Dragon

By the Chinese zodiac, I am a Dragon! Awesome right? I'm the biggest and mightiest of the animals. I can squish any of them with my large feet and rule with a mighty fist. I can breathe fire on all those who get in my way. This is exactly why my character is so poor, as mighty as it may be.

My mom and I have been doing extensive reading on my Chinese zodiac sign. I've been getting frustrated because I am unable to get a date - not that I really need one. But hey, I like to be asked. Because of how often I talk to my mom on the phone, she knows about this frustration and decided that it was because I was a Dragon. Not believing her, we spent several hours reading about how the Dragon is. The more I read it, it seems so true. Not that I'm adjusting my character to fit the Dragon traits... it was already like that. It's giving me some consideration on how I should change.

Though no site in English is truly accurate. However, I cannot read Chinese of Japanese, so I'm just going to stick to sub par explanations from an English website: here.

(I'm bolding what I believe applies to me.)

Personality
Occupying the 5th position in the Chinese Zodiac, the Dragon is the mightiest of the signs. Dragons symbolize such character traits as dominance and ambition. Dragons prefer to live by their own rules and if left on their own, are usually successful. They’re driven, unafraid of challenges, and willing to take risks. They’re passionate in all they do and they do things in grand fashion. Unfortunately, this passion and enthusiasm can leave Dragons feeling exhausted and interestingly, unfulfilled.

While Dragons frequently help others, rarely will they ask for help. Others are attracted to Dragons, especially their colorful personalities, but deep down, Dragons prefer to be alone. Perhaps that is because they’re most successful when working alone. Their preference to be alone can come across as arrogance or conceitedness, but these qualities aren’t applicable. Dragons have tempers that can flare fast!

Health
Considering their hard-working nature, Dragons are healthy overall. They do get stressed and suffer from periodic tension/headaches, likely because they take so many risks. Dragons could benefit from incorporating mild activity into their lives. Yoga or walking would be good as these activities can work both their minds and their bodies.

Career
Dragons prefer leading to being led. Jobs that allow them to express their creativity are good choices. Some good careers include: inventor, manager, computer analyst, lawyer, engineer, architect, broker, and sales person.

Relationships
Dragons will give into love, but won’t give up their independence. Because they have quick, sometimes vengeful tempers, their partners need to be tough-skinned. Dragons enjoy others who are intriguing, and when they find the right partners, they’ll usually commit to that person for life.

To get more specific, I am considered the Earth Dragon (determined with which specific year you were born in.)

Earth Dragons – Years 1928 and 1988
More rooted in the ground, Earth Dragons make better decisions because they act more rationally. Earth Dragons are level-headed and able to control their behaviors. They’re more supportive of others, but they prefer being admired by others.

Compatibility
Dragons are compatible with the Monkey or Rat and incompatible with the Ox and Goat. (However, all the sites I have read said that Dragons are very incompatible with Dog and that Ox and Goat is just incompatible.)

I am stubborn with a strong drive. This is why my plans for a business is starting to make more sense! :)

Best/Worst College Majors

As I was researching about careers in art history - and if I actually would want to pursue it. I came across several articles about top ten "useless" majors in college. Of course, art history was on there. Of course many other majors that I always enjoyed (literature, art, history, government, music, cinema, psychology, philosophy, etc) were also on there.

According to Princeton's Top 10 College Majors lists some of my favorite subjects in their list:

9. Political Science and Government

Because it often deals with current events and sophisticated statistical analysis, political science is timely, fascinating, and perpetually changing. In a nutshell, it's the study of politics of government, and some of the common concentrations are American government, public policy, foreign affairs, political philosophy, and comparative government. Political science majors develop excellent critical thinking and communication skills, and more broadly, an understanding of history and culture. There will be lots of reading, writing, and math. Possible career paths are diverse–from lawyer to politician to journalist.

6. English Language and Literature

If you find yourself generally immersed in some book–anything from Shakespeare to Hemingway to Jack Kerouac–you will likely find others just like you in the English department studying the trochaic octameter of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven," the stunning word choices of narrative nonfiction author Annie Dillard, or the experimental elements of the writings of Walter Abish. English programs focus on literature, language, and writing, and an English major will encounter a wide array of absorbing works of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction from around the world and throughout history. Analyzing the works of the greatest minds and imaginations that human civilization has produced will surely sharpen your critical, emotional, creative, and moral faculties. The study of literature also helps to shed some light on the answers to the enduring questions of the human condition. This degree is tremendous preparation for a future in law, journalism, publishing, graduate studies, and just about anything else.

2. Psychology

If you find yourself delving into why certain people react to certain aspects of their environments in a certain way, then studying psychology will help you learn about the biology of our brains. Psychology majors focus on such features of the human mind as learning, cognition, intelligence, motivation, emotion, perception, personality, mental disorders, and the ways in which our individual preferences are inherited from our parents or shaped by our environment. Within the field, psychologists seek to educate, communicate, and resolve many of the problems surrounding human behavior.

After looking at it deeper, Nine Kinds of Pie's article Humanities Majors Learn More state that:

The students who are acquiring the most knowledge from their college educations are those who major in English, Philosophy, Music, Fine Arts, Religion, History, Theatre, and Modern Languages:

Students majoring in liberal arts fields see “significantly higher gains in critical thinking, complex reasoning, and writing skills over time than students in other fields of study.” Students majoring in business, education, social work and communications showed the smallest gains. (The authors note that this could be more a reflection of more-demanding reading and writing assignments, on average, in the liberal arts courses than of the substance of the material.)

That’s from Scott Jaschik’s piece in Inside Higher Ed, one of the only articles to even mention this important victory for the humanities.

Having Princeton's observations with some of my favorite subjects tied into Scott Jaschik's piece, I am able to come to the conclusion that art history is a very high critical thinking major - depending on how you take it. A lot of people, I've noticed, just plug and chug what the professors say. I try my best to incorporate philosophy, psychology, etc into all of my papers and ideas. I think that even though I'm majoring in a field that is looked down upon from the general public (art and visual communication) I am able to think in ways that other people are unable to.

Myers-Briggs personality test state that I'm INTJ. Keirsey's Temperament puts me in the 'Rational Mastermind' category. People are so boggled by that because I enjoy and love art history. But I think because of how my brain is wired is how I'm able to be so good at art history. I've got a scientific brain - though science is too complex (though all my professors say that science is too SIMPLE for me...) - I'm able to use this 'scientific' brain and put it into liberal arts. I'm just a weird INTJ Dragon! :)

New Updates

It's been forever since I've had anything interesting to write about. But here it is.

My Christmas with my roommate, Kihye was so fun and memorable. :) I really do adore here. We made a lot of Japanese and Korean foods and watched some movies and a Japanese drama called Marumo no Okite, probably one of the best shows I've ever watched. I laughed, I cried, and I became concerned for the characters.

We also talked about plans on starting a business together - I really want to! I want to be able to go through with it but we'll see.

Anyway, I went to a new doctor on Tuesday. I was really nervous at first because while I was talking to the doctor he seemed to think I was just fat cause I'm lazy. Anyway, he decided to give me an in-depth physical. He checked my head, when he touched my face he noticed that it was really puffy...not fat. So he asked me to change into this paper shirt that he had available and had me sit on the table. He touched my neck and back of my shoulder and noticed some swelling. He decided to check my lower back and my abdomen. He said that because of the way I flinched it really gave away that there was some swelling in my small and large intestines. He said my kidneys, ovaries, and liver were irritated. So he put me on a yeast control diet along with anti-yeast pills and probiotics. Apparently he's noticed in many patients who have healthy blood but look terrible, but it was due to overgrowth of yeast. So the theory is, when the yeast clears up, my thyroid medication will actually the way it is supposed to. He also put me on a natural thyroid medication which I can adjust the dosage daily. Yay! Attempt #3!

I guess my update wasn't that interesting... 

This made my day :)

My professor made a comment about art history research paper: :)

"Tina, one word: wow! I just shouted over to a fellow teacher that the paper I was reading (yours) was bringing tears to my eyes. Absolutely outstanding - well analyzed and well written. Excellent use of footnotes and endnotes. I put a few electronic comments on the first few pages (click on the green box with 5% inside), but then I stopped because it was all so strong and well written.

Seriously, you have a gift for research and art history. I think the philosophical section came together really nicely (even though I know you said it was a bit challenging, and I absolutely empathize, since you were tackling some big topics/philosophers)."

Eh

Growing up in TN you are bound to find poop all over the place, ground, sidewalk, and grass. Half the time, it might not even be animal poop. But regardless, poop everywhere. Here in Provo, Utah, there aren't much animals around especially this time of year...and double especially since I live in an area that strictly prohibits pets (besides goldfish). Anyway, after FHE today, I went to Bryant's house and I stepped in poop (without realizing it) and tracked it into his house... after cleaning it, and coming home to get rid of my shoes... here's a conversation Bryant and I had on MSN:


T: you don't like me
B:whatever
i wuvs you
i don't like poop
T: you don't love me even though i have poop on me?!
B: what kind of question is that?
i said i DON'T like poop
unless you were trying to ask if i DO love you even though you have poop on you
yes, i do
but i don't want poop in my room
on my floor
or in my bed
T: fair enough