At the time, I was going through a lot of self realisation and one thing I’d realised was my judgements and how it stopped me from going forward. If I hadn’t realised this, I think his words would have falled on deaf ears, but it didn’t, his words struck a chord. What he wrote was what I felt, but expressed in the most articulate way.

I hadn’t visited his site in a long while, but coincidentally, the other day, I dropped by a couple of weeks after I wrote this post, and saw this. It’s comforting to know that even without direct influence, I’m growing and thinking alongside someone who’s so inspirational.

All the glass panels have been moved to the new shop and the plastered wall panels are getting dismantled slowly piece by piece. The snapping of the wood hurts my ears and the sound of hammers pierce my skull. But I’m enjoying it. I’ve never seen the insides of a wall before, or how giant glass panels are transported.

I’m enjoying the mess and destruction, probably because it signifies a new beginning. I haven’t seen the new place yet, but I think a change of scenery will get me mentally pumped again. I need it very much.

The panels that arn’t getting re-used at the new place are sitting in chunky piles all over the place. The frames reminiscent of skeletons. I must admit it makes me slightly sad and angry to see it. Waste. It’s all such a waste. Where does it all go? How many offices and houses are getting deconstructed every day? How many panels of wood get discarded adding to our ever mounting pile of waste?

We’ve got to find a way to reduce our waste, not just reuse it. It scares me to think that the world as depicted in Idiocracy might not really be that far fetched. Earth will become a dumping ground because of our ignorance and arrogance. We shouldn’t leave a trail of waste in exchange for the fresh and new.

misantrhopy [mis-an-thruh-pee, miz-]
-noun

hatred, dislike, or distrust of humankind.

This is a simplification of the meaning – see here for the ‘wiki’ version which is more concise.

Source: http://www.dictionary.com

A 30min wait in line for the tickets and a massive crowd wasn’t ideal, but I was definitely glad I went. It was amazing to see such a full body of work from the amazing artist, from his early impressionist works to move sets and ballet productions. Although I am not an explicit  fan of his work or style, there was no doubt that Dali as a person was infinitely interesting. His experiences, personality, interests and all that inspired him to create what he created was what I found most satisfying from the whole exhibit. I was a bit upset that I’d missed the animation of Dali and Disney’s collaboration titled “Destino”, but I did manage to find it online. WOW! I just can’t believe it’s still in archives.  Also, did you know that the dream sequence from Hitchcock’s “Spellbound” was designed by Dali? How cool is that!

Definately an artist I’m going to do more reading and research on!

I love it.

At times I’ve felt like a bit of a slob maybe even a leech, but I must admit there hasn’t been much movement on my part. I work enough to get by, I have a place to live which I upkeep for my parents (I tell myself it’s almost like paying rent) and I have the rest of the working week to myself. I sew, craft, play games, read books, create, or more often than I’d like – run errands that I’d otherwise have to do on the weekend when I’d rather be relaxing and hanging out with my boyfriend. For all intents and purposes, I live the dream – 3 working days and a 5 day weekend. But recently, I’ve been feeling that none of it is enough, because well, I haven’t got anything to show for it.

I’m not sure if its,
1. that bit of guilt tinged with shame (24, living at home, don’t have a full time job, whilst non-fulltime job isn’t even interesting, exciting or inspiring)
or
2.the urge to own my own place (look  from Design Sponge, Ikea catalogue to Marie Claire lifestyle section and you’ll know what I mean)
or
3.perhaps its the travel bug that never went away  (without money, I can go nowhere, see nothing, do nothing)
or
4.really just the idea that I want to do something I’d be proud to shout from the proverbial rooftops.

Behind it all, I think there is just a ridiculously stubborn idea that I won’t give in to the pressure of society – to live my life in the clutches of money. But I’ve come to realise that not wanting to think about money lead me to thinking about money… ALL the time (from that bus ticket I just bought, to the lunch I’m going to buy, to the $10 I just spent on shipping for that Logitech Mouse I don’t really need). No matter how much I wantto fight it, I’m still a product of today’s society, and today’s society is built on economy. How do you escape?

Perhaps you dont.

It’s taken me a long time to accept this, but the way I see it, I’ve only got two options- accept it, or fight it. But instead of the passive fighting I’ve been doing – working less, wanting less, using less, doing less – I want to fight actively – to inspire action, to question the status quo and do something to remedy it.

To do all this, I need to inspire myself, to work for the things I want, even if that means clocking in from 9-5 and running errands in the precious time that I’ll have left. I’ll do the work because now I have something to work for. I accept to wager my life on personal perseverance, determination and faith in myself.

All that being said, I’m still freaking out about the full time work I’ll be starting as of mid October – has anyone ever said being inspiring was easy?

Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.

Calvin Coolidge
30th president of US (1872 – 1933)

Source: Quotations Page

lambaste [lam-beyst, -bast]
-verb (used with object), -bast•ed, -bast•ing. Informal.

1. to beat or whip severely.
2. to reprimand or berate harshly; censure; excoriate.
3. to scold sharply; berate.

Source: http://www.dictionary.com

I click on the Google customised event logo, eager to learn something of this great philosopher from my ancestry. Besides the warranted link to Wikipedia, I link to a page of his quotes.

I always knew – of course everyone knows, that Confucious is one of the greatest or at least well known philosophers in history, but somewhere along the line, I got wind that much of his teachings contributed to the chauvinistic and problematic ways of thinking in today’s society. It was easier for me to discredit and put aside his knowledge than to delve into the nitty gritties of why people came to this conclusion.  There was no desire to make an argument for or against these accusations. But that was years ago.

I’ve decided that I do want to dedicate my time to learning and understanding as much as I can. I’ve decided that all knowledge is powerful whether I agree with it or not, and that it’s worth my time to debate ideas thoughts and theories even if just to myself. I’ve decided to be a student again. On my own terms.

To my delight, I did find many of these quotes to be both enlightening and relative. It gave substance to much of what I already believe and insight to more ideas to ponder over.

I leave you here with one quote – it sums up what I strive for and know will achieve one day:

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”
- Confucious

.

Anyway, as wiki does, it lead me to look up “Avant Garde” and I thought I’d share the interesting meaning behind it:

Avant-garde (French pronunciation: [av???a?d]) means “advance guard” or “vanguard“.^[1] The adjective form is used in English, to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics.

The term was originally used to describe the foremost part of an army advancing into battle (also called the vanguard) and now applied to any group, particularly of artists, that considers itself innovative and ahead of the majority.

The vanguard, a small troop of highly skilled soldiers, explores the terrain ahead of a large advancing army and plots a course for the army to follow. This concept is applied to the work done by small collectives of intellectuals and artists as they open pathways through new cultural or political terrain for society to follow.

Source: wikipedia