Retiring this Blog

It has become hard to use this tool to blog. Or rather, to blog in general. I need a change of pace.

I am still in the stage of sharing from others. So for now, I will try another medium.

Cheers =)

-Lilly

Revised: Forget "Official" Blogs

Hello World,

Today we had a social media blogging presentation where I learned we were supposed to write a minimum of one blog entry per month during our stay here at OpenText. Well since it's February already, I figured I'm behind.

So here's for making it up.
Is there a pun in there somewhere? Perhaps.

I have a personal blog myself and I post to it as often as almost never (i.e. here). It has become a neglected diary reminiscent of a leatherbound notebook of my 10 year old self - actually it was colourfully plastic but I'm trying to paint a cool word picture here, thanks honesty.

Anyway, I write stuff about goals, life lessons, movie/book reviews, etc. that I never seem to translate to real life. I have a fantastical desire for epic wins, but real life usually erodes my resolve.
I recently watched a TedTalk (awesome talks about cool diverse topics which you should all check out: http://www.ted.com/talks) that talked about games and how playing games makes us awesome and if we can translate world issues into games people will play them and gain great insights into how to resolve some of our most pressing issues. The link is on my Facebook. (I'll add this in a moment)

In any case, it got me thinking about my blogging (the very rare times that I do) and how everything I promise and say are so powerful for me at the moment of conception but never fails to fail in bringing action to fruition. If you know me well enough you would know that when I get all excited I tend to use as many words as possible to twist and turn and spin a simple sentence into a really long and unecessarily deep 3 dimensional web of words. I wouldn't even call it excited, more like full of myself and in delusion of I-don't-know-what.

Why is that, I wonder. I think I figured it out - see that delusion? - and it has to do with my voice. The voice in my head that gets really into things, that, over the internet, transposes onto every other voice I know and I don't know... in such a manner that I feel control over their actions and even more importantly my actions. That's a scary thought, it just shows that in real life I feel like I don't have much control over my actions because I feel like unnecessary things like emotions and circumstances and my general shyness and inability to TALK properly - still a problem, I nod - usually get in the way and in hindsight I never seem to be able to be what I want to be and how I see myself in this blogsphere, in the game world, in virtual reality.

Maybe - the TedTalk suggests - many of us are going through that phase. The generation immersed in games, engrossed in epic tales, of possibilities that in comparison to the real world far are more fantastical and beautiful and worthy of passion.

It makes everything in real life dull. Yet real life is real and should be the focus of our attention.

Sigh, I'll leave this to another day if the thoughts come back. The fast music in my head and on 8tracks has slowed.

(You may check out the actual blog I posted on the OpenText co-op facebook page - which hasn't been written yet. It's different (I hope) than this one because I had to rewrite to make it more appropriate and less personal.) Nope. Definitely not doing those blogs... I can't keep anything official and under security tape =(

Thanks for reading. And sorry. This really was a meaningless ramble.

-L

Goal for W2011 Semester Before April...

Pass G2.

G1 expires in 2012 <= that's too close for comfort lol
Also need G -_-

A short essay I wrote in HS Grade 12 - found while cleaning up google docs XD

The Modern English Language – Adapting to Change

It is easy to criticize modern English. Critics can simply point out the ambiguity of political propaganda, the decadence of profanity, and the silliness of emoticons. However, before judging, one should recognize how the English-speaking society has evolved and subsequently see how well English has adapted to those changes. I believe that the overall competence of a language depends primarily on its ability to assist the ordinary person in communicating ideas. Modern English, in my opinion, has become an efficient tool of communication in today’s world. This essay explores how English has changed and how its changes affect modern society.

The internet is the greatest invention of the 20^th Century. English, both spoken and written, has changed dramatically because of the internet. Now that communication around the world has become quick and easy, it’s natural that we, the users of language, would want to make communication quicker and easier. One way of shortening language is acronym usage. Recognizing the efficiency of using acronyms for technical terms such as ISO for the International Organization of Standardization, we adopted the idea for the internet. Why spend a full three seconds typing “laughing out loud” when “lol” will do.

Another fun tool for communicating over the internet is emoticon usage. Emoticons are especially good for expressing emotions quickly. I feel it is hard to adequately describe feelings with words, especially a small amount of words. Sure, typing “happy” in the instant messenger would express your feelings, but it won’t have the same impact as an emoticon. People register images faster and more vividly, and it doesn’t matter if those images are lopsided because we get used to it. Also, since technology has made emoticons in most instant messengers more like actual images, they are even easier and faster to recognize and use.

Changes in society have created changes in language, but it also works in the reverse. The ease of language use in online communication has raised a global group of technologically savvy teens, who form a large base of internet users. Being well-versed in the internet is very important for our generation to successfully thrive and compete in tomorrow’s world, where the web will be a driving force behind all sorts of industries. I find, also, that the simplified version of online English has helped to bring people from different parts of the world closer together, breaking down language barriers.

In the fast-paced modern world, speed and efficiency of communication is essential, and English has adapted well to the change. Modern English will surely endure in connecting us all in a harmonious global culture.

AN: I think I really need to take up classes or have writing projects forced onto me to write lol. I chuckle at some of the things I wrote... but overall I have not changed much.

-L

Ate 6 Slices of Pizza Yesterday

Pretty much explains itself. I don't feel too good... 4 pieces at noon, 2 at night -_-

Though I'll admit the noon ones were good - thin crust and well-made - but that's company ordered so it should be decent.
Drank a cup of coffee because department head was buying... XD I guess I don't hate coffee as much as I used to. This is bad. First co-op manager's predictions are coming true??? NOOOOOO

-L