1/26/2012

Her words

So I recently asked my friend (though not in a particularly serious manner) why she was so happy. At first I was a little surprised that she would choose to respond seriously, but ultimately I'm glad that she did.

She said, "Oh yes, after all, what's the point in being miserable all the time? I know life isn't always easy. Sometimes you're put in difficult circumstances that you didn't choose. But being happy or unhappy is a choice you make, and I've chosen to make the best of things that I can."

At first I thought she was just trying to be corny but it was quite the opposite! I guess it's a good reminder of the importance of my attitude and how I choose to perceive things.

Thanks, Shahvee, for the words of inspiration.

1/05/2012

The Lion, The Paper, and the Inside Reverse Fold

So, six years ago, my aunts got me an origami book and a bunch of origami paper. I think they intended for it to help me develop my patience or something like that. Well, regardless of their intent, I did fold a number of things, with the average quality of the final product varying somewhere between mediocre and pretty bad (though truth be told there were a few that really stood out).

After a year or so, I stopped doing it. Today, however, I decided to try my luck at folding something after a half-decade hiatus. Ultimately, I decided on folding a lion, a strong and confident animal.



It took twenty minutes to finish the first page (out of three and a half) and truth be told, I was starting to get a little frustrated. My folds were not that precise and subsequently the corners of the intermediate product were looking more than a little shoddy. After beholding the glory that was the product of the first page, my heart sank as I realized that all I had made through those 20 minutes of toil was a crane base.

After languishing for a minute or two, I continued, resolved to finish this lion thing. And, for another forty-odd minutes, I folded. Near the end, as I agonized over instructions for the legs (don't even get me started on the stupid mane), I realized that this was not going to end well. But, I finished and so present to you, the final product:


Ugh, definitely not one of my finer works. It actually looks more like a cross between a rhinoceros and a dragon than any lion. I remember now why I stopped doing origami...