Telling, perhaps
Dec. 1st, 2008 05:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crankyoldmanToday was spent talking with professors and figuring out where I stand in classes (and trying my best not to flip off my mathematics professor) with the exception of my Aerodynamics professor, as I am likely to stab him in the eye. I have some numbers on things (hell, I might be getting an A in Structures, which is bewildering considering that I put the least time in on it). Dynamics is being a slight pain due to my Exam Space Out, but the professor has a very nice scale at which he works, and I may in fact manage a C if I work especially hard on studying for Friday's exam.
Which is exciting. I am glad that Professor California rarely embellishes and tells me things straight, and is at least polite enough to smile at my jokes at least. I would very much like to do well in his class, but alas, I am not a good test taker. At least if I get a 50% on the next one, I am going to pass. XD I also got to talk to him a little bit about the Big Thing With My Job I'm Supposed to Keep on the Low Down. Besides, I still don't have all the details anyway, just that I'm on the team...
A guy in my Structures class came up and asked how I did on the term paper (a B, and considering I wrote it the night before and used my Ethos skillz more than any actual knowledge, I am again tempted to go to the dark side). He was complaining over a B+/A- (and ironically wrote over the same subject I did, which I didn't know until that point was covered at all). I guess it further cements my status as a Bad Student that it took a lot of self control not to start laughing maniacally.
I can understand perfectionism, my sister is one of those, but personal perfection is unattainable. I guess the view is different from where I am, as That Stubborn One That Won't Flunk Out. But hey, those types are needed, precision is important.
It was the combination of this and what I've been reading lately (both in book and online forms... my internet was scattered over break, but I do have a thing that downloads my feeds to my computer so I can read them offline, as well as you know, reading stuff today in between things) that got me sort of philosophical.
I am rather tempted to pick up the book Influence by none other than the Olsen Twins, because it actually sounds rather interesting, even if the two of them represent a lot of issues I have with young fashionistas (don't get me started, really). When I was at the Most Awesome Bargain Bookstore Evar, I had to keep myself from buying up too much stuff, and it wasn't quite cheap enough for me to pick up yet. XD I got Madame Bovary (I'd started it a while ago, and I really want to finish it, the style is so smooth), Tender Is The Night (I'm kind of in love with most of the Jazz Age authors), and a book on cooking noodle dishes (since I am a pasta freak and I could use a little more creativity boosts with food). Oh and some gifts. XD I had done much better with my budget than I thought I would, so I figured a little splurge, where books are concerned, was warranted.
And then I was reading onblackcigarette, because the community still hasn't annoyed me yet, and it occurred to me that despite my best efforts to compartmentalize my life, my influences feed on each other quite a bit. My philosophical, logical, moral, inspirational, and style influences overlap quite a bit. Some examples:
- Most of my moral/philosophical influences are not from typically religious figures, which the exception of say, St. Thomas Aquinas, who was a bit of an odd bird anyway and could fit more as a mystic. In fact, I found that when I took an Ethics course (which was a pain in the ass due to the teacher, but I rather enjoyed all the stuff I read and a couple of the class arguments), I found that I didn't really fit in faith-based or utility-based moralities, like my upbringing and current state of affairs would naturally suggest. Instead I seem to have a weird mystic/weird science mix of influences. A few influencing people off the top of my head: Carl Sagan, Rumi, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. I also found Einstein to be a more interesting figure in terms of philosophy than science, actually.
- Style is something that I think is important to a person, but too often confused with trendiness. Also, practicality tends to be thrown out the window sometimes. Like now, I can't believe I see girls in skirts, considering it's freezing and snowing out here (and they are obviously cold and shivering waiting on the bus, while I am quite comfortable with my fur hat and snowboots). But anyway, one of the things I noticed a lot in theblackcigarette community is that musicians, movie stars, and fashionistas make up nearly all of the influences. Occasionally you'll have an era-obsessed person. I think my only real fashion-related influences are Audrey Hepburn and Diane von Furstenburg--and I like them both not for what they wear, but how they wear it. I am too found of accessories to be an Audrey, and too unfond of prints to be a Diane. But I also have a mild obsession with the geeky British Academic Look, like Alan Turing when he's all cleaned up. Or Virginia Woolf's lazy crazy Victorianism. Put together, but almost accidental.
- Inspiration, creatively, has nearly always come from music for me. I have a whole Pandora station dedicated to "working music" which most hits my engineery bits in my brain. Here's the station, if Pandora will let you listen. Venetian Snares actually helped me with Thermodynamics once. And nothing quite gets my brain going like the smell of tea.
- My lifestyle, my aesthetics are mostly influence by dream-induced art or super-crisp design. My favorite items are actually my appliances--I think machines are beautiful. I also really kind of dislike the Mac look--it's cute, but it's a little TOO bare. This is prolly why I like Art Deco so much; it's a good moosh of the crazy dream imagery and intuitive machine shapes (fun thing my old Hippie History professor and I used to chat about what how intuitive a lot of machine design is).
Oh, and it's snowing. Stop plz!
~Cendri
Which is exciting. I am glad that Professor California rarely embellishes and tells me things straight, and is at least polite enough to smile at my jokes at least. I would very much like to do well in his class, but alas, I am not a good test taker. At least if I get a 50% on the next one, I am going to pass. XD I also got to talk to him a little bit about the Big Thing With My Job I'm Supposed to Keep on the Low Down. Besides, I still don't have all the details anyway, just that I'm on the team...
A guy in my Structures class came up and asked how I did on the term paper (a B, and considering I wrote it the night before and used my Ethos skillz more than any actual knowledge, I am again tempted to go to the dark side). He was complaining over a B+/A- (and ironically wrote over the same subject I did, which I didn't know until that point was covered at all). I guess it further cements my status as a Bad Student that it took a lot of self control not to start laughing maniacally.
I can understand perfectionism, my sister is one of those, but personal perfection is unattainable. I guess the view is different from where I am, as That Stubborn One That Won't Flunk Out. But hey, those types are needed, precision is important.
It was the combination of this and what I've been reading lately (both in book and online forms... my internet was scattered over break, but I do have a thing that downloads my feeds to my computer so I can read them offline, as well as you know, reading stuff today in between things) that got me sort of philosophical.
I am rather tempted to pick up the book Influence by none other than the Olsen Twins, because it actually sounds rather interesting, even if the two of them represent a lot of issues I have with young fashionistas (don't get me started, really). When I was at the Most Awesome Bargain Bookstore Evar, I had to keep myself from buying up too much stuff, and it wasn't quite cheap enough for me to pick up yet. XD I got Madame Bovary (I'd started it a while ago, and I really want to finish it, the style is so smooth), Tender Is The Night (I'm kind of in love with most of the Jazz Age authors), and a book on cooking noodle dishes (since I am a pasta freak and I could use a little more creativity boosts with food). Oh and some gifts. XD I had done much better with my budget than I thought I would, so I figured a little splurge, where books are concerned, was warranted.
And then I was reading on
blackcigarette, because the community still hasn't annoyed me yet, and it occurred to me that despite my best efforts to compartmentalize my life, my influences feed on each other quite a bit. My philosophical, logical, moral, inspirational, and style influences overlap quite a bit. Some examples:- Most of my moral/philosophical influences are not from typically religious figures, which the exception of say, St. Thomas Aquinas, who was a bit of an odd bird anyway and could fit more as a mystic. In fact, I found that when I took an Ethics course (which was a pain in the ass due to the teacher, but I rather enjoyed all the stuff I read and a couple of the class arguments), I found that I didn't really fit in faith-based or utility-based moralities, like my upbringing and current state of affairs would naturally suggest. Instead I seem to have a weird mystic/weird science mix of influences. A few influencing people off the top of my head: Carl Sagan, Rumi, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. I also found Einstein to be a more interesting figure in terms of philosophy than science, actually.
- Style is something that I think is important to a person, but too often confused with trendiness. Also, practicality tends to be thrown out the window sometimes. Like now, I can't believe I see girls in skirts, considering it's freezing and snowing out here (and they are obviously cold and shivering waiting on the bus, while I am quite comfortable with my fur hat and snowboots). But anyway, one of the things I noticed a lot in the
blackcigarette community is that musicians, movie stars, and fashionistas make up nearly all of the influences. Occasionally you'll have an era-obsessed person. I think my only real fashion-related influences are Audrey Hepburn and Diane von Furstenburg--and I like them both not for what they wear, but how they wear it. I am too found of accessories to be an Audrey, and too unfond of prints to be a Diane. But I also have a mild obsession with the geeky British Academic Look, like Alan Turing when he's all cleaned up. Or Virginia Woolf's lazy crazy Victorianism. Put together, but almost accidental. 
- Inspiration, creatively, has nearly always come from music for me. I have a whole Pandora station dedicated to "working music" which most hits my engineery bits in my brain. Here's the station, if Pandora will let you listen. Venetian Snares actually helped me with Thermodynamics once. And nothing quite gets my brain going like the smell of tea.
- My lifestyle, my aesthetics are mostly influence by dream-induced art or super-crisp design. My favorite items are actually my appliances--I think machines are beautiful. I also really kind of dislike the Mac look--it's cute, but it's a little TOO bare. This is prolly why I like Art Deco so much; it's a good moosh of the crazy dream imagery and intuitive machine shapes (fun thing my old Hippie History professor and I used to chat about what how intuitive a lot of machine design is).
Oh, and it's snowing. Stop plz!
~Cendri