CC

I wrote about in my last post, a changing of tastes as people age, grow older, mature, whatever. In a sort of continuation of that I have noticed a definite change in the way I view some of my classes. This time I am talking specifically about CC. Now CC is an interesting class one that usually does not happen before the college level. We read and discuss things in large quantity and of large historical importance. Ill be honest with you. My activation energy regarding reading is extraordinarily high. It will take forever to get me started. Same with writing. But I can't say I honestly hate to read. If I find it interesting after I have been forced to read I will. Pretty simple. Like most of the world I read Harry Potter without putting it down for hours on end. I think I just need a catalyst to help me lower the energy needed. Maybe its the realization that Im not as smart as maybe I thought I was. I thought it would be fine with just Bs in CC but I think it is important as the rest of my classes for my major will get harder that I have to do as well as I can in every class. I am beginning to enjoy it I suppose. I made promises to read everything before but not until now have I actually read. Rousseau isn't too bad and I think that things will get more interesting from here. I also must thank Microsoft One Note for allowing me to take real notes divided by section and topic. I think this happens to all people at Columbia at some point. I think there is a point of realization where its like oh I guess its not so bad. Some people enjoy the humanities immediately some change one or two semesters in. Finally its my turn. Who knows though. Maybe its just because I don't have any other hw yet. But I want to do better. Im going to try to meet the challenge.

Also. Vicky is cutting Jer's hair right behind me. So today's moral is: don't cut hair by yourself.

Edit: I then also got my hair cut by Vicky. It is short but apparently ages with time. I like the cool feeling of wind where I never felt it before.

Second moral: Haircuts are like wine

School

Today is my first day of classes!

What a day it has been. I was late to my first Class and half and hour early to my second. I'm going to miss my last one of the day and I purchased two wrong textbooks. What is even going on in my life? Later today I will be attending a on site presentation by Primerica about summer internships which would mark the second day in a row that I have attended a Citi group internship presentation (Yesterday was Citi bank's and today is Primerica) I suppose that this is a good thing especially since if you get the sophmore internship you are basically guarenteed a job at Citi for like life. Only 30 people were accepted last year (when the economy was good so fewer this year) and like 25 were automatically accepted to the junior program. The other 5 or so decided that they didn't like it. So after working at Citi for two years in a row there should be no problem getting an offer. There is one huge flaw in this plan. Over 1000 people will apply for fewer than 30 slots.

Classes seem pretty good so far. My two econ professors seem interesting enough but my Analysis and Optimization prof...is sorta boring. Also for some inexplicable reason I am mad tired like all the time. I have no idea why.

More importantly, Jeremy and I were going to start a blog about the foods and drinks that people could get around campus. But before this we need a name. Something classy but clever. If anyone has suggestions please don't hesitate to let me know.

Also, it seems as though tastes really do change as people grow older.

I have begun an indepth analysis on how I work in order to perhaps procure a study method that can boost my studying and as a result, my GPA.

Im beginning to appreciate classical and orchestral music more and more now. I liked it previously but I could never listen to it on my ipod. If it came up I would simply not be in the mood for it and skip it. Now it represents an important part of the music I play. Because I dunno about other people but no matter how I lie to myself, most music is not good for studying at all. I have reached the conclusion after many trials that the best things to listen to are orchestral things with no words. I think classical music is better than silence because when things are too silent, every stray thought is comparitively louder. It is also harder to ignore things that suddenly change. I dunno if this makes any sense to you readers but say you are reading and someone drops something and it makes a noise. If it was silent there is a significant change which will disrupt you. However, if there is background music either, a) you won't here small changes or b) it will be easier to ignore. So distractions decrease overall. I can't stress how many times when I was taking a standardized test there were kids sniffling or sneezing or coughing all the time and I was just thinking to myself... PLEASE SHUT UP. If I had just had some mozart, who knows maybe I wouldn't have got a problem wrong. I find that I can even listen to classical and orchestral music when reading. (My favorites are the Lord of the Rings soundtracks) Songs with english just have me thinking about the lyrics. So I either focus on the lyrics or focus on ignoring the lyrics but cannot focus on what Im supposed to be doing. (I dunno if anyone has tried to write something important when listening to someone talk to them but its pretty damn hard and you almost always write something that you hear) SO If you don't like just instruments there is another alternative. Listen to music with no english. Works like a charm. I find it really easy to ignore what they are saying simply because even if I listened really hard I would still have no idea what they were talking about. So I do that sometimes. Latin, Italian, Japanese all work pretty well. (Note: I found Reggaeton does NOT). I dunno if anyone has similar feelings but let me know what helps you study. I know people are all different but I suck at studying and am looking for all the help I can get.

So today's moral is:
Just like Obama, Today is my first day of the semester and also like him I am dealing with a storm of things. My poor GPA, my classes, the Jobsearch, etc. Like him I think it is time to change how I do things and to be more motivated. I must have hope but... can't expect shit to just change. I need to do something about it. Im waiting to see what you do Obama but for now. We are in it together. NOW LETS GET TO IT!