Back to the Basics

Oh dear. No thank you on posting on that site again. Not only did it take me 3 tries to create an account, but honestly, it didn't feel that good. I felt out of place really. I mean this site is MY site where people who want to read my blog com here to read it. It's not like a post on a compiling blog where strangers go there with the intent of reading it... totally insecure about my post

Yes, I did scan some articles, most were mainly about the strike so I felt like mine was out of place. I edited my project because I personally think it's fascinating how much we are protected and from what. It's nice to know that my article could inform someone that they cannot say whatever they want because the freedom of speech doesn't protect everything.

Not to mention I quite frankly epic fail at learning how to use that site. I've been using blogspot for a while now, and all the buttons are nicely grouped together. Either you publish your post, or you save it as a draft. The window where you were supposed to write your blog was really tiny and I wasn't even sure if I was doing it right. I suppose I had hit public post without finishing my post, realized that I may have clicked publish, tried to find it on the main site because I didn't want my rough drafts floating around on the internet, couldn't find it, assumed that I did do it right and didn't actually publish it, but instead saved it as a draft and called it a night. Bad choices and a series of unfortunate events. I had published it, they just had not posted it yet. So it's pretty sad how my one button pressing could lead to a half baked (or probably just thrown into not even a preheated oven) entry.

So what did I learn? I love my blog here. No worries, just my own thoughts with the ready to use format that I am so familiar with. It becomes routine. Yet... with the new sites, look over the site first. It's really not that hard. Get used to different formats, it'll make you more flexible and adaptable. And make sure you know how to push all the right buttons.

Bancroft Library

I was surprisingly impressed. Beautiful library. I remember first walking in and going... I want to live here. The architecture was amazing and so was the interior design. But I digress, let's talk about the actual visit.

1. Being able to actually touch thousand year old artifacts. I could not BELIEVE that the handler didn't have to wear gloves like they usually do in the movies or National geographic magazines. These artifacts came out in these nicely packaged boxes and were soooo old, but it was okay to actually touch. I mean I wasn't going to complain if I could actually touch a 100+ year old church song book... but still! Also I remember hearing him say that it was okay to touch and that "I purposely bought it so that it could be handled." So cool.

2. It was hard making books. Really hard. So in the back times, we would have to request a book a year in advanced?! That's so intense. And I'm sure that buying the book cost a fortune too because everything was handwritten. The printing press its self looked pretty gruesome too though... all those little letters put in the mirror reflection way so that it stamps out like normal text? Oh and you also have to put your back into it to make sure that it stamps out justtt right.

3. How big the Berkeley selection of ancient artifacts really is. So maybe we didn't see the WHOLE scope of the library, but we did get a nice breath of it. I can't imagine what else is in store. WE got the biggest papyrus collection... IN THE WORLD. That's just amazing... and all of it is up for us to look at and right next door to the Doe Library/Dwinelle.

Cell it!

5 conversations

Sister: "What'd you call me for?"

Older Sister: "I'm bored, what's up"

Good Friend: "When do you want dinner?"

Friend from High School (goes to East Coast): "CATHY WANG, I MISS YOU!"

Friend: "Hey, are you free?"

The last 5 conversations I had, with the except of one, didn't really address my name, but instead got straight to the point. My sister's are pretty frank, and don't put any formality into our phone conversations because we all find it unnecessary. We're all so comfortable with each other that a formal greeting is not expected. Same thing with friends. Since we've all programmed each other into our phones, we're pretty sure that we didn't misdial and have the right person. Since it's generally expected that only the person with the number picks up (assuming it's a cell phone) then the caller doesn't have to go through the trouble of having someone else in the family pick up, as would happen with a land line. Cell phones, in terms of etiquette is concerned, is even less formal than the landlines because you know (or assume you know) the person who is going to pick up.

This habit seems to be acceptable, up until you misdial and intend to call one person, but end up calling another. Quite unfortunate. In that case, you look-er sound- completely dysfunctional because you expected someone to pick up, so you commence with the conversation, much to the other person's surprise and confusion. Happens to me on phones less often than it does on AIM, but it's still a habit I'm trying to kick.

Texting is bad news bears. I used to text all the time until one day I went over by a lot... and I mean a lot... and my parents officially canceled my plan for the rest of my life. Sigh. When I used to text, I texted in class, out of class, all the time! Whenever you need a quick question answered or you want to make plans, but can't or dont feel like talking, then texting is the way to go. Texting can also be seen as more fun because you respond on your own accord and have time to think about what you want to say instead of having the time restraints of an actual conversation.

Blog Your Heart Out

Let's start with blogging since it seem the most relevant. I don't blog aside from this class, although I used to when I was in middle school nearly every day on my Xanga. Xanga was the cool thing and I remember there was a point when my parents had blogs because it was "all the rage." I wrote about pretty trivial things, what I did in each period, what I did after school, sometimes a family vacation every now and then, but overall it was just not that exciting. There came a point when I actually shut down my Xanga and deleted all my posts (which I regret now) because I thought it was absolutely pointless. A little pointless, maybe, but absolutely? In retrospect, no. Blogging allowed me to type about what was important and express my feelings and even though it was poorly written, it still had something somewhere.

It's like when I look back at my old diary in middle school. Completely pointless and it actually makes me feel super lame for writing it all, but hey, that's the stuff that I found important in middle school. So in a sense, blogging preserves my feelings or emotions at the time and because it's written down (literally or digitally) I still have access to it to reflect on my past and really see how much I've grown.

But let's be perfectly honest here, I do have "secret" blog (not so secret anymore now that I posted this!). It's not really about me and my day to day things, but I write down in the blog nice things that people have done throughout the day so that I can remember the little things. Sounds super corny, but I think that it's nice to remember the seemingly insignificant things that ultimately contribute to the happiness of our days.

So enough about blogging, onto Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a god (citation needed) and I personally love using it. Sure, I've found some errors along the way, but I also help edit it so that it is even better. Wikipedia is being put into better hands now that it has gained more credibility and widespread use. My friend recently told me that some of the Physics GSIs at Cal are the ones who edit the Physics pages to make it more in depth or to correct facts. Cal Graduate students editing the Wikipedia pages so that I can understand the basic concepts of the String Theory... huh. Sounds good to me!

Finally, Youtube. I don't really have a huge fascination with YouTube as do many of my peers. I have watched many music videos, seen funny clips of shows, and even watched movies, but I wouldn't say I'm addicted to YouTube. It's a nice website to share videos and such, but for me, whenever I do use YouTube, I am looking for a specific video that I want to watch, whereas others use it to find videos they didn't know existed. I suppose it boils down to personal preference so there's no real right or wrong way to use YouTube.

Make Your Statement.

Okay, I'll admit flat out: I USE ABUSIVELY USE AWAY MESSAGES. but just sometimes! So there are those moments when I'm dying to share that cute music video link and will make that my away message for a while. Or I'll post a super funny quote that I heard so that people can comment on it. Or maybe I'll even put an away message with some song lyrics that ambiguously express my mood. Though I'd say that happens probably 1/6 times (just a guesstimate), I think that for the most part, I do use away message as what they are intended for. I actually checked my last 3 away messages and they are as follows:

1.TIME TO DORM WORK IT UPPPP!

2. GYMTIMES=FUNTIMESSSSS :)

3. Busy for a whileeees

No joke, all quoted from myself. Yes I do type in caps for a while, and yes we analyzed it in class, but I think that the caps are just to show excitement. Who doesn't like a little dormwork and gymtimes? Exactly.

I digress! I think that the main "problem" I have with away messages is that I forget to turn it off. So literally, I'll be gymmerizing it at 2 in the morning. Whoops. Forgot to take that down when I got back! I can see how that would be deceptive and downright frustrating for those who want to talk and think that I'm perpetually at the gym. I'd like to also add that it sometimes creates this false face. I do gym for 2 hours, but not for 4-5, which is what it sometimes comes off as. So I think that's how I actively abuse away messages in terms of that function.

And now, FACEBOOK. The best time distracter ever! Why, I'm even on it now! From those e-mail notifications (which I turn off) to the cute on site notifications, it all just seems to encourage our fascination to update ourselves on other's lives. With the new layout, you can't possibly help but feel like a creeper sometimes. The new "Newsfeed" is chalk full of status updates, pictures, and worst of all, comments posted between your friends. So not only can you stalk a specific friend at ease, you can stalk other people's relationships too! Now that's a little creepy, I must say, but hey... it's the new layout I swear!

Facebook has also evolved the easy access to information. Recently met a cute guy or girl and don't know if he or she is taken? Find them on facebook and check the relationship status, and you can either decide to move on, or let the bearings change. Don't know enough about someone to see if you're really compatible? Just scroll through their music, TV shows, quotes, etc. to see if anything matches. You might find this a little too intrusive, but isn't that why the information is posted to begin with? So we can make a statement about ourselves... to other people who in turn read it and ultimately learn more about you.

So I've come to the conclusion in this blog that we're just fascinated with each our lives and others as well. We make away messages and update facebook to make a statement or to make things a little more fun. Hopefully someone will respond to my away, or maybe someone will know more about me and our friendship will be stronger. It's all about the statement.

Multitasking

Okay, so it doesn't at all surprise me that we are a nation that relies heavily on multitasking, to the point where there are studies and surveys done on it. As a "fast paced" nation, we all are probably guilty of doing something multitask-ical, but my question is... is that so bad?

So I realize that multitasking in a social situation may be bad, I mean, I wouldn't want someone to be having a "deep" AIM conversation with me while webchatting with their mom and making a sandwich. But on the same note, because AIM creates a digital barrier, will I really ever know? I would want to be someone to be full fledged engaged in a conversation, but if it's just a normal conversation, does the speaker really have to be completely engaged to the point where they are doing nothing else other than listening to you ramble? I mean it would be nice, but sometimes it's also nice for someone to rant to you on AIM and you read the whole story 5 minutes after they've finished exploding than sitting in front of the computer and watch them recount their story line by line. Or when people just talk normally, it seems like all the sentences are broken up. For example:

LOL

you were looking

for

what was it again

cupcakes?!

lol

See how it's not really a sentence, but instead 6 lines? So the conversation was taken completely out of context, but nevertheless, illustrates the short choppy language that we use nowadays. A technique used to engage the reader and make it feel more like "real time" because every half a second contains another line, in the end, the chatting time could be made more efficient with multitasking.

Sometimes I wonder, what is multitasking anyway? Does me listening to music while typing this blog count? Or how about when I have multiple conversations on AIM? I wouldn't really consider that intense multitasking, but technically, it does count.

What fascinated me too was the idea of gender differences in terms of language and general AIM talk. Doesn't surprise me. In the past, my English teacher told us that guys use way less words than an average female uses. It's still interesting to look at old AIM logs and notice the difference between conversations I have with males vs. females.

But on a different note, I think that AIM might actually help a lot of boys express their emotions. With the digital barrier and in the comfort of his own home, I feel like if I do have a deep conversation with a male, it would be easier to conduct on AIM instead of in person. Maybe it's because I don't see the awkward body language that I'm missing, but I'd like to defend guys by saying that I've actually had some deep, emotional conversations with them on AIM. So maybe our conversations are generally shorter on AIM, but that doesn't mean that guys are incapable of producing a well thought out conversation that could lead to self revelations.

Either way, I always prefer the face to face conversation. You can read expressions, know that the person is fully engaged and the ability for one to "hide behind the screen" is impossible. I find it ]annoying when you're having a nice conversation and the person just leaves without notice because the question is too difficult. Or if the person sits on the other side trying to find the PERFECT wording. Not to mention the ability to read tone in person, and the ability to misconstrue tone over AIM. Face to face is still the way to go! :)

Questions:

1. Are there times when it's easier to multitasking than not?

2. Does having multiple conversations on AIM count as multitasking?

3. Do you think that AIM degrades one's ability to converse?

4. Do you notice a difference in terms of your AIM conversations when you talk to a guy vs a girl?

Languages

In my opinion, the computer has replaced the basic forms of communication, overall in an enhancive way. From the pony express to the impressive snail mail USPS system to e-mails, humans have truly revolutionized the way we communicate. Though there are trade offs, from the impersonal e-mail in lieu of the personal hand written message, digital communication has efficiently transmitted messages with ease.

The Chinese have slowly transitioned from the slow hand written, yet highly cultural calligraphy to a more efficient computer processing system, reminds me of the fact that AP Chinese is the only AP test that requires a computer. Not even AP Computer Science requires one, as all the programming is hand written. Though the AP test does not come with a computer equipped with detecting the right words, it is used primarily because the traditional way of hand writing caused problems with legibility. This demonstrates the shift into the dependency of computers because it is the move into a new technological era.

When using AIM, many people, of whom I notice are often polite, forget basic “mannerisms” when conversing on AIM. They forget to start a conversation with the greeting “Hi” or “Hello,” but instead start with the question or reason why they’re talking to you. People forget the basic mannerisms that influence the culture of society. Nevertheless, AIM does provide an efficient system for communication because people can talk in real time without running up the phone bill or having everyone in the room be able to pick up half the conversation. AIM jumpstarted the idea of video chatting such as Skype and OOVOO, which has become even more popular because people can see each other. Though the technology is advancing, I believe that web chatting is more personal than AIM because the conversers can actually see each other face to face.

Personally, I love getting snail mail, even though e-mails are nice. I think that it’s knowing that snail mail does take a couple more minutes (hand writing v. typing, envelops, stamps, dropping it off) that makes it more special. I keep all the hand written notes that I receive and I think that this may be largely due to the fact that we do have internet and faster forms of communication, but that the person decided to spend the extra time and touch of love to write something physically tangible and lovable.