Chronicles of a Young College Boy

Sunday, June 24, 2007

This picture is taken when i went on the boat tour... It's the world famous Golden Gate Bridge!! haha... It was so cold when i was on that boat, I might not look like i was cold...but the wind was so strong that i feel like its going to blow my skin away...that's probably the first time anybody describes the wind that way isnt it?..hehe.

Anyway, this week has been kinda relaxing for me. I only had 3 days of classes... Well consider it a break before the finals week right...then i went to the golden gate park,which was supposed to be designed and created by the the same guy who designed the famous central park of new york. Well honestly speaking, the golden gate park was nothing i had in mind. Its really kinda sad when i walked through it. In my mind the day before as i was thinking about the trip, i was visualising all these beautiful garden and other nature stuffs... Well basically the people in charge of the park did a pretty poor job at developing and taking care of the park...heh its just really bad..next time you come to SF...you can do your best to visit other places before you visit this one.....

I watched 2 movies this week. Evan Almighty and Jerry McGuire. These 2 movies are kinda 11 years apart when it comes to the release but... when it comes to themes...they are almost identical: Faith.

If you guys remember Bruce Almighty, the one Jim Carrey was given godlike powers? well Evan Almighty is the sequel to that movie. Even though in my opinion the way the director present the movie is kinda lame, i couldnt help but marvel at the lesson that was in the movie. I wouldnt want to spoil the movie for those who havent watch it, but here is what Morgan Freeman, who's playing God, said,

" You think when you ask for things from God, things like lemme get an A for my psychology class, help me save money, help me get closer to my friends, help me be happier, help me get closer to family and so forth... Do you think God will just give you that A, give you a million dollar check, become a friend magnet, make you feel like you are on top of the world, and bring you to your family with warm fuzzy feelings? You bet he won't. BUT what he will give you are: Opportunities. He will give you opportunities to get that A, gove you opportunities and situations for you to take to be closer to your families."

Isn't it beautiful? When i was watching it and listening to what he said (I added a bit to what he said by the way hehe), the feeling comes to me like....the sunshine breaking through that block of dark cloud... and I'm old enough to say that those type of moments don't come too often. I might not be able to give you the full impact of what that line just mean to me or to humanity, but maybe I can give you a little nudge to let you watch the movie. You can ignore the kinda-lame plot, but the lesson is invaluable.

And then just now i watch Jerry McGuire. Its basically a story of a sports agent who were once big and then lost everything, everything but one more client. Well you can say, "Oooh, one of THOSE stories." well i said that too at the beginning... but it doesn't hurt to watch this kind of movies from time to time. Anyway McGuire met this lady who believed in him when everything in his life seem to just fall. This kinda reinforce my belief on the importance of good people around us. It's a talent to find whos real and whos fake among us. God gave us an *opportunity* to that talent through bad situations. I believe that a person's character is truly tested in times of crisis. Anyway before i get to cheesy for you, i think its a great movie. Its an old movie, so maybe you cannot find it in a small dvd shop. But when you have the chance, look for the dvd in any big shops, like HMV or something. It might give you another perspective of life, another perspective of people, and most important of all, another map to guide you through the path of life. =)

DanieL counted snowflakes at 4:39 AM

Monday, June 18, 2007

Hey... This picture is taken in alcatraz island. It's this whole other island off the San Francisco bay. What is it? its basically a prison island, reserved for the most notorious criminals that are recorded...hehe you might think how come I look so nice in the picture? hahaha well I saw the great view there and took the chance. I have this other picture which has the city and skyscrapers of San Francisco behind me. It's just sp beautiful, you actually have to be there to experience the majestic view, because when I returned home I checked the pictures which I had taken on the island with the views behind me and I thought, hmm this doesnt capture its beauty at all. My msn picture now has the picture of me with the city behind me.

Remember those times when you feel so uneasy and uncomfortable that you can't even do simple things? the feeling is like as if there is something very not right about something that has always been right in your very foundation as a person. This very thing creates the foundation of you and forms the basis of your personality. So far in your life this thing or idea has been what is always constant when everything else aren't. I'm talking about: Our parents or parenting figures. Since young they have always been the one who guides you wherever you go and do, and we children see them as the people who always knows what is right and is our counsel of life. They are always the one who appear the strongest and wisest when it comes to many situations.

But what happen to that idea when suddenly in a situation you see them as human beings like all of us? this situation will rattle your foundation like a rag doll. I was in more or less that situation recently and I have to admit, it is quite hard sometimes to keep a clear mind. In a way the uneasyness comes like a plague in the first few moments, but for me luckily it's just that first few moments when i felt the strongest blow to my own foundation. But after the situation is solved and everything turned out alright, I felt so uneasy when I woke up the next day. I did so much thinking about the feeling, because I can't do anything else productive. I thought, our parents are not going to be there someday, and when that day comes, what's to become of me if just this one situation were to put me into such easiness?

I thought the feeling can just go away, but noooo...it stayed on. So I turned to one of my enduring heroes... Many people might thought this is dumb, but I don't care, because everyone has their own coping mechanisms. Mine is just taking my mind off everything in the world, put on my trusty headphones, and watch my hero. I just watched his movie and now I'm feeling all better. Explanation? I have none. It's one of those there-but-no-there kind of hero that I turn to for relief. Some people pray, some watch TV, some eat and drink like theres no tomorrow.

I think I have told other people that I'm more than an ordinary fan of superman. On the lighter note, its not that I idolize him or anything. It's just that when that foundation rattles, it has that domino effect of impacting everything. I was actually supposed to study just now, but i thought getting that uneasyness out of the way might be a better idea in the long run, because I don't think this is the way I want to start the new week.

I guess what I'm saying this whole time is that, get yourself as many supporting roles or figures as you can in your life, because if one major one falls, you might need all supporting roles to...well...support you. Prepare yourself for the worst situation that might happen in your life because you might never know when it will happen.

Haiz whole entry sounds like a drag... Oh well, life is a rollercoasterrrrrrr, wouldn't you agree?

DanieL counted snowflakes at 3:33 AM

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Took this picture in Pier 39...its basically a tourist attraction in San Fran...beautiful little shops selling souvenirs..heh i bought myself 2 beautiful snowglobes...i don know whats with me and snowglobes..hahaha...i just love those things...always wanted those things when im a child...i got one which has a pirate skull in it...and another one with the phantom of the opera mask...the one with the mask is actually not only a snowglobe...its also a music box!...it plays a small part of the music of the night...just beautiful...i will do my best to take a picture of them and post it up...the first snowglobe tht i bought last year in new york broke...it annoys me so bad...u might look it up in the archive posts in august or september 2006 for the picture and the unfortunate story....

Today i wanna talk about something that has constantly been on my mind in the past year or so...i have never rrally gotten to write about them because for some reason this subject kinda runs away from me everytime i think of a subject i wanna write for a post. Anyway the subject is : Money.

You know, this subject has been dubbed to the point of controversial when it comes to deciding what path of life you are going to take. I have encountered many people who would say, "Money is not important in what i do", "I will never use money as deciding factor when im choosing a job", or "I will follow my heart, not money". Initially I would say the same thing because it sounds pretty good right? But after doing a lot of my own thinking, I realise that these statements are not entirely true. I've come to the conclusion that some dreams are not achievable if a considerable amount of money is not involved. My dream is to pump at least one million USD into one of the respectable animal conservation organizations in the world. Now the statement of my dream itself has money attached to it, so whether i like it or not, i do have to get a job that earns quite a bit of money.

Now on the contrary, I have an experience where i work for a pretty high wage, but i dont really enjoy doing the job. Coming to work becomes quite a pain, because the thoughts that I can be doing something else in the mean time keep firing off in my mind. We dont really want to be in that situation too, because before you know it you are 60 and you have kinda wasted your life doing something you dont enjoy.

I think as always there must be a healthy balance between the 2, not just one-sided. For example, if you love the job so much but the job doesnt pay you enough, would you really want to stay in that job for a long period of time? Especially if you are the head of the house and you are in charge of supporting the family, I dont think its possible, unless you juggle 3 jobs at a time. Money has that power to put extra icing into a job in which if you have the choice of a job that is the first on your job-that-I-want list, and a job that is second in that list but pays more money, which one would you take?

DanieL counted snowflakes at 3:27 AM

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Took this picture yesterday in front of the city building in San Fransisco...i was kinda suprised that i can find a statue of Lincoln in SF...o well ignorant of me thinking of the fact that there is only one Lincoln statue in the United States..haha..Anyway this week has been kinda slow moving for me....the days just kinda went by pretty quick for me because especially on tuesdays and wednesdays when i have 2 classes...3 hours each...oooo yea...but to me its kinda interesting...one class is clinical psychology...one class which i fear might have me studying about the various medicines to treat a client....but im pretty surprised that this is what I'm actually looking for in the psychology field in the first place...this class, to me pleasant surprise, is about the kind of things that a psychologist can do to help a person get better from his or her present condition....so yea im 'psyched' about this class...although not so much about the reading....

the other class im taking is the history of asian americans in the United States...well many people can say its just another history class...there are only 2 people in the class, including me..hahaha..so basically its more of a conversation between the student and the professor...kinda nice because usually its just a lecture and there is not much of a conversation going on between the 2 sides..and since its just 2 students...we can kinda drag the deadlines for several work to be submitted...hehehehe....

I just watch this movie Knocked Up...im not sure if they show it in spore...but its basically a comedy about a guy who got a girl pregnant from one-night-stand...the guy is a total slob while the girl is just a hot and a going-to-be successful news reporter...the whole comedy is in the part where they are trying to figure out each other...it is created by the same person who brought us the 40-year-old virgin...

putting aside all the laughter i had during the show... there is a time when the girl was trying to accept the guy to be who he is....while her friend told her," You know what you should do, you should critisize him soo much that he will feel bad one day and change."...well yea u might have guessed this friend initially was not doing very well in her marriage too...in our main actress' point of view...it is kinda hard to accept the guy for who he is...when he is jobless...smokes pot...and a total slob...

You definitely have heard of the saying "Accept a person for who he or she is" right?...well this is one of those saying that im still doing my best to get my head around...its a lot easier said than done... there are definitely times when you have a close friend who has habits that just annoys the hell out of you right?...and sometimes you just wanna tell him or her that it is wrong to do it whichever way is done...well for some people its something to enjoy when they thought about it...but when u r in the situation itself dont u just wanna strangle the life out of ur friend?...

well even sometimes your special someone can do this to you...not that i have any experience of it...especially in the first few months of getting to know each other...u kinda like each other and then hook up...then in the process of the relationship u find something not to ur liking in the other person...then wonders if u have made the right decision about the relationship... well for me i use an advice given by a psychologist in one of my favorite movies Good Will Hunting

"I hate to break it to you, kid, but you are not perfect. And this girl you are seeing, she isn't perfect either. The real question, however, is whether you are perfect for one another."

Invaluable advice for life, don't you think? =)

DanieL counted snowflakes at 1:06 AM