My Favorite Poem

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;
If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son! 

Rudyard Kipling

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/if/

SWEET BOOK HAUL

So my beautiful friend bookworm-aspiring writer Emily cleaned out her personal library and gave me the pick of the litter she was going to give away! Within the 3 bags full of books, I selected many books I was seriously going to buy within the next weeks. I AM EXCITED. Some gems I got are 

1. The Phantom of the Opera
2. The Devil in the White City 
3. The Perks of Being A Wallflower
4. Laughter in the Dark
5. The Rainbow
6. Les Miserables
7. Pericles
8. The Gift
9. Mansfield Park
10. Water for Elephants
11. Freedom

and many more :)

I cannot wait to read these books. If anyone have any opinions regarding any of the books posted here and in the previous post, or new suggestions, feel free to let me know!

Summer means I can finally read the books that I want. I generally enjoy assigned readings (rare books I did not like are Midaq Alley and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich), but these are books I am eager to read.

• Economics. The Economist      I'm an economic major and I like the magazine
• Power Trip. Amanda Little       good book on U.S energy dependency/security
• A People's History of the United States. Howard Zinn    I'm curious about Zinn's version of History
• Collapse. Jared Diamond     "Explores how humankind's use and abuse of the environment reveal the truth behind the world's greatest collapses..."
• Oryx and Crake. Margaret Atwood      My former English teacher raved about it as a page turner
• The White Man's Burden. William Easterly     My ongoing research on foreign aid
• Wuthering Heights. Emily Bronte                     Heard a lot of hype about this book
• Doctor Zhivago. Boris Pasternak                      It's Russian. I'll read anything Russian
• The Plague. Albert Camus                              I loved The stranger and wants to read all his books
• Beloved. Toni Morrison                                       Recommendation from my friend Emily
• Midnight's Children. Salman Rushdie               This touches on history of India's Independence 
• Brave New World. Aldous Huxley               My Brother gave me this book so I can read it and talk to him about Utopian society. We have VERY different opinions so it will be interesting to compare our views. 

I just finished reading Persuasion by Jane Austen and was very happy with the ending. Austen is brilliant in her ability to articulate all the little nuance of feelings. Her protagonist Anne Elliot, is similar to Elinor Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility. In both books, there is a juxtaposition of characters. Anne Elliot and Elinor Dashwood are quiet and prudent whereas Marianne Dashwood and Louisa Musgrove are more expressive with their feelings. Though Austen does not totally dismiss Marianne and Louisa of any merits, she does have an obvious preference for Anne and Elinor. I however, always related more to Marianne and Louisa. I do know people who would prefer I was more prudent and tactful (both wonderful qualities), but the idea of appearing sweet and delicate in manners is... so... unnatural for me. My parents (especially my Dad) have always told me to be 'cute' and agreeable so I don't know if I am merely rebelling against expectations for the sake of rebelling. I know people who are sweet and quiet  and I value them immensely, it's just not my natural disposition. I guess I'm not an Austen heroine.

The purpose of this post is to introduce myself some more and I thought a picture of my desk would give an idea of who I am. I copied this idea from Vanity Fair  magazine who would take pictures of desks of awesome accomplished people like Oprah. So, I THINK IT WOULD BE FUN IF PEOPLE SEND ME PICTURES OF THEIR DESKS with brief comments on its content. 


My little writing desk has just enough surface area for my collection of notepads, sticky notes, and other stationary set I rarely touch (though I should write more letters and return the joy felt when I receive letters from others.  YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND I'M SORRY FOR BEING A HORRIBLE FRIEND). *notice the little shelf under the table full of pieces of paper I cannot bear to throw away so they just accumulate for some future grand purpose. I also have jars (6) of pens in case I need to write down a fleeting thought and ... ok, that's an excuse, I keep pens because I also can't bear to throw away anything that still works. This collection really reflect my consideration for others because I am very particular about what pens I use, so all these pens are actually for you, yes, YOU, whoever you are, if you are in need of a writing utensil, I GOT YOUR BACK YO. 


The perfect pen is a Zebra F-301 fine point in black ink. These babies are so smooth, they make me want to write more just for the sake of watching the pen create smooth delicate curves. I love the manual act of scrawling on paper so I can write passionately non stop yet stare at the keyboard with reluctance. 


The rectangular thing on the wall is an oil painting I did in senior year of high school. I wanted to imitate pointillism with the background. I also really wanted to imitate The Floor Scrapers by Gustave Caillebotte, but ended up with blurry strokes on the floor  :'(  Oil was fun and I will experiment with it in the future.

The title of this blog is taken from the quotation “My way of joking is to tell the truth. It's the funniest joke in the world.” by George Bernard Shaw, John Bull's Other Island. The quote encapsulates my view and attitude on life which are honesty and humor.I have found that my favorite kind of humor is one where I want to laugh, yet have to restrain myself because it is tragic and absurd and real. I have a very self-deprecating sense of humor and sometime it masks insecurities, but overall, it reflects my acknowledgement that I am not perfect and the World is absurd. I don't use the word 'absurd' in a negative way, but to mean 'that which baffles.'

I joke often, but sometime, the joke is on me and I think that's what life is about.