fin!

Just finished up with our final summit simulation, and I must say, it's a rather nice feeling. No more editing proposals, no more networking, no more griping about drunken members of the summit team not showing up...it's pleasant.

The simulation itself was fairly unremarkable, and pretty typical of these mock summits, I expect. My group's proposal passed uneventfully (environment); some others passed, some others failed. The public health group's proposal was passed unanimously, and the science and tech one also passed, despite apparently lukewarm support during the debate (I expect this was due to a number of vote trading deals; that's why we supported them anyway). So, yeah. It was mildly interesting, if you're into that sort of thing, but I'm definitely glad it's done.

Of course, this also means we are nearing the end of our stay, and though I have been enjoying myself to a good extent (despite my frequent griping), I am definitely ready to go home. The thing about these trips is, half the fun is getting back and telling people about them. And I must say, even though the schedule beats the hell out of the one we had for NYLC, it's still quite full. I'm ready to get home and relax, and work on some things I want to do for me (like getting this damn blog up to date). So, wish me luck on my ridiculously long flights tomorrow, and I should be stateside in short order.

bleh...

I've been getting headaches on this trip, and I don't know why. I don't often get headaches, but when I do they're usually pretty much unbearable. These haven't been *so* bad, which is nice, but they're still highly unpleasant, and what makes it worse is the fact that I can't figure out what's causing them. I thought at first I was just getting dehydrated, but the last few days I've been purposely drinking extra water, even to the point where I have to pee more often than usual, and it doesn't seem to be helping. So then I thought perhaps it was sleep deprivation, but really, that can't be it, because I've actually been getting plenty of sleep. It's not too much time in the sun, because there hasn't been that much sun, nor any even remotely warm weather until today. My diet hasn't changed, except for perhaps a slight increase in starch (these Aussies like their potatoes, apparently), and I haven't been exerting myself any more than usual. So really, I can think of no reasonable physical explanation for these mysterious headaches.

The only thing I can think is that perhaps it's the seemingly constant contact with so many people, especially people that I don't really know all that well. I mean, I get that at school too, I guess, but I have good friends there, and I can usually find someplace to go be alone when I need to chill. So maybe I'm just getting temporarily burnt out on leadership. Pfft. Not really surprising.

adventures in Australian cuisine

I had spaghetti for breakfast this morning. That in itself would be interesting enough, but the funniest part was, the flavor was exactly that of Spaghetti-Os. Seriously. Straight out of the can. I was really surprised the pasta wasn't in rings. (This isn't to say it wasn't delicious, of course; I'm honestly a huge closet fan of Spaghetti-Os, no matter how much they violate every law of what is good and healthy in the world. I just never really thought of them—or anything that tasted exactly like them—as a breakfast food.)

This has been only my latest adventure in what I am discovering to be Australian cuisine. I'm finding that it's a lot like American cuisine, in that it's hard to say exactly what constitutes a "typical Australian" dish; basically, it ends up being everything that's not explicitly "ethnic" food. It doesn't seem to be inherently bad, but I have to admit, what I'm finding so far has often been rather less than inspiring.

My theory is that the basic Australian palate is closely related to that of the British (makes sense, no?). This accounts for the prevalence of the term "chips" in referring to fried bits of potato, as well as such interesting concepts as baked beans as a breakfast food, and the horror that is Vegemite. (Seriously, how do they eat that stuff?)

However, there is significant Asian influence as well, undoubtedly due to the large immigrant population. This means that for every egg and mayonaise sandwich you have to choke down, there's a Thai restaurant somewhere nearby waiting to serve you rice and yellow curry to make up for it. So it all works out in the end.

the introvert speaks

If I ever tell you I've decided to go into politics, please, for the love of all things holy and good, shoot me on the spot.

Seriously though, we got to practice our "networking skills" today. There are not words to describe my utter loathing of this practice. I mean, it's one thing to go to some big gathering and go around meeting a bunch of new people, striking up some *hopefully* interesting and memorable conversations, and coming away with a few new contacts with whom you've got something in common and with whom you might want to work on something someday. There are numerous things I'd rather do, but to my understanding, this is ideally what networking should be. In its less refined forms, what you often get is people walking around, being smarmy and kissing up to gain a well-connected contact or a powerful ally. Even this I can understand, repulsive as it seems to my own personality. However, shoving your way through a crowd and yelling to each passing person about his or her preferences in sleepwear does not prepare you for either of these things, and serves no purpose except to give you a headache. Seriously, that was our exercise: go up to as many people as you possibly can in the next five minutes, and find out their names and what they wear to bed. This does nothing, except perhaps teach you how to shout, which is generally a skill one already has from early childhood.

Ridiculous exercises aside though, I find it interesting how much I really don't feel like I fit in with most of the people here. I mean, so many of them are those kids you know in school who are president of Circle K and leader of their Greek organization and all the rest; lots of business and poli-sci majors, lots of kids from big universities, lots of outgoing, type-A personalities.

I'm not a leader. I'm an observer. Sometimes, yes, I am even shy. (Okay, a lot of times.) Many times it's not even that though; I simply see no point in talking to someone unless I genuinely have something to say to that person. Call me lazy, but I long ago stopped expecting to be one of the ones to jump right in and make friends. It didn't happen in summer camp in third grade, and it's not happening now. The difference, of course, is that it really bothered me at summer camp. I was the only one who didn't have any friends, and I was pretty sure the others were all making fun of me behind my back. Now, I know that the fact is, they just don't notice me at all. Some people would be upset by this, but I actually encourage it. It makes life so much easier for me. I don't have to put up with awkward conversation about a topic in which I have no interest just for the sake of talking to someone; I'm instead quite content to stand off to the side and watch everyone else.

Granted, I'm pretty much guaranteed not to make a lot of close friends that way, but let's be real guys, we're only here for ten days. I highly doubt that I'm going to meet my new best friend and become bosom chums before it's time to go home, and after that point, we're not going to be anything more than perhaps Facebook friends anyway. I don't want to go out partying with everybody at night, and it's easy enough to latch on to a group for those "lunch on own arrangements" days, so what do I need a group of "OMG BFFS!" for?

It is interesting to talk to new people, to meet people from different backgrounds and hear what they have to say about various issues and life in general. That doesn't necessarily mean I have to have to be best friends with every one of them. I have no desire to keep in contact with most of the people here after I go home. Honestly, this whole thing so often makes me want to quote a crass t-shirt and say, "Fuck you! I have enough friends." Friendships require constant care and work, and I like to cultivate them fully; I'd really rather have five good friends than a hundred different Facebook friends I've only met once or twice. If I'm going to put the effort into a long-distance, online friendship, I'd much rather it be with somebody I already care about and with whom I have a little more than ten days' history.

Anyway, back to the leadership stuff: I know all the self-help books and motivational speakers and all the rest stress the importance of being a leader, but c'mon kids, we can't all be leaders. Remember the saying about too many cooks in the kitchen? I'm not a blind sheep or anything, but I really have no desire to be a "leader." There are other ways of helping people.

I really would like to change the world, but I have absolutely no desire to go into business or politics. I'd much rather write a life-changing book or something like that. And yes, I realize I will have to go out and interact with people in the "real world" at some point, and yes, even do some lobbying and networking, but I can do that already. I know how. It's not even all that difficult. I just have to have time to recharge after big crowd experiences like that, and it's not something I enjoy in the least, nor does it get easier with practice. On the contrary, the more I have to go out and conduct myself in large groups of people, the more loathsome it becomes, so I'd really like to keep my exposure to a minimum as much as possible.

I'm rambling. I'll stop now.

the amazing exploding laptop

Thankfully, it wasn't mine.

So I'm getting on into my fifth hour of sitting here in LAX on the 9-hour layover from hell, and after some stupid lady trips over my laptop cord and gripes at me for not sitting on the floor next to the outlet (!), I decide to give it a rest, so I head on down the hall to the Burger King and procure some grub. I do so in the form of a most delicious veggie burger and some decidedly soggy fries, and start heading back down the hall to good ol' Gate 41. Halfway there, I detect an acrid smell, and the air around me becomes very hazy. Weaving my way through the gathering crowd, I piece together what has happened: some guy's laptop overheated, exploded, and then caught fire. There were a bunch of TSA people milling around, and the requisite gawking travelers, and even some actual firefighters. It was—well, it was something. Broke the boredom, anyway.

I don't know for sure if it was related or not, but about ten minutes after the fact, there was an unidentified beeping noise that lasted for maybe a minute or so. I don't know whether or not it was a fire alarm, but if it was, I just have to say, well done, LAX. Well done.

Please note, if this post sounds angry and cynical, it isn't. I'm quite amused by the whole thing, and really am enjoying my ridiculously long day of travel, even if my legs do keep falling asleep.)

I'm headed for the land down under!

Yes, that land down under. It's for GYLS, and I'll be there for 10 days, give or take some international dateline crossing. It's going to be amazing. If I have internet access there, I might post about it. At any rate, catch ya in a fortnight.

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I promise I'm not dead. Life just gets in the way sometimes.

I've got a bunch of half-written things that I need to post, that I WILL post, and backdate accordingly, but not now, because I have to get up in the morning, and not this week, because I'm leaving Monday for ten days in Australia. After that though, I promise I will get things back on track around here.

Has anybody actually even found this blog yet? I kind of doubt it, because I've only posted one link to it. Well anyway, I'll be back, I promise.