Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Spring break '09

It is now spring break '09! It feels great to not have to be in school for a week. That being said, I'm trying to figure out how to best use my time as not to feel like I wasted it. I'm one of the few people left in Charleston, currently. Aside from my house mates, pretty much everyone, minus a few here and there are gone. Friday and Saturday were quite pleasant outside, especially after the cold from last week. Unfortunately it looks like it's going to get cold again until next thursday or friday.

Now that I'm done discussing superficial things such as the weather, I'm now going to discuss three other topics. The first two are somewhat short. The first of these is new diction I find myself using on an everyday basis. My two newest sayings, which you are welcome to borrow, are "wah wah" and "it'll be irie." The first, "wah wah," is said when something somewhat disappointing comes to light. This is generally in casual conversation and used to lighten the situation and dismiss the disappointment. I suppose if you were to define the phrase, it would mean, "I am somewhat disappointed about the certain situation that arose but it is not too big of a deal and I'll get over it. Now, moving on..." 

The second of these phrases, "it'll be irie," may be familiar to some of you. It is a Jamaican/Caribbean phrase in which the word "irie" is used instead of "alright." In truth, I may not specifically use that phrase but instead use the word "irie" occasionally instead of "alright." I really don't use this much at all except for in the house because I don't want to look too much like an idiot.

As for the second of my short topics, I have been feeling somewhat of a lull in my enjoyment of listening to music. Bands that I have previously enjoyed are beginning to bore me. The only music that I am currently enjoying listening to is Kaki King and some rap, namely Keny Arkana (french rap) and some Lupe Fiasco. I enjoy the french rap because you get the emotion and sound of the music but I don't have to actually understand what he's saying. More often than not, American rap (not American as in rap in the English language, but American as in rap from the US of A) can be very harsh in its lyrics and its message. That generally turns me off of rap artists. Lupe Fiasco, for instance, has some songs I won't listen too. I just enjoy the rest of his music enough to keep listening. Kaki King, on the other hand, is not rap, in case you were unaware. Her music tends to be pretty relaxing but still interesting enough that you don't fall asleep.

Now, getting to my third and final topic: new york city/life after cofc. So on thursday my accounting professor cancelled class so I took the opportunity to go talk to him about my education and career aspirations. The accounting department has set up some mock interviews, in which I plan to participate. My initial reason for going to see him was to have him look at my resume. This, in turn, led to a discussion about the best path for me to take in terms of getting a career. The main outcome of the conversation (other than reminiscing about philadelphia, since he's from south jersey) was the importance of going to grad school and the importance of the location of grad school in terms of where you want your first job to be. Obviously, all of this future makes one think a lot about where one wants to begin one's life out of college. After much deliberation, I feel as though this will lead back to the north east. I'm looking a lot at schools in nyc and maybe boston. I don't really want to go back to philadelphia. It's time for something new. dc, maybe? I dunno, but as of now it looks like I'm northeast bound. I say new york in the beginning because I've been reminiscing about new york a lot over the past few days due to people going there, being there, making plans to go there. I just love new york, as I sit here wearing my I heart New York shirt. I also love Amagansett, which, if you read back to my summer posts, is where my grandparents have a house on long island. All of these things are reasons why I have centered in on nyc.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Back to Basics

As the economy continues to slow down, we see a lot of slimming off of the excess. While this unfortunately comes in the form of cutting jobs, cutting pay, cutting hours, and cutting benefits for many people, we still must remain hopeful for the future. It is not the end of the world as we know it, which the news seems to be insinuating. Instead it is a time for us to re-evaluate our spending and habits to see what is really necessary. I find upon thinking in this frame of mind, this idea of going back to the basics applies to many areas of life, not just spending and fiscal responsibility.

Personally, I have been evaluating my life in several areas. First and foremost is the time I spend on certain activities such as facebook and other unproductive activities. This is not to say that I think facebook is evil, which it is entirely not. In fact, I feel it is a good way to stay in touch with a greater number of people than other wise possible. For me this semester I just don't have time to do anything much so I shouldn't be wasting it on facebook.

I just finished writing a paragraph about how much time I waste on facebook. Upon finishing it, I realized how much I dislike anti-facebook and anti-procrastination rants. In summation of that paragraph, what I meant to say is that I intend to be more responsible with my time.

The second area in which I am striving to go back to basics is my photography. If you've read any of my previous posts, you may have seen that I miss photography and am trying to get back into it. I have come to realize that the photos I take that I like the most tend to be those with the greatest simplicity. I'm not an art history person or much for art terminology but I really feel like I want my pictures to be minimalist in all ways. I am tired of the hassle of digital. I don't like using cameras with all of the bells and whistles. I miss film and the smell of darkroom chemicals lingering on my hands. Aside from boring photo tech stuff, I am going to continue to build towards my minimalist image in my work. If you zip over to my photo blog you can see some of my favs that I felt were worthy of the interweb. Also, if you ever want your picture taken, I'm always looking for a good muse.

The last area in which my new saying of "back to basics" applies, albeit this one is kinda a stretch is music. Last night I somewhat stumbled upon a new favorite band. I say somewhat because I had heard about them but forgotten. Last night upon leaving the business building after finance club (I know, I'm a dork, but I get extra credit), I heard a joyful noise upon the wind coming from the direction of Andolini's. That sweet melodious sound was the musical stylings of Bodies Full of Magic, a local band featuring mostly CofC students. While they were missing their drummer, I still thoroughly enjoyed listening to them. I love the mix of male and female vocals, especially when they are as soulful as those I heard last night. Another unexpected delight I found out of their sound is the trumpet. Their trumpet player had such amazing tone rarely heard in a band playing behind a pizza place. I immediately fell in love with their sound.

The moral of the story: go back to basics. It's refreshing. I recommend it.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Accounting, perhaps?

As you may notice a few posts ago, I mentioned my apathetic opinions of my accounting major. As it turns out, however, I am really beginning to enjoy my intermediate accounting class and my finance class. That said, cost accounting is incredibly booorrrinngg... mainly just because of the professor. Anyway, enjoying my classes makes my crazy schedule not so bad. I get a little bit of break this afternoon, which is nice. Some of my usually scheduled activities have been cancelled. It's just glorious outside so I think I'm going to go for a bike ride. Perhaps I'll continue looking for apartments.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

What is it that you really want?

Real estate.

So goes the infamous quote from charlie brown's christmas. Well that's right where I'm at right now. In other words, it's time to find a house for next semester. I'm the head of the search committee. So far I have a few phone numbers, which I'm planning on calling tomorrow. Anywho.. I don't have time to finish this right now but perhaps later.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Procrastination

In my attempts at procrastination, I'm switching my website to a photo blog. Head on over and check out rparksphoto.blogspot.com.

Lately there have been a few developments in my life...

First, I have been listening to French rap virtually non-stop for the past three or four days. If anyone is interested, I recommend Keny Arkana's "Entre Ciment et Belle Etoile." I think it was a lucky first guess at what cd to get but it has some quality songs on it. 

Second, I got a longboard on Sunday and have been loving riding it at just about every chance I get... especially while listening to French rap.

Third, I want to take up boxing. I'm not quite sure where that idea originated from but it's been on my mind for a little while now. I looked into cofc's boxing club but I have a class during the meeting times so I'm left up to my own devices. At some point here I'm going to invest in a punching bag and some gloves. If anyone wants to join me in this endeavor, let me know... unless you're too afraid to face the fury of my fists. I am part Irish so I could claim it's in my blood. I'm also English tho so I would be civil/proper about it.

Fourth, along with my boxing endeavor, I am working on getting into better shape. Obviously I'm not fat but I want to get fit. I started running again last week and I bought a bunch of fruit today so I can eat healthier. Also, I'm now up to 14 pull-ups... go me. (we have pull-up bars in the door frames of our living room if you've never been to my house).