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I find it ironic that in my first blog here in 10 months, I'm saying goodbye to Livejournal. I shall continue to blog (often, I hope), but it'll be elsewhere on the interweb:
vinividivoloindomiumredire.blogspot.com
Those who have supported me so far (both of you!), please read the new blog and comment, etc. I'll love you forever, even of you don't, but I rather you did.
Ta.
A couple of weeks or so ago I ran into my former roommate who still lives in the old apartment. He told me the mailman had just given him a bunch of my mail earlier that day, some of which were from immigration. We met later that night and he gave me a bundle of envelopes, telling me I should have put in for a change of address. I informed him that I had done so just before I went to Cincinnati and thanked him for the delivery. In case you haven't guessed it by now... My green card was in an envelope among the bundle, post marked late May. Thus ended that miserable saga. In other news, I've been accepted into the M.Ed program in adult education at VCU. I will begin in January, specializing in adult literacy. I can't wait. It should prove to be an exciting adventure.
Yesterday, I resigned myself to festering on the couch and watching whatever was on the tube as I seethed and internally raged about the fact that my replacement green card is now going to take three to six months to arrive.
As I surfed the channels, I happened across the Virginia Tech University's opening football game of the 2007 season. There was much in the way of remembrance of the victims of the April 16th tragedy on the VTech campus, with numerous coaches, alumni, and even a few survivors sharing thoughts and memories about the tragedy.
One such alumni was Bruce Smith, a hall of fame defensive end and a football legend who was coincidentally wearing a 'Vtech Legends' t-shirt, adorned with the numbers of legendary Vtech football players, including the number 7, formerly belonging to Michael Vick.
This brought the attention of the sportscasters to the fact that Vick's name and number continue to be displayed prominently in the stadium and the football facilities at VTech, honoring his accomplishments as a VTech quarterback and acknowledging his generous donations to the school after his move to the NFL, including the 'Michael Vick Hall'.
All this was of course secondary to the day's events, and was only mentioned in passing by the broadcasters. But it did remind me of the previous Monday night preseason game between Vick's former team, the Atlanta Falcons, and the Cincinnati Bengals, taking place in Atlanta.
The game was filled with shots of fans still sporting their number 7 Vick jerseys, even though earlier that day, the man had plead guilty to many atrocious charges involving dog fighting, etc.
The curious thing was that all the people shown by ESPN wearing those jerseys were black. Even the Pulitzer prize winning journalist from Atlanta who was interviewed by the sideline reporter (and did her best to make excuses for Vick's behavior) was black.
Here in Richmond, when Vick appeared for his first court date a few weeks ago, the crowd outside the courthouse was divided between black and white. Whites called for Vick's head, while blacks cried foul, proclaiming his innocence.
I should be surprised, but I seem to recall Marion Barry's re-election as the mayor of D.C. after he was busted by the F.B.I. while during a cocaine addled orgy with prostitutes his first time as the mayor.
What I would like to know is this: Will Vick ever be regarded simply as a man who has committed a crime? Will his race ever stop being an issue?
I kind of know the answer, but I want to know what all of you think.
Holla!
This past Sunday, I bowled for the first time in my life. I walled off the OCD in my brain, put on the oddly colored rented shoes, and began bowling with a 10lb., large ball. I began with a 76, and peaked at 105, tweaking my left hamstring in the process. That is enough for now. Next, I plan to attempt to swing a baseball bat and hit a baseball. Then I can cross that off the list of things I've never done as well. We'll see how things figure.
Thu, Jul. 26th, 2007, 12:47 pm
Questions...
Ok, we all know history is cyclical in nature. To that end, here are a few things I've been wondering: - Will Putin bring back 'The Iron Curtain' and be known as the one who re-unified USSR? Things sure seem to be headed that way. He is sure-handed and ruthless, and his open defiance of U.S. and Britain smacks of the old cold war days. - Will the next president of the U.S. be the one to plan a troop withdrawal from Iraq and be consequently assassinated? So far, the war in Iraq has closely followed the path of the Vietnam conflict, and we can be sure that the withdrawal of troops from Iraq will be a deciding issue in the next election. Will we have another JFK as a result? - Will the Arab people ever realize the dire straits they are in because of their tribal past and unite as a people? The benefits will be enormous, and it will even bring about the end of a few of the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. What do you all think? Is there anything you'd like to add? Talk to me people.
I've notice a certain peculiarity (other than the usual Richmond ones) since my return to Richmond this past Sunday. There seems to be a disproportionate difference between the price of regular and 'plus' gasoline, the next step up from regular. See, the prices for gas used to go up in ten-cent increments: 2.80 for regular, 2.90 for plus or premium, and 3.00 for super. This past week however, I've been witnessing gas station signs that read thus: 2.79 for regular, 2.86 for plus, and 2.95 for super. Or, sometimes there is a 20-cent gap between the price of regular and plus. I am freaking out over here. Monk wouldn't put up with this, why should I?
Here is my letter of intent. Refer to my previous post for instructions, and thanks again: I intend to use a Masters degree in Adult Education, in conjunction with my B.A. in English, to help adults in need of obtaining a better and more functional understanding of the English language achieve that goal. This may include adults from non-English speaking countries who have migrated here, or those in parts of the U.S. who, due to factors beyond their control, have never achieved literacy. However, while I feel that literacy is essential to all adults, I have especially strong feelings about the emigrants’ need to have a working knowledge of the English language due to my own personal experiences upon moving here with my family in 1992. You see, ever since our arrival in the United States, I have seen firsthand the difficulties my parents face on a daily basis because they lack the necessary English language skills. My father, a CPA in Iran, has had to work basic hourly jobs because he doesn’t know enough English to take his re-certification exam, and my mother can barely put a sentence together in English, so she simply refuses to leave the house by herself. The only reason we survived as a family was because my father had put me in an international school during our stay in Tanzania where, due to my complete immersion in an English-speaking environment, I learned to speak English within a few months time, and continued to expand my knowledge of the language during our stay there. But I was all of fourteen years old at the time of this immersion, and more perceptive to the challenges of learning a new language. The various elements of my education more or less just fell into place. In order to teach an adult the finer points of a language as complex as English, I will need to have certain skills and be knowledgeable in certain areas of the education curriculum, which I hope to obtain in the Masters of Education program in Adult Learning here at V.C.U. And while I understand this program to be challenging and highly involved, I feel that due to my experiences with my parents after arriving here, as well as my aptitude in, and the sheer enjoyment I received from, helping other undergraduates with their English homework during my own undergraduate studies, I’ll be successful in this program. My strong desire to help others avoid my parents’ unfortunate circumstances about which I spoke earlier will also be a great driving force behind my success in this program.
Here's the deal: I'm currently working on my letter of intent for the VCU School of Education's M.Ed program in Adult Learning (with a concentration in Adult Literacy), and will hopefully by done with it by the weekend. I will post it here as soon as it is done, and would LOVE for all of you to read it and give me your critique. The application is not due for a little while, so I'll have ample time to alter it in accordance to your (hopefully) constructive criticism. I thank you all in advance, even if you choose not to participate. After all, I appreciate your friendships anyway, so the thanks will still apply. :o)
My otherwise uneventful day took a bit of a sour note at about 5:30 est this afternoon when Barcelona failed to become 'La Liga' champs due to Real Madrid's better head to head record against them, since they both had the same amount of points. So damn close. But then, at 10:30 pm, "Flight of the Cochords" premiered on HBO, and all was well again. I recommend this show to all who want to watch an original, wonderfully quirky, and very funny show. It just might be the reason to get HBO.
Sun, May. 27th, 2007, 06:47 pm
I have been meaning to write something about Beckham's eminent arrival in the MLS (with the Los Angeles Galaxy) for sometime now, but hadn't. However, bit of news hit the wires a little while back which put me in the mood again. For those of you who are unaware, the Galaxy paid somewhere around quarter of a million dollars to acquire Mr. posh spice (who are we kidding here folks?), who had been let go from the British national squad after their abysmal performance in world cup '06. He cried for a while, I'm sure, but then dried his tears with a few $100 bills, and went home to his hottie wife and kept on playing for Real Madrid and wearing Adidas heartbroken, surely. You see, Mr. posh... er, Beckham is getting to be a bit old for professional sports (he's just a bit older than me, how sad is that for me?), so when Hollywood came-a-calling with quarter of a mill., he jumped at the chance to get into acting, etc. after his athletic career wound down. This was early this year, with the L.A. contract beginning in June. The opinions were mixed at the time. MLS said he would do well to promote the American league domestically, to which everyone else (yours truly included) replied: "but teenage girls already play soccer!" As an ardent Barcelona fan, I was just happy he was leaving Real Madrid, to be honest. I was just so sick of hearing about him. I think L.A. and Beckham deserve each other. After all, where else would an ok athlete super-hyped by the media because of his looks into super-stardom go but to the land of the fakes? But, and unlike Mrs. Beckham's, this is a terrible 'but', due to injuries to a few members of the England squad, Beckham was recalled to the national team for at least the next few EURO 2008 qualifiers. Uh oh! By FIFA rules (and just common sense, really), a player's club has to allow them to play for their national team regardless of what is going on at the club, and without suffering any financial penalties. The Galaxy front office must be crapping their collective pants. Real Madrid has already released Beckham from his contract, and qualifiers for the European championship is pretty serious business (with subsequent world cup connotations). Beckham might not make to the U.S. after all, at least not anytime this year. I will be following this unfolding saga, if only for the chuckles it is sure to provide. Maybe England will just use Beckham for a few games and release him again as soon as btter players recover from their injuries. Maybe L.A. Galaxy will pay Beckham to Play in Europe. Or maybe no one will care one way or another. Any way you look at it, Beckham is well on his way to becoming an entertainer. I'm having fun anyway!
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