It has been a while
So, I know that everyone is wondering why I haven't written anything lately. Actually, I am sure that no one cares, but I will write anyway. The end of the semester was crazy with my thesis and all, but its over with for now. My thesis advisor assured me that I stand a good chance of getting it published if we can edit it for a journal (read as reducing my 70-page thesis by 30 pages or so). That should be fun and I want to get on it ASAP, but I need a mental break from the AMU for a while.
Oh, I probably should have mentioned this before, and who knows, maybe I did, but I was accepted to The American University in Washington, DC for graduate school. I am stoked. My program is an MA in International Affairs with my program being Comparative and Regional Stduies and my regional focus as the Middle East. It should be fun but I know its going to be hard, especially since it is very theoretical, something I am not looking forward to. I say this because I find IR theory about as exciting as watching grass grow. Anyways, so I have that to look forward to. This means that I am now looking for a place to live and work in DC which has added to the already stressful life that I live. If you know of anyone giving away refrigerator boxes, please let me know as I think that I can build a killer studio out of them on the national mall. It will be great, except in the rain and snow, but thats what tarps are for. In the meantime it looks like I will be in Cary this summer doing who knows what because no one in DC wants to hire a college grad fluent in French with a specialty in Middle Eastern affairs. And people wonder why our foreign policy towards the region sucks. ATTN: If you work for the federal government and are reading this, HIRE ME!
So, until I find/force myself to get a job I am going to ride my bike alot since that took a backseat this past semester, and do alot of reading. So that everyone can be envious of me, I will provide you with my elementary school-esque summer reading list.
On Second Base with a ground-rule double:
The Promise by Chaim Potok
In the Batter's Box:
The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: The Truth About Corporate Cons, Globalization, and High-Finance Fraudsters by Greg Palas
On Deck:
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
In the dugout (in no particular order):
Eiger Dreams: Ventures Among Men and Mountains by Jon Krakauer
Kosovo: War and Revenge by Tim Judah
Le Rouge et le Noir by Stendhal
Taliban by Ahmed Rashid
A Middle East Mosaic: Fragments of Life, Letters, and History by Bernard Lewis
Water Wars: Privatization, Pollution, and Profit by Vandana Shiva
Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land by David Shipler
Special Providence: American Foreign Policy and How it Changed the World by Waler Russell Mead
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins
An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore
House of Bush, House of Saud: The Secret Relationship Between the World's Two Most Powerful Dynasties by Craig Unger
Round Ireland With a Fridge by Tony Hawks
Playing the Moldovans at Tennis by Tony Hawks
And of course if I run accross anything else interesting, I will have no choice but to add it.
So, now I will attempt to go work on my car. This promises to be interesting because although all I am doing is replacing one of the headligh bulbs it involves removing part of the air intake for the supercharger. I just hope that I don't fuck up and have to pay some Audi repair shop an innordinate amount of money because I am mechanically challenged. Maybe I should just buy one of these instead:
I say this because if I could afford one of these I would never have to worry about working on it myself because I would have the cash to have someone do the repair for me. At least I can dream, right? However, if I could drive any Audi, it would have to be the 1999 S8.
I absolutely love this car. Maybe its the aluminum space frame, or maybe the thought that a 4-door sedan can rip the doors off of some shitty Porsche Boxster.
Alright, enough rambling for now. I will report back on the repair
Oh, I probably should have mentioned this before, and who knows, maybe I did, but I was accepted to The American University in Washington, DC for graduate school. I am stoked. My program is an MA in International Affairs with my program being Comparative and Regional Stduies and my regional focus as the Middle East. It should be fun but I know its going to be hard, especially since it is very theoretical, something I am not looking forward to. I say this because I find IR theory about as exciting as watching grass grow. Anyways, so I have that to look forward to. This means that I am now looking for a place to live and work in DC which has added to the already stressful life that I live. If you know of anyone giving away refrigerator boxes, please let me know as I think that I can build a killer studio out of them on the national mall. It will be great, except in the rain and snow, but thats what tarps are for. In the meantime it looks like I will be in Cary this summer doing who knows what because no one in DC wants to hire a college grad fluent in French with a specialty in Middle Eastern affairs. And people wonder why our foreign policy towards the region sucks. ATTN: If you work for the federal government and are reading this, HIRE ME!
So, until I find/force myself to get a job I am going to ride my bike alot since that took a backseat this past semester, and do alot of reading. So that everyone can be envious of me, I will provide you with my elementary school-esque summer reading list.
On Second Base with a ground-rule double:
The Promise by Chaim Potok
In the Batter's Box:
The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: The Truth About Corporate Cons, Globalization, and High-Finance Fraudsters by Greg Palas
On Deck:
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
In the dugout (in no particular order):
Eiger Dreams: Ventures Among Men and Mountains by Jon Krakauer
Kosovo: War and Revenge by Tim Judah
Le Rouge et le Noir by Stendhal
Taliban by Ahmed Rashid
A Middle East Mosaic: Fragments of Life, Letters, and History by Bernard Lewis
Water Wars: Privatization, Pollution, and Profit by Vandana Shiva
Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land by David Shipler
Special Providence: American Foreign Policy and How it Changed the World by Waler Russell Mead
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins
An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore
House of Bush, House of Saud: The Secret Relationship Between the World's Two Most Powerful Dynasties by Craig Unger
Round Ireland With a Fridge by Tony Hawks
Playing the Moldovans at Tennis by Tony Hawks
And of course if I run accross anything else interesting, I will have no choice but to add it.
So, now I will attempt to go work on my car. This promises to be interesting because although all I am doing is replacing one of the headligh bulbs it involves removing part of the air intake for the supercharger. I just hope that I don't fuck up and have to pay some Audi repair shop an innordinate amount of money because I am mechanically challenged. Maybe I should just buy one of these instead:
I say this because if I could afford one of these I would never have to worry about working on it myself because I would have the cash to have someone do the repair for me. At least I can dream, right? However, if I could drive any Audi, it would have to be the 1999 S8.
I absolutely love this car. Maybe its the aluminum space frame, or maybe the thought that a 4-door sedan can rip the doors off of some shitty Porsche Boxster.
Alright, enough rambling for now. I will report back on the repair