Pleasantly Surprised~ I PASSED MY DRIVER'S TEST!

And on the first time too. I thought I would take 11 times like my great aunt. Ok, maybe more around 2 times. When I was taking the written portion, I swear I almost had a heart attack. Standing outside waiting for the results was the worst. Everyone is flipping through the book and staring uneasily at each other. You'd think it was their first high school dance and no one asked them to dance. Fortunately, almost everyone passed, except 3 guys. I guess they'll take it again next week. I thought it was interesting how each test has your name and ID number on it.

For the driving part, I almost fell asleep. Lol, I got up too early to study because I fell asleep reading traffic laws several times the night before. Yeah, I had insomnia for most of the night so I didn't feel extremely well. The important thing is, on Monday I'll be able to officially hold my new driver's license :P I wonder what it looks and smells like. Haha.

What do I think of the Humanities?

My English teacher in 9th and 12th grade said this to our class once: "You can tell how a good a school is by looking at how developed their humanities departments are. If their humanities are weak, don't go to that school. If they don't have any, don't even consider it!" Well, I might have modified the last part. In essence, that is what he said.

As for me, I agree with the article. Studies in the Humanities are hot right now. After graduating from college or university, many humanities majors get great job offers. I've heard of a Philosophy major from UVA that was offered over 100,00 US dollars a year as starting salary minus bonuses and stocks to be an analyst at Goldman Sachs the year before he graduated. Companies like humanities graduates because they are, as mentioned in the question, taught critical thinking skills. At many colleges and universities, the Arts Department is the biggest of the whole school. For example, UBC, my old university, has an Arts department that had maybe 10,000 or so students, not including faculty and administrators. Many doctors, lawyers, business graduates, etc. also started out as Arts or humanities majors as well. they just later changed fields later in their four years or in graduate school. Doesn't this indicate the popularity and influence of humanities studies?

In the future, humanities will start playing an important role again. I think it will because such education is broad enough to give you an understanding of not just history or sociology or English, but a mix of all the humanities subjects. Arts majors also have in-depth study of their own fields as well. In many other programs that I have heard of, lots of classes are pass or fail, so students tend to want to get extremely good grades so they can go to medical school or law school or get an MBA. However, Arts degrees tend to emphasize the learning and thinking process. I am, of course, very biased because I'm more attracted to the humanities and arts of all kinds. Other fields are also interesting, I'm sure, but they seem very dense. Some seem to be too limiting or too objective so that when you study them, you lose focus on everything else. Of course, an artist has got to eat, too. What is society without art, without knowledge of all different fields? That is probably why lots of arts majors are getting hired right out of college without a graduate degree-companies want a diverse point of view on what options they have. They also want the creative juices and analytical muscle that can inject their future projects with fresh ideas. In my opinion, the future will be focused on the Humanities and not science.

It seems I get mad often, at least for the past few weeks.

I think there must be something happening to my body. Not in a hormonal, puberty kind of way either, but more emotional. Wait, maybe emotional things occur from too many hormones too, but different hormones. I don't remember my biology or else I would've gone to medical school like I orginially planned to do. Bah, life is full of change- one of the few things more experienced people say never change, like death and taxes.

I haven't had such big mood swings since my family moved to Taiwan. Ah, I remember that summer my parents decided to uproot our fairly uncomplicated (to me it was, I was 14? It's been too long) lifestyle in California and take us to a foreign land. At least, I remember crying at my grandmother's house until all the tissues were gone from the box. And another needed to be found quickly, or the tears would never stop.

One of my friends in Vancouver was like that last year. She was lazy when she normally was driven and hardworking, didn't eat well, and constantly slept for longperiods of time, often skipping work or class. She said it had to do with a woman's body becoming able to produce children once you turn 20 or so. I'm not sure if she is right or not, but she was a chemistry and physics major. Maybe I have anemia or some other disease that is causing me to flare up randomly and childishly for no reason at all. If there is, someone let me know. I feel as if nothing really matters, no matter how many ideals and dreams you have. It's all going to get taken away from you. That's why we are supposed to appreciate and live life to the fullest and richest that we can.

Thinks deeply for a while.....

Bad Weather=Bad Headache

It's tough being small. It means that when you get into a car to drive, you have to make billions of adjustments just to see the mirrors. It also means when you get a headache, it builds and builds until it says "stop!" but you can't because you are in a big car going 80-90 km per hour on the freeway. Sigh, and then the headache goes from the head to the mouth and out comes bad things that people do not want to hear.

Mmmmm (makes whiny sound, then pouts)

Such is life. After acting out, one must introspect and apolgize accordingly. Or it would be of utmost embarrasment and shame. Especially to one's parents, if, of course, they are involved with said incidents. Do I begin to sound like Lemony Snicket (although this author may have nothing to do with my writing at all lol)? Very well, I shall desist in commenting further. Until next time~au revoir!

the Most Boring Class Ever

My mom is taking 氣功 (qigong) classes. Not the kung-fu kind, but the deep breathing plus changing your body's energy kind. I mean, I guess it wouldn't be so bad if the teacher at these meetings taught qigong practices and postures. The problem is that when we (my brother and I) get dragged along to one of the classes, the teacher always talks about random events in her own life and about her other students or her own teachers. Her voice drones on and on in this monotonous tone for what was it.....3 or 4 hours. At night too! I think she would fail to get a teacher's license. And when she teaches, or tries to teach, she says things really fast and doesn't really explain any of the text in the book at all. This is only my own opinion, although I did fall asleep 3 times. She had the windows and doors closed, and the AC was only on about half the time. I felt like I was dying from carbon dioxide poisoning.

Good thing I ran out of the room after the class was over and took a walk with my brother. Jonathan was also bored as hell (excuse the cussing which might show up more often in future posts). Good thing also that there's a typhoon too so I can 降火氣.

Anyways, I posted wrong information. Elva was in Taiwan but went to Beijing again, either yesterday or the day before. Wow I sound like a real stalker. But she said so on her blog, so I guess it's ok. I don't know what she's doing there though. Hmm, I will look into that later. But I do know she is going to have a book coming out in December :) That's also when my birthday is! Lol, maybe it will be on the same day, but that is just me being very wishful. Haha. I want to go to her concert in June too. Must save money!!! Oh and for other reasons too, I want to try to go to Vancouver to see my friends. Sigh, we'll see. Maybe next year I'll go instead, since one of my friends might come here at that time. She didn't tell me her plans yet, so I'll have to wait.