Lost In Time

Sort of...

Hey, classmates.

What thrills you in life?

What do you want to be when you're older?

What interests you most?

For my little sister, Hannah, the answer to all these is archaeology. She loves it. Every facet of it. She enjoys dusting off old artifacts and restoring them, bagging them in specific categories, and just plainly admiring them.

I, myself, am not as interested and lack, mostly, the concentration for work so tedious, I guess. Unlike me, my sister has that concentration, that ability in her mind to think organize. Simply because she's amazing like that.

Now with my sister's love of archaeology, imagine how excited she must have been when she was told we were going to do a little archaeology ourself for community service. She was, indeed, ecstatic. She couldn't have been more forceful rushing us out the door. Need I say more?

Now aside from my sister, me and my mother were also excited. It seemed like a lot of fun, and I, myself, like restoring things, old and new. As does my mother.

So we arrived at the building where we were to start our jobs, and we were greeted by a man at the counter. He led us to a back room where we were introduced to a younger woman named Terra, which is, oddly enough, my sister's name. She sat us down at a table to the left of the room from where we came in, and showed us our sifting screens. Asking if we were ready, and upon hearing us reply that we were, she handed us each a toothbrush. My mom got her own bag and Hannah and I got one to share. They were promptly dumped into the sifting screens and we lifted them up and gave them a shake, removing the dirt. We began to dust off little fragments of rock and other things such as glass, ceramic tile, pebbles, etc. It quickly became tedious, but something about working with your hands is actually peaceful. The hours flew by and finally we had everything sorted out in categories on our tray. With a few mistakes, retries, and well.. More mistakes and retries, we had the bags marked with all the info and began to bag everything.

Everything except the glass and ceramic tile.

The glass we had to wash with a wet toothbrush, to get the dirt off of it. We then left it on the tray to dry, upon the command from Terra. 

All in all, guys, I'm going to be brutally honest, it wasn't the best field trip I've taken, mostly due to the dust really  getting to my allergies. But my mother and sister enjoyed it very much, and that's all that mattered to me. The work was interesting and enjoyable, and I can now easily tell the difference between asphalt, mortar, charcoal, and really rusted metal (harder than you think). 

As always, your host,

The First Day of The Rest of My Life

And how much nervousness it ensues...

Hey, classmates.

So right off, here comes the big spill:

I'm taking my CPT today.

Yes, today.

And I'm nervous as all get out (never understood that terminology).

For those of you who don't know what a CPT is, well, it's a college placement test. You're probably wondering, "He's fifteen, he can't go to college, right?" and the answer to that is: You are correct. I'm NOT going to college, I'm going to JUNIOR college. I'm going to PSC (Pensacola State College or as it used to be, Pensacola Junior College, aka PJC)for my last two high school years. That's a big opportunity and a big deal, especially for me. As you might have noticed, I'm not maintaining my usual level of speech. This is due to the amount of pain in my stomach which, in turn, is due to the insane amount of nervousness that holds me in it's grasp. 

A note on nervousness:

It hurts.

Now I realize what I am capable of, and I know I can score good on this test. In fact, I have no clue why I'm nervous. I simply am. Maybe it's just the fact that they call it a test. Maybe if the called it an exam I'd feel less nervous. Then again, I'd feel as if they were examining me. Yea, that wouldn't work.

Okay, so it's time to be serious. I want to talk about my strong points in schoolwork. I've always loved science, in fact, it's still my favorite. But it seems I've always had a knack for math. I'm good with grammar (you might have noticed) and I shouldn't have trouble with that. The essay part of the test should be fine, as I'm rather good at putting my thoughts into words and arguing my point. The history part, being as history has never been my strong point, worries me slightly. I love history, but it's just never stuck in my mind quite as well as science or math. So all in all, I'm not too worried.

Okay, I lied, I'm really worried. In fact this is what I feel like at the moment:

Sad, I know.

Anyways, guys, today was mostly just an update and a rambling on. I'll get back to my philosophical posts in due time. Tomorrow, in fact. 

As always, your host,

And It Goes On and On and On

No, I'm not quoting the "Dynamite" lyrics.. 

Hey, classmates.

As a return to my posts of philosophical ramblings I sometimes like to type out, I'd love to talk about something off the bat. Contrary to my normal, nearly accusative, subjects of want, honesty, and things of that sort, today we're going to talk about the fire of man, the intellectual object of stimulation when provoked by inspiration and motivation. Yep, creativity. Bored and curious, I looked up the definition of creative and came up with this: 

 Define Creative:

1. Having the ability to create.
2. Characterized by originality of thought; having or showing imagination.
3. Designed to or tending to stimulate the imagination.
4. Characterized by sophisticated bending of the rules or conventions.

All of these entries imply that the very idea of creativity is, indeed, abstract and must make use of a conduit- a person- to further spread its own mindset. Its like the first GOOD parasite.

The first entry, being obvious, I shall skip. The second, however, intrigues me. Originality of thought is something we all have, is it not? We all think differently from each other, if even in the most minute faction, therefore implying that our own thought processes are, indeed, original. Does that make us, every one of us, creative? I think not. Having or showing imagination, is something that some people may lack. We ALL have imagination, though sometimes we don't let it run free, therefore making us well... I'll put it bluntly: Uncreative. So no, not everyone is creative, but we all have the power to be. Bummer, I know.

The third entry implies something I didn't expect. It implies that through our own creative juices being displayed on something we make, or do, we can inspire creativity in others. Sounds pretty obvious at first, but have you ever truly thought of that? Creating a piece of art not only rakes in the praises and awe, but inspires someone else to try their hand at making something amazing too.

Now I must pause to quote Arthur Koestler:

"Creativity is a type of learning process where the teacher and the pupil are located in the same being" 

Entry four almost made me laugh. I immediately thought of someone playing a card game and ultimately bending the rules in unsettling, unseen, and unprovable ways. Using creativity to bend the rules is definitely something you want to learn if becoming a super-villain is on your list of to-do's.

Now speaking of to-do's, as you might have heard, making lists is a great way to remember things. I believe it's time I made my own as my life grows more filled with occupational tasks. I imagine it would also be nice to begin writing at least ONE journal post a week here on my thought-blog. Also if you'd like to check out my newest blog, "Reclaim, Revamp, Repurpose" then click the link. It's not even started yet, and I'm still playing around with fonts, colors, and layout/template design overall. But ya know, comment on the test posts with ideas for it's design if you have any. I'm always in need of some ideas.

So yea, guys, if you need a better look at at the meaning of creativity, I suggest you Google it. I found dozens upon dozens of sites filled with quotes and explanations. Also leave your ideas, short explanations, or quotes on creativity in the comment section below. Thanks for reading.

As always, your host,

Making It Your Own

A continuation of yesterday's post....

Good day, classmates.

I'm definitely liking my new blog template. Tell me what you think about it.

Now, if that was all I was going to talk about today, I wouldn't have blogged at all. No, today, with my coffee in hand, I'll talk about inspirations. Recently I was inspired to write a novel. Being that I've already talked about it, I will mention that I've also been inspired to enter a little business with my mother. The business includes the following in order:

1. Find a piece of furniture, in good condition or otherwise, on craigslist (for free hopefully, or if your not short on money, for cheap).
2. Buy it (or not) and take it home.
3. Sand it down and refinish it (depending on its current state).
4. Then give it your own little flares. 

Now, some guys out there might think:

"Haha, he's decorating furniture, how feminine."

I sometimes laugh at ignorance like that, you know?

To justify my little rant I'd like to say that this job was originally given to carpenters, who are, in fact, mostly men. That being said, let's continue on. I love the very idea of making something my own and I always have. So today, ask yourself: what can you make you own? Well if you have any damaged furniture, then I have a few tips on that, but we don't all like the same thing do we? Tell me what you can make your own in the comment section below, and even supply me with some ideas of my own. I'm here to help and listen.

Now along with my most recent inspiration (the furniture one), I'll be starting a new blog about repurposing furniture. I'm thinking "Reclaim, Revamp, Repurpose". Give me some ideas, guys.

As always, your host,

Inspiration and Motivation

An update and a little more...

Hey there, classmates(notice the new greeting). I've been gone for a while, and, though I did post a bit, I believe you deserve an explanation. So here goes:

 I have been struck with the very fires of creativity, the foundation of the arts, the fuel of the imaginative fires. I have been inspired. What was this inspiration? Well I read a book. A really good book. Multiple really good books, actually. I've read so many, in fact, that I found myself wondering if I could write one myself. Boy, could I (or that's what they tell me). If I'm at all being obscure with this statement then allow me to put it plainly:

I'm writing a novel.  

It's called "The Book of Ages", and it's in the fantasy genre (one genre I find the most interesting). It, of course, will never compete with Tolkien, or C.S. Lewis, but that's not really what I'm going for... or is it? Never curse a little ambition..

Along with my own inspiration, another person who has been struck with such is a woman I like to call my Mom. Not only has inspiration struck, but she also has the Motivation to justify her inspiration. My mom, being the amazing person that she is, has started a new blog. It's called Marvelous Motivations, and she needs some followers to help her restart. I trust you guys can help with that.

Now a little remark about books. Books are amazing databases for knowledge. And when it comes to fantasy novels, they're like an old friend that you get to see often, and then after staying a short while(or for me, long while) must say your goodbyes.

On that note, classmates, I must also bid you farewell.

You take care, and while taking care, leave what inspires you most in the comment section below.

    

Your philosophical guy, correctly named philoshophi-guy,


P.S. I recommend the Dragonlance series.