The 41-Year-Old Undergrad

carbon-based-wastage: trekgate: Ode to Spot - Data “Felis...

pear-shogan — Sun, 19 May 2013 15:12:06 -0700

trekgate:

Ode to Spot - Data

“Felis catus is your taxonomic nomenclature,
An endothermic quadruped, carnivorous by nature;
Your visual, olfactory, and auditory senses
Contribute to your hunting skills and natural defenses.

I find myself intrigued by your subvocal oscillations,
A singular development of cat communications
That obviates your basic hedonistic predilection
For a rhythmic stroking of your fur to demonstrate affection.

A tail is quite essential for your acrobatic talents;
You would not be so agile if you lacked its counterbalance.
And when not being utilized to aid in locomotion,
It often serves to illustrate the state of your emotion.

O Spot, the complex levels of behavior you display
Connote a fairly well-developed cognitive array.
And though you are not sentient, Spot, and do not comprehend,
I nonetheless consider you a true and valued friend.”

Always reblog Ode to Spot.

When is the passive voice tense appropriate?

pear-shogan — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:57:28 -0700

Grammar Girl says… http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/active-voice-versus-passive-voice.aspx

:-)

Oh yes they did…

pear-shogan — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:57:44 -0700

Oh yes they did…

Springtime suitors. Outside of Humanities Hall, UCI.

pear-shogan — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:52:19 -0700

Springtime suitors.
Outside of Humanities Hall, UCI.

yourfutureleader: Just a horribly confused, pickelhaube-wearing...

pear-shogan — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:22:54 -0700

yourfutureleader:

Just a horribly confused, pickelhaube-wearing dachshund I came across in a World War I documentary.

incense-princess: The Value of a Tree

pear-shogan — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:59:05 -0700

incense-princess:

The Value of a Tree

yeaverily: Sea creatures mosaic, from Pompeii, 100 BCE

pear-shogan — Wed, 08 May 2013 21:00:03 -0700

yeaverily:

Sea creatures mosaic, from Pompeii, 100 BCE

help.

pear-shogan — Tue, 07 May 2013 18:03:20 -0700

help.

mydemisee: peaceful—tides: xobrunettekisses: mrswika: mrswika...

pear-shogan — Tue, 07 May 2013 14:33:21 -0700

mydemisee:

peaceful—tides:

xobrunettekisses:

mrswika:

mrswika

The same brooch.
The same pearls.
The same love.

too beautiful not to reblog

I want this.

Photo

pear-shogan — Tue, 07 May 2013 14:22:25 -0700

historythings: death-by-happiness: world history I wonder...

pear-shogan — Mon, 06 May 2013 14:36:07 -0700

historythings:

death-by-happiness:

world history

I wonder how much trouble I would get in if I hung this in my classroom when I become a history teacher

This is incredible

cleofuckingpatra: thatferrybroad: wliabl: Cleopatra’s...

pear-shogan — Sat, 04 May 2013 14:02:50 -0700

cleofuckingpatra:

thatferrybroad:

wliabl:

Cleopatra’s Underwater Palace, Egypt

I still don’t get why no one is LOSING THEIR FUCKING SHIT OVER THIS FIND

iT SURVIVED THE EARTHQUAKE THAT LEVELED THE REST OF THE CITY IN 365 A.D.

CLEOPATRA’S FUCKING PALACE

WITH INTACT FUCKING STATUARY

NOT TO MENTION THE REST OF THE FUCKING ENTIRE GODDAMN ISLAND OF ANTIRRHODOS INCLUDING THE ANCIENT PORT OF ALEXANDRIA

AND THEY’RE GONNA BUILD A MOTHERFUCKING UNDERWATER MUSEUM

UNDERWATER. MUSEUM.

can I be a mermaid tour guide there or some shit, you don’t even have to pay me i will just live there forever oh my fucking god

I agree with the caps.

Holy CFP! This is awesome.

thespacegoat: • Accidentally close a tab? Ctrl+Shift+T reopens...

pear-shogan — Sat, 04 May 2013 00:02:43 -0700

thespacegoat:

• Accidentally close a tab? Ctrl+Shift+T reopens it.
• Bananas release dopamine, eat them when you’re sad.
• CTRL+SHIFT+ESC is the one handed version of CTRL+ALT+DEL
• Don’t brush your teeth hard, it makes them sensitive and removes enamel.
• Don’t like spiders? Put citronella oil on your walls and they will not go there.
• Drink one glass of water for every alcoholic drink you have, you’ll get drunk without getting a hangover.
• Get clear ice cubes by boiling water before freezing it
• Heal paper cuts and immediately stop the pain with chapstick.
• If you accidentally write on your dry erase board with a permanent marker, scribble over it with a dry eraser marker to remove it.
• If your shoes smell, put them in the freezer overnight, it will kill the bacteria.
• Make bug bites stop itching with a banana peel.
• Make a paper longer with 12-point text, but 14-point periods and commas.
• Need to get around a blocked website at work? Try replacing the http:// with https://
• Never send your resume as a word file (unless asked) Instead, print it to a pdf file, it’s much cleaner and professional looking.
• Pick a flavor of gum you don’t normally chew, and chew it while studying during a test.
• Place a piece of bread in a container with your homemade cookies and they will stay soft.
• Put a dry towel into a dryer with wet clothes, they will dry faster.
• Put toothpaste on a pimple and it will dry out.
• Practise fake smiling in the mirror every day before going to work/school, you’ll genuinely start to feel happier.
• Rub canola/olive oil on knives before cutting onions, you won’t cry, alternatively chew gum and you won’t either.
• Short on time with a wrinkled dress shirt? Hang it up in the bathroom to steam it flat.
• The night before, place things you don’t want to forget the next morning on top of your shoes.
• Use hydrogen peroxide to remove blood stains from clothing.
• When cleaning windows use newspapers or coffee filters instead of paper towels, they will not leave streaks.
• When microwaving bread products/pizza put a glass of water in with it, it will keep your bread for going spongy.
• When you move into a new place you’re renting, take pictures of any and all damage, then post them on facebook (privately if preferred) so you can use the reference date as proof you didn’t do it.
• When searching plane tickets online delete your cookies prior, prices go up when you visit a site multiple times.

para-goner: So every now and then the “sign guy” comes to my...

pear-shogan — Fri, 03 May 2013 16:35:19 -0700

para-goner:

So every now and then the “sign guy” comes to my campus and tells us all that we’re going to hell if we don’t repent. Well when I heard he had a sign that said “Homosex is a goddamn sin” I had had enough. Since he has the right to free speech and to be there, I made this sign in response and gathered some friends to go stand by him and show our right to free speech as well. Needless to say he was pissed. Throughout the time there, people came up to give us high fives, hug us, someone gave us all flowers, and some people came up to us to tell us that he doesn’t represent all Christians. He got nothing but negative attention. Overall it was a successful mission and it showed the other students on campus that they have the right not stand for bigotry on campus, or when it’s thrusted in their faces.

P.S. I’m the one in the middle in the crimson t-shirt.

Photo

pear-shogan — Wed, 01 May 2013 19:12:37 -0700

cleofuckingpatra: Oh, Mr. President, you so funny.

pear-shogan — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:52:47 -0700

cleofuckingpatra:

Oh, Mr. President, you so funny.

lehrbautista: theburiedlife: 19 Things To Stop Doing In...

pear-shogan — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:55:13 -0700

lehrbautista:

theburiedlife:

19 Things To Stop Doing In Your 20s

1. Stop placing all the blame on other people for how they interact with you. To an extent, people treat you the way you want to be treated. A lot of social behavior is cause and effect. Take responsibility for (accept) the fact that you are the only constant variable in your equation.

2. Stop being lazy by being constantly “busy.” It’s easy to be busy. It justifies never having enough time to clean, cook for yourself, go out with friends, meet new people. Realize that every time you give in to your ‘busyness,’ it’s you who’s making the decision, not the demands of your job.

3. Stop seeking out distractions. You will always be able to find them.

4. Stop trying to get away with work that’s “good enough.” People notice when “good enough” is how you approach your job. Usually these people will be the same who have the power to promote you, offer you a health insurance plan, and give you more money. They will take your approach into consideration when thinking about you for a raise.

5. Stop allowing yourself to be so comfortable all the time. Coming up with a list of reasons to procrastinate risky, innovative decisions offers more short-term gratification than not procrastinating. But when you stop procrastinating to make a drastic change, your list of reasons to procrastinate becomes a list of ideas about how to better navigate the risk you’re taking.

6. Stop identifying yourself as a cliche and start treating yourself as an individual. Constantly checking your life against a prewritten narrative or story of how things “should” be is a bought-into way of life. It’s sort of like renting your identity. It isn’t you. You are more nuanced than the narrative you try to fit yourself into, more complex than the story that “should” be happening.

7. Stop expecting people to be better than they were in high school — learn how to deal with it instead. Just because you’re out of high school doesn’t mean you’re out of high school. There will always be people in your life who want what you have, are threatened by who you are, and will ridicule you for doing something that threatens how they see their position in the world.

8. Stop being stingy. If you really care about something, spend your money on it. There is often a notion that you are saving for something. Either clarify what that thing is or start spending your money on things that are important to you. Spend money on road trips. Spend money on healthy food. Spend money on opportunities. Spend money on things you’ll keep.

9. Stop treating errands as burdens. Instead, use them as time to focus on doing one thing, and doing it right. Errands and chores are essentially rote tasks that allow you time to think. They function to get you away from your phone, the internet, and other distractions. Focus and attention span are difficult things to maintain when you’re focused and attentive on X amount of things at any given moment.

10. Stop blaming yourself for being human. You’re fine. Having a little anxiety is fine. Being scared is fine. Your secrets are fine. You’re well-meaning. You’re intelligent. You’re blowing it out of proportion. You’re fine.

11. Stop ignoring the fact that other people have unique perspectives and positions. Start approaching people more thoughtfully. People will appreciate you for deliberately trying to conceive their own perspective and position in the world. It not only creates a basis for empathy and respect, it also primes people to be more open and generous with you.

12. Stop seeking approval so hard. Approach people with the belief that you’re a good person. It’s normal to want the people around you to like you. But it becomes a self-imposed burden when almost all your behavior toward certain people is designed to constantly reassure you of their approval.

13. Stop considering the same things you’ve always done as the only options there are. It’s unlikely that one of the things you’ll regret when you’re older is not having consumed enough beer in your 20s, or not having bought enough $5 lattes, or not having gone out to brunch enough times, or not having spent enough time on the internet. Fear of missing out is a real, toxic thing. You’ve figured out drinking and going out. You’ve experimented enough. You’ve gotten your fill of internet memes. Figure something else out.

14. Stop rejecting the potential to feel pain. Suffering is a universal constant for sentient beings. It is not unnatural to suffer. Being in a constant state of suffering is bad. But it is often hard to appreciate happiness when there’s nothing to compare it to. Rejecting the potential to suffer is unsustainable and unrealistic.

15. Stop approaching adverse situations with anger and frustration. You will always deal with people who want things that seem counter to your interests. There will always be people who threaten to prevent you from getting what you want by trying to get what they want. This is naturally frustrating. Realize that the person you’re dealing with is in the same position as you — by seeking out your own interests, you threaten to thwart theirs. It isn’t personal — you’re both just focused on getting different things that happen to seem mutually exclusive. Approach situations like these with reason. Be calm. Don’t start off mad, it’ll only make things more tense.

16. Stop meeting anger with anger. People will make you mad. Your reaction to this might be to try and make them mad. This is something of a first-order reaction. That is, it isn’t very thoughtful — it may be the first thing you’re inclined to do. Try to suppress this reaction. Be thoughtful. Imagine your response said aloud before you say it. If you don’t have to respond immediately, don’t.

17. Stop agreeing to do things that you know you’ll never actually do. It doesn’t help anyone. To a certain extent, it’s a social norm to be granted a ‘free pass’ when you don’t do something for someone that you said you were going to do. People notice when you don’t follow through, though, especially if it’s above 50% of the time.

18. Stop ‘buying’ things you know you’ll throw away. Invest in friendships that aren’t parasitic. Spend your time on things that aren’t distractions. Put your stock in fleeting opportunity. Focus on the important.

19. Stop being afraid.

—Thought Catalog

I would start now!

oldbookillustrations: Sections of an English coal mine. From...

pear-shogan — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:54:33 -0700

oldbookillustrations:

Sections of an English coal mine.

From The underground world, by Thomas Wallace Knox, Hartford, 1877.

(Source: archive.org)

slowartday: thisartstudent: How to look at art slowly 1. Stare...

pear-shogan — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 14:46:35 -0700

slowartday:

thisartstudent:

How to look at art slowly

1. Stare directly ahead and soften your focus on your eyes.

2. Breathe in and out from your mouth, with your lips slightly open.

3. Do this for 5 minutes

4. Thoughts?

The result? Possibly the most calming and insightful experience I’ve ever had with art. The artist that was taking us through, Raphael Zimmerman, was really getting to the point of looking at things and beyond that.

For me, it’s really changed my philosophy on how I see art now. That’s how much of an impact slow art day has been for me. Strangely moving.

This is a fantastic report! We’re so glad that the event had such a profound impact on the way you look at art.

fromwhisperedsecrets: I feel so bad for those who have to look at me everyday… I’m so ugly. I just...

pear-shogan — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 12:48:08 -0700

fromwhisperedsecrets:

I feel so bad for those who have to look at me everyday… I’m so ugly. I just need to express my feelings, but I don’t wanna put it up on Twitter because it could attract attention. And to whoever comes across this post, please don’t waste your time trying to reassure me because I’m just going to ignore it and think it’s a pity assurance.

This one hit me hard because as a 40-something-year-old, my insecurities have held me back and have made it impossible for me to live my life as I have wanted to. (Why do you think that I’m the 41-year-old-undergrad?) What I would tell this young lady is that I feel where she’s coming from. No pity here, just understanding. I will say, however, that in a world of both Aphrodites and Medusas, the truth is that we are all somewhere in the middle and we are not as bad as we think that we are. But, it is hard to believe that and I’ve only been able to even remotely believe it myself recently. I only hope that the writer of the post above believes it earlier than I did.
BTW, I’m proud of her. By expressing her feelings, she is way ahead of most people in as far as confronting her thoughts. That’s the first step.