Life in NYC

TGIF

My parents are coming to visit this weekend, but are currently delayed in Akron.  It sounds like the same thing that happened to Christie and me when we flew out a month ago.  Fortunately, it is a short flight and they should be here soon.

Expense Report

Day 28:

• Lunch from a street vendor, $4.50
• Newspaper and candy, $1.60

Day 29:

• Two slices from Tom's Pizza, $4
• Chips and Pop, $2.25

Day 30:

• Apple Juice, $1.50

Day 31:

• $0

Running in the Rain

This morning I decided that I would go running in the evening, once the weather was more appealing.  Unfortunately, the weather didn't agree.  It started raining about three minutes after I left and continued until I was almost back to the apartment.   Nevertheless, it was a good run. 

The media turned a run-of-the-mill Sunday into Clinton Day.  A few minutes spent watching Bill Clinton's first-ever interview on Fox News left me intrigued.  Clinton, thinking the interview was going to deal with his Clinton Global Initiative, ended up fielding questions about his anti-terrorism policy.  And he got a bit defensive.  It's about time somebody sticks it to pushy journalists... ;)

Jerry Falwell--who always seems to have some great quote on hand--commented on the potential presidential candidacy of Hillary Clinton.  "I hope she's the candidate, because nothing will energize my (constituency) like Hillary Clinton," Falwell said. "If Lucifer ran, he wouldn't."  Jerry Falwell... enough said. 

Speaking of the Devil, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has made a name for himself lately by continually using the term for President Bush. 

Expense Report

Day 27:

$0

Informal Networking

My recent focus has been job-oriented.  Tonight, I switched gears and tried my hand at a bit of informal networking--i.e. making friends.  Christie and I traveled about 20 blocks south and over to Central Park West for dinner with some of her graduate program friends.  I was able to indulge my love affair with Asian food and try all sorts of new delicacies from Thailand, China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. Favorites included Japanese ice cream, Big Papa cream puffs, fried rice omelets and more.  The only problem is that we have to figure a way to reciprocate given our kitchen limitations... and that is a good problem.

Expense Report

Day 26:

Columbia Market and Deli, $19.30

Evo Morales: President of Bolivia

Below are Christie's thoughts on Evo Morales' recent speech at Columbia:

On Thursday, the President of Bolivia made his first appearance in the United States, stopping at Columbia University along the way.  I was able to go and listen to him speak.

It was very interesting, because he is the first president who wasn't among the Bolivian elite to become president. He wasn't wealthy. Instead, he was a Bolivian farmer, of the indigenous people.  He the first ever indigenous President of Bolivia.

Before the president spoke, the event was initiated with the SilverCloud Singers. They are a Native American singing group. They sing tribal Native American music. They sang a welcome song for Evo Morales. I thought that this was a bit extreme, and was almost unnecessary. They were what you would think of as typical Native American music, with a guy hitting a drum and lots of yelling. They are obviously a well thought of Native American group, since they performed at the UN, but I just thought it was out of place for this event. Even the President of Bolivia was smirking trying not to laugh as they played for him. Obviously a bit different than indigenous Bolivian music.

Next came a very short speech from David Choquehuanca, foreign minister of Bolivia. It was very short and just served to present the President.

The President's speech was the best part of the entire event, and it was very very good in my opinion. He did not speak English, so there was an interpreter from the college. However, listening to him talk, you could tell that he was a very powerful speaker. He spoke of many things, from how the indigenous people were not allowed to appear in public, or even walk in the streets 30 years ago, and even today no one wears indigenous dress in the urban parts of the country.  He spoke of how there is a definite difference between those who live in the city and those who live in the country. Most who live in the city are fairly well off, and most who live in the country and poor farmers. But he spoke of how many people who live in the city go once a year to the country. Many people in the country are godparents of those in the city, and when the city people come, the country people shower them with gifts. He also said that many city people are making a huge effort to try and educate those in the country to read and write, since many of them are illiterate. He also said that many citizens cannot even vote because they have no "documents" - no proof of their birthday, no proof that they actually exist. No drivers license, no birth certificate, etc. And without that document, they cannot leave the country, they cannot vote, etc. etc. Also, the people who go to another country to work and get money from their family can never retire, because someone from Bolivia can only be a Bolivian citizen, not a dual citizen. So if those people stop working in the other country that they are living in, they get kicked out of that country, or else are never allowed to go back to their own country-Bolivia. So in essence they have to choose one or the other. He is in progress of trying to change this.

Beyond the citizens of Bolivia, Evo Morales also mentioned how Bolivia is the second most corrupt country in the world. He said it is not the citizens who are corrupt, but their politicians. People take "loans" from the government and never pay them back. Those people have their business go "bankrupt" but their personal finances never see, to suffer. He said that the politicians would pass bills to please the people, but never actually put them into use. Since Evo Morales is the first indigenous president, many events that are usually initiated by the president do not invite him as they did previous presidents because of the fact that he is indigenous.

Lastly, he spoke of the drug problems in South America. He said there is a large effort to ban the growing of coca, because it is used to make cocaine. But he said that it is not just used to make this drug, it is also eaten by the Bolivians, and chewed, etc. It is one of the healthiest plants in the world for you, if you do not use it to make cocaine. But he said growing up with so much violence (he said the rich viewed the indigenous boys like him as a Bolivean "Bin Laden"), he does not believe in forcefully stopping people of growing the plant. Instead, he is using a more passive-aggressive approach. And it's working. Production of coca has gone down in the 6 months that he has been president. So it appears that he is doing good things for the country, both socially and politically.

Three-week Summary

After three weeks, I'm two rounds into the interview with one company and I have leads with a couple others.  Developing a business network is hard work, but it is a very rewarding experience.  None of the bankers or ex-bankers with whom I've met are the Gordon Gekko type.  All very nice, very friendly and happy to help me move forward. 

I've spent a bit of time writing back to my college newspaper:

1. "Diversity", The Holcad, September 9
2. "Typecasting a College", The Holcad, September 15
3. "Satirical Admissions Letter", The Holcad, September 22

I've spent time attending lectures, given by eminent investors, economists, journalists and historians.  I've read a few books, but I've bought a few more.  I've set a personal three-week record for miles ran.  I learned to navigate a new city, and thoroughly enjoy it.  I've even found a few of the places mentioned in songs by Simon & Garfunkel.

Overall, I've had a lot of fun.

Expense Report

Day 24:

$0

Day 25:

• Morton Williams University Supermarket, $5.93
• Lunch from a street vendor (40th and Park), $4

Discussion Nights and Soup-making

The past few days have been very interesting.  On Monday, I attended the World Leaders Forum at Columbia to hear Joseph Stiglitz and George Soros.  I spent Tuesday afternoon interviewing and then barely made it to listen to Eric Foner speak about Reconstruction in Mississippi.  And now tonight, as I am writing, I'm attempting to replicate my Aunt Claudia's chicken noodle soup.  I consider all four tasks equally as daunting.

Stiglitz and Soros on Globalization

This talk focused on the problems of globalization, including a fundamentally flawed system of intellectual property rights, poor government, and an asymmetry between the movement of capital and the movement of labor.  The result is a trade system that is incredibly unfair to those in developing countries.  Globalization tends to reward those with skills and assets (which number very few in developing countries).  Stiglitz pointed out that the underlying principles of globalization make several quesitonable assumptions, including the "everybody wins" theory of free trade. Much of this is due to the fact that economic globalization has outpaced political globalization. Free trade would be nice, but is not politically feasible in wealthy countries because their unskilled workers would see drastically reduced wages.  Therefore, the wealthy countries create policies (like the WTO Uruguay Round) that leave developing countries bearing almost all of the risk of globalization.

Foner on Reconstruction

The book discussed was a work of popular history entitled, Redemption: The Last Battle of the Civil War.  It was written by Nicholas Lemann, the Dean of the Journalism School at Columbia.  It dealt primarily with an armed wing of the Democratic party during the Reconstruction era and the fall of Reconstruction in Mississippi in 1875--specifically, calling Republican party meetings "negro uprisings" and dispersing them as such.  Lemann also spoke of the realities behind the coming of Jim Crow and cited C. Vann Woodward as a major influence. 

Foner spoke of how much of the American South still focuses on an old, rather racist view of Reconstruction. 

   

Well, that was exhausting.  I'm off to bed!

Expense Report

Day 21:

• Barnes and Noble, $30+
• Books at the World Leaders Forum, $38

Day 22:

• Lunch from a street vendor, $2.50

Day 23:

• Fairway Market,

Another Day in the City

Today was spent researching for an upcoming interview.  Not much to write.

Expense Report

Day 18:  Bed, Bath and Beyond, approx. $140

Day 19:  $0

Day 20:  $0

Hello Visitors!

Friday.  Delta Airlines and Mother Nature left my parents stranded in New York City.  They arrived in the early evening during one of the worst days of weather since my arrival.  All of us rode up the street for dinner at Caffe Swish.

Saturday.  A friend's wedding brought Aunt Rhonda and Jamie to the area in the late afternoon.  I brought them back to the apartment to check things out, and then we went down the street for dinner. 

All of the visitors were a pleasant surprise. I didn't expect to see anyone until my sister in early October.

Return of the Rain

The rain is back.  It started last night and hasn't stopped.  My daily run through the park found me very much alone.  I suppose the others were wiser, as I returned cold, wet and feeling a bit worse.

Expense Report

Day 16:

• $0

Day 17:

• Washing machine time, $3.75
• Dryer time, $1.25