Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in dasein78's LiveJournal:

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Tuesday, September 21st, 2004
4:33 pm	Pimply faced high school kids. I'm not sure whether or not to keep this thing going. It seems very silly. However, I always feel the need to vent. Hm. (Comment on this)
Monday, August 16th, 2004
4:08 pm	Hey.... Here's my new email address: jawixom@gmail.com 22 more days. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, August 4th, 2004
1:39 pm	Oh joy. September 7th. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, August 2nd, 2004
1:31 pm	The chicken's coming home to roost, y'all. Fuck this. I'm coming home in early September(probably the seventh). I'm going through the process of changing my ticket as we speak. Then I can finally quit this gay livejournal bullshit. I want a Guiness. (Comment on this)
Sunday, August 1st, 2004
4:17 pm	Jesus... Thinking of coming home early and getting out of this fucking country. Financially it might make more sense. I think I hate Costa Ricans. Disregard my first to last post. I think notions of ethnic superiority are exactly what the world needs. Will make up my mind by the end of the week. If I would come home early it would be during the first week of September. Fucking Costa Ricans. (Comment on this)
Thursday, July 29th, 2004
5:06 pm	Harumph. Are you pretty sure you´re getting shafted by the U.S. mass media? Are you convinced that you´re privy to half-truths(at best) and total non-truth most of the time? Well, you are! Now, I´m just as speculative towards left-wing nuts as I am towards right-wing nuts, but you should all check out this book...¨The Best Democracy Money Can Buy¨. It goes into detail regarding the 2000 election and how the Gov. of Florida knowingly purged at least 57,700 voters...black voters...from the roll. Did I happen to mention that Katherine Harris, G.W.B.´s campaign manager was in charge of the voter rolls in Florida? Sigh. (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 28th, 2004
11:55 am	A General "Sigh". You know, it's amazing to me how very universal racism and ethnic prejudices are. I realize that I shouldn't be shocked since it's a problem that has been present since....well, since the beginning of civilizations, but it still baffles me. Costa Rica itself is a very prejuidiced society regarding Nicaraguans, Colombians and Panamanians due to the amount of crime that these nationalities commit here (keep in mind that the information I receive regarding crime statistics comes directly from the students. I have no way of verifying the information). So, I've had many different conversations with many different classes regarding these beliefs. I've always told my classes that the most important question that you can ask regarding a situation like this is "Why?". Why are things as they are? You get the typical answers...the governments are corrupt, the educational systems are non-existant and...the people are naturally violent. Yes, I've had students argue the idea of innate dispositions to me. When I told the students that they have the ability to alter these people's lives one students said, "Well, it's not my problem." My response was as follows: "You said that most of the crimes committed in Costa Rica are performed by people of other countries, yes? (these include murder, theft, rape, etc.). So, given the fact that these people continue to lack a) a chance at a better life and b)the motivation for self-improvement, it will continue to be YOUR problem because you, as a citizen of Costa Rica are falling prey to their economic situation. They're not going to stop doing these things because they have no reason to stop. Until things improve for them, it's going to continue to be your problem." I hated referring to a group of people as "them", but it's an English class after all and I have to keep my language somewhat simplified. It's just strange for me to have experienced a group of people that in our country would be frowned upon frowning upon the very existence of another nationality(yes, I had one student say that he wishes they would all die). The hardest part for me is to act as a proverbial mediator since I am for all intents and purposes an outsider here. I can tell that some of the students feel as though I don't have a right to be meddling with their affairs/ideologies but we all know that I can't help it. Ignorance is ignorance is ignorance is ignorance. So, it one of my classes today we're watching "American History X". I realize that you can't change the world with a movie(the very notion is idiotic) but you can, perhaps, get people to think things that aren't normally thought of. I hope. 94 more days, people. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, July 19th, 2004
2:09 pm	Poor, poor Mr. Wixom. To Whom it May Concern: I regret to inform you that Mr. Wixom's illness was, unfortunately, more determined than Mr. Wixom. He passed away yesterday morning(July 18th, 2004) at 8:04 a.m. Apparently the infection moved into the outer lining of his lungs and as time passed, made it incredibly difficult for Mr. Wixom to breathe. At the end he was taking 129 breaths a minute, but to no avail. His last request was that you fabricate stories regarding his greatness and start up a foundation for young, Catholic Schoolgirls in his name. Again, I am sorry for your loss. Yours, Dr. Van Nostrom, M.D. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, July 16th, 2004
2:34 pm	I think I{ve got the black lung, Pop. ::cough, cough:: Well, it had to happen sometime. I´m feeling the wrath of "El gripe terrible de Costa Rica". This is a horrible illness that eats the marrow from your bones and then... Okay, fine. So it´s just the flu. But it´s a spoooooky flu that...nevermind. I had a fever of 102 last night but it seems to have passed really quickly. Today I´ve been left with the typical nasty reminders(phlegm production, sore throat, loose eyeballs, etc.). So it goes. At least I don´t have to teach this weekend. So, I´ve decided to pass on the scooter and just buy a motorcycle. It´s what I was going to move towards eventually anyway, and as long as I start off with a smaller engine everything should be cool. I´m going to buy a 250 cc Kawasaki Ninja when I come home and hopefully survive on it. Nah, that shouldn´t be a problem. Top speed is only 105 mph and it´s supposed to be one of the best "beginner" bikes on the market. We shall see. Mr. Minge, if you happen to read this could you resend me your email address? I seem to have erased it. GRE, GRE, have to take the GRE.... (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, July 6th, 2004
7:05 pm	This is freaking awesome... NOPD picks up speed, style with scooters Quick response, slick look slated for French Quarter Tuesday, July 06, 2004 By Michael A. Mohammed Staff writer The Vespa scooter was once the conveyance of choice for Italian hipsters who buzzed down the street with fashionable impunity. Italian writer Umberto Eco called the Vespa a symbol of "transgression, sin and even temptation." Soon, officers of the New Orleans Police Department's 8th District will ride the sleek fashion pieces against transgression and sin in the French Quarter. With contributions from a number of local businesses and associations, and from the Vespa dealership of New Orleans, the district will receive 11 free scooters to replace its broken-down, 7-year-old Yamaha scooters. The new fleet includes 10 Piaggio LT 150 scooters, purchased at discounted prices, and the dealership threw in a Vespa Granturismo for free. Gail Materne, the owner of the dealership, said the NOPD received a "considerable discount" off the $3,490 retail price of the LT 150 scooters. The total cost was a little more than $27,600, said Orlando Matthews, the 8th District officer who put the deal together. The money was raised mainly through donations from sponsors such as Rothchild's Antiques, Valobra Jewelry and a smattering of other local businesses. The scooters pack a 150 cc engine with a top speed of about 65 mph, and the Granturismo has a 200 cc engine with a top speed of about 85 mph. They all have been marked with police decals and will sport two LED lights in the front and a strobe in the back. The New York Police Department is even more enamored with the scooters; recently, it bought 300 slightly higher-end Piaggio scooters. Vespa means "wasp" in Italian, a term that applies both to the buzzing noise the scooters make and the quick bursts of speed of which they're capable. "We test rode them, and we enjoyed the way they took on the bumps," said Matthews, adding that the scooters seemed durable. The advantage of a scooter, Matthews said, is that it combines the mobility and ease of use of a bicycle with the speed of a motorcycle, making it a perfect vehicle for the French Quarter. "Even the old scooters could get to things way quicker than the patrol cars could," he said. Plus, they look really cool. "We live in a city that attracts millions of tourists, and it's kind of nice to have our police riding around on a good-looking machine rather than those falling-down scooters," Materne said. The bigger, beefier Granturismo, which Materne called the "flagship" of the Vespa lineup, will be awarded to Capt. Thomas Smegal, commander of the 8th District. The scooters will be the guests of honor at a ceremony Thursday at the Crown Plaza Hotel, and they'll hit the road Friday. Matthews said the officers can't wait for their new rides. "I think they're very much going to enjoy them." (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, July 1st, 2004
8:32 pm	Harumph. I ain't heard shit from nobody. You all suck. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 29th, 2004
10:40 am	Candy corn. Psyche. I miss my Minge. I miss my iced mochas. I miss my Vespa. I miss black people. I miss making fun of people from the Westbank. I miss staring at Tulane sluts. I miss the drama. I miss dives. I miss walking around the French Quarter at 3 a.m. all hopped up on whiskey and Guiness. I miss whiskey and Guiness. I miss Mitchell´s dualism. I miss staring at Sacred Heart sluts. I miss pre-co-habitation. I miss beating up on my little brother. I miss it all. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, June 26th, 2004
3:37 pm	This is why I should carry a camera at all times. Yesterday, as I was waiting for a bus, I saw a beige 1982 Toyota Tercel with FLAMES painted on the side with two men who were rocking out to what sounded like "Billy Jean" coming throught a single tweeter. Whew. Perhaps I´m a bit too liberal with my class. I assigned a number of topics for their unit project(one being to write about your favorite band, why you like them, whether or not you think they were better at one point than in another, blah blah blah). So, one student´s favorite musician is Kurt Cobain because " he could get all the drugs he wanted and could fuck any woman he choosed to." Another student put a marijuana leaf on the front cover of his essay(Bob Marley and the Wailers). Sigh. Why did Bohb get...detained? Gotta go. (Comment on this)
Friday, June 11th, 2004
6:31 pm	Oh, yeah... My last post was in regards to a book review by Richard Rorty. It can be found at www.thenation.com (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, June 10th, 2004
6:10 pm	An elaboration on Rorty. First off, thanks Derek. Secondly, I agree with many of the critiques thrown towards postmodernism. Despite the fact that postmodernism strives to "raze the framework" of societal and philosphical norms by a. casting doubt on purpose/origins of such framework(i.e. power/epistemological issues) and b. show that alternate routes of discourse are ALWAYS available(even within those alternate routes of discourse), it has(d) taken on a positivist stance on certain things, which is EXACTLY what it was initially striving not to do. It created counter-norms. It´s similar to Nietzsche´s statement "There are no facts." You cut yourself off at the knees if you lose yourself in your own language. Another issue with postmodernism lies the "conclusions" the theorists come up with. For all of his bitching about the modern penal system, Foucault couldn´t come up with a better solution. During a debate with Maoists he labeled the judicial system as perpetually attached in its detachment because there is no such thing as a disinterested arbitrator. Try separating yourself from your ideals/beliefs for a moment. And while you´re at it, DON´T THINK OF AN ELEPHANT. This is all well and fine and I agree. However, when he was asked what the courts should be replaced with, he had no answer. Don´t even get me started on Derrida. We´ll be here all night. So, admittedly, postmodernism is full of flaws. HOWEVER it is (to me) more sensible than Kant´s categories and Plato`s Forms (or anything the Analytical Philosophers have to say). I´ve argued this before and I´ll argue it again. The point of postmodernism is NOT to set a concrete system into action. In fact, Derrida makes it a point to refer to both philosophy and history as "play"(that which is inserted and retracted at the will of X). Rationalism is never simply rationalism. We´re not computers. Binary doesn´t work. Which brings us to Wolin´s assertion that if a philosopher strays to far from his/her beliefs, the theory itself becomes null and void. First off, Wolin assumes that by simply SHOWING the fact, that this is enough. As far as I can tell he fails to get into the motivations behind certain actions(for example, Heidegger initially joined the Nazi party because he was anti-machination[whoops] and was hoping for the German spirit in the tradition of Holderlin´s Poetics to come into Being...he left the party after four years when he realized what was going on). Philosophers, like musicians, lawyers and prostitutes ARE HUMAN. And to assume that one person can live according to any one type of philosophy is absurd to begin with. Granted, while it is true that you can´t seperate yourself(and therefore what you produce) from your beliefs, the individual is not always what matters. Philosophy is produced for others. The others will do with it what they will...the beauty of postmodernism and life...everything is open to interpretation. So, because I´m "Heideggerian", does that make me a Nazi? Nope. But I sure agree with a LOT of what he says. Problems with Democracy? Of course. But for now I have to take Foucault´s stance because I simply can´t think of a better form of government. History is important(for me, the most important), even within Philosophy, folks. And, for the record...Nietzsche`s theories are quoted the most and the least understood...people LOVE not understanding Nietzsche, it seems. But even Nietzsche´s Will to Power is positivist in nature, and that´s why I don`t agree with him. It leaves little room for the possibility of Being and insists that the Superman move toward more "cultural" aspects of life. While this is nice in theory, it´s totally impractical. Bah. I´ll close with this. I still feel that most people who study philosophy are idiots. This self-incriminating statement should not be blown out of proportion for the simple reason that motivation and purpose are more important that being able to quote Decarte´s third Meditation. "Knowing" just isn´t enough sometimes. (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, June 4th, 2004
7:40 am	It didn't rain yesterday! People, I know that the subject heading won't mean for you what it means to me, but you must understand...it normally rains EVERY day. I think I know why it didn't rain, as well. I quit my agency job and I'm going to become a full-time teacher at the University. It'll pay better(I'll be making 900 dollars a month) and I won't have to travel to the ends of the earth to teach. Life is good. However, I find it hard to believe that I only have two more bimesters of teaching here and then I come home. Let's see...what's the official count? Four months, 29 days? Not that I'm looking forward to coming home or anything. Actually, I can't wait for Derek to come so that I can travel and have anal intercourse again. Sigh. I miss dem days. The funny thing is that all of the money I save will be spent on...dum dum dum duuummmm...a scooter when I come home. That's right. I'll need a mode of transportation and God knows I ain't buying a car. Cast no stones at me. On the bus today I met three girls from the U.S. who are studying abroad(North Carolina to be more specific) and one of them said that she can't wait to get back home "to hear people speak English and to eat at Applebee's." Holy shit. Something tells me that I'm going to come back and completely lose my mind. Fucking white people. Bohb, Bohb, Bohb. What the hell? I had a dream that Fuzzy died last night. I hope this isn't the case. Fuzzy, where are you? I've been reading Foucault again. Love it, love it, love it. God help me. (9 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, May 24th, 2004
5:03 pm	I´ve got a fist in my ear. People, Okay, updating I can do, but as far as making this thing sexy...well...I think my boxers are riding up my ass. How´s that for sexy? I believe that I´m giving my two weeks notice to Pro-English in three weeks so that I can become part of the full-time faculty at the University. I´ll make the same amount of money, except that I won´t have to travel all over the damned country. I have to admit...I´m thoroughly looking forward to coming home. What does it mean when you count the days you have left of a situation on the calender(153) and decide to just say ¨five months¨ because it ¨sounds like less time¨? Wait...don´t answer. I already know. Costa Rica is a nice place to visit but...I´m sure you can figure out the rest. I have also become painfully aware of how important my friends are(I swear, I´m not trying to get sappy here) while also realizing that I constantly teetered between being a really good friend to some one day, but treating those same people like shit the next day. For that I am sorry. It´s all part of being bipolar. Yes, I realize that I´m not bipolar, but that´s still a part of the disorder. Geez. Get off my case. I find myself missing my PS2. They´re "on sale" here for two hundred bucks, but I don´t feel like wasting that much money on something I already own. Speaking of which(and this is for Zack and Steven)...since you (thankfully) have not deposited that 100 bucks into my account and since Sam has a PS2, could you plese hold onto my unit and games until I come home? I´d like to make good use of it. There´s a new GTA game coming out in October. Yum. What else is new? Nothing, really. I read and read and read and write. I miss you all. See you in five months...except for Fuzzy, Derek and Will. I should be seeing you all sooner than that. Let me in on your plans, fuckers, or you´ll be sleeping on the floor. Mwah. (Comment on this)
Friday, May 14th, 2004
12:35 am	Holy crap. Well, I encountered my first bit of dissension today. I teach two classes on Tuesday and Wednesday at the University...a 7:30-10:30 and a 10:45-1:45. The first class was only okay. The students are all seventeen and it´s an intensive, which means that they have to come everyday. I can see how they would be tired. My second class WAS going well until the end when this porky little bitch decided that she didn´t want to do one of the activities. Allow me to explain. After being cooped up in a classroom for a few hours I thought that it would be nice to go outside to do an activity. This activity was a very uncontrolled activity. The students had to act out certain parts in the hopes that they would use the target language taught for the day(however, this is not a necessity). When I was dividing them into their groups this little whore told me that she wasn´t going to do the activity because it was ¨ridiculous¨...wait, allow me to write some dialogue. Me: "Okay, here´s your situation..." It: "No, I don´t want to do this out here.(Keep in mind...her dream is to be an actress). This...this exercise is just, I don´t know." Me: "It´s what? What´s the problem with it?" It: "It´s just...nothing. No, it´s just ridiculous, but YOU´RE the professor, so...¨ Me: "No, no. Don´t worry about it or stress yourself out. You don´t have to do it. It´s your participation grade, so don´t worry about it." (Keep in mind...my voice was very tense here and I could feel my back teeth grinding). So basically I played her part and you know what? The fifteen other students had a good time. In fact, five of them came up to me after class and told me how much they liked the activity. Fattie just sat on the grass and pouted the whole time. God, I fucking hate fat people. Is that politically incorrect? Eh, screw it. So yes, I realize that I AM a control freak. But what I tried to explain to her is that particular exercise is especially beneficial, especially after you´ve introduced something like the language of opinions. Luckily both my class tonight and tomorrow morning got canceled(they´re both corporates and cancelled yesterday) so I can just relax. Or try to. I´m going to fail her. Ha. Insubordinate little bitch. God, I need help. (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, May 10th, 2004
10:50 am	Oh, this is rich. So here I am, at the University, sitting here updating my livejournal when I should be teaching a class. It seems that my Department Head accidentaly gave my class to another teacher...so now she's waiting to see if she has anything else open for today. Actually, I might not mind having Monday and Wednesday mornings off. That would still give me three University classes and three Pro-English classes. But man, that extra money would be nice. I hear tell that strange things are afoot at the Magazine Street PJ's. I won't go into detail, but somebody should be careful... I know that this is a bit premature, but if you(meaning any of you masachistic people who read this drabble) happen to know anybody who is looking for a roomate in the November timeframe, I would be greatly obliged if you would tell me. I'm pretty sure that Teresa is going to want to live rent-free for a while and, to be honest with you, a room of my own would be nice. Virginia Woolf sucks. Well, I must go now. It looks like I might get a class after all. Adios. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 5th, 2004
1:40 pm	Oh, cripes. So here I am at my University, supposedly giving out English placement tests. However, I haven't had a student come by in over an hour so my body is starting to atrophy from the boredom. I've been doing this all week, actually. It's a fairly easy way to make some extra cash. The problem is that today will be a 13 hour day as I have to teach a class in Cartago tonight(which is, at best, two hours away from my house). I wish that I had more to report, but I don't. I simply work. Will might be coming to see me in late July and Derek is tenatively coming. Eh. That's all for now. (Comment on this)