No Rain on June 6??

It is supposed to rain heavily on June 6, isn’t it? No rain today. Last night, I watched “The Quiet American” again. This is of course a movie based on Greene’s fiction, but I thought that this story of the CIA’s nascent involvement in the Vietnamese war for independence against the French should be appropriate to accompany “At Canaan’s Edge.”

After his effort for opening the Chicago housing, the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War increasingly intertwine for Martin Luther King. How can he, who preaches nonviolence, remain silent on the violence against “colored” Vietnamese people? He makes clear his stand against the war in his speech at NYC’s Riverside Church.

Stokely Carmichael and Rap Brown, who succeeded Carmichael as SNCC chairman, get radicalized, deepening disputes in the organization. Brown talks about “America’s Gestapo tactics” designed “to destroy SNCC and to commit genocide against black people.” And he demands “full retaliation from the black community across America,” blaming President Johnson. Newark and then Detroit go up in flame.

Separately, Israel’s victory in the Six Day War threatens to divide King’s movement because of the Jews he has among his supporters. How is it possible to reconcile the result of the violent war and his nonviolent creed?

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Also last night, subsequently I sent my CV to apply for two other positions. Both are positions that agencies posted on the net. One agency was quickly contacted me today. Learning more about the position, I feel it really doesn’t match my profile though the company itself is a huge US company. I will meet the agency’s “consultants” tomorrow afternoon. The other position at a “high-tech UK-based MNC” is probably the same position at the same “R,” which tuned me down. And this agency was quiet today. But who cares?

As I received a phone call from R for an interview only after about 10 days since I sent my CV, it shouldn’t be considered odd if there are days before the US-based company contact me, if it ever does. However, there is no doubt in my mind at all that, among the three, this is definitely the one that I want to grab.

If there is anything that I learned during this frustrating, unrewarding, financially devastating period, it is that I do not have to limit my options to translation jobs. For this, I should thank R for considering me for a position that is far wider than mere translation work.