Theasaurus Rex

The thesaurus: more people should procure one. If you don't, Theasaurus Rex will unearth you.




I get tired of using the same words over and over again. Don't you? There are many different ways we can call someone an idiot, but we tend to overlook them.


idiot
noun informal
that idiot was driving way too fast FOOL, ass, halfwit, dunce, dolt, ignoramus, cretin, moron, imbecile, simpleton.


...and that's not even including the "more informal" synonyms. 


As my Dad says, "Variety is the spice of life." I completely agree, Dad. Diversity should be applied to more than just the words in your life though. Try also applying it to the people you hang out with, meet, and date. Talking to strangers is a recreation in and of itself. How do you think I met all you people?


Theasaurus Rex is symbolic for the heterogeneity in my writing. He's constantly reminding me that there's always another way to say something. Words are a powerful tool. We tend to forget this fact because we usually can't see words, even though we use them everyday. 


I recently redrafted an essay for a job application and found myself constantly consulting Theasaurus Rex. It gave my paper a comprehensive face lift. I hope it distinguishes me from the other candidates and gets me the métier.


~Anthans

Success!

"...it just takes time and hard work – eventually someone will notice what you're doing."

-Francisco

At long last, somebody I know has finally succeeded! And it's about time, too. He earned it.

I realize that some of my friends are triumphant and inching closer towards prosperity; that's great for them. However, some of my friends are also on the creek-without-a-paddle route, just like me. I'm happy for the successful ones but can empathize with the not-so-successful ones more. Despite everything, I hope we all succeed in the long-run, short-run, and medium-run in reaching our goals.

Francisco, ellipsis, a law school has finally accepted you. It may not be your top pick but sometimes life throws us a detour, or two (or twelve). Who knows, this school in Sacramento may be just right for you. Come what may, you won't have to apply any further efforts towards a menial job. This is your dream coming true – go capture it.

As for myself, I feel a shared success with Francisco. When one of my good friends succeeds I feel like we all succeed. It's hive mind thinking (see Minority Report). As time progresses, more shared success is sure to follow.

~Anthans

Sunrise, Sunshine

I don't see the sun rise too often: Morning and I don't make for very good allies. But when I do wake up early enough to see it I make sure to take in every ray of light the sun emits that morning. It's the perfect time to not be able to keep your eyes off something as beautiful as the sun.


Every sunrise and sunset is unique. I like them both for their own special properties; however, sunrises are more precious to me because I rarely see them. I've seen the sun rise twice recently: once on New Year's Day from being out the whole night and also on my first day of work this year when I woke up earlier than I would actually need to. Both were spectacular sights. I took pictures of both occasions but can't show them because they're on my obtuse phone/camera. Enjoy the above picture for now.


The sunrise shot above is from Malapascua, a quaint island I visited in late 2008 among the archipelago that is The Philippines. Because I was on vacation I saw no need to wake up early. Nevertheless, being surrounded by so much beauty, it made perfect sense to wake up early one morning and see the sun rise from the beach of an island. As I mentioned earlier, Morning and I aren't on the best terms. Somehow though I found the energy to wake up and see the most magnificent sunrise I've ever seen. Still, the picture above is not fully representative of what I saw, felt, heard, tasted, and most importantly, smelled that morning (I'm big on smell. Just ask my nose). And it's not even from my camera, it's from a friend's. My camera was lost on that trip and the pictures I shot were never to be viewed again.


Sunrises will never cease to amaze me. I share this part about myself with my dad all the time. My dad, whose been around for 57 years, has seen countless sunrises. They're no big deal to him anymore. Regardless, they are a coveted experience in my life and I think they always will be, even if Morning and I somehow console our differences in the future. Show me a good sunrise and I'll show you a good son rise above it all.


~Anthans

Tik Tok

I really like the song Tik Tok by Ke$ha, but that's not what today's post is about. 

Earon, one of the people I met recently through capturing videos for Music Choice, chose the song Tik Tok by Ke$ha as his favorite music video. He encouraged viewers at home to vote for it based on what the song meant to him:

"...because it always [sic] reminds me that time is always running out, and you should use time while it lasts."


Brilliantly put, Earon. 


We don't have a lot of time on this Earth, and neither do the bison, bald eagles, or gorillas that live in our backyards. Unfortunately, none of those animals are native to where I live. A cat named Casper is the animal that means the most to me and she lives with me, or rather, I live with her. Between her full 14 years of living at my house and my segmented 23 years of going here and there, I'd say she's the more permanent resident.


Her name is Casper, and although she's not a boy, somehow we made the mistake of thinking she was one when we first adopted her. The name Casper stuck, and many other derivative names like Caspy, Casperella, Kitty, and Misses Kitty followed shortly after. She looks nothing like her brother Ferris (deceased) and does not behave like the average lovable house cat. She's quite irritable and has been for a long time. Don't expect her to hump your leg. That's not really her thing. 


Recently though, within the last 3 years, she's become more crabby and detached than ever before. We found out 2 years ago that she has some condition with her thyroid: it's enlarged or has some hideous extra growth or something. Oops, sensitive subject Casper. Just trying to fit in a little tumor humor whenever I can.


She used to weigh 11 pounds and always attracted negative attention to herself for being fat, lazy, and evil. Over the past few years though she's dropped to the weight of 6 pounds and has adopted some form of cat bulimia, yaking up almost everything she eats. We've tried putting her on pills, letting her go out more to eat grass (to help her digestive system), and feeding her A LOT more. Nothing has worked. Doesn't she know that skinny with fur is SO OUT?


Two days ago she had an episode. Can you believe it? They finally launched her pilot: The Real House Cats of Pomona. And right after that she had a more serious episode where her tongue was hanging out for no reason, and she was crying like she was going to die. My mother and sister took her to the emergency room. 


Good thing she was covered by an HMO. This shouldn't surprise you. Imagine that, some animals have better health care than humans. Regrettably, my cat and I are in the same boat when it comes to health care: actually, we're not even covered for the boat. 


Now she needs to have radioactive surgery on her thyroid. Once the tumor is removed we can expect her to return to a normal weight again. 


When she came home from the hospital today she behaved in the most affectionate manner I've seen since she was a baby. My sister advised me to leave her alone while she readjusted herself to the house. She had been with strangers at the vet for more than a few hours today, which is 1000% more time than she's used to. When she came back, she was different. Maybe this time she knew how close her life was to the threshold of death. When I said hello to her, she responded with a genuine kindness. I picked her up and let her rest on my lap. Normally I would have to force her to stay. This time, however, she stayed on her own. No extra petting was needed. She was legitimately happy to see me, purring the entire 20 minutes she rested on me. Whenever she readjusted her chin on my knee or her paws on my legs I feared that her warmheartedness had faded and that she was preparing to leave. She didn't though. She just kept staying. Purring. Relaxing. 


We almost fell asleep together. What else could I have done? I couldn't abandon my post and get up. She may never be this adoring again. I took it all in and used my time wisely to appreciate my Casper.


~Anthans

Throwback Thursday: I'm going to forget about her

I like the sound of "Throwback Thursday." I also like how last Thursday was coincidentally the day when I copy+pasta'd an old written work of mine from The Daily Trojan. I think Throwback Thursday is a great theme and will stay here until I no longer have any historical documents to share. Or maybe I'll make something up if that happens.

My last girlfriend and I broke up over 2 years ago. This next throwback does not derive from any lingering feelings of revenge, guilt, or spite. I just feel like sharing it on Throwback Thursday. It was a poem I wrote shortly after we broke up and its style was inspired from an artist's video I saw on YouTube called "I'm not going to think about her." You can still find it here. My poetic version is titled "I'm going to forget about her."

I was supposed to deliver it during an open mic night at USC but was too late in signing up. Typical Anthans.

I’m going to forget about her

(circa late 2007)

I’m going to forget about her

I’m going to forget about her

I’m going to forget about her

I’m going to forget about how she used to take care of me

I’m going to forget about how she thought my monster noises over the phone were kinda scary

I’m going to forget about all the music we ever shared

I’m going to forget about that crazy carnival ride she made me ride at the fair

I’m going to forget about how we knew each other so well that we never needed to play truth or dare

I’m going to forget about our anniversary date

I’m going to forget about how we thought we met was fate

I’m going to forget about all the bad feelings and false signs of hate

I’m going to forget about how she never made me wait

I’m going to forget about all the time we wasted in my room

I’m going to forget about how we used to wake up together at 8 and not get ready to start the day until noon

I’m going to forget about how her face looked up close

I’m going to forget about how she used to be my Brown Sugar, inspired by Mos

I’m going to forget about how she let me down

I’m going to forget about her tears which were usually accompanied by a frown

I’m going to forget about how she brought me up

I’m going to forget about how we used to drink from the same cup

I’m going to forget about how one side of her body had more imperfections than the other

I’m going to forget about how I used to know the exact birthday of her mother

I’m going to forget about the layout of her parent’s house

I’m going to forget about how we used to stay out late because the thrill of not getting her home on time to her parents got us even more aroused

I’m going to forget about how my stomach always grumbled because we spent so much time in bed

I’m going to forget about how she said she liked to feed me, even though I was never fed

I’m going to forget about how she always thought I could do anything

I’m going to forget about when she used to tell me I was her everything

I’m going to forget about how I tried being nice to her brother

I’m going to forget about how she let me get away with imitating her every time even though I should have probably stopped at one point or another

I’m going to forget about how she liked to dress me

I’m going to forget about how I always used to think she was sexy

I’m going to forget about how we could never study together

I’m going to forget about how it never mattered who was around, she would always let me pet her

I’m going to forget about all the conversations we had in Spanish

I’m going to forget about how she thought I could make her the best sandwich

I’m going to forget about her

I’m going to forget about her

I’m going to forget about her

I’m going to forget about how she was the only person I ever told that I was the one who broke my old roommate’s imitation-medieval-knife

I’m going to forget about the last 2 years of my life

---

I’m going to forget the next line of this poem if I keep erasing everything I thought I’d ever known.

~Anthans

Rushed Thoughts

I have to leave in 6 minutes to LA. I feel like I'm writing a paper that is due in 6 minutes, just like when I was in college. I did that far too often. My GPA might have been slightly better if I would have done things ahead of time in college. Such things included projects, papers, and preparing for presentations. Instead of a 2.7 I might have ended up with a 2.701 or something. Oh well, no time for living in the past.

Some people feel that doing things last minute gives them uncanny powers. What a strange phenomenon. These are the same people who never had to study and turned in "A" papers without even trying. How do they do that?

Whenever I see the clock hit the time of my deadline I always give myself an extra 59 seconds to get whatever it is I'm doing finished. Yes, I'm supposed to leave at 6:00 pm, but the time will read 6:00 pm for at least another 59 seconds.

~Anthans

Triggers

I get my inspiration to do things from bizarre sources, namely, people I don't know very well. Friends, family, co-workers and other acquaintances who have known me for at least a year are already familiar with me and what they think I'm capable of. Close associates provide for a good support network or safe haven; however, they can never motivate me in the way a stranger or new friend can. People I have just met, or am bound to meet, hold the trigger in motivating me to explore, reexamine, and try new things in life. I have two examples to cite.

Nihongo (Japanese)

Her name is Masumi, and I'll probably never see her again.

Last summer I had a temporary job for a few weeks in West LA, very close to the Farmer's Market (FM). Everyday for lunch I ventured to the FM and tried a new cuisine. This brought me to Sushi-a-go-go, a quaint Japanese food stand. I placed my Crusty Crab Rolls order with a lovely young woman named Masumi, who appeared and sounded Japanese. My fascination with wanting to teach English overseas in Japan at the time prompted me to interact with her on a more personal level. She told me that she had just come from Japan and was studying English for the next year in America, while working part-time at the FM. When I told her about my aspirations she asked me if I knew Japanese. I thought long and hard and sincerely tried to remember if I indeed knew the language of Japanese or not. After about 15 short seconds or so, I came up with a great response and replied, "No, but I'm going to start learning it soon. Maybe even today. Hey, we should have a language exchange! I'll help you with English and you can help me with Japanese. What do you think?" She smiled, consented, and then I said, "Be right back!"

I was on my lunch break so time was stigh. I dashed to the nearby Barne's & Noble and picked up "The Everything Guide to Conversational Japanese." I paid for it in cash, which only happens when I purchase something I'm particularly proud of. I returned to Sushi-a-go-go and showed Masumi what I had just bought. She smiled, said that it was a good start, and then gave me her number. After work ended that day I dove into the book immediately. In three short days I learned how to count, introduce myself, and pronounce most of the basic Japanese phonetic sounds. I decided it was time to call Masumi and practice with her for the first time over the phone. She didn't pick up, so I left a message.

A week passed by: no return call. Another week later I called her again and left another message: no return call to this day.

Sometimes things only go as far as they go, and there's no explanation why they don't go any further. Because of Masumi I was able to launch my journey into the Japanese language. It started with learning how to speak and listen in Japanese and evolved into learning about Japanese history, applying to teach abroad programs, and learning how to read and write in Japanese. I've been in this preparation process for over 5 months now.

Thanks Masumi, I'll never forget what you've done for me.

(no subject) Blogging

This story is attributable to another girl, one I've known for almost two weeks now. I've thanked her on a couple of occasions already, but will say it once again, thanks Alex.

I used to have a daily blog. It eventually became a weekly blog, which then turned into a monthly blog. I continued curtailing the frequency of my blog to cater to my laziness until my blog no longer existed. But then, I met a girl who convinced me that I had a decent talent for writing. I only knew this girl for a few days; however, she was a newly acquired friend, so I took her compliment at face value. Her name is Alex, and her major is critical studies. After critically studying my blog she encouraged me to keep writing. We still talk.

I feel healthy writing everyday. It keeps my mind going. They say a blank mind is where the devil plays, or something stupid like that. I agree with that saying to some extent. Unoccupied minds get into mischief. As long as I continue to write my mind will always be stimulated.

I have no set goal in mind related to writing at the moment. I write only for the purpose of keeping my mind occupied, and my sanity bar filled. Despite what happens, I'm glad writing has returned to me.

~Anthans