Work, Sandwich, Train, Plane, Geneva

Well, I'm off to Geneva this evening. I'm pretty excited for the trip. It will be nice to see some more of the mainland since I've spent almost all of my time here in the UK. Of course, my excitement is tempered by two things: cost and topic.

The cost factor is obvious - those Swiss are so cute with their special little currency, their saucy chocolates, their exquisite fondues and their exorbitantly high prices. Fortunately, living in the UK gives me the strongest currency base in the world and it's about 2.25 Swiss francs to £1. So I got to make that work for me.

The conference I'm attending will be cool except for a couple things. Firstly, it's a UN conference which means lots of talking, little action, and no cross-examining. It's the last factor that really bothers me. I so badly want to grill some eurotrash. (Mmm, grilled eurotrash...) But really, the larger problem is that there is ONGOING genocide in Darfur, Sudan right now and we're having a smarmy little conference about refugee flows and migration issues? Please. They dodged Darfur last year, they're dodging it this year, and the UN is refusing to label it a "genocide". If the organization is to have any relevance, it needs to step up when people are getting hacked to pieces by racist and discriminatory governments. This is not to say the UN serves no point - since 1950, the organization has helped over 50 million refugees find safe residence and/or return to their country of origin at the conclusion of conflict. But no matter how vital a role that has been, that's NOT the UN's mission. Even Georgie W. was bold enough to write "not on my watch" when he received a report about Darfur (not that he did anything). My point is, the UN has consistently failed in its mission to preserve the international order and instead has focused on responding to the humanitarian aspects of conflict and crisis. It's a bandaid on a bullet hole.

(Alright, honestly, I'm just bitter I can't grill some Eurotrash. Although, if the opportunity arises, I'll be the first to speak up.)

Anyway, as soon as I finish up here at work, I'm headed to my favorite sandwich shop and then home. I have to pack a bag and then head to Victoria Station to catch the Gatwick Express. My flight doesn't leave until 6:30, but I'm flying EasyJet and they don't do assigned seating. Instead, they open up boarding at 4:30, first come, first serve. So I plan on getting there early. I want to sit in the front of the plane at the window so I can see the sights (never mind that it will be dark when I take off).

Real World just called me and wanted to know if our hostel had contacted me about her early arrival. They had not. I asked if she had contacted Eurotrash. She had not. I informed her that she should. The short version: I arrive at 9. She arrives at 2:30. We're sharing a hostel room. She can't get in until I get there. Eurotrash and the Moldovian are getting there at 3. They're in the same hostel. So, a reasonable person would be in contact with their fellow classmates so that they wouldn't be out in the cold all day. Sorry to spell this out like everyone out there is a two year old, but this is just how I have to break it down for Real World. And, as we all know at this point, she's not the reasonable sort.

Anyway, since I won't be updating the blog in real time over the next couple days, I have a few more pre-prepared essays/entries that I've loaded up. I should be able to get online to publish them. I'll be sure to bring my camera and take lots of pictures and will give a full description of the trip over the weekend. Cheers!