My 7 Peculiarities

This is the 3rd time I've done this... and if anyone else should tag me maybe I might run out of peculiarities (or at least the ones that I could safely disclose here). So, I'll try my best to think of 7, despite how groggy my mind is. Even after 9 hours of sleep and a cup of coffee, I end up having a headache.

For those who are unfamiliar with this task:
The Instructions:
A. List seven habits/quirks/facts about yourself.
B. Tag seven people to do the same.
C. Do not tag the person who tagged you or say that you tag "whoever wants to do it."

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1. I have a very wicked and dark sense of humor. A prime example would be when I watched the American versions of the Japanese horror movie The Grudge, and its sequel The Grudge 2. You call that scary? I was laughing my ass off everytime the grudge girl or the grudge boy appeared. It was probably because the cultural context of the movie seems misplaced in an American film starring American actors.
My housemate, Thomas, was somewhat pissed. He was jumping in fright, while I was bouncing in laughter. Bwahahahahaha.
Oh yeah, and I am a fan of Happy Tree Friends!

2. I have a very whimsical sense of phenomenology, which is probably why I have lots of stories to tell. Simple gestures, simple words, conversations, events, or even inanimate objects, can actually be blown up with context and meaning. In a nutshell, I am easily amused.
This can be seen in my poems/songs, where I become very conceptual. For example, how I can revolve around a simple picture hanging on a wall and what it means, what it symbolizes (see my previous post, "Picture Hanging on a Wall").
I love conceptualism. One simple thing can have thousands of repercussions.

3. I do not listen to Hip-Hop and Rap mostly because I cannot relate to it. The cultural undertones embedded within it are foreign, if not too radical or simply outrageous. One thing I can't get, is how rich these rappers can be, yet they're still angry, still trying to prove themselves.
They've been fighting for money, and when they already have millions, proven by the gas-guzzling hummers that they drive, and grand mansions featured on MTV cribs, they're still not contented.

4. I have a very situationist approach to life. For example, I could not say that it's a guy's job in a relationship to read between the lines of his girl's words. There are some things that are meant to be understood, and some things that are impossible to convey, even if you actually want to say it out loud.
I do not know what to expect in a relationship, mostly because I do not want to expect anything. Everything will become clearer as the actual thing is happening. There are no plans, no expectations. I should just be prepared. (I know that this doesn't make any sense at all).

5. I believe that there are some facets to my personality and characteristics that I should leave to people to find out for themselves. Some things that I wouldn't lay out on the table, but I guess as you continue to spend time with me, these things will become apparent.
Sometimes I can be so professional, and I don't just tell anyone that I write poems and songs, for example. It's not that I am ashamed of them (why should I be?), but it's just that I don't like to show off and moreover, I don't want people to stereotype me because of what I do.

6. I can never believe that a person can be too busy to spend time with you, if he/she actually cares about you. I believe if someone loves you, he/she will always find time, no matter how busy things are.
We all are busy, we all have our responsibilities to attend to, but we also have the responsibility to maintain our relationships. We can always compromise. Sacrifice, after all, is part of the deal.

7. I hate stereotypes. I hate it when people immediately assume things about you when they find out some trivial thing that is probably a tip of a pin on the tip of the iceberg which represents the totality of you.

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I TAG: Toni, Domdom, Rheena, Adam, Joaqs, Meg A., ANYONE who READS this (I can't think of any other person to tag... lol... Jom has tagged them already...)

Restless Exposé

This has been long on my mind, in unintegrated thoughts, until it condensed and took form. I discovered the tune first, then added lyrics. This is a song, so it's not as structured as my other poems.
Enjoy.


Restless Exposé

By J. Charles Lacson

My throat is dry,
I cannot speak,
Or even squeak,
I don’t know why.

My voice escapes
My conscious control
And rolls
Into garbled shapes.

The butterflies
From my stomach
Eat up my vocal chords.
No candy lies,
This time I will try
To tell the truth.

But the miracle is
Although I cannot speak,
You can read my eyes.
And as you peruse,
Your face just shows
That you’re not confused,
You’re taking your time.

You don’t just guess,
You understand.

The maddened skies
That fell on me
Are now clear and blue.
And candy lies
Can no longer coat
What is said and done.

But as you smile,
I suddenly realize,
That for the longest while,
You’ve known the truth,
That I have kept from myself.
You already know.

I constantly thank God for...

Well, let me again deviate from the usual posts of poems or songs or meaningless (meaningful?) blabber, to tell give you guys yet another peek of my life.

(Bored already?)

I have quite a lot to talk about, and perhaps I won't be able to fit them all in in this blog. Let me apologize in advance. This might be a long one, and it might take a longer chunk of your time.

First of all: Career and Education.

I am getting more and more confident of choosing to finish my Masters in Biology first. I am now pretty enthusiastic about pursuing both an MD and a PhD, but basically I am leaning towards a career in medical research, so a PhD alone is attractive as well.
For my masters, I am gonna focus on Molecular Genetics and its application to Cancer genetics. I am taking and planning to take advanced Human Genetics courses and Molecular techniques that will help me to achieve this.
Furthermore, I am looking forward to doing research for a masters thesis either at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine or at City of Hope Hospital, which is pretty renowned as a hospital for cancer.
If you really want to know what I'm gonna be doing for my research, I'll be looking for specific candidate genes that are involved in the development of a specific cancer. I'll be doing microarray hybridization to look for these genes, and produce a genotypic analysis. (Nosebleed, much?)
I'm hoping to start in the summer, so I can have a good start since I don't think I'll be taking summer classes anyway.
My classmates are becoming more interesting as well. I'm meeting more people from very diverse walks of life. Lovely.

Work

Work has been pretty amazing, if not more interesting. I've been getting a lot of high school kids who need help in geometry, trigonometry, pre-calculus, algebra 1&2, physics, chemistry, and biology. My students have been giving me positive feedback, and I'm pretty flattered.
Even more so when one of my students gave me a present. I don't really get to teach him that much but he's an interesting punk 16 y.o. kid. He went to my table, claiming that he has a present for me. I was too busy to give him my attention, and I told him that I can get it later. He placed it on my table. It was crudely wrapped in shopping bag plastic and magic tape. After my session was over, I examined it, and opened it. At first I thought it was a pack of cigarettes (why I thought of it that way, I could never know), but I was surprised to see it was a brownie!
My manager said, "That means you've made a difference." I was so flattered. He was being tutored by another teacher when I was done, so I just placed my hand on his shoulder and said "Hey, thanks for the Brownie!" Then he showed me his panda pencil. Ain't that cool?

Housemates

As some of you know, I rent a room in a house that's about 3 blocks away from school. I live in the annex, which has 3 rooms, while the main house has 5 rooms. I don't really interact with the people in the main house.
When I moved in, two other people were living in the annex with me: a Burmese woman, and 21 y.o. American guy. By December, the woman withdrew from CSUN and got married, and moved out. In her place, a 20 y.o. guy from Leipzig, Germany, moved in.
His name is Thomas and in a nutshell I would describe him as extroverted, spontaneous, intrepid yet goal-oriented. He is a biochemistry major at CSUN and is planning to get a PhD.
So I guess I'm thankful that there's now someone I can interact with in the house. I won't feel like a hermit anymore.
I also bought myself a coffeemaker. I have become somewhat of a coffee junkie! But I have yet to reach Kaye's level of addiction (hehehe). I haven't tried more than 2 cups a day yet (although I'm getting there).

So yeah, that's pretty much the different dimensions of my life right now - school, work, and home. Everything's becoming a bit more challenging and a bit more interesting. I am beginning to be optimistic about the risk that I took to live here.

Although it's a bit frightening to think that the dollar is weakening, and that the next US president could be a hit-or-miss.