summercomfort | (no subject)

From Catherine:

1. Imagine your most recent love or someone who really caught your attention. What does (s)he smell like?
Coconuts. Something bizarre and refreshing and slightly foreign and out of place.

2. If you were to take a year off from school, what would you do?
I would end up being a bum and hanging around the house, doing nothing, because I would have lost my sense of urgency.

3. What do you think happens after death?
Really, does it matter? I think that's too far into the future, especially for someone who doesn't even know what she's going to do over the summer. I'm just going to enjoy my life as it goes, and see what happens. Maybe nothing, maybe something. I'm willing to take the consequences, so sally ho.
At the same time, I have an almost hereditary/cultural preoccupation with name after death. As in, I want to eventually do something good for the society, or at least made a difference, so that my name survives after death.

4. What is your favorite thing to eat on a rainy day?
I feel cold and dreary and just very very downcast on rainy days, so I think I'd like to eat something warm. If I remember to eat, that is. Sometimes rainy days are so depressing I just give up on food and indulgences altogether. I just end up lounging around, not accomplishing anything and scowling at everything.

5. Share your favorite poem in Chinese (with translation).
kind of silly of me, but I really like poems by war generals. They have a certain open spirit that doesn't get stuck in petty stuff.... Famous examples are Yue Fei, or Xin QiJi, or even Mao.

For Yue Fei, I've only found half of his most famous poem here, the sad part, not the determined part.
满江红

【宋】岳飞

怒发冲冠，凭阑处、潇潇雨歇。
抬望眼、仰天长啸，壮怀激烈。
三十功名尘与土，八千里路云和月。
莫等闲白了少年头，空悲切。

靖康耻，犹未雪；臣子憾，何时灭。
驾长车，踏破贺兰山缺。
壮志饥餐胡虏肉，笑谈渴饮匈奴血。
待从头、收拾旧河山，朝天阙。
But yeah, I'm temporarily too lazy to do a good translation job, so I'll just leave you with this random cute little site with poetry and nice simple explanations for Xin QiJi.... in Chinese. Given that a total of 3 people on my friends list can read this.... good luck!