Socks

I’m going to start this post of on a really random note: Where are all my socks? I have six single socks that don’t have a mate. Two of these were socks I got for Christmas. Two months ago. Where did they go already? How does this happen? It’s one of those big mysteries, I guess!

After finishing so much stuff yesterday, I’ve had a hard time getting started on school work today (and yes, posting this entry is only allowing me to procrastinate more). It’s kind of inevitable - after a really productive day I think “wow, I’m so ahead of the game now!” and think I can take a day off. But no! I need to stop with this bad habit so when I get home tonight, I’m going to have dinner and then get working on this geography paper until Lost comes on at 9pm.

I have my reading program tonight. It’s week 9 of 11, so it’s almost finished. I have mixed feelings about this. I absolutely love working with the kids and seeing their progress. But I’m also getting to the point where the amount of prep is starting to weigh me down and get in the way of my other school work. I feel bad saying that because I do truly enjoy running the program, but it takes me about 2 hours per week to get everything prepared. Then it’s another 2 hours per week for travel time and the hour the program runs. So, it’s a lot to do each week - although once I start data entry and analysis I’ll wish the program had never ended!

Tomorrow is going to be another busy day. I have class from 10am-11:20am - thankfully Thursday is presentation day so there is no homework to do beforehand. Then I’m running my very first participant through a study! I’m nervous and excited about this. I’ve never run a participant before so I’m kind of worried about messing up somehow or being disorganized (you wouldn’t believe the number of questionnaires there are to keep track of!) but at the same time, I’m looking forward to gaining the experience doing this.

I should be finished and home by 1:30 but I’ll have a busy night of homework to do. I want to get my geography paper written by Sunday, March 1st. Now that I’ve made a public commitment, maybe I’ll actually hold myself to this! It’s not due until March 13th, but my calendar for March is crazy so I’m needing to get some things done early (by a week or more in some cases) just to have time for everything.

Even though I haven’t been productive with school work today, I did work out on the elliptical trainer for 20 minutes and I did some ab exercises! Finally! I’ve been meaning to add them to my routine for months, but I usually hate them so I’ve been putting it off. Perhaps if I see some results I will learn to love them. I kept to a low number of reps so hopefully I won’t be sore tomorrow. It’s when my abs get sore that I’m less likely to continue with it, since it’s kind of uncomfortable!

Anyway, I have to head out soon and I won’t post later tonight unless I’ve finished a good chunk of homework.

Feeling under-represented? Well you should, and here's why.

Being that 2008 is a presidential election year, I recently found myself looking for transcripts of the speeches given by the candidates – as I like to remove myself from the dramatical pauses and blinking-sign-lead applauses and get down to what is actually being said. Upon doing so, I stumbled across a website that sparked my curiosity. As a conscious, informed, and concerned citizen, I have been an avid writer to my representatives since I was in junior high school. I have watched as the letters changed from paper and pen to e-mail to the now widely used electronic form straight on the rep’s website. Unfortunately, with this transition came increasingly less personalized responses. Although they come much faster now, often hours or a few days after my initial complaint, er.. ehem, suggestion, they are completely soulless and only pertain to my concerns in that I checked the box “Energy Policy” before I began writing. In fact, my father and I once wrote completely different letters, explaining different aspects and details of the same subject, and received the same word-for-word response. Yes, I must admit, I no longer have to wait 3 months to receive a scrawled e-mail reply, but at least then I knew my voice was being heard. It is with this feeling of fear that my country is slipping from my hands before my eyes, that I am so far removed and out of touch that even when I take the time to write I am not heard, of growing apathy among my generation towards our government, that I take this time to inform you of the reason why you and I are feeling this way. 

In the writing of the Constitution, the Founding Father’s (obviously) developed a two house system to rectify the complaint about state size versus equal representation. The House of Representatives is supposed to be based on the number of citizens in a given state. In Article 1, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution, it is written, “The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand,” meaning the Founding Fathers idealized an electorate size of about 30,000 people per House representative. Our local representative to the House is Lynn Woolsey, who currently serves both Sonoma and Marin counties. According to the 2006 census, Marin and Sonoma counties have a combined number of registered voters of 378,803. This means there should have been 12 representatives in the House, not 1. How can this be, you ask? For some reason, in 1929, Congress passed the Permanent Apportionment Act to cap the number of representatives in the House at 435. Why would they do that? I have no idea. Although being an historian with plans to investigate this much further in due time, I currently have not found any compelling reason for Congress to have passed this act other than that the literal “House” – the room where the House Rep’s meet to discuss and vote on issues - was getting too crowded. But should historical preservation of the House’s meeting site take precedence over representation? In fact, England’s House of Commons and Germany’s Bundestag – both the equivalent of our House of Representatives – both have more representative members than the U.S. House, despite their populations being about 16% and 27% of the U.S., respectively. It is my opinion that by capping the number of House Representatives, our own government has counteracted the original intent of the 2 House system – one of equal representation, and one directly proportional to population – and we are starting to see the long-term effects of this decision in the way things are happening today. There are many questions and concerns that arise in the reader of this new information that I do not have space or time to answer in this article. So, I will point you to your answers, where I found them, at www.thirty-thousand.org. It is my personal belief that our system has been broken by legislature and is getting increasingly more corrupt, despondent, and far way from the values of the American people. If you believe as I do, this issue cannot be more pressing and important than now, in the wake of the inauguration of another president. Although the election of the figurehead of our nation and a third of the balance of power is important, once the flash bulbs have burnt out, the styrofoam columns have been packed away, and the inauguration has taken place, life will return to the hum and lull that it has been for the past several decades, regardless of who gets elected. Where Congress continues passing 600 page acts of which they know little about, allocating monies to hometown projects in order to secure themselves another 2 years, and racking up our national debt. And, in the off-chance that we are stirred from sleeping in our cozy little materialized comfort-driven middle-class suburban beds by hearing about something that Congress has done that’s upsetting, our concerns are forwarded to an answering machine and replied by an android who didn’t read our letter in the first place. We have all heard the phrase “Knowledge is Power.” Now, you have knowledge, but it will not become powerful unless you do something with it.

Rehna tu translation

A non-hindi speaking friend of mine had asked me the meaning of “Rehna tu” song from Delhi-6. Since I love translating songs, I couldn’t stop myself from translating it instantly Prasoon Joshi’s great as ever. Without much frill, posting the translation. I am not much clear about the deeper meaning of the last stanza. Any suggestion people?

Rehna tu, Hai jaisa tu

Stay as you are

Thoda sa dard tu, Thoda Sukun

A little pain, a little relief

Rehna Tu, Hai Jaisa Tu

Stay as you are

Dheema Dheema jhonka, Ya phir junoon

A gentle breeze, a strong gust of wind

Thoda sa resham, Tu hamdam

A little silky, you are my love

Thoda sa khurdura

A little rough

Kabhi tu adh jaaye, Ya ladh jaaye

Sometimes you are stubborn, Sometimes you end up fighting

Ya khushboo se bhara

Sometimes (you are) full of fragrance (sweetness)

Tujhe badalna na chahoon

Don’t want to change you

Rati bhar bhi sanam

Not even a bit

Bina sajawat milawat

Undecorated, Unaltered

Na zyaada na hi kam

Neither more nor less

Tuhje chaahon, jaisa hai tu

I like you, just the way you are

Mujhe teree barish mein beegna hai ghuljana hai

I want to drench myself in rain (of your love).. I seek union with you

Tujhe chaahon, jaisa hai tu

I like you, just the way you are

Mujhe tere lapat mein jalna rakh ho jana hai

I want to get burnt in your tresses…burn away to ashes

Tu zakham de agar

If you torment me,

Marham bhi aakar tu lagaaye

You soothe me too

Zakham mein bhi mujhko pyaar aaye

Even in pain also, I find you adorable

Dariya oooo dariya

Doobne de mujhe dariya

Doobne de mujhe dariya

Let me sink in your love (river-like)

Rehna Tu, Hai Jaisa Tu

Stay as you are

Thoda sa dard tu, Thoda Sukun

A little pain, a little relief

Rehna Tu, Hai Jaisa Tu

Dheema Dheema jhonka, Ya phir junoon

A gentle light breeze or a strong gust of wind

Haath thaam chalna ho

If we hold hands and walk

To dono ke daye haath sang kaise

Then how our right hands will be intertwined

Haath thaam chalna ho

If we hold our hands

To dono ke daye haath sang kaise

Then how our right hands will be intertwined

Ek daaya hoga, ek baaiya hoga

Only the left and right hands can join

Tham le, haath yeh thaam le

Hold my hands…hold my hands dear

Chalna hai sang thaam le

Hold my hands…in the journey (of life)

Funnel Of Love

Here I go,

Going down, down, down,

My mind is a blank,

My head is spinning around and around,

As I go deep into the funnel of love.

It’s such a crazy, crazy feeling,

I get weak in the knees,

My poor old head is a reelin’,

As I go deep into the funnel of love.

I tried and I tried, to run and hide,

I even tried to run away,

Ya just can’t run from the funnel of love,

It’s gonna get ya someday.

It’s such a crazy, crazy feeling,

I get weak in the knees,

My poor old head is a reelin’,

As I go deep into the funnel of love.

I tried and I tried, to run and hide,

I even tried to run away,

Ya just can’t run from the funnel of love,

It’s gonna get ya someday.

Here I go, going down, down, down,

My mind is a blank,

My head is spinning around and around,

As I go deep into the funnel of love,

Deep into the funnel of love,

Deep into the funnel of love.

58 Reverse Funnel System *Personal* Sales In 7 Measly Weeks.