learned to airbrush properly; now everyone can enjoy the kind of digital flawless skin that doesn't really exist =) finally decided to post again, due to having nothing to post for the past month or so, plus the fact that no matter how many times we decide to replace the router, it still doesn't work. went to jess's new apartment yesterday and gave everyone makeovers, then had some photo fun. photos are fun. editing photos can be a bitch =T but the result is interesting. skin tones are fun to tamper with too. note: why do i have a tendency to not look at the camera when taking pics? it's like i subconsciously expect a flash and avert my eyes ahead of time.
3 comments:
Nobody+Knows,
I’m glad to see you’re back.
Thank you for reading and commenting on Phrenology. I’m glad that you and your brother have enjoyed some of my poetry. If you or your brother write poetry or prose, I’d love to see your work. As for the appearance of sophistication, thank you, but don’t consider my life particularly exciting. I do practice tai chi several times a week, but the fencing is something that has been on the back burner for some time now, crowded out by work and study. Fate budgets only 24 hours/day.
As for the “personal slump”, I can certainly identify with that. That was part of what prompted me to start blogging in the first place. I left a fast-paced, interesting, and very challenging job to be an altruist in the service of Uncle Sam. Suffice to say, the federal government does things differently than the private sector, and those differences and I don’t always agree.
Your question about a true calling is absolutely appropriate to why I keep my blog. After a great deal of pretentious soul-searching that I now describe as a quarter-life crisis, I’d be glad to share what insights I uncovered for myself on the matter.
There are true callings. Some small minority happens upon one that’s right for them without even trying. A divine light on the road to Damascus. I don’t know if these people are more or less fortunate than the majority in this. Everyone who does not receive such a mandate or epiphany has the power to make their own calling. If so inclined, a person could make more than one. I would be very enlightened indeed or a charlatan if I claimed I could tell you how you might craft one for yourself. I can’t. I can tell you some things that might get you thinking about the right kinds of questions.
Believe in something greater than yourself. You may call that something Yahweh, or Allah, or Gaia, or Brahma, or science, or humanity, or any number of permutations of these and a hundred other things. Don’t let orthodoxy prevent you from asking questions or respecting those who adhere to a different tradition. I happen to be Christian, but some of the most important religious insights I’ve experienced came from Muslims, Taoists, and the natural sciences.
Challenge yourself. Study everything that interests you and anything that seems important. Maybe that’s literature, or art, or math, or psychology, or something I’ve never heard of. The library is a great place to start. You don’t need to pursue a degree to be educated, but it sure helps on a resume. Among that category of “anything that seems important”, I would posit that very few people have ever regretted learning how to be a better writer, a better speaker, or learning how to manage money.
Pursue what is meaningful to you. Figuring out what that is can be the most difficult part of all of this. We live in a commercial and political culture, wherein we are all constantly being told that we want more money, a bigger house, whiter teeth, and more (or less) government. The problem with all of those messages is that they are coming from someone who is selling something. How do you tune it out?
Be confident. Recognize what is positive about yourself and understand what you need to do in order to grow. Don’t let someone take something from you just because they want it.
Create. Creativity can be pursued through a million different channels. Artistic pursuits are likely the most obvious, but there are many more subtle ways. Business, science, engineering, and teaching all have enormous potential for creativity.
The bottom line is that your life is a process. You have the opportunity to continue to evolve as long as you are alive. You are constantly confronted with opportunities and challenges, and I think that deriving a calling from them is about understanding what you want, living within an ethical framework, and choosing to act on what you want and what you think is right.
Kit,
I've wondered about this several times: Your brief profile on your blog reads "I ♥ SUSHI + MY BABY", but I don't recall ever having seen pictures of either here. Do you ever photograph those subjects? Just curious.
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