In　Japan

Can’t write too much. I’m in an internet cafe now and Bronwyn is waiting to use the computer, plus this keyboard keeps switching to Japanese characters which is annoying. Things are going well and we’ve nearly got our apartment together. We will hopefully have internet set up at our place this week then I can enjoy the internets from the comfort of my own non-Japanese-typing laptop.

The last week has been an utter whirlwind of activity, but I did manage to squeeze as much quality time with friends as possible. I also spent my birthday and second-to-last night in town at Tiki Ti followed by Rock Band into the early morning hours. It was a good send-off and has me missing friends already (not to mention wishing they had Rock Band in this county).

More later.

Gnarls Barkley on SNL

Curse you, Leap Day!

My watch reads March 1st right now, and I tried to fix that, but February 29th won’t even register as an available option. Curse you, February 29th! You truly are the trickiest of all days!

Obama Wins Georgia

One down. Yes we can! Story at CNN.

Happy Super Tuesday

I’ve made it pretty clear who it is I support in the Democratic contest. I was going to write more on why I support Obama over Clinton, even talk about my reaction to the debate on Thursday (and by the way, I swung by the Kodak Theater after work that day and saw Stevie Wonder for the second time in my life). But as it were, I never did put write a proper post like I had hoped.

Let me just say this. Bush’s empty claims last week that the state of our union is strong only serve to underscore the delusional negligence our “leadership” has demonstrated in the last seven years. Our country is wounded and divided. This is not the America I want to live in. It is time for a change. And while many of the most important changes start from the grassroots, change needs a leader. I sincerely believe that Senator Barack Obama is that leader. I believe that he has the vision, the desire, and the will to bridge the rifts that Bush’s neo-conservative, divisive politics have carved. He can inspire hope and bring Americans together to reclaim our country and to effect change that will put us back on track. All the other candidates, even the Republicans, talk about being an “agent for change,” but Obama is the only one who my cynical self truly and deeply believes.

It all starts with us, so please go out and vote today. ¡Sí, Se Puede!

CNN Projects Obama Win!

I actually stayed a little later at work hitting refresh on this page so I wouldn’t miss the results during my ride home.

Happy New Year!

Happy new year… from the FUTURE!!! Currently, I’m in Knoxville, Tennessee, for the wedding of one of Bronwyn’s cousins. This means I’m in Eastern time, so to all my friends and family on the west coast - 2008 is the awesome!

Pomona College to Eliminate Loans

Got this in the email yesterday from my alma mater.

Dear Pomona College Alumna/us:

We wanted you to be among the first to know that Pomona College is taking a significant new step to assure affordability and access. Today, the Pomona College Board of Trustees voted to eliminate all loans from its financial aid packages beginning next fall and to replace them with scholarships. This change will affect all current and future students who qualify for financial aid.

Pomona is among the first liberal arts colleges in the nation to take this major step, which is designed not only to make a Pomona education more affordable for students from lower- and middle-income homes, but also to ensure that all of our future graduates will be able to follow their aspirations—including the option of service careers—without having to take into account the need to begin repaying college loans.

This is the latest in a number of initiatives that the College has undertaken in recent years to ensure that a Pomona education is truly accessible to gifted students from all walks of life. To provide you with further details, I am attaching a copy of the news release that is being distributed to the media today.

Sincerely,

David Oxtoby
President

Sadly, I’m seven years too late, but this is still fantastic news considering the staggering amount of debt college grads are facing. I’m lucky in that my post-college debt is below the average, but there’s still so much I could do with that money like… oh… have some savings.