yes indeed!

4/13 my comparative economics class has been very interesting lately. We've been doing country-by-country case studies for the past month. Last week we looked at the 'four tigers': South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong. One of the many fascinating things about them is that they have had per-capita income go up, but income inequality has *not* gone up. Just about everywhere else in the world where they have managed to raise income (and wealth), inequality has increased as well. So how have these nations managed to keep a fairl even distribution of wealth? One suggested answer was the tremendous investment in education. In Singapore, kids have passed Calculus 1 by the age of 13. (did I mention that I just passed that last summer?) 13!! Of course, those kids (and their parents) have made what we would consider a tremendous sacrifice of free time and energy. But the point is, it can be done. They have truly universal education there. Fascinating! I'm not idealizing these nations; in terms of civil rights, as well as a host of other concerns, they are no angels. But the experience of singapore, for example, completely goes against what most westerners (and western economists) say is possible. And nowadays, when you point that out, they often retreat into scary essentialist arguments about how asian nations are just different. Culture does play an enormous role in how policies work. but these nations are also examples of alternative ways to allocate resources. What was disturbing last week, was that when my prof said that about kids knowing calculus at 13, he then said "and if you were to give me the resources (teachers and textbooks and computers etc) and the money and send me into any neighborhood anywhere in the US, I could do the same thing. Give'em to me at age 7, and by 13 they'll know calculus." And people were filled with disbelief. Now, I'm not saying it would be easy or fun, but my classmates seemed to think that for some, it just wouldn't be possible. And the people they were talking about were invariably poor, and usually not white. It was all kinda coded, but disturbing nonetheless.

I have a date tonight. Dinner at a vegan restaurant. then what? maybe we'll see the matrix, which looks good except for that block of wood in the center of the screen. "woh." I bet he adlibbed that line all on his own, like the experienced hollywood starlet he is. The effects look fun.

4/12 A professor in the other room just said "did you know that there are only two countries that get more money from the US than Colombia? Israel and Egypt." as another professor put it: "war on drugs, my ass."
I agree, although I want to know the source = of the statistics...

I finally saw Underground, a movie by Emil Kusturica, and I wept like a baby for about the last 40 minutes. Not only is it the best movie about Yugoslavia that I have yet seen (although Pretty Village. Pretty Flame is quite good), it's one of the best movies I've ever seen. I haven't cried like that since Ivan and Abraham. hallucinatory, funny, scary, violent, sad. It was a film version of the kind of stuff the Theater de Complicite does.

Soooo, Saturday night I spun at a loft party on the edge of chinatown. And I'm pretty proud. I had bought some new dancehall records that day, and not only did I integrate them into my set, but I pulled off some tricks that I've never even attempted before! And the crowd was very responsive and appreciative. people danced more when I started playing, got into my set, got more excited as the music got wilder, and when I stopped and the next guy took over, about half of them wandered off the dancefloor. woo hah!
Mr. Zing was also there, and he got to see me do some of the things I like to do and am good at, like dance. And I got serious attention, yo. and damn, does he dress well. All my ladies were giving me the highfive. We exchanged numbers, and have a date for tuesday. woo hah!

4/8 *zing* Okay, a bit ofa zing. this gentleman whom i espied from afar, talking to my ex/still ex (as does everyone in town, seemingly). So handsome, nice style.. of course i know nothing about him personally. but i can't ignore chemistry. not at this time of year... So a couple weeks ago I saw him at the Don Caballero show and played the eyecontact game all night. you know, looked just long enough that he noticed i was looking, then looked away. not exactly innocently. but calmly. like a touch on the shoulder. "i'm here." he did the same. slight tension in the air, even across the room. The thing about flirting that I love is when you're old enough to know what you're doing. you don't pretend you're not doing it, you enjoy it, you both know it's happening and take pleasure in that, in proximity, in awareness, the prickle on the back of your neck that makes your cock your head at an angle, arch away. I vanished to the front to watch the band and talk to my gurl friend who I had come to see (flirting's flirting, but you can't let down your lady friends). But then, I had to leave early, so I made myself a tad visible, said goodbye to several friends in various places in the room. As i headed to the back, I saw him move to the back of the crowd. well to the back. like in a big open space behind the crowd. still sorta looking at the band. heh heh. what strange magnetism? pheremones? but it was too noisy to talk. plus i figured i'd see him again, so I winked at him, and headed up the stairs. zing!

Anyway, LAST NIGHT his band was playing. so i figured, hey, wonder if that zing is still there. You know, I've had several experiences recently feeling awkward with guys who are into me and i have little to say to them. nice to know i can still work it. we were both working it, but for now I'm going to take all the credit. why? because it's more fun. For such a serious girl (anyone in a relationship with me can vouch for this), --and i take interactions *very* seriously-- it doesn't mean i don't have some fun. anyway, after a little more eyecontact game, including a few smiles -straightforward, amused, hint of awareness of what's going on-, i introduced myself. from then on, i got some motherfucking attention, yo. and i have no complaints. very tasteful, amusing. he's a bike mechanic, he's vegan. tall, skinny. lovely mouth..from here i'll cut to an email i just sent to a friend:
"I'm almost hoping that he turns out to be a heavy drinker nogood coo-yay (bike messenger) type so that i won't be weirded out by how much fun it was to flirt with him. I was actually forgetting that i can be damn amusing when I'm in the right mood. being always sober means i CAN remember exactly what i said to him, and i think i was fairly funny and charming. woo hah!. Recently, I've had too many awkward interactions with guys i don't relate to. nice to know that I still got it. haw.
I've been single for too long, and it's spring and some medical article said that it's mating season , especially for women cuz their seratonin levels are really high and maybe that's what I'm feeling.."
Ms. "up-at-night" 's entry for yesterday embodies some of the sensations that I'm feeling. I wouldn't use the word "obsess" for me, but maybe "muse." hmm.. less poetry and more food: "mull". possibly "simmer". will i burn, boil over or cool?