Not as cool as the real Michelle's blog.
Roland Tanglao once asked me when I was planning to leave the public sector (aka Neverland). At the time, I think I said I “really liked university.” (Well, that’s not true. I liked university, but I also really liked working with these people.) But I guess I can’t stay in the school-bubble forever.
I’ve graduated now, and it’s time to join the ranks of code pirates/ninjas proper. Yes… farewell, Neverland. I’ll miss you.
If you, or someone you know, is looking for someone with:
let me know. Or point them to http://unstressedvowel.com.
Thanks!
Posted by mitch at 1:09 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Domains, that is.
This stuff will be here for old times' sake, but now you can find me at http://unstressedvowel.com (forwards to http://michellechua.com).
I haven't blogged here in a while, and I confess: it's because I'm tired of MT, Wordpress, Typo, and all the rest of it. I looked at Mephisto, and I don't think I'll be completely happy with it because I need something that lets me organize and group my content more freely. So I'm writing my own system. (Failing that, I'll just use Blogger.)
What else am I doing? Job hunting. See above.
Posted by mitch at 12:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
I didn’t think I’d ever admit this publicly, but I read The Firm when I was like 12, and for some reason, the most vivid part to me is where Mitch (hah) reflects on his age, all he has accomplished, and thinks, he “has arrived.” He is young, wealthy, “successful” and he “has arrived.”
Of course, this is all before he realizes he threw down with the Mafia, but whatever; he’s driving a BMW.
Arriving at success. Now that’s interesting. Is that a goal node? Does anyone ever really arrive there? What’s it like?
And then what?
(And yes, today is graduation day. Cue panic. In life.)
Posted by mitch at 8:27 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The previous post was supposed to help me sort out my thoughts, but I realize it’s just perpetuating my ersatzyuppiness — another self-reflective, immemorable, whiny snippet of text clogging up the internets. Wah wah wah, call the wahmbulance.
I’m glad Michelle left me a note though! That made me feel less emo.
So. DirectorMichelle (and others), if you’re reading this, I bring you… one of your favourite subjects! To divert attention away from Teh Emo, may I recommend I can has cheezburger? If the internet was meant for anything, it was meant to share pictures of cats. What could be more representative of the everyman than pictures of their beloved pets?
(If you still really want emo, you can look at this guy. Mew.)
Posted by mitch at 4:28 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
I usually get so excited when people in the class I’m facilitating start talking to each other, but this week threw me for a loop. Generally, once the conversation starts, it doesn’t really stop - there will be breaks here and there, but you can see people starting to warm to each other. Oddly though, with this particular group, there will be a flurry of discussion for five minutes or so, and then dead silence for several hours while they all work separately. There haven’t really been that many questions directed my way either.
It’s a little disconcerting; it gives me the sense that I’m rather superfluous. Here I am, their silent witness. What’s my purpose? I don’t know.
This feeling of futility has been cropping up with increasing (and somewhat alarming) frequency lately, ever since the end of exam period. Is it the dreaded quarter-life crisis? I feel like a walking cliche more and more these days. Yesterday I drove my friend’s VW golf around while listening to some “indie” rock on his iPod. I was wearing a Threadless shirt and tapping my Chuck Taylor-clad feet on the brake when I realized: I’m an ersatz eastvan-yuppie! A stereotype. Someone hand me a retro road bike, a pair of oversized headphones, and a messenger bag that looks like I made it myself, and I’ll be good to go. (I thought of just putting “yuppie” but I think that Vancouver has a few different flavours. Another flavour that comes to mind would be of the yoga-pant-wearing-matching-dog-in-purse persuasion.)
So I guess I’m having the stereotypical, post-undergrad identity crisis. I’m not even sure how to define identity (I never have been, and I don’t think I’ve ever come close; that’s what four years of study of postmodern/postcolonial literature gets you). I’m not sure if I’ll ever be as good as the people in my class, so focussed on finding solution after solution as though wearing blinders. I’m not sure of what I want to do. I’m not sure of anything.
Perhaps the thing that is most frightening to me is that I suddenly feel like I have to know these things. When I was in school, I kept telling myself I’d figure it out later.
It’s later NOW, and I don’t have any answers. Is that ok? Somehow it feels like it is not ok. It feels like I need to take up a new hobby. Like Jim Beam. Or crochet.
Posted by mitch at 9:43 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Joe says it is. Now, his authority might be enough for some people, but what about the rest of you?
Someone else tells me they “collect user data for the CIA” (yes, there is a group devoted to this on facebook; come on now, did you even have to ask?). But other people say it’s like crack. Good crack. Mmm addiction.
I don’t think I qualify as an addict myself — I only login when I have to ok a new friend request, or if someone asks if I know someone, that kind of thing. So I guess I’m on the fence about fbook. It used to be this thing I boycotted because I hated myspace and I initially thought it was too much like myspace. Now that it’s got critical mass and we’ve seen both sites take off in different directions, I think it’s a totally different species (but perhaps from the same genus).
When I joined facebook, it was just so that I could see pictures of the funny, drunken antics I missed when I couldn’t make it to a friend’s event (specifically, I joined so that I could see pictures from my drunken birthday which I couldn’t quite remember… that’s almost the same, right?). But then old co-workers got added, and old managers, and now it’s a full blown “cultural phenomenon” that is begging to be studied. Actually, I think Cyprien’s already on it.
So is it really soulless and evil?
I think it’s having its hey day, so what’s next (other than Twitter)? Bring on the next app, I say.
Posted by mitch at 5:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
In the unlikely event that anyone’s wondering what I am doing these days:
Other than that, life is normal. And good. I’m learning how to play tennis and baseball, I still suck at salsa dancing, I figured out how to make quesadillas without burning myself, and I remembered where I left my bike.
Oh also, I caved and joined Facebook. Is that site the devil, or is that site THE DEVIL?! Seriously.
What about the rest of you?
(Yes, I will go check my RSS reader now. Or I could just facebook-stalk you. I love technology.)
Posted by mitch at 2:57 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
