Sunday, December 6, 2009
Location: SACC
Weather: chilly, chilly
Sunrise: 7:26am
Sunset: 5:29pm
Moon phase: waning gibbous with 75% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated
In the middle of a study break my friend told me some interesting things about seahorses. Before our little conversation I did not know anything about seahorses except for the basic fact that they lived in water. So according to her (from her Environmental studies course) male seahorses are the ones who become pregnant and give birth to their off springs. Instead of a sperm fertilizing an egg like other animals, the eggs of the female seahorse are transplanted to the body of the male seahorse during mating. Also, seahorses are faithful animals that only mate with a single partner throughout their life. Female seahorses are able to recognize their mate as they drift through the deep ocean floor. Male seahorses usually stay in one area because they are carrying the young. They give birth to multiple newborns in one birth. The babies immediately leave the father’s side and go on their own. Many do not survive due to food scarcity and the dangers of being eaten by other creatures. Another sad thing is that the population of seahorses is starting to decline as many are being captured and sold in Asian markets, particularly Hong Kong. They are used as Chinese medicine. Because of their unique mating habits, people believe that seahorses have the power to cure male infertility. (I am kind of skeptical about this though.)
of 2009 (Topic: College Life). Like the 2 previous ones, it was a not a pleasant experience. It was not the thought of having to give an 8-9 minute speech without any notes in Japanese, but rather the thought of presenting in front of my peers worried me the most. Naturally, I was also concern with whether I would forget and stump up in the middle of a sentence or worst plainly forget everything that I had spent hours writing and memorizing. They say public speaking gets easier after you’ve done it for a long time. But, after having to give presentations starting from elementary school throughout high school and even more frequently in college, it just seems to get wors
Luckily, I did not mess up and 8 plus minutes went by a lot faster than I had thought it would. I tended to look toward Takeda Sensei more so the audience, which helped make it less nerve racking. I am really glad and relieved that it is over.
This year has gone by as fast as a shooting star. The days of the past seem to be dreams so blurred that I can no longer fully recall what had happened. All I know is that it's December, only 30 days until 2009 is officially over and 2010 will be here whether we like it or not. 
. When we were in elementary school, time was counted in units of days since we realized the end of a day had come when we returned home. In middle school and high school, time was structured in weeks as we looked forward to the weekend in order to get away from the school work. Now that we're in college, time seems to have lost even more structure since students are trapped in a semester system and we can only go on a break or home after the most important exams are over. 
. The day also feels longer than usual. Maybe it's because I am anxious to get out of the office and do nothing school-related for the next 4 days. But in the meantime- - there's no work that needs to be done now that we've finished filling out
and sorting
the course evaluation sheets. I kind of wished we hadn't finished so soon. Then I would have some thing to do right now(＞＜;). Being a 'office receptionist' is turning out to be nothing like I had expected, but at least I have a job. (;^_^A
Flower language says that they can either mean haughtiness or respect.. Sunflowers are indigenous to the Americas but apparently there's a Greek love story myth about it. In the myth a girl named Clytie falls in love with Apollo and would do nothing but watch him and his chariot move across the sky. After nine days, she turned into a sunflower.
where Basho talks about the sadness he feels when he is
parting with his friends to go on the long journey. I think in one way or
another most people can relate to this feeling. 
, I feel sad every time I leave home
in late August. I do not enjoy living at home, but the reality of departing and
not being able to see my family and the familiar surroundings for such a long
time fills me with sadness. Even though I know that I will be happier at Emory,
in that day or two, I cannot help but feel gloomy. 
. Even if the place were
not particularly pleasant or memorable, I would still feel a sense of
attachment after spending some time there. Sometimes it’s not the people that
you will miss, but the environment of the place itself. Consciously you may be
aware in the back of your mind that you do not see yourself staying here
forever, but simply the thought of leaving and the chance of never being able
to come back again is a sad feeling.
Yunan, China (Click for full image
)
. Looking straight ahead through the narrow road, you see nothing but trees and the rays of sunshine radiating through the leaves. The leaves on the ground were dried to a crisp and made crackling sounds when we walked over them.
and flowers
whose positions are meticulously chosen, the trees, leaves and rocks were simply there.