Ola!

Ola from Mexico...After another chaotic week at work, I stumbled out of the office at 3pm, made it to Dulles, survived 3hrs of check-in and security procedures (note: Dulles is, quite possibly, the worst airport in the world) and collapsed on the plane before arriving in Mexico City. I paid a horrendous amount for a taxi to the central square (Zocalo) to avoid being robbed/mugged, and then passed out again.

I awoke to the sounds of football cheers as the Zocalo filled with spectators for Saturday's morning league match, and went out to explore. Believing that no plan is often the best, I walked around for a while, unknowingly meandering through what is apparently one of the most dangerous areas of the Distrito Federales - but the market was alive, and I felt as though I were at the beating heart of the beastly city. I saw colonial cathedrals, ruins of the original Mexica, ate tortas and jugos, and vegetables covered with chili (the Mexicans put it on everything). Fortunately I have not yet contracted Montezuma's revenge, but it's quite possible I have eaten dog.

On Sunday, I met up with a friend of Jin's (Jenny) and we went to the pyramids together. Crowded, but definitely worth the visit. It's something of a unique experience to be struggling your way to the top of an ancient monument to forgotten gods, and to be stuck in a traffic jam while peddlers advertise their wares with shrill shouts and whistles that create an eerie cacophony of noise that echoes throughout the temple complex. At the top of the Temple of the Moon, I wrote a message to Jin as Jenny opened the present she had sent along with me. I miss her. We left the pyramid complex happy with what we had seen, but tired from the hiking and the dusty, dirty air of Mexico. Too tired for cerveza, we said our goodbyes at the bus station and I made my way to the W Hotel.

Where I am now. The holiday is over, and I am getting ready for my first business meeting, and taking a break to drink some coffee and reflect. I feel out of place - everything around me is at a level of sophistication to which I am completely unaccustomed. I think I can hack it until I return to DC. I'll try my best.

Conservative victory a victory for Canada

The Conservative victory in Canada last night is more than the regular shuffling of governments that we expect in a parliamentary democracy; it was Canadians finally waking up and refusing to support what had become a corrupt political regime guilty of corruption en masse and promoting, in one of my favourite media phrases from 2005, a "culture of entitlement". I think a fair number of my friends would be surprised to know I was supporting a conservative victory, as I am liberal with respect to social issues, and the Conservative Party of Canada has its own fair share of bible-bashing gun-toting morons like, say, the Republican Party in the US. And I think we all know how I feel about Bush and his election/re-election.

But the Canadian electoral race was different. Unfortunately, Canada's parliamentary democracy lacks a separation of executive and legislative powers, which I feel was probably one of the main reasons the Liberal party felt they could (and did) steal money from Canadians for over a decade. There are times to vote according to your belief in the social and economic platform of a party, and there are times when a government getting away with ridiculousness needs to be brought to account. That's what happened last night.

On a global scale, the victory is more ominous. The conservative shift is happening everywhere; not just in Western-style democracies but also in places like Egypt (the Muslim Brotherhood) and Iran (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad). Obviously this does not bode well for the state of world affairs; polarization and isolation are the most likely outcome.

Oh Canada

My home and native land, wake up and vote the liberals out of office. I'll be watching the election tonight with fellow Canadians at a pub in downtown DC, which will hopefully be serving some real Canadian beer (if I can't get my hands on a Molson, I will be sorely disappointed with the organizers and their patriotism - if we can't drink good beer while watching the farce that is Canadian politics [we're all really liberal anyway], then what kind of national identity do we really have?)

Simply an update

I have been remiss in posting frequently enough since the beginning of the new year, and much of that is because of how busy I have been. Moving into the new digs, the new courses I have started, an upcoming business development trip for my group to Mexico (I'll be gone on Friday), and the fact that work really just has been incredibly busy.

I don't know if things are going to slow down much over the next couple of months either. A business trip always means, of course, a great deal of work afterwords. My brother will hopefully be coming down to DC soon to visit me, and I'm also trying to swing getting a week off in the near future to go visit Reid (potentially with Whan) in sunny, but isolated Hawaii (we'll get there eventually bro, don't worry).

And I have met such a large number of amazing and interesting people in DC that I just don't have as much time to spend with them as I would like. It's a shame, because the enthusiastic, young, and in some cases still-idealistic (like myself) people I have met here have provided me with intense and exploratory debate that could fuel some very cool posts. I'll try harder.

Most importantly, though, I must mention Jin. I've never met anyone like her, nor felt the way I do about her. She's incredible, and I'm looking forward to the journey that we can go on together.

A night

My head light, and wandering, wondering, feeling alive like I never have before. I'm intensely aware of everything around me; the cold black lamposts marking our movement down the street, the warm glow of light that bathes the shadowy maisons around us in an aura of yellowred. Yet she is there, next to me, powerfully present and intoxicating. I can't look; I can't let go. I move forward with a driving impulse that requires nothing but the instinctual desire that already overwhelms me.

Sensation; a drop. Wet. Awakening and fantastic. Was it ever like this? Another. And then everywhere.

The patter of our shoes as we walk quickly down the sidewalk echoes faintly in the white noise of the fall, enveloping us in liquid warmth at the heart of winter. We can't flee; or don't want to? We slow, stop, turn. She is there, smiling, emanating everything I want her to be, and is. I stare into her eyes, blissfully lost as tears from the sky drop down her smooth cheek, and suspend themselves on her eyelids, and wave over the curve of her lips. Under the lamp, light dances with shadows across her visage, and casts rainbows in the beads that cling to her, clinging as I am. We're holding each other. Our lips touch.

2006

The unchanging nature of the passage of time never seems to mitigate the surprise I feel when a new year dawns. 2006? That seems awfully high. In any case, the year has started out very well for me. Over the last 4 months my life has gone through many changes, and as is expected I cannot help but be introspective at (albeit artificial) turning points such as this. However, the beginning of the new year also marks a very real turning point for me, in a number of ways. I am finally becoming comfortable with my new job; my relationships with family and friends have stabilized after a period of adjustment with this new phase of my life; I have just moved into a new apartment. 2006 promises to be very different from the year that proceeded it. Regular readers will forgive me for a soppy and sentimental rant.

There are, as always, things we must leave behind. Most importantly, this includes my family and friends who know they are the most important parts of my life, and believe, as do I, that any distance and time separating us will only make our reuniting all the more special. This makes the future look brighter. There are other reasons I expect 2006 to be exciting; in addition to taking on more responsibility as an Investment Analyst, I will be preparing for the CFA in June, taking Arabic lessons starting next week, and learning a new instrument (in addition to playing the violin and two guitars that I managed to drag back from Canada.) Finally, I am excited about the new friends I have made in DC, and am thankful for everything I have here in the present.

Sorry about that, won't happen again for another year. Updates on the holidays, travel disasters and fun times to follow.