it's all in the deets

So I just got done having an impromptu heart-to-heart with my sister.

It's amazing how much I actually learn from these chats. I mean, do you really listen to what people say to you? If we did, the world would be 100x more productive.

People will hear what you say, but they don't always listen. Some would say it is "selective hearing", and I believe that. When you take the time to listen to words and roll them around your mind, you start to gain perspective.

One topic came up and it was about social norms, about how people are expected to say certain things at certain times. Words can make someone feel put-out, or just that much happier. Take, for instance, if you were invited to dinner at someone's house and they ask you how it was. And you could say "Pretty good" in a flat monotone, or you could respond earnestly with "I really loved it, it was great!". I find that sometimes I fall into the dull responses category, but not even on purpose. I say "pretty" and "kinda" before many of the replies I give, and I realize that it makes things sound uncertain. That kind of tone can hurt another's feelings. Although I do not mean any harm by it, another person will not know that. So the point of this was to emphasize the importance of diction, of tone. It's not what you say (although that's important too) but mainly HOW you say it.

Words can be sharper than knives!

crime and punishment, punishment and crime

This week in English we started to read Dostoevsky's Crime and Punsihment. Dostoevsky was a brilliant fiction writer, a journalist, and a publisher. He also had a gambling problem, suffered from epilepsy, and had constant financial problems. Like the hero of our novel, he spent time in prison in Siberia. He wasn't imprisoned for murder, though, but for being a member of the Petrashevsky Circle.(source). Crime and Punishment opens up to Rodion Raskolnikov, a poor ex-student in St. Petersburg, Russia who goes to a pawn broker and plans on murdering her for her money.

I, of course, had my doubts about the story. However, when I read the first few pages, it started to interest me. The only problem is with the crazy Russian names, like Alyona Ivanovna and Marmeladov. I know these names are difficult to pronounce since they're from a different culture, but it makes me wonder how phonetically-challenging American names are in comparison. Alex or Jan doesn't seem that difficult to pronounce compared to most Russian names. I also found names from Africa even harder to pronounce.

But enough about that names. I am only a few pages into C&P, but I hope that there is more in store as I read on!

apple of my eye

So this week's blog post was inspired by the Fuji apple in my lunch. I've never realized how many types of apples there are! Of course everyone knows the basic ones like red delicious, golden delicious, and delicious delicious (just kidding). My favorites as of right now have to be Honeycrisp or Fuji. Here's a site that lists many types of apples: http://www.nicholsfarm.com/ottoapplecard.htm

Anyway, I wanted to spotlight the origin of the name for the classic Granny Smith apple.

Granny (Ramsey) Smith apples were “born” in Australia in 1868 when Maria Ann Smith discovered a new kind of apple, purely by chance, growing on her compost heap. The seedling (malus domestica x malus sylvestris) was growing happily in the humid almost subtropical climate of Sydney.

(src:http://www.justfoodnow.com/2008/09/13/sour-apples-and-sesame-snaps/)

Granny Smith apples are considered all-purpose apples. They have an even green skin and have a crisp, firm flesh. Granny Smith apples are simply good for eating, as well as being a good cooking and baking apple. Granny Smith apples can be made into applesauce, apple pies, and many other apple cobblers and cakes. Granny Smith apples are also desirable for their long shelf life. They will stay crisp for much longer than other varieties of apples.

j'aime cat.

For the past few weeks in English, we have expanded our vocab unit to include French terms. French is one of the most phonetically pleasing languages spoken, in my opinion. There's something heavy about German and something nasal about Chinese. (Lol I would know.) And I know that makes me sound like an overly opinionated elitist but hey c'est la vie.

I was surprised by how many French terms that I already knew, considering I am from an Asian American upbringing and supplemented my linguistical studies with Italian to start, then Spanish. I've always been scolded for forgetting my native language, but taking ESL classes at the age of 5 tends to make you do that! I wish I had kept up with Canto, but it was just too hard. I don't even remember speaking it..it was that long ago. Writing Chinese is even harder than trying to speak it; my mom admits that it's really difficult since the marks are hard to differentiate.

Anyhoo, I only knew about most of the French terms since I read a lot. These terms, such as pièce de résistance, was used in a fashion book that I read a while ago. France is one of the fashion hubs of the world. I find French culture really interesting too. One day I hope to travel the world and Paris is definitely on that list! Hopefully I'll have learned more than a basic "bonjour" by that time!

wonderland

This Sunday I found a book in my garage, and it was probably one of the most beautiful books I had seen. It’s this fairly new copy of The Complete, Fully Illustrated Works by Lewis Carroll, with gold plated edges on the pages. It even has this satin ribbon for page marking.

I skimmed a few of the stories and poems because there was so many! Well duh. But seriously, one of the most prominent things about Carroll is his unique style: it’s definitely bizarre. His imagination knew no bounds, and that’s one of the reasons why he’s so famous. There is nothing else like his collection of Alice stories.

 Lewis Carroll employed John Tenniel, an established book illustrator, to bring characters like the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter and of course Alice, to life. I was hoping to actually read more of Alice in Wonderland but I haven’t found the time to. I think it’s awesome how universal this story is too; it’s one of the world’s most frequently translated works, available in fifty-five languages. 

And of course the world of cinema has attempted to re-create this story. I’ve watched Tim Burton’s version and it’s quite trippy…but then again so Tim Burton.  Alice and Wonderland has also appeared in one of my most favorite video games, Kingdom Hearts. (But of course that’s because it’s collaboration between Square Enix and Disney Interactive Studios.)

Hopefully I’ll be able to read more from this book!

Don't you, forget about me

Can you remember what you ate for dinner last night?

I find it crazy how we can remember the smallest detail from 5 years ago but not remember what TV show we were just watching 5 minutes ago. I always like to imagine that our brains are like a little office with versions of us running around sorting things (lol referencing Spongebob here). Sometimes things just fade to the back of our minds, like how you can listen to a song you haven’t heard in ages yet you know every lyric still. And then some events stand out in sharp clarity…perhaps due to some emotional attachment affiliated with it. Good and bad.

As for me personally, I've always had a very good memory. I can remember things quicker than the average person, and can memorize a lot at once. I don’t even know why; it just comes naturally. I never really understood why some people just forget to attend meetings and things such as that; I’m the type of person who’s always on top of stuff and reminding everyone of that said meeting.

My memory is definitely a gift and a curse. Like I said earlier, there are good and bad memories, and I remember everything. I’m not kidding. I remember exactly what people say to me. Of course, I’m still human and I forget to do things to. It seems like you only remember what you want to remember (i.e. doing the dishes). And then other times, you have horrible memories you want to get rid of….

Assumptions

When I was young, I always made my own assumptions about things. The more I grew up, the more I realized how incredibly narrow-minded I was. For instance:

• I thought Italy was located where New York state was until my family explained the concept of Europe
• I assumed that all "furniture" meant was just sofas and couches. So when someone referred to their bed and desk as furniture I gave them a weird look and said no it wasn't. They reciprocated with their own opinions.
• The best one is that I thought Labor Day was the day when mothers all over the world suddenly went into labor on that one specific day. The worst part was that my cousin (who is younger than me) pointed out how wrong I was. And this was only 3 months ago.

So you see, it's never safe to assume. Of course, I made these conjectures when I was still slave to shows like Maggie and the Ferocious Beast.

In the adult world, the more you jump to conclusions, the more dangerous it becomes. You'll make mistakes if you suddenly think one way; no communication leads to problems. Sometimes people get hurt because you don't stop and actually figure out what it is you're trying to well, figure out. And then you'll get the truth and the truth will be shocking. I don't exactly understand why people just can't tell you straight up what's on their mind? If everyone actually said what they were thinking then there'd be no miscommunications. One thing I hate about society is the fact that it forces us to adopt a verbal filter. Most of the time I say what exactly is on my mind, but according to SOCIETY I'm wrong in doing so. I'd just like to let anyone (if anyone is even reading this probably not but whatever) that I mean no harm. It seems like today, there are people who'll have that sugar-coated visage and a bitter interior. And then you have the people who seem "mean" on the outside but have their heart in the right place. So what to do?

(I know I just went on a little tangent but it's still relevant.)