After sending Sam to the hospital, and sleeping in the waiting area while holding the buzzer so the surgeon could contact us anytime, and holding XW's laptop to internet sms Sam's mom should anything go wrong, then hearing XW's phone ring nonstop with concern for her roommate, I began to reflect on how all of us, in a place far away from home have come to depend upon the concept of mutual reliance.
When your family is far away, and the only one you can rely on is yourself, it sometimes feels a whole lot better to know that someone you know is right by your side to hold your hand, or just be there to help you in whatever situation you might need them. And it's not just in this incident that this has been observed.
Flat tire? Call a guy for help. No more eggs? Borrow from your neighbor. Can't decide which flight is good? Text your friend. Have a problem you can't solve? Spam the email group you're in.
Somehow, being far away from our main source of support (family for example), just helps the ones here bond more easily - sure you might think that it isn't good to group together despite being so far away from home. But sometimes, mutual reliance amongst people from a common background just seems so much easier - have a concept you can't explain in English? They probably get it. Can't seem to find a substitute that's the same as the one you are used to? They might have a suggestion.
YZ calls it resource pooling - sharing resources amongst people to achieve the most efficient and balanced way of doing things. To me, it's not so much about pooling resources sometimes than it is about relying on somebody else to help you - no matter how much you don't like doing it, it can be pretty inevitable.
It's easy to say that you want to rely on yourself and even less on people from the same place because you want to branch out. But honestly, after witnessing how people here help each other out, it's been really quite an eye-opener. Just being from the same country or knowing the same friends is like solidarity amongst strangers who find familiarity in a foreign environment.
When we were in Seattle, our hosts were so warm and wonderful and took care of us so well - despite them only knowing one or two of us in the group. And amongst friends, being an international student from similar cultures is enough to spark immediate conversation about where you are from, and so on. Sometimes, students here aren't too curious and make immediate assumptions about who you are and where you're from based on all these bizarre stereotypes they have of people. But when you're all international students, you have this knowing look that goes, "Yup.. They've never heard of where I'm from for sure..."
Mutual Reliance.
I'm guilty too of depending on this, and guilty too of providing it. But guilt sounds like a negative concept - and mutual reliance really isn't one. Instead, it's about helping each other, and providing support for each other when sometimes you just don't know who else to ask.
What is currently considered (for me) to be a "post exam season" is actually turning into a "accomplish everything I couldn't in the semester" season. I haven't slept much (what?! Even though I can?!) and I've been actually doing things that on first look are pretty meaningless, but all add up to fulfill a list of things I wanted to do but didn't because of "homework" or "exams" or something school related.
It's funny how you get into a frenzy of trying to do things after exams like visit restaurants and go shopping as opposed to actually doing things like packing your stuff and cleaning up the house.
However, I've actually managed to achieve some things! that are pretty remarkable considering how little effort and time they actually take but yet I've been putting it off all year long.
1) Go to One World Market in Novi and drool over all the Japanese products 2) Go shopping with no time limit 3) Cook hayashi rice (ハヤシライス) which actually tastes very good considering it's from a box 4) Actually start working on the business (Oven Revolution!) and make clay earrings 5) Have a picnic at the Arb 6) Visit the Arb and Argo Park ^_^ 7) Seen scenic routes around Ann Arbor (like the route to Canton! Omy.) 8) Eaten at different dining destinations like Bi Bim Bap, Arirang, One World Market, etc. 9) Shot photos of ... basically everything everywhere. I really should use my camera more often. xP Photos coming soon! 10) Made ridiculous amounts of seaweed chicken for the picnic
And that's only in the past, what, 4 days or so?
Despite this, I have to start packing, moving, clearing, pruning, and so on in order to make my departure from Ann Arbor for the summer as painless and dust-free as possible for when I return at the end of August (or sometime then). Honestly, I hate moving and packing and clearing and pruning so it's no wonder I've been putting them off so much. It's time to face reality though - that my stuff won't disappear or move themselves. =(
O sad times.
If anything, this year will be the year I clear almost everything I have because unlike last year where I had help, this year I have to rely on ... myself. *gulps* This is not looking good...
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : all that Chinese music in Shuying's car] [mood : tired] [food : KAMONABE!!! 鴨鍋!!! ^_^]
When suddenly looking up the lyrics of a song are of extreme importance to continue studying the chapter. And you just have to watch the PV because it's a life or death situation. Let's not forget how it is also suddenly essential to prune that youtube playlist you have to make sure that it doesn't skip videos that have been deleted.
スピッツ - ロビンソン Spitz (スピッツ) has been very much on my mind after hearing their songs on the Honey & Clover anime soundtrack. Their tunes and lyrics are just... awesome. xD And this song, that shot them to fame, is case in point.
Somehow when Kusano sings it, it totally rhymes and flows in a manner in which you have to be really good at manipulating language to sound so melodious. ^_^ Awesome.
Other songs by them I love? - 魚 （さかな; sakana） - たまがわ (tamagawa) - 空も飛べるはず（そらもとべるはず; sora mo toberu hazu) and so on. It's really quite endless.
Time to attempt further concentration on my notes. *stares hard*
I might be writing about how I didn't experience any blocks during the creation of my psychology project - but I'm definitely experiencing writer's block because I don't know what else to talk about for this paper.
There are only so many things you can say about creativity. (Even if you are quoting every single reading from the entire semester.)
And so I'm scratching around for more ideas. This, of course, involves the internet.
The internet then spells d-i-s-t-r-a-c-t-i-o-n.
But with every page I surf, I also get more distressed about not finishing my paper, and sudden inspiration strikes. So perhaps scratching on the internet helps, somehow.
Still, trying to write a paper while being pressed for time is only useful in circumstances such as 1) when I'm writing about a book. 2) or a movie. I mean, books and movies are interesting. 3) when I partially have a clue about what I'm supposed to write about. 4) when I have like, 2 hours left and I'm desperate.
This doesn't bode well. And yet I still have to study for my other psychology exam! (T_T)
I better get cracking. Or *coughs* I mean, scratching.
It all started when I was making a pseudo-Italian dinner, with baked chicken and roast vegetables, accompanied with pan-fried zucchini and aubergine with braised tomato sauce.
To everyone's delight, the zucchini was sweet! Juicy! And delicious!
The rest was fate...
I spotted a recipe on a blog for Cream Puffs filled with ricotta cheese and aubergine! But since I didn't think much of the aubergine that night, my mind rolled and wondered, "What if I replace that with zucchini...?"
And so, the story goes on.
A trip to the supermarket later, I was armed with zucchini, marscapone (couldn't find ricotta and I don't like commercially produced ricotta anyway - I'm assuming the homemade stuff is better...), and whipping cream. After pan-frying the zucchini to the same luscious sweetness, and beating the marscapone with sugar, I was far too tired to continue..
So in the fridge they sat.
Today, I worked up some energy and determination and baked up some choux pastry! It's amazing, by the way, how quickly you can make an impressive dessert that will leave everyone satisfied. Choux pastry is one such dessert - and you can make it one step easier by making chouquettes so zero effort is necessary. ^_^
Mixing the sweetened marscapone with unsweetened whipped cream, and then doubtfully stirring in the zucchini... We filled the empty choux shells with that mixture and bit into it...
It's a match made in heaven.^_^
Who knew zucchini, marscapone, and whipped cream would come together so beautifully in a cream puff?
For this bizarre combination going right, I can only thank my psychology of creativity class for giving me the impetus to go through with weird ideas.^_^
I'm still puzzled however, as to why I'm behaving as if I have a lot of time on my hands when in truth, I do not have time at all. X__X
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : Waterfall alice nine.] [mood : X__X] [food : zucchini marscapone choux a la creme + roasted vegetables!]
This post is dedicated to the ever persistent SamYap.
Recently in my Psychology of Creativity class (I've realized that I have obvious favorites in Psychology.. This is not good), we watched this video on TED.com which featured a speaker a couple of years back expounding the argument that education kills creativity. Watching the video made me first question my own education (definitely a killer of creativity) but then it also led me to realize that perhaps, Singapore isn't all that boring and stiff after all. Because Singapore isn't alone in being totally rigid and unappreciative of non-Math and Science people. Apparently, (according to what my classmates were talking about during discussion) the supposedly incredibly liberal America is too!
I was actually pretty surprised when my classmates talked about the importance of math and science in their own high schools (despite a lot of them being performance majors in dance, theatre, or music...) and how they were "different" from other people. Though it didn't make a difference in the end, seeing as they all ended up in university anyway. But in a way, I think that their education was probably a lot more liberal and diverse than what I experienced seeing as Singapore (and probably the UK too) makes students specialize from a pretty young age and choose fields that they *assume* they'll enter later on in life. Of course, things are changing now, but essentially it's not so much about the education (ok it partially is) but also about the mindset of people who are within that society.
Society's demands and government policies help strongly to shape the type of education we receive. Obviously, in a more rigid system, different areas are emphasized and in liberal societies, unconventional choices are not looked at with such surprise. Certainly, it is important to get an excellent grounding in all areas but it is not always possible since there are obviously some things we are better in than others.
Speaking from personal experience, teachers make a huge difference. Perhaps if I hadn't received such withering looks as a child, I would enjoy doing art a lot more today. Or if I hadn't been so useless at math (in that particular context anyway), I might have been more encouraged to try to like it (somehow I cannot see that happening but we can imagine...). The emphasis placed on math and science is disproportionate to the amount of training we receive in humanities and social sciences - while math and science(s) are compulsory, humanities and social sciences are usually interchangeable and optional. (For example, you must take math AND one or more sciences, but you could choose literature, or geography, or history, or a combination.)
While those most inclined toward math and science subjects would rejoice, I certainly wasn't very happy but I had to do it anyway. I guess it was good that I received erm, exposure to all those different areas but trust me, I was very pleased when I took the last math class of my life (Stats 350) and could throw that part of my brain out the window forever and ever.
You may wonder where this is leading... And frankly, I have no idea. Haha. It's an endless debate - how can you strike an optimum balance between encouraging "creativity" (in its completely undefinable form) and training students in all areas? I think it's a question that will continue to be asked, but for now, maybe it would be good to give equal emphasis to all aspects of ... well everything. Math Biology Chemistry Physics Literature History Geography Music Dance Drama and so on. What a fun (and varied) education that would be.=) Sort of.
I guess this was a way of not thinking in Japanese for a while. Back to reality...
もう少しだけから．．．頑張るよ！
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : Daybreak's Bell L'arc En Ciel + Diamond Dust 氷室京介 + Need You Now Lady Antebellum] [mood : frazzled] [food : tea]
It's about time Jrock got it's due recognition from the international community! (Mainly North America seeing as it's rock band but anyway...) And what better way than to introduce people via a game?
While I'm sure the whole music section would work out pretty well (guitar, bass, drums are all basic), I'm not sure how the vocal part will work seeing as a lot of people cannot exactly sing in Japanese (and a lot of jrock singers don't have the best pronounciation either...).
Also, it would be interesting to see what kind of songs they would choose to put on Rock Band. Would they be technically difficult so that people can play at high levels, or will they choose something more mainstream to appeal to a wider audience? Jrock in and of itself has a unique sound that makes you go, "Ah that's Jrock isn't it?" when you hear a track. It's not that American music doesn't have its own sound (it does) but there are many different types compared to Jrock (which is varied too, but in a different way).
And maybe they'll even have Jrock costumes for you to choose from to dress your avatar!!! xD That would be fun...
So please vote for your favorite Jrock band! ^_^
In other news, I have yet to watch the Gackt DVD (horrors!) but I have listened to alice nine.'s compilation release with great relish~ I need to find a 4 hour block!!! (T_T)
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : Show Me What I'm Looking For Carolina Liar] [mood : ~_~] [food : fried rice!]
My Emotible!
starry-eyed: filled with such youthful hope and optimism that one's eyes twinkle even when it's dark
Wish List
ie: motivation to save money!
- clothes
- shoes [heels! boots!]
- the perfect tote
- coats/outerwear! [Soïa & Kyo, Burberry...]
- Gackt - nine*nine
- Gackt Photobooks:
1 The Gift The Sixth Day & Seventh Night Tour Document (2004)
2 Crescent Photobook (out of print)
- Cookbooks!
1 Thomas Keller The French Laundry Cookbook
2 The Nobu Cookbook
3 Emily Luchetti A Passion for Desserts
4 Alice Medrich Pure Dessert
- Anime/Manga
1 Rurouni Kenshin
2 xxxHOLiC
3 Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-
- Proficiency at Japanese!
- Learn French for Food!
