"I think most people are not used to having no lyrics to focus on. Lyrics are a real comfort to some people. I guess they like to sing along and when they can't do that with us they can get a bit upset."
From The Express Interview with Mogwai
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
"Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young"
A short text I really enjoyed reading. It's a nice reminder of those important things in life that we should never take for granted and that we should be thankful for. It was originally write by
Mary Schmich. It reads :
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of '97... wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be IT.
The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.
I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.
You are NOT as fat as you imagine.
Don't worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts, don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don't waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don't.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't, maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't, maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself, either. Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Dance. Even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions, even if you don't follow them. (I disagree with this one :)
Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they'll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings; they are your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you'll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen. "
Mary Schmich. It reads :
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of '97... wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be IT.
The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.
I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.
You are NOT as fat as you imagine.
Don't worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts, don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don't waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don't.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't, maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't, maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself, either. Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Dance. Even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions, even if you don't follow them. (I disagree with this one :)
Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they'll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings; they are your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you'll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen. "
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
My teams and I
Are you as confused as I am?
I know it’s not the end of the month and I’m technically getting ahead of myself here, but I had a thought cross my mind which I wanted to share with you. Actually, this thought has more then simply crossed my mind. It’s more like one of those unanswered thoughts that’s sits at the back of your brain and pokes you every once in a while.
A brilliant friend of mine recently explored the idea of living our lives in teams. In my mind all it is, is a tie you have with someone or a group of someones. It might exist because of a set of commonly shared beliefs, ambitions, responsibilities etc. It can be a relationship or just an association; it doesn’t need to be intimate nor special. Its purpose should be clear, it allows you to have people to fall back on and to reassure you in case you trip over life.
That’s just how I see it. I was actually intending on concentrating on those teams that are dear to us and that we cherish with our hearts rather then those that we join out of inevitability and/or to make our life easier. You could say it’s even something many people might share together. For example my bromies and I are a team, chilling out and partying just isn’t the same with out them you know? It’s actually an amazing aspect of life if you think about, being able to a hold a collective relationship with a select group of people. That’s how I look at my relationship with these guys; of course that’s not the whole story. That’s not to say that I don’t have a relationship with each of them individually, because I do. What I’m saying is our collective relationship brings us more then the sum of our individual relations. We take pleasure in being together as a whole, and when someone is missing well, it’s as though a piece of the puzzle has been misplace (on another continent). This is where life becomes a big jerk, because you can’t expect people to live a communal life. That’s reality, people come and people go. Yet somehow, I have this feeling that no matter what happens, I know there are teams that I’ll always be part of, and to be frank it helps me wipe the tears off of my cheeks when they manage to escape from their ducts. If you’re reading this, my twin homies, you guys have known me for as long as I can remember, were we not still attached to our mothers when we first met? I now consider us attached, just *shudders* … not by an umbilical cord. As for el Gitano and le Sarazin, you guys have become as true to me as I have become to myself. You have both touched me as deeply as I am aware is possible, you have proved to me in your own way that this questionable world we live in still has love to offer.
Okay, enough tangent-ing, I could go on for hours talking about all my lovely teams. What’s been troubling me is how to use these teams in a positive reinforcing way without becoming addicted to them. It makes sense to me that we initially shelter ourselves under this protective blanket to give ourselves the chance of discovering who we are and what makes us happy. Its purpose, however, is actually more complicated because we inevitably end up inspiring ourselves from our companions. To take an overly simplified example, I listen to a lot of the same music as most as my friends. I guess what comes next depends on the person … Maybe living your life under this umbrella is the right way for some people but for me, I feel like it would be more blindfolding then comforting. Ever since I got caught up in a certain “chilling-pattern” back home I couldn’t help but feel restricted, I wasn’t doing or learning what (I thought) I wanted. Doesn’t it make sense that if you live your whole life this way you prevent yourself from experiencing what else life has to offer? It seems like a risk, becoming glued to comfort.
When it comes down to it, life is perpetually preparing you for something. So doesn’t complete independence make the most sense? Wouldn’t that be the ultimate way of preparing yourself for what ever might happen? That thought seems too ideological though, don’t you agree?
I guess I just have difficulties deciding when I should be independent and when I should be dependent in terms of my interpersonal affairs. When it comes to academics and the professional world it’s pretty clear, you should always be independent unless working in a team. It’s a little hazier when I consider my social life, because I’m always on some kind of team. When should challenges be taken on alone and when should you give in to comfort? This must be an impossible question to answer if there ever was one. You’re just going to tell me “It depends on the situation” and you’re right. Maybe you can help me with this one instead, would I be wrong in intentionally throwing myself into new and unpredictable situations to explore? Or maybe I should satisfy myself with what life throws at me…
The reason I posted this thought was to know how YOU felt about this. I would be very happy to know what you have to say, some of those questions weren’t meant to be rhetorical, I really am confused but aren’t we all (Say yes :)
Yours truly,
Jean-Philippe Moya
I know it’s not the end of the month and I’m technically getting ahead of myself here, but I had a thought cross my mind which I wanted to share with you. Actually, this thought has more then simply crossed my mind. It’s more like one of those unanswered thoughts that’s sits at the back of your brain and pokes you every once in a while.
A brilliant friend of mine recently explored the idea of living our lives in teams. In my mind all it is, is a tie you have with someone or a group of someones. It might exist because of a set of commonly shared beliefs, ambitions, responsibilities etc. It can be a relationship or just an association; it doesn’t need to be intimate nor special. Its purpose should be clear, it allows you to have people to fall back on and to reassure you in case you trip over life.
That’s just how I see it. I was actually intending on concentrating on those teams that are dear to us and that we cherish with our hearts rather then those that we join out of inevitability and/or to make our life easier. You could say it’s even something many people might share together. For example my bromies and I are a team, chilling out and partying just isn’t the same with out them you know? It’s actually an amazing aspect of life if you think about, being able to a hold a collective relationship with a select group of people. That’s how I look at my relationship with these guys; of course that’s not the whole story. That’s not to say that I don’t have a relationship with each of them individually, because I do. What I’m saying is our collective relationship brings us more then the sum of our individual relations. We take pleasure in being together as a whole, and when someone is missing well, it’s as though a piece of the puzzle has been misplace (on another continent). This is where life becomes a big jerk, because you can’t expect people to live a communal life. That’s reality, people come and people go. Yet somehow, I have this feeling that no matter what happens, I know there are teams that I’ll always be part of, and to be frank it helps me wipe the tears off of my cheeks when they manage to escape from their ducts. If you’re reading this, my twin homies, you guys have known me for as long as I can remember, were we not still attached to our mothers when we first met? I now consider us attached, just *shudders* … not by an umbilical cord. As for el Gitano and le Sarazin, you guys have become as true to me as I have become to myself. You have both touched me as deeply as I am aware is possible, you have proved to me in your own way that this questionable world we live in still has love to offer.
Okay, enough tangent-ing, I could go on for hours talking about all my lovely teams. What’s been troubling me is how to use these teams in a positive reinforcing way without becoming addicted to them. It makes sense to me that we initially shelter ourselves under this protective blanket to give ourselves the chance of discovering who we are and what makes us happy. Its purpose, however, is actually more complicated because we inevitably end up inspiring ourselves from our companions. To take an overly simplified example, I listen to a lot of the same music as most as my friends. I guess what comes next depends on the person … Maybe living your life under this umbrella is the right way for some people but for me, I feel like it would be more blindfolding then comforting. Ever since I got caught up in a certain “chilling-pattern” back home I couldn’t help but feel restricted, I wasn’t doing or learning what (I thought) I wanted. Doesn’t it make sense that if you live your whole life this way you prevent yourself from experiencing what else life has to offer? It seems like a risk, becoming glued to comfort.
When it comes down to it, life is perpetually preparing you for something. So doesn’t complete independence make the most sense? Wouldn’t that be the ultimate way of preparing yourself for what ever might happen? That thought seems too ideological though, don’t you agree?
I guess I just have difficulties deciding when I should be independent and when I should be dependent in terms of my interpersonal affairs. When it comes to academics and the professional world it’s pretty clear, you should always be independent unless working in a team. It’s a little hazier when I consider my social life, because I’m always on some kind of team. When should challenges be taken on alone and when should you give in to comfort? This must be an impossible question to answer if there ever was one. You’re just going to tell me “It depends on the situation” and you’re right. Maybe you can help me with this one instead, would I be wrong in intentionally throwing myself into new and unpredictable situations to explore? Or maybe I should satisfy myself with what life throws at me…
The reason I posted this thought was to know how YOU felt about this. I would be very happy to know what you have to say, some of those questions weren’t meant to be rhetorical, I really am confused but aren’t we all (Say yes :)
Yours truly,
Jean-Philippe Moya
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
