>Wabi-Sabi

>Enjoying the simplicity of old things?

Maybe this is why I’m positively obsessed with haikyo.

People like to pretend that Japanese culture is simply impossible for foreigners to understand.  I would say that it isn’t, but I also haven’t been there.  BUT!  At the same time, part of understanding another culture is abandoning your own predetermined ideas of how the world works, or rather, should work.  Cultural relativism people. It’s cluttering your mind.

I suppose it’s in a similar vein with all this talk of “feelings.”  People also carry the burden of “emotional relativism,” which probably isn’t a real word.  I would equate understanding and empathy with the ability to understand another culture. 

>Heeeyuaah!

>You know, the world is a very big place, and it’s not just likely, but in the scope of the universe humans are very very very insignificant.

Yet for some reason, I continue to strive for relevance.  Because at least on a personal scale, I might be able affect people’s lives in some way. 

Which is to say, if they let me.

>"You Know When It’s Real."

>Maybe it’s okay to post about my real life considering no one actually reads my blog anyway.

But real life is complex.

It involves real people, with their own real lives and their own real privacy that I’m not willing to violate.  I can write in a journal with all my deepest darkest feelings pouring onto the page.  Future readers might think I’m melodramatic, or they might cry with me.  Of course, under the condition that someone might actually read it.  And in all likelihood, no one will.  TLDR.

But as a kid, I had the tiniest hope that if I died early, someone would pick up my journal and suddenly really genuinely care about what I was feeling at that moment.  Something that even to this day is terribly rare in my life.  I had to learn, in order to cope with life, that people will never understand your deepest darkest innermost feelings, and I later learned that it’s okay. But something that I’ve always wanted people to understand is that something I’ve always wanted was to know someone completely. And in knowing them, they, too, would know me.  Platonic or romantic.

In this quest you’ll find that people are usually very busy.
Too busy, in fact, to understand the importance of understanding.
The importance of empathy. 

How comforting it is to tell someone everything you’ve ever needed to say without having to worry about how the other person feels.  Interconnectedness in its most complete form.  It’s the most warming sensation to be able to trust someone completely.

But at the same time, people are scared of it because it forces you into a realm of vulnerability.  How can I trust someone with everything I am? 

Well that’s life.  All great thing have to come at some sort of sacrifice.
Even if doesn’t last a lifetime, it’s totally worth fighting for.

>Studying

>I have an incredible aversion to studying.

Terrible terrible…

In fact, as you’ll see in the time stamp, I should be asleep, and I should have finished studying several hours ago. And yet… I have note even begun. I know the material, I suppose, but the longer I postpone sleep, the more trouble I’ll have recalling the information I collected whilst in class.

I hope I get an A.

>Blogging… In General.

>Popular media likes to play up the concept of blogs and “blogging.”

Like, “ANYONE can spread their message! Blogging is a grassroots revolution in news making and the spread of ideas, it fuels globalization!” That’s a made up quote, but I don’t really feel like it’s an exaggeration of what the news channels and books about blogging are actually saying.

They haven’t noticed, or simply ignore the fact that one needs a massive reader base to get their “message” out. Be it everyday ramblings about their life, political views, general news, celebrity gossip, or information on the way someone lives their life (like a soldier’s wife’s blog, or someone studying overseas). They have to update often and well, to retain their reader base

The MAJORITY of “bloggers” are people like me. People with little to no readers regardless of content. It becomes more and more difficult everyday. Especially for someone like me, specifically, because I really don’t have anything interesting to say. I don’t write about interesting things, and I don’t lead an especially interesting life. I could write about all of my problems, and the drama that surrounds me every day. But that would not only demoralize my character, but would also dwarf the gravity of these problems. “Here is a painful memory, and/or event. I’d like to talk about it, but only with strangers. I’m also going to write about it… Writing it will make you able to empathize with my specific problem, even though you don’t know me, or the people around me.” But I lead such a fortunate life that writing about my “problems” would make me hate myself!

I understand that a lot of people don’t have people to talk to, and need an outlet for their issues, but I do have people to talk to, and it undermines the friendships I hold dear.

In essence, a blog, for people like me, is really about jotting things down. You’re bored and you have something you’d like to say, or you’re feeling creative and need an outlet. Or something bizarre happened (or you have a “bizarre” thought), but you can’t call anyone because it’s incredibly late and you can’t wake them up for something so silly and insignificant. But it HAS to be said!

So this is for people like me, who lead uninteresting, but otherwise good lives, and who blog because they simply can.

# 758 Survival Store

From “1001 Businesses You Can Start From Home”

“A nuclear holocaust? A volcanic eruption? An earthquake? Many possible disasters threaten North Americans, which can in turn be a solid source of income when you open a survival store. You will vend vital basic necessities that would be needed if modern conveniences disappear or are cut off: basic food, tools, medicines, books, and so on.   Each new Mt. St. Helens or Three-Mile Island can only you boost your sales! Everywhere there are people preparing for cataclysmic disasters.”

Because you know that the first thing I was thinking of when  “fifty-seven people were killed; 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles (24 km) of railways, and 185 miles (298 km) of highway were destroyed…*”  the first thing I thought was “Damn, I could’ve made a killing off of people’s greatest fears!  If I had only opened up that survival store!”

*Thanks wikipedia.

# 629 Roller Skate Rentals

from: “1001 Businesses You Can Start From Home”

“New twist to cut your overhead.  rent a well-swept parking lot.  Rent skates for $1.50 per hour or $5 day out of the back of a truck.  […]  Add on the other attractions such as food and drink sales.  You will be highly visible working outdoors.  Obstacle course tournaments are possible.”

# 7 Sound Truck

From “1001 Businesses You Can Start From Home”

“A sound truck is a light truck (or trailer) whose sides and rear are covered by big advertising signs to which attention is drawn by means of moderately loud music emitting from a tape player and loudspeaders, and perhaps with colored lights on top of the vehicle….”

Flowers.

I don’t get to adventure much, but here are some flowers from my California Adventure, like a month ago.

By taking these pictures, then resizing them, I’ve essentially ruined them.  Here’s why:  through some freak Windows7 accident, I no longer have the original hi-res photos…  These were edited, then saved onto the originals, instead of having lower quality duplicates.

Now, I’m not, like, fantastic at taking photos, but I do care about these kinds of things, and to know that my so-so 10 mega-pixel point-and-shoot camera fought so hard against me in taking these photos has essentially won the battle, breaks my heart.

It’s like ruining your negatives people!

Adventure.

Disclaimer:  the featured image at the top is by photographer Floris Van Breugel and not me.

TokaREVVIN’

Teej bought a Tokarev.

It’s of Chinese make.

It may have killed some Americans during the Vietnam war.

But that isn’t important.  What IS important is that Teej now owns another historically significant firearm.

Here’s our testing adventure:

M’yes that’s a bunny on his shirt.  A SWAT bunny.

It’s not supposed to be witty or ironic, it’s just a cute-ass bunny okay?

I’m also not in any of the pictures, because I failed to do anything awesome.  I did, however, hit the target like once.  In the heart.