Hello there,

What an eventful day. It started at about 5:50 a.m. (CST) when I woke up and started getting ready. Thankfully, most of my stuff was already packed up and ready to go. Long story short, we packed up the stuff in the car, drove to the airport and flew into DC. For those of you who are really loyal readers, here is the long story:

The flight was really good, probably the smoothest one I've ever been on. I sat next to this one middle aged dude and made some small talk. Eventually, I told him I was working at the Democratic National Committee. His political views could best be described as populist. We got into some arguments about a couple of subjects. One, he said that the government should be completely, 100% transparent with the general public. Although I thought that was a nice idea in theory, I countered by saying that there were some things that the general public should not know in order to prevent mass hysteria (i.e. numerous failed terrorist threats). He didn't bend much, but I think he saw where I was coming from. He also had some views on the Islamic world that were a little misguided. He basically asserted that extremist/jihadist Islam was a dominant theme in Arabic culture. I disagreed citing that there were 1 billion Muslims in the world, most of whom just want to lead a peaceful and happy life.

All in all, it could have been worse. He wasn't a total jackass, nor was he outrageously out of line with my own ideology. In the end he just dozed off, which worked out because I really just wanted to read and not deal with an eccentric personality.

So then we landed and went to the hotel. Man, this place is nice! I don't know how we're affording it, but I guess it ain't on my tab. The hotel is really modern in style--kinda like IKEA came in with an unlimited budget. The hotel offers you a "pillow menu" where you can order up to 6 different types of pillows. Some massage, others stay firm, and others fluff. If any of you travel nerds are interest, it's called "the liaison".

After we got decently settled into "the liaison," we walked around for a couple of hours (probably around 4 miles). It was helpful because I got to trace the route to and from work and figure out where the nearest grocery store was. It was rough because it was in the 20's all day and my feet felt like icesicles after 4 miles of walking.

And here I am. I felt like this day would never come, but it finally did. Sunday is orientation, Monday is work. Going to be busy. Going to be stressful. Gonna be fun!

Tim

Countdown Continues

Hello world,

The always surreal experience of packing up one's life/future plans into three bags has been the primary occurrence during the last couple o' days. In a strange way, I kind of like packing. It reminds of how much neat stuff I have. Over the break, I really have compiled quite a collection of snazzy clothes, which will certainly come in handy in a city known for its snazz.

I don't really know how to feel about the fact that in 72 hours I will be in a completely different city for 3 1/2 months. People keep asking me how I feel and I keep giving them the same scripted response. Am I excited? Of course I'm excited. Mostly though, I'm just uncertain. I don't think I will really know what DC will be like until I'm actually there a while. I can tell you that I'm nervous but cautiously optimistic.

Now I know what you may be thinking. Tim, D.C. is a beautiful, modern American city. There is nothing to be nervous about. Hell, there isn't even a language barrier.

Well, retard, I know all that. I'm not nervous about a cultural adjustment, I'm nervous about working a 32 hour job while taking two classes. It's going to be hard and very time consuming just to get through that schedule alone--nevermind the adjustment of living 1000 miles from home with a group full of strangers.

On the whole though, it's good to be nervous. I discussed that more in my last post. With the nervousness also comes excitement. I'm excited about rolling into work Monday morning and being shown around the DNC. I'm excited about the prospect of having a fun and challenging job, while working with a lot of cool people.

Still though, it seems like Monday is far away. The past two days have crept by rather slowly. Tomorrow and Thursday are important days--I've got to make sure everything is in order and I'm ready to roll. Friday, I will be a headin out. Once I'm in D.C., I'll stay in a hotel with my pops for two days (he's insisting on going and seeing the city) and get acquainted with the city--i.e. see where my office is and where my apt is. Then Sunday is move in day.

So now you know the schedule. I bet you're ecstatic. Besides packing and pondering about my upcoming adventure, I've been reading this great book called Three Cups of Tea. It's about a "real life Indiana Jones" (Greg Mortenson) who stumbles upon a small mountain village in Pakistan called Korphe, after failing to climb a nearby mountain. He fell in love with the village and decided to build a school there. Of course, building a school on the side of a giant mountain wasn't easy. Throughout the part of the book I've read, he keeps befriending and running into these wonderful people. Rich philanthropists in America, mountaineers, and of course the wonderful people who populate the region of the world he wants to help so much.

There was one passage I found particularly powerful. A group of thugs (basically the Pakistani mountain mafia) came by and said to the Korphe Village Chief/Mortenson "you can't build a school, it's against Islamic Law". The chief resisted and the thugs forced him to give up the villages 12 largest rams. Rams in Korphe basically = first born. They're the most valuable possession the villagers can own. So everyone was really upset, but complied anyway. Later on, the village chief had a talk with Mortenson. This is how it went:

Chief-- "Do you see how beautiful this Koran is?"
Mort-- "Yes."
Chief--"I can't read it. I can't read anything. This is the greatest sadness in my life. I'll do anything so the children of my village never have to know this feeling. I'll pay any price so they have the education they deserve."

Incredible. This isn't just a story about an awesome American. And it certainly isn't a story about an awesome American coming into the save the day for a bunch of poor, helpless people. This is a story about how wonderful people can be. It gives me hope that wherever you go, even such a harsh and remote environment like the Karokoram mountain range, there are good people. In order to do something great, you've got to have faith that there are good people out there who will help your cause out-- perhaps even save or ressurrect it.

We do need good people. Perhaps one of those good people will come through in the clutch and give a good state of the union address tomorrow night. I wrote more about that, check it out my other blog on the megaphone website.

In my last blog, I noted that I'm going to miss some people. I most definitely am. One of them I'm talking to right now. And I'm very lucky because she just sent me a wonderful email!! She's very sweet and I miss her a whole lot!!!

I think that's all I got right now. I'll write more before I leave, probably the night before.

Peace,

Tim

Let the Countdown Begin!

Good day everyone (who actually might read this)! Last night was my last Saturday evening in Texas for about 3 1/2 months. That's right, a week from today I will be in our great capitol city. As a matter of fact, at this exact moment next week I will begin my program's "orientation", which will probably consist of a dinner in Chinatown and a conversation about the rules, regulations, and recommendations to promote social harmony amongst my self and my fellow program-mates. After the orientation, I will get settled into my new home and prepare myself for my first day of work at the Democratic National Committee.

As this break comes to a close, I feel the need to contemplate and reflect. The past year of my life has been an incredible personal journey and the next year promises to be just as (if not more) impactful. When I look back on the past several months, I realize how much I've grown up. When I came to Southwestern, I did not really possess a lot of personal goals, direction, or sense of higher purpose. A lot has changed, and I have begun to understand the value of a college education-- what it really means and how one can really take advantage of all it has to offer.

I still have a long way to go, and to a great extent I believe that is what this semester is about. But by no means am I overconfident. Living in DC, working a challenging job, taking classes, and meeting a lot of new people are intimidating challenges. I'm definitely outside of my comfort zone. Fortunately, that's kind of the point-- getting out of the comfort zone. I need to challenge myself, I need to feel uncomfortable, and I need to feel a little scared. In a nutshell, that's where I'm at right now. Nervous...but in a good way.

On another note, I'm sad to say goodbye to everyone and everything at Southwestern. It's weird not being there when so much is going on. It's just as strange to part ways (albeit temporarily) with people I love and care deeply about. I hung out with my good buddy Tyler Rankin last night. Fittingly, we went to a local dive bar called the Oui Lounge (if you're from FW you've probably heard of it) and had a few beers/shot the shit around (figuratively speaking). He filled me in on the happenings at SU, particularly the new and harsher drug policy. A little background--apparently if you get caught with a "usable" amount of Marijuana on you, Southwestern will turn you over to the Williamson County PD. I don't want to digress too much, but the policy is IMHO, unneccessary and misguided. However, I disagree with all the fired up (slight pun intended) pot-heads on campus who are chanting "SU or SS?!", which absurdly compares Southwestern University Administration to gestapo/Nazis. Nazism resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of people. You getting a misdemeanor (if that) for smoking a bowl behind the greenhouse PALES in comparison.

Sorry for the digression. Anyway, we were at the Oui lounge and I realized how much I was going to miss havin Tyler and so many other friends around all the time. My Fraternity brothers, whom I celebrated bid day with, are absolutely incredible. They're all really excited for me, but at the same time I am excited for them as well. We ushered in a group of 17 new pledges and all of the are TOP NOTCH DUDES. I'm sad I won't be here to get to know them this semester, but I know they will turn out to be great KA's and even better friends.

So over the past couple of weeks, I've had some emotional send offs and temporary goodbye's. I think you can begin to tell how much you love someone when you realize just how much you will miss them. And I'm going to miss a lot of people, so I reckon there's a lot of love out there.

Well, that's about all I can pour out right now. There will be more, I plan to write as much as possible this semester.

Keep on keepin on

Tim

Love and Racism

I just watched a commercial for the Simpsons. Bart Simpson was throwing cats into Principal Skinner's pants. After about the third cat, Skinner dryly stated that "this is not going to end well."

There is no deep or metaphorical meaning to that for me. I just found it very, very funny.

Anyway, here I am after another great weekend. I really enjoyed going home because I got to bring Ursula and have her meet all my friends. She is really, really amazing and I'm not just saying that because she's my only blog follower. I mean it. It seems like every time I go home now something important and meaningful happens. Without a doubt that happened again this weekend. I was not planning on it, nor did I not foresee anything so special occurring. Spontaneity sometimes makes things better. This time could not have been scripted better by anyone.

Ok so I have to segue. There is no smooth way to do segue here because I fell asleep writing last night and now find myself with totally different things on my mind. Mainly I am concerned with the overt racism, sexism, and other isms in certain realms of the republican party. Last week a Congressman from Tennessee asserted that if abortion was covered by a government plan then the current president of the United States might have been aborted. In order to make his comment seem less partisan but more racist, he then said the same thing about Justice Clarence Thomas. Thomas and Obama have absolutely nothing in common besides their skin color. In fact, Obama stated that Thomas was the least qualified member of our current Supreme Court. If you are not a racist, comparing Obama and Thomas is not apples and oranges. Rather, it's more like apples and screwdrivers. However, Congressman Tiahart (sp?) is quite the racist. According to Jeff Sharlet, author of "The Family" which describes a neo, christian conservative pol group- Tiahart also argued during a closed door meeting that abortion needed to be outlawed because Muslims were out reproducing Christians and thus slowly falling behind in the birth wars. Again, racist.
And not to mention sexist. With this argument Tiahart assumes that financial troubles are the only thing keeping women from having abortions. That's just really fucking stupid. Raising a child costs more than an appointment at the abortion clinic. If you are low on cash you aren't going to say "Well, I guess I oughta just save a few bucks and keep this thing!" Raising a kid is a HUGE EXPENDITURE. Furtermore, pregnancy makes you lose time at work and causes a great deal of physical, emotional, and financial stress. So don't try to tell me that adoption is just an easy way out. Not only that but primarily women stress about abortion not because of finances but because they know that it is a huge and painful decision to make. Women don't get abortions because they're having a bad hair day or saw a Hugh Grant movie. It's a hard and painstaking decision that most every woman in that position must go through. So there.
What concerns me the most is this is not an isolated incident. Last week Senator Coburn(R) from Oklahoma said in his best Ricky Ricardo impersonation that Sonia Sotomayor "had some splainin' to do". RNC Chairman Michael Steele said that he would use fried chicken, collard greens, and potato salad to woo blacks back to the GOP. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Conservative TV and radio has been bashing Sotomayor for weeks because she has this crazy notion that being the only female, Latina Supreme Court nominee in the history of America makes her unique.
What am I getting to here? I hope this will go away soon and I will look back on this post and say "Man, I guess I just really needed to vent there." But I don't think that is how it will play out. I think the Republican party is like a conered animal right now. In other words, the ugly side is starting to show. We're seeing the most conservative and loud mouthed right-wingers take over the GOP. Rush Limbaugh is in the news on a weekly basis. Rahm Emanuel even said that Rush was the voice of the Republican party. The front runners for 2012 are Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee. Both are about as socially conservative as you can imagine. Neither believe in evolution. I think it's a safe bet that since Palin doesn't believe in dinosaurs she probably doesn't believe in affirmative action either. Oh, and that Tiart guy? He's running for United States Senate. And he will probably win in Kansas.
Bleck. If anyone who isn't conservative reads this please take note. Do everything you can to stop these people from getting a grip on any more power in our political system. We can't have an America that is run by backwoods, racist, morons. We tried that during the Bush years and it was a total fail. Don't let us regress. Let's just keep moving on.

Abiding,

Tim

Beef: It's what used to be for dinner

I have not eaten any cow in 10 days. After KA convention that seems like a long time. It's difficult to describe my relationship with beef over the years. I guess the love affair began when I was around 8 or 9 and my dad introduced me to Chicken Fried Steak. This is ironic because he is a pescatarian (sp?)( it means his only meat is fish). Anyhow, every week my mom and dad would take me out to a restaraunt and order me a CFS with lots o' gravy. Needlessly to say, I fell in love with the thing. It was what I looked forward to every week over a period of almost a year. After I got well versed with that dish I moved onto bigger and better things. Premium, aged, well cut steaks became my dish of choice. After about a year of weekly fried/red meat consumption I gained around 10 pounds. You'll notice this if you look at any of my 5th grade pictures. That was not baby fat people...it was more like grease and cream gravy. Also, I imagine my heart was taking about as much as a beating as any 11 year old's could. I suppose things could not go on like that much longer.
So around that time I came to a fork in the road. I was entering Junior High and realized that girls were not going to find my portly self very attractive. Kids are cruel, and I did not want to give them extra fodder. I was also starting to worry a little bit about my overall health. Therefore I realized I had a decision to make: eat better and suffer cravings or be fat, unhealthy and lonely. I attempted to do the former by trying to limit my fried and red meat consumption. I remember one year I gave up fried foods entirely for lent. That is a pretty impressive feat for a pre pubescent kid. And sure enough I grew, lost the fat, and turned into a fairly handsome chap by the time high school rolled around. During high school my metabolism was so fast I could pretty much eat whatever I wanted. So red meat returned as a fairly regular item on my menu. Not near as regular as it was before junior high, but still pretty often. Gradually my intake of beef was reduced due to my love of chicken and fish, which provide a much lighter and healthier alternative to the cow.
Over the past six months I have taken to eating less and less beef because it is more expensive, harder to cook, and I just feel like shit after I eat too much of it. That last reason is a big one. "Feeling like shit" after eating too much cow or even pork usually involves symptoms like feeling groggy, constipation, and slight chest/stomach pain. Whenever I have those feelings I begin to think my body is sending me some red flags. After I returned home from my 5 day vacation with the men of the Order, the flags started to feel like sirens. I was tired, sickly, lazy, and felt heavier and thicker all around. So when I got back home I promised myself I would say goodbye to cow indefinately.
And so here I am. 10 whole days, approximately 30 meals without any bovine in the system. Fittingly, I read an article about the horrors of the cattle industry today. The article I read gave some daunting facts. For instance, did you know that cattle are pumped full of estrogen before slaughter in order to increase bulk? This may be leading to early puberty in girls and decreased sperm count in men. Furthermore, cows are fed an unnatural combo of corn and protein that doesn't work well with their digestive tracts. In order to prevent the cattle from getting sick becuase of the fucked up diet, ranchers must pump them with anti-biotics. Also apparently it takes 284 gallons of oil to keep a cow fed and healthy for 14 months. Considering the fact that one slaughterhouse shuffles through hundreds per day it's easy to say that the auto industry is not the only business dependent on foreign oil. And I have been an ignorant, die hard supporter all these years.
From now on I will never be able to eat beef without thinking of how awful I felt last week and all the gross facts I read about in the article. Hopefully, this will lead to a healthier and more guilt free me. I pray that I will avoid late night cravings for Whataburger. Please wish me the best of luck. And please, if you have any bad information on chicken please save it for now. It is hard enough breaking up with one animal.

More to come soon.

Still Beefless,

Tim

Travel, Part 1

Last week I traveled by myself to Washington DC in order to be a part of Kappa Alpha's 73rd Convention at the JW Marriott Hotel. For many people I am sure this would seem like an ordinary thing, but for this blogger it was something rather unusual. First of all, I have only flown by myself twice (each time for my fraternity). I can say that while traveling (esp. flying) alone can be daunting at first, it always makes me feel more mature and independent. No longer do I need a parent or friend to accompany me as a roam the country. I am doing something that only a relative handful of people in the history of the world have gotten to do, and I am doing it effortlessly and by myself.
Conquering nerves is easy at an airport (even if you aren't old enough to get a few in at the airport bar). First, bring a good book. I read almost two hundred pages while flying, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Air line magazines are some of the worst periodicals in America, and everyone who reads them looks like a desperate schmuck. People who spend the flight reading novels look sophisticated and thoughtful. Maybe that's just my opinion, but I can't help but wonder why people would be so interested in AA's flight schedule or a list of restaraunts in completely different cities than the one they are going to.
If reading just doesn't float your boat, I suggest people watching. What a wonderful place an airport is to observe others. While I was waiting for my first plane to board, I was sitting next to a tremendously fat woman with two rambuncious young girls. The father was thin and balding, but very attentive. He would take his two girls (who were maybe 7) to look out of the window at the big, amazing planes that were rolling by on the landing strip. Meanwhile, the mother just sat there barking orders to "not run so fast" or "quiet down." Every once in a while, I heard her mutter "Jesus Christ" or some kind of expression of sheer frustration. I don't know what this lady's problem was...maybe she had a Mcdonald's hangover coupled with awful flatulence. I don't know really. Whatever it was, it kept her from moving more than an inch for at least an hour. I feel like the inability to move is probably quite the setback for a mother of two young girls. Also, I found it ironic that here we are about to travel across the country and I am sitting next to a lady that hates moving. In other eras, traveling was reserved for the bravest and most active of people. A trek to DC would have taken months. Many people could have died. If things had gone horribly wrong, cannibilism might ensue. Now a days though, people insist on bitching about shitty in flight movies or lack of hot food during lunch hour. Yet, here I am surrounded by people who serve to prove that travel is no longer that big of a deal. Who cares if we are going on a trip that 100 years ago would have been completely impossible. Let's freak out about our kids doing their best impersonation of kids, while trying to put as little physical effort into anything as possible.
Well that felt good to ramble about. If it weren't for this blog I probably would have forgotten all about that lady and kindly let her pass out of my conscious memory. Instead, I immortalized her by assasinating her character on a faceless blog page. Truly heroic. When I landed in DC, a whole lot more AWESOME things happened. Also, I people watched like true champion. More about all that later...perhaps tomorrow!

Aren't I fancy?

Tim Clark

Genesis

So with a little encouragement I have decided to start keeping a blog. I think this will be a healthy activity. And I am always looking for more of those, especially nowadays.
I guess I will start out by saying how excited I am to have one of these! No longer do I need to resist writing facebook notes and risk looking like one of those sappy tween writers who desperately seek attention. Instead I can be a trendy, elitist blogger. I like the sound of that.
As far as goals or expectations go, I do not really have any. I will write on whatever subject is on my mind at a particular time. I imagine that could include anything regarding politics, general concerns, or happenings in my social life. For tonight, I will simply say that I am anxiously awaiting my trip to KA Convention 2009. The convention is occurring in Washington DC, and I will be able to experience the 4th of July in our nation's capital! This is especially exciting because for the first time in my life I am actually proud of the direction our government is taking us. I don't want to jump on the Obama bandwagon too much yet, but I have to admit I feel a bit more enthused to be an American than I did two years ago. So I am sure I will return to Texas bursting with patriotism like I never have before.
However, I do have some concerns regarding the next few days in DC. Numero Uno, I have to be at a KA convention. I am not going to try to explain all the ins and outs of a frat convention. I think it is pretty needless to say that things can get pretty tedious. Let's just say that if I have to sit through one more hazing or liability lecture I am going to cry on my roommate's shoulders. Also, things can get pretty intimidating. I am not the most experienced traveler, so I often torture myself with questions like-- What do I wear? If I am not wearing the right thing, will I get kicked out or frowned upon? What if I forget something, or get lost in the airport? What if all the other KA's are just a bunch of conservative, racists, loonballs? By this point, most of that stuff is already out of my hands though. If I fuck up, I am just going to have to grin and bear and move on. Likewise, if I forget a paper or something trite and some KA nutjob goes Stonewall Jackson on me, I will just shake it off and make fun of him later. So...no worries right?
Ah. So that is all I have today. Reminder, this is just a warm up. Rome was not built in a day. Future entries will be chock full of hot opinions and confessions. So get ready, America. Tim Clark just got a blog. And I better get ready too, because I know my #1 fan is probably going to have a plethora of fun grammar suggestions. :)

Thanks for reading,

Tim