Thursday, November 5, 2009

Howard Roark and the Dean.

"...You must learn to understand - and it has been proved by all authorities - that everything beautiful in architecture has been done already. There is a treasure mine in every style of the past. We can only choose from the great masters. Who are we to improve upon them? We can only attempt, respectfully, to repeat."

"Why?" asked Howard Roark.

"But it's self-evident!" said the Dean.

"Look," said Roark evenly, and pointed at the window. "Can you see the campus and the town? Do you see how many men are walking and living down there? Well, I don't give a damn what any or all of them think about architecture - or about anything else, for that matter. Why should I consider what their grandfather thought of it?"

pg. 11, The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Blogging = stress relief...?

Things have been pretty sweet lately. I talked to a PSU adviser, and decided to forgo getting a transfer degree from CCC and just get 90 transfer credits from CCC so I don't have to take Sophomore Inquiry. This way I don't have to take more math. :) If only I figured that out earlier and didn't waste time taking 3 math classes already... but oh well, too little too late.

Also, I realized recently that I don't tend to blog as much when I have nothing to bitch about. I haven't really felt the urge to blog recently, which I think is because things have been pretty chill recently.

Finally, I think I might be getting sick. :(( Right before Halloween, too. Bad timing!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

最近のしたい事(多分)。

つぎの学期にスペイン語がとりたいかどうかまだ分かんない。スペイン語のクラスで言葉が知らないとすぐ日本語で考えるんだ。俺の意見で、なんか外国語が上手に成りたかったらその語で考えるのが凄く大事だと思ってる。今、出来なさそうね。でもスペイン語が好きなんだ。きれいだし、アメリカでスペイン語が話す人がたくさんいるし、今の先生が好きだし、面白い語だね。最初に「スペイン語って簡単だなぁ。」とか「英語と同じぐらいかも~。」と思ったけど、今「スペイン語は英語と違う」っていうことが分かる。

それと、スペイン語の先生から、なんかちょっとinspirationっていう気持ちを受けてる。彼がアメリカ人で最初の語は英語だった。後にスペイン語を習って、スペイン語の教師に成った。俺はいつも「最初じゃない語を教えるのがだめだね。」と思った。でも彼はスペイン語が凄い上手だ。多分外人も日本語を教えるのが出来るかも。

Should I translate the blog entries that I write in Japanese into English? I sometimes wonder if anyone would even read it if I did translate it, haha. I kinda wonder if anyone reads it at all. Although it doesn't matter to me much, because writing and thinking in Japanese is good practice for me, and blogging is English is just good stress relief, and I find it rather therapeutic either way. So yeah, if you are reading this, hello good sir or madam from teh interwebs. Sorry if you don't read Japanese. :-/

Sunday, October 18, 2009

"Life"

I've been recently watching a television series on Hulu called "Life". The main character is a cop who spends 12 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit. He survives prison with a book called "The Path to Zen". When DNA evidence comes up that clears him of the crime 12 years into his life sentence, he's extradited and given an undisclosed number of millions and a job as a detective as part of a settlement. The show is a crime drama, and is about his detective work and him dealing with his experiences as a prisoner. I'm pretty addicted to this show, and you can catch the first episode here; http://www.hulu.com/watch/6671/life-pilot#s-p3-n1-so-i0

"What do you want, Charlie?"
"I want to be the unwobbling pivot at the center of an ever-revolving universe. I want to be still." - Charlie Crews, Episode 3, "Life"

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

recent 気持ち

嬉しい。 I woke up today feeling lethargic and grumpy. I showered, then realized I was still grumpy and lethargic. So I told myself "Hey man, why do you gotta be this way? You have a million reasons to be the happiest man on this planet. Stop forgetting that." So I stood there, took a few deep breaths, and remembered how wonderful life is.

After that, I ate oatmeal. And I don't mean "I ate oatmeal" in just the sense that I chewed, swallowed, and digested it. I really ate it. I didn't think about what I was gonna do today, what I did yesterday, or what I will do tomorrow. I really took the time to experience that motherfucking oatmeal. I turned off my autopilot switch for a few minutes. I focused on nothing but the raw fact of the existence of that oatmeal. I would say "It was very Zen", but I really hate it when people use the word Zen as an adjective. So I'll just say that it was peaceful and relaxing.

その後、 スペイン語のクラスへ行った。外国語って面白いんだけど、スペイン語より日本語がずっと楽しくて面白い。英語と似てるからね。それに日本語に凄い興味があるんだ。最近、日本語をあまり使わない。残念だね。PSUから習ってるので漢字は全然勉強しない。自分で練習した方がいいねww。冬学期に漢字の授業がとりたいだ。俺の意見には、漢字が出来たら、話す事が簡単。だから話し方だけ勉強したら、漢字を忘れて、書く事が出来ない。書く事が出来なかったら上手じゃないと思う。

Sunday, October 11, 2009

That whole school thing.

College recently, I will admit, has been pretty tight. I've been getting ahead in my classes and keeping up with all of my work. With a little luck, I should come out with between a 3.5-3.75 gpa for the term. :D

Also, recently I've become thankful for two things. First and foremost is the good health of my family. I may not have the best relationship with them all the time, but I sincerely love them nonetheless. So to my good friend in that situation, I'm terribly sorry to hear of that sort of thing happening, and I hope the best for you and your family! Stay strong!

The second thing is more of a bittersweet kind of thing, but I nonetheless appreciate it. I'm kind of thankful that I live at home. Now, mind you, I often find it hard to see eye to eye with my parents, and I've had some difficulty getting along with them lately. That said, the thing I'm glad I'm away from is the partying that seems to go along with dorms and apartments for college campuses. I have lots of fun at parties and I enjoy drinking and smoking pot and all that, but it seriously takes it out of me. It takes most of the next day to recover from a crazy party, and it also cuts into time I could be doing homework or getting more sleep.

So considering those two things- the good health of my family, and not being close to parties, I have a very easy life. I should be doing way better in school! I'll have to get even more ahead next week!