Veepstakes

To kick off the profiles of friends, I will discuss some of my close friends (the risk crew) and their relative pros and cons as a potential running mate for my foray into the 2008 presidential election.

Matt G.:

Matt is a 20 year old San Jose native. He lives with his nice, staunchly liberal parents and works at a movie theater. Matt and I have known each other for about 14 years now. Matt has a big heart. He is the kind of guy who would lay down and die for you, if he loved you. He prefers brunettes to blondes.

Pros:

• Would fiercely rebut critics
• Can be physically imposing
• Owns a Xbox 360
• Has a car
• Solid character guy--we go way back
• Eagle Scout

Cons:

• Often sports a neckbeard
• Criminal History: he was grounded 90% of the time from 2003-2005
• Has a piece of shit car
• Eagle Scout

Edward L.:

Edward is the son of "Taiwanese" immigrants. He currently attends Stanford University where he is double-majoring in things that have something to do with some combination of math, science, computers, and perhaps engineering. Edward, or Eddy, has been dating this girl for a century or so.

Pros:

• Super Genius
• Tremendous work ethic
• Brings Asian demographic vote
• May or may not have six-pack abs
• May or may not be a robot
  

Cons:

• Flakey friend
• Some people spell his name "Eddie" and some spell it "Eddy"
• Has an older brother named Edison (potential confusion)
• Has been known to put work/computer programming/playing piano in front of other priorities
• May or may not be a robot
  

Alex G.:

Alex is a really sweet guy who currently attends UCSD. Alex has a really great family, filled with fun interesting people. He lives a rock and roll lifestyle full of hedonism. He enjoys simple pleasures like indulgences of the flesh, substance intake, Tetris, and Angband.

Pros:

• Charming fellow
• Brings in the homosexual, tween, and deadbeat vote
• Great cook
• Very good Tetris player

Cons:

• Long hair
• Gets really whiny and stops functioning after midnight
• Rock and roll lifestyle a potential campaign liability
• Knits

Dan V.:

Dan is a blonde, half-Jew from the South Bay. He currently attends UC Berkeley where he studies chemistry for a variety of unknown reasons. Dan is a loyal friend--the kind that would send Christmas cards when we all grow up, except the fact that he may or may not be Jewish/Agnostic/Pagan. He is currently a member of some terrible fraternity in Berkeley that is probably ruining his life.

Pros:

• Probably the wealthiest of my friends
• Has a neat hybrid car
• Incredibly smart and insightful at times
• Willing to compromise to be a runner up

Cons:

• Frat baggage
• Rock and roll lifestyle: Xtreme version
• Incredibly dumb and shortsighted at times
• Real name is Dana

Will D.:

Will is a tremendously kind and intelligent person. He is currently studying philosophy at UC Berkeley. Will likes to make lists and loves to cross things off said lists. He has a super human drive to systematically better himself (often in bizarre ways... sunbathing?). Will is a true diamond in the rough; his value increases the more you see of him.

Pros:

• Solid character guy
• Very smart
• Brings an interesting and philosophical perspective to conflicts
• Reliable, methodical, and hard-working

Cons:

• Kind-of neurotic
• Women issues
• Has a monster/alien/devil-thing for a dog
  

I wonder who I should pick? You'll find out at convention!

Finland's Chief Export

When you punish a person for dreaming his dream, don't expect him to thank or forgive you.

It's kind of odd how things turn out. I may not have been "Jeff" or "Cyrus", but I was certainly in a band with at least one of them.

Blog Series

I am going to try and do a series of profiles on people who have been important in my life. I think I may try and tie it all in by comparing each person with a song--perhaps a Beatles song.

We'll see how this goes.

Midshifts

I have started working as a Desk Assistant at the Sproul Front Desk in the dorms. It is a really laid-back job, and for the most part enjoyable.

The desk is a 24 hour desk, so I end up clocking some pretty wacky hours. The shift between midnight and 6:00am is called the midshift. Midshifts are nice because they pay more and you get to sit down (and there are less things to deal with). Midshifts can also be tough.

The hardest part of midshifts happen around 3:30am every morning (night?). This guy from a bakery comes in and he drops off a ton of fresh bagels. These bagels sit right on top of the desk counter, often right in front of a hungry desker, and that hungry desker is often none other than yours truly.

The fresh bagel scent wafts through the air, tempting me to yoink one constantly. Never in my life have I experienced temptation of this magnitude. Never in my life has my willpower been challenged to such an extent.

Oh bagels. How I wish to eat thee.

On blogging

I often fall into the trap of joining the mass of anti-bloggers dismissing blogs as vapid self-glorification that requires a tremendous amount of narcissism, fueled by a perverse desire to exhibit oneself to anonymous internet voyeurs. I suppose there is a tremendous amount of truth in that statement.

But despite the voyeurism and arrogance involved, I really think that blogging is fun. I mean, what isn't enjoyable about glimpsing into other peoples lives?

The process of creating the material for viewing is also a therapeutic process. Additionally, it serves as an interesting means of keeping personal records. The erratic posts over the past few years provide a bizarre history of miniscule moments, thoughts, and events that otherwise would have faded from memory.

My rekindled interest in blogging has largely been stoked by my own voyeurism into the lives (but really blogs) of two friends I haven't seen in a combined half-decade. It has also been driven in large part by my inescapable passion for others to be interested in me. But I guess that is what life is all about.

Election '08

As a political news junkie, I've recently been mulling over the national poll numbers. As expected, Obama received a bump in his numbers as he clinched the nomination and Hillary endorsed him. The recent number put him around 6% ahead of John McCain with the vast majority of voters wishing a Democrat to take the White House in November.

I think Obama has a great chance of winning. But nightmare scenarios are beginning to haunt me at night. Briefly skimming over state polls and electoral maps, it seems like Obama could trounce McCain in the national vote while still losing by a slim margin in the electoral college.

I hope that this isn't true. A part of me deeply believes that a John McCain presidency will spell the end of American greatness and quite possibly the end of the world. I don't even dislike John McCain that much (for being an egomaniac who I completely disagree with on a ton of issues outside the realm of campaign finance reform). I just have this feeling that unless the U.S. experiences a significant change in domestic and foreign policy, America will hasten into decline.

Please America, don't let a few states hijack the election (gosh, I sound like a Hillary surrogate). America needs Obama more than we know.