Blah Blah Blah

i am OVER barack obama.

everyone has a friend whose parents are awesome. they're super relaxed and rarely say "no," and even when they do, it's not even a fight. they're the kind of parents who let you have a sip of beer when you're ten and justify it by saying they would rather you drink at home than at some sketchy bar. they're the kind of parents who let you and your friends eat a lot of junk food before dinner, the kind of parents who have to buy the newest televisions and cell phones. screw college savings or good health insurance. they're the kind of parents who feel great about themselves when their children think they're "cool."

remember amy poelher's character from mean girls? that's the kind of parent barack obama is, except he has 310 million kids.

president obama tells us what we want to hear. and that's it. every speech he gives is fully of lofty goals and idealistic rhetoric. "change." i'm over that, too.

the economist ran a great column this week about american "greatness." people always talk about how awesome america is, but like the author of this article points out, if you have to talk about it all the time, it's probably not that great.

it's similar to what jean baudrillard says about a society's so-called spirit. we resort to extolling the values of our "spirit" when we've run out of other things to be proud of. that's where we're at today, due in no small part to our glorious president.

here are some of his recent tweets:

Folks who've fallen on hard times through no fault of their own need emergency relief to weather this economic storm.

It’s time to stop holding laid-off workers hostage to Washington politics. We’ve got to extend unemployment insurance.

When storms strike Main St., we don’t play politics with emergency aid or desert fellow Americans during hard times.

Take a moment to thank those who fought for Wall St. reform. We are proud to stand with them in the fight for change.

Take a moment to thank those who fought for Wall St. reform. We are proud to stand with them in the fight for change.

do you srsly think barack obama has ever said used the word "folks" when he's talking to anyone other than a camera? and really, no one wants to hear his empty rhetoric about "change" and "the fight" and "wall street versus main street." unless you're gearing up for 2012, sir, you can stop with the BS. and is it just me, or is he beating the "storm" metaphor to death?

you know what we need? a president who's strong, experienced and a proven leader. we need a president who isn't a hypocrite - barack obama is "old washington politics" to the extreme. lest we forget the way he passed the healthcare bill...

it's already 2010. the media is already scrambling to place their bets on who will run for president in 2012.

if she weren't doing such a great job as secretary of state, i would be all for hillary running again. she deserved it in 2008, without a doubt. but that won't happen, and she should probably stay in the current position.

i'd really like to see maurice hinchey run, at least as a vice presidential candidate. russ feingold would be a good choice, too.

i'd actually prefer a republican president with a democratic congress. i really like chuck hagel and olympia snowe.

you know who else i like? harold ford, jr., a former senator from tennessee. let's keep an eye on him.

The reality of it is...

After 7 months back home, I'm still missing China.

Little things set it off. Hearing a snippet of a conversation between two Chinese people in the library. Watching a Chinese person in Starbucks try to explain to the barrista that they just want a medium ("What is this grande?") green tea.

My status on renren.com translates to "When I was in China I didn't miss America, but in America, I reminisce about my time in China every day. What does this mean?!"



My friend Liu Wu commented on it. Loosely translated, he said, "Haha, you're rooted to China."

That's true. After living there and loving (almost) every minute of it, I should have known that coming back to the States would be a problem. I'm rooted to America, specifically the Deep South. Don't get me wrong, I love America and the unique Southern culture that has surrounded me growing up, but after 21 years in small-town Mississippi, and after seeing plenty of places that are more interesting to live, it's hard to slow down and get used to it...again. I went to China and left part of myself there, and even in America, those roots are growing deeper and deeper.

Some people don't know what else is out there, so they're content. I think that's what travel has given me: the inability to settle. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, we'll have to wait a while to see. For now, I'm counting down the days until I can go back. Or go somewhere.

wednesday is for reading

currently reading: curtain of green and golden apples by eudora welty

i appreciate structure in my life, but unfortunately i don't have a lot of it. this month, i have calculus every morning from 8 to 10, i tutor from 10 to 10:30, i audit chinese class from 11 to 12, i have history of europe from 1 to 3 and i tutor again from 4 to 8. that doesn't leave a lot of room for fun (or homework, oops). if i could, i would make myself, say, study for the GRE from 9 to 10 every night or work on my calculus homework from 1 to 3 every day. instead, i spend three hours making a new blog, moving the icons around on my iphone, playing doodle jump, reading economics papers that having nothing to do with my classes, re-reading old magazine articles and planning my fulbright application.

needless to say, i haven't had much of a break the past few weeks. the weekend before july 4, i bought some post cards, and i had one left over (i wrote on the back, but never sent it). no need to throw away a perfectly good postcard, so i stuck it on the front of my binder.


as a mississippian, i've definitely heard of eudora welty. i know she wrote delta wedding and some short stories, and i know she's pretty famous, especially in the south. but i've never actually read anything she wrote. yesterday i was sitting in history class, and my deskmate pointed at my binder and said "aw, is that your grandmother."

"no, it's eudora welty."

"who?"

i was appalled. this girl is a college junior in mississippi and had never heard of one of our state's most famous writers. "she is one of the most famous writers in mississippi."

"oh, i like the classics more."

psh. classics. this girl doesn't even know who eudora welty is. she wouldn't know a "classic" if it slapped her across the face.

but then i thought, who was i to judge her for not knowing who eudora welty is? i only know her name, where she's from and one book she wrote. authors aren't like politicians or celebrities. you shouldn't passively know of an author - you should know her. you should relate to her, understand his happiness and his pain. french and chinese both have different words for "to know." in french, connaître means "to know a person." in chinese, it's 认识. "to know a fact" is translated differently, as savoir and 知道 in french and chinese, respectively. with authors, reading a plot synopsis of their famous novels and knowing some facts about their early lives doesn't cut it. it's not enough because through their literature, we can meet them and get to know them, not just know of them. and we should.

although i've only read a handful of her short stories, i feel like i'm getting to know ms. welty already. maybe in a few weeks and a book or two later, we'll be on a first name basis.

你好 (KNEE-how): hello

o hai.

everyone has a voice these days. the internet has given us that privilege, and i want one, too.

i have another blog, but i don't know what to do with it now that i'm back from china. i have a lot of thoughts that i want to share with the world. even if i'm the only one reading this thing, it will help me organize my ideas (sort of) coherently.

allow me to introduce myself:

my name is matthew. i'm double majoring in chinese and international studies with a concentration in global politics. i'm also minoring in economics, which i fall in love with more and more every day. most important, i'm starting my senior year, and i have no idea what i want to do.

i'm southern. i used to hate it, but after living in shanghai for a few months, i understood what it means to be truly southern. i'll get into that some other time, i'm sure.

i'm passionate about the environment, but i'm not a very vocal person, so i don't hop on my soapbox like most people. i enjoy playing the bassoon, even though i rarely have time to practice like i should.

i'm a bleeding heart conservative, if there is such a thing - a pragmatic idealist.

i love my family, and i love my friends. i'm an active social commentator and i like talking about politics, but only occasionally.

that's all i have for now.