How do we evolve preferences?
So, a few weeks ago Suraj and I decided we wanted to do a comprehensive search for the best Christmas music. We used his music downloader, where he orders single MP3s for mere pennies - the best part, to me, was that we got to preview each song before deciding to order it!As we created our personalized album, I realized that just 10 years ago, this sorting process never would have been possible. You had to basically choose your album based on songs you heard on the radio, from friends, or on TV, which involved lots of hits and misses.
The general assumption, of course, is that the situation today is preferable because it is more efficient - why waste time on songs you don't like (I'm reminded of endless Mariah Carey tracks which ALL sounded the same, hehe) when you can choose just the ones that best suit your fancy? However, as I sat there listening to Boyz 2 Men's "Silent Night," I wondered whether we'd lost something in the process.
It seems as specialized technological devices continue to dominate our lives, the exposure process is more under each individual's control. I wondered how this could be a bad thing - for example, one might make an initial judgement on something like musical preferences, given whatever stiumuli one happens to be exposed to, and then continue to expose oneself to those things one originally found interesting.
I asked myself, shouldn't recognizing what you want involve a process of taking a chance on new things, which may unveil unpredictable preferences? For example, I love certain Mariah Carey songs, but don't love that particular genre as a whole; I basically like certain songs across genres for some inexplicable germ of "goodness" I perceive within them (whether they're from Tim McGraw, Louis Armstrong, George Winston, Elton John, Tom Waits, Ray Lamontagne, Beethoven, or Britney Spears).
However, like so many other technological questions, I also realized it could be a very good thing - instead of having to try, for example, book after book in order to decide upon a favored author, we can now use "Amazon.com's" function which says, "If you like (x), you may also like (x)." The book example brings up another hole in my former thought: this phenomena isn't something "new" to our era, but rather is an extension of a basic part of being human: self-selecting, or making personalized choices based on past experiences.
Like so many debates about technology and computers, I concluded that the technology wasn't inherently negative or positive; the value is evident in how one uses it.
I thought more about it and realized that perhaps what occasionally makes me uneasy the technology of our times is that it can take this process out of our hands; for example, I don't control the ads that come up when I check my gmail or search on Google.com - they are tailored to my past searches. Again, this isn't always a bad thing at all - in the aforementioned example of "Amazon.com," I can benefit greatly from this phenomenon.
The other problem I can see is when the automated tailoring technology becomes the SOLE way one determines preference. The cool and crazy thing about humans is that we can be SO unpredictable - I can LOVE one John Grisham novel and hate another, or hate another book written very similarly about a similar topic, or hate a book which a fellow lover of Grisham's particular book loves!
I suppose there isn't really much to worry about, because no matter how much we or Google or anyone else try to control our exposure to, well, everything, there will always be an element of randomness, as well as human to human influence. I'm not writing to make some sort of clear conclusions or statements, but rather I'm sort of free-associating my feelings on this topic in general. | posted by Cheryl, 12/30/2005 05:40:00 PM | 0 comments |
Best of 2005: Holland
I added this the other day but decided to delete the version I had (it was sepia) in favor of color! This is my aunt Carol Lynn and her two sons, Max and Marcus, in Holland. I spent many hours chatting and laughing with them! 
| posted by Cheryl, 12/25/2005 08:54:00 PM
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Happy Days...
Well, right now not a creature is stirring in my house except for my fingertips on this stubbornly loud keyboard, so I'm going to keep this short - I just have to say while the topic is on my mind that life is gooooood right now.We just had my mom's side of the family over for a low-key Christmas Eve dinner (although this year we stepped it up and had a ham rather than the traditional 6-foot sub sandwich!) and, as usual, the conversations were effortless and entertaining! The older I get the more I recognize how rare this is...
The immediate family played some board games after everyone else left, after which I could not delay gratification any longer and started uploading my pictures onto the computer! I just downloaded Picasa, a picture-organizing tool from Google, which has been super fun to play around with!
Chatting with people with whom I might not have talked in a year in and of itself made me get down to the bare bones of what all has happened this year...last Christmas, I was going to return to a job I hated in Rochester, the idea for cross-cultural volunteerwork and a vague desire for exploration only abstract seeds in my mind.
Could I have possibly forseen what would come - the three months (instead of 3 weeks) in Belize, the New York to Washington State Road Trip, my first real 9-5 type office job at the UWMC and the coworker bonding that ensued? Meeting Suraj and reassessing so much of what I thought I knew and wanted from relationships? The tears, treks and tremendous generosity of my family, friends, and strangers along the way during my part-solo Europe Trip?
I've often resisted romanticizing my experiences, because people should know that travel is always full of rough spots, ambiguous situations, worries and fears, but while I looked through my pictures tonight I just felt a deep sense of wonder at all the positive experiences I've had. I decided to choose some pictures that reflected the highlights of the year - they are by NO means exhaustive, but I felt they lent themselves best to this medium.
What will I be assessing at the end of 2006? I can't wait to find out! | posted by Cheryl, 12/25/2005 01:03:00 AM | 0 comments |
Best of 2005: Merry Christmas
We pose outside my house right before Suraj goes to SF, NYC and Aruba for his 3-week Christmas Vacation!
| posted by Cheryl, 12/25/2005 01:00:00 AM
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Best of 2005: Family in Washington
Here's the picture my family used for our Christmas card this year!
| posted by Cheryl, 12/25/2005 12:58:00 AM
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Best of 2005: Family/Istanbul
I was lucky to be able to see my cousin Scott come home and reunite with his kids after being gone in Iraq for 4 weeks! Here he is with adorable Finn in Istanbul.
| posted by Cheryl, 12/25/2005 12:42:00 AM
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Best of 2005: Euro-Laughs
I know most people like pictures of the beautiful cities in Europe, of which I have plenty, but I figure the most unique pictures I have are interpersonal...it's rare to capture that moment where one really "cracks up," but my Dutch friend Sara and I were lucky that her friend was there to catch us laughing about our fake smile poses!
| posted by Cheryl, 12/25/2005 12:32:00 AM
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Best of 2005: Ireland
Ireland was my first stop on my 6-week trip to Europe this Fall. I really love this picture from the Cliffs of Moher - most people go for the Cliffs, which, while beautiful, provided less interest to me than the small, abandoned fortress...something about the girl on the right running towards the guy trying to take her picture really appeals to me!
| posted by Cheryl, 12/25/2005 12:23:00 AM
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Best of 2005: Professional life!
I was so lucky to get a temporary job at the University of Washington Medical Center with the "Operations and Maintenance" team - we not only entered a Kickball tournament, we also had a team at the local "Heart Walk!" Dale, who's pictured third from the left, is the official party planner for the group...
| posted by Cheryl, 12/25/2005 12:18:00 AM
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Best of 2005: Suraj/NYC
Meeting Suraj in July was definitely a "best of 2005" in and of itself! We set this shot up completely on impulse while walking through Central Park during a long weekend in NYC. We set the camera to "auto-take," balancing it on a bench with his wallet - we were so happy with how it turned out!
| posted by Cheryl, 12/25/2005 12:12:00 AM
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Best of 2005: Wedding Madness
8 Lovely Bridesmaids surround our blushing bride after the wedding - the official photographer broke his leg on the way to the wedding, so we cherish our digital pics from the event!
| posted by Cheryl, 12/25/2005 12:09:00 AM
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Best of 2005: Engagement!
Here's my sister Michelle after her fiancee Kevin proposed this July!
| posted by Cheryl, 12/25/2005 12:02:00 AM
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Best of 2005: Olympic Peninsula
Chris VonderGruen and I spent some time after he got back from Afghanistan (and before the wedding!) exploring Washington's outstanding Olympic Peninsula - here he is taking a water break at Hurricane Ridge!
| posted by Cheryl, 12/24/2005 11:59:00 PM
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Best of 2005: Road Trip USA
Here's my lovely sis, Michelle, at South Dakota's Badlands...DEFINITELY a highlight of my cross-country road trip!
| posted by Cheryl, 12/24/2005 11:53:00 PM
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Best of 2005: Belize
This is from the Cockscomb Basin Jaguar Reserve, a beautiful national park where we camped; the people in the picture are Jose, a local friend, and Heather, a fellow volunteer (from Canada).
| posted by Cheryl, 12/24/2005 11:49:00 PM
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Best of 2005: Belize
This is a great picture of two of my best buddies in Belize: Robin and Leuren. I worked with Leuren (on the right) with Physical Therapy exercises and homework 2-3 times a week for 2 months, and it was always the highlight of my week - despite his physical issues, he was totally tenacious and positive!
| posted by Cheryl, 12/24/2005 11:46:00 PM
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Best of 2005...Wedding!
I promised in an earlier post that I'd put a pic up of Shan and Chris from their wedding this summer, so here it is! It, along with the ones I put earlier, has inspired me to choose some from my library as the Best of 2005!
| posted by Cheryl, 12/24/2005 11:40:00 PM
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Best of 2005: Istanbul
This is my cousin's wife, Alex (in the middle) and her other 3 kids besides Finn: Natasha, Guy, and Olivia! I miss them and hope they had a great pageant today!
| posted by Cheryl, 12/16/2005 11:46:00 PM
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Cute married couple of the year award, and weddings to come...
So, as I was driving home from Bellevue today (in the typical 5:00 traffic jam which, on Fridays of yore, was the stuff of Mariah Carey car dances as I drove loads of friends home from the mall), I had such a nice chat with Shannon! She was my college roomate for 3 of the 4 years and now lives with the wonderful Christopher in Tacoma, Washington while he finishes the last 2 years of his service in the army!Once I figure out how to post pictures I'll put one up of her wedding last August.
Anyway, Chris just got lazer surgery on his eyes on Monday, and I was asking Shannon how she's doing with helping him heal. She said that he can't tolerate much light so they have to keep the whole apartment dark, he can't open his eyes very wide, and the biggest problem has been boredom. She's been helping to assuage that particular problem by reading him the "Chronicles of Narnia," among other things, as they cuddle in bed...
I would assume that after 3 full days of reading aloud in the dark (hey, how'd she do that, anyway?) Shannon might have started to resent him or wish she could do something different, but she was so sweet about it! She said she really enjoyed being able to just chill out in bed with him, spending time together reading and discussing the books, watching him play guitar, listening to music (and, when desperate, TV without the picture), etc.
I think that's just the sweetest thing! I wish I could describe how she said it better, but that's the best I can do - I tried to relay the story to Suraj on the phone later in the evening and he agreed that it was inspiring (and I'm sure he'd do the same for me if I had the surgery, which is sweet to think about, except for the whole scalpel-to-my-eyeball part).
Anyway, the way she framed the experience was just so genuine and from the heart, it made me so happy that Shannon and Chris stayed together for 5 years and were able to get married last summer!
Speaking of marriages, my sister bounded into our house last night with her fiance, Kevin, after 3 1/2 months in NAMIBIA, Africa! I was so impressed with how poised and collected she was, after a 12 hour flight from Capetown to London, then a 6 hour layover and a 9 hour flight from London to Seattle. I wish I could have been there for she and Kevin's reunion at the airport!
Anyway, I'm so excited for chatting more with her about the trip; tonight she showed us some pictures of, among other things: black rhinos, cheetahs, lions, lots of antelope-like-thingies, ostrich, zebra, giraffes (with babies!), and cool birds...oh yeah, and cool people as well!
For now, I think she's looking forward to re-assimilating into life here and planning her wedding for March (only 3 months away), which will be, of course, at the Woodland Park ZOO! I can't wait... | posted by Cheryl, 12/16/2005 12:02:00 AM | 0 comments |
Surreal, Familiar Homecoming (warning: writer in a jet-lagged state)
Well, it's really a shame that I didn't blog more about Turkey while I was there, but to be quite frank I was actually too busy enjoying it to sit down at the computer for too long! More will follow later, I assure you.For now, I'd like to talk about coming home. First of all, Suraj and I had the BEST movie-like reunion at the airport yesterday! He knew just what set of escalators to stand next to, yet I surprised him with a huge hug. We couldn't get over seeing each other, warm and in 3-D...I think I saw a local taxi-driver actually gag, but other than that we were oblivious to the rest of the world. Whooopie!
On the car ride back home, Suraj asked me what it was like to be back - was I experiencing culture shock? What was I feeling? The funny thing is, I've been gone and arrived home to Sea-Tac so many times that the actual surreal feeling of rounding 405, seeing Lake Washington, the familiar soccer fields and buildings, the tall evergreens, has become in it's own right a familar feeling.
It might seem paradoxical, but that's how it feels! In terms of actual culture shock, I think I only truly experienced that after Belize, although there were aspects of coming home from Australia that inspired it as well. One's impression of Turkey might be one of real difference to Seattle, but Istanbul was fairly similar to any other big European city in terms of the physical surroundings - modern bulidings (of course, side-by-side with awe-inspiring ancient ones), running water, etc.
When I got back from Belize, I couldn't believe how big and clean everything was (and Belize, from what I hear, is by far the most similar to the US of the central american countries, with the exception perhaps of Costa Rica). I suppose since I stayed mostly with my aunt in Holland and my cousin and his family in Istanbul, both of whom live in similar homes to ones in the US, I don't feel too much culture shock yet...we'll see how I feel once I have to actually drive again!
I think popular public transport is definitely something I'll miss. Particularly in Turkey, where strangers can be so affectionate with each other (especially when kids are around - there seem to be no physical boundaries with kids, a sleeping kid on the bus will get his/her cheeks pinched and hair stroked by many a passer-by), I experienced the bonding effect of riding the bus.
It's just so conducive to random conversations and connections between people who might not otherwise have talked. I wish we had more public transport here - I've definitely enjoyed the busses before, but they're just not as ubiquitious as they were in Europe.
Anyway, these are just some first thoughts. As I said, I am jet-lagged (not TOO bad but definitely feeling a bit off) so I hope to have more coherent observations later! I felt when leaving Istanbul as if I could easily have stayed another month, which was a bittersweet feeling. Now that I'm at home, I'm going to enjoy it for all I can! | posted by Cheryl, 12/07/2005 08:24:00 AM | 0 comments |
