A Change of Style?

 

 

I wonder if Part 2 teaches ways to decompose in a casket.

Random Observation/Comment #178: A lot of people ask me, “Where do you find time for these personal projects?”  I guess, I type fast?  I don’t know why my career isn’t as interesting as my hobbies, but I wish I can one day have the two intermingle.  Until then, they seem to be fighting for my attention like two cute girls (Hah!).  I organize myself well and allot a specific amount of time for those tasks I deem “important.”  I think the last time I evaluated my list of “shyt I like doing,” I don’t seem to have enough time to sleep, let alone leave my laptop.  I wonder if my world is slowly becoming more selflessly selfish or if I’m just blindly wasting my time (I don’t like the choices either).  I began to think about the quality of my life and the quality of my life I express through status updates, tweets, and blog entries – Am I really having fun?  Obviously, “Yes” or else I wouldn’t be doing this – Or would I?  Right now, it’s very confusing, but maybe I’ll come to some conclusion after sitting down and letting myself rant.

 

This Chinese idea of “face” is basically the image shown to a particular community.  It is my identity and a lot of things that define my life – thus facebook?  It might have a deeper meaning than what we’ve passed as a simple name, or perhaps, this idea just evolved to this out-of-control entity.  Although I haven’t accumulated a debt, a large sum of money in a bank account, or really anything materialistically important, I feel like this virtual identity has become my prized possession.  It’s almost precious enough for me to pay for it (Yeah, no way).  When I considered religion, I considered it for the community purposes rather than the silly mythical ones – Is this the community I am forming?  Am I becoming my own godly figure by gathering followers on Twitter? 

Instead of limiting my facebook with all these private settings, I do the initial boundary to accepted friends and then basically express myself with status updates, posted notes, pictures, links, and a slew of other things.  Am I doing this for my own interest or am I driven by this hunger and obsession towards keeping someone informed?  Would I fall off the face of this Earth if I stopped telling someone I’m alive?  I hope not, but it does make me wake in a cold sweat… Oh, right – Kinkos.  I’m covered. Props for those who got that.

The reason blogging is even remotely accepted is its somewhat (or possible) helpful nature to those who read it. In most cases, a person subscribes to individuals that have similar interests to hopefully read articles and stories that make this complex Inter-webs a little bit more manageable.  This idea started with search engines, but very quickly grew into the world of StumbleUpon, digg, facebook linking, delicious, and dozens of other viral networks that share user input. 

There is something intrinsically attractive about being a useful reporter in this world.  I think it closely links to this pathetic hope that someone will read your content and become inspired by your opinions.  I cannot single myself out from this crowd too much (although, I have mentioned numerous times that this is more for my parents and my own memories than reaching out to any particular group) because I do give a slight grin whenever I see higher counts in Facebook Like’s, wordpress blog visitor statistics, and even xanga stalker stats.  This may be the underlying reason I tweet and update my status so often – it’s a loose connection with an audience that probably doesn’t even have to exist. 

I think it’s a taste of fame that each one of us had dreamed to experience, and the truth is: I’m addicted.  I don’t even know if anyone cares what I say, but just having a way to say it where it might be heard is enough.  In fact, if responses became rampant, I might be more careful with my words and lose this odd writing style I’ve developed.  I’m more-or-less comfortable with spewing whatever comes to mind – Chocolate-covered scorpions.  See? Flying monkeys throwing flaming feces.  How many mini-gummy bears does it take to kill a Haribo normal0sized gummy bear?  I can do this all day.

Now that I evaluate my writings, I’ve found that I’ve entered this blogging world with the wrong intentions.  I’m actually doing this for my own enjoyment and not trying to find a niche or audience.  There are no ads and I don’t even write about topics that people would particularly like to read.  My entries are long-winded and my separations of paragraphs are non-existent.  I’ve tried reading what I write over again – it’s absolutely torturous.  So then, why do I publish it?  I’m definitely expressing my opinions, but I break all of the rules in blogging 101. 

1) I don’t stay on topic.

2) I don’t attach any links so this could be found by some crawling search engine.

3) I don’t keep things simple or easily understandable.

4) I just follow my stream of consciousness about random things without a definite topic.

5) I am writing about events that happened to me last month.

So, should I change my format?  Should I try to obtain more readers with these new techniques of spreading my opinion, like mini-blogging in Twitter?  Is my identity going to be spread through these viral networks through small comments and “diggs” or “likes” in my own news reporter way?  Should I promote my blog by visiting random people’s sites and commenting everywhere?  This paragraph is only filled with questions, but I have no definitive answers – Story of my life.

I haven’t decided to change the format, but this entry is definitely not a good start – another rant for the books.  It’s nice that twitter is incorporated with wordpress, so I’ll use this by keeping that as my recent updates and then continue sitting down and typing down (if that makes sense) thoughts every other day.  Either way, this whole writing thing is a part of me now and I feel empty without doing it.  I think it’s healthy and keeps me sane. 

Sometimes I wish I could gather a large crowd of followers, and just make money writing about silly observations.  Wouldn’t that be nice (and completely useless towards advancing this world)?  For now, let’s stick to engineering.

~See Lemons Mweh

Side note: Mommy will be in Germany and I’m visiting Munich so no update until May 6^th.

Study abroad is all about Diversity

 

 

Our apartment's diversity map (and Ilona's head)

Random Observation/Comment #177: Visiting Germany, I would expect to see a large number of Germans; however, the majority of my friends have been from everywhere but Germany.  The major countries I’ve noticed are Finland, Sweden, Turkey, Hungary, Spain, Italy, and the States.  Since I’m living in this international dormitory world, I suspect that I was roomed with fellow foreigners, but I didn’t expect the complete lack of German presence in my nightlife and regular adventures.  I mean, there are a few, but their English is good enough to pass as Americans.  It’s not that I’m complaining, though, because the people I’ve met are wonderful and interesting in their own way – I’m just slightly surprised.

 

Groups initially form through common backgrounds due to their language comfort.  Interestingly enough, I haven’t met a Chinese student in the entire dorm.  I think they’ve been hiding from me.  Not to worry, though, I tend to drift towards odd crowds when I’m traveling.  Even when there were fellow Americans from Rhode Island or Boston (I think they’re both the same size so it’s valid to group them), I did not feel attracted to follow their crazy ways.  It might be the case because they live on another campus, but instead, I hung out with the Hungarians and the Turkish purely by majority influence.  I was pulled towards the group of abnormally attractive Hungarians girls, but mostly drifting based on the events I considered more fun. 

Although there is a small group separation, we all seem to mingle fairly well.  The nomadic ones from each group would tag along with different people based on personality similarities and differences.  At least for me, I rather spend time with people that I could not meet in NYC.  Yes, I know I could meet people from a range of diversities, but their attitudes would unfortunately still maintain that American twist (which is quite hard to explain).  I’m more interested in having the option of drifting between groups so I can just be myself and not necessarily push for conversation.  There is an inexplicable natural flow to this group formation tendency.  We all want to be a part of some type of comfortable group, but at the end of the day, we’re all hoping our connections are broad enough to be invited to events.

I celebrate this diversity, and I hope others appreciate the differences in culture and customs.   The interesting part is that we all come from the same generation, so there exists an age-based culture that crosses through any political or national boundary.  You can consider it pop-culture directly influenced by mainstream media or Inter-webs.  Either way, we can speak about common topics and relate to the issues that have shaped our personalities.  After all, we’re all human.

The best part is that we’re all in the same situation – we’re studying abroad in a new environment with a mouth-full of independence.  It’s college, but upgraded with foreign languages, unusual customs, and translated alcohol labels.  For me, it’s a taste of that “college life” that teased me while I over-credited and melted my brain with an overload of information and a lack of sleep.  There just seems to be so much more free time now, and my choices shift from “I must” to “I should” to “I might” to “I’ll do it later.”  As the essence of procrastination explores new boundaries, I am happy to say I’ve enjoyed wasting time with those in a similar situation.

Every single person I have met in Germany and on this trip have been fascinating in their way.  It’s most probably my weird way of thinking that makes them interesting even if there qualities aren’t as noticeable (to themselves or anyone else).  It’s this more optimistic view on people’s personalities that makes meeting people a little more cheerful.  Well, whatever method that works to keep me a little social will be exploited.  Am I having fun yet?

~See Lemons Study Abroad

Yay, pictures of shoes!

A Photographer’s Paradise

 

 

I wish I could have this guy's view.

Random Observation/Comment #176: Fuji-san was such a remarkable experience that I compare every hiking scene to the rollercoaster of hardships and appreciation for nature throughout the entire journey.  From the exhaustion and freezing cold to the final reward of watching that Heaven above all clouds, I had truly stretched my boundaries of emotions.  Every short-breath I took and lactic acid build-up I ignored was for that payoff; however, at the end of the day, it was the full experience that made that one of my most memorable 24 hours.  Schiltorn was a little different.  We walked for 30 minutes and then took a series of gondolas to the top where we proceeded to drink a beer in a revolving 360 restaurant on a clear day.  This was nothing short of mind-numbingly beautiful, but I missed the hardships of the climb.  I undoubtedly loved every moment, but now that I analyze the day, my tiredness was not because of this mix of sleep deprivation, exhaustion, and frozen limbs, but rather due to an over-exertion of my eyes as to not blink and possibly shaft myself from an extra millisecond.  This makes me wonder if I rather be lazy to see the reward or truly badass to follow the road with potholes, killer hitch hikers, and all.  For now, let’s remember that I’m on vacation.

 

Schilthorn is not the Top of Europe, but it was recommended over Jungfrau due to its 360 view of over 200 peaks on a clear day, the rotating 360 restaurant, and the chance of having better weather.  The entire week I was in Interlaken, Jungfrau was always cloudy (or at least not as clear as Schilthorn).  I think there is an ice museum of some sort at Jungfrau, but I bet spending an hour in that spinning restaurant is much better than any pictures of ice sculptures.  I have never been to the Top of Europe so I won’t pass too much judgment, but I can’t imagine how it’s better than what I saw at Schilthorn.

The journey to Schilthorn from the bottom of the mountain was as follows: 7CHF train ride to Lauterbrunnen, 14CHF tram ride to Grutschlap, walk to Gimmelwald across the snowed-in village, 36CHF for the tram to Birg and then Schilthorn.  This is expensive, but it’s totally worth it.  I decided to take it to the next level and spend 15EUR at the restaurant – I mean, you just have to.  The prices at the top weren’t even that expensive.  It was basically the normal price of $4 a beer, which is standard pricing from NYC.

Each tram ride to the intermediate stops made me think that this place could not be any more beautiful; every single time, I was proven wrong by the next station.  There are only a few things that follow this trend and they should all be cherished for following that exponential curve (graphed love of life vs time).  I hope everyone has the opportunity to walk around this platform and actually try to choose the direction with the better view.  It took some time after walking in circles a few times, but there was one side that just whispered serenity.  To make sure I covered my bases, I took a million (like, a million) pictures and a 6-part video series of walking around.  The camera does not begin to capture my happiness, but it does its job of reminding my senses to rush me back to that moment.

The 360 restaurant takes about 45 minutes for a full revolution. After being to quite a few fancy places around the world, this was – hands-down – the best view I’ve ever seen from a restaurant.   The beer even tasted better when complimented with this view.  Apparently, a James Bond movie was filmed here, but that’s just one of those details that can be stored as a small nugget of information after looking outside.  It’s difficult to find a seat on the outer edge, but I would suggest waiting for one.  A good technique would be to sit next to a couple that looks like they’ve done this a million times, but happened to land a good spot.  If you can’t spot this type of couple, you should at least avoid sitting next to foreigners with cameras – they’re definitely not leaving anytime soon.  With that said, we stayed for 1.25 hours and had an extremely enjoyable meal.  The cheese platter was not as large as we expected, but the thinly sliced Swiss cheese basically transformed into milk after touching your tongue and lips.  I jizzed in my pants.  This would be one out of many times for this day.  Dare I say, this was deemed a day long jizz extravaganza.  I think you get the point; this place was incredible.

Even without this experience, my week in Interlaken would have been worth every second, but by adding this day of just being immersed in a blanket of peaks, I could not have been happier with my choices and life in general.  It was that moment that I fell in love with mountains.  They remind me of boobies (I know that was completely uncalled for, but whatever).

~See Lemons Happy with Life

 

This was my favorite side of the 360 view

Peddling Through Towns

 

 

Biking on a highway is a great idea!

Random Observation/Comment #175: Bike riding used to be much less painful for my ass when I was younger.  I’m not sure if it was the enthusiasm for peddling while standing, the shorter and more comfortable seat, or a more cushion-y blubber-butt, but I don’t remember having trouble walking and sitting down after an afternoon of bike riding.  The effects of the intercity bicycle-adventure in Interlaken felt like… well, I’ll spare the vulgar references, and just simply put it as unpleasant.  The sights were beautiful, but I’m not sure it’s worth the awkward stances and constant need to complain about a sore ass where more awkward silences ensue.  I’m never really going for speed, so I’ll probably sit on a pillow next time.  If you ever see a biker with a pillow duct-taped to his butt, that would be me (engineering innovation FTW).

 

Since it costs about 8EUR for Eurailpass travelers to take a train to the top of the small villages near the intermediate stations on the side of the mountain, I decided to save the money and rent a bike to ride around town with Olly.  The weather was not ideal for mountain-watching, and I was craving that bicycle injection into my life.  I remember my Japan experiences with bicycles and expected something similar.  Given the lakeside view and lack of tiring uphill climbs, I would say that this was better.

The bicycle costs in Interlaken are approximately 4EUR base with 2EUR for additional hours.  The one that I rented happened to be a fifteen-speed with kickass gear shifters.  Quantity of gears is definitely something I liked about the design, but I don’t think I ever used it to the fullest potential.  Professional bike racers can maintain their speed because they know which gears to use that let them peddle at a constant pace.  Based on the terrain and different inclines, the rider could change the gear ratio to adjust properly to prevent early fatigue.

My personal experience with professional cycling is limited (actually zero), so really, I would have preferred the basket in the front, if not to hold my backpack, than to be cool by being completely ridiculed.  It’s just like me to bring on the hipster status by starting new trends that are obviously terrible; but it’s done to prove the point that we’re creative.  The weird part is that the hipster dress code has become a trend amongst artists and architects, so they’ve become the corporate tools that they passionately avoided (nooooo twilight zone). 

Anyway, I don’t need 15 speeds: I only really needed 3 because those are the only ones I used.  It took too much time to change gears and I would rather just exert the little extra energy to feel the burn.  Besides, I was not racing against time or wearing any aerodynamic helmets with spandex tights; this was the equivalent of a leisure stroll, not a marathon.  When I was tired, I stopped.  When I saw picture-opportune moments (which was very often), I took the time to find the right angles.

My particular biking path was a combination of getting lost and following the biggest lake we could find (which, I guess wasn’t difficult to spot).  We accidentally got onto a highway going towards Thun and just went with it.  Most of the roads were just connecting between small towns, but the real treasures are the small pit stops near houses that had a full-lake view.  I know everyone thinks about this, but I really could have retired here purely based on the scenery out of my bathroom window.  I could imagine waking up to a windless morning with crystal clear reflections of the mountains in the water.  These views were absolutely stunning.  This would probably give me an erection.  Did I mention how difficult it is to ride a bike with an erection?  It’s hard (hah).

~See Lemons with a Sore Buttocks

Beautiful view from the lake

Useful Swiss Army Knife

 

 

Badass pictures of Jordan

Random Observation/Comment #174:  I never understood the nerdy Cooper kids that carry around Leathermans and Swiss Army knives everywhere they go (cough, JHG).  Do Cooper and the Computer Center reach the levels of intensity that require such a tool?  I guess the knife would be useful for opening a box if you’re in the stockroom, but that’s nothing a pen can’t do.  All engineers should have learned the essence of MacGyver-ing any situation (It was before my time, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know who he is).  After purchasing my own genuine Swiss Army knife in Interlaken, I expected I would have been smited (smote?) in some way by that part of my brain that stops me from being more geeky because this step had propelled me, head-first, into the next stage of new-age resourceful nerdom.  Oddly, the smiting hath not begun mostly because I quickly found magical uses for the knife, bottle opener, and scissors.  Yes, I could have hacked at it with my finger nails, ripped it, or used a lighter to open the bottle, but somehow I felt obligated to use this new device.  I think someone (maybe me) is putting me in positions where this tool would be useful – it’s very subconscious.  At least I smile every time I see that this money was well spent.  I would have probably blown it on chocolate anyway.

 

After sledging for the afternoon, the group decided to make a fire and cook dinner on the side of the mountain.  This plan was flawless, except for the whole lack of firewood detail.  There was plenty of kindling pieces and I provided the excessive supply of maps that I kept in my pocket (even I was impressed at how many I had accumulated in the past few days), but even with a lighter, this was a difficult task.  Unfortunately, the cheap plastic and ink did not contribute to making the fire hotter; it only made our nostrils swell and eyes tear from the toxic fumes.  We wound up cutting down a few trees and improvising with some alcoholic beverages.  What actually wound up working was persistency.

It took about 45 minutes, but the fire was eventually roaring and our beer burrowed in the ice was eventually cold.  We borrowed a few pans from the hostel and cooked up a mighty-good meal.  We brought sausages, eggs, and dinner rolls to make a legitimate omelet and some other rather good treats.  The cheese melted beautifully and everything turned out better than expected.  The Swiss Army knife was used excessively to cut meat, cut firewood, and cut open my finger – oops.  Luckily, I still have all of my digits.

On a side note, the box of eggs we brought had 4 out of 6 eggs with double yolks.  I’m not sure if this is good luck or bad, but I was almost convinced the entire box was double-yolked because the first three we cracked were doubles.  I understand scientifically how this happens, but that was the first time in my life I saw 3 in a plate, let alone cracked in a row, and from a package that was made for normal yolks.  I tried a rough estimation of the probability and then decided to think about more useful stuff.  Anyway, I’m sure these magical eggs contributed to making an amazing omelet.

Even during the summer, I would never prefer sleeping outside over any type of bed or surface inside.  The idea of accidentally eating insects or having them burrow under my skin while I sleep just makes my skin crawl.  I don’t mind hanging out with insects when I’m awake and I can react more naturally, but sleeping next to these creatures makes me feel dead.  Jordan and James used hammocks (which is pretty sweet in the summer), but the wind blowing under the hammock completely draws the heat out of your body.  For the best of both worlds, I stayed out for the fireside chat and then returned to the warm bed at night.  The hardcore outdoors-ies were more prepared than I could ever imagine, and they still said that it was rough.  Minimal hours of sleep really aren’t on my game plan when Interlaken has so many beautiful sights to offer. 

~See Lemons Go Camping (sort of)

 

Starting the fire with pine needles