Whoops I've done it again

It must be the fall because I am already thinking about next summer. This can only mean one thing: film school thoughts. That being said, as always, I have re-applied to the New York Film Academy's course in Paris. So if I hold true to my goal then next summer will be spent in lovely Paree! Now I will have to pay the remainder of the course fees and get a flat for the summer.
One thing that could be interesting is how long our summer vacation is next year. There is some talk in Kuwait that we won't be coming back until after Ramadan which could push the holiday into mid-September. That would be super-dreamy. Imagine three months in Paris instead of two!
Well as Kuwait gets colder, and more lovely every day, I think of the warmth of Parisian sun (more likely cloudy and cold, but hey, that's European summer).
Because of these plans I think I will cancel winter vacation. No trips until June. Bypassing winter will save me 3000 dollars or more. That will definitely help this summer. Now if the Euro would just keep dropping.
Well dear reader, please take care.

Goals

When I came to Kuwait I really had two goals. The first was to help my mother financially in the last years of her life. I think it is important to practice a bit of filial piety as one matures. So I did that until my mother passed away almost two years ago. I was lucky to be able to do this.
My second goal was to pay off my student loan. I think I have finally done that as well, but will wait until the 13th of November to see if Sallie Mae sends me one last bill. It might be over, since they did send me a letter saying as such, but I want to see if there is any outstanding interest.
I guess I have other goals as well. I wanted to become a better teacher before coming here and I guess I have gotten a wee bit better, especially at not yelling at the little whippersnappers. I yelled a lot my first year here. Just calm down and let things blow over is my new motto. The kids are generally pretty good here but they talk too much and don't take studying that seriously.
Another goal I had before arriving here was learning Arabic. I suck at learning languages, but that is really no excuse. I am also incredibly lazy and lack daily discipline. This is something I really need to work on in my remaining decades in Kuwait.
I also am really interested in Islam and have often thought of converting. But I always hesitate. I came close a few years ago but then backed away. Maybe that is something to seriously consider in the next few years. The only problem I have with Islam is the attitude of so many Muslims. Some of them are so full of hatred that I really don't want to surround myself with that. Some remain incredibly stupid and bigoted about the world around then and even about their own faith. I can't blame that on Islam though. It is really just the practitioners. I have met my fair share of bad Christians in my day as well.
Film has always fascinated me and I have often considered taking a course. I signed up for one a few years ago but never did attend. I am thinking of going again next summer, in Paris, France, especially if the Euro keeps getting weaker against the dollar. This is more just me trying to be the artist I used to want to be, but art still means a lot to me.
A strange goal I have recently developed is to travel less. Yes less. I love travelling but I want to learn to be happy standing still. I need to find my place in the world and I won't do this by bouncing all over the place. I have recently been thinking of leaving here and that gets the emotions flowing. I guess there are good reasons to leave but also quite a number of great ones to stay. I am thinking of trying out this goal this winter break by not going anyway, just staying in Kuwait. I know everyone will consider me mad, but the weather is so amazing now and will be great in December.
If I do stay for the month off, I will be able to work on another goal that has been killing me slowly: being a big fat ass. I really need to drop a ton or two. I went for a two hour walk tonight and really enjoy that. I really just need to walk more, eat less and drink more water. Hopefully I can focus on that.
My final goal is not keeping me up at night, but I used to really want to be a father. I am definitely not moving in that direction, and at 43, one has to wonder if this one will ever come true.
So those are some goals to think about over the next year or so.

Final Prediction

The McCain camp has had a bad month. So this is my updated prediction. It is a lot different from the first one.

<p><strong>><a href='http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008/pick-your-president/'>2008 Election Contest: Pick Your President</a></strong> - Predict the winner of the 2008 presidential election.</p>

The Year of the Rat Reading 23: "Arts of Southeast Asia"

I like Southeast Asia. I really need to move there someday. Something about the cultural is really appealing. Perhaps it is the artistic feeling that pervades the region.
When I first went to Thailand a few years ago I started this book. Some books just take longer than others to complete. This one deals with the influences that have affected arts in the region. It looks at indigenous, Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, Chinese and modern influences that have helped make Southeast Asian art so special.
One thing that is fun to do when travelling is purchase a piece of art. I have quite a number of things that I picked up in that region. One of my favorite is a Buddhist alms bowl that I bought in Bagan, Myanmar. I am sure I spent too much but I really like it. It currently sits on my table. I also have quite a large puppet of Gangesh that I bought in Myanmar. I bought that from some dissedents. I paid too much for sure on that one but I was helping them in their struggle for freedom.
So get to Southeast Asia. It is amazing.

The Year of the Rat Reading 22: "Comrade Rockstar"

Imagine going overseas, becoming a big star, wanting to go home, but the world has changed and you never do. That is what happened to Dean Reed. He had a few hits in the 1950's, made it big in Chile, become a communist, ended up in the Soviet Union and finally East Germany where he died a few years before the wall came down.
This book is really not about him, but about the search for him. The author doesn't really write a traditional biography, but more like a memoir of her journeys trying to discover his true identity. In the end she thinks he has killed himself, but his death is still a mystery.
But again it is a mystery that most have never heard of or are even too interested in solving. Dean Reed was in the end someone who was easy to throw away, because he left only a tiny mark on the earth.
As someone who is leaving that type of mark I can feel for this man. His adventure in some ways is similar to mine. Hopefully I have a happier ending.

Daytime littering is back!

One of the many hardships one has to deal with in Kuwait during Ramadan is the overall lack of daytime litter. Kuwaitis are the best when it comes to public displays of littering, but that comes to a halt during the month of Ramadan. You see, during this month there is no eating or drinking outside during the day, so people don't just drop their litter during the day. They have to wait until night. So you can really just walking around the town and not see any plastic flying around; well at least until sunset.
But that all comes to an end during Eid. Eid is the holiday that marks the end of Ramadan. It is a time to celebrate with your family, go out both day and night, and litter whenever you want. Boy the streets sure are filled with garbage today. It is the flying plastic that really tugs at one's heartstrings, the crashing of glass bottles makes one think of wealth gone to waste, and the occasional piece of real food that finds its way on the ground is quickly devoured by the cats. But there isn't too much real food actually, just lots of chips, candy and cokes.
So I hope everyone is enjoying their Eid as much as I am. Man I need to get a broom and start sweeping.

Alive in Joburg

Found this neat movie online. I liked it. Kind of an alien invasion of apartheid South Africa. Check it out:

Obama wins big!!!

I think the press has been asking too many gotcha questions to Sarah Palin. So I have mostly defended her. Well that is until I saw her not answering questions about the Supreme Court. She was really out of her depth. She should have been able to come up with something.
So I think the election is over. Obama will win. I am okay with that though since he has been a pretty strong candidate. I am not a huge fan of taxes, but they usually don't affect me. It will be nice to have the world off our backs for a while as well. Everyone really does hate us overseas. I don't blame Bush for this, but maybe the world will have a bit of America nostalgia over the next few years with someone different (and by different I mean non-white) in the White House.

Next stop...

October is as good enough a time to think of what to do next in life as any. I am thinking...of leaving Kuwait. I don't really know why at the moment, but am starting to think that maybe it is time to do something else. So I have started to look for other teaching jobs overseas. It is not that I am unhappy here. I find that I am quite content. I just am starting to think it is time for another adventure. So I have started to do a little research. I am looking at schools in the former USSR. You will notice I am starting to do some reading on this area. It is actually one of the places I have always wanted to go. A friend of mine taught in Uzbekistan and he liked it there. So I have been looking at the school there (www.tashschool.org). Right now there are no openings, but it is still early. I interviewed with a school in Russia a few years ago, so I might look into that as well.
Of course the big question is should I go to a job fair, if I decide to leave? If I do, I will more than likely go to the one in London, which is where I got my current job.
Again, Kuwait has been very, very good to me. Should I leave? I still don't know. Just thinking???

The Year of the Rat Reading 21: "Red Moon Rising: Sputnik and the Hidden Rivalries that Ignited the Space Age"

One of the things that has interested me since I was a child is the Soviet Union. I think I am actually one of the few people who miss it. I don't know why it was so fascinating. I guess it was such an important country and a counterweight to the United States, which for some reason I have never been such a huge fan of. I think it stems from my sixth grade history class and from my father. We learned all about communism then, and after hearing about it, I thought it didn't sound so bad. Of course, I now know that the reality was a lot different from the ideal, but I still fixate on what could have been. My father is from Denmark, so I learned early on from visits there that there were other countries in the world that had different systems than my own. Denmark seemed to work, despite our constant harping of how great America was, so I thought maybe the Soviet Union also had much potential.
One of the great moments for the USSR (or CCCP as I learned from stamp collecting) was the launching of the Sputnik satelite. It put America on its heals for a few months in the fall of 1957. It was really just a tiny, insignificant object but it managed to do something that the might USA hadn't done yet.
This book starts off with the fall of Nazi Germany, and America and the Soviets trying to find some information from the German rocket program. This information helped both nations come up with some answers on how to get a rocket into space. The Soviets used the information, while America just captured a bunch of Nazi scientists. They had the papers, we had the brains.
In this book I learned a lot about Khrushchev and about Eisenhower. I was suprised at the role LBJ played in the whole affair. I recommend this one highly.