Ingrid

Restarting?

Sun, 14 Jan 2007 02:16:49 GMT

Well, I'm starting to like the idea of getting into LiveJournal again, keeping track of my life and letting other people know what's going on with me. Actually I'll probably fall back into not updating at all once the semester starts because I get so anxious that I barely have time for ... well, anything I want to do. But perhaps that which is prompting me to write now will continue to spur me throughout the next few months, namely procrastination. My goal this nearly five-week winter break has been to make astonishing progress on my thesis, and it's not been going so well. My mom told me that if I just work eight hours a day, that's all I can do, but I find I cannot even do that -- I'm lucky to get up to four, and two is more common, although I certainly spend ALL my waking hours stressed out about it. However, I have been able to adjust my goals, not just to meet time demands but in accordance with changing ideas about what my thesis should encompass, and I think I'm basically on track, even if I can never get up to eight hours a day of work. To wit:

Within the next week my goal is to have finished as much of my lit review as I can do at this point. Now, this is a little tricky because I'm not exactly sure what a lit review is supposed to look like, or if I've really done enough reading for it, but I can't imagine doing much more research. There are just a few theoretical areas left where I need to do some serious reading, including for the principal argument, but I just need to get through a few good, key articles that I have to accomplish that. I also haven't done enough reading for the Chiapas section, but I'm seriously considering scrapping the Chiapas section altogether to simplify the mental hoops I have to jump through to keep my argument coherent. But that means I couldn't really talk about the Zapatistas as I would like to, but maybe that's okay. I'm just going to leave Chiapas alone for awhile and decide in a few weeks.

So for the lit review I now have a very lengthy outline that includes the arguments of many writers and quotes from all of them. I just have to turn it into a real paper with summaries of what they're saying instead of just lengthy excerpts, so that will be some work but I will have it all done by the time I go back to school, which is two Mondays from now, the 22nd.

Then my next goal is to have the PRINCIPAL ARGUMENT CHAPTER written by Feb. 1. I will have to do some additional reading but most of it I will have already done for the lit review, so mostly it will just be writing. It'll be tricky to do during the first week of so of school with shopping period and seeing people and getting all the clubs running again and all that, which is why I'm angry with myself that I've been so bad at taking advantage of all this time I've had with NO obligations. I just don't maintain my focus. I think, though, that if I set a rule for myself of two hours a day at a minimum then that will keep me going at school. I've started using a timer on my computer that I start and stop whenever I'm working so that I can really keep track of how much I'm doing, and that helps me push though when I want to stop. I think it's a good rule for school, too, and I think it will get me through what I need to do.

Anyway, after the principal argument chapter is done I will have only one chapter left to write. I'm still a little unsure of what it will contain, but I know it will talk about the impact of usos y costumbres on social movements. I may make the whole thing a somewhat speculative chapter about uyc's effect on social movements, democratization, and development, drawing heavily on the readings I've done for support. I will finish that by the end of February, since I will probably have to do some more reading for it (although again, a lot has been done for the lit review). Then I will have until March 20 to write my intro and conclusion and do FIX the whole thing according to the suggestions of my advisor, as well as make sure the whole paper is logically consistent and makes a real argument. I keep fearing that I've lost the point of my whole thesis as I'm reading, I keep losing track of what I'm trying to demonstrate. But the readings I'm doing now for the principal argument are helping me a lot.

I simply cannot wait for my thesis to be over. It's all I think about, yet I do not feel productive or like I'm making satisfactory progress. It's certainly all my fault, nothing is stopping me from working harder but myself. April will be wonderful, as I will be only taking two classes. To give myself a break I decided to just go for three credits, and one of them is the thesis, so when I'm done with that, I'm done to two classes. I'm planning to take things that look really interesting so that when for the first time I will be able to do all the reading I will actually WANT to do it.

The other thing I'm working on is exercising more. Since Christmas I have walked four miles on the treadmill in the basement almost every day (while watching movies!) and I am losing weight as a result. This does make me happy, because even though I'm not overweight, I did put on 10-15 lbs in Mexico that I haven't just naturally shed, and I feel that that's not really part of me and I want it to go away. I'm hoping to get rid of a couple more pounds before going back to school, and then I'd like to cut down on exercising to just a few days a week. It'll be harder to incorporate into my routine at school, but I think it'll help me feeling good and healthy. Plus with only two classes, I'm looking forward to having much more control over my time; I will have to plan carefully, though, to make sure I don't totally piss it away, as I am doing now as I write in this journal and watch Bridge Jones's Diary. After the movie, off to exercise, and then call Will, and then work till 2 am.

Anyway, thanks for bearing with me as I outline my hopes and plans for the next few weeks and months. I hope to keep on doing this, if only to give myself a chance to reflect, even if no one's reading my journal anymore!

Mon, 12 Dec 2005 06:26:37 GMT

Hey everyone,
I'm back from the dead. Just wanted you all to know that I've started another journal called ingridinoaxaca (jeez, I've been away so long that I don't even remember how to link that properly) in which I will be chronicling my time abroad next semester. If you want to be kept updated, add that journal as a friend! Love you guys.

Wed, 11 Aug 2004 20:50:06 GMT

Horror's index: The cost of the Iraq war
987: Number of coalition forces killed between March 19, 2003, and July 5, 2004
693: Number killed after President Bush declared the end of official combat operations on May 1, 2003
9,436: Minimum estimate of the number of Iraq civilians killed as a result of the U.S. invasion and occupation
40,000: Estimated number of Iraqis injured
14: Average number of violent deaths per month in Iraq in 2002
357: Average number of violent deaths per month in Iraq in 2003
30: Percentage of Iraqis unemployed before the war
60: Percentage of Iraqis unemployed in the summer of 2003
$151,000,000,000: Amount spent on the war through the end of this year, pending Congressional approval
$3,415: Monetary cost of war per U.S. household, on average
54: Percentage of Americans polled who felt that "the situation in Iraq was not worth going to war over" (Annenberg Election Survey)
52: Percentage of soldiers who reported low morale, according to a March 2004 army survey
28.2: Percentage of soldiers in Iraq who screened positive for traumatic stress, anxiety, or depression
34: Number of detainee deaths as a result of interrogation methods currently under investigation by the U.S. military
20,000: Number of private contractors performing traditionally military jobs in Iraq
1: Percentage of Iraqi workers involved in reconstruction projects
$160,000,000: Amount spent by major contractor Halliburton on meals that were never served to troops
82,000,000,000: Number of U.S. children who could have received health care coverage with the funds allocated to the war by the Bush administration
Sources: Foreign Policy in Focus, The Wall Street Journal.

Tue, 18 May 2004 22:38:05 GMT

Sunday night: watching random SNL video clips, coloring, chilling, talking, coloring, half-sleeping, going to breakfast, visiting the greenhouse, home at 10 Monday morning ... Lovely. Summer = potentially really hard.

Fri, 14 May 2004 23:55:35 GMT

Why Bucky is the coolest kid ever:

buckdogs: will told me about the convo you guys had on disease and overpopulation
buckdogs: i told him you made a really hot couple and he just walked away

Tue, 11 May 2004 05:20:09 GMT

There was pink tonight. A good few minutes of it. On a street corner by a flowery tree. Not a bad start. But we are not dating, because that would be stupid to start it a week and a half before going home. But there was pink tonight.

Fri, 16 Apr 2004 23:41:16 GMT

Why I Need Mandy:

IObgg: i haven't drunk much in general ... just a few times
IObgg: the only time i ever got close to what you could call drunk was over spring break with jennie
IObgg: and even then i was mostly fine
IObgg: so i don't want you to htink i've abandoned all my principles :-)
Amanda: the inclusion of the word "all" in that sentence is unusual

Mon, 05 Apr 2004 03:11:35 GMT

From my profile earlier this week:

Going from LaGrange to Normal this weekend I realized just how much I love where I'm from. Passing through central Illinois all you see are fields stretching away on all sides broken only by the tree line. Everything in the distance blends into different shades of gray. And the sky is so big, it defies my knowledge of the rules of perspective. Remember in elementary school when you'd play with the giant rainbow parachute, and one of the games was that you'd puff it up and then everybody would run underneath and sit on the edges so that you'd make a big dome? That's what the sky in central Illinois is like - it's like the trees have pinned it down on all sides to create a sky bubble. Clouds curve all the way from the right side of the road to the left, stretching for what seems like miles. Big sky, brown fields.

Sat, 27 Mar 2004 21:57:11 GMT

Why I Love Jay:

IObgg: awwwwwww jay i don't wnat to get all emo now
IObgg: that would be silly
Latte: it would
Latte: especially when I am multitasking and can't be as supportive as I would want to be
Latte: so we're saying no to emo night tonight
IObgg: okay :-)
Latte: haha
Latte: good
Latte: :-)
Latte: oh I heart you so much dear
Latte: I'm the boy that matters anyway

Sun, 14 Mar 2004 06:18:49 GMT

Two, count 'em, two shots of vodka tonight. I feel slightly dizzy, but otherwise fine :-)

Fri, 12 Mar 2004 21:42:17 GMT

It seems to me that it would be so much easier to be in a relationship with a girl than with a boy. I'd know what to do more often, I think, I'd be more comfortable. Whether I'd like the physical part as much remains to be seen.

My life is really damn good. It is so full of love and beauty. Let's count some of the beautiful things I've experienced lately. Really good music on my computer. Lights sparkling on the canal at night. The wind swirling giant snowflakes around the courtyard. Using my makers to make a mezzuzah last night. The wonderful, soothing order of the library. The overpowering sense of Things Greater than Us in the library. The stuff that decorates my walls. Eating Chicago-style pizza (not quite as good as Giordono's, but close) in a restaurant with my friends for my birthday. Hannah, Te-Ping, Jay, Ben, Keri, Jess, Anams, Cass, Michela, Hannah, Mia, Emma, Ella. The cute library in the Sarah Doyle Center (yes, there really is a Sarah Doyle Center here, how weird is that?) where we had our meeting last night. Wonderful fudgey cake. The story Jay wrote about himself that is not actually about him but still is because he poured so much of himself into it. Looking at pictures from the SOA protest. Sayles Hall, which was built for a student who went here and died at 21. Jay and his girls dancing. So many happy people. It's so beautiful to see people you love be happy.

Fri, 12 Mar 2004 04:01:32 GMT

Why I Love Jay, again:

Jay: holy shit lady!

Auto response from IObgg: I'm living in the Rock nowadays. Come find me, I'll be near Miele Amaro by Salvatore Cambosu. If you can find me based on that info, you'll get a prize.

Jay: by the by
Jay: two things
Jay: one
Jay: I will find you
Jay: ha
Jay: and two
Jay: you are the bestest!! I heart you so much!
Jay: byeeeee

Thu, 11 Mar 2004 05:53:13 GMT

Why I Love Elisabeth:

FiveColors: how is this for hot:

Auto response from IObgg: SHAZAM! Two jack rabbits! Doubletime!

FiveColors: "i would like to speculate that freckles in our eyes are mirror images and when we kiss they're perfectly aligned"
FiveColors: *the freckles*
FiveColors: love you sweets
FiveColors: bye!

Mon, 08 Mar 2004 17:56:10 GMT

Why I Love Jay:

Jay: Te amaré para siempre

Auto response from IObgg: This is perfectly okay with me.

Jay: y soy mejor de él, no lo olvides
Jay: :-)
Jay: gnight

Wed, 03 Mar 2004 02:33:24 GMT

Why today has been one of the best days of my life:
1. It is my 19th birthday (almost all the other things hinge on this fact).
2. Three people I love (Amanda, Jennie, and Jay) called me on or around midnight to wish me happy birthday.
3. Keri gave me knitting needles small enough that I can use them to make a hat.
4. First thing in the morning I got a card from Jess that she left on my door, the contents and cover of which made me cry. The envelope displayed these lyrics from Jason Mraz: "So now I'm sold, little sister / Why don't you tell me about the sunsets in Sweden / And the laws of Eden / And how you were the Rock of Gibraltar / And how they called you foxy / Well, that's another whole box of Pandoras."
5. Thanks to Jess I am now listening to the song from which the above lyrics were taken ("0% Interest") on repeat - it is very beautiful and makes me cry-happy.
6. Jay told everyone in our Arabic class it was my birthday.
7. I passed Hannah PC as she was leaving Keeney and she and that girl Sara(h?) stopped to sing me happy birthday on the corner of Brown and Benevolent, and Andrew Shields joined in, and some girl I didn't know heard them and wished me happy birthday.
8. I went with Jay to Meeting Stree Café to get a free cookie that was a big as my face.
9. My mom sent me 4 cards in a FedEx package: one from my dogs, one from my brother, one from both my parents, and a sappy one just from her.
10. I got a card from Alice that said "Carpe Cakem" AND had puppy, duck, and rampant penguin stickers on the envelope.
11. I got a box filled with 1,000 paper cranes, 3 CDs, and one long letter from Amanda.
12. The day was beautiful - warm, sunny, and as I was walking back from the HTML workshop I took today, carrying my box of cranes, the sun was setting behind the clouds and I had such an ALIVE moment and when I got back to my dorm Anamika came out into the hall and I lay down on the floor and almost started to cry because everything was so beautiful and I had a box of 1,000 paper cranes and I was so happy beyond description.
13. Several people left me happy birthday messages on my dry-erase board.
14. Jess gave me a Barbie band-aid for the cut on my finger.
15. The Ratty guy who flips your card around so you can't grab it and says "Good morning" when it's 6 at night shook my hand and gave me a flower!
16. I actually went to dinner with my friends for the first time in a long time and there was yellow cake and I put ice cream and mini M&Ms and sprinkles on my piece.
17. Amy sent me an email card and conceded that her name means Amada, because she knows I love that name even though she doesn't. She is Amada mía.
18. Several people over the last few days have left me IMs wishing me a happy birthday.
19. My mom and dad called to wish me happy birthday.
20. Even though I saw him earlier today Jay called me twice this evening just to update me on life and he IMed me to say happy birthday and that he loves me.
21. I am going to go to Ben and Jerry's in about a half hour to get my free ice cream cone.

I am so grateful for and slightly overwhelmed by the abundance of joy and good things in my life. Thank you, thank you, thank you God, and thank you to the people who love me and have made my life so good. Ma'sh 'ullah! Al hamd ulleh!

I'm on the 11th round of "0% Interest." This kick might last all night. Keri, come back from orchestra and save me from myself. Keri regularly saves me from myself, and I love her for it.

Sun, 22 Feb 2004 08:05:08 GMT

I am more drunk than I've ever been in my life. By which I mean I had one drink, the first of my life, over the course of an hour, and I finished about an hour ago. Rum and Coke tastes like Coke with Nyquil. So no, I am not actually anywhere near close to being drunk, but still, it's something :-)

Sat, 07 Feb 2004 15:37:22 GMT

Last night we made a quadruple batch of cookie dough. Preparing for the process resulted in the following exchange between me and Jess, who lives next door to me:
Me: Jess, do you have that box of sugar for me?
Me and Jess simultaneously: LEND ME SOME SUGAR! I AM YOUR NEIGHBOR!

It was quite an exciting moment.

Tue, 03 Feb 2004 05:00:16 GMT

There are currently two people sharing a shower stall in our bathroom. Everyone's kind of afraid to go in, but a bunch of people just grabbed their toothbrushes and stormed in, hoping to sort of scare them away. I mean, c'mon, these are normal waking hours, wouldn't you think they'd want privacy? So weird.

Tue, 20 Jan 2004 06:56:17 GMT

Zack O'Malley, so sassy!

Me: i mailed all my other stuff to school today
Me: i was dismayed to find a pair of shoes i'd forgotten to send
Zack: sad
Me: i guess i'll just take them with me, but i don't know if i can fit them in my suitcase
Zack: women
Me: !!!!
Me: sassy!
Me: wtf does that mean?!
Zack: oh come on
Zack: you know what i'm talking about

Thu, 01 Jan 2004 08:29:13 GMT

Wyclef Jean reminds me of Ben and of BEAN's Northeast Environmental Conference (and all affiliated people, like Noah F., Noah W., Mika, Sarah, Megan, James, Hannah, Emma, Will, etc.).

Happy New Year. Mark Banashak makes a lovely escort.

Wed, 17 Dec 2003 20:12:20 GMT

TRAVEL SAFETY

- Always be aware of your surroundings.

- If you feel you are being followed or harassed by someone, go
directly to the nearest occupied building or employee and ask for help.

- If eating while travelling, never leave a beverage unattended. If
your drink is out of sight, even for a few minutes, don't finish it.

PLANES, TRAINS, BUSES

- Check with your airline, bus or train service ahead of time to make
sure your transportation is running on schedule so that you are not
waiting for a long period of time. Have your photo ID and/or passport
available to be checked.

- If you need to have carry-on luggage, pack only what is necessary.
Check as much baggage as possible to keep your hands free.

- Do not wrap presents because of security inspections.

- Do not pack any item that may be considered a weapon.

- Do not accept packages from anyone you do not know. Keep your luggage
in hand and under your control until you check it in with the baggage
handlers.

- Always notify family or friends of your travel route, itinerary,
expected time of arrival and any schedule changes. If possible, carry
a fully charged cell phone in case of an emergency.

- While waiting for your bus, train, or plane, stand near other
travelers. If the immediate area is deserted or dark, stay near an
occupied building or in a lighted area.

- If traveling alone on a bus, sit as close to the driver as possible.

AUTOMOBILE SAFETY

- Before you start your trip, check the cars belts, hoses, fluid
levels, wiper blades, tires and brakes. The spare tire should be
inflated and ready for use. Fill the gas tank and windshield wiper
fluid reservoir.

- Park in well-lit areas. Always have your keys in hand and check the
interior of your car before getting inside.

- If you feel threatened, lock your doors and sound the horn until
assistance arrives.

- Do not leave packages or valuables in plain view. Store them in the
trunk.

- Have maps, a cell phone and change for tolls readily available.

- Never pick up hitchhikers.

-If you feel you are being followed, drive to the nearest police
station, fire station or open gas station.

- If your car breaks down, pull completely off the road and call the
police or AAA for help. Do not get out of the car if someone pulls up
behind you. Stay inside the car with the doors locked and the windows
up. If they don't intend to hurt you, they will understand why you are
being cautious.

PROTECT YOURSELF.
PROTECT YOUR COMMUNITY.

One in a series of messages on safety. Sponsored by the Departments of
Public Safety, Residential Life, Student Life and Health Education.

Fri, 05 Dec 2003 00:41:09 GMT

Lovely Spanglish jokes :-)

- Buenos días. ¿Es aquí donde enseñan inglés en tres semanas?
- If, if! Between!

Have you ever heard of the Mexican who went to a store to buy socks, but he didn't speak English? He tried to signal to the female worker there what he needed by looking at and touching his feet. The woman showed the man some shoes, but the man said he didn't need them. Finally, the woman showed him some socks, and the man yelled, "¡Eso sí que es! ¡Eso sí que es!"

The woman responded in English, "Well, if you knew how to spell it, why didn't you just say so in the beginning?"

Thu, 27 Nov 2003 19:54:25 GMT

On the police presence at the FTAA protests in Miami last week:

Funded by an $8.5 million grant from the federal government (a line item in the recent $87 billion appropriation for Iraq), police, most of the time clad in full riot gear, patrolled the city in helicopters, on bikes, and on horseback. Many protesters were shocked at the sheer number of police officers and their intimidating appearance. "This looks like a war zone. Is this the war on terror?" a member of the steelworkers union asked upon entering the chaos Thursday. The Miami chief of police, however, commented in The Miami Herald that he thought overall the police used "remarkable restraint" in dealing with protesters. [Emphasis added]

http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=news.display_archives&mode=current_opinion&article=CO_031124

It was in the budget for the war in IRAQ that Miami police would get $8.5 million to prepare for a protest that had nothing to do with war or Iraq? For Lord's sake, it was about trade in the Western Hemisphere, about the environment and wages and poverty, not about foreign policy or anything of the sort. I don't know what to do.

Thu, 27 Nov 2003 19:46:39 GMT

Global justice and the SOA: With growth comes challenge
by Jesse Holcomb
This weekend, on the anniversary of the murder of nine Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and her daughter by graduates of the U.S. Army School of the Americas (SOA), more than 10,000 people gathered at the gates of Ft. Benning, in Columbus, Georgia, to call for the school's closure. In an act of civil disobedience, nearly 30 people scaled a chain-link fence barring entrance to the base, facing up to six months in prison and $5,000 in fines. While the impetus for this annual demonstration has been the long list of human rights abuses committed by Latin American soldiers trained at the SOA - including torture, kidnappings, assassinations, and massacres - the campaign to close the school continues to evolve, in many ways exemplifying the postmodern activism of the global justice movement.

Looking out over a vast technicolor sea of heads, accented occasionally by a cardboard cutout of Mohandas Gandhi or sign displaying one of martyred Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero's memorable phrases, it was difficult to imagine this demonstration's humble origins among a handful of Catholic activists some 14 years ago. Dianne Malthiowetz, 57, who was at Ft. Benning this weekend with United Auto Workers, said "They [the older folks] are all still here, but lost in a sea of youth." Malthiowetz, who has attended the rally every year since its inception, noted that the movement noticeably changed after the watershed World Trade Organization protests in Seattle, when a wide diversity of groups converged as a movement for global justice.

That diversity of issues and voices has spread to SOA Watch, the main organizer of the movement to close the SOA. While differing in their platforms, groups and individuals calling for the SOA's closure say that by supporting abusive regimes, it represents the injustice of national and corporate interests over and against human rights. The school itself has claimed reforms, and in 2001 changed its name to the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. But the movement is broader than the school or its name. "Not only is SOA Watch concerned about this school of terror," says SOA Watch organizer Eric LeCompte, "but we're also concerned about the broader foreign policy that this school represents."

As the movement has grown, protesters have also seen intensified efforts by law enforcement to control protesters. In recent years, the base's entrance has been barred with fencing and barbed wire, whereas before demonstrators were able to freely "cross the line" in a solemn procession of protest. Now any who wish to do so must climb over the fence and face increased penalties. Other measures have created an atmosphere of intimidation, including police searches and metal detectors for every person entering the perimeter of a guarded and monitored "protest zone." SOA Watch and the ACLU have taken legal action to oppose what they call unconstitutional interference in what has always been a nonviolent vigil.

Despite the complex questions faced by a growing movement - challenges faced by a new generation of activists worldwide - the noise of the weekend's events came into focus during Sunday's solemn "funeral" procession. None seemed deterred by the police presence, or by the previous day's attempts by the U.S. Army to drown out the rally by blaring patriotic hymns from a crackling loudspeaker. The prayer vigil spoke loudly in its simplicity, as the names of the SOA's victims were remembered in the litany. With their presence, thousands of diverse consciences bore witness together, lest a legacy of human rights abuse linked to the SOA be buried in rhetoric or faded collective memory.

Even as the increasing size and momentum of this movement creates new challenges and internal obstacles to address, growth has also been its greatest strength. Through increased awareness of the atrocities committed by SOA graduates, and a broader critique of U.S. foreign policy, there is optimism that the bill to close and investigate the SOA - HR1258 - may pass in Congress this spring. Citing an increase in congressional support for the bill, LeCompte remarked that "With new partners like Amnesty International, United Auto Workers, the AFL-CIO, with church groups from around the country, and religious organizations, we believe that through a concerted lobbying effort we will be successful in bringing this school to a close."

There's still time to take action to close the SOA! If you haven't already, go to our action page and send a message to your congressperson asking them to support HR1258, a bill that would close, investigate, and prevent the re-opening of the SOA.

Take action today at: http://go.sojo.net/campaign/close_the_SOA/ebu8du42jnk65t

Thu, 20 Nov 2003 18:15:41 GMT

I'm going to Georgia this weekend to protest the School of the Americas (google School of the Americas Watch for an explanation). Here's what my uncle had to say about it (this is the same one who wanted me to become president and said that I might have to sacrifice my principles along the way):

Hi Ingrid.

The School of the Americas certainly has helped to foster the domination of Latin America by corrupt dictators and US business interests. It's a symbol of repression by the powerful against the weak.

Fort Benning is also where Cathy's father was based for a number of years. He was a Colonel in the US Army and died in Vietnam. He was against the war but as a career officer with a family either had to go or be jailed for desertion.

This is a tough time to demonstrate against the US military. Bobby and I were at a pro football game in Miami where they paraded out 20 pilots from Florida who just returned from Iraq. It appeared to me that all 70,000 in attendance stood up and cheered when they were introduced. In my little way, I protested by remaining quietly sitting and praying that this carnage would quickly end.

I wish you a safe trip.

Bob

I wasn't liking that anti-soldier attitude, so my reply:
Hey Bob! It's good to hear from you. I'm really excited about this trip ... I hear Christian might be there too! That'd be nice, I haven't seen him in awhile. It certainly is a tough (and appropriate) time to be against the administration and the inner workings of this government, against the leadership, but we (the group that's going to GA) have talked about how we're not against the soldiers at Fort Benning, we're not protesting them, we're protesting what the government is doing with our money and the position they have put the soldiers in. That's what I see as the biggest problem with our foreign policy in general and Iraq in particular - Bush and his cronies manipulating the people. I'm so very glad I can vote in the next election :-)

CARPE DIEM
~Ingrid : )

His reply:
Hi Ing,

I understand your reasons for the protest but be careful that it isn't turned around where you will be perceived as protesting against the US soldiers now based in Iraq. That protest should be on the White House steps.

Bob

But didn't he just say ... ? Didn't HE protest against the soldiers? Hehe, then he offered me the apartment he has in DC if my friends and I ever want to go for a protest or something :-) That'd be a sweet deal. Here's what he said to my mom about my going to the protest:

Oh, the cycle of life. How well I remember participating in the "Poor Peoples' Campaign" in DC and the Vietnam demonstrations. Then, when we get older, we get that life is too short to keep swimming against the current so we find our little islands of comfort and escape. Speaking of an escape (from one paradise to another), Cathy and I are using some comp UA tickets to fly to SFO in about 10 days where we will go to Monterey and then Tahoe, two of my all-time favorites where my batteries are quickly recharged.

*le sigh* Why are idealism and activism seen a naive just because they're most prominent among young people? Maybe it's the OLD people who are wrong, blinded by burnout. Doing something matters even if it won't change the entire world. I certainly have no intention of becoming a wealthy travel agent like my uncle just because I won't be able to change all of US policy in my 20s. Change is a lifelong struggle, not something that gets done in a few years and not something you can quit just because progress isn't quick. If you stop, you've let them win.