Live what you preach.

Now that I've had more quality time with my teachers, I can make more informed observations.

Sacks:
She likes to bring up names that, for sure, nobody else in the school knows, and ask us, has anyone heard of xxx?
I don't think that she intentionnally gives out ocassionnal hint on the social-economical background of her friends' circle during classes, but it really really tends to get on my nerves.
Ok. So this person has this income and bought that artwork.
So that person is sueing Elisabeth Taylor for a rightful heirloom, a multi-million case.
Alright, this dame over here has a haute-couture boutique and gets her stock in Europe.
Great. What else?
How is this give me a deeper understanding of the course?
Other than that, I don't want to complain.
She really tries to encourage student participation, to a point which her classes have lost the feels of a lecture, only to resemble vaguely a Q&A session/reading group.
Being the big snob, I am really happy when she gave me the wink when I pointed out Susan Sontag's name in an article she brought.

Shugar:
Oh, Mr.Shugar.
You are TRULY a philosophy major.
I can sense that vibe miles away, considering that our course material is more philosophy-related than english-related.
No wonder that the class he had last term didn't do well on the essays.
They didn't realise that they were in a PHILOSOPHY class, and wrote on English instead.
Believe me, if you are trying to score in Shugar's class, just give him what he wants: solid arguments, preferably served with cool irony, and OED may become your best pal for a while.
Just check out what I learnt for myself when I did the background check for one of my readings:
THe CONTINGENCY of Selfhood.
I had no idea what contingency meant when I first looked at it.
Here it is:
The condition of being free from predetermining necessity in regard to existence or action; hence, the being open to the play of chance, or of free will.
Is it just me, or we are falling in to the maze of words?
One last thing, he is a little too much organized for a language teacher...

No need to give space to Lysy, you know what she's like anyway.
Roffey, same comment I had in last post.
Hernandez...hard to pin down.
But I think that he is WAY discouraged by the irresponsiveness of my class. (BTW, he speaks Spanish...I just found out, for those who already know...OK..maybe I was a bit slow to catch up...Hernandez...who would thought that it sounds hispanic...not me....maybe not...anyway)
The other teacher...I am leaving him out of my list.
Yes, this is how he makes me feel.

On Letters of recommendation

For once, I will put something USEFUL in my blog.

For my fellow students applying out of province or to other places that need this.....= =

Blah~Blah. pre-med or not, you don't have to tell me.

This stuff is GOLD!

It provides EXTREMELY accurate info on the appropriate approach.......

Took me a long time to figure this out.

Have to remind you though, letters can just bring you so forth, the rest is all yours.

 

---

1. Approach potential recommenders first as advisers. Get to know them and let them get to know you. Discuss your larger interests and goals. Ask for their advice about potential projects, reading, courses of study, graduate programs. . . . These conversations will be invaluable in themselves, but they will also allow you to judge who is likely to be your most enthusiastic recommenders; these meetings will also allow those who write for you to write more informed and more personally engaged letters.
   
   
2. Ask someone who knows you well and who will be able to discuss in specific detail what distinguishes you.
   
   
3. Ask well in advance of the deadline. Two to four weeks may be adequate. But it is often helpful to consult with the recommender to see how much lead-time is needed. This is especially true for letters for major fellowships and for letters to be written over the summer.
   
   
4. Ask: "Do you feel you know me (or my academic record, my leadership qualities) well enough to write a strong letter of recommendation for the X scholarship?" You've now given the professor the opportunity to decline gracefully. If the answer is "no," don't push. This inquiry may be done via email-if you already have an established relationship with the potential recommender.
   
   
5. Schedule an appointment with your recommenders to discuss the scholarship, its selection criteria, your most recent and commendable activities, and to suggest what each recommender might emphasize. (You may want to let your recommenders know who your other recommenders are, so that they can write letters that complement rather than repeat one another.)
   
   
6. Bring to this meeting:
   
   
   
   • A current resume or a list of your activities and honors. Be sure to include internships or work/research experience, community service, conference papers/presentations, other creative or leadership experiences.
     
     
   • A copy of your personal statement, project proposal, and/or course of study proposal, or other descriptive information from the application (information about career plans, foreign travel experience, or non-academic interests is sometimes requested). If you have not yet completed these materials, provide an informal version in the form of a 1-2 page statement.
     
     
   • Any pertinent reminders about the work you have done for this professor that will help you highlight what makes you a strong candidate; past papers or exams are especially helpful.
     
     
   • A copy of your transcript (if applying for a nationally competitive fellowship). This can be an unofficial copy and is to give your recommender an overview of your academic program to-date as well as your grades. If your grades are not what you think they should be, be ready to identify any extenuating circumstances (e.g. family or other responsibilities, number or level of courses taken).
     
     
   • The official description of the criteria the recommender's letter should address and the deadline by which the letter is due. Supplement this description with your own suggestions as to what you would like your recommender to emphasize.
     
     
   • Any coversheets or official recommendation forms that should accompany the letter. Be sure to complete any section that pertains to you: name, address to which the letter should be sent, etc. Each scholarship is different. Make sure you have waived your right to access under the Family Rights and Privacy Act. Selection committees often fail to take non-restricted letters seriously.
     
     
   • If you are asking for more than one letter (as for graduate school or multiple fellowships), provide the following information on a separate sheet, as well as stamped and addressed envelopes for each fellowship:
     
     
     
     • To whom each letter should be addressed (individual or committee, relevant titles, address).
       
     • Whether each letter should be mailed directly to the funding agency (as in the case of the Rhodes, NSF, Mellon) or remitted to the Office of International Education and Fellowship Programs for inclusion in the application packet (Truman, Goldwater, Udall, Marshall).
       
     • The deadline. Be sure to distinguish between a "postmark" and a "received by" due date.
   
   
7. Be ready to discuss: why you seek the recommendation; what strengths, qualifications, preparation, achievements, skills or goals make you a strong candidate for this opportunity and help distinguish you from other candidates; what points you would like the recommender to emphasize or address.
   
   
8. If a recommender asks you to provide a draft of your own recommendation, you may ethically provide a list of bullet points you would like the letter to address and/or factual narrative of key achievements (avoid adjectives) -- along with other supporting information such as listed above. Explain that you are unable to write a draft that provides the kind of judgement and comparative evaluation that only the recommender can provide and that helps make for a strong recommendation.
   
   
9. Finally, be sure to write your recommenders a note of thanks and let them know what happens
   

业

不绝烦恼，或细琐或庞大。

得，得不到。

 

得到：一句称赞，一笔钱，一张名片，一种病，一朵花。
得不到：一种默契，一把米，一种心境，一汪水，一树花。

 

得到的又失去了，
得不到的，愈行愈远。慢慢，渐渐，悄悄忘弃它，

The Month of JANUARY

It's the darkest time of the year.
You never get to catch a glimpse of the sun.

In a way, it's a good thing.
When the sun isn't around, you don't feel guilty as you wander around your room in your old pajamas, looking like an outrageous fashion disaster.
Your friends bought you a calendar as a Christmas gift.

So there you are, standing in front of it, a pen in your hand.
It's so... empty.
Is it the calendar? the room? or just the time of the year?
Flipping through the blank pages, you fondle your new year resolutions in the way that expecting parents choose baby shoes at the department store.
Drink more water. Go to the gym. Meet friends more often. Make new contacts.
Go aboard for the summer.

Oh, and get those great looking carpets from IKEA.
Everything sparkles like freshly washed glasses, squeaky clean.
January is the month of hope, of something new.
You rip off the torn pages of your agenda and squeeze them into a ball.
Right down into the garbage can.
You look around fondly, admiring the newness of the space.
January is the month of forgiveness.
All the foolish old ways seem to be forgiven.
Yes, yes... even you.

 

---

I am thinking to make this a 12 part series.

 

About school.

Lysy is as usual. So that's good.

I don't really like Hernandez. I have nothing against him, but it's the way he teaches.

How I miss Vinet and his Powerpoint notes...

Roffey is really a nice person. I'll give her more time before I draw my conclusions.

Shugar turns out to be a welcomed surprise. I think it's going to be fun.

Sacks... the class is kind of dragged behind her, we are not into it, yet.

Who did I forget? Hhmmm...

Oh, it's the class that I haven't had. Cohn.

No opinion.

I am really behind a lot of things... gotta catch up.

Not a nice sign in January...

sigh.

 

不可言说/听笔记1

我一直在寻找一种最有效的造句的法子。

我梦想中的这种结构要即轻薄又温暖，却有金属一样冰凉且结实的骨骼。

轻薄是要可以随身携带，心意一动就可以取出温习，不像厚重烫金的书本，抱着睡的话会被硌得慌。轻薄的句子也要可以冒犯一本正经的道学，调戏怀春的少女，让他们边抚胸膛边拭虚汗，颤声说，或笑骂说，你怎么敢。

完美的句子温暖，像一床被子，冰凉，像一把刀。
被子，因为在漫无边尽的夜里，它要可以包裹住你全身，形成结界，抵御敌意。

刀，隐喻的是危险。藏在衣袖里的利器，必要的时候尽管血肉横飞，自己的和他人的。

对结实的期许很好了解，我的世界一直是由句子搭建的，只是由句子搭建的。

金属一样的构架是牢笼，也是保险箱。

结实的牢笼，结实的保险箱。保险箱，锁住我爱的人，牢笼，锁住我自己。

 

 

 

 

有关听：

人在梦里没有听觉。或者说，不再有如清醒时一般警觉的听力。

如果在梦里听到一首歌，那也是由画面牵引出来的，自以为是在倾听的假象。

音乐在梦里的模样就是它在人心中最根本最原始的形象。

想到了这一点，我终于可以解释自己为什么不可以喜欢歌词差劲的歌，不喜欢旋律精巧的，音色突兀的，节奏单调的，设计科学的种种声音：

画面感不够。

这也可以解释为什么这两天疯狂地听ost，world和其它同出一脉的东西。

如果我去写乐评，大概也只会是些明信片体的断章。

 

在梦里，喜欢的音乐画面重复出现，一片空旷，如果这种空旷有颜色，那么就是，青灰色。

 

Misanthropie intelligente

请勿对号入座。因为我估计我针对的人不一定会来，来了也不一定看明白是在说什么，就算看明白了也想不到是在针对ta, 可悲啊。

Nous deviendrons peu à peu indifférents à ce qui se passe dans la tête des autres quand nous aurons acquis une connaissance suffisante de la nature superficielle et futile de leur pensées, de l'étroitesse de leur esprit, de la médiocrité de leurs sentiments, de la perversité de leurs opinions et du nombre de leur erreurs. [...] Nous comprendrons alors que quiconque accorde beaucoup de valeur aux opinions des autres leur fait trop d'honneur.
 

(Chamfort a dit: Quand on a pris le parti ne ne voir que ceux qui sont capables de traiter avec vous aux termes de la morale, de la vertu, de la raison, de la vérité, en ne regardant les conventions, les vanités, les étiquettes, que comme les supports de la société civile; quand, dis-je, on a pris ce parti(et il faut bien le prendre, sous peine d'être sot, faible ou vil), il arrive qu'on vit à peu près solitaire.)

 Nous n'avons en ce monde que le choix entre la solitude et la vulgarité. Il faut enseigner à tous les jeunes gens comment supporter la solitude [...] parce que moins un homme est obligé de côtoyer ses semblables, mieux il s'en trouve.

 Cela dit, une décision d'éviter les autres n'implique pas forcément qu'on n'a aucun désir de compagnie. Elle peut refléter simplement une insatisfaction à l'égard de ce qui est disponible. Les cyniques ne sont que des idéalistes trop exigeants pour ne pas être déçus.

 

Schopenhauer, Arthur. Parerga et paralipomena  (1851)