meditations on first philosophy

thought i was doing well by reading the book before class started and sticky-noting stand out concepts/arguments. i even was beginning to feel more comfortable with the reality conundrum mentioned in the previous post. three days before class starts i get an e-mail from my professor saying "read Meditation I (pgs 12-15), refer to attached commentary and questions while reading."

initial response: i'm already on Meditation III so i'll just review/reread Meditation I with his pages of comments and questions.

second response: 3 full pages of analysis (8.5x11" ea) for 3 pages of text (5x8.5" ea) ?? i must be stupid because i didn't think there was that much material in the introductory meditation.

after reading: oh... i guess so.

still on page one of three of the professor's comments&questions. one point refers to paragraph 3 and the "argument from Illusion." paragraph 3 is two sentences.

initial and current response: where is the argument !? i must be stupid because i can't pull any form of argument from these apparently-laden-with-meaning two sentences...

sushi break please...

sunday funday

a quick update, sans photos...

1. i was awarded the UCLA TAP scholarship! it's $5,000 with the condition that i commit to participating in undergraduate research -- something i'd love the opportunity for, so this is so nice to receive $5k + a contract to do it (: the scholarship is renewable, assuming i fulfill all the reqs... nice!
2. i lost 1 pound! sound measly? maybe to the average supermodel, for whom a pound a day is par for the course... but for me it's a huge win because i feel like i've plateaued foreverrrr. now i'm 113! every time i work out, i'm 112 the day after, though... fleetingly. i hope i can attain that 112 for good, then 111... and ultimately 110. i'm toying with the idea of 110 lbs + an A in my first UCLA summer course = me treating myself to a shallow designer material object :D
3. caught up with jonas & lynard briefly last thurs&fri. nice (:
4. drove to malibu today with the aid of our new GPS system! yesss, it was so helpful, especially with all the detours we had to make. malibu is great, esp the malibu county market (dont be fooled by the name... it's a haven for boutiques / birkins / lazy sundays)... but the traffic is murder. in both directions. and there isn't any rush hour -- unless you'd say it spans the entire day...
5. yes i am unsatisfied with my Chloé Marlow. it's kind of large and the bottom sags which i'm quickly understanding is a constant concern with designer bags. so now i'm perusing (obsessing) for a new bag...
6. need to get crackin on descartes' meditations on first philosophy... i'm stuck on the whole formal/objective reality thing. i think i grasp his argument for the existence of god, but i'm not willing to attempt any further reading until i understand the reality concept.

contentment

one final moment to pause and reflect before diving in, and reveling in it all

i love being a philosophy major

i also love UCLA, the prospect of going into law, and the LSAT

this is just who i am. back in highschool while everybody grumbled about SAT and SAT prepclass, i loved SAT class. and now that the LSAT is coming up, i'm so excited to get back into that atmosphere again... the studying, the drilling, the anticipation, the hard work. you just feel so productive, smart, and happy.

at this point, i'm really happy.

simple post? yeah.. but i thought it was important to document. (: