Short and Sweet (and Sour?)

It's fun to get emails from people who aren't my professors.

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It's also fun to have a nearly empty inbox. And a nearly empty room.

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Ha ha. Yay China! (Thumbs down+Raspberry)

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Graduating GPA: 3.93

My intention isn't to boast (I mean, who cares, anyway?) My intention is to let the world rejoice in the accomplishment of the goal with me. I came back from China to finish school and to finish it well, and I did just that (pats self on back.)

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Out of the following, which is stronger?:

Losing yourself in laughter, i.e. eyes closed, abs clenched, mouth open, tears streaming, nearing laughter levels of unconsciousness at that which is truly funny to you.

vs

Weeping tears in a state of Aristotelian catharsis, i.e. weeping due to "an extreme change in emotion, occurring as the result of experiencing strong feelings of sorrow, fear, pity, or even resulting from much laughter. It has been described as a "purification" or a "purging" of such emotions. More recently, such terms as restoration, renewal, and revitalization have been used when referencing the effect on members of the audience." While this definition includes laughter as a potential feeling which may induce catharsis, I am excluding it. I want to focus on those feelings which are normally considered to occupy positions which are opposed to laughter.

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I leave America on January 12. I don't know when I will be back.

:)

All Smiles

I'm done with college. Literally.

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I think that it is a testament to the widespread disappointment in the lives of individuals that there are less people waking up happily and driving happily to work. I'm not expecting everyone to be a "morning person", I am simply commenting on the logic of the fact that people who are happy with their jobs would likely be visibly happy (or at least not visibly unhappy, as is normally the case) on their way to work, i.e. If you were about to go do some of your favorite things for 8 hours, wouldn't you be happy?

I also don't intend to make a blanket statement. There are plenty of happy people. What would it look like if we stopped encouraging people to take jobs based (even partially) on salary and started encouraging those around us to do what they love and get so good at it that they could earn money by doing it? We figure out our monetary situations naturally- people know how much money they need to accomplish their goals with regard to family, debt, etc... it's the happiness factor that gets pushed to the wayside, I believe.

And yes, these are comments about happiness and work/career from a very, very recent college graduate who has a bit of experience with the first, and very little with the latter.

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I'd totally be joining the American armed forces right now (if not sooner) had I not been completely dis-romanticized of that idea back in middle school.

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Life is far too short to settle for less.

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Join in my graduation celebrations by listening to this song, to which I rocked out and laughed hysterically on the way home from my last day of classes. Also, I don't care what you think about that.

Tip: if the song doesn't seem that cool, the volume is too low and/or the bass in your equalizer is too low.

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OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!

An End and a Beginning

The semester is drawing to an end. How cliche is that?

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January 12, 2011 to Chengdu, China. Me.

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I intend to maintain this blog even and especially when I return to China. In fact, part of my intentions when I started maintaining this was to attempt to keep people who may be far away somewhat informed about what's going on in my life. I don't know if the structure and/or contents of these writings will be altered upon my departure in the beginning of my real life (i.e. life after university), but, in any case, it is my desire to continue writing!

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Something to look forward to. We all need something to look forward to.

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Well, this is fun...

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One of the things I hate most in the world is when a fellow student answers a question which I have very intentionally posed to a professor/teacher. I clench my jaw and nod at the professor (who is often still answering my question) and try not to unleash hell upon the fellow student.

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To me, American radio has finally found it: Rihanna's Only Girl is strong Europop. Solid.

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"In November it's dark and cold and the Christmas songs don't lift morale until classes are finished." -Canadian triathlete Ian Donald

I simply could not agree more.

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9 days until my last final!

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This is interesting.

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"I said not long before that work and weakness are comforters. But Sweat is the kindest creature of the three- far better than philosophy, as a cure for ill thoughts."

-from Till We Have Faces, C.S. Lewis

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There is nothing sacred when living with one's family.

There is nothing sacred when one has a 13-year-old brother.

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My family watches movies that they own, but they only watch them when they come on television.

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Only things in the past can be true or false.

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"Here's a case where, if you're ever going to get vertigo, this is it."

"I'm so cool that I say "negative G's"... you should infer that I am very manly and masculine.

"I once dated a guy named Atilla. It didn't work out.................. never believe anything I say."

-you guessed it... Philosophy Professor

-(might be the last quotes from him, ever!)

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Late Night Alumni- This is Why

"You Make Your Own Bed. Be Willing To Lie In It."

I am so sick of writing the words 中国经济的发展 which means "China's economy's development." It's the go-to phrase that I feel I've been programmed to use throughout my Chinese language-learning career if asked to "make a sentence using X sentence structure."

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I've been journaling recently. I think it's a healthy habit for someone like myself who tends to over-analyze everything ever. This way, my journal bears the brunt of my over-analyzing, rather than my conscious self or those around me.

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"It's not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential"

-Bruce Lee

"What you do is simply the proof of what you believe."

-Some smart guy in a lecture

"Most people fail because they just don’t want to improve badly enough."

-?

"A grocery shopping bag is both incorrect and incomplete if it does not have green vegetables bursting from the top of it."

"You can't keep anything up sleeves that you don't have."

"Is it stupid and arrogant that I list my own quotes on my blog? Likely."

-Chris Kyle

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This is really excellent. Really. Thanks to Robb.

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"All you men and women who are hoping to give birth to Aristotle, that ship has sailed."

"...the problem McTaggart had is that he was an idiot."

"...I'm just saying that what's good for the goose is what's good for the gander, not that I know what that means..."

(After making an 0ff-color joke): "That was to make FUN of misogyny."

-Meta-Physics Professor

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"1 donut plus 1 donut equals what? One big donut, right?"

-Classical Chinese Professor

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I won't write much about this: My Classical Chinese Professor gave the class the option of cancelling the (comprehensive) final exam and putting it's 20% of our final grade into the other 4 tests that we are taking this semester. Yes. The option to CANCEL A FINAL EXAM. We voted silently. Someone voted against cancelling it. Everyone is pissed. Well, almost everyone. I can't fathom why someone would do that; I don't care how they did on the tests we have already taken, we had the once-in-an-undergraduate-career chance to cancel a final exam and it slipped out of our fingers.

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What if getting off of Facebook permanently is actually=gaining back part of real life? (As opposed to what it feels like, i.e. losing connection with all of the people on my friends list. The fear is unfounded and ironic= I fear that I will lose all my friends, while the reality is that I will get them all back.

Do you remember what it was like to have a crush on someone but not be able to find out everything about them just by hopping on a computer? Do you remember what it was like to see people in real life, and then not see them again until you saw them again in real life? I mean, to not even have the option of seeing someone's likeness apart from holding a photograph of them in your hand? Do you remember that?

Privacy-based issues apart, I am beginning to grow exceedingly wary of Facebook. I think it's ruining our lives, and I think that's not being dramatic at all. I think more than a little bit is at risk. I think we are addicts (even if you don't spend much time on it at all), and we can find any reason to justify our addictions, i.e. we tell ourselves that there is nothing wrong with living on Facebook. We live on Facebook. Simultaneously, our real lives, the ones that actually go places, do things, and meet real people, these lives got bored, fed up, and walked out the door a few years ago. And then we wonder why we are spread so thin and we wonder why our little brothers and sisters are socially handicapped. They'll never get to go to summer camp and have a crush on someone for 6 precious days... and then never see them again. They'll never know what that feels like. And that sucked. Saying goodbye to that girl sucked. That hurt was a feeling, and it was real. Now, we don't even know the hurt, we don't even know real; all we know is a computer screen and a desperate search for feelings that we've been told exist in aforementioned computer screen.

Compare the satisfaction of opening up your Facebook home page with initiating the first step in one of your favorite non-necessarily electronic-based activities, i.e. picking up the guitar or tapping the soccer ball onto the pitch or turning on the oven or fill in the blank. There is most likely no contest between these two levels of satisfaction. So, answer this: Why? WHY do we do this to ourselves?

The situation is hard to decipher because there is no bad guy. Facebook isn't the bad guy. And YET I still posit that, even if you don't perceive yourself to be addicted, something is still wrong. Something doesn't feel right.

And Facebook isn't the only problem, clearly. We are addicts. I don't care if I sound like a... 50... 60... damnit! Even 70-year-olds are on Facebook, no doubt. So I don't care what I sound like. All I know is, we are dying inside, whether we know it or not, and it's the internet that's administering the kiss.

And I want to choose who I kiss.

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I am aware of the irony of writing the above on an internet blog and posting it on... Facebook. I am also aware of the myriad benefits of the internet, perhaps even more so than others who have not lived far away from loved ones. But the internet doesn't need to be defended. Reality is the underdog here, folks. Living a real life and doing real things without phones and computers, this is/is becoming a lost art.

Still, I am trying to reconcile these benefits and the reality of our situation. I still feel confronted with a choice, and the conviction with which I meditate upon the situation builds and cuts deeper and deeper into my heart, and it resounds in others when I tell them about it, and I simply find myself incapable of believing that I have to/it's okay to live as a cyborg for the rest of my life.

So perhaps this is where I put my foot down.

Like the title: We make our own beds. We should be willing to lie in them.

What if we were the age-group that got fed up and started fighting to live our real lives again?

This all got started because of a girl.

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Here's another benefit of the internet: You get to listen to this song:

Late Night Alumni- Moonlighting

Hope Bourne

"If I cannot be a leader, at least I will never be a follower..."

Hope Bourne

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I find it almost interesting that (at least) lingually and culturally speaking, Beijing has been attempting to control the south of China and the islands south of China for a quite a while... unsuccessfully, perhaps (depending on your definitions of "control" and "success").

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Dear war,

You suck.

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Meta-physics is one of, if not the class with the most challenging material I have ever been required to comprehend in my academic career. Take, for instance, this passage from Parfit's Reasons and Persons:

"Some would object that all of the other indexical concepts- such as 'here', 'now', and 'this'-must be explained in a way that uses the concept 'I'. This is not so. All of the others, including 'I', can be explained in a way that uses the self-referring use of 'this'. And this self-referring use does not involve the notion of a self, or subject of experiences. It is the use of 'this' that in this sentence refers to this sentence. With the use of 'this', we can express 'subjective' truths without believing in the separate existence of subjects of experiences."

I know what is being written about in this passage, but that doesn't mean I comprehend it, nor does it mean I could teach it to someone else, which is what was required of me when I took the first test (of 3) for this class. Here goes nothing... (i.e. there goes everything.)

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Now may be an appropriate time to mention that I am approximately 9 weeks away from my final final of my final semester as an undergrad.

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"Cross my balls, hope to die."

Teacher: "Do you have an Edward Cullen poster in your room?"

Female student: "No..."

Teacher: "I do. I used to think it was funny..."

"I don't know what's in the healthcare bill; no one does. That's why everyone can have such strong feelings about it."

-Philosophy Teacher

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I haven't seen that Facebook movie, but I am almost willing to bet money that it signals the downfall of Facebook. I don't know how, all I know is that disenchantment is on the way.

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Stacy Dupree and Darren King covering Fleetwood Mac's "Silverspring"

"You will never get away from the sound of a woman that loves you."

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Homework will be the death of me. Yeah, I know I only have 9 or so weeks remaining, but still... if teaching is to be a part of my future, I must be mindful of this. I wish to be mindful of learning. Learning, as opposed to standards and grades. This may seem to be an impossibility.

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This'll do.

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William Fitzsimmons- Goodmorning (Pink Ganter Remix)

King's of Leon- Manhattan

Mumford & Sons

Nudity in Combat

It has taken me a while to be able to get to this point, but I can now honestly say that, despite how intrigued I am by ancient Rome and Greece (Classics), I find that I just can't get into the subject. I truly enjoy the process of learning about life in ancient worlds, cultures, customs, etc., whether in the West or East, but the sole factor which must be present to allow me to remain interested in study of aforementioned ancient worlds, cultures, customs, etc., is the revelation of the fact that ancient peoples were not so different from myself. Until I can draw a connection between life at some ancient time and life currently, I find it challenging to remain interested. The prevailing feeling is, "It's over. It's done. Let's move on and live life right now." I have been hooked before, though; while learning about Tang Dynasty Chinese culture and life, I was hooked. I would now willingly take a course that exclusively outlines life in China during the Tang Dynasty.

I am in a Classics class currently. Not so hooked. Yet.

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10 weeks left in the semester/my undergrad career. I feel happy.

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I have only once been in an airport in China and, lingually speaking, felt comfortable in my life, and that was understandably when I moved back to the U.S. after living there for a year. I feel that the next time will be better than that one.

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I feel that it's not so much what we do with people that matters with regard to connection-making in it's most profound sense. It's the intangibles: music, theatre, the arts in general, the ways that we look at each other, how we speak (as opposed to what we speak) and the corresponding attitude toward one another- these types of things are connection-makers. Words are only the vehicle by which connections are made. And I feel that it is very nearly only those things which foster connections with others that are truly worth spending time on or putting effort into. This explains why seeing a movie with friends is not a fulfilling experience unless it is accompanied by time spent speaking with those friends, perhaps, before or after the viewing of the movie. This may explain why some teachers are better than others- they are establishing connections with students, thereby making their classrooms places worth going, making their classes become classes worth attending, allowing students to enjoy learning. This may explain why small talk is very nearly worthless and unhealthy unless it is followed immediately by a deepening of the subject of conversation; small talk seems to be the ironic antithesis of connection. It may play it's role, but that role is minuscule.

That's what I think.

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This makes me miss China.

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Observation: Old people writing e-mails put commas in hella weird places. I don't think comma rules have changed that much sense they were in elementary school.

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"I hate when pretty boys play lawyers (in film/TV); most lawyers are fat and ugly."

"I'm not going to subsidize your stupidity"

"I lose memories all the time, but it's not because of recreational drug use."

-Philosophy Professor

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Haley vs Deadmau5- Falling in Love with Brazil (Kaskade Mashup)

Yuri Kane- Daylight (ft. Melissa Loretta)

Tiesto- Kaleidescope (entire album, especially...)

Tiesto- Here on Earth (ft. Cary Brothers) and

Tiesto- I Am Strong (ft. Priscilla Ahn)

Kings of Leon- Only by the Night (entire album)

Sara Bareilles- Kaleidescope Heart (entire album)

Daft Punk- Alive 2007 (entire album)

This post might reek of bitterness and (I daresay) hatred... this is to be expected as I have less than a semester of school remaining until the tethers of this wretched cord which bind me to the location known as Phoenix are cut, or should I say "blasted into a oblivion"?

I will not attempt to justify the bitterness and hatred. I also trust that, despite this bitterness and hatred, the following will remain at least somewhat entertaining.

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IMPORTANT: If you want free tickets to an ASU football game (seats are beside the band) this season, just let me know at least a week in advance.

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I feel like an abnormally large slew of technological advancements are about to be made available to normal people for reasonable prices in the next few years. I've know idea why I feel that way. But I feel that way.

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14 weeks remaining in the semester=14 weeks remaining in my undergraduate university student career

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If you so desire, find a recording of the song "Longing" by Tan Dun (from the film Hero), get your best pair of headphones or earbuds, and crank that.

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It goes without saying, but it's really awkward when the person with whom you are holding a conversation speaks loud enough for everyone in your vicinity to hear... and all you can do is speak at a normal volume and hope they do likewise.

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Becky Jean Williams. That is all.

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This is good news

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I don't miss the presidential elections at all. Everyone hated each other so much.

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"This war is far from over, and the world still needs saving"

This was the sign-off message for the online game that my boss' young son was playing before he left the office the night before (with my boss). So it was the first thing I saw when I sat down at my desk the next morning, and it set the tone for my last day of work quite nicely, depending on how you look at it.

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"Don't dream your life. Live your dream."

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Some of you may recall that, last semester, I would often post quotes from "my philosophy professor." I will continue to do so and I wish it known that the current "my philosophy professor" and the one from last semester are one and the same. So, let's start with

"Corpses aren't persons. That's why they can't content to sex."

"I can't remember when I was born." (He seriously couldn't remember the year in which his birth took place.)

"I may not be able to remember what I was doing an hour ago because, maybe, between classes I like to have a little blow."

"Recycle, Reuse... there's one before that... reject?"

"How do laws get made in the United States? First, you have a lot of money. Then, you lie."

"No matter how many new ideas I get, I never gain weight. Ideas are like low-calorie sweeteners."

"I did take my meds this morning, but I ran out of distilled water and ended up using blueberry lemonade... vodka."

-My Philosophy Professor

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And now you are all wondering where the bitterness and hatred is. I guess it's just all condensed in this one next section...

I confess: I typed the words "I hate Phoenix" into Google and hit "Google Search" the other day. I ended up at this forum at which most of the users were sarcastically talking about how much they "hate" Phoenix, while actually pointing out the things that they love about this city. In any case, one post turned out to be... well, here it is, with my responses in red.

As for me, I just hate AZ. Yup. I hate all that sunshine. Yup. I'd definitely prefer rain in its place. Then again, the city isn't made for rain so it's not so good. I hate not having to lock my doors for fear of not being victimized. Really? Phoenix is safe? No one is victimized? I hate the low property taxes (compared to CA). Oh right, and California is the only other place anyone could ever live. I hate the massive movie theaters. Yup. They steal your money and eat your time. I hate the spirit of individuality in AZ. Cool. That's exactly what we need: more individuality. Come to think of it, what the heck is s/he writing about? Individuality? How does one gauge individuality? I hate the $.50 per gallon lower gas prices. $.50 less than CA I'm assuming? What if you didn't even have to buy gas because you lived in a place where you could ride your bike everywhere, or the public transportation system just kicked so much butt that everyone rode the bus or subway? I hate the fact that AZ schools want to make sure students can speak English. This is just an awkward reason to like AZ. Never thought of that as an attraction, but to each his/her own. I hate the most beautiful sunsets in the world. "Beautiful" sunsets are caused by "beautiful" pollution, unless my astronomy and geography teachers lied to me. In any case, I've seen better. I hate the smell of the Valley afte a downpour. YES! I despise that smell. I hate the amazing thunderstorms and monsoons. Cool. All 2 of them/year. I hate all the camping, fishing, and hiking. Riiiiiiight. That's not Phoenix, so I'll let it slide.Gahhh, what a horrid place this Arizona. Agreed. Sure it has real problems like everywhere else, but these are the things I really really hate about Arizona. Right on.

So there. That should be the end of the H and B. As usual, I will remind you that we are dealing with subjectives here; you are fully entitled to love Phoenix with all of your heart, and you'll still be cool in my book if you do.

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I long for a true autumn.

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Oh dang. I ended with the hatred and bitterness. Have a great holiday weekend! You'll only have to put up with a couple more months of Phoenix bitterness from me! Soon I'll be blogging about adventures and happiness and interesting things in some other land!

Hot as a Fever, Rattlin' Bones

Hi. Welcome back to this blog.

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I sincerely believe that I have the quietest phone that I know. Except maybe my mom's. I can go days without getting texts or calls. It makes my life feel quiet, sometimes.

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I like the word "Draconian".

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What I perceive to be another somewhat eye-opening article for most Americans about China.

Thanks to Finny Finn Finn KK.

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A. I'm currently the cymbal tech (instructor) for the ASU Marching Band Drumline. I cut someone from the line a week ago.

B. I turned down a dog-sitting job this morning, moments before I

C. Quit my job at AZ Pool Supplies.

This tells me that I've gotten much better at saying "No". I use to fear these types of situations that could potentially flip the crazy, flip-a-bitch switch in people. Everyone in each situation (A.-C.) responded very well, but it was my own confidence that has surprised me.

It still wasn't fun, though...

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I never want to sit at a desk processing orders and shipping parts again. In fact, I hope I never hold a job that involves sitting at a desk at all. It's a good thing I pretty much have complete human control over that, even if it means being homeless. The Whole Foods check-out would probably work for me, though, if need be...

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When I quit today, I felt like Han Solo telling General Rieekan that he has to leave Echo Base to go deal with the bounty he owes Jabba the Hutt. Except General Rieekan is my boss, Echo Base is AZ Pool Supplies, and ASU is Jabba's Palace. If you know what I'm talking about, we are probably friends. If not, that's okay, we can still be friends. Maybe.

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No one has taken a picture of me in a long time. If they had, I would put one up on Facebook or on here...

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No Youtube links this time... Grooveshark has them all

Miguel Migs- So Far

Inna Feat. Bob Taylor- Deja Vu

Tiesto vs. Diplo- Come On

Tiesto- Escape Me

Sade- Babyfather

Kings of Leon- Notion

Kings of Lean- Sex on Fire

Danger- 11h30

Kaskade- Steppin' Out

I've been cooped up alone (well, except for a dog) in my sister and brother-in-law's house with a flu bug since Wednesday afternoon. A significant portion of that time has been spent just laying down, sweating, and thinking. I rarely just lay down. I don't even take naps. I hardly even sit down... anyway, all of this laying down has given me time to think about stuff.

Like this- I'm a homebody. Actually, I'm not. I think I'm a homebody in Phoenix alone, simply because I just don't like it here at all. My blinds are always shut and my room is dark and cool; it's not Phoenix at all. No Kokopelli crap, no sun-washed anything. My point is, I haven't always been a homebody. It was only when we moved to Phoenix that I started to be this way. If my logic is correct, then it would follow that, were I to relocate to a city I'd actually like to live in, I may cease to be a homebody.

Or this- Every now and then, my boss asks me what I did or what I'm planning to do during the weekend, and I rarely have an exciting answer. I just chuckled as I recall that my answers have usually been either "nothing" or "my family is having a dinner celebrating so and so's birthday" blah blah blah... this is enough to make most any college-age kid question what he or she is doing with his or her life. Am I crazy? Do I have friends? Am I Buster Bluth? No, Yes, No. Again, similar to the homebody thing, I'm just out of my element.

I should note that I do have some evidence that would point toward the idea that getting me out of Phoenix and especially out of America can have a tendency to bring out a more social side in me that, perhaps, does not come off as being so disagreeable and reclusive.

All of this to say that I don't belong here. I don't belong in Phoenix, I don't belong in America, and I'm okay with that. I'm more than okay with that. I've always known that, it's just that time again, I suppose...

If you love living Phoenix and/or America, don't take offense; it's okay. But, I really do want a response to this: have you ever known anyone to come to Phoenix just for kicks? Not to visit family, not to go to the Grand Canyon or Prescott or somewhere else, but their sole purpose for coming here was just to hang out? Snowbirds don't count.

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It always tips the balance toward driving me insane and exhausted from living here when I'm looking for a foreign film but kind find it here in the states. It just pushes it over the edge.

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My last semester of university may be my busiest.

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I cry harder and laugh much louder when I'm by myself. I suppose we all do, but it raises the question, who do we become when we temper our tears and laughter around others? Perhaps more importantly, how did it become this way, and who made it so?

Dads.

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Wisdom and Love are not the flashiest, but they're always... wisest and most loving...? ahem...

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Was it just me, or did the Germany-Uruguay match consist of very little writhing around on the pitch by the players?

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Please don't pity me and my sickness. We all get sick. We all know it sucks. That's enough for me. Thanks.

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Jimmy Luxury & The Tommy Rome Orchestra- Cha Cha Cha

Danger-11h30

Kid Sister-Pro Nails (Rusko Remix) I've heard a fair amount of Dubstep; this has gotta be a favorite

Bad news: Today... today I feel like leaving and being far, far away from here.

Good news: One semester remains.

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Fact #1: When I grow up, I don't want to make money for a living.

Fact #2: When I grow up, I don't want to work a job that will make me live for my weekends.

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Wanting to say it for years but never knew how...

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Waking up to my own music instead of an alarm on a clock or phone has got to be one of the best things to ever happen to me.

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I'm an extremely carnivorous herbivore. Wait... Omni? What?

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My translation of THIS song

When did a beautiful peach blossom first learn deceit?

Who pawned off the first jade hairpin?

What I see gets stranger and stranger...

Just like seeing the ocean in the movies makes me want to see it myself,

The more I sing about the love of others, the more I want to find my own

You start to cry, I start to laugh

All for love, love, love

If you open up the dictionary one day and can't find the word "love", flowers may fade, trees may fall down, but love doesn't care;

Love will still look forward with expectation, it will still see loneliness as defeat...

I love, therefore I am

Those who have found the fruitfulness of love, please consent to remain seated

As the lonely here stand up; I don't want to, but I've got to join you...

Reading of the patience of literary characters

Makes me more and more used to being patient

Singing songs about love makes me want to find it

You call out, I calm down

All for love, love, love

If you open up the dictionary one day and can't find the word "love", flowers may fade, trees may fall down, but love still thinks it's all good;

Love will still look forward with expectation, it will still see loneliness as defeat...

I love, therefore I am

You can't wipe all the dust from the sky,

You can't buy a name brand item on the street,

You feel remorse, I act the fool, now love is possible

If it's true that every age has but one announcement to make,

Then "if you've never loved, then you've never existed!"

Love's not easy to understand, and it doesn't know good and bad,

but it's all about the love, love, love

If you open up the dictionary one day and can't find the word "love", flowers may fade, trees may fall down, but it's still all good;

Love will still look forward with expectation, it will still see loneliness as defeat...

I love, therefore I am

-My shoddy translation of 方大同's song entitled 爱爱爱(Love Love Love)

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I need another story
Something to get off my chest
My life gets kinda boring
Need something that I can confess
Til' all my sleeves are stained red
From all the truth that I've said
Come by it honestly I swear
Thought you saw me wink, no
I've been on the brink, so

Tell me what you want to hear
Something that'll light those ears
Sick of all the insincere
So I'm gonna give all my secrets away

-from "Secrets", OneRepublic

(Trung, you were right...)

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Kings of Leon- Notion

Corn... vegetable or grain?

I never felt true, nearly tangible jealousy until my friend told me he was going to the World Cup.

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It would be a complete understatement to say that I love seeing this much football on AMERICAN TELEVISION. I love it so much. ESPN made a wicked good decision to not have pairs of crack-ass American pseudo-football-announcers (who are probably mostly just American football announcer converts) do the announcing and commenting this time around.

I love I love I love soccer and the World Cup. I must say, though, living in America around a bunch of Americans who only get excited about "soccer" 1 month every 4 years and spend the rest of the time bad-mouthing it is frustrating, to say the least. No, of course it's not everyone; there are plenty who keep up with everything... I just feel like most Americans are soccer prostitutes: they devote their lives to American sports for 3 years and 11 months and then suddenly "Oh, yeah! No, I know, (fill this space with Brazil or some well-known European team) is going to win, and America sucks at soccer, man"... soccer whores?

Yeah, I'm a bit of a football snob, and no, I haven't been this into football my whole life, and, believe me, I know that it's a hell-of-a-lot harder to be a soccer fan in North America than it is elsewhere, but give me a break. To thine own self be true. If basketball and baseball and American football are your thing, that's cool, yeah? Now don't pretend like you love soccer. You're just tricksing yaself, yo.

And yes, clearly, I'm a bit bitter. My solution to all of this? :

Dear American Television (part 2),

Please show more soccer on yourself. I might propose that airing English Premier League games might be a good start. Why? Because even Americans know names like "Manchester United" and... well, yeah. They know Manchester United. So that's a good start...

Sincerely,

CK

_

Gemma Hayes FTW

_

You say that I only hear what I want to, that I talk all the time. I thought what I felt was simple, that I just don't belong, but now that I'm leaving, I know that I did something wrong 'cause I missed you.

And you say I only hear what I want to, that I don't listen hard, that I don't pay attention to the distance that you're running to anyone, or anywhere.
I don't understand if you really care; I'm only hearing negative...

So I turned the radio on, and I turned it up,
and this woman was singing my song, where the lover's in love, and the other's run away, then the lover is crying 'cause the other won't stay.

Some of us hover when we weep for the other who was dying since the day they were born; this is not that- I think that I'm throwing, but I'm thrown.

And I thought I'd live forever, but now I'm not so sure... You try to tell me that I'm clever, but that won't take me anyhow, or anywhere with you.

You said that I was naive, but I thought that I was strong. I thought, "Hey, I can leave" ...but now I know that I was wrong, 'cause I missed you.

You said, "I caught you 'cause I want you and one day I'll let you go." You try to give away a keeper, or keep me 'cause you know you're just scared to lose.

And you say, "Stay."

Lisa Loeb's song "Stay", edited and rearranged for no apparent reason

_

Why is being overweight or obese and feeding one's child(ren) the same food that one feeds oneself not viewed with the same (or more) disdain as smoking and emitting second-hand smoke with one's child(ren) in the vicinity? How can children learn healthy eating habits if their parents are teaching them to "finish their plates" of crap food?

_

Challenge of the day: go to your pantry. Pick up a loaf of store-bought bread- whole grain, whole wheat, white, whatever. How many nutrients does it have? As in, vitamins. As in, at the bottom of the "Nutrition Facts" label thing? Alright, now how many of those nutrients do you think are actually naturally found in the grain, and how many of those nutrients do you think were added into the mix artificially?

Finally, which of those foods is more nutrient-dense- vegetables and fruits, or bread and grains (even those grain sources fortified with minerals.)

*Shrugs shoulders*

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Click on this

_

This is cool

_

"If loading takes forever, why did they even make it?"

-Boss' 7-year-old son waiting on his Star Wars computer game to load...

That's a good question.

_

This post is quite bitter. Just imagine me laughing and smiling and you'll remember that I'm not always bitter.

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Sara Groves- You Are The Sun

"The softness of my heart is tainted by the world which seeks to harden it"

I find that the girl of whom I dream is but a shadow of the real one, and I like the shadow more.

_

I don't understand how believing that America is a nation "set-apart", that America is somehow not only unique but also better than other countries... I don't understand how this isn't racism.

America is, indeed, unique, but, just as I am not better, just as I am not vindicated in telling my Chinese or Korean or Mexican friends what to do or how to do this or that or how to be or do anything ever based on my own "better-ness" as an American, so America is not better than every other country

Furthermore, I find that it follows that, if you do believe that America is "set-apart"-a holy nation, if you will, there's a chance you might be a racist.

...and you might wanna check on that.

_

I wrote a 3500-word paper at the end of last semester. Anybody who has ever received a personal e-mail or Facebook message from me knows that I can't not write a lot. A lot.

Suffice it to say, not exceeding word or page limits for school papers has been an issue for me since high school. Hence, one can imagine that the prospect of writing a 3500-word paper was somewhat enticing because I figured there would be no way I could possibly exceed that many words... and I figured wrong.

I finished the paper with more than 3700 words, and I didn't even bother trying to get the word count down to 3500... who knew I could write so much about Confucianism in Modern Chinese Literature?

_

Whose idea was it to put North Korea and Iran's pavilions adjacent to one another at the World Expo in Shanghai?

I don't mean anything by it...

_

I hope Liverpool does better next season. In the meanwhile, though, we have a little thing called the World Cup to keep our attention. My boss said I can watch scores on the computer while I'm working. I have a feeling that it's going to turn into me just staring at the score update window and not getting much of anything done... and in no way is that a bad thing. ?

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Please don't be a racist.

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I have no shame in admitting that I believe that Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" is a complete jam.

Read: songwriters Lukasz Gottwald, Claude Kelly, and Jessica Cornish and other people in the studio and behind the scenes did a fine job. Sure, I might have appreciated it if someone else had actually performed the song, but, regardless, "Party in the USA" is a quality pop song.

No shame.

_

Writing and travel broaden your ass if not your mind and I like to write standing up.

-Ernest Hemingway

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Why do we say, "Here goes nothing..." when we really mean, "Here goes everything!"?

_

Every time I get deja vu, I get the feeling that, the last time "this" "happened", things didn't turn out well, but THIS time, everything's going to be just fine...

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Unhealthy people make a lot more noise than healthy ones. Don't believe me? Next time you are in some fairly quiet place with a lot of people, just listen and watch.

_

I appreciate the way that, on many non-American radio stations, the music seems to automatically go quiet when the DJ talks. If you've never heard that, I don't know how to explain it... but I like it.

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If you take issue with something you read here, don't shut up. Tell me, if you want. Comment, or something.

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Uffie- Our Song

Uffie- Art of Uff

Some mur

Holy craps it's been a while since I've written! School is finally out. It was a good semester, but I can't say I'll miss it. I'm looking forward to next semester, even though I won't be able to say I miss it when it's over, either... I always start out optimistically, but, a few weeks in to the semester, I'm slightly less enchanted by the idea of... school. Right now, I'm thinking, "Hey! Fourth-year Chinese, Literary Chinese, and Meta-Physics should be really great!" Actually, they probably will be.

A lot has happened since the last time I wrote. I have a job. Two jobs. Job #1 is a summer job, for now. I sit behind a big desk in a room, answer phones, fill in invoices, charge credit cards, blah blah blah for these two websites. Job #2 starts at the end of summer and lasts for the fall. I'm the cymbal tech (looking out for the cymbal line) for the ASU marching band drumline. That's right.

Since I haven't written in a while, I have a ton of things to write about... or do I? I have a huge list of things that I could write about, but we'll see if everything is still relevant. I might split everything up over a couple of posts, too...

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To begin, Kaskade's latest album, Dynasty, rules. I have a major soft spot for vocal dance tracks with female vocalists. Kaskade and Late Night Alumni FTW!

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Events which possess sad or unfortunate elements are not necessarily incapable of being laughed at... Par example:

Listen for "Dada!"

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"Pain is what makes us remember. We remember what hurts us most. We need memory."

-My Existentialism notes

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I think that it should not surprise us that we find fictional media, especially those of the sci-fi and fantasy genres, so intriguing and, to an extent, appealing. What's fiction to a 1st-grader? "Not real". Right. Sci-fi and fantasy stories especially present to us places, objects, and phenomena with which we are not realistically acquainted. If we are so deeply attracted to those "not real" places, if we feel even an inkling of a desire to live in a place that is "not real", what does that say about Earth, about the "real" world? I submit that our propensity toward immersion (by reading or watching media) in those unreal worlds points to the idea that we do not belong here.

If I find in myself desires nothing in this world can satisfy,
I can only conclude that I was not made for here
If the flesh that I fight is at best only light and momentary,
then of course I'll feel nude when to where I'm destined I'm compared

Speak to me in the light of the dawn
Mercy comes with the morning
I will sigh and with all creation groan as I wait for hope to come for me

Am I lost or just less found? On the straight or on the roundabout of the wrong way?
is this a soul that stirs in me, is it breaking free, wanting to come alive?
'Cos my comfort would prefer for me to be numb
And avoid the impending birth of who I was born to become

For we, we are not long here
Our time is but a breath, so we better breathe it
And I, I was made to live, I was made to love, I was made to know You
Hope is coming for me
Hope, He's coming

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Existentialism Professor:

"We tend to invest (in endeavors) where we're getting encouragement and rewards"

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15 days until FIFA 2010 World Cup! I am beyond stoked.

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A "Dune" film remake is in store for 2012! I hope it's good... I suppose it doesn't have to be too great to be better than past film adaptations of the novel, but we'll see.

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"Think with the learned, speak with the vulgar."

-George Berkeley

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I enjoy listening to soundtracks and reading books before I see the films with which they correspond. I can remember listening to the soundtracks for the following films years before I actually saw them:

Schindler's List

Finding Forrester

Good Will Hunting

Kontroll

Children of Dune

The Hulk

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"Self deceit is a bitch."

-Existentialism Professor

_

Check this out.

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You probably know of my rather specific standards regarding the films and TV shows that I watch. If I'm going to spend time (and sometimes money) watching a film or TV show, I want it to be worth my while.

This was more than worth my while. I recommend watching it with all my heart. If my recommendation isn't enough, it might help to know that it won an Oscar in 2008...

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Bethany Dillon- Get Up and Walk

David Holmes- 11, 12, 13

Gemma Hayes- Chasing Dragons

Kaskade- All That You Give

These are special:

Pogo- Alohomora

Pogo- Bangarang

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Plenty more...

Hi. My name is Chris, and I'm addicted to peanut butter. And almond butter.

_

A couple of weeks ago, I had withdrawal. It was like the withdrawal I used to get after a week of summer camp at age 8, when I'd be apart from the girl with whom I'd been flirting for those previous six days. It made me feel hopeful, like I was going to see her again, but I'd no idea when.

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A man has to be able to make a living before he can provide a place for love to dwell.

-Lu Xun, Mourning the Dead

I don't know how I feel about this. I do not believe that love cannot dwell in a place if a man has no living, yet I sense some wisdom in the words.

_

Out of all of the little intro things that come on before a film, the Dreamworks one is, hands down, my favorite. Good visuals, Excellent music.

_

I have no shame in admitting that I think Erin Esurance is way cute.

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Moving out feels like moving home.

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I rest in the assurance I have that God Expecto Patronum'd all of my filth away.

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Dear American Television,

I despise you for not broadcasting the Boston Marathon. Or football (unless it's the World Cup or a USAMNT home game or select MLS games or Mexican league games on the Spanish language channels.)

Hate,

CK

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I saw two people talking to themselves yesterday. Yes, I am sure that they did not have Bluetooth things in one of their ears.

_

Crossword Puzzle Update:

After my last post, when I wrote about how bad I am at crossword puzzles, I got better.

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Thanks for reading this, Bee Tee Dub.

没什么

Things have been calm recently. My schoolwork is winding down- with the exception of day-to-day assignments (which are few), I only have two papers and finals remaining. Anyway, I figure I'll do what most people do when they are bored... talk about themselves. Or, in this case, write about themselves. Myselves. Self.

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I try to do crossword puzzles, but I rarely get very far. Sometimes I get lucky and complete around 50% of a puzzle, but this is rare. My ego protects itself by telling me that "This one must be another really tough one", "You must just not think in crossword-puzzle terms" (whatever the hell that means!), or "These are all pop culture references and you just don't keep up with that stuff".

Today must be a lucky day. I'm staring at a crossword puzzle that's more than halfway done, and I'm not even close to giving up...

Actually, I'm staring at a computer screen...

_

Paramore

William Fitzsimmons

Feist

Benny Bennasi

Kaskade

Phoenix

Swimming with Dolphins

Sufjan Stevens

Muse

Massive Attack

Portishead

Epik High

Gemma Hayes

Immy

Iron and Wine

Mint Royale

These are a few of my favorite things

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I mix most of my food.

_

Peanut Butter

Almond Butter

Tempeh

Pizza

Yogurt

Olive Oil

Milk and Cereal

Fruit

Brownies stirred up in ice cream

饺子

烧烤

These are more of my favorite things. I do NOT mix all of these foods together.

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I haven't listened to the radio in more than a few months. I don't miss the radio.

_

The severance or lengthening of relational ties is looked down upon in American society.

I submit that there is a time for severing or lengthening ties.

_

It pains me to watch people picking things up with their backs instead of pushing up with their legs.

_

Being shorter than average has an advantage- Most people underestimate short people, which means we perpetually have the element of surprise on our side. Underestimate in what regard? Every regard. I suppose I'm mainly thinking intellectually and physically.

I'm short, and I'm not ashamed.

_

Mocky feat. Feist- Fighting Away the Tears

I do not appreciate it when my professors comment on an essay that I have written by writing the word "Why?" in the margin. It's not like they put it beside a passage in my paper that requires further explanation or background. Furthermore, it's usually the case that I have answered the question, "Why?", which they have so succinctly posed in the margin, I have just answered it at another point in my argument.

One may present a vindicating argument for said posing of question, "Why?", in the margin of a university upper-level division class essay. I find it annoying and pointless, I daresay, nonetheless. Why pointless? Because I already wrote the paper. Because the paper has been written. Because after the paper has a grade on it, it goes in the manila folder, and after it goes in the manila folder, it stays in the manila folder. And after it stays in the manila folder, it gets thrown out at the end of the semester.

Why?

_

I found this article quite interesting, and I wish I could present this quote to my Chinese acquaintances when they cite, boast of, or complain about the hours and hours they spend studying and getting tutored:

Former U.S. assistant secretary of education Chester Finn recently wrote in TheWall Street Journal that the average Chinese college applicant has spent 30% more time in the classroom than his American counterpart--and that's not including considerable time in enrichment classes after school and on weekends. Finn cites that figure as something the U.S. should emulate. I could not disagree more. The amount of time in class is not the issue; the quality of that time is, and there the Chinese education system is lacking.

Here's to critical thinking...

Here's hoping for a good education reforms in China, even when they don't seem likely to ever happen.

Here's to the hope we have in Christ and His redemption of all that is so effed up...

...starting with me.

_

When playing drums in a marching band drumline, if one drops a drumstick during a performance or rehearsal, one must take part in the "Lean of Shame" to pick up said dropped drumstick. It's not fun. If someone watching didn't notice that a drumstick was dropped, they will definitely notice the dropper leaning over.

I find that there exists in the classroom a similar shameful lean. If one drops his or her writing utensil and it lands or rolls to a position which is directly beneath the desk or table at which one is sitting, one must lean over to pick up said dropped writing utensil. To make matters worse, it is usually most convenient for the dropper to bring his or her head very close to the table while he or she reaches for the dropped writing utensil. This produces, for a moment, an awkward moment during which it appears that the dropper is just laying his or her head on the table or desk for some unknown reason.

Don't believe me? Try it. Drop anything under the table or desk at which you are sitting... chances are high that you won't want to put your head underneath the table or desk, and chances are high that it will be most convenient for you to keep your head above the table or desk while you reach for whatever you dropped.

I wrote way too much about this.

_

"If God didn't want us to eat animals, why did He make them out of meat?"

-Samuel Rognstad

_

"If you form your hands in certain ways, your enemy is gonna die!"

-Chinese Lit prof talking about Kung Fu-genre characters

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"How do you explain the music of the 80's?"

and

"Why is giving a diamond ring an expectation when getting engaged?"

Answer to both:

"It's just something that some lady made up."

-Philosophy professor

Question: How is requiring that a man give a woman a diamond ring when he asks her to marry him NOT encouraging them both to view love as something which is inseparable from money?

Wouldn't it be much healthier to start out such an incredible relationship with the giving of a $.25 ring from the toy machines in the lobby thing at Wal-Mart? Wouldn't it save a lot of money that young married couples could afford to hold on to? If a ring is representative, then it's monetary value should be insignificant.

Round 1: Fight!

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"My father told me and my brothers and sisters that his name is Gerald. I only found out that his real name is Maurice a couple years ago."

-Philosophy professor

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I don't like this post.

_

I like this song.

Nothing doing...

Television is eating my father. Solitaire is eating my mother. CSI is eating my entire family, except me.

...but Arrested Development devoured me a long time ago.

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This is fun.

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This is cool. (Originally posted by Mark Kaech)

_

Since I started writing this B-log, I have not written extensively about two things:

1. My feelings.

2. Controversial topics.

Whether this has been done (or not done, rather) subconsciously or consciously, that time is over.

If you want to respond to anything I write, write me, or talk to me. Or write in the comments section. Or whatever.

_

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person I know who isn't a Republican. I know plenty of Democrats, but I don't come into contact with them as often as I come into contact with Republicans.

I'm not a Republican. I'm not a Democrat. I'm apolitical in every sense of the word.

I feel like politics leads to fear, and "fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."

I'm not joking.

So what am I? I follow Christ. And I submit that being a Republican or Democrat never did anything to help or encourage anyone to call God their father. I would even submit that it has done only the opposite, creating division and turmoil.

_

I can and will talk about politics with people, but I refuse to let it separate me from those I love. It breaks my heart to write that I find this nearly, if not entirely impossible.

Don't misunderstand me: I understand the strength of the democratic system, I understand that the tension between the political parties is one thing that makes the system so strong.

I am not imploring you to become apolitical like myself. I am imploring you to remove your love, your respect, your honesty, and your humanity from the sacrificial fire pit of politics. I am imploring you to see politics for the dividing wedge that it is. I mean, simply being mindful of the fact that it is very capable of division is enough. Don't let it divide. Don't let it foster hate.

Because, from my apolitical point of view, fostering hate and division is one of the main things politics does.

Set aside your nationality, your politicality, your denomination.

Christians: Recognize God as King. Non-Christians: Seek God as King.

The end.

_

I find myself incapable of writing "short essays" and short letters to people. I write a lot.

_

I could swear that, in Phoenix, Arizona, there is a headwind in every direction. It feels like one could ride a bicycle in a circle and the wind resistance would be consistent the entire time. Dislike.

_

12 days until ITU World Championship Series begins in Sydney

72 days until FIFA World Cup 2010!!!!!!!

850 days until London 2012 Summer Olympics

1437 days until Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics...

_

Music:

JJ Heller- Love Me

JJ Heller- Your Hands

Gotan Project- La Revancha Del Tango (Album)

_

Lyrics:

Amazing grace
Christ gave that day
My life was changed
When from my shoulders
Fell the weight of my sin

Consume my thoughts
As I rest in You
I'm now in love
With a Saviour
Bearing the marks of His love

Hillsong United- Second Chance

I have unanswered prayers

I have trouble I wish wasn't there

And I have asked a thousand ways

That You would take my pain away

That You would take my pain away

I am trying to understand

How to walk this weary land

Make straight the paths that crookedly lie

Oh Lord, before these feet of mine

Oh Lord, before these feet of mine

When my world is shaking

Heaven stands

When my heart is breaking

I never leave Your hands

When You walked upon the Earth

You healed the broken, lost, and hurt

I know You hate to see me cry

One day You will set all things right

Yea, one day You will set all things right

When my world is shaking

Heaven stands

When my heart is breaking

I never leave Your hands

Your hands

Your hands that shape the world

Are holding me, they hold me still

Your hands that shape the world

Are holding me, they hold me still

JJ Heller- Your Hands

"Ground Fighting's Not My Scene, Man!"

Google Maps (or whoever supplies their satellite photographs) took new pictures of my house! Because I enjoy running and cycling, I often use Gmaps Pedometer to map or calculate the distances of runs or rides. Anyway, the satellite photographs of the area in which I live which were used for the last few years were replaced with updated ones recently.

Yay.

_

Writing of Google, check this out. That's called sticking it to the man. The mainland Chinese man.

(Thanks to Harris Kwok)

_

Favorite post-bicycle ride food: Almond butter, honey, and banana on whole wheat bread.

_

I did not wear green at any time during St. Patrick's Day, and I'm not sorry.

_

Spring break was a bad idea. To refer to a previous post, it's like coming to a complete stop on a bicycle- one must work extra hard to gain back all of the momentum that one gained before stopping. Or... must one?

_

One of the last bits of direct speech at the end of the first chapter of the 1969 Chinese novel "The Deer and the Cauldron":

"I know, I'm just Trinket: Little White Dragon's the name, swimming's the game. Water sports. Staying under water. Eating raw fish and prawns. Ground fighting's not my scene, man!"

I want to see the original Chinese writing from which the sentence, "Ground fighting's not my scene, man!" was translated...

_

Anyone need or know someone who needs a Mandarin Chinese interpreter?

_

Music:

Where You Go I Go- Jesus Culture

Your Love Never Fails- Jesus Culture

A Parenthetical Post

Procrastination is stupid. I find that I somewhat dread writing papers and such only up until the second that I open Microsoft Word. The precise moment that the blank page appears before me, I've accepted my fate, and the writing and work begins without a problem. Weird.

_

I have recently met multiple people who study Asian languages who like the Korean music group called Epik High. I don't say that I love things very often, so perk your ears... I love (and have loved for two years) the music of the Korean group called Epik High.

_

I, for some reason, have high, very high standards for films these days. (For example, I haven't seen Avatar. I don't intend on seeing Avatar until it presents itself before me and practically pays me to watch it. Get over it.) I mean, I just haven't been watching many movies, so, when I do, I want them to be ones that I'll enjoy (especially if I'm going to spend money to see it in a theater). That being said, I have been excited about this movie for the last couple of months.

_

Does going to see movies in a theater not make sense to anyone else? I'll see a movie in the theater for three reasons:

1. The graphics are so incredible that... they're incredible. (Apparently this isn't always true because I had a friend tell me to go see the latest Star Trek movie in the theater because the graphics were "so amazing", and then Avatar came out and everyone said the same thing... and I clearly haven't seen that either. Soooooo... let's just scratch this so-called "Reason #1").

2. I have wanted to see the movie for a long time. In other words, I want to see the movie, and I don't want to have to wait for it to come out on DVD. (This happens once or twice a year).

3. The movie theater atmosphere is appropriate for the film. (I can only think of one example, and that was the after-midnight showing of "Grindhouse" in 2007).

Furthermore, it doesn't make sense to "hang out" with friends by going to see a movie. Unless you are talking throughout the movie, that's not "hanging out", that's "accompanying".

_

Something was going on at school on Thursday and Friday this week. On Thursday, my Chinese Lit teacher came into class and told us that he got a cold as soon as he walked out of class on Tuesday afternoon. Then, he told us that he took two Dimetapp on Thursday morning, which was one (or two) too many. He kept saying "Soooooooo..." which made me (and apparently a few of my classmates, as well) think that he was going to follow that by saying "... we are going to cancel class for today." False. He proceeded to give his lecture, but his eyes would droop and completely close every couple of seconds. He'd keep talking like normal, though. That was awkward, but not as awkward as what he was talking about.

Here's a conglomeration of some of the topics he covered and words that he said:

Sex

Ang Lee's "Lust, Caution"

Sex

Expanding our Moral Boundaries (?)

Sex

The "F" word

Seeeeeex...

Why having us watch a film is appropriate in a Chinese Literature class (He also teaches film)

Sex?

"Bosom"

...you get the idea.

Then, on Friday, I took a Chinese test in Chinese class. The teacher, though, must be as bored as we've been recently. (In fact, she has told us unashamedly that she has been more bored than us the past couple of weeks... that's debatable). Before class began, she asked my friend Dacre how tall he is. We then started talking about how we use the standard measurement system in the U.S. And then, she stated (in Chinese) (no less than 3 times) that, if I, Chris Kyle, took off my shoe and measured the height of said friend "Dacre" in feet according to the size of my shoe, we would not have to take the Chinese test that was planned for the day.

Top that.

I didn't agree to do that, by the way. Weird...

_

Know what else is weird? It's weird when you get stuck behind an old-person car with the turn indicator perpetually blinking that's going 15 mph under the speed limit, but, when you pass the car and turn to see who is in the driver's seat, it's a 35-40 year old man or woman. (As opposed to the 4' 9" 63 year old snowbird that you thought would be driving...)

_

I was watching the Indoor Track and Field World Championships and Universal Sports.

A. They must be using the online audience as practice time for the amateur sports commentators because... yeah. No.

B. They kept cutting to field events IN THE MIDDLE OF A RACE. Seriously, how frustrating is it to be watching the women's 3000m final and then, suddenly, BAM SHOTPUT! Oh, but wait... we're going back to the 3000m final, 7 laps to go... oh wow, here we go, picking up the pa- BAM POLE VAULT IN YOUR FACE! Oh, but we're back in the 3000m final... etc...

No good.

_

To end on a not bitter note... 春假愉快! Happy Spring Break! (If yours isn't this week, or ever, then "look forward it", and "I'm sorry", respectively.)

High Density

Okay, I've come to the conclusion that all of my posts are just gonna be hella random. I mean, humans do and think about a lot of stuff, so why would I only write about one topic? Pfffft... (shakes head)

Anyway, get used to it.

I have many links today. So don't read this post if you are trying to get papers and homework done the week before spring break... or do read this post if you are trying to get papers and homework done the week before spring break... hmmmm...

_

"There isn't a protective bubble around you if you wreck. It will hurt and you will be sad."

-Some group ride leader for a road cycling group writing about the difference between wrecking in a vehicle and wrecking on a bicycle.

(I haven't found out how much it hurts or how sad it could make me... yet. Knock on card table.)

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I miss the Olympics.

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I don't care what you say, there are only about five pieces of music and five films from the 80's that I like. I don't know exactly which films and songs get this distinction. Everything else makes me want to vomit. I think this is the curse of being born near the end of a decade- I just wasn't old enough to appreciate aspects of American culture from that time. If you like 80's music and film, enjoy them.

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I laughed for such a long time after reading this a few days ago, at the quote at the end. And yeah, I just read it again and laughed about as much as I did a few days ago. Just... read it.

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Dear citizens of the United States of America,

The rest of the world has discovered and enjoys good dance music. Catch up. Here's a hint:

If you need something to help you make the transition, try this

I dare you to listen to this and not dance at the same time

Love,

Me

P.S. I know plenty of people and some cities in the States have figured it out, but... not enough, in my opinion.

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Axe Cop... Written and created by a 5-year-old, art by a 29-year-old

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Do your best!

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Disclaimer: Complaining below...

I've been debating about whether I want to say anything about this, but I shall- If you are driving a motor vehicle and are at or are approaching a four-way-stop and there is cyclist approaching one of the stop signs, when it's your turn to go, pleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaase do NOT "be careful" by going through the intersection at 0.2 mph. I appreciate that you are taking things slowly and you are doing your best to keep cyclists safe, but, how do I explain this... a bicycle is moved forward by the energy exerted by the cyclist. The speed that we gain while pedaling sticks around, even if we don't pedal (aka coasting.) So, when I'm coasting, approaching the stop sign and each driver decides to "be careful" by taking 5 minutes to get through the intersection, I lose all of my inertia and basically have to stop. Also, just because I am moving forward doesn't mean that I'm not going to stop in time to let you go in front of me. Bicycles have brakes, too. So... just go.

A. Other cyclists: if I'm out of line to B&M about this, tell me, and I'll stop.

B. Vehiclists: if you think I'm out of line to B&M about this, try cycling. And, keep in mind that you move your vehicle by tapping your foot, while cyclists... cyclists do a little bit more work to gain and retain their speed.

P.S. The above sounds bitter. I am not. Furthermore, I only started cycling a couple of months ago, so I just realized this recently. Also furthermore, thanks for attempting to be safe around cyclists. Smiley face.

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To me,

Single/Old > Divorced

Happily Married/Old > Divorced

And it goes without saying that being young and single or happily married is better than being divorced. So I guess I've just come to the conclusions that

A. Being divorced would suck.

B. I have no shame or problem with being patient with regard to putting a ring on a girl's hand. No shame at all.

C. I have entertained the notion that I might be afraid of divorce. I mean, I have no reason to be, but I am aware that, if, indeed, I am fearful of it, that it might be a causative factor with regard to my desire to be patient and not put a ring on just anyone's finger. Why shouldn't I be afraid of divorce? As noted in point A. "Being divorced would suck." Who wants to argue with point A?

Disregarding the lyrics that come after this line,

"I can tell you this much...

...I will marry just once."

-JM

If you are young and married, congratulations!

If you or someone close to you has or has been divorced, I offer my heartfelt apologies.

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From my Existentialism notes:

"There's got to be more to our lives than practical necessity, there must be time for the arts, the imagination."

"There must be a greater story."

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Existentialism Teacher:

"There has to be more to life than the Hokey Pokey, it can't really be what it's all about."

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Music:

Scarlet Johansson and Pete Yorn- Relator

方大同-十九八七

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This has been dense. Not, like, "stupid" dense. Like, "high density" dense. Here's another song.

Kaskade- 4am

(I acutely appreciate the original, remix, and acoustic versions of this song.)