Hey folks. I know I haven't blogged in a while, and I'm terribly sorry about that. Something prevalent has come to my attention though and I need to spread the word, so heads up. Y'all know I'm not one to ask for a favor too often, but I'm asking for a favor now.
What’s going on with Asian American Studies at CSU Fullerton?
Here’s the short story.
The Asian American Studies Program (ASAM) at Cal State Fullerton (CSUF) may be cut this summer from 5.0 Full-time Equivalent Faculty (FTEF) in its budget to 4.0 FTEF for 2009-10. We don’t want this to happen because it means that our faculty will have to teach classes for other departments and not for Asian American Studies. Please help us to keep 5.0 FTEF in ASAM at CSUF by:
1) enrolling in ASAM classes in Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 (during Titan I, July 7-27) and/or
2) sending an email of support so that we can collect 500 letters for 5.0 Faculty in 5 days!
Your letter will help us to show that you value Asian American Studies and feel more satisfied with your education at CSUF because of the critical thinking skills and leadership development you learn through Asian American Studies.
Here’s the long story.
Background: CSUF is a University comprised of eight Colleges in its Division of Academic Affairs: Arts; Humanities & Social Sciences; Natural Sciences & Mathematics; Communications; Business & Economics; Engineering & Computer Science; Health & Human Development; and Education. The budget allocated to each College is determined by a number of factors, including the number of students that each College enrolls in previous years. The University’s Office of Academic Affairs sets the targeted number of Full-time Equivalent Students (FTES) that each College is supposed to teach in order to merit the College budget allocation. The College of Humanities & Social Sciences houses 21 academic departments and programs, including a modest-sized Asian American Studies Program within Ethnic Studies.
In 2006-07, the College of Humanities & Social Sciences decided to invest in the Asian American Studies (ASAM) Program at Cal State Fullerton by hiring two faculty members, bringing the total number of full-time, tenure-track faculty members to five (5.0 FTEF). Since Fall 2007, the enrollment in the program’s classes dipped because some of the faculty took family, medical, and research leaves. During this time away from teaching, the ASAM Program was not able to hire other part-time faculty to replace the classes that the tenure-track faculty were supposed to teach. Hiring replacement lecturers is common practice within the College and across the University. However, because of budget cuts by the Division of Academic Affairs, this money for ASAM’s replacement faculty was taken away and used instead to hire part-time faculty for non-ASAM departments whose courses had higher enrollments.
ASAM’s inability to offer replacement sections has become an issue because the number of students who enroll in classes helps determine the program budget for the following year. If one were only to look at the numbers of students enrolled in ASAM classes from 2007-08 and 2008-09, one might conclude that the ASAM program did not reach its enrollment targets. However, the numbers of enrolled students don’t tell the whole story because ASAM could not offer its full number of courses that it needed to reach enrollment targets.
Losing one faculty line (1.0 FTEF, or a 20% cut) in the ASAM program budget does not mean that any of the ASAM faculty will be laid off this year. It does mean that some ASAM faculty would be required to teach classes for other departments, and these classes may be unrelated to Asian American Studies. With fewer ASAM courses offered, fewer students will be able to enroll in and benefit from ASAM courses. This also means that, in future years, ASAM may not be able to afford its Full-time Equivalent Faculty because its student enrollment will decrease. Ultimately, this weakens the ASAM program, as reduced faculty leads to reduced courses, which leads to reduced enrollments, which leads to reduced budget allocations, and so on.
For these reasons, we ask for your help to keep the 5.0 FTEF in our ASAM budget in two ways:
1) Enroll in ASAM classes in Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 (during Titan I, July 7-27) and/or
2) Send an email of support so that we can collect 500 letters for 5.0 Faculty in 5 days!
Your letter will help us to show that you value Asian American Studies and feel more satisfied with your education at CSUF because of the critical thinking skills and leadership development you learn through Asian American Studies.
PLEASE HELP ME OUTTTT!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Please Marry Me
Scarlett Johansson. You are beautiful.
I just came back from watching He's Just Not That Into You which is a really good movie; I highly recommend it.
It posed a very interesting concept in regards to dating and relationships. This idea that we all hear stories about people who set exceptions to the norm. "Well my friend dated this guy that.." And we hear them all the time, but rarely are we, or do we, experience this exception. Yet we hold on to the hopes that perhaps this one time will indeed be that exception.
But will it? Do we continue to fuel ambiguous hopes because we're afraid of failure? Some people argue that positive self vision leads to positive outcomes. Thats what the infamous book "The Secret" is all about, right? I think thats an interesting book.. A Philosophy book in the disguise of a self-help book in the disguise of a fiction.
But I digress, as always. So is it good to be positive, to assert that we're sure we are the exceptions? That our friends will one day be referencing stories of us and our intimate partners in the context of "well my friend wasn't attracted to her boyfriend at first..." or something of that nature.
Or on the converse, should we realize that in all honesty, we have slim chances of being this highly sought after chance of being the exception? Of course I'd like to have a love that people write books or make movies out of. Some cute ass little story of how i met her goin' for the same Al Green record or something like that. But maybe I should realize that in all actuality, I'm going to go through a lot of people before I end up with someone that can put up with me. And shit, theres a possibility I may not end up with anyone right? What if I get caught between Jennifer Connely and Scarlett Johansson? Thats a hard ass decision.
Ok ok, so I know i'd never get to choose between the likes of them. But is it ok to be convinced that I'm the exception, and wait for that day to come?
While you ponder everything, I'll leave you with some pictures of Scarlett Johansson (:
gah. she's beautiful.
I just came back from watching He's Just Not That Into You which is a really good movie; I highly recommend it.
It posed a very interesting concept in regards to dating and relationships. This idea that we all hear stories about people who set exceptions to the norm. "Well my friend dated this guy that.." And we hear them all the time, but rarely are we, or do we, experience this exception. Yet we hold on to the hopes that perhaps this one time will indeed be that exception.
But will it? Do we continue to fuel ambiguous hopes because we're afraid of failure? Some people argue that positive self vision leads to positive outcomes. Thats what the infamous book "The Secret" is all about, right? I think thats an interesting book.. A Philosophy book in the disguise of a self-help book in the disguise of a fiction.
But I digress, as always. So is it good to be positive, to assert that we're sure we are the exceptions? That our friends will one day be referencing stories of us and our intimate partners in the context of "well my friend wasn't attracted to her boyfriend at first..." or something of that nature.
Or on the converse, should we realize that in all honesty, we have slim chances of being this highly sought after chance of being the exception? Of course I'd like to have a love that people write books or make movies out of. Some cute ass little story of how i met her goin' for the same Al Green record or something like that. But maybe I should realize that in all actuality, I'm going to go through a lot of people before I end up with someone that can put up with me. And shit, theres a possibility I may not end up with anyone right? What if I get caught between Jennifer Connely and Scarlett Johansson? Thats a hard ass decision.
Ok ok, so I know i'd never get to choose between the likes of them. But is it ok to be convinced that I'm the exception, and wait for that day to come?
While you ponder everything, I'll leave you with some pictures of Scarlett Johansson (:
gah. she's beautiful.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
You can't fake the funk.
I was talking about relationships and such, and a friend told me the most blatantly obvious, yet most eye-opening thing I've heard in awhile..
"Well, i guess you can't fake chemistry."
That is indeed the bottom line I suppose.
And then I found this Chemistry.com thing which is kinda like the Meyers-Briggs test I suppose, but in regards to intimate/romantic settings.
Ohhh Chemistry.com, you know me so well!
SHANK!
"Well, i guess you can't fake chemistry."
That is indeed the bottom line I suppose.
And then I found this Chemistry.com thing which is kinda like the Meyers-Briggs test I suppose, but in regards to intimate/romantic settings.
Hideki..., you are a
You are a highly spontaneous, inquisitive and energetic person who always likes to try new things. You find novel and unpredictable situations challenging and exciting. You particularly like discussing big ideas and having conversations about complex social, political or intellectual puzzles. And you are able to juggle a lot of projects at the same time; as a result you are sometimes a whirlwind of activity.
You have a firm grip on reality and enjoy living in the present tense. But you have a keen imagination that enables you to lift off from reality to be remarkably creative.
You are humorous. You are able to laugh at yourself. And you are agreeable, adaptable and changeable. You impose few limits on others and have little tolerance for fixed rules, schedules or traditions.
You have a deep sense of compassion. You can show genuine insight into the needs of others; you are good at listening, talking and compromising; and you express a genuine desire to be helpful to others and to the world at large.
You have a firm grip on reality and enjoy living in the present tense. But you have a keen imagination that enables you to lift off from reality to be remarkably creative.
You are humorous. You are able to laugh at yourself. And you are agreeable, adaptable and changeable. You impose few limits on others and have little tolerance for fixed rules, schedules or traditions.
You have a deep sense of compassion. You can show genuine insight into the needs of others; you are good at listening, talking and compromising; and you express a genuine desire to be helpful to others and to the world at large.
- Novelty seeking
- Impulsive and spontaneous
- Curious
- Creative
- Flexible
- Open-minded
- Energetic
- Sees the big picture
- Imaginative
- Intuitive
- Verbal skills
- Empathetic
- Trusting
- Introspective
As an Explorer you like knowledge, adventure and the pleasures of the senses, and you are drawn to those who are enthusiastic, curious, creative and energetic-people like yourself. Sex is important to you, too. As a Negotiator, you have a big heart; you are flexible and sensitive to the feelings of others and you are driven to seek harmony in your social life. So you avoid conflict, as well as people who compete with you. You also avoid those who structure your time and block things from happening spontaneously. And you can feel pressured by other's needs. So you are attracted to individuals who share your "live and let live" attitude. Money is secondary to you, so you also respect individuals who can part with theirs, particularly when spending leads to adventure or improves the world. And you are drawn to people who are direct, decisive and tough minded to balance out your flexible, spontaneous, intuitive style.
You are charismatic, agreeable and adaptable and you can adapt to just about any social situation, convincing others you are just like them. And with your flexibility, liberal attitude and lack of prejudice, you can find something interesting in just about anyone. But when your interest wanes, you depart; you cannot tolerate boredom.
- You are so mentally flexible and spontaneous that you can appear indecisive and unpredictable.
- Don't be impatient with cautious people or those with more rigid views of morality.
- Focus on one thing at a time.
Ohhh Chemistry.com, you know me so well!
SHANK!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
150 Love Letters You Were Never Meant To See
Thank you, I hate you, I'm sorry
Thank you
because without your support, I wouldn't be here
I wouldn't have stayed when things got hard
I wouldn't have believed that I could find a life.
Thank you for the way you know me,
for being my best friend for what feels like forever,
and for raising the bar so high that I don't know where to begin.
Thank you for knowing to let go before things got ugly.
On some level, you must've known that forcing me to fly
would force you to fly too, to do the things you know you need.
And maybe you even share the belief that our paths
will join us together again, and for always.
I hate you
for not wanting it badly enough,
for not believing we could do this together,
for not following through.
I hate that you didn't have the balls to take a chance,
to explore this place that's filled with your dreams.
I hate that you don't even seem to be doing
the things that made you stay.
I hate the way you tell me how you feel almost always hurts,
and that most of the time you just don't tell me at all.
I hate that you are the only girl I can imagine loving,
and you make letting go seem so easy,
like it doesn't hurt at all,
like you don't ever cry.
I'm sorry
I left the way I did,
because of what i said to you:
that I would always expect you to follow.
I'm sorry I didn't see it like that.
I thought paving the way would create
an adventure that would change our lives.
I'm sorry I didn't wait until you were ready,
that I didn't think I could, so the decision didn't feel like yours.
I'm sorry that it seemed like your opinion wasn't important,
when nothing could be farther from the truth.
I'm sorry that I doubted our future, and made you doubt it too.
I didn't know well enough myself to tell you
all the things that needed to change, and why.
We both thought we'd have more time, and then I left.
I'll always be sorry for that.
(yeah Shank, I copied you :] )
Thank you
because without your support, I wouldn't be here
I wouldn't have stayed when things got hard
I wouldn't have believed that I could find a life.
Thank you for the way you know me,
for being my best friend for what feels like forever,
and for raising the bar so high that I don't know where to begin.
Thank you for knowing to let go before things got ugly.
On some level, you must've known that forcing me to fly
would force you to fly too, to do the things you know you need.
And maybe you even share the belief that our paths
will join us together again, and for always.
I hate you
for not wanting it badly enough,
for not believing we could do this together,
for not following through.
I hate that you didn't have the balls to take a chance,
to explore this place that's filled with your dreams.
I hate that you don't even seem to be doing
the things that made you stay.
I hate the way you tell me how you feel almost always hurts,
and that most of the time you just don't tell me at all.
I hate that you are the only girl I can imagine loving,
and you make letting go seem so easy,
like it doesn't hurt at all,
like you don't ever cry.
I'm sorry
I left the way I did,
because of what i said to you:
that I would always expect you to follow.
I'm sorry I didn't see it like that.
I thought paving the way would create
an adventure that would change our lives.
I'm sorry I didn't wait until you were ready,
that I didn't think I could, so the decision didn't feel like yours.
I'm sorry that it seemed like your opinion wasn't important,
when nothing could be farther from the truth.
I'm sorry that I doubted our future, and made you doubt it too.
I didn't know well enough myself to tell you
all the things that needed to change, and why.
We both thought we'd have more time, and then I left.
I'll always be sorry for that.
(yeah Shank, I copied you :] )
Monday, January 26, 2009
I make booty calls sound like sonnets
I came across this spoken word performance entitled "7 reasons not to date a poet". I thought it was pretty damn hilarious, being a poet myself. Don't judge me, but enjoy (:
Sunday, January 11, 2009
DAMMIT! THIS IS WHAT I GET FOR NOT BLOGGING IN SO LONG
An hour later, i have the urge to blog again. I feel safer blogging what i'm feeling instead of telling someone, and this blog will explain exactly why.
So... I've had maybe 6 best friends from high school to the present. Some people prefer not to designate one best friend or whatever, spare me your preference and hear me out. Every best friend I've had has left me. Whether it be because of indifference, relationships, or straying away (i don't know how you stray away from a bestfriend), they've all left me in one way or another. I hope this doesn't sound presumptuous, but i don't think its been me thats strayed away. My friends are family to me, and i do everything i can to be good to them..
Now as of late, I've been extremely reluctant to call anyone my best friend. A concept I've tried to keep in mind is that not everyone has the same notions of friendship and life as I do, but sometimes its hard. You're in a mutual relationship in which one would expect equal reciprocation of effort and personal investment right? Well I've learned that to be wrong. And if that sounds weird to you, well, that was my understanding of what a friendship was.
And I think now, i'm hesitant to talk to people about my problems... Because i'm afraid to make personal investments in them, knowing that i'm very susceptible to being walked away from.. I'm hesitant to call anyone my bestfriend for that same reason. Regardless, I still care about certain friends more than others (fact of life, sorry.) and because of that when i see signs of them possibly straying away i get scared. Blame my low self esteem/self concept, blame my inferiority complex, whatever it is, it happens. So a look into my life, this is how I am. Love me or leave me. But if you choose to love me, please love me in full.
I used to think my parents didn't understand me. I am the black sheep of my family. I'm just different. But as I grow older, i'm slowly learning that they know me better than I think. Sometimes I'll bawl my heart out, laying in bed in my room. And my mom will just sit there with me, and she'll keep asking me to talk to her. And i won't. She'll ask me twenty times, and finally i'll be ready to talk, and she'll be there to listen.. And for that, I am eternally thankful..
I hide my feelings because of fear, but I really do want someone to listen.. I just need a different kind of care, I suppose.
So... I've had maybe 6 best friends from high school to the present. Some people prefer not to designate one best friend or whatever, spare me your preference and hear me out. Every best friend I've had has left me. Whether it be because of indifference, relationships, or straying away (i don't know how you stray away from a bestfriend), they've all left me in one way or another. I hope this doesn't sound presumptuous, but i don't think its been me thats strayed away. My friends are family to me, and i do everything i can to be good to them..
Now as of late, I've been extremely reluctant to call anyone my best friend. A concept I've tried to keep in mind is that not everyone has the same notions of friendship and life as I do, but sometimes its hard. You're in a mutual relationship in which one would expect equal reciprocation of effort and personal investment right? Well I've learned that to be wrong. And if that sounds weird to you, well, that was my understanding of what a friendship was.
And I think now, i'm hesitant to talk to people about my problems... Because i'm afraid to make personal investments in them, knowing that i'm very susceptible to being walked away from.. I'm hesitant to call anyone my bestfriend for that same reason. Regardless, I still care about certain friends more than others (fact of life, sorry.) and because of that when i see signs of them possibly straying away i get scared. Blame my low self esteem/self concept, blame my inferiority complex, whatever it is, it happens. So a look into my life, this is how I am. Love me or leave me. But if you choose to love me, please love me in full.
I used to think my parents didn't understand me. I am the black sheep of my family. I'm just different. But as I grow older, i'm slowly learning that they know me better than I think. Sometimes I'll bawl my heart out, laying in bed in my room. And my mom will just sit there with me, and she'll keep asking me to talk to her. And i won't. She'll ask me twenty times, and finally i'll be ready to talk, and she'll be there to listen.. And for that, I am eternally thankful..
I hide my feelings because of fear, but I really do want someone to listen.. I just need a different kind of care, I suppose.
How I've missed your embrace..
Oh blog, why do I always forget about you :/ I promise I love you, life just gets crazy sometimes.
Despite a fear of sounding uninterestingly familiar, I am coming back to my blog. This is where I talk about my emotions and daily interesting happenings, but I feel like they've all become the same. Recycled memories, same shit in a new stall. Then again, maybe thats why y'all love me? :]
So.. In the past 2 and a half months, I have.. Started a second job with the city of diamond bar, dated a girl, un-dated by a girl, gotten my geek on and watched a lot of anime, seen my brother who lives in Japan, started a new year, had Wii Fit tell me I'm obese, and celebrated numerous birthdays.
I'll try and update more. I want to be more helpful. I want to share experiences and insight, I'm a creative soul longing to leave my mark in this world before I die.
So at work (sushi restaurant) I have this asian lady come in with two daughters. One must have been 4 or 5, and the other 2 or 3. She looked like a single mom, although i'm not sure, and she had a speech impediment. I'm not sure, but she sounded like she might have been partially deaf or something. Anyway, I couldn't understand her well despite trying my hardest, and when she asked for a spoon and I didn't understand, her daughter told me "she wants a spoon." As she went on with her dinner, I saw her trying to feed her younger daughter while being attentive to the older one, and I could see the frustration in her face.
And I wondered.. what must it be like, to struggle to care for two daughters as a single parent. I'm sure she's greatful for the two beautiful girls she has, but i wondered if she resented them sometimes. And what would it feel like to have conflicting emotions like that. And I wondered if I would be a good dad. Or what if I had to raise my kids on my own? Would I be any good?
Although these questions are highly premature seeing as though I can't even seem to hold down a girlfriend, let alone a wife to have children with.
I think this is long enough :P
Goodnight blogworld.
Despite a fear of sounding uninterestingly familiar, I am coming back to my blog. This is where I talk about my emotions and daily interesting happenings, but I feel like they've all become the same. Recycled memories, same shit in a new stall. Then again, maybe thats why y'all love me? :]
So.. In the past 2 and a half months, I have.. Started a second job with the city of diamond bar, dated a girl, un-dated by a girl, gotten my geek on and watched a lot of anime, seen my brother who lives in Japan, started a new year, had Wii Fit tell me I'm obese, and celebrated numerous birthdays.
I'll try and update more. I want to be more helpful. I want to share experiences and insight, I'm a creative soul longing to leave my mark in this world before I die.
So at work (sushi restaurant) I have this asian lady come in with two daughters. One must have been 4 or 5, and the other 2 or 3. She looked like a single mom, although i'm not sure, and she had a speech impediment. I'm not sure, but she sounded like she might have been partially deaf or something. Anyway, I couldn't understand her well despite trying my hardest, and when she asked for a spoon and I didn't understand, her daughter told me "she wants a spoon." As she went on with her dinner, I saw her trying to feed her younger daughter while being attentive to the older one, and I could see the frustration in her face.
And I wondered.. what must it be like, to struggle to care for two daughters as a single parent. I'm sure she's greatful for the two beautiful girls she has, but i wondered if she resented them sometimes. And what would it feel like to have conflicting emotions like that. And I wondered if I would be a good dad. Or what if I had to raise my kids on my own? Would I be any good?
Although these questions are highly premature seeing as though I can't even seem to hold down a girlfriend, let alone a wife to have children with.
I think this is long enough :P
Goodnight blogworld.
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