Perception Vs. Reality part 1 (teachers)

     I'm in summer mode and just felt like addressing some issues that I feel like could use correcting in society. This post isn't centered on a particular theme besides "These are things I think people misunderstand and I would like to shed some light on them."
     The items I'll be writing about are drawn from my experiences in San Jose/the Bay Area/California - they may or may not apply to positions out of state, region, or even city - but I'm willing to bet there's some (or considerable) overlap across these lines. Things I want to write about are:

• The feasibility of teaching as a profession
• The dangers of policing
• The economic status of servers (specifically them and not other restaurant staff)

     After spelling out the things I wanted to write about, I realized there is a common theme, and that is: people can be very vocal in tooting their own horn to create sympathy. Additionally (or alternatively?), they do not speak out against misconceptions that benefit them.

How do I mean? In brief, and respectively, a few commonly held ideas:

• Teachers are wildly underpaid
• Police officers put their lives on the line every day
• Servers don't make enough to get by

     Well, this post wouldn't be a thing if I agreed with those things, right? Right. In short, I think each of those points is, by & large, wrong. AS A REMINDER, I am painting in broad strokes - as in these ideas will not hold for every person out there, but that they apply more often than not (& hate to say it, but most of us are statistically NOT the exception so... keep that in mind).
     Although I'm not qualified in the sense of having a high-level overview of teacher pay throughout the state, I do have the power of Google at hand (here's the query, if you're interested: "district name salary schedule," e.g. "east side union high school district salary schedule" or "san jose unified salary schedule"). The salary schedule shows you how much teachers get paid according to their experience and education level and works for every local district I've tried. So, what kind of numbers am I working with? First of all, assume an 8-hour workday like everyone else. Assuming 5 periods of teaching (which is the norm) and 45 min to an hour for break and lunch combined - that's about 6 hours of work. Add on 2 hours for lesson prep, grading, and other responsibilities - boom, you've got your 8-hour workday. So how much do teachers get paid? Well, in ESUHSD, starting salary is 60k. For 182 days of work, that works out to 1456 hours worked, and.... how many dollars per hour? Do NOT calculate - just guess.

Seriously.
Guess.
Just do it.

     Works out to slightly over $41/hour not to mention some of the best benefits in the state (relative to other districts). At that hourly rate, and for some other job (depending on time off), that works out to anywhere from 75k/year (6 weeks off) to 82k/year (2 weeks off). Not bad, right? & that's just to start! If you get your Master's ASAP (which I really should have done if I wasn't busy taking my sweet time), the pay bumps get pretty sweet. I'm not at the top bracket of the pay scale and my pay is set to be ~$51/hour this year, give or take.
     Don't get me wrong - I still feel underpaid because I can't move out on my own without absolutely hamstringing my budget or living with more roommates than I think a contributing member of society should have to live with. That's besides the point, though - then we're getting into how I feel about society overall and how screwed we let ourselves get. To stay on topic, I maintain that teachers are not wildly underpaid relative to other professions (define "wildly" as you please). & there's something else I haven't even gotten to.
     Notice - I haven't even mentioned the breaks. The glorious, glorious breaks! To make a long story short, I feel like I work 75% of the time for 80% of the pay. I know that's not the truth of it (especially when compared to the engineers, financiers, and other white collar workers of Silicon Valley), but compared to ... everyone else? It's mandatory work-life balance, with an option to work OT if you're a go-getter (summer school, coaching, subbing for other classes). If that's not a hell of a trade-off, I don't know what is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
     Now my friends might not have summer off for us to enjoy together, but that's a workplace issue that y'all need to figure out - other folks in different countries don't let themselves get absolutely shafted when it comes to taking leave. Guess it's an American thing to be proud of letting your employer bone you? You can come at me and say anything you want about being entitled - and all I really have to say is, you're going to bat for a lower quality of life. In 2019, with the absolute laundry list of tech advancements since the Industrial Revolution (or how about just the past 3 decades?)?! I'm sorry, but if you want a hard life for yourself for the sake of a hard life, your vision is just too small for humanity. I see a world where challenge is self-directed, not society-inflicted.
     It may sound naive of me to say that, but take an honest look around - in a world where we can produce as much as we produce, and waste as much as we waste, do you really think the shackles that prevent us from living our best lives are not imposed on us by society (vs. natural resources and technological limitations)?
     That ended up being a lot longer than I expected, so I guess this will turn into a series. Thanks for reading!

Banff

Trip details

• Duration: 7/13/19-7/19/19 (originally planned for the 20th, but we returned a day early to make it in time for Toan's wedding)
• Flight: United (~3 hours, each way), $394 for the both of us
• Accommodation: Room 224 @ the Red Carpet Inn, in a King-sized (?) bed

 I will do this write-up in 2 formats: a brief overview of daily activities, then a more thorough look at trip highlights.

Day 1 (Saturday):

• Dad drives us to SFO at 5:30AM. We take off at ~745 and get to Calgary around noon. 
• Head out to Banff and get there around 6 or 7?
• Park it, check in, and grab dinner at The Bison

Day 2 (Sunday):

• Our first day of activity - Aylmer lookout (14+ miles) at Lake Minnewanka, starting at ~7AM. 
• We do 10 miles, but don't complete
• Lunch
• Hot tub
• Dinner at Chaya

Day 3 (Monday):

• Canoeing at Emerald Lake
• Lake Louise
• Hiked to Lake Agnes up to the tea house. Continued on to Little Beehive, then returned to our car.
• Dinner at Earl's happy hour

Day 4 (Tuesday):

• Aylmer lookout (Take 2) 
• Started the hike at ~11, didn't finish 'til ~6. 
• So freakin' pooped, we just got dinner then passed out.
• Dinner at The Balkan + pasta from Ticino and pizza from Bear Street Tavern (terrible, btw)

Day 5 (Wednesday):

• Via Ferrata 
• Lunch at Eddie Burger
• Midsommar
• Booked a photog
• Dinner at Sushi House

Day 6 (Thursday):

• Moraine Lake - Larch Valley to Sentinel Pass
• Consolation Lakes 
• Lunch at Park Distillery
• Photo shoot
• Dinner at Earl's (again)

Day 7 (Friday):

• Time to go home :(

Day 1 (Saturday):

• Dad drives us to SFO at 5:30AM. We grab breakfast at the SF Giants Clubhouse using our Priority Passes - we both order the same big breakfast burrito. We take off at ~745 and get to Calgary around noon. Have lunch at Alumni - we share the hot chicken sandwich, taco salad, charred broccoli, and the parmesan fries. It was a lot, but what can I say? We're on vacation ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
• Walk about the city some (the downtown area is so picturesque), hit up the mall (with a freakin' awesome garden at the top floor), then head out to Banff.
• Park it, check in, and dinner at the Bison (I get the steak with chimichurri, Daisy gets some kind of fish with pasta, and we share the elk poutine [which was actually gnocchi, oddly enough]). The "poutine" may have been my fav dish of the trip - it was mad delicious and I ate it before I was getting sick of American/bar food.

Day 2 (Sunday):

• Our first trail was to Aylmer lookout at Lake Minnewanka, starting at ~7AM. We wanted to get our biggest hike out of the way and spend the rest of the week cruising on smaller ones.
• After 5 miles (and an additional 45 min of waiting for another group to show), we turn around after the scariest warning sign of bears - it's an area where people have been attacked before, so they require hiking with bear spray (which we had) and in a group of 4 (we were only 2). The walk back is disappointing, but when we get back to the trailhead, we see a goat standing (quite majestically) atop a rock at one end of the bridge.
• The goat ends up crossing the bridge to reach her kid - all of us make way so the goat can cross, and she passes close enough where we could reach out and give her a pet (but we don't).
•  Also spent 15-20 minutes hanging out on the lakeshore, skipping rocks and just enjoying the setting.
• Lunch was at Indian Curry House (the lamb madras was alright, but the garlic naan was particularly choice) & dinner was at Chaya - I got the Tan Tan ramen and Daisy got the katsu curry with an extra serving of katsu. Surprisingly, one of the best ramens I've had. The katsu curry was delicious as well. 
• Afterwards, we strolled along the main strip and came across a BeaverTails. They sell dessert that's basically a fried slab of dough slathered with your choice of toppings. It smelled like sweet heaven, so we made a stop and bought one that had Nutella and banana. It tasted as delicious as it smelled - a killer dessert, for sure. 

Day 3 (Monday):

• Some context: we started our previous hike at 7AM and when we were waiting for some company for us to continue the hike with, we did not see another group until we were well on our way back to the car.
• We assumed that people in the area just got a late start, so we left to Lake Louise at about 9AM, which was about 45 minutes away from our hotel. Unfortunately, it was stupid packed. We wasted 15-20 min driving up to (then immediately out of) the parking lot
• So, we drove another 15-20 min to Emerald Lake and spent ~2 hours canoeing. Before we left, we grabbed some parm fries that would've been killer if they were hotter :( . But they were well-seasoned with a ton of cheese so that was nice.
• By the time we got back to Lake Louise, people were starting to leave and parking spots were slowly opening up. We were fortunate to get one and not just be sent back out of the lot.
• At Lake Louise, we took a few photos before starting our hike. At the end of our initial trail, there was a tea house where we ended up sharing a pot of tea and a serving of an apple crumble. It was cool because chipmunks were getting all up in the mix scrounging around for scraps. They were super adorable and not shy at all.
• We continued on to Little Beehive trail, took in some more amazing views, then returned to our car.
• We grab dinner at Earl's happy hour - from what I can work out, it's a Canadian Yard House with a better happy hour. We get the dynamite roll, buffalo cauliflower, Santa Fe chicken salad, and their crispy ribs. The crispy ribs were like salt and pepper style, but lemon pepper flavor. Definitely my favorite item of the meal.
• After dinner, we talk about our plans: to sleep in and do one or 2 short hikes tomorrow, and to give Aylmer Lookout another try on Thursday morning. We would go later and hope to run into another group that we could tag along with.

Day 4 (Tuesday):

• After sleeping in 'til 9 or so, Daisy says we probably have to give the hike a try today because there was snow in the forecast on Tuesday. We hop out of bed, get dressed, pack up, and head out. 
• At the trailhead, we see.... a bunch of older folks (8-10), some of whom were reading the warning sign and clearly not moving on. There was only one other couple that looked like they might have been heading out the same way - we approached them, and after some chit chat, they decided to join us (they weren't planning on hiking much that day, apparently). Jess & Blake from Ohio - I couldn't be more grateful for anyone else on our entire trip. They made it possible for us to hit the trail comfortably and to completion, even though the whole trip took us about 7 hours. The longest hike I've ever been on, with the most gratifying view of the trip. Through the sprinkles and more serious rain, the mosquitoes, the bear taking a deuce in the woods ~25-30 feet away, I enjoyed it all.
• We got back and shared a lamb skewer at the Balkan. Then, we grabbed a pasta dish from Ticino on our way back to the hotel. Lastly, we grabbed the Hawaiian pizza from Bear Street Tavern - I'm not sure there was any meal more disappointing. This spot had 4 stars on Yelp and came recommended to us by a number of people on the trip. The crust was legit frozen-pizza quality, toppings were scarce, and it was just a disappointment overall. We crushed the whole thing 'cause that's what you do when you skipped the rest of the day's meals and went hiking for 7 hours. But sheesh that awful meal capped an otherwise terrific day.

Day 5 (Wednesday):

• We had signed up to do a Via Ferrata route at 8:30 on Mt. Norquay (which, surprisingly, is pronounced phonetically lol). We hopped on a free shuttle, got there, and spent the next 4 hours in a group of 8 climbing up to a particular viewpoint then back down. They offered 2 longer routes of 5 and 6 hours - I'm glad we didn't pick those because I felt like we had to travel slowly to accommodate the entire group, which would have been annoying if we had to do that for longer than we did. Awesome experience climbing up and around a mountain.
• We grabbed lunch at Eddie Burger - another highly recommended spot. I thought it was alright, but the burger was def overcooked :/. 
• We went to the theater to see Midsommar - it was about as weird/creepy as the trailer made it out to be. Daisy went shopping for a lil bit since we set up a photo shoot for the next day. I browsed the bookstore for awhile. I don't think either of us was particularly hungry, but neither of us wanted to head back to the hotel only to go back out later, so we headed to dinner. 
• Dinner at Sushi House was great. I am definitely surprised that we enjoyed the 2 Asian spots the most - I think we both thought that such a touristy town would have terrible Asian food (and indeed, the Vietnamese and Chinese spots were both rated at 1-2 stars). It was a small restaurant and there were just 3 people running the show, just like at Chaya. It was a sushi-train style restaurant, and the chef was just working to perfection, pumping out really good sushi and managing everyone's requests.

Day 6 (Thursday):

• We are going to see Moraine Lake. Unfortunately, it shares the same area as Lake Louise - i.e. it's gonna be similarly packed out. We leave at 5AM to get to the lake at 6. By the time we get there, the parking lot's still got spots (fortunately). We get started on the Larch Valley Trail to make it to Sentinel Pass.
• It sprinkles on our way up, then it starts to rain. We hike for an hour or so when... it starts snowing. Hard (to us, at least). We turn around and make our way back down, and hit up another trail.
• The 2nd trail we go on is to see, appropriately enough, Consolation Lakes. It's a nice hike, not very crowded, and just absolutely beautiful at the end. We clambered over a good deal of rocks to get closer to the water.
• We hang out for a good while at the lakes, then head back.
• We head back for lunch, which ended up being a cod chowder at Park Distillery, along with a brisket sandwich and the rotisserie chicken. 
• We chill out for a few hours, killing some time before heading back to Moraine Lake for our photoshoot. 
• It was supposed to be for an hour, but ended up taking 2. The weather was freezing, and we spent a lot of time putting on and taking off extra layers. Our photographer was very chatty, which helped to loosen us up. For something that we booked last minute and for our first photo shoot, I had a load of fun, freezing weather notwithstanding.

Day 7 (Friday):

• Time to go home :(
• I hate it when a vacation ends. We grab another Beavertail in Banff (potentially my favorite item to eat all trip) and do some last minute gift-shopping, then head back to Calgary (bout an hour and a half from Banff).
• We grab lunch at Charcut which was just alright. Grab some final snacks at the local Shoppers (which is like... Walgreens or Rite-Aid) before heading to the airport.

Money/Budgeting/Spending in Your Late 20's

     First off, it's crazy to say that I'm in my late 20's. Second, I'm writing this to share perspective for anyone who hasn't taken the time to think about how they spend their money. Particularly for folks in their 20's, as it's probably best to get your financial house in order as soon as you can. I'll start out with some hard numbers:
     My salary this year is 57k, give or take. Because of taxes, union dues, and pension contributions, I take home something around 33-35k (the reason that's a range is because I had to pay more in taxes than usual and that's throwing off my calculations a bit). For the rest of the post, I'll work with 33k. Monthly, that works out to about $2,750.
     Before I dish out numbers - I'd like to acknowledge my priorities. They are, in order from greatest to least: paying for the necessities (shelter + food, car costs), saving for a home/the future in general, and travel. You'll notice that eating/drinking out does not show up on this list of priorities. You'll see it in my budget, but I would say eating/drinking out is extremely low for me. The primary purpose when I do is socialization - with Daisy, family, friends. It happens regularly (as in every weekend) without fail, but is NOT a priority. I spend on it anyways. All that to say: whatever you spend on, you should be cool with. Without further ado, here are the categories (accompanied by a number and a % of my 2,750)

     Rent (18%): 500 (remaining: 2,250)
     Gas/insurance (8%): 220 (2030)
     Food (7.27%): 200 (1830)
     Travel (16.36%): 450 (1380)
     Eating/drinking out (7.27%): 200 (1180)
     Misc (3.63%): 100 (1080)
     Retirement (7.27%): 200 (880)
     House/the future (32%): 880 (0)

     A few notes:

• I paid rent from Aug 2017-June 2018, when I started my Master's program. My parents gave me a 1-year pass and my rent payments turned into school payments.
• The number for travel is kinda high and has actually been recently downsized and reallocated to "the future." I just left it at that because it was like that for awhile and $5400 over a year's worth of travel isn't too much considering how flights, accommodations, and eating out adds up. Additionally, I'd much rather travel in my youth. 
• Retirement is probably not a category that I will continue to contribute to after this year, for a couple reasons: 1) banking on collecting that sweet pension when I retire & 2) a dollar now is worth much more when I am saving for school/a home than when I am retired. I'll have made it by then, and if I haven't then my life will be more miserable than some money could offset. 
• You might be of the opinion that my numbers for travel and eating out are high relative to my income (650/2760, or ~23.64%). I see where you're coming from because 23% is a significant share. Let's look at the numbers, though:
• At $880/month, it'd take ~19 years to save up for a $200k down payment.
• Yes, I know you can put less than 20% down
• But I'm already poor - what do I look like paying for PMI? It's a penalty for not having more money saved up. Nothx.
• Yes, I know you can find a home for less than a million dollars
• In what part of San Jose, in what condition, & in 20 years? If it'll take me nearly 2 decades to save up for a down payment - at that rate, I'm way past the point of a starter home. Even assuming minimal (as in, unrealistically minimal) appreciation, a 3br/2ba house would be past the million mark. So if anything, $200k is a conservative estimate (as in lower, not politically conservative).
• Well now - how 'bout I completely reallocate that 650? That brings it up to 1530/month
• At that rate, it would take just under 11 years to save $200k.

     So... yeah. As much as I would love to own a home, and as high as it is on my list, it's not THAT high. It's not "give up travel for 11 years" high. It's not "don't go out for 11 years" high. My quality of life would take such a nose dive for so long that it's just not worth it to me.

& now, to address some holes in my presentation:

• That 880 figure will not be a constant - it'll grow as my income grows (if you're wondering, it'll take me another 5-6 years to hit 6 figures). 
• I'm not paying for a home myself (well... I hope not)
• I can make more money throughout the year 

     However, I wrote it the way I did to show how difficult it can be for someone to buy a home. I'm not sure how accurate this is, but if 40% of Americans can't cover a $400 expense, then my savings of $880/month is a significant amount (Bay Area cost of living notwithstanding). In the face of saving for a home in San Jose, though - $880/month is just a drop in the bucket. So... it's crazy depressing and I definitely envy my peers with more buying capability, but them's the breaks ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Happy saving/spending - thanks for reading!

   

Personal Finance & Democracy

     A couple things really boggle my mind: 1) for whatever reason (being bad at basic math, lack of planning, an outsized desire to keep up with the Joneses, who honestly knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯), Americans are terrible at personal finance. This leads to my second point: we propagate a culture of not discussing money because people don't want to discuss something they are not good at or they are embarrassed at how little they know/understand - in other words, ACTIVELY promoting ignorance. Unfortunately, this ignorance of finance is also linked (in my opinion) to a general ignorance of government and democracy.
     You know the saying - knowledge is power. & as pressing as income inequality is, I think that actually just stems from another, more impactful circumstance of American life - knowledge inequality. You know who is financially illiterate? The average Joe. According to the St. Louis Fed, 57% of respondents couldn't answer 3 basic q's. If you check out that link and think those 3 questions don't accurately gauge financial literacy, then here are some more disturbing stats - 43% of Americans can't cover a $400 emergency, 38% of US households have CC debt to the tune of $16,000 at 16.75 APR (a terrible rate), and 56% of American adults have little or no retirement savings (33% have nothing saved + 23% have <$10,000 saved).
     You know who is financially literate (& just so happens to benefit from the general population's ignorance)? People who set interest rates, CEO's, landlords, the whole financial sector (obviously), among others - basically, anyone who runs anything has to be financially literate. Don't get me wrong - I'm not so paranoid as to think that there's a conspiracy of elite plotting how to keep the general populace in the dark. I think the sad truth is that we've buried our heads so far in the sand that there doesn't need to be.
     This circumstance - a minority of people who know how money works in the short & long-term compared to a majority who do not - creates other outcomes. A poor understanding of money leads to a poor understanding of government - from implementation (because policies require $$$ to enact, but people have no money sense) to elections (because more $$$ leads to higher chances of election, even though people think they are voting on ideas [while they are actually voting based on ads + exposure/propaganda]). Finally, a poor understanding of government leads to support of poor policies, officials, and institutions.
     With all that being said - what's there to do? Well, ignorance is combated with education. Here is a great start. You could also search "personal finance." If you're opposed to learning by reading - go the social route! Talk to your parents, your friends, your coworkers - anybody, really*. At this age, there's no good excuse not to learn about how money works. Your housing, your diet, your health, transportation, and everything in between - they all revolve around money. & for crap's sake - you need to abandon the notion that talking about money is a bad thing. Don't forget - knowledge is power. & don't let anyone tell you otherwise!

*Full disclosure: I am a (pretty?) open book when it comes to money talks. Salary, budget, savings, retirement - you name it, I'll talk about it. I'm sure if you reach out to those you are close with, they'll display a similar willingness to discuss.

On America's Lack of a Team Mindset

     Americans love team sports (and sports in general). We consume them year-round in many forms, across many venues, and across so many demographics. Young or old, minority or not, the great majority of us take in sports in some form or other. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL - is there even a calendar day in the year you can't catch at least one of the major sports (I honestly don't know)? Yet, for all our love of team sports, why do so many of us have such a poor concept of what it's like to be part of a team?
     If you play, observe, or are familiar with team sports in a general capacity (one group of people tries beating another group of people in a contest), you're familiar with the idea that a team is only as good as its weakest player. If you're a basketball person, it might look like attacking the same, slow-footed player on the other team. If you're a football fan, it's spamming plays to continuously target one particularly (relatively) bad opponent that you know you can catch in a bad position. Games, series, and most certainly championships (Patriots attacking Goff in 2019) have been won/lost (Cavs decimating Curry in 2017) by attacking particular players. Those are just 2 famous examples, but I had to bring them up because I feel like a lot of people don't understand the concept, or they understand the concept in the context of sports but don't go on to extend that understanding to society/politics.
     So what's the tie to society? Well there are many, really. Here are the first 3 things that come to mind, and they are relevant to everybody:

• Education
• Health
• Wealth

     As it pertains to education: a country is only as educated as its least educated member. Say what you want about college, but it offers the opportunity for you to learn just about anything you are interested in. This isn't to divide those who attended college and those who did not. I am just saying that the opportunity to learn is a great thing. & although plenty of my learning came from reading, a fair amount took place through discussion. Lastly, even aside from the formal education, there are the opportunities to meaningfully interact with people from a much wider range of backgrounds that is just harder to get outside of that space.
     As it pertains to health: a country is only as healthy as its least healthy member. There's just too many ways to consider this one. Nutritional health. Mental health. Physical health. There's so many ways we're lacking. It's depressing to speak on it too much, so I'll just drop one tidbit: in the country with the largest economy in the world, about 13% of households experienced food insecurity in 2015 (according to the USDA). This impacted millions of children, so... yeah. We can't even reliably feed our kids. If that doesn't say anything to you about the state of our country, I don't know what to tell you.
     As it pertains to wealth: a country is only as wealthy as its poorest members. This one is just laughably obvious to me. There are those who would have you believe that, since there are so many billionaires in our borders, that somehow benefits the rest of the country. Do y'all think that living in the same country as billionaires is of any comfort to those without water, medical access, or a roof over their heads? Lack of education and propaganda got people so good that they feel privileged just to grace the same soil as the super wealthy. Let me spell it out for you: just because Jeffrey Epstein is so rich and connected that he can abuse kids and get off with nary a slap on the wrist, that puts ABSOLUTELY NO MONEY in your pockets to help you pursuit happiness or fulfill your potential.
     & if you think that anybody who is in dire straits "deserves it" - I can't deny that some certainly do. But I will remind you that bad things happen to good people - and if you're so devoid of empathy, compassion, and/or understanding that you don't see fit to pick up those who have only fallen due to poor luck, I sincerely hope that you'll eventually come to a better understanding of the world.

How to: Engage With a Racist/Misogynist/Homophobe

     Something I've noticed with the polarizing effect of the Presidency and politics is a prevalence of people disconnecting from others when there are disagreements. Things like "If you think x is okay, I don't wanna be friends" - you know what I'm referring to. Instances of this that I've seen on my feed or heard about in person have gone like this:

• "I don't have the energy to educate you about insert topic here, bye Felicia"
• "Since the election, people have really shown their true colors and made it easy to unfriend/unfollow"
• "We found out Bob doesn't like lesbians, so we don't hang out with him anymore."

     I don't really get that, though. If you react in any of those ways, you recognize that there is something you want to change. Whether it's because of your tiredness or frustration, you just give up. So you've turned any possibility of change to 0%. 

     Not only that, but I think there's a serious lack of perspective when you want to quit. You gotta remember - first impressions and long-held beliefs are tough nuts to crack, and nearly impossible if you engage in some form of argument. I'm pretty certain hostility and confrontation causes us to hold even tighter onto our beliefs. So what's the appropriate way to engage?

     Sounds boring, but I think the answer is pretty simple. Eat, drink, shoot the breeze. Be open and understanding. Listen to another perspective. Over time, they'll come around - but not without nudging. Quitting on someone, though*? That's definitely not the way - you've either robbed someone of your perspective or successfully gave that person reason to dismiss your position.

     If you think it is an unwarranted burden** that you must be the one to explain, or coax, or whatever - I hate to say it, but you could be complicit in the perpetuation of whatever issue it is you want to support. In the words of Dr. King, only love can drive out hate. Not shouting down ignorant folks, or pushing them away. Love.

If you don't think this is a very good idea, I think this (short) article would be a great read for you: Guy befriends and converts 200+ Klansmen

*Don't get me wrong - I know there are plenty of folks who are absolutely intractable. You can sort out the people to invest your time in, I'm sure.

**Also, burdensome as it may feel, we are always representative of the groups we are a part of. You might not like it, but it's a fact that you have contributed, in ways big and small, to thousands of others' ideas of what it's like to be you, whether you're gay/straight, yellow/white/black/brown, etc. etc. So wear it proudly and represent your groups well. 

The Wall

     With the government shutdown about to hit the 3-week mark & with no end in sight (combined with the fact that I haven't written in awhile), I thought I'd write some about it. I think most folks get the gist of it, but I'll go over the main points anyways:

• While campaigning for the presidency, one of Donald Trump's main selling points was to build a wall along the country's southern border. (Speaking of main selling points, whatever happened to "Lock her up"?) Anyways, not only would this wall prevent all sorts of bad characters from making their way in, but Mexico would pay for it! Not 10%, or 20%, or even 50%. They would pay for all of it.
• Almost 2 years from his inauguration, the wall hasn't been built (and Hillary hasn't been locked up either, now that I think about it ... hmmm.) and Mexico won't pay for it. Since Mexico won't pay for the wall, but we need to have a wall, then we will pay for the wall. Every single dollar of the $5,700,000,000 that he is requesting. & if you're the type to believe in government inefficiency/cronyism, then you just know that price tag does not match what could eventually be spent on it (God forbid).

     While most of the country sits around wondering when the government will get it together and resume business (without paying for said wall), there are still plenty (as in millions) of Americans who clamor for the wall. In fact, there are over 3 million signatures collected here "LETTING POLITICIANS KNOW YOU WANT THE WALL." So, y'know, there's that. Oh, & about 335,000 people willing to shell out, on average, $60 (collectively, they've raised $20,000,000. Just $5,680,000000 to go!) to fund the wall. What I don't understand about these people (and everyone else who is supportive of taxpayer money going to the wall) is why they aren't upset that the President pulled one over on them? Like if someone offered to take me out to dinner and then left me with the check, I'd be pretty annoyed. Assuming a casual dinner for 2 amounts to $50, then you'd just have to scale up by 114,000,000 to match what President Trump is doing to the American people for his wall! 

     I know there are other perspectives to approach this from. Ethical, political, humanitarian, racial, whatever. But on a personal level, doesn't it bother you that the person you voted for and trust is taking you for a ride? Or maybe you're just not the type to, I don't know, have the self-respect to hold someone else accountable? Ah well, we just gotta deal for... 2 more years, maybe 6 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.