What is this country coming to?

Look at my Facebook profile, and you'll see that I classify my political views as 'disaffected liberal'. That's more a reflection of my frustration that the big pieces of legislation that have been passed during this Congress (which, I will add, is more significant than most anything Congress has done since the 1964-66 period) were watered down far more than I liked to placate conservative Democrats. But when I step back, I remember that American politics is supremely dysfunctional and that the current iteration of the Republican Party has absolutely no interest in being serious partners in governance. Mitch McConnell forces cloture votes on most everything that, turning the Senate into a completely undemocratic institution. Did you know that it only takes a simple majority to pass a bill through the Senate? Probably not, because to end debate on any bill, you need 60 votes, and the GOP has made it their agenda to simply block everything, regardless of substance.

What's worse is that their party leaders can't be taken seriously. McConnell and John Boehner, when confronted with the fact that extending the deficit-inflating Bush tax cuts from 2001 and 2003 will add $3 trillion to the deficit, they simply repeat their talking points that private investment is needed to jump-start the economy, and that tax cuts are the answer. Tax cuts, in the GOP's mind, is the answer to every little last problem with the economy. Never mind that the vast destruction of wealth that occurred under the end of Bush's presidency has altered the spending habits of a country that once would borrow endlessly to finance consumerism. No, tax cuts are still the answer.

And the leaders of the GOP are frighteningly rushing to the lowest common denominator to attract votes. How can anyone consider Sarah Palin a serious contender for the presidency? After his flip-flopping during his 2008 run, and his embarrassingly uninformed views on foreign policy (made evident by an obliviously-written Op-Ed criticizing the new nuclear treaty, no less), how can anyone take Mitt Romney seriously? Why does anyone think Tim Pawlenty will be a good candidate when he's already out there calling Obama a socialist and is not a popular governor (he got elected thanks to the presence of viable third parties in Minnesota)? And Newt Gingrich? What about the loads of personal baggage that was his fall from grace initially? Rick Santorum...seriously? And I can't bring myself to take the teabagging fringe seriously. Thanks, Rick Santelli, for giving a name to those who votes against their self-interest, to those who have no comprehension of just how integral government is for the well-being of our lives. Oh, and for those who think the president's a Muslim, the president was born in Kenya, and the rest of those whackjobs.

What's crazier is that voters seem to think that after a mere 2 years, Republicans deserve the keys to the car back. I don't think that the GOP will win as many seats as many prognosticators think (the right wing has a nice tendency to implode; see the Colorado gubernatorial and Senate races), but the fact that people would do that so soon after what many historians would consider one of the worst presidencies in this country's history is absurd. I may have my issues with the Democratic Party, but they are miles better than the GOP. It isn't even a question, voting for the Republicans. One party at least has ideas for how to improve America and the lives of its citizens. They may not get it completely right, but at least they're going in the right direction. The other party is not living in reality. Not even close.

Then again, this is the country that elected Ronald Reagan a mere 6 years after Nixon resigned from office. No one ever got rich betting on the American voter...someone famous once said that, but I forget who. It's true.

The fourth dimension

Back when I was a more philosophical iteration of myself, I'd ponder 'deep' questions about life, love, friendship, and the other existential questions that get talked about a lot but never really get 'solved', in the sense that you can solve 2+2 out to equal 4. I think part of that has to do with being successful, in the sense that life (I have a good job), love (I have a wonderful girlfriend that I can't see myself without), and friendship (I have friends that, even if they are smaller in number, are more than made up for in quality) are all things that, on balance, make a positive contribution to my level of happiness.

But what I ponder more now, is the future. I've made the point numerous times before on this blog, particularly in recent posts, but there's no fixed milestones to look forward to. After working an entire lifetime through years of school and summer jobs and internships, I reached the end of that line a couple years ago. Some of my friends still live it out in graduate school; others still in the nature of particular jobs (investment banking comes to mind). But sooner or later, my friends and I, we'll just be adults, working the grind. Without kids to begin the whole process again, summer has no more meaning to me than winter, and vacation are those few days when I want to make it vacation. And in the end, it will be the journey that matters...because the destination for all of us is the same, no matter what happens.

But how important is it to look at the past? Nostalgia sets in when I think that it was 2 years since I graduated from college, 6 years ago when I set foot in Hill College House, 10 years since I started high school, 16 years since I moved to New York, 20 years since I moved to America from Japan...the numbers only grow bigger with each passing day. And the time goes quickly...it's already the middle of June, and I can remember when it was January 1st. In the end, the memories are important, but it means nothing at all if you can't take the good from the past and apply it going forward. I never want to be in the position where I look back and say it was 5, 10, or however many years since the best vacation or best dinner or best time with friends. When that happens, the past becomes that much more vibrant, and the present tastes stale, smells musty, and looks like a pale, washed-out canvass.

Remember the good times from the past, but always be making new memories. The first time I made a proper meal with my girlfriend - a chicken alfredo sauce with pasta - is just as vivid and endearing a memory as the most recent dish (steamed clams with garlic bread). Carpe diem, always.

Everyone's getting married

Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but it seems like there are more weddings happening according to my casual Facebook surfing. Some of them are of people who are just a year ahead of me in age...I haven't spoken to a good many of them in several years, but it's strange because I can remember when they were just the kids ahead of me by a grade in school.

When I start seeing baby pictures, that's when I'll know that we sure as hell ain't in Kansas anymore.

Musings on aging

Even though I graduated 2 years ago (and damn, does it feel a lot longer than that), I've still had the chance to visit Philadelphia every now and then to see my girlfriend. With her graduation, there's no longer going to be the same incentive to get out of the city every couple of weeks now. And with my closest friend who lives there heading off to grad school in a couple months, it's going to be difficult to head down just for the sake of it. Manhattan and New York City in general are wonderful places, but it's always been good to get out of the pressure cooker and have a change of scenery. It's actually been some time since I've spent a solid weekend in the city - the last time was in mid-late March - and the day trips I've been there for haven't really given me the chance to say goodbye to the city. It's been heading home on a late bus back to NYC, taking the R1 out to the airport, far south from University City, and catching a far-too-early Amtrak back to Penn Station. I have plenty of fond memories from the city, a lot of them, ironically enough, coming after I had graduated. So long, Philadelphia...

And on another note, it's crazy that it has been 2 full years since I graduated. I was up at Columbia yesterday playing basketball, and aside from feeling my age while playing the game, seeing all the 'Congratulations Class of 2010' banners made me realize that there's never going to be any going back to college. The mentality that my friends in school have relative to those in the workforce is much different, notably in that those in school still profess to be relatively youthful, while the others are starting to feel time weighing on them.

On the same note, this brings to a close the part of my relationship that has been long distance as well. My girlfriend will be moving to New York in July. The past 2 years haven't been perfect, or easy, but this was always going to be the hardest part...and the fact that we got through it bodes well. We'll see what the future brings, but I'm optimistic.

Beats for a Sunday afternoon

I haven't listened to Muse's latest album, The Resistance, as much as I would've liked. The first single, "Uprising", was pretty formulaic in my book, but I like the second one, "Undisclosed Desires", quite a bit more. I won't lie, I dig the slap-bass.

Make it stop

I can't emphasize how much I look forward to moving out of this godforsaken apartment in 3 months. It is terrible, and my whole quality of life outside of work has tanked.

Piss-stained concrete paradise

Manhattan is a great place to live, but I do wish there was more greenery at times. In particular, I'd wish the owners of pets (dogs, really) would find another place to take a leak. They piss all over the sidewalk, and I have to watch my step walking the block my building is on. Would it really kill them to make their pets go in the sewer? Or somewhere else besides the side of the apartment? It's something that seems more prevalent all the time. It may be a beautiful, cloud-free day outside, but I guarantee I'm going to run into puddles no matter what.

Impasse

What should I do next? It's a question I've thought about every now and then, but it's something I'll need to consider more as the year goes by. This is my final year (I think) as an analyst, and I need to think more about where the next ideal step on my career path is.

Deep thoughts. I also need to get more sleep.

Just another day

I turn 24 tomorrow, but it's not that big a deal. For me, having a nice dinner out with my girlfriend counts as more than plenty. At least when my birthday rolls around next year, I can finally rent a car without paying extra fees. Ain't that something to look forward to...