2nd amendment

i don't like guns. i don't ever want to be in a situation where either i'm faced with it or have to use it. i see and respect the supreme court's ruling to protect the right of an individual to bear arms, but it's sad that we live in such fear that we need that protection.

i'm applying for naturalization, and i think the part where i'm asked if i would bear arms for this country was where my interviewer tried to trip me up. i stated on my application that i refuse to bear arms in this country. i would, however, be willing to perform non-combatant services for this country. only people who aren't intelligent enough to resolve a conflict would rely on guns and any act of lethal violence.

my interviewer proceeded to do a separate q&a where she asked me to state my name and place and date of birth. she asked if i claimed to be a pacifist for religious reasons. i said no. she asked what if someone was holding a gun to me. i said i would try to convince them not to shoot me. instead of asking a question, she simply states, "well, then you'd be dead."

first, i was insulted that she assumed that i wouldn't be able to persuade the armed person. second, just because someone holds a gun to your face doesn't mean they necessarily want to kill you. it's a scare tactic. more often than not, they'd probably be too scare to fire it. i was so caught off guard by her statement that i just said, "well, if they're determined to..."

really, what else could i have done in the situation? have a gun on me and shoot them back? is that what america is about? i don't think i'd be able to live with myself to shoot someone with a weapon as powerful as a gun, no matter the circumstance. yeah, there are some people i wish would die because they're jerks, but i don't hate them to the point of wanting to kill them. (i would just wish accidents would happen to them instead of nice people.)

i'm not going to say anymore about my naturalization interview until i receive the decision. when i get it, i'll have quite a story to tell.

but back to the 2nd amendment, in a better world, it would be an irrelevant argument, regarding an individual's right to bear arms. we shouldn't be living in a world where we feel we would need protection from a weapon that powerful. to me, guns are nuclear bombs on a much smaller scale. there's really no need for it.

apartment hunting

work has been taking a toll on me lately. i ended up pulling some 15 hours shifts last week and last night. on top of this busy gig, i've begun apartment hunting. just thinking about it stresses me out. i can only hope that apartment hunting is no where as painful as it is in new york.

last weekend, i looked at a one bedroom apartment that's a co-op. it's really nice, particularly for its price, but it was still a little too much for my budget. also, it's another 4-story walk-up. my current place is a 4-story walk-up already, and the idea of at least another year of climbing the stairs, especially after a long day of work, is not appealing.

earlier this week, i looked at a studio that was in the basement of a building. it was dreadful. i'm already short, and yet, i felt suffocated by the low ceiling. d, who accompanied me, kept expecting his head to hit the ceiling. there were only 2 tiny windows, one of which would be looking out into trash collecting area for the entire building. i felt a bit of vomit in my throat just thinking about the odor that would seep into the place, particularly in the summer heat. the place made me a little angry because it was obviously not a suitable space to create loft. the owner of the building basically forced it into some resemblance of an apartment. it's inhumane.

today, i had lined up two places to check out. the first place had an open house 2p-4p. we arrived at about 2.30p. not only did someone already put down a deposit but there were 10 other people in line ahead of me who wanted to be on standby, in case the first person doesn't work out.

the second place was a little less intense. i'm probably also about the 10th person who looked at the place, but it was more of a bit of an interview. the couple who owns the house is renting out a studio on the first floor. they wanted to meet all the potential tenants before choosing one so at least the pressure isn't as great.

tomorrow, i have potentially three apartments to look at. i hope i find some place decent that's situated in a safe neighborhood and affordable. only in new york is it so tough.

summer blockbuster season begins...

we attend a screening of sex and the city last week. neither of us watch the tv show, but r worked on it and received tickets to the cast and crew screening. i wasn't impressed at the beginning but then grew to enjoy the rest of the movie. as r pointed out, there were a lot of classic storytelling elements that made the movie good: the romantic ending to miranda and steve's story, the cinderella tie-in, charlotte's inevitable confrontation that turns out quite differently than she had imagined. also, the sets look fantastic!

yesterday, we saw indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull. i have only seen the first indiana jones and must've missed a lot of references to the previous movies. it was a string of action sequences, and i found it enjoyable. it's no brilliant plot. the crystal skull actually looks kind of cheesy. but isn't that the point of summer action movies? i think cate blanchett's performance made it worth watching.

more to come as the season passes...

baltimore

r and i visited friends in baltimore this past weekend. since r didn't get to see much of the city the last time he was there (only a day trip), we aimed for mostly touristy things. e & c, being gracious hosts, took us all over the city. as we drove around, they shared interesting facts like the history of certain buildings, places where john waters lives and hangs out, the bar where the charm city cakes staff gets their drink on, etc.

we spent saturday at the american visionary art museum and the orioles game against the red sox. we got to see manny ramirez hit his 500th homerun, which was pretty exciting, even for us who don't follow baseball.

on sunday, we visited the baltimore museum of art and caught their comprehensive photography exhibition, looking through the lens. it made me fall in love with photography all over again. we stopped by poe's grave and then ended the day at fort mchenry, making it there just in time to see the flag change.

e & c took us to cool places for food: delicious sopapillas at golden west cafe, brunches at miss shirley's and rocket to venus, yummy italian pastries at vaccaro's, comforting afghan food at the helmand, and arguably the best hotcakes at pete's grille.

r really liked the city and got to see a very different side of it than the one portrayed in the wire. the only down side to the trip was the traveling itself, the traffic and the truck running on its last leg. we will probably plan another trip there in the near future, but we will be taking either the bus or train next time. nothing will keep us from traveling!