The Fool

No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous--
Almost, at times, the Fool.

-T.S. Eliot

I am the fool, but J. Alfred Prufrock gives me hope because he promises there is time:

Time for you and time for me,

And time yet for a hundred indecisions,

And for a hundred visions and revisions,

Before taking the toast and tea.

But I cannot believe the man who does not practice his own religion. Despite his optimism and false hope; time is short and pain is real, and I am scared--a fool indeed, of my own creation.

With Purer Intentions than to Simply Burlesque

Sometimes it's detrimental and insensitive to laugh at the misfortunes of others and oneself. However, I appreciate those who can make light of dismal situations--and those who can make the best of them.

Black Sheep are Still Sheep

If one desires to be different, isn't he just the same as everyone else?

It's Not Who, but What

How far do our natural tendencies extend? Where do the effects of our environments end and the effects of our choices begin? When people say they are being true to themselves, who are they being true to? Their natural inner selves, or their values? Or is the entire thing just a fabrication? Is one qualified to tell others who he or she is? How could one ever know?

Sometimes I just wonder what it's like:

-to be tall. High heels don't cut it. I want to know what it's like to wish I was shorter, for once, and be good at basketball, just because I could shoot over everyone else's head and get every rebound as long as I was in position

-to be the best at something. To be like this violinist who couldn't find music that was difficult enough for him, so he wrote his own. I want to know what it feels like to serve 156 mph.

-to have everyone in the world mad at me. Not for an extended period of time. Just maybe, like 2 hours. I just want to know.

-to speak three different languages. I know a seven year old who can do this. He speaks Korean, English, and Spanish fluently. I speak English decently, and after 3 years of espanol, I can say colors, numbers, and animals. I want to know what it's like to switch between three different dialects without thinking about it.

-to not have red hair. Don't get me wrong, I love my hair, but everywhere I go, people are complimenting it, and telling me stories about how their best friend or daughter or son has red hair too, and it's cool, but what would I be like without it?

Good Old Dilbert

Every day, as I eat my morning bowl of cereal, I at least skim throught the newspaper, sometimes reading through articles that interest me, sometimes barely scanning headlines. Depending on how much I read, sometimes I don't have time to read through all the comics (the last section), but I always make sure I read one.

Dilbert and his co-workers can always put a smile on my face. Here are some recent favorites:

And a classic:

Amortentia

"It's the most powerful love potion in the world!"
"And it's supposed to smell differently to each of us, according to what attracts us, for me it's . . ."

Did you recognize the book? If you were thinking Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, congrats. Being a Harry Potter lover myself, I was thinking about this one day. If I were to smell Amortentia, what would it be for me?

Rain: so cliche, I know. But what can beat the freshness, the cleanness, of damp pavement and grass after a summer storm?

Freshly Baked Homemade Bread: my mom's particularly. It's incredible to get home from school and follow your nose to the kitchen with a hot loaf waiting on the cutting board.

Pine: every Holiday Season, we cut down a a Christmas tree and keep it up for about a month. It smells absolutely amazing. Pine is perfect. It's almost a sweet smell, with a hint of spicyness, forest, riverbank, and clean.