politics overview

Usually, I have blog posts analyzing the latest election results.


I don't have much time to go over in detail like I did in the past, but here's a few thoughts!



1) Hawaii

Duke Aiona will probably be forever linked with Linda Lingle and  Furlough Fridays (in which schools had cancelled classes on Fridays due to budget shortages). It was what doomed him in 2010 and it did so again this year. Campaign-wise, Aiona gave it his best shot, it's just not enough to overcome the stigma of being associated with Furlough Fridays.


-----------

The religious conservatives claimed that they will use this election to show the politicians they couldn't get away with passing same-sex marriage last December!

Well, they didn't get much results. At this point, same-sex marriage is the new normal. There's no turning back!

And no, the issue wasn't the reason why Neil Abercrombie lost the primaries back in August. Abercombie  alienated senior citizens with taxing pensions,  the teacher's unions with the contract that didn't mention how teachers will be evaluated, anti-development folks over Kakaako high-rises and just many people who were offended by his "I'm not your friend" response to a protester at a community meeting.

As for Mufi Hanneman, he has a loyal fan base that feels the Republicans are too fiscally conservative and the Democrats too culturally liberal.  While it is good to have a candidate that contrasts with the two major parties, there just weren't enough supporters to win!

The next governor, David Ige will have a steep learning curve as he transitions from being a legislator to being an executive. No longer can he hide among the more vocal colleagues in the Legislature.  All eyes (and ears) will be on him.


2) National

As usual, the "other party" takes over most of Congress right before the last 2 years of a President's final term in office.


Also, since this was a midterm election, there is lower turnout, especially among the millenials. This gave the Republicans to exploit Obama's perceived weakness on the economy, health policy and foreign policy The Ebola scare and ISIS also added to the perception of Obama's weakness!

However, the Republicans shouldn't act all giddy yet. Their cultural conservative viewpoints on same-sex marriage and marijuana has turned from a strength to a liability. They'll have to continue to distance themselves from the anti-immigration fanatics.

The battle within the Republicans will be about foreign policy. John McCain, Lindsey Graham et al wants a military response to any and all provocations. Rand Paul wants a less militaristic approach, which matches his father's famous anti-war positions plus a greater public skepticism towards military intervention.  Only time will tell which side will win the heart of the Republican Party.

In Memory of Sherwood Maynard

Back in Fall semester of 2004, I was in my final semester as an under-grad at UH-Mānoa.

Also in that semester, I was working as a student librarian at the Marine Option Program.

 It was a job offered through a campus Work-Study program, and it paid more than my previous job as a student helper at the Library for the Blind & Physically Handicapped (LBPH).


The Marine Option Program (MOP) was a program for students interested in learning about the oceans.  While I didn't take any classes through that program, they needed someone to organize their collection of books, skill reports, brochures, videos and audio materials.  Because I had experience working at LBPH (and few other libraries), I got the job.

MOP was moving its offices from the HIG building to Dean Hall, so I had to move a whole bunch of stuff via handtrucks!

That was the same semester in which a flood in Mānoa valley damaged the Hamilton Library. What was less reported was that the flood also did some damage to the portables on Lower Campus that kept a whole bunch of papers for MOP!

There were so much papers, books, whatevers and they weren't even well-organized, nor did it even seem that they were inspected lately. There was even a running joke that we just might find the Declaration of Independence there.

------------------------------

My boss was Sherwood Maynard, who was the MOP director as well as a biology professor.

He had a sense of humor, but was also serious when the situation demanded it.

He was also a collector, which you could tell when I had to organize a whole bunch of papers, not only at the program headquarters at Dean Hall, but also at the portables on Lower Campus.


Like I said in a previous blog post, be careful what you make fun of, because it just might be you. Well, years later, I had to clean out a whole bunch of papers I collected, because it was started to remind me of all the stuff Mr Maynard collected. Check out http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2012/06/my-war-against-clutter.html

----

Well anyways, I wasn't able to finish organizing the collection because I graduated at the end of that semester, and then I was no longer eligible for a student job on campus.


However, I was riding my bike on the UH-Mānoa campus and I saw Yuko (former co-worker at MOP) and she said "Sherwood is at the office". So I went to see him and kept him updated on my life since my under-grad years.

I think that was in 2006.

That would be the last time I ever saw him.


Sherwood Maynard passed away last year on December 5, 2013 due to diabetes.  He was 67 years old.

I only found a few weeks ago, while talking to a biology researcher who happened to be married to an LIS professor who taught my cataloging/classification class. We were at the event commemorating the 10th anniversary of the flood that damaged Hamilton Library.  So as I was talking to that biology researcher about the semester in which the flood happened, I mentioned about my job at MOP at the time and I asked if he knew Sherwood Maynard. That's when I found out the sad news.

Decade since the Flood

A decade ago (10/30/2004), there was a major flood in Manoa valley. It affected a few buildings within the UH-Manoa campus, but especially the main campus library (Hamilton Library).


It was Saturday night!


On Sunday, it  wasn't on the newspaper.  Plus Sunday was Halloween, so everyone was oblivious for obvious reasons.


Here was my reaction on Monday

http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2004/11/uh-classes-cancelled-last-24-hours-have.html

Monday, November 01, 2004

UH Classes Cancelled 

The last 24 hours have been mind boggling. 

I decided to visit Centerfolds in my Halloween make-up (as Vili The Warrior), then I left because I thought school would be in session the next day. 

Then this morning I woke up later than usual (6:30 instead of 5:45) then i got a phone call from a friend saying classes are cancelled. I was only up 10 minutes when that call came, so I turned on the radio. UH classes are cancelled. 

And though I didn't yet read the newspapers, I saw a picture of Hamilton being damaged! BAD! 

I typed that blog post at Netstop (an internet cafe that has sadly since gone out of business).

At the time I was working at the UH's Marine Option Program (MOP) as a student librarian. MOP was located in Dean Hall, which was on the other side of campus. I did report to work that day.

Hamilton Library was closed for the rest of the semester.  It was my last semester as an undergraduate student at UH-Manoa.  I graduated that December, moving on to the next phase of life.
 ===========


Fast forward a decade.

I am back at UH-Manoa, this time as a graduate student in the Library and Information Science (LIS) program. Yes, the same program that was headquartered in the same exact section of Hamilton Library that received the most damage.

The LIS section has been renovated and open for business since 2009! It's very nice!

This past Sunday, there was a commemoration event at Hamilton Library. There were guest speakers including current and past administrators. And there was the professor who was working with the class that escaped the library during the flood. That would be the current LIS chair Andrew Wertheimer.



Here is a link to an article AND video about Hamilton Library's recovery and Sunday's commemoration event

http://www.hawaii.edu/news/2014/10/29/hamilton-library-thrives-10-years-after-devastating-flood/

(personal note: you'll see me in the audience clapping at 1:57 of the video)

-----

Also, there was another video filmed at Hamilton Library last week, in which I made a background appearance. It was related to the Kapa Presentation organized by Na Hawaii Imi Loa (a student organization promoting Native Hawaiian archives and library resources)

link to article and video at
http://www.hawaii.edu/news/2014/10/23/library-preserves-hawaiian-cultural-treasures/

Learn Your Geography

In the USA, nobody would get California confused with Rhode Island.

However, because there is an Ebola outbreak in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, the following reactions have occurred

• parents pulled their kids out of school after the principal returned from Zambia!
• parents got a British school to postpone a visit from a teacher from Ghana!
• business travelers cancelled a trip to a toursim expo in Zimbabwe!
• South Korea airlines cancelled flights to Kenya!

None of those African countries had experienced an Ebola outbreak!

Zimbabwe, Zambia and Kenya are on a TOTALLY DIFFERENT PART OF Africa!

They're nowhere near close to Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea!

Is Spain near Norway?

Is Mongolia near Indonesia?

Is Canada near Panama?

But this kind of ignorance is widespread about Africa.............

......ignorance that could easily be cured by looking at an atlas!

This type of information is EASILY available in encyclopedias, atlases, National Geographic and children's books about foreign countries.

It was ALREADY  EASY to find before the Internet era!

There's no excuse to assume Zambia is in the same part of Africa as Liberia!

There's no excuse to assume Kenya is in the same part of Africa as Sierra Leone!

Learn your geography!



(disclaimer: children and adults with true mental disabilities are excused for not knowing those things. But everyone else should get with the program and get a map)
------------
Citations for the mentioned scenarios

Ben Mutzabaugh, “Korean Air Suspends Kenya Flights as Ebola Precaution,” USA Today, August 15, 2014,  http://www.usatoday.com/story/todayinthesky/2014/08/15/korean-air-suspends-kenya-flights-as-ebola-precaution/14101227/.


“Ebola: Africa’s Image Takes a Hit,” Washington Post (via Associated Press), October 19, 2014,  http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/ebola-africas-image-takes-a-hit/2014/10/19/4f678932-57af-11e4-9d6c-756a229d8b18_story.html.

34 years of life

More reflections as another year of life go by.

Sore foot, bald spot and   even a few hairs turning white. I'm not getting any younger.

However, I'm getting closer to getting my master's in Libary and Information Sciences (LIS) while still working as a sub teacher.  I see great potential in my future.

I'm still  enjoying the various types of parties (block parties, karaoke parties, birthday parties, nightclubs, etc). 

I'm still enjoying working with the younger generation! 

I still enjoy bike rides on sunny days with trade winds.

Got more life to live!

1) I'm Old Enough to Remember.........

 I'm now old enough to remember things that the latest batch of young adults had to learn about in history books or documentaries. (ie. LA riots, OJ Simpson case, Berlin Wall going down, etc)

I'm old enough to remember when Weezer, Notorious BIG, Bone Thugs n Harmony, Green Day, Aaliyah, Toni Braxton were all "new artists".  That was 20 years ago! 

I'm old enough to remember when the year 2000 was considered THE FUTURE! Now, the kids of today didn't even exist in 2000, and much of the technology of 2000 is now considered obsolete!

I'm old enough to remember back in 1991, when it was announced that Magic Johnson had HIV! Everybody was like  "Oh  -----, he's going to be dead by the year 2000!" It's 2014 and he's not just surviving but thriving!

I'm old enough to remember when a popular rap song stated "we're not ready for a black president" and people truly felt that nobody with any non-European ancestry would be elected USA president within our lifetime.

I'm old enough to remember when same-sex marriage was just a fringe idea that people didn't take seriously. Now, it's legal in many states and is seen as inevitable that it will be legal nationwide soon!

I'm old enough to remember when legalized marijuana was also a fringe idea that people didn't take seriously. Now, 2 states legalized, a few more are likely to do so soon.

I'm old enough to remember when the Internet wasn't a part of most people's lives!

I'm old enough to remember when you either had to record a song from the radio, buy a CD with 10 junk songs just to hear 2 good songs, or risk never hearing that great song again!

I'm old enough to remember when you missed a funny or interesting moment on TV, that's it, that opportunity is probably gone forever! Makes you stuck to a TV at a schedule determined by some far-off corporate person not interested in how you want to live your life.

I'm old enough to remember when people graduated high school, they truly feel that they might never hear from each other again.  Same when people changed jobs. Which made transitions a truly heart-breaking moment.

I'm old enough to remember when keeping in contact with long-time friends/classmates/co-workers/etc. required playing phone tag, which makes you want to give up, NOT because you didn't like that person, BUT BECAUSE playing phone tag takes too much time!

I'm old enough to remember when  one of the teaching assistants I was working with yesterday was actually one of my students! Yes, one of the middle school students that I taught in my first year of substitute teacher (2005)  is now one of the teaching assistants I have worked with!

Now, THAT makes me feel old!

2) Improvements I've seen in my lifetime!


Now, look at some of these "I'm old enough to remembers" I have just mentioned!


We have much more access to information than before. We can still be in contact with each other without playing phone tag. We can have access to entertaining moments without being "held hostage" by a TV/radio schedule.


 While there are still some people who want to hurt those of other races, race isn't a limiting factor in achievement like it used to be.  It sure didn't stop Barack Obama!

We are now more understanding of those with differing sexual orientations and now see them as real human beings instead of seeing them as "freaks".  We are also becoming more understanding of people with other differences (ie. physical, mental, intellectual) as well.  An example is the campaign against the use of the word "retarded" when mocking things that don't make sense. 

We now starting to understand how dangerous government over-reach is, and are now questioning the "necessity" of using SWAT teams to stop marijuana.  The same is going on when it comes to police having military weapons and government agencies spying on our smartphones and emails.

And with social media, people are now more willing to see the BS behind the usual rhetoric, more willing to question oppression, and less likely to feel they are alone in their traumas. A great example is at  http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2012/08/a-victory-for-internet-age.html

3) Time and Wounds

 People say that time heals all wounds.

Time doesn't do it alone!

You need to let out your frustrations but do it appropriately. You want to do it at the appropriate time, but the appropriate time is hard to find.

Which is why blogs are such a psychological life-saver for many.

I wrote a blog post "Exposed to the Light" a few years ago. It was one of the best things I have ever done in my life.  It was risky (and probably still is)! But because I made it public, the anger was finally allowed to fade only because I put it out there! At this point in time, I pretty much forgive most of the names mentioned in that blog post. That wouldn't have been true if I never wrote it!

I did have a "friend" who felt I shouldn't have written that blog post, that I should've just "let it go". Well, I destroyed his cliches into pieces. But I'm not interested in destroying him as a person. I hope he does well and thrive in the future.

---

But certain things can't be solved with blog posts.

There comes a time you have to write messages to those in your inner circle that have hurt you! Writing those messages is great because you don't have to worry about being interrupted when writing those messages. You can get all your points across.

Even with that, there comes a time where you might have to talk to those people. Even better if it takes place on neutral ground (ie. counseling sessions with a trained professional).


The greatest thing that happened for me this year were the counseling sessions with my parents. I had great resentment towards my parents over some of their past decisions

 (read my earlier blog posts for more info, like this post, this post, part 1 of this post,  part 5 of this post , and part 3 of this post ).

When you're younger, you're not always able to effectively express those resentments. But with those resentments, they can build up over time, even when what you are resentful about it is over. 

But yeah, I wrote letters to my parents about my anger towards their decisions and how it had a negative psychologically effect on me.  What got their attention was how I expressed some of the rage I had.

Then they finally said what I needed to hear for a long time: "Please schedule an appointment with a trained professional. Let us know when and we'll be there!" 

They kept that promise. We had our counseling sessions. I asked them some tough questions and they delivered real answers. I learned about the hard circumstances my parents grew up in and how some of those things traumatized them even today. We all gained a much greater understanding of each other.

We had to get this counseling sessions done this year. We're not getting any younger. My mother has recently retired, my father is retiring in a few years.  I could no longer wait until they face the inevitable decline of old age. Also, I had a few more decades before retirement and I needed to find inner peace before it's too late.

The psychologist in charge of our counseling session is a great human being. He was able to show understanding of all sides without favoring one.  For privacy purposes, I won't mention his name, but I do want to thank him big time.

He also mentioned this song by Crosby,Stills, Nash and Young "Teach Your Children"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QimgEmzlbbA  (video with lyrics)

The song is about how it's difficult for parents & children to understand each other's circumstances.
The song has a very emotional meaning to me considering the circumstances discussed during the counseling sessions.


My parents may not have made the best decisions while raising me. My parents may have overlooked various warning signs that made things worse for me.

But I do know this - they do love me and have been doing so throughout all 34 years of my life! 

Explorers, Discoverers and Conquerors

Yesterday was Columbus Day, to honor the person who "discovered" America.

Here is my facebook message that I posted yesterday

If all Columbus wanted to do is find lands unknown to him, I wouldn't have much of a problem.

It's the following that's the problem

Columbus treated the natives brutally. Columbus demanded treasure, food and sex for his men, and when the Lucayans refused, he ordered their noses and ears cut off to serve as a warning.

• Columbus treated his conquered people harshly. When the Lucayans rebelled, Columbus crushed the rebellion and carted off 500 Lucayans to be sold into slavery in Europe. 

That article I posted can be found here http://news.yahoo.com/slavery--disease--death--the-dark-side-of-the-christopher-columbus-story-141953979.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory

And if that article isn't enough to outrage, look what I found in this following article

"Columbus Day? True Legacy: Cruelty and Slavery" by Eric Kesum

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-kasum/columbus-day-a-bad-idea_b_742708.html

Shockingly, Columbus supervised the selling of native girls into sexual slavery. Young girls of the ages 9 to 10 were the most desired by his men. In 1500, Columbus casually wrote about it in his log. He said: "A hundred castellanoes are as easily obtained for a woman as for a farm, and it is very general and there are plenty of dealers who go about looking for girls; those from nine to ten are now in demand."

That's right : Christopher Columbus was a child molesting, sexual abusing pedophile!

Do any of you Conservative Correctness people still want to celebrate that guy's holiday?

Or is saying "hey, look at me everyone, I'm pissing off liberals by being politically incorrect" that important to you?

Foot Problems

I already have hard time with shopping for shoes due to my wide feet.

Also, I prefer Velcro over shoe laces. That means I order shoes online (New Balance).

However, I have noticed that the shoe on the right side rapidly wears down in the same area. Different shoe, same problem.

Then I looked at my feet when I walk and I noticed that my left foot is pointed (mostly) straight ahead, but my right foot is really pointed to the right as you can see below.

Pablo Wegesend's photo

So to prevent rapid wearing down on the right shoe's heel area,  I tried to change my walking pattern with my right foot pointing more straight ahead.

Wrong Move!

That was when the pain in my right foot started. It has been hurting in the foot's arch.

I have stopped changing my walking pattern a month ago.  I still have the pain in the foot's arch!

I can still walk. But now I have to walk slower! Can't really run! 

-----

I remember hearing the radio ads for Step Ahead Hawaii, who promised "free foot analysis". 

They don't analyze your foot. They just ask you to walk and make a footprint. Then the salesperson persuades to buy an orthotic for your feet.

Don't fall for it!

The orthotic feels like walking on squishy ball at first, but after a while, it starts to feel like there's a square wooden block stuck under my 1/4 of my foot. 

Not worth it!

Plus, the salesperson is sleazy. He has this big bold personality who gestures with big hand motions while talking! It's just like the salesman in the movies!

---------

I went to Kaiser Moanalua clinic to get a second opinion. The doctor actually analyzed my foot as well as my walking pattern.

My right foot's arch has experienced some strain.

But this time, I had a foot cast so that I could get a custom-made orthotic, instead of a generic one sold by Step Ahead Hawaii.

The orthotic is supposed to come in a few weeks.

------

So yeah, I'm walking slower than usual. It's not easy because the rest of my body wants to go at a faster  pace, but if I do, my right foot would wince in pain!

Meanwhile, if I do have to walk fast (for example - crossing a street), I'm putting pressure on my other foot so I don't feel the pain in the right foot's arch!

The pain comes and goes. It's not 24-7 (yet).

Yet, I don't want to stop living life.

I did attend the Ho'olaule'a block party in Waikiki the other week and I survived. (Yes, I did walk slower than usual)

My birthday is coming up and I want to go the clubs like I usually do in the weekend  that comes after my birthday. I just can't make big footwork like you see the professional stage dancers do!  I won't even try to "Jump Around" to House of Pain's song, so I'll just bounce my upper body instead.

Also, Halloween is coming up and Waikiki is where the action is, especially Kalakaua Avenue. Well, it's crowded, so everyone is going to be walking slow anyways.  I still want to go to the Halloween party at one of the clubs, especially since Halloween is on a Friday this year.

---------

I already gained weight in the last 2 years, so I still have to move around to prevent more weight gain. (yeah, I have to eat less too).

I did use the elliptical cross trainer at the YMCA, just at a slower pace. 

I did ride my bike the other day, but I have to watch how much pressure I put on my right foot.

----

AS for the shoes, I had "heel guards" installed which gets replaced every few weeks.

http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photo-shoe-heel-protector-macro-isolated-image11982525

A much better way for preventing wear & tear on your shoes than changing walking patterns. 

And easy on your wallet too!

-----

Well, the custom-made orthotic should be coming soon. Hopefully, it would help! I want my foot arch pain to be a "just a phase" instead of  "the new normal".