Wishful Thinking

I am currently in Milwaukee crashing at Bobo's place as usual. Oza is out of town working and both Bobo and Omie are sick. I'm hoping that I don't catch any of the virus, not when school is going to start next Tuesday. Anyway, I'll be taking three classes this coming semester since I almost killed myself last semester by taking four. I'm totally psyched for the upcoming semester and I simply cannot wait for the first day of class. I'll be taking Ellen Rafferty's Modern Indonesian Literature (I've promised her last semester that I'll be in her class this Spring), Paul Hutchcroft's Politics of SE Asia, and Ed Friedman's graduate seminar on Challenges of Democratization.

I'm still hugely disappointed for not being able to take Thongchai's graduate seminar on "Orientalism" and aacaan Kannikar's Second Semester Thai. The issue with Thai is that it conflicts with Bu Ellen's class; as for Thongchai's seminar, it's even more screwed-up because priority is given to undergrads (graduating History major seniors) even though it is supposedly a graduate seminar. The UW's History Dept. requires all History undergrads to take at least one graduate seminar before they can graduate; hence the priority. Since it is a seminar, the class capacity is capped at 15 students. I'd love to take this seminar since it deals with the fascinating issue of "Orientalism" and the concept of the "Other." He repeatedly apologizes for not being able to let me into his seminar.

By the way, Thongchai is definitely one of the best professors I've ever had in my academic life: a brilliant Thai historian and also a hopelessly incurable skeptic who questions all and sundry (by his own admission). His experience as a political prisoner in Thailand for being one of the student leaders during the October 6, 1976 massacre at Thammasat University in Bangkok, or Hok Tulaa as it is known in Thai, helped shape his ever curious mind, especially in challenging conventional wisdoms and the master narrative. I took his History of SE Asia before 1800s class last semester and he managed to challenge most of the preconceived ideas I had of my native SE Asian region in ways I've never experienced before. Simply mind-blowing!

Keeping up with my non-political--and "personal"--theme (at least for the time being), I just like to indulge in a bit of wishful thinking. Zul, my business partner, came over to Bobo's house last night to discuss our strategic planning. Yep, I do own a business, incorporated here in the state of Wisconsin. It's an import-export business (sounds grand!) between Malaysia and the US but we haven't done much with it since its conception in 2004 except for a few hundred dollars worth of transactions here and there. Zul recently came upon a really good business opportunity to supply Malaysian food products in the Midwest region, but long story short, we don't have enough capital to launch into this new venture. Banks would not offer small business loan to us unless if we can come up with a certain amount of initial capital. Damn you Adam Smith! So, obviously, our own money is in short supply. During moments of lamentation, we wondered out loud all the things we can do, especially with the business, if we ever win the lottery. Yeah, I know, the age-old pipe dream, but it sure is a nice dream I don't want to wake up from. So, what will I do if I ever win the Wisconsin Powerball, currently stands at $76 million? Here's the crude list:

1. Get started on this business venture, of course, and some other ventures that are presently stucked in the planning stage.

2. Ride a camel across Sahara--a strange dream of mine.

3. Climb the Kilimanjaro before the snow cap completely melts away--damn global warming!

4. Re-live Che Guevara's adventure in the Motorcycle Diaries--Nick, all expenses will be paid for by me! Wanna come along?

5. Hike on the revolutionary trail in the Sierra Maestra in Cuba.

6. Experience the life of a sheep-herder on the high steppe of Mongolia--another weird dream of mine.

7. Mountain-biking in southern France.

8. Go scuba-diving in Mauritius.

9. Buy a decent boat and sail around the world.

10. Build beach houses in Pulau Perhentian, Malaysia and Lombok, Indonesia.

11. Buy a penthouse right smack in the middle of KL with a complete home library, home theater & snooker & poker tables, and have a guys' night every weekend.

12. Climb the Everest, K2, Annapurna, Aconcagua, McKinley & Mont Blanc.

13. Trek across Antarctica on a dogsled.

14. Buy a Harley Davidson V-Rod--my dream bike--and ride it across mainland SE Asia.

15. Buy a Ducati Monster 900--my other dream bike.

16. Buy a Mitsubishi Evo IX and get it all souped up.

17. Buy a Ferrari 360 Modena--my dream car.

18. Buy a Toyota Prius to atone for my environmental sins with the two previous cars.

19. Mountain-biking along the Great Wall of China.

20. Spend at least 6 months traveling across India.

21. Go to Anfield Stadium to watch Liverpool play Manchester United.

22. Go to Germany this summer to watch the 2006 World Cup--this will be England's year!

23. Open a REAL coffeeshop in KL--not some Starbucks or Coffee Bean clones.

24. Get a law degree, a Juris Doctor (JD)--it has always been law school vs. grad school, and now I can have both.

25. Buy a really nice Montblanc fountain pen.

Notice that all 25 wishes are highly individualistic and only pertain to the fulfillment of my own needs. Most of the money, of course, will be used for good causes: donations to charities, helping family and friends, setting up an endowment to help underprivileged kids further their education, build more low-income houses, improve rural healthcare in Malaysia & Indonesia, etc. Also, I'd love to be a traveling academic teaching in universities around SE Asia without having to worry if I will be paid enough.

Or, I can always use my newfound wealth to accelerate through the organizational ranks of UMNO, be a powerful Malaysian politician, and increase my wealth exponentially.

Hmmm,.. it does sound pretty enticing!! By the way, the fact remains that one is SEVEN times more likely to be hit by a lightning than to win the lottery.