A quick update...

There's been a lot happening, and I feel bad that I haven't been writing as much, so I'll throw all these out there in short-form:

- My employers have finally figured out why they hired me, and I've been doing actual work, at work. That's not to say they can keep me completely busy, because I found time to write this.

- I bought a bicycle, and I'm taking new risks with Turkish cab drivers and delivery mopeds with each new day. It's exhilarating. I'm also perfecting the over-the-shoulder-flick-off with my left hand, while keeping control of the bike with my right. Good times.

- We have a new President... apparently, he's a black man?

- We threw a crazy Halloween party at our place, last Friday. One of the neighbors got angry, and challenged our forty-strong group to a fight in the street. We sent him home without his fight, and brought the party to Taksim. Homeboy didn't want things to end, though, and came back looking for a fight (specifically with me) on Saturday evening. Luckily, I was busy, looking at a bike.

- Turks are ridiculously happy about Obama becoming the President... all except the two guys who make my sandwiches, at the grocer's. They don't think that the American political system changes dramatically with a shift in leadership. They believe the United States is a fundamentally right-of-center country, no matter who's in charge. They also don't think that a black man will behave all that differently from a white man, when it comes to issues of foreign policy (they cited US support for Israel, an aggressive posture for foreign interventions, the diplomatic stance to leftist nations like Cuba and Venezuela). All I could do is shrug... I am about as cynical as they are, and the excitement about Obama has been lost on me. I just don't place hope in people. They, on the other hand, are Marxist-Lenninists, so their opinions probably don't matter.

- My room mate Emrah went to India. I hope he's having fun there. He'll get back tomorrow evening to find an American using his bed... I love guests!

- If it has ninjas, it must be cool? Ask this guy...