Edumacation - a tangent of thought.

http://www.theamericanscholar.org/su08/elite-deresiewicz.html
Link courtesy of Steph Chan.

Looking at and working with the private school websites that Magic Hour pumps out each year has given me a sense of... something. I feel as if I'm a smaller and dustier speck of I-don't-really-know-what-ness as I go on, although I am also currently at one of these prissy schools - something that I only recently realized I have been taking waaay too much for granted. Part of me can't believe the upscaleness of these... things. Rudell would throw a fit at my improper use of pronouns. Wayzata, you think you're all that. Johnson was right; you're wrong.

It's a vortex of superiority. Plah on it all!

Thoughts, part II

It's pretty disheartening to see people get upset over things, especially when they start to push the blame onto other people, and when those things themselves were just a simple human error... sometimes I just want to say, "hey, I'm sorry that blankblankblank happened, and I'm sorry that you're frustrated and angry right now, but you know what? You will be alright! It's O. K." and please stop blaming it on the blanking blanking blanking blanks in the blanking blanking blank blank who couldn't stop the blanking blankers from taking over all the PCs on campus. Sad face.

This is the first sleepover I've had all year!!! Ahhh!!! :D

Econ101 with Case

We're taking a 10 minute break so that Case can chase after a wasp with a styrofoam bar. He's already slapped at two students with it now. Unfortunately, the wasp is still victorious.

So many girly screams...

Ah, the battle ends. It landed on my water bottle. And the girl next to me slapped it. And it may have gone into my backpack. Ahh, good times in econ...

Oh, just kidding. It's back. :/ At least my chips are still intact.

Facebook - an incoherent rant.

There seems to be endless debates around [the pros and cons of] Facebook... Personally, I find that I am quite often put at unease with what I see on it. Apparently, it's useless to "use one's discretion", since one's discretion is usually unreliable. Also, facebook is the worldwide stalkernet - not so sure about that... Fortunately, it is not mandatory to declare in a publicly accessible space one's personal address and phone number, as it is on Wellesley's very own StalkerNet (available only on campus to those with a banner ID), but people do it anyway. To a certain extent we can protect the privacy of these sensitive bits of info, but again, one's own discretion is not always the best. Or maybe they just don't care. But please, if you may, put away those pictures of yourself participating in... questionable... activities.

However, as shallow as Facebook may be, it has its merits... One of which is to know people's birthdays - so useful! Except when it's wrong. That's not so helpful. I personally highly dislike when people write a cute little "happy birthday!" on my wall simply because the specific date of which was to be found on my Facebook profile - I find myself twitching at it sometimes. And it feels rather bandwagonesque to me. Wow, is that a word? It's not red-scribbly-underlined... 

All that said, Linlin, I implore you - don't get facebook yet :( But if you do, I'll be your friend. Heart.

Everyone, go and support your local chamber of commerce! Fly, fly! And tomorrow is International Stuttering Awareness Day.

JEMJEMJEMJEMJEM

Mice

+


=



D:

Well that's slightly disturbing.


Also! Instead of just your normal computer mouse, you can buy the vacuum mouse!



Made to pick up dust and grime from underneath your mouse. Works better than cleaning the mouse old-school-way. One time, I put lotion inside my mouse to prevent squeakiness. It worked for a day.

"Hahhh"

^the word that echoes in my head following an awkward and/or embarrassing situation.

Wellesley's famous (or not so) Lake Day - where students historically skipped class and hung around Lake Waban. It's now been made into an official holiday (or not, since classes are not canceled for thisi event). According to the description on the college website,

Lake Day is one of Wellesley’s most closely guarded student secrets. Planned by student government leaders, Lake Day grew out of the desire for students to take a break from the rigors of their academic pursuits and have fun. From a historical perspective, the word would be spread among students that on a certain date they would take off from their classes to enjoy a day filled with music, dancing, food, fun, and games. Lake Day today is still kept as a secret and is a day filled with fun and festivities.

It's not really a secret though. Meaning, it is widely publicized and unless one is blind or deaf or has no connections period, one will know about it.

Today, festivities included a small petting zoo, a carnival ride (but ghetto - straight up peeling wood and rusted metal. and huge blinky lights), a trackless train (complete with an appropriate conductor, plus about 20/30 years, with max capacity of roughly 40 college students), plenty of cotton candy and cupcakes and fried dough, and about 2300 sadly deprived college students. It was quite a blast :)

In other news, my boss's boss introduced me to a new guy on the team, and it had to be the most awkward meeting I've had in a while. Hahhh...

On the way back

(buses have wifi now! ahhh!)

Mmm all in all it's been a great weekend... a true retreat into the city that turned up many things that I would never have expected.

I realized many of the blessings of going to Wellesley this weekend.. haha! That's kind of ironic - I originally was so looking forward to this trip as a retreat away from Wellesley, and now that I look back, it's become something that's helped me to appreciate it all the more... interesting.

Had so many great conversations these few days... strange and wonderful to catch up with home friends, meet their new friends and click with even newer friends - and that in itself was a strange experience. Clicking with others. Not that it's never happened. Actually, I think that's what brings about friendships - clicking! Ahh so many realizations through that too..

I wonder, how strong am I really? If I am strong at all? How long could I stand firm, if I can stand firm at all? One more reason to love Wellesley...

Other reasons include being able to eat without being judged (most of the time), and being able to talk to like minded individuals about things of frivolous matter in an intellecual way (like fashion and shoes. although the former includes the latter, the latter is also in a category by itself). And more.

The trees outside are so beautiful! Mother Nature is finally shedding her summer veil... Interesting how its Mother Nature and Father Time.

Etiquette is important.

1.5 more hours to go!

I had half a jar of covered espresso beans - equivalent to about 4 cups of pure espresso... but I still managed to nod off while reading through my neuro notes. You have failed me, oh caffeine! Caffeine is a bitter tasting substance, reminiscent of the bitter tastes of many poisons in our world. Our gustatory and olfactory systems work together to take in all those sensations of smell and taste to provide feedback to our brains, telling us which substances may or may not be beneficial or harmful. There are over 10000 distinguishable (for humans) odors, yet we have less odor receptors in our noses than do mice. That's because (our perception of) odor is not only dependent on the molecules, but also on the concentration of those molecules. For example, the odor molecule for coffee is the same as that of feces - the latter just happens to be much more concentrated. So the next time you smell that coffee and think "mmmm", think again.

Back to studying... :(

I am addicted

to chocolate covered espresso beans. :( Hungryyy

Eating alone

Often times I would kind of cringe at the thought of eating by myself somewhere, like for lunch or dinner or what not - and I know many people who shudder at the thought too... but I think that recently I've been really enjoying that... partially because I have no choice and there's just no time, haha - but also partially because it seems to be the few moments I have "alone" - I guess I've come to really appreciate and even look forward to eating alone. All that said, I also see that there's much much value in eating with others - a chance to build relationships, to deepen relationships, to catch up and wind down, and because everyone has to eat anyway, why not do it together if you can? There's definitely value in both.

All that said, I just set up another lunch date.. hahaha

In other news, I have a new pet:
http://www.giantmicrobes.com/us/products/algae.html

Courtesy of the bio department.

Good Posture

Once upon a time, I had good posture - maybe it was because I took ballet and was trained from a young and supple age to maintain my good standing, or maybe it was because there just wasn't much of me that could be pulled down by gravity. A short stub can typically stand more firmly and straightly (is that a word?) than can a taller.. stub.

Since whatever day it was that I started to slouch, I've become worse and worse in terms of posture. When I took ballet for a brief semester last year, it improved just slightly (I even had some very supportive people commenting on how office-lady I looked. Actually, I don't know what that means..uhh) but soon after the next semester began, I reverted back to my old, hunched-over ways.

Not too long ago, I saw an example of terrible posture while on my way to work. From one angle she looked normal, but from another she looked as if she had aged 30 years. Strange, and actually quite disturbing. But it motivated me to do better! So I looked through all those "how to's" (like the wonderful wiki-how) on how to improve posture, and found typical things like 'strengthen your muscles across the back and shoulders', and 'do stretches' (and some not as typical things, like 'be a penguin'), but today, I came upon a new realization and perhaps a new method of inducing good posture!

Walk in heels.

I found that when I walk in heels, I have good posture! Mostly because if that were not the case, I would probably break my foot or twist an ankle or injure myself stupidly in some other way on account of imbalance and poor planning (cobblestone + heels = bad. I write really long sentences :( ). I also found that because I am so grateful to sit after each walk, I am actually more inclined to sit up straight and not slouch. Typically, I'd expect this relief to manifest itself in the form of "ahhhh" and *slouch*, but interestingly enough, perhaps the dopamine system works in this case to not "let oneself go" as a reward, but rather to "strive for better" as an incentive for more future reward. So in conclusion, another way to induce better posture is to walk in heels. Unfortunately that only works (or is socially acceptable) for half of the human population.

Well, that was all a bit convoluted, and perhaps it's all just my justification for buying a new pair of shoes. :/ My jacket is fuzzing and I fell asleep at the bus stop today. And I think I'm having an allergic reaction to my hairtie.

End.

Broken records

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea,
A great high Priest whose Name is Love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart,
No tongue can bid me thence depart.


When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free,
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me,
To look on Him and pardon me.


Behold Him there, the risen Lamb,
My perfect, spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace.
One with Himself, I cannot die,
My soul is purchased by His blood.
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God!

One with Himself, I cannot die,
My soul is purchased by His blood.
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God!