3-day weekend mandate

i've just realized, it has been 2 whole months since us 9 to 5ers have gotten a 3-day paid holiday weekend. insane! i mean, luckily i've been fortunate to have some of that time broken up by visits to graduate school open houses, but those were unpaid vacation days, and my checking account is definitely reflecting that... if i ever became president, i would mandate a 3-day weekend. it's necessary for mental health! i think people need at least two days to party, take care of the family, or pursue personal interests and an additional day to just relax. followed by four very productive working days. doesnt that sound like a more balanced lifestyle than the status quo of working 5 days straight until you literally begin to feel yourself growing numb from looking at spreadsheets! of course, i guess the ideal situation would be to find a job that incorporates one of your personal interests, in which case it won't even feel like work anymore.

speaking of work, i've noticed that ever since i announced my intention to resign, my job responsibilities have shifted towards "short-term" projects. for example, i've begun to notice that on tuesdays, my sole responsiblity is to donate my blood as the control sample for our clinic's ongoing hemophilia research project. i've been degraded to guinea pig. and tomorrow is photocopy friday! TGIF! just call me super administrative man! i am mastering the art of clearing paper jams. it's all good though... i see my brief stint in the "real world" as a necessary learning experience. basically, i've learned that the "real world" just isn't for me... academia here i come...

museum mania and two factoids

asia society museum was interesting. jaz and i went to check out the exhibits (which was actually more about mr. rockefeller and how he was so kind and generous to create a museum about "asia"). regardless, we were pleasantly surprised when we found out that drinking was involved! fridays is free admission and happy hour at the asia society museum everyone! well, some random lady started a conversation with us while we were quietly drinking our beers. after introducing herself she said, "please excuse me while i go and circulate" to which jaz and i thought... "like blood?" how about... "excuse me, i'm gonna make like a library book, and circulate..." haha... the museum was nice, but the free nuts were better! anyway, cool factoid: if you have to choose from pine, cashew, hazel, and almond nuts... almond nuts are the least in saturated fat. (no wonder why they're the least tasty of the four)

also had my peace corps friend jason in town. he was my housemate during my year and a half long stint living in palawan, except he actually managed to stay for a total of 3 and a half years! what a champion! it's always great having an out of towner in town cause you get to do touristy things. we decided to check out the museum of the city of new york. it was a very cool museum because it touches on all interests.... history, culture, science, art... coolest factoid (and this one is actually museum related): new york city INVENTED the concept of a "regular schedule". let me elaborate... before nyc, ships would only leave once their cargo hull was full. but thanks to the innovation of new yorkers, shipping began to operate like clockwork... full or not, ships left port destined for europe or other parts of the americas on a regular basis; thus paving the way for nyc to become a major shipping hub between europe and america and thus creating a culture of efficiency and dooming the rest of us to the crazy, schedule-driven lives we all lead today.