Japanese class, Ocha Cream and John Stuart Mill

This is a random post on things that made me happy over the weekend.

Today's the beginning of another new 6-wk term and though I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed at 8 something in morning, wondering why I constantly deprive myself of more beauty sleep every Sun, I was reminded why as soon as class began. Though a fellow classmate and I both agreed that we dun really have much time to study before class (actually the truth is probably not disciplined enough :P), classtime itself is just so enjoyable and fun. I suppose that's what keeps me going. And our new topic for the term is 健康ブームの光と影 (which can be roughly translated into the pros and cons of the health boom). So our sensei explained the imagery associated with 光 and 影 and their respective association with good and bad things... Not that the association of light with good and dark with bad is anything new, but I thought it was very interesting how the Japanese frequently formalise words that conjure up certain images or sounds into actual usable terms for their own language. But it's fun, cos it's easy to imagine when your language has descriptive terms that try to paint reality :P The trouble is that only the Japanese really understand what their thousand and one onomatopoeic words mean...

Ocha Cream is a talented local jewellery designer, and her necklaces/earrings are all so quirky and cute. Imagine wearing a necklace with a Tiger Brand label on it...! Well, though not all of them are nice and that wearable, there are quite a few really nice ones... And I would say all of them are so creative, with so many neat little details. She makes me so want to set up shop and make all these jewellery on my own... (ok lah, say only) Unfortunately, her merchandise is so overpriced... :(

Someone reminded me of my PEIS 100 class in an email and I nostalgically dug up my class notes and rediscovered my favorite John Stuart Mill... Hai, looking back at all the assignments I did that summer, feel like my brain has indeed deteriorated. Anyway, here's to share a cool excerpt from Mill's 'On Liberty' that I will try to always bear in mind:

He who lets the world, or his own portion of it, choose his plan of life for him, has no need of any other faculty than the ape-like one of imitation. He who chooses his plan for himself, employs all his faculties. He must use observation to see, reasoning and judgment to foresee, activity to gather materials for decision, discrimination to decide, and when he has decided, firmness and self-control to hold to his deliberate decision. And these qualities he requires and exercises exactly in proportion as the part of his conduct which he determines according to his own judgment and feelings is a large one. It is possible that he might be guided in some good path, and kept out of harm's way, without any of these things. But what will be his comparative worth as a human being?

Ah, 2 hrs to the end of my lovely weekend and start of another tiring work week... I need to read The 4-hour Workweek some day.