(no subject)

Tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock
That's the sound of the analog clock in my living room. I'm trying to sleep in my room. Have I ever told you how much I hate hyperfocusness?

[Gollum]I HATESSSSSSSSS IT![/Gollum]

Operation Blue Hen

One of the things I learned in student government was that transfer students often have a hard time breaking into the social sphere. That's it's a new environment but people are already set in their patterns. It's doubly hard for a mid year transfer student.

So when I heard a certain eleanor727 was transferring from Pittsburgh to Tulsa, I commissioned Operation Blue Hen. Operation Blue Hen took place starting Saturday, January 7th at 2:00pm and ended late Sunday night (there's a reason my LJ has been devoid of content lately...I'm simply busy doing other things). I also commissioned some photos to be taken of the operation, recorded here for posterity.

Random facts you should be aware of:
Delaware is the Blue Hen State.
Maine is known for Red Lobsters.


Red Cross Girl created a nice banner in Paint to welcome the Blue Hen.

( Operation Blue Hen: For your eyes only )

Arranged marriage ain't so bad!

[Author’s note: nysidra made a beautiful silver and gold “D2” icon for D2. According to alchemy’s law of equivalent exchange, D2 must give her something free in exchange for something free. So it is that D2 writes 500 words in response to the prompt “I'd like to read about what you've learned about the Vietnamese culture that you consider interesting, neat, noteworthy, or particularly unique. What does it mean to have a Vietnamese heritage?” Now 500 words isn’t nearly enough to encompass all that is Vietnamese, so D2 has chosen to write about a certain aspect of Vietnamese culture that is very different from American culture. And, since she didn’t specify, I will count digressions towards my 500 word limit.]

Do you know how hard it is to play a meaningless game, a game you’ve already won?

I know the feeling.

Because I have an “arranged marriage.”

Let me explain the Vietnamese concept of arranged marriage. First, allow me to tell what it is not. It is NOT like some random girl was promised to me when I was five years old. It is NOT like I do not have a choice in the matter, because I still have veto power if I really do not like the poor girl. It is NOT like playing Russian roulette.

So, I bet you’re curious to know what it is. Well, I don’t want you to be confused when I say I have an “arranged marriage” so I will go ahead and tell you. It is a stable marriage because both families are part of the same socioeconomic class. It is a way to formalize relations between two friendly families. It is more of a way to ensure the one bullet you get to fire hits something good.

What is arranged marriage at its worst? Hmmm, you probably already know but let me reinforce what you are already thinking. Rich families use arranged marriages to keep wealth within the family. Often, marriages are arranged between cousins, usually second cousins, just so that the estate remains in the family name. Sometimes, arranged marriage is used to pay back certain debts that cannot be paid otherwise. The unhappiest marriage is one where both families are pushing for the union but one of the children do not want it (cause usually the union is made at the behest of one of the children).

Then, what is arranged marriage at its best? I hate to admit this, but arranged marriage works best when it coincides with the American courtship system. What I mean is that most “arranged” marriages aren’t really arranged. C’mon, do you really think arranged marriage could have lasted so long if the husband and wife weren’t truly in love? Of course not! Arranged marriage in the Vietnamese culture succeeds because marriage becomes more than just about the bride and groom. For a convenient example, I only have to think of my mom and dad.

We’ve all heard the saying, “You marry into the family.” Well, arranged marriage in the Vietnamese culture takes that and makes it a requirement for marriage. Before my dad dated my mom, he actually got to know my uncle first (Dad took Mom’s younger brother to go play soccer and other fun stuff). When my dad screwed up the courage to ask my mom out, he had to ask my mom’s dad for permission first. Whenever he dated my mom, he first paid his respects to my maternal grandparents. Vice versa for my mom, as well. Hmmm, perhaps the only reason one in twenty five arranged marriages fail (random Simpsons reference) is because the bride and groom basically merge their two families.

Now, tell me, is arranged marriage so bad?

Voice Post

Story of the Week: A Strange Chinese Drum

Story of the Week: A Strange Chinese Drum

Audio:
A Strange Chinese Drum.

Transcription:
Today is Tuesday, January 10th, 2006. Welcome to the Story of the Week, which now features a transcription, for those unable to listen to the audio file.

Today’s Story of the Week is…
“A Strange Chinese Drum”

There was once a village, a peaceful village out on the border. One day, the emperor lost his sanity and decreed that all elderly people should die. Old people, who did not work or fight, were considered useless. And so it came to be that many elders perished, being forced to march into woods and deserts to their deaths.

But one faithful son hid his elderly mother near the top of a mountain.

Many people came to the emperor begging him to stop his insanity. Finally, he agreed to rescind his decree only if someone could provide him a strange Chinese drum. Specifically, he wanted one that required no movement to make a beat. Nobody, not even the intelligent young men of the village could come up with a solution.

But the faithful son came to his elderly mother and asked her if she knew the answer. She smiled and whispered something to his ear. The young man smiled knowingly and immediately set out to tell his friends the answer. They then brought a strange Chinese drum to the emperor, and upon seeing the answer to his inane riddle he became sane once more and rescinded his decree.

When the faithful son took his elderly mother back to the village, everyone became grateful. They all wondered what the answer to the riddle was. The elderly mother smiled, and said:

“I was asked that riddle when I was a little girl. I simply trapped a bee inside a drum and let the bee do the beating for me.”

The Story of the Week is currently being recorded every Tuesday at greybeta dot livejournal dot com.