Author: Isaac

    I got a free iPod mini! It’s from offercentric, you
can look them up on google… It really didn’t cost me anything, I
tried out three different services and cancelled them. It did take them
about 5 months to send it to me, but i can’t really compain… I have
other free things going on, a full sized ipod, a computer, and a flat
screen monitor but I need help with those, check out my website for
those! I promise that that was the only time I will mention those
things to you, but give it a try!
    Anyway, I gotta figure out what to do with this
mini. I’ve always wanted an iPod, but 5 gigs isn’t going to cut it for
me. I could sell this one and use the money toward a larger ipod. Would
I keep it or send it to my cousin (who had her’s stolen)? What I should
do is sell it and use the money to help pay for my Ithaca trip coming
up, that would be the smart thing… But I also want a mac mini, even
moreso than an iPod..Anyone looking for a blue iPod mini? It’s never
been opened, I’ll send it to you for $200 shipped! If I don’t hear
anything in a week, I’ll put it up on ebay I suppose, but then I’ll
still agonize over what to do with the money…

Isaac

    Looks like I’ll be down at dad’s place on the 13th
and drive back up to NOVA on the 14th. I’m hoping to avoid the typical
pathetic Isaac birthday this year, but we’ll see. My cousin Beth
informs me that it is vagina week at Cornell. There are T-shirts,
candies, etc celebrating the occaision. I wonder why VA doesn’t have
vagina week?:-)

Isaac

    I’d like to have Doug E. Fresh and K.R.S. One put on
a concert right here on the block… OK that’s a bit unreasonable I
suppose:-) It’s always a little weird to be asked want I want for my
birthday. I guess it’s nice that people care, but it kind of puts me on
the spot. Oh well, I guess there’s worse things to have to deal with:-)

Isaac

    I miss ice hockey.

    I guess I haven’t said this out loud, but I have
always hoped to live as an expat for a while. No, it’s not because I
think this place is so terrible. People that tell me that they want to
move because they’re either ashamed of this country, afraid for it’s
future, or just think W is an idiot need to get some perspective. I
can’t help but think that life under Reagan was much worse, we were
actually afraid of nuclear war for God’s sake! Anyway, it seems as
though there is always some group that proclaims that whatever
president is currently in office is either a reflection of how far
we’ve sunk or will cause the nation to reach the nadir of its history.
They’re always wrong and life goes on…
    And to continue my little political centerist rant,
can anyone really think of a better place to live than here? We have
one of the highest standards of living in the world, where else are you
guaranteed freedom of speech and of the press? England? Nope. Canada?
Nope. Australia? Nope. Where else is there such a level playing
field(as far as jobs go) when it comes to minorities and women? Where
else can you have these things and get a decent job? That’s really the
catch isn’t it? Places like France and the various former British
colonies are nice in many ways but suffer from double digit
unemployment figures and rampant, repugnant government inefficiency.
    No, I am (as unpopular and as unhip as it may be) a
big fan of this country. It isn’t perfect of course, but I can’t think
of any other place I’d want to live long term. So why do you want to
live somewhere else Isaac? Well, I’m really curious, that’s all… I
was thinking of going to Egypt and I realized that if I asked a man on
the street, there would be a good chance that he wouldn’t know anything
about Romeo and Juliet, the Beatles, the French revolution, or Jingle
Bells. Not only that, he probably has a whole list of things of equal
importance that he can’t believe that I’ve never heard of. It’s like a
parallel universe, and it’s right on the same planet, how cool is that?
I can’t help but think a lot of the current trouble between the two
cultures is caused by these gaps in each other’s understanding of the
other. I’d expect the same kind of trouble with Martians and
Americans…
    I don’t like playing tourist that much. My plan for
several months in South America will whet my appetite. The three years
I could conceivably stay in Egypt is a much better arrangement. If I do
go for the full three years I can tell you one thing, I’ll sure be glad
to come back here!:-)

Isaac

    I was at the grocery store supposedly picking up
necessary food stuffs. In actuality I was hit with an incredible
craving for chocolate covered peanuts. This wasn’t “Hmmm, that sure
would be good,” it was “Where are those things, I want them NOW!” It
was undeniable… Anyway, since I was there I decided that I’d get some
actual food. They were playing “Don’t you Want Me Baby” by the Human
League. I of course started singing along (big fan of that song… I
have that album, 45, and the 12″ dance remix), and I kept singing even
when I was out of reach of the speakers. Well, I went through another
verse and halfway through the chorus before I got within earshot of
speakers again. I hadn’t missed a beat, I was right freaking there on
the down beat. I scare myself sometimes…

Isaac

    I’m still lookng at schools and trying to figure out
what and where I want to do this. My latest option is a little
different that the last one… I’m looking at doing an Arabic immersion
program at the American University of Cairo. It’s a year long
program… From there I might go ahead and enroll in their master’s
program in Arabic/Islamic studies. I like this for several reasons.
First of all I’m facinated in Islam and its history, it would be an
incredible experience, and Arabic is much more likely to land me a
decent job than Tibeten will…
    Yeah I know, it’s a long way away, and isn’t it
dangerous for an American named Isaac to live in Egypt right now? I’ve
been looking into the safety thing, and there doesn’t seem to be any
significant violence towards Americans over there right now. The state
department says that crime is very low in Egypt (no doubt due to some
rather draconian punisments) and they don’t have any warning for
Americans on their site. Maybe I’ll assume a not so Jewish name when I
go, any suggestions? I’m kinda partial to “Tito”, but I’m listening to
other ideas…
    When I thought of the idea of doing an Arabic
immersion program, I immediately thought of safety. I’ll skip the
programs on the Saudi peninsula, Syria (yikes!), Israel, and a handful
of language only schools. I was looking at some immersion programs in
tunisia, morocco, and Turkey and as beautiful (and cheap) as those
places looked I think I’d rather go to a place with an actual
university and graduate programs…
    Just on a whim, I looked on Monster to see what
kinds of jobs were being offered for Arabic speakers. A couple jumped
right out at me. There are multiple listings for interrogators(!), not
from the government, but government contractors… The army reserves
ads cracked me up. They will pay a bonus of up to $7000 if you enlist
and you have to enlist for an 8 year tour of duty… They say you “may”
be called up to active duty (yeah right) and the duties may include
doing reports on media coverage, translating documents to be given to
local governments, general clerical duties, and oh yeah, you MAY be
required to man checkpoints in Bahgdad. I kid you not, that was the
gist of the ad… As dreamy as that job sounds, I don’t think I’d
consider that in my future… no wonder the Army’s having trouble
attracting people.
    Anyway, there seems to be lots of potential in a skill like that, so I’m thinking about it…

Isaac

    I got my W-2 from Penn about a week ago. A couple of
days after that I sat down and did my taxes (via Turbo tax), got
everything set, and efiled my results. The federal one was accepted the
next day! A decent return (1800 bucks) that will go right to paying
down my student loan. So today I get my W-2 from George Mason. DOH! I
completely forgot that I worked for them earlier in the year. I had to
refigure my taxes and now I will have to file an amended return via
snail mail. I think everything’s going to be OK, but I’m a little
paranoid about it. I mean they have the other W-2 on file, what’s to
prevent them from accusing me of evading taxes? This’ll go out first
thing tomorrow!

Isaac

    I was watching a car auction on the speed network
while I was baking some CC cookies (mmmmm). Wow, I didn’t see a car go
for less than a 100 grand. Remind me not to go to any car auctions,
that place was jumping. The auctioneers earn their keep there, they
extract every penny out of those bidders. If you get a chance, check
out the auction on speed network sometime, there are some truly amazing
cars on there. There are times that I’m glad I don’t have a lot of
money, I shudder at the thought of the kind of stupid shit I’d waste it
on…

Isaac

    I went to Outback today to use up some gift cards I
received for Christmas (thanks Rick!). They were playing the usual 80’s
and 90’s music that always seems to get played in places like that.
Suddenly a song came on that I don’t think I’ve ever heard in a
commercial place. “My House” by the Mary Jane Girls was the song.
Remember them? Probably not, they were the backup, er, girls to Rick
James. I only ever really remember them shaking their things into the
camera, but Rick eventually threw them a bone. I don’t know if they
ever made an entire album, but I own their single (a 45 thank you very
much) with a picture sleeve that would make the both the 80’s hardcore
fan and any fashion maven faint (for different reasons of course).
    I learned something today about a children’s story.
Have you ever wondered where Peter Pan came from? It’s actually pretty
sad, it was written to boy to explain the absence of his older brother
(who had died when he was young). According to the story, all children
are birds before they become babies. Well, Peter escaped through a
window before the mother could catch him and he stayed out in the
parks, playing with the fairies and whatnot. He went back to the island
where all the birds/babies come from and was told by the head crow(!)
that he was no longer a bird, but a baby and so he could not stay on
the island. Peter had been thinking about going back to his mother, he
had seen her several times crying, but apearently was always drawn back
to the freedom of the air. Anyway, he decides to go back only to find
that not only are there now bars on the window, but there is another
boy in his mother’s arms! He can’t get his mother’s attention through
the shuttered and barred window and so he turns away in a combination
of anger and remorse and goes back to the island to live as an
outlaw…
    A couple of things strike me about this. First of
all, what a terrible thing to tell a kid! Can you imagine feeling
responsible for sending your older brother away, never to be seen
again! The other thing that this does to me is give a little more depth
to the charecter of Peter Pan, he never really struck me as a memorable
charecter before. The story we are used to was thought up later on and
made into a play. It dealt with Peter some time later on the island.
The original Peter was actually just a small part in a larger work
entitled “The Little Whie Bird”. If you’re interested in reading about
the Peter Pan you never knew, you can read it here:

http://www.jmbarrie.co.uk/pp_index.html

Click on “Peter Pan in kensington Gardens” and see what happened before the story we all know.

Isaac