Time

Is it that our hair grows more quickly as the years pass by, or that our years grow more quickly as our hair passes by?

Remember in elementary school, how long the days used to seem? Lunch lasted days of today, recess lasted a month. Take a day, or any period of time for that matter, and live it. I mean truly live it - cherish it, adore it, nuture it. See how much length you can squeeze out of time, but don't rush it. Time is ordinary, a construct, a something that may or may not exist according to us or the world - so, we ignore it. I challenge you to embrace it, feel it, get to know it. You might be astounded by how interesting and fickle time (and, on a greater scale, being) really is. Sit down, meditate, play a game but slow it down - whatever you need to do. Time can be manipulated in a sense, and its interesting what happens when it stops being ignored and starts being attended to.

It is a common complaint that life is too short. In turn, we, as humans, desperately and superficially try to extend life on earth by any means necessary. Maybe if we paid attention to being and time in the first place, we wouldn't have to run away from death. When our time came, we would be able to embrace it if only for all the attention paid to life itself - all the tiny details, all the nooks and crannies, and, most importantly, the vast amount of substance that passes through a lifetime.

Stop looking to the future ("I can't wait for x!"). Stop looking to the past ("What if..."). Live now.

I Am Therefore I Think

"Cabbage, car, plague germ, star: we're all kith and kin. Not, my sun-eyed love, "Cogito Ergo Sum" but, in our distinguished family, we can think because we are..." -Nazim Hikmet

Just a little quote to think about from Nazim Hikmet, from poetry which he composed during his time in prison in the mid 1940's. Its funny to consider the great, elegant minds that end up locked up in prison for the majority of their lives. The solace and elegance that Hikmet and other "prison poets" demonstrate (such as Nelson Mandela - one of whose poems and life was recently the focus of the Hollywood flick Invictus) is truly remarkable in the face of adversity. I hope that I would be able to equally come to peace with my circumstances if ever faced with something as trying.

A little off topic, but another example of this can be seen in an even more popular demonstration - that of Armando Galarraga, a pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers. Recently, he pitched a perfect game against the Cleveland Indians, which is probably the single most prestigious, difficult, and, well, "perfect" single game achievement in baseball, and possibly even any other sport. A perfect game occurs when a pitcher retires the minimum amount of batters possible in a game - which is twenty-seven (9 innings x 3 outs per inning). This can only happen if: 1)The pitcher allows no hits, 2)The pitcher's team commits no errors, 3)The pitcher does not give up a walk. This is quite the feat, especially considering the pitcher is facing a major league lineup with some of the best athletes and baseball players in the entire world.

There have only been 20 perfect games pitched in Major League Baseball history (21 if you count Galarraga's), a history that dates back over 100 years into the mid to late 1800's. Each baseball season, there are 162 games played (with slightly less games played throughout the course of history) - an attest to how truly rare and impressive the perfect game is. Considering that there are 30 teams in ma jor league baseball (about 24 teams dating back to earlie r times), I'll use this equation to calculate the probabilit y of a perfect game occurring:

150 games (approximately) times 24 teams (approximately) times 130 seasons (approximately - again, I'm not looking up exacts, but the result will be close enough) divided by 20 perfect games. (150 x 24 x 130) / 20 = 1/23400, or .0000427. That means that, out of all the games that have been pitched in major league history, 0.0042 7% of them have been perfect games. Needless to say, that's a ridiculously minute number, and one that would put a pitcher in the Major League recor d books forever.

Now that I've established how amazing the pitching of a perfect game really is, I'll present Galarraga's case in this article on MLB.com. I would check out the video too - It gives a better representation of what happened. If the article isn't working or you don't feel like checking it out, basically what happened was that Galarraga had a perfect game going with 2 outs in the ninth inning. Jason Donald, the Indian's batter, hit a groundball to the first-baseman's right - so Galarraga had to hustle over to first to cover the base. It seemed like a routine play, a little close, but routine. When Galarraga stepped on first base, it appeared history had been made, with the Detroit crowd erupting with excitement and joy, with passion and pleasure at the rarity they had just witnessed.

But wait a second.

Jim Joyce, the first base umpire, had done the unthinkable - he had called Donald safe. Galarraga, though, took what had just happened with extreme class and humility, and a sportsmanship which I have never seen before. Rather than throw a fit or get in Joyce's face, Galarraga reacted in disbelief - but then simply smiled. He smiled and appreciated what he knew he had just accomplished, despite some petty call. I think Joe Posnanski, in this article, put it best: "And when my young daughters ask, 'Why didn’t he get mad and scream about how he was robbed?' I think I will tell them this: I don’t know for sure, but I think it’s because Armando Galarraga understands something that is very hard to understand, something we all struggle with, something I hope you will learn as you grow older: In the end, nobody’s perfect. We just do the best we can."

Galarraga's case is an example of how beautiful a human reaction can be on the highest of competitive levels in this world. His actions (or, perhaps, lack of action) is one of my favorite sports moments of all time. Like Hikmet, it is amazing to see what some human beings can do in the face of adversity.

God, Allah, That Thing Up in the Sky, or any of the other 97 names that may be applicable

"Allah is too big, and too open, for my Islam to be small and closed."

-Jehangir Tabiri, a young Muslim punk from Michael Muhammad Knight's eye-opening novel, The Taqwacores.

Just a short but profound quote to think about, for individuals of all religions (and even no religion).

The Impossible

Just a little tidbit for thought in the wee hours of the morning:

I have oft heard, especially since coming to college, the saying "you can sleep when you're dead." This, of course, implies that sleep is a waste of time - you should live your life to the fullest by taking advantage of all the time you have. But what about dreams? The excitement, imagination and exploration that occurs in dreams seldom enters the real world.

So, aside from the obvious health benefits, I'm not so sure I would live by this statement.

Just sayin'. Carpe Diem.

The Simple Pleasures

Recently I've taken to, well, just loving the simple pleasures of life. Each day lately I seem to notice little details that I usually don't, noting how simple they are in their beauty. It's so easy to become lost in the hectic haze of modern society that I think we sometimes lose sight of what can be profoundly beautiful about the simplicity of life. I sit here now, profoundly relieved, having just finished a research paper for psychology. I think with all the hustle and bustle of finals and the drive to be social, I haven't taken time to sit back and observe what is truly obvious: that life itself is absolutely gorgeous, a sort of dynamic piece of art which never ceases to fascinate. I've really been itching to get a blog post up because I'm sick of writing for a grade, so I think now I'm just going to release, a pouring out of my soul if you will, of what my soul has touched, felt, and perceived, of that which has permanently imprinted itself upon my being.

The simple pleasures:

• Watching my friend write on a banana and laugh about it
• The physics of a door swinging back and forth in Main Building, my dormitory
• Jumping in order to touch really high things, like branches
• Listening to Sigur Ros in this very moment (god their Icelandic is stunning)
• The fact that I'm alive (you might say well duh! but I'm talking about being alive, anyone who has experienced being alive, fully conscious of their own being and the being of everyone and everything around them, knows what I'm talking about)
• Having a profound experience at an amazing musical performance (my body extending into a tree and filling the room, fyi)
• Seeing my friends smile
• Hearing the voices of my parents
• Saying a prayer
• Talking to friends far, far away
• Vassar College and all its amazing people
• Being praised for hard work
• Chewing gum that tastes like yummy berries
• Making a summer reading list, and just the thought of reading for pleasure
• Realizing how much I have grown as a person
• Being asked to sing "Singing in the Rain" by three random girls in the middle of the day
• Seeing a family happy together
• Making the day of a child just by giving them a paper airplane
• When animals seem to smile
• Acoustic music to calm the senses
• Letting go of nagging stresses and worries which don't even matter
• Just being alive (not alive, but alive now)
• God
• Letting all your muscles completely relax so that you get that tingly feeling in your body

What has made you happy lately? How about right now, in this very moment? Think about it...

Because I'm lovin' the simple pleasures.

The World's Greatest Sport

"In our country, true teams rarely exist . . . social barriers and personal ambitions have reduced athletes to dissolute cliques or individuals thrown together for mutual profit . . . Yet these rugby players. with their muddied, cracked bodies, are struggling to hold onto a sense of humanity that we in America have lost and are unlikely to regain. The game may only be to move a ball forward on a dirt field, but the task can be accomplished with an unshackled joy and its memories will be a permanent delight. The women and men who play on that rugby field are more alive than too many of us will ever be. The foolish emptiness we think we perceive in their existence is only our own."
-Victor Cahn

Ireland

The heart of Dublin, Ireland

Tomorrow I will be departing for Dublin, Ireland, in what should be an extremely beautiful, enlightening, and exciting ten day trip. I will be traveling with both the Men's and Women's Vassar Rugby teams, in what should be an action-packed course of events. There will be about forty or so of us, so it will be a bit chaotic, but fun nonetheless. We land in Dublin on what will be Wednesday morning (March 10th) because of the time difference, and spend from Wednesday to Friday there getting acclimated. During the time in Dublin, we will be seeing Croke Park (the home of Irish Rugby) and the Guinness Brewery/Storehouse. In addition, we will be playing one match against Dublin City University Rugby Football Club (R.F.C.), which promises to be a tough match for us, as we haven't played in a game or had any contact since November of 2009. I hear Dublin is very similar to Boston, Massachusetts, a city which is very dear to my heart, so I'm definitely hopeful as to the time spent there.

The Cliffs of Moher

After a few days in Dublin, we head over to Cork, Ireland, which is a smaller city located a few hours southwest, along the coast of Ireland. It is in Cork that we will be spending the majority of our time as a team. There, we will be seeing Connemarra Coast, The Cliffs of Moher (which seem absolutely stunning in their beauty), Bunratty Castle, Folkpark, The Blarney Castle (the stone of which I will not be kissing, as the locals apparently take leaks on it - I don't blame them), and Dingle Peninsula. Phew, that was a long list. I want to be careful not to fall into the touristy-traps that these different sights seemingly set me up for. Instead, I want to learn a bit about Irish culture from these landmarks, and see of what importance they are aside from revenue generators. I'm very interested to learn about a country who actually respects the sport of Rugby.

Kinsale R.F.C.

During the time in Cork, we will be playing Kinsale R.F.C. and Fermoy R.F.C., neither of which I can find out much about (same goes for Dublin City University R.F.C.). I hear that American teams are expected to come out hard with an "American Football Mentality" and smash, while Irish clubs tend to be smaller and much more smart in their tactical play (much of the smallness comes from the fact that we will not be playing the First Sides of the clubs). Following each match, we will enjoy "festivities" with the host clubs, which I'm guessing will include beer and food - absolutely fine by me. I'm more curious, however, to find out what the clubs think of our rugby skill and playing ability, as most of the Irish players likely have played rugby since they have been able to walk (and I'm not even exaggerating).

Overall, I'm just absolutely souped for the trip and sitting at home with nothing to do the night before my flight. I will snap tons of photographs, as I hope to capture the soul of Ireland in all its beauty and rich culture. I'll probably have a post-trip blog post as a nice little contrast to this one, and I'm guessing it will be quite the contrasting experience from what I previewed here. I've heard Europe is quite different from America, but in a very good way - here's to hoping that's true. It'll all come to a close on Saturday, March 20th, when we fly back to Newark International.

P.S. - Did I mention almost every night is free for us to do whatever we please? It's going to be an absolutely epic trip.

P.S.S. - We will be staying at a quality five star hotel while in Dublin and a slightly more spartan hostel while in Cork. I'm pumped to experience each of them, and the hotel looks sicknasty.