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I just received this in email, and I have to admit I love the first line most of all.
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Why I Hate Politics...or whatever title they gave to my latest article.
This is my latest article that was published in the Herald today. I had been thinking about not writing anymore for them, but after a few conversations with some people, I decided I would continue as I get the idea that quitting would just allow the bad columnists to win. Anyway....

Both Sides of Politics Take No Responsibility, Play Blame Game

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The Jet Program
When I was studying Japanese some years ago, I remember hearing people tell me about the Jet program, a teaching English program in Japan. I was interested back then, but I was stuck in my educational program, so I was kind of stuck. I kept telling myself I would look into it after I got my BA. Then after I got my MA. And then I sort of just forgot about it.

Well, I'm starting to look into it seriously right now. And I'm starting to look at it for next year as a strong possibility. I'm getting to the point of where I may be too old to apply to the program soon if I don't get into it soon.

I guess you could say that I've just gotten tired of working towards my PhD. It's not getting me anywhere, and I can't really see myself wanting to do anything with a PhD other than have people call me Doctor. Big deal. To be honest, vanity is a horrible reason to get a PhD.

I really don't feel like I'm contributing anything towards political science, and I have a strong feeling that I probably won't ever either. I mean, I'm a writer of fiction, not a social scientist that spends his life duplicating the work already done by others.

I find myself just not caring anymore. I don't care about politics, and I don't care about survey research. I really don't care what others have to say about politics either. I don't even care if anyone votes.

This is probably going to be my last year in this program. If I'm not ABD at the end of this year, then I'll probably find myself a job in the real world somewhere, and I'll probably find some nice girl that wants to get married, and then I'll disappear that way.

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A Poem I Wrote Recently

Saw It On TV

The TV remote must be broken
I click the buttons
But the channel doesn’t seem to change
On the screen
Is the figure
Of a malnourished little girl
Cold and hungry
I think we’re supposed to watch her starve to death
These reality programs are hard to understand sometimes

I really don’t want to be watching this
I keep waiting for Sally Struthers
And a pledge for money
But neither comes
Just that poor little girl
Starving on the screen

I change the channel manually
But still the same haunting image
She lives in a home
Made of aluminum siding
She’s covered in dirt
Innocent to the rest of the world
Both a gift
And a curse

I wonder what horrible creature
What vicious regime
Twisted government
Hater of mankind
Could allow this to happen to a little girl
In one’s country

I try to turn off the TV
For some reason
Nothing happens
The child is soon replaced
By a malnourished family
They stare at me
At the camera
With blank faces
As if seeing the camera for the first time
I wonder how the cameraman
Can just stare back in silence
How can someone be so indifferent?
How can people ignore something like this?

And then I begin to remember
I don’t own a TV set.
I’m looking out my own window.

--Duane Gundrum, 2003

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Endless Paper Chase Revisited & Thoughts on the Western Herald Where I Write Columns
Well, another weekend of grading more papers. Probably be busy throughout the entire weekend. I'm really starting to hate this. I haven't done anything I've wanted to do in about four weeks now.

I'm thinking I may stop writing articles for the Western Herald as the paper has become too hostile towards liberal issues. In the last two weeks there have been three separate hatred-filled articles concerning how much conservatives should hate liberals, and it's getting embarrassing writing for a newspaper where I'm feeling that I'm essentially pissing to the wind. No one ever responds to anything I write, yet they respond in mass to the hate-filled articles that get printed. So, to the Herald staff, it appears that my articles really aren't all that interesting to the rest of the campus, but the ones that cause controversy (ie get people very angry) are.

I'm giving it some time, but I'm not sure where I'm going to go with this. My editor isn't exactly very responsive and all that quick about returning emails or calls, so that is kind of pushing my decision as well.

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People just really piss me off
I live in an apartment that has reserved parking (each apartment is marked for a parking spot). I went to a columnists' meeting this evening for about half an hour, came home, and there was this car parked in my spot. Don't know who it belongs to; only know that the person doesn't have a permit to be parking in this neck of the woods anyway.

After waiting for an hour, I called campus police and had them ticket it. Some guy comes out of the buildings (not sure from where) and acts all upset that I called the police to ticket him. He says, "everyone parks wherever they want here." I said, no they don't. Last time I did, I got ticketed. He then goes on about how "uncool" it is.

So, somehow I am at blame for someone else (his friend, cause it wasn't even his car) usurping the parking space I pay for.

Now, I wouldn't really normally care what this guy thought, but now I'm realizing that the second that my car goes into that spot, there's a HUGE chance this guy is going to vandalize it; he was definitely giving that "I'm going to get you back" look as he was sauntering off back to his apartment.

I really hate people.

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CIA Experts on TV
Okay, this is starting to get on my nerves again. They had this guy on CNN last night that was supposedly a "CIA expert" because he used to work for the CIA, and now he is the consultant of the show The Agency. Um, has anyone actually ever seen The Agency? What exact position did this guy have in the CIA? Janitor? Cause the nuances they show us on that show are the most fictional and humorous (if humor means, they haven't a clue) I've ever seen. Get Smart was closer to the CIA than that show.

Yet, this guy is giving his opinions that this really stupid anchorwoman is eating out of his hands. You would think his Hollywood stylish clothing would have given away the fact that he knows nothing (they have that look that indicates they were never in a real job before), but she was in awe of him. At one point, I felt we'd get a 1-800 number on the screen to donate to in order to help them afford a room.

The sad thing is: they were dealing with a very important subject (the administrative leaks), and he's giving all sorts of crap responses about whether or not we should believe the woman was really an operative or not, based on the ramblings of the CIA's janitor.

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Health Care In This Country
I was listening to CNN today (kind of watching it), and they are tackling the problems of health care in the US. They have this expert from the Consumers Union on named Trudy Lieberman who is answering telephone questions, and what shocks me is the give and take, and what is acceptable on this issue.

A woman called and stated that she cannot get health care for her and her children because she makes too much money, but with her job she's not even succeeding at living paycheck to paycheck. A lot of people are like this. But what shocked me is that Trudy's response was along the lines of: "well, yeah, that's really unfortunate. I'm really not sure. Um, perhaps she should check out some of the cheaper blue cross plans. I mean, she has kids, so she doesn't really need full coverage, so she should be able to make it."

And we wonder why no one really cares. This is one of the people supposedly on the side of the people.

Maybe the woman and her family will die so they won't have to worry about health care, cause that sure sounded a lot like the response but reworded.

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The Paper Chase (or how these papers keep chasing me)
I can't believe how many papers I have to grade. I keep looking at these piles that just seem to be getting larger, and I find myself thinking "if I just stare at them long enough, they will all go away." Hasn't worked yet.

Laurie and I went to Fourth Coast to catch dinner and grade papers. She has a huge load of them as well. I hadn't been to Fourth Coast since they turned the second floor into a restaurant, so that was pretty cool. I always liked the place, but it always seemed really hard to get to in the past. It's not really, but that's just me.

Anyway, made Laurie laugh a bunch of times at my stupid humor and graded a whole ton of papers. Still have a ton more to grade. My weekend is definitely decided for me.

It was actually nice to actually get out with a friend, even if only for a few hours. I don't seem to get out that much these days.

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