neither notable nor quotablemeep

24th January 2010

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omnivore’s dilemma

our world has always been one of production and consumption, and more recently we’ve made it one of mass-production and mass-consumption.  meat, agriculture, electronics, plastic everywhere! but what about the intangibles, like information?

on the metaphorical food chain of the tubes, where do you put wikipedia/nyt/etc? tweets, blogs, yelp check-ins, diggs, aardvark/quora questions… there is a lot being produced and a lot being consumed.  as with their tangible counterparts, i wonder what rules/standards/norms will form.  what is the intangible version of free-range chicken?

24th January 2010

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pink is the new black

i’ve tinkered with themes & css to produce what lies before your eyes at this very moment.  i’m not all that happy with it, but it’s an improvement over the penguin one which was a little bit too serious for me.  if i wanted to write a super ditzy post, wouldn’t it look funny against a penguin edition theme (that i associate with actual literature?) ?  it would be like trying to understand a person who was saying super super sad words while their entire face was beaming.  mixed signals, sensory overload,and chaos would reign. (question: how many times did i say super in this paragraph?)

anyhow, life has been pretty good! i’m not overly stressed about classes (yet?), and there’s a hint of nostalgia creeping in since these will be the last classes i’m taking for letter grade.  i’m excited for bumming/travelling/having fun this summer even though i have no strict plans.  i’m looking forward to moving up to seattle, and i’m curious to see how my experiences at work will unfold.  and of course, i can’t wait to be short-distance with the boy.  THE boy. not just any boy. actually, the best fit phrase would be MY boy. hee! :)

i suppose i could be bumming around a lot now too, but for some reason i haven’t really been.  sure, the stress isn’t as bad as normal, but i’ve actually been somewhat studious!  staying up til 3 or 4 most nights, waking up at 8 or 9 for group meetings, i am almost what one would call ‘diligent’!  and yet, i do things like visit dc for mlk weekend, or eat luxuriously after basketball games.

ah speaking of consumption, i’ve branched out of my ‘mocha-only’ ways! lattes are yum, and my recent favorite has been chai tea at coupa.  straight coffee is of course a classic, and i’m looking forward to having a wider repertoire (?) from exploring seattle.  mm i’m sort of talking all over the place, and i’ve finished eating my special-k strawberry cereal. so, it’s time to work! :)

20th January 2010

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my favorite things

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens;
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens;
Brown paper packages tied up with strings;
Are these a few of my favorite things?

perhaps more accurately:
caffeinated or sugary items, like coffee, milk tea, boba, ice cream, ice cream bars, and cheesecake.
various rides, eg piggy back rides, car rides, bus rides, train rides. not plane rides though.
thoughtful things like postcards and letters.
stationery.
meandering.
potted plants and flowers.

you.

19th January 2010

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with no wifi, no phone, and no company

in east of eden, steinbeck describes the moment at which parents fall from super-hero to sub-prime human in their children’s eyes. i hope you remember the allusion because east of eden is an excellent book, and this section was particularly memorable for me.  the fall is something along the lines of devastating, perhaps shattering the integrity of many a child’s outlook on life (if such an outlook may be said to exist?).  in any case, this is the dramatic literary equivalent to the more mundane and pedestrian experiences that i am to recount shortly.

i’ve never experienced the same apocalyptic fall (either the one falling or the one viewing said fall), but it would only make sense that one’s perceptions of others would change.  similarly, one’s relationships with others change over time, including the relative importance of these relationships.  in discussing this with friends, it seems that most people find it strange or even wrong to rank their friends.  it seems natural for me to rank them (though ties are allowed now and then!).  after all, human minds are designed to categorize and classify chaos — why not try to organize the morass of human relationships?

life on the friendship leaderboard is more or less constant in the non-childhood years, although there are a few ups and downs. being near the top on the leaderboard is always nice, and you can tell through a variety of moments that come in different forms.  perhaps words spoken in confidence, asking for and doing random favors without thinking twice of whether it’d be “polite”, thoughtful actions, etc etc etc.

there are downs too, though.  sometimes they just gradually and maybe unintentionally happen, like friends who are bad at keeping in touch with each other.  or sometimes a dramatic fight occurs, and sworn enemies emerge from the battleground.  sometimes it’s not so much that you went down, but rather someone else went up.  or sometimes it’s more like that someone else is kind of tied with you (yes, ties are allowed! :) ).  actually, i think that in my case it is normally the growing existence of an other.  and the other has never been an archnemesis but a welcome addition to the circle of people in my life that i actually care about.  for example, i adore my niece+nephew, and it is only right+sensible that i no longer singlehandedly hold the role of the baby in the family.  i wish i could say i have completely given them this role, but somehow we are in a tie, and everyone still mixes up my name with andrea’s. =.=

or, going back further, i was even confused when andrew sprung up into existence.  where did he come from?  :) and my brother’s lady friend, whose cooking tendencies caused him to say no when i asked to borrow the measuring spoons that he and i had bought together and that he had never actually used by himself (though there was some amount of miscommunication)? and who is this very asian (very. asian. no joke.) guy that i seem to be seeing a lot of on my visit to dc?

i’m not writing this because i’m seeking retribution.  i guess i’m writing this because my plane is delayed 2 hours, i have no wifi, i have been forced into contemplation, and this is the path where my thoughts have led me. :)  and remember, ties are allowed! it’s like in soccer, except everyone wins! lol