Failures

What do you think other’s fail at? What do you think YOU fail at?

As a society, we tend to shun those who fail.

The homeless person on the street? Someone who has failed in managing money. The recluse who prefers the company of books more than people? Someone who has failed to gain social skills. The 49ers? A team that failed in front of the Seahawks (haha jk)

Usually, a definition of failure is good. Because people don’t enjoy failing, or the negative connotations that are attached, they will work their butts off in order to do better. I could put in remarkable effort to finish a project mere hours before the deadline, even as I remained stuck for the proceeding week. Failure serves as a reminder to work harder and smarter, to do more with our lives. Without the bitter, there would be no sweet.

Summer Reflections

Even if I haven’t learned anything this summer, there is one valuable skill that I am so happy to have come into contact with. Something that others seem to be so natural at, and something that I have had to work on.

I’ve begun to learn how to actually interact with people!

Yes, go ahead. Laugh at me, smirk at my incompetence. I’m not going to go on a huge spiel here, but as a child, I didn’t really … talk to people? I was that bookworm, that slightly weird kid in the corner. I spent my time reading or practicing, not playing or *shudder* exercising. Even in the later days of middle school, where friendships actually begin to blossom, I didn’t have that easy connection with others.

It might be something a lot more common than I think, but it was just so hard to talk to other people. Conversations had awkward beginnings, awkward endings, and you can bet your hat that there were lots of awkward pauses in between. I didn’t approach others without a question and half a conversation mapped out in my mind.

But lately, I’ve been learning how to be human again. Slowly learning how to just banter and talk with no purpose at all, just to become someone who doesn’t get on other people’s nerves. Like a reluctant turtle poking his head out of his shell, I am exploring.

What perhaps is most amazing is that there are tons of people out there also as awkward as I am! Such a great discovery, something I wish I really found out earlier. It is great to just go out there and mess up, screw up or do whatever. It is what I learned this summer. And oh, I am so glad that I did.

Starlight

Feeling small against pinpricks of light
gazing upwards, facing the void
I see, not galaxies of great height
but gaps between, such darkness employed.

A single pair of eyes will choose and pick
gloss over the bright, to darkness within.
The windows of our souls merely reflect the abyss
blindness descends, panic follows and comes in.

Only pairs of singles could grow and overcome
your touch is the key to my heart and my eyes
I with you, and you with I my love
We shall see the reawakened sky
and joy, rejoice! Together we shall ride high.

Minds over Matter (Anesthesia and Vicoprofen)

Part I:

Time: 10:05, night before surgery

Honestly, this is just a bit of a prewrite done on a crappy iPad keyboard that is only being worked on due to no other devices. Yeah yeah, too spoiled. Whatever.

I wanted to just sorta document my mental state, and my current worries, before going in to the surgery, which will be the first time in my memory of going under general anesthesia, something that I find to be completely fascinating.

Presenting

Words are a powerful thing for us, but it is quite interesting to consider how they come to be our primary form of communications.

For those reading this article in English, please consider the rudimentary fact that all of our words, all of our grandiose and eloquent ideas, are derived from a simple set of 26 letters (not including those numbers and punctuation marks we love so dear)

A Sleepy Brain

zzzZZZzzzZZZzzzZZZ

I woke up around 7:45 this morning, just lying in my bed becoming more aware of the breeze and the covers that have seemingly magically appeared over me during the night. As I snuggled and resisted the urge to wake up, I started thinking about the day ahead of me.

And then, as most people should know of, I started having these wild and crazy dreams. You know, the ones where I would actually be productive and finish that statistics course instead of only talking about it. You know, those plans on waking up and just jogging in the neighborhood for an hour. Those plans of cleaning the house, of making something good to eat.

But, like most people should again be familiar with, as soon as I wake up those ambitions seem to just vaporize.

Why?

Interesting People

This isn’t about how to be interesting, or even about the interesting people that I’ve met. Instead, it is about the qualities that I perceive to make someone’s words or actions just pop a little more than your average Joe.

So, a simple list of qualities I think this Most Interesting Man in The World should have:

• Sharp Eyes
• A Mouth
• Good Memory
• Good Brain

…and yeah, that is about it! A shorter list than what even I expected, but really, those are the only features that I believe make someone interesting.

Let’s explain this, shall we?

Good Parenting

One does not simply fish without introspection.

Especially if one is fishing at the edge of a beach, with both arms freezing off, as we forgot all of our warm clothing at home. Because when we left Seattle, it was a balmy 85 degrees, and apparently nobody realized that the temperature actually decreases at night. Who knew?

I sigh as I categorize yet another fact into my list of “Things to Change When I am a Parent” that I keep in my head, when I stop and reconsider.

Island Nations

An island seems to change everything.

Pristine Relaxation, right?

Suddenly, you are thrust upon this wild and unknown area, with adventure rounding each hairpin turn while the glistening sea beckons for frolicking. The pure novelty of being so separated from the rest of the world, by however small a ribbon of water, keeps you excited and ready to explore.

Summer Adventures

One of the few reasons why I actually like summer is this:
We came home to a sweltering hot home; myself from a conference in Seattle and my parents from a company picnic. And then, in a completely spur of the moment type deal, we decide that we want to go out and watch some whales.

I guess in some senses, this represents the overall shift in out family. How we have progressed from needing to plan out every single moment of every single route to being able to travel on nothing but the fuel in our cars and the whims of out hearts.

As if we couldn’t have been any more stereotypical, we were literally chasing the sun as it set in the great Pacific Ocean. Speeding across the state routes, we ran towards the beach just to see the last glimmers fade across the majestic island mountains. But oh, what a scene! For even as the sun set, the kaleidoscope of colors persisted, painting the horizon with a scattering of the rainbow. As the smoke from the fire pits wafted towards our car even as we were headings off, I could only imagine what the next day of adventure could possibly take us.

[note: there is so much for me to write about, but so little time to do so! I’ll be posting quite often this following week, and the book review will be in by tomorrow evening]