Jaded

There was a debate for my class a few days ago and I was the opposition. So after tearing my hair out, getting into sleepy discussions with Shane about what the hell my points were because everything was so convoluted and getting less than 5 hours of sleep, I think neither the professor nor the rest of class were really listening to what our two groups were saying. Instead of evaluating our presentation, he began telling us why he was leaving his job.

He told us that when we reach the age of 50, we’d start regretting spending so much time in trivial pursuits. Money, property, career, etc. All that time could have been invested in your family and pursuing what’s truly important (which then again is debatable).

Then he said this, “When you ask them [the working population] what they’re reading nowadays, they’re not reading Homer or James Joyce, they’re reading professional manuals on how to improve their skills at what they do for a living.”

Everything he said is what everybody already knows but keeps forgetting. I always forget it. Recently, I’ve been thinking so much about how to get my career and life in order that I’ve been neglecting what I have always thought to be much more important to me, or what made me feel distant and private from the rest of the practical world. What he said about what people are reading nowadays really struck me because it made me realize, when was the last time I had touched a book (not including my textbooks)? Literature has always played a big part in my life – to me, it’s one of the most important subjects anyone should ever learn and pursue in school or otherwise. It’s a subject that teaches you so much about the social workings and order of the world – its history, its people, its future.

I don’t know why I’ve stopped reading. I have 4 books sitting on my shelf, unfinished for months. All I have time for now is to read cases and legal concepts. Instead of my knowledge and intellect being developed, I think it’s degenerating in other areas. Don’t get me wrong, law is awfully challenging, but it’s another focus on life altogether. I just find myself to be very jaded recently.

Besides that, I wish I had the time now to pursue my interests. But I have to admit it’s not just time being a factor, a lot of what I’m interested in doing are haunted by memories which I wish not to recall, or associated with particular people. It’s a silly reason to stop myself from doing what I want, but I simply cannot shrug off the reminder that what I’m doing is somehow associated with just.. something/someone I don’t wish to think of, even if it’s something/someone who is not directly involved in my life (Okay, vague, I know.)

I guess it’s about time I start picking up a book again and reminding myself of the things that I used to be, or want to be, passionate about.

Hm? Physically Strenuous?

To the shock and surprise of many, I have joined a sports CCA (“*Gasp* A SPORTS CCA?” exclaimed Joyin) and so I did something physically strenuous a couple of weeks ago – horseback riding! “Pfft, isn’t the horse doing all the work?” some of you might protest, it’s a lot more tiring than it appears to be!

Unfortunately I didn’t get to take many photos of the horses, because one of them got particularly irritated and nearly bit off my camera, so most of the photos were of the owner’s two dogs and stuff that was in the proximity of the um, resting area.

“I founded modern negligence”

A hilarious video inspired by the Donoghue v Stevenson case that my group mate found while we were doing a group discussion about it (the case, not the video). You really can find the most bizarre people on the internet! I wish every case had a funky music video made out of it by bored students in bizarre costumes, that would make things easier to remember (probably won’t help much in understanding the case though).