Human Beings

This past weekend there was apparently a big soccer (or football) game that happened between Chelsea, a UK team, and Bayern Munich, a German team. As a non-follower of sports I barely found out who won through friends. However, the reason why I am bringing this up is because of what BBC said about the world leaders.

They paused their meetings during the G8 Summit to watch the game during the penalties shoot-out. I love this picture showing these people who have so much power and are so busy simply grouped together to watch a soccer game. I understand that sports are an important part of society today. They are accessible to everyone. That is the beauty of it.

What makes this photo and article so great is that it makes these people human. Many of us imagine them so far away and almost untouchable, but the reality is that they are human beings like us. I try to remember this when I find myself intimidated by someone. At the end of the day, they have likes and dislikes and successes and failures, just like us average people. They just had different goals than the majority of us, and succeeded at them. They aren’t superhuman. Only the Incredibles are truly superhuman!!

Once upon a time, YouTube didn’t exist

Today, I was watching a 90 minute youtube video. It was a talk my mother wanted me to watch. It was interesting, but as I was watching I suddenly had a flashback to the first time that I remember using youtube.

The internet we used in Southeast Asia, where I grew up, did not really allow us to watch videos for some technological reason unknown to me; they always froze in the middle. The reason why youtube is so special is that I very distinctly remember when a friend, Timothé, emailed a link to a video. I very distinctly remember clicking on the link and thinking, oh, it’s not gonna work! But, I thought I would give it a chance, and it did not disappoint. The link worked! I was in shock. I made a note of this website, and have been using it ever since.

Today, when I look back to that day I think about how huge youtube has become and how everyone uses it today, probably on a daily basis! Facebook’s recent IPO is another example of how quickly things are changing these days.

When I think about how many of us worry today about the next generation, and we want to make a real difference in the world, I find these examples inspiring in a funny way. Some think that websites such as YouTube and Facebook are part of the problems facing today’s generation, however, no matter what one’s opinion is regarding this issue, I want to move past that. I think it’s an example of how quickly we might be able to change things. It’s all about seeing the glass half full.

It’s so much easier to get the word out about something really phenomenal. It’s not easy, now, it’s EASIER. Also, things can actually change really fast. That’s enough to get excited. There’s more too seeing the glass half full, look at how quickly the glass can get full!

Asking questions

It’s important to ask questions and recognize the importance of inquisitiveness. When we’re little and we ask about everything, we ask about concrete things, and most answers are satisfying. It doesn’t take much. It’s trickier when you start asking those vague questions about abstract topics. At a very young age, we accept whatever we are told. Later on, we start thinking more critically, and start building our own sense of morality. Yet, there are always thousands of unanswered questions regarding many issues. Unfortunately, we don’t always the pursue the answers. More specifically, I find I don’t always pursue the answers as thoroughly as I could. I tend to think, oh, there is an expert on the topic who wrote a book. I will read it, one day. This post is geared more to myself than anyone else. I guess it’s a reminder that I need to start picking up those books and talking to those knowledgeable people to get past the current questions. Imagine being stuck on these questions forever. It would not be fun.

We grow up being told to ask questions about everything and to think critically. I’m gonna get up and find the answers now.

Taking advantage of the entire day

I love attraction parks. They are so much fun. The sensation you feel when your head goes upside down, and your body is thrown in all of these odd directions. I like museums too. I visited the musée d’Orsay last summer. We also went to see the Louvre. You walk around for hours and hours and see the beautiful and significant works that people have completed. I absolutely loved it, for the first 3 hours. That’s why I went home after 3 hours.

I used to feel that when we buy day passes to go somewhere we had to spend as much time as possible. Even if that meant waking up at 5AM, and not getting home until midnight. The earliest I woke up was 7:30AM all through college; I believe that is necessary information to get a perspective on what 5AM means to me. Now, although we had a blast with these day passes, I always noticed that by mid-afternoon the day was no longer as enjoyable. Younger, I didn’t notice fatigue as long as I was excited. But now, being slightly older (though I totally recognize that 23 is really not that old) I wonder at the argument that we need to spend every single hour of the day trying to absorb as much as possible. We should make the best of what we have, but remember, there are only so many things that you should do to be able to say that you did them. Prioritize, and remember to live.

Entropy

Entropy is basically the idea that everything tends to go towards a state of chaos when left alone. I’ve often thought about how cool it would be if entropy didn’t happen. I wondered; what if things left alone did not always lean towards chaos. Wouldn’t that be pretty neat? Literally!
Now why am I discussing this now? Beyond the obvious issue that ice would not melt (assuming I understood the physics behind the term entropy), there are other reasons why entropy would not be good: cake. Think about it, maybe the batter would not mix so well? I was making some type of spiced up chickpea taco. So I had to mix a bunch of spices together and was thinking about how difficult it would be to cook and do so many things if they didn’t mix well.

Perhaps I did not properly understand entropy, but if I did, you gotta thank it for cake. Therefore, next time your room is a mess, or the tupperware containers are all over the place, just remember: cake!

Post Mother’s Day

Yesterday was Mother’s Day. It’s a great day to celebrate mothers. I love my mother very deeply and made sure I called her.

But what about today? Is my mom or your mom less special today? No, if anything, she is ready to get back to the normal way of life and give 150% of herself to her family. I was’t around, but yesterday, she probably ate out, or my brother and dad made the meal. But today, she is back in the kitchen making something amazing. She is helping my brother get started on his projects and schoolwork, and she is moving ahead in her many and varied projects.

We should be telling our mothers that we love them every day. My father recently lost his own mother, and it also reminded how they will not be around forever. I’m sure you told your mom you loved her yesterday, but tell her today too. My gut tells me she’ll appreciate it even more.

I love you mom!

New Beginnings – Just get started on that Project

This is the first time I extend on a post. The first part can be found two posts earlier. I want to expand on what happens when you start a new project specifically. I recently had an epiphany that I should’ve probably had a long time ago.

Back in college I had major procrastination issues, I think I will write a blog post about this soon. The link will be here when I write it. Anyways, the moral of the story is that it is very tricky to start a big project about something you know little to nothing about. I was once taught that you should breakdown a project into separate parts to make sure that you attack it in manageable mouthfuls. I find that extremely valuable, yet there was a basic aspect of that principle which escaped me: before you break up the project, you need to get a basic understanding of what it’s going to involve.

Every time I started a new project, I tended to spend the first half hour freaking out about it, then the next hour attempting to multitask by reading guidelines and tidbits of information while trying to structure the project. It’s a horrible plan. So much stress and pressure is accumulated, and sometimes one can even develop an incorrect structure for the project because we don’t really know what we’re talking about it.

I figured it out though; the way to get started is to “throw” yourself at it for a good two hours. My dad had mentioned this before, but I never really understood what he meant until I gave it an honest attempt. Read everything and anything about the topic, even if something remotely related. I am always amazed by how quickly we can get a basic understanding of a situation. Sometimes it’s more complex and sometimes it’s very simple. But really, the first step truly is to always jump into it with no pressure and stay fully focused for a couple hours. This may be very basic to many people out there, and it really should be. Unfortunately, it took me a long time to learn it and fully understand its power. Therefore, if I can help at least one other person discover this, I will be happy.

All in all, it’s about getting started on your project, be it for school, work, or one of your many dreams!

Airport Security: The part that actually doesn’t make sense

When I read about the airport security scares, I wonder about the necessity of heightened security. Several years ago, they caught someone trying to get onto a plane with explosive liquids. Now you can barely take your contact lens product on the plane with you. Before that and since then, various measures have been put in place to prevent terrorist attacks on planes. I wonder at the true value of these, however. The fact is that, though we used to be able to go on with liquids and we didn’t used to always take our shoes off, security caught the culprits. Therefore, they seem to stop these individuals without these thorough screenings of all of our belongings. It seems that the behavioral screening is the most important aspect of the entire process.

Even, the most recent attempt at a terrorist attack on a plane was stopped before the culprit even got to the airport. In fact, in the article they say about the bomb:

It seems it is an improved model, with a more effective detonation system; it has no metal parts and probably would not have been detected by most airport security magnetometers, our correspondent adds.

Therefore, though I understand the basic necessity of taking our laptops out of our bags, and maybe occasionally taking our shoes off to make sure that security officers have time to observe us. I wonder if it is absolutely necessary to enforce the liquids rule, and to be so very strict about everything.

That being said, I am aware that I don’t know that much about airport security beyond what an average traveler observes. However, I would like to better understand it, because as things stand now, not much of it makes sense to me. Also, I really want my bottled water when I fly; I hate how dry the air is on those planes.

New Beginnings

Today, as a new semester begins, I am reminded of the feeling that you have a clean slate ahead of you. You are excited by the freshness, yet anxious about doing it right all the way through. However, with the decisions we make in life we never have a full clean slate. But honestly, who would want that? That sounds like amnesia. It would be nice to do things over probably, but not have everything erased.

So, what am I talking about? When one ends a big project, or begins a new one. When a vacation wraps and classes start again. Perhaps, parents feel that they have a clean slate when a baby comes along (I can’t personally vouch for that one though). What do we do with this clean slate feeling? We must be careful to value it, but take it for what it is. I think that I have had the tendency to think that I was beginning a new big project and that I could change everything about the way I would accomplish it. I thought I could do it perfectly “this time around.” As I sit here, I realize that’s not how it goes. I have old habits that will kick in, and I have to watch out for them. Therefore, I guess the clean slate is not about  being able to prove one’s ability to do everything right. Ultimately, it is about an opportunity to do things better. That’s what we might as well focus on. Or else, the first time you make a mistake, it will feel like you have ruined the project. If you realize that this will happen, you can bounce back and fix it or at least reduce the consequences associated with it as quickly as possible.

It takes a load off to think of it this way. There really is no need to do it all right this time around, just make sure you do it better.

Ripley’s brand

Toronto seems to be a neat place. I recently got a chance to visit. I did not see much other than the CN tower (which was very cool), but I was very surprised when I saw this sign:

Apparently Ripley‘s wants to build an aquarium in Toronto. I couldn’t believe the plans of Ripley’s Believe It or Not. I knew it felt wrong when I saw it but it took me a moment to I figure out what was so wrong. This is what I decided upon: even though aquariums are fun, they have nothing to do with Ripley’s brand.

Ripley’s Believe It or Not has always been about shocking the world with surprising images and facts. People expect to be amazed by Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Therefore, making an aquarium and simply selling it as an attraction is very confusing to the public. Ripley’s is not selling it as a place to discover the “unexpected” side of the Ocean, but simply as an attraction. They are basically amazing us in the wrong sense.

Having said this I have not yet gone to a Ripley’s aquarium and I would love to be proven wrong. So far though, I feel like opening aquariums is diluting Ripley’s brand and suggesting that Ripley’s is running out of “surprising” things to show us. In my mind, they were for a long time an exciting part of my childhood, and appeared to have “fallen off the grid.” I subconsciously pictured them surprising the new generation of children with their museums and books, and I expected to interact with them only when I myself will have kids that want to be amazed. Instead, they decided to prop back up in my mind under a not so positive light.

I am sure it will be a great aquarium, I just don’t get why it has to be a Ripley’s aquarium. Apparently however, people are down with Ripley’s new developments, because the Toronto attraction will be Ripley’s third aquarium, believe it or not.