Kokochi

A little news

I've never been to this event, but I keep hearing cool things about it so I'm rather excited. I'm gonna be on a panel at the South By Southwest Conference. The panel name is Moblog Nation on March 14.

Dav is coming so it'll be fun! And I look forward to hearing what Adam has to say.

fur on a car

Transcription by Anonymous:
Yes, you read right a beautiful little 'ol car covered in fur! A furry car! :) I love it. Right now I drive Dav's car, which, let's say, has character. I get lots of honks and hoots driving that thing. But it's Cool! Much better then a spiffy new vehicle. Bring on the Fur!

My morning commute

I've been very lucky with work commutes recently. In Japan, my commute was 30 minutes door to door. My office was in a building directly connected to the subway station so when it was raining or snowing, I only had to deal with the 3 minute walk from my door to the subway. Here, I kind of expected a hellish commute to the San Jose area, but I scored once again and have a 20 -25 minute drive to work. And I arrive at 10am so the traffic is light.

But I'm learning there's an interesting downside. I love listening to NPR and commuting is the perfect time for this. Or so I thought. Because unlike the morning news that gives you a decent overview of what's going on, at my commute time, I hear Forum which is an in-depth discussion/debate on a certain topic. It's a wonderful show, but a 20 minute ride always leaves me wanting to stay in the parking lot to hear more.

But even harder for me is sometimes, like today, the discussions can become quite heated. Name calling, interruptions, and biting accusations can be the norm. I have the utmost respect for the moderators who calmly steer the conversation away from downright fights. Usually this happens with controversial topics like gay marriage or immigration laws, and the discussions usually get my heart-beating fast too and sometimes mad! I'm just not used to hearing heated arguments, especially in the morning. I know that normal news wouldn't cheer me much either and at least in Forums you hear about activists working hard to solve problems, but I don't have tough skin in the morning and don't like hearing people being so mean to each other.

at Tunnel Top

Transcription by Dav:

Small circle - Dav and I are out with Boris tonight (at Tunnel Top at Bush/Stockton which is quite a cool place). Dav and Boris are discussing ideas. But Boris was at the First International Moblogging Conference (I'll provide the link later) and we met back then. There are lots of mutual contacts too. I've been wanting to write about this - and I will later - but so much is interconnected with all this blog/internet stuff. Still so amazes me. I get why people want to visually see their social networks - it's wild

Here is the link to the Moblogging Conference I referred to. Great memories and I met lots of cool people!

Craziness

I rarely write about news or politics, but here is something that is crazy and should get more coverage.

The Cuevases thought they were doing what was best for their family when they decided to stay in the United States after their visitors' visas had expired. In 1996, they applied for permanent residence status. Now, after living in America for 19 years, the Cuevas family is facing deportation on Feb. 17 to the Philippines -- a country they barely remember, and one whose culture their adult children know little about.

See here for the article .

I realize people will criticize the issue of overstaying a visa. But it's not so simple when you are talking about a family with children, a struggling developing country (remember the Marcoses?), and the past (see "The Philippine failure" section) and current US-Philippines relations. Plus, after having lived in San Diego, it's hard not to notice that things wouldn't be so rosy for US consumers without illegal and immigrant workers.

What I'm trying to say is that the issue is not simply an overstayed visa since there are many forces at play that bring people to this situation. Besides, the kids in this case are innocent. Can you imagine what this is teaching them?

The reason this strikes a chord in me is that I am a US citizen who more or less grew up in Japan and never quite fit in the 'box' delineated by my passport. I first should say that I am aware of the immense value I receive from having a US citizenship. I am working and living here by choice, after all. I am grateful to have that choice. But I'm not sure that strict national borders (that were artificially created after much blood shedding) and citizenships that define people in very powerful ways is the best system for an increasingly transnational hybrid community.

In Japan, I had to carry around an Alien Registration. It used to be a whole booklet complete with a fingerprint; now it's more like a driver's license, but you must have it on you at all times. (You have to have an address to get one and there has been blatant discrimination against non-white foreigners in trying to rent places thus making it difficult to get it. And without it, you can't get a bank account, buy a phone, get insurance, etc. But that's a whole other story that riles me up.) Growing up in Tokyo, I had to go with my mom every 3 years down to the immigration office to extend my 'stay.' Every time I came back from abroad, I had to explain why I was coming back to my home. (Things are a bit more open now though.) And feeling more Japanese than American, I was horrified to learn in high school that if the US went to war, I would be forced to be on the US side.

My issues are very minor compared to the Cuevases and many other families facing the inflexibility of the law. But it absolutely irritates me that the state isn't seeing the people behind these definitions. As humans, there are always exceptions and misfits.

So sign the petition should you wish. Thanks for letting me rant.

the biggest mystery

So I was finishing up laundry, and yet again, I came up with several lone single socks. And they always seem to be Dav's black socks. I'm a stickler for pairing up socks so they are together in the sock drawer. I mean, we have 2 feet so organizing this much makes sense to me. When I first moved in with Dav, all his socks were haphazardly piled in a drawer. So one day, I sifted through all of them, found the pairs, and decided to use the singletons for rags. But I keep finding more, and today I ended up with 3 more! I do all the laundry (remember, I like this activity) and just don't get how this happens. I double checked with the 'rag' socks and sure enough, NONE of these match! Any ideas??

Simple pleasures

After having a fabulous Thai brunch with Cameo and Dav at Berkeley's Thai Cultural Center and digesting it on the mini steam train ride in Tilden Park, I came home and did some house cleaning. A little vacuuming here, washing the tub there, cleaning up odds and ends, and laundry (my favorite). I realize this can be a chore, but for me, it's somewhat theraputic. I can't tell why, but there's something very fulfilling for me to get the house clean, and paper piled up over the week organized. Just feels good. Though the cats run and hide when the monster vacuum cleaner comes out, even they seem a bit more relaxed once I'm done. If they could smile, I think they would. Anyhow, I'm feeling all good and ready for the week : )

p.s. here's a bonus pic for ya'll. This was from the Reclaim the Streets protest where the dress attire was pirates. I was lazy and wore a bandana that Dav had, but at least I got in the spirit and was saying, "arrrrrrrrgh!" to be all scary and piratey.

choo choo!

	Quicktime 6.5 Movie (.3gp) Download free player.

Transcription by mademoiselle a.:
Mie wrote:
Here in Tilden Park in Berkeley with Cameo and Dav, wahoo! Gonna ride the choochoo steam train [smiley face]

Cameo wrote:
Yummy Thai Food & Mango Sticky rice! [dog face] Mie has perfumed hands like a goddess. And how this pen is cool!

[steam train] <-- By Dav

Party in the street

Reclaiming the streets

	Quicktime 6.5 Movie (.3gp) Download free player.

See www.rts-sf.org or sfrts.tribe.net for info.