Best E-mail (A heart warming message).

You know when you buy something online and you get these really formal replies back?... this was not one of those... and I love this very much.

The Violinist in the Subway (An Experiment)

He emerged from the metro at the L'enfant Plaza Station and positioned himself against a wall beside a trash basket. By most measures, he was nondescript: a youngish white man in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt and a Washington Nationals baseball cap. From a small case, he removed a violin. Placing the open case at his feet, he shrewdly threw in a few dollars and pocket change as seed money, swiveled it to face pedestrian traffic, and began to play.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work. The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the top musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written,with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100. This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people.

The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context? One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

[source]

Challenge Accepted.

And so it begins.

The Results Day Cycle. (A visual representation)

Results Day. (event)

-A day in which teenagers across the United Kingdom join together and prepare for an abominable moment of being handed their entire life's worth of education in one envelope. Several use the term 'shitting my fucking pants' to describe their feelings.

We go through several stages of very complex emotions as we await for this event.

[20] days before Results Day.

("Nothing to worry about, I have all the time in the world chasing ponies and playing with my unicorn")

[15] days before Results Day.

("Wow, I'm starting to run out of things to do... well...")

[10] days before Results Day.

("People are counting down? What a bunch of losers... I'm completely not worried... I'm not.")

[5] days before Results Day

(What if ...)

[4] days before Results Day.

("I'm probably fine...")

[3] days before Results Day. (Today)

(HOLY SHIT WHAT IF THEY CAN'T UNDERSTAND MY HANDWRITING I WILL FAIL MY LIFE AND HAVE TO BEG FOR MONEY ON THE STREETS I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE)

Paper Towns (A Novel By John Green)

"High school is neither a democracy nor a dictatorship - nor, contrary to popular belief, an anarchic state. High school is a divine-right monarchy. And when the queen goes on vacation, things change."

I've finished reading this months ago, so maybe my thoughts about it is a little dusty (what a horrible metaphor). Also, I have developed a little hatred towards long paragraphs, not exactly the idea of reading them but more to the fact that I hate writing them because my words get buried underneath more piles of words and it doesn't look pretty. Maybe this hatred was there long ago and maybe this is a hypocritical long paragraph. I have just sucked myself in writing this. My words are now buried, as I sit and frown in self pity but still remain unable to stop myself from typing.

So here's a review.

Things I... not hated... but wasn't necessarily eager about

- Most of the book, I felt, was just about Quentin (coolest name ever) going around in circles following superfluous clues from Margo.

- It could be because I get bored really easily, but, seriously I got really desperate for something to pace the story along.

Things I liked:

-"Part Three: The Vessel" One of the rare feelings I get when reading is getting so into the story that it's difficult to physically put it down. This was the part of the book that made it difficult for me to put it down. I loved everything about this part that it took me overnight to finish (which is considered an achievement, with the fact that it took me weeks to finish the first two parts)

The predominant reason that I liked this part the most is just that it was the best road trip ever. All of the characters showed their personalities individually rather than just a crowd that would surround the protagonist.

- The random-ness (SPOILER!) I recall them almost hitting a cow. I don't remember that ever happening on any other books I've ever read.

- John Green's writing. There's something about it that makes me happy. It's refreshing to read because he's hilarious and witty but still remains intellectual.

In conclusion, it was wonderful.

Reasons Why Riots Are Stupid.

Dear Riot-ee,

What is an idiotic, moronic act that can't ever be justified because it's just -- a great word to summarise with-- stupid? I'd like to say that I would understand why these people go around smashing others' cars and burning buildings down but I see no other explanation other than utter stupidity. No, there's nothing I will probably ever have the courage to do to try and physically stop such foolish act. So, I'll just explain to you why I find riots stupid.

1. Destroying public properties doesn't mean that you 'get back' at the government, while it is true they have to pay to get repairs, the money comes from the taxes-- which is essentially EVERYONE's money. This could even lead to a tax increase, meaning the people who destroyed would still end up paying more because they wanted to break shit.

2. Destroying people's business is just fucking up with their lives. This achieves nothing, except maybe a few pumps of adrenaline in your veins you fucking psychopaths.

3. I guess given the chance, 'looting' off shops is very tempting, but it's fucking shameful and disgusting.

So I hope I've made my thoughts clear. Thank you. Go home. Lock your doors and shit.