The Missing Writer Returns

Whoa, what a ride.

I guess I can't tell you about everything that has happened since my last post, since I stopped posting nearly 9 months ago.

But I can tell you where I am at right now, and hopefully start posting on Sophistical Subterfuges more regularly now.

Well, there are several areas of my life which have been developing as of late. There are three which are especially prominent: I have been making progress on my thesis, things are coming together with IPSA (International Philosophy Student's Association), of which I am now the President, and I am progressing in the culinary arts as well: last week was my first day as one of the main chefs at the restaurant I work at.

As for the thesis, I changed my topic a little bit and made it much more challenging for myself... yielding great results. Before I was basically explaining Ernst Cassirer's work on myth, essentially summarizing his second volume of the Philosophy of Symbolic Forms. I did not get any writing accomplished while this was still my topic. Frankly, I wasn't interested or inspired to work on a summary... and rightly so, for what kind of original and substantial paper would my thesis be if it did nothing more than summarize someone else's book?? Instead, I am writing on Cassirer's methodology for the Cultural Sciences. Through an historical account I am situating his work among his contemporaries, primarily in terms of the Neo-Kantians of the Marburg and Southwest Schools, but also in terms of the pramatism of Dilthey and especially the phenomenology of Husserl and Heidegger. I am now using Cassirer's work on myth as an example of how his methodology differs greatly from the other Neo-Kantians, and in many regards encounters a rapprochement with phenomenology. This, clearly, will require much more work on my behalf, and I am feeling eager to step up to the challenge.

As for IPSA, we held our first general meeting last week. We now have an executive and several coordinators. We are growing, and with this growth comes greater responsibility and commitment for me. I avoided legitimation of the group last year, mainly because I was new to the town/program and had few people to work with. This year, however, we hit the new students hard with an introductory tour after their welcome lecture by the faculty, as well as a great mustache party involving 8 cases of free beer.... kindly donated by an unidentified benefactor. This got people's attention. And now we have about 12 people who have committed themselves to planning events, increasing membership, and publicizing activities. We have drafted a constitution, a mission statement, and a list of events to be planned. My first order of business, however, is to attain funding from LOKO, which is the only EU subsidized international student's organization at K.U.Leuven. This will take some work on my behalf!

Finally, about my passion for cooking and the path this passion has set me on... well, for the last month I have been training in the kitchen of the restaurant I work at, doing mostly mis-en-place (preparation) for the week. This involves chopping a lot of vegetables, preparing sauces and soups, and so on. While I have been doing this, I have also been learning how to make various tapas dishes, desserts (like Sophie Lauren's tiramisu!), and so on. This past Friday was a milestone though... it was my first evening to work as one of the two main chefs in the front kitchen, which is open concept: i.e., the customers can watch you as you cook. Definitely an added element of pressure... it was a busy night, and we served about 40 plates in 3 hours. I kept my cool, went as fast as I could, and it was duly noted... now I will be working in the front more regularly. We come out with a new menu next week, and I will have to memorize the dishes so that I can prepare things without having to be told how. I've bought myself a high quality chef's knife (henckels) and I've grown to love using it! At one point last week while hanging out with friends I suddenly proclaimed, "I feel like cutting some onions." You can imagine the puzzled responses.

Well, that is enough updating for the time being, hopefully this post will be the first of many.

Check out Not Without The Sound of Infinite Splashing to see the progression of my work on Cassirer, the Neo-Kantians, and the cultural sciences.

Coming soon: Article 27, a blog about human rights, international relations, and philosophy concerning such matters.

Thanks for reading!

Rome or Bust: Getting There

Did you know that Brussels International Airport is not, after all, the same as Brussels-Charleroi Airport? That Ryanair does not fly out of Brussels International, but out of Brussels-Charleroi? That, while the first airport is 20 minutes from Leuven, the second is just over 2 hours? Don't worry... I didn't know all this at first either. Which is why I missed my first flight to Rome.

I knew that my ticket said Charleroi, I could read that clearly enough. But since I had never even had a reason to consider it before, it was only once I had arrived at the Leuven train station that I had realized two important things. First, the direct train to Brussels-Luchthaven that I had planned to take was not going to get me where I needed to go. Second, that because of this miscalculation on my part, I would almost certainly miss my flight.

As I passed by Brussels-International on my way to Charleroi, I wrote in my journal, "It's just after 4. I have a 2 hour ride ahead of me, and somehow I get the feeling that I won't be flying out at 6:20 pm this evening." It was torture knowing this and thinking about it the whole way. Knowing that I had just screwed myself over. I was still desperate enough to at least consider if there was any possible way to make it in time. "Perhaps a later flight, with an extra wad of cash out of my pocket, will have to suffice. I mean, if I were to take a cab from Brussels-Midi station to Charleroi airport instead of waiting for the next train there, there's no telling whether it would be any quicker, whether I would actually make it in time for check-in. Not only that, but taking that cab would probably cost me more than a seat on the next available flight. So I suppose that's not such a great option." It would have cost me 100 euros. I checked.

Coming into Brussels-Nord I thought to myself, if I can make it to Charleroi in 20 minutes... I might make it in time. Inconceivable. I had to get across Brussels first, then to another city altogether, Charleroi. So I gave up thinking about it. Not without writing the following: "Well, if you don't learn from the first lesson, then you damn well better make the best of the second one."

That's right, this was not my first missed flight. I also missed my flight to Canada only a month and a half before. Take it in... I'm not afraid to admit when I've made a fool of myself. Just don't expect to hear about it again.

"If I remember correctly, there is one more Ryanair flight later today that may have a seat open. Let's hope so. Otherwise I will have to either wait till tomorrow or find another flight that goes anywhere near Rome. I don't care where, really. I'm ready for an adventure. But I WILL get to Rome." Yes, I would make it to Rome. Though not until after spending some time in the grime of Charleroi and a night on an airport floor.

"My first impression of Charleroi was shaped by the sight of blood stains running up the station steps, leading to a little dried up pool at the top. I noted the shifty glances of several less-than-friendly looking characters while waiting for the bus, and kept to myself." Traveling all over the place on your own sort of teaches you how to keep to yourself really well... how to look confident without looking cocky, how to meet peoples eyes without entering into a confrontation. Don't bother trying to ignore these bastards, no, that's nearly as bad as staring them down. Just notice them and move on. Act as if you've caught this same bus a million times before.

"French grunge. I need to take a piss, and for some reason I wouldn't feel the least bit out of place if I up and releived myself right here against this post beside me. One day... one day I will make it to Rome. Hopefully tonight and before transit stops running. FUCK."

For some crazy reason, I was feeling bitter in Charleroi.

Well, I finally made it to the airport after a 20 minute bus ride. I found the next flight into Rome left the next morning at 6, and would cost me 75 euros. That's more than the round trip originally cost me. I would have to stay the night on the airport floor. If you have ever done this, you will know that it is much better if you have some company... so naturally I kept my eyes open. Maybe I would meet a new friend. First I met this French girl named Fouzia, and we had a good time chatting it up. That was nice to pass the time. She was waiting for her ride which hadn't shown because, alas, he had went to Brussels-International instead of Brussels-Charleroi. That gave me a little comfort, I have to admit.


After trying to get some sleep over night in a corner of the airport behind this big sign, I lined up for check-in at about 4:20 am. While in line, I met up with a Portuguese acquaintance I had met while partying in Leuven only one night before. Small world. He was headed back to Milan, where he was studying. So after we had checked in we went together and had some breakfast inside the departures area. After suggesting I come up to Milan for a few days to party with him, André and I parted ways.


The Ryanair flight was a little more nerve wracking than most I have been on. Ok, it was the most nerve wracking flight I've ever been on. The take-off left my stomach behind on the tarmac, and when we landed it felt like there wasn't even any tarmac on the runway. So bumpy, and so fast. But I made it to Rome. After all that, I stepped out into the Roman sun and the warm breese blew all the stress away. I made it.


Coming soon, I will tell you about my first days in Rome. Lots of adventures await being told!
Thanks for reading... :)

Roaming Roma: A Prologue

Hello everyone! I am currently sitting in an internet café in ROMA. This is my second day here and already I am having a great time. I've met lots of people and only begun to see the numerous wonders of this city. I would like to tell you all about it, and I have written much already... already over 20 pages of my journal are filled. However, I cannot write quality posts in this café... I need to be alone and with a decent computer. So all I will say now is that there are posts coming, many of them. I intend to write a post about each day. But what I have decided to do is post them, one a day, starting the day after I get back. So basically you can follow my trip with a 2 week delay.

It is only my second day and I have already had a couple of crazy adventures. And I am just getting started. Needless to say, you will be in for some exciting reading once I get back.

See you then...

Ciao!

Running through Europe

It's been a while since my last post. I guess I've gotten out of the habit. But in the spirit of the new year the only right thing to do is get back into it and rebuild the good habit of writing regularly. And that's just what I've decided to talk about in this blog: building up good habits and breaking down the not-so-good ones.

The other day I was going for a jog. The sun was shining and the air was cool, yet just warm enough that I wasn't too cold or overheated. I listened to upbeat music and you know I had a smile on my face. On top of all that, there's something about taking a jog through the back streets of a really old European town that really grabs me. At the top of a long, gradual slope, I noticed three little boys. They were laughing and playing, and one of them held out a sign with an arrow on it pointing into an alley. So, naturally, as I jogged past I swerved and started going into the alley, winking at the sign-boy on my way past. Of course they loved it, and as I continued back down the street they ran along behind laughing the whole time. I have to say it was the nicest moment I've had yet this year.

Going jogging has always done something special to me. It allows me to set aside those thoughts that cloud my mind and those anxieties that cloud my actions. When I don't have the patience to sit in meditation, it's jogging that brings me back to the peace of the present moment. Not only that, it also inspires me to challenge myself in other activities. For the past couple of weeks I've been jogging every other day in an effort to rebuild that good habit, and so far I've noticed changes in the way I think about myself and how I go about my business. Instead of going through each day not really caring what happens so long as its enjoyable, I begin to seek out the things that give me the most enjoyment and sense of reward. I begin to challenge myself more. That same determination that I feel when pushing myself to run 5 or 10 minutes longer than I feel comfortable with comes out in the other things I do, like studying and socializing. And every time I get out there, it gets just a little bit easier.

I have to admit, for a while now my will power has been suffering a bit. I've tended to be apathetic about what I do with myself, thinking that it will all work out in one way or another. Well I still believe that, it will all work out. But lately I've started to question this carefree perspective. Now I've started to think that I'd prefer it to all work out in MY way. I want to choose my destiny, not have it handed to me. I don't want to waste my time doing nothing and forgetting all the big things I've done in the past, but rather pay tribute to them by spending every moment achieving new accomplishments. I am especially inspired these days, and I'm going to milk it for all it's worth.

So, right now I have set a few goals for myself. I can't tell you about all of them since some are more personal than others. But I can tell you about a few. Since this is exam time, my top priority is to study better than I usually do and do well on my exams. Also, as I already said, I will run more regularly and stay active. I want to socialize more, since usually I spend a lot of time at home like a hermit... regardless of what numerous facebook pics seem to suggest! It's true that I have lots of friends and acquaintances here and we know how to kick it. Hell, maybe 'more' isn't the right word, rather, I want to socialize 'better'. I'm so introverted sometimes that I think a lot of people miss out on the sides of me that I'm really proud of, like my spirituality and creativity.

Finally, I have set the goal to write much more than I have been. I intend to write regularly, even daily. Not on the blog, but between the blog, my personal journal, my creative writing, and... especially... my thesis. It's something that I will have to focus on after exams in a big way. But not immediately after exams. No, I've planned myself a little trip: I'm a goin' to Roma!! My plan: to write extensively every day that I am there. I will do mad sightseeing and write about every impression that comes up. I will put myself in interesting social situations and then write about it. In fact, about the only time that I will forget about writing is when I'm letting loose with new people from the hostel and from the nearby university. It should be really great, so you will enjoy reading about all of it on here. If possible, I will update the blog each day with new posts, but otherwise I will post a series of blogs shortly after my trip detailing some (not all, never all!) of my escapades in the great city.

I must say, this trip is going to be an exercise in self-development. Since I've been in Europe I have only planned one other trip, which was to Germany to see my family there. Other than that everything has been close enough so as to not really require any planning. I'm starting off this year right. Plan, challenge, believe, succeed... enough to make some hurl. But also, enough to make some others smile... and anyone who makes it this far through the current post is more likely to be in the second camp.

Thanks for reading, keep it up and so will I!