200 Point Genius

Daniela and I spent 3 days in Ashland visiting her parents and stealing their furniture. The plan was to tow the furniture back to Vegas, and we even came close to getting a trailer hitch installed on the Hyundai. What derailed our plans was checking the Hyundai owner's manual and finding out that the car was incapable of towing that much weight (the U-Haul trailer was 850 pounds, but U-Haul required a car capable of pulling 2,000 pounds to ensure safe operation. Our car could pull 1,000 pounds and only when everyone in the car was behind it, pushing). So we packed up as much furniture as we could fit into the car and decided to buy the rest in Las Vegas.

The ride down was long. When I say "we were in the car for 14 hours," that doesn't really convey to you how long 14 hours in a car is. It's long. Really long. We left Ashland at 10:30am and got to Vegas by 12:30am the next day.

Here's a video of us before our asses fell asleep and we wanted to die:

Gas was surprisingly cheap. We left Ashland with a full tank of gas and only had to fill it back up twice. Once for $37 and again for $21. Had we rented a U-Haul truck (which gets 10 miles to the gallon) it would have cost us the GNP of Malta.

We had some car problems but powered through them. Maybe it was because we had the tires on the car changed before we left Ashland, but the car wouldn't stop shaking. I told Daniela not to worry about it when we were still close to Ashland (I thought the roads were just bad) but by the time we were at Sacramento it was clear something was wrong with the car. Much more worrisome was that the car kept losing engine power or something. I can't describe it well. At random intervals, it seemed like Daniela took her foot off the gas pedal when she hadn't, and the car would begin to slow down. Then, after about a second, it would power back on and the car would surge forward. This may have happened every 45 minutes or so. The only time it was a problem was when we were stopped at an intersection or traffic light. If we were stopped, the car would just die. Daniela was convinced that the car would die while we were going 80mph and that she would lose control of the car and kill us. Didn't happen.

Other than our car problems the trip was uneventful. We got in to Vegas around midnight and just crashed. OH! We stopped at a diner in Westley, California and there were those peg games on every table. I'm referring to that game where you have 15 holes and 14 pegs and you're supposed to leave one peg remaining by jumping over other pegs. The highest score you can get at that game is by leaving 8 pegs on the board without any further jumps possible. So I worked backwards to figure it out but solved it by the time I finished my biscuits and gravy. 200 Point Genius. Mark it, Dude.

Wild Turkeys!

So, like I said yesterday, Daniela and I left Las Vegas on the 31st for Oregon. We flew Allegiant which charges for all checked luggage and beverages. Not even water is free. The flight was 2 hours and we hit some turbulence coming into Medford, Oregon.

I've included a fabulous video of the two of us driving to the airport. I'll try to include videos in my postings so all of you back home don't forget what we look like.

Anywho, Daniela and I are in Ashland now and it's been snowing on and off all day long. We arrived last night at 6pm and Daniela's mom, Yvonne, picked us up. We met Daniela's dad at a Japanese restaurant in Ashland and got some Udon noodles before meeting her parents' new dog. I asked Daniela's mom who she plans on voting for and that evolved into a debate about politics. She likes Hillary, I like Obama, and the guy who was sitting behind us likes Mitt Romney. I thought it was hip that some random guy sitting behind us joined the conversation, but his timing was poor. His wife and he were finished eating, but we weren't. He stood up, came around to our table and began preaching about how capitalism made America what it is and how Mitt Romney is going to run the government like a business. While he was speaking, he spit a piece of whatever he had just had for dinner into my face, which was special. He was actually a very nice guy and had I not been eating, would have argued with him for the rest of the night. Spit in my face though. Couldn't forgive that. Also: Mitt Romney? Terrible.

Today D and I ran errands. Her parents own something like 6 cars and the one they're giving us for Las Vegas doesn't have a trailer hitch. Daniela reserved a U-Haul trailer for Sunday so we're still figuring out how much it's gonna cost to install a hitch and whether the car can even pull a trailer. They have a nice 2005 Jetta Wagon that Daniela and I want to borrow, but obviously her parents don't want to give us their awesome new car. We brought the hitch-less Hyundai to Medford for an inspection and went to the U-Haul rental place in town to ask questions about getting an installation. The guy there told us that a hitch is going to run about $280. Crap. If that's the case I think we should just buy furniture in Las Vegas, but Daniela really likes her old couch.

I guess that's about it. I'm here reading Yvonne's copy of 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' and Daniela is out with her mom on another errand. Daniela's parents' new Border Collie, Marnie, is here with me, but I think it's still scared of me.

Las Vegas!

Daniela and I arrived in Las Vegas yesterday. Daniela's aunt Joni picked us up at McCarran Airport in one of the bakery's refrigerated trucks. We met her brother Max at Kaizen Sushi for dinner. The food was good. Asian fusion menu. As we were leaving I thought I'd throw some Japanese at the sushi chef so I said "ご馳走様でした" which is (I think) 'that was a big meal!' The sushi chef sort of panicked and looked down at the next order he was preparing. I thought that was weird but chocked it up to my terrible pronunciation. I told Max later in the car ride home that I think I scared the chef with my horrendous Japanese. He then informed me that the chefs are in fact Korean. Ah. But what makes that annoying, is that the waitress welcomed us in Japanese and kept saying "Hai!" whenever she presented us with a dish or replied to the chefs. If she was Korean too, that's annoying.

We got to Max's place around 9 and moved our bags in. There is plenty of space here and the kitchen is ultra-modern but I thought our rooms were a little small. They're fine but I remember them being bigger. The water in Las Vegas has a taste to it. I described it as 'salty' to Daniela but that's not accurate. It eludes description.

We went to the bakery's new location this morning and it looks fantastic.

Daniela and I are about to leave for the airport because we're headed to Ashland next. We're picking up a car that her parents aren't currently using and some furniture as well. I'll update again in the immediate future.

Big day for Obama

"I'm gonna tie you to that bed in the Lincoln bedroom and then I'm gonna... (mumble)... ... ...around your ankles, and then I'm gonna..."

The endorsements keep rolling in for Senator Obama. If getting Oprah Winfrey and John Kerry's support wasn't enough, today Ted Kennedy and Toni Morrison endorsed him for President. If you follow the more tradish media, then you probably knew that already and good for you. However, most people probably missed a much more important endorsement today. In fact, only this blog (as far as I know) is reporting on it. Ready for it? Want to know to whom I'm referring? Who could be bigger than Ted Kennedy? This is called suspense... Today I went down to the town hall in Greenfield and cast my ballot for Obama in the Massachusetts primary.

I've never voted in a primary before so I'm predicting a record turnout in Massachusetts this year. Anything less is proof that there are terrorist cells undermining our democratic process. It's about time someone said it.

I've read articles online that say it's way too easy to vote in some states. I would like to include Massachusetts on that list. Not that I think it should be difficult, but I didn't even have to show ID today. I gave them my name and address and was casting my ballot. I forget how it works in a presidential election but I thought they at least asked for ID.

Everything else that I've been up to revolves around moving to Las Vegas. I'm picking Daniela up tomorrow and we're flying out of Bradley on Wednesday. Lord have mercy on our souls.

getting closer...

I fixed the header but I lost my rounded corners...

Las Vegas is on fire.

According to Facebook

Daniela sent me an email comparing the Network Statistics of the Facebook user groups "Boston, MA" and "Las Vegas, NV." Facebook asks its users to fill in fields for their favorite books, music, things to do, etc; Network Statistics lets you look at the most popular answers given to any of these fields. So, there are 345,297 people in the "Boston, MA" user group and 54,821 in "Las Vegas, NV." Daniela pointed out that what we're really comparing are the interests of only the 20-somethings in each place, and we should remember that before we assume everyone in both places are complete idiots. Only the 20-somethings in both places are complete idiots. It's an important distinction. So, according to Facebook, here are Las Vegans' favorite books (in order):

1 Harry Potter
2 The Bible
3 Da Vinci Code
4 Angels And Demons
5 The Great Gatsby
6 1984
7 Stephen King




I have a few problems with this list. I mean, I'm going to make fun of Las Vegas regardless of its taste in books, but this IS a pretty weak list. The largest number of people listed Harry Potter as their favorite book? Really? Really? REALLY? Because it's a hip thing to read, or because people in Las Vegas love fantasy novels? Or children's books maybe? I don't understand the popularity of Harry Potter, but I've never read any of them either. I have better things to do with my time... like criticizing books I've never read on my blog and drinking six cups of tea a day.

The Bible is a good book to have on your list, but only if it's number 1. To say that you enjoy the word of God, but not as much as Harry Potter only makes you look silly. Either its on the list at number 1, or you don't list it because it's in a category of its own and you can't compare it to the modest efforts of human beings.

After finishing up their top 7 with Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci Code, and Stephen King, the Harry Potter answer seems to make more sense. Las Vegans like what's popular. Like any major city's populace I imagine. Maybe we should only really look at the last two books as its serious entries. The Great Gatsby and 1984 are popular but they're not currently on any best-seller list. Actually, I'll include the Bible in the REAL list for Las Vegas because that's a book you might not find in every city's top 10. So, the final list for Las Vegas is: The Bible (at number 2), The Great Gatsby and 1984. Let's compare this list to Boston's:

1 Harry Potter
2 Catcher In The Rye
3 Angels And Demons
4 To Kill A Mockingbird
5 The Great Gatsby
6 The Davinci Code
7 The Bible
8 1984
9 Memoirs Of A Geisha




Oooooh! SNAP YO! So, for the same reasons I stated above, let's knock Harry Potter, Angels and Demons, and The Da Vinci Code off the list (although, I would like to note that the Da Vinci Code lost out to The Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Great Gatsby). We see the Bible on this list as well but at a disappointing 7.

OK. Now what can we deduce? Not much. Las Vegans like the Bible more than Bostonians do, but Bostonians really liked The Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird (neither made Las Vegas' list). Las Vegas is God country and Bostonians like great American novels better. I noticed that on Boston's list The Da Vinci Code is entered as "The Davinci Code." Does that mean that Facebook counted entries like "The Da Vinci Code," "Da Vinci Code," and "Davinci Code" as separate entries? Probably. So maybe that book is actually higher on the list. Which also means that more Bostonians misspelled that book's title than got it right. Popular novels made it into both cities' favorite books. Because people tend to say their favorite books are the ones they just finished reading? Or because today's bestsellers are just fantastic? Or because they appeal to the lowest common denominator among us? Lastly, both lists seem pretty negative, no? A dystopian novel where even love can be conquered by violence and fear, a book about the roaring '20s and the tragic life of a liquor smuggler, a novel about segregation and racial violence, a book about being misunderstood and the jaded feelings of youth, and a book about a Japanese whore (only not really: Geisha aren't whores).

This whole thing was very scientific.

Technorati tags: Facebook, Books, Boston, Las Vegas

Rhonda from way down yonda'

I'm back in Greenfield again. That was the shortest trip to Boston in the past two months but Daniela and I are leaving for Las Vegas next Wednesday (the 31st) and we're busy with packing and tying up loose ends.

I have to pay Luke back, try to sell any furniture that remains in my dad's barn, see my friends and family in Greenfield one last time, and pack. I think I can knock all of that out in a week.

This most recent trip to Boston was great. Daniela and I threw ourselves a going away party last Saturday night. We had 50 people over to her apartment in Cambridge. All of her friends from NETC and Dana Farber came, along with most of our friends from college. It was really nice to see everyone together one last time before we leave. Kevin invited me to come down to New York for the Idiotarod, but now I don't know if I'm going to make it. If anyone is looking for something to do in New York this weekend, try to keep up. I've wanted to join Kevin's team since I first saw his photos in 2005. Apparently the cops are aware of the race now and are making it more difficult to run.

While Daniela was cleaning out her apartment last week she found a Bob Dylan CD I had borrowed from the Greenfield Public Library and claimed as lost. I borrowed a dozen different Dylan CDs within a month, and I thought I had returned them all. The library sent me an email on the 5th requesting the return of the CD that was at Daniela's apartment under a pile of books. So, of course, I denied having it and told them I had already returned it and even said I had a witness, Daniela. They let it go since I over-reacted and today I had the enviable job of telling them I'm an idiot and returning the CD.

Japan is still on the table

I sent an email to Interac last night telling them that I formally withdraw my application for a job teaching in Japan. As anyone who reads this blog knows, I've decided to move to Las Vegas with Daniela and take the Foreign Service Officer's Exam instead. I told Interac that I'm tight for cash and simply can't afford to move back to Japan right now. This is true but only one of the reasons that has motivated this decision. Well, Interac replied that it's still interested in hiring me, so I should just let them know when I'm good and ready to return. This is great. I'm going to pursue this job with the State Department and if it doesn't work, I can always return to Japan.

This calls for a celebration. I think I'm going to go drink tea and read.

Reliving the past

My friends Mark, Bruce, and Pat are planning a trip through Southeast Asia for this March. Mark currently works for Citibank in New York, Bruce is teaching in Korea (his blog can be found here), and Pat... probably has sex for money. I've been emailing back and forth with Mark and Bruce and they want to see Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Since I've been there and I have something to share, I thought I'd put it out there for everyone.

The town that you'll stay in while seeing the temples at Angkor Wat is Siam Reap. It's a 5 or 6 hour bus ride from Phnom Penh because the roads in Cambodia (and especially between Siam Reap and the Thai border) are terrible. To call roads in Cambodia 'terrible' is as generous as I can be.

Downtown Siam Reap is only 6km from the main temple of Angkor Wat. Hotels there are more expensive than elsewhere in Cambodia, but still very reasonable compared to hotels in Europe or the US. We were able to find a place with a pool and a room with three beds for maybe $8 each. If my journal is correct, that was the Ancient Angkor Guesthouse but I DO NOT recommend going there (I'll elaborate later). That was the only hotel I stayed in while traveling that had a pool so I felt like a billionaire at the time. That was actually the first hotel we stayed at in Siam Reap. The second hotel we stayed at was $6 a night, but lacked the pool and accommodations.

When we arrived from Phnom Penh we had to take a taxi from the bus station into downtown Siem Reap. Our driver may have scammed us, but we can't be sure. We asked him to take us to a hotel that was recommended in our Lonely Planet guide, but when we got there he told us it was full and we had to try somewhere else. He recommended a different place and they had rooms available. As the taxi drivers get paid by certain hotels to turn up with tourists, it's in the drivers interest to get you to "his" or "her" hotel. So we found our first hotel because the driver recommended it. As I said, it was about $8 a night (I'm 40% sure of that).

Starr set the alarm on her phone for 5:15am the next morning. The plan was to rent bikes ($1 a day at our hotel) and ride out to Angkor Wat for sunrise. I would highly recommend doing this. You can take one of the many buses going into the temple area but then you'll need to stay on your tour (tours suck), hire a moto taxi for the day, or be prepared to walk for miles. And even in March, Cambodia gets hot. Having the bikes was key. Sunblock too.


We got to the temple area by sunrise and the entrance fee for a single day at Angkor Wat was $20. It gets cheaper per day if you buy a larger package (for example three or seven days) but I don't think most people would need more than one day there. Starr and Raquel went back to our hotel around noon to go swimming in the pool but I stayed until 4pm if I remember correctly. I'll leave it up to everyone headed there to pick your own path around the temple area.

The last thing worth mentioning ruined this part of the trip for Starr. Now, to everyone headed to Siam Reap: avoid the ANCIENT ANGKOR GUESTHOUSE. A number of things COULD have happened and we're still not entirely sure about the chain of events, but Starr was definitely robbed. When Raquel and Starr got back to the hotel, they changed in the room (where Starr left her camera) and went to the pool. The guy at the front desk kept watching them in the pool and it creeped them out a little bit. Not in a 'hey that creep is leering at us' kind of way, but a 'something is up' kind of way. When they got out of the pool and got back to the room, Starr's $500 camera was gone. As is usual, you're required to keep your key at the front desk when you're not in the room, so the only person who had access to our room then was the guy at the front desk. We think he had someone go up to our room, steal her camera and maybe rifle through a few of our things while the guy at the front desk kept watch. When it came down to it, there was nothing we could do about it. Starr got upset and we bolted without paying the bill, but they called the cops and they found us at the next hotel. We paid the bill and they left us alone. Starr was still out here camera though, and every video and picture she had taken since Japan.

WTF mate?

What happened to Obama's 10 point lead in New Hampshire? CNN ran this story two days ago, based on a poll taken by idiots at UNH. The CNN/WMUR poll claims a margin of error of 5% but I guess the margin of error on their margin of error is also about 5%.

For some theories, try Daily Kos.

adjustments

bear with me while i play with this site's html. it won't look right for a few days...

Sitemeter

I've added Sitemeter to the sidebar. It keeps track of traffic on this site but it's cool because anyone can check it.

A referral page is a site that redirected someone here. For example, if you follow a link to this site from Facebook, I can check my referral page and see that. Also, if you search for something on Google and my site comes up, I can not only see Google.com as a referral site, I can see for what was being searched. So here are some Google searches that get my site as a result:

kamo river photo

no 1 travel japan

pizzaria em kyowa

"under $3" visa

US government nagoya jobs

phi phi guesthouse

American Fascism-Lite

The 10 steps that all fascist states take according to Naomi Wolf:

1. Invoke an internal and external threat
2. Establish secret prisons
3. Develop a paramilitary force
4. Surveil ordinary citizens
5. Infiltrate citizens' groups
6. Arbitrarily detain and release citizens
7. Target key individuals
8. Restrict the press
9. Cast criticism as "espionage" and dissent as "treason"
10. Subvert the rule of law

Now, this is a pretty good list. If we are actually seeing these things in America, we should be worried regardless of the causes. She claims that while we have seen some of these things in the past, never before have they all been in effect simultaneously like they are now. For example, Lincoln suspended writs of Habeas Corpus during the Civil War and we have faced very real threats before, both external and internal.

I love conspiracy theories so I got sucked into this book, but a few of these items don't really stand up to scrutiny. I don't see a paramilitary force like Ms. Wolf does. I don't think you can compare Hitler's SA or SS and Mussolini's Arditi to Blackwater. Hitler's Storm Division (known before 1921 as the "Gymnastics and Sports Section") assaulted perceived enemies of the Nazis, harassed Jews, brawled in meeting halls, and destroyed Jewish businesses on the famous Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass). It was a way for the Nazi leadership to intimidate the German people without responsibility for the violence. The SS was created as a paramilitary force, answerable to Hitler and not the German people. This is not Blackwater. Blackwater is terrifying and should be dismantled for different reasons. It's not the SS.

Blackwater is a contractor to the State Department in Iraq (they actually have operations in 9 countries, including the USA) and do things like protect diplomats and support American troops. They are civilians, so they're not subject to military tribunals. Right before the CPA (Coalition Provisional Authority) dissolved in 2004, it declared Special Order 17 which prevents all US troops and contractors from being subject to Iraqi laws. So, the question is: What laws are Blackwater subject to? Who has the authority to try them for crimes? Well, I'm not sure. But lawsuits have been brought against Blackwater by Iraqis and Americans alike and are now being tried in US courts. But all of this is different from the extra-legal status of the SS. I don't buy that they're comparable. If they are comparable, then it's only from Iraq's point of view. Actually, from an Iraqi point of view, that comparison is probably spot on.

Naomi Wolf doesn't make the mistake of declaring fascism in America. She holds back and says that we have "symptoms" of fascism, but that we're not quite there. It's more like fascism-lite. We have tolerably weak versions of these 10 symptoms and that's why its dangerous to our democracy. I don't think Americans would stand for a paramilitary force patrolling our streets, but we will tolerate a paramilitary force patrolling the streets of Baghdad. We wouldn't tolerate torture in the Medieval sense, but it seems like we will allow torture-lite. I guess it's just up to Americans to decide where to draw a line.

Technorati tags: Naomi Wolf, The End of America, American Fascism, Blackwater

Subversive tendencies

Thanks for the comment Bruce. With your support I'm going ahead with this nonsense.

It's the day after Christmas and thank Jesus because now the public libraries are open again. I walked downtown today to pick up Naomi Wolf's book "The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot" and a book on how to teach yourself Arabic. I requested that Naomi Wolf book from the Western Mass library system after seeing her on the Colbert Report earlier this year (the YouTube link follows this post). While Ms. Wolf strikes me as a little nuts, her message sucked me right in. Unfortunately the only library in the Western Mass system to have a copy was in Amherst and there was a waiting list.

Daniela and I decided on Christmas Day to learn Arabic together, so I picked up a book with some CDs at the same time (I'm not going to stop learning Japanese, I'm just going to add Arabic to what I'm doing and I know how ridiculous that is). So, after leaving the library I stopped in at the Greenfield Farmer's Market to buy some green tea. While I was fumbling with my wallet at checkout, the girl at the register noticed both of my books: Introduction to Arabic and "The End of America." Yeah, that's right. I'm UP to stuff.

On Christmas Day, Daniela and I compromised on how to celebrate. We acknowledged Jesus Christ's divinity by eating Chinese food. That's your traditional Catholic/Jewish Christmas. While we walked down to the China Gourmet, we talked about Christian holidays (among other things). I said that they were actually a collection of pagan holidays and customs co-opted by Christians in order to teach and spread Christianity to pagan cultures. For example, both the hanging of mistletoe and the Christmas tree were pagan German traditions. Saint Boniface used the fir tree's triangular shape to help teach pagan Germans about Christ and they learned to revere it as a symbol as they had previously revered the Oak tree. December 25th was chosen as Christ's date of birth in the 3rd century because pagan Romans and Persians celebrated sun festivals around the same time. So, Christian traditions are actually a collection of pagan traditions subverted and redefined. We thought it was interesting. That's all.

Technorati tags: Naomi Wolf, The End of America, Christmas, Pagan

Naomi Wolf on the Colbert Report

エンキョリレンアイ

I decided to bite off way more than I can chew: I have begun reading a novel in Japanese. The novel I chose was written by Rui Kodemari (小手鞠 るい) and I just figured out that the title means "The Long-Distance Relationship" (エンキョリレンアイ).

I bought the book at a Good Will in Ashland, Oregon for a dollar. It was the only novel in Japanese and I thought that at some point I could use it to study. At that point, I had no idea what it was about. I can follow the plot, but the more abstract the sentences become the less I'm able to understand them. Some of the metaphors are giving me a real problem. I think she compared this guy's smile to light filtering through the leaves of trees, but I can't be sure.

It seems to be a trashy love novel. I'm cool with that. A love novel still trumps the children's programming that I watched in Japan. I remember at least one cartoon about a village of vegetables and a village of fruit (separated by a river) who learn that a healthy diet consists of cannibalizing residents of both places...

This novel is about a young woman looking back at the origins of her relationship with someone who may or may not be a foreigner (the "voice" as she keeps referring to him). I guess he's in New York and she's in Tokyo (it hasn't been said yet but that's what is implied on the jacket) and she met him while working part-time in a bookstore in Kyoto.

I'm only 12 or 13 pages in...

I guess none of this merits a post. Dammit.

This weekend to Christmas

Last night I got a beer with Tracy at the Pint and picked up a job application. I thought I could do something part-time before I left for Vegas in early February. I don't really need the money but I thought it would be fun to do something outside of my routine.



I told Tracy my plans last night about taking the Foreign Service Exam and she tried her best to scare me out of it. She was supportive in the end, but she told me about her friend Mark who currently works in Yerevan, Armenia for the State Department. He went to Georgetown's School of Foreign Service and was one of the few people from his class to pass the test. If his friends who took the test, and had been preparing for four years to take it, couldn't pass it what chance do I have? An additional concern of mine is that he took the written test in March but didn't get the oral assessment until September. I wasn't expecting such a long wait between taking the test and getting an interview. It's not a problem because I think this is what I really want to do, but if I can expect a similar wait, I should be taking that test as soon as possible. I don't want to take the test at the end of my time in Las Vegas and then have an additional 7 months to wait for an interview.

Unrelated: I went to the Salvation Army yesterday and bought a pair of pants. This isn't interesting, but I think I donated the pants that I bought.

Change of plans

Nothing is set in stone yet, but I don't think I'm going to return to Japan to teach English. I love learning Japanese, I love the food, I love the people, but I don't love teaching English and that's the problem. Also, teaching abroad is a very temporary solution to the problems that I'm having. I don't see anything long-term in this job (unless I got a job teaching at a Japanese university or returned to the US and taught Japanese in an American one), and I think that's becoming more important to me.

When I returned from Japan in May, I didn't have a job, I had spent quite a bit of the money I had saved (albeit to travel through nine countries), and I had no idea what to do with my life. If I leave again, I'm only going to return to this same spot in a year or two. I'll be 28, have a little money saved up, but still be without a career or even long-term goals.

So, as of right now, here is my new plan: move out to Las Vegas with Daniela and work in her aunt's bakery, while I study to take the Foreign Service Officer Exam. That's the test you take to get a job working in an American embassy abroad. I would be abroad, I would be learning a new language, and there's potentially a career in it. More to come as I figure this out.

Post-Japan plans?

First, try some of these:

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16. In American education, which of the following issues or policies has generated the LEAST amount of controversy?

(A) School vouchers
(B) School busing
(C) Local control over the curriculum
(D) National, standardized high school exit exams

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34. An administrator with overall responsibility for all administrative operations in a large operating agency is considering organizing the agency's personnel office around either of the following two alternative concepts:

Alternative I: A corps of specialists for each branch of personnel subject matter, whose skills, counsel, or work products are coordinated only by the agency personnel officer

Alternative II: A crew of so-called "personnel generalists," who individually work with particular segments of the organization but deal with all subspecialties of the personnel function

Of the following, the one that is the biggest drawback of Alternative I, as compared with Alternative II, is that

(A) training and employee relations work call for education, interests, and talents that differ from those required for classification and compensation work.
(B) personnel office staff may develop only superficial familiarity with the specialized areas to which they have been assigned.
(C) supervisors may fail to get continuing, overall personnel advice on an integrated basis.
(D) the personnel specialists are likely to become so interested in and identified with the operating view as to particular cases that they lose their professional objectivity and become merely advocates of what some supervisor wants.

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68. Native Americans have been much admired for their skill at arts and crafts and at artistic design, but are seldom given adequate credit for their intellectual achievements. All of the following are Native Americans who are correctly paired with their achievements EXCEPT

(A) Sequoya--developer of the Cherokee phonetic alphabet and creator of a literate Indian nation
(B) General Eli Parker--civil engineer and draftsman of the articles of Lee's surrender at Appomattox
(C) George Caitlin--author and artist
(D) Dr. Charles Eastman--physician, YMCA director, organizer of Boys Scouts and Camp Fire Girls

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These three questions were taken from Arco's "Master the American Foreign Service Officer Exam" test prep guide. I took the diagnostic test last month and got 17 out of 49 wrong. Not a great start. I took the first of three full practice tests a day later and scored similarly: 60 out of 180 wrong. Studying a little bit seems like a good idea.

Passing the Foreign Service Officer Exam is a necessary step in getting a job in an embassy. I have enjoyed living outside of the U.S. but teaching English isn't what I want to be doing in 10 years. Working in an embassy seems like a desirable alternative. I'm learning about what I would be expected to do for the Foreign Service (I must choose from one of the five specializations) and how feasible a career would be. I have two main reservations. First, I would be representing the U.S. government abroad and I hate the Bush administration. On the bright side, Bush doesn't have much longer in office. And secondly, as an officer, I would be expected to accept any assignment handed down, which means that I could be assigned to Baghdad as early as 2009.

But first, the test:

The test is divided into English and Knowledge-based questions. There are 110 questions in the English section and you are allotted an hour to finish them. The Knowledge section consists of 70 questions, but you're given an unnecessarily long 2 hours. This doesn't include the time required for a personality test and an essay section. The test guide I picked up says very little about the essay.

After reading through two books on English grammar and usage, I significantly improved upon my test score (48 out of 180 wrong). I'm currently rereading some Economics textbooks from college, after which I'll take the last practice test and hopefully see a little further improvement. I'm not in a rush though, as I'll have plenty of time while in Las Vegas to study and read up on the Foreign Service.

The answer to each question is C.

Technorati tags: Foreign Service Exam, Department of State, Arco, Embassy

りんご - "旅"

Japanese rap. The name of the band is Apple and the song is "Traveler." I think.