Spring Break is Over and I am Screwed
So school is starting and I just realized that I still have so much work to do. There are only 5 weeks left of school and I have an 8 page paper due on this stupid, wasteful class called CORE. It is such a great idea for a class but it has been poorly carried out. It is a class whose objective is to bridge the gap between sciences and humanities. I love the premise for this class. I am very focused on humanities while my best friend is focused on sciences. This class personifies our friendship. We manage to get along even though we are studying in two totally different fields. I told her about the class and she said that she does notice a difference in talking to people in each field. I noticed when I was talking to her one time that I brought up something about the history of Mesopotamia and she pointed out that what I was saying was very much on the side of the humanities. I then realized that the difference between the fields were actually very prevalent in everyday society.
There are so many things to do and not enough time. I don't think I have reached my maximum, but at the rate that I am going, I think I might be there soon. I just got a job as a research assistant and the job is tough. I have to read Edmund Husserl and he is a very bad writer. I sometimes catch myself reading the same passage 3 maybe 5 times until I fully understand what he is trying to say. In one hour, I will finish maybe at best, 5 pages. When I read normally, I get through many more pages in an hour but in this case, I have to pick out important quotes and concepts. It is easier said then done. Here is one quote to represent the difficulty of his writing.
Apodictic evidence: “It [apodictic evidence] discloses itself, to a critical reflection, as having the signal peculiarity of being at the same time the absolute unimaginableness (inconceivability) of their non-being, and thus excluding in advance every doubt as “objectless”, empty”
(CM, 1st Med. pg. 15-6)
And this is some of the easier stuff. I understand now what he was saying, but when I first read this I was like "what the hell is he talking about?" Now it seems to have gotten easier to understand, but I have to get into my Husserl state-of-mind before I can start reading his text. But I strangely enjoy reading him and learning about his philosophy on phenomenology. In Cartesian Meditations, he is doing what Decartes did in his meditations but instead of building knowledge back up with CDP's (Clear and Distinct Perceptions) and God, he is using phenomenology. Right now I am in the middle of his second meditation which is that part where he builds knowledge back up. Decartes famously broke down all knowledge until all there was left was concrete and abstract knowledge.
Then I am helping my TA work on this Wikipedia project called Portal: California Central Valley. It was his great idea (not being sarcastic) and I offered to help. I am adding stuff to the page but I don't really feel like I am helping. See, I am not a good writer and on Wikipedia you have to be able to write articles. I think I might be creating more problems then I am helping. I'll probably stop editing soon. I am not much of a help, more like a nuisance.
My old buddies from NY are coming to visit me this Friday. I am worried that they might not have as much fun as they are anticipating. See I live in the Great Central Valley, I love it here even though I used to be from NY and still enjoy the city life. But the reasons why I like the Central Valley are a whole other blog. So back to the NY buddies, they have a concept that California is beaches, Yosemite, and Hollywood. Problem is is that all of those things are very far away from where I live. I live 5 hours from LA, 2 from Yosemite, and 3 from any beach. Though I do live about 5 minutes from a dairy farm. That's cool, right? I just hope we (California and myself) don't let them down. It is their Spring Break and I want them to have a good time.
So what else am I doing? Not much. Oh yeah, my roommate and myself are setting up a concert in the city I live in. We have about 6 bands that are willing to play. My only hope is that we get a big turnout. If we don't, I will be very disappointed not only because we didn't get a big turn out but also at myself. I will always think "what could I have done to get more people to show up?" and that is a thought I do not want to have to deal with.
It is so weird to have the apartment all to myself. I was thinking about calling some of my friends over for dinner but they just got back from Spring Break and they probably are really tired. I know how a week back at home is tiresome. Also it is already 9:00 pm and I am spent from a long day of driving, reading Husserl, surfing the net, and talking on the phone. I had to send out so many e-mails today. That alone took a few hours. Then I had to drive up to campus to print out my essays to make sure there aren't any major mistakes. I have to write a feature story, lucky me. That would be so great if my feature story got published in a newspaper, even if it was just the local city newspaper. Then again my writing is very poor so I highly doubt I would ever get published. I have a lot to say, and a lot of great ideas, but I can't really articulate them on paper. But pity me not for I am learning to be a better writer. I will eventually become as proficient as lets say, Edmund Husserl?
So school is starting and I just realized that I still have so much work to do. There are only 5 weeks left of school and I have an 8 page paper due on this stupid, wasteful class called CORE. It is such a great idea for a class but it has been poorly carried out. It is a class whose objective is to bridge the gap between sciences and humanities. I love the premise for this class. I am very focused on humanities while my best friend is focused on sciences. This class personifies our friendship. We manage to get along even though we are studying in two totally different fields. I told her about the class and she said that she does notice a difference in talking to people in each field. I noticed when I was talking to her one time that I brought up something about the history of Mesopotamia and she pointed out that what I was saying was very much on the side of the humanities. I then realized that the difference between the fields were actually very prevalent in everyday society.
There are so many things to do and not enough time. I don't think I have reached my maximum, but at the rate that I am going, I think I might be there soon. I just got a job as a research assistant and the job is tough. I have to read Edmund Husserl and he is a very bad writer. I sometimes catch myself reading the same passage 3 maybe 5 times until I fully understand what he is trying to say. In one hour, I will finish maybe at best, 5 pages. When I read normally, I get through many more pages in an hour but in this case, I have to pick out important quotes and concepts. It is easier said then done. Here is one quote to represent the difficulty of his writing.
Apodictic evidence: “It [apodictic evidence] discloses itself, to a critical reflection, as having the signal peculiarity of being at the same time the absolute unimaginableness (inconceivability) of their non-being, and thus excluding in advance every doubt as “objectless”, empty”
(CM, 1st Med. pg. 15-6)
And this is some of the easier stuff. I understand now what he was saying, but when I first read this I was like "what the hell is he talking about?" Now it seems to have gotten easier to understand, but I have to get into my Husserl state-of-mind before I can start reading his text. But I strangely enjoy reading him and learning about his philosophy on phenomenology. In Cartesian Meditations, he is doing what Decartes did in his meditations but instead of building knowledge back up with CDP's (Clear and Distinct Perceptions) and God, he is using phenomenology. Right now I am in the middle of his second meditation which is that part where he builds knowledge back up. Decartes famously broke down all knowledge until all there was left was concrete and abstract knowledge.
Then I am helping my TA work on this Wikipedia project called Portal: California Central Valley. It was his great idea (not being sarcastic) and I offered to help. I am adding stuff to the page but I don't really feel like I am helping. See, I am not a good writer and on Wikipedia you have to be able to write articles. I think I might be creating more problems then I am helping. I'll probably stop editing soon. I am not much of a help, more like a nuisance.
My old buddies from NY are coming to visit me this Friday. I am worried that they might not have as much fun as they are anticipating. See I live in the Great Central Valley, I love it here even though I used to be from NY and still enjoy the city life. But the reasons why I like the Central Valley are a whole other blog. So back to the NY buddies, they have a concept that California is beaches, Yosemite, and Hollywood. Problem is is that all of those things are very far away from where I live. I live 5 hours from LA, 2 from Yosemite, and 3 from any beach. Though I do live about 5 minutes from a dairy farm. That's cool, right? I just hope we (California and myself) don't let them down. It is their Spring Break and I want them to have a good time.
So what else am I doing? Not much. Oh yeah, my roommate and myself are setting up a concert in the city I live in. We have about 6 bands that are willing to play. My only hope is that we get a big turnout. If we don't, I will be very disappointed not only because we didn't get a big turn out but also at myself. I will always think "what could I have done to get more people to show up?" and that is a thought I do not want to have to deal with.
It is so weird to have the apartment all to myself. I was thinking about calling some of my friends over for dinner but they just got back from Spring Break and they probably are really tired. I know how a week back at home is tiresome. Also it is already 9:00 pm and I am spent from a long day of driving, reading Husserl, surfing the net, and talking on the phone. I had to send out so many e-mails today. That alone took a few hours. Then I had to drive up to campus to print out my essays to make sure there aren't any major mistakes. I have to write a feature story, lucky me. That would be so great if my feature story got published in a newspaper, even if it was just the local city newspaper. Then again my writing is very poor so I highly doubt I would ever get published. I have a lot to say, and a lot of great ideas, but I can't really articulate them on paper. But pity me not for I am learning to be a better writer. I will eventually become as proficient as lets say, Edmund Husserl?
posted by rayana at 8:54 PM
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