A Long Day's Journal Into Night

I like to ask people, especially engineers, what they would like to be if they weren't doing insert job here ?

I think it is is fascinating and people often surprise me.

Usually, when asked, I would say children's librarian, but today I was thinking linguist.

I don't know what a linguist does exactly, but I have more than a passing interest in language. Working among non-native speakers is especially interesting for me. For example, one time, a Korean friend said he thought that the song "Take my Breath Away," of pre-crazy Tom Cruise Top Gun fame, was so sad. Why? Well, because he thought that literally the singer's breath was being taken away, or that the singer was dying. And who can blame him for thinking that? Sometimes I can clarify these types of phrases for people. For example, it is easy for me to explain that "taking one's breath away," means that you make one gasp (though not necessarily literally) in shock or awe. Sometimes I have no way of explaining these phrases. I just take the meaning for granted, as though it is its own word, and I have no idea of the origin.

So today, I was listening to a podcast and the phrase "hands down" was used. The meaning in the little dictionary I carry around in my head is: absolutely, no question, or no doubt. But imagine you are a newbie to English language. Suddenly the phrase "hands down" seems baffleing.

So if you are baffled like me, here is an explanation I found on Ask Yahoo!
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"Hands down" is a term meaning "easily" or "with little or no effort." It's used most often in the context of a competition or comparison, as in the sentence "Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive is hands-down the most significant cultural event of the last decade." (Editors' Note: Sentence used for demonstration purposes only.)

We stumbled upon several wrong guesses, but just about all the etymological sites we came across agreed that the term dates back to the mid-19th century and the genteel world of British horse racing. Back then, a jockey who found himself way ahead as he approached the finish line would relax his grip on the reins and drop his hands. Not as confrontational as a spiked football, but still a bit of gestural in-your-face-ness. By the late 19th century, the idiom had been extended to non-racing contexts, and it remains in frequent use today.
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On graduating. Finally. For the last time.

I am slowly returning the stacks of books that I have checked out from the UCLA library. Some of them I have had for years because I horde books. Because I love them. I love having them piled around me. And when I return them, even though I may have read them years ago, I feel like I am giving away my puppies.

My sadness is deepened because soon I will no longer be able to go to the UCLA library. We have a long relationship, the library and I. When I first came to Westwood I did the following: 1) Moved into the Co-op, 2) Set up a bank account, 3) Bought a cell phone and 4) Located the the UCLA library. When I was lonely, I visited the library. When I needed to get away from my room or the lab, I visited the library.

There will of course, always be a library that I can visit, but it will not be a musty smelling collegiate library.

...

I am slowly cleaning up my desk in the lab. Naturally, my mind dwells not on the things that I throw away, but the memories behind them. And strangely what saddens me the most, is not that I will be leaving the lab, but the other people that will be leaving the lab with me. (Bear with me, because this may sound cheez-mo.)

Not real people, but the idea of people. You see as long as I am in the lab, the stories and memories of other lab members are in the lab. As soon as I am gone, nobody will remember that I-Hsiang put up that guitar poster, or that Noriaki signed DOOG on that card, or that Ji-Yong made that circuit. The names on the posters in the lab will have no faces attached to them. I don't care if I am forgotten, but I am sad that eventually the group that was will be completely lost.

It has been two long years, but I am back! And I am not alone. I've got Tuffy on my shoulder, Bubbles at my elbow, and Kevin laying next to me humming an Ashlee Simpson song (L-O-V-E for you folks at home playing along).

I do not have anything to say, I think because I am out of the practice. Also, my life seems, not dull, but perhaps more calming... which does not make for good copy.

One thing: I saw two people fall down today in two different crosswalks that were situated a block apart. And no there are no bars on this block. Perhaps there were some tremors in the area? The second one was this guy, who tripped over I don't know what, and literally fell in the street and then rolled around.

Ciao for now!

Today I saw hundreds of monarch butterflies! Today must be the day! Today must be the day they break that chyrsallis open. Today must be spring.

Hey! Guess what?

"Merriam-Webster said "blog" headed the list of most looked-up terms on its site during the last twelve months.
During 2004 blogs, or web logs, have become hugely popular and some have started to influence mainstream media.
Other words on the Merriam-Webster list were associated with major news events such as the US presidential election or natural disasters that hit the US."

That's what.

You are Beaker!! You aren't a big talker, but you
get your point across. You are extremely
accident prone.

Which Muppet are You?
brought to you by

Yes!! I am currently watching the black-out Friends. Life is good.

Gum would be perfection.

For me gum is perfection.

New York City has no power...

Ow, ow. Sorry that was wax.

Let's put the poor little tootie in the hall.

Nice going imp.

blah-blah-BLAH-blah...