News flash: Amid a surge of gas prices, the oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. announced quarterly profits of over 8 billion, making it the 5th highest quarterly profit ever recorded in US and world history...
Sadly, in spite of these news Exxon Mobil's shares dropped 1% because investors and stock holders were expecting higher profits. Uhh, yeah, 8 billion and the 5th highest quarterly profit in history are clearly not enough.
And their simple solution to the problem? Keep ripping off the rest of the world and increase gas prices even more. After all, they gotta make up for the $800 million they recently gave away to outgoing Exxon chair as a retirement package.
The world is such a crazy place.
-Me: I want to go home for about 2 weeks when classes are done, I only get to go once or twice a year and these are the only vacations I take during the year.
-Advisor: Well, you are only supposed to get about 4 weeks of vacation a year and you've already taken over three weeks during Xmas and J-term. Plus, you're behind in your research.
-Me: But I didn't join the group until after J-term was over!
-Advisor: I don't care. You should also consider that there are some international students who spend years without going home at all.
So basically she took away vacation time from before I even started working for her. How does that make any sense at all? She hasn't even paid me for any of my work yet! (the school is)
And I'm also behind in my research. It's not enough that I go a couple of times a week to do experiments, even though I'm taking 2 advanced classes and I teach for roughly 15 hours a week. Let's not mention that I also want to have some spare time for a personal life.
No matter what she says, I'm taking vacation time to go home and visit my family. I'm burned out enough from the semester that I'll go crazy if I start her 50+ hours a week summer schedule right after classes end. To tell the truth, I had been considering the idea of switching advisors for a while, and now I'm seriously thinking about it...I don't care if it somewhat backtracks my progress, I'm not happy working there as it is, and this will pay off in the long run.
Nothing like a little grad school drama to end the semester with. The question is, what group can I/do I want to join now?
About time one of these infamous republicans running the country got what he deserves. I've been keeping track of politics (it's almost a hobby of mine now) since summer '05, and this world-class hypocrite certainly tops the list of the most hateful people I've run into in the realm of politics (honorable mention: Bush, Cheney, Falwell, Robertson, Harris, Bachmann and probably a bunch of other Grand Old Partiers I can't remember at the moment).
So in case you'll miss Tom's gifted speech appearing every now and then in the media, here are some of my favorite Delay quotes that speak for themselves:
- I am the federal government (after being told to put out his cigar because of federal laws banning smoking in buildings).
- Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare, the teaching of evolution in the schools, and working mothers who take birth control pills.
- A woman can take care of the family. It takes a man to provide structure. To provide stability.
- Emotional appeals about working families trying to get by on $4.25 an hour [the minimum wage in 1996] are hard to resist. Fortunately, such families do not exist.
- It's never been proven that air toxins are hazardous to people.
Yeah, that's what I thought.
No se por qué se me dió por escribir en español esta vez, no escribo hace tanto que me da no se que.
Por suerte se terminó esta semana horrible. Espero que me haya ido bien en mis dos exámenes, aunque no importa, lo mejor de esta semana es que al fin me curé de este refrio/tos/malestar que me fastidiaba desde hace dos semanas. Hace rato que no me enfermaba por tanto tiempo. Este viernes volví a pisar el gimnasio y me encantó.
Mañana a lo mejor tengo una cita, jaja. Veremos como va eso, aunque a decir verdad no estoy tan excitado.
Justo ahora me puse a pensar en una de las pocas cosas que aprendí/recuerdo de mi clase de español de secundaria. Cuando leí este poema por primera vez me maté de la risa, y después de tantos años me sigue gustando....al fin y al cabo soy un cínico empedernido de vez en cuando.
Nunca estamos conformes del quehacer de los demás
y vivimos a solas sin pensar en los demás,
como lobos hambrientos, acechando a los demás,
convencidos que son nuestro alimento, los demás.
Los errores son tiestos que tirar a los demás;
los aciertos son nuestros y jamás de los demás;
cada paso un intento de pisar a los demás,
cada vez mas violento es el portazo a los demás.
Las verdades ofenden si las dicen los demás,
las mentiras se venden, cuando compran los demás;
somos jueces mezquinos del valor de los demás
pero no permitimos que nos juzguen los demás.
Nuestro tiempo es valioso, pero no el de los demás;
nuestro espacio, precioso, pero no el de lo demás,
nos pensamos pilotos del andar de los demás;
donde estemos nosotros que se jodan los demás.
Condenamos la envidia, cuando envidian los demás,
más lo nuestro es desidia, que no entienden los demás.
Nos creemos selectos entre todos los demás;
seres pluscuamperfectos, con respecto a los demás.
Y olvidando que somos los demás de los demás,
nos hacemos los sordos, cuando llaman los demás
porque son tonterías escuchar a los demás,
lo tildamos de manía al amor por los demás.
4/02/06 - PS: Meh, no me gustó tanto mi cita...cuando voy a encontrar a alguien interesante?