adrift

When one feels adrift is it better to grab onto anything nearby, or is it still prudent to use discretion in choosing one's connections? Is "any old port in a storm" really the best advice? My horoscope today rang a bell.

Be aware of the differences between your current situation and your future goals, but don't try to resolve the two yet. Taking direct action too soon won't be worth the trouble it creates.

My instinct is telling me to maintain discretion but not be overly critical. I think it is ok right now to just not know and to remain a little adrift.

Learning a foreign language

I found this wonderful page on how to learn a foreign language. It is not about specific tasks or tricks or details. It is not about method or technique. It is about the motivation and the process which applies to all foreign languages.
http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/learn-foreign-language/

He listed five main points which make so much sense. It isn't about drills and teachers and which book or method is correct. It is about immersion and time (just like how a child learns)

1. Spend the time!
2. Listen and read every day!
3. Focus on words and phrases!
4. Take responsibility for your own learning!
5. Relax and enjoy yourself!

And he has a learning website which I will try out.http://www.lingq.com/
I am thinking about taking a language class (twice a week) in April, but maybe I should just grab my Japanese language books and practice.

Where you go I can not follow

Just something that really has been popping up a lot recently. I think in science there are a lot of people who are loaners but wanting to be leaders. But it means there are very few followers. Many people who follow are doing it as a temporary step out of necessity. But then again maybe this is human nature. But it is very interesting when one reaches a point where one starts to pull their head up and look around and start asking some questions and wondering. Especially when others are leaving and trying to get others to follow.

Holiday season

I always find the Holiday season a real mix of emotions. It is a time of year when many reflect back on the previous year, think about the good and bad, and plan for the next year. It is a time when many go back home to spend time with their families too. I know many love this time of year, the shopping, the lights, the festive nature. But I have always found this time of year always difficult. There is no obvious reason why I find it difficult and I have heard many accounts of why this season is difficult for them. I know part of it is the cold and short days and a general lower level of energy. But I think there is something else. The best I can say is that I look at my life at this time of year, I look at the choices I have made and the life I have created for myself, and I look around at what I percieve others lives to be. Of course there is a huge amount of the "grass is greener on the other side of the fence" that clouds any of these thoughts and I know this, but I can't help myself some times. Like today I saw a woman on the train with her young daughter. She was western and her daughter was half Japanese and I realized how there really is a part of me that would have loved to had a child of my own. I guess this is the hardest part. I love working and using my brain (I am cursed with being clever with math and science), and I think it would have been impossible for me to let go of that and just raise a child. But yeah I think this might be essence of why this season is so hard for me.
But for all the others out there who love this season, I wish everyone a very happy holiday season.