Articles by mgedwards

A productive day

Today was a productive day.  I churned through many nagging tasks at work and whittled down my never-ending to-do list.  I wrapped up some post-barbeque logistics such as getting lost items back to their proper owners.  I made final preparations for my presentation tomorrow to high school students, and I prepared for our association meeting next Tuesday.  I sent bid requests for work that needs to be done on our rental property, and I negotiated lease renewals with our tenants.  I also ordered some wrinkle-free shirts from Men’s Wearhouse.  My wife ordered some toy train accessories for my son.  All in all, it was a productive day for our family.  Some days are more productive than others.  On some days you feel like nothing gets done, and on others it’s smooth sailing.  Today felt like the latter. 

I also did something I did not want to do.  I found a replacement willing to teach English to my Koreans coworkers.  If you remember, I started teaching English in early May after a months-long hiatus.  I taught just three classes, and now I have to step down.  Starting next week, when I begin my new job, I will be too busy to teach classes on Wednesday afternoons.  My plan was to teach the course for six months and then hand it over to someone else to teach, but now I won’t have that chance.  Some of my American colleagues happily stepped forward to teach in my stead.  I’m glad, because their teaching will provide some continuity for the Koreans who have made the commitment to improve their English.  After my new job ends later this year, I will have an opportunity to teach it again. 

Today my team hosted a party for those of us who recently joined the team and for those of us who will be leaving.  We have a great team.  Even though I’m not moving far away, I won’t see them on a regular basis again until I finish my assignment (after I finish I will return to my team).  I asked them to include me on future fun activities such as noraebang (karaoke).  They agreed wholeheartedly.

The Grillmeister

My entire office left work early today for our annual summer picnic.  We went to a nearby park on a gorgeous day.  The setting was perfect for an office picnic.  The weather could not have been better.  My office is huge, and we had well over 100 people attend the picnic today.  Although I wasn’t the organizer, I took over grilling duties like I always do and arguably did more work than most on the picnic today.  It’s a labor of love I’ve enjoyed doing since I started grilling several years ago.  I’ve grilled on many occasions for many people.  However, I’ve never grilled for over 100 hungry stomachs before.  I can safely say I much prefer grilling for less than a dozen people than I do for hundreds.  I had a couple of assistants who did a fabulous job helping me gather food and supplies, shop for groceries, set up, and take down the grilling station.  I carted over a ton of food and a couple of charcoal grills from my house to the park.  Everything went smoothly before the picnic began.  I stoked the grills and got the barbeque going.  I grilled cheeseburgers, hamburgers, veggie burgers, and hot dogs.  My Korean colleagues made bulgogi using one of the grills.

We avoided any major difficulties while grilling.  Still, the sheer volume of food we had to cook made grilling much more of a chore today than I’d hoped.  At times, I felt like Hephaestos, the Greek god of fire, slaving over burning coals.  I can still feel the smoke in my lungs, and my eyes have been watery all day long.  I probably inhaled more carcinogens today than are recommended for one’s health.  In the end, it was worth the sacrifice.  Last year, the picnic-goers waited a long time for food.  This year, mounds of heaping bulgogi, burgers, hot dogs, and side dishes were waiting for them when they arrived.  I enjoy being known as "The Grillmeister," even though can be a thankless job.  I left this morning at 9 a.m. to start working on the picnic and didn’t finish until 6 p.m., long after the picnic-goers left.  The worst part of being a grillmeister is cleaning up after a barbeque.  Not only do you have to clean the grill(s), but you have to transport everything home.  That can take multiple trips.  Being grillmeister is fun when one grills, but otherwise it can be an inconspicuous job.  It’s also a bummer because the grillmeister is usually the last one to eat, and by the time they do the food (what’s left of it) is cold.  And they are apart from family and friends while they grill.  It’s a lonely life, but someone has to be the Grillmeister.

Compromise isn't dead

I usually avoid talking about politics on this blog.  It’s hard to do because I am actually a political junky.  I have a love-hate relationship with politics.  I find it absolutely fascinating, but sometimes it drives me nuts.  I try not to make this blog overtly political, because World Adventurer’s focus has always been on cultural experiences and on whatever tickles my fancy on any given day.  I’m glad to have blog readers from all sorts of political persuasions.  I try not to impose my own political views.  Of course, I occasionally slip up and write something that gives away my own political views, but it’s usually unintentional. 

The news today from Capitol Hill is definitely worth writing about.  U.S. Senate Democrats and Republicans crafted a compromise agreement designed to avoid what is now called "the nuclear option" over President Bush’ judicial nominees.  Some Democrats have been threatening to filibuster over some of the president’s judicial nominees, and some Republicans have threatened to change Senate rules so that filibustering cannot be used to hold up votes confirming judicial nominees.  Republicans currently do not have enough votes to end filibusters (60 votes), but they have enough votes to change Senate rules to eliminate filibusters (55 votes).  The compromise agreement allows some judicial nominees to come up for a vote, while some nominees will still be subject to filibuster.  Filibuster rules will also remain unchanged.

Filibustering is a tactic used by the minority party (currently the Democrats) to prevent a vote over a contentious issue.  Because the majority party (the Republicans) can approve a resolution by a majority vote, the minority party infrequently use filibusters to prevent a resolution from coming to a vote.  As long as debate over an issue continues, a vote cannot be called.  Over the years, filibusters have been used by both Democrats and Republicans with mixed success.  It’s a battle of wills, and whichever party blinks first wins the battle.  Because filibusters often last for days, they sometimes lead to tragi-comic moments.  Who can forget (if you were alive in 1957) when Strom Thurmond spoke for an unprecedented 24 hours?  Or watching a Senator read from a phone book during a filibuster?  A filibuster is a tactic of last resort.  It has been used for noble and infamous ends (depending on your political persuasion).  Some civil rights legislation was held up by filibuster, as will some judicial nominees.  Filibustering is ultimately a political tactic; in and of it is neither good nor bad.

I am happy about this compromise agreement for two reasons.  One, the two parties came to an acceptable compromise.  7 Republicans and 7 Democrats put aside their political differences and compromised on a key issue.  "Compromise" is now a dirty word in political circles, but promoting bipartisanship is essential to a functioning democracy.  Both parties need to work together.  Neither side is completely happy with this compromise, but they agree that it is preferrable to resorting to escalation by voting for a "nuclear option."  Secondly, an important aspect of our democracy remains intact.  For better or for worse, filibustering is an important part of the U.S. political process.  The minority party needs to use it with discretion, and the majority party should not undermine it.  Republicans and Democrats alike need to remember that at some point in the future their status as minority or majority party will change, and they need to respond based on the principle of the "Golden Rule."  In the future, the Republicans will attempt to filibuster on some unforeseen issue, and the Democrats should not undermine this by changing the rules to prohibit filibusters.  Filibusters help keep our democracy vibrant and should remain intact, albeit used sparingly.