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Author Topic: One Thing About You, Everyday!  (Read 519531 times)

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couchpotato

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Re: One Thing About You, Everyday!
« Reply #885 on: September 01, 2012, 12:14:36 PM »
I have been finding more white hair on my head.

Please stop stressing me out.



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couchpotato

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Re: One Thing About You, Everyday!
« Reply #886 on: September 01, 2012, 11:44:40 PM »
Earlier today I was looking at my frequent flyer miles and (finally) realized that when I flew home earlier this year, my international flight miles had not been added. I had to go back and look up my ticket number to get them added. I have now been credited 8,000+ miles.  :P



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couchpotato

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Re: One Thing About You, Everyday!
« Reply #887 on: September 04, 2012, 06:53:51 AM »
Came across this awesome poem.

"After a while you learn the subtle difference
Between holding a hand and chaining a soul,

And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning
And company doesn't mean security.

And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts
And presents aren't promises,

And you begin to accept your defeats
With your head up and your eyes open
With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child,

And you learn to build all your roads on today
Because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans
And futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.

After a while you learn...
That even sunshine burns if you get too much.

So you plant your garden and decorate your own soul,
Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.


And you learn that you really can endure...

That you really are strong

And you really do have worth.

And you learn and learn...

With every good-bye you learn."



Jorge Luis Borge


I read the bolded on a fb status the other day and had to look up the poem. My search results came up with a different poem and author.

Ahhh. The internet. Too much info!



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couchpotato

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Re: One Thing About You, Everyday!
« Reply #888 on: September 04, 2012, 06:55:57 AM »
I wish I could say that I want to play hooky today, but the truth is, I just don't want to ever go back in.  :-X



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eden

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Re: One Thing About You, Everyday!
« Reply #889 on: September 04, 2012, 11:16:41 AM »

 
I read the bolded on a fb status the other day and had to look up the poem. My search results came up with a different poem and author.

Ahhh. The internet. Too much info!

When I first read the poem as Mang posted it, I was a little confused because that poem did not seem like Jorge Luis Borges's style. For example, why would Borges write "With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child"? The poem seems to be from the viewpoint of the narrator so it doesn't make sense that Borges would refer to himself as a woman. And even if he were telling it from a female viewpoint, I still found it hard to believe. If you read his other poems, they're a little self-centered around his own personal viewpoint, and in plenty of his poems he includes his own name Borges in them.

I did a little researching and found that this poem has been popularly attributed to someone called Veronica Shoffstall, who supposedly wrote it in the 70s. However, some people claim she stole it from Borges, and there's even another woman who claims that Veronica stole it from her. Sounds very shady all around... hm.

But anyway, did Borges really write it? Perhaps not. I looked up some of his other poems and his style is very different from this poem. Here's one of his other poems for contrast:

Quote


We are the time. We are the famous
by Jorge Luis Borges

We are the time. We are the famous
metaphor from Heraclitus the Obscure.

We are the water, not the hard diamond,
the one that is lost, not the one that stands still.

We are the river and we are that greek
that looks himself into the river. His reflection
changes into the waters of the changing mirror,
into the crystal that changes like the fire.

We are the vain predetermined river,
in his travel to his sea.

The shadows have surrounded him.
Everything said goodbye to us, everything goes away.

Memory does not stamp his own coin.

However, there is something that stays
however, there is something that bemoans.


The style is different, as well as the vocabulary and syntax. Notice the reference to Heraclitus, who was famously known as the Obscure Philosopher due to his enigmatic philosophical writings. The poem is filled with beautiful metaphors and personificatio n. All in all, it sounds very different from "After a While."

Just my 2 cents. :)



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couchpotato

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Re: One Thing About You, Everyday!
« Reply #890 on: September 04, 2012, 06:28:01 PM »
This is the version I found online.


After a while you learn...
by Veronica A. Shoffstall, (C) 1971
After some time you learn the difference,
The subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul.
And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning,
And company doesn't always mean security.
And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts,
And presents aren't promises.
And you begin to accept your defeats,
With your head up and your eyes ahead,
With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child.
And you learn to build all your roads on today,
Because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans,
And futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.
After a while you learn,
That even the sun burns if you get too much,
And learn that it doesn't matter how much you do care about,
Some people simply don't care at all.
And you accept that it doesn't matter how good a person is,
She will hurt you once in a while,
And you need to forgive her for that.
You learn that talking can relieve emotional pain.
You discover that it takes several years to build a relationship based on confidence,
And just a few seconds to destroy it.
And that you can do something just in an instant,
And which you will regret for the rest of your life.
You learn that the true friendships,
Continue to grow even from miles away.
And that what matters isn't what you have in your life,
But who you have in your life. And that good friends are the family,
Which allows us to choose.
You learn that we don't have to switch our friends,
If we understand that friends can also change.
You realize that you are your best friend,
And that you can do do anything, or nothing,
And have good moments together.
You discover that the people who you most care about in your life,
Are taken from you so quickly,
So we must always leave the people who we care about with lovely words,
It may be the last time we see them.
You learn that the circunstances and the enviroment have influence upon us,
But we are responsible for ourselves.
You start to learn that you should not compare yourself with others,
But with the best you can be.
You discover that it takes a long time to become the person you wish to be,
And that the time is short.
You learn that it doesn't matter where you have reached,
But where you are going to.
But if you don't know where you are going to,
Anywhere will do.
You learn that either you control your acts,
Or they shall control you.
And that to be flexible doesn't mean to be weak or not to have personality,
Because it doesn't matter how delicate and fragile the situation is,
There are always two sides.
You learn that heroes are those who did what was necessary to be done,
Facing the consequences. You learn that patience demands a lot of practice.
You discover that sometimes,
The person who you most expect to be kicked by when you fall,
Is one of the few who will help you to stand up.
You learn that maturity has more to do with the kinds of experiences you had
And what you have learned from them,
Than how many birthdays you have celebrated.
You learn that there are more from you parents inside you than you thought.
You learn that we shall never tell a child that dreams are silly,
Very few things are so humiliating,
And it would be a tragedy if she belived in it.
You learn that when you are angry,
You have the right to be angry,
But this doesn't give you the right to be cruel.
You discover that only because someone doesn't love you the way you would like her to,
It doesn't mean that this person doesn't love you the most she can,
Because there are people who love us,
But just don't know how to show or live that.
You learn that sometimes it isn't enough being forgiven by someone,
Sometimes you have to learn how to forgive yourself.
You learn that with the same harshness you judge,
Some day you will be condemned.
You learn that it doesn't matter in how many pieces your heart has been broken,
The world doesn't stop for you to fix it.
You learn that time isn't something you can turn back,
Therefore you must plant your own garden and decorate your own soul,
Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure.
You really are strong.
And you can go so farther than you thought you could go.
And that life really has a value.
And you have value within the life.
And that our gifts are betrayers,
And make us lose
The good we could conquer,
If it wasn't for the fear of trying.


« Last Edit: September 04, 2012, 06:50:33 PM by couchpotato »

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eden

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Re: One Thing About You, Everyday!
« Reply #891 on: September 04, 2012, 08:30:29 PM »
Who knows who the real author is... :\



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Offline azn-guy

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Re: One Thing About You, Everyday!
« Reply #892 on: September 04, 2012, 10:01:14 PM »
sleep



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yajmafia

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Re: One Thing About You, Everyday!
« Reply #893 on: September 05, 2012, 06:43:23 AM »
I'm exhausted and stressed to the point that I am contemplating paying someone to write my paper for me... :-\

Someone slap some sense into me...

*slap!*



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couchpotato

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Re: One Thing About You, Everyday!
« Reply #894 on: September 05, 2012, 06:49:47 AM »
I'm exhausted and stressed to the point that I am contemplating paying someone to write my paper for me... :-\

Someone slap some sense into me...

Hang in there boO! You are almost there! :)



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couchpotato

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Re: One Thing About You, Everyday!
« Reply #895 on: September 05, 2012, 06:53:12 AM »
I wish I was stronger.



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proudlao

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Re: One Thing About You, Everyday!
« Reply #896 on: September 05, 2012, 06:54:23 AM »



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yajmafia

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Re: One Thing About You, Everyday!
« Reply #897 on: September 05, 2012, 06:54:29 AM »
I wish I was stronger.

You're stronger than you realize... just haven't been pushed to the limit to where you are forced to be.



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eden

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Re: One Thing About You, Everyday!
« Reply #898 on: September 05, 2012, 08:56:06 PM »
I admire youtuber kevjumba's relationship with his dad. On his channel, he shares humorous videos showing the dynamics between the pair in various topics like My Dad is Asian and I Love My Dad. Their stint on the show The Amazing Race solidified the kind of relationship I want for myself before it's too late. In one challenge, his dad was struggling to complete a physically demanding task in the scorching sun and he nearly quit, but Kevin's encouragement lifted him to cross the finish line; last but still finished.

They appear really close the way they can talk about any topic, laugh with, and at each other. I haven't seen my own dad laugh since I was a child. Maybe the last few years have clouded my memory of happy times we did share.

I used to blame him for all the tragedies that happened to us and in some ways it was justified. I was an angry bitter child just reacting the way they're supposed to. However, part of becoming an adult is to move forward with your life. Everyone makes mistakes and he tried his best with the way he knew how given the context of his own upbringing.

Today we had dinner together and something I said made him break out with tears of laughter. Stroke has robbed the smile I remember as a child, with his left side slowly limbering to catch up to the right, but it made me feel good that we've come this far. We may never be like kevjumba and his dad, but it's a start.


That's beautiful. So heartfelt.

Sometimes, it isn't until we enter adulthood that we shed the lens of childhood. Only then do we see the past through an adult's eyes, and only then do we truly begin to understand what our parents went through and what they did for us.

I hope your relationship with your father reaches the place you want it to. I'm sure it will. :)



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couchpotato

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Re: One Thing About You, Everyday!
« Reply #899 on: September 05, 2012, 09:05:07 PM »
mang, I loved watching Kevin and his dad on the Amazing Race. I was rooting for them, so when they got eliminated, I was sad.


I agree with eden. That was beautifully written. :) Best of luck with your dad!



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