explored the world that much more, bitten by a nice new bug that I can barely afford but love so.

I found a new travel buddy among other things in Cali Foodie, who I've currently left in Columbus on my trip home. She been a blessing and joy in my life and made the last months of 25 quite wonderful.

We reelected a president, a task that really took the whole year, especially in the ad-ridden swing state that is OH. Still its nice to take part in the american process.

I have continued to struggle through my Catholic faith. Not the question and challenge struggle so much as the everyday struggles of trying to be a good catholic and always failing my own standards. Its the ever-present struggle to not get comfortable and push forward in my faith that will exists at each birthday. But I thank God for it and for another year of life.

I dunno, I feel 25 was so fast, over too soon. I think last year I felt I was on the verge of a new big step, and now that I've taken it things are moving and I'm along for the ride. This next year will feature a new job, new home, new friends, and new challenges as old relationships change. The ever-turning circle.

So, as tomorrow is Thanksgiving, the closest my birthday ever gets to it, I think about what I am thankful for:

Life in all its joys and hardships

my dear family including my mom in her own turning points and my dad who will be in ireland all thanksgiving.

My closest of friends, none the least of whom include Spam Boa, Dungeon Daddy, Mama Goldfish, Dandy Woo, Powder Climber, and Cali Foodie.

My universities both in Ohio and CA, the great people in them, the education from them, and the legacies and opportunities they have given me.

All the people in my life who have helped me, made a difference, or given me the honor of helping them.

Those who have allowed me safe travels, including the pilot of this plane I am currently flying on.

And for the gift of hope from my God, which is central to my worldview and toward my future, my 26th year, and the twists and turns coming.

Happy thanksgiving all!

-JTY

Listening to: "Through the gates"-Dimrain47 techno is good for travel

Reading: American Gods- Neil Gaiman. So. Good. So far, from one of our greatest living storytellers.

Playing: Star Wars Angry Bird, free on android and why when I upgrade this phone it won't be an iphone.

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DC Journal

On Thursday, cali foodie and I left for DC. We both took the afternoon off for the 7 hr drive. On the road with nothing but mcdonalds sweet tea and a co-created ipod playlist, we jammed back and forth between boy bands and glee (her contributions) and classic rock and modern rock (my contributions) among other genres. Entertaining ourselves through OH, WV, PA and MD with license plate games, the cow game (really fun with all the cemeteries here) and dare I say conversation, the journey was only hindered by the long stretches of nothing but mcdonalds in sight and speed limits that are actually enforced, limiting my ability to beat the gps ETAs.

We arrived into DC at about 10pm. After a fight with Calis gps (who she calls Gladys and I call GlaDOS) and a roundabout with stoplights in it (?!?!), we arrived at P-Diddy's apartment in Dupont Circle. P-Diddy's place is a nice semi-hipster like area populated by people our age and ambassadors from other countries. Welcome to DC.

Diddy works for CNN as a producer for the virtual bit used in their washington-based shows. Yeah, she's kinda a big deal and still recovering from election season, but was able to take us this weekend. We talked and chatted, reminiscing about our RA days and undergrad experience. Cali and Diddy bonded over making fun of me. Women. The two of them actually have a lot in common so it was good and easy to get comfortable for everyone.

We woke the next day and drove Diddy to work. CNN is about two blocks from the Capitol so Cali and I started walking. After passing the rather striking Union Station complete with the Postal Museum next to it. I realized this will be the DC trend: pretty building, museums all around it. Its still Fall in DC so the trees were a nice orange with green and red scattered around.

We played tourists and took pictures of all angles of the Capitol building, which reminded me of St. Pauls in London because of the giant dome (but not of St. Peters, go fig) but seemed more imposing and powerful. Maybe because it was on a hill or maybe because it was taller but I was really impressed, more than I was expecting. I think when you travel to other countries you expect amazing buildings and architecture, but I think I was surprised how much of an impact having such history and beauty here in the US had on me. A little bit of US pride going here :)

Anyway, we moved around the Capitol Building to the Grant Memorial. This shot has the the Capitol behind it and the Washington Memorial on the far end of the Mall, with Grant sitting high on his horse overlooking a still water fountain. The sad look in his face impressed upon me the weight of the world he'd held as General and later as president during tumultous times. Grant doesn't always get much credit with characters like Lincoln and Lee dominating the Civil War narrative.

We kept moseying and found ourselves in the botanical gardens which were actually pretty cool. They had miniature organic models of the various famous DC buildings maybe of wood and plants and stuff. There was also a bunch of different rooms with a vast array of plantlife. My favorite room was the jungle room which while not a full replican of a rain forest per say did give me a very good idea of what a rainforest would look and feel like. We spent way too much time there which is a testament to how cool it was but also that there just wasn't enough time to do everything we wanted.

Grabbing a map, we heading next door to the Ntl Museum of American Indians. There, at the recommendation of Judicator Brewskie and his gf, we ate lunch. Opting for the sampling of 5 dishes, we split a buffalo steak, buttered salmon, root vegetable salad, horseradish mashed potatos and a squash dish with a much prettier name than I can recall. It was very very good all of it and we were full! We passed an American Indian ceremony that reminded me not of the stereotypical Native American rituals but of a prayer group. Very cool!

We backtracked a bit and found the backside (and entrance) of the Capitol Building. Taking more pictures, we opted out of going in to have time for more buildings and turned our attention to the Thomas Jefferson Building aka The Library of Congress. This might be my favorite building in DC. As Cali put it, my inner nerd came out. I was fascinated by everything, the columned architecture, the busts on the exterior, the seal on the fllor, the quotes on the wall, the names on the colorful ceiling, the GUTENBERG FREAKING BIBLE. And that was just the public part. The private researcher part was even better but we could only stare at it, not wanting to distrub the actual congressmen and women (aides) conducting research. I was kinda drooling though.

To add icing to the drool, we went to the Folger Shakespeare Center. Here they took various historic topics and looked at them through displays based on shakespeare quotes. For example they unpacked "war" but it was really a collection of documented lynchings from the late 1800s and followed the Shakespeare quote "dead men make strange fruits" from the Tempest. There were various displays like this on topics like Love, Nature, and Art as well. At the far end of the narrow cooridor was a theater that was used year round for school during the day, traveling plays at night and every once in a while for braintrust gatherings of important people to discuss the future of art and literature. This is was our tour guide, Martha, told us as we rested our feet in the theater. She then showed us why the Center seemed so narrow: the rest of the building was a reading room for studying official documents and historic texts. We looked through a hidden viewing window as scholars handled ancient texts with padded supports and careful page turnings. The best thing in the Center, though was a copy ofbthe First Folio from 1623 which holds most of Shakespeare's plays, many of which wouldn't exist today without it. English major relic!

We headed back out, passing the Supreme Court, which was under construction and thus covered by a tarp with a picture of the Supreme Court. Yeah, washington dc tried to pull a disney and hide its construction dust. Nice try but it just looked a little funny and awkward. Justice has no veil, I say!
We moved down the Mall passing the various Smithsonian museums trying to pick one to stop in. There was a carousel at one point which I thought felt a little anachronistic but amusing. You had to pay though, unlike everything else we'd done so far. We kept walking to the Smithsonian Castle for a few pictures, but ultimately chose the Natural History Museum because one, it was the museum that had most directly intrigued Cali and two because of we passed through it we got to Chinatown where the Spy Museum was.

UNFORTUNATELY, I did not attend the Spy Museum (sorry Mama G, I really wanted to). Besides being exhausted from miles of walking, lack of sleep, travel fatigue, and the cold I've been fighting all week, we just ran out of time. We had to meet P. Diddy at CNN for a tour. There we got the inside scoop (with fancy name badges to prove it) and saw the offices of the entire Washington branch. It was really amazing to stand on the set the Situation Room was Wolf Blitzer did his bit, staring almost right at us behind the camera. The control rooms were intense, with TVs everywhere and so many people working hard to put on a good show. It was really amazing, especially to someone who'd never been in a TV studio before. I also had a good conversation with Candy Crowley, who is really nice BTW, and she recommended some touring areas.  After a good hour of touring, Cali went to meet a friend in town and I joined Diddy as her guest to their post-election party at Madam Tussaud's. This was kind of surreal, because I was in a room filled with strangers, and the only people I recognized were famous actors and presidents made of wax, who I kept mistaking for real people. Add dim lighting and an open bar and it wasn't unfeasible to accident hold a conversation with a mannequin. I didn't, but I could have! Having never been to an office party before, it fit with my expectations. The CNN people were pretty nice and welcoming but I had better luck conversing with spouses who also were out of place. As karaoke amusingly ranged on and after meeting back up with Cali, we joined the after party at an Irish Bar with dancing and laughing and all around fun. It was great to be invited to something not many people see. No, I don't have any incriminating evidence of anything, because really the CNN people were great and I felt very accepted there. If anyone asks, I'm now a Calibration Technician who is particularly good with the wand. Whatever that means.

After sleeping in on Saturday, we ventured out to the White House. On the way, we debated whether Dupont Circle was actually hipster. The girls disagreed and just rolled their eyes when I pointed out hipster-y people. Then when we had lunch in a posh, pricy, Dim Sum restaurant featuring all black decor and swanky music in different languages, I continued to say this was proof. Ultimately, we settled that it was Prepster, a term that should catch on any day now, so be ready.

We also played, guess the first name of the guy in that statue game. Do you know what Lafayette's first name is? I didn't (Gilbert). Also some guy named Jose got a statue. Yeah we didn't get that right either. It was fun though to see figures like Sherman and Hamilton as we wandered through the city to a certain presidential home. Again, there was construction so we couldn't get too close. There was also a protest about Palestine marching by. But we did get some good shots and saw where Obama's room was, and wondered if sometimes they looked out the window as us plebeians

After pulling money out of the ATM next to the Treasury (I'd like to think it was newly minted), we ventured up to the Washington Monument. We passed a Kony protest, cuz why not, and got a nice panorama of the White House, Capitol, and Lincoln Memorial. The day was a perfect crispy fall day with blue skies and a few wispy clouds. It was beautiful.

We next wandered to the WWII Memorial, which I thought was rather powerful with its fountains and columned tributes to both fronts of the war. It had many great quotes from generals and important figures and made me reflective on the experience my grandfather had in the war. There was a wreath for each American state and Territory, all of whom contributed to the cause. There was also a wall of stars representing 100 soldiers who perished. I was very moved by the whole site.

In my pocket had been the buzzings of the University rivalry game, so I ventured to dinner with Diddy and Cali at the Hamilton for half-price sushi and fancy prosciutto. Then we found the Alumni bar, packed with University alumni, at watched the end of a very gratifying game. It was awesome to reconnect with my undergrad roots and cheer and scream and have a blast. There's something special about school traditions too.

We ventured out for dinner part two at Cuba Libre, a cuban restaurant where I had chicharrones and maduros deliciosos and a victory mojito. Then it was to my car where we drove to the Jefferson Memorial. Now with all the one way streets and construction, traffic and stuff was a little loopy even at 10pm at night. In seeking parking, I accidentally found my life on the road to Virginia. With that slight detour to the South, we turned around, checked a state off the list, and found a spot to park and brave the chilly but not unbearable night air.

This was my favorite part of the trip. We started at the Jefferson Memorial, where a greek-God like statue stood in an domed, columned temple-like enclosure. After climbing the steps with the Washington Monument reflecting off the Potomac River behind us, we entered an open area with the large sculpture. With famous quotes on the walls it was intimidating and reminded me how important of a figure this guy really was. A couple wandered to the base and suddenly the guy was proposing to the girl! The Park Ranger took their picture and as they wandered away he mentioned that this happens once a night. I think it was cute but definitely wouldn't ever do that myself. If I recall correctly, Jefferson had mistresses. Not exactly a marriage role model. But hey, to each their own.

We followed the path passed baseball fields I desperately want to play in some day. We reached the FDR memorial, which was a series of walled fountains, quotes and pathways that ease you into the power, hardship, and triumph of that time. This memorial was one of my favorites, because the emotion that it elicited and tribute to the era that it was. It has Eleanor. It had a Tennessee Valley Association fountain. It had FDR and his dog. It had a fireside chat. It had a breadline. It had quotes about fear, and unity, and overcoming difference and really made me proud of my country. And it ended (from our perspective) with a lone stature of FDR, in his wheelchair, sitting under a tree. At night, with the fall leaves around him, it was striking, it was touching, and it was beautiful. What a great memorial.

It continued with MLK. This one was different, with a large sandstone-esque stature in the middle, rather than the bronze of FDR. With the amazing quotes of MLK on either side, they built into a larger than life image of the man in rock, similar to a half body version of Mt. Rushmore. Behind the image of hope, was the mountain he was carved out of, despair. A very profound image. I liked it and it played well on my reflective mood.

Next we cross the street to the Korean War Memorial, my favorite of the war memorials. The right wall leading up to the quote "Freedom is not Free" was filled with almost holographic images of men and women from the conflict, haunting and diverse. On the left, were life size soldier in full gear, including blowing winter coats, stalking cautiously through an invisible battlefield, forever on patrol. It was eerie at night, but wars leave echoes, and I think this site best captured that. At the top was a clear pool for those lost, missing, and captured and of course a proud American flag.

Finally, we reached the Lincoln Memorial. Straight out over the pool with the Washington Memorial reflecting again and the Capitol beyond, we climbed the steps to see Mr. Lincoln. It was just as powerful as I imagined. I have the utmost respect for the man. I read Team of Rivals on the way to Philly last year, for those of you that have followed me that long, and when asked, I suddenly realized he is my favorite president. I cannot wait to see the movie, but I saw the memorial first. On one wall the Gettysburg Address, on the other, the second inaugural speech. And in the middle, the man himself, overlooking our nation's capitol and really, our entire nation, hopefully continuing the spirit of wisdom, patience, and duty that Honest Abe was known for.

It was cold, I was sick, but one last stop had to be made: The Vietnam Memorial. Just a wall of names of the deceased, you walk and it starts ankle high, and progressively climbs higher and higher following a rather complicated chronological order that requires a book to find people with. But at its heart, the height of the death toll towers over you, make you feel small and sad. As surprisingly simple but very effective tribute. And a good way to end the night as we took a long walk back.

Cali and I discussed the power of the memorials, the views these men had on diversity, the country, and how the dialogue today does not capture the spirit of these great leaders' legacies. We hope to take the wisdom of these people forward in the next four years what with the election last week.  We ended the night with pizza at Duccini's which was a giant slab of greasy awesome that only cost $5.

The next morning, we slept in, then Cali and I took our leave of DC, but not before stopping at Jamba Juice and Sprinkles, two chains that for whatever reason bypassed Ohio for bigger and better places. Our drive back was uneventful, though we did try Roy Rogers which is like a fast food Fuddruckers meets KFC. I had work to do for my career services China presentation so we couldn't linger. But DC was truly great. I regret my minimal time with the Smithsonian and my lack of Spy museum. Guess I have to come back. In Spring. For Cherry Blossoms. Sorry I didn't see you Spotty Sister and Chai Ducky!

And Cali, thanks for not killing me, while driving or for my wonderful jokes :)

Next week, Thanksgiving updates!! Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!

-JTY

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Ain't that America

In honor of Veteran's day and the very American action we all (hopefully) partook in on Tuesday, I figured I'd start with a few thoughts on the state of the union and then end on a lighter note with a few character updates.

First, today is Veteran's Day, which for those of us working a public universities and workplaces, this means a day off. For many others, this means very little. Which is kinda sad since we are supposed to be honoring those Veterans who have fought to protect and spread our ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Now there may be some irony in the idea of using war to spread the ideal of life, and I definitely know some people who would say that it is completely wrong. I definitely take the stance of talk it out not fight it out, but I don't think war, in and of itself, is always the wrong choice. I do agree with the message that if you love something, its worth fighting for. Is war today the same as it was in World War II, when we were fighting to end genocide and defend our land and spread democracy? Yes and no. Genocide comes in different forms, defending our land is a war often fought at home. And spreading democracy is a tough sell when using bullets. And of course its more complicated than my simplifications here. Yet we have a strong military and still exist as the land of hope. If we use our strengths for the good of others, I see a lot of benefit in that. The problems come when we try to define the "benefit of others" and the slippery slope of when is it the benefit of ourselves. Also, if you are fighting to defend our country, does that mean you also are fighting to defend people in other countries? So war is messy. In all senses. A lot of bad comes from it, and lately I think that is all we hear about. But a lot of good can come too. And today we honor the good men and women who know the horrors and hopefully the benefits of being in the armed forces.

For those of you that don't know, Nov 11th is Armistice Day, when the ceasefire was called to essentially end WWI. This is why Veteran's Day happens on 11/11 and why we either get the Monday or Friday nearest that day off. When I think of Veterans, I think of my grandfather and great uncle who fought in WWII. Sometimes I think of the disable vietnam vets. But the face of veterans is changing. More and more its friends of friends or family who went off to fight. Its students I work with that have come back from Iraq and are now trying to finish their schooling. Veterans are getting younger and younger. I don't know many current soldiers or those who have toured. There just haven't been too many in my life. I have a cousin in the coast guard, a former student's boyfriend who keeps rejoining the Army, and Spotty Sister's bf is in the Navy. None have discussed with me the types of action we associate with war, but they've all seen stuff I know. And they are all proud of what they do. So if they are proud, I stand by them. Its a tough job, tougher than most, and I'm glad there are those willing to do it. Thank you.

All of us citizens had a duty to do on Tuesday. Election day on a presidential year is a big deal. We are electing the "leader of the free world". That has ramifications globally. While we look at countries like Egypt and say, good job on that election there, other countries look at us and hold their breath, wondering who its going to be. The president of the United States holds a lot of sway in our world. So, there's a big of global perspective that most people probably didn't think about in an election season that constantly went back to domestic economics. Jobs jobs jobs. That's what it seemed to be about. And the deficit, and the spending, and the taxes. All domestic issues. All financial domestic issues. At least according to Republicans. That's all I heard (and trust me I hear a lot living in a swing state. You think the amount of commercials for YOU was bad?) The Republicans ran on the ticket of we can fix the economy. Personally, I liked a lot of what they stood for. The idea of hard work in the face of adversity. The importance of family and increasing family values. The limit on government spending (except on military). The limit on taxes. The idea that we should not penalize someone who has worked hard and finally achieved the American dream. The idea that the wealthy can help our country out by creating jobs. Those are messages I get behind.

For the Democrats, my facebook was flooded about social issues. "If you don't vote for Obama, you are saying I as a gay man, as a woman, as an immigrant, as a minority, and poor person, as a working person, am worthless to you" That was the messages I was seeing. Social social social. Gay rights, women's reproductive rights, immigration issues. Student loans. Tax the rich so they can give a little more back. Make cuts where necessary. Universal health care. These aren't bad messages either. I like giving people rights. I like thinking about all those people who struggle daily and need just a day or two of support to get back on their feet. Or a month or two. I like everyone having access to a doctor. I like higher education and think it shouldn't be cut. I like students and think they should have time before they jump right into paying for school without a job.

So who did I vote for? Well I had to weigh a few things:

Though the media has blown the debate into a lot of different directions, and the Republican men sure don't know how to talk about it, abortion is an important issue for me. Obama is pro-abortion, I am not. And to me, that has less to do with women's rights, health care, and all the other stuff tacked on, and more to do with the fact that I believe it's life at conception and thus killing a baby is murder. People may give me crap about ignoring those inseparable components, but I think they are separate issues. I don't like contraception either, but you don't see me making that the sticking point (the exception being the morning after pill), but the abortion itself is wrong in my opinion. And I don't see me advocating to stop what I consider murder as imposing my religion.

Gay marriage. Its fine with me. Get married. People deserve those rights. My church doesn't support that, and that's fine. Everyone still needs a legal marriage certificate. Let two people get married. Republicans don't support this and actively oppose it. Disagree completely.

I think we should have a smaller government. Obama has increased government role. This was actually a huge issue to me. I don't necessarily trust government to be everything for everybody and it usually falls short. Spending on a bunch of things that it does not necessarily need to be spending on is overstepping its role. This goes for the debt, the deficit, and the ways government creates jobs. A bailout worked but if people are going to rely on that, or on taxes to the rich, or on other government systems AND loopholes to get by, then what is the motivation to work hard. Instead, let's just find the easy way through. (Is that the reality of the American dream? DUN DUN DUN).

Education. Fairly underdiscussed in the election. As someone going into education, I think it should have been touched on more. Obama mentioned college students, Romney mentioned k-12. Between the two of them maybe I would have felt the system was getting attention. Instead, it was just pandering. I guess it was all pandering, but still, not enough about education.

So in the end, amongst all these considerations. Amongst the math of tax plans not adding up or financial plans never being laid out, I made my decision. Much to what I'm sure is the anguish of my dad, who swore to disown us if we voted for him, I voted for Obama. The saying is better the devil you know then the devil you don't. I can see past his charisma, which inherently makes him more trustable than Romney who looked fairly untrustworthy in the primaries especially. I am no so naive to think they aren't just politicians with a number of personal goals. But I genuinely though our current President was more authentic and real in his care for everyone in this country. Romney felt more out of touch. Now there are advisers for that, I acknowledge. But the big thing that stuck me was I felt Obama has a better global reputation, a better understanding of the job, better interest in immigration, and had a 4 year learning curve to understand this job. I want to build on what I perceive have been 4 fine years, not great, not awful and I just didn't think that was going to happen with Romney. I think it would have been a stop, reset, lets start over. I would have voted for Bush part 2, for similar reasons, and many of the reasons I didn't like Kerry were the same I didn't like Romney. Ultimately, I voted for Obama before, and I stand by my decision to let the man get stuff done in the next four years that continue our country. I don't believe the doomsayers. I think we as Americans are adaptable to change, and a little consistency will be good. We survived Bush and people were saying the same things then. As my dad pointed out, politics for this election was about Romney trying to prove why Obama shouldn't be president, not why Romney should be president. That's how midterm elections work. Well, I needed Romney to tell me why he SHOULD be president. Ultimately he didn't. And so I cast my vote. Now let's rally around the greatness that is our country and see what the next 4 years bring us.

A few updates:

Cali Foodie and I are headed to DC this week to visit P. Diddy. Diddy's been working for CNN and I haven't seen her in several years. It's time to change that and to see our nations capital for the first time. I'm stoked to essentially live in the Smithsonian for two days, though I have a feeling that won't quite happen like that.

Next week I will be in SoCal for Thanksgiving. I arrive on Wednesday and plan to spend the first two days with family. On Friday, Spam Boa and I are seeing the new Bond film!! And then going to a hangout at Mama G, Bridges, and Kareem's new apartment, the Beige Yeti. I hope to see Brock and Clark and Alejandro and Sunshine Knives and Nemesis and RC Tequila and the list goes on. Naysayer P Squirrel will also make an appearance, specially when I visit him at the University on Sunday. In short, its a catchup time for a whirlwind 5 days.

Final note: Go see Wreck It Ralph, its great.

Travel safe everyone! I know I plan to :)

-James

Listening to: "Arc of Time (Time Code)" Bright Eyes

Reading: AV interview with Mark Hamill http://www.avclub.com/articles/mark-hamill-revisits-sushi-girl-batman-and-the-sim,88473/

Playing: League, and starting to wonder why

Speaking in the affirmative

I'm getting to be decent at this every other week blogging. I was worried I'd forget more.

 A few random updates about random people:

Naysayer P Squirrel is in Europe right now with Whedon Watchedit. I'm jealous but also excited for them, its Whedon's first trip! About this time last year I was in Rome with Naysayer, so its one, trippy that it's been a whole year and two nice to remember good times. I'm sure he'll have good stories for us when he gets back.

Spam Boa just went on a seven day hunting trip. While all the deer laughed and him and his dad from the safety of private property, he said it was a great trip. I miss camping and the peace and quiet of the outdoors. October camping is a bit too cold for what I want, but there is something peaceful and quite religiously powerful about an early morning. Last week, when I was taking Cali Foodie's friend from college back to the airport, I got a good reminder of early mornings. I also remembered that I like sleep and really miss it.

El Bandito was in town. But didn't tell me until Sunday before he left, which was also Cali Foodies birthday. Sorry buddy, no hang out this time.

Red Button has learned the challenges of students attending her 1:1s... try ToOs it might work.

Pokeboss has learned the challenge of juggling. Stressful I'm sure but you're better at it than you think.

Dandy Woo brought her mom and sister to town. It was great visiting them and not just because her mom bought us ice cream! It's cool to meet families and see how alike they are and the subtle differences.

Cardmaster Cider got a job, thereby winning the "race" to have gainful employment after graduation! She cheated and applied to a job at OSU that she was totally qualified to do and deserved and could start in January. So major congrats to her!

Dungeon Daddy is well and truly a teacher now at the college level. Mother Mapster at the high school level. And minds were molded.

My parents continue to have more entertaining Halloweens than I do. Well done Mom and Dad, or should I say caesar?

Brock is well and truly engrossed in the election season. He'll emerge next week.

Clark just told me Wreck It Ralph is a must see. Like it wasn't already. But I'm stoked. Also congrats to his Giants, I'm not ashamed to admit I was happy they won (sorry Red Button). Maybe now Mike Trout will win MVP like he should. But seriously great Series and now begin the dark days: no baseball, only football. Sigh. Also, Fantasy Football is stupid. And yes, that's how I really feel. The things I do for people... :)

Anyway, a few updates for me:

First, I went to a corn maze. It was pretty cool wandering through the tall corn. Easy to get a little disoriented but I have a decent sense of direction and we made it out all right. We may have wandered out the child's exit, but we entered the adult way dammit. There was also a corn cannon (a cannon that shoots corn, much like a potato launcher) and a greased pole. Cali was trying to goad me into climbing it, but I also realized being covered in grease on a long drive home wasn't ideal.

We also went to a pumpkin festival in the town of Circleville. This was a really awesome town that looked right out of a halloween movie like Hocus Pocus or something (which I finally got Cali to watch--she was scared by it as a kid). It was pouring rain and freezing cold, so we only stayed for an hour. It reminded my of church carnivals back home, only bigger and with better food (steak on a stick!) If it was warmer, I think I would have gone broke and fat. Fortunately, I ended up just with a nice corn on the cob and a great pumpkin. It was a cool festival, just poor weather. Typical Ohio. We actually carved that pumpkin BTW. Jack Skellington, and not half bad I might add. I was worried when Cali told me she was a terrible drawer, which I don't know what that makes me. But with some clutch sharpie-ing, I made it work.

Hmm now I want to watch Nightmare Before Christmas...

On to the topic at hand: We've been talking a lot about affirmative action in class, especially because of the Fisher case that the Supreme Court heard last week. If you don't know, well consider this a nod to look into important upcoming supreme court cases. You have until the end of June (when the Court usually makes its decisions) to look this up or it will become a stern nod. Anyway, I'd like to share my evolving thoughts on affirmative action.

The idea often gets explained as considering race in applications to college. This is usually interpreted as given preference for equally qualified candidates to minority students. This is designed to address historic concerns that underprivileged individuals do not have access to higher education and there are more forces preventing them from college acceptance, like de facto segregation (minorities often live in poorer areas and thus have worse education opportunities). Of course, opponents then say that whites are unfairly held back. But whites have so many privileges in their favor already, this argument is a little unfair because if there is one policy in favor of minority students there are many more than blatantly or subtly favor whites, such as allocation of education funds in school districts (which are usually done by white politicians and often result in "giving up" on certain areas, usually the poor and thus more minority serving locations). This does not blatantly target minority students, but it does affect them by the nature of the country. Affirmative action tries to undo some of that.

There's some negatives to Aff. action though. One, from minority students, there is the climate that they were just chosen for the school for their race and not their ability, which can be isolating and problematic to their psyche and academic performance. Two, and perhaps the biggest concern, is aren't universities based on merit for admittance? So if race affects admittance, does not that imply certain races have more merit than others. Diversity in school is research and court proven to be a positive in schools. But students still need to get into the school. Where is the line when race kicks in? How do you determine when students are equal and when not? Why race? Why not school district, or a different minority group, or SES, or something else? Because there's more historic systemic rules against race, true, but there is still an arbitrary factor to it. And there's the added complexity as someone from CA where the majority population is of some Asian descent, who historically do better on the merit level but still have a lot of the same historic pressures and hardships. But if we don't help those groups that aren't as well represented in college, won't that continue the oppression because there won't be people in power who consider those populations (don't try to tell me there are a lot of white politicians that wake up and thing about the minorities first, especially when its not an election year, I'm not saying they think about the whites first, but they do think about money and support and those people are usually white). But is it the university's job to override the failings of a k-12 system to prepare students for college? Is college a right? I think, in this day and age, yes, because try asking anyone without a degree how hard it is to get a career job. Can't we just consider personal hardship? That's what the UC system does, because prop 209 in CA prevents affirmative action use. I think  this is a good start but there still a low minority population in several UCs.

So where do I stand? I think merit definitely comes first, especially at the highly competitive universities. Everyone has a right to a bachelors but which school bestows it is still up in the air I think, and that's part of the reason the community college system is so popular. I think universities should consider the school system a student comes from. A student from a poorer district with a 3.5 GPA should get some extra consideration than a person from a wealthy school district with the same GPA. And not just high school, but the districts of k-12 also. I know this won't necessarily address the needs but it can help identify districts that need help. A fault of course then is that may reward bad districts, but an incentivizing system can be developed to address that. Its not perfect but I'm trying to find a balance that still makes merit the focus while increasing diversity. Add the holistic approach and maybe that will strike a good balance.

I must say: I'm still figured out affirmative action. In the social justice circles, it's almost a given that its a good thing. But I still very much hesitate, which kind of makes me feel the bad guy and the privileged white person who doesn't get it. As a multiracial person, I get that I was told to put my race as hispanic in case I qualified for extra scholarships and to stay competitive in any way possible. That's the country we live in and I am also convinced if we take away that competition completely we will not progress but stagnate. So yeah, open to more perspectives and this is what our discussions in diversity class look like every week. Heavy huh?

To end on a light note: I got Cali Foodie to watch Ghostbusters, I wanted to give a bunch of fun Bill Murray quotes but they are all context heavy. Instead, I'm going to list my favorite Halloween related movies. Happy Halloween:

1. Nightmare Before Christmas
2. Halloween Tree
3. Hocus Pocus
4. Sleepy Hollow (cartoon)
5. Casper

(Also for consideration: Zombieland, Ghostbusters, Edward Scissorhands, Addams family, Young Frankenstein, Beatlejuice, Sweeney Todd, and It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown).

OK have a scary safe week!

-JTY

Listening to: Billie Jean- Michael Jackson, though I guess I should shift to Thriller though...

Reading: Slaughterhouse-5 I hope...

Playing: League in bits a pieces to spend time with Dungeon Daddy, Drew York and Spam Boa

Playlist Post 1

For this particular post, I'm trying something different. I'm running a playlist on Spotify, my new favorite way to get music on my laptop since I don't want to transfer my gigs of music from my desktop to this thing. As the songs come up, they shall be the theme for the parts of my post.

Mad World- Gary Jules

We've been talking in our classes a lot about diversity issues. As a higher education professional, I have to be adept in facilitating rather heavy conversations about race, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, religion, etc. and how all of those things interact. I love this part of the job but its very intimidating. With our cohort in particular, we have trouble creating a safe space. If we can't even share with each other, how can we share with students and ask students to do the same thing. This week things changed. Why? I'm not sure but we seemed much more open in class on Tuesday, talking about more personal issues in an effort to share perspectives. THEN someone in our classroom decided to come out of the closet for the first time in that setting. WHAT? I guess it really was a safe space. Everyone seemed to be more willing to share and to listen and for the first time the mad world that was our class lacked the tension that has followed those conversations in the past.

Madness- Muse

Carrying on with the theme, Muse takes me to my counseling class the next day, where our instructor, who is both an experienced psychologist and VP of Student Affairs at OSU, asked all of us to talk about a time when we were the "other" and talk about what that felt like. People talked about everything from blatant homophobia to being in a foreign country to family isolation to growing up poor. These very touching, very open stories I think really built on the previous days openness, and by being forced to share, forced to take a step toward comfort with each other, was really good for us. There is solidarity in hearing about the madness of other people's lives. Sure not everyone shared completely, or shared deep secrets necessarily, but it was still very much a place where we spent time to actually LEARN about each other, that thing we always ask students to do. Imagine that. Professionals doing the work they are going to teach others to do to. Go us. Poignant line from the discussion: I don't know what it's like to be a black man, but I do know what it means to be the "other".

Brand New Colony- Postal Service

Shifting gears, I had a conversation with my dad about politics last night. I'm comfortable saying I'm an independent vote who waits a long time before deciding who to vote for. I'm conservative on some issues, liberal on others, and love to get everyones perspectives. My dad is pretty strongly conservative and I'm so happy to have him in my life. First, I very much respect his perspectives and trust his viewpoints. He sees things past the rhetoric on my issues. He also knows what he wants from his government, his country, and what he has to do with his own life to contribute to those things. And he's a different demographic from me, meaning he picks up on issues that are not things I pay much attention to. I work on a college campus and a big university in a swing state. Obama has come to visit our campus three times in the last 4 months. I asked the question on Tuesday when he was here, Is anyone going to that rally not already going to vote for him? I am surrounded by one perspective for the most part and I don't like that. Unlike Cheeky Monkey, Drew Jules York, and even my mom, I'm actually willing to engage my dad in political conversation. Sometimes I think they take the, "I don't like conflict I don't want to hear it" because my dad is wonderfully passionate about a lot of this stuff. I love it and besides, aren't I going into a field where I need to have civil discourse about hard issues. I mentioned way back in the London/Ireland travel blog that I see my role in my family as one of translator. That comes from my patience, willingness to listen, and ability to talk in a relatable way to both my parents and my siblings. I'm happy to play this role, just as we all have our roles in family, friendship work and play. So going back to politics, I will continue to watch the debates both on TV and in person and make my voting decision to see how our country shifts to become something brand new.

Some Nights- Fun.

What do I stand for though? I ask myself this in talks of voting, politics, diversity, and counseling. This has been an ongoing question throughout my educational career. I'm still not sure what I stand for, but I do have some nice road maps. Religion, experience, family, friends, education, failures, successes, and just the world we live in and how I react to it. One big revelation I had this week was what my job is going to be. I am a peddler of hope. I sell hope to students. As a career counselor, I pitch the hope that you are ready for that interview, ready to get the job in the future. As an assistant resident director, I sold the hope that this place you lived was home, and your concerns would be heard. In diversity discussions, we are working toward the hope that those moments when we are isolated, hated, hurt will soon be gone. That's the "It Gets Better" campaign. That's what both politicians are running under: the hope that the US will be better in the future. Hope has been central tenant for me. In my religion, the three cardinal virtues are "Faith Hope and Love". I resonate with all three but hope has a special place for me. Frenchie's Choice said in our trip last week that I now understand why you are so optimistic. I take the hope that when people fight and disagree, there is the hope for growth and change from those conversations. I would summarize the American dream as one of hope, hope that you can make your life better. Even as I hear more and more how other countries do things so much better, like China cleaning the streets after a flood in one day when we couldn't handle Katrina... still. But we have the hope in so much more than the Chinese students do. There's a reason many students HOPE they can come to this country, stay in this country. Because America is the land of hope. Not a guarantee of fruition, but one of hope. And I like that.

Finally Found You- Enrique Iglesias

One thing I dare to hope for recently was a new person in my life. As most know, I don't talk about my relationships much, but I would like update you readers who may not have heard but I have started seeing someone again. The year of single life has been fine but you never know when God throws you someone great into your life. Cali Foodie has been that great person, someone I've had the pleasure of being great friends with first, only to find we had way more in common than we thought, despite apparent stark differences (ie she hates all my pun jokes, which have already earned me several PUNches). So if you want the full story, feel free to ask, but the summarized version is: I chased and she let me catch her. Which of course prompted Drew Jules York to ask, "How does it feel to have a relationship based entirely on pity?" Well, sir, it feels just fine. Jerk. :)

50 Ways to Say Goodbye- Train

Well friends, that's the end of the first every Playlist Post. I'm going to head out and enjoy this great weekend. Cali and I are heading to a corn maze, cuz when are two Californians going to get that opportunity again? Best wishes to all!

-JTY

Listening to: Survival- Muse, cuz I am trying to determine if I like this new album and these are two of the songs that I like more than most. After this, I'm going to listen to Adele's Skyfall cuz I really liked that one too but it's not on Spotify yet.

Reading: Baseball articles, cuz I love baseball playoffs!

Playing: Finally got a game of League in with Dungeon Daddy, Drew, and Spam Boa. Sorry, I've been a little preoccupied lately :D

So what part of the mitten are we on?

I am spending most of this weekend in Michigan. It's a new state for me to check off the list and so far has been quite a good experience (I am starting this blog on Friday night).

Frenchie's Choice and I were paired for our diversity class to do a project on a perspective that one of us has which the other doesn't. It could be anything, but since Frenchie and I actually have a lot of identities in common we opted to focus a bit on gender. Frenchie spent time prior to grad school volunteering at a small community college in rural Michigan, doing service learning initiatives in collaboration with a domestic violence homeless shelter. This would give me a great insight to many of Frenchie's perceptions and views, and an inside look at a DV shelter who mostly serves women since the vast majority of adults domestically abused are women. In return, I'm taking her to a Cleveland Indians game, because she hates baseball and I love it. Seems like a balanced trade? Well, hopefully the way I spin the baseball game, she will learn a bit more about me. But so far, I've definitely learned a lot, and since I only have a 5 minute presentation, I figure I can reflect on it more here in the blog.

First, driving up through Ohio and Michigan was a magical experience due to the fact that last week someone flipped a switch and turned on Fall. The trees were vibrant colors, some still bright green, some bright red, some bright yellow, bright orange, even bright purple. It was blasts of color flashing along the wooded highway. Frenchie and I also talked for almost six hours straight, which made time fly fast. Since while we are friends we haven't had much hangout time, it was a good catch up. It was also nice to hear each other's perspectives on things like diversity class, cohort issues, higher education, careers, love life, family life, religion, politics, food, travel, futures, past experiences, and more. Even on three hours of sleep, I was having too much fun to get too sleepy. It was good times.

Arriving at the community college, the first thing we did was interrupt a meeting between the president of the college and the associate dean, who welcomed us, told us to sit, and continued their very open and honest strategic planning meeting in front of us. I had two quarters of org theory and admin classes summed up in 10 minutes of real world conversation. It was wonderful! The associate dean was Frenchie's former boss and a great guy. We had fun shooting the breeze and the two caught up before we headed down Frenchie's old commute of about 40 miles one way to the domestic violence shelter.

At the DV shelter, I was a little intimidated at first when they just straight up asked me what do I know about domestic violence and what does it mean to me. I sputtered through a very honest answer that I had not really thought hard about the idea of domestic violence, acknowledging that as a male, I knew statistics and intellectually that this was bad, but did not have a strong connection to it especially since I didn't know anyone who dealt with it. They kindly corrected me saying nobody had admitted to me that I knew someone, but I very likely did since one in four women experiences it. Also, upon further reflection, I'm a complete jerk for forgetting about my cousin's terrible terrible experiences with it, which confirmed my self assessment that DV does not impact me, so I am more removed from it than I should be. That is part of my privilege.

They went on to hand me some really awesome educational materials and then just sit and chat with me and Frenchie. We talked about how common the occurrences are, how there are way more factors at play then just a jerk of a man in their life. How poverty, location, upbringing, circumstance, children, employment, alcohol, drugs, and health care are all highly influencing factors, especially at their shelter, which was designed to address people without a home. They talked about this concept of homelessness, and how often getting the crap beaten out of you every day or week was a price worth paying to keep a roof over your head, in many of the victim's minds. We talked about how common excuses like I just lose control when I've been drinking, or I have anger problems, are bs since the person doesn't just start wailing on anybody when drunk or upset, just their women and/or kids. We talked about how easy it is to say, "there's no way that actually happened" because the stories are so horrific or unique that they must be made up, and how questioning a woman's credibility just perpetuates the power exerted on her. We talked about how kids will mimic their fathers and be abuse to their mothers. We talked about the different types of abuse, like verbal, physical, psychological, and sexual. And we talked about power, the root of all domestic violence. How it is men (usually) exerting their power over women in some form or fashion. How when their lives are out of control, the women are something that can control. How why would a man stop abusing a women when he gets essentially a free slave that he just has to beat every once in a while and she will stay in place. How women don't feel like they have the power to leave and how DV shelters help try to empower women to tell their own stories, be heroines in their own lives, to give them back that power.  It was very enlightening, eye opening, and most importantly, with their many stories, helped me have a better idea of what DV really was on an individual and system level.

I listened as they talked about resources, like counseling, courts, cops and other things available to these victims. I nodded sympathetically as they discussed the challenges of govt. controlling their spending, red tape, and fundraising to keep the shelters doing their best work. And I asked them how I, as a person of male privilege, could be a better ally. They talked about role modeling behavior, calling out sexists remarks or jokes, and truly support and advocating for women. On this, I was slightly disappointed because I feel I do a lot of those things already, but the reaffirmation and new information I feel have better prepared me to understand the perspectives these victims are coming from. And I hope I have more tools to be a better resource and support for all victims of DV, especially those in the economic conditions of places like rural Michigan.

I was hoping to finish writing this on Sunday, but the short version of how the weekend ended was with Frenchie and I going to a Cleveland Indians game. Her chance to see my other side started first from her saying she hated baseball. I, an avid lover of the game, decided this was a great way to show insight to this love, as well as connect baseball back to my family, childhood, passion, and pastime. So I explained the strategy that goes into baseball. How pitching works, what a pitcher is trying to do, how he interacts with the catcher, what the fielders are doing, what the batter is doing, how it is both a very individual and very team focused game, why and when managers make substitutions, and on and on and on about the rules of the game I love. I also told her how it was different being at a game vs watching it vs playing, and that to truly appreciate the strategy, I recommend watching it on TV. At the game, I encouraged her to take advantage of the alcohol and food, which we did. I explained that the Indian stadium atmosphere was kind of disappointing with such a late season faltering in the standings and a fanbase that barely cared anymore. Even when the Indians came back to tie on a 2 out 9th inning rally, there was barely and life in the crowd. But I also talked about how going to the game was about family to me, and the memories of my dad and siblings going out for a great game while my mom enjoyed an evening to herself. How I played little league and that started my true love for baseball and for my favorite team, the Angels. Not the Dodgers, not the Padres, not some random other team, but the Angels, and as Frenchie grew up in Annapolis, how the Orioles and Nationals could both be her teams, and she was much more into the game as she thought about the Orioles. In short, I think she had as good a time as possible and doesn't hate baseball quite so much. Yay for new perspectives!

I think that's all for this week. Have a great one all!

-JTY

Listening to: Tron Legacy soundtrack. I found it to be good exercise music

Reading: Slaughterhouse 5, cuz why not.

Playing: Borderlands 2 and League. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Photographing love

It has been a very nice week.

I haven't been able to report that for a while, but it has. Life is very good.

This is an interesting point to make because we've spent much of our diversity class for my higher ed program talking about power and privilege. This is always very heavy stuff that evokes a lot of emotions, conflict (internal and external) and a sense of weariness that the world is not that happy, fair, or enjoyable a place to live in. But I really enjoyed wrestling with questions like whether it is a good idea to have a multi-cultural specialist focused for white students. Or whether it is good or bad to be colorblind to race (hint: both of these things are likely bad ideas, but it's important to understand the definitions and implications behind them). The point is, we have been struggling through these topics as a class and I love watching the debate. I think of things and perspectives I hadn't considered and feel very open to hearing all perspectives. I know not everyone in the class has had that same positive feeling from this. People get unintentionally hurt or isolated or cut off. And the conversations are reflections of deep rooted issues preventing students from feeling welcome, safe, or able to exist in their college, their home, their country.

It's really easy to feel the weight of the world when your job is to prepare students for life after college. In fact, even as I write this, I feel the pressure of questions like how can I support an African American student who is getting messages from all directions that he is the token, the representative of his race, and that his race is one of poor, lazy, uneducated people? Or how can I help a white student see that she is privileged because does not have to even think about her skin color when she gets a ticket for public intoxication? Or how can I help a Latino student who is so distraught about being one of the few people of his race on campus also see that he has privilege as a straight male?

This list goes on and that's just stuff around mostly race. So you can see how heavy these conversations can get. But while this has been an awesome week anyway, something hit me in church today as I was hearing the reading about Jesus saying we should have faith like children. He was saying, kids don't judge they just love freely and completely. And as I think about all these theories and considerations and conversations that address the complexity of each persons situation, such a simple message is comforting. Love everyone. Love them completely, love them for who they are. Love everyone. Yeah, I think that's simple enough.

I know loving everyone is hard. Hard to love the person who just cut you off, or the person that broke up with and hurt your friend, or the prisoner on death row for a crime he committed. So its not an easy fix to say love everyone. But its something we understand, we know how to do. So when I meet that student who I just cannot seem to see where they are coming from, or has gone through stuff I've never experienced, its OK. Just sit back and let them be who they are, and show them nothing but love.

On another note, the art center here on campus has an Anne Leibovitz exhibit right now. For those of you who just googled her name, so did I, but I know her by her work as many of you do too. She's the photographer for Rolling Stone Magazine who photo'd John Lennon 5 hours before he died. She also has a ton of other pictures, like the controversial Demi Moore pregnant and naked. The exhibit had so many amazing celebrity photos with the likes of Michael Jordan, Mick Jagger, Louis Armstrong, politicians like the Obamas and Clintons, the Bush cabinet, the Queen of England, and on and on and on I go. Each photograph was spectacular. Powerful. Emotional. Touching. I haven't seen such stirring pictures in a long time. I went with Cali Foodie, Powder Climber, and Cardmaster Cider, along with a Korean friend of ours. We also ran into Giant Leader and Niceguy Mundo, and a few other people from our cohort. Afterward, despite the pouring rain (also note it always rains when I walk outside these days), we went out for drinks and briefly caught Tall Bear and his girlfriend on their way out of a concert. It was a great evening and started the weekend right.

I think I've caught people up enough on my life these days. Know that all is spectacular on my end and I hope it is for you too. Good day to you!

-JTY

Listening to: Dancing Days- Led Zeppelin, a fitting song indeed

Reading: Slaughterhouse-5 since I fail as an English major and haven't read this, I'm going to fail at doing my HESA reading and read this instead

Playing: Borderlands 2- very funny well written game so far

Giving and grieving

     So i start this blog in CA as i just spend the weekend here for Punk Sisters funeral. As you heard two weeks ago, she passed away from a heart attack at age 22. It came as a shock to everyone and on and off for the last two weeks it will randomly hit us.
     I'm not really a cryer, nor am I one that has a fear or anger at death per say. But i am also hyper conscious that grieving is important and make sure i do accordingly. For me, thats blogging, thats coming out to this funeral, that spending time with those who knew her, and thats verbally processing with people back home, my folks, Spam Boa, Steakhouse, Cali Foodie, and even in my counseling class. As far as personal hardships go, my life is far from complete breakdown. But i was feeling a bit down this week, especially right after counseling class.
     As i debriefed with Cali Foodie, one thing about being a relationship builder is you feel a strong connection to those around you and root for them, at least for me. So when i heard about Spam Boa and his closest friend in Utah passing away, I feel it. I feel bad that I can't be there for him. I want to help but just feel like i can't do anything. This "cant do anything" concept i think is part of mourning. I suppose i could look at a psych book about the researched ideas, but call this a qualitative study of one.
     I say can't do anything, but there is prayer, which for me is a big part of how i cope. I was talking with Steakhouse, who was kind enough to pick me up and drop me off at the airport. Prayer for me is one way i handle stuff, Gods in charge and i lay it before him. But that is not comforting to everyone. For some, its infuriating to be told just pray about it, it will get better. Thats something i believe but its not exactly comforting to someone who doesnt find comfort in prayer in the first place. One thing i have found that even as i pray and spend time at church, i also can talk to God through talking with others. God helps us by bringing people in our lives, and listens through those people. So a debrief with a friend is also a debrief with God, as i see it. Why wouldnt God take multiple approaches to help?
     Another thing related to the cant do anything is that i feel bad i cant be home to support my family and friends when necessary. I mentioned this to Cali as take care of my brother and sister and she said maybe they dont need caring. Completely true, they are both totally capable and dont need me for day to day stuff. I meant more like if something happens, good or bad, i want to be there to share with them as possible. I didnt go home every weekend or even every month when i lived there. But i could look as needed, and thats what i want to be able to do. Help as needed. So as i look for jobs and see some in washington, colorado, and even nor cal, i get scared at the permanence of starting a career away from those i want to be around. I have to do whats right for me in the long run and a career position is next in life. Im at the point in my life where i want to be settled for a while. No more moving every year or two, no more wondering if i'll have a job next year or the year after.
     Ive gotten sidetracked a bit from my other concern, which i noticed in counseling class. Some people said they dont view people as inherently good. Thats fine that they think that but its so counter to me to feel that way that it made me very sad. Such a mindset borders on existentialist and would lead me to a lack of purpose. If people arent good, why bother? If there is no good to work for what is the point? Existing just to exist seems so minimalist. Can someone help me with understanding that idea?
      Related, then, was the funeral for Punk Sister. the service was a combination of buddhist and taoist ritual. There was a kind of shrine in the middle of the room with pictures, objects and food on the table.  There was chanting and cymbals and a ceremonial last meal placed in the coffin. We lit incense three or four times throughout, and we processed around the room paying our respects. One of my questioning moments was what happens to a non-christian when they die. What really happens? Not what every message out there supposedly says that they are destined to hell. I cant and dont believe that. Noone is destined anywhere, our actions throughout life actually have meaning. Moreover, noone her on earth can know what happens after death. Noone can pass judgment. God makes that call and his mercy and love, the things i believe in, are at play when our time comes. Ive been of the understanding that we choose God, or not, and that heaven is choosing him and hell is the absence of being with God. so that free will is ultimately between Punk Sister and God. and i take comfort in that. I also found, as i was mediating and reflecting during the funeral, that God was present in this ceremony just like any other service. He was just wearing different clothes. Again, He's playing with all the cards and can touch our lives in different ways. So I saw Him at the service, just like i saw him in China, Ohio, Rome and California. Maybe being a Christian means learning to spot God in all aspects of life. So even as I buried a friend, bowed three times to honor her, and turned my back as instructed while the coffin was lowered, I took part in a deep, new, powerful ritual much like when i buried my other friend January last year, or saw at Tenshi and Spotty Sister's father's funeral April last year. I told Banana Slug and Steakhouse: we really have to stop meeting like this.
     So thats how i mourned, i spent time with dear friends, joked, hugged, reflected and remembered. It was over so fast, the ceremony, and i couldnt had help but think it was sudden, just like her passing.
To end on a positive, optimistic note, because Lord knows thats what we need after hearing about this stuff, i spent a few hours with Red Button, Shyly Sue Hoo, and Pokeboss. Captain Peanut was away at a family funeral (of course...), so my thoughts were with him. But it was really really good to see them. To hear about university life, RA training, team building, and all the stuff that got me so into higher ed in the first place. Pokeboss and i were on the same page, making the same jokes at the same time and just having a blast. Red Button is doing my own job and im so proud of her work so far. Laughing at dinner, those are memories to cherish because sometimes its the little moments that refresh the soul.
     On to Columbus for more of those moments!

-JTY
Listening to-Reading- Just Dance, lady gaga, be proud Brock. I got my ipod on shuffled playlist. This one is my staff time one from my last year at University.
Reading- More than listening, my counseling book. Its good to read, onto practice!
Playing- word of goo on my phone cuz im on a plane... though civilization doesnt need internet... hmmmmmm

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Throbbing

Some words his you like a boulder, heavy and instantly crushing.

Some words hit you like needle, sharp and painful at first but not too deep, just nagging.

Some words don't hit you but hug you like your comforting mother after you've scraped you knee.

And sometimes words feel like your leg falling asleep, at first you are numb and you think you can walk it off but you get a weird tingling sensation that you aren't sure if its going to hurt or just be a throbbing slightly crippling sensation for a while.

That last one was how I felt when I learned Punk Sister died this weekend.

While she was not my actual biological sister, she was someone I was good friends with for a time while I supervised her back at the University. I don't bestow the term sister loosely (whatever Cheeky Monkey may think), and Punk was someone I not only had the pleasure of mentoring and watching be oh so successful in her jobs at University, but she was someone I could talk and confide in, and share bits of insight I couldn't necessary impart on all staff members. Moreover, between myself and Naysayer P Squirrel, we were excited to help her get into graduate school in Colorado for Higher Education and Student Affairs. So she would be my sister and colleague in the very field I'm in still, graduating at the same time as me. Instead, she has a heart attack that her body couldn't bounce back from.

When you get that numbing, throbbing news, for me at least passing the word on feels like you are in a dog pile and another person just jumped on top, you can feel the pressure pushing down on top of you and telling someone else heavy, tragic news just adds a weight of sadness. Everyone reacts the same, stunned silence and shock. It weighs on you.

I heard the news at 4:30am. Why was I still awake? I guess luck and the weekend nature of my nocturnal stupidity worked in my favor. To hear Naysayer P Squirrel with tears in his throat, who'd just returned from celebrating his birthday to such horrible news, hurts. He was even closer to Punk Sister than I was, having worked with her the longest. Steakhouse was on staff with her. The new numbed her too. I had to pass the word to Heavy Spy and Tenshi, who also worked closely with her and Steakhouse. I passed word to Chai Ducky, who share that staff bond with me and her. In fact, on our last week on staff together, Chai Ducky, Punk Sister and I went out for tacos for the first time as just friends and not supervisor supervisee. That was my next reaction to the throbbing, remembering the good times.

Like all the staff videos to introduce her to her residents. Like the extra leadership clips Punk Sister worked on over the summer such as RAbot. When I first got to know her on my first day as a supervisor, when she and Naysayer were talking about craziness of Degrassi, which she had been watching all summer long for the slow office assistant days. How she would always be on top of her programs and passives and everything in between, even if she was "slacking". The high expectations she held herself to, and the surprise she felt when she would succeed, whether that was getting an RA job, getting a summer internship or getting into grad school. I think about how Naysayer, Banana Slug and I would always talk so proudly about Punk Sister: Yea she was my PA and probably the best I had. Or yea she's been a great leader and RA. Or yea she's going to go far.

And she did go far. I don't like thinking of her life as cut short because she did live it well. Far is relative. But unfortunately, it's relative to us, and we are still her, watching time press onward away from her.

So for the second time in a year, I mourn the loss of a former PA, a colleague and a friend. I talked about my friend dying a year ago last January. That loss had been coming, and I had just gone to a prayer service about when she passed the next day. This one was a surprise. I had just talked to a professor who knew Punk Sister mutually THIS WEEK. I had been thinking about her, and even though we hadn't talked directly what with the madness of grad school, being several states apart, and her minimal facebook activity, I will always feel a bond with her.

So blogging is one way I mourn, if you knew her and need to talk, vent, or whatever, please feel free to call or chat. Take a chance to appreciate those around, tell them you love them, thank God for life given. I feel no anger or resentment at death, though I know others can and will, so pray for them if you are the praying time, and keep Punk Sister's family in your thoughts. Because as much as I can't help make this blog seem like its all about me and the tragedy of the loss of my friend, it is not about me at all. It is about her family, and those she touched who have lost her spunky, fearless, fun, tell it as it is manner, and are left with great memories and the hope of something better beyond.

Next week, I'll recap the otherwise lovely weekend I had and the wonderful people in my life who made it happen. Thank you for that. You are loved. For now, I'm just going to remain contemplative and prayerful, and try to honor the memory of the life of Punk Sister.

Food for the peoples

As I get back into the swing of blogging, I remember why I chose Sunday as my new post day. Besides being the day where I tend to have the most discrepancy for my time, its generally also the day where I can be a bit more alone with my thoughts, and be more reflective. This is facilitated by my weekly commitment to attend Sunday Mass, which I admittedly have severely failed at this summer. While there are several reasons for this (Ohio doesn't believe in evening Mass in the summer, China, doesn't believe in widespread churches, traveling doesn't believe in being conducive to church attendance, and James doesn't believe in not being too damn lazy sometimes) the important thing is I made it to Mass today. It was really striking and gave me a lot to think about banquets and eating and bringing people together. So yes, if you couldn't tell, there is religious content in this post, but I hope you'll keep reading to hear my thoughts on food and coming together.

The main impetus for this topic was when the priest in Mass today remarked, "I'm Italian, and food is a big deal to me". Though the audience laughed, I reflected about how Italians do very much value the family meal. Dungeon Daddy will be the first to attest that a family feast is one of his favorite things, and it is expected and desired to be a part of any family gathering for this reason. I remember my own meals at one of my best friends' home in elementary school whose parents were Italian. While whenever I visited other friends places it was customary to be an excuse to go out to dinner or order pizza, at this place we had a family dinner of pasta, complete with dinner conversation and semi-proper etiquette. Of course, in my trip to Italy, in particular our pizza wedding rehearsal dinner we all gathered in a wonderful Italian restaurant and truly experienced a less cliched version of "when you're hear you're family" as I was welcomed into a group of people I'd met literally the day before.

This idea of communal meals, great food, and the power that underlies it is not just an Italian thing by any means. In China, the banquets we attended had great significance as a place to recognize people, give them face, sort to speak, and demonstrate hospitality, generosity, and honor. In the Mexican culture, for example when I went to Pandita's graduation last June, I experiences very similar warm acceptance from her huge family, with great food, desserts and drinks. And its not just a cultural generalization. Cardmaster Cider welcomed Powder Climber and I back with a little home cooking and Dandy Woo recent married BTW, says shes excited for her and her hubby to host us (I've already been over like 5 times to visit and helped her make dessert for welcoming Tall Bear and the rest of us back).

So these meals are, in a sense, a chance for love. The deep heartfelt love from a family. The love of food. The love of new faces and old friends. Yes, even the romantic love. I mean classic first date, take the girl to dinner right? There's some rationale to that too. And as the priest went on, I reflected with him on the nourishment physically, emotionally, and spiritually we get from a meal. And as a Catholic, we take that very literally, the Jesus actually is the body and blood present in communion. It's probably the hardest message for an outsider to understand and one of the few truly Catholic doctrines in Christianity. But as a Catholic, as one who believes all I profess to believe, to discuss the depth of the ceremony I celebrate on a weekly basis, the multitude of layers taking place in the Mass, its disheartening that I've missed Mass so much this summer. Because as I was sitting there I felt the rejuvenation of getting reacquainted to the sacrament of Communion, re-capturing that great feeling, much like we have after Thanksgiving or Christmas. That heartfelt satisfaction of being in the right place with the people who love you and welcome you. And I can't imagine being anywhere else.

-JTY

Reading: Finished book three of the Dresden Files, I should probably get the rest.

Listening to: What makes you beautiful- One Direction. This is not by choice. Cali Foodie keeps getting it stuck in my head cuz its her ringtone and she plays it all the time.

Playing: Skyrim at last. Only a year late...

Home

I know some of you have seen the post I put up earlier this week of my China trip. I plan on touching it up and making it more readable, so I have taken it back down. I just needed to get it off my phone because I was afraid to lose the whole thing. So I'll send a message when its updated.

Having spent most of my summer traveling, I've had time to reflect a bit on this concept called home. I spent five weeks in China. That's a long time for a trip, perhaps the longest I may ever take. It was long enough to know that I was going to be in one place for a while, in this case Wuhan University. That means getting settled and saying things like "let's make this place feel more homey". But was the foreign language student dorms at WHU really my home for 5 weeks? I would say no. It was a place I unpacked. It was also a place could retreat to, a place I could sleep in, which in my case definitely means its a place where I felt more comfortable, safer, at ease. But was it much different from staying in a hotel room for a long time? Sure I did laundry but I still kept some clothes in a suitcase. Getting settled isn't or feeling safe isn't enough to be a home.

Naturally, I say I'm going home when I return to my parents house and also when I return to my apartment. I remember my siblings giving me a hard time every once in a while when I was back in California because I was saying I'm heading home when I left the folks place to go back to my apartment and they're like, you are home. I would stop and think, you're right, because I just told my roommates that I was heading home to see my family. OK so I have two homes now? Is that still the case as I live in Columbus now?

The obvious answer is that California is my home. I spent the last two weeks there between China and returning to school.Yet, when I walked into my house, the place my parents have changed every single time I returned (the first time they painted the house and changed the locks... just saying), there was a level of familiarity enmeshed with a sense of newness. However, walking into my room,  I was informed that I was now staying in my sister's old room, the new guest room. This means I have now presided for prolonged periods in all three of the bedrooms in my house. I don't know how many times I found myself wandering into my mom's new office and stopping, wondering where my bed went, before remembering I now stayed next door. Is it home if I get lost in it?

What about Columbus? Within an hour of landing, I was playing games with Powder Climber, Cardmaster Cider, and Hopeful Introspective. By the next day, I was catching up with Cali Foodie over sushi, and saw Dandy Woo and several other cohort members at a birthday party that evening. I was so excited to catch up with these people, just like I'd been seeing all my friends in CA. I mean in two weeks I managed to visit with Mama Goldfish, Kareem, Alejandro, Brock, Clark, Bridges, Nemesis, RC Tequila, Dungeon Daddy, Heavy Spy, Tenshi, Red Button, Pokeboss, Captain Peanut, Naysayer P Squirrel, Banana Slug, VG Anteater, Whedon Watchedit, Chai Ducky, and even Spam Boa! In addition to several family gatherings, hangouts with Cheeky Monkey and Drew Jules York,  maybe home was where the people are.

So what is a home? It's a place of comfort? Yes. A place of familiarity? Yes. A place of people you care about? Yes. A place where you stare at the sunset over the ocean, followed by the moon reflecting off the waves as a bonfire burns behind you, emitting a sense of peace and nostalgic happiness. Yes. Most definitely yes. I think that nostalgia bit is important, at least for now. A true home is where memories are made. Where memories are recalled with fondness. Where new memories are welcome. I think the place that has all of the above is the place that I call home. The overly cliched home is where the heart is, while accurate, is not descriptive enough. Home is where I have been so blessed. China had memories and comfort and even people, but it wasn't a home yet. Columbus has people and I'm making memories, but the nostalgia hasn't started yet. Only California has that. Someday, I may look back on Ohio and say it was my home for a while, but its not at the point yet where it feels like home.

That's why when I visit all those people back there I'm excited, because they are helping me make this place a home. Naysayer P Squirrel said to completely immerse myself here or I would be unhappy. I'd call that good advice. But for now, home is still in California, still the place I'm heading back to someday, hopefully sooner than later. Still the place Cali Foodie and I talk about fondly, the place I can't help but mention in passing conversation, still a part of my identity here in Ohio. I have many homes in the making, but for now, its a big one, Southern California, where my parents live, my friends reside, the University, the beach, the sun, the smell of salt on the breeze as it blows the smog over the traffic, the place where I know people at church. I'm blessed to have a home. I'm glad for more.

Updates on China very soon! Enjoy the return of the blog!

-JTY

Listening to- Soul to Squeeze, Red Hot Chili Peppers, who also remind me of home and are kinda my anthem these days. Apparently Drew Jules York agrees.

Reading: Dresden Files- a film noir crime book staring a wizard. what can't be good about that

Playing: League of Legends, time to get back into gaming

Facebook? Where we're going we don't NEED Facebook...

I leave for China tomorrow. I really hope to keep updating on this while there, but blogger is not necessarily reliable. I may turn to Spam to upload my posts for me. I will probably also have a more public blog than this one, one that I will share with my fellow journeymen and women. I will be unable to access Facebook, because in the Future they don't have facebook. I will actually be 12 hrs ahead of Columbus and 15 from California, so I really will be in the future. I'll let you know if anything is happening you should be aware of.

Wish me the best on my travels. I will prayer for all of you. Keep an eye on home for me, and much love to each and every one of you.

Twas the night before China
And all through my home
I kept stirring and worrying
About  bringing a comb.
The suitcase was packed
by the front door with care
in hopes that it weighed less
than the 50 they let in the air.
When out of my I chair
I arose with a spatter
"I forgot to do BLANK
Am I mad as the hatter?"
Again and again
I grabbed something new
And toss it inside
My bag of true blue
The fireflies twinkled
Or was that just dawn
Oh man I must sleep
Where has the night gone?
I sprang to my bed
In hopes that alls well
And said a quick prayer
To my sweet guardian angel
"Bless all my loved ones
who I leave behind
And keep me safe on my travels
and adventures of every kind!"

Amen and adieu!

-JTY

Cutting down on the postings

Sorry to say, but I think I'm going to shift to every other week posts. This comes at the resignation that I do not post every week, nor necessarily have to motivation to do so. Maybe it's because I have so many papers. Maybe it's because in two weeks I leave for China, where I will be keep near-daily posts for my every popular, never really read super long travel posts (as well as probably other blogs for class too). Maybe it's because there aren't as many story-worthy quirkies in my life. The point is, Ima switch to a biweekly posting for the time being.

Before I get into my main musing, I just want to say a few things:

• Of the Flu, Typhoid, and Hep A shots I received, the Typhoid hurt the most and left me bruised
• Ohio Parking Enforcement is stupid (who needs a front license plate??)
• I don't know how I managed to hit some of those pool shots...
• I can't write papers early. for. my. life. 
• Shout out to our soldiers and those who gave their lives for our country (Memorial Day)
• A common lament of a higher ed student is the difficulty of telling who the undergrads are
• I wish people in Ohio knew how to drive (35 in a 45 really??)
• Libraries shouldn't be so empty on a Thursday night during Finals Week
• Sonic Drive Thru shouldn't take longer than the Drive-In
• Civ 4 broke my already broken sleep schedule (thanks Thoughtful Introspective!)
• ACPA Multiracial Network Historian? Yes Please. 
• Only baseball can be so riveting even when watching it stream- Go Angels!!
• Can I graduate yet? I don't know if I can handle another year of paper writing...

OK enough of that onward!

The topic for this week, however, is friendship. This triggered when one of my students in my service learning class talked about the kids she tutored. She was showing us pictures and saying this is my friend Kyle. He was a lot of fun to play with. And this is my friend Sarah. She was so cute. And this is my friend. I don't remember his name but I loved playing with him too. The rest of the class kinda chuckled and some smart alec instructor (me) whispered  "Friendship means not having to know their name" to a few more laughs.

Does friendship mean not having to know someone's name? I'm in paper writing mode so let's analyze what friendship is. A quick google search defines a friend as "A person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or family relations." It should also be noted that "friend" is a verb meaning to add someone on facebook (sigh). So by that, I think a lot of people I can have mutual affection for. I have mutual affection for the guy who knows me by sight at Subway cuz I eat there weekly. We don't know each others names, but I guess we are friends, by that definition anyway. I'd probably call him an acquaintance. Of course, the definition of "acquaintance" is "one's slight knowledge or friendship with someone". Now does 'slight' apply to 'knowledge' and 'friendship' or just 'knowledge'? Let's assume both. So that means there are degrees of friendship. Of course, there are best friends, good friends, friends, acquaintances, and strangers. So the definitions align with our experiences, though we all apply these terms differently.

I was chatting with Spotty Sister online the other day and we were talking about her roommate and how she fit Spotty Sister's build for a good friend. We didn't really talk about what that was, but I realized that most of my guy friends fit a similar build. The things we connect on are usually video games, school topics (often English), and other recreation activities like playing sports outside. I don't think its a coincidence that my best friend, Sir Spam, and my brother are very similar on a lot of levels. But people like Dungeon Daddy, Powder Climber, and Heavy Spy aren't super different from each other either, and those are some of my closest guy friends, who I actively speak to about a lot a various topics regularly. That's an important note because guys don't necessarily talk about stuff too much, but I think for my best guy friends, the ability to do that is crucial. Ironically, Spam and I would often go for weeks not talking about anything particularly personal or deep. Yet, we always could. Clark and Brock are slightly more varied in personality (from each other and me) but we still have a lot of key similarities too.

Overall, though, I don't have as many close guy friends as girl friends. But these females are super varied in personality. I've always seemed to have one very close girl friend playing a prominent role in my life at the moment. In elementary school, that was my dear friend President Chica-rones. I still peak in with her every once in a while to catch up. In high school, there was my now ex girlfriend, who I've seen once or twice since college graduation and is doing well. In college, it was Qua Yams, P-Diddy, and Tenshi. Generally speaking in that order and independently of each other. Mama Goldfish has been consistently one of my best girl friends since high school, so she bucks the trend. I of course also have a variety of other good female friends, but they are all so different. Cardmaster Cider, Dandy Woo, and Cali Foodie here in Ohio, Pokeboss and Red Button back at University from my supervisor days, Spotty Sister, Mother Mapster and Micki Granger, Yellow Hippo, Chai Ducky, Steakhouse all quite different. Most of them would probably get along with others but some are sporty, some are food hipsters, some I have deep intellectual convos, some we connect on a religious level, some from close proximity, some from being so different from each other, some because I am an older brother to them.

Obviously, I am not listing everybody here. I consider Naysayer P Squirrel a good friend too, as well as my Tall Bear and everyone else on the list in the cast of characters. My point is, that I have a lot of friends, other people have a few very close ones. There are rules to becoming ones friends and there are degrees which people reach closer to you. These rules are instinctive and even as I have tried to unearth them, I could not tell you what they are. I do know that the consistent message is the type of conversation I have with you. I know often if someone opens up to me, I feel safe enough to open back up to you. Maybe I feel I owe you as thanks for sharing. That's the easiest way to move into a friendship with me. Easiest way to build trust. Ahh relationship builders.

Even though I said this would be every other week, I'll try to post next week. I leave for China on June 11!!

-JTY

Listening to: Foreplay/Longtime by Boston. Like one of my fav songs ever and getting me pumped for China.

Reading: Nothing worth writing home about. Should I get a kindle for the plane? I love books though...

Playing: League cuz I'm stupid and don't want to write.

Tacos Tacos Tacos

It was a busy past two weekends. I've been trying to explore Columbus a bit more and also continue building relationships within my cohort. To this end I managed to find a taco truck tour, go outlet shopping, attend our cohort formal, and play a ton of games, and even do a bar hop. Needless to say, I have done very little WORK on the weekends.

Let's talk about the games first. Powder Climber, Cardmaster Cider, Tall Bear and intermittently Hopeful Introspective have played a variety of board games with me. As I've mentioned many times before, we are the "nerds" who enjoy the more elaborate board games, not just Monopoly and whatnot. In the past few weeks we've played Forbidden Island, Small World, Fluxx, Civilization, Settlers of Catan, Blockus, and Citadel, among others. So if you are looking for new games, these are some good choices to consider. It's been fascinating watching how we play various games, and seeing where our talents come out. I, for example, do very well in games that are reactive. I'm very good at countering moves, but not terribly skilled at planning ahead or coming up with a strategy per say. Now some people may disagree with this assessment, but this is also the level of competition that I'm playing against (I also employ psychological warfare...or do I?) Tall Bear, very analytical and strategic in his approaches, has a highly guarded and fleshed out plan that he tweaks as he goes, usually centered around maximizing the best possible outcomes. He calculates what is most likely going to be beneficial and strategizes toward that. CC is really adept at keeping track of whats going on everyones cards and who has done what in various moves. She identifies the threat then does her best to beat them to the punch. Powder Climber picks a strategy and sticks with it rain or shine. Sometimes he finds that it wasn't the best, but he perseveres and adjusts slightly. Often this results in him scoring a lot of points for a streak of time and then earning nothing, but he has already such a lead that we have trouble catching him. Hopeful Introspective does his own thing, almost disappearing from the game, ruffling noones feathers and suddenly winning because we have spent so much energy destroying each other. You can gauge how many games we play if I can identify consistent play styles at this point. I could go on, but then people might suspect I'm studying them for weaknesses... unless I am...

Taco trucking involved again CC, Powder Climber, Tall Bear, Dandy Woo and her fiance. I was glad to get a chance for good Mexican food. Chorizo tacos, horchata, gorditas, tlayudas (from Oaxaca, Mexico), and several other wonderful treats made it a great trip. CC found us a deal and coordinated the booking and it was totally worth it. At one place, we found some salsa that was really just onions soaked in habernero juice. So good. So hot. I was in my happy place. The trip ended at a Mercado, so naturally I bought fresh tortillas, avocados, cilantro, onions and Mexican candies and I hosted a fresh guac and chorizo taco party again a few days later. The happy place continued :)

We also had our cohort formal, which was a lot of fun drinking, dancing, shooting pool, and just taking pictures. The usual crew was present as well a Frenchie's Choice and La Femme Critique alongside many others. Funniest part was watching La Femme Critique keep changing the music to songs noone knew, continually proving herself a hipster, magically winning pool not once but twice, and just spending time with people I don't always hang out with too.

Before the party I had spent the day at the Outlet Mall about 45 minutes away alongside Powder Climber and two other cohort members I'd be attending China with: Mr. Bigpants and Brazen Talker. The four of us were on a mission for clothes for China, which will be very hot. $300 painful dollars later I had a few new pairs of pants, some nice and casual shirts, and even new board shorts, all DryFit type of materials so if I washed them, they would air dry quickly and feel nice and cool in the hot air. It hurt my wallet but I remembered that I NEVER shop, so these are good investments.

Next blog post (sometime early this week) will let me discuss non-cohort matters, like Red Button and her exciting news and how Spam Boa and I are incrementally changing the word through G-Chatting. Also, I may feel up to talking about my very... interesting... bar hop with TS Eloquent, my University friend who lives out here and often shows me around Columbus, but apparently only knows gay bars... Yes we'll see how much I want to commit of that to writing. It makes for a better story told aloud...

And with those teasers, happy solar eclipse view day West Coast! Special shoutout to my bro, Drew Jules York, for his birthday this past week and Happy belated Mothers Day!

-JTY

Listening to: Silversun Pickups. I have a playlist with all three of their albums but Royal We is my favorite I think.

Reading: Youth in Revolt- my Histories class book on student riots in the very early 1800s. Students haven't changed much FYI.

Playing: League of Legends and Brain Age in my free time, or lack thereof.