Its late and I’m still studying … when is this going to end. I can’t believe that I’m going to be so damn sleepy on my first day at the new job. Long day coming up and I can’t seem to focus on this essay right now.
I promised myself that I would stop complaining but this weekend deserves complaining. I HATE the teacher for my DANC200 class. I was told that this class is an easy A. Reality check here … I’m losing sleep because I have to do so much freaking reading and somebody had the nerves to call that an easy A? This weekend we have to read 5 chapters, about 2-3 articles, do 2 worksheets, 2 essays, correction, 3 essays and then we have to have our projects ready by Wednesday. All we need for the project is just about a couple of pages of summary and about 10 sources. Somebody please tell me that this sucks. Or is it just me?
Some of my friends that are ‘GOOD’ drivers would know what I am talking about when I say that during rush hour, some people illegaly drive on the ’shoulder’ or the ‘turn-only’ lanes and then cut in front of you as if they own the road and don’t have to wait in the long traffic lines because they are special. Isn’t that really annoying? I mean you are sitting there behind about 50 cars and then suddenly the guy behind you pulls out, drives into the ‘turn-only’ lane which is empty, and then cuts back into the line after about cutting 50 cars. It just pisses me off.
Well, fortunately, I’m one of the drivers who cuts people off by driving in the ‘turn-only’ lanes and I don’t wait in line like some ‘nice’ people. So the other day, I was going in the turn only lane and was about to cut into the mainstream of traffic, when I saw a cop standing at the end of the turn-only lane. Fortunately, and oh so fortunately, there was a car in front of me that was doing the same thing. So guess who the cop pull over? The other guy! phew. I just cut right back into the normal lane and went to school and for the first time, had a good time in my class. My heart just stopped when the cop pulled that guy over.
That whole day, whenever I would see a car that even closely resembled a cop-car, I would be on the verge of having a heart-attack. Of course this incident won’t stop me from cutting people again. I mean there is no other way that I would make it to school on time. It’s just that I’ll be smarter when I break the law. Catch me if you can.
My favorite topic and a very interesting one for sure is ‘life’. Where did we come from? What is the purpose of life? Is there GOD? The list can go on and there is no end to contemplation. I will be posting a considerable number of posts on the topic in the future and I would like to know what others think about what I think.
To begin with, I would like to talk about Evolution. It is very interesting to look at different theories of evolution. One of the theories I came across in 7th grade goes something like this. The lapse of time is probably not going to help me in remembering facts very accurately.
Supposedly, The primordial atom dropped from space into the ocean when the earth was still forming its structure. Over millions of years, this atom increased in number and there were of course mutations of the atom that made it suitable for survival in the earth’s oceans. This was the first essence of life. There is no saying where this primordial atom came from in the first place. Let’s assume that its origin does not matter for the time being. Moving on, these mutations in the original form of the atom were not all alike. There were different mutations based on the location and environment of a particular group of atoms. Mind you, all of this is still taking place in the oceans. All types of sea dwelling creatures take form. Life begins to thrive in water.
One may ask then, how did life come to land? The way the theory explains is that some of these creatures got washed to the shorelines and started dwelling there. Occasionally, some got washed to the beaches. How can creatures that thrived in water survive on land? The fact is that they can’t. But the move to land was a gradual one. Some creatures started living on the beach where the waves would periodically provide water to these poor creatures. Eventually, these creatures moved further onto land and got water with the coming of the high tide and survived without water during low tides. This is how amphibians came into being. They only need to be in water for a couple of hours.
Slowly, with the progression of time, there were more and more and more mutations of these amphibious creatures. These mutated creatures survive without water for a long time and developed lungs for breathing. Even in the oceans, genetic mutations were having its effects and many species formed eventually. Slowly but steadily, different life creatures began to thrive both on land and in water.
There are a lot of flaws one can find in this theory. Also, the fact that I read this in 7th grade adds a lot of ambiguity about the nature of any flaw. Maybe the flaw just exists in my interpretation of the theory at that time. Who knows? But, this is one story that sticks out in my memory when I think about evolution. I want to know what you guys think about this theory in particular. One of the questions that remains unanswered in my mind is, ‘How did all of this lead to intelligent life and sentient species?’
PS: I will write about all the questions I asked in the beginning of this post at some later point in the future. Please try to refrain your comments to this particular theory and evolution in general.
I was faced with the task of writing a resignation letter this week. My emotions were mixed when I was actually writing it. On one hand, I was sad because I would be leaving so many wonderful people who have been great to me and on the other hand I was feeling a bit mischievous. Now let me explain what I mean by ‘mischievous’. I saw the opportunity to write that letter as an opportunity to reveal all secrets, mostly exaggerated and totally made up lies. Let me show you a sample letter that I wanted to write:
Now that I’ve told you what I don’t like about you, let me reveal some things that you might be wondering about. I don’t like to keep a man in the dark after all. A good example would be the time I turned the light off when you were taking a dump in the bathroom and then I turned it on for you. Remember how I told you ONLY about the part where I was nice and turned the light on for you because the timer on the switch ran out on you. Another thing, remember how you always complained about the beers in your fridge magically disappearing? Well it’s really funny how when I was cleaning my drawer, I found a ton of bottle caps from your beers. What a coincedence, huh?
In any case, I’ll miss you just like a little kid misses being sick. I will look forward to opening my email inbox and not finding a single email from you demanding me to do stuff for you. Oh well, I guess this is it … Goodbye.
So Tuesday night I was doing my HW and I fell asleep right there. When I woke up in the morning, I barely had time left to take a shower. So I ended up going to class with a half-filled worksheet. Now the class contains 9 people and the teacher was standing right behind me. We sit around a table and its a small classroom. So I pull out my HW and try to finish it in class. My friend who was sitting right by me stuck out her worksheet so that I could copy from it. By the way, the whole class was watching a video and the teacher was standing behind me because the control panel was there. So I turn my neck and take a look at my friend’s worksheet. Then I decide to wait about 5 minutes before writing anything so that she doesn’t suspect anything. After 5 minutes, I turn my worksheet around and was about to start writing when the teacher put her hand on my left shoulder. I got scared and I turned the worksheet back around. After about another 5 minutes, when the teacher had moved farther away, I turn the worksheet around and start writing. She comes up to me, puts her hand on my right shoulder and whispers, “you need to do the work yourself or else there’s no credit.”
Here’s something that Vidya forwarded to me and I think it deserved a read by everybody. Please please please, get a designated driver. It is NOT COOL to drive drunk. Get a cab if need be - it is much cheaper than the price of a life.
PROM NIGHT
Prom night I went to a party, Mom,
I remembered what you said.
You told me not to drink, Mom,
So I drank soda instead.
I really felt proud inside, Mom,
The way you said I would.
I didn’t drink and drive, Mom
Even though the others said I should.
I know I did the right thing, Mom,
I know you are always right.
Now the party is finally ending, Mom,
As everyone is driving out of sight.
As I got into my car, Mom,
I knew I’d get home in one piece
Because of the way you raised me,
So reasonable and sweet.
I started to drive away, Mom,
But as I pulled out into the road,
The other car didn’t see, Mom,
And hit me like a load.
As I lay there on the pavement, Mom,
I hear the policeman say,
The other guy is drunk, Mom,
And now I’m the one who will pay.
I’m lying here dying, Mom,
I wish you’d get here soon.
How could this happen to me, Mom?
My life just burst like a balloon.
There is blood all around me, Mom,
And most of it is mine.
I hear the medic say, Mom,
I’ll die in a short time.
I just wanted to tell you, Mom,
I swear I didn’t drink.
It was the others, Mom,
The others didn’t think.
He was probably at the same party as I.
The only difference is, he drank and I will die.
Why do people drink, Mom?
It can ruin your whole life.
I’m feeling sharp pains now.
Pains just like a knife.
The guy who hit me is walking, Mom,
And I don’t think it’s fair.
I’m lying here dying and all he can do is stare.
Tell my brother not to cry, Mom,
Tell Daddy to be brave.
And when I go to Heaven, Mom,
Put “Daddy’s Girl” on my grave.
Someone should have told him, Mom,
Not to drink and drive.
If only they had told him, Mom,
I would still be alive.
My breath is getting shorter, Mom,
I’m becoming very scared.
Please don’t cry for me, Mom,
When I needed you, you were always there.
I have one last question, Mom,
Before I say good bye
I didn’t drink and drive,
So why am I the one to die?
-UNKNOWN AUTHOR