A thing of beauty

As of now, it's officially mine. More (better) pics later.

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Now Playing: Fluke - Bermuda

Insomnia

Spring break needs to start already.

Edit: To add some substance to this post...

to miss neo -its like kindergarten all over again says (7:30 PM):
ur blog still faisl to mention my existence
to miss neo -its like kindergarten all over again says (7:30 PM):
im deeply
to miss neo -its like kindergarten all over again says (7:30 PM):
annoyed

As a result of that exchange, I would like to certify that Neha exists, and that I love her.

Edit 2: Soon after...

to miss neo -its like kindergarten all over again says (7:44 PM):
hahhaha
to miss neo -its like kindergarten all over again says (7:44 PM):
u fucking cheap bastard
to miss neo -its like kindergarten all over again says (7:44 PM):
thats such an
to miss neo -its like kindergarten all over again says (7:44 PM):
easy way out
!!!
to miss neo -its like kindergarten all over again says (7:45 PM):
u jackass
to miss neo -its like kindergarten all over again says (7:45 PM):
hahahah
to miss neo -its like kindergarten all over again says (7:45 PM):
but thanks ayway

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Now Playing: Radiohead - Idioteque

The deed is done - Take 2

I swear I don't get my dad sometimes. He reminds me too much of me. Except he's a lot better at squash and table tennis. But anyhow, one day he's trying to convince me to get a base model SUV and now he's convincing me to buy the expensive Accord instead.

But anyhow, this time it's set in stone (I hope). I will be getting a Black 2005 Honda Accord EX V6 with about 8000 miles on it.

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Now Playing: Green Day - Letterbomb

Cold comfort

So I've realized that my last 7 odd posts have been... on the negative side. It's not like me but I've really been a bit under the weather. I've got the weekend to sort myself out and I intend to do so.

I pretty much spent all of today going around Austin test driving Honda Accords. I've basically narrowed it down to three possible options. Well, two, because the 2003 just didn't feel right when I test drove it, despite the fact that it had navigation and that cool black interior.

The two cars I'm considering are just about identical. They're both 2005 Honda Accord EX V6s, both black with tan interior and the same option set. The only real difference is that one has about 8300 miles on it while the other has 22000. The first one is going to be about $500 more than the second, and I might be able to negotiate the second down further. I'm just trying to decide which one I'm better off getting.

Either way, this time I should be able to finalize something by next week. For real.

And once that's done with, I fix all this other crap.

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Now Playing: CoLD SToRAGE - Trancevaal

Random thoughts

I was just filling out my peer advisor application, and I just realized something about myself....

I hate being dependant on people.

I don't like the fact that my parents are completely paying my way through college - not that I have a choice because I have very limited options to work in this country anyhow. I don't like that I have to rely on contacts to get an internship back home simply because half the recruiters here aren't interested in international students and the other half aren't interested in second year students. Oh, and I hate having to ask to be chauffered around simply because I have no other form of transport.

And in other news, it's only a month into the semester and I'm already having a slump. Just great. Screw having fun, I'm studying every weekend until I make As in my second round of tests. And I'm still sick. Too many things not going right all at once. Just marvellous.

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Now Playing: U2 - Walk On

Opportunistic bastards

This one hits pretty close to home.

Is no one capable of independent thought? Am I the only one who isn't outraged by this?

Call me biased because I've spent most of my life living in the UAE, and most of that time in Dubai, but all a sudden you have a media that equates it to a terrorist state - no, let me rephrase that - a media that equates all Arab states to terrorist states, and automatically implies that the UAE is somehow a terrorist state. And no, it's not just the media, it's the so called liberals.

I can accept it when you have concerns about a foreign government controlling operations (and that's all it is - operations - CBP, the FBI and I'm sure a number of other American agencies will have a presence there), you might as well be fair about it. The Chinese government in some form already controls operations at some ports, I believe on the west coast but I could be wrong, so where's the outrage over that?

It's pretty to cherry pick your facts and portray any country as a terrorist state. Here is a 'UAE concern' from Lou Dobbs... 'Does not recognize Israel'. Wow. Seriously, and I mean this in the lease offensive way possible, but sometimes Americans are just stupid. Israel isn't exactly well liked in the middle east. The UAE has every reason to not recognize it. How on earth does that have any bearing on the issue at hand?

It doesn't. It's just a play to create preconceived notions - set up a schema if you will - that eventually results in public opinion being biased against what is likely the most liberal country in the entire Arab world.

There are so many more important issues at hand. How is extraordinary rendition any less important than this? What about the NSA wiretaps (which by the way, your elected representatives in Congress are thinking about LEGALIZING)?

The attention span of a fly.

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Now Playing: U2 - Gone

Back back from the set 'n' coverin' all bets

I think I'm sick. I'm sure waking up at 8 am yesterday on 2 hours of sleep and then going without eating until 11 pm didn't help, but I was feeling sick right from the beginning. I had better have owned that accounting test or else it just wouldn't have been worth it.

I'll probably end up buying a Honda Accord too. I'm not getting anything less than a V6 EX, and hopefully it won't be pre-2004. Already got my financing approved and insurance isn't going to take much doing. Hopefully tomorrow morning I'll be able to test drive one possible choice.

Oh and this post title is dedicated to Pace.

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Now Playing: BT - Running Down The Way Up

So it happened

No Civic coupe for me. The parents suddenly decided to get all too concerned about safety.

I guess they felt guilty about it and now I've got extra money to spend on a better car, so who am I to complain.

No, this post is totally unrelated to last night's outburst.

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Now Playing: Coldplay - Kingdom Come

Well fuck that

I've had it with being nice. Being nice never got anyone anything. Fuck being nice.

I need to take the easy way out. Graduate, go back to Bombay and claim my position as a director at Medley, drive a Rolls to work everyday and be a general all round asshole. That sounds like something I could do, and it certainly sounds more rewarding than working hard and trying to work my way up. And being nice.

What does this have to do with anything? Nothing whatsoever, isn't it beautiful? If you can sense the incredibly suppressed anger, you would be sensing correctly. No I don't want to talk about it. Not now. I'm going to sleep on it, and by the time I wake up, my mind will have sorted it all out on its own and I'll be wondering why I posted this in the first place.

I need...

Nevermind, sleep.

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Now Playing: Coldplay - Amsterdam

I need something to do.

Something. Anything. Almost.

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Now Playing: Foo Fighters - Next Year

Chatlogblog!

.h3lios|"the problem is un-john-woo-ing it" says (12:42 PM):

have some stuff to mail in before i go to sleep...we've to be shooting @ 0700 tomorrow

Sam says (12:42 PM):

shooting 78 year old lawyers

Sam says (12:42 PM):

?

.h3lios|"the problem is un-john-woo-ing it" says (12:42 PM):

no...shooting fishermen

.h3lios|"the problem is un-john-woo-ing it" says (12:42 PM):

and their villages

Sam says (12:43 PM):

what did the fishermen ever do to yuo?

Sam says (12:43 PM):

i mean

Sam says (12:43 PM):

seriously

Sam says (12:43 PM):

that's a little harsh

.h3lios|"the problem is un-john-woo-ing it" says (12:43 PM):

don't act like a corny asshat

Sam says (12:43 PM):

i'm dead serious

Sam says (12:44 PM):

fishermen are an endangered species

.h3lios|"the problem is un-john-woo-ing it" says (12:44 PM):

i know. that's why we're shooting em with a camera

Sam says (12:44 PM):

that has to be some really long distance stuff

Sam says (12:44 PM):

usually a scope does the trick

.h3lios|"the problem is un-john-woo-ing it" says (12:45 PM):

pissant

.h3lios|"the problem is un-john-woo-ing it" says (12:45 PM):

don't irritate a cafienne deprived guy

Sam says (12:45 PM):

who said anything about irritating?

Sam says (12:45 PM):

i'm just voicing my moral concerns

.h3lios|"the problem is un-john-woo-ing it" says (12:46 PM):

when i said shoot , i meant capture on a video camera you fag

Sam says (12:46 PM):

you're CAPTURING them too?

Sam says (12:46 PM):

i mean seriously man

Sam says (12:46 PM):

shooting them is one thing

Sam says (12:46 PM):

capturing them is quite another

Sam says (12:47 PM):

what's your game? slave trade?

.h3lios|"the problem is un-john-woo-ing it" says (12:47 PM):

you.are.effin.stoned.

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Now Playing: Goo Goo Dolls - Impersonality

The deed is done

In under a week, I'll be the proud owner of a Nighthawk Black 2006 Honda Civic EX Coupe.

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Now Playing: Goo Goo Dolls - Name

Dropping like flies

I was talking to Anish on the phone today and he mentioned something I never gave any thought to. Aside from him, Bhargy up in Carnegie Mellon-land and myself, not a lot of people from my graduating high school class are very happy with where they are. You guys and Pace are the one good thing that happened to me during my time in high school. Everything else I don't think I could possibly care any less about.

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Now Playing: Coldplay - The Hardest Part

General randomness

If I see another Marketing quiz it'll be one too many.

I'm glad this isn't my major. People say don't judge marketing by this class and I guess they're right, but it still doesn't seem like something I'd be interested enough in to base my career around. Finance or accounting on the other hand I can do. Numbers, mmm....

But speaking of marketing I think Honda's doing an excellent job of it. I can't seem to get my mind off my car-to-be (which it definitely will be by the way, the decision's been pretty much made). In fact, as of now if you run into me at any given time, there's a 50% chance that that's what I'm thinking about. Or more. Can you say obsession?

I spent the weekend doing exactly nothing. Well that's wrong, I got a lot of work done. I just didn't go out. At all. But I get the feeling I didn't miss much. If I had gone to a party I'd probably be bored to death if my past experiences are anything to go by. I would probably have ended up at Trace's place and found myself guilty of illegal substance abuse.

Oh, and I'm already looking forward to going back in the summer. Now there's a bad sign.

Financing to arrange, insurance to buy and dealerships to haggle with and narrow down. Marketing test in 3 hours. That and I'll probably be going to Houston in a couple of weeks, first time this year.

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Now Playing: Goo Goo Dolls - Eyes Wide Open

In my dreams, I was drowning my sorrows

But my sorrows they learned to swim
Surrounding me, going down on me, spilling over the brim
Waves of regret and waves of joy
I reached out to the one I tried to destroy

You, you said you'd wait
Until the end of the world

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Now Playing: U2 - Until The End of The World (Live In Boston)

Vice President Cheney shoots a man

No kidding.

Am I a bad person for laughing a good five minutes on reading that article?

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Now Playing: nothing

Free trade

You know, I don't blame Chevron. Ok, so maybe I do to some extent, but they're a business, and that's how the free market works.

No, as far as I'm concerned, the majority of the blame falls on government and the very idea of immigration. Chevron won't sponsor me because it would cost them $1,000. And why sponsor someone when you can save money and draw from your own labor supply? Nevermind the fact that people in my position might have the qualifications or more, we're shut out in the interest of protecting US jobs.

I'm not going to bother with a long post explaining my position, but I'll just say this.

Immigration will happen. Outsourcing will happen. Free trade will happen. People in one economy will lose jobs while people in another will gain them. The current half assed version of 'free trade' allows corporations to endlessly outsource to other markets, while killing the labor side of the equation.

You could go two ways. You could go towards full protectionism and market isolation, or you could remove the barriers. Bring all the economies together in one huge macroeconomy. The EU was so close to accomplishing this, if the constitution hadn't been killed. Have a truly free market. One that benefits everyone.

Obviously it's a risky proposition, and not something that could be easily accomplished anytime soon. And definitely not something any elected politician would take on. But there it is.

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Now Playing: Goo Goo Dolls - It's Over

Just.... blargh

No, no politics or economics quite yet because I'm ultra-stuffed with ribs and briskets from County Line earlier this evening. Tomorrow, I promise. (I'm sure everyone's looking forward to this, and note the sarcasm)

The very thought of food could make me puke....

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Now Playing: U2 - Gone (Live In Boston)

Right

Chevron called me today. Same Chevron that seemed really interested in me at the intern expo. Not to brag, but what's not to be interested in when you have a 4.0 GPA and work experience in finance and IT in multiple countries?

Here's the sum of the conversation: Chevron was interested in offering me an internship but they happened to notice that my permanent address was non-US, and I had no work experience in the US, so that begged the question as to whether I had authorization to work. Naturally I told them my status and that while I would need authorization to work full time, I wouldn't for an internship (the same as a citizen or permanent resident). They withdrew the offer. Why? Because they want interns who would come back to work full time after graduation.

Naturally I was pretty ticked off. Being this close to getting an internship in one of the biggest energy companies in the US, as a sophomore (second year junior but they don't see it that way), based purely on my qualifications, and then being rejected simply because I'm an international student?

Prepare yourselves for part 2 of rant, tomorrow evening.

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Now Playing: U2 - Gone (Live in Boston)

Dude, where's my car?

So much for an hour long nap. Went to bed at about 5 (I think) yesterday because I was really tired and ended up sleeping until... now.

Aside from that, yesterday was actually quite productive. Turned in the physics homework, finished an accounting quiz in marketing class, talked to a career advisor about internships, and most important... test drove the new Honda Civic Coupe!

I have to say it was everything I expected. Well, except power seats, but I think that's a workable tradeoff. And the dash is the coolest thing ever. Still trying to make up my mind on a color, and I've narrowed it down to these four (keep in mind these pictures only show the exterior, not the interior color)....

Black with Ivory interior

Gray with Gray interior

Blue with Grey interior

Royal Blue with Ivory interior

I'm leaning towards the Royal Blue, mainly because I could go with any of the last three exterior colors, but I want the Ivory interior. But I'm still undecided, so any thoughts would be appreciated.

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Now Playing: Green Day - F. O. D.

So...

I saw a car on campus with a South Carolina license plate at the back.

And an EU plate in front.

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Now Playing: U2 - Wake Up Dead Man

*yawn

Nothing substantial to write, except that I have a whole lot of peer editing to do in Business Communication and my blog readership seems to have dropped, at least if you go by the lack of comments off late. Well, it's not as high as it used to be anyhow if I go by statcounter but I still average about 70% hits per day as I used to a couple of months ago. Which basically means: I know you're reading this. Leave comments you lazy bastards.

Oh yeah, and I've contacted any number of Honda dealers in Houston and Austin with price quote requests for the Civic. I think I have everything worked down to the wire for this - financing, buying, insurance - the whole shebang. All I need now is a decent price. The bastards are all quoting MSRP. And it would exceptionally suck if the Mom decides to get all paranoid about her 'son living alone on the other side of the world' and convinces the Dad that there's no need for him to get a car as unsafe as a coupe. Yes indeed, that would truly suck. But as the venerable Baldrick always said, I have a cunning plan. Let's hope mine goes better than his usually do.

Oh and All That You Can't Leave Behind is a much better album than I usually give it credit for.

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Now Playing: U2 - When I Look At The World

I broke the dam!

Been a bit of a mixed weekend. We went down to Trace and Elliott's place last night and smoked some hookah with the good stuff in it. There was alcohol too but you know me, I'd never touch the stuff. I think the defining moment was the one time Josh and I were so high (me moreso than him, he was still recovering) that we just sat at the dinner table and tried to follow what seemed to be a bizarre and pointless conversation among everyone else who was crowded around the kitchen. Most of them were probably drunk. I think Melissa takes the cake though, as the video I have will prove.

Went down to the Honda dealership yesterday to check out the new Civic but they didn't have the one I wanted and there was some issue with insurance, so I'll be going down on Wednesday hopefully for a test drive. Speaking of Wednesday I also have a career advising appointment then to see if I can get an internship back home in Dubai approved for credit.

Went back to Trace's and then some party at University Commons (I think) which I didn't care much for. Crowds really aren't my thing and I didn't need any reminding.

And goddamn this song is good.

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Now Playing: Coldplay - Everything's Not Lost (Live 2003)

Come on yeah....

I was going to finish the rant I started below, but I'm in just too good a mood to rant about anything right now. Maybe it's the music? My new current favourite song....

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Now Playing: Coldplay - Everything's Not Lost (Live 2003)

Rant warning

It's almost 6 am, I haven't been able to sleep and I have a physics class that I can't miss at 8 am. Sound familiar at all? I don't care what happens, I'm using this weekend to fix my schedule.

That and I've been lying in bed trying to sleep for a while now. The mind wanders when you're trying to sleep and not really succeeding. Between random thoughts about stuff in general, the week so far, what to do over the summer, counting sheep, and other things that really need not be mentioned, my overly alert brain that might as well have been on caffeine decided it needed to solve the Great Economic Problem.

I don't like political labels, and especially the liberal/conservative scale. But if you really want to simplify it, you could call me a liberal on social issues, a libertarian on privacy and civil liberties type issues and a peace loving idealist dove on military foreign policy. Economics on the other hand is a whole other ball game. Let me put it this way - there's a lot of crap out there. The media, the so called economic 'experts', people who think they know it all and everything else. So for the privatize-everthing-cut-taxes-no-welfare conservatives and tax-loving-welfare-spending-big-government liberals, I have something to say....

You're all wrong. (and morons in general too)

There IS no 'right answer' to everything. Everyone loves to hear 'tax cuts' and hates the term 'welfare'. Nevermind the fact the Laffer Curve is a purely theoretical idea with no observable evidence to back it up. But economic theory aside, there is no single solution to every single economic problem.

Take healthcare in the US. And sometimes you really wonder where the fuck what the fuck happened that truly fucked things up the way it did. Because here you have a country that spends more as a percentage of its budget or in absolute terms on healthcare, and is at the same time the only developed country in the world not to have universal healthcare. Conservatives would go gaga and are probably thinking "Omigod he said universal healthcare! The socialist! Burn him!"

Or how about Social Security, one entitlement program the US actually has right? Yep, don't believe what the media and Bush want you to hear - it's as healthy a program as it gets. No, it's not perfectly solvent. Anyone with half a brain knows this. Anyone with half a brain also knows that privatizing the thing is no way to fix it and is a huge gamble that will probably end up HURTING the program with administrative costs going through the roof. Know what WOULD fix it? Raise the retirement age a little. And please, people today live a lot longer than they did in FDR's time and are a lot healthier on average. And raise the cap while you're at it. End result? A perfectly functioning Social Security program that is viable for at least the century to come.

But oh wait, raising the cap would be a tax increase. Taxing the rich to give to the poor. I can hear the conservatives screaming now. "Class warfare!" "Unfair taxation!"

Give me a break. There is no perfect free market. The ideal free market would be perfectly competitive, unemployment would be zero, taxes wouldn't be necessary, and neither would government because in such a market there wouldn't BE anything to regulate. But unfortunately we don't live in such a world. Regulation exists for a reason. Taxes exist for a reason. And in large part, thanks to the 'free market' we have today, we have the class differences we do. And I hate to break it to you, but that's not something the free market is going to fix anytime soon. If anything, the divide between the rich and the poor is even more than it used to be. Progressive taxation is about as fair as it gets, especially given the tax rates we have today and the fact that most people in the top 2% bracket make most of their money via investment and not wage labor.

No, I'm not saying that we tax the rich until the tax rates cross 100%. Not even close. I'm just saying that the very idea that there's something wrong with asking the guy making 2,000,000 to pay 20% more than the guy making 20,000 in today's world, given current market conditions, is laughable at best.

Where am I going with this? I'm trying to say that social and entitlement programs are not all bad if executed properly. Here's a fun fact: Did you know that Medicare is actually 4 times as financially efficient with administrative overhead than any private healthcare insurance? There's your 'wasteful big government program'. On the flipside, you have British Social Security. Privatized. And officially a mess.

Know what's the worst part? The so called conservatives that despise welfare programs and any kind of social spending are the first to sign off on corporate subsidies. Oil prices going up, energy companies posting record profits, Congress granting them subsidies and the average Bob getting screwed over. Oh, but welfare is evil and the bane of all mankind. Right.

Here's REAL economic conservatism for you by definition: True monetarism. No fiscal policy. No taxes. No subsidies. No government regulation.

Everything you would prescribe in the ideal free market. Something we don't have.

..

I think I'm actually a bit sleepy now. Maybe I can get an hour in before class. And lest you think I'm done, I have a whole second part to this coming up soon. It's the liberals' turn next. There are morons on both sides of the aisle, oh yes.

And of course, there's a very high probability nobody actually read any of this. But I don't really care either way.

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Now Playing: Coldplay - Swallowed In The Sea