Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Some Random Thoughts

Life has been rather dull lately since my last (and rather emotional) post. Ecology is still boring as almost everything I'm currently learning I've already learned in animal physiology, biochem, and genetics. Why am I taking this class again? Oh yeah, because I have to. Sigh. Evolution lecture is still as boring as ever, but at least I was able to finish my Chinese homework during lecture today.

Chinese is still great, I can write an entire post on how much I love Chinese (and any foreign language really). Okay, I must be some kind of an elitist in my Chinese class or something, as I'm the only one attempting to learn both Chinese scripts - traditional and simplified characters. And I'm still "lusting" over ES-M. He honestly needs help with his Chinese because he doesn't know how to write, at all. I'm almost practically throwing help his way (for other ulterior motives too) but he seems kind of oblivious to take me up on my offers. Again, sigh. At least after class today he waited until I finished talking to the instructor so we could leave together and talk. That was endearing, though he probably wouldn't have known. I think the main barrier to us "getting closer," particularly as friends, is that he considers me his senior and treats me as such in a somewhat Asian way (aka, with some weird kind of pseudo-formal respect).

On another note, I'm spending WAY too much time in the undergrad library. I pretty much come here between classes everyday and in the evenings, mostly so I can use their faster wireless internet. My apartment internet really bothers me as it's so slow. At least I'm going to the gym with JL-M and JW-M three times a week (And how could I not? I literally live next to the gym). This is very good for me as I NEED to lose like 15-20 lbs. We run about 1.5-2 miles then lift weights. I'm not into lifting at all, but I'll do it with friends. Maybe by the end of the (academic) year I'll be skinnier and buff-er, haha. Maybe then I can actually consider myself somewhat attractive.

Now I always browse the news on various websites daily. Two articles particularly caught my attention today and I'd like to share my thoughts. The first article was about dying languages and how every two weeks or so another language goes extinct. That's so sad! Languages tell so much about a culture. Like how conjugations in romance languages contrast so greatly with the non-conjugating Chinese. How in Spanish there are masculine and feminine words, whereas in Chinese there are masculine, feminine, and "animal" characters. How different languages greet people and say goodbye, it tells so much about people. This isn't even scratching the surface, but to lose a language is almost like losing a culture and it's so sad to me. If I weren't a biology major and pre-med, I'd totally be an anthropology/linguistics double major.

The second article was about God and the US Constitution. The article was basically saying that the Constitution was written for a secular country, not a Christian (or any other religious) country. Yes people, there is no mention of God anywhere in the Constitution and it's pretty clear in what it says about religion and maintaining secularism (aka, separation of church and state). An extension of this, I've always been uncomfortable with the "One nation under God" part of the Pledge of Allegiance, which was added only several decades ago. It somehow just felt wrong, I don't know how to describe it. And today's politics is filled with religion left and right. Why should all the presidential candidates have to profess their religion to gain voters? Why do they have to almost "prove" their religiosity? It's not fair, religion should be a personal and private matter, not public. And I've always detested the invocation of religion in controversial issues such as abortion and stem cell research. It clouds and blinds people.

Well, that was a rather disjointed post. It's reflecting the ADHD part of me today, lol. I do have a tendency to randomly (and quickly) change topics in conversations quite often. Speaking of conversations, something like the following came up between DvF-M and me the other day:

DvF-M: I'm not attracted to guys at all. I just don't see what's attractive about guys. This could be a slight disadvantage. I'm just too straight.
Me: Why?
DvF-M: If I don't know what's attractive in guys, I won't know what girls look for in guys. So I can't make myself attractive to girls.
Me: So basically you're saying that you were slightly attracted to guys or something, so you could see what makes guys attractive so you can become attractive to the opposite sex?
DvF-M: Yes.
Me: Well, there's always something like "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy."
DvF-M: Oh God, I hope I'm not THAT awful. If I am, I hope you or someone, of either sex, would tell me.
Me: Haha. You need a touch of bisexuality. :P

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