Some time ago, I came to the conclusion that the only reason I still have a LiveJournal account is because of the LJ communities I'm a member of. I hardly ever post here anymore, and I only keep up with like two or three of the people on my friends-list (and I just skim through everyone else's entries... and that's probably not something I should have admitted). "I'm really just here for the communities" really doesn't sound like the best reason to keep an LJ account, but... oh well, it's what I've got. =3

And on a totally unrelated note, National Novel-Writing Month is coming up. I'm really not sure if I'll do it. While I'm pretty sure I could make room on my calendar if I really wanted to, I don't really have a good idea for a story this year (not yet, anyways), and I'm feeling just a little bit apathetic...

...oh, what the heck, I'll just do it anyways. Might as well at least TRY, I guess. ^_^

Anyways, it's rainy, cold, and windy; pretty unusual weather for October in this part of the country. I dislike rain, and the "cold" and "windy" part just makes it worse, but at least it gives me a good excuse to get some really good soup. Mmm, warm soup... too bad only a few restaurants are serving clam chowder today. Guess I'll have to find a yummy alternative.

Also, Windows 7 comes out sometime this month... not sure if I'll upgrade yet (my boss suggested waiting until the first Service Pack was out), but I'll definitely look at it once I see it in stores. =3

A few months ago, I met an interesting person. He'd done quite a bit in his life, and he had plenty of stories and experiences to share. And since he'd seen and dealt with a lot of things first-hand, he also had plenty of advice and ideas.

Oh, and he was only a few years older than me. It made me wonder about my own life. I found myself thinking: hey, I've been alive for 22 years, and in that time, I've done a lot too, right?

Well, maybe that's not entirely accurate. A better way to say it would be that I spent a lot of it being busy. I spent a lot of time doing things, but I don't think there was really all that much variety. Whether it's going to school and studying, or going to work and doing my job, a lot of my time was spent going to the same places and doing the same things.

Is this a bad way to live? I'm not sure. I don't think so, but I also think a lot of things are best learned firsthand. This lack of variety means that I've got a pretty limited set of personal experiences and perspectives to draw from. Sure, I have plenty of secondhand knowledge, but the problem with that is that while I may understand the idea on a mental / theoretical level, it might not really seem... "real," I suppose.

If I ignite a cup of gasoline, the explosive force would be equal to detonating five sticks of dynamite. If I'm in a race-car and need to make a high-speed turn, I should maintain my speed but shift transmission to a lower gear. If I go to a restaurant in Japan and ask for a "kansho," I'd get a bill for food, but if ask for a "kancho," I'd just get snickering and maybe a poke in the butt. I know these things because other people have told me, but while I may understand these ideas in my head, it's in a clinical and distant way; it doesn't seem as real or true or personal as firsthand experiences would be.

And the examples I gave are for things that are pretty small and insignificant. What about the more important things in life? What about the knowledge and ideas I think are more important? How many of them are based off of second-hand or third-hand knowledge?

In the end, the moral of the story is... well, I'm actually not sure. Buuuuut, I do think this blog entry is long enough, so I'm gonna stop working on it, and go out and, you know, live life or something. Toodles. ^_^

According to one of my cousins, Koreans have more-or-less “invaded” my home country of the Philippines (ironically, this same cousin is half-Korean; her mother was a transfer student from Korea who met and married my mother’s brother). Korean restaurants are everywhere, and establishments that once catered to American and Japanese tourists are becoming more slanted towards Korean tourists/immigrants.

A similar thing seems to be happening here, at least regarding the music industry. Last year, JYP Entertainment – one of the most famous record companies in Korea – sent some of their most famous artists to New York for a series of concerts. Korean singer/rapper Rain had a “rivalry” with Stephen Colbert after being voted Most Influential Person by TIME magazine; the former even appeared on Colbert's show for a dance-off:


This year, Korean singer BoA – one of Asia’s most famous artists – released her debut English album, with some well-connected people in America’s own music industry getting involved. Other artists aren’t being idle either; after hearing what some other fans have to say, it almost sounds like a musical invasion force is being prepared.

Oh well. Maybe they’ll bring some good food. ^__^

When I was a kid, if someone were to ask me what qualities I looked for in a friend, my response would probably have been "well, if I like them, that's good enough!"

During my preteen and early adolescent years, the response would be "if they're interesting and entertaining."

In high school and college, my reply was that I would be friends with someone if "we shared a lot of the same tastes, interests, beliefs, etc." Ironically, after high school, many of the people who did have that much in common with me either went to different colleges or just got jobs far away (joining the military, for example).

Now that I'm graduating college, I've changed my answer yet again. The quality I look for in friends these days is, strangely, something I never consciously thought was important when I was younger:

Loyalty.

"Likes" and tastes change all the time; I might like one flavor of frappuccino or type of sushi one day, and then change my mind the next. The same holds true with interests; a person might be interested in something for a while, and then drop it in favor of something else. And relationships based on "fun" may be enjoyable (and most of my online "friendships" are based on this, now that I think about it), but what happens when they stop being fun? What's to stop one person from saying "yeah, that was great, but you're no longer fun to hang out with" or "sorry, but we don't really share the same interests" or even "I don't like you anymore?"

I find that the friendships I value the most aren't necessarily with the people who are the most entertaining, or who share a lot in common with me, or even necessarily with people I "like." It's with the people who were there for me when they didn't have to be; the people who went out of their way to help me out, even when it wasn't necessary and of no real benefit to them.

Some of the closest friends I have now are people who probably wouldn't have met the "standards" I had for friendships when I was younger. And the people who do -- the people who I might "like," or who are fun to hang out with, or even those I have things in common with -- but who don't really match up to my new favorite quality... well, to be honest, I think I've relegated those people to the status of "entertaining acquaintances." And let's face it: acquaintances come and go. But real friendships, I think, can last for a very, very long time.

Anyways.

I hear Hufflepuff House is nice. ^__^