Easy as 1, 2, 3

Writing for Mac News (Macdonald, that is) has been a wonderful experience. Here is my last submission, as an alumni writer for the September issue. Best of luck this year! Note: I am posting up my original version. I think it was more grammatically correct before the editing process (no offence to the wonderful editors, who have made beautiful edits over the course of the year).

 

Walking through the doors of the school this morning… for many of you, this has become pure routine. To some, this will become pure routine. To all of you – I want to share with you the words of a wise friend, and former Mac News executive, Joey Yu:

"Some say that the 4 years of high school are the most difficult time in a teen's life. I am relieved to say that I have never truly felt this way. This 4 year journey has been a breeze and I credit this to all my friends who were always there to give me those several extra pushes along the way. I could always count on you to make all the stress of the day melt away and to have it be replaced by inside jokes and side-splitting, tears-flowing laughter. Thank You and Good Luck. TNT Always."

I hope that all of you can share this wind as you fly off to new destinations.

Throughout your years, you will hear the word "countdown" quite often. The countdown for the next dance, the days left till Christmas; a couple more days until your first titration, dissection; the countdown for prom; and of course – 5, 4, 3, 2… 1 more year until you are out of here. But one day, someday, you realize – the counting down is all over. You're on the bus, in a car, on a plane – heading towards a new school, a new place. Yes, again we can ready ourselves to "let the countdowns begin" – but moreover, I've realized that high school is everything but a countdown.

Since the day you walked through those doors for your very first time until your goals bring you to the end of this chapter – we all count up. Every day, every test, every class, and every party – we build up on new skills and new friends, discover more experiences and more opportunities, and live through endless laughs and endless accomplishments. Looking back, you realize not only how far you have travelled, but how high you have climbed.

I wish you all the best – of luck, of laughs, and of triumph – to try your best, save the tigers, and always reach for the top – because that's where you'll go! "Let the countups begin!"

Wanderings

We begin our journey of moving on. But in our busy lifestyles of living a directional life – towards our schools, our degrees, and our goals – I took this Thursday to wander across Toronto.

It is a beautiful day today. I'm writing this at the Toronto Music Garden – a truly wonderful blessing for our city. The paths twist, curl, and dance across the garden and flowery landscape. If there's any place to be lost, there's nothing better than being lost in music (hmmm… so ideally either here or on the fifth floor stacks of the TRL).

More and more people gather here; about five times more people than when I first sat down, at this nice lawn awaiting a short but anticipated solo cello performance. The sun is still up, but soon, it will set across the Toronto skyline.

I listen around. I "unplugged' my earphones quite a while ago. I don't want to miss out on any part of the experience of the music garden. All around I hear murmuring; the cellist has just started her warm-ups. Twice I've heard the zooms of the airplanes touching down at the Island airport; often I hear the streetcars moving about. The dog to my right occasionally barks, and every five minutes or so I hear cheers sounding not too far away. UT Frosh students, my guess. Another reminder that we are moving on. And yet, I allow myself to wander.

Early this afternoon, I left my house. I took the Huntingwood bus. I remember a time before the Huntingwood bus was in service. 15 minutes later, I was on the Sheppard subway. That's not so old either. 18 years in Toronto – so many events have happened – visiting the CBC museum this afternoon surely showed that. World events, famous people – coming and going. This is paralleled on a personal level; friends and relatives, who have made their mark on Toronto, but later moved on. I guess now it's my turn.

I got off the Sheppard line, transferred, and soon enough, my head was back above the ground. At Mel Lastman Square, there was a Farmer's market. I bought a colourful basket of plums. The place brought memories of Taiwanese festivals that had taken place there; the busy Yonge Street serving as a main artery of Toronto life, my church just a few kilometers to the North. The clock chimes startle me and inform me that the clock doesn't stop.

At 2:46 on Day 246 I meet a friend at the gate of 5050 Yonge Street. It is the TDSB building. Oh the years spent in this "education" "system" – but I give my bow taps to Timberbank, North Bridlewood, Tyrrell, and Mac – speaking of bow taps, the concert is about to begin.

Wow that was amazing – a beautiful six movement cello suite played by Winona Zelenka, principle cellist of the TSO, presenting the series of "Bach at Dusk". 40 minutes after I left off the last paragraph, people are now leaving. People come and people go.

After I left the TDSB – we headed downtown. We visited the CBC museum, as I mentioned earlier, but more or less wandered across Toronto. It was a great departure from my email/detail self, and a joy to just walk around; the highlight being this vibrant city that I will miss, and an engaging conversation. We parted ways at the Eaton centre, and there I soon found myself in a bookstore =P. Naturally.

I left about a quarter hour later, carrying a copy of Darwin's Origin of Species. A beautiful illustrated hardcover edition – for less than two and a half hours worth of work at the zoo! It reminds of the knowledge that is out there in the world, the knowledge for us to find, to discover. "The World is our Classroom", I say – and every day I learn how true that is.

We are moving ahead, moving towards new heights, and many of us take different paths. Though it now seems divergent, roads may soon by convergent; a species becomes a population, with more talent, variety, and colour; roads intertwine, and that's where we'll meet again.

I'm heading back home, writing in my faithful Moleskine notebook (thanks again, Doris). Walking back from the music garden, I decided that buying a basket of plums early in the afternoon, followed by a large heavy hardcover book, and lugging them across Toronto was not the smartest thing to do.

The sun sets over in the West. I will be heading there in less than 48 hours. Hamilton's not that far, of course, but I will grow to love it as I already love Mac (BigMac that is, and I still love little mac) – and the Artscis are awesome!; but today, I continue to wander across Toronto.

I near the Rogers Centre. The Yankees are at Toronto today – though I have lost faith in the jays, and now with Wang entrenched with injuries, I don't care for the Yankees much either – but the game and the smell of hotdogs remind of games watched as a kid. The Yankees also remind me of trips to New York, to the States; it is a small world, but also so immense, filled always with places to go, things to see.

I pass by the CN Tower. It looks pretty in the sunset, and commanding in our skyline. I will visit it tomorrow (hmmm when will I pack?). But today has been a wonderful day. I will keep this day, this city, this world, in mind – as I continue to wander into the world ahead. I want to say wander aimlessly, but we've gotta be realistic, eh?

 

Sunrise, Sunset

My bus transfer reminds me that today is Day 244 in this unforgettable year of '09. A glance at my cell reminds me that already it is September. With all the back to school sales, we are all reminded that school is almost here.

The returning autumn chills remind me that fall is soon approaching; chloroplasts about to fade as the chromoplasts will finally begin to boast their colours and brighten our world – briefly – before white snow once again blankets our country, from coast to coast to coast. And the cycle will continue, once again.

With Staples reminding us that school is just around the corner (but with lined paper at 24 cents per pack, who am I to argue?)*, the commercials pronounce – "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". The excitement of the new world of university catches up with me (as well as the agony of assignments ahead, but hey, let's stay optimistic =D); new courses, new peers, new professors; soon enough, Christmas will be here, and we'll be hearing this song again. The cycle continues.

I once again log onto CBC. Reports and articles speak of new gains, recent losses; new election polls, predictions; updates on the Canadian dollar, strengthening gas prices; and the announcement of the end of our 08/09 recession, the 5 year deficit, and the road to recovery. Politics, economics – the cycle continues.

Down the hall I hear the background music of… Restaurant City; my sister recently joined… Facebook. As I move onto university, she will be starting her first year at JB Tyrrell next year. I start to pay tuition, she begins to buy her locker equipment. We grow, and the cycle continues.

Though I started writing this in broad daylight, it is now already dark. The sun goes up and it goes down. Sunset creeps earlier each day; in a couple months, it'll be creeping later. The cycle continues.

I think about the Grade 12's, the victory lappers; the grade 9's and the little ones; the preschoolers, the infants; soon enough, they'll be making the important decisions in their lives. And they're look to the ever-spinning world, and think to themselves – The Cycle Continues.

"They'll learn much more, than I'll ever know; and I think to myself – What a Wonderful World" – Louis Armstrong

*sorry for the advertisement, it was unintended and used for allusion purposes; the only company I'm supporting at the moment is google… yay Google!

A Devotion of Notes

NOTE: I know lots of the music links are now dead.
I will get to fixing them sooner or later.

This Saturday brings to an end, 12 years of piano lessons.

I have spent the last while putting together this album of 18 tracks, celebrating 18 years of life, living with the spirit of music.

I dedicate this CD to my piano teacher, Ms. Lili Imastounian - presenting her A Devotion of Notes; and to all of you that have supported me throughout this long journey (which, of course, has not ended, but has just begun!).

I present to you, A Devotion of Notes.

A Devotion of Notes

By: Austin Yan
Celebrating 18 Years of the Spirit of Music
Dedicated to: Lili Imastounian

1. A Devotion of Notes (3:54)

a narrated preface to this album; Composers: Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt;

For the 12 years sitting at the bench. For the endless hours of training and practice.

For the 18 years of the spirit of music. For the years to come.

For Ms. Lili Imastounian.

2. Variations on Jehovah’s Blessings (3:17)

Composer: Yu Chi-Teng; Arranged by: Austin Yan

“Jehovah’s Blessings Abound” was the first piece I played for the church service. My musicality grew and blossomed in the church– I devote this piece to the congregation who gave me the support, blessing, and training – to become the musician I am today.

3. You Raise Me Up (4:13)

Composer: Rolf Løvland

To my parents – mom and dad – I can’t say enough, play enough, record enough – to ever express how grateful I am for the never-ending encouragement, time, and effort to keep me playing and living in the music. Every note that sounds carries the years of “raising me up”; your endless support. – With lots of Love –

4. Golliwogg’s Cakewalk (3:09)

Composer: Claude Debussy

For my sister Janice – this was one of my most favourite pieces in Grade 9 Piano; Light and fun – but played ‘avec une grande émotion’ – great feeling. May you always keep music in your mind and heart; let the fingers dance!

5. Canon in Streamline (4:07)
Themes by: Newton, Pachelbel; Arranged by: Austin Yan
For Kysen and family; we grew up in church together, and from the moment we played lego as kids to playing our self-arranged baritone-cello duets, it’s been a wonderful experience – I present you with the song you stole from me =P. Just kidding.

6. Send in the Shads (4:15)
Composers: various; Arranged by: Austin Yan
Shad UNB ’08; there I met great musicians, great talent, and great people. This was cut&pasted together for coffeehouse – a lovely night; shout-outs to all the UNB Shads!

7. I Love Taiwan (2:27)
Composer: Tyzen Hsiao; Arranger: Ming Hsing Wang
To my relatives – to have support on the other side of the globe brings motivation to a whole new world. Special mention to the conductor of the Taiwanese Toronto Chamber Orchestra, bringing Taiwanese culture to the hands of us young musicians.

8. Wind Beneath My Wings (4:56)
Composers: Henley / Silbar
Jeffrey – through high school we’ve soared together, guided each other, and shared great times. Keep flying – birds will always meet up together. And keep the music flying too – violin, piano, choir – whatever suits the breeze. This song is for you.

9. Largo, New World Symphony (4:47)
Composer: Antonín Dvořák
To Grace – my first piano teacher. You helped bring me into this world of music, definitely a New World for any young student – setting the foundations for the years ahead. And to my mom for listening to this majestic symphony all the time while carrying me those nine months – definitely setting the foundation for years to come!

10. Enlightened Explosions (2:29)

Composers: various; Arranged by: Austin Yan

For TNT – great times; a part of all of us, is in each of us. Here’s another medley – of recognizable tunes from all over the place – which we will someday conquer! Through any quest, adventure, story, journey – we will survive!

11. Broadway Medley (8:03)

Composers: ABBA, Strouse, Webber; Arranged by: Austin Yan
Broadway music is just lovely – dedicated to all my past music teachers and ensembles at school; Dr. Kivesto, Ms. Grunberg – Strings, Symphony. And of course, the first piece in the medley is for you Maple – keep singing!

[For Some Reason, had lots of technical difficulties uploading this one]

12. Friends Shaking Hands, Kum Ba Yah (5:59)

Composers: various; Arranged by: Austin Yan

Dedicated to Doris – inspired by your continual desire for a more kind world – around the campfire singing Kum Ba Yah. These bring memories of playing these classics at Jack’s parties – where Jennifer took the album cover picture. This song is for you too.

13. Climb Ev’ry Mountain (2:58)

Composers: Rodgers / Hammerstein

My entry from the Sound of Music – may its songs continue to touch musicians worldwide. This is for Rylie – your inspiration to the school to aim Reach for the Top; thus this piece is also dedicated to all you hardcore trivia enthusiasts; keep Reaching!

14. Für Ellie (3:37)

Composers: Giacchino; Arranged by: Jorvic Ramos

This beautiful waltz from the Disney Pixar movie “Up” – a lovely piece – inspiring my pet turtle Bubble Tea to start eating! This is for all the animals out there – nature spurs thought and creativity, reminding us that the Music is all around us.

15. I-V-vi-iii-IV-I-IV-V (5:42)
Composers: various; Arranged by: Austin Yan
Oh Pachelbel – these eight chords follow us where ever we go.
I dedicate this piece to the cellists out there, symphony and strings;
a special mention to Wesley, as well as the awesome cello section of the TTCO.

16. Variations in A Minor, Op.20, No. 2 (3:39)
Composer: Dmitri Kabalevsky
I love playing variations – they start out as the simple melodies that remind us of our childhood, and grow into the complex but wondrous creatures that we become after phrases of development and growth. This is for the piano – remember the early years, the late night playing, the sonatas, the fugues; the discoveries into new worlds of magic.

17. Try to Remember (3:51) Song credits to: The Brothers Four
Composer: Jones / Schmidt; Arranged by: Austin Yan
For the graduating class of Macdonald ’09.
High school has been filled with wonderful experiences, memories, and opportunities. May we carry on with the best of luck in university, yet look back at the great times and “Try to remember, the kind of September, when Life was slow, and oh, so mellow…”

18. The World: Ahead, Around, and Above (3:30)
Composers: Babcock, Brewer/Carney, Jackson; Arranged by: Austin Yan
I love songs that sing about the world. Music makes the world go round!
The introduction and conclusion to this piece is a small simple hymn
that speaks of the beauty of in the simplicity and greatness of the Earth.
For everyone listening, everyone singing, everyone playing
Always keep music with you! – keep the world spinning!

Photographers: Front Cover / CD: Jennifer Liu; Backcover: Megan Stacey
Thanks to my Family for all the support, and the patience in the many hours of recording!
© 2009 a SAVE THE TIGERS production

Where is Music?

I've written a good number of posts on light; searching for the light, and the absence of light – blindness. Physical light, metaphorical light. For the time being, and as I prepare for a special post that should be released very soon, I bring to attention something of another dimension – noise. Or even better – music.

From a physics perspective, sight and sound are two extremely different concepts. The transverse electromagnetic wave that requires no medium to travel through (light), compared to the vibrations of particles in the longitudinal wave that cannot travel through a vacuum (noise).

Noise is a beautiful thing. It allows us to communicate, to perceive. Noise is all around us. And when we control the pitches, hold noise by its reins – we have music – beyond the beauty of simple noise.

Music is all around us too. The radios playing in the mall. CD's in the cars. The piano teacher next door. Siblings singing in the shower. Legally downloaded tracks playing on the computer. Earbuds in our ears.

But that's not what I mean by where is music? I'm speaking about the music in us. Within us. The songs that get "stuck" in our minds, the soundtracks that play when we walk home in the drizzling rain when our iPod battery dies. The background music that plays when we have time to ourselves, when we write, when we're bored, and when we listen to… the sound of silence.

Where is this music? Perhaps it's a little too quick to simply conclude it's in our minds. We often say we have a song stuck in our head; it's a common thing to see on cartoons as well. Music notes pass through one ear, swirl around in the head, and exit out the other ear. We hear these sounds, this music, and are able to translate it into our minds with the miracle of the human ear, our own antenna to the world around us.

But I think music goes a step further than our minds. Music can transport us into different worlds, guide us through emotions, and touch us in ways that nothing else can. It stays with us, flowing with its graceful notes through every inch of our body. And it beats without failure, every moment we live, and even a while after we die.

The spirit of music – living in our hearts. Lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub.

Question: We know our collective terms. A school of fish, a streak of tigers. What do we use to call a group of notes?

Swings and Slides

Every day, every passing second – we grow older. The minutes count up, and yet we often seem to be counting down; towards the next holiday, the next event, the beginning of school. Then again, I suppose, whether we count up or we count down leads everyone to the end of their paths. Another chapter has ended; another just about to begin.

As we grow older, we acquire things. We want to acquire. Acquire knowledge, make new friends, learn skills, make money, develop a career, find love. In this aspect, we always count up – we aim higher and higher, acquire more and more.

But do we lose?

Recently in driver's ed, there was one thing that the instructor said that inspired me in class to make a note to write this note. Talking about pedestrians, he urged us to be extra careful when children are nearby. "Watch for children. Children are least predictable." Makes sense.

But why? Why are children so unpredictable? Weren't those the good times…
"The World's a playground. You know that when you are a kid, but somewhere along the way everyone forgets it." – Allison, in Yes Man

Somewhere along the way, in all our dreams of acquiring – we have lost something. Have we lost a spark, a passion? Have we thrown out our childhood vision when we tossed away our childhood glasses? (well, depending on your eyesight back then =P)

Or have we acquired too many new things that tie us down. New responsibilities. New doubts. New fears. To the extent that even the strongest hurricane can't lift us off the ground, preventing us from taking off into skies like the kids we were at some points in our lives, when the slightest breeze launched us into new discoveries. Soaring like an eagle in a playground. Our playground.

However, many of us just get used to living life on the ground. I suppose it's not that bad anyways. But some lucky ones have managed to let go of some of our acquired ballast, and lift themselves up with ten thousand helium balloons – filled with the life that was in the air so many years ago. And another chapter begins.

At Our Fingertips

This again, was written for something else... less than 250 words essay; I don't really call this an essay, but it was fun to write anyways, so whatever =D

At Our Fingertips

“The World is At Our Fingertips”; my fingers dance across the keyboard as I type this. Click-clack, click-clack, click-clack, pause. I ponder the truth about this statement. I have spent so many years, minutes, and moments in my life, sitting in front of the keyboard, staring and escaping into a portal that lies in front of me. I have played the piano for twelve years; it has been a magical experience with the eighty-eight ivories that seem to launch my mind into a new dimension. Fingers touch, eyes see, ears hear – but it is my mind that escapes into this world of music, wonder, and knowledge. As I click-clack away at the plastic keys below my fingertips, just at the lower edge of my sight, the mountains of tasks, information, and opportunities that lie in the screen ahead is astounding. With my email inbox full of university notifications, my blog bookmarked on the side, a conversation with a close friend open, and my interactive periodic table alongside my music recording software, this truly is an escape to a world of opportunity, friendships, and accomplishments. As my fingers run around the keys – this really is the key to new dimensions. As my fingers bring this window to a close, remember – the World is at Your Fingertips. I’ll see you there.

Reaching for the Top

This article was written for the August Issue of the Together, the newsletter for the Taiwanese Canadian Association in Toronto.

Reaching for the Top

Snapstart to Round 1! In what city did the 2009 World Games take place? Who plays No. 40 on the New York Yankees? What company did Steve Chen co-establish? What is the highest mountain in Taiwan?

Why am I asking all these questions? Well, this is trivia – questions that are generally unimportant but familiar to common knowledge. A snapstart is a series of usually random, unconnected questions that begin a round in the trivia game show, “Reach for the Top”. The competition takes place in high schools across Canada, where the finals are aired on TVO. “Reaching” as we sometimes like to call it, is an enriching experience; I participated in our school junior team in Grade 10, and have played in intra-school competitions every year since then.

Along with athletic teams and music ensembles, trivia competitions provide opportunities for students and everyone else to build friendships, teamwork skills, and life-shaping values. Thus, I am bringing to attention its appropriately chosen title, “Reach for the Top”. This should be nothing new, of course – reaching for the top and trying our best has always been an integral part of our nature.

The motto of the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung was “Top Sports – High Spirits”. Bringing athletes, lesser known sports, and Taiwanese culture to the centre stage, the event created mountains of opportunity to reach high with high spirits. It also inspired many worldwide – whether it was the TV viewers admiring the athletes, or the countries who admired the Taiwanese organizers – inspiring them to reach for their own goals and to find new passions in this ever-changing world.

Taiwan is a great example when it comes to reaching for the top. Whether it is scraping the skies with the world’s highest completed building, Taipei 101, or leading the world in high tech computer technologies including cellphones, netbooks, and monitors, we all know that “It’s Very Well Made in Taiwan”. There are also great Taiwanese people who work hard to pursue their goals and reach for the top – ranging from the Yankee’s No. 40 Chein-Ming Wang to Youtube’s co-founder Steve Chen, and of course, you too! From the volunteers that keep this newsletter running to the supporters of the Taiwanese churches, youth orchestras, sporting events and other organizations – your efforts are endless in supporting the Taiwanese spirit and culture.

To the next generation – I’ve saved my introduction until here; my name is Austin Yan, now 18 years old. I’ve written an article for every August publication in the last two years, from “Conferences – Time Well Spent” at 16, and “Carrying Your Own Torch” at 17 years. Our torch should not just be passed on, but passed up – higher and higher, towards our pursuits and our goals – whether we are climbing up the path to planning another Taiwanese event, or climbing Taiwan’s tallest mountain – Yu Shan (Jade Mountain).

Well, climbing mountains is a big challenge, but at the foundation of preparing for Reach for the Top is learning new things and knowing our general knowledge. Being aware of events such as the World Games, participating in the Formosan Cup and the Taiwanese Conferences, learning some basic Taiwanese, and understanding Taiwanese culture, are our morning stretches for the road ahead.

Besides my usual, “promote Taiwan to the second generation”, I would like to add the point of promoting Taiwan to your friends – inviting them to come out for the many Taiwanese events, such as TaiwanFEST, the Formosan Cup, and the night markets. Don’t forget – food is always great too; and of course, there’s nothing wrong with knowing a little bit of trivia! Snapout to end the round:

From what type of plant is the starch for the bubbles in bubble tea made from? When is Jay Chou’s birthday? And don’t forget MC David Lin’s infamous, “how many stories does Taipei 101 have? And lastly, what will you do to promote Taiwan? If you have any questions, or wish to contact me, my email is ay.savethetigers@gmail.com. SAVE THE TIGERS!!!

Doe, a Dear

As my post on Remembrance is pushed off the page, I have placed another piece of music on the left. Those who know my musical tastes know that I love medleys – playing them, making them, and listening to them. Well, this piece is not really a medley in the regular sense; it's more like variations on the spiritual/folk/campfire song, Kum Ba Yah (or Kumbaya), played in the setting of some of the more inspiring music of our time.

Finding inspiration can often be a difficult task; certain things require a certain mood, a specific place, a particular person – to get the ink flowing, to start the music playing. Used in psychological development as well as in writing practices, a common technique is free, or continuous, writing. This is when you have a pencil in hand, paper in front – and you write and write and write – non-stop. There is no need for corrections, only a need to fill up space, as the writer may stray off topic as much as they wish. If you can't think of anything, then write about how you can't think of anything, until something comes along.

It is a good practice. Personally, I have adapted this technique for the piano as well – usually when I find myself most stressed, or perhaps I just need to take a break from calculus (likely 'cause its stressful). To sit down on the bench and play. And play and play and play. To keep the fingers dancing, the notes flowing – until I feel ready to start differentiating again, or until my sister yells down the stairs, "It's midnight, stop playing, I need to sleep!" … it's quite often the latter.

But even in this free thought – unbound to direction – anything from Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D-minor to Hammerstein's The Sound of Music, from this note to articles submitted to local magazines; thoughts need to be inspired. To everyone, this is different. However, I would like to share a passage from an analysis for specific personality types that I have indicated beforehand. I don't think I have anything to hide here – I'm classified as an INFJ (Introversion, iNtuition, Feeling, Judging).

"INFJs may be attracted to writing as a profession, and often they use language which contains an unusual degree of imagery. They are masters of the metaphor, and both their verbal and written communications tend to be elegant and complex. Their great talent for language usually is directed toward people, describing people and writing to communicate with people in a personalized way. INFJs who write comment often that they write with a particular person in mind; writing to a faceless, abstract audience leaves them uninspired."

I have to strongly agree with that last point. I find the target audience to be extremely crucial to anything I write, and the following is a passage from an article written last year for the Together, the local newsletter for the Taiwanese Canadian Association in Toronto:

"In the bliss of summer vacation, writing an article certainly brings back school memories. While reminiscing, my creepy English teacher whispers into my ear, "When writing, always consider your target audience." I realized that this article, along with my last article, targets the next generation – and chances are, that if you are a Canadian born Taiwanese, you didn't pick this up on your own. In fact, chances are that you're either: A) 1st generation Taiwanese, wondering why Together would include such a poorly structured article, or B) the next generation, holding this in your hand, because I told your parents to pass my message on."

Even to the extent of the above article – I did have a specific person, or a handful of people in mind when I wrote this. And when I do write – whether an email or these blog posts that are seriously just too long, there is often someone there. Truth be told, it's often a different person, perhaps maybe seen in my change of tone for many of these posts, but I would like you to know, that as my fingers dance across these keys, whether the plastic ones that click-clack away as I type, or those 88 keys that are ever so inviting at 1:52 am, this really is often, inspired by you – hence these five syllables that govern this page.

I hope I can inspire you to write as well – I love to read just as much as I love to write – and to quote The Sound of Music, "Let's start at the very beginning / A very good place to start". And when writing to a particular person in mind – whether or not it is physically written onto the paper, there's often a whisper of, "Dear ____"…

And from the very start, I begin with that blank sheet of paper or that silent room, and from that first C-chord that starts off Let it Be, to that final "do[e]" that concludes What a Wonderful World, the inspiration sings throughout. And to whoever this may concern – from that day I said this was Yet.to.be.Titled – I've given it a name =).

Free Body Diagrams!

Pressure. Google defines pressure (yes, Google has replaced my Oxford, as well as dictionary.com =P) as the force asserted on a unit area of surface, measured in Pascals. For the engineers out there, pressure is extremely important; how much pressure can the bridge withstand? How much pressure will this bottle need to undertake? What air pressure must be maintained in an aircraft? Now, after years of schooling and training, building comprehensive and mathematical skills – conduct the experiments, collect the data, apply your formulas, and we've got our magical number in Pascals. If only all types of pressure could be measured with SI units.

How much pressure do unions need to force upon a city to strike a deal? How much peer pressure must a student withstand before falling into drugs or bad decisions? How much pressure do citizens apply upon their government officials before their ideas are pressed through?

Perhaps in this world that is leaning towards reducing that human touch and much needed eye-to-eye communication with increased modernization, technology, and [anti]social networking sites – someday there will be some magical computer algorithm that can "solve" our problems with ease and efficiency by calculating and utilizing just the right amount of pressure.

Really? Holding a city of 2.5 million people hostage for sick days? What about the pressure from threats of nuclear war? Hundreds to thousands of missiles? Or signing one of the thousands of petition letters [warning: opens a file (pro-Taiwan, naturally)] to pressure a government to take action?

Maybe a calculator would solve our problems. But that solution seems to be very much like the "Bigger Pie" theory [yes, first the physics reference, now the bio]. The theory that the solution to our human carrying capacity limits and issues like world hunger will be solved by our increased technology to, i.e. produce more food, thus extending the carrying capacity, thus increasing the threat of problems, i.e. food shortage, which will be appropriately solved by implementing more technology that we would have developed by then. And the cycle goes on and on.

Looking at a list of examples that are running through my mind, as well as decisions in my life, maybe it's a time for a different approach. So many decisions and so many results are… as a result of, a push. And often, it is a negative push – a threat, a fear, an ultimatum.

After all, a force is defined as a push or a pull. Floating in space – a push can have such a dramatic influence on our direction. It can lead us – in any direction in this ever-expanding universe. But there is always a pull – perhaps gravity, or maybe that tugging force on our hearts and our minds, leading us to our goals, too often quieted by the pushes and conflict that surround our lives. In this mess of forces – pushes and pulls – this complex free body diagram, where is our net force pointing to?

But just like the Earth's gravity, once we are headed in the right direction – that pull becomes stronger and stronger, until one day, we fall into our goals, our dreams, to realize… well, I don't know that yet. I guess it is a process of always learning more, and I rather honestly stop before I start making up stuff =D. But I will end off with a two quotes from a book I have been reading recently:

"It is the search that gives meaning to any find" "One often has to travel a long way in order to arrive at what is near." All the Names, José Saramago

Revealing the Harmonies

Many of our high school teachers have recommended that we all take a psychology course, at some point in our lives. I completely agree. Unfortunately, my schedule next year does not permit any space for psychology – though I will put an effort to include it as a part of my discoveries in years to come.

Joey introduced me to this word a couple months ago, and personally, it's become one of my favourite words – introspection. It is the process of self-observation and analysis of one's own thoughts and feelings. And though we may all differ on the extent we practice introspection – we all take part from time to time, and it is a part of reflection, self growth, and personal identity.

However, introspection has its limits; naturally, analysis on oneself can have many potentially flaws, such as bias, fallacies, and just, incorrect interpretations – to the extent that one has to justify, or introspect, their introspections…; well, that just gets a little too complicated. Overthinking =D

And that brings us to why we study psychology, or why people see psychologists. To see and learn from a more systematic, experienced, and more knowledgeable take on why we think what we think. Another branch leads us into tests – to discover the meaning behind one's thoughts, and validity of certain statements, and the characterization of one's personality.

Last summer [2008] at Shad UNB, I was introduced to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a personality assessment test partially based on the works of Carl Jung. There are tests available online, though they are not official; the assessment can be done clinically through the official tests – there will be opportunities to take these throughout your life.

Of course, one can also look on their own thoughts and self-assess their own types. I am not here to give a lecture on how the MBTI works; that's what Wikipedia is for. However, in the bliss of summer, and if you're feeling a little low on productivity (well, you're reading this, and I'm writing this – maybe we've got nothing better to do =P), doing a little work on your own analysis and discovery of MBTI would be my prescription (besides creating a little music, of course). And feel free to try those online tests [see links on the bottom of the Wikipedia page on MBTI), though they aren't the best.

Once you've discovered or found your own type, read about it. See if anything clicks, whether anything seems to describe you, better than you could yourself. If so – you've likely got a match. If not, then maybe keep working on it. This may not be the most accurate method, but you'll have launched yourself into self-discovery, and what could be better than that? Have Fun!