Author Archives: os152702

It took me a long time to actually feel comfortable here at Baruch. Splitting time between a full work week and school left me with little time for myself or for any other school activity. If maybe by mere exposure rather than a conscious effort, the concrete, glass, the classrooms and the city itself becomes familiar and therefore a part of my natural environment. My classes have been for the most part enjoyable and I’ve learned more or less but still learned from each of them. The students body is extremely diverse and where some may say that there is a lack of community, I would point out that there is a collective. I see it every time I’m in the library or the computer lab. The endless keyboard clicks made by students trying to achieve something for themselves. I think that’s what I’ve taken away from my first three months of being at Baruch and the city. A sharpened goal and a drive to achieve it.

Also, cats are cute.

meme at Sanitaryum.com

It took me a long time to actually feel comfortable here at Baruch. Splitting time between a full work week and school left me with little time for myself or for any other school activity. If maybe by mere exposure rather than a conscious effort, the concrete, glass, the classrooms and the city itself becomes familiar and therefore a part of my natural environment. My classes have been for the most part enjoyable and I’ve learned more or less but still learned from each of them. The students body is extremely diverse and where some may say that there is a lack of community, I would point out that there is a collective. I see it every time I’m in the library or the computer lab. The endless keyboard clicks made by students trying to achieve something for themselves. I think that’s what I’ve taken away from my first three months of being at Baruch and the city. A sharpened goal and a drive to achieve it.

Also, cats are cute.

meme at Sanitaryum.com

I took the time in between classes to visit the museum not entirely sure what I would find there. There were a bunch of students there on a guided tour and I thought to myself, “hey , i’m a student” so I just moved in and took the tour with them. I’ve seen art like this before but I was never really impressed with it but I knew it was entirely due to my ignorance on the cultural relevance behind it. Art can be as much of a timeline as anything else. It’s not just aesthetic but tells a story of time and a culture. Yet the multiple of characters and expressions and the colors all seemed a bit too “busy” for my untrained eye. However after carefully listening to the guide speak about the cloth painting of Mahakala, Vajra Panjarnata I found myself curious about everything. Why was the first buddha considered “void”, are all the rest direct decedents or pupils of the “primordial” buddha? Why do the demons have blue skin? Do various teachings of subsequent buddha’s contradict one another? I got most of my questions answered before I was found out by the teacher and asked to be quiet because they were on a schedule. Either way I plan to go back. I’m not crazy about the art but the stories behind them are fascinating and having a guide that provides historical reasons behind the art was very… enlightening.

Also the lion statues reminded me of my cat.

I took the time in between classes to visit the museum not entirely sure what I would find there. There were a bunch of students there on a guided tour and I thought to myself, “hey , i’m a student” so I just moved in and took the tour with them. I’ve seen art like this before but I was never really impressed with it but I knew it was entirely due to my ignorance on the cultural relevance behind it. Art can be as much of a timeline as anything else. It’s not just aesthetic but tells a story of time and a culture. Yet the multiple of characters and expressions and the colors all seemed a bit too “busy” for my untrained eye. However after carefully listening to the guide speak about the cloth painting of Mahakala, Vajra Panjarnata I found myself curious about everything. Why was the first buddha considered “void”, are all the rest direct decedents or pupils of the “primordial” buddha? Why do the demons have blue skin? Do various teachings of subsequent buddha’s contradict one another? I got most of my questions answered before I was found out by the teacher and asked to be quiet because they were on a schedule. Either way I plan to go back. I’m not crazy about the art but the stories behind them are fascinating and having a guide that provides historical reasons behind the art was very… enlightening.

Also the lion statues reminded me of my cat.

I took the time in between classes to visit the museum not entirely sure what I would find there. There were a bunch of students there on a guided tour and I thought to myself, “hey , i’m a student” so I just moved in and took the tour with them. I’ve seen art like this before but I was never really impressed with it but I knew it was entirely due to my ignorance on the cultural relevance behind it. Art can be as much of a timeline as anything else. It’s not just aesthetic but tells a story of time and a culture. Yet the multiple of characters and expressions and the colors all seemed a bit too “busy” for my untrained eye. However after carefully listening to the guide speak about the cloth painting of Mahakala, Vajra Panjarnata I found myself curious about everything. Why was the first buddha considered “void”, are all the rest direct decedents or pupils of the “primordial” buddha? Why do the demons have blue skin? Do various teachings of subsequent buddha’s contradict one another? I got most of my questions answered before I was found out by the teacher and asked to be quiet because they were on a schedule. Either way I plan to go back. I’m not crazy about the art but the stories behind them are fascinating and having a guide that provides historical reasons behind the art was very… enlightening.

Also the lion statues reminded me of my cat.

I’m not sure if I was supposed to cut and paste my entire report but essentially there is a lot of things still up in the air.

a. “What have you learned about yourself through your self-assessments and how has this
affected your choice of major and career goals?” More or less what I new already. That I am at least by the metric they use a “thinker” that I like to solve problems and that I like to see measurable results

b. “How do these results reflect a change from what you expected or planned for yourself
previously?” Not much of a change actually. Perhaps maybe a difference from a long time ago when I had other notions of public service,

c. “How did participating in FOCUS 2 help you clarify a future direction for yourself?” It doesn’t. At least not yet. I do however feel that it’s usefulness will increase as I take more classes and narrow down what I think I am cable of and what I excel at.

I’m not sure if I was supposed to cut and paste my entire report but essentially there is a lot of things still up in the air.

a. “What have you learned about yourself through your self-assessments and how has this
affected your choice of major and career goals?” More or less what I new already. That I am at least by the metric they use a “thinker” that I like to solve problems and that I like to see measurable results

b. “How do these results reflect a change from what you expected or planned for yourself
previously?” Not much of a change actually. Perhaps maybe a difference from a long time ago when I had other notions of public service,

c. “How did participating in FOCUS 2 help you clarify a future direction for yourself?” It doesn’t. At least not yet. I do however feel that it’s usefulness will increase as I take more classes and narrow down what I think I am cable of and what I excel at.

I’m not sure if I was supposed to cut and paste my entire report but essentially there is a lot of things still up in the air.

a. “What have you learned about yourself through your self-assessments and how has this
affected your choice of major and career goals?” More or less what I new already. That I am at least by the metric they use a “thinker” that I like to solve problems and that I like to see measurable results

b. “How do these results reflect a change from what you expected or planned for yourself
previously?” Not much of a change actually. Perhaps maybe a difference from a long time ago when I had other notions of public service,

c. “How did participating in FOCUS 2 help you clarify a future direction for yourself?” It doesn’t. At least not yet. I do however feel that it’s usefulness will increase as I take more classes and narrow down what I think I am cable of and what I excel at.

I’m not entirely sure what the structure of this blog is intended to be but essentially it seems to me that it should resemble a biography of sorts.

My name is Olger Solano. I’m not entirely sure where my first name comes from but I’ve heard that it may be a form from the Scandinavian name Holger. Although I’m thoroughly Ecuadorian. Essentially who I am is not the sum of all the basic facts that you may find in a data base but by my relation to others. After high school I helped take care of my mother and helped raise my little sister. All functions of my existence had those two ideas as constants. That I was a son and a brother. Everything else about me is in flux as I grow and accumulate more experiences. I’m not sure what else we spoke about in class… I have a bleeding heart but don’t really like people much. I’m determined to do well in my classes and I work a lot. When or if I get some free time I hope to spend it biking around the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway.

The power animal my sister gave me

Go fighting bear cats?

It’s 4:03 Am and I need to finish this assignment so I can fool myself into thinking I’m going to get any sleep. As for how does this playlist give anyone a glimpse into the inner depths of my psyche? I’m not certain. I do know that I rarely listen to it anymore and it may speak to a different time and place…. I suppose that was a conscious effort on my part to maybe draw a line between who I was coming into Baruch and who I am now. Which is pretty damn tired with half a book to read, an exam, and a quiz due tomorrow. This is after putting in about sixty some odd hours in my day job this week. But what I like about this school is that that describes a lot of people here. A lot of students here have that same stoic tired face that I have in the morning… wondering where the coffee is. To tie it together somewhat so I actually get credit for doing this assignment… a lot of this music describes all the hard work and distractions that I had in getting here. And now that I’m here I’m pretty psyched… mostly tired actually… but psyched nonetheless…. content.  Also I couldn’t find “Reckoner” so “There there” was what I had to work with.