FSOT results, break it down

The results are in, sort of. As I commented in a brief (but exciting) post, I did in fact pass the Foreign Service last month. Hooray indeed. On the other hand, I'm glad I'm not holding my breath on getting a coveted FSO job anytime soon; you'll see why in a second. Even though I passed, it certainly wasn't with a tremendous score. The cutoffs for passing the exam are a cumulative 154 points on the multiple choice and a 6 on the essay. The following are my scores:

Job Knowledge: 51.98

Biographical: 47.85

English Grammar: 55.76

Total: 155.59

Essay: 8

I'm very happy with my score (I passed didn't I?) but I won't quit my day job anytime soon! Regardless, I will continue with the application process and if that doesn't work out, I still have other options (including a potential internship at the Department of State).

Congrats to the fellow testers who passed and all the luck to those who will take the exam next cycle. On to the QEP!

Pragmatic Chicken Curry

I love Indian food. It is one of my favorite things to eat but I don't eat it nearly enough unfortunately. The other day I stopped by a friend's house for a few minutes to see how things were going, and she has prepared an incredible curry dish for herself and her Indian boyfriend. (You know that food's good when natives are singing its praises!) After smelling and seeing this amazing food and not having eaten any (I ate right before), I decided I would try my hand at making curry. Now, I've never made Indian food before so this was all new to me.

This morning I thought I would bike down to Food City (oh yeah, you know what I'm talking about!) Food City is the best grocery store in Phoenix, nothing gets me going quite like shopping to Mariachi music with oddly-shaped fruits and vegetables all around. It's not the best food, but it is value.

Value, es mucho value,

Value, Food City es, es, es, es!

If that isn't enough for you, look at these awesome food specials. Yum! Saboroso!

Yep, this is where I sometimes go shopping. Here are some other reasons I love Food City (aside from being really inexpensive):

1) The music in those videos is pretty much what you hear inside the store. How can you not be happy listening to that music?

2) Off-brand Mexican goods. If you like chiles picantes or real tamales, shop at a Mexican market.

3) The selection is great. Where else can you get cactus or feel like you are in a carneceria mexicana?

Enough about Food City though. Let's talk about my curry. It was easy to make (I used a crockpot) and very flavorful. Here's my not-so-secret recipe:

2 lbs chicken breast

1 medium white onion

4 cloves garlic

3 carrot sticks

1 red bell pepper

8 oz frozen peas

1 can coconut milk

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 teaspoon ginger

dash of salt & pepper

1) Cube chicken and stick in crock pot.

2) Quarter onion, mince garlic, peel and cut up carrot,

cut thick strips of red pepper and add it to the pot.

3) Add spices to coconut milk and mix thoroughly and add to pot

4) Add half a can of water to the mezcla

5) Add your dash of salt and pepper

6) Cook on low heat for 5-6 hours (or high for 3-4 hours)

while stirring occasionally

7) Add peas, stir, and wait another 30 minutes

8) Check to see chicken is cooked through

9) If it is all healthy and fully-cooked, eat!

All in all, spectacular. I had a few friends join me for dinner and it was a hit.

I know you wish you were here. And to make it that much better, my house smells like an Indian restaurant!

FSOT results, Part 1

I passed!

"Dear THE PRAGMATIC ECONOMIST,

Congratulations! The scores you achieved on your Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT) qualify you for the next step of the Foreign Service Officer selection process, which is your prompt submission of a personal narrative for review by the Qualifications Evaluation Panel (QEP). As you know, the Foreign Service selection process is a series of evaluations that can lead to an offer of employment as an entry-level Foreign Service Officer. Now that you have received a passing score on the FSOT, you must submit responses to five short-essay questions, which are known as the Personal Narrative (PN) questions. You must complete your PN essay responses and submit them before 11:59 PM CST on 11/17/2009. Failure to submit your essay responses by that time will terminate your candidacy.

[...]

Congratulations again. We look forward to receiving your personal narrative submission.

Sincerely,

The Board of Examiners"

I'll post later what my score breakdown is when I get it. Hence, "FSOT results, Part 1". On that note, it's time to celebrate! Here's a link to my blog discussing the FSOT.

(edit: here's a link to my FSOT score breakdown)

Google Voice, Part 3

I've had Google Voice for a month or so now, and it is slowly becoming a staple of my everyday telephony. I do have one big concern regarding the service however which makes adopting GV full-time, well, difficult.

Let's talk privacy. I'm willing to give up a some amount of privacy in exchange for Google products. Information is power and money, and Google makes a lot of money off our information. And they should. Google supplies practically everyone who wants it with absolutely incredible products (the search engine, Gmail, GV, Blogger, Scholar, etc.) and instead of trading them cash for services, I swap information. For example, (in case you haven't noticed,) Google scans your Gmail account to tailor its ads toward your interests (or whatever you talk about in your emails). For example: say you're always emailing people about your kid's little league accomplishments. Well, Google will surely pick up on that and changes your ads so they relates to baseball. "Baseball bats $20 @ www.(whateverstoreGooglechooses).com", etc. You are more likely to click those ads, which by collapsing the entire transaction, makes Google money.I really don't mind those ads or this process, and I am generally able to ignore the fact Google is a benevolent Big Brother.

However, what really bothers me is that my privacy on Google Voice. GV text messages are saved online. I don't like that. It's not that I say anything that bad over text, but I certainly don't want anything sitting around my Google account that was produced by telephone. People don't self-censor over text like they do email. What's more, what other people text you becomes part of the record, and that's fairly creepy.

Google also has a "voice recording" feature with which you can record telephone conversations online with the push of a button (number "4" I believe). I haven't used it, but I certainly hope when you push the record button, a little Google voice comes on the phone to enlighten unwitting parties on the status of their (otherwise private) conversations. As you might gather, the Pragmatic Economist doesn't approve of this information-without-consent free-for-all. This is supremely ironic given I have completed extensive study the effects of information asymmetry... Ha.

Here's what Google should do: your text messages and voicemails (which are also recorded, transcribed, sent to your email, and archived) should have more of an opt-in policy, rather than opt-out or no policy at all. Opt-out already exists for voicemail, but I haven't figured the same for SMS. As for the voice recording nonsense: I haven't used it, but if there is no informed consent from the affected party, I am most likely against it.

Yikes. Google, you amaze me for better or for worse. I do have to say overall I'm happy with the product, but I need to be a bit more comfortable with my privacy before "making the switch". I received some Google Voice invites, so I'm hoping to see how my friends like it (given that I talk about it a lot) and whether they agree with these points. I'll keep you posted.

Personal Statements

On the topic of personal statements for law school admissions:

Can you really have "im-personal" statements? We should rename them to something inspirational like "Documents of Miscellanea".

On a more serious note though, I'm currently writing my personal statements (which need to be finished by the 30th of October) and am stuck. I wrote the first one: well-written, but it's modest and sounds a bit disgruntled (not my intention). The second one is a "diversity" statement that I qualify for. Imagine that, me being diverse. That sounds so offensive. That's kind of like hearing the following (hypothetical) conversation:

Person A: Let's grab some Filiberto's or something Mexican.

Person B: OK, sounds good. I love ethnic food.

I don't want to discount diversity in law school, in fact, I openly encourage it. However, the diversity statement prompt makes it sound like just because you can be placed in a minority group, you have certainly faced some unbelievable adversity in life. And on top of that, you triumphed and emerged victorious. Why must people assume I can't leave my house without facing some daily trial or tribulation? Come on, I put my pants on one leg at a time just like the rest of you.

If you've read up to this point, you undoubtedly see the problem I face with my personal statements. I sometimes come off as hostile through the written-word. Oops, I need to work on that.

In other news, tomorrow I have a second exam in my favorite freshman level class: anthropology! Tarsiers and plesiodapomorphs and bilophodonts! Oh my! I did some studying, and intend to study more tonight.

Also, my french onion soup was fairly awesome (read my previous post). But here's what really made it special: I went to the grocery store to buy onions for the soup, and decided I wanted to buy a bottle or two of sparkling mineral water. So I go to the area where they have sparkling water, I grab two bottles (2 for $3) labeled as "mineral water", and leave. It turns out they weren't sparkling (despite being in the sparkling water section) at all, so now I have two bottles of very expensive water. I am slightly bitter because I paid $3 for water that would have cost me $0.03 in my Brita filter. Oh well. Ha!

Pragmatic French Onion Soup

Yesterday, I finally got a crock pot. I'm not sure why I hadn't done so before, but to be completely honest, it's awesome. Being ever pragmatic and efficient, the Pragmatic Economist is not one to cook at length. That, and frankly, I'm not a great cook. I can pull together some wicked vodka pasta or tamale pie, but under normal circumstances my culinary expertise is as extensive as the kindergärtner who makes Play-Doh donuts.

I think I may be selling myself short a bit, I can boil water and turn on the oven, so it's not that I'm totally defenseless in the kitchen. For some odd reason, I've been craving French Onion Soup lately. I finally got the ingredients, and decided to cook (or crock pot rather). I went to the Crepes of Wrath cooking blog and found a nice little recipe. My friend Sydney runs the blog and had a recipe handy (which you can find here). Being lazy, I didn't follow it to the letter, but it worked. So without further adieu:

L'ognion français à l'économiste

(that title took way too long to type)

3 yellow onions

8 cups beef broth

a handful of sliced mushrooms

.5 pound broccoli

.5 pound carrot

dash of salt

1 tablespoon of butter

baguette

mozzarella cheese

1.) Slice onions, saute them in butter until carmelized

2.) Add onions to crock pot, set on high for 30 minutes until onions are hot

3.) Add mushrooms, broccoli, and carrots to crock pot. Keep on high for 1 hour

4.) Add beef broth, set to low heat

5.) Wait a few hours

6.) Taste, add salt if needed

7.) Put French Onion concoction in bowl

8.) Slice baguette, places pieces on top of soup

9.) Top with cheese, put in microwave until melted

10.) Eat

And there you have it, French onion soup. Cheap and easy, just like your local Mill Avenue floozy.

Foreign Service Exam

I've been lazy with the blogging lately. Sorry kids. I'm sure you're not that disappointed though!

The big news for this past week was taking the Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT). I took it in downtown Phoenix at Phoenix College. It was a 45 minute train ride from Tempe; a bit long, but not that difficult. There were only a half-dozen or so people taking the exam, which was shocking. Granted, the FSOT is given over a 2 week period I believe, but still, that's not the crowd I was expecting. It was nothing like the LSAT where they practically shut down the entire community college for the duration of the exam.

Before I continue, I have to let you know I can't tell you about any of the questions on the exam, as this would be a violation of the non-disclosure policy you agree to at the beginning of the test. But I will talk in the most general terms, specifically about information posted on the State Department website itself.

To begin with, you have to fill out the application form at least a month in advance of the exam. You have to choose which cone you wish to work in if given the job: Consular, Economic, Management, Political, or Public Diplomacy. I bet you can guess which cone I chose?

After this, you sign up for a date to take the exam and go to the testing center. I loved this testing center. Like I mentioned, it's a bit out of the way, but there was no line and the process was super quick. So you sit down and take the exam. The exam is as follows:

1) Job Knowledge Section: More or less, it's reminiscent of Trivial Pursuit except a lot more fun. I really enjoyed this portion of the exam because I love all the stuff they question you on (pretty much everything related to foreign affairs and American culture basically). I prepared for this section by reading the newspaper, BBC News, and looking at an atlas occasionally. I felt great after that section.

2) English Section: Do you remember the SAT English section? Well, if you did OK on that the English section will be a breeze. However, if you're like me and do math well at the expense of English, you might have problems. I speak English, but when it comes down to it, I'm not always confident in my use of grammar. I felt OK after this section, but not great. We'll see I guess...

3) Biographical Section: Imagine having a multiple choice exam on your resume. Well that's pretty much what it is. It's not your resume specifically, but you are expected to answer about your life and experiences within the context of your questions. I looked over my resume prior to going in (meaning maybe 4 hours before the exam) and I think it went alright. It seems to be a fairly subjective section though. Don't lie on it, be honest, you'll be fine.

And my favorite part: the essay!

4) Essay: I actually did enjoy the essay portion. I'm not an excellent writer, just give me a computer, a prompt, and half an hour and I'll come up with something persuasive. I wish I could elaborate on the essay topic (I can't.) but I can say it was awesome. You have to argue a position on the topic given to you, reason logically, and write concisely. I was under a bit of a time constraint toward the end, but all in all it went very well.

If you want some good information about the FSOT, go to the following website (or you know, the State Department site, whatever): The Hegemonist.

So what happens from here? I should get my results late October/early November. I'll get an email saying if I pass or not, and I can request a breakdown of my score from ACT. I don't want to seem overly confident, but I do feel like I did well overall. I promise I'll post once I get my score!

In other Foreign Service-related news, I decided I'm going to apply for a summer internship with the State Department. I'm eligible as long as I continue my education the following Autumn (read: law school) so I figure I'll chance failure. Why not? The worst they can say is "no!"

Edit: here's an FSOT update!

My prospect(u)s

So I finally turned in my prospectus a few weeks ago, and due to popular demand I've posted the more relevant parts of it below. I'm very excited to research this topic. Practically everyone I know has chosen a topic they don't like, so I'm fortunate I can do what I want and still fulfill the requirements. In other news, I have some law school prospects I need to apply to, namely Georgetown and Cornell by November 2nd. My personal statement relates to the thesis. I have unintentionally killed two birds with one stone with this post. Yeah! (And kudos me for using a cliche.)

First, the thesis will investigate what characteristics define a transitioning or developed economy. By researching the various methods of evaluating the level of economic development a country has, I hope to identify specific characteristics unique to developing/transitioning economies, and their developed counterparts. For this part of the thesis, I will look at what institutions or government policies are required to foster economic growth. Some intended research points will include economic freedom (as ranked by various international organizations), transparency and corruption, tax systems, and guarantees of private property rights.

Following this preliminary research, I will use data from various governmental and non-government agencies to conduct simple regressions to identify trends within suspected economic indicators. I hypothesize that minimal governmental regulation, except through the protection of private property, creates a foundation upon which developing economies can effectively transition into market economies. Using this data, I hope to statistically identify these processes and regulations.

To test the hypothesis that government regulation hinders growth, I will see if my findings apply to economies that have undergone or are currently undergoing significant economic growth. Potential economies of interest include: China and Hong Kong, the Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, India, and Vietnam. By investigating the methods used in the aforementioned areas to stimulate growth, I hope to see if my data and analysis done earlier in the research process apply to real life transition scenarios.

Finally, I would like to see if the economic and social factors I research earlier in the project may be applied to problems the world faces today. Of course, I cannot implement these changes, but I would to see how my research applies to two issues that interest me. First, I would like to apply my results to the economies of Native American tribes in the United States. Some Native American tribes still resist private land ownership which results in a lack of available collateral to spur investment within the tribe. I am interested if any economic factors are absent with Native American tribes which are preventing economic growth. In addition, I would like to see what factors helped certain specially administered regions in China produce such incredible growth and how those economic principles could be applied elsewhere.

Anthropology: FAIL

Something tells me this anthropology topic is going to become a regular staple of this blog. We've already discussed The Pragmatic Economist's displeasure toward certain individuals in the class. You would never believe it, but the same two people just cannot hold their tongues.

After talking at length about simple Mendelian genetics, Punnett squares, and the like, this girl asked the professor how two parents who didn't display recessive traits could have a child with a recessive phenotype. Seriously? We spent half an hour talking about this, and we explained this exact example as well. At least it's joke material.

As if this isn't enough, when talking about bone formation she asks the professor:

Q:) "Where does the calcium in our bones come from? Does our DNA make it?"

A:) "No. You ingest calcium. See me after class."

Oh the good times you have in freshman classes. I don't mean to seem like an ageist/elitist, but I don't remember ever asking things like that in a 101 level class.

In other news, I have a thesis director and second reader! All I have to do is fill out my prospectus. My thesis title/idea is something to the tune of "Developmental Effects of State Privatization in post-Command Economies". I'm very excited, it's a step in the right direction.

Google Voice, Part 2

Hooray for me, I finally have a Google Voice number!

After waiting about a month, I got a 202 area code number. Once I saw they had 202 numbers I quickly scanned through the dozen or so numbers they had available and picked the best one for me. I am super excited! I've only had GV for a few days now, but here are the features that I love about it so far:

1) I can send and receive texts on the internet for free. I'm over my texting limit for the month, so it'll be nice being able to send texts from my computer more often. After all, I spend tons of time on my computer so I might as well use the free texts online.

2) Voicemail transcription. Now you can leave me a voice message, and I'll get an email telling me what it said! Sweet. Below is an example (published with my friends consent of course) of the transcription and her actual message. Granted she was mumbling a bit, but GV did a pretty good job!

"Hey, This is Melissa, so it and go straight to voicemail and ring like 3 times. He asked, and we're it's a yeah, here's Andrew andnumber is 123456789, Okay bye." (The words GV guesses on are prehighlighted in gray. Tres cool.)

3) No more creepers. How many of you have had this happen to you?

You're in a bar/Starbucks/library/whatever and some guy/girl come up to you and start chatting. You're not terribly interested, but you smile and nod and try to avoid physical or verbal contact. Despite your efforts, this individual will not go away, and asks for your number. You say "no" but this person is persistent, so you give up a fake number. Lo and behold, this guy actually calls your number to make sure it's legit, and oops! it's not. And then you have to give him the real number because you feel like a tool for getting caught.

Well no longer! Just give this guy/girl/tortoise/lampshade you Google Voice number and if he calls you, it will ring! But to sweeten the deal, you can then later block his number so he thinks you've dropped off the edge of this flat Earth. Brilliant.

Here's my challenge for you: I am going to put a widget on my page that will connect you to my GV number. Give me a call and leave me a voice message. I'll put them online along with the transcription. Get creative! Speak Spanish, play your guitar, sing, read a poem! Ring me!

PS: Just so you know, you still incur normal phone charges for calling me on my GV gadget.

Google Voice Part 3

The Great American Beergame

Diamondbacks 14, Astros 7. Yeah, that's what happened last night at Chase Field.

A friend of mine invited me out yesterday to go to the game, and seeing as how it was a free ticket, I happily obliged. I don't often go to sports games given the price and as is the case with baseball, just not worth it to me. Granted, with the new light rail directly linking me to Central Phoenix, going to games, concerts, and the like is much more appealing than it was when you had to take the 30 for an hour or so to get downtown.

But I digress. While watching the game (and the unforgettable third inning) my friend bought us a few beers to go with our $4.50 bag of peanuts. I asked how much they were, and they were a whopping $4 each. Christ. So I slowly enjoyed that beer but I knew the right thing to do would be to buy another round. (sigh...) I go to the kiosk and they don't take credit. I'm sorry, I thought I lived in the 21st century in the US. Every place took credit except the beer stands. But, if I wanted, I could go any of the restaurants/fast food eateries and buy beer for $9 a pop. Wait? What?

At this point, I'm getting frustrated. If I pay with a card, it's an extra $5 per glass, but I don't have any cash to avoid it. What's more is that I'm in Chase Field and lo and behold I don't bank with them so if I use the ATM I'll get charged. Well, I went to the Chase ATM (grrr), withdrew $40, and paid a friendly $3 fee plus whatever my bank is going to charge me. The sad thing is, this is all planned out, and although I hate to say it: The Pragmatic Economist applauds you, Chase Field (albeit reluctantly...)

When buying naming rights to the stadium you'd better believe they got the banking rights as well. And although you can buy food at the same price regardless the method of payment, beer sales have vertical restrictions imposed. This means the owner (Chase) can tell kiosks where they can sell their wares (between sections 141 and 143, for example), for how much ($4), and how (cash only). This limits free movement. And though this doesn't directly contribute to inflated prices (I guarantee beer would be $4 regardless), it does force a small, yet sizable, chunk of attendees to stop at the local ATM. Given the lines I witnessed, and knowing that not all of these people are Chase customers, you can make a good chunk of change just by giving people their own money which they will subsequently spend in your stadium!

I remember talking about this type of thing in a class a few years ago. Cheap tickets are subsidized by high concessions. Barring the small percentage of people who can smuggle food in, you are a hungry, thirsty captive audience lured in by inexpensive seats. This surely doesn't surprise anyone, but think about what the opposite arrangement would be like.

Assume tickets subsidized concession prices. For example, a nosebleed seat costs $30 but you eat and drink for free. I bet this would be a fabulous business model. We already know a hot dog costs next to nothing to produce and beer can flow freely without much cost either. There would be significant expenses naturally, and you might not sell-out games, but you could make a good profit. So, why don't ballparks do this then?

1) It will drive people who don't consume concessions away. So I guess we lose the straight-edge vegan demographic. On the other hand, you get the frat boy crowd. Families would likely be out due to stifling ticket prices.

Solution: Give people who don't want free concessions cheaper tickets, and to ensure they don't cheat, use indelible ink to keep track, or segregate them. Or, pass out drink and food "tickets".

Caveat: People could get a full-paying person to buy goods. And "tickets" defeat the purpose of concessions subsidies when you think about it.

2) Drunk-driving groups would pounce immediately, politicians would talk about how the Great American Pastime has been morally corrupted or some such nonsense, et cetera. All in all, lots of complaints.

Solution: Roadblocks, breathalyzers, and the like. Arizona already has one of the strictest DUI laws in the country, use that as a threat.

Caveat: Left to their own devices, people drink too much, willingly or not. And most people (and I in no way advocate this) will take the risk of getting caught/killed.

So I guess in the end, it's not such a good idea, but for a moment it seemed like a distant yet attainable possibility. Kudos to the light rail by the way, a quick 30 minutes ride or so that didn't smell like vomit or urine.

Extra Credit: Thank you to "thegordons" of Flickr for the image of Chase Field.

(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en)

Google Voice and Area Code Snobbery

As some of you may know, Google said, "let there be Voice". And there was. Google Voice is the latest and greatest in Google revolutionary thought (actually it's acquired thought from the now-defunct company GrandCentral). Google Voice is like Gmail or anything else Google except for your telephone. Here's how it works:

You get a GV number free from Google after waiting a few weeks for an invitation. You can chose your area code and all that jazz, then whenever someone calls your GV number, the call gets forwarded to your cell, office, home, or whatever phone(s) you'd like. Online, it gives you free texts from your GV number, transcribes voicemail and puts it online for you, and a whole lot more. So I'm sure you're wondering how I like it? I wouldn't know. I haven't been able to choose a phone number to my liking.

Google bought up about 1,000,000 numbers across the US for it's launch of Google Voice, and sure enough there wasn't so much as one available in an area code of my choosing when I got my invite. As we know, I live in Phoenix, the city that never cools down. I already have a great phone number. It's sleek, fun, and even has a strange family connection. All in all, a desirable, classic phone number. But I can't port my phone number to Google, so I have to get a new GV number.

Alas, the time comes to get my number from Google Voice. I have two area codes I am willing to have: Washington, DC (202) or Phoenix (602). I would prefer a DC number because I intend to move there after graduation and I already have a sweet 602 number. So I tell GV to find me a 202 number. Denied. Seriously? Ok then, 602, for the win. Rejected.

Not even a (gasp!) 480 number to be found. Oh, but Phoenix has one area code available from Google Voice: 623. The Pragmatic Economist doesn't do 623. 623 provokes thoughts of drug-cartels and bad Mexican food. No. Absolutely not. And then I realized it: I am an area code snob.

Is that wrong? Do you discriminate based on area code alone? I've always thought I was open-minded, egalitarian, and such, but having a 623 area code is like wearing the Scarlet Letter of area codes. It shouts "I have done something wrong". That may be a bit melodramatic, but nonetheless, somewhat true. So until I can get a real area code, preferably 202 of course, I will be waiting to experience the wonders of Google Voice. Alas, supply and demand you have bested me. I demand, Google supplies. Beggars can't be choosers, but I'm willing to wait. Begging is such a 623 type of thing to do anyway.

Google Voice Part 2

Extra Credit: Here are links to the "Defenestrated" blog (I'm jealous of the name!) and check out some of Google Voice's voicemail transcriptions. Class dismissed.

GV: Ohh Erica I shall be too late

Stupid Google Voice Transcriptions

The Earth is 6000 years old

It's August in Arizona and school is back in session. This is the first semester since my freshman year when I have classes everyday (god forbid I study 5 days a week). Today I had my first "real" lecture in anthropology. I like this class because it's freshman level, and I am undoubtedly older than 99% of the people in the room by merit of being a senior. It's refreshing seeing these kids frantically typing on their Macs and what not, knowing that I know better than to take thorough notes in a 100-level course. Being the schadenfraude lover I am, I don't tell them otherwise. Until now:

Here is the key to success in a 100-level class: show up, forget the notes.

There, I said it. And all the freshmen rejoice at this pearl of wisdom. Most everyone can remember the basics of a class like this, at least well enough to pass with a "B" (no offense meant towards my anthro buddies!)

Today in lecture I was blessed with hearing two exceptionally insightful questions, undoubtedly coming from the valedictorians from their respective high-school classes:

1) If giraffes have long necks, and don't use those long necks throughout adulthood, will said giraffes have little giraffe babies with no necks? Naturally the question I would have thought to ask even when talking about Lamarckism. Not.

2) So if the Earth isn't 6000 years old like you say, it has to be younger, right? Wrong, you are stupid. Fail.

I am happy to attend Arizona State University, where a pulse and a checkbook qualify you to study at an exceptional institution where we have an entire School of Sustainability but scant recycling across campus. A great place where the meeting of minds produces such thoughtful prattle as where the next beer-pong party will be held or which girl put out the first day in the dorms. And finally, a community where we pay our faculty nothing, expect furloughs, and then wonder "why isn't our childrens learned good?" Simple economics kids: Incentives rock the world. Pay less, anticipate less.

The Pragmatic Economist fails you Arizona State. I know you have to make do with the budget cuts and such, but a real world-class school acts like one. The Republicans upstairs cut your funding, fine, I get it. Perhaps you should tell legislators that students are entering college still thinking the Earth is 6000 years old. Maybe that would capture their attention? Wait...if our legislators had their ways, we would believe the Earth was flat and that angels really did dance on the heads of pins. Never mind.

False Alarms and Water Damage

My downstairs is a wind tunnel right now. We have two industrial, fluorescent orange in the kitchen facing the walls trying to dry our baseboards after some water damage. The reason? Fire. Actually no, not fire.

A few days ago, I was eating a quick dinner while watching TV before going for a quick run outside. All of a sudden I heard something out of the ordinary, and thought maybe my dryer was squealing or the AC was malfunctioning. So I turn the TV to mute and hear sirens/beeping/alarms upstairs. Needless to say, I didn't go upstairs to check it out. I went outside instead to call the fire department. (I remember my fire safety, I knew that 2 hour class I had to take for work would come in handy some day...) As it turns out, the sirens in my entire building were going off, and after deciding it probably wasn't my place that was on fire, I went inside to check for sure. Nothing was wrong with the house, no smoke, no fire. The upstairs alarms were going off (apparently we have smoke detectors downstairs but no fire alarms) so I grabbed my laptop just in case, and left the building.

Soon after, the fire department arrives, and it turns out a sprinkler in the unit next to me malfunctioned and flooded the entire condo. Water everywhere: rushing through the front doors, cascading from the vents, pretty much doing everything you wouldn't want to happen unless there were a real threat. There was no fire, like I said it was a malfunction. The fire department stopped the flooding after within 15-30 minutes but not before my neighbor's place was totally ruined by water damage. Needless to say, little survived unscathed.

The next day, the home owner's association had some damage control people come to look at what happened. The flooding was so severe that it not only covered the condo, but leaked through to the adjacent stairwell, and finally, into my kitchen baseboards. We've had flooding issues before in the kitchen. In fact, every time it rains, the kitchen gets wet and smelly. Granted, it doesn't rain often in Arizona, but it rains enough to be an inconvenience when you know you're going to have to clean it up.

This situation raises a few questions:

1) Who designed this building? A lot of people have similar problems. (Well, not with the faulty sprinkler, but with flooding) Whoever thought building an awning over the balcony thus forcing rain into my house was not thinking.

2) In this market, what do you do with a water-damaged condo that can't be lived in? If my neighbor sells, I'm sure he'll take a huge loss. I can't imagine how stressed he must be dealing with this.

3) Who is responsible? The fire department said the sprinkler was faulty, so it wasn't my neighbor's fault. Does the HOA pay for the damage? Insurance? I think I need an expert in tort law.

All I can say is I'm grateful it wasn't my place.

On the blog

In an effort to document my every move, I've decided to start a blog. Well, I'm not looking to document everything but I figure I should start a blog so that my friends abroad can have slightly more frequent updates about my goings-on. So for those of you in Malaysia, Bhutan, and beyond, this blog is for you!

So an update for you. I've decided to start running. Yes, I know, it's ridiculous to start running when it's 100+ degrees in town, but I'm getting antsy from sitting inside all day in my air-conditioned winter wonderland. But honestly, I'm mostly doing it for health reasons and personal satisfaction. My goal is to go from zero to P.F. Changs half-marathon in about six months. I think it's a lofty yet attainable goal. We'll see what happens. On the side of the blog, you can see how many miles I've run. I hope that number slowly increases, but the fact that running is only possible between 10pm and 6am makes me a bit nervous.

I'll be sure to post more soon about all that's going on. Expect posts in the future regarding:

1) Law school applications

2) Foreign Service Exams

3) Fulbright applications

4) Peace Corps application

5) My thesis

6) Other ramblings