I’d like to issue an apology to the rather frumpy student at the cafeteria who I made some incorrect assumptions about. I assumed that a rather unpleasant cocktail of body-odor type smells issuing from his general vicinity were due solely to his presence. However, I later found out that it was a unique combination of brocolli, cauliflower, vinaigrette, and (possibly moldy) bleu cheese dressing that were the source of the most unsavory and (un)surprisingly BO type smell.
Though I do not know who you are, and though I kept my incorrect and scurrilous assumptions to myself, I feel that I have come to know you better Mr. Random Cafeteria Guy. Freed from the shackles of reckless and uninformed prejudices and with a greater understanding of your hygiene, I feel empowered to think better of my fellow man, and of you.
I suddenly began humming and whistling “New York, New York” in biochem lab today, which in and of itself is not all that interesting (and a bit embarassing, as I am embarassed by most things that I do). However, when I got back to my room - amazingly - there were round-trip plane tickets to New York slid under my door! No, no there were not. That was a lie. A fib. A stretcher. In truth, I returned to my dorm room and promptly looked up the lyrics to said song.
I wanna wake up in a city, that doesn’t sleep
And find I’m king of the hill - top of the heap
I got to thinking - why on earth did my brain dig this up from the dusty recesses of unconsciousness and catapult it all the way into my conscious mind? Do I want to be “king of the hill?” I haven’t felt any desire to be “top of the heap,” that I am aware of.
A strict materialist philosopher (as explained to me in philsoophy) believes that at some point, there must be a random deviation from “the typical” (much like London Dispersion Forces) in order for reality to exist as we know it. I remember this concept being described to me as a stream of particles all following a gravitational pull, and suddenly one jogs to one side, perpendicular to the flow. I vividly recall Dr. Laumakis’ hands tracing out these flowing particles in the air, then picking out a point at the tip of his finger and tracing it against the others. It was clear he didn’t really believe the materialistic viewpoint. I’m inclined to agree.
So, if my seemingly random memory wasn’t triggered by an actual random event inside my head, what caused it? Thinking through it, I’m forced to concede that my brain is doing much more than I am aware of. Information from all around me is streaming into my brain: snippets of conversations, music, posters on the walls, campus squirrels in my peripheral - some signal came through all that noise and triggered a memory. Sometimes I wish I could harness these subconsious powers of my brain - why can’t I read cell biology while coding PHP while running on a treadmill?
I’m wishing for a more boring version of the new show Heroes … here, the characters suddenly find they have superhuman powers. I wouldn’t want the moral baggage of near invincibility or teleportation, but I would settle for being able to do three things at once. Or two. I’ll take two.
I am scared of p-chem. Literally scared. It is not only difficult, but sometimes it makes almost no sense at all. This is the first class where I have sat in lecture and thought “this makes little to no sense.” I guess I’ll have to try even harder.
In a rare move, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) announced details on an upcoming line of clothing for their “abercrombie kids” stores in their press release this past Wednesday. The “innovative line of young women’s clothing” from the popular retailer would prominently feature the words “jailbait” on a variety of styles, cuts, and colors. “We feel that the new JB line from abercrombie kids resonates with the overarching brand image of the attitude and individuality of a younger generation, coupled with the sensibilities of classic style,” said Bert Giusepe, Abercrombie’s director of public relations. In response, upper middle class fathers across the nation issued a collective groan.
*drums indicating punchline* I, of course, am kidding in that last paragraph - I’ll be here all week! But seriously, I’m actually going to be here all week. In order to jump-start my writing and journaling routine (or, in the past few months, lack thereof), I am embarking on a journey with you all to write an update once a day for a week. If it goes really well, perhaps for a month.
I have had many many ideas for journal entries during the past summer, but have never been near enough to a computer to begin writing and outline my ideas. Sometimes I think I should carry a pad to memo these ideas to myself, but I know that, like my camera, I would never seem to have access to the pad when I needed it most. With this project, I hope to pull some old ideas from the corners of my memory, but also to hold on to some new ones in time to write them down. I really enjoy this space where I can commune with other tumbledryers about just about anything, and I look forward to giving us something to talk about.
