The Traveling Graduate Student

The State of our ... world?

Kassandra — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:15:56 GMT

The economic downfall going on everywhere is unreal. I absolutely cannot believe we are in the midst of another Great Depression. I would like to believe that a country as great as America can learn from past mistakes, but it appears that once again we are to repeat our past misfortunes. As quoted from Bernard Shaw, "We learn from history that we learned nothing from history."

If I were a poet I could write something very eloquent about all this, but right now in my mind I only can express one thing: I am angry.

Anger is not necessarily a bad thing. In my past experience anger can lead to a few possible outcomes: the first being violence, which is not at all productive, or the second which will promote focus, drive, and decisiveness towards finding solutions and having a goal in mind; I prefer the latter.

So why do I bring this up? Simply put, anger CAN denote change. Anger is a powerful driving force towards moving past certain things, towards bettering oneself (or nation), towards getting your voice heard.

We, as Americans, as humans, SHOULD be angry right now. But we should not be violent, act irrationally, or worse yet become a blind mob. We can be angry about the situation and force change and still be civil and respectful to one another.

This is why I cannot understand conservative Republican voters. When I read that article (click on violence above) all I could see was people mobbing towards Obama with pitchforks, torches, and screaming WITCH WITCH! Anger in mobs like that only leads towards violence and shows the silliness of irrational people. I understand that people are confused, upset, and want CHANGE NOW. The only possible solution is to gather our anger like a funnel and channel it towards something good!

So write to your congressman. Join active groups and let your voice be heard. VOTE ON NOVEMBER 4TH. Support our troops. Write compelling blogs and post them on ireport on cnn.com. Channel that anger towards positive results.

And for God's sake America, vote for the man who is looking towards long term goals, saving our environment, and believes we need to repair our ties with foreign nations. VOTE FOR OBAMA!

Karl Marx: "History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce."

Sunday: Stuff going on in Wales and pictures

Check out my Swansea blog!

Kassandra — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 16:00:41 GMT

I won't be posting from my "Daily" blogs all that much, please click on the Swansea-Wales Adventure tab to see my latest updates.

I also have a blogger at phoenix624.blogspot.com

Thanks!

Thank you, thank you, thank you

Kassandra — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 20:55:32 GMT

For the last month I have been completely stressed out about selling my car. This is my last "monetary" headache while I am studying abroad. I tried so many different methods to sell it: advertised weekly on Craigslist, the SF Chronicle (online and print), cars.com, on Myspace, and hell even left it parked with a sign on it! Every single call or email I received was honestly half-serious. The other half of the time people balked at the idea of driving a stick!! So things were not looking well.

My parents arranged a sit down meeting. We went over the expenses and costs for keeping my car here in Half Moon. My car, an '02 Toyota RAV4, runs beautifully, has 3 years left on the loan, and is very economical with gas. We also figured that both my mom and sister's cars will be paid off in 2009, which we didn't consider before. So we decided it would be better to keep it here for a year. I was in total SHOCK, I was not at all expecting them to help me like this!! I am so grateful and so thankful that I will have a car when I return from overseas (and will only have 2 years left to pay - or one year if I can put a few grand more down).

So now with 4 days left before I leave the country my mind is now completely and totally at ease.

I am so lucky that things have finally worked out.

Bring on WALES!!

Sky Restaurant Adventure

Kassandra — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 00:50:10 GMT

“Don’t blink,” the elevator lady gestures, “you might just miss it.” Before we can think miss wha- we are shooting up towards the heavens, staring out over the beautiful Seattle skyline and glittering Puget Sound. Within nanoseconds we emerge with awe and a smile to the observation deck; which then leads down a spiral staircase to the Sky restaurant. Picturesque landscapes from every linen draped table await hungry customers. Their cuisine is best described as Asian-American chic. Try winding down the night by sharing their signature almond custard crème brûlée.

I'm back! At least, until next week...

Kassandra — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 06:43:00 GMT

I had a wonderful time in Washington! Marcel and I were able to spend time with one another and still have fun on a budget. My google gift card came in handy - I did some work for them and got paid - so I decided to purchase food and other misc. things without spending my money.

Life on an army base is different than a civilian suburb. The majority of people during the week are in uniform (the army ACUs), which can be a little daunting at first glance. It is fairly common to see planes, blackhawks, Hum-Vees, people running in groups for PT and seeing everyone up and active at 0530. All the store hours are posted in military time (so much better than using am/pm in my opinion). I really enjoyed the experience! The DFAC (Dining Facility aka Chow Hall) was my favorite! For $2 I could eat soooo much food and get whatever I wanted to drink: different juices, coffee, water, soda, tea. Seriously can't beat that, and the food is actually fairly tasty! There is a different atmosphere, borderline neighborly, from everyone. And despite differences some may have politically, or religiously, everyone there has at least ONE commonality: serving our country. Not everyone is friendly of course, but for the most part people want to help each other. I like hearing people use respectful words like, "sir," "ma'am,", "thank you." It is definitely a surreal experience living on base.

Anyhow, we went to Mt. Rainier and hiked about 4.9 miles up the Ridge Trail. The majority of the hike was uphill! I am fairly out of shape so I was huffing, puffing, sweating profusely, and turned bright red in the face. Marcel didn't break a sweat. Damn him. But I made it! I wasn't about to let the mountain kick my butt!

On Sunday we went to Pt. Defiance Park. My legs and butt were a little sore from the hike so I got EVEN MORE exercise! Oh well, this is a good way to prepare for Wales.

I put all the pics together since there were so many. Enjoy!

Seattle Trip

Life in the Fast Lane

Kassandra — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 07:23:07 GMT

I haven't posted in a few days! Time is going quickly now, I am amazed that summer has finally ended and fall is now here. Over the weekend I had my Bon Voyage party with family. What a great experience! I loved being able to share my adventure with my family and exchange information with all of them (email, addresses, etc)! Kudos to my wonderful mother for completely organizing it and to my wonderful Aunt Vivi and Uncle Todd for letting us use their house as a "meeting place." My mom also set up a "money tree" for people to donate to help fund my trip (since I'm doing this all on my own). The amount I got surprised me so much! I actually got a little teary-eyed. Let's just say it was more than a grand, but less than two. I am a lucky girl.

This week I will be traveling to Seattle Washington for about 4 days. I get to visit with Marcel, see Ft. Lewis, explore a little bit of Seattle (YAY!), and see old friends that I absolutely adore. I'll post pics and blogs when I return. I'm thrilled to see everyone before I leave!

I'm very thankful things are starting to fall into place. My visa has been approved, my financial aid came through, I found a great jacket for Wales (thank you Jaime for the weather report!!), and my car may be sold soon.

It's been stressful for a while, but I am starting to finally see things fall into place

Here we go!

Kassandra — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:27:20 GMT

"That that don't kill me, can only make us stronger. I need you to hurry up now, cause I can't wait much longer. Work it harder, make it better. Do it faster makes us stronger." "Stronger" Kanye West

My Support Credo (written in 5 minutes by Kassie Perlongo)

"I am excited.

Thrilled.

Elated.

Alive with conviction I feel my soul liberated.

I am woman, daughter, student, worker,

free-thinker, Gen X, I am a doer.

I am American. I am ready for the next step.

Go Obama. Beat the rest!"

/cheerleader scream. WOOT WOOT!

The democratic convention really made me happy. I am excited to see Obama and Biden running on the democratic ticket. I am thrilled to be watching history in the making. I am elated that our candidates are finally looking at core fundamental issues: environment, education, families, housing. There is so much more, of course, but we NEED a candidate who believes in SCIENCE. We NEED to also expect that the government cannot FIX everything, but should be there to HELP those that are in NEED.

I AGREE with the republicans that we should uphold laissez faire to a certain extent. But the government should have programs in place for those that WANT to do more, WANT to get ahead, WANT to get a college education. The government has to get us away from oil. We need to become a progressive nation. An intelligent nation.

We need to recapture our credibility, our mojo, and our integrity.

I am a moderate liberal. I agree with some republican policies and some democrat policies. Overall, I vote for the person - like my awesome Uncle stated - that has a vision, a credo, a DREAM that has no boundaries.

Which is why I support Obama. I agree with his vision. I agree with the direction he wants to lead our country.

Things are getting very very very exciting.

Love her, Hate her

Kassandra — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 03:48:11 GMT

Despite how many people feel about her, Hilary Clinton is one hell of a speaker. I found her speech to be eloquent, hard-hitting, and strongly unifying for the democratic party. I was equally impressed with how Chelsea has grown into a beautiful young woman - and I love that she is my age! - and supported her mother. I am sure many Republicans will bash her, as they did with Michelle Obama, but I really have to hand it to her - the lady can really, truly, hold her own up on stage.

This election will be extremely exciting!

Shampoo, rinse, repeat

Kassandra — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:54:25 GMT

Every single week day - around 11:30 am to be exact - the lady next door plays the piano. At first I laughed a little bit at her. This lady, like clockwork, always starts playing at 11:30. She always plays "New York, New York" excessively, repeating over, and over, and over again. There are certain variations she enjoys playing, but for the most part she will always go back to the original. Then it dawned on me today:

I myself have also repeating my schedule every single day for the last month.

My old schedule in Sacramento consisted of getting up, going to work, going to school, taking a nap, eating at some point, reading, then repeating. NOW I get up between 9-10am, brush my teeth, pop on the internet, read the San Francisco Chronicle (everything except Sports), eat my breakfast of eggs, turkey bacon, and oatmeal, ponder about a new blog, clean, then repeat.

So I have to wonder about this lady that still, right now, at this very moment is playing "New York, New York" for the millionth time. Am I really so different than her? Does she have a pattern of events every single day? Does her life revolve around playing the piano from 11:30-1:00pm every day? Does it keep her mind active and young? Or does this lady have OCD and she feels that she MUST repeat her pattern?

Really, what makes ME so different? If anything, we are alike in character our lives somewhat parallel but just on different paths.

Well. At least in 3 weeks I'll be on a plane to Wales. Whew.

Remember to Breathe...

Kassandra — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 19:25:57 GMT

Every time I get mad or upset I have to remind myself to breathe. Seriously. I hold my breath in and can feel the blood rise to my face when I am getting upset. I have to keep telling myself just to breathe.

The lady at the financial aid office cannot possibly have been more rude today. She is aware that I am leaving the country in 4 weeks and have been trying to get a student loan for the last some odd weeks. She is curt, short tempered, and rude. The epitome of the type of person I cannot stand to speak with. Instead of getting upset and well-deservedly YELLING into the phone strangling her with my voice, I had to tell myself just to breathe.

We often forget to breathe deep. In fact most of the time we are shallow breathers. Breathing deep releases more oxygen into the bloodstream and brain and, I believe, also increases our dopamine levels too. Perhaps Marcel can explain this to me a little bit better.

Regardless, I got through it. When it comes to money (and mainly other people controlling it) I am incredibly sensitive. I am glad those yoga classes I took finally paid off.

Breathe deep.

The Dash

Kassandra — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:05:14 GMT

Beautiful. How can you not feel inspired reading something like this? Cherish yourself and others.

I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
from the beginning to the end.

-
He noted that first came the date of her birth
and spoke of the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.

-
For that dash represents all the time
that she spent alive on earth
and now only those who loved her
know what that little line is worth.

-
For it matters not, how much we own,
the cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.

-
So think about this long and hard;
are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.

-
If we could just slow down enough
to consider what's true and real,
and always try to understand
the way other people feel.

-
And be less quick to anger,
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we've never loved before.

-
If we treat each other with respect,
and more often wear a smile,
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.

-
So, when your eulogy's being read
with your life's actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spend your dash?

The Dash

The gift that keeps on giving

Kassandra — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 01:56:31 GMT

God, I hate Mondays.

I swear, Mondays should be banned. BANNED. I know at least Garfield sympathizes with me.

My loan gets rejected because apparently I applied for the wrong one. Only a certain amount of money is allowed to be "borrowed" by the federal government if you are studying overseas. SUPER.

My IRA gets rejected because evidently I filled out the wrong option and cannot transfer my 403(b) into a IRA in kind. Evidently, you much LIQUIDATE all assets, not transfer in kind. GLORIOUS!

I keep seeing more and more money LEAVE my checking account and less and less money ENTER into my account. This is probably the first time since I was about 20 to see this happening. I am not liking it one bit! As much as I would love to have a part time telecommute job (which I almost had through google) no one will hire me if I am overseas.

Unless I can perhaps get a job working over there, when my work visa clears...hmmm.

Anyways, it's been a bad day. I am poor and I'm surrounded by poor people, LOL. I think it is getting to me today.

/end rant (for now)

How did I miss out on this?

Kassandra — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 02:57:45 GMT

I love San Francisco. The best part of the city is being able to wear fall clothes pretty much most of the year. Scarves and gloves are my favorite.

But seriously, how did no one teach me how to tie one?!!

Today I saw this sharp dressed couple walking and this lady had a beautiful long scarf draped around her neck and tied very fashionably. Normally I just throw mine around my neck and it looks decent. But hers looked fabulous! When I came home I googled "how to tie a scarf" (side note, GOD I love google!) and I got this fantastic guide!

I love how they explain every different tie and show pictures - nothing more annoying than not seeing pics - and go through it step by step.

I'll be bringing all my scarves with me to Wales. So I think I'll get loads of practice with these different knots!

How to website: Scarf Guide

I wonder who visits my page...

Kassandra — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 22:26:51 GMT

Take the pill & choose a loser! Insert witty sarcasm here!

Kassandra — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 21:20:04 GMT

Evidently, according to MSNBC.com, research studies have proven that women who ingest birth control pills are MORE LIKELY to pick bad lifemates. Wow. So not only do women have to hear things like: you will pick a man who will be like your father - and if he's an alcoholic druggie you're screwed! - now "studies" have proven when we seek to defend our bodies and not get pregnant we are still choosing crappy males. AWESOME!

The article explains the evolutionary tactics for this wonderful finding. The pill masks or changes a women's odor finding preference. Subconsciously, women can smell out genetic deficiencies in males making them appear less attractive to pass our chromosomes to. When women take the pill they are in a false pregnancy and thus, "When women are pregnant there's no selection pressure, evolutionarily speaking, for having a preference for genetically dissimilar odors," Roberts said. "And if there is any pressure at all it would be towards relatives, who would be more genetically similar, because the relatives would help those individuals rear the baby."

Does anyone at all think all this towards women is very biased? Why does it always come back to the women? I understand partially it is because women have control over bringing life into the world. But why not this: perhaps men are substantially weaker nowadays than before. Maybe the selection process just well ... sucks!

Yeah!

Anyways, that's my beef for today.

Here's the link for the article. Comments are mucho appreciated.