decisiveness

i have lots of opinions and it astonishes me that some things are debated about for years before any resolutions are reached. so i'm offering my help to fix the problems myself.

number one: i saw a political ad on t.v. today condemning governor paterson for suggesting a tax on beverages containing more than 70% sugar. gasp! you know what gov paterson should do? pass it. he may not be an angel but people in new york are FAT FAT FAT. they also sometimes have little concern over how they spend their money too; they willingly pay $12 dollars for a vodka tonic, $5 for coat check, and over $9 for one pack of cigarrettes. so there is no reason keeping them from buying sugary drinks at an elevated taxed price if they really want a coca-cola that bad. in the end, new york needs the money.

number two: president obama is not the only person in the history of the united states that has wanted to change the country for the better in sacrifice of our national budget. i'm not even going to reference any of the previous instances where presidents got us into something none of us could agree on the benefit of. but God forbid obama want poor people (me included) to have healthcare, then everyone raises their arms in protest. get over it people. there are people that never go see a doctor about their ailments because they can't afford it and guess what? THEY DIE. the greatest nations of the world have universal healthcare and some deem it our "God-given" right, so if we have a country supporting our health there's no telling how strong and prosperous our country could become in the future.

at the same rate though....
number three: we really need to definite definition of healthcare. because if i fall down the stairs and need hip replacement surgery, that counts. but if there's nothing instigating the decision besides desire, it's a choice and it should not be included under the umbrella of healthcare. i'm sure you can think of the choices i'm thinking of.

number four: my last beef of the day is with the nyc mta. for years and years they've been talking about cutting services and increasing fees because they're constantly in a deficit (due to their own mental dimness no doubt). lots of families have been up in arms that the nyc mta want to start charging k-12 students to ride the public bus. i say do it. just because they're kids and taking the bus is a necessity both for safety and education, it's ridiculous that they've been getting away with not paying even a dime every day to go to school. sorry parents, but considering the other things you spend your money on (going back to number one), you can certainly afford even a mere 50 cent fare for your child's bus ride. what does it matter anyway? if they don't make students start paying, the parent's will just have to pay more so it equals out anyway. think about it. and if the nyc mta can get student's to pay just 50 cents, it's certainly going to help the deficit in a substantial way.

finally, on a lighter note.....
number five: after reliving the horror that was september 11th for four hours on the discovery network's chronicle of the tragedy last night, i have 100 percent reaffirmed my belief that New York City is the Greatest City in the World. it may not be my city anymore, but watching that footage was even more chilling this time than it was when i was so far removed from it emotionally and physically ten years ago. I Love New York and its resilency. but if there's one thing that we still need to do, it's capture osama bin-laden.

perhaps this would have better been titled 'rants III.'

mr. ruiner of things

hi, my name is stephen and i ruin things.

material or immaterial, there are no limitations to what i will ruin. some things i have ruined in the past are laptops, hardware floors, vacations, and friendship. sometimes i know why, other times i have no clue to what happened.

i am quite good at what i do. make no bones about it, if you ever need anything ruined, just say my name.

where am i?

one of my favorite things about living in korea was rainy season. 장마 lasted from june to july and i spent many of its nights roaming around the streets taking in reflection of neon lights in the rain.

but i'm in new york now, so why has it rained for the past four days? i thought the worst of it was having the wind blowing from all directions, making it impossible to keep my umbrella from being blown inside out. i must of underestimated the severity of the storm though because apparently, in some places, they haven't had power for days and even trees fell on houses. well, i guess on of the good things about living in the city is we don't have many trees and the wind can't really blow down a skyscraper. knock on wood.

rewind

those who know me often hear me lament about present day new york. it just doesn't feel real living the history now. i'd much prefer to go back to the past. give me any decade in the twentieth century and i'd be happy. world war era nyc would be interesting; i'd love to be standing in times square when they announced the end of the war, living that moment. or as terrible as it seems, i think it would be totally rad to get mixed up in the pop culture of the sixties, the drugs and clubs of the seventies, and without a doubt the drugs and prostitutes of the eighties. sweating it out on the street on a blisteringly hot summer day. taking a carriage ride to the theatre. living out all of the truly authentic moments of ny history, whether they be good or bad. alas, commercialism and the new-age of having every convenience at our fingertips prevail. 

say what?

look what made me jump back in astonishment at hallmark:

i've never seen one before, the lone same-sex couple card amidst a sea of different-sex couple cards.

early spring checklist

two-week all expense paid sping fellowship in korea: disqualified

inevitably missing spring term at sogang and a spring wedding: ☑

teaching job in tbd location in seoul waiting for me in may: ☑

finding out my english student is a go-go dancer at splash yet married (to a woman):  ☑

new york city teaching fellows four hour interview:  ☑

circumventing central park once by running: ☑