Toasted plain bagel with plain cream cheese. Check.
Small circular, wobbly coffee table. Check check.
Still steaming cup of coffee that is probably too large for my own good. Check check check.
Droning of the Odwalla-endorsed refrigerator & people watching of SF-ers.. getting distracting.
Chiming of the bells that have been placed around the knob of the front door. Okay, back to reality.
Been a long time since I've worked from a coffee shop.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Knowing is Half the Battle
So, I've been back for several months now. I never got to writing that update on Jerusalem*...sorry!
Lately, I haven't had much energy or time to really do anything other than mentally blog. Is that another way of saying thinking too hard? Possibly, and to be honest, not completely out of the question. Mentally blogging somehow helps me to make sense of things.
I should probably be sleeping soon, but I can't get my mind off of the documentary I just watched called, "God Grew Tired of Us." I guess the documentary has got me mentally blogging, and I want to get out some thoughts out in writing before I forget.
As part of my goal for 2009, I'm trying to become a more educated and responsible citizen in this world. Maybe all this living in Haight has heightened my sense of social responsibility. Regardless of the reason, I'm learning and attempting to broaden my peripheral vision beyond the narrow focus of comfy, cushy, yuppie life by taking it one step at a time.
My desire to self-educate more on social issues initially stemmed from my recent sojourns in Israel. Initially, I wanted to read up on issues regarding the Gaza strip because I didn't want to sound like an idiotic, clueless American when visiting. I actually found it difficult at first to plunge into learning about these issues because they are complicated by factors that cannot be easily reconciled: history, race, and religion.
Not surprisingly, these factors had their own roles in the documentary I watched tonight about the war in Sudan. Although the documentary wasn't my favorite, it was worth learning about the Sudanese Lost Boys and hearing about their struggles in America after becoming refugees. The documentary got me thinking, and I think there's something truly innocent and memorable about:
Knowing is half the battle [against ignorance].
*Sidenote: I will make it a point to dedicate a post to Jerusalem the next time I'm in the Holy Land. Glad to know I have fans of my blog. Really appreciated all the emails, IMs, wassups, and "omg, be safe" messages that I got while I was overseas.
Lately, I haven't had much energy or time to really do anything other than mentally blog. Is that another way of saying thinking too hard? Possibly, and to be honest, not completely out of the question. Mentally blogging somehow helps me to make sense of things.
I should probably be sleeping soon, but I can't get my mind off of the documentary I just watched called, "God Grew Tired of Us." I guess the documentary has got me mentally blogging, and I want to get out some thoughts out in writing before I forget.
As part of my goal for 2009, I'm trying to become a more educated and responsible citizen in this world. Maybe all this living in Haight has heightened my sense of social responsibility. Regardless of the reason, I'm learning and attempting to broaden my peripheral vision beyond the narrow focus of comfy, cushy, yuppie life by taking it one step at a time.
My desire to self-educate more on social issues initially stemmed from my recent sojourns in Israel. Initially, I wanted to read up on issues regarding the Gaza strip because I didn't want to sound like an idiotic, clueless American when visiting. I actually found it difficult at first to plunge into learning about these issues because they are complicated by factors that cannot be easily reconciled: history, race, and religion.
Not surprisingly, these factors had their own roles in the documentary I watched tonight about the war in Sudan. Although the documentary wasn't my favorite, it was worth learning about the Sudanese Lost Boys and hearing about their struggles in America after becoming refugees. The documentary got me thinking, and I think there's something truly innocent and memorable about:
- Someone who sells his remaining corn rations to buy sweets for some of the children in a refugee camp
- The question, “What is a shower?”
- Excitement over experiencing electricity for the first time
- The sight of a man eating a whole stick of butter because he doesn’t know what type of food it is
- A man playing with a balloon for the very first time
- The confused look on a man’s face when looking at an Orthodox Jew for the first time in his life
- A hand motion towards a trash can as someone says, “Do not throw the trash out the window. Put it here.”
Knowing is half the battle [against ignorance].
*Sidenote: I will make it a point to dedicate a post to Jerusalem the next time I'm in the Holy Land. Glad to know I have fans of my blog. Really appreciated all the emails, IMs, wassups, and "omg, be safe" messages that I got while I was overseas.
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