(Post)^3 Modernism

Winds Blow East

2009-08-23T01:01:00.003-04:00

Again it has been too long since I have recorded anything in this blog. How unfortunate as well, as it has been a truly great summer with a lot of experiences, thoughts, and mental progress I think.

In short, since my last post Arcadiy and I completed our great journey West to California, where Kelsey met me and we had a fantastic two weeks in Big Sur, San Jose, Berkeley / Oakland / San Francisco, Napa / Sonoma Valleys, and finally at Get Golden with AIESEC San Jose at Yosemite National Park where we climbed to the very top of Half Dome - my greatest summiting feat. Then I flew out to New York to see some friends including Tiffany and A. King, who were on the cusp of beginning their terms as the first duly elected AIESEC US Member Committee team members in twelve years. I returned to Alabama, where Kelsey came down to visit again for a weekend, and I worked out and relaxed. In July I went up to stay with Kelsey for three weeks in Chapel Hill while also catching Independence Day in Washington, DC. After another week in Gadsden, I helped her move into a new home in DC, where we spent two weeks and said "see you later" for a year (or six months or so) the day before she started her new job this week.

The "see you later" is because on Monday morning I fly out to China for one year to work at a startup content delivery network company called Prime Networks in Beijing. It is a technical traineeship through AIESEC.

That came after a great deal of wrangling with three different opportunities over the summer, and this is what came out on top. Thankfully so, I believe. In China I will get to spend a year in a totally foreign culture, as the only time I've been to "Asia" was when I was on the eastern side of Istanbul for a month in August 2007. I will have the opportunity to learn as much as I can of a major world language, Mandarin. I will be working in an area that is related to my degree, and not just teaching English. I will be working for a start-up, to immerse myself in the entrepreneurial environment. From my perspective, although I don't want to get ahead of myself too much, I am getting a pretty good deal.

I know a lot of people get stressed and anxious and even teary-eyed when they go on a journey like this, leaving their homes and their loved ones. The leaving is not lost on me. I recognize and understand my feelings of separation from my good friends, my family, and my girlfriend very much. The same goes for the places I won't see for a year. But the drive to know and experience more, to know more people and be a part of more places and learn more from the wide world is orders of magnitude greater than the sadness. I have never been homesick before. I don't think I will start to in China. I feel propelled towards it, with the wind at my back and the path leading East for now. So much to learn and so much opportunity is a bell-clear beckoning on an early morning.

I must abed now, but soon I will be in Shanghai for two weeks to complete immigration. And then the task begins!

The Turner Experience

2009-05-11T23:35:00.003-04:00

On Wednesday morning, Arcadiy and I started out in Atlanta, Georgia, after eating lunch with Ben James and Willy B. We crossed the entire country in his white stallion. Last night we arrived in San Jose, CA, at the house of former LCP of AIESEC SJSU, Colin. He has continued on to Seattle; I am staying for two amazing weeks in the Bay Area.

Here is our entire trip that we just took:

View Larger Map

Each night, except for in Salt Lake City, we managed to stay with AIESEC friends and have a great time. Also we hiked up to Dream Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park on Saturday (we would have continued up the trail to Emerald Lake but it was too snow-packed) and stopped off at the Sierra Trading Post in Cheyenne, WY.

This trip has been an intense experience for me. I have been to San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Denver, and Oxford before, but (with the exception of Oxford) it was always via airplane. Driving across the country, inch by inch and foot by foot and mile by mile, watching every blade of grass bleed into every forest and give way to the flat green plains of Kansas to grow into the rising highlands of eastern Colorado, abruptly interrupted by the titanic Rockies and moving on up north to pass over the moonscape that is Wyoming, through the unfamiliar Western terrain of Utah's salt flats and Nevada's heavy mountainous deserts finally giving way to Tahoe's majestically beautiful summits rolling down to the Pacific coast has been a surreal and powerful accomplishment. I have come to understand and appreciate just how very vast and diverse this country is, and everywhere we passed by I thought of different histories, of 40 acres and a mule, of outlaws on the frontier, of buffalo massacres and Native American tribes, of Mormons crossing such an incredible distance to found Deseret and of the true end of the frontier coming from the western end as well. It has blown my mind and it has also been the very appropriate beginning to what I expect will be a wonderful few weeks enjoying freedom before I ship out to Asia (wherever in that even more vast land I choose to go).

Tomorrow Kelsey arrives and then we will go camping in Big Sur, we will stay with my cousin in Berkeley to hit up San Francisco, and we will go camping in Napa before Get Golden. I am ecstatic to be able to spend two great weeks in paradise.

More to come soon hopefully. I'm taking some pretty good pictures.

The Mountaintop

2009-05-01T22:49:00.002-04:00

I have finished Georgia Tech. I have taken all my finals. Most of the stuff is out of the Duplex ready to go back to Gadrock. Tomorrow morning I head to the Georgia Dome to go through commencement.

And it is looking like I will have quite a plate of options on the table. I have interviewed with / am in the process of moving forward with three different opportunities. One is being on the expansion team expanding AIESEC into Mongolia, and continuing the good work begun by my former comrade Alina and her band of merry Yalies. One is a traineeship for Prime Networks, Ltd., a content delivery network startup in Beijing, PRC. And one is for Mindvalley in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

They all represent radically different possible paths for this new stage in my life. The winds of fortune will have to be read carefully for me to take the wisest path. I intend to be out of the country by August, but if I choose Mongolia I will have to be there by July 1. As the possibilities weigh themselves on my mind at the crossroads, I remember the words of the checkout clerk:

If you want to find the truth, you have to walk through the darkness. In the depths of the darkness where no one likes to tread is where the truth lies.

Those are the words that swim in my head at night when I lay me down to sleep, that buzz through my brain while the steam of the shower awakens me while the morning light streams through the bathroom window. I think they are the calling of my destiny.

But until then, I go with a great companion on a long trip where he will begin his life anew in Seattle, and will drop me off in San Jose, CA; on the way we will commiserate and rest with old friends in Ohio, Kansas, and Colorado; we will hike a bit and chat aplenty. Then I get the pleasure of spending two wonderful weeks with Colin before he begins his MC term working with Tiffany and the others on the AIESEC US Dream Team, the first properly elected and selected such team in twelve years. I'll also be with my new ladyfriend, exploring San Jo, San Francisco (I'm particularly interested in checking out a Long Now Foundation Seminar!), camping in Napa Valley and culminating in AIESEC San Jose's Get Golden camping trip in Yosemite over Memorial Day weekend. Then I fly to New York to visit those people beginning their terms on the MC, and then back to Alabama on the first of June for some much needed R & R after five years of mental siege.

So much to try to experience and prepare for before the next chapter begins in this saga. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Drum Circle

2009-04-13T22:59:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I took the time to take my djembe out to Piedmont Park at 4 PM, when Shaun said the drum circle folks met every Sunday.

We sat down on a sunny, breezy afternoon in the small stone-paved plaza / overlook next to The Lawn. The core of the circle had already formed - a couple of experienced and well-practiced black conga players, and around them some people with djembes of various sizes. Mine was the largest and deepest. I can't escape the large instruments.

Shaun played first, and then I played two afterwards. The rhythms were varied, richly textured, and lasted a good long time. I definitely delighted in getting lost in them after I caught my groove. As the player of the lowest-pitched drum I was pretty important so I had to pay attention to providing a reliable beat, rather than indulging in adding garnishes or flair.

As we played to our hearts' content, people came to sit and watch, to listen. Children played and danced in front of us, and so did some adults - dancing skilfully to the syncopated beats, shaking every axis of freedom with the Sun and the people watching on. There were people unconventionally dressed - throwbacks to the '60s, some just not locked into the prevailing fashion, one woman looked like an African godmother. As I watched I became entranced by the very beat I was a part of creating. I closed my eyes and let it flow.

As I subjected myself to the charging tide of the beat of which I was a weaver, one of the paddlers on the grand boat down the river of music and art and life that was happening in the southeast corner of Piedmont Park, I thought about a world or a place where this gathering would be frowned upon, or illegal, or attacked. People dressed differently would be shunned, spat upon, pissed upon, attacked with rocks or sticks or bags full of old food. The musicians would be surrounded by the police, their instruments confiscated or smashed on the ground in front of the illegally gathered crowd who would have to flee for their safety, weeping with confusion and anger and desperation if they were caught. And when those expressing themselves were safely detained, the mouthpiece of the regime would declare to the park: "This has been an illegal gathering in violation of the Code of Peace. You are reminded not to attend unauthorized and unsanctioned cultural gatherings at the risk of punishment under the prevailing Ordinances. Return to your homes."

With that in my mind, I reveled in the small but remarkable moment of expression we were a part of. And I was thankful for the place I lay my head.

Finish Line Ahead

2009-03-25T22:46:00.005-04:00

I will blog more about Spain later, when I have my photos all nice and loaded up.

The other night I was at Trader Joe's, just getting some milk. I noticed there were several long-ish lines (for Trader Joe's anyway) at the checkout counters, but the one at the left end of the occupied counters had one person who was about to be done, so I went to it. As soon as I settled there, a man's voice to the left asked, "Are you a philosopher?"

I looked and where I thought there was an unmanned counter there was a worker, with no line in front of him. I walked and I said, "Not yet anyway." He replied while looking me in the eye and taking my groceries, "I hope not. Because if you can't find the free check-out counter in the grocery store, you'll never find the truth."

He continued as he rang me up, "And you know, most people think that the truth, it's like rays of light that shine down from above." He paused as he looked at me deeper, not really leaning in but pulling me somewhat closer with his eyes. "But you will not find the truth as revelation. If you want to find the truth, you have to walk through the darkness. In the depths of the darkness where no one likes to tread is where the truth lies." He bagged my last item and I walked out the door.

I think that statement is profoundly true. When I was still a Christian, one of the aspects of Jesus that I most sought to replicate and admire (and admittedly I still do) was the part where he "ate with sinners." This had a true effect on my understanding and interpretation of the faith and the way of life, but many of the authority figures around me often dismissed this aspect somewhat when I would try to explain it, or at the least they rarely encouraged it.

At this point it should be noted that this entry has been written over three separate periods, each time with me meaning to finish it, but always getting interrupted before my thoughts finished. Here's some more:

I've been working on getting the sort of ideal traineeship in China: a year in a fundamentally non-Western country, a place where I can learn a major world language, working in renewable energy and utilizing somewhat, but not overwhelmingly, engineering. I have been in talks with a company but it's slowing down, so I'm not sure how that's going to work out. So I am expanding my traineeship search. I'm probably going to apply to MindValley, which would be so off the chain, and a couple of other places. We'll see - main thing is to get out into a worthwhile thing for my own interests and development, and to wait out this economic thing. I like to read fivethirtyeight a lot because Nate Silver does a good job of making statistically interesting projections and analyses of the economic situation, which is hard to understand, at least as much as I would like to understand it - which is profoundly deeply.

Very soon I'll be done with GT and then I think people will see someone return who hasn't been here in a while - a calmer, more amicable me. My own mother tells me how much less happy I seem now than I did before college, and with an awesome trip to be taken in May with people I really want to be with and the prospect of a year of new developments, I think my mind will sufficiently rest and recharge itself, along with my soul.

Gone Ramblin'

2009-03-12T16:59:00.002-04:00

It only just hit me that, oh, I leave for the airport to go to Spain with my sister in a few minutes.

The first time I went to Spain it was like this huge movement and upheaval, but the next time I left the US for another country - to Istanbul, Turkey - it was more like sitting down in a room for 15 hours and then walking out in a new place. It wasn't a huge upheaval, it was just there. I think that's when I truly realized that travel had changed me at the core.

I like that a lot. I hope my sister will come to understand the same thing.

Another Set

2009-03-10T00:29:00.002-04:00

I don't have much time before I need to lay me down, but I need to continue the exercise.

I have an unholy mountain to climb in the next 72 hours. On Wednesday I have two tests and a presentation, on Thursday I have a test, and it ends about six hours before I need to be at the airport to volar a España.

It's so much that I almost can't even "see" Spain over the mountaintop. I have to give myself solace in the fact that I only have five Mondays left at Georgia Tech (not counting finals week). That's nice.

Another huge difficulty is in our senior design project, the maglev train. Very, very ambitious. Too ambitious probably. We'll see. We'll pass anyway, but barely. F+. Click.

I probably won't get truly struck with excitement for Spain until I'm there. That's just the way it tends to be with me and travel, it's just going down the road. It's all a long road that goes on forever, not some huge exciting sea change.

But I am of course looking for that sea change, if and when it comes. I'm ready for something completely new. New parts of my brain need to be stretched, and the parts that have been blown out and salted over for the last five years need time to heal. Whatever it takes. But the learning curve can't stop.

Catching Up

2009-03-05T22:33:00.003-05:00

It's been a really long time since I've posted, which isn't great. I've tried to keep up better as a legitimate right-brain exercise, since that's definitely a mental muscle I don't want to lose.

There are now less than two months until I graduate from Tech with a bachelor of science in electrical engineering, with a co-op and international plan certificate, and a Spanish minor. I am counting down every day; it's like being on a very long run and seeing the finish line get closer. I am pretty much just on momentum right now with inertia, but I try to run every now and then - in real life and in this metaphor.

Speaking of running, I've run more regularly recently, at least three or four times a week for the past few weeks, but I've been sick with a mild ear infection since the weekend. The medicine leaves me really dehydrated and I overheat easily so I can't keep it up for now; disappointing since I want to badly to get back into a routine for getting back into shape. I've been (generally) eating better as well, or at least eating more consciously.

Last weekend was RoKS, which was my last in fact - my first was way back three years ago the same weekend in Jacksonville, FL in the spring of 2006. We went down there all the way because we had to accommodate the three kids from Miami to come there; naturally they quickly died out as they had before. Wasted money and time by the higher-ups. Anyway, I was a faci at our RoKS and it was a good experience, although I think a lot of the flow of the conference could have been better. I still made my session enormously late but I think I facilitated one good session I made with Dani from UNC about the AIESEC Way and the AIESEC Experience, and my big thing was to make it so the delegates got into small groups and had 30 seconds each to describe their most pivotal AIESEC Experience to the group. The person per group who gave the best story within the 30 second limit came to the front and said it to the whole session. It was designed to both prep them for the idea of selling the AIESEC Experience through their stories (and to keep the stories short and understandable) and to hopefully get the newbies hooked on the sweet stories of older members. I think it was a good move because the people who came to the front of the room had really interesting stories. Also we did a Twitter feed for the conference, you can see the results here.

I am listening to some really fresh rap on WREK right now on Wrekroom Renaissance. It's making for the perfect background.

Most of what's driving me on this blog is my interest in content creation. Think about how many people have really interesting and constructive ideas but don't ever put them down for anyone to know about? A great novel, a hit song, solutions to problems, a new recipe, an allsome film? We're uniquely lucky with the Internet to be very easily able to put information out for the whole world to see. Of course, this has to come with the right expectations of responsibility and a good bit of education on it, but I sure hope they never censor the Internet. Freedom is great.

Recently I've had several conversations in which I spent a while trying to explain my views on things like politics, religion, morality, the economy, etc. and it goes on a really long time and people get lost. Then at the end they say "you have to be thinking really long term, aren't you?" And I say "Of course I am!" I know most everyone's capable of thinking really long-term, but maybe a lot more people are indeed focused on the really short or medium term and not about their long-term future, or that of their children. I'll have to figure out how to better frame the logical progression from our current state to my desired vision so people see how it is causal and relates to the here and now.

Oh man, now it's that sweet funk on WREK, Electric Boogaloo. I LOVE Thursday nights. So very solid.

Only a week until I leave for Spain with my sister. We're going to Sevilla, Valencia for the Fallas where I'll stay with my old roommates, and Madrid. Truly she will learn the way of the nomad.

Okay, about time to hit it.

Pulling the Pavement from Under My Nails

2009-01-30T20:15:00.002-05:00

I totally randomly came across this girl on YouTube today. Her name is Ann Marie Calhoun and she is ON FIRE in more ways than one (if you'll use your eyes and ears).

This is her and her brother playing "Stash" by Phish:

And here she is with Widespread Panic, blowing the doors off of "Driving Song" > "Surprise Valley" in a way I've not heard since Mikey died in 2002:

Impressive!

Applications (BLAM)

2009-01-17T19:07:00.004-05:00

All the different little emotions I experience get caught up in the most interesting, vile, or annoying tapestries at times.

There is a feeling of stress which I'm definitely feeling right now that I must wonder if I will feel when I'm done with Tech. It's hard to put into words, but giving it ye olde college try I'd say it's "the stress of the imminent and omnipresent pressing me with the knowledge that I have too much to focus on / too much to do / can't get it done / won't get it done / won't get it done like I want it / can't do what I like / won't do what I like because instead I will do (THING)," on top of all of the other attempts to fill in the Pyramid.

By my estimate, I will forget this feeling for a long time after I graduate because I intend to only work in those things in which I have a sincere interest. I've felt that for just about none of my classes at GT, and they have been the aforementioned "imminent and omnipresent (THING)."

But it's pulling me back!

The Week and the Day: The System Failed

2009-01-13T23:04:00.003-05:00

The first week back of school has ramped up slowly but surely. Although my classes this semester won't be as debilitatingly difficult as Spring '08 or as rigamarole-esque (forgive me for that one) as Summer & Fall '08, it will be a pretty hefty offering with a good bit of homework. However, not being LCP is going to factor favorably into the success equation.

This past weekend was AIESEC GT's Leadership Team Retreat, and it was a really good one! There were no major incidences although some good solid constructive conversation was had, and best of all we finally finished the LC constitution we've been knocking around for three years! We even got a good bit of headway done on taking all the disparate "common-law" style LTR notes from the past three years and organizing them into a single living bylaws document. Both nights were packed with fun, fire, the stars on the lake, and Saturday night was host to an intense conversation on religion, human nature, the Gaza conflict, and other related items of import. It was a conversation of the type I haven't had for a long time, and the last time I had one was definitely while not in the USA - probably that Nordic circle from ITC in Romania in April '07. It was refreshing and empowering - a reminder of why AIESEC is so cool.

Monday was difficult, as all Mondays will be. I have a gigantic wall of classes followed immediately by our LCM. I'm trying to get back into running in the morning and, since I don't have any labs (except when senior design picks up) that keep me at school way late I think I'll be able to actually keep it up.

Today was really especially cool though. My old German mate from the language school in Gandia, Nikolai, was in Atlanta on layover for about eight hours and so we got to have a pretty cool day today. I freaked out yesterday because I saw the headlines about the new Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) which went into effect yesterday: if a national of one of the countries in the Visa Waiver Program (Germany included) vists the USA, the I-94 form has been replaced by having to enter your data online at least three days before your date of entry. By the time I read the article Nikolai had less than 24 hours before his bald head would be stepping out of the plane at Hartsfield-Jackson International. I texted him and tried to call him and sent him a facebook message about the issue, imploring him to at lesat try by entering his data. He managed to do so, and somewhat unsurprisingly, this morning at customs the customs man told him that almost every traveler was blindsided by the requirements and so since no one had their data they were just letting people through like normal. I was relieved to hear his voice on the phone when he said he was on MARTA on his way up to Midtown station just before 0800. We enjoyed a good Southern breakfast at West Egg, and then he wanted to see the World of Coke, so we parked at GT and we walked through Centennial Olympic Park and went there. It was sort of interesting, but not nearly on the level of the Georgia Aquarium, and unsurprisingly we drank too many soft drinks. He also had a hankering for a really good burger so we went back to my place and walked to the old standby, the Highlander, where he also had a Sweetwater 420 and said the burger was "the best he had had in ten years" - it having been a decade since his last presence in the US. We walked through Piedmont for a bit and then I took him back to the station. It was great to see him again.

Now I'm off to bed before another hard Wednesday.

Remote Bloglink

2009-01-07T00:16:00.001-05:00

To see my latest, check out the Atlanta blog.

Great Blue Ridge Hikefest 2008

2008-12-20T19:55:00.005-05:00

Well, we are back!

The trip overall was really great, much-needed and fairly diverse, but the one big disappointment was that it was so foggy no spectacular views, save one on a drive, were experienced.

Anyway, recap:

WHAT: Great Blue Ridge Hikefest 2008
WHO: Preston, Shanky, Davin, Rob
WHERE: The vicinity of Boone, NC; Shenandoah National Park, VA; and Roanoke, VA
WHEN: Tuesday, December 16-Friday, December 19
WHY: What kind of a question is that?

I woke up at 4 AM on Tuesday morning after hitting the bed at 1 AM trying to prepare stuff. Got Shanky and Davin at Davin's house just a mile from where I live, and then we were off to Loganville, GA to pick up Rob at his house. About 90 degrees out of the way, but definitely not in the opposite direction of where we needed to go. It was well after we got on 85 North - well over two hours after leaving the Duplex in Midtown - that the sun's first rays began to lighten up the dark cloud cover. We got into the Boone area, via US-221, at around noon. We started out at Linville Falls, which I had hiked around during the App Getaway, but the heavy mist provided a very interesting new perspective on the area. We then went to what I consider a highlight of the trip, a random trail near Boone that went under the Blue Ridge Parkway and went through a hilly bald area that seemed to be someone's farm - there was barbed wire and plenty of cow chips everywhere. The magnificent thing about it was that the heavy fog produced a sublime aura about the place, as if we had just walked into a dream world. I espoused mythological and pseudo-religious rhetoric, like "We have come to the court of the White King," upon seeing this scene. I do this all the time now after reading Joseph Campbell. As we came back down from the clouds, the light also ceased, and we made our way to Nate "Nasty Nate" Phillips' place, he who had so kindly put us up during the App Getaway just a few weekends before. We were dead tired, but Shanky's trail rice and baked beans made us feel better. Their LCP Laura and another AIESECer named Sarah came by to hang out as well, but we crashed around midnight.

This picture was taken at the foot of Linville Falls:

We woke up a little later than I would have liked the next day, and although the extra sleep was necessary it prevented us from doing any real hiking on Wednesday. We left Boone and continued up US-221 through Roanoke on our way to Shenandoah National Park. I must say that US-221, if taken from its intersection with I-85 in South Carolina all the way up to Roanoke via Boone, is an especially scenic road, and the part of the drive that is in Virginia made my heart skip beats. In that part, there are no subdivisions, no ugly billboards, no haphazard gas stations or bars or pawn shops with muddy gravel parking lots along the entire length. It was totally different from what one would see in North Alabama, or Georgia, or South Carolina. The imagery was almost saturated with bucolic qualities. Also, as I stated earlier the fog prevented great views for most of the trip, but this remarkable scene was witnessed as we came off the plateau of Bent Mountain just south of Roanoke:

We continued on the interstate up to Shenandoah. By the time we reached Skyline Drive there, it was after four o'clock, less than an hour before the park would officially close. Plus, as it's the off-season, all campsites are closed and so camping is technically illegal there. That didn't stop us from entering (there was no one at the entry gate), driving up to the first parking area with a trail (Jarmans Gap), and there we hiked up the Appalachian Trail for less than half a mile when we just cut across a river bed and up the ridge out of sight of the trail and the fire road. We pitched a tarp there, cooked dinner, and had a good time. The map below shows where we camped accurate to within about a fifth of a mile, I believe:

View Larger Map

Even though it was cloudy as hell during the day, that night was as clear as they come. I slept under the tarp but Rob and Shanky, the more experienced outdoorsmen, slept under the stars. In the wee hours of the morning however the fog came back, and with it wetness and cold. Breakfast was macaroni with pork sausage. We packed our stuff up, went back to the car, and continued up Skyline Drive.

I am especially disappointed by the fog in Shenandoah, as it is very famous for its views, but we seriously could not see ten meters in any direction. We almost hit a deer because of it. The only remarkable point for us, therefore, on Skyline Drive was coming to an overlook where we could make out a few mountains and we discovered by accident that the echo properties of that particular spot are almost divine. A shout or tongue click amplified as if it were at a rock concert.

We continued north until we reached a trail which Rob recommended, the White Oak Canyon trail. It is considered one of the best trails in the country on which to see many spectacular waterfalls. We hiked a good bit of it down to the first waterfall, but time was pressing as we were due in Roanoke and we had to turn away before getting too deep. It was still a difficult hike for me, proving how out of shape I am. Besides, the fog was such that the waterfalls were visible but not in all of their (intended?) glory.

We made it down to Roanoke at about six, where we were graciously taken in by the family of Kelsey Greenawalt, former LCP of AIESEC LC Chapel Hill. They made us a wonderful dinner, let us shower, and then they introduced to us a drinking game called "Indian," very much like "Bitches bitches" except with Native American-related names with hand motions. It was a riot! Then we just hung out and talked about various things, notably about hiking and nature with Kelsey's step-dad Brawdus. The hospitality we experienced was so warm and remarkable that even though it did not involve hiking it was a highlight of the trip. As one of our number said in the car the next day: "plus twenty cool points to Kelsey's family."

On our final day of hiking, Friday, we tackled McAfee's Knob, a solid 3.5 mile hike up the Appalachian Trail from Catawba, VA, just outside of Roanoke in the ridge. The fog cleared up a bit at the top of the mountain, but at the knob itself there was still too much fog to appreciate anything. That was also unfortunate as the pictures I've seen of McAfee's knob show a real treat for the viewer. However we did see a deer cross our path on the way back down.

We were going to hit up the Dragon's Tooth after that, but it was too late in the day. We just went on back to Atlanta, the overwhelming smell of our humanity riding shotgun on the eight hour ride home.

A particular thing which I pondered during the trip, and even on my drive home to Gadsden today from Atlanta, was how even though I was hundreds of miles away from Gadsden and / or Atlanta, I was exploring a geographic formation that is the same one I grew up around in Gadsden. Gadsden is situated in what is considered the "Great Appalachian Valley" slice of the Appalachians, nestled in between opposing edges of the "Ridge and Valley" province. In my hikes around Camp Sumatanga, on Mount Cheaha, and in North Georgia, I saw the same kinds of scenery and especially the same rock formations as I witnessed this week as far north as Shenandoah and in Roanoke as well as around Boone. It was fascinating to witness how I was plugged in to something that extended so far away from where it began and is overwhelmingly recognizably homogenized, if not uniform, in its makeup - at least to an observer like me. Culturally as well the similarities were apparent. Roanoke is like a larger, more successful, cleaner version of Gadsden (albeit with no river and with higher mountains). Even in the Shenandoah Valley, "Southern" culture was apparent. I had noticed the strength of Southern culture in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia and even in the peninsula north of it when I visited family there as a freshman in high school. The dividing line must be stark, then, as it's not evident at all in the DC metropolitan area.

Another point of note is that even though I printed out all the mountain music radio stations I could find in the area before leaving, only one quality "bluegrass" song was heard on them despite plenty of dial-switching - an ode to spending Christmas in Virginia on a radio station airing from Mt. Airy, North Carolina. This was disappointing as much of 221 follows "The Crooked Road," which is Virginia's music heritage trail, celebrating bluegrass and old-time music. I was hoping for a heavy dose, but all I got was the one song and then a bunch of religious polemic AM stations.

The trip, again despite the poor views, was a much-needed experience. I feel like I've come over a high ridge and out into the valley. But there are bigger mountains looming to the West, and I've got to prepare well to get the best view from the top.

Ramblin' On My Mind

2008-12-15T22:57:00.003-05:00

The finals are done.

The room cleanup is done.

And before I go back to my Alabama home, I've got ramblin' on my mind:

View Larger Map

I'm hitting up Boone, NC; Shenandoah National Park, VA; and Roanoke, VA, all for daylight hiking and nighttime jiving. In tow are Shanky, Rob, and one of Shanky's friends.

On a cold winter morning, in the time before the light, we'll light out for the territory and come back Friday night.

It's Been a Long Time, Since I've Seen Your Smile

2008-12-10T16:07:00.003-05:00

There is so much more I could be doing with my life than editing a poorly-written lab writeup by my lab partner.

Like:

Selling traineeships to Atlanta companies so awesome people from around the world could come here
Getting more involved in WREK, and promoting a better Internet approach for it
Learning to photograph better
Learning to cook better
Getting back in shape
Looking for traineeships for myself
Playing MUCH MUCH MUCH more music
Working on my plans to bust open the world
Reading more books
Smoking shisha
Blogging

WSJ Article on Drug Prohibition

2008-12-07T23:43:00.002-05:00

Consider the consequences of drug prohibition today: 500,000 people incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails for nonviolent drug-law violations; 1.8 million drug arrests last year; tens of billions of taxpayer dollars expended annually to fund a drug war that 76% of Americans say has failed; millions now marked for life as former drug felons; many thousands dying each year from drug overdoses that have more to do with prohibitionist policies than the drugs themselves, and tens of thousands more needlessly infected with AIDS and Hepatitis C because those same policies undermine and block responsible public-health policies.

And look abroad. At Afghanistan, where a third or more of the national economy is both beneficiary and victim of the failed global drug prohibition regime. At Mexico, which makes Chicago under Al Capone look like a day in the park. And elsewhere in Latin America, where prohibition-related crime, violence and corruption undermine civil authority and public safety, and mindless drug eradication campaigns wreak environmental havoc.

All this, and much more, are the consequences not of drugs per se but of prohibitionist policies that have failed for too long and that can never succeed in an open society, given the lessons of history. Perhaps a totalitarian American could do better, but at what cost to our most fundamental values?

Why did our forebears wise up so quickly while Americans today still struggle with sorting out the consequences of drug misuse from those of drug prohibition?
- Excerpt from "Let's End Drug Prohibition" by Ethan A. Nadelmann

Smart, to the point, and "common sense" in the non-reactionary way. If only we were so enlightened.

Flobots

2008-12-01T18:17:00.002-05:00

I don't know how I wasn't into this band before because everyone has heard their single "Handlebars," but while I was in Tuscaloosa this weekend Mark turned me on to them and their social message, which I dig thoroughly. I am particularly impressed by the music video, which everyone but me had also apparently seen.

It makes me think more and more about what I'm doing right now, and what I'm building right now.

A Late Conversation of Respite

2008-11-20T02:18:00.005-05:00

I had a pretty hard test today in VLSI and Advanced Digital Design, which ended at 6. I came home to relax. I wound up having three really different but difficult conversations online, at the same time. It taxed me, and even though it's late I needed someone else to talk to.

I found a friend on Facebook chat who I used to play music with, but who got wise and left Tech after a year even though he was on a football scholarship. Like magick, he had this to say:

Preston

kind of random here, but are you happy you left tech

2:11amMyFriend

definitely

im not psyched about having left school

but tech was not for me at all

2:12amPreston

so even the negativity of leaving school was outweighed by the positivity of leaving Tech

2:12amMyFriend

not the way i was experiencing it anyways

outweighed idk

it was a tradeoff

i mean the last 3 years havent been a walk in the park

but at least im able to be what i want

2:13amPreston

true that man

2:13amMyFriend

why do u ask?

2:13amPreston

looking back on all of this I'm just so tired, I feel like there's a lot of life I've wasted

2:14amMyFriend

ya i mean everybody has there regrets

hindsight is 2020

2:14amPreston

at the same time though it has shaped me and will enable me to do a bunch of good stuff

but, this is my youth

2:15amMyFriend

ya i hear u

i mean are you 23 at this point?

2:15amPreston

will be in Feb

2:15amMyFriend

ya idk

dont stress about youth

were still young

2:16amPreston

I needed to hear that

2:16amMyFriend

i kind of get that way sometimes but it seems to me that it just sort of perpetuates it

stressing about not taking advantage of whatever though

you just miss the next thing if you do that

And there is my night.

The Hustle

2008-11-16T20:48:00.002-05:00

I read this article yesterday morning:

Malcom Gladwell Outliers Extract: Is there such a thing as pure genius?

The article talks about how among the super-geniuses we recognize today, and even among those who aren't famous but are clearly far ahead of the pack, one of the things that their blowout success comes down to is an inordinate amount of "practice time," on the order of 10k hours by the time they're my age - whether it's music, programming, or hockey.

I have a lot of catching up to do. I want to dedicate myself to something right now, but it's just as school is ramping back up, and it will be ramped up until Dec. 12.

On Data

2008-11-12T00:31:00.002-05:00

About eight years ago or so, my family got a sweet grandfather clock that belonged to my mom's parents after her mother died. We packed it up carefully, removed the weights and all, and brought it from Birmingham to Gadsden, where we set it up again and it stands in our den.

Along with the clock came some papers, registration-type stuff. It includes everything from the date the clock was bought to the serial number to the names and addresses of the purchasers. They were all filled out in my grandfather's handwriting. "Your grandfather fills out everything that has a line to it," my mother told me.

I inherited that trait as well, the interest in data. I think that even in subjective situations, collecting enough data can allow the person who experienced it, or even people who did not experience the situation, to analyze and figure out factors for learning from failures and capitalizing on successes.

That's why I like it when people take pictures and post them on the AIESEC GT blog, and I feel even better if they're geotagged, have the date and time on them, and even if I can figure out the model of camera which took the picture. I like post-mortems on projects. I like to see where EVERY vote in EVERY election went, to EACH candidate, not just the Dems and Repubs. It takes almost no extra effort for the major newscorps to add that on their little Flash apps for the elections, but they don't. Why not?

Everyone knows that Caesar crossed the Tiber and that was a no-no, but no one knows what he ate for lunch that day. We don't know what Jesus' favorite carpentry project was. Biographies rarely include which room of a hospital a famous figure was born in.

This is partly why lifecasting is unusually interesting to me.

These are the things I want to know!

The Burden of Leadership

2008-11-06T02:13:00.005-05:00

I watched the election returns last night with some AIESEC friends and others at my place. Yuengling, that first American beer so new to Georgia, and Maker's Mark, my personal favorite go-to bourbon, were on hand for the long haul. Of course it wasn't a long haul; he was declared the winner at 11 PM.

We were watching CNN, continually checking out fivethirtyeight, people's blogs, etc. When Wolf Blitzer said that CNN was projecting the West Coast was going for Obama and he had won the presidency, I immediately called to mind the opening scene of the pilot episode of Firefly, when Mal is fighting in the Battle of Serenity Valley for the Browncoats. As vicious fighting rages on and the Alliance is decimating his battallion, he grinningly and assuredly yells at his soldiers that soon "our birds will be in the air," to clear out the valley for them. But then they receive a call saying "They're not coming. Command says it's too hot." And Mal looks, in empty disbelief, as the Alliance ships come down to occupy the valley and the remainder of his battallion, save himself and his second-in-command (a female!) are massacred.

That must be how John McCain and Sarah Palin, in some twisted way, felt as the nation fell to Obamamania.

Or, from the victor's account, a nation stood up "in hope," and spoke very loudly about both the direction the country must go in and about their final word on the intensely racist past of this country.

Or from my account, an extremely gifted politician demonstrated shrewd political and organizational forethought and leadership to build up the gigantic machine atop which he was able to sincerely convince a majority across many states that his was the way of engaged peace, turning the wheels of the country to production and prosperity, and he would lead all Americans and not cast any single aspect of his own identity onto his administration.

Fireworks started going off in Atlanta and horns were honking. I received phone calls from friends, and texted to one person who was at Obama's Grant Park jubilee. McCain's speech came on, and the man was as respectable, gracious, and honorable as any to have given a speech of victory or conciliation, but the harsh venom and anger of his supporters sprayed upon him one lsat time, even in his singular opportunity to close the wounds of a long campaign. I felt, and continue to feel, genuinely bad for McCain as it is clear he tried to act with the utmost integrity and cooperation, ensuring angry people at his rallies that Obama was not a Muslim and was "a family man," among being his friend and other things. But the evil of the institution of the political party - his just happens to be Republican, but it's not about being a Republican, it's about the Party - found its voice with Sarah Palin, who will chill the hearts and minds of Americans as a fresh new avatar of Dick Cheney.

The Facebook status was last night the soapbox of anti-democratic (notice the little "d") anger. Beyond even that, it was an art exhibit of sheer ignorance and amazing misinformation, along with the expected racism. One person had "That's it! I'm moving to Iraq!", Christians of the right put their pitiful prayers up, like "It's okay, it is all in God's plans" on one end, but on the other were such statements as "...God help us." or to the one who most horribly represents the right-wing of the Institute, "praying for our country... and reminding everyone that 'God is still God, and Jesus is still coming back!'" Even more confusing, because I don't expect the aforementioned to utilize any semblance of the reason they had been given at birth, were the statements about Obama's "socialism" and that "we're screwed, my paycheck is going to the government." Since when _wasn't_ your paycheck going to the government? It was Ben Franklin (a Deist!) who said that there are only two certainties, death and taxes. We have not entered anything even suggesting a "requisition-bracket." It is easy for me to dismiss the religious swooning, but those arguments just make me scratch my head; it's really beyond me how such a large part of the American population, especially young people, seriously believe that Obama is a socialist, a Muslim, or both. LBJ and FDR were both far more "socialist," and not even that, than Obama ever will be. Socialism makes up a significant part of my own political belief system, and I did not vote for Obama mostly because he is not nearly far enough left for me. If that's the case, how can he be a socialist?

That aside, we looked forward to Obama's victory speech at midnight. I prepared us all a shot of Maker's and we watched as he gave his speech. We were all silent, understanding just how important this moment was. Not because of Obamamania, but because America had just executed one of those bloodless revolutions like the one that occurred in 1800, and because we were a part of the election that saw the resurgence of young people as a major political force and that elected the first Black president. That was a pretty cool thing to be a part of.

The real significance of the day didn't truly hit me until today, however. I was pretty excited to think of the road ahead of the country, and the world as a result. The ecstatic welcome of the whole world to Obama should be enough to prove how important that is. I should note here that I still stand by my vote for Nader. A friend called and asked me last night, as she was reveling in Ohio, if I would have still voted for Nader had this been a serious 2000-style election and I was in a battleground state; I answered yes. The only thing I have is my choice, and if I give it up, I give up everything.

I am looking forward to engaging in constructive dialogue with even the "sinners" at the table, like North Korea and Iran and Venezuela. I am looking forward to a resurgence of feeling good about the country because of our standard of living, which we should be thankful. I am looking forward to the way Obama will probably bring about a more direct form of democracy through his personal interest and enthusiasm in things like social networks and open source software. Most of all I am looking forward to his announcement of a project to make the nation energy independent in ten years, our very own modern-day Apollo project, which will also form the powerful new engine for the economy which those neocons have failed to understand.

Which reminds me, ever noticed how the Great Depression was preceded by a decade of Republican rule in the executive branch and legislative branch, and this current crisis has been preceded by Republican rule in the legislature since 1994, save the last two years, and a Republican in the White House since 2001?

I did a lot of reading up over the last couple of weeks on Obama's victory machine and how it occurred, and I learned that it came from Dean's strategy in 2004, which he has now translated to the DNC as his "fifty-state strategy." I began to take some inspiration from this, noting how Dean insisted that Democrats engage all Americans in all States, not just their largely outdated vanguard of labor unions, immigrants and other minorities, "big-city" liberals and working-class whites. Obama has perfected that vision, engaging with all Americans on their own terms as the direction of this country has been washed out by Hurricane Bush. It's much like lessons of leadership I've learned on my own journey in AIESEC - if you are not open and don't let people come to terms with their own decisions, then the integrity of your organization is doomed to fail. Forcing beliefs and decisions down people's throats is a ticket to retribution - or as we saw this July, revolution.

Which leads me to finally discuss much of my feelings about my term at Local Committee President of AIESEC at Georgia Tech.

Everyone tells you that being LCP is the best year of your life - and indeed, they are right. It is the coolest job in AIESEC. You are truly a leader, no one to catch you, no one to tell you what to do. You have to manage a business and make sure it is sustainable, and grows, and produces your product in high volume - quality AIESEC Experiences.

They're right!

But I came into this role amist a dark and worsening cloud over AIESEC US. When elected, LC motivation was approaching an all-time low from when I was a part of restarting it. Students had been stripped of the last "real" exercise of power we had, producing traineeships, against our will. The entire MoTxCoKs region released a letter of grievances to the nation directed at the national staff - none of them were answered. I woke up in St. Louis on January 1 knowing that if AIESEC US was not saved in this year, it would never be saved.

It was not only the daunting national situation, but also my semester of unprecedented academic difficulty, which beat me hard. My high hopes for making my team an extremely tight unit, vanguard for AIESEC GT, were eventually put down by both my own inability to motivate people and also my inability to abandon my classes to F's (although I almost failed two classes that semester). This was de-motivation number one. That followed up with things I was learning that were happening to AIESEC US - namely that we were losing our full member status, and my knowledge that the national staff was not too interested in doing anything about it.

On the local front meanwhile, I had seriously alienated the team that left me the office, the EB of 2007 - and this was in the end all my fault. I wanted to wipe away the demotivation of the fall, but I handled it too poorly and it cost me dearly, and in turn it cost the LC dearly. To those of you who came before us: I apologize. I was wrong to not seek your counsel more deliberately, and to not consider what words you did offer more seriously.

I went to EUROXPROS in St. Petersburg, Russia, for Spring Break, knowing that in the last days of that meeting the national staff would be meeting in the US to determine what to do about our membership status in the global network. This weighed so heavily on me, and my conversations with Naoufel there were both a buoy to my sanity and a confirmation to my fears. One day during the conference when we worked with the Balanced ScoreCard, I realized fully how much AIESEC US was not AIESEC at a fundamental level (to use the words of the Senator from Illinois). I became visibly upset - I kind of hyperventilated and kept shaking my head. People asked me if I was alright; I was not. My mind was breaking, as was my heart, in the middle of Russia by the sea.

I managed to have a very useful and important conversation with some pertinent people on the AI team there about the situation, and their counsel was seriously important to the events that followed. It was, essentially, necessary that I went there to Russia, even if I did not go to meet them in the first place.

A national Leadership Team meeting took place in NYC in late April, where Missy was not present. I could guess why; no one else knew except two national staffers. Besides being a predictably unproductive meeting, they claimed that the memership criteria did not require us to do anything more than write down what we already do. My own independent investigation and counsel with Missy had already made me know that those were untrue statements.

When Missy quit as MCP, I took open action, an action of opening: I made the uneducated LCPs of AIESEC US aware of the freely-available and binding literature on the member country situation, such that everyone could read for themselves the truth. It did require some coordinating however, such that I had to email AI to request one document, but the document was freely available to anyone who asked for it. I sent it out on a Friday to prevent quick retaliation by the Thought Police.

I got a call from the person who would later be installed as Missy's replacement, without any democratic process. He said that what I had done was seriously damaging, and if I did anything like it again, "we cannot work together." I'd heard that one before. I simply responded "I understand." I was in the car on the way from Gadsden to Atlanta to leave for Canada's national conference that night when I got this call. I had made my decision about my role in AIESEC US.

As if by fate, the same person I talked to in Russia was the chair of the conference. I managed to get some time with him, and there the foundations were laid for what I had to do, to be a responsible leader, someone who would stand up and give a damn about AIESEC in the US. It was all up to me, but the first keys had been handed to me.

The national organization in turmoil and anger already from Missy's departure and her unwarranted replacement, I set about using the global network I had built over my nearly three-year tenure in AIESEC. They proved totally necessary in building what eventually became the plan: to produce a letter written by and signed by as many LCPs as possible, to be placed on myAIESEC.net so as to not only be publicly visible, but also to be required to be used as "evidence" by the Global Plenary of AIESEC. I had to keep identities secret when I talked to LCPs to protect people, but we managed to organize it right under the natstaff's nose.

The major error came at this point, however: there were a couple of LCs, namely Michigan and Baruch, which we feared may alert the national staff if we invited them to talk about the letter. That would be unacceptable; most LCPs were not knowledgeable enough about the bad reality of AIESEC US as I was (from a tell-all by a former natstaffer) to firmly stand by their signature in the face of natstaff retaliation before the letter was released. Thus, the very difficult decision had to be made by those people who were responsible for those regions (the letter writing and organization had one leader per region involved). In the end, they were not approached. There were a few other LCs which we tried to approach but we did not manage to have a conversation with before July 4; this proved to be the dividing line in the days afterwards, especially in Madison.

I learned my lesson about openness from that - if people do not take ownership over something, no matter how much of a "fellow traveler" they are, if they are not a part of the process that creates a decision or product, then invariably they will not be as "on-board" as those who did create it, and will probably even wind up standing in opposition to it. It is the nature of organization and allegiance and is unbeatable. One of the people we did not reach, whom most say would have been for the letter, wound up being one of its most vocal opponents.

Then came July 4; then came the dissolution of the LC, then came the story we all know. Then came August 5, then came the resignation of the national staff, then came the night we said "we are the most powerful people on earth." Sure it was just euphoria, sure it was - but we did not expect that one month and one day after the letter was released this clean sweep would occur. We didn't want it to happen that way, mind you, but it did, and here we are.

And while I was galavanting with national and global figures, fighting the fight which I had to to preserve AIESEC US and by association my own LC, there nonetheless sat my beloved family in Atlanta, not cared for as it should have been. I was like the senator who spent all his time in Washington. I did not care for my constituents, I did not care for my family.

I think that during my tenure, I have been too dogmatic about AIESEC. I have done no small amount of philosophizing around our product and our identity, the nature of AIESEC as a student organization, and the like. It has led me to identify those things which make for a great AIESEC Experience. It was utterly invaluable in the revolution. But the students of Georgia Tech are not all like that, and by failing to accomodate that, I did not live up to my own expectations in terms of the quality of results I wanted, and I did not live up to the expectations of the office of Local Committee President in terms of the dynamic of the LC. I became too harsh sometimes to my EB, and that only drove them away, and disrepair continued.

I have a hard time connecting with people who haven't "gotten" AIESEC yet. I want so badly for the people who come in as newies to have their minds blown like I and the veterans of the LC have, to realize how magnificent it is that such an organization really does exist and we are a part of it, and more recently how beautiful it feels to give so much to save it, and finally, finally see the day come where the road is lit again by the light of openness. I'm just not that kind of guy. Luckily my successor is that kind of gal.

We are called "Local" Committee President for a reason. It is my belief that I did not live up to my own expectations, nor that of my team, nor that of my LC, nor that of my predecessors, and probably not that of my colleagues here or around the world, in that local capacity. AIESEC happens on a local level, and no matter how much I did on the national level, I can't change that I failed to be an effective leader where it matters most to our product.

That being said, the events of July 4 and Madison in early August, as well as finally National Presidents Meeting in Chicago, were transforming to my life. The night of August 5 confirmed in my heart what my life-quest must be: to wage openness on the world. I must swing the sword of truth to destroy corruption and the closed nature of parts of our society and allow facts to kill lies. It is this quest to which I am dedicating my entire life. How I will do it, I'm not entirely sure yet, but I will say one possible path is being inspired by George Soros (former honorary Chairman of the Board of AIESEC US!) and his Open Society Institute.

Something more I have been thinking about from that time, something which has plagued me since I entered university, is that my skills shine there, on the national and global stage. That's where I have achieved the most, and it is explicitly through my talents and practice. My talent for that sort of thing, I guess we'll call it "statesmanship," was first prominently exhibited when I was whisked from being a cynical and angry young liberal at what I percieved as a corrupt and overly religious Alabama YMCA Youth in Government summit in 2004, to being declared as one of the 20 delegates (out of about 400) from Alabama to the 2004 Youth Conference on National Affairs - and I didn't even know such a damn thing existed. My experience there was also pretty important. And though my skills were in places like that, as well as writing and music in high school, I chose to go into electrical engineering specifically because I didn't have a knack for it and it would be challenging. In my research on how Obama's political machine has brought him to such a victory, I was reading Bill Clinton's Wikipedia entry. This passage spoke directly to me, my feelings, my experience, and my future:

In Hot Springs, Clinton attended St. John's Catholic Elementary School, Ramble Elementary School, and Hot Springs High School - where he was an active student leader, avid reader, and musician.^{[citation needed]} He was in the chorus and played the tenor saxophone, winning first chair in the state band's saxophone section. He briefly considered dedicating his life to music, but as he noted in his autobiography My Life:

“ (…) Sometime in my sixteenth year I decided I wanted to be in public life as an elected official. I loved music and thought I could be very good, but I knew I would never be John Coltrane or Stan Getz. I was interested in medicine and thought I could be a fine doctor, but I knew I would never be Michael DeBakey. But I knew I could be great in public service.^[13] ”

And that is where I find myself. I love music and was considering how I could do it for serious money in college, but I knew I would never be Chuck Leavell. Now I am getting my ass kicked by, but seriously taking an interest in, electrical engineering but I will never be anything like Nikola Tesla. But I can be a great leader of my community, and we all know that geographical lines don't mean anything any more with communities. That is where my talents lie, and I have to come to terms with that. I have to stop denying it. But I cannot sell out either; I must combine my talents with my quest and become a Hero.

Separation, Initiation, and Return.

After sitting down and writing this, I realize that is why I am really so interested in Obama now. I'm not an Obama-maniac, mind you; I always question everything and I won't stop, and so I have to be skeptical of the pageant of his campaign promises. Nevertheless, here is a man who came from a world totally unlike the one he gained the key to Tuesday night. Obama is what the Shepherd called "a Believer:"

SHEPHERD BOOK: Only one thing is gonna walk you through this, Mal. Belief.

MAL: Sermons make me sleepy, Shepherd. I ain' t looking for help from on high. That's a long wait for a train don't come.

BOOK: When I talk about belief, why do you always assume I'm talking about God?

It's time for me to believe too. Not in Obama. In my talents and in my quest.

Getting It Off of My E-Chest

2008-10-27T14:32:00.002-04:00

I just have to say this:

I REALLY WANT THIS ELECTION TO BE OVER.

Even though I voted for Ralph Nader, the thought of what "could" come with Obama - not the starry-eyed pipe dream hopes of those who apply to the "cult of O," but specifically the thought of finally getting universal healthcare, finally getting sex education that makes sense, a leader who has no preconditions for talking with other leaders, and most overwhelmingly importantly the prospect of what a new wave of science, technology, math, and engineering (STEM as the Obama campaign has branded it) can do for the country, for energy, and for the world (and of course for my own career path) has me more than excited. I've done a fair amount of studying up on this and all indications are, with the right mandate in the legislature, it'll be a true new industrial revolution.

So, I just hope nothing happens to bring the predictions crashing down. I'd be an extremely sad engineer, a sad AIESECer, a sad American. And a sad person.

Hallelujah

2008-10-20T01:31:00.002-04:00

Twelve years ago, in 1996, AIESEC United States moved to dissolve its own compendium, and thus ended the student-run nature of the organization on a national level.

Sound familiar?

On Sunday, October 19, 2008, in Kresge Hall at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, the National Plenary of AIESEC United States held the first legislation since that time.

Twelve years of struggle, strife, anger, high times and low times, opaque structures, "need-to-know" bases, CNDAs, sidelinings, secret conversations in hotel rooms and across the world, member obliterations, and my own Local Committee's obliteration came to an end.

We got the history, unfiltered and full-on, for the first time. We heard the shocking current state of the organization as it has been dropped in our hands. And then we took on responsibility and we got to work.

Normally we're running out the door at six in the evening on Saturdays for national LTMs. We groan when we get outside, and we make coalitions to talk about the farce that went on in the meeting. We roll our eyes, get very frustrated, threaten to quit. We despair.

This time, we voluntarily forewent dinner until nine, and even then wanted to stay and order dinner in to keep working, but at that point we were pretty ahead of schedule so it wasn't necessary. We all had such high spirits, and a delicious dinner with Chicago-style deep dish pizza did nothing to diminish that. Neither did the beer tower that Dave, LCP Austin, and I shared that night.

We reconvened again at nine in the morning to do legislation. After a humorous education by Naoufel and Missy, we arranged ourselves, LCPs the ones to wield the votes. We established our structure, our elections process (the part I worked heavily on), and our business development structure. All were passed by acclamation, but not after some good discussion and amendment.

Notably, LC Madison was the proposer to open legislation, and LC Georgia Tech was the proposer to close legislation, with LC Yale seconding. I used my speaking time for the proposing to express how proud I was to be in that room with those people, after our struggle together and unfortunately at times against each other, to come to this seminal moment in the life of AIESEC US, in my own life, and I believe in AIESEC as a global organization. After Alina from Yale noted that this was the first legislation in twelve years, we closed our legislation by acclamation.

There is a huge amount of work to do before Winter Conference in St. Louis. There is so much to be careful about due to the financial mess we have been left in and our vulnerability to litigation, albeit unfounded. Despite all of this, we have risen above, we have taken on responsibility, we have come into the role we are destined to play and are bound to pass on to generations of the future, generations who have a world to change just like we do.

It's cool to be an LCP!

Three Voyages

2008-10-17T12:38:00.005-04:00

I'm disappointed I haven't gotten to write about this yet, but this past weekend was our Fall Break, and myself, Madison, Rob, and Morgan spent it hiking for three days on the Wolf Ridge / Twentymile Trail in the southwest extremity of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

On the second day, Sunday, we did a pretty solid uphill hike and finally came out at Gregory Bald, a majestic wonderland on "God's Mountain." We spent most of the afternoon there. It is on the border between North Carolina and Tennessee, and the tree here we dubbed the "Tree of Life." Madison's trail mix came in handy. We made camp about a half mile down trail and came back to watch the sunset in North Carolina, and the magnificent stars in Tennessee, although a bright moon obscured some of the night's jewels. All in all, it was one of the best weekends I can remember, and a much-needed experience.

I didn't get much sleep this week but I did manage to hit up the first InterNations Atlanta gathering. It was really cool and there's a lot of potential for AIESEC there as well. This photo is from the event, at the Bar at Trois:

And, EB applications have wrapped up. Eleven people applied! Amira will have a hard time choosing between them. But it's a good sign for the health of the LC.

Now I am off to the meeting which I have fought three years for, and which AIESEC US and AIESEC around the world have waited ten years for: AIESEC United States National Presidents Meeting 2008. It's going to be extremely interesting opening the book on a new era and writing in its first pages. I'm glad Amira is coming with, to be a part of it.

Letter to the Editor of the Technique: On Third-Party Voting in the United States of America

2008-10-14T15:21:00.003-04:00

Two weeks ago I turned in my absentee ballot for the upcoming general election. I voted for Ralph Nader, an independent candidate, for President.

When I tell someone I voted for a third party candidate, they elicit a puzzled, jeering, or even hostile reaction. "Way to throw your vote away!" "A vote for Nader is a vote for McCain." Only one person left it at "cool."

How can such an attitude be adopted in the USA, where we claim to bleed and breathe democracy? What kind of a "free country" do I live in when I am verbally abused for my choice in any election? People are unable to see the whole picture or relate the ideals of our country, and even their own beliefs, to a more relativistic, free, and truly choice-based electoral system. Our parents, our friends, the media, the candidates themselves, and even our teachers prop up our imprisonment to the two-party system every day, at every meal, and during every news hour whether intentionally or not. Even the question "Are you voting for McCain or Obama?" reinforces the false notion that there is only a binary choice to be made when it comes to leadership and policy in the United States.

Nader is derided by Democrats for "winning the election for Bush" in Florida. Almost all of these critics are probably intentionally unaware that all eight third-party candidates in Florida each received over 537 votes, the amount by which Bush defeated Gore in the Florida election.

So why is Nader the bad guy? It is simply because he is the easiest person to target as the most prominent third-party candidate. As true Party loyalists, those Democrats were and still are unable to put responsibility on Gore for not even winning his own home state of Tennessee. They are representative of a huge, loud swath of voters (and non-voters!) who cannot or will not escape the two-party paradigm. Because people do not understand the third party candidates, it is their propensity to fear them, and they do not give themselves a real choice when they damn their own freedom by engaging in the Orwellian "duckspeak" of their precious Party.

A more representative voting system like range voting is the major key to breaking the illiberal monopoly held on power in this country. Until such progress can be made in our systems, I call on all US Americans to vote the way their heart tells them, not according to Party lines. Meanwhile, respect your fellow citizens’ right to choose their leaders for themselves. Freedom begins with you.

Unfortunately due to word count issues I had to delete the phrase about Orwellian duckspeak.