Monday, March 24, 2008

Bonfire of the Vanities

Though I frequent bookstores ( an understatement if any! ), I do tend to stay clear of certain areas. Non-fiction and self-help for one - the likes of Deepak Chopra and his kin - not to mention treatises on science, religion and such.

And let's not forget the academic section.

Lots of reasons abound of course. For one thing, non-fiction's usually an anathema to me since I usually find them all ( with very few exceptions! ) generally dry and dreary. I'll admit freely I need to escape to some fluffy fantasy fiction once in a while after dealing with way too much gritty realism at work. So what if it isn't real? I need some sweet escapism dammit.

And God knows I couldn't be happier if I didn't need to see another textbook in my life!

Of course Lanky Lex practically lives in both these restricted areas ( a peculiarity that I always find baffling ) which is why we found ourselves practically hidden away between Physics and Mechanical Engineering during the pouring rain this evening.

Somehow we got to talking about Physics. A dreaded subject for me.

Gestures
I'll admit not all hand gestures are as unequivocal!
And that's not the Fleming's Right Hand Rule in case you were wondering.

And found out that a remarkably simple hand gesture can mean altogether different things to a doctor/pharmacist, a geologist and a physics teacher. Try it. The infamous Fleming's Right / Left Hand Rule? For someone with a knowledge of human anatomy, the shape's surprisingly similar to the orientation of the three semicircular canals of the vestibular system in the inner ear. Of course to a geologist like Jaunty Jared, it's something else entirely - some kinda soil density measuring mumbo jumbo.

Finally admitted ( to Lex's horror! ) that I razed all my notes and manuscripts from my schooldays after my finals in Form Six. Seriously. Prior to the final exams, I made a pact with myself - and possibly some heathenish idols - that I'd burn all my notes in a celebratory bonfire if I successfully leapt the final hurdle into university without a hitch.

Well, obviously I did.

You know how I personally abhor the act of burning books so consider this an uncharacteristic flight from logical behaviour. So all the painstakingly handwritten notes from my entire secondary school got consigned to the sacrificial flames on the very same evening my results were announced. And beautiful notes they were too, with drawings, doodles ( mostly caricatures of my beastly tutors ) and additional notes in multicoloured neon script. Not to mention the obsessive anal-retentive diagrams and tables.

Yes, along with little sketches of my ISO's patrician nose.

I'll admit that I did dance a lil jig on the ashes.

6 comments:

Legolas said...

I kept most of my university notes at home right now, although I have never referred to them again after each and every semester. Might as well burn them all, or recycle, to be more eco-friendly.

Anonymous said...

Tsk, burning? Why not use it for a compost heap. Better for the environment, good for your plants. :P

Unknown said...

i loveeee bookstores...

but seriously some self help books are genuine and good, 98% of them are fake and copycat though.

Suggest you read 7 Habits of Highly Effective Person-a good read :P

Anonymous said...

I thought you were asking what it meant in sign language at first rather than Fleming's Left Hand Rule.

Alex said...

Hehehehe... you need a dose of non-fiction once a while! You can almost always catch me at science section... :P

Next time just recycle your notes... use it as cum wiper.

Emo-Happiness said...

Burning ..
A decision already made.

Burning past notes simply made you a very sturn person of deciding one thing and execution.

As people who keep the things/notes are more subtle and tend to be more emotional. . and indecisive.

Whether it is for the best or not. THe notes keep you alive during the years.
CHerish it. and share is more is the key.

ANd the Legacy will live.
............................
that's the benefit of being.
Emotioneel..(emotional in france)