New Year, New You?

I heard that slogan on a news channel recently and it made me think.  I know that a lot of people make New Years resolutions and that most of them don't last long enough for the ink to dry before people are back to eating, working too much, watching TV, compulsively logging into Facebook or whatever.  I haven't made any resolutions per say, but I've been trying to do things to "get ready" for the new year, like what I wrote about in my last post.  There are so many unknowns in this new year I feel like I just need to get a framework in place (that just ensures I will be fed and safe), and let life happen. 

I've always thought that you are who you are over a long period of time, not simplified to one moment.  Following that line of thought, it's very difficult to reinvent yourself all at once.  Pick one area where you'd like to change and do it day by day.  That's my new years advice.

Speaking of advice, I'm a collector of random information that I like to air out on this platform from time to time.  So here's some random information I've recently heard that may or may not be true:

My fashion sources tell me that the new looks for the ladies in 2011 will be:  60s ladylike, with some elements of 70s bohemian and glam, biker & punk, lace/knit/macrame, flared pants (I assume to combat skinny jeans), stripes, and I'm sorry to say, more jumpsuits.  Hairstyles will be bobs with bangs, so I'm all set.  And if clogs are truly making a comeback, I think I'd rather go barefoot. 

My financial advisers tell me that individual stocks with high-paying dividends are the way to invest this year.  Interest rates on savings accounts and CDs are pathetically low, so picking a relatively stable stock that pays a quarterly dividend of more than 3.00% is a much better deal- if you're young and plan on holding it for the long run (which you should be doing unless you're 70).  I read in USA Today that large companies are flooded with cash right now, so that they're putting it into upping their dividends and buying their own stock, which makes each one still out there worth more.  Investing is an area that I've definitely learned more about, little by little, this year, but it's still pretty complicated. 

As far as politics go, I'm still trying to figure out this whole Tea Party thing.  I really like that people are being more vocal about how things are run, but it seems like they're focused on just one issue (the economy).  I was happy to defy demographic statistics and cast my vote during the mid-term elections this year.  I recently heard a woman call into a radio show and say that 2010 was the year she stopped voting after 30-some years.  Her reasoning was that she didn't like how things were going and didn't trust anyone, so she was would just exist while things happened around her.  I wanted to reach into the speakers and punch her.  Or send her to North Korea where she really wouldn't have to worry about doing her political homework.  Vote, people!

Let's see, what else can I talk about?  I'm sitting in an airport, if you haven't figured out yet by the length of this thing.  Travel!  In 2011, I'm going on a Holy Lands travel binge this Spring.  Egypt and climbing Mt. Sinai in February and touring Israel in April.  I'll be in the US after March 13 and hope to go to Serbia sometime in there still. 

Well it is time to go board my plane!  If you're in Manila for the next 10 days, EMAIL ME AND WE'LL HANG OUT!

World News: Smoggy Moscow

So, here is the news from my beloved Moscow while I've been out for the summer.  Record high temperatures and out of control forest fires have made everything smoggy and unbearably hot.  Just check out the images in this Reuters video.

Although the US State Department is discouraging travel to Russia, top doctors want foreigners to know that it's not too bad.  The school year at the school where I work will even be starting one week later due to the situation.  Here's a picture of how icky the atmosphere is there (credits to Miss Paula who is braving it out!)...

My dad went back there on Friday and says he's the only one without a face mask when he leaves the house to walk the dog.  My mom was supposed to go back on Thursday, but since school is starting later, she's coming back with Tommy and me on August 22.  I hope some "wind of change" take it all away before then! 

My cousin Jim sent me this article, that included this ironic little quip:

"It's just impossible to work," said Moscow resident Mikhail Borodin, in his late 20s, as he removed a mask to puff on a cigarette. "I don't know what the government is doing, they should just cancel office hours."

Perhaps this is Nature's way of getting back at Moscow for seeding clouds...

Tommy and I have been scoping the Internet for news, and he just told me that Nizhnii Novgorod is one of the worst hit areas. 

Source: NY Times

Pray for Rain!

Bonjour!

I am in Paris!  What a great city.  I'll admit, I came with reservations.  Eastern European cities have always sounded more interesting to me than floofy places in the West, but my opinion has changed on this particular city.  It's so easy to get around (Moscow metro will always have my heart, but you're not too bad, P) and Parisians are a lot nicer than reputed to be.  I rode a bike to Versailles, trooped through the Louvre, pranced through D'Orsay (except everything is on load to RUSSIA now), climbed to the top of the Arc de Triomphe to see a glittering Tour Eiffel, and even was convinced to take an evening Segway tour.  We left the city for Disneyland today, so we'll be there tomorrow and Friday. 

I ate a fresh baguette from a bakery in Versailles and can now die happy.

Also, whenever I stay in hotels, I watch waaaaay too much of the news networks (CNN, BBC, Sky News, etc).  Something happens somewhere in the world every few hours, but it's kind of amazing how reporters know how to repeat the same information 20 different ways.  Plus, I can pretty much now summarize the key issues in the upcoming British elections.  It must have been so annoying for the world to be bombarded with American politics in '08.  I totally wish we only had 5 weeks to campaign. Sorry, World.

Bon soir!

Лубянка- one week later

I was out this afternoon and decided to pay respects at the memorial at Lubyanka metro station.  The bombings happened one week ago today.  The memorial was covered in flowers and Easter eggs and a group of people stood in a semi-circle.  Some were wiping tears, others crossed themselves in prayer, and every few minutes another person placed flowers on the table.  A few candles were lit on the floor.  Someone tacked a poem about life being short on the wall nearby.  It was very beautiful.  I noticed quite a few guards in the tunnel, but other than that it was a still-life pasted into a busy landscape.

A bit of world news

During the long hours in the pizza booth, my cousin and I discussed how to make a successful blog or podcast. (I blog and he's thinking of starting a podcast.) We decided that it is a good thing to have segments to break things up and make them familiar, like The Word on Colbert. I might be too inconsistent to keep up any real segments, weekly or otherwise, but now that I'm "home" I will at least have more consistent internet access.

Nonetheless, I've been thinking of starting a segment about the news. The stories that interest me most tend to be from or about places I've been or have friends, and are not always the things everyone's talking about. And thus, but making no promises to make this a regular thing, here is the first official segment of

News that Matters to Me

Legalize it!
Argentina and Mexico relaxed their drug laws this week, making it ok for people to possess small amounts of most drugs, such as marijuana, LDS, cocaine, and heroin. Could the US expect a similar change? Those who say yes cite flaws in the current federal policy, the high cost of enforcing it, and the big bucks we could make to decrease the national deficit on the taxation of maryjane. Then again, seriously??? Are we really willing to sacrifice the poor, disadvantaged, and stupid of our population?

H1N1 Isn't Over
For the many returning to school this fall, colleges and grade schools are urging community members to stay home if they feel sick to prevent a predicted 30,000- 90,000 deaths from swine flu (in addition to the normal flu causalities) in the US alone. A vaccine may be available soon. Via the always informative Facebook, I know that at least one international school in Seoul is closed because of 3 cases. I'm not one to freak out over something like this, but as winter sets into Russia, I'll be increasing my self-preventative care and be getting my regular flu shot. Maybe sending me here was God's way of protecting me from being in an Indiana public school this year...

Afghanistan Elections vs Iran
Afghanistan went to the presidential polls August 20 to decide on a new leader. Counting the ballots by hand will take a while, obviously, and results are gradually being released. Just over 17 percent, or nearly one million ballots, have been counted and made public, showing the Western-backed President Hamid Karzai with 42.3 percent so far, and former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah with 33.1 percent. Calling the results into question are that only about 30% of the population voted, with multiple Taliban terrorists attacks that kept entire provinces from casting votes, as well as the representation of female voters. Early speculation has been that a similar reaction to the recent elections in Iran could occur if the validity of the result is in doubt. I think this will not happen. What happened in Iran was due largely to the fact that the population is one of the most educated in the world. In contrast, Afghanistan is still largely rural and schools there are started by lost mountain climbers with an affinity for tea. And so, the question remains, is democracy a feasible option for the "feudal war-torn nation?" Final results are supposedly to come out in mid-September. Also, since Michael Jackson died in the middle of it, we may never hear what ended up happening in Iran.

Isn't it remarkable

that people would run to the streets to illegally protest when they've been warned with consequences,

and those with the freedom to protest rarely do so?

Documentaries I like

For my World History class we had to watch a documentary about primary education for seven children around the world, and three years later did a follow up. As an education major, and big fan of kids in general, I found these very informative. They were produced by PBS- Wide Angle.
Now that I have given credit, here are the links:

Time for School

Back to School

Places you think are safe...

The Manila Penn was my favorite place in Manila. It felt like nothing bad could ever happen to you there...