She had a haircut that was super short and almost manly. Someone once told me he thought she was a lesbian, and he thought the judge with whom Dalel worked was also a lesbian. I think it was probably true about the judge and that the haircut was all part of Dalel’s plan. When we met again she had long hair in soft waves, and I noticed a beauty I never saw before. However, that is when she started calling my boyfriend frequently. He and I thought she was trying to date him, and I never trusted her after that.

He is the worst thing about my boyfriend.  He and my boyfriend have been best friends for somewhere around 10 years, however, there are significant differences between the two of them.  Neil does not have a legitimate job.  He sells drugs for a living.  He has been indicted for murder in the past.  He is nothing but a criminal.  I think his son will be in prison before age 21.  Neil is rude and vulgar, and I don’t want anything to do with him.  He is going to be one of the reasons that my boyfriend and I break up.

Everyone thought she was brilliant. She was full of life and had a quiet and rational way of looking at everything. Although Naomi was well liked, it seemed that everyone else’s opinion that she was a genius made it hard for her to make friends. But then there was the day that she emailed me to tell me that she was saved and had become Christian. She said that she hoped we would still be able to be friends, however, I never heard from her again. I was saddened that she thought her religion would prevent us from being friends.

I met him at a bar.  He was 29 and I was 18 and he thought he could impress me with his pilot’s license.  He was from El Salvador and seemed like a bit of a perv.  He told me that he thought that I looked 16.  I was repulsed that he approached me when he was old and he thought I looked underage.  Nevertheless, I was happy to get his attention because in college, especially from my friends, it seemed like there was a lot of pressure to meet men.  He taught me to be cautious about those men.

Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns protested Order No. 5 by China’s State Administration on Religious Affairs (SARA) on September 20th.  The order prohibits the naming of any incarnate lamas or “Living Buddhas” without approval from the Chinese government.  According to tradition the soul of the Dalai Lama, the political and spiritual leader of Tibet, is reincarnated in human form to continue the work of ending all suffering.  Order No. 5 allows the Chinese government to pick the next Dalai Lama, however, His Holiness the Dalai Lama says he refuses to be reincarnated in Tibet as long as it’s under Chinese control.  At the protest monks carried several banners, one reading, “China says religion is poison.  Why interfere now?”

The Dalai Lama, who is 72 years old, is beginning to plan his succession.  It will be interesting to see what happens.  Conceivably, the Chinese government could choose one Dalai Lama, although the Tibetan people might recognize someone else.  And what prevents the Chinese government from refusing to recognize any Dalai Lama at all?  I think that is the most likely scenario, given that China in general refuses to recognize religion.