|
|
||
|
As always feel free to let me know what you think.
My questions is: Why do any of the states get to vote before others? How come we don’t all vote on the same day across all states like we do for the Presidential election. I’m not bothered that states like Iowa and New Hampshire get so much political attention. I am much more upset about how strongly they affect the race itself. There were nine presidential candidates before the Iowa caucuses. On the day Jake got to vote in California, we were down to four. I feel that no one or two or seven states should have enough power to change the entire race before the other 43 have even had a chance to participate. If all states voted on the same day, I am confident the results could have been different. Maybe we wouldn’t even have Kerry as the candidate. Dean would have never made that speech (or at least it would have been too late to have an effect), Clark would have been an option. I feel that if the primaries were treated like a serious, country-wide election, they should be all on the same day and shouldn’t have as much local concentration as they do. The election is not about a candidate who is serving Iowa or Alaska or Alabama. This is a presidential candidate. This person will serve the entire country. This person needs to concentrate on the whole country and the whole country should get the option of voting for the candidate they want in the White House. It isn’t fair that the early states got to choose between nine and others didn’t. In my eyes, this affects the entire balance of the election. What about all those people who voted for Kerry or Lieberman, would they have voted for someone else if the two weren’t a choice. Of course, they would have. Would the results have been different? Maybe or maybe not. The fact is, we will never know.
This time, we set up brunch and coffee meetings with two of Jake’s friends. One from his high-school years whom he hadn’t seen in nine years and another from college, whom we hadn’t seen or talked to in over four years. We figured between the two get togethers, I’d spend a few hours practicing with my new camera. Since our last experience had taught us that we could spend forever in LA traffic, we decided to pick one spot and spend the few hours there. I read about several different places and settled on Olvera Street which sounded interesting, fun, and full of potential for photography. We got on the road at 9:00am and made it to Santa Monica in exactly one hour and forty minutes. It was my second time down the boulevard, but Jake’s first so we strolled a bit while I tried to take some pictures. We then met his friend and his friend’s girlfriend for brunch, had great conversation. Charged up and excited, we then strolled down to the beach for some more pictures. I’m not really a lie-on-the-beach type of person but there’s something about the Pacific Coast beaches that I find magical. Maybe it’s how expansive and never-ending they feel. On Friday Jake and I had gone to La Jolla for me to pickup some paperwork from work and spent lunch by the beach and I told him that we should visit a beach at least three times a week. The Santa Monica beach was louder but it still gave me the sense of serenity I enjoy. We left the beach for the loud and joyful crowd of Olvera street where we spent an hour walking and taking pictures, eating Mexican food, and enjoying the 70-degree weather. Just as we got in the car to drive towards Hollywood, Jake’s friend called to let us know she was finished with her commitment so we met her at the Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard where, of course, I took pictures. We spent the next two hours catching up, laughing, and talking about our careers, lives, marriage, and mutual friends. The way back was as painless as the way up and we made it home in less than two hours. All in all, a truly enjoyable day. There’s something special about catching up with old friends. No matter how long it’s been since you last saw them, there’s a sense of familiarity that never goes away and allows you to fill years of gaps in a matter of minutes. It leaves you so fulfilled and full of hope and you remember all the things you liked about that person all along and rebuild your faith that this time you won’t fall out of touch. It was one of those inspiring days.
Even though it’s not as extensive as NYPL, the San Diego Public Library isn’t that bad. The problem is that, with the exception of New York Times Book Review, all my resources of finding new books have disappeared. I don’t usually have any problem hearing about the popular books, but without the bookstore people, the subway, and the prolific readers I was surrounded by, I am starving for some good recommendations. I’ve recently finished and posted an except of The Secret Life of Bees and Mystic River. I have just started Amateur Marriage by Anne Tyler and I am looking for more fiction (and nonfiction) writers or books. To be fair, I’ll give you a list of what’s still on my shelf to be read in the next few months: NonZero, Bringing the House Down, Moneyball, A Thousand Years of Nonlinear History, QED, The Blind Watchmaker, The Meaning of Everything, The Awakening, The Creative Habit, How to Dunk a Doughnut and for ideas: So Many Books, So Little Time and BookLust. I can’t recommend them since I haven’t read them yet but they were recommended by people I trust or publications I trust. If you want more books, here is a list of and excepts from 75% of the books I’ve read in the last three years. It may seem like I have many books on my list, but I read a lot and quickly so this list isn’t long enough for me. It also contains too few fiction titles. As much as I enjoy nonfiction, my true to love is fiction. I read anything besides horror and fantasy. So, please share with me. Tell me your favorite author. Your favorite book. Even a favorite site about books. Pretty please?
That’s what I thought then. Now, I think that with the age of digital photography becoming more and more prominent, what ‘real’ photographers used to do in their dark rooms, is now accomplished by Photoshop. Post-processing was always a part of photography. So, someone who’s using Photoshop to enhance or add creativity to his photographs is using another skill set that goes hand in hand with their choice to use the digital medium. Learning to master certain skills in Photoshop gives the photographer an opportunity to bring out the best of the image. The downside of my new way of thinking, of course, is that I have to learn much much more about Photoshop now that I have grown up and stopped dissing people who use it. Not to mention, I still have a truckload to learn about the art of photography itself. Well, one day and one photograph at a time, I suppose.
I know that system in the US isn’t perfect. If nothing else, we learned that after the 2000 elections. But just because it’s not perfect and it’s not easy to fix, doesn’t mean one should give up on it. If you believe in the system strongly enough to get so mad, then go ahead and do something about it. Many people are. If you aren’t moved to do something, then at least go cast your vote. It takes about five minutes of time, depending what time of day you show up and the population around your location. As far as I am concerned, you can only whine about the current administration if you voted. If you didn’t bother to be a part of the system, you have no right to bitch. Voting is a way for you to vocalize your opinion, for you to put it on paper (or computer system if you live in San Diego) and have it be a part of history. What do you actually achieve by not voting? I don’t even consider the arguments of people who tell me they’re busy. We’re all busy. This isn’t a weekly occurrence. That’s just an excuse. I am angrier at the people who don’t vote as a principle. What is the principle behind not voting? I really need someone to explain to me how they are affecting the system in a positive way by not voting because I truly don’t understand it. As someone from a truly corrupted country that is struggling to become democratic it makes me sad to see how many people waste their rights in this country. And as someone who, hopefully, might get to vote on the presidential election for 2008, I am truly interested in the logic behind choosing not to vote.
But I can’t. Of course, I can’t. In times like these, I recognize my inability to be of any help. I stare my uselessness in the face. Sure, I can be there for them. Sure, I can listen to them and even give advice when asked. I can cry with them. I can hold them when they cry (unfortunately, I can’t even do that since my friends are scattered all over the United States). But I can’t make the pain go away. I can’t give health. I can’t bring back their pets. Or their husbands. I can’t make it right. I can just sit there and listen. And feel helpless. The amazing thing is that there are many moments when my friends seem fine. They laugh, they work, they eat. For a split moment, they can carry the burden and keep living. Yet, when I think of them, the grief always overtakes me. I remember when my maternal grandfather died, one of my mother’s clients told her, “May God never give you as much pain as you can endure.” A rude sentiment at first look maybe, but a pithy thought. We, humans, are capable of enduring a lot. A Lot. The difference between my friends and I is that they are actually experiencing the loss. They are hurting much more sharply than I can, no matter how empathetic I might be. The human heart and brain seem to be very strong. For many of my friends whose relationships are ending, they start to rationalize it. In most cases, the situation was a culmination of past events so they are calmer at times than I am. They were expecting it more than I was. They mourn deeper and so they make room for life again. I simply sit here and feel helpless. I feel apologetic that my life is mostly okay. I respect my friends’ strength and hope that I have it buried in me somewhere, as well, for those times that I might need it, hoping there are none but knowing there will undoubtedly be some.
I know I need to learn more about the art of photography and I am working on it, albeit slowly. And I must say the beautiful surroundings of La Jolla don’t make for much photography other than flowers. Which should also show me that I don’t really have a photographer’s eye. These all should be reason to give up. But I do like taking pictures very much and I am not ready to give up just yet. I just wish I could figure out what’s making my pictures so grainy. |
|
|
|
Copyright © 2026 karenika - All Rights Reserved Powered by WordPress & Atahualpa |
||
