The Zen Mechanic

Just Be...

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Kimya Dawson’s song: 12/26

Lyrics, lyrics—so powerful and contemporary: http://bit.ly/stSnx

…

so please give me a break from all your complaining
about who was mean to you and how your stepdad is a pain
- i care, i swear, but i just can’t take it, not today
all i can think about are tsunamis and earthquakes

everything she’s ever known is gone, gone, gone
everyone she’s ever loved is gone, gone, gone
the only reason she’s alive is
she grabbed a palm frond and held on

you can call me crazy but it seems to me we could
have sent more than we spend in one day killing iraqis
to help the hundreds of thousands
who are injured and diseased
and hungry and homeless and without families
i’m appalled by our government’s initial reaction
and the fact that they asked for a verbal retraction
from the folks who called them stingy
they’re just covering their assets
well, they thank their greedy god for wiping out the lower class

we’d have 12/26 tattoed across our foreheads
if something this atrocious happened on our coast instead
well, a tragedy’s a tragedy no matter where it happens close your eyes really tight and imagine
that everything you’ve ever known is gone
and everything you’ve ever loved is gone
and the only reason you’re alive is you were lucky
and you were strong enough to hold on

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Northern Sahara is ‘blowing up’

Malian Army Attacks Al Qaeda for the First Time: http://bit.ly/XSfxU

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Nature, old school style

http://www.slate.com/id/2219955/slideshow/2220333/fs/0//entry/2220334/
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Technical Moves.  My first climb outside! View high resolution

Technical Moves.  My first climb outside!

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June 14, 2009:  Climbing at Great Falls Park, VA View high resolution

June 14, 2009:  Climbing at Great Falls Park, VA

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I did the same thing in Abuja, Nigeria.  I ended up using the African bush(es) as a bathroom break, only to find that I think all of Nigeria has used the same bush.  Needless to say…Hashing is awesome. rogoffinrwanda: “Hashing is a state of mind - a friendship of kindred spirits joined together for the sole purpose of reliving their childhood or fraternity days, releasing the tensions of everyday life, and generally, acting a fool amongst others who will not judge you or measure you by anything more than your sense of humor.” That was the only description I got when I met up with a group of people at the ENGEN Petrol Station in Nyabugogo (translation: shady gas station across from creepy bus depot).  Once the crew of ex-pats and Rwandese arrived we piled into cars and were driven to a beautiful spot up in the Rwandan hills and explained the rules of the game: Walk or run.  Follow the hash marks (shredded US Embassy documents that the leaders dropped along the way).  Have fun.  When you return, drink beer. We took off - I wisely chose to stay with the walkers - and were immediately surrounded by local Rwandese children as our hike took us through small villages built into the side of the mountain. “Good morning!” they shouted.  It was 4 pm.  “Mizungu!  Give me money!” Once we got past the typical niceties, the children followed behind us with huge smiles for the rest of our two-hour, mostly uphill journey, delighted when we stopped to take pictures of them. When we arrived back at the starting point, we were exhausted but managed to throw back a Primus or two.  As the sun set, the “virgins” - those who had never participated in Hash - were initiated through a ceremony that involved some rather intimate questions and chugging of beers.  A bit cultish?  Check.  But all in all, not a bad way to end the day. Photos of cute Rwandese kids and the gorgeous scenery here. View high resolution

I did the same thing in Abuja, Nigeria.  I ended up using the African bush(es) as a bathroom break, only to find that I think all of Nigeria has used the same bush.  Needless to say…Hashing is awesome.

rogoffinrwanda:

“Hashing is a state of mind - a friendship of kindred spirits joined together for the sole purpose of reliving their childhood or fraternity days, releasing the tensions of everyday life, and generally, acting a fool amongst others who will not judge you or measure you by anything more than your sense of humor.”

That was the only description I got when I met up with a group of people at the ENGEN Petrol Station in Nyabugogo (translation: shady gas station across from creepy bus depot).  Once the crew of ex-pats and Rwandese arrived we piled into cars and were driven to a beautiful spot up in the Rwandan hills and explained the rules of the game:

Walk or run.  Follow the hash marks (shredded US Embassy documents that the leaders dropped along the way).  Have fun.  When you return, drink beer.

We took off - I wisely chose to stay with the walkers - and were immediately surrounded by local Rwandese children as our hike took us through small villages built into the side of the mountain.

“Good morning!” they shouted.  It was 4 pm.  “Mizungu!  Give me money!”

Once we got past the typical niceties, the children followed behind us with huge smiles for the rest of our two-hour, mostly uphill journey, delighted when we stopped to take pictures of them.

When we arrived back at the starting point, we were exhausted but managed to throw back a Primus or two.  As the sun set, the “virgins” - those who had never participated in Hash - were initiated through a ceremony that involved some rather intimate questions and chugging of beers.  A bit cultish?  Check.  But all in all, not a bad way to end the day.

Photos of cute Rwandese kids and the gorgeous scenery here.

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The Job Search: Pain or Pleasure?

I haven’t been able to decide if graduating from GWU’s Elliott School in May 2009 has been a good or bad thing.  Advice from all walks of DC life have given me zero, one and two thumbs up on prospects for recent graduates. However, now I have time to blog.

That’s a good thing.

But, now I spend time actually watching all the youtube videos and links to political commentaries on Somalian beaches, the Arlington Rap, and old SNL skits.

That (could be) a bad thing.

So, I’ve been marinating on whether or not I should ascribe an adjective to the job search process—good, bad, exciting, depressing, painful, pleasurable.  Instead, I’ve decided not to give any judgement, and enjoy the transition.

I didn’t much care for my GWU graduation—I thought the speeches were relatively boring and uninspiring, except for Ambassador Kurt Volker (GWU M.A. ‘87), who just completed a tour as the U.S. permanent representative to NATO.

Then a friend who works at Al Jazeera-English passed along this Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005. It’s everything a graduation speech should be (adjectives do come into play here):  Inspiring, shocking, funny and *slightly* brilliant.  Take a minute and read it—I promise it’s worth it.

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html

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Obama, AMA conference in Chicago, talking to health professionals: “you entered this profession to be healers, and that’s what you should be.” Monday, June 15, 2009, C-SPAN radio
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From Blogger to Tumblr—A new media for an old blogger

I’ve gotten up the courage to leave Blogspot and start blogging on Tumblr—apparently it’s the cool, hip thing to do.  So, it took me a week or two to gain the courage to try something new.  Thanks Nate.

Here are the links to two of my old blogs:  One chronicles my fellowship working with the Landmine Survivors Network in El Salvador in the summer of 2008: http://advocacynet.org/blogs/index.php?blog=131

The other chronicles my thoughts, ideas, impressions as I navigate travels in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Costa Rica, over the last few years, as well as my time in good ‘ol Washington DC: http://lalalalari.blogspot.com/.

Enjoy?  Laugh?  Cry?  Make strange faces?  Have at it.

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The Diary of a Young Survivor

The Diary of a Young Survivor
Jun 11, 2009
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”

June 12, 2009, commemorates the birth of Anne Frank. Through her widely published diary, Anne left us an unforgettable impression of life during the Holocaust. Anne’s insistence on optimism and forgiveness, in spite of the severe limitations and danger of her life in hiding from the Nazis, became a beacon for all who are working to reconcile and rebuild in the wake of genocide and war. Her message still rings true for survivors of conflicts from Rwanda to Bosnia.

“Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!”

…Read more: http://my.survivorcorps.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=269&postId=2736738081008002742

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