This is why I love Jon Stewart.
now: "the daily show"
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Representing one's country
Today, I met three different guys from various branches of the US Military. They were recruiting officers, in full uniform, who happened to be positioned in the mall. Now before I start relating the story, there were a few things I learned about uniforms from school in Trinidad and one thing that our teachers always preached to us was, "You represent the institution, not yourself, when you wear the uniform." This applies for any job, school, government etc.
Event1:
These guys come up to us...I am purposely saying guys because I do not feel as if they deserve my respect to call them by their ranks...so they come up to us and obviously they know my coworker. I step away and after a while they introduce themselves to me and they ask why I distanced myself from them. They want to know my name. My coworker tells them but she tells them the shortened version. One of them asks if I am Latin. I said no. They ask where I am from and I tell them and I go back to where I was standing at first. One of the guys walks over and begins a conversation with me.
Conversation:
Guy: "I used to work with a Trinidadian."
me: "oh really?" I am not impressed...It came out more sarcastic than questioning. There are a lot of Trinis in S.Fl.
Guy: "yeah, he was always down low." the guy is motioning with his hands and at the same time he sees the inquisitive look on my face. "yeah, he was always smoking something, and I don't mean cigarettes. He (the trini) said that everyone in Trinidad smokes marijuana." Now, I am not impressed at all. In fact, I am little ticked because I can see that he is implying that if Trini A smokes ganja, then Trini B must smoke ganja as well.
Me: "Well he was speaking for himself only."
Guy: "Yeah?"
Me: "Yes. Not everyone in Trinidad smokes weed. Maybe some people do but we really shouldn't collectively judge people like that."
Guy: "That's true. It's like me, I'm Puerto Rican and people are surprised when I tell them that I don't drink."
Me: "My point exactly!" I turn back to my work and Guy walks back over to my coworker and a little while after he and his recruiting buddy leaves.
Sometime later, Recruiting buddy (RB) comes back minus Guy.
RB is speaking with coworker about some occurrence in the mall the day before where a discharged soldier was telling him about soliciting at his booth. Apparently you are not supposed to solicit at other people's businesses. Lo and behold, RB starts cussing about the whole thing and he is loud enough for people passing by to overhear. Okay, breaking this down, I may be old school but there are some things I do not like. One of them is you do not start using your green verbs and red adjectives in front of someone you just met......and worse yet, when you are supposed to be representing your country's military. RB's behavior made me think twice about how "honorable" it was to be a member of the US Armed Forces. One of the things that they stress is how disciplined you are when you leave the military. I did not see discipline today. On top of all that.....other event. This one, I am willing to place bets on....
Event 2.
RB starts speaking with J- over at the other store from us. He is trying to find out if J- knows anything about the discharged guy and the soliciting story. J- knows a little of it but in a nice way, J- says, "If I were you, I would just leave it alone." RB is gearing up for a fight, it seems, with the discharged guy and he is trying to find out when the guy is there so he can come back in his fatigues (when he is not in uniform) to punch the guy. Hence, J-'s advice. RB says something and J- tells him that it is not becoming of someone in uniform. Now he turns to J-. The funny thing is J- is going along with it and he is getting RB angrier. Meanwhile, like a typical Trini, I was thinking about which one I should place my bets on...in case if the whole matter resorted to blows...and let me tell you, the popcorn stand was right around the corner!
On a serious note, I knew what J- was doing though. See, RB is a young hothead who has probably risen in rank faster than he could absorb his responsibilities. He has a uniform on and he thinks that he can get away with treating ordinary people as if he is superior to them. The conversation between J- and the Recruiting Buddy showed that a little power/elevation in rank was enough to inflate RB's ego to a point where he completely forgot basic civilities and that he was actually speaking for his country while wearing that uniform. To a person like me, an onlooker, who has serious doubts about what the entire US military is doing right now, I saw that RB was old enough to know that when he dons an American uniform, he is representing America and he did not leave me with a very good impression of the US military. On a more individual note, RB turned me off at "hello" but even worse, he was cursing to impress my younger coworker and in the process of his whole visit, he forgot what it was like to even be civil far less for being disciplined.
Event1:
These guys come up to us...I am purposely saying guys because I do not feel as if they deserve my respect to call them by their ranks...so they come up to us and obviously they know my coworker. I step away and after a while they introduce themselves to me and they ask why I distanced myself from them. They want to know my name. My coworker tells them but she tells them the shortened version. One of them asks if I am Latin. I said no. They ask where I am from and I tell them and I go back to where I was standing at first. One of the guys walks over and begins a conversation with me.
Conversation:
Guy: "I used to work with a Trinidadian."
me: "oh really?" I am not impressed...It came out more sarcastic than questioning. There are a lot of Trinis in S.Fl.
Guy: "yeah, he was always down low." the guy is motioning with his hands and at the same time he sees the inquisitive look on my face. "yeah, he was always smoking something, and I don't mean cigarettes. He (the trini) said that everyone in Trinidad smokes marijuana." Now, I am not impressed at all. In fact, I am little ticked because I can see that he is implying that if Trini A smokes ganja, then Trini B must smoke ganja as well.
Me: "Well he was speaking for himself only."
Guy: "Yeah?"
Me: "Yes. Not everyone in Trinidad smokes weed. Maybe some people do but we really shouldn't collectively judge people like that."
Guy: "That's true. It's like me, I'm Puerto Rican and people are surprised when I tell them that I don't drink."
Me: "My point exactly!" I turn back to my work and Guy walks back over to my coworker and a little while after he and his recruiting buddy leaves.
Sometime later, Recruiting buddy (RB) comes back minus Guy.
RB is speaking with coworker about some occurrence in the mall the day before where a discharged soldier was telling him about soliciting at his booth. Apparently you are not supposed to solicit at other people's businesses. Lo and behold, RB starts cussing about the whole thing and he is loud enough for people passing by to overhear. Okay, breaking this down, I may be old school but there are some things I do not like. One of them is you do not start using your green verbs and red adjectives in front of someone you just met......and worse yet, when you are supposed to be representing your country's military. RB's behavior made me think twice about how "honorable" it was to be a member of the US Armed Forces. One of the things that they stress is how disciplined you are when you leave the military. I did not see discipline today. On top of all that.....other event. This one, I am willing to place bets on....
Event 2.
RB starts speaking with J- over at the other store from us. He is trying to find out if J- knows anything about the discharged guy and the soliciting story. J- knows a little of it but in a nice way, J- says, "If I were you, I would just leave it alone." RB is gearing up for a fight, it seems, with the discharged guy and he is trying to find out when the guy is there so he can come back in his fatigues (when he is not in uniform) to punch the guy. Hence, J-'s advice. RB says something and J- tells him that it is not becoming of someone in uniform. Now he turns to J-. The funny thing is J- is going along with it and he is getting RB angrier. Meanwhile, like a typical Trini, I was thinking about which one I should place my bets on...in case if the whole matter resorted to blows...and let me tell you, the popcorn stand was right around the corner!
On a serious note, I knew what J- was doing though. See, RB is a young hothead who has probably risen in rank faster than he could absorb his responsibilities. He has a uniform on and he thinks that he can get away with treating ordinary people as if he is superior to them. The conversation between J- and the Recruiting Buddy showed that a little power/elevation in rank was enough to inflate RB's ego to a point where he completely forgot basic civilities and that he was actually speaking for his country while wearing that uniform. To a person like me, an onlooker, who has serious doubts about what the entire US military is doing right now, I saw that RB was old enough to know that when he dons an American uniform, he is representing America and he did not leave me with a very good impression of the US military. On a more individual note, RB turned me off at "hello" but even worse, he was cursing to impress my younger coworker and in the process of his whole visit, he forgot what it was like to even be civil far less for being disciplined.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Missing the blogosphere
It's been quite some time since the last blog and it's pretty unusual. I was going to blog on the same night that Colbert had Papa Bear (Bill O' Riley) as a special guest on his "Report" but I opted to sleep instead. It was every bit as awesome as I thought it would be. For me, I get all my news from him and Jon Stewart (which is sad for the major news networks....they should take an example and report the real news), and Colbert grilled Papa Bear. At one time Papa Bear said that he regretted being on the "Report." I must say though that Colbert toned down the interview. It seemed as if he was trying to not offend Papa Bear too much which in itself was hilarious. I'll try to find the clip on youtube and post it on my blog. It's a must see for fans of the "Colbert Report." This is one of the classics. I think I was just as excited as Colbert for this one!
Apart from the "Report," I've been doing Sudoku puzzles. Now, I learnt about these a long time ago in Math classes in Trinidad but I never really got addicted to them like I am now. I like them and I even got Furgie the exact same book with the hopes that we can compete but Furgie doesn't seem as into it as I am. Maybe, I'll get Vin to go crazy about it and I can challenge him. For me, I have decided to only do my Sudoku at home because when I am at the store, I guess someone can come in and rob the place and I would not notice. The cool thing about Sudoku is that when you are doing it, you are just thinking about the puzzle and nothing else. It is completely attention consuming.
Oh, ex-boyfriend is in S. Fl again. Not cool. Don't usually like seeing him around especially at places I frequent. Still dresses, walks and looks the same way. Believe me, that is not a good thing! Okay, now I better get back to work. Feels good to blog again after so long=0)
Apart from the "Report," I've been doing Sudoku puzzles. Now, I learnt about these a long time ago in Math classes in Trinidad but I never really got addicted to them like I am now. I like them and I even got Furgie the exact same book with the hopes that we can compete but Furgie doesn't seem as into it as I am. Maybe, I'll get Vin to go crazy about it and I can challenge him. For me, I have decided to only do my Sudoku at home because when I am at the store, I guess someone can come in and rob the place and I would not notice. The cool thing about Sudoku is that when you are doing it, you are just thinking about the puzzle and nothing else. It is completely attention consuming.
Oh, ex-boyfriend is in S. Fl again. Not cool. Don't usually like seeing him around especially at places I frequent. Still dresses, walks and looks the same way. Believe me, that is not a good thing! Okay, now I better get back to work. Feels good to blog again after so long=0)
Monday, January 08, 2007
Apocalypto
"Apocalypto" has been showing almost a month now and I only had the time to go last night to watch it. What surprised me is that even after a month, the theater was still half full. Really, we were not going to see it but we ended up at the movies and we decided then and there that we would watch this since it was the only movie showing at the time. The movie was starting at 11:40pm. This is a must-see movie. If it is still showing in the cinema, watch it on the big screen. There are some movies that you just need to see in a cinema to get the full effects of it. This is one.
Basically, "Apocalypto," as the name suggests, portrays the end of the Mayan civilization and one man's attempt to reunite with his family after his village is destroyed, his relatives and friends are killed, and he is captured by other warriors. There is very graphic violence in the movie but we have to keep in mind that the movie is based on historical evidence of Mayan sacrifices and those were in no way dainty. We got out at 2:30am from the cinema and I can honestly say that I never noticed that this movie was 2_1/2 hours long. It is fast paced and intriguing. If you learnt about the Mayans in history classes, this movie seals in what you learnt. At the end of the movie, patrons cheered. I joined in too=0) My final verdict on "Apocalypto:" I would give it an "awesome."
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Currenty Disturbed........
The flags have been flying at half-mast for almost a week now and it was only today, a whole week later, that former President Ford was buried. I find that disturbing....but then again, I find a lot of things disturbing lately. Starting with Saddam's execution and going back from that. First of all, I am reviewing international laws and I am pretty sure that there is one about executing the President of a country. Not that I am disputing whether he was bad or not but I know that when he surrendered he said something to the effect of "I AM the president of Iraq." AM suggests the present tense the last time I checked. Furthermore, how can you start a new government when the current President was still there. And what is even more confusing is where is Bin Ladin? I suppose everyone will love to know the answer to that! How can you just start searching for a terrorist and end up hanging the dictator in Iraq. Does it really appease us? I think this is getting old for a lot of people. At first all the bull was believable but people know that they are being lied to now. How do you remedy that?
See that's when you need someone like the late President Ford. Not that I know him personally (heh heh) but from the accounts of his 18 month presidency, he tried to renew trust in the government. This was right after Nixon. It may take a saint to accomplish this once more after G.W! I recently spoke with a girl whose fiancee is set to go to Iraq in the Spring. She also needed to be reminded that G.W was the president of this country and she was born and raised here! I found that amusing. I am only a few years older than this girl and she could care less about the President of the United States....Her country! Maybe she just doesn't follow up on politics like I do and I don't blame her. It is upsetting and frustrating. Now her only involvement in all this is that she is hoping that her husband-to-be does not get killed there and that he comes back home safely. She does not understand the whole purpose of being in Iraq and neither does her fiancee...it seems. I am guessing that he is about her age....which will place him at no more than 20 years old. I secretly hoped that he will return home safely. She was telling me that if he dies there, she will follow him and I told her not to even entertain the thought.
Oh, even more disturbing is the fact that our grandchildren, possibly great-grandchildren will be paying off the debts from this "war." Now I understand that all governments are corrupt and to be a politician means that somewhere along the line, you value social standing more than ethics (in most cases) but it is getting to a point now where the situation is ridiculous. Just recently, I was taxed a whopping 60 dollars off my paycheck and I could not help but think that a part of what I worked so hard for was going towards something I did not believe in and really is of no profit to middle-class Americans. So far, the Democrats are controlling the house and I have seen no improvement. We sit and wait now like ducks, to see what will happen when Congress reconvenes.
See that's when you need someone like the late President Ford. Not that I know him personally (heh heh) but from the accounts of his 18 month presidency, he tried to renew trust in the government. This was right after Nixon. It may take a saint to accomplish this once more after G.W! I recently spoke with a girl whose fiancee is set to go to Iraq in the Spring. She also needed to be reminded that G.W was the president of this country and she was born and raised here! I found that amusing. I am only a few years older than this girl and she could care less about the President of the United States....Her country! Maybe she just doesn't follow up on politics like I do and I don't blame her. It is upsetting and frustrating. Now her only involvement in all this is that she is hoping that her husband-to-be does not get killed there and that he comes back home safely. She does not understand the whole purpose of being in Iraq and neither does her fiancee...it seems. I am guessing that he is about her age....which will place him at no more than 20 years old. I secretly hoped that he will return home safely. She was telling me that if he dies there, she will follow him and I told her not to even entertain the thought.
Oh, even more disturbing is the fact that our grandchildren, possibly great-grandchildren will be paying off the debts from this "war." Now I understand that all governments are corrupt and to be a politician means that somewhere along the line, you value social standing more than ethics (in most cases) but it is getting to a point now where the situation is ridiculous. Just recently, I was taxed a whopping 60 dollars off my paycheck and I could not help but think that a part of what I worked so hard for was going towards something I did not believe in and really is of no profit to middle-class Americans. So far, the Democrats are controlling the house and I have seen no improvement. We sit and wait now like ducks, to see what will happen when Congress reconvenes.
Monday, January 01, 2007
Happy New Year!
Just wanted to wish all my fellow bloggers and fwennies a very happy new year. Hope 2007 brings you lots of smiles, laughter, happiness, joy, and prosperity. Wishing you all the best. Cheers!
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