What is Philosophy?

Inspiration for this post has not come from a profound answer that I happened to stumble upon during my nightly, deep ponderings of life (by nightly I mean rare to none. The latter actually), but from a hilarious joke and presentation from my philosophy professor of what philosophy is not. Here's how it went.

Our first assignment for the class was to ask three people "what is philosophy?" and we would discuss the answers in class. In our class, a common answer came up, which was that philosophy is the love of wisdom. Our professor then began a 30-minute lecture, as if he had been hoping and praying that this answer would come up in class, about how "love of wisdom" is not what philosophy is and that it in fact tells us nothing about philosophy. Now for the best part.

He began to break down why people would think that philosophy means "love of wisdom." It came down to this. If we look at the word philosophy from its Greek origins, we see that phil(o) = love and sophy = wisdom/knowledge. Sometimes, this kind of breakdown of a word from its origin helps us to understand and get a good grasp of what it might mean, but not in this case. Then came the best example I have heard in my life.

He presented us with this scenario: He needed a babysitter for the night while he and his wife enjoyed a nice dinner together. They were discussing who they should hire for the job. "Hey! The perfect guy for the job is Steve, from down the street. He's a pedophile" (ped = child/kid, phil = love, thus a kid lover or person who loves kids). Perfect, right? ... Wrong!

Awesome.

Reflections on a First Week

This is my last semester of my bachelors at BYU and the first week has been an interesting one. Here's how it went:

Monday :: Longest day. Ever.

I start the day at 10am with a philosophy class. What is philosophy? Who knows. I guess that's why I'm taking the class. Then I was off to Form and Analysis at 11. Another music class. Should be a good one. Then a little break before a rigorous rehearsal of Mahler 5 at 1pm. Yeah, Mahler is kicking my butt. It's going to take a lot of practice to play that piece. After rehearsal, which ends at 3, I just sat around waiting for horn class to start at 5. Then work at 6. This isn't as bad as my Mondays last semester, but it will be a close second. We'll see how it goes.

Tuesday :: Worst day. Ever.

I started off the day with a horn lesson. That wasn't the bad part. What comes next really made my day awesome. After horn lessons, I was not feeling well at all. Thanks to a beautiful friend, Kristin, I was able to get home so that I could get some rest. Didn't get much rest though. I spent the remainder of my afternoon getting to know my toilet really well. A little too well. Because of this, I missed my composition class and work as well. Kristin also came down with a huge migraine, which was also no fun.

Wednesday :: Things are looking up!

I turned in my first assignments. I was playing awesome in orchestra. Learned that philosophy does NOT mean love of wisdom. Still don't know what it is, though. Turned in my program and packet for my senior composition recital. I'm excited for it (I'm still scrambling for some players, which is kind of scary!). Went to a fun art store with Kristin where she bought a ton of acrylic paints for this semester (can't wait to see her new projects!). I worked that night and got bored, tried to find some stuff to do and eventually left for home.

Thursday :: Not too shabby

The morning was a little rough because my stomach was not cooperating. Everything settled down by class time (I don't start classes until 3pm! First time ever!) I spent most of the morning practicing, which felt really good. I haven't had that much time to just sit down and practice for a long time. I may actually get good at the horn this semester!

Friday :: Great day!

Found out that my philosophy teacher is hilarious. Ate some Pier 49 pizza. Absolutely fantastic. Got completely embarrassed in front of one person. No one else in the world saw what happened, but I turned red and was quite embarrassed anyway. Learned a ton about 20th century orchestration in just two hours from one piece by Mahler. Cool! Then, the day ended with a game of operation and building a fort. How cool is that?

Though things started out a little rough and dismal, things only got better. If my semester reflects anything from this first week, it is going to be an amazing semester.

Chocolate Milk

So, I got up this morning and decided that I wanted some chocolate milk. I got upstairs, poored a glass of milk, grabbed some Nesquik and was more than ready and excited for my cool, refreshing glass of liquid chocolate paradise. I opened the chocolate to find that it hadn't been used in a little while and was a little compressed and hard. So, my natural inclination was to put the top back on and give it a little shake to loosen it up (because everyone knows that this makes your chocolate milk fluffier and lighter. Duh!).

As I'm doing this, I'm watching a little Sportscenter, listening to analysts talk about the Saints and Colts perfect season, Tiger Woods, BCS hopefuls, etc... when all the sudden, I see chocolate powder come flying out of the canister. I look down and found Choco Mountain.

I didn't realize that the cap wasn't on all the way. All I did was look and laugh at myself. Then I grabbed my camera and thought, "This would be a fun blog post!" So here it is. Just thought some of you might have wanted to share this little moment with me.

Tchaikovsky... Mmmm....

So, this semester has been crazy busy and I have not had any time to do anything fun, like blog. You may find that I am blogging... I just decided to take a moment and post something to get away from everything that I'm supposed to be doing, and so that those who may care about me in this world know that I am not dead. :)

Coming up this Thursday, the BYU Philharmonic Orchestra, in which I play, is putting on a concert. In this orchestra, we play "the big stuff." No movie music. No cheesy popular stuff. We play the pieces that have been forgotten over the years by the general public. The pieces that are deemed "classical" by our current generation. We resurrect the timeless pieces of the past by the world's greatest composers who dedicated their lives to such music.

We will be performing Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony. For anyone that finds the classical genre boring or uninteresting, try this symphony on for size. Tchaikovsky was known for his profound lyricism and melodies. His music, though it does not have words, penetrates and speaks to the very soul. He presents a wide range of emotions, feelings and aesthetics: anger, frustration, adoration, beauty, anticipation, mourning, surprise, hope, light, determination. All of these and many more are found in this one piece of music. I grew up on this kind of music and it holds a very prominent place in my heart. This symphony is so profound, moving and so very beautiful. By far, one of my favorite symphonies of all time.

My favorite moment of the entire piece is the very beginning of the second movement. The cellos and violas come in as quiet as they possibly can. They are playing in the lower tessitura of their instruments which gives it a rich, dark sound. It feels really gloomy, dark and sad, but as the music progresses, there is a gleam of hope that changes the mood of the music. The French horn (my instrument! Of course this is my favorite part. Totally biased), as a solo, then comes in with the melody which is beautiful and heart-wrenching! It just pulls at the heart strings as it constantly builds tension and relaxes the tension as it resolves. I love it so much! This is one of the many reasons I play the French horn.

This kind of music is so rich and deep. If you get the chance, try separating yourself from the mainstream music of today and expose yourself to some of the "classics." You may be surprised by what you hear.

Busy, Busy, Busy

So, I am still alive (barely!) and I thought I would leave a little update of what has been going on in my life the past little while.

School started again and it is busier than ever. It has only been two weeks and I am exhausted. My schedule kind of goes like this:

6:15 am - alarm goes off

6:50-7:00 am - actually get out of bed.

7:30 am - pick up Kristin and head to school.

8:00 am - 6:00 pm - variety of classes mixed with homework, composing, lots of horn practicing, lunch and dinner with Kristin, chat with Kristin...

6:00 pm - go to work

9:30 pm - get off of work (do as much homework as possible while on the clock, while at the same time getting all my tasks done)

10:00 pm - visit with Kristin before bedtime

11:00 pm - a little more homework, get ready for bed

12:00 pm - sleep

I have lots to do and not quite enough time to do it all, but I'm not complaining. I'm just having the time of my life and enjoying every minute that I can squeeze out of it.

So, some highlights from the first two weeks of school:

• I auditioned and got a spot playing 2nd horn in the BYU Philharmonic Orchestra. It is so awesome and I am so excited for all the pieces that we get to play and all the concerts we have.
• It is my last year here at BYU. I'm hoping to graduate in April 2010.
• I'm playing in a woodwind quintet. I haven't played in a small ensemble for a long time. I've forgotten how much I love it!
• President Monson is the man! I've learned so many amazing things about him in my Living Prophets class and it makes me respect him more than I ever have. He truly is God's Prophet on the earth today.
• French horn rocks! I forgot how much I love to play it. I was a big slacker over the summer.
• I'm still dating Kristin. She is absolutely amazing and we have awesome times together.

There are just a few things that pop into my head at the moment. I'm sure that there are plenty more, and I know that there are more great things to come this semester. It's going to be hard and extremely busy, but I'm way excited to see how this semester will unfold.

Beauties of Life - Part I

Earlier this evening, there was quite a powerful storm that rushed through Provo. Water was accumulating everywhere. There were water falls driving down the rooftops. Rivers rushing through the gutters. Puddles appearing on the sidewalks. There was crashing of thunder following strikes of lightning, which struck only a few hundred yards away. At a time like this, when Mother Nature's wrath was building, it would be expected for everything to be dark and grim. However, this was not the case. The sun, ready to fall behind the mountains for the day, peaked out from under the clouds and lit everything in sight. This created a beautiful rainbow off in the distance.

With the rain pouring and the sun shining, a beautiful scene was for all to behold. I stood and pondered on the beauty of everything going on around me. After watching this storm pour across the whole city, I called for my best friend and we began running through the rain, jumping in puddles and kicking water at each other. What a wonderful way to enjoy this stunning storm.

One of the beauties of life is to enjoy what God has given us. This kind of storm, with the raging rains and the shining sun, rarely occurs and I wanted to be a part of that and to feel it. It was wonderful. Of course, I am so thankful for a shelter overhead that provides me with protection, but sometimes, these elements simply need to be experienced. I felt so alive and rejuvenated by the rain. For me, it's these kinds of moments that make life so enjoyable and pleasurable.

The earth truly is a beautiful place. Sometimes we get caught up in the many things that are going on in our lives and don't take to time to stop for a minute and look at the beauty and wonders that surround us every day. So, when there is an opportunity for us, take a look at the sky; look at the clouds; watch the sunset; gaze at the stars; watch and listen to the trees; smell the flowers; feel the grass; breathe the fresh air. There are so many things around us that shows how blessed we are by a loving Heavenly Father.

Want to Live Longer? Crawl Through the Hole.

So, I was at a Buddhist shrine once upon a time in Japan, and there was a big pillar that had a small hole in it. The belief is that when a person crawls through this tiny hole, they are protected from all sicknesses and ailments for an entire year.

So, the secret is out. If you are able to fit through this hole, chances are you can live forever. Fountain of Youth? I think not. I'll be crawling once a year for my immortality.

Caution: the whole does not get bigger over time. It remains the same size. Just so you know.