Haven't been here in a while. Honestly, I've forgotten about it.

I must've been looking pretty weary on my way to class at Cypress College today because a guy leaning near the doorway asked me if I wanted some weed. I was going to ask him if he meant seaweed and then decided against it after seeing his stature.

Marijuana. The word itself is "dope." Non-native English speakers will definitely pronounce it "mari-jewana." And depending on how forcefully they accent a particular syllable, they could offend some people. Trust me, I saw it happen.

Marijuana, if not the rest of the species of the drug family, seems to be prevalent among teenagers. I have no research findings to back it up, but I think the use of marijuana among teenagers has increased in the last decade.

Marijuana use is only a single outgrowth of the trend of hedonism. Sex, music downloads, and outings to the beach are others. In a society that is ever more capitalistic and competitive, hedonism's only to be expected. Children are getting smarter, schools are getting tougher, and life is getting harder. Why should we put in the time to do homework and study at all, students ask. Society manages to keep us playing this cruel game only by dangling a piece of meat in front of us--future success. But some of the more antsy students will look into the future and realize that a third of their life is spent just for the POSSIBILITY of fulfilling their fantasies. For those of us who lack the superb lyricism of Nas, the world is not ours yet.

Hedonism explains why we procrastinate when we have work to do, why we indulge in wonderful, unrealistic daydreams. But as most of us have experienced, the goal of hedonism is hardly attainable, much less maintenable. The sensation is fleeting at best, and that's only if you let it sneak up on you. Whenever it detects the presence of our consciousness, it vanishes.

Of course, hedonism couldn't be the only dominant force in society. Hedonism could make humanitarianism possible, but rarely innovation and progress. Sure, inventions and new technologies may be the products of men's indulgence in their creativity and yearning for monetary rewards. But I feel that a greater cause must account for their ingenuity and perseverance. It was their sincere desire to explore the world around them and learn. It was their insatiable curiosity about life, its biological, chemical, social, psychological, and philsophical meaning. They observed the world carefully and pored over the works of renowned predecessors to make some sense of the great mystical ball that is life.

Therefore, I believe that the changes that the educational institution has undergone are correlated with the rise of hedonism. Today's cutthroat college admission process and plethora of standardized testing only serve to veer students away from the true process of learning. A pressure-free environment to discover the world and look into oneself is furnished only during our childhood years, when we do not possess the ability to conduct abstract reasoning. A growing disconnection with nature is evident. Learning becomes a loathed activity, a stepping stone that leads to job opportunities but holds little significance in itself. Formal schooling does not let us experience the true joy of learning, that strange flutter that inspired the greatest of human beings.

Add me to the list of angry idealists.

Oh, and for some interesting news in sports... Eddy Curry of the New York Knicks was robbed at gunpoint... Authorities have stated that the conspirators were not members of the Knick organization... Also, in a bold move to reassert his authority, Mitch Kupchak signed the son of Coach George Karl... Later at a press conference with Andrew Bynum at his side, Kupchak affirmed that he was not aware of Kevin Garnett's availability...

Jail Bonds

Well, he needs only two more now.

Big-bogus Barry Bonds is at home run #753, two shy of Hank Aaron's record.

When this bulky blundering wad of artificially injected testosterone was introduced at the All-Star Game, he received a long standing ovation. Well, of course. It was at San Francisco. But the level of disillusionment of the Giants fans is quite astounding. They wholeheartedly embrace a disgrace to the game of baseball, champion an arrogant cheater.

I like to consider myself less critical of celebrity conduct than the Average Joe. Mel Gibson's confession to hating Jews and Tom Cruise's scientologistic romping on the Oprah Show would translate into beautiful one-liners on a diss track, but they don't warrant any further discussion. Celebrities constantly contend with stress and pressure for all the time they are under scrutiny of mass media, and it is only human that they show flaws.

I forgave Kobe Bryant when he cheated on his wife because he made a human mistake and he apologized. But I could not stand by him when he publicly ridiculed his teammates and front office. He committed the latter of the two unforgivable celebrity sins: 1) Intentionally or knowingly cause harm to others and 2) Disrespect your job.

Bloated Barry would fit nicely into the second. By bypassing the strenuous workouts in the gym and endless practices on the field that all other responsible athletes undergo to become better ball players, Bonds is violating the #1 principle of sports--to have fun. We developed sports to enjoy ourselves, to take a break from hunting and gathering, to seek relief from overbearing lords and barons, to escape the filth and grime of industrialized cities. As cliche as it sounds, we play sports to have fun, not to win.

Giants fans, however, don't recognize this so it is my hope that Bonds hits the historic long ball at Dodgers Stadium. I don't want to miss the thunderous jeers broadcast on KCAL9.

The last few days, I've found myself lost in reveries of my childhood. And no matter how hard I try to deny it, those were the happiest days of my life and will remain so.

Where I grew up in Seoul, Korea was an odd juxtaposition of the rural and the suburban. It had its share of cars, fastfood restaurants, apartment complexes, and tutoring academies. A few months before I immigrated, I remember witnessing a budding multi-city construction project that would install a public railway system across several mini-cities.

But what I remember most about my childhood is my interaction with Mother Nature. The four seasons came to knock on my door every year, and even as a toddler, I could immediately tell one guest from the other. The transition between winter and spring always enchanted me. I knew that spring had arrived when I woke up in the morning to the scent of growth, trees clothing themselves in green and fresh dirt softening from a light drizzle.

Autumn was my favorite season because the dragonflies came. Actually, they came in the summer, but they were always too busy and alert for my dragonfly net. It was when yellow and red imbued the hillside that the game began. The hills were my playground. From my house, it was about a 15 minute climb to the highlands. The world above had mainly grass, trees, and flowers. But the plain was huge, large enough to accommodate soccer fields, basketball courts, and some exercise equipment. It was the greatest gift a boy could have.

Grasshoppers, butterflies, and ladybugs were plentiful in the autumn, but it was the dragonflies that captivated me. I had a dragonfly net (small supermarkets sold them, they are long sticks with a net at one end), and I went every day to the hills for several years to catch dragonflies. I think that catching the first dragonfly, a gentle one with a bright red tail and translucent wings, was the happiest moment of life. At the end of the day, though, I always released the dragonflies back into the wild from my insect cage. I never took its life.

Nature has a way of soothing the human soul. Lakes and streams fill the ear with gentle murmurs. Mountain air cleanses the lungs and breathes life into the body. I am blessed to have grown up with nature's nourishment. If I could have one wish, I would have those hills again, next to my apartment in La Palma. Oh, and it would be a hell of a hangout for friends and couples.

Blog

Well, let's see how long this will last.