So, today was the first day of MIA (Masters of International Affairs) orientation at my school (Columbia University, it's in New York City). So, it's been a pretty amazing experience thus far, and I've only just arrived a few days ago. I've moved in with my friend Jonthon into our apt in Harlem, and this morning I walked the half mile to my school SIPA (School of International and Public Affairs).
I'm always really excited on the first day of school. It's something about new beginnings, meeting new people, and just being introduced to something completely different. Today was pretty excellent -- it started first with breakfast, and that's where I re-met Stephen, a cool dude who I originally met at orientation. I also re-met a few other individuals, and met for the first time a whole slew of others. I've learned that one important part of first impressions is learning who you want to associate with, and who you most certainly do NOT. There were quite a few individuals who I am really excited about getting to know better -- Stephen from New Jersey, Pelin from Istanbul, Sara from DC/San Fran, etc. There was also another individual -- I'm not even sure what his name is -- that I most certainly do not. He just came off as too "no nonsense" (and on the first day of school!) and immediately after asking your name, proceeded to ask you what you planned to concentrate in, and your post-grad goals. It was just too offputting, I guess. And I think at the same time, everyone is just arriving and really just wants to relish this moment, this newness. Anyway, to give an example of this dude (I think his name was Ryan?) and his awkward social tactics, let me describe one encounter:
We were all sitting at lunch in the lawn, chatting about the program and random stuff like Steve Irkel and Family Matters, and Ryan starts talking to one girl who happened to be from Palestine. Now, in the United States, as soon as one mentions they are from Palestine or Israel, of course the first thing that pops into the other person's head is the whole political problem between the two countries -- but we don't need to discuss this on the first day of orientation, right? Wrong. He proceeds to ask Rahim all about her opinion on the war, Al Jazeera, and all that. It just felt kind of tacky and unnecessary in a way. Anyway, Rahim was totally cool and dealt with it well. I'm sure that she's used to U.S. citizens always asking her about that whenever she says where she's from (as if that is al that the country of Palestine has going for it, right?).
Anyway, so I am in love with this MIA program, but not all the options it's providing me academically in terms of courses I want to take for this semester, and what I eventually want to concentrate my studies on (Economic and Political Development, my first love? Human Rights? Social Policy? -- I know, I know -- I could have worse problems :) ). But seriously it's tough. I know I want to focus on international women's rights stuff, looking at gender inequalities and how best to ameliorate them in terms of dealing with things like HIV/AIDS, political development, even prostitution. But I feel like there are a good number of avenues through which to focus on that sort of thing at SIPA -- notice the concentrations I mentioned above? Through each of them, I could focus my work on gender and inequalities stuff.
The EPD concentration is definitely the most fully laid out and has the most requirements (there's a whole manual on what course to take for EPD core requirements and things like that), whereas the HR and SP concentrations seem much more laid back -- the SP concentration is actually just five courses with a similar theme (ie, gender policy). HR is a little less laid back (it requires six courses -- a core, including international law, international human rights and a united nations course, and then beyond that three additional courses focused on a theme (ie, women's rights). The EPD program is a bit more intense:
Core (three courses, intro to EDP course, econ analysis course and advanced topics in econ development), professional focus (three courses focused on a theme, ie, gender development), and the two course one-year track on EPD management.
So, after much waiting and anxiety, I have finally arrived in New York. I came this afternoon, and have settled in a bit at my new place (I'll be living with two Mizzou alumns, my friend Jonthon, and his roommate Kristin). It's amazing how small a world it is -- tonight, Jonthon and two of my other friends from Mizzou, Kelly and Emem and I all went out to eat at this diner and had a great time. It was just really great to come to this big huge city and big unknown but still have some friends I know here. It's like we'll all get to explore and find out more about the city together. There are so many interesting things, but of course, things are so expensive!
I definitely won't be living in the lap of luxury here anytime soon. Ahh well, I'm just going to try to enjoy this experience for what it is. Also, I'm excited -- my MacBook should be arriving in the mail tomorrow. Yay, I can hardly wait!!
I would like to take pictures here (I wanted to take some today, but if felt soo touristy, you know?) But will try to make more of a habit of it in the future.
Look who's back into the music scene. The Backstreet Boys! Hasn't it been so long? And you can really kind of tell, too...they look so...mature. Oh well, I guess we'll have to see how the music ends up. Apparently the BB are working on their first music video for their new album due...who knows when.
Did you go to summer camp? Which one? What did you enjoy doing?
Submitted by Something Else.
The only summer camp I ever went to was athletic camps (volleyball, track). Volleyball camp was especially torturous, painful, and bad for my self esteem. It's funny -- you know how some things in your life, you look back and say "Oh, I wish I would have done this, or I wish I would have stuck with that." Quitting volleyball was probably the SMARTEST decision I'd ever made (in high school at least).
So, what did volleyball camp consist of? Five wonderful days (and we're talking pretty much from 8 am to 5pm with a lunch break) of running, doing drills over, and over, and over, and over, doing lots of painful ab exercises, being yelled at repeatedly and made to feel that you were incompetent if you made the same mistake more than twice...yeah, I definitely always dreaded that. So much so that it just made me nervous and almost sick.
I still remember when I called Mr. Moore on the phone to tell him I wouldn't play volleyball anymore. It started out because I had the stomach flu or something (in the middle of summer? Ok, maybe it was food poisoning, but I really was sick). I meant to call to tell him I wouldn't attend the camp because I was sick, then I was just like, fuck it! I'm quitting. And I just left a message on his phone (thank goodness he didn't answer, right? I didn't want to have an actual confrontation) saying that I was not interested in playing anymore.
It definitely freed up a lot of my time. Which I liked.
Mr. Moore can suck it! He was so annoying...ever since I quit that summer in between my sophomore and junior years, he coined a new nickname for me: Quitter. Well, at least I have a life. What's he doing now? Probably still a maniac coach for high school volleyball. I think he's divorced. How...completely unsatisfying.
So, I'm not exactly sure what to think of this music. It's kinda weird, reminds me of techno, and a little bit of reggae (just a little bit). And honestly, half of the song I can't understand what's being said. But nevertheless -- I like it, Enjoy:
This doesn't fit into my "wholesome Midwestern values" paradigm!
Man kisses ailing wife, hurls her from balcony (CNN.com)
Aug 16, 2007
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (AP) -- A man threw his seriously ill wife four stories to her death because he could no longer afford to pay for her medical care, prosecutors said in charging him with second-degree murder.
According to court documents filed Wednesday in Jackson County Circuit Court, Stanley Reimer walked his wife to the balcony of their apartment and kissed her before throwing her over.
The body of Criste Reimer, 47, was found Tuesday night outside the apartment building, near the upscale Country Club Plaza shopping district.
Stanley Reimer, 51, was charged Wednesday. He remained jailed on $250,000 bond and was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday.
In the probable cause statement filed with the charges, police said Reimer was desperate because he could not pay the bills for his wife's treatment for neurological problems and uterine cancer.
Investigators said that Reimer was in the apartment when they arrived. He told them, "She didn't jump," but did not elaborate, they said.
Criste Reimer's caregiver told police she could barely walk and would not have been able to climb over the railing of the balcony, according to the probable cause statement.
Reimer's alleged motive emerged after several more hours of questioning, police said.
According to Jackson County Probate Court records, Criste Reimer had been in ill health for several years. Her weight had fallen to 75 pounds and she was partly blind.
According to the court records, she had no health insurance to pay for medical bills that ranged from $700 to $800 per week.
The Probate Court documents were filed in April, when Stanley Reimer petitioned to be allowed to sell personal property his wife owned in Wheeler County, Texas, for $20,000.
The documents listed her assets at approximately $6,700, with monthly income of $725 from oil royalties and Supplemental Security Income.
It was not immediately known if Stanley Reimer had an attorney.
see website: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/16/wife.killed.ap/index.html?eref=rss_latest
Man, I'm so completely tired of stupid and ignorant people.
So, results are in. Seems that when it comes to culture, religion, spirituality and the like, I'm creative:
 | You scored as Cultural Creative, Cultural Creatives are probably the newest group to enter this realm. You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational.
|
What is Your World View?
created with QuizFarm.com
So, I think I might be a bit narcoleptic. Not a full-out narcoleptic, but if it's possible, I think I have a bit of it.
Now, I often provide the following description about myself:
So, over the past few years (well, pretty much since the beginning of college), I've noticed that I have a problem staying awake sometimes. Now, it's not that I fall asleep often, but just the fact that I'll do it in certain inappropriate situations (classes, presentations, movies, on the phone) always struck me as a bit odd. But, I never considered myself to be narcoleptic. Like I said, it's not that this occurs often, but I would say, it occurs often enough that it could be the sign of something going on.
I'd always thought of a narcoleptic as someone who would fall asleep at completely random times (for example, while standing up, in the middle of a conversation while facing that person, or something like that). I never considered myself to have that sort of problem, because most often, my sleepiness strikes (haha) most often when I'm in a more passive or inactive position. But when I started to read the wikipedia entry on Narcolepsy, I thought, oh my goodness, this is me!!:
Narcolepsy is a neurological condition most characterized by Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS). A narcoleptic will most likely experience disturbed nocturnal sleep, confused with insomnia, and disorder of REM or rapid eye movement sleep. It is a type of dyssomnia.
(Ok, ok, so I read that, and I didn't really associate myself with that serious of stuff. But keep reading, and you'll see the part where I was struck by the uncanny similarity between a narcoleptic's symptoms and my own description of myself)
The main characteristic of narcolepsy is overwhelming excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), even after adequate night time sleep. A person with narcolepsy is likely to become drowsy or to fall asleep, often at inappropriate times and places. (woah!) Daytime naps may occur with or without warning and may be physically irresistible. These naps can occur several times a day. They are typically refreshing, but only for a few hours. Drowsiness may persist for prolonged periods of time. In addition, night-time sleep may be fragmented with frequent awakenings...
When I read that paragraph, and especially the first sentence, I was struck. I think I'm narcoleptic! Well, at least a bit. It's weird, it's an experience where I really just cannot help falling asleep. It's like a struggle. But oddly enough, if I'm falling asleep in class, for example, as soon as I leave the class, I'd be wide awake. I read the article further to learn more about my (albeit superficial thus far) diagnosis:
Hmm. Well, I'm not an insomniac, but I do have this weird habit of going to sleep around midnight, waking up at two in the morning and doing stuff for like two hours, then going back to sleep at four, and waking up later in the morning.Four other classic symptoms of narcolepsy, which may not occur in all patients, are cataplexy, sleep paralysis, hypnogogic hallucinations, and automatic behavior. Cataplexy is an episodic condition featuring loss of muscle function, ranging from slight weakness (such as limpness at the neck or knees, sagging facial muscles, or inability to speak clearly) to complete body collapse.(ok, I have NEVER had that problem. That would be incredibly scary.) Episodes may be triggered by sudden emotional reactions such as laughter, anger, surprise, or fear, and may last from a few seconds to several minutes. The person remains conscious throughout the episode. Sleep paralysis is the temporary inability to talk or move when waking up. It may last a few seconds to minutes. (ok, I have experiences this, maybe three or four times in my life, but doesn't this happen to everyone a bit?) This is often frightening but is not dangerous. Hypnagogic hallucinations are vivid, often frightening, dream-like experiences that occur while dozing, falling asleep and/or while awakening. Automatic behavior means that a person continues to function (talking, putting things away, etc.) during sleep episodes, but awakens with no memory of performing such activities. It is estimated that up to 40 percent of people with narcolepsy experience automatic behavior during sleep episodes. (Ok, I guess I'll never know if I've gone through this, haha). Daytime sleepiness, sleep paralysis, and hypnagogic hallucinations also occur in people who do not have narcolepsy, more frequently in people who are suffering from extreme lack of sleep. Cataplexy is generally considered to be unique to narcolepsy.
In most cases, the first symptom of narcolepsy to appear is excessive and overwhelming daytime sleepiness. (check.) The other symptoms may begin alone or in combination months or years after the onset of the daytime naps. There are wide variations in the development, severity, and order of appearance of cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and hypnagogic hallucinations in individuals. Only about 20 to 25 percent of people with narcolepsy experience all four symptoms. The excessive daytime sleepiness generally persists throughout life, but sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucinations may not.
Although these are the common symptoms of narcolepsy, many (although less than 40% of people with narcolepsy) also suffer from insomnia for extended periods of time.
Anyway, the article goes on to describe some of the therapies for people who suffer from narcolepsy. I plan to take advantage of the first one -- taking daytime naps throughout the day. I've already done my work for today, then. Haha.
So, it's just two short weeks until my orientation at Columbia begins (three weeks until the first day of school). Can I just say that I love the idea of starting classes after Labor Day? It just sounds so...wonderful. And it affords me the time to fully enjoy the month of August and all its humid, wet, sweltering heat. Definitely not my favorite month of the year. I wonder which is my favorite...maybe May -- that's a good month for weather, or December, I always enjoy the holiday season and seeing family and friends over Winter break. Yeah, I think maybe December would be my favorite.
Anyway, I'm still plugging ahead on my book Half of a Yellow Sun and trying to review this on-line math tutorial for school (it's algebra and calculus work) and as well trying to review some econ in advance of a course I'm trying to take this fall (Economic Analysis of International Affairs -- sounds fun, eh?). I never went that far in calculus -- I took only a year-long course in high school, which I think was pretty introductory. But so far, it's interesting. I think I like the idea of applying to the calculus to look at real-life situations and phenomenons, instead of looking at just calculus as calculus. The idea of applying it to better understand market models and other economic stuff will be very cool, I think. I'm excited to learn.
I've also been thinking lately about getting my PhD. I'm not exactly sure what I would get it in, though, at least not yet (is that weird?). I want to do it in a field where I can focus on my interest in gender inequalities and African development. I guess it's all just about finding a field that will allow me to do that. Anyway, that's still pretty far ahead in the future. For now, I'm only just about to begin work on my Masters :)
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