Merry Christmas Everyone!
...and to all a good night!
It rained so drive safe and party safe.
The Fray – You Found Me
Apparently, the mention of God (once) in this song stirred up a huge (religious) debate on Youtube in the comments section of the music video. The band itself is not Christian but the lead singer (Isaac Slade) is. Slade just chose not to limit his writing to Christian music when starting out his musical career.
The meaning of this song as expressed by Isaac in an interview is the following:
"You Found Me is a tough song for me. Its about the disappointment, the heart ache, the let down that comes with life. Sometimes you’re let down, sometimes you’re the one who lets someone else down. It gets hard to know who you can trust, who you can count on. This song came out of a tough time, and I’m still right in the thick of it. There’s some difficult circumstances my family and friends have been going through over the past year or so and can be overwhelming. It wears on me. It demands so much of my faith to keep believing, keep hoping in the unseen. Sometimes the tunnel has a light at the end, but usually they just look black as night. This song is about that feeling, and the hope that I still have, buried deep in my chest."
Slade says that the lyrics for "You Found Me" were written two and a half years ago, and that the song is asking the question about why bad things happen to good people after some of their friends and family went through very tough times.
Source: The Fray Official Website and Reuters
As for me, my belief falters in the face of everything that I see in the actions of others and what happens in the world. The notions I hold of seeing good in everyone, karma, and forgiveness are repeatedly challenged. Even now, my perseverance is wavering and I begin to question whether what I'm doing right now is worth it. Things out of my control bring me back down to Earth time and time again and lead me to question if really "doing your best" and "never giving up" is enough. I hope that these values are True as I'd want to be able to pass these on to the next generation and not lie to them and myself.
Everything I do now and next year decides what I do for the rest of my life (and in a health-related way, how long I live). I was once told to "start over" but I didn't think I'd be starting everything over. There are some things I definitely did not want to start over.
I was given a second chance and to me, it's my last chance. I talk a lot about independence and although it's important, I was misinterpreted as that's all I care about. My birthday passed and besides preparing for exams, I pulled a (cruel) self-evaluation and reflected on how I got to this place. Is this long uphill battle worth all I've lost?
I reach out time and time again for guidance (and it's not just from You) but I remain just as "lost and insecure". Like this song, I just hope I'm "found" and not when it's "a little late".
Aside: Oh, the "how long I live" part has been scientifically shown to correlate with the following: race, gender, education, income, lifestyle, diet, exercise, friendships, genetics, sex life, etc. etc. aka the "social determinants of health". Some I have control over and some I do not but a lot needs to change next year based on what my doctor says.
Amistad is a Spanish word.
Anyway, here are the lyrics to The Fray - You Found Me:
Song of the Week #20: The Fray – You Found Me
This song was featured during a commercial break of Grey's Anatomy in a trailer about the upcoming season of Lost. This is The Fray's first single from their upcoming self-titled album that will be released on February 3, 2009. This single is currently available for digital download on iTunes and from their official website.
Bloc Party – Signs
Here is a live version of the song from Youtube. I really like the use of the xylophone in this song.
The lyrics are below:
Song of the Week #19: Bloc Party – Signs
The song of this week is Bloc Party's "Signs" from their 2008 album, Intimacy. For those who watch Gossip Girl, this song was featured in last week's episode (2x13 - "O Brother, Where Bart Thou").
Thank you Kim for sending this song to me. It made my day.
Dragonball Evolution
HAHAHAHAHA. This is just... wow. You gotta be kidding me.
KAAAAAA-MEHHHHH-HAAAAA-MEEEEEE-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! Ahahaha! I can't get enough of that.
I'm gonna laugh even harder if they do "Special Beam Cannon" from Piccolo. Watch out! It's special! Hahaha.
Or the next movie is going to be Goku charging up a Spirit Bomb. Yes, for the whole movie.
In all seriousness, this is ruining my childhood memories. 
Song of the Week #18: Kanye West – Street Lights
From his fourth studio album, 808s & Heartbreak, released on November 24th, 2008, the song of this week is Kanye West's "Street Lights".
This song was featured at the end of last week's episode of Grey's Anatomy, "All by Myself". The show returns on January 8, 2009.
Here's the clip where it was shown (OBVIOUS SPOILERS):
Kanye West – Street Lights
This song fits perfectly with walking out at night, at least for me when I'm getting food and the snow is calmly falling.
Lyrics:
So far…
At this rate, I should be a geologist or astronomer. Either all the courses I've taken in these fields were jokes are I have an aptitude for these fields. I did have an interest in these areas as a kid...
As a kid, I had one of those "fake" telescopes - you know, those that advertise super high magnification (but with crappy resolution and aperture). How silly I was trying to look at the night sky in Toronto with all the lights. I also memorized the order of planets and their moons, their properties, and drew orbital diagrams as a kid. How nerdy.
The current telescope I use (thank you so much guys) is of much better quality but the light pollution of Toronto and nearby lights make it difficult to see the faint stars. I need to travel to the middle of nowhere or another blackout needs to occur for me to see the details of the night sky. And that doesn't happen often nowadays.
In the geology side of things, I used to order these rock experiment kits from Scholastic. I was fascinated with shiny rocks as a kid and in these kits, I'd use vinegar or some other acid to dissolve away the calcium and what not in a rock sample to leave something shiny. I'd even hunt for some rock samples on the way home from school and look for traces of shiny minerals. Ahh, good ol' memories.
Oh, don't get me wrong. I still love medicine. House MD is an awesome show for inspiration. It's a field that has been so good to me, my mom, and my friends and I am compelled to return the favor even though the system (in Canada) asks nothing in return ('cept taxes).
Though, I want to see in my lifetime the day humanity ascends to the stars, living on other worlds, and making "first contact". With the way things are now though, technology needs to accelerate super fast or we stumble upon it elsewhere (Mass Effect, haha).
Four more to go now. Rock on.
Make it Better
Dear ...,
I will never learn if you don't tell me what I've done wrong. I will never learn if you hold a grudge. If I'm going to make it in the future, to do the best damn job I can, I need to know of any wrongdoing I've done. I need the opportunity to learn from my mistakes so I don't repeat them unto others. I can't just suddenly know from birth about the intricate social mannerisms that you expect. My upbringing hasn't been the normality that other people have been blessed with. And I'm not a mindreader; though, I wish I was right now if it meant making you happy. The stonewalling and the silence gets us nowhere and it will only hurt us further and further. So please, help me make it better for both of us. Or, if the worst is true, at least let me know to stop grasping at what's no longer there.
