1. Healthcare
- If one listens to the talking heads too long in the media one is bound to go crazy. Thank goodness for American media that they have simplified the debate into two camps. The one camp that really stands out is of course the conservative side. I think this is because they say the most outrageous things which makes the news, Youtube etc. They do better at getting people fired up. On the left, I find myself reaching to think of a few talking heads but when I do, the Daily Show and the Young Turks come to mind but even these shows do not inspire the passion that the conservative side does.

My Opinion:
- Being back in the States I find this all silly. I have been in countries that have no health care. They do what they can but have no social net if they cannot afford treatment. Therefore, what I perceive here in the USA seems like a bunch of spoiled children, half of which wants the government to take care of them and half of them who do not. For the Liberals, they want big brother to take care of everyone which at first glance is a noble intention but we have fiscal troubles at the moment. The conservatives on the other side detest big brother and only want to take care of themselves or people they directly know. Perhaps they can just pray for everyone else and believe that will suffice.

After seeing people in other countries that have absolutely no healthcare, I really do not feel sympathy for either side but if I were forced to choose, I would choose universal healthcare but would make them get their finances in order first.

When I look at the conservative media such as Hannity show, I just see a bunch of old prom queens and ex-high school quarterbacks who drive SUVs drink their Starbucks and could give a rats ass about the poor class. The liberals on the other hand are more elitist and seem a bit snide with their comments.

2. Global Warming
- Another hot button issue. I understand the conservative point about the "cult of globalization." It seems like a bunch of liberals taking up a cause in order to further their other agendas for what the conservatives believe is completely false.

My Opinion:
- I believe the scientists and from everything I have read points to Global Warming. Yet, their approach can seem a bit shady. However, if strict measures were not taken then how can we stop putting junk in the atmosphere. I have lived in cities where the pollution is atrocious. Even here in the Bay Area we can no longer see across the bay. Only after a severe storm can we see the other side. It would be best to stop putting crap in the atmosphere as this will cause problems in our lungs and one does not really want to breath the crap I have in certain cities. Perhaps the liberals are not going about it the right way but the bottom line is we have to stop polluting. We only have one Earth to live on! I am not on either political side on this one but the first one to come up with a good plan to stop polluting (and is not shady) I will support completely.

If we continue to pollute then I believe it will take a good majority of the population to come down with asthma before most people understand the problem. Unfortunately, by then there will be many other problems to contend with such as drought, rising oceans etc. On the conservative side, they can continue to deny it as we won't feel the full brunt of the problem for another 40 years or so and by then the people who deny the problem will most likely be dead so they can say anything they believe now and not have to worry about the consequences.

I detest the fact that they see some snow and then use it to say there is no Global Warming. Even if it didn't turn out to be as severe as scientist predict, it would do well to stop putting crap in the atmosphere.

3. Most passionate = Most uninformed
- I have never read so much as I do now. With the birth of the Iphone and all the free media I find myself reading anything and everything on a daily basis. It has almost become an obsession. Yet, I often ask myself "Am I learning anything or is it all just noise?" I believe the majority of the media is just noise which really doesn't teach me anything. I find that I have a better perspective on the world through my travels and reading books from the past. When I read something that was written by someone in the 1800s or even earlier, I find I have a better understanding on what is actually happening today. The cliché is that "If we forget the past we are condemned to repeat it." Well, from what I read in todays media, it would seem we have a very short term memory.

Those that do not read, have not traveled have a very small scope of understanding. By relying on the talking heads of today we are severely limiting ourselves in our understanding and simply taking up "talking points" by which to debate the issues. I'm afraid it is quite un-useful to have debates with most people back here in America as the majority simply repeat talking points that are used in the media. Those that have the most passion are most often the most uninformed and ignorant. I miss my discussions with top ambassadors and people of note that I had access to in Vietnam. Only on occasion do top news outlets such as the New York Times come out with a really good article that fosters great debate. Recently, the debate has been shit. If people really took the time to understand the issues of the day then there would be more people in the gray area than on the extremes which has happened now.

4. Facebook
- On a lighter note, I'm very delighted about the fact that I have been able to re-connect with just about everyone I have ever met. It is not so much that I am intimately reconnecting with everyone but rather am able to see their pictures and get a sense of how their life is progressing.

Some, prefer to keep their friends list pretty tight in that they only keep the friends with whom they interact with the most. For me, I prefer to keep connected, even if only lightly, with everyone I have ever met. Perhaps the reason is that I have lived in so many different places and am not bound to conform to any certain thinking or group. I also live in a place where I perhaps will never see the majority of people on my friends list ever again. Therefore, they are just a figment of my memory and only "become real" should I have the chance to meet them in person again.

This seems like a hard point to explain but perhaps the best way to do so is that most of them are just pictures and updates on a computer. I don't have to worry about someone not agreeing with me on a certain point or keeping with the social norms. As Mr. Smith put it in the movie "The Matrix," I've "become unplugged, out of the network" if you will. Therefore, I have the freedom to write things such as this because I have no fear of unpleasantness or disagreement with my social network. People who want to agree or disagree remain simply updates and pictures on a computer.

5. Rush Limbaugh
- For amusement, I find myself listening to Rush Limbaugh quite often in the mornings. I find that at first it got my blood boiling but now just seems like a comedy show. This man is full of hate speech for three hours every day. Yet, to my surprise, I did agree with him on one issue this past week. He was speaking about Toyota and the witch hunt going on between the government and Toyota. He made a point that it seems very odd that the Government is seeking answers from a private company and threating to punish them. Why, should the government be involved in this? In the public sector, as Toyota has caused problems their sales will suffer. That is the way of the market economy. Why is it that the Government needs to get involved?

My Opinion:
- Government, stay out of it. Toyota will pay the price for their failings and don't need any trouble from you. Less government is better in this issue and by taking a private company to task, you are raising the fear which the conservatives have been most harping about. If you want to do something, just pass healthcare and leave everyone else alone.

In any case, that is my two cents for the week. Had to get it off my chest.

Mateo

At first, I thought I might actually be the only one that did not like the political nuance of the film. Yet, shortly after articles started appearing in major news outlets about these aspects and what they mean. However, most of the articles simply concentrated on the parallels to Iraq and Hollywood sticking it to perceived American Imperialism. Only one article really resonated with me due to the emphasis on the cultural perspectives rather than simply the military.

I think those that have spent a lot of time overseas, spent time assimilating into other cultures, have learned a language and know their history will feel the exact same way as I do about this film. In short, the special effects are great while the storyline is horrendous.

Here is what I was going on in my mind as I watched the film.

A bumbling GI-Joe outcast goes along with the colonialist western powers to plunder yet another third world country. He realizes that what the colonialists are trying to accomplish is wrong and by some miracle is able to learn the language. He then, not only gets laid by the prettiest native, but also just happens to be the strongest and most intelligent of the native tribe! It is then up to him to lead the charge against his own people and unrealistically is able to defeat the far superior power! Then this former bumbler is now the greatest of the natives who could not have done it by themselves and gets to be king or something.

Now for the parallels

1. Evil corporation = Global Corporations coupled with the American military: Halliburton, Nike, Oil Companies etc. Or if we go farther back, the original bad guy, The East India Company

2. Na'vi = American Indians living in what could be: Vietnam, (or all of Indochina), Iraq, Africa, Mexico or any other place that Western powers set up colonies and basically raped the country for their own benefit.

Before I proceed to better endings I also saw a parallel with this movie and Giacomo Puccini's "Madam Butterfly." In that libretto the military captain gets the pretty Japanese woman due to the excitement and infatuation wtih the beautiful native girl. However, this guy leaves her after realizing he should go back, be smart and marry a western girl ("Where da White Women at?" - Blazing Saddles). She is distraught and promptly commits suicide.

I often wonder how this opera is seen from a Japanese point of view. I don't think Americans can even properly contemplate this because it would be like China invading and conquering America, a Chinese captain banging Miss America but then realizing it is better to marry a sophisticated (and better) Chinese lady. Me thinks this would not sit too well with an American audience but it is quite acceptable for the opposite to occur.

Now, let's have some fun and change the storyline to reflect realistic scenarios and would have made me happy. (With the historical reality, not necessarily the outcome)

1. Quick Scenario - Bumbler GI-Joe guy goes into the native areas and is promptly shot by an arrow. End of story.

2. State Department Scenario - The Evil Corporation gets smart and sends a highly intelligent agent from the State Department who really does speak the language and actually does understand the culture to manipulate the Na'vi. Yet the agent knows right away it is wrong, resigns from the agency and starts an awareness campaign of this abuse back on Earth. Then the population is split in their opinions of it. Half go stage a protest on Capital Hill while the far right makes radio programs and Fox television shows demonizing the "traitorous State Department Agent" and saying that he is trying to weaken America.

3. Vietnam Scenario - The Na'vi appeal to help from the UN saying that America (France actually) is destroying their country. The western powers manipulate the UN and tell the Na'vi to feck off. The Na'vi then align with China,, er I mean that larger planet which they orbit. The Na'vi defeat the French but then America spots an opportunity and tells their own population they must defeat the threat of Na'vi solidarity. So America moves in and sets up a Na'vi dictator to split the population in two. When this fails they send "advisors" and these advisors start shooting. Then the North Na'vi infiltrate the southern population with the Na'vi-cong. Then the North Na'vi win and American imposes sanctions on Pandora to only be lifted when they need their help to control and contain the population of that much larger planet around which Pandora orbits.

4. Mexico Scenario - The evil corporation is from Spain. At first they pretend to cooperate but then the Spanish general puts handcuffs on the Na'vi king. The population gets upset so Spain sends in the Jesuits. The Jesuits put pictures of Mary which have been modified to look like a Na'vi goddess on everything. They then they report stories of Na'vi tribes-people who have actually witnessed miracles regarding the Mary-Na'vi goddess and tell them to convert. They also take the Sacred Tree and put a cross in front of it, then mass produce this image and pamphlet the population. Seeing that this new goddess favors the invaders and obviously must be more powerful they do convert and the population is suppressed.

5. Nike-Scenario - After a devastating war the Na'vi can either win or lose it doesn't matter. Then the Americans impose economic sanctions which means the Na'vi cannot buy T.Vs or SUVs. The leaders want these things but need to have money. So they contract out sweatshops with the Nike corporation, make millions and now are rolling in the latest BMWs. Nike notices that some of the Na'vi are athletically gifted (cause they are all 10ft tall) and could dominate in American sports. So they lobby congress to get visas for some of the better players and now the Na'vi are some of the most popular players in the NBA and MLB.

6. Economic corruption scenario - The Americans win but see that the fruits of Pandora are really delicious!! So they start to import the Pandoran fruits to America but realize they are losing money by having to send the ships back to Pandora empty. So they stock the ships with Campbell's soup, powdered milk and other canned goods to sell to the Na'vi upon arrival. Now the Na'vi do not get to eat any more fruits from their own planet but instead must eat canned Dole peaches and Chiquita Bananas.

But no, none of the above scenarios happened. Instead the evil western power destroys the Na'vi village but in order to make the home audience feel good they make a westerner become the most powerful of the natives and defeat the bad forces from their own country and everyone gets to feel good.

No me gusta.

Instead, I simply need to look around. Living in San Francisco we do not get a true picture of the state of things because everywhere you look you can still find people going out, spending money in expensive restaurants, going to expensive theater shows and so on. However, if one pays attention the downtown foot traffic is not as heavy as it used to be. In my work I also spend a lot of time in high rise buildings and there is often plenty of office space available.

From when I came here three years ago a lot of businesses have disappeared. The video store in front of my apartment went out of business (due to Netflix). Virgin record store closed (Hello Itunes). I don't know of anyone that shops on Market Street and a lot of places went out of business there too.

It also occurred to me recently that three out of the four companies I have worked for also went out of business. In Japan, I worked for the Nova English language school which was the 900 pound gorilla of language schools and had a branch location near just about every train station in Tokyo. However, due to very bad upper management they went bust even before the "Great Recession." Nova was a great place to get a foothold in Japan and I am thankful for my experience there. Yet, I knew at the time it was the kind of business one had to move on from and relatively quickly. It was a shock when they went bankrupt and threw a lot of English teachers out of work, so much that, even national embassies had to get involved.

A much larger shock has come this past week with Japan Airlines going into bankruptcy. When this happened it almost seemed as the sky was falling (mostly for the Japanese) since Japan was one of the most celebrated corporations in Japan. When I obtained a job there in 2004 I was pretty ecstatic. This was one of the most popular corporations to work for in Japan determined by a survey of young people and the kind of place one does not leave. I really did not want to leave Japan Airlines but the aviation industry was falling on very hard times and I did not see any room for advancement given the situation at the time.

I really have a vague idea as to why it happened as the majority of "fat" in the company was in Japan. They were in bed with the government for way too long and the government really did not give them much leeway to make the tough corporate decisions companies have to make to survive. Basically, it was held hostage by the government in terms of routes it had to fly and airports it had to support even though they were not profitable. In the end, it took a change of government to force the airline to come to terms with it's unprofitable model. Couple that with the horrible economic situation there was no room to avoid disaster.

It really is a weird time economically speaking. People of my generation do not have the luxury of taking a job and expecting that they can hold on to it for life. With technological change and the state of the economy entire industries are going down and there are no safe havens. As for loyalty, I do not think that really exists anymore. Companies are laying off at will (and to survive). But this is a double edged sword. The feeling is that if one does a poor job the company has every right to lay a person off. However, if one does a very good job then the company better pay handsomely or the worker would do well to simply move to another company that will pay.

Politically, it is a hard situation because some expect the government to take action while others would prefer the government take no action at all. Both sides feel that if the government would just follow their belief then everything would be better. In reality, it seems that the government is between a rock and a hard place because the ship is sinking anyway no matter which way it decides to turn. My personal feeling is that it should have the courage to do less but this would most likely be political suicide. In fact, even in business upper management needs to be seen doing *something* even if the best course of action is to do nothing.

The Dow has also taken a beating this week due to the unemployment report and perhaps that the government is going to put some restrictions on the banks. Again, this is a tough situation because the banks through reckless lending did cause a lot of trouble. Yet, it is loathsome to think that some bureaucrat in Washington would be telling companies how they should do business. The financial sector is in the business to make money, not to make the world a better place. This is the ugly side of capitalism but the prevailing though is "What is the point of business other than to make money?"

Sometimes, the blame is laid on the consumer and Americans by far really went on a spending binge for a long time. It can make one feel good to rebuke these people that spent too much. I actually heard a commercial today saying that "the big banks got bailouts, but where is my credit card debt bailout?" To me, this is despicable. People spent more money then they had and the taxpayer should compensate them for being financially retarded.

Yet, on the other hand, I was having a discussion with a bright young Chinese woman and really like how she put that situation. "The consumers were LEAD to these un-advantageous loans." In effect, the consumers trust institutions and the sales pitches and besides, everyone else is doing it! They see their neighbors buying large houses and cars and they want to do the same. When the economy turned sour that really bit them in the arse but how much blame should they be accountable for? Most people just trust the system and sales pitches and thought they really were getting a good deal! It's almost like we have to keep on our guard, but being a hyper-capitalist society we are bombarded with sales pitches all day long!

A most recent one on the conservative talk shows is the hosts hawking gold. They get everyone whipped up into a frenzy and some people put their faith in what these hosts are saying. For anyone who recently bought gold and are now losing money, it would be wise to use your own head and not trust anyone who gets paid to hawk any certain item.

Again, it just seems like a very weird time in terms of the economy as there seem to be no more safe havens. When thinking about my own future I wonder which industries would be a safe bet but it's hard to come up with even one. Everyone is talking about Asia being the next big economic engine and that is just fine with me. I feel that I have had a great time in San Francisco but would not hesitate for one minute to work back in Asia again. I am almost tempted to stop trying to plan and just let things proceed as they will. Companies (and people) rise and fall with the tide. In fact, I believe it was Thomas Moore who said "A rising tide lifts all boats." I wonder when the tide will come back in or if we are all going to have to scramble for a while.

The only conclusion I can come to is to simply enjoy life and being alive and let things come as they may. Try not to think about what the future holds as we are in turbulent waters but instead to simply enjoy the ride.

Note to any that read this blog: If I know you then find me on Facebook! www.facebook.com I'm not hard to find, just search my name and lets connect!

I'll try to write more entries from now on and keep it interesting. The reason I really haven't written much recently is that I got used to my life in San Francisco and I start to feel that things aren't interesting enough to write about. I felt the same way living in Tokyo and Saigon after a while, thought that my writings wouldn't be that interesting since life seemed normal to me. Now I wish I would have written more during those times as I enjoy looking back and realize that even though it wasn't so interesting to me at the time, it might be interesting for others and I would also enjoy reading it now.

So, even though my SF life seems pretty normal to me now I have to make myself realize that it could be possibly interesting for those that do not live here and especially for my friends in foreign countries.

Another reason for the lack of writing has been Facebook. Facebook made things just so easy and I found myself concentrating my time on Facebook which supplanted this blog as my main source of online activity. However, Facebook is really only good for keeping in touch with friends and has a set audience which would be those on the friends list. The internet, being a complete universe within itself does not contain those boundaries and is open to all.

I did set up an RSS feed for this blog to be automatically published to my Facebook and I had to give that a lot of thought. The reason is my entire social network would be able to see what my thoughts are on a variety of topics and these are people with varied opinions. I thought about the exposure to my personal network which seemed a bit more intimate since I actually know those people and might receive some very personal feedback rather than from someone out in the internet who I really do not know.

I thought I might have to temper my fiery political posts since I have such a wide spectrum of friends but after much thought, I decided to do it anyway. One of the reasons is because I'm still pretty much of a hermit having lived away from my hometown for so long and it is most probable that I will not meet most of those people in real life ever again. It is not that I do not desire to meet people but rather, on Facebook these relationships are much farther removed as we are communicating through a computer. In fact, these friends are really just a collection of words, thoughts and pictures and do not have the impact of face to face conversation.

Our friends on Facebook are just memories combined with recent pictures, and electronic communication until one day they might appear in your life again and then they turn "real" again. These meetings are quite fun as one can refer to the events in their lives from posts on Facebook and the conversation and "catching up" seems almost as though it is much more effective and efficient. I've found myself referring to Facebook so many times in conversation with those I've "friended" online but perhaps had not actually seen in person in a very long time. In fact, at a recent family gathering a few cousins of mine decided to play a drinking game where they had to drink every time I said the word "Facebook."

That got me thinking about how communication has changed due to Facebook and for some it can seem silly and as just a diversion with no bearing in real life. However, it is in fact, a real tool and will most likely be referred to quite often for the younger generation when they meet in person and already have a wealth of information about their recent events.

Anyway, I'm trying to write this entry with a movie being played on the T.V. right behind me and it is quite difficult to get my thoughts together. So, I'll make an end to it now but will work on posting more entries in a timely manner.

However, everyone can relax because this isn't skewed to one side or another and frankly I've become bored with the whole political drama scene. It's like being stuck watching a play that keeps getting more ridiculous and they are just pushing to see how far they can go before people walk out,, but unfortunately half the crowd knows they are locked in and the other half are starting to root for one side or the other!

So back to Socialism, before I studied abroad I really didn't know what it was. I did know the USA was "Capitalist" and ergo Socialism must not be correct. Then, I met all these Europeans who seemed to be a bit more sophisticated about politics than I and half of them were from Socialist countries! One part of me thought they should be wearing all red with hammers and sickles on their heads trying to get me to join a commune.

But, no, they were wearing normal clothing (even slightly stylish) and did not ask me once to join a revolutionary party. Over time as I became familiar with other countries I thought whatever system they were in must not be all that bad because everyone seemed pretty normal. Granted, I did not study the different systems (except Capitalism because I did go to business school) and therefore did not write a Ph.D thesis on the topic but I felt I knew enough and would learn a sufficient amount through osmosis. The point is, I learned that their countries were pretty cool but did not give any other thought to their economic models.

Fast forward to today I keep hearing people yell and scream about this or that being socialist. So I got to thinking, well, what is Socialism? From my laymans perspective it seems it is a system where the Government puts constraints on people concerning taxes with the aim of leveling out the inequalities to varying degrees. In other words, it gives to people with less and takes from people with more.

Again, I do not have any strong feelings one way or the other because I felt that economic models didn't really matter in my daily life and were best left to people that want to concern themselves with such matters.

But, as this word kept being tossed about at anything even remotely seen as "liberal" I got to thinking that in some way or another we are all Socialist.

How can this be?!! Certainly, the USA was founded on the entrepreneur by whose sweat, tears and brains the USA has lead the world in so many categories! But then, how many entrepreneurs do I actually know? And, how many people do I know that go to work for some business and expected to be paid accordingly for their work?

In other words is it not true that most people work for some company and expect to be GIVEN a paycheck? The more I thought about it, a true Capitalist starts his/her own business and gives the workers money for their time and effort. But you may say, it's a fair trade, money for services rendered! This is true, but how many of us could say that another could not do as well or even better than we do? Therefore, we rely on our company and try to hold on as tightly as possible so we are not replaced by another. Is it not true that very few people are so indispensable?

More specifically, could it not be said that employers take care of their employees and in their benevolence not fire and hire so quickly? If we look at Unions which were designed to look out for the easily expendable, would that not be considered a form of Socialism? Surely HR managers are aware of image and lawsuits that could arise should they be so careless with their personnel.

As individuals move out of the blue collar work and to white collar then these hints of socialism do become less as they have to perform quite well to keep their jobs. The sales team has to bring revenue, accountants keep the books and so on. But if we examine a corporation carefully how much "fat" is there in that company?

In this financial crisis we do see a bit of Capitalism at work with so many being laid off from their jobs. Another phrase I'm seeing quite frequently is that "people are looking for jobs." In other words they need an employer to give them something to do and pay them money for their time. Our economy has become so advanced and diversified that it would be very difficult for any one individual to be completely self sufficient. Instead, we all have to learn skills to function in very specific categories. The workers RELY on the system to pay them a salary. For example:

1. The barber needs people to come to his/her shop so he can cut their hair.

2. People that sell guns and butter (economics 101 anyone?) need people to buy their wares and the purchasers need people/things to shoot or to make confectionery.

3. Laywers need people to sue.

Therefore, if nobody needed a haircut, there was nobody to shoot, confections were not being baked and there was nobody to sue then the professions above would be worth nothing. Instead, these people rely on others to come give them employment.

Perhaps we all need a haircut now and then so unless we want to cut our own hair barbers are necessary. AND if I want to shoot someone then the gun seller would come in handy and should I want to eat cake then the confectioner would be useful as well. The point of the whole matter is that in such a complex economy we are all relying on each other one way or another. In a way, this could be considered a bit socialist as we all need to be a bit social to buy and sell to each other. If we were not social then perhaps we would be stuck inside all the time with very long hair, not shooting anyone and have nothing nice to eat and nobody to sue!

In it's most basic form wouldn't the Capitalist go out into the woods, build his own house, hire lumberjacks to harvest trees, sell the trees to China, buy wooden products from China and sell them to his lumberjacks ensuring a wonderful profit! This man would be a true capitalist and everyone else could be considered socialists because without the capitalist they would have nothing left to do but sit inside their house with long hair!

Now if we multiply this scenario by a million and add other employment besides cutting trees would it not be a similar scenario?

As for fair pay for fair work, well the lumberjack had to learn how to cut down trees somewhere. Isn't it wonderful that we live in a society where either our parents or the state provides us, nay GIVES US, an education. Sure some of us come out with loans which we have to pay off but would that not require a company to GIVE US a paycheck?

In fact, thinking like a Capitalist, it would be much better to bring in workers from another country who demand much less of a wage to cut down the trees and then the Capitalist could make even more money! BUT Wait, THERE'S MORE! (R.I.P. Billy Mays). It would seem that we have laws limiting immigration so the Capitalist cannot bring in cheaper workers and therefore must hire the more expensive lumberjacks here locally.

Well, that to me doesn't seem very Capitalistic at all. The Capitalist has a right to make as much money as possible and shouldn't be forced to use local labor. Tree cutting doesn't take that much expertise now does it? So there we have it! People having their jobs protected to a varying degree from Unions, to immigration laws. So how can these so called CINO (Capitalists in Name Only) be for immigration laws? Don't they want to make more money? How absurd!

Now changing gears and arriving to the opinion if someone is against or for Capitalism and or Socialism. (It would seem to me that one could be both - I am depending on the day and my mood.) All these people spewing one opinion or another seem to have recently obtained them from these national Media types. They watch their show (On Fox or MSNBC ,,choose your poison) get all fired up, and then go onto the comment pages and cause a raucous! But the little devil on their shoulder should constantly be whispering "These opinions were GIVEN to you........"

Therefore, could there not be such a thing as an intellectual socialist who listens to opinions in the media, chooses which side he/she agrees with then gets up on the soap box and starts singing the praises of either idea!

I can't imagine that these ideas have come spontaneously into their heads without some assistance. If we imagine a person in the woods who has never had human contact, do we really think they would be considering which is better, Socialism or Capitalism? How about the super professor who has written a lot of books on the subject. Has not the professor spent countless hours in the library studying up on the matter and would it be inconceivable that his/her opinions are derived from the books they have read? How many of the talking heads came up with truly unique ideas to these competing ideologies?? AND how many have stitched together the ideas of others to formulate something they believe might be unique, but in reality is just an accumulation of other peoples ideas!? I suspect that those talking heads are in reality "intellectual socialists" as they borrowed (or stole) from the ideas of someone else.

If we were truly Capitalist would it not be prudent to take this idea of Capitalism, break it down to its individual parts and pay the creators of these ideas accordingly? Perhaps everyone would have to pay royalties to Adam Smith (or his descendants since he is dead.) MAN, what a cluster that would be. Every time the talking head said something their bank account amount would become less! And where did Adam Smith get his ideas from? Perhaps some investigative work into antiquity would be required and soon enough we would perhaps find ourselves back with the Greeks!

In conclusion, could it not be possible that everyone with a job and or an idea, has been given such, and could be regarded a socialist unless of course the individual in question was the outright owner or came up with the idea with absolutely no academic inputs!

As a last thought, and breaking my previous statement that I had "concluded," I also hear this word called "freedom" being tossed about quite randomly. To be honest, every time I hear that word I can't help but imagining the commenter as some renegade with a bandanna tied around his head with a gun in hand running around the words yelling "Freeeeedoommm" as Mel Gibson did in Braveheart.

Now I'm not against freedom at all and am actually quite for it. But again, if we are going to go for something lets go all the way and not take half measures. It would seem that in the USA I have to carry a passport and cannot get in our out of the country without one. Did you know that it wasn't until WWI that people were actually saddled with these things? When I come into the country I also have to answer a series of questions which not answered correctly could put me in the slammer.

Furthermore, I am not allowed to drive my car at 150 miles per hour.

Ok,, forget that last one, I understand that the law is there and in it's essence says I'm free to "swing my fist as long as it does not hit anothers nose." Well, what if I want to smoke a pound of crack? I'm not allowed to do that either and I'm not hitting anyone in the nose. I'm also only allowed to have one wife! Who was smoking the crack when they made that law eh?

Now, back to seriousness, it would seem that laws are made to keep society functioning well based on the principles of some party-poopers called the Puritans! And these Puritans came from England! Thus it just goes to show we can blame all the worlds problems on the English. AND these ideas about Capitalism apparently came from some bloke named Adam Smith who was also ENGLISH!!! Man, for such a small country they certainly cause a lot of trouble.

But getting back to Freedom, it would seem there are all sorts of laws derived from England which do not allow me to be free. So what is all this hooting and hollering about freedom? It would seem we are already compromised and just begging for more yard time even though we are mostly stuck in our cell at the jail. If I were completely free then I think I would move to Japan and become a ninja but unfortunately I could only stay for three months without a work permit and the USA would try to take my yen in taxes. So I'm not exactly free with these yokes around my neck am I?

In conclusion (part deux) it seems that we are not completely Capitalist nor completely free at the moment. It would also appear that we all have to compromise a little to keep society functioning and it all just comes down to arguments about how much. Uncle Sam already takes an obscene of our money so why is everyone just complaining about it now? I believe that before and after the Civil War there were no taxes (or very little). Shouldn't that be the true aim rather then complaining about healthcare??? My healthcare plan is to not get sick, not take any drugs and go to the gym. Yet those complaining on both sides either want it from the Government or from their employer. Either way, to a purist like me, both sides want to be GIVEN it one way or another. Some just put a bit too much worth in their skills which could most likely be outsourced to India so it would probably be wise to not be so pompous. The entire system is taking care of people one way or another.

Everyone is a socialist.

Last night I had nothing in particular planned yet my mind cried out "It's Saturday! Don't waste it in front of the computer when you are living in San Francisco!" This cry finally overwhelmed my computer addict defenses and before I knew it I was climbing to the top of Nob Hill. My mind kept pressuring me to come up with some sort of plan and some activity. The feeling was that I should do something which would maximize enjoyment to be had on a Saturday night.

The first instinct is to summon forth the wife and go to a restaurant and then perhaps some drinking establishment. The laughter and raucous emanating from these places entices me to come join the fun but I have been there countless times and the "fun-ness" has suffered serious diminishing returns in the past year. It is further hampered that I deem "fun" less the getting drunk, and more-so the meeting of new people. Yet, people tend to stick to themselves much more than in Saigon therefore I have to put forth more of an effort. By the time I logically worked through this predicament the prospect of going out seemed much less enjoyable and the excitement of exploration won out.

Therefore, I ducked into Grace Cathedral at the top of Nob Hill for a dose of history as well as to quiet the mind a little. The church was very dark so instead of inspecting the murals I sat down and had some quiet time. Quiet time seemed more like a pause in time as very little thinking actually took place. It is almost as if my brain has become incapable of deep thought due to the massive amount of stimulus I receive on a minute by minute basis. If I'm not working through the endless stream of work problems, then I'm seeking entertainment on the internet. If I'm away from my computer I'm entertaining myself with my Iphone. It is the rare occasion when I can just sit and be with my thoughts and not have bright lights and loud noises forcing their way into my cranium.

Having achieved a modicum of peace in a 30 minute span it was time to set out again. As I exited the cathedral I looked to my right at the great Masonic temple across from the church. Very little is actually known about the Masons (and I've read many books) and I wondered how they could draw the funds to finance such a massive structure in the most expensive area of the city. I also wondered about the deep undercurrent and struggles (if any) between the institution of the Church and the Masons. Why were these buildings across from each other and what did that symbolize?

On the high end of the top left of the temple there are four sculptures of clean-cut men which are laid directly into the face of the marble. They wear short polo shirts, pressed pants and have clean, neat haircuts. Three of them are facing the man who is second on the left and is the only one looking straight ahead. Their hands are also curiously set upon their thighs which leaves the lasting question in my mind as to what this might symbolize. Then, in pure Divinci Code style I racked my brains to see if I might be able to determine what the other symbols might mean but came up completely empty. Templars? All seeing Eyes? Archaic national symbols? I came up with nothing.

So, it was down Jones street to one of my favorite lookouts which offers a spectacular view of the city and is not well known. Looking around I found several mansions which must cost millions of dollars and I wondered who actually would live in these places and what would they do? As every inch of San Francisco is covered in development of some sort or other it is not easy to tell that a certain house or another must be a mansion. One has to be specifically looking to spot the larger houses and pay attention to the details. In one house there was a Chinese style gate and up the stairs two great lions on either side. In the middle of the lions was a statue of perhaps a great Chinese emperor or perhaps god? Knowing that I would come to no conclusion I looked down the hill towards North Beach.

North Beach at 5:30pm is brilliant with the neon lights and activity. Yet, from the hilltop it was very peaceful and serene. Watching the patrons (who looked like little ants) go to and fro I settled my gaze upon a small bar called O"Reilly's" which is on Green Street very close to Fugazi Theatre which is the home of Beach Blanket Babylon. I could see the patrons sitting out on the sidewalk tables but my vision was not quite good enough to see them actually drinking. I wondered to myself what their conversations were, where they locals or tourists, or perhaps a few were even on a date? It is an interesting feeling to be looking down upon this revelry and the entire city from the peace and quiet from a small hill park on a Saturday night. The mind again sets off badgering me to make some plans, grab a comrade and go to that bar way down there on Green Street, order a pint and join in the fun.

But no, tonight was for exploration and I negotiated a settlement with the mind that I would go down there to see what was going on but would keep up with the exploration. As I approached the street I could see that a line had formed outside of Fugazi Theatre. These people were going to experience Beach Blanket Babylon perhaps for the first time and it made me glad for them. However, as I had not noticed before I quickly began to think of the deceased as right across the street (on which side I was walking) there is actually a funeral parlor. I saw many Asian families coming out and as I looked in the door I could see the names of the deceased which directed people to the appropriate parlor. Each name was in Chinese which got me to thinking that Asian people often live quite long and these were probably the Grandmothers and Grandfathers of these people streaming out.

However, as I looked to my right side I had come upon O'Reilly's bar. What a contrast to having some people enjoying life very fully on one side of the street while quite another aspect of life (and death) was happening on the opposite side. Where these people who were downing their pints really enjoying life or perhaps diverting their attention from it by drink? Some perhaps, could have been on a date and were at the hight of enjoyment while lubricating their inhibitions and drowning their shyness. On the other hand I supposed there could be quite a few lonely people in there as well who just have a need to be around people and are hoping to meet someone new? Or perhaps there were just groups of friends out on the town trying to have some enjoyment?

I suppose these thoughts do not normally occur when at or near a bar but putting a funeral home on the other side of the street certainly does encourage it as I can attest. As for me, my mind again decided to badger me to go in and enjoy a pint!

"But why would I," I protested, "I'm alone and on a mission of exploration!"

"Perhaps a beer would enhance the exploration," my mind implored!

"But if I did, then I would mostly likely have to pee and I still have some miles to go. Exploration becomes much less fun when the bladder is pushing against my lower innards," I reasoned.

Eventually the thought of having to pee and not being able to won the argument and I continued on the journey.

However, I have been to the North Beach many, many times but this time was determined to discover something new. I first went to Saints Peter and Paul church where there is a nice park in the front. Now, San Francisco is full of interesting and offbeat people, one of which I discovered sitting on a park bench. He had the aura of a Harley enthusiast yet this was complicated by his jean jacket with cut off sleeves but none more-so then the entire back being covered by a portrait of Tinkerbell. Now what would possess a man to wear such a jacket I do not know. Tinkerbell is quite lovely but being a 40 year old man this seems as a logical non-sequitur and my mind could not come to grips with it.

Scanning the grounds I thought to take a seat at a bench but the presence of too many folks that did not seem of right mind, I thought I would have no peace and continued back to Columbus Street. Now I know Columbus Street quite well and have frequented many of the restaurants and watering holes there. This time however, I veered off onto Green Street heading East which is opposite of the formerly mentioned O'Reilly's and funeral home. I had not been back in this area much and it seemed very lively.

At first I came to the Grant and Green bar with open air windows and drunken 20 something guys with backward caps, lowbrow conversation, sports on the t.v. and one young gentleman decided to spring out the open air window. It perhaps was fortunate that it was early in the evening and he was not completely hammered or a sprained ankle could have occurred. I took half a second to scan these groups of guys but did not linger so as not to draw attention. Basically, getting slammed was on the menu as well as conversation which if one lingered too long then brain cells would have been lost. I also noticed a complete absence of women. Some would call this a complete meat market and any lady unfortunate enough to wander in might have more attention then she would like to endure. Now, drinking with the buddies can be quite fun but I've never understood why they would want to spend the entire night this way. Unless of course if they were gay which is not uncommon in San Francisco but the Castro district would surely be more of an appropriate venue. For me, the conversation better be damn interesting of I would lose interest very quickly.

Yet, as I proceeded further I noticed a separate room which had BEER PONG! Now, my interest level had shot up to near boiling but what is it that they were drinking? None of the cups seemed filled to the brim with the sweet yellowish liquid known to the plebites as beer. Again, there was an absence of women but the thrill of Competition,, with the reward of success or even failure resulted in Drinking!! My competitive nature flared up as I was certain I could be king of the beer pong tables as years of darts had honed by accuracy but with only guys to impress the victory would seem empty. Furthermore, if they were drinking straight alcohol then the following Sunday (today) would be rather unpleasant and thus I continued my journey.

I continued down Columbus street and came to "Jazz at Pearls" which is a well known joint and always has a crowd. I glanced inside and saw a table evenly split with two guys and two girls. I thought that these two gentleman certainly knew how to maximize Saturday night enjoyment, had a touch of class and were sure to have a better time than those Neanderthals at the previous bar.

I then crossed the street to have a look at Vesuvio's which is a place we have frequented often. Yet, it contained nothing curious so I continued down Grant street right into the heart of Chinatown. I first came to the Wells Fargo Bank which still had the lights on but the doors locked. Inside were some Asian women who had their desks situated right by the window and were typing away on their keyboards. I thought it might be difficult to get any work done when they are on display right by the window and could be disturbed by the inebriated pouring forth from the previously mentioned bars. My second thought was they should stop working and come out and enjoy the glorious Saturday night which was full of activity all around them! But, not wanting to linger nor disturb them from pressing the keys on their keyboards I continued down the street.

I came to my favorite tea shop and from across the street saw Kenny giving his tea tastings and lessons. Now Kenny does this everyday all day long. He must be a tea master and an encyclopedia of tea. I was certain that his customers were learning something valuable and I had half a mind to drop in and try some tea for myself. Yet, the thought of having to pee and even more-so the caffeine keeping me awake at night determined another tea tasting adventure was not suitable at that point in time.

The final trial came when I passed Li Po bar which is right in the heart of China Town. I had never really thought much about this place as the seediness simply emanates from it and I my presence would simply shout "New Guy - Possible Tourist" for the entire bar to hear. It also looked quite empty which would exacerbate my newcomer aura.

As I reached Bush street which is my home neighborhood it also seemed quite lively but not to the dizzying heights of the North Beach. I almost wished for an instant that I lived in the North Beach but then again such activity must be tiring after a while. So I turned to go up the hill while subtly glancing at the passers by wondering what they might have in store for the evening. As I was halfway up the hill I noticed a 40 something guy with short gray and curly hair. He wore a black leather jacket and seemed well to do enough, but unpretentious. As I am constantly aware of my surroundings I perceived he made a sudden turn into one of the businesses on my left and rang the doorbell. The establishment was none other than a "Massage/Spa/Jacuzzi" place aka brothel. I had never, ever seen a "John" go into one of these places before and felt particularly amused with myself to discover that they - in fact - do exist! It was almost as exciting as if I had discovered a leprechaun or unicorn! I was pretty sure how that guy was going to be spending his Saturday night and thought it wise of him to go early, rather than later in the evening and then rebuked myself for letting such a gross thought enter my mind.

I finally came back to the apartment and as it was still quite early in the night my mind tried to convince me to shine myself up and perhaps go participate in the nightlife. Yet, another side whispered "no, you've done it all before." So in the end I was astonished to hear myself saying in unenthusiastic tones to my wife "You want to go out." Her response was "Now?!!" My sarcastic side perked up its ornery head and I almost replied "No, I mean tomorrow morning at about 8:30am." Yet, wisdom and my gentle nature prevailed and I responded "jya, dou suru?" "Nanimo shinai?"

And in the end "Nanimo shinai" won the evening and I ended up reading "Grimm's Fairy Tales." Who knew that Snow White was actually called Snowdrop and that the prince did not even kiss her! I wonder if snowdrop knows how to play beer pong?

It was a nice Saturday night stroll.

For me, 2009 has been a rather uneventful year even though the media is calling it the worst year of the decade. The economy did not do so well which forced changes in the lives of many. However, my life has changed pretty dramatically throughout the decade so I really do not find 2009 much different from 2008 or even 2007 for that matter.

In reading the news, the main question seems to be "What will 2010 bring?" I much rather prefer to think of it in terms of what I will do and wish to accomplish in the new year much rather than how outside forces will affect me. In other words, I will not let 2010 push me around but instead prefer to have plans in place so I can react as I wish instead of simply accepting what is handed to me.

So what are my plans for 2010? Well, for the first part at least I will simply continue doing what I did in 2009. We'll still be in San Francisco and I'll still be working to drive revenue while assisting my customers with their goals and initiatives. If the economy continues to worsen and cuts at the company were to come I still find myself extremely mobile and able to depart. In this case we would most likely head back to Japan where the economy is no better but I am not afraid of rolling the dice one more time to see what comes of it. Further, I would be much more inclined to settle down there (buy a house) than I would be in extremely expensive San Francisco.

Yet, the probability of this at the moment is very small so the real plan is to just wait and see what cards are dealt and how things progress. In some ways, it is very advantageous to keep mobile but on the other hand I keep getting older and apartment life cannot last forever. For the moment however, it will suffice and we will continue enjoying SF and making new discoveries.

I often wonder about those that really want to forget 2009 and think the change of the year will bring anything different. Sure, 2009 was terrible and the economy affected so many. Yet, it is times like this that the book "Who Moved My Cheese," really becomes important. The trouble seems to be that the cheese is scarce around the country and is no longer just a matter of being able to relocate as it is simply finding the cheese. For many, they really do not want to adapt and prefer to stay in the same place and keep the same lifestyle. I feel lucky that I have experience in disrupting set habits / routines for completely new ones and have no fear of change. I feel that if one is not able to adapt and change their habits then a simple change of year really changes nothing and it is a change in attitude and behaviors that would make one year really different from the next.

It may be that it is simply human behavior to want security and to establish routines. In doing so we know what to expect and do not have to deal with the unknown. I even find myself sometimes fearing a major change and it is in times like these that I know I have to readjust my thinking. One of the main problems is the simulator we use in our heads that is most often never correct. In imagining what a change in location/career might bring, our minds try to play out the scenario and if it would be a good move or not. Yet, I have found that these simulations are almost never correct.

Therefore, when I make a big change I simply have to remind myself to stop thinking about it and just do it. No amount of mental simulation will make the experience better or worse, it will simply unfold as it is supposed to be. Then I find that keeping the right attitude will make the experience positive and positive experiences will automatically manifest themselves. There is really something to be said for mentally determining how we want an experience to be. If we are always thinking negatively then the experience will be negative and the opposite of being positive will actually make the experience positive.

I guess it really gets a bit philosophical in that some experiences can seem really bad but isn't the real determinate in the mind? Would ti be better to control one's own mind instead of letting outside events set the agenda for our own mental state? For me, this is my logic when living in another country and the experience being so profound I really do find that I must make the experience instead of it making me.

So, with 2010 coming in just a few hours I really do not see it as a new time frame that will determine what will happen to me, but instead how I will shape this year according to what I want to achieve instead of the other way around.

At this point I wish I had some profound plan of action but it would seem I do not. The first part of the year is "wait and see," remain mobile, and react to the hand dealt to me.

So, tonight we'll probably just go out to a close corner bar and I'll use my Iphone "Pocket Cocktails" to randomly select a drink or two. We'll say hello to the usual bar fellows and then most likely return home to open up a bottle of St. Francis and watch Netflix while listening to all the drunk people outside.

Goodbye 2009, you were uneventful but stable. 2010, I start dealing with you around the beginning of April once I know your temperament.

This past month I was fortunate enough to be able to visit the cities in Asia and America I call home in rapid succession. My reason for doing so were simply to remember what life is like over in various cities and to think about the future. The one problem with moving from city to city is you always miss the ones you've left and there is always a sort of pull beckoning you to go back. It was this voice that I wanted to quiet a little as well as determine which world would be most suitable for the future.

When one is away from any city for a long time, the image of that city is continually built up in the mind and may make it seem better than it actually is. My mind especially reinforces the good aspects while negating the bad. I had to return to put it all in perspective.

Further, it is the experience one remembers and not the city as it actually is and not all experiences will be the same. However, I also believe that one has the power to physically change any experience simply by choosing how the mind will perceive it. This is why some will have negative experiences while others enjoy the time of their life even though they are experiencing the same city.

I went on my trip as one returning home and not as a tourist. I simply wanted to revisit the places and neighborhoods that were my home at one time.

Therefore, I thought it might be wise to write down my thoughts while they are still fresh and to share my experiences in these vastly different places.

1. Tokyo

- Tokyo is a city that could be described as a futuristic place in the present. It is clean, orderly and crime is almost non-existent. The technology is very advanced and returning to San Francisco, I can't shake the feeling that it seems 10-15 years behind!

My neighborhood in Tokyo runs from Ikebukuro up to Kawagoe and westward along the Yamanote line to Shibuya. It was here that I ate at my favorite restaurants, had coffee in places where I used to study Japanese and had some beers at my favorite hangouts. It seemed as though time had not really changed things and I could easily slip back into that world.

Yet, it would not be the same world if I were to return. I was there as a student and English teacher and did not have to fight the crowded trains day in and day out. My Japanese is good enough to live in that world.

If I were to return I would be faced with the monumental task of improving my Japanese to native level which would take many years and dedicated nightly study. One part of me finds this to be difficult. Yet, whether something is difficult or not simply depends on the mindset when doing it. There will be peaks and valleys but with the right attitude there will be more peaks along the road.

The tougher aspect would be integrating into a mostly Japanese world. Before, I spent a lot of time with foreigners and achieved a very comfortable level of life. Going back I would have to integrate 100% which one can never really achieve since Japan is a homogeneous society and I would always be an outsider. However, with the right attitude one can get very close and become "accepted," even if becoming completely "Japanese" is not possible.

In regards to integration one will have to become part of various groups. These groups are the people you work with, the neighborhood and even society at large. One must then abide by all the rules of these groups which inhibits individualism. Here in the USA we are individualistic and pursue our own goals in which we can sometimes bend rules. It reminds me a bit of the movie "The Matrix" in that Neo has the power to shape his environment as he wants it to be. In Japan there are no bending of rules and the Matrix is as it is with the individual having no power to change it. One must simply keep trying to accomplish what they will in a static fashion and various opportunities are spaced farther in between. One must pursue the aims of the group over the individual.

To put this in greater perspective, I left Japan Airlines (great company) due to my own aims and career goals. In Japan, this would not be a normal thing and much harder to do. In fact would almost seem like a betrayal and perhaps seen as a negative on the resume.

The positive aspect to moving back here is that my faculties would be awash in the culture and language. It would be like a child exploring an entirely new playground even if he knew how to navigate a select few of the obstacles. My Japanese would improve tremendously and I would have to keep myself more alert in order to advance.

Here in San Francisco it seems I rarely need to think at all and could sleepwalk through most days. It is as if the current of life has picked me up to carry me along the way and all I need to do is float. In Japan I would have to tread water pretty quickly at first and watch out for the boulders in the stream to keep advancing.

In short, Tokyo would be a great place to return to but life would take a lot of effort. But again, it is only as difficult as my mind tells me it is and if I regard it as simple and fun then so it would be.

2. Saigon

- The best part about Saigon are the people. I love the Vietnamese and regard them as very warm, kind and full of life. These people have been through so much yet it is very easy to find a smile in this city. Further, the expatriate crowd is extremely interesting as they come from all corners of the globe and usually have interesting stories to tell. I like the fact that I can walk into almost any restaurant/bar, converse in different languages and hear their story. The simple fact that they are in Saigon makes them adventurous and one can easily get a completely different viewpoint of any situation which simply doesn't happen in the USA.

As for the Vietnamese, I don't think I've every really met one that I didn't like. Sure, sometimes there are struggles but I would be hard pressed to think of even one Vietnamese "sourpuss" if you'll pardon the expression. When I encounter the service over there it puts a smile on my face and is very easy to be positive. Here in S.F. it can sometimes be a challenge to remain positive and keep that karma flowing.

Now, please don't misunderstand, there are many great people here in San Francisco but there are also those that are not very happy with their life and it really drives the point home that money does not equal happiness. Even the street vendors offer a great smile in Vietnam where customer service here sometimes gives me the impression that I am bothering the vendor. I may be explaining this point poorly but my point is that it is very easy to be happy in Saigon where in S.F. it sometimes takes a bit of work (especially if you commute).

Yet, Saigon really no longer feels like home and that is due to the rapid changes in the city. Saigon has no recession, buildings are going up left and right and young people are finding plenty of nice office work. There is nothing that brings a bigger smile to my face then watching the young Vietnamese on a company outing with the same color hats and shirts on and their smiles simply beaming!! A beaming smile while working in S.F. is very scarce.

The Vietnamese are enjoying life at the moment and are definitely on the up and up. It is as if you can really see the people for who they are and nothing is hidden. And they are a wonderful people!! In Tokyo, the people are very polite but there is a distance between everyone. This lubricates the society but it takes a very long time to feel close or make good friends. In Vietnam this could be accomplished in seconds.

I have gone astray and must digress a bit to Saigon not feeling like home. The reason is that before, it was still a pretty small city and it seemed as though all the expatriates new each other. We attended the same events, went to the same bars and could theoretically attend every event going on in the city! Further, there were quite a few Vietnamese who also attended these sort of foreigner events and I knew most of them too.

Now, there are foreigners everywhere, many more functions and associations and it is impossible to know everyone. I really became aware of this when I first arrived at the airport. In 2004, I could shoot through immigration in 30 seconds as there were no lines and only about 10 inspectors. Now there are around 40 inspectors and lines!! Further, I could not believe how many foreigners there were!

I was amused at the foreigners in front of me at immigration who were obviously new. The inspector rebuffed them due to some paperwork error and they seemed surprised that they were not being let in. Being haughty to the immigration inspector also does not get you in the country any faster and I was glad to bypass them and be let in immediately.

In town I also realized that a lot of my favorite hangouts were now gone and that there were many new hotspots in town. Dong Koi street is no longer the foreigner hangout it used to be and is now over behind the Sun Wah tower! Going into these places I only recognized between one and three people instead of the usual 10-15 as before. I did feel special as one of the bartenders gave me a free drink and called me "old meat" which meant that I was one of the old crowd returned instead of all the "new meat." My friends which were still there also informed me that even they did not recognize most of the foreigners anymore since there were so many of them.

Finally, an enormous change has been the Viet Kieu which are the returning Vietnamese that left in various waves fleeing the country. They have also changed the face of Saigon and have brought money with them. I was fortunate enough to meet some really great Viet Kieu and none of the bad. The bad ones look upon foreigners as though they don't belong there because it is THEIR country and can sometimes be rude. Fortunately, the ones I met were very outgoing and we had a lot of fun.

This social dynamic is really going to change things and it will be interesting to watch how the Vietnamese adapt to these new returnees especially when they have a lot of money. So many people left and so many are returning that it will have a very big impact. In Japan, there are few that venture outside the country but the ones that do might have trouble re-adapting since they might have a hit of "foreignerness" about them. I don't really want to go into this and mention it just for comparison with Vietnam.

In conclusion for Saigon, I'm very excited that the young people are doing so well and the country is progressing. I do feel a little sad though that the Saigon I knew is gone but I am just one traveler whose time there has passed. This does not mean that I will not be back for visits however and I sincerely hope that I cross paths with Vietnam frequently. Yet, as for living there again it does not seem optimal unless a very large business opportunity were to present itself.

3. San Francisco

- Out of all the cities in the USA (that I have visited) San Francisco is my favorite. The people are not as warm as the Vietnamese and the city is not as advanced as Tokyo but San Francisco is magnificent! The natural beauty and the talent of this city are unsurpassed. The people are also more laid-back then those down in LA except of course during their commute.

I love this city due to it's walkable nature and its compact size. San Francisco can be taken in in its entirety yet there is always something new to discover. Tokyo on the other hand is overwhelming and one can only take one small area at a time which even then can never be fully discovered. San Francisco though is able to be digested in each of its unique neighborhoods over the course of a year or so. Further, the variety is astounding in that one could be snowboarding (Lake Tahoe) in the morning and drinking wine outdoors in 80 degrees (Napa) in the evening.

In regards to entertainment, even the small venues draw extraordinary talent. I used to believe that quality entertainment costs about $100. Yet, I have recently learned that it can be had for $15 and even great wine can be bought for $20.

The downside is that this city costs money. It is an adult playground but in order to play one must pay the fee. Further, it is not very easy to make friends without a lot of effort. In Saigon one makes friends whether they desire to or not. In Tokyo, many people are curious about foreigners and even though it takes a lot of time, with a positive attitude friends will come. Yet, in S.F. it succumbs to the "big city" mentality in that even though people can be friendly, one can only get so close before it becomes uncomfortable. Friends can be made but they must actively be sought out.

This could also simply just be my mindset as there are plenty of young adults around. Yet, I no longer go out to meet people but instead have set plans be it a restaurant or simply staying home and watching Netflix.

San Francisco is a great place to live if one can afford it and does not tire of all the activity. After three and a half years here I still enjoy a modest amount of activity but it is far from the nightly scene of Saigon.

4. Columbus

- My first impression about Columbus was that the people are extraordinarily friendly. I had begun to think that Americans were modestly friendly in comparison to the Vietnamese but that was my mistake and I had become to accustomed to San Francisco.

The atmosphere is much more laid back and I felt very much at peace there compared with the noise and activity of San Francisco. The main activity was going to a Blue Jackets game and talking about Ohio State Football. The politics also seemed much more reasonable and easy going than in S.F. where everything is a constant battle.

It almost seemed as though life was a bit slower and that my town of Grandview was like the fictional town of "Pleasantville." People get along and are friendly but unfortunately Ohio State Football is more of a discussion topic than international affairs. This is not a slam in any way as I love Ohio but I miss listening to viewpoints I had never even fathomed (Saigon) rather than the usual opinions.

In Columbus, it seems to me that one could have all (or most of) the material things they wanted since living expenses are much more reasonable. A decent sized house, two cars, large T.V. and maybe even a pool table. The people are much more welcoming and friendly which really endears me to the Midwestern life style.

Yet, I feel I would miss the excitement of the international scene and any material items would soon become boring. I have always much preferred experiences to material things and I think it is too late to turn back the clock now. Yet, in terms of livability Columbus is very hard to beat in terms of raising a family.

In conclusion, each city offers distinct advantages while others would have to be sacrificed. It is so easy to simply coast along in life and let the current take you where it may. It is quite another deciding to get up out of the stream and place yourself in a completely different one, swimming like crazy until one is coasting again yet trying not to think of the streams they had previously left and if they would lead to a more perfect lake.

Basically it's a bunch of people very upset with Bank of America charging an APR of around 35% on their credit card accounts and they are angry.

This confuses me tremendously.

First, I am no friend of Bank of America but I play by the rules. The reasons I hate Bank of America are:
1. In 2008, every time I went in to deposit my check they hit me up for a credit card. AND every single time I asked them to please stop doing that. Sure enough it never ended. They would look up my account, put a surprised look on their face and say "OH, Mr. Curtin, you are eligible for a credit account with us!"

No matter how many times I denied, they tried to keep selling it to me until I confronted them and the clerk replied with, "Maybe the next time you'll look into the details!"
So badgering me wasn't enough, they had to be rude as well.

2. When activating the debit cards for me and my wife on the phone the automated prompt told me how I should be very afraid of the boogeyman and buy the Theft Identity Protection Service. I pushed the number corresponding to "No." Then the prompt IMPLORED ME TO "NOT LET THE CRIMINALS TAKE AWAY WHAT I HAD WORKED SO HARD FOR."
The prompt was actually begging me to buy a service!!! To say the least this annoyed me. I imagined if this was even real or if I had been transported to absurd land where nothing makes sense and money just flies out of my wallet for services that are unneeded. What I heard was "GIVE US MORE OF YOUR MONEY."

Now for the debtors on YouTube.

Let me understand this properly. You have taken out a loan to buy something with money that is not yours. You are angry because the banks have changed the agreement which in the fine print they are able to take as much as they want from you should you owe a balance.

I understand this makes you very angry but you should have known that in a Capitalist society the point is to make money, not give it away. What they are doing is called "Usury," and has caused all sorts of havoc throughout history. There is nothing in the agreement which talks about "fairness."

There used to be a time when people spent money they had or even saved it. Now the society has become about spending everything and when that isn't enough, people are borrowing to spend. The problem is society keeps telling us to spend and unconsciously we trust the system, the sales pitches and agree that everything is a "good deal." We learned to trust the system and bought everything.

It is now time to start using our heads. The first thing to do is to stop spending. Money going into the wallet = good, money going out of the wallet = bad and if this is not the case it is time to quit that game. Start playing the game when your assets go up, your liabilities go down. Society tells us we need this and need that. We do not need any of that junk.

Should borrowing be absolutely needed, credit cards are the WORST way to do it unless you know how to play the game to win. I pay with my Amex for most things then pay off the entire amount every month. To the credit card companies, I'm known as a dead beat, the worst type of customer because they do not make any money off me. Actually, they pay me money with the cash back program!

The reason cash back is successful is they know people will not control their spending, get into debt and then have to pay the interest on the loan. They are using human greed to make a profit. It's time to play the game differently. Spend only what you have, pay by credit card, and let the company pay you.

Therefore, the companies can charge me an APR of 10 billion percent if they want. I don't care because they won't ever make any money off of me. As for BofA, I lend them money in terms of a CD and now can make money off of them!

I often hear that people have to pay a lot of bills and that is the reason for not having any money. But what is a bill? It doesn't just magically appear for no reason! It is a request for payment for some service or good. The trick is to ask ourselves if we really need that service or good, could we get it cheaper or perhaps just do without it completely.

Coming back to America I found that there is intense pressure to continually spend and fees for everything. It was almost too easy to spend money. However, the country I was coming from was Vietnam and those folks know how to save! In fact, a good part of the population do not even use banks! Therefore, if the bank told me there was a fee for this and a fee for that I looked at them like they had three heads. Then they kept telling me about services that magically appeared out of nowhere and gave me no tangible benefit. As for Identity Theft, my logic was if you lose my money that is your problem not mine. What I am hearing is that it is safer to keep my money under my mattress at home?

When I replied with keeping money under my mattress the clerk got a deer in the headlights look and wasn't sure how to respond. I do take reasonable care as well to check my balance, guard my cards as though they were gold bars and make sure nobody suspicious is around me when I'm at the ATM.

In my opinion, we should take care of ourselves and not trust the system to do it for us. That is why people who borrow money then get upset over the terms make no sense to me.

I do not get my news from Fox, CNN, conservative radio, nor any blatantly "liberal" outlets that I know of. Google aggregates everything and I suppose the NYT or WSJ might be a little left? The Economist is even a little left on social issues but it's no where near the bias from the conservative outlets. I actually do listen to Rush from time to time just to get my circulation going but this isn't about how biased the news outlets are.

Where I am going is that I make my decisions from a variety of sources and it would seem to me, through my own lens the following:

1. Healthcare
- I don't believe that either side willingly wants to deny people without healthcare (46.6 million) even though it would sometimes seem that way. On one side it appears the Democrats cannot reassure people that the system would not go broke while on the far right people do not care about the uninsured. Just calling them uninsured seems a little crass, let's call them "other human beings."

People are saying they don't want "socialism" or that we would "be like Canada!" I highly doubt these people actually know what socialism is or have even been to Canada. It would do well to use a better argument and for the former argument one could reply by asking "What is Socialism?" I know the response will be unsatisfactory to say the least.

After reading today's news it seems that there are two sticking points which are "the Public Option," and "Illegal Immigrants."

Concerning the public option people are afraid the government would have too much control and private insurers would go bust. This is a fair argument. However, something must be done as costs in this country are entirely too high and the drug and insurance companies make billions. People are going to the emergency rooms anyway so there has to be a fix one way or another. Why is it we are required to have auto insurance but not health insurance? Seems a little fishy and like unfair politics due to large corporation influence to me.

Morally, everyone should have healthcare and those that can, should help out others in need. This is a very important tenant in the Bible (and central to most religions) and it amazes me that those who are against universal healthcare seem to ignore. It would seem that the logic is to help as long as I'm not the one that has to do it. Or rather, helping others is a wonderful idea and we fully support it until someone (that someone being the government) asks us to. Or perhaps, I'll help when I want (which is usually never), just don't force me to do it.

I personally do not like being forced by the government on anything so I really do understand the point here. But at the same time it is disappointing that the "religious right" doesn't seem to give a rats about the down and out either. I guess I just do not like being stuck in the position where I have to choose to either give more power to the government or look the other way on human beings in need. If I have to choose it would be to trust the government (never good) and should they do not do a stellar job (unlikely) switch parties promptly.

From everything I've read however, I just cannot subscribe to the policy of "no" when so many people need assistance and would rather have less money due to helping others out even if the manager of it (government) is a bumbling fool. Until the right can come up with a plan where everyone is insured (which they haven't) I'm definitely on the left on this issue.

The second issue is if the public option would cover illegal immigrants. The right does have a point in that we as a nation do not want to cover anyone who may come here seeking health care which is understandable. The policy could not be sustained.

However, it still leaves me feeling a little uneasy and selfish. There are millions of Mexicans here working "jobs Americans do not want to do" which were fueling our economy and making it so Americans could pay others less, get richer and not give a crap for the welfare of these workers. When times get tough, those that came to work are left high and dry. This seems reprehensible to me.

When we look at the big picture it would seem that they are here only so long as Americans get rich off of their labor and the economy is going well but should we have to pay back America becomes irate. Again, this does not sit well with me. I've heard the phrase that people who come here should want to be American which is false. Many people the world over prefer to live elsewhere while retaining their own nationality. There is nothing wrong with this. The mentality here seems to be that everyone in the world should want to be American and Americans cannot understand if someone would like to work here but not take on nationality!! Would logic not follow, that if we wanted to go live in China they we should want to be Chinese? That makes no sense to the American mind, it only works the other way.

Further, one aspect the right has not thought of is that they should NOT want more checks by the government! To solve this situation, we should all be issued governmental identity cards which state our nationality, driving status, if we've payed our taxes or not, and for good measure, let's throw in our health status and any genetic defects as well. This would solve all the issues in one big sweep! Illegals would not be covered, the insurance companies could choose weather or not to insure us because we might be defective, and to be sure we are playing fair, our taxes to see how much we should get out of the system by how much we have put in!

But, of course we don't want that. I enjoy finding loopholes internationally which allow me to work, skip some rules and so on. Less control is better people, be careful what you wish for!

2. Joe Wilson
It is absolutely ok to disagree with the president but NOT like he has done in a formal setting. Do not disrespect any president from either side in that manner. If that was allowed to slide then those formal meetings would turn into a circus and shame us all. Might as well give the audience rotten tomatoes and other vegetables to throw.

I think both sides agree he made a big mistake. He has apologized and the government should decide whether or not to give him a formal censure or drop it. The Dems in asking for another apology after he has already are incorrect. Personally, I'm on the side of a formal punishment then letting the matter drop. Just decide one way or another and move along.

3. 9/11

We marked the 9/11 anniversary last week which was one of the worst days in the history of the United States. The news was filled with ceremonies of remembrance and patriotism. It leaves me asking the question however, what in the world would make any human being do such a thing and wish the media would spend more time on this.

It is true that any superpower in looking after their own interests are going to make plenty of people angry around the world. This is what superpowers do. This also opens up America to attack which it should guard itself against. However, what precipitated this attack in the first place?

This issue is so sensitive, I really do not want to touch it with a ten foot pole. But I think it would do well for the American people to become more informed about what their country does around the world and to have more debate about it.

It seems on the far right that America is just in their foreign policy 100% of the time. For anyone who has spent any time abroad they will quickly realize that is not the case. People should not be left in the dark about this. To say anything against American foreign policy would be met with a serious barrage of hate. (on both sides) It's almost like living in a communist country in that we cannot discuss such things except it's the people discouraging dissent instead of the government. The issue that is forbidden, is how could have America made people angry enough to get on a plane and kill so many innocent people. The easy answer is they are crazy terrorists and that could very well be true. I want more information though in how they became so "fundamentalist" and why they direct their anger at us. There are plenty of other targets to attack, why did they choose America and why the World Trade Centers? Further, "they do not like our freedoms" is not a good enough answer. The real answers are not suitable for public debate really and the best answers I've heard came from government officials from both the USA and various other countries when I lived in Vietnam in informal settings. For real insight, you should have a talk with those guys, it will knock your socks off.

As for security, the intelligence community has done a stellar job in stopping further attacks. There has been some debate between Cheney and the government on if America is more secure or not. If I was in the intelligence community, I would want everyone to be required to take a security clearance (Americans and foreigners) which determines your psychological profile and will issue a clear pass or not. Foreigners would all have to wear ankle bracelets and log exactly where they are going and what they will be doing with more enforcement for those of certain countries than others.

Of course this is ridiculous but just shows the balance needed to keep America 100% safe or not. How much control do you want the government to have? It does not make sense for the right to encourage more surveillance but less government control? Or perhaps it is only more government control is allowable when the president is Republican? I prefer less control, more safety and I don't care which side makes it happen.

Final thoughts

When living abroad there were certain issues it was better not to mention and sweep under the rug. Returning to America I've found there are certain issues it is better not to mention and sweep under the rug.

For real answers, do not watch or listen to the media. Make friends with consular officials and chat with them in an informal setting. Real answers come out but one must speak with 3 or 4 of them preferably from countries that are not seeing eye to eye and a clearer picture becomes available. The level of debate being played out in the media is appalling.

---END POST-----

One final question remains however after my "official post" however.
What exactly hit the Pentagon?
I came back to America well after these attacks and although I saw the planes hit the World Trade Center there hasn't been even one picture or video showing a plane, wreckage or anything at the Pentagon site.
I don't believe one way or another at the moment but in some countries I have lived in/visited there is an official story which everyone knows is not correct but you just go along with it because that is how things are.
If I look up this question on Google, all I see are the conspiracy theory pages. Does anyone have any links to pages that show otherwise?
My feeling is that something hit the Pentagon, the Government tells us it's a plane, there are no pictures or video showing a plane, but the country accepts the story and moves on. All the documentaries and websites could be classified as crazy conspiracy theorists, but the question remains?

1. Wall Street Journal - How Facebook can Ruin Your Friendships
2. CNN - 12 Most Annoying Types of Facebookers

This post is to combat this "Facebook Snobbery."

The great thing about Facebook is it has the ability to bring every single close friend / acquaintance / person you met once together in one place. Secondly, the update status feature gives you a window into their lives and from each post the window opens another inch. From the simple question "What's on your mind?" we learn more about the daily trials our friends face and helps us get to know them without the screen that usually impedes our face to face interactions.

With this technology, we are less hesitant to post what we really think as our minds are not trying to identify with any discriminating person but just a blank screen staring back at us. There are no reactions to what we say, it just takes the information, posts it and then returns to the original screen should you wish to add further information. In a way it is quite liberating!

However, the WSJ article says it can destroy friendships. This begs the question, just how solid are those friendships? It is human nature to want to "fit in" with whatever crowd we happen to be interacting with. Thus we try to conform our thoughts and words to that of the group and not stand out. In doing so, are we really being honest with the group and ourselves? The computer doesn't care one way or another.

Let's break down the article so we can get to the point.

1.) "we're breaking a cardinal rule of companionship: Thou Shalt Not Bore Thy Friends."

- The status update box says "What's on your mind?" NOT "Please post something entertaining you think your friends might want to read." A "companion" likes you for who you are. Friendship does not entail endlessly trying to entertain the other person!

2.) "He's particularly annoyed by a friend who works at an auto dealership who tweets every time he sells a car, a married couple who bicker on Facebook's public walls and another couple so "mooshy-gooshy" they sit in the same room of their house posting love messages to each other for all to see. "Why is your life so frickin' important and entertaining that we need to know?" Mr. Brown says."

- Mr. Brown sounds like a grump. I don't think I would like to be friends with Mr. Brown.

3. "My question is this: If we didn't call each other on the phone every time we ate before, why do we need the alerts now?"

- Because it's easier, it's "what's on my mind" and is a valid status update! I'm interested in what types of foods my friends eat and each small detail let's me know exactly what their life is like. Besides, who uses the phone anymore, a phone call is a huge commitment! How old are u lady, 62?

4. still puzzling over an old friend--"a particularly masculine-type dude"--who plays in a heavy-metal band and heads a motorcycle club yet posts videos on Facebook of "uber cute" kittens. "It's not fodder for your real-life conversation," Mr. Gilbert says. "We're not going to get together and talk about how cute kittens are."

- Perhaps you are just not a good friend Mr. Gilbert? Perhaps this masculine-type dude feels he has to put on a tough guy show for you every time you meet. Perhaps you are too insensitive to realize this guy WOULD like to talk about cute kittens and you're too dense to realize it. Besides, who doesn't like cute kittens??? If you're not man enough to talk about kittens then maybe you need more self esteem? Wouldn't learning more about your friend and having him be honest would you strengthen your friendship?

5. James Hills discovered that a colleague is gay via Facebook, but he says that didn't bother him. It was after his friend joined groups that cater to hairy men, such as "Furball NYC," that he was left feeling awkward. "This is something I just didn't need to know," says Mr. Hills

- So it's better to hide and conceal who they really are so you feel more comfortable? Their life isn't about making you feel more comfortable Mr. Hills. If you were a true friend you would accept them for who they are.

6. And then there's jealousy. In all that information you're posting about your life--your vacation, your kids, your promotions at work, even that margarita you just drank--someone is bound to find something to envy.

- So now we have to consider if someone will feel insecure or not? We should be happy that our friends are enjoying themselves!

It is my opinion that the above examples all come back to something that is wrong in our society. It is a "me, me, me" culture in that everyone should conform to please me! The great thing about Facebook is it is a collection of friends who are being themselves and not necessarily trying to please everyone else. We get to hear their honest opinions and break down barriers that would otherwise impede face to face interactions.

America has always had a bit of a formal culture as opposed to the more carefree cultures you find in warmer climates. In the 50s' even a husband and wife barely new each other it was so formal! We have a culture that implores to please keep your opinions to yourself unless the other agrees with what you are saying. However, Facebook is changing all that. People are taking the suggestion and posting "What's on your mind?" with less worry about pleasing everyone else.

Now on to the CNN Article. If this journalist was my friend I would immediately have to de-friend as the guy obviously cannot be pleased.

1. The Let-Me-Tell-You-Every-Detail-of-My-Day Bore. "I'm waking up."

- Normal people lead normal lives. Who are you, Indiana Jones? If everything posted was super exciting then we would be breaking the "do not make people jealous" rule from the WSJ lady.

2. The Self-Promoter

- So? I'm interested in the achievements of my friends. Maybe the journalist is just jealous? Besides, I like to know what I am missing!

3. The Friend-Padder

- Some are more social than others and FB is a great way to keep in touch with everyone. It is up to the account holder to decide how many friends he/she wants to have. I suspect the journalist has only about 10 friends. Sad

4. The Town Crier. "Michael Jackson is dead!!!"

- This is great! I learn about news more quickly from my friends and it is like having an army of news gatherers. They are often faster then major news sites!

5. The TMIer. "Brad is heading to Walgreens to buy something for these pesky hemorrhoids."

- Ya, sometimes TMI is bad but my friends are human and should I ever have hemorrhoids I'll know who to ask about it.

6. The Bad Grammarian. "So sad about Fara Fauset but Im so gladd its friday yippe".

- Actually, this bothered me for a while but I'm over it. Besides, when you update by phone it's easy to do, so quit beng so anal!

7. The Sympathy-Baiter. "Barbara is feeling sad today."

- Not everyone can be super happy everyday and the great thing about friends is they give support. People are being honest!

8. The Lurker. The Peeping Toms of Facebook, these voyeurs are too cautious, or maybe too lazy, to update their status or write on your wall. But once in a while, you'll be talking to them and they'll mention something you posted, so you know they're on your page, hiding in the shadows. It's just a little creepy.

- Guilty! Lolz. This one is harmless. The status updates keep coming nonstop and it's hard to respond and get back to everyone. This doesn't mean we are not paying attention!

9. The Crank. These curmudgeons, like the trolls who spew hate in blog comments, never met something they couldn't complain about.

- Ok, I agree with this one. Some people just complain too much. But we can't ship all the Republicans to Guam now can we! That would be mean.

10. The Paparazzo. Ever visit your Facebook page and discover that someone's posted a photo of you from last weekend's party

- Ya, this one can be dangerous. That's why I now only get drunk in my apartment while under the covers.

11. The Obscurist. "If not now then when?"

- I enjoy these ones because it gets me thinking. What could they be talking about??!! I don't know the what, so I'm not sure about the when but you've got me excited!! I like to post a random time and date to these. "Next Saturday at 12:30, meet me at the train tracks."

12. The Chronic Inviter. "Support my cause. Sign my petition. Play Mafia Wars with me.

- Solution: Hide button. I hid the farm application... er,, wait, no I didn't. Friends, I'm so sorry you found a black sheep on your farm!! What do you need me to do? Can I help??

So, to all my friends on FB, please keep posting everything and anything that is on your mind! If you just ate a burrito or are about to cross the Sahara while trying to evade the gypsies I appreciate the info!

I guess I really do know where the last 8 years went and am now contemplating where the future lies. The problem is that it's very easy to settle into a life of familiarity and comfort whilst very difficult to break out of it and take the plunge into the unknown once more. Further, time continues on, we get older and are expected to "settle." This settling part unnerves me but remains influential in my thinking. The trick is to go about it both ways, take a risk and try to keep both. This gets more difficult as we go up the career ladder and become afraid of losing what we already have.

Further, it is important to realize that life is happening right now and to relish the current experiences instead of grasping or continually waiting for the future which ironically always seems to remain in the future and never in the present.

Why do I even think these things? The reason is the different types of environments I've lived in are like completely different worlds. There was the Ohio life, the Japan life, the Vietnam life and now the San Francisco life. Each one has its ups and downs but all very unique and it is hard to convince my brain to stop comparing all of there will never be a "best one." Although each experience has been wonderful, I continually reminisce on my previous experiences.

A further shock to the system comes when I realize I am 32 years old. I do not work with younger people but through the internet it is very easy to see how much time has passed and that I do not identify with new internet trends as easily as I used to. I do not see much value in Twitter although I love Facebook. I am aghast at the profanity and porno in posts on the internet and movies. I realize I HATE current pop music and prefer listening to Classical and music from Asia. I feel that I have spent so much time figuring things out, when I return to what I thought I knew it has changed so much since I last focused on it. If I had my way, I think I would have preferred to stop aging at exactly 30 years old.

Yet, when I was 21 I thought I was old. Then heaven forbid I was 24. Then the unthinkable 30!! And time refuses to stop for me.

Further, all this focus on business has distracted me from my true passion which is language and culture. My Kanji understanding has gone way downhill and I have not made any progress in Japanese although the level really hasn't deteriorated. The feeling remains that I should be employing more energy into these subjects yet it's hard to find the motivation when not in the environment.

The business life has been a learning process in its own right but I really cannot identify with it's central theme which is simply to "sell more." We sell a lot, then are expected to sell even more, and then even more the following year. I cannot dispense with the thought that enough will be enough someday. The numbers must continually go up or the system doesn't work. I've had the same thought about "lawmakers" in that "don't we have enough laws already?" Isn't it hard enough to keep track of all the laws we've already made instead of continually adding to them? Are we stuck in a system that laws must be made so lawmakers can keep their jobs? Can they make a law that says laws must continually be made?

In terms of economics doesn't it hold true that we must continually make and consume more and more products? Can the system ever go in reverse? Or will we just keep making and consuming until the raw materials completely run out?

Concerning religion, why is it that in an advanced and educated society people still cling to old rituals and superstitions? Why can't their ideas change when science proves the opposite? Or could it be that we all just need to believe in something greater when we realize that there is more to life then simply consuming products. We're not really sure what is going on so we join a large established religion to provide some direction even if we do not sincerely believe in all the tenants due to science proving otherwise?

If God is all powerful, all knowing and the various prophets are the messengers of God why have various religions gotten it so wrong? Why didn't God just tell us the world was round? Why do people kill others in the name of God? Could it be that it's all nonsense? And is there even a God? And why does the story change as one reads more into it and becomes more sophisticated in the teachings?

Why is it that the more I learn, the more unsure I become? And why is it that the people with the least knowledge are so sure of everything?

I have no idea

Now, when I read my news in the morning it is a word tied to something real in that it is causing people to yell in these so called "town hall" meetings. I used to skip any article with the world healthcare in it as again my mind relegated it to the boring category but no longer. Instead, it is now relegated to my ongoing American culture shock category which I thought had finally subsided but apparently resurges with vigor when least expected.

I suppose it would do well to get my small rant out of the way before I start on healthcare. My main problem is not about the merits of individual healthcare plans but actually is a bit of culture shock in how people are going about it. In every news article it would seem that people are YELLING to get their views across. Further, their sentences begin with "I want" or "I don't want." Perhaps it is the Japanese influence in me that YELLS OUT (pun intended) "What arrogance, what selfishness!" Again, the American public is not public at all but instead a large grouping of individuals that all want something and believe they should all be mollified because their wants and desires are more important than anything else. They have been raised to think they deserve and expect anything and everything that their mind tells them they want.

Every sentence starts with "I."
- I want
- I think
- I believe
- I need

AND IT NEVER ENDS!!!! " I WANT (AD INFINITUM!!!!)

This really makes the Japanese portion of my brain really ashamed of my culture. It's all ME ME ME instead of the simple and harmonious "We."

In the Japanese culture the desires of the group trumps the desires of the individual. In greater Asian culture it is better to have a harmonious society and to run around yelling "I want" is reserved for the spoiled 2 year old. Therefore, when my Japanese side gets the better of me, these people yelling about healthcare are seen to be acting as children expecting everyone to jump, should they yell and scream. Throw a tantrum why don't you!

Secondly, they YELL when saying they want or don't want something like the spoiled child. Perhaps we should examine what they expect to gain by yelling. The logic (of the spoiled 2 year old) is that should I raise my voice it expresses that I really feel strongly about the "want, not want" and seeing as I'm so important and the world revolves around me everyone should stop what they are doing and come pacify me because my feelings are the most important thing in the universe.

Unfortunately, as a strategy, I cannot recall even one instance when yelling helped me win and argument in ANYTHING! It actually serves no purpose and only shows that I am not in control of my emotions. This is something expected from children but not from grown adults! As I have posted before, when I was a child I really respected adults on the simple reason that they were older and were supposed to be wise. I cannot tell you how disappointed it makes me to see so many adults running around like spoiled 2 year old children who cannot control their emotions, WANT everything and not be able to control their feelings.

END RANT

As for Healthcare, I did discover a few articles that calmly point out the facts and do not try to hype up every single detail, get people in a tizzy á la Fox News, and tell outright lies such as the so called "Death Panel" such as Sara Palin.

It would seem that most people believe that everyone should have access to Healthcare but differ on how to go about it. The main points against the public option are that we do not have a way to pay for it and many people dislike big government which is fair enough.

So instead of debating the issue point by point I'll simply relate my own experience to American Healthcare which has been very poor at best. Let's start in Vietnam.

In Vietnam I had no healthcare. When I got sick and by sick I mean bugs that do not go away without my friend Cipro and a white chalky substance to drive out the worms, I would simply go to the doctor, pay out of pocket which was about $50 and be done with it. The only time a healthcare plan was needed was if you fell off your motorbike, smashed your head and had to be helicoptered to Bangkok. That ordeal would run about $120,000 and thus you would be in serious trouble if you did not have insurance. Everything else could be covered at a reasonable price.

Then I come back to America, enroll in the employer healthcare and am presented with a large volume of options, plans and so on which caused me much distress on being very hard to understand. To drive the point home, I spent the last 10 years studying languages and here is something I could not really grasp in my own native language!!!

In-Network, out of network, co-pay, deductable, tax-free health savings plans, and notes to refer to some other page to determine exact coverage which would then in turn direct me to yet another page and so on. I still have a very faint idea as to what is covered, how much I actually have to pay and the benefit of them taking money out of my paycheck vs. how much I would have to pay if "something goes wrong." The old scare tactic is loved here in America.

Returning to America was the first time I actually had to think about doctors and healthcare. In Ohio, we always had the family doctor, what he said goes and trust was no issue. Now that I had to do it alone, I just chose one closest to me. My first experience at the doctors here in San Francisco was not much fun. I needed a doctors note for work because I had the flu for three days, missed work and a note was required. The doctor listens to my heart, checks weight and blah blah blah then charges me $150 and tells me to come back for the results and then charges another $150!!!!! WTF!!!! No wonder healthcare causes so much consternation,, it's DAMN expensive in this country!!! The quality also sucked so I don't see how American healthcare is so much better for normal sicknesses. They do have sweet machines and great doctors should I need a heart transplant or something like that but for common problems the quality is on par with poor countries.

It is now time for a physical and to be honest I'm almost scared to go. I read the manual and it appears my insurance covers it but I almost expect a call from the insurance company telling me something about my doctor not being "in-network" or something or other isn't covered and other nonsense. Besides, every other physical has gone something like this, "You're fine, please pay $200 and come back tomorrow so you can pay another $200.

Honestly, I hate hospitals and doctors offices because they creep me out. Further, should I get sick, my Campbell's Chicken Noodle has always been a good cure. In fact, I do get the flu on a yearly basis but have never felt the need to go see a doctor about it. Other than that, I do not get sick!!!

Yet, being back here in America and after reading the news it would seem that it is a nation of sickly people who are all on medication for every conceivable ailment or not. They take drugs for every single human feeling and the advertisements for drugs show happy people running in the surf and sh*t. (sorry for the vulgarity but had to be expressed that way.) It would seem the entire nation is on drugs.

So my advice is to quit getting sick and only opt for a light emergency healthcare plan. End of story. The doctor is not like your barber and you only need to see him every 1 to 2 years at most. Go to the gym and quit eating hamburgers and doughnuts. Well, you don't have to quit completely as I like pizza and beer but get to the gym and sweat it out the next day.

But alas, here we are, a bunch of sickly people acting like 2 year olds, yelling and saying they don't want the USA to turn into Russia and are mad about "Death Panels," which do not exist. To be fair, this is not a liberal/conservative thing really. I would imagine most sensible conservatives are more concerned about money/big government even though it is tempting to paint them as uncaring, Jesus-freaks driving around in SUVs and carrying guns. But that I will not do. I will not call them "knuckle-draggers" either. This criticism is only in regards to those yelling at "town hall" meetings.

Therefore, to those that are sick and need help, I will be happy to lend you a hand in the form of taxes. BUT please do not go too often, get to the gym and quit eating doughnuts. To those that are sick and do not need help nor want to extend it to others, I hope you give yourselves and aneurysm by all your yelling, die and get out of the gene pool.

The easy part was, most people had the same opinions. I was in Business school at Ohio State so of course just about all the opinions were conservative. Growing up in a Catholic environment, just about all the opinions were conservative there as well. I actually had no access to the other point of view until I took some liberal arts classes at OSU and it was so easy to discount those views given the 20 years indoctrination on the conservative side. Nowdays, the words Liberal and Conservative are both toxic to the other side so I'm trying to write carefully as most readers will just be looking for which points I make that agree with their side and probably become angry should I make points that agree with the other side.

During my college years not many people of my age group actually cared about politics. When asked if they supported Bush or Gore it was a given they would support one or the other depending on their course of study. If you're in Business you supported Bush, whereas if you were in Liberal Arts you supported Gore.

Then I left the country for five years and was astounded at what I returned to. Bush had started two wars, had trouble making sense in public and the left was really hounding the President. It seemed that everyone had taken sides and everyone had an entrenched opinion. The media seemed pretty much like a tabloid and there were these blondes with big boobs wearing large crosses around their neck as well as something called "Evangelicals" bashing the Left. And I wondered what the hell happened while I was gone. These "conservatives" were really angry at "the mainstream" media which they considered biased so Fox news along with others counteracted and started their own T.V. shows which were extremely biased on the Conservative side. No matter what the other side did there were hundreds of talking heads criticizing every single step.

Further, both sides tried to identify with something called "ordinary Americans" and said the other side was "out of touch." By 2008 Bush had really plunged America's reputation into the toilet and most people thought "America was on the wrong track." Hence a very skilled orator comes along named Obama and wins the election!

Now, the conservative side becomes really angry at losing most of their moderate base and what we are left with is the "extreme right" which is spouting venom at every single thing the president does. In the past week they have called the President a "racist" and even question his legitimacy as President and are saying he was actually born in Kenya! I remember the left treating Bush pretty bad but I do not recall them calling him something as bad as a "racist." It seems that what is left of the Conservative base is really upset and for them Obama will never be able to do anything right.

So now we have these T.V. large personalities on the right such as Limbaugh and Beck who are very good at making every issue seem very simple in which their opinion is "the left is always wrong." This works very well since most issues are very complicated and they have a great market in making everything seem simple for the left over, hard-core Conservatives. Beck doesn't even try anymore to take a serious tone but instead gets all excited, starts jumping around and even makes sound effects!!

At this point in my post, most Conservatives are probably steaming mad. And this is the fun point where I change direction. The Liberals are spending tax money like crazy people. For a hard core and determined Capitalist, all this spending must seem like a nightmare. Our financial system acted extremely recklessly but did what they do best which was help consumers spend more money then they actually had! Can't blame the system for wanting higher profits as that is what the Capitalist system is all about and there is nothing wrong with that. However, all this excess eventually comes crashing down and people realize that spending more then they earn cannot continue forever. The financial system realizes that if people cannot pay back what they owe then they cannot pay their own bills either and everything comes to a halt.

Then we have citizens losing their jobs, houses and crying to their elected politicians to do something about it! If the politicians want to keep their jobs they better do something and quickly. So they spend gobs of money which makes any fiscally responsible person vomit. Besides those that are not in favor of all this spending are probably in a stable fiscal position and don't care about everyone else that "spent too much." It seems like perfect justice! However, this is all over simplified and we have "ordinary Americans" who did not spend too much and are still losing their jobs, pensions and so on.

Yet, this makes an easy target for the Limbaughs and Becks of the world who see a very easy way to pander to the group that is very upset about all this. And it doesn't stop with financials but spreads to just about everything the current President is doing. It would be best to have a Conservative viewpoint that does not pander to a small hard-core group but I doubt this person would get many viewers. It's much more entertaining to take one side or the other to the extreme and create anger or "a crisis." Pandering to emotions creates viewership whereas rational minded debate does not. It is no longer news but "entertainment" and as the name implies entertains the viewers instead of a long and boring serious debate.

The right has done a much better job of capitalizing on this then the left has. I can name several hotheads on the right than I can on the left. So in the interest of moderation I'll actually point out a few of my own political views which will either be agreed with silently by a slight majority or hounded upon by those slightly to the left or right.

1. Abortion (might as well start with a hot one)
Political stance: Neutral
- For the right it's murder and for the left it's for the women letting her do what she wants with her own body. I've read a lot on the topic and came to this conclusion. To kill a fetus is still killing but the state should not dictate what a woman can or cannot do with her body. So in effect, the woman should be able to choose weather or not she wants to kill that baby developing. Neither side will like that outcome.

2. Healthcare
Political Stance: Slightly Left
For the right, they all have it and don't want to pay for those (lazy in their opinion) people who don't have it. For the left, there are so many poor out there and it's obscene that in a developed society we let people suffer without it and that will clog the emergency rooms anyway.
It costs a hell of a lot to finance and might even come close to breaking the bank. Yet, most other developed countries do have it even though it might not be as good. Healthcare costs so much that you better not have any serious injuries if you don't have insurance or your in serious trouble.
Even though I have insurance I think that as a developed and good nation we need to help those that need it even if it makes them get off the couch and get a job with some insurance. One poke at the Right is that Jesus (and other religious leaders) tried to teach us to love each other and help others. The Right is just mad because it seems those that don't have insurance are not doing enough to help themselves.

3. Obama vs. Bush
Political Stance: Left
- Obama is smarter than Bush. Bush was not a very good President but in a hedge to Conservatives Reagan was pretty good! Obama has been very masterful in the way he has dealt with so many massive problems at once. I don't think any other leader could handle these terribly difficult issues as skillfully as he has.

4. Bailouts
Political Stance: Conservative
- Let it all crash. Things would go to complete hell but would recover more quickly. However, this would involve letting a lot of people suffer for a long time. What we need is light regulation and more a more responsible financial system. Yet that is laughable as "responsible" is just a word and the business of business is to make money. So, light but firm regulation is necessary but let people make money. America is Capitalist and is not in the business of being "fair." The smart people win and that's that. If you don't like it move to another country. And for the left, I do plan on moving to another country. :) Capitalism isn't fair at all so let's either be Socialist and be done with it or let the Capitalists make their money.

5. Talking heads
Political Stance: Neutral
- Shut up. You are doing nothing but making everyone dumber with simplified arguments which equals dumb talk. One word to describe what they are doing is "Demagogy."

6. Wars
Political Stance: Way Left
- Protecting freedoms etc is nonsense. Let other countries alone. America used to be this way but ever since the World Wars America has been crusading all over the place. I don't even feel like getting into it but unless one has actually traveled, understands other cultures and speaks another language you cannot understand other points of view.

7. Socially
Political Stance: Way Left
- If it were up to some, we would still be stuck in the Middle Ages. It's very difficult to have an open mind and most people have never EVER changed their opinion on important issues. I've changed mine several times depending on better arguments. Unfortunately, the arguments today are trite and just a lot of words without any depth.

There are others I could go on but am spent for now. If I was asked if I "like politics" I would say that I do but only when debating with intelligent people. Intelligent people for me are those than are able to change their opinion and carefully weigh the arguments. In fact, these people see good and bad to both sides and express it! Unfortunately that is not the case now.

One of these moments happened to me this morning of May 8th at around 8:30am. It was actually suggested by a real police officer, during a real traffic stop that I may have "the Greatest Criminal Mind Ever." Without further delay, the events unfolded as such.

I had only been in my car for five minutes and was driving through the unsightly Tenderloin neighborhood going to my first customer. I was following a rather wide shuttle bus that slowed and pulled over to the side of the road. I started to go around when I saw a police officer directly in front of me telling me to stop and pull over. The officer then proceeded to pull the next 10 drivers behind me over as well.

I thought that perhaps there had been an incident up ahead or perhaps some sort of protest. When another driver asked why we had been pulled over he told us that we had all failed to stop for the small school bus on the corner which had its stop sign out.

Now, in the Tenderloin I am extremely cautious because people will walk out in the street in front of you and one has to be careful. However, I have no recollection of any school bus but sure enough there did happen to be one behind me on the corner. Therefore, I'm thinking I'm dead in the water I'm definitely going to receive a ticket.

As the officer had stopped at least 15 cars, the traffic was quite backed up. After about ten minutes of waiting he comes to my window and asks for my drivers license. I pull out my wallet only to discover I do not seem to have my drivers license. I search pretty thoroughly only to confirm this fact. The officer only waits about 5 seconds, tells me to keep looking and goes on to the other vehicles.

At this point, I am a bit confused since in my three years of living here:
1. I have never been pulled over
2. I have had my drivers license every single day

Therefore, it seems to make no sense that on the one time I get pulled over my license just happens to not be in my wallet. Suspicious indeed............

Now, there are about 5 other policemen taking care of the situation yet in no rush what so ever. So I decide to get out of my car and wait. The original officer comes back and asks if I've found my license to which I reply, "I'm sorry sir but I don't seem to have my license." He tells me to find the license number and will come back. So I check my insurance information which I had recently renewed but did not happen to have the up-to-date insurance information with me and realize I had left it in my apartment.

Further, there is no drivers license number on the insurance or DMV registration.

By this point another officer came next to me but said nothing. The original officer comes back and the dialogue is as follows:

Officer: "Did you find your license yet?"
Me: "No sir. I think what may have happened is that when I renewed my insurance I might have left my license on my desk."
Officer: "Find your license number." "If you can't find it we will have to tow your car."
Me: "I understand sir." "I really do not know why my license just happens not to be in my wallet at this particular time sir. This is strange."
Officer: "Find your license number." "Can't you call your insurance company."
Me: "Well, it's Geico, and the customer service isn't very good." "I'll keep looking sir."

He proceeds to write me a ticket.

Officer: "What is your hair color"
Me: "Brown"
Officer: "Eyes?"
Me: "Blue"
Officer: "Weight?"
Me: "180lbs"
Officer "What is that a Scion?"
Me: "Yes sir."
Officer: "Who makes that?"
Me: "Toyota Sir"
Officer: "Did you find your license number yet?"
Me: "Yes sir, it's 4, 5, Henry, Charlie....."
Officer: "No, that is your license plate number I need your DRIVER'S LICENSE number."
Me: "Oh, sorry sir."
Officer: "Ok, I'll look it up on the computer." "You're not going to be one of those guys I have to tow are you?"
Me: "No sir." "Sorry to keep holding you up sir, I really do."
Officer: "We get paid by the hour, I've got time."

Officer goes to the patrol car for about five minutes and comes back.

Officer: "There are a couple of people under your name, what is your date of birth?"

I tell him my date of birth and he goes back to the patrol car. He comes back a few minutes later looking at me and shaking his head.

Officer: "I don't think you have a license!"
Me: "I do have a license sir."
Officer: "In California?"
Me: "Yes sir, it's California."
Officer: "How long have you lived here?"
Me: "About three years, I live right up the street, I have my Blockbuster card, my Costco card, but strangely, I just do not seem to have my drivers license."

At this point, I'm really laying the Midwestern charm on very thick and that I'm most likely the only one who is being polite and extremely cooperative about being pulled over. The other drivers are grumbling about having to be on time somewhere.

Officer: "You are not in our database!"
Me: "I don't know why that would be sir, my last name is spelled C, U, R, T, I, N"
Officer: "Like the things you hang on the window?"
Me: "Yes sir, without the a."
Officer: "Do you have any parking tickets?"
Me: "Yes sir."
Officer: "Well go get them"
Me: "Uh, I mean no sir, I got one last year but paid it. I don't have one with me."

The officer addresses the other.

Officer: "Call it in and see if they can find him."
Officer #2 "Yea, I need a D-L on a C, U, R, T, I, N"
Dispatcher: "No record"
Officer: "Do you have any identification?"

I hand my Bank card (with picture) and business card to officer number 2

Officer: "Where do you work?"
Me: "I work at (name of company)."
Officer: What is that?"
Me: "I sell industrial supplies to the skyscrapers downtown."

Officer to officer number 2
Officer: "You know, he really doesn't seem like the type that wouldn't have a license."
Officer #2: "Yea that or he's the greatest criminal mind ever."

They share a laugh and I as well although nervously. Officer then addresses me.

Officer: "Ok, get out of here, go find your license."
Me: "Sorry about that, thank you officer."
Officer: "Go!"

And so I went.

I came back to my apartment and looked all around but no drivers license was to be found. I still had to work so I went to out to visit customers. I entered the Transamerica building and stood behind someone checking in with security. The security officer asked to see his identification and the light went off. I bet I left it at the (insert name) Hotel!!! Sure enough, I had left it with security on a customer visit a few days ago.

It would seem the cosmic forces have gotten me (or saved me) on this occasion. I still cannot understand that even though I have had my license with me every single day the one day I get pulled over it is not there. Further, I DO NOT SHOW UP in the database!!!

Cosmic forces indeed........