The reasons why we start things may have little or nothing to do with the reasons why we continue them. I started martial arts because I wanted to be able to do the flashy things they do in the movies. But now, I do it for self-discipline, control, focus, health and technique. We don't always see the full picture when we start things. Do people start relationships for the right reasons? Are they the same reasons people keep as the relationship continues?

Is this true...?
"Visitors are like fish, after a few days they start to smell."

I don't like the word "proactive"... why isn't "active" good enough?

This might be quite heretic and upset some people... but I'll go ahead and write about it anyway (since open dialogue/discussion is never really a bad thing).

I've come to an understanding that the belief in God(s) and beliefs in things like feng shui or astrology are all self-fulfilling prophecies. Here’s my reasoning:

If you pray/meditate intensely, then you will see divinity in everything. You don’t see divinity before that. If you do, you are probably deluded, or people have put things in your head. No one can take you to God (don’t believe anyone who claims they can). Maybe they can put you on the path, but it’s an individual journey. If people emphasize behaviors and adherence to customs without taking care of beliefs and internal states, then they are missing the point of religion and the belief in God.

When it comes to feng shui, most people out there probably don’t know much about the techniques and strategies. Perhaps they are concerned that something about their home/office is not quite right. Or maybe they are just curious about the whole thing. The next step is they buy a book or hire a feng shui master. After reading a bit, or a consultation, they’ll learn about a “problem” or two. Perhaps it is that their bed is directly in line with their door (and this is bad because that’s the same direction corpses are when they are carried out of the room). Whatever the problem is, it creates a cognitive dissonance, a discomfort whereby the individual is motivated to do something to reduce the dissonance. After changing a few things around, the individual will feel better about the situation and their lives.

These two kinds of patterns of beliefs have something in common: the importance of the belief is created and strengthened by personal choices - not from external sources. Of course, there could be societal pressures. But, I’m saying that there’s nothing really out there in the world or universe that would make people believe in God, feng shui, etc. There’s nothing innate about it.

(Disclaimer: I'm not placing a value judgement on those people that believe in God(s), feng shui, etc. I think there are many merits of it.)

Picture this... it's past 3am, outside a pretty cool shisha place with great music (French rap, Morrocan, Arabic, and some hip hop):

One of us: "The music in there is great."
Middle-aged hardcore patron to a bunch of us: "The music there is the best!" (genuinely meaning it)
This guy Akshay (sounding real genuine and for no real reason other than to antagonize this guy): "Have you heard music at other places?"

Today in class we got our midterms back. My prof said that he threw out the results of 3 multiple-choice questions because lots of people in the class (around half) got it wrong. On the surface, this seems fair... since if lots of people in the class got it wrong, then it means it wasn't a very good question (maybe the meaning wasn't clear). However... isn't this unfair to people that got the question correct? The people who could see what the prof was asking for, and correctly deciphered the question? If you were one of the people who got it right... if you debated it with the class, the class would probably disagree with you - so, by using the class as the reference, it should be thrown out. But.... what if you go to the textbooks, or some gurus in the field? This brings into question what true knowledge is. But... keep in mind that if I studied math and there was only one correct answer each time, then there wouldn't be reason to throw questions out.

"Culture shapes drug use, but drugs also shape culture, inspiring all sorts of social practices, from ceremonial toasts to coffee breaks."
- David Courtwright

"Revenge is never a straight line. It's a forest. And like a forest it's easy to lose your way... to get lost... to forget where you came in."
- Hattori Hanzo, in "Kill Bill"

It's scary how much the circumference of your finger changes between summer and winter. Well... mine changes. Makes it tough to know your exact ring size.

You know what's also scary? Seeing this REALLY BIG black woman repeatedly slap a small Hispanic on the subway because he was asleep and he flopped onto her. She wasn't beating him up... she pushed him over and was trying to wake him up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please turn off your cell phones and pagers. Two of our cast members have PMS and one was a college kickboxing champion."
- from the beginning of "Boobs! The Musical"

Do you know any nomads? Are there many these days? Am I a nomad? The dictionary defines a nomad as "a person with no fixed residence who roams about; a wanderer." I don't exactly roam/wander... but I have been moving around a bit. Uprooting myself from Hong Kong to live and study in the UK, and then again when I came to the US. I don't know for sure where I'm going to be 5 or 10 years from now (although I guess I have some power over that... just how much, I don't know).

Why don't more people adopt a nomadic lifestyle? There might be language barriers in the new country. There could be massive culture shock. There could be fewer opportunities. The traveller(s) would grow somewhat distant from their family and old friends ("distant" isn't really the right word... it's more like you grow in a different direction and develop a different outlook/perspective and personality). You may lose touch with the places you have lived in before. There are issues/problems that arise that you could not have anticipated. Things are not as straightforward when you don't have roots.

What I am a bit sad about is that when I come across international people, they are just about always of the predominant ethnicity of their home country. That's not a bad thing. I just wish people were more jumbled up.

"There ain't no answer. There ain't going to be any answer. There never has been an answer. That's the answer."
- Gertrude Stein

I understand why people wear clothing of a particular sports team, college, rock band, etc. It shows your taste, your choice, and where your loyalties lie. It's pretty rare to find people wearing clothing of a corporation that isn't a uniform (i.e. a sweatshirt with the company name/logo)... but there are some people that do that. Fashion aside, this is quite peculiar. Particularly when the corporation is "Waste Management"... for some reason I didn't want to get too near that person on the subway today...

Why does preparing starches/carbs take SO long??? Boiling rice or pasta or cooking potatoes takes so long. Nothing else takes that long (I don't like to cook my meat till it's rock hard or my veggies till they are falling apart). It's making my gas bill go mad high! Plus it really draws out the time it takes for me to cook a meal. Why can't everything be like ramen? Ramen is so quick. Incidentally, I thought about ramen cuz today I saw and capitalized on a great deal: 10 packs of ramen for $1. But you know... I forgot to check the expiry date. However... this is the USA, I'm sure people would get into a lot of trouble if they sold stuff that's expired. What's very shrewd is that some food goods manufactured in India (and I'm sure other Asian places) do not even have expiry dates printed...

It's been predicted that in 2010, 35% of the U.S. population will be the age of 55 or older. That... is a LOT of old people. Older workers typically occupy the best-paid jobs, so that prevents the hiring or blocks the advancement of younger workers. Maybe when they all start retiring there's going to be a huge demand for people to fill their shoes. In the mean time... I'm not gonna stress out. I'll just finish my Masters, get some work experience, write a book, go for a black belt in taekwondo, pick up aikido, do what I like doing, and keep warm. But... what if the old people have no intention of retiring any time soon? They have better health in general than old people did before. Also, maybe they worry that social security will be cut, or that their pensions are too skimpy to cover their expenses. Over the past 5 years I'm sure they've lost a lot on the stock market too.

What makes animals/people bite the hand that feeds them?

I have a many questions about jeans. But first, the history... I know that after World War II there was a surplus of denim. People wore them in factories because they were very sturdy. They were, however, not very comfortable. I know that Levi's... being pretty entrepreneurial somehow made them trendy and so they became popular (I think they might have given a few pairs to Elvis to wear).

So, what is America's enduring obsession with jeans? And why are 99% of them blue? Why not other colors? Over time, they have been getting more and more comfortable - but even now, aren't softer materials still more comfortable than denim? Why do people like to wear them so often? Why is it that in such an “individualistic” culture, people like to dress generically, like clones? People are more agreeable that way. Also, maybe it's a laziness thing - don't take risks with certain items of clothing, a jeans-go-with-everything mentality.

What is it with girls wearing tight jeans? Like, REALLY tight ones? Surely it can't be comfortable. Plus it must be a nightmare getting into and out of them. Maybe it's worth the discomfort cuz it highlights their curves/butt, shows off their legs, and they feel better or get treated better. But what is it with fat girls wearing tight jeans? Why do they do that? I do see some fat people in other countries, but NONE of them wear tight jeans. That's smart.

I am guilty of possessing a pair of non-baggy, dark blue jeans. But unlike other people who wear these kind of jeans, I wasn’t a sheep following the herd. I bought my pair off a cart in a market in the Philippines for the equivalent of US$3 or 4 about 4 years ago. At that time people weren’t wearing dark blue jeans, and baggy ones were still in for guys. I was trying to be different. And what happens? Everyone copies me…