I feel like I'm watching a car crash...
High Noon
That's right, here I am, another day, another more-than-a-dollar.
I got 8 hours of sleep but it didn't make up for all that I missed (and it was a lot) the day before, but I wasn't tired post-Lost (the plan was to sleep, and you know what they say about the best laid plans) ...
Anyway, so I came in, and I was regailed with the tail of yet another late-fee barter (this time a student who had not paid their fees because he thought they were covered under their scholarship, when they aren't... I'm pretty sure they are told that in their letters, but hey) ... basically, the whole debate hinged on $1.75 in late fees.
Scholarship: $8000
Grants: $2000
Arguing for an Hour Over $1.75: Priceless.
Joy :)
(I could see it being "the principle of the thing" if the charges were illegitemate, but... they weren't... so, yeah...)
Anyway! I feel iffy, the fault of exhaustion, like a zombie!
Speaking of which, yesterday my friend Doug asked something or other about zombies or something else... and so I said Zombies!!! (because that's the name of the supersweet zombie board game) ... anyway, he replied "Zombies or Postmodern Historians?" ... and here was my reply...
You see, my cries of "BRAINS" really reflect the organic construction of meaning by society and my rending of your flesh with my supernatural strength reflects the lack of any consistent basis that, therefore, we can construct any meaning outside of any given societies, and the devouring of your now-dead tissue reflects that I was just kidding and am actually a zombie.
I giggled at my own joke, as I am prone to doing and all, so I decided to share...
Anyway, I have for really-real work to do, and so, it's high time to get rolling!
===
1:55pm
Wow. So, I ran and got lunch shortly after getting here and all, but I'm amazed at how fast the day is flying by. Having work to do is pretty epic.
Oh, fast days of furious busyness, how I have missed you! It'll be all over all too soon, sadly, as it was only enough for a day, but there is a bunch of little work to be done tomorrow and Friday, so it'll at least break up my day.
Academically, life continues! I gave a presentation on Empires in Collision (a book on Anglo-Burmese relations in the 19th century) and it went pretty well (barring a typo on the 1st couple of slides, curses!) ... and the evening flew by in part to my zombified state...
I'm super-psyched about seeing Laura on Sunday, I'm trying to concoct a plan (which I won't give away here) ... muhahah! ... but still, I've missed her this week as she has been visiting Michigan State to get the lay of the land / decide if it's the place for her... so to have a date to look forward to on top of coming back to communicado is nice :)
Anyway, going to finish up the last of these lil' journals, I'll probably be thumb-twidling in an hour and a half, but that's only half an hour before I go!
===
2:05pm
Ugh. Trying to sneak in health care reform under a budget reconciliation vote makes me profoundly annoyed.
Depending on the times of the polls, 55-60% of the country does not want this.
Frankly, it's a band-aid on a broken system that merely promotes the continued commercialization of human life (and without being realistic about costs, it is going to be a hobbled system from the start)...
If you're going to do something no one wants, at least do it *well*... the bill has snowballed from an almost illegible 1100 page document to a 2700 page document. The 1100 page version (the one I had a chance to go through a fair portion of)... was replete with references on almost every page to other bills.
It is suspiciously obfuscated and a doubling-and-a-half of the size only stands to make it even more inaccessible... and it is *STILL* being pushed through.
Red flags were raised early on with me because of the unrealistic handling and proposals and how fast it was being pushed through...
... and now, major legislation is being pushed through using a mechanism that was never, ever designed to push through major legislation. This is a TRILLION DOLLAR deal, people... not to mention the machines of government it puts in place...
*sigh*
Illinois politics being brought to the national level.
Disgusting. Deplorable.
(bear in mind, I stand to benefit from this bill, many speaking out against it do, many of the 55-60% stand to benefit... but the COST of that benefit in future dollars and to those who will be made to suffer from it... and not to mention the impending quality of service drop... it's realism and politics both that make me oppose this bill... )
(of course, if they figured out a way to balance those declines in quality and the tax fines for uninsured or voluntary non-participants out, I wouldn't know, the new bill is 2700 pages, and if it is every bit as intentionally misleading and complex as the 1100 page version... well, yeah... )
Witness well the tyranny of the minority... when the nation is clearly over half against this... and its representatives force it through anyway... (because it is "for their own good")...
Not only is it the tyranny of the minority, it is also a Father Knows Best, (and especially considering the resigning of wiretapping clauses in the Patriot act by Obama) ... a Big Brother state...
"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
-- Benjamin Franklin
===
3:00pm
Dear World,
I <3 Photoshop and my Wacom tablet. Most. Fun. Ever.
Sincerely,
Marc
===
3:05pm
Dear department who gives a $30 scholarship,
Stop giving $30 scholarships. Just give them $30 cash or something. The amount of work that goes into processing (it goes to accounting, then to the foundation, then to us) ... is probably as much the bloody award itself.
Sincerely,
The guy who is the last stop in processing your $30 award
===
3:55pm
Finished, there were some delays for planning the remainder of the week and figuring out Spring Break and things like that, but now... I've found out that there is a lot of work to be done in the very immediate future.
Fast days incoming, oh yes.
Anyway, time to slam this thing up and head on home.
That's right, here I am, another day, another more-than-a-dollar.
I got 8 hours of sleep but it didn't make up for all that I missed (and it was a lot) the day before, but I wasn't tired post-Lost (the plan was to sleep, and you know what they say about the best laid plans) ...
Anyway, so I came in, and I was regailed with the tail of yet another late-fee barter (this time a student who had not paid their fees because he thought they were covered under their scholarship, when they aren't... I'm pretty sure they are told that in their letters, but hey) ... basically, the whole debate hinged on $1.75 in late fees.
Scholarship: $8000
Grants: $2000
Arguing for an Hour Over $1.75: Priceless.
Joy :)
(I could see it being "the principle of the thing" if the charges were illegitemate, but... they weren't... so, yeah...)
Anyway! I feel iffy, the fault of exhaustion, like a zombie!
Speaking of which, yesterday my friend Doug asked something or other about zombies or something else... and so I said Zombies!!! (because that's the name of the supersweet zombie board game) ... anyway, he replied "Zombies or Postmodern Historians?" ... and here was my reply...
You see, my cries of "BRAINS" really reflect the organic construction of meaning by society and my rending of your flesh with my supernatural strength reflects the lack of any consistent basis that, therefore, we can construct any meaning outside of any given societies, and the devouring of your now-dead tissue reflects that I was just kidding and am actually a zombie.
I giggled at my own joke, as I am prone to doing and all, so I decided to share...
Anyway, I have for really-real work to do, and so, it's high time to get rolling!
===
1:55pm
Wow. So, I ran and got lunch shortly after getting here and all, but I'm amazed at how fast the day is flying by. Having work to do is pretty epic.
Oh, fast days of furious busyness, how I have missed you! It'll be all over all too soon, sadly, as it was only enough for a day, but there is a bunch of little work to be done tomorrow and Friday, so it'll at least break up my day.
Academically, life continues! I gave a presentation on Empires in Collision (a book on Anglo-Burmese relations in the 19th century) and it went pretty well (barring a typo on the 1st couple of slides, curses!) ... and the evening flew by in part to my zombified state...
I'm super-psyched about seeing Laura on Sunday, I'm trying to concoct a plan (which I won't give away here) ... muhahah! ... but still, I've missed her this week as she has been visiting Michigan State to get the lay of the land / decide if it's the place for her... so to have a date to look forward to on top of coming back to communicado is nice :)
Anyway, going to finish up the last of these lil' journals, I'll probably be thumb-twidling in an hour and a half, but that's only half an hour before I go!
===
2:05pm
Ugh. Trying to sneak in health care reform under a budget reconciliation vote makes me profoundly annoyed.
Depending on the times of the polls, 55-60% of the country does not want this.
Frankly, it's a band-aid on a broken system that merely promotes the continued commercialization of human life (and without being realistic about costs, it is going to be a hobbled system from the start)...
If you're going to do something no one wants, at least do it *well*... the bill has snowballed from an almost illegible 1100 page document to a 2700 page document. The 1100 page version (the one I had a chance to go through a fair portion of)... was replete with references on almost every page to other bills.
It is suspiciously obfuscated and a doubling-and-a-half of the size only stands to make it even more inaccessible... and it is *STILL* being pushed through.
Red flags were raised early on with me because of the unrealistic handling and proposals and how fast it was being pushed through...
... and now, major legislation is being pushed through using a mechanism that was never, ever designed to push through major legislation. This is a TRILLION DOLLAR deal, people... not to mention the machines of government it puts in place...
*sigh*
Illinois politics being brought to the national level.
Disgusting. Deplorable.
(bear in mind, I stand to benefit from this bill, many speaking out against it do, many of the 55-60% stand to benefit... but the COST of that benefit in future dollars and to those who will be made to suffer from it... and not to mention the impending quality of service drop... it's realism and politics both that make me oppose this bill... )
(of course, if they figured out a way to balance those declines in quality and the tax fines for uninsured or voluntary non-participants out, I wouldn't know, the new bill is 2700 pages, and if it is every bit as intentionally misleading and complex as the 1100 page version... well, yeah... )
Witness well the tyranny of the minority... when the nation is clearly over half against this... and its representatives force it through anyway... (because it is "for their own good")...
Not only is it the tyranny of the minority, it is also a Father Knows Best, (and especially considering the resigning of wiretapping clauses in the Patriot act by Obama) ... a Big Brother state...
"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
-- Benjamin Franklin
===
3:00pm
Dear World,
I <3 Photoshop and my Wacom tablet. Most. Fun. Ever.
Sincerely,
Marc
===
3:05pm
Dear department who gives a $30 scholarship,
Stop giving $30 scholarships. Just give them $30 cash or something. The amount of work that goes into processing (it goes to accounting, then to the foundation, then to us) ... is probably as much the bloody award itself.
Sincerely,
The guy who is the last stop in processing your $30 award
===
3:55pm
Finished, there were some delays for planning the remainder of the week and figuring out Spring Break and things like that, but now... I've found out that there is a lot of work to be done in the very immediate future.
Fast days incoming, oh yes.
Anyway, time to slam this thing up and head on home.