And you thought Illinois was bad

A good run down on the ridiculousness of Nicaragua's corruption, specifically "El Pacto." Living there for two years really made me appreciate our government. Warts and all.

Translating "el gordo," Aleman's nickname, into its English equivalent makes me laugh. Fat Man.

Flickr Pics

For those interested, I've finally posted my pictures from this past summer, my last few months in Nicaragua, and Brian's wedding.

You can find them on my Flickr page. Enjoy.

Bored?

"Are you bored yet?" My boss has asked me this a couple of times since I started working here about a month ago. I normally just politely respond with something like "No. It's all new to me, so it's fun learning how everything works." That's essentially the truth, I am enjoying learning something new, but I might give her the whole truth the next time she asks. It'd go something like this:

Bored?!? I woke up today and took a hot shower. That shower and the anticipation of tomorrow's is enough excitement to get me through any long, boring day without too much pain. And now I'm sitting here at a computer hooked up to high speed internet, contemplating what kind of coffee I'm going to drink today. You know that big coffee machine in the kitchen? The one that has at least 20 different flavors, each individually wrapped so that I can put the envelope in, push a button and have a hot cup of coffee within 20 seconds. Yeah, that's pretty cool too and I'm still not quite over the joy of pushing that button every morning. Besides, I still have 15 flavors to try. How can I be bored when within the next few weeks I plan on trying the MilkyWay cappuccino?

Bored? Ha! I've just finished my cup of coffee and now get to work while deciding where to eat lunch. Should I walk across the street and have something in the food court? Taco Bell, Arby's, Sbarro, Panda Express? Or maybe I'll be a little braver and venture two more blocks to Chiptole. Or maybe I'll just gamble and let the next food advertisement I see decide where I go. It will, undoubtedly, be available within a 20 minute walk of my office. Just saying that is fun and exciting.

Urgh. I've finished my trash meal and feel tired and unmotivated. I might even be a little borrr....but that's before I remember that after work I'm hanging out with friends. We'll probably do something fairly low key, relax and watch TV. Nothing too exciting unless your nights over the last two years have mostly been spent alone, under a mosquito net, with a book and an 8pm bedtime. With that in mind, copying and pasting an hour more isn't bad at all. And I'll do anything without complaint or boredom, with headphones and Pandora. Bored? Really?

Boredom is relative, and I think it's very hard to be bored in the first world (including sterile office environments) when you've experienced the boredom of rereading 7 month old Newsweeks in the third world. So until my boss takes my computer away, puts me in a rocking chair, cranks the heat up to 90 degrees, and asks me to stare at the wall, my answer will continue to be "no, I'm not bored yet." Not even close.