A quick update

I sat down today planning to watch Daisuke Matsuzaka pitch for the Red Sox against the Texas Rangers. A rain delay led to a change in plans.

After a little channel surfing I settled on 1000 Places to See Before You Die on the Travel Channel. I was particularly drawn to this episode because they were going to Cambodia, where I’d just visited in August.

The show started in Siem Reap and Angkor Wat, which unfortunately was the only part of the country we visited. The pictures of the temples and of the main tourist area (restaurants, clubs, shops) of Siem Reap was much as I remembered.

They then moved on to Phnom Penh and visited the killing fields museum that commemorates the horror that the Khmer Rouge visited upon the country, murdering 25% of the population. It was truly moving to see how much both the Ulles’ guide to the museum and their guide for the whole country were moved to tears discussing their love of their country and their desire to move past the killing fields. Needless to say I will make certain that my next trip to Southeast Asia includes a trip to Phnom Penh.

The last stop was at an orphanage/school called the Cambodian Children’s Fund, which provides a safe haven for abandoned children in Phnom Penh. Without such a place these children are reduced to picking through the local garbage dumps in order to survive. Either that or the children are kidnapped and sold into child slavery or prostitution rings.

The Cambodian Children’s Fund was what truly made me write this. I have already made a small donation to them and will make a much larger one when I finally land a job. A while back I wrote a post about the unexamined life and how I wanted to figure out if I had a purpose in this life, and what that purpose might be. The CCF was founded by a guy who was a high level executive with Fox and decided to backpack through SE Asia before starting up a new contract with Sony. His time in Phnom Penh moved him to such an extent that when his Sony contract was up he sold everything he owned and moved to Phnom Penh to set up CCF.

I don’t know if that level of dedication and commitment is possible for me, but it is certainly something to strive for. I encourage all of you to do any small bit you can to help this cause. Cambodia is a country that truly needs our help and whose people are amazingly friendly, positive and upbeat despite the horrors they have suffered.

Oh, and I graduated. Posted a 3.7 last semester and am currently looking for a full time position. I’m going to be doing some part time consulting at the place I worked last summer, which will bring a little bit of money in the door. I also have a few good leads for full time work and hopefully will have a few more interviews in the near future. Wish me luck.