Free Sugar

Today is "Donut Friday"... the QA lead brought in a box of donuts from the corner bakery and shared them with us... I had the lemon filled chocolate frosted donut with sprinkles on top. :) I can't remember the last time that I had a WHOLE donut. I savored the sugary taste slowly and complimented the sweetness with some bitterness from a cup of hazelnut coffee... I passed on the regular sugar and opted for Splenda instead.

Ahhh... it was heaven...

Notice the "Subway" napkin underneath the mountain of sugar. I've been on the "Jared" diet for 3 weeks already... well sorta... :) Occasionally I inhale a foot long sandwich from Subway's in under 15 minutes and often topped off with some fruits and cookies to satisfy my growing body... sideways that is. I don't care... it makes me feel good... until I step on the scale.

Well... you gotta treat yourself right sometimes... LOL...

Celestial Connection

He called during the first few minutes of the lunar eclipse. I was standing at the front of my building's courtyard, gazing into the dark sky - admiring the moon. The next occurrence is suppose to happen sometime in December of 2010. He asked me what I was doing and I told him that I was moon watching. "Awww... you're so cute..."

The moon was very round and was darting in and out of a gray haze of clouds and the shadow casted by mother earth. Its rims gleamed a vibrant fire red. Its body... a rosato haze... with the bright shining star, Saturn, to its left, and Orion to its top right... the moon was brilliant despite its waning luster.

The sky was mostly clear... a rich midnight blue. The stage featured the trio with me as its sole audience. I was the narrator too; describing the acts as they unfolded, careful in telling the story as how it was meant to be heard. The moon on his side of the world was unseen under crying clouds. Isn't it strange how one can see the same play, but tell a different story?

The stillness and silence of my surrounding was spellbinding. Not even a twitch from the closest tree or a rustle from the nearest bush. They too were listening.

My story continued and travelled to a far away land as I remembered our last celestial connection. We were atop my building's roof terrace 3am in the cold frigid morning, observing the most beautiful fireworks show mother nature graced us with. We held each other tightly, with our heads tilted towards heaven as if we were waiting for God's blessing of our union; gazing at the dark sky as bursts of shooting stars glistened passed us. "Look at that one! It's so beautiful!"

As we grew colder and the blessing wasn't bestowed on us, we turned to each other with a parting smile and returned back to bed together.

Last night was different. No blessing was sought or bestowed nor pondered upon. I retreated quietly. "The moon was beautiful", I said to the doorman.



The picture doesn't do any justice to the phenomenon, but it was an attempt to savor a non-repeating moment.

3:27am

I was running up the steps to the courthouse as I was loosening my collar and undoing my black tie. I was choking, out of breath, exhausted, and felt my heart sink with each step. The black scoreboard hanging above the main entrance of the courthouse had Hillary and Obama listed on top and the percentage of delegates won for NJ all of a sudden changed. Obama won NJ instead.

I continued to race up the steps as I shouted "NO!" Halfway up the stairs, a white kid with a blond bowl hair cut shouted at me, "Of course it's possible! Section 8(a)-9783b-1 states that the delegates can be reassigned even when the results were previously determined! HA HA HA HA...!!" I shouted back to the white kid, "But the past case of [someone vs someone] stated that reassigning delegates after they are rewarded is UNCONSTITUTIONAL!!"

Then I woke up... it was 3:27am on Wednesday morning. I was having a hard time breathing because I was clenching my pillow so tightly against my face, that I was actually choking myself in my sleep and the loosening of my collar and black tie in my dream was just the reaction in my sleep.

The last time I felt so passionately about an election was in 2004 and in 2000... more so during the 2000 elections. I was living in South Carolina during the Al Gore and GWB election. I made sure that I voted that Tuesday prior to flying back to SC for work. I watched the elections so intensely as the states turned red towards midnight that I physically got sick. I remember wanting to throw up and my insides were just churning in disbelief that Bush was winning... when Florida hung in the balance that whole time... I was so depressed and hopeful at the same time.

This past Super Tuesday, I watched the primary election as if it was the Superbowl for straight men... and yes, I also watched the Superbowl... it was actually quite intense up until the very last minute... yeah... I didn't watch the National Ice Skating competition, but I watched the Superbowl... I think I'm going thru my straight phase now. Ewww...

I really want Hillary Clinton to win the Democratic nomination for the 2008 elections. I have nothing against Obama, just that I feel that he lacks the overall experience needed to get our country out of the current crises that has been our daily lives for the past seven plus years. Our country is in dear need of a President that will turn things around... not learn on the job to be a great President, but a candidate that's President ready. Hillary Clinton is President ready.

I don't want to see the US fall behind, as we are falling behind, in the world. We are losing our leadership qualities as a nation and we are being brushed aside by our peers. And we are in deep debt... a debt measuring in the trillions of dollars and counting. All the money spent fighting a losing war could have been spent providing healthcare, education, and funding stem cell research... just to name a few.

I am afraid for our country. We need change as Obama says we do, but he is still not the person for the job... maybe he will be ready in eight years after Hillary has been President.

Young America is leaning towards Obama for his effortless inspirational speeches, but yet... he has no solid plan of actions to achieve the goals he is trying to set. I am not convinced. Young America, we need change, but we also need someone who can carry out the change and not only state it in an inspirational speech.

We need a leader with experience and the know-hows to take charge. We need a solid candidate to push the Republicans back. I don't care if I get taxed more heavily if it means for the better of our country.

I encourage you all to go out there to vote in your primaries and to vote in the 2008 election. Voting is a right and a privalege... if you have it, use it for the better. Not all citizens of the world have what we have. Don't take it for granted. This is something that was engrained in me at age 12 by my social studies teacher Ms. Svenson. She made such a convincing case to me about our voting rights, that ever since then, I made sure my parents got out there to vote and to voice themselves. I've gotten my sisters to do the same as well.

As an American, you must love your country. You must defend your President against slander by foreigners, even if he/she is incompetent. Take it to heart that you can still vote him/her out of office in the next election. You are armed with this right, this privalege... as an American, be proud... know that this country has served you in subtle ways. You have the choice and the opportunity to bring about change.

Change that's brought about by your voice... and ultimately, by your vote.

When I woke up at 3:27am, still not knowing the final outcome of the primaries, I felt uneasy and sought of teary eyed. I'm afraid to have a 2000 and 2004 repeat in the next election. Sigh... if only I had studied law and politics... that's another thing... read to your children. I was never read to and I never grew to enjoy or have interest in reading until a late age. Because of that, I decided that law school wasn't for me.

In any case... please vote... take interest in your country's future in an unselfish way. We live in a beautiful country. You have the power to make it even better.

Peace...