Posts I wrote in my head but forgot to share

Finally buying a carpet. Buying a carpet is inexplicably a very emotional experience - both for the buyer and the seller. The buyer sips apple tea second-guessing and wondering if they are bargaining hard enough, if they are getting a fair price and if that carpet really is silk…. The seller keeps the lights turned off to save on the electric bill and clearly wants this first sale of the day (it is two in the afternoon) but not at the expense of his pride or the value of the carpet (yes, it really is silk). Maybe all shopping should be so heart wrenching. People would buy less and appreciate the goods more in the end when they finally do take it home.

Plagiarism. Plagiarism is rampant here. I want to comment on it and share my experiences in full but something stops me from doing so. All I can say is that I am amazed at the skill and energy that seem to go into the plagiarizing. Why not just write it oneself then?

Choosing a graduate program. I settled on a program. It was wonderful to feel that several programs were interested in my research ideas – a real boost for the intellectual ego. I have committed to one program and I am chomping at the bit to start. I must admit though that I am terrified. The fear of not actually being smart enough, tenacious enough and dedicated enough to preserver sneaks in. I am going to wonderful program though that really feels like it will fit. And I am going with love by my side. In the summer, I will have to change the tagline of my blog to: “An American in Edmonton.” Less alliterative but at least it promises peanut butter and pork.

Going into more than 20 drugstores to find two boxes of The Pill that works for me. Why? Is it because each box costs less than 3 YTL each? Is that why prescription medications are insanely expensive in America? Is it to do with stocking fees? Because not once have I not been able to have my order filled at one pharmacy in the U.S. But is it worth the markup? Where is the balance? Why not sell medicines cheaply but not expect people to go into more than 20 drugstores just for a two month supply!? (This is an example of how two countries might open a dialogue with one another to improve the situation for both parties.)

Submitting an idea for a show to Oprah. The idea basically has to do with importing ideas from other places in the world to solve problems at home. But also to engage an awareness that some things really are done very, very, very well in the U.S./Canada. One excellent example: public libraries and libraries in schools. But we could learn some things from folks elsewhere and could ask ourselves questions like: Why can a developing nation offer drugs and fresh produce to its people at truly affordable prices but the U.S. cannot? And also, to consider things like drying racks that don’t bow under the weight of wet clothes and communal taxis that go places people actually want to go (compared with bus stops that seem so out of place at times) for very little money. It seems like all over the world there are good ideas to import – why stop with sexy, simple, Swedish design?

Reading Tom Wolfe. My dad recommended I read his new book: I am Charlotte Simmons. But of course, the library does not have it. So I settled on four other titles that were in the library. The language is so descriptive yet direct. How does he do that?