Day 5: An Apple Floats, While A Pear Sinks

I'm pretty jaded. Not by the challenge, heavens no. My daily routine is starting to take its toll on the speed of my functioning brain. It's not processing images and sounds as fast as I need it to be. I'm actually glad over my rather casual choices I've made for October, save for the extravagant plaid top and the monochromatic cardigan, since I can just simply put them on, and rush out of the room. I'm not saying that that happened this morning, but there will be times when it does. I'll try to conjure something spicy for tomorrow. There's a person who've caught my attention.

An additional mini challenge I've set up for myself: Contribute 3 pages to my novel everyday. It's good practice and I honestly think I have to start kicking myself every night to work my ass.

In which, I was 15 minutes late for my Late American Lit. class today. That's never happened before. I never intended it to. I also forgot to print out the poem we had to revise for class. "This Is Just To Say" by Williams Carlos Williams. A post it note on a refrigerator, transformed into concealed anguish towards a person close to me. Here's my version of Williams's poem:

I have been

awake for

an entire night

while you slept

and you

didn't hear

the alarm ring

every five minutes

Forgive me

for throwing

it

through the window

Those unfamiliar with the original, might not view this as poetry. Frankly, I think not too. But that's the assignment.

I need an opinion. An opinion is crucial for any writer. An opinion decides if the writer has a say on anything. An opinion dictates how an entire work of fiction is molded into a timeless relic. Prof. Danforth says I might be overwhelming myself with my novel, which I believe so too. And this isn't the first. I wish to experiment with stylization, language, perspectives, setting, naturalistic post-apocalyptic societies... The usual. Very ambitious, needless to say.

...

As I type that I recall Mary Stillwell, this English lecturer I had who informed us about the funny nature of certain phrases. "Never say 'needless to say.' If it's that unimportant, why pen it?" I agree. Though, sometimes, these so called redundancies have its cradle tucked in the very beginning of a sentence, creating this wall of security. "It sounds right to place it there."

But I have not been very pleased with my work ethics lately. Film theory excluded, my other courses are but individual sandcastles on the beach, arranged ten feet away from each other. I scramble to perfect their structures, but the waves that started out teasing, now begin to slap the barricades I've fortified around four of my castles. So I thought, "maybe it's best if I focused on one, and perfect it." But now, I'm beginning to doubt that decision. I would need to devise a more systematic plan for subsequent ramifications. One of these castles is close to completion. Now, the other four need saving.

Oh here comes the familiar jingle, an ice cream truck. I run towards it, back facing the five brittle structures lining the bay. Rhythmic white foams lap the caramelized sands, occasionally coming dangerously close to my structures. My sweet and colorful distraction, pulling me away from my laborious occupation. Indulgence never felt more sinful, as I lasciviously worked my tongue around swirls of vanilla and chocolate. That momentary sweetness as it sticks to my tastebuds, before evaporating into the abyss of my throat.

Metaphors explained, the ice cream ain't crack or booze or anything like that. I waste time, just never in that order. But yes, I am a little disappointed with my in-class writing exercises. I know I can do better, but I'm always too tired, and that's no excuse.

Today for QI, Stephen Fry displayed a simple experiment to differentiate a pear from an apple, without tasting them. Of course, the shapes generally segregate the two fruits, but there are the occasional ambiguous ones. So, how does one do it? Just throw the fruits into a bucket of water, and the fruit that floats is the apple, while the one that sinks is the pear.

I want to be the apple. I might not necessarily like it, but I'd rather gasp for air, than drown alone.

Day 4: Make Yourself A Routine & Stick To It

I shall Handler two Moore chapters everyday, in addition to Atone for Pamela's feelings.

...

Okay, that didn't make any sense. My attempts to create something ingenious has failed, although Manu sitting beside me somehow thinks it is. But really, I've recently learnt that setting a daily routine, as wisely suggested by Mrs. Kitteridge, does wonders to your life. So here's mine:
1. Read 2 chapters of Are You There Vodka? It's Me Chelsea.
2. Read 2 chapters of Between Panic and Desire.
3. Play 2 days of Harvest Moon. So that would take up about an hour or two of my daily life.
4. Everything else that I need to prepare for the next day, like Pamela and A Midsummer Night's Dream and Atonement and A Film Theory Reader, etc etc
5. My latest addiction, watch an episode of Quite Interesting hosted by Stephen Fry and a quartet of comedians.

So technically, I'm still procrastinating.

I'll be posting my pictures soon because I just finished eating another bowl of Yakisoba, slaving my time away with Manu and Justine in the basement of the dorm. Time well spent, I say.

Update:

Here's today's wardrobe.

Simple. Sarah from English Studies likes my white woven shoes, which I do too, if they were not literally soiled from my trek to Jane's apartment two weeks ago. You can't see it, but there's this splash of mud on the lower rim of the left shoe that's driving me nuts. I shall invest on a toothbrush to scrub it off with a mixture of Febreeze and water this weekend.

Day 3: 2 Chapters of Handler, 2 Chapters of Moore, and 3 Hours of Quite Interesting

Alright, so I have nothing special to present fashionably today. I woke up late, had my lunch, freshened up, read my books and had 3 hours of laughter courtesy of Mr. Stephen Fry. Quite Interesting is the name of the show, do give it a chance ladies and gentlemen, I'm sure everyone would be pleasantly mortified by the amount of ignorance they've withheld all their lives. I bitchslapped meself over certain facts but Mr. Fry made my cry... through laughter. Of course, I picked up certain things along the way as well.

Watch it.

It's not a request. Nary a favor. But a decree.

Day 2: As We Move Faster, Time Becomes "Slower"

So this is what I wore today. Somehow, I can't get the angle right for the snapshot. What I mean is, the picture doesn't show what I'm trying to do with this combination. But I really liked the look. Yes, it's casual, but there's layers to it. And I folded the jeans to accentuate the ankles and the loafers. But as I said it, this picture doesn't deliver. I'll do better next time.

So I've been addicted to National Geographic. Well, I don't think there's anything to lose from doing this anyhow and I need all the knowledge I can garner to create worlds and science for my novels. My latest muse? Einstein's special relativity.

I enjoyed my astronomy class during my first semester. It's frightening to know that whenever we look at stars, we're looking back in time. For instance, it takes 8 minutes for light from the Sun to reach Earth. So to put things in perspective, whenever we look at the Sun, we're looking at it as it was 8 minutes ago. So if the Sun were to go supernova, we will only experience it 8 minutes later.

Let's take physics up a notch.

Special relativity. Now when astronauts travel to space and back, they actually become younger. This effect is, of course, extremely minute and we can't really see it. But let's speed things up. If a person travels at the speed of light, time practically stops for this person. But everything else around him speeds up.

Confused? Here's an analogy.

There're two guys, and one moving sidewalk. Let's say both guys are walking from point A to point B at the same speed, the only difference being one guy would do this on the moving sidewalk, while the other on just common ground.

Now, imagine both guys do this for a year. No doubt, the one on the sidewalk would reach point A faster, and the other guy would reach there later.

Now imagine this. Let's say the starting location and ending destination are the same spot on Earth, and these guys have walked around Earth. Technically, the guy on the sidewalk have reached there faster, and time is catching up with him. He reached the same location as the other guy, but he was younger when he reached the location.

So if we make the ending location a constant, the guy on the moving sidewalk cheated time. The other guy spends more time, thus it feels as if he's moving faster.

No doubt, these relations get pretty confusing. But know this: if a person were to travel in space at the speed of light for a year (in other words, one light year), and when this person comes back to planet Earth, he would be in the future, but he has only aged one year. That's why it's called the theory of special relativity. Time is relative to the individual who experience different speeds.

Think about it. It's fascinating, don't you agree?

2nd month, Day 1

Okay, so why the Oreos? Well I've been meaning to cycle all 40 blocks to Target and today seemed like the perfect day to do it. So I got on, headed out, and went to Barnes & Noble. What the hell is with this red herring? Stay with me for a bit. B&N is just a street away from Target, and I can't say no to a bookstore. That's plain impolite.

So I went to B&N, and there were bargains everywhere. I almost got Gregory Maguire's A Lion Among Men just because he signed it. Of course, I walked out without actually getting anything, but I did saw some snazzy titles that I'll definitely come back for in the future:

1. Eat Pray Love (NOT the edition with Julia Roberts on the cover, the original one. I always have a thing against buying books that are wrapped with the faces of celebrities.)

2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (It's the new Da Vinci Code...)

3. A Vintage Affair

4. It's Not What You Say, It's How You Say It (Since it's just another public speaking self-help book, I might pass, but I'm 100% with the title's philosophy.)

5. Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn (Only because Alison Weir wrote it and I studied the Tudors last semester.)

Jamie, if you're reading this. I know I've gotten your attention.

There were also a couple of books by David Sedaris that caught my eye, though they seem more memoir and comedy. Dinty Moore and Chelsea Handler will have to do for the moment.

MOVING ON. I went to Target, bought lotsa junk (Three packets of Oreos to be exact... Along with other "necessities"), and cycled back with a rather odd looking plastic sack hanging on my right handlebar, that rhythmically smack my front tires. I kept fearing it would snap the spindles on the tires, but it was only boxes of Kleenex, so nothing much happened. Save for a huge gash on one of the boxes.

But yes, I had to buy Halloween Oreos, even if I know the orange creme could contain nothing more than poisonous food coloring, hellbent on giving me diarrhea. My sole comfort in eating them, would of course come in the form of these cute images imprinted on each cookie.

Bat.

Cat.

A freaking happy pumpkin. Where's Cinderella?

The orange creme of doom.

What a way to begin the first day of October. Now the whole world knows I've eaten three cookies. But no, I actually ate four. I was just too lazy to take a picture of a witch flying on a broomstick. What else?

Now to the main attraction. October's six items:

Here's what at stake for the month. I only have one bottom, the navy slim fitting jeans. In addition, that kaleidoscope of a shirt is gonna be beautiful, but friggin' hard to match with most other stuff... But I have my ideas. It doesn't look all that much now, but it's actually pretty flattering to the body. You'll see.

And what did I wear on this wonderful premiere?That's it? And it's not part of the six items? Well, that's because this is my pajamas/gym clothes. And my only class for the day was cancelled, so I saw no reason to dress up. I like this shirt. It says something quite literally. Though I doubt I'll get much of an audience here. It kinda makes me feel like I'm a lost employee of the Body Shop, stuck in the middle of an agricultural state, trying to sell facial cremes to a cornhusker. Huh.

This is how I celebrate my new month? Pray that I go out tomorrow, so that I might put on something new.

Day 30: New wardrobe!

So the fact that I'm still alive after 30 days really do say something. Gawd I'm so glad to be able to change my wardrobe.. But here's what I wore to mark the end of the first month:

Perhaps I should sound more enthusiastic. I CAN FINALLY SWITCH MY WARDROBE!!! 8D

Forgive me for that momentary lapse of excitement, this is what I get for sleeping at 8 in the evening and waking up at 3 in the morning. Hyperactivity.

Anyway, I'll be posting my six items for October later in the morning ("later in the morning?" Huh.). Definitely having more color this time. September had been rather... bleak without the accessories, but I had fun. Though my heart races a little when I created that new folder, "October 2010," I know I'll die of joy when I preview my items soon.

As a side note, a couple of good things happened. The first would be having people truly enjoying the first chapter of my novel. I had the desired effect so I'm glad it turned out well. Maybe I should post snippets here... Hmm I'll consider it.

The next good thing, well, not inherently good to me, but I find it good anyways, is this:

"Is this?" Should be "are these." But anyway, what does a picture of a man kicking a ball and another with 3 kids seemingly bathing in a miniature waterfall have to do with anything? Allow me to give you a lil' background on this.

I visit NatGeo every now and then because I'm always on the lookout for a nice wallpaper. Japanese bamboo garden is what I see now. So while I was perusing some of the images, I encountered two that were taken by Malaysian photographers, in Malaysia.

...

That deflated balloon of nationalism and patriotism just swelled inside of me. Granted, these are not the best images I've seen, but they're still pretty good. It captures the definition of Malaysia. These images that we want to portray to the world. That shredded orange wall really does remind me of the streets in KL, where urban vandalism enjoys a symbiotic relationship with athletic fervor, or just plain bola mania. I do miss the sound of whistle blowing in mamak vendors during FIFA season.

It's always nice to see Malaysia, that sliver of hair poking out from the Southeast Asian mole, being represented in the international community. I should also mention that I encountered a NatGeo episode on a North Carolina family spending their vacation with the Iban of Sarawak. Now that's entertainment. With occasional features like these on my country, I really look forward to the day when I do not need to geographically pinpoint its location to any inquisitive individual.

"Where's Malaysia?"

"Right there."

One last thing, New York keeps pulling me in. I just can't stop thinking about NYC these past couple of days. Specifically, Hershey's on Fifth Avenue. Don't... ask... me why. I'm still trying to screw some loose bolts as well.

Day 30: For the Sake of Posting

I'll be up with the next six items soon, incredibly tired, but just wanted to post this, at least.