I'm Back!

The funny thing about blogspot is that you can see exactly how long it's been since I've posted on Mr. Bento. Yes it has actually been two and a half years, and yes quite a few things have happened since. Where to begin ... maybe a timeline would be best.

Summer 2006, I start my masters thesis with the stuffy title "A White Paper on international relations in East Asia among the United States, Russia and Japan".

September 2006, I made my previous Mr. Bento post about Cocco. I still stand behind my original declaration by the way; Cocco rocks. Still about a quarter of songs on my five star playlist are Cocco's. Friends and family - let me know if you want to borrow a CD. Best musician ever!

October 2006, Thanks in part to all the hard work I was doing at the time, I get promoted at FSU to the guy in charge of customer service. I was busy, but I like being busy. Things were great.

March 2007, A water pipe bursts in the ceiling of our apartment damaging half of our stuff, my mom goes into the hospital with serious health issues, and I decide to move from Tallahassee back to my home in Tampa.

Summer 2007, I drive back up to Tallahassee to defend my Masters Thesis, and instead of immediately getting my Masters Degree, the committee recommends a lot of improvements. I decide that the best option would be to start it from scratch. Also I start work as a contract worker in IT, because it's the only work I can find in Tampa.

October 2007, I bought an iPhone. It's my baby. I mainly use it as a calendar and email client, and a handy portable way to listen to webradio and podcasts. Yes they came out with a cheaper faster one, but I'm still extremely happy with mine, and can hardly imagine living without it.

December 2007, I start my second blog International Relations Watch. It began as a thesis study aid, but evolved into a general international politics blog. As it turns out, I really enjoy writing about world politics... it makes me feel like I'm writing papers in college again. Weird, huh?

February 2008, My mom's health problems get worse, but the subsequent final surgery leaves her much healthier. She's doing pretty darn well today.

September 2008, I finish my second Masters Thesis, now entitled "Why the United States Must End the Second Cold War as it Begins." This one is much less of a history paper and more of a policy recommendation paper, and it is quite a bit less Japano-centric than the original, but the original conclusion remains the same: The US and Russia need to deescalate the Cold War rhetoric, and a good way to ease the tensions would be by letting the US mediate an official end to WWII between Russia and Japan. I'm happy to see tensions easing between the US and Russia, though they haven't done my idea... yet. You can read a more detailed brief on IRWatch (click here), or to read the whole thing by asking me for a copy.

November 2008, The economic downturn hits close to home and I loose my job at the time. Yeah it sucks, but it turned out pretty well for me. There are a lot of other people these days who can't say that.

December 2008, I get my Master of Science degree in International Affairs, and I get interviewed and eventually hired at the USF, the University of South Florida in Tampa. A total 360 from the last time I published, I'm back working at a Florida University in a job that I love, but this time in my home town. The only difference are that this time I'm working in the Deans Office instead of in the Cashiers Office... oh and the university is spelled USF instead of FSU.

So now that things are right again and I have a bit of spare time, you can look forward to reading more what's going on around the world in IRWatch, and in my world here in Mr. Bento.