Writing More

The task is daunting, but with the thought of two months of summer (before the late summer Hmsx/Psych classes I have signed up for) with all play and no work (beside the obligatory floristry), I am going nuts trying to think of projects to take on.

I have a new beautiful 1981 Mamiya Quartz SLR, a gift from my friend Larry, to play around with.

I have a list of books to read from a professor that I am going to take on as well. Lots to do with American politics, empire, neoliberalism, global media, postcolonialism, and other things I currently only vaguely grasp.

I have lots of clothes piled up that I can sew (but this is a mostly boring, perfunctory task).

Most of all, I need to start writing again. I feel ideas and fragmentary thoughts bursting out of me at inopportune times (mostly during class) and they get lost. I forget to tell people things I've been meaning to express. My memory is worse than usual because I have lists of tiny tasks that seem to never end (probably like most of American humanity), and when I come to the end I wonder what I have accomplished, and what I set out to do in the first place. Is this what college is supposed to feel like? I feel like I am getting better at completing tiny tasks than critically analyzing academic studies. Hoping this improves.

Coming to the end of my first semester as an upperclassman makes me think things like that. I wonder what, in the end, I will get out of this besides more lists of things to do, things to read, things to research, things to learn more about. And how in the hell can this be translated into a living in the end? Can I become some sort of analyst for how we react to current events psychologically? How mass media molds the collective conscience into something none of us should be proud of? It's going to be an interesting ride.

Reflecting on the end of the semester: two totally unrelated pieces of writing from professors, one general and one directed toward myself--

"I have only the vaguest idea of what twittering is and I’m hoping to keep it that way. If I were a better intellectual I’d slip into a bit of Zizekian irony and embrace what seems to be another instrument for the fragmentation of consciousness into shiny, useless pieces."

". . by the way, before I forget to mention it, I really enjoy your authorial voice – to the point that I would encourage you to exercise it in class more often. Your peers might well find your thoughts interesting and benefit from hearing something of the repertoire of skills you bring to your studies. Also, I find that there can be a fruitful connection to experimenting with one’s spoken utterances during periods in which one is intensely engaged to one’s written work . . . one can inform the other, allowing one to find in extemporized speech an unfolding of syntax and structure one might not otherwise have stumbled upon . . ."

Next item on my agenda (after the 2 finals and 1 paper more to complete): Cruise to the Caribbean. I really need to solidify the correct spelling of "Caribbean" before I get there. One R, two B's... The most important part of my trip will be hanging out with stingrays in their natural habitat. Rays are definitely one of the best animals in terms of texture and shape. And they are always happy:

Let us strive to be this joyous about our place in life, as our homeland is being exploited for tourism.