TOTO TURNS FIVE!

I started this blog TOTA on August 4, 2006. I was in New York visiting my family and thanks to the technical assistance and encouragement from Qaptain Qwerty, I took the first step into the world of Blogspot.
My writing at the beginning was on current events, expressing mostly my personal views and "humble opinion". I tried to impress the readers with "intelligent" comments, quotes and cited "reliable" sources.
Later, again with the encouragement from QQ, I started posting photos and it went downhill from there. (It was a bad idea!) TOTA became more like a journal about what happened in my boring little world. I posted cheesy photos when I had nothing to write about which happens a lot lately :)
I admire bloggers who write regularly, especially the bloggers who post every day, no cheese photos but with words that are meaningful, with convictions of issues that they believe in and evoke thoughtful discussions among the readers. I don't often leave comments but I do enjoy reading comments from other bloggers.
I thought these photos are sort-of appropriate for this post about my 5th Blogoversary (I could not believe that I was able to Google this word - who came up with it? Should it be "Blogiversary"?) Both of these artwork are on displayed at SLU campus. The top photo of the smiling Billiken is fitting because it is a celebration that I have been blogging (or wasting my time/life) for five years. The sculpture below of a child riding the bicycle symbolizes this boring blog not going anywhere, not becoming well-known and definitely not making me any money!
Thanks again, Qaptain Qwerty for all your help. To my adoring fans and faithful readers as well as visitors (whether you visited once and never come back again), please accept my sincere appreciation for reading my blog and for putting up with my ramblings. I hope you have been entertained or perhaps you found this boring blog was helpful to your insomnia - haa haa.

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW AT SLU

I don't remember if the above sculpture was installed when I was at SLU in the late 90s. It is on displayed on the north side of the Pius XII Library. Call me "old fashion" but you would never find me sitting outside in such position no matter how desperate I needed a healthy dose of sun!

I will always remember the first time I walked up to take a close up photo of the above sculpture in front of the Simon Recreation Center. I almost dropped my camera on the pavement. You could either enlarge the image (it might be blurry) or use your imagination to make an educated guess what made me almost dropped the camera! I did not make the same mistake last week. Besides, I would not post the close up image of the sculpture anyway!

I thought the above scuplture "Caduceus", a symbol of the medical profession would have been more appropriate to be on displayed at the medical building/campus.

I always like the above sculpture. I think it has been there for many years. Next time I need to find out who the artist is.

The above scuplture reminded me of Huckleberry Finn. It might be a new piece or perhaps I did not see it when I was on campus a few years ago. Maybe it was raining the last time I was there and I had to walk/run quickly back to the parking lot.

The above and below are new (to me) and I like both of them.

This piece reminds me of my sister and brothers of our trips to the library and because we all enjoy reading. It brings back fond memories when we were in Viet Nam and the times when I used to read and explain the funnies in the newspapers to the delight of my sister and brothers who not yet learned to read. Also, I would give them lessons before they were old enough for regular schooling.

WHAT IS NEW WITH SLU?

It has been a few years since I last visited my alma mater, Saint Louis University. Last week I had a meeting there and since I was half hour early, I decided to walk around the campus. It was a beautiful sunny day with the temperature almost in the 100s. Except for the SLU Ambassadors giving tours to groups of prospective students and their parents, the campus was almost empty. Summer classes were ending and incoming students have not yet moved in. I dreamed of living on campus, attending classes, and walking back to my dorm. I also dream of having tuition, boarding, meals and everything paid for by someone (i.e. parents) - haa haa

There it was, the familiar clock tower, the inviting water fountains against the clear blue sky. I remembered so well the times when I was late for class because of traffic (it took 40 minutes from my home to SLU), then unable to find a parking spot in the nearby designated lots for students, looking up at the clock hoping that it was wrong. The clock still keeps very good time!

I remembered walking by and felt envied toward kids who had the luxury of sitting around, laughing and having fun with their friends. I had to rush to class or to the library, and to get to my assigned duties as part of requirement for the scholarship. I was never able to just be a student, concentrate on my study, getting good grades, without having responsibilities of anything else.

I don't remember if the above sculpture was "Pam". I do remember "Tim" was the one below.

When I was at Hunter College, I worked during the day and took evening classes the first two years. Then I got a job as data entry operator (Does anyone remember those IBM punched cards?) working from 4pm to 11pm. I was able to take classes that normally offered only during the days. One summer I registered for 12 credits because I wanted to finish my degree. Don't ask me how I was able to pull it off with all As while working full time. When there's a will there's a way!

Above is Xavier Hall where most of the communication classes were held. The offices of the professors in the graduate program were still on the third floor. Only the office staff and a research assistant were there. Most of the professors were still out on their summer schedule. The mail boxes were in the same corner next to the copy machine. I wrote a few quick notes and put them in the slots. I might come back next month, pretended to be a carefree college student, sit on the steps by the clock tower, do nothing and just watch the world go by!