Smart kids on TV

I'm watching an episode of Star King right now (it's like, I don't know, Korean Star Search type thing, but in more of a variety show format?).

Anyhow, they gathered a group of little kids from Korea, China and Japan who are like abacus champs or some other, and have them calculating like calculators on the show. Besides being ridiculously skilled at the abacus they can calculate fast without the abacus (having a string of numbers flashed at them and calculate the totals, and such) and are also champs in those number memorization contest type things they hold.

I'm not denying these are some smart as kids, and watching the Korean rep kid blink and nod his head like an android and the Chinese girl mime at an invisible abacus as the numbers flash by the second as they calculate sums up in the four digits is kind of creepy yes, but I gotta feel sorry for the kids. I mean, I'm not denying that they might actually want to do this and be the best at what they do, but at the same time it's got that "make this kid be a parlor trick" feel to it.

Reminds me of what I read about smart kids being susceptible to that whole imposter complex. Can you imagine these kids being prepped to churn out numbers like this all the time? And being known as "that" kid? Like I can imagine bullies being all, "well what's 5,345,555 plus 223,445,234? *punches kid in the stomach* Too slow!"

They go on the tournament circuit, do well for themselves, but then what kind of person do they grow up to be or how do they feel about only being known as that kid good with numbers? Eh, I mean they probably grow up and become like Nobel Prize winning mathematicians or something, but maybe not all of them. I can imagine some of them realizing they can memorize the hell out of a string of numbers and adding it together but realizing they have no idea how to socialize (or maybe they wanted to and never had the chance to). And what about if they're just not good at math in that way? The prodigy/genius treatment has got to suck when you realize you don't live up to somebody else's expectation of what that exactly means, or on the other hand having to deal with others expectations when you have your own.

Or, who the hell cares I suppose. I don't know. I just felt bad watching the Japanese kid who had a look like Ivan Drago on his face the whole time.

On the other hand who cares I suppose

I want an Xbox

This is getting ridiculous. I reeeeeeeeally want to play Left 4 Dead and now there's 2 out. I also want to game with my friends...

I got a talking to about how I shouldn't spend money so randomly, but come on, a girl's got needs. I'm thinking once I figure out this moving situation, I'm going to not get cable, just internet, and instead use Netflix on the Wii (or the Xbox if I do end up getting that).

The problem with me and game systems is I mainly have just a handful of games I really want to play, and the rest I could take it or leave it. Same thing with cable actually. I'd be sad if I didn't have my BBC A or the one random Korean channel anymore, but the rest? Meh.

I'm currently annoyed about not having the Xbox because I really want to play Bayonetta. However, regardless of whether I get an Xbox or not, I'm totally going to be Bayonetta for Halloween. Yep, I'm getting ready for this starting NOW. I'm even looking up how much catsuits cost and everything. I mean, it's not a set thing, but that's why I'm checking now, to see if I'm in the budget for an elaborate costume of that sort.

Ugh, this is so sad.

Bored

What to do, what to do...I'm getting restless. I could go for a weekend trip. This year will be the first year I haven't traveled out of the country. I mean, it's cold and crap, but I'm seriously looking forward to the long President's Day weekend. And instead of just rolling around the house, I feel like I should go do something. I'm thinking, in view of it being all "president"-y I should visit Philly or D.C. again. Hmmmmmm......anyhow, it's merely a thought that this moment. Depends on funds and other such things. Maybe California? Nah, too much money for a plane, though I'm totally not taking the bus down to D.C. again. I'm totally doing the train. My butt fell asleep and took about an hour to wake up when I took the bus.

Resolution checkpoint

I'm supposed to go to Odessa tonight with friends for pierogies, so there goes my diet for today.

Besides that, I signed up for classes! I actually had my first class yesterday. I went in to do an evaluation interview the week before since the description for the 101 class was a little vague. I mean, I'm not trying to brag, but I just mean I'd studied Japanese before, and while I am no where near fluent, at the same time I already know hiragana and katakana from back in the day, and I really didn't need to pay 200 bucks to relearn how to say "Hi, I am _______. Nice to meet you."/"Good morning/good afternoon/good night" and so on and so forth.

So after a real awkward interview, I was informed I didn't need to take a 101 class, but if I didn't want to wait until February to start with the 103, I could join in now in the middle of a 102 class and transition into the 103. I thought this sounded like a good idea, since just jumping leaps and bounds to 103 sounded a bit iffy when I'd been so out of practice for so long. Doing the last couple of 102 classes as warm up seemed smart. I just don't know how I'm going to survive 10 am classes on a Saturday morning...

New Year's....resolutions?

I don't really do resolutions, mainly because I don't know if I believe in the whole "Oh, I'm going to lose weight/quit smoking/become more organized" style of trying to make some change. You always end up breaking it because if this was something you were really set on doing, you would've set yourself to do it regardless of it being a new year or not.

However, nonetheless there are things I would like to do that I am going to get done or at least started on in the coming three months, because I can't do this year shit. That's just giving me 12 months to push crap further down. If I'm not getting started on it, now, I'm never going to. I don't know what else is behind the urgency. I guess because I feel like I say I want to do a lot, but don't actually do much about it. Though maybe that's the human condition? It also could be that watching Harold and Maude over the holidays has affected me way more profoundly than I'd like to admit.

1. Learn a new language. I always said that by the time I die it'd be nice to speak at least 5 languages. Well, I'm looking towards 30 looming on the horizon in the next couple of years, and I still only speak two languages fluently. SO, in the next three months I will be looking at and signing up for language classes.

2. Take belly dancing classes. "What?" Yea, I know, but seriously, I've been talking about doing this for years. I mean, honestly, just why not?

3. Draw. This isn't a skill that increases just by sitting on your hands. You have to keep doing it. I mean, I know I say crap about art school and all that, and that'd be awesome, sure, but I've still got a couple of years left paying off the student loans I have now, and I honestl don't know if I can sink myself any more in debt unless something drastic happens, so that's more on the back burner now as a what if.

So, let's check back in around March and see how these things are going along.