Travel woes of 2009

1. Denied a visa to Cairo twice last summer. (I applied from Tel Aviv)
2. Missed two domestic flights, one from Los Angeles and the other from Boston, and ended up rebooking for additional fees.
3. Was not allowed to board the plane in Manila because my passport is almost expired, according to the immigration rules of Singapore and ended up home alone.

I glance back at this year and am very much tempted to say that it hasn't been a good year for traveling. (or for other things even, but that's another story) But then again, I look back at all my adventures (and I suppose just taking the train out of Harvard Square is good enough, sadly) and realize it wasn't that bad at all. I have had unconventional adventures in the most unexpected places. Next year is another year. For some reason, I am hopeful once again.

Merry Christmas.

The Christ-child lay on Mary's lap,
His hair was like a light.
(O weary, weary were the world,
But here is all aright.)

The Christ-child lay on Mary's breast
His hair was like a star.
(O stern and cunning are the kings,
But here the true hearts are.)

The Christ-child lay on Mary's heart,
His hair was like a fire.
(O weary, weary is the world,
But here the world's desire.)

The Christ-child stood on Mary's knee,
His hair was like a crown,
And all the flowers looked up at Him,
And all the stars looked down

G.K. Chesterton (b. 1874).

research is done for the year.

I finished my last meeting for the year with my supervisor, and more or less got a green light on some of the things I have. As a reward for myself, this is probably the last research-related post that I will make for the year. Next year is another great story in the making it seems.

Merry Christmas!

Still nowhere with empire

Picked up another great article idea while reading for my dissertation but which is totally unrelated to my project – basically means, I now have a list of eight viable paper ideas that are useless for now. I have a meeting tomorrow with Prof. Larry Lessig, on oddly enough, constitution-advising in other countries but I have no specific questions to ask. Also turned down an ad hoc meeting with Prof. Hehir at HKS and instead asked for a schedule next week.

Today was pretty productive. Squash game at 8am, brunch at 930, two articles and three hours later, I made a venue change and got halfway through Colossus. It is a pretty interesting read (else, I would just be perusing the index) and makes an argument which I am not yet sure if I completely subscribe. There just seems to be something wrong with the idea of empire itself.

After which, we had our yearly holiday party which lasted till about a few past midnight.

My thought on empire for the day: Law is integral in the “exceptional” American empire because it can expend less resources and there is generally no need for on the ground personnel (unlike the British experience) if you can persuade the periphery to adopt and abide by a set of rules the hegemon finds agreeable. But what to make of this?

thought exercise no.1

The history of _____ is used to reconstruct the legal, cultural and imperial contexts of _____ in American _____.

***

I don’t think I can write anything. I couldn’t sit still with Ferguson so I ended up downloading and skimming at least a dozen book chapters/law review articles today. No end seems in sight for this futile expedition.

Dissertation Musings

In order to force myself to write and get the juices out and flowing (if there’s any), I will be posting a daily reflection about my research. This can range from frustrating one-liners (most of the time, probably) to Eureka moments (will be rare). But hopefully, at some point, it will stop and I can post a finished paper soon.

Also, I will be making this blog a bit more active by posting stuff about legal developments (boring, I know!) and other kinds of adventures that a graduate student can possibly have, such as successful cooking/baking, random trips (we have a scheduled one to the Grand Canyon), and other surprises that life is wont to give.

***

I give up for the day, and after engaging in some social activity, will spend the rest of the evening reading Niall Ferguson's Colossus, instead. My dissertation-related tidbit for today: transnational imperialist discourse as a source of American ideas about colonial governance in the early 20th century Philippines. Maybe apply to law?

Colored chairs

A yardfull of colored chairs caught my eye
the red, pink, yellow and olive ones
And the green grass that sway with the falling leaves
They cry out to me, come and sit
Under the canopy of trees that shade happily
They beckon with inclined angles and comfortable rests
Come and sit and hear us sing
In whispers and screams we count the days
Till the autumn sun retires and we’ll have to leave
I stop and ponder the scene
Of people sitting but not listening
For a second however there is peace, the one that
can only be provided by the afternoon breeze.

Winter Falls

My faith walks on broken glass

A thousand shards pierce me

Daily

Slowly

Cautiously

The gods of the desert speak audibly

My heart overheard the sadness

That came from the man who waited endlessly.

My reason clings to the empty well

A few drops cannot satisfy my thirst

It yearns for more

For a little more

For you

Yet the bush burned the world black

He tests me a million times.

Cry out Jericho, bring down your walls.