half enough
"Half Enough" is Victoria's first regular column series. Opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of Discover Nikkei.
Stories from this series
Hopeless romantic semi-feminism: A follow-up on Valentine’s Day
Feb. 23, 2007 • Victoria Kraus
I must reaffirm that being a hopeless romantic does not take away from me being anti-chauvinist. The fact that I demand to be treated like a lady when I’m on a date or in a relationship should not compromise how I am to be treated at all other times. Some friends emailed me in response to the “Cross-culturing Valentine’s” piece I wrote last week. One friend said that I contradict myself as a semi-feminist anti-chauvinist because I believe that men …
Cross-culturing Valentine’s
Feb. 16, 2007 • Victoria Kraus
I don’t consider myself a feminist. Mainly because I am, painful as it is to admit, a hopeless romantic. When it comes to Saint Valentine’s Day, however, my cynical nature of male chauvinism and excessively commercialized holidays comes out full force. I’m the type of female who is generally independent, enjoys the single life, and can’t stand male chauvinists nor the females who allow such males to be chauvinists. I define chauvinists as males who treat and expect females to …
Bad SAT/GRE genes?
Feb. 10, 2007 • Victoria Kraus
I’m preparing to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) to apply for graduate school. Studying for this exam takes me back to high school when taking the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)—the required exam for any high school student or graduate applying to an undergraduate four-year college— was the biggest thing. I was college-bound but didn’t take the SAT seriously. I didn’t study for the exam and, I think, as a result didn’t do well. Although I took the exam three …
Following my sign
Feb. 3, 2007 • Victoria Kraus
My birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks. I tend to get spiritual around the month of my birthday, trying to deepen the “meaning” or significance on the one day during the one month of the year that celebrates another year toward retirement. I attribute my getting spiritual on my birthday to my fascination with the fact that while no one 24-hour day will ever repeat itself, someone’s birthday is revisited every 365 days. My birthday falls under …
Japanese cars are better
Jan. 27, 2007 • Victoria Kraus
In last Sunday’s Los Angeles Times (January 21, 2007), columnist Steve Lopez wrote about Hummers and the people who drive them, specifically Los Angeles’ transportation chief. This upset Steve. I also find it ironic and upsetting that the city of Los Angeles’ transportation chief would drive a Hummer. It would seem that people in public office positions, at least those who are in charge of things environmental, would drive more environment-friendly energy-efficient cars. The Hummer breaks every rule. Steve’s column, …
Spiritual journeys, done from home
Jan. 20, 2007 • Victoria Kraus
I woke up at 6:07 a.m. last Friday morning to an NPR “Morning Edition” interview with Gillian Siple, a World Religions major and senior at Davidson College in North Carolina. She talked about her travels throughout Asia and Europe as she learned about various religions practiced in Thailand, China, India and France, and the deep spiritual awakening she experienced that challenged the Christian beliefs she was raised with at home in the United States. Gillian grew up in a town …
