Zebras and New Hair

Happy Sunday!

New Hair!

In the process of applying for grad school. Wish me luck!

Fight for My Rights and Not Just to Party

Having three weeks off work is awesome. I'm going to do all the things I've always wanted to do during but never had time for because I work a split shift schedule from 7am all the way until 6pm, with a few off hours in between.

For example, I'm going to produce an LP for Scrambled Debutante. Channeling my inner Brian Wilson is a must for this project. Except I'll be going insane trying to top Goo by Sonic Youth instead of The Beatle's Sgt. Pepper. Both great albums but totally different approach.

I am now a proud wearer of short hair. That's right, long locks are over for me and I couldn't be happier with the results. I'll try to upload some pictures sometime this week.

Front Woman

As a woman of this society and someone who is very aware of the gender issues we face on a daily basis, this past week had been a total emotional roller coaster ride. In addition to hearing about the recent atrocities involving the facebook photo postings of a gang rape of a 16 year old girl in Maple Ridge, I learned about the story of Teena Brandon on Monday after watching Boys Don't Cry. As if that was not enough, yesterday, I witnessed first hand an assault of a woman by a man in the back parking lot of my work. Though it is only Thursday, too soon to tell how I would feel for the rest of my life, I have a suspicion that this newly awakened anger and sadness towards the current trend of how women are treated will stay with me for a long time. The truth is, I have felt this way for a long time about all sorts of issues and social injustices, but the difference between reading and seeing first hand a violent act committed towards a woman is unimaginable; the latter experience makes the problem of gender violence a lot more immediate and urgent. Seeing how this is affecting me so much already, I choose not to go into the subject. But I want to raise awareness about it because it is all too real even though sometimes we forget because of how sheltered our lives can get sometimes with our daily routines.

I will end on a positive note by posting my band's first recording for you all to scrutinize. Actually, I'm quite proud of it because I think it sounds pretty good for the first take. Plus I didn't mess up once playing guitar and singing at the same time, even though you can't really hear me and our timing was off at various points throughout the song. Regardless, this is the first song we've ever wrote, so be kind. It's called "King Cats" and it's about ligers.


(sorry about the ads in there, but this the only way I know how to upload an mp3s onto blogger)

On Love

What if I say I shall not wait?
What if I burst the fleshly gate
And pass, escaped, to thee?
What if I file this mortal off,
See where it hurt me, - that's enough, -
And wad in liberty?

They cannot take us any more, -
Dungeons my call, and guns implore,
Unmeaning now, to me
As laughter was an hour ago,
or laces, or a traveling show,
Or who died yesterday

-- Emily Dickinson

Today is QiXi, aka Chinese Valentines day. It is the seventh day and of the seventh lunar month according to the Chinese calendar. I've never been known to enjoy the celebration of any festivals or holidays and today is of no exception. The reason why I wanted to mention QiXi is because I am more intrigued by the folklore behind it more than the cultural traditions associated with it. The story, if any of you care to know is about the love between a mortal and a goddess and the forbidden love they share that eventually lead to their eternal separation. On the surface it is just one of the many cliche love tales but to me it is a case of the struggle not for love, but for rather companionship.Some years ago when I viewed everything through rose colored classes, I was a firm believer of true love and the existence of "the one" or a "soul mate". But as time passed and people changed, so have my conceptions about what love really is. And to me, the yearning to be with someone is as simple albeit powerful as the desire to seek companionship. We see this in the animal kingdom, although differing in purpose and social codes, human beings are just as driven to seek out any suitable mate as animals. Thus this primal instinct is non-discriminatory, meaning we don't really care if we get matched up with "the one" as long as we find one.
For all the romantics out there, I'm sorry if this has disappointed you but it is merely of my personal opinion and observation. However, I do believe that our will to seek out companionship and the desire to maintain it is what eventually transform into what we call "love". And this love to me is very, very real and in no ways like that between two mating animals. However, we must understand that this powerful and unique bond between people must first stem from the need for companionship therefore it is not exclusive to members of the opposite sex. We also must understand that the only type of love worth maintaining is one having endured many conflicts and great hardship because that is the only test of one's commitment to another. In conclusion, this trumps the idea of "soul mate" because the implication of "destined to be together" connotes not an idea of "fighting for what's valued" but a notion of "what's yours will always be effortlessly yours".