the countdown begins

well, the time has almost come. i start school on sunday. i'm definitely excited, and also a little bit in denial. i've gotten my student id and everything, so i feel pretty ready, though i'm sure i'll feel a lot less ready as soon as i get in to the classroom for the first time. only one of my professors has actually given out an assigment for the first class, so that is nice--i just hope it doesn't change at the last minute.

i'm back! (i was away)

hey! i'm back! i just had one of the more relaxing weeks ever. i went to pawley's island with tom to join my dad's side of the family for our annual trip down to a house on the beach in south carolina. the weather was great--sunny but not too hot, warm ocean water, oooof it was great! i got to hang out with my two cousins, their spouses, and their five blond sons. plus i read some good books. always good to be home, but i did NOT want to leave.

(these pictures came from the creek that sits behind the house. somehow i have a shortage of actual beach photos but as you can see the creek is pretty beautiful.)

i got nothin to say

i'm on vacation, and i have to say, it's as slow-moving as i had hoped. i'm doing practically nothing all day, and while you'd think that would make me excited for the few things i do have scheduled, in reality it makes it difficult for me to motivate even as far as the shower. it feels good to be on vacation, and i am really hoping that i get legitimately bored by the time i actually have to get up and do stuff.

in other news, i bought a new backpack yesterday, and i am unhealthily excited about it. i feel like i'm in middle school again and this backpack represents all my hopes and dreams for the upcoming school year. here's what it looks like: ain't it pretty?

we'll have fun fun fun till her daddy takes the t-bird away

i'm on vacation!!! friday i finished my job of two years, doing education policy analysis/research/other miscellaneous stuff. i loved the job, and it inspired me to do what's coming next (law school), but i'll admit i was also very excited to be done friday and to have three weeks of doing absolutely nothing to look forward to.

today, for example, i've been in my pjs all day and am currently watching west wing reruns. though to my credit i have cleaned the whole house except the floors. those are next.

abajo el fascismo

well i keep trying to post pictures from my trip but blogger doesn't seem to want me to, so i'm giving up and moving on. rest assured, it was a very pretty trip to san diego.

the news i really want to talk about is fidel castro's temporary cession of power to his brother, raul. i've studied cuba a lot: it was the topic of several research papers, including my thesis, in college, and i spent a month there in the summer of 2003. i have to say, there is a lot about cuba and its government that has been successful: its health and education systems are absolutely first rate, and its fierce determination to resist the american hegemony that has paralyzed many other tiny caribbean nations is extremely respectable. but what i saw in cuba is a country that is struggling, unnecessarily, in order to cater to the every whim of its leader. fidel castro earned the respect of the cuban people in 1959 but has failed them in many ways since.

cuba is in so many ways a wonderful country with a proud history. the opportunity to move forward without castro is a great one, and the enthusiasm of the cuban exiles is understandable. my high school spanish teacher was herself an exile, and though she has been in the united states since 1960, she continues to count the days until she can return. my only hope is that the united states stays the hell out of it, though it sure doesn't seem likely.