T-minus 2 Weeks

I have two weeks left until I go home for Christmas. Unfortunately, I have a midterm and two papers due before I leave and I did not get any work done over Thanksgiving break, so it won't be a sprint, more of a slow, burdensome trudge till the end. The worst part, it's not even the end of the semester. Because of Harvard's retarded schedule, I have to come back right after New Years to study for and take final exams.

Personally (as in psycho-emotionally), I'm sort of in a rough patch right now. It takes a lot for me to say that because I know friends and at least one family member reads this blog. But if there's one thing I did learn from my semester off, it's that it's ok to admit to being weak, to needing help. Doing so doesn't diminish me as a person, nor detract from past and future accomplishments. I fear it's a return to exactly one year ago, with missing classes and waiting until the last possible minute to finish assignments. But the fear isn't enough of a deterrent, and ironically, neither is a positive result (like good grades) for poor work. It just creates a dangerous feedback mechanism, where I push the boundary of procrastination, somehow manage to pull of a 7-page paper in one night, get rewarded for it, and try to push it even further. After some success with this freshman and sophomore year, I pushed a little too hard junior fall and got burned horribly. So what's the plan for the next two weeks, with major homework, trying to earn some money, pressing extracurricular commitments, and not to mention some relationship issues all vying for attention? I don't have a fucking clue. And it scares me.

On a lighter note, gay celebrities and allies made this awesome video about Proposition 8 (or as I like to think of it, Prop H8). Enjoy!

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Life Goes On

The election is over and the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States cannot arrive soon enough. But still, life goes on. Personally, I'm trying to re-focus on schoolwork. It's a little difficult after the rush of excitement that was election day. Instead, I still find myself constantly refreshing political sites. Hence, I came across this NY Times article on how the South is becoming rather irrelevant to national politics. In so many words, it actually calls southern whites racists. And through both empirical and anecdotal evidence, I wouldn't disagree with it. Really, maybe we should have just let them leave when they wanted to.

Which brings me to my next point: the passage of Proposition 8 in California, which constitutionally banned the newly-won right to same-sex marriage. I haven't blogged about this mostly because my thoughts are confused. Obviously, I'm horrified that such a liberal state like California (come on, marijuana is practially legal there!) would actually write discrimination into its state constitution. Still, I can't help but feel optimistic that change will come. If you look at the breakdown of the electorate, 18-29 year-olds voted overwhelmingly against Prop 8. The older you go, the more bigoted you get. Time is on our side.

You go Norway!

Norway becomes the latest country to guarantee marriage equality! Here's to the USA getting on the train soon, especially since finally letting all the divas have their day will mean big bucks! After all, gay men are the pickiest species. Or we could all listen to the radical right, and continue denying equal rights to citizens, since gay marriage did kill the dinosaurs.



In work news, I got my first real assignment yesterday! I'm writing a report on recent elections for a leftist political party. One of the many reasons why I love Europe so much, the left here is way crazier than anything the Democrats could come up with. Even the conservative parties over here are sometimes to the left of the Dems. But, progess will come in time, especially if we get Obama elected. Anyway, I realize the assignment isn't all that exciting/groundbreaking, but it's a start.

Remember to fill me in and all the wonderful happenings in your corners of the world!