The security guard smiles at me as I come off the lift and says, “Good Morning Ma’am”. As rain sprinkles on my face, I dodge umbrellas passing by the bus stop just outside my building. As I pass a black cat drinking at a puddle, I almost bump into an old Chinese man carrying a small child, with two more, older children dressed in school uniforms in tow. His face is beaming with pride as he walks, whom I assume are his grandchildren, to school. I pass a maid walking three dogs and not looking too pleased about it.
My morning runs have turned into exploring. My new running route loops around a vast open field where people fly kites and remote control airplanes. Each time I run this route, I go a bit further, or in a different direction.
Today I run alongside a small canal amongst the jasmine and bougainvillea and end up on the old Malaysian railway tracks. The jasmine always smells so much stronger when it rains. I cannot imagine a better scent.
It begins to rain a bit harder, so I run longer and further. It’s hard to stop running in the rain; the coolness of it makes me feel like I can run forever. Alas, a cramp forces me to walk a bit. So with Paolo Nutini in my ears, through the magic of my Ipod, I walk into the middle of the field, which is eerily deserted as if on purpose, to give me privacy.
I stand out in the middle of the driving rain as my breathing slows and look up at the sky…
.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Dear Mr. President
I can't take credit for this one, I didn't write it. It was sent to me by a friend and I thought it was clever...
Dear President Obama:
I'm planning to move my family and extended family to Mexico
for my health, and I would like to ask you to assist me.
We're planning to simply walk across the border from the U.S. into Mexico ,
and we'll need your help to make a few arrangements.
We plan to skip all the legal stuff like visas, passports, immigration
quotas and laws.
I'm sure they handle those things the same way you do here. So, would you mind telling your buddy, President Calderon, that I'm on my way over?
Please let him know that I will be expecting the following:
1. Free medical care for my entire family.
2. English-speaking government bureaucrats for all services I might need, whether I use them or not.
3. Please print all Mexican government forms in English.
4. I want my grandkids to be taught Spanish by English-speaking (bi-lingual) teachers.
5. Tell their schools they need to include classes on American culture and history.
6. I want my grandkids to see the American flag on one of the flag poles at their school.
7. Please plan to feed my grandkids at school for both breakfast and lunch.
8. I will need a local Mexican driver's license so I can get easy access to government services.
9. I do plan to get a car and drive in Mexico , but, I don't plan to purchase car insurance, and I probably won't make any special effort to learn local traffic laws.
10. In case one of the Mexican police officers does not get the memo from their president to leave me alone, please be sure that every patrol car has at least one English-speaking officer.
11. I plan to fly the U.S. Flag from my house top, put U S. Flag decals on my car, and have a gigantic celebration on July 4th. I do not want any complaints or negative comments from the locals.
12. I would also like to have a nice job without paying any taxes, or have any labor or tax laws enforced on any business I may start.
13. Please have the president tell all the Mexican people to be extremely nice and never say critical things about me or my family, or about the strain we might place on their economy.
14. I want to receive free food stamps.
15. Naturally, I'll expect free rent subsidies.
16. I'll need Income tax credits so although I don't pay Mexican Taxes, I'll receive money from the government.
17. Please arrange it so that the Mexican Gov't pays $4,500 to help me buy a new car.
18. Oh yes, I almost forgot, please enroll me free into the Mexican Social Security program so that I'll get a monthly income in retirement.
I know this is an easy request because you already do all these things for all his people who walk over to the U.S. From Mexico . I am sure that President Calderon won't mind returning the favor if you ask him nicely.
Thank you so much for your kind help.
Dear President Obama:
I'm planning to move my family and extended family to Mexico
for my health, and I would like to ask you to assist me.
We're planning to simply walk across the border from the U.S. into Mexico ,
and we'll need your help to make a few arrangements.
We plan to skip all the legal stuff like visas, passports, immigration
quotas and laws.
I'm sure they handle those things the same way you do here. So, would you mind telling your buddy, President Calderon, that I'm on my way over?
Please let him know that I will be expecting the following:
1. Free medical care for my entire family.
2. English-speaking government bureaucrats for all services I might need, whether I use them or not.
3. Please print all Mexican government forms in English.
4. I want my grandkids to be taught Spanish by English-speaking (bi-lingual) teachers.
5. Tell their schools they need to include classes on American culture and history.
6. I want my grandkids to see the American flag on one of the flag poles at their school.
7. Please plan to feed my grandkids at school for both breakfast and lunch.
8. I will need a local Mexican driver's license so I can get easy access to government services.
9. I do plan to get a car and drive in Mexico , but, I don't plan to purchase car insurance, and I probably won't make any special effort to learn local traffic laws.
10. In case one of the Mexican police officers does not get the memo from their president to leave me alone, please be sure that every patrol car has at least one English-speaking officer.
11. I plan to fly the U.S. Flag from my house top, put U S. Flag decals on my car, and have a gigantic celebration on July 4th. I do not want any complaints or negative comments from the locals.
12. I would also like to have a nice job without paying any taxes, or have any labor or tax laws enforced on any business I may start.
13. Please have the president tell all the Mexican people to be extremely nice and never say critical things about me or my family, or about the strain we might place on their economy.
14. I want to receive free food stamps.
15. Naturally, I'll expect free rent subsidies.
16. I'll need Income tax credits so although I don't pay Mexican Taxes, I'll receive money from the government.
17. Please arrange it so that the Mexican Gov't pays $4,500 to help me buy a new car.
18. Oh yes, I almost forgot, please enroll me free into the Mexican Social Security program so that I'll get a monthly income in retirement.
I know this is an easy request because you already do all these things for all his people who walk over to the U.S. From Mexico . I am sure that President Calderon won't mind returning the favor if you ask him nicely.
Thank you so much for your kind help.
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