that was a great weekend. i got to see my dad after almost 4 months, and one of my cousins after like 8 years or something. the weather was horrible though, my flight was delayed for 3 hours. wednesday was mad, everyone scrambling to get home for thanksgiving. there was enough frustration in everyone to just stand up and scream. when we finally left atlanta, people started clapping in the plane. when we landed, the captain offered a scant word of consolation, stating 'we just flew from one of the most busiet airport in the world to another equally busy one in the most treacherous of conditions.' in my 5 days in chicagoland, i saw 3 very different weathers. my other cousin took 3 hours just to get from the airport to my place, since he was new to chicago. wednesday night was a snow storm, the snow stacked up to my ankle height. and then in 2 days, it was pouring really heavily. the last day, the sky cleared up and the sun was really warming up the place like atlanta.
i found out that thanksgiving wasnt a christian custom that americans practiced but its origins were that of the native americans and the europeans getting together. it seems like from now on, thanksgiving will be my annual getting together with my other family members. so it was my whole family, my two cousins from my dad's side, my uncle and his wife for the weekend, so it was pretty awesome.
we also went to couple of people's place during that time. the most interesting was when my dad went to visit his dorm friend from his university days. they finally met after 23 years. it was amazing how those two still kept in touch and he coincidentally happened to live near us. looking at them and thinking how i will be interacting with people i know now, i cant picture how it will turn out.
we went to watch 'alexander' which was like a bad version of lord of the rings. some of the scenes showed really homosexual scenes that was just bad. i mean i knew alexander was bisexual, but they could have portrayed his other parts of life in a better way. it is indeed a flop of the year. all the 3 movies that had kings and knights as their main theme flopped (troy, king arthur and of course, alexander) which is really disappointing coz i just love the medieval era.
oh, and i also went to the top (well, not really) of the world's tallest building, the SEARS Tower in chicago. i drove past it this spring, but didnt get to go up. it was a fascinating sight from all four directions and you could technically see michigan, wisconsin and indiana.
since i'll be heading back to chicago after my finals, i didnt really feel so bad about leaving, but im definately looking forward to being there for the winter. well, save for the sub zero temperature (it was like 28-36 when i was there... about -2 to 5 degrees celcius)
surprisingly my flight back to atlanta wasnt delayed, which was a welcome. i got back in good time, enough to get a good dinner at moe's and read my history text. i just gotta read 40 more pages for the semester.
it was another case of my alienated presence at the airport. i dont think ill go deep into it, but it was one of those times where it was just depressing, like how i wanted to blog about this some time ago, about how two people can come together and leave without a word. she was sitting right infront of my seat during the flight, in the next cabin on the train ride back to north avenue, but all we did was just glance at eachother time to time, to cross our eyes and quickly look elsewhere. listening to zero 7 and dido in the train made me feel worse, but somehow their tune was just the antidote i needed to get through it.
when am i gonna do something about this? it just keeps happening...
Monday, November 29, 2004
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
birthdays
due to lack of updates, i didnt get to dedicate birthday messages to a number of people.
so, happy belated birthday to chahat, denise and lem!
so, happy belated birthday to chahat, denise and lem!
mahjong is awesome!
good deal, there werent enough players for the opponents, so they forfeited, and we advance to the next round of the playoffs, which will be played next monday.
just before we left for the match, scott, ray and kim taught me how to play mahjong. i know most of my friends played back in singapore, but for some reason, i never got to play, let alone learn it.
i didnt feel like playing soccer, so when the referee told us it was forfeited, i was really excited to head back and continue playing.
i guess i got the hang of the game, i just came back from playing for like 3 hours. its awesome, i didnt realize it was this fun, its my kind, combination, probability and all.
good lord, that was a good night spent. im off to bed, not sure if i should attend calculus tomorrow i could squeeze in 2 more hours of sleep if i skip it. i know im going for history.
i just realized i had two chicken sandwiches and a thai pad chicken for the whole of today. no wonder my stomach hurts like mad, im so freaking hungry.
lets see if anyone has some food around...
just before we left for the match, scott, ray and kim taught me how to play mahjong. i know most of my friends played back in singapore, but for some reason, i never got to play, let alone learn it.
i didnt feel like playing soccer, so when the referee told us it was forfeited, i was really excited to head back and continue playing.
i guess i got the hang of the game, i just came back from playing for like 3 hours. its awesome, i didnt realize it was this fun, its my kind, combination, probability and all.
good lord, that was a good night spent. im off to bed, not sure if i should attend calculus tomorrow i could squeeze in 2 more hours of sleep if i skip it. i know im going for history.
i just realized i had two chicken sandwiches and a thai pad chicken for the whole of today. no wonder my stomach hurts like mad, im so freaking hungry.
lets see if anyone has some food around...
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
SAACURH at Louisville, KY
it was a totally wasted weekend. i didnt like the conference at all, and even according to some of the people who had gone to the conference last year, it was pretty bad. if you guys are wondering, then SAACURH stands for 'South Atlantic Affiliate of College & University Residence Halls.' so basically its the governing body for the residence hall associations in the southeast america region. it consisted of kentucky, who were the hosts, mississippi, north carolina, south carolina, georgia, louisiana, arkansas, virginia, florida, and of course, us, georgia, or as typical southern people would pronounce it as 'gee-or-gia.'
i personally thought the whole thing was pretty awful. i could hav spent a good time back in atlanta going for the basketball game, the football game, getting plenty of sleep and preparing for my health and calculus tests. honestly, i think most of the schools went there to just have fun. because louisville was such a place that we needed to get chartered bus rides from place to place, and with that, there's the inevitability of delays, we had to wait for most of the people to get to the place to begin. so they'll start playing music, and since its the south, they play some real hiphop music, and most of the students there were african americans, so they'll start dancing super seriously. it got to a stage that people started getting on the stage in numbers and it grew to an unimaginable partying scene.
us being typical tech people, save for erika, who joined the others in dancing, we just sat there, wasting time, and just getting some sleep. i did not get the whole thing. i didnt want to be a party spoiler, but i simply could not comprehend why all these students were cheering about the conference and getting so excited over music when the conference hadnt even started. i just sat there, startled. quite simply, i detest hiphop now. all people do is raise their hands and wave them up and down, the girls swing their heads and just move their hips. there's no variation, and believe me when i say this, coz i saw it throughout the conference and more at tech, that's all there is. everyone's moves are the same. i conclude, its a fad. everyone's into it coz everyone portray it as being cool, what everyone else does. hiphop has degenerated badly in the recent times. i am digusted by most of the songs. i find it hard to accept that some people get rich by just simply counting in what they supposedly call 'songs.' i was telling most of the people in my dorm prior to this, but just by counting from 1 to 5, they get like millions, while we people here, can go on to count til a trillion, and would not get the same amount of money. and all these slangs, 'herre,' 'e'rbody,' and whatever you can come up with, its just a sing of illiteracy spreading. i happened to bump into someone's blog, whom i happened to be in the same class in tech, and realized that as well, the words are transcending into actual use.
anyway, you get the point. so i just sat there not in the conference mood. it could be because there was very little interaction among the other 9 members i went to the conference with. plus the fact that we were one of the few rich schools whose residence hall association paid for our flight. most of the other students drove some 8, 9 hours to louisville, and spending that much time in such a small space can do both good and bad. i guess for most people there, it worked for the good.
i tried to make myself think that we went there for the sole reason to present our bid for the S.A.L.T. (student award for leadership training) award. we presented about the retreat that we had after our elections to get trained into being officers of the hall council. and i think we did well, coz we won. and the only cheer we did was something so utterly nerdy, yet something only we could do it. wanna know how the cheer goes? be my guest.
'e to the power of x, dy/dx,
e to the x, dy/dx,
secant, tangent, cosine, sine,
3.14159,
square root, cube root, poisson, bracket,
disintegrate...
yellow jackets!'
yes, you read that right. that was our cheer. and we consolidated the public perception that we indeed are a nerdy school. i think only MIT, CalTech and ourselves can lay claim to using that cheer. but to our surprise, LSU (lousiana state university) and some others liked it, thought it was hilarious. well, it is, but my god...
we got what we wanted, so it was all right with me. some of the things i noticed were shocking, like how dumb and ignorant some people can be. and all of you would have heard about the blonde jokes. and for one particular person there, it was so fitting. this blonde, personifies probably all the blonde stereotypes ive heard of, so much that this other tech student, chris, and i were looking at eachother with our mouth wide open, trying to comprehend that it was indeed what we saw. im not sure about the other states, but we kinda realized most of the other georgian university students arent that bright. im sorry, i just had to say it, coz it was so apparant. i would have preferred not to mention it, but there were so many incidents it was not funny anymore. i know, its not fair to make judgement on intellect, but you'd think that for lack of intellect, they'll be better in certain things that us, but that wasn't to be.
and someone had to nerve to say that they thought georgia tech was one of those universities advertised on tv, like a certain ITT-Tech, which is a huge insult to us. but of course, we can't brag about our academic reputation, so we just kept quiet.
at the end of the last night, we traded some of our university merchandise for other universities, and i got couple of stuff from LSU, Virginia Tech and Western Kentucky. our mascot buzz was a very popular figure, that we practically held a ransom and they gave it, coz they really wanted it. john got a bag full fo tennessee stuff and i got tons of LSU stuff. and Chris traded with our beloved UGA for the feelers we had on our heads throughout the conference with our buzz for their mascot, the bulldog. we took that around, pretended to hang it on a noose, and while i had my buzz, i poked the bulldog's butt with the buzz's sting right infront of the UGA students. obviously that didnt go well with them, but its all in the name of fun. we intend to have an effigy of that bulldog sometime in the future.
on sunday morning, we went downtown to have breakfast at macdonalds and the most random thing happened. while we were eating, some middle aged man came over, stood behind Laura, and took her ponytails into his hands. we were just staring at him, i swear, for a minimum of 5 seconds, just thinking, 'what the hell is going on?' i dont know how long it took, but suddenly the man said 'oh my god, i thought you were my daughter! i swear she looks just like you!' and we were shocked yet again. i thought it was some weirdo trying to do something to Laura. if could take the pictures of everyone's face during that 5 seconds, it would be pretty hilarious. the man recovered well from that embarrassment, but we were determined to find out if the man was speaking the truth, or if he was lying. true enough, about 10, 15 minutes later, a girl walked in, and the man took her in his arms and walked over to us, and told us it was her daughter. all of us started laughing because the man's daughter indeed looked very much like Laura! how coincidental eh? but the whole 5 seconds deal was so hilarious, we talked about it over and over again. weird things just happens at times.
other than that, louisville was a better place than i had expected. i didnt exactly 'get lucky in kentucky' as the famous saying goes, but it was alright. just save for the whole conference. veterans tell me that the NACURH (national affiliate of blah blah blah, you can figure it out) is going to be much better, but it'll be in the summer, which im not sure if i'll be serving internship or not, plus, with the way this conference went, im not exactly sure if i wanna go for this kinda thing ever again.
i went to sleep at like 3 every night since thursday, so i was really really tired when i got back. i tried to get some sleep on saturday night. around 3 something, i noticed some girl jumping up and down on top of me, asking 'why i was sleeping.' what do you think im sleeping, its fucking 3! she said that she needs to leave in about 30 minutes and she's still awake. well, if you're leaving in 30 minutes in the middle of the wee hours of the morning, she's fucking right, she better be awake to get ready! i was so pissed off, but so tired, i just stared at whoever she was, and Jeff, who I assume was the one who let her into the room. you never disturb a sleeping person for whatever reason except for emergency. and that was not. i dont care if you have to start heading back at 4 in the morning, it is none of my concern, and i didnt even know the freaking person for crying our loud. she covered my head with the hooded jacked i was wearing, and covered me in the comforter. first you wake me up, and now what, you're trying to suffocate me? that really ticked me off. they could have left to go to the lounge to talk, but no, they were talking oh so obviously in the hotel room while i was trying to get to sleep. talk about being sensitive to others.
i came back to atlanta, feeling so glad to be back, but with our flight delayed for about an hour coz it was raining pretty heavily in atlanta. i had a judicial board meeting that night, and still had to cram in some study time for my final health test, so i was hoping i'd get some sleep, but that didnt happen.
the case for this week was weird. i dont think im at the liberty to discuss it, but it was one of those weird pranks. the guy being present in the questioning was frowning time to time and i can't blame him.
i tried to do the best i could for the preparation for my health test. i think i did alright. in order for me to get a B (if i calculated correctly), then i need to score 78 or 79 to secure a B grade. and if, for some reason, i happened to get A in English and make sure i cement my A for calculus, then i might end up this semester with a 3.3, which would be good.
i had a calculus test this morning, which i thought went so much better than the last one. it was something like that test 3, which was on differentiation. i better get an A on this. i need to score 94 for this and the final exam in order to get an A without curving, but with so many people doing so badly, i think a curve is a certain possibility, but im not going to depend on that. but then, with that said, i probably shouldnt talk that way, its been pretty apparant since my middle school days, when i think i did well, it turns out the other way round.
so i have to finish off numerous english blog entries, read the rest of the history test, which i think will be done during the flight to naperville tomorrow, and just revise for calculus for this semester to be over. good deal. its fast ending. i cant wait to get back home to naperville tomorrow.
i could have actually left today. after 10am, which was after the test, i was done. my english and health class were cancelled, and i could skip the calculus and histroy lecture tomorrow and it wont hurt at all, so i thought i could do away. but orbitz wouldnt pick up the phone for operator support, so i could not change my flight schedule. but i dont think i would have changed anyway, i would have had to pay US$150 for the change plus whatever the difference in the flight ticket. i can take my time to relax, catch up on some sleep.
we played our last group stage match for the intramural soccer in the heavy rain last night. it was warmer than we thought, but we escaped with a solitary goal. so we won all of our 4 matches, and sadly, we ended up being ranked 7th, so we have to play again tonight for the playoffs. we didnt really interact with the referees last night, but somehow we got a sportsmanship rating of 3.0, which i thought was ridiculous considering we'd been so much harsher on the referees in our past 3 games and still got a 4.0 and 3.5 on them. and the fact that they failed to see an obvious infringement in the rules of soccer. its debatable if its a tackle not noticed, but for a goalkeeper to be out of boundaries and using his hands, that's not contestable. its an automatic redcard in soccer and ive seen it happen, both at a professional and amateur level. but i dont think it would have helped much anyway. we would have ended 6th at the most, and for us to skip tonight's match and be seeded automatically to the second round, we had to be ranked in the top 5.
i hope that we dont play tonight. most people have left home for thanksgiving and i hope that the opponents wont have enough players so that the match will be forfeited. i dont feel like playing in the rain like last night. not only cant you run properly, but ball control becomes a totally different problem.
alright, i guess im done for this entry. oh, before i leave, i saw this written on someone's bag at we were on our way heading out of Hartsfield-Jackson airport.
" ''Fo shizzle my nizzle' is a bastardization of 'for sure, my nigger' which is a bastardization of 'i agree with you whole-heartedly, my african american brother'."
i chuckled to myself silently.
i personally thought the whole thing was pretty awful. i could hav spent a good time back in atlanta going for the basketball game, the football game, getting plenty of sleep and preparing for my health and calculus tests. honestly, i think most of the schools went there to just have fun. because louisville was such a place that we needed to get chartered bus rides from place to place, and with that, there's the inevitability of delays, we had to wait for most of the people to get to the place to begin. so they'll start playing music, and since its the south, they play some real hiphop music, and most of the students there were african americans, so they'll start dancing super seriously. it got to a stage that people started getting on the stage in numbers and it grew to an unimaginable partying scene.
us being typical tech people, save for erika, who joined the others in dancing, we just sat there, wasting time, and just getting some sleep. i did not get the whole thing. i didnt want to be a party spoiler, but i simply could not comprehend why all these students were cheering about the conference and getting so excited over music when the conference hadnt even started. i just sat there, startled. quite simply, i detest hiphop now. all people do is raise their hands and wave them up and down, the girls swing their heads and just move their hips. there's no variation, and believe me when i say this, coz i saw it throughout the conference and more at tech, that's all there is. everyone's moves are the same. i conclude, its a fad. everyone's into it coz everyone portray it as being cool, what everyone else does. hiphop has degenerated badly in the recent times. i am digusted by most of the songs. i find it hard to accept that some people get rich by just simply counting in what they supposedly call 'songs.' i was telling most of the people in my dorm prior to this, but just by counting from 1 to 5, they get like millions, while we people here, can go on to count til a trillion, and would not get the same amount of money. and all these slangs, 'herre,' 'e'rbody,' and whatever you can come up with, its just a sing of illiteracy spreading. i happened to bump into someone's blog, whom i happened to be in the same class in tech, and realized that as well, the words are transcending into actual use.
anyway, you get the point. so i just sat there not in the conference mood. it could be because there was very little interaction among the other 9 members i went to the conference with. plus the fact that we were one of the few rich schools whose residence hall association paid for our flight. most of the other students drove some 8, 9 hours to louisville, and spending that much time in such a small space can do both good and bad. i guess for most people there, it worked for the good.
i tried to make myself think that we went there for the sole reason to present our bid for the S.A.L.T. (student award for leadership training) award. we presented about the retreat that we had after our elections to get trained into being officers of the hall council. and i think we did well, coz we won. and the only cheer we did was something so utterly nerdy, yet something only we could do it. wanna know how the cheer goes? be my guest.
'e to the power of x, dy/dx,
e to the x, dy/dx,
secant, tangent, cosine, sine,
3.14159,
square root, cube root, poisson, bracket,
disintegrate...
yellow jackets!'
yes, you read that right. that was our cheer. and we consolidated the public perception that we indeed are a nerdy school. i think only MIT, CalTech and ourselves can lay claim to using that cheer. but to our surprise, LSU (lousiana state university) and some others liked it, thought it was hilarious. well, it is, but my god...
we got what we wanted, so it was all right with me. some of the things i noticed were shocking, like how dumb and ignorant some people can be. and all of you would have heard about the blonde jokes. and for one particular person there, it was so fitting. this blonde, personifies probably all the blonde stereotypes ive heard of, so much that this other tech student, chris, and i were looking at eachother with our mouth wide open, trying to comprehend that it was indeed what we saw. im not sure about the other states, but we kinda realized most of the other georgian university students arent that bright. im sorry, i just had to say it, coz it was so apparant. i would have preferred not to mention it, but there were so many incidents it was not funny anymore. i know, its not fair to make judgement on intellect, but you'd think that for lack of intellect, they'll be better in certain things that us, but that wasn't to be.
and someone had to nerve to say that they thought georgia tech was one of those universities advertised on tv, like a certain ITT-Tech, which is a huge insult to us. but of course, we can't brag about our academic reputation, so we just kept quiet.
at the end of the last night, we traded some of our university merchandise for other universities, and i got couple of stuff from LSU, Virginia Tech and Western Kentucky. our mascot buzz was a very popular figure, that we practically held a ransom and they gave it, coz they really wanted it. john got a bag full fo tennessee stuff and i got tons of LSU stuff. and Chris traded with our beloved UGA for the feelers we had on our heads throughout the conference with our buzz for their mascot, the bulldog. we took that around, pretended to hang it on a noose, and while i had my buzz, i poked the bulldog's butt with the buzz's sting right infront of the UGA students. obviously that didnt go well with them, but its all in the name of fun. we intend to have an effigy of that bulldog sometime in the future.
on sunday morning, we went downtown to have breakfast at macdonalds and the most random thing happened. while we were eating, some middle aged man came over, stood behind Laura, and took her ponytails into his hands. we were just staring at him, i swear, for a minimum of 5 seconds, just thinking, 'what the hell is going on?' i dont know how long it took, but suddenly the man said 'oh my god, i thought you were my daughter! i swear she looks just like you!' and we were shocked yet again. i thought it was some weirdo trying to do something to Laura. if could take the pictures of everyone's face during that 5 seconds, it would be pretty hilarious. the man recovered well from that embarrassment, but we were determined to find out if the man was speaking the truth, or if he was lying. true enough, about 10, 15 minutes later, a girl walked in, and the man took her in his arms and walked over to us, and told us it was her daughter. all of us started laughing because the man's daughter indeed looked very much like Laura! how coincidental eh? but the whole 5 seconds deal was so hilarious, we talked about it over and over again. weird things just happens at times.
other than that, louisville was a better place than i had expected. i didnt exactly 'get lucky in kentucky' as the famous saying goes, but it was alright. just save for the whole conference. veterans tell me that the NACURH (national affiliate of blah blah blah, you can figure it out) is going to be much better, but it'll be in the summer, which im not sure if i'll be serving internship or not, plus, with the way this conference went, im not exactly sure if i wanna go for this kinda thing ever again.
i went to sleep at like 3 every night since thursday, so i was really really tired when i got back. i tried to get some sleep on saturday night. around 3 something, i noticed some girl jumping up and down on top of me, asking 'why i was sleeping.' what do you think im sleeping, its fucking 3! she said that she needs to leave in about 30 minutes and she's still awake. well, if you're leaving in 30 minutes in the middle of the wee hours of the morning, she's fucking right, she better be awake to get ready! i was so pissed off, but so tired, i just stared at whoever she was, and Jeff, who I assume was the one who let her into the room. you never disturb a sleeping person for whatever reason except for emergency. and that was not. i dont care if you have to start heading back at 4 in the morning, it is none of my concern, and i didnt even know the freaking person for crying our loud. she covered my head with the hooded jacked i was wearing, and covered me in the comforter. first you wake me up, and now what, you're trying to suffocate me? that really ticked me off. they could have left to go to the lounge to talk, but no, they were talking oh so obviously in the hotel room while i was trying to get to sleep. talk about being sensitive to others.
i came back to atlanta, feeling so glad to be back, but with our flight delayed for about an hour coz it was raining pretty heavily in atlanta. i had a judicial board meeting that night, and still had to cram in some study time for my final health test, so i was hoping i'd get some sleep, but that didnt happen.
the case for this week was weird. i dont think im at the liberty to discuss it, but it was one of those weird pranks. the guy being present in the questioning was frowning time to time and i can't blame him.
i tried to do the best i could for the preparation for my health test. i think i did alright. in order for me to get a B (if i calculated correctly), then i need to score 78 or 79 to secure a B grade. and if, for some reason, i happened to get A in English and make sure i cement my A for calculus, then i might end up this semester with a 3.3, which would be good.
i had a calculus test this morning, which i thought went so much better than the last one. it was something like that test 3, which was on differentiation. i better get an A on this. i need to score 94 for this and the final exam in order to get an A without curving, but with so many people doing so badly, i think a curve is a certain possibility, but im not going to depend on that. but then, with that said, i probably shouldnt talk that way, its been pretty apparant since my middle school days, when i think i did well, it turns out the other way round.
so i have to finish off numerous english blog entries, read the rest of the history test, which i think will be done during the flight to naperville tomorrow, and just revise for calculus for this semester to be over. good deal. its fast ending. i cant wait to get back home to naperville tomorrow.
i could have actually left today. after 10am, which was after the test, i was done. my english and health class were cancelled, and i could skip the calculus and histroy lecture tomorrow and it wont hurt at all, so i thought i could do away. but orbitz wouldnt pick up the phone for operator support, so i could not change my flight schedule. but i dont think i would have changed anyway, i would have had to pay US$150 for the change plus whatever the difference in the flight ticket. i can take my time to relax, catch up on some sleep.
we played our last group stage match for the intramural soccer in the heavy rain last night. it was warmer than we thought, but we escaped with a solitary goal. so we won all of our 4 matches, and sadly, we ended up being ranked 7th, so we have to play again tonight for the playoffs. we didnt really interact with the referees last night, but somehow we got a sportsmanship rating of 3.0, which i thought was ridiculous considering we'd been so much harsher on the referees in our past 3 games and still got a 4.0 and 3.5 on them. and the fact that they failed to see an obvious infringement in the rules of soccer. its debatable if its a tackle not noticed, but for a goalkeeper to be out of boundaries and using his hands, that's not contestable. its an automatic redcard in soccer and ive seen it happen, both at a professional and amateur level. but i dont think it would have helped much anyway. we would have ended 6th at the most, and for us to skip tonight's match and be seeded automatically to the second round, we had to be ranked in the top 5.
i hope that we dont play tonight. most people have left home for thanksgiving and i hope that the opponents wont have enough players so that the match will be forfeited. i dont feel like playing in the rain like last night. not only cant you run properly, but ball control becomes a totally different problem.
alright, i guess im done for this entry. oh, before i leave, i saw this written on someone's bag at we were on our way heading out of Hartsfield-Jackson airport.
" ''Fo shizzle my nizzle' is a bastardization of 'for sure, my nigger' which is a bastardization of 'i agree with you whole-heartedly, my african american brother'."
i chuckled to myself silently.
Thursday, November 18, 2004
4 papers and a history text
i did it...
i finished 4 paper (well, i didnt really do much to one of them) and managed to read 250 pages of history text in 2 days...!
im seriously burnt out. im gonna take an early night after i finish blogging. but last 2 nights have been such that i wake up half asleep, going to lessons and dont feel like going on by 12. last few nights ive gone to sleep at 3 and whatnot, while going to classes and doing work, so its intense.
but im glad that its done. i had a finals material science paper, a GT1000 report about my possible major, edit my english test, and write a book review on the history text that i had to finish.
and im not sure if the housing association conference im leaving for tomorrow is a good thing or not. id rather take the whole weekend off and rest, but this is gonna be pretty fun, hopefully. it'll be my first time in louisville, kentucky.
ok, im losing my chain of thought. lets see...
on wednesday, i was too tired to go to calculus lecture, so i stayed in bed to get 2 extra hours of sleep. james woke up and when he opened the door, he found a big couch resting vertically against the door. everyone came by through the day and asked what that was about. and then i got a weird call at 2am from a resident who seemed to be pissed with some incident, but i really think it was a prank. the hating doesnt stop wherever i go for some reason, i always seem to get some stick from someone.
anyway, GT1000 is done, MSE1001 will be done, so im only left with health, which will be over next week. after that, i gotta cram for english, history and calculus. i need to get like 80 on the last test to secure a B. i hope thats possible. and make sure that i ace my calculus test and finals exam. 3.2 baby, 3.2! im gonna get it!
there was a majors fair today, i went for it, and it proved somewhat useful. i think computer engineering is off for me. it sounds like a very static job, and once you're in the industry, you're such an expendible asset. so its more or less between ISyE and MSE, but i'll still give CmpE is like for ECE2030 on 3rd semester. either way, it will be a good choice, if i want to do ISyE, then i'll stay at tech since tech has the best program, and if its either CmpE or MSE, i'll head to illinois, since its gonna be cheaper and they'll have a slighter better program than tech. works either way.
semester's fast ending... it somehow feels good. okay, ive lost of chain of thought, so im just gonna leave it at this. im gonna head for louisville tomorrow and will be back on sunday, where i'll have a meeting to chair after another judicial case to review, and somehow study for the health test.
i finished 4 paper (well, i didnt really do much to one of them) and managed to read 250 pages of history text in 2 days...!
im seriously burnt out. im gonna take an early night after i finish blogging. but last 2 nights have been such that i wake up half asleep, going to lessons and dont feel like going on by 12. last few nights ive gone to sleep at 3 and whatnot, while going to classes and doing work, so its intense.
but im glad that its done. i had a finals material science paper, a GT1000 report about my possible major, edit my english test, and write a book review on the history text that i had to finish.
and im not sure if the housing association conference im leaving for tomorrow is a good thing or not. id rather take the whole weekend off and rest, but this is gonna be pretty fun, hopefully. it'll be my first time in louisville, kentucky.
ok, im losing my chain of thought. lets see...
on wednesday, i was too tired to go to calculus lecture, so i stayed in bed to get 2 extra hours of sleep. james woke up and when he opened the door, he found a big couch resting vertically against the door. everyone came by through the day and asked what that was about. and then i got a weird call at 2am from a resident who seemed to be pissed with some incident, but i really think it was a prank. the hating doesnt stop wherever i go for some reason, i always seem to get some stick from someone.
anyway, GT1000 is done, MSE1001 will be done, so im only left with health, which will be over next week. after that, i gotta cram for english, history and calculus. i need to get like 80 on the last test to secure a B. i hope thats possible. and make sure that i ace my calculus test and finals exam. 3.2 baby, 3.2! im gonna get it!
there was a majors fair today, i went for it, and it proved somewhat useful. i think computer engineering is off for me. it sounds like a very static job, and once you're in the industry, you're such an expendible asset. so its more or less between ISyE and MSE, but i'll still give CmpE is like for ECE2030 on 3rd semester. either way, it will be a good choice, if i want to do ISyE, then i'll stay at tech since tech has the best program, and if its either CmpE or MSE, i'll head to illinois, since its gonna be cheaper and they'll have a slighter better program than tech. works either way.
semester's fast ending... it somehow feels good. okay, ive lost of chain of thought, so im just gonna leave it at this. im gonna head for louisville tomorrow and will be back on sunday, where i'll have a meeting to chair after another judicial case to review, and somehow study for the health test.
Monday, November 15, 2004
'Una Palabra'
i finally got hold of the song that i first heard it on one of the BMW short films (Power Keg, to be specific) by a director named Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.
i remember when i was spreading the awesomeness of those films to the guys here at tech and i remember vividly when daniel told me that that was a very beautiful song. he couldnt translate it completely, since his spanish is probably like my japanese, but he said that its an outstanding song.
while watching 'Man On Fire,' i heard the song again. this time, i could find the song in the credits, unlike the BMW film, so i was super excited when i got hold of the song.
its by a Cuban singer/songwriter named Carlos Varela. and i also happened to get hold of the translated lyrics.
oh, and 'Una Palabra' means 'One Word.'
"A word says nothing
And at the same time it hides everything
Just as the wind that hides the water
Like the flowers that hide the mud.
A glance says nothing
And at the same time it says everything
Like the rain on your face
Or an old treasure map.
A truth says nothing
And at the same time it hides everything
Like a bonfire that does not go out
Like a stone that is born dust.
If one day I'm without you, I will be nothing
And at the same time I will be everything
Because in your eyes are my wings
And the shore where I drown,
Because in your eyes are my wings
And the shore where I drown."
and the Spanish version...
"Una palabra no dice nada
y al mismo tiempo lo esconde todo
igual que el viento que esconde el agua
como las flores que esconde el lodo.
Una mirada no dice nada
y al mismo tiempo lo dice todo
como la lluvia sobre tu cara
o el viejo mapa de algún tesoro.
Una verdad no dice nada
y al mismo tiempo lo esconde todo
como una hoguera que no se apaga
como una piedra que nace polvo.
Si un día me faltas no seré nada
y al mismo tiempo lo seré todo
porque en tus ojos están mis alas
y está la orilla donde me ahogo,
porque en tus ojos están mis alas
y está la orilla donde me ahogo."
i remember when i was spreading the awesomeness of those films to the guys here at tech and i remember vividly when daniel told me that that was a very beautiful song. he couldnt translate it completely, since his spanish is probably like my japanese, but he said that its an outstanding song.
while watching 'Man On Fire,' i heard the song again. this time, i could find the song in the credits, unlike the BMW film, so i was super excited when i got hold of the song.
its by a Cuban singer/songwriter named Carlos Varela. and i also happened to get hold of the translated lyrics.
oh, and 'Una Palabra' means 'One Word.'
"A word says nothing
And at the same time it hides everything
Just as the wind that hides the water
Like the flowers that hide the mud.
A glance says nothing
And at the same time it says everything
Like the rain on your face
Or an old treasure map.
A truth says nothing
And at the same time it hides everything
Like a bonfire that does not go out
Like a stone that is born dust.
If one day I'm without you, I will be nothing
And at the same time I will be everything
Because in your eyes are my wings
And the shore where I drown,
Because in your eyes are my wings
And the shore where I drown."
and the Spanish version...
"Una palabra no dice nada
y al mismo tiempo lo esconde todo
igual que el viento que esconde el agua
como las flores que esconde el lodo.
Una mirada no dice nada
y al mismo tiempo lo dice todo
como la lluvia sobre tu cara
o el viejo mapa de algún tesoro.
Una verdad no dice nada
y al mismo tiempo lo esconde todo
como una hoguera que no se apaga
como una piedra que nace polvo.
Si un día me faltas no seré nada
y al mismo tiempo lo seré todo
porque en tus ojos están mis alas
y está la orilla donde me ahogo,
porque en tus ojos están mis alas
y está la orilla donde me ahogo."
eid weekend
this weekend has pretty entertaining. james and i planned to catch the movie 'the incredibles' on friday. as i did my laundry, like any other friday afternoon, i checked the timings out, they were to screen at 4, 4:45, 7 and 7:45. i didnt think we'd wanna go around 4 or 5, so i decided that it'll be a 7 show for us. i managed to get gautam and gopi to come with us, and we made it in good time. along the way, i got a sweatshirt, since its getting much colder. luckily, they had a S size for the one i wanted, albeit of slightly different color. but i finally got it anyway. we went to the phipps mall AMC theatre to find out all shows for 7 and 8 had been sold out, due to it being friday night. the next timing we could find was at 9:55, which was like a full 2 hours away, but since we werent in a hurry to do anything at all, we decided to get the tickets and hang around somewhere. we sat and talked about things at phipps mall for a while, looking at middle and high school kids all trying to be cool and wannabes. someone i dont recall being like that anymore, when i know i used to be just like that in singapore at lido when i went out. i realize how much different ive become.
since target was nearby and james wanted to get some posters, and it was so nearby, we left there, still having a lot more than an hour to waste. we got some stuff from there, but nothing much in general. we went back to phipps, wanting to go over to lenox, but knowing that most of lenox would have closed by then. we went back to joke about other things yet again til the time came.
i must say that i enjoyed 'the incredibles' even though im not a big fan of animated movies. and i dont think i laughed like that in a theatre since i saw 'rat race' or 'mean girls.' i thought that the graphics were flawless and the storyline was pretty impressive for an animated show, and walked away, not minding to pay to watch again. there were a lot of funny parts in the show, and like after any other movie, we were talking non stop about it on the way back to tech.
tech was having some event in the student center, which was running til 2am, so since having nothing much to do, we decided to go down to check it out. it wasnt much, since we came a little late, but it seemed that everyone was having fun. we played air hockey for a while and left the place, too tired for anything else. i cant recall wat time we went to sleep that night, i could hav been up til 3 or 4.
i woke up at 11 the next day, since it was GT vs UConn gameday. i was expecting leisha and greg to come by around 12, so i decided i settle some work stuff before that. they came around 12 plus, so i went over to pike house where they were and led them to the bobby dodd stadium. it was good that greg was a football fan, so for him to be attending a GT game was entertaining enough for him. there werent that many people attending that day since UConn was no match to us. we won 30-10, leisha and greg left by third quarter, since they had things to attend to. the tempo of the game had died down by half time, so james and i started going up to the highest point of the stands in the stadium. it was so high, we got a pretty good view of atlanta from there.
we hanged around for a while before i left, yet again, to attend an NBA match. it was a match between atlanta hawks and san antonio spurs. i got to see tim duncun and kenny anderson, and the neat surprise for the night was that i found out that this player i supported, antoine walker, who used to play for the celtics, now plays for atlanta, so i got to see him in action as well. since spurs are a pretty good team and hawks are horrible, the hawks lost, but just being in the massive philips arena was cool. it was such a big place, the moment i walked into the stadium, i could not stop being amazed by the sheer atmosphere. imagine how that would have been like it the stadium was actually full. i gotta attend concerts in the arena one of these days.
i went back, and contemplated if i wanted to watch any movie for a while, before finding out that there were like dozen of people in my room gearing for a massive halo 2 playout. i knew that tech was notoriously full of gaming nerds, but i got to see that infront of my very own eyes that nights. i was tired, but it was apparant that i was never gonna get any sleep anytime soon. i decided to get the 'man on fire' dvd from paul and watch it on my powerbook while making myself comfortable and warm up in my bed. from time to time, the guys will start jumping and screaming about who they killed or who killed them, and i was amazed by how these guys were so completely absorbed into the game.
i personally thought 'man on fire' was superb. denzel washington's acting is always impressive and in this film, he justified why he is who he is. i liked how the story progressed and how he went about taking revenge on the kidnappers. i think its somewhat similar to 'the professional,' which might be some reason why i liked it so much.
by the time i finished and got to sleep, while they guys went out of the room to start drinking at someone else's place, it was around 4:30am. needless to say, i woke up near 2, having couple of phone calls in the morning by people who wished me an eid that i wasnt getting to celebrate for the firs time in a long time. my family's away in three different places this time round.
i woke up, and started calling my relatives to wish them a happy eid. james and i left for the GT basketball exhibition match that had already started. we went in for the second half and witnessed our basketball team rip apart LeMoyne 103-66. this basketball season's gonna be pretty interesting.
bunch of us had lunch/dinner at moe's, preferring some real food for once over brittain food.
i had my first judicial board hearing later on, so i read some of the university's policy and guidelines for a while, and then just rested for a while before i had to leave for the hearing. the case wasnt a big deal and we settled it pretty easily, since there wasnt much to deliberate and everyone was pretty much in agreement.
even though i finished early, i let stephen chair the hall council meeting that night, and for the firs time, witnessed my own hall council meeting from the side of the room.
the weekend was coming to yet another end for me. i made my room mate watch 'the beautiful mind' which he thoroughly enjoyed, before slipping to sleep.
i will be out of atlanta the next two weekends, since im going for the regional housing conference in kentucky next weekend, and then making my way 'home' for thanksgiving on the following wednesday, which is going to be awesome. i might drop by my relative's place the weekend after that, and the following week will be the end of the semester, which im just gonna spent it going around atlanta before leaving for illinois for december.
the semester's coming close to an end. and i still have tons of work to tie up before that. sadly, i have only 4 days this week to tie things up for numerous things... i wonder if im gonna be able to finish everything.
since target was nearby and james wanted to get some posters, and it was so nearby, we left there, still having a lot more than an hour to waste. we got some stuff from there, but nothing much in general. we went back to phipps, wanting to go over to lenox, but knowing that most of lenox would have closed by then. we went back to joke about other things yet again til the time came.
i must say that i enjoyed 'the incredibles' even though im not a big fan of animated movies. and i dont think i laughed like that in a theatre since i saw 'rat race' or 'mean girls.' i thought that the graphics were flawless and the storyline was pretty impressive for an animated show, and walked away, not minding to pay to watch again. there were a lot of funny parts in the show, and like after any other movie, we were talking non stop about it on the way back to tech.
tech was having some event in the student center, which was running til 2am, so since having nothing much to do, we decided to go down to check it out. it wasnt much, since we came a little late, but it seemed that everyone was having fun. we played air hockey for a while and left the place, too tired for anything else. i cant recall wat time we went to sleep that night, i could hav been up til 3 or 4.
i woke up at 11 the next day, since it was GT vs UConn gameday. i was expecting leisha and greg to come by around 12, so i decided i settle some work stuff before that. they came around 12 plus, so i went over to pike house where they were and led them to the bobby dodd stadium. it was good that greg was a football fan, so for him to be attending a GT game was entertaining enough for him. there werent that many people attending that day since UConn was no match to us. we won 30-10, leisha and greg left by third quarter, since they had things to attend to. the tempo of the game had died down by half time, so james and i started going up to the highest point of the stands in the stadium. it was so high, we got a pretty good view of atlanta from there.
we hanged around for a while before i left, yet again, to attend an NBA match. it was a match between atlanta hawks and san antonio spurs. i got to see tim duncun and kenny anderson, and the neat surprise for the night was that i found out that this player i supported, antoine walker, who used to play for the celtics, now plays for atlanta, so i got to see him in action as well. since spurs are a pretty good team and hawks are horrible, the hawks lost, but just being in the massive philips arena was cool. it was such a big place, the moment i walked into the stadium, i could not stop being amazed by the sheer atmosphere. imagine how that would have been like it the stadium was actually full. i gotta attend concerts in the arena one of these days.
i went back, and contemplated if i wanted to watch any movie for a while, before finding out that there were like dozen of people in my room gearing for a massive halo 2 playout. i knew that tech was notoriously full of gaming nerds, but i got to see that infront of my very own eyes that nights. i was tired, but it was apparant that i was never gonna get any sleep anytime soon. i decided to get the 'man on fire' dvd from paul and watch it on my powerbook while making myself comfortable and warm up in my bed. from time to time, the guys will start jumping and screaming about who they killed or who killed them, and i was amazed by how these guys were so completely absorbed into the game.
i personally thought 'man on fire' was superb. denzel washington's acting is always impressive and in this film, he justified why he is who he is. i liked how the story progressed and how he went about taking revenge on the kidnappers. i think its somewhat similar to 'the professional,' which might be some reason why i liked it so much.
by the time i finished and got to sleep, while they guys went out of the room to start drinking at someone else's place, it was around 4:30am. needless to say, i woke up near 2, having couple of phone calls in the morning by people who wished me an eid that i wasnt getting to celebrate for the firs time in a long time. my family's away in three different places this time round.
i woke up, and started calling my relatives to wish them a happy eid. james and i left for the GT basketball exhibition match that had already started. we went in for the second half and witnessed our basketball team rip apart LeMoyne 103-66. this basketball season's gonna be pretty interesting.
bunch of us had lunch/dinner at moe's, preferring some real food for once over brittain food.
i had my first judicial board hearing later on, so i read some of the university's policy and guidelines for a while, and then just rested for a while before i had to leave for the hearing. the case wasnt a big deal and we settled it pretty easily, since there wasnt much to deliberate and everyone was pretty much in agreement.
even though i finished early, i let stephen chair the hall council meeting that night, and for the firs time, witnessed my own hall council meeting from the side of the room.
the weekend was coming to yet another end for me. i made my room mate watch 'the beautiful mind' which he thoroughly enjoyed, before slipping to sleep.
i will be out of atlanta the next two weekends, since im going for the regional housing conference in kentucky next weekend, and then making my way 'home' for thanksgiving on the following wednesday, which is going to be awesome. i might drop by my relative's place the weekend after that, and the following week will be the end of the semester, which im just gonna spent it going around atlanta before leaving for illinois for december.
the semester's coming close to an end. and i still have tons of work to tie up before that. sadly, i have only 4 days this week to tie things up for numerous things... i wonder if im gonna be able to finish everything.
Friday, November 12, 2004
locked out
i did something i never do yesterday.
i left my keys in my room, which meant i locked myself out. and its the university system of georgia rule that we cant duplicate our keys, due to obviously security reasons.
and the worst part? i had a test in about 40 minutes.
i couldnt call the people who are supposed to help you out in situations like this, primarily because once i go out, i can't get back in, since i dont have the keys, and how am i supposed to call the numbers, when the emergency phone booth is located far away, and i cant possibly remember 9 digit numbers. not to mention, i was wearing a single layer of clothing, and its freaking cold in the morning nowadays.
i didnt freak out, my room mate comes back after his class (the session before mine) i decided to rely on the possibility that he will come back and open the door. as for the test, for my calculus class, we have 6 tests throughout the semester, and we can drop the lowest one. i already knew that the test that i was going to have was gonna be my worst one,regarding volumes of revolutions, with things ive never learnt even in JC. so it didnt quite matter whether i was there on time or not. in the end, my room mate returned, and i changed, got my stuff, and left for the test, bowing never to leave my keys again. i went to the test 20 minutes late, but i had prepared myself mentally, and honestly, even if i was there 20 minutes earlier, it wouldnt have made much difference, coz the wording in questions were ambiguous. i did couple of questions, took my time, and just submitted it. since its not gonna matter. i know the next test it based on logarithm and exponential, which is pretty straight forward, so i just have to ace that one, and make sure i do well for the finals.
and i am so glad that i carry my powerbook everywhere. for some reason, my energy for the rest of the day died down, so i could not pay much attention to my lectures. so ill just use my powerbook, and since theres wireless access everywhere in campus, i just did my own thing, and time passes so fast when youre doing your own thing.
the weather's been really cold recently. it was about 10 degrees celcius for the better part of yesterday. and whats worse, i have to play intramural soccer in this weather at 7PM. its too cold for my liking, so much that during second half, my legs are no longer able to move the way i intend them to. plus the fact that ive lost fitness, which is slowly being regained, since i run a lot during the game, though im not entirely happy that im not getting much ball action. the thing was that i had to play 2 games in successive days. its good that we won both games (we are currently unbeaten, but we need to score more goals) but its the weather that just kills me.
i was really unhappy on wednesday. the opponents were really physical and the fact that the referees didnt do a good job didnt make it better. i was on the receiving end of 3 harsh tackles and that referee didnt give a single foul. one of them was so bad, i took the ball, passed it to my team mate immediately, and it was like a full second later that this guy came running into my leg and took me on the ground. i looked at the referee for such a late foul and she didnt even indicate anything. someone else jammed at my toes sometime later and still no foul. even my peer leader, scott was displeased, and he actually asked whether she was paying attention to the game at all or not. she just stared back at him like what he said was wrong, which so wasn't. my knee still hurts when i walk from that tackle, but what made me pissed is that the opponents got away unpunished.
other than that, all's good. this weekend will be interesing, weekend full of watching sports. on saturday, its the Georgia Tech vs UConn football match. I've invited Leisha and her friend from Emory to catch the game since Emory dont have a NCAA Division 1 sporting team. After that, I'm going to catch the Atlanta Hawks vs. San Antonia Spurs NBA match. I'll get to see Tim Duncan! and on sunday, its another GT Basketball exhibition match. later on, ill have my first hearing as the judge of the judicial board, which will be interesting.
its also the eid, but since im so far away from everyone, i wont get to celebrate. my mom has an aunt about 20 minutes from tech, in a place named Lilburn. Since i dont have modes of transport, im not sure how this will work out, but ill call her later on today to see what can be done, whether i'll be able to go join them or not. its times like these that you really miss your family. if my cousin had still stayed in UGA, we probably would have met up and spent some good time.
my schedule for next semester's all fine. im pushing myself with 19 hours, but it'll most probably be 17 after the first week. im taking a junior level course to see how its like, so that i know what ill be taking later on. im a sophomore by next semester, so looking at the schedule, i guess i shouldnt be surprised that im taking a lot of sophomore/junior/senior level courses. So i'll be taking MATH1502 (calc II), CS1371 (intro computing for engineers), ECON2100 (policies), MSE2001 (materials applications), ECE3710 (circuits), JAPN4813 (japanese business translation) and ISYE4991 (environmental sustainability).
i decided to take ENGL1102 and PSYC1101 for later, since these are the courses i need to take, that is more important, since those two classes are just requirements and not prerequisites or special topics.
alright.. im off to my last class for the week...
i left my keys in my room, which meant i locked myself out. and its the university system of georgia rule that we cant duplicate our keys, due to obviously security reasons.
and the worst part? i had a test in about 40 minutes.
i couldnt call the people who are supposed to help you out in situations like this, primarily because once i go out, i can't get back in, since i dont have the keys, and how am i supposed to call the numbers, when the emergency phone booth is located far away, and i cant possibly remember 9 digit numbers. not to mention, i was wearing a single layer of clothing, and its freaking cold in the morning nowadays.
i didnt freak out, my room mate comes back after his class (the session before mine) i decided to rely on the possibility that he will come back and open the door. as for the test, for my calculus class, we have 6 tests throughout the semester, and we can drop the lowest one. i already knew that the test that i was going to have was gonna be my worst one,regarding volumes of revolutions, with things ive never learnt even in JC. so it didnt quite matter whether i was there on time or not. in the end, my room mate returned, and i changed, got my stuff, and left for the test, bowing never to leave my keys again. i went to the test 20 minutes late, but i had prepared myself mentally, and honestly, even if i was there 20 minutes earlier, it wouldnt have made much difference, coz the wording in questions were ambiguous. i did couple of questions, took my time, and just submitted it. since its not gonna matter. i know the next test it based on logarithm and exponential, which is pretty straight forward, so i just have to ace that one, and make sure i do well for the finals.
and i am so glad that i carry my powerbook everywhere. for some reason, my energy for the rest of the day died down, so i could not pay much attention to my lectures. so ill just use my powerbook, and since theres wireless access everywhere in campus, i just did my own thing, and time passes so fast when youre doing your own thing.
the weather's been really cold recently. it was about 10 degrees celcius for the better part of yesterday. and whats worse, i have to play intramural soccer in this weather at 7PM. its too cold for my liking, so much that during second half, my legs are no longer able to move the way i intend them to. plus the fact that ive lost fitness, which is slowly being regained, since i run a lot during the game, though im not entirely happy that im not getting much ball action. the thing was that i had to play 2 games in successive days. its good that we won both games (we are currently unbeaten, but we need to score more goals) but its the weather that just kills me.
i was really unhappy on wednesday. the opponents were really physical and the fact that the referees didnt do a good job didnt make it better. i was on the receiving end of 3 harsh tackles and that referee didnt give a single foul. one of them was so bad, i took the ball, passed it to my team mate immediately, and it was like a full second later that this guy came running into my leg and took me on the ground. i looked at the referee for such a late foul and she didnt even indicate anything. someone else jammed at my toes sometime later and still no foul. even my peer leader, scott was displeased, and he actually asked whether she was paying attention to the game at all or not. she just stared back at him like what he said was wrong, which so wasn't. my knee still hurts when i walk from that tackle, but what made me pissed is that the opponents got away unpunished.
other than that, all's good. this weekend will be interesing, weekend full of watching sports. on saturday, its the Georgia Tech vs UConn football match. I've invited Leisha and her friend from Emory to catch the game since Emory dont have a NCAA Division 1 sporting team. After that, I'm going to catch the Atlanta Hawks vs. San Antonia Spurs NBA match. I'll get to see Tim Duncan! and on sunday, its another GT Basketball exhibition match. later on, ill have my first hearing as the judge of the judicial board, which will be interesting.
its also the eid, but since im so far away from everyone, i wont get to celebrate. my mom has an aunt about 20 minutes from tech, in a place named Lilburn. Since i dont have modes of transport, im not sure how this will work out, but ill call her later on today to see what can be done, whether i'll be able to go join them or not. its times like these that you really miss your family. if my cousin had still stayed in UGA, we probably would have met up and spent some good time.
my schedule for next semester's all fine. im pushing myself with 19 hours, but it'll most probably be 17 after the first week. im taking a junior level course to see how its like, so that i know what ill be taking later on. im a sophomore by next semester, so looking at the schedule, i guess i shouldnt be surprised that im taking a lot of sophomore/junior/senior level courses. So i'll be taking MATH1502 (calc II), CS1371 (intro computing for engineers), ECON2100 (policies), MSE2001 (materials applications), ECE3710 (circuits), JAPN4813 (japanese business translation) and ISYE4991 (environmental sustainability).
i decided to take ENGL1102 and PSYC1101 for later, since these are the courses i need to take, that is more important, since those two classes are just requirements and not prerequisites or special topics.
alright.. im off to my last class for the week...
Monday, November 08, 2004
over the weekend
this weekend was a mix of good and bad. usually, i spend my weekend pretty happily, doing things with no pressure and such, but sunday was really bad.
i went to watch a GT basketball exhibition match on saturday, which was pretty awesome. i mean, getting to see the team that was the national runner up last season, play against a local team, which was the champion for Division 2 last season. since it was just exhibition match, there wasnt much tempo to the game, but it was nice to see them pull of couple of nice shots and plays.
and then i realized that there was a play going on, which was written by steve martin (yes, THE steve martin.) i initially thought that steve martin was going to be in it, but it was obviously not the case. but the play was pretty interesting, and the fact that it was done by our own students was pretty impressive. it was about a fictional meeting of einstein and picasso, and certain aspects of their conversation was comical, yet interesting.
since it was late, dan, tom, chris and i ended up ordering chinese food, which was very good. we watched 'patriot games' later on, but i didnt quite like that movie for some reason. we ended around 2, and i just went back to my room to get some sleep.
when i woke up around 11 the next day, i went to the toilet with shock. the hallway was smeared with white powders on the carpet. i couldnt tell what it was, but later i found out that someone had played a prank, ran all over the second floor with a fire extinguisher, which left that mess. i was pretty darn pissed that someone was that stupid and childish to pull off that prank, coz our carpets were cleaned earlier in the week. luckily, this could be just vacuumed off, but still. and the worst part is, if no one owns up or points to the guy, then everyone in the hall is getting charged for property damages, which is ridiculous. i sent out an email to everyone in the hall, and it doesnt help that some thought my tone was offensive. when it happens right infront of your place, and although i did not suffer from this, couple of my friends had to clean off their utencils and TV coz there was a powder layer on them, which is obviously inconvenience, and coupled with the fact that you'll be charged for someone else's stupidity, how can you not be angry? im lucky that my section of the hall wasnt flooding like the other end of glenn. had that happened, i would have been really frustrated.
why would anyone want to do that? if i had the means, ill find out who did it, get an extinguisher of my own, spray it all over his room, and if he even dares ask me why i did it, ill spray him all over and ask if he thinks thats fun. and im not the only person who wants to do that. some are thinking of putting it up his ass.
aside from that, had my first judicial board meeting yesterday, i think thats going to be pretty interesting, but i wont know til wednesday if we'll be having our first hearing.
my mom told me that she has an aunt in georgia, although its a little far away from tech. the problem is, even if i want to go over to meet them, i might not be able to, if i have that judicial board hearing. i can pass my hall council to my vice president for a week, but i cant do that for j-board. and saturday's an ultimate game day with GT vs UConn and hawks vs spurs NBA game later on in the evening.
well, as usual, i have tons i have on my mind... but ill handle them as i go along.
james told me just now that he's going to keep himself away from poker for 3 weeks. lets see how that goes.
i went to watch a GT basketball exhibition match on saturday, which was pretty awesome. i mean, getting to see the team that was the national runner up last season, play against a local team, which was the champion for Division 2 last season. since it was just exhibition match, there wasnt much tempo to the game, but it was nice to see them pull of couple of nice shots and plays.
and then i realized that there was a play going on, which was written by steve martin (yes, THE steve martin.) i initially thought that steve martin was going to be in it, but it was obviously not the case. but the play was pretty interesting, and the fact that it was done by our own students was pretty impressive. it was about a fictional meeting of einstein and picasso, and certain aspects of their conversation was comical, yet interesting.
since it was late, dan, tom, chris and i ended up ordering chinese food, which was very good. we watched 'patriot games' later on, but i didnt quite like that movie for some reason. we ended around 2, and i just went back to my room to get some sleep.
when i woke up around 11 the next day, i went to the toilet with shock. the hallway was smeared with white powders on the carpet. i couldnt tell what it was, but later i found out that someone had played a prank, ran all over the second floor with a fire extinguisher, which left that mess. i was pretty darn pissed that someone was that stupid and childish to pull off that prank, coz our carpets were cleaned earlier in the week. luckily, this could be just vacuumed off, but still. and the worst part is, if no one owns up or points to the guy, then everyone in the hall is getting charged for property damages, which is ridiculous. i sent out an email to everyone in the hall, and it doesnt help that some thought my tone was offensive. when it happens right infront of your place, and although i did not suffer from this, couple of my friends had to clean off their utencils and TV coz there was a powder layer on them, which is obviously inconvenience, and coupled with the fact that you'll be charged for someone else's stupidity, how can you not be angry? im lucky that my section of the hall wasnt flooding like the other end of glenn. had that happened, i would have been really frustrated.
why would anyone want to do that? if i had the means, ill find out who did it, get an extinguisher of my own, spray it all over his room, and if he even dares ask me why i did it, ill spray him all over and ask if he thinks thats fun. and im not the only person who wants to do that. some are thinking of putting it up his ass.
aside from that, had my first judicial board meeting yesterday, i think thats going to be pretty interesting, but i wont know til wednesday if we'll be having our first hearing.
my mom told me that she has an aunt in georgia, although its a little far away from tech. the problem is, even if i want to go over to meet them, i might not be able to, if i have that judicial board hearing. i can pass my hall council to my vice president for a week, but i cant do that for j-board. and saturday's an ultimate game day with GT vs UConn and hawks vs spurs NBA game later on in the evening.
well, as usual, i have tons i have on my mind... but ill handle them as i go along.
james told me just now that he's going to keep himself away from poker for 3 weeks. lets see how that goes.
Friday, November 05, 2004
Vanilla Sky
ive always wanted to catch this film, even before the american version came out. ive heard that the spanish version is better, but i got hold of the new version on i2hub, so i downloaded it. and i just watched it. man, its amazing. half way through the movie, i thought there wasnt much point to the movie, but the last 30 minutes really turned the whole movie around. another one of those 'mind' movies ive been watching lately.
and of course, got to see penelope cruz from all angles of her beauty. so that was an additional bonus.
im in that mood where i just wanna be away from everything. just me, my music and my own free time, not be bothered by anything else. i guess i'll be listening to more of jaime cullum, coldplay, zero 7, maxwell and norah jones for tonight...
and of course, got to see penelope cruz from all angles of her beauty. so that was an additional bonus.
im in that mood where i just wanna be away from everything. just me, my music and my own free time, not be bothered by anything else. i guess i'll be listening to more of jaime cullum, coldplay, zero 7, maxwell and norah jones for tonight...
dear OSCAR
dear OSCAR,
i took the credit-by-examination for JAPN 3001 and 3002 on Sept. 14th. and the credits ive gained still does not show on OSCAR. I need those keyed in to sign up for JAPN4813 class, as JAPN 3002 is a prerequisite for it. and Since its a special topics paper, i might not be able to take it next semester.
please register my credit as soon as possible. after all, you took my MATH1501 credit after 10 weeks of making me think that that counted as a free elective credit, its the least you can do.
thank you,
Walid Neaz
i took the credit-by-examination for JAPN 3001 and 3002 on Sept. 14th. and the credits ive gained still does not show on OSCAR. I need those keyed in to sign up for JAPN4813 class, as JAPN 3002 is a prerequisite for it. and Since its a special topics paper, i might not be able to take it next semester.
please register my credit as soon as possible. after all, you took my MATH1501 credit after 10 weeks of making me think that that counted as a free elective credit, its the least you can do.
thank you,
Walid Neaz
at the laundry...
im over for this week. the main thing with this week was that i had to submit two papers, one for english, the one that discussed that the media is biased and unreliable, and the other one for material science, which was a collaborative project. looking over two 1500 word papers are no joke.
but im glad that thats done and over with. that more or less sums up the two classes for this semester, i just need to complete blog entries for english on articles.
on the other hand, im really switching my classes up for next semester. i decided to drop english II and postpone it to some other semester, since thats only a prerequisite for LCC, and take up the special topics classes for ISyE and JAPN which isnt offered every semester. and as my peer leader suggested, i took as many classes as i can to survey what the class is like, and then drop it at the end of the semester. my JAPN isnt settled right now, but when it is, i would have signed up for 19 semesters. can i go on with that? likely not. its a big difference from 14 hours i signed up for this semester. i knew i shouldnt have dropped psychology. if i had kept it, then it would have made scheduling so much easier. dang.
but assuming i can go on, then it will go a long way. im requesting overload for MSE2001 directly to the professor, which will mean i must change something again, probably drop the ECE2710 and retain ECON2100. I might have to request overload for ENGL1102 to replace ECON2100 coz i will have too much reading between ECON and PSYC1101. oh man, what am i getting myself into....
another dent in my plans is that it does not seem possible for me to be an officer in RHA if i am not there for the whole duration of the elected term. in another words it means i have to be there studying in tech for 2 successive terms, or i can be studying in one semester and be working in atlanta area for the other. since my current situation is such that i might be moving off to midwest area for my co-op, its not a good news for me. i dont even know if i can be a hall council officer next year. if thats the case, then my only way of being involved might be through fraternities or small societies. hell, i might even join the japan club or the singaporean association for that matter. there's this thing like friendster, which is named thefacebook, which is only open to selected university students and what i notice is there are so many people involved in so many things, and sometimes i wonder how they do it. just gotta juggle time properly, i guess. if they can do it, so can i.
so yeah, thats the situation im in now. i wont know about toyota til next semester, so theres more time to work things out. i also got an email from applied materials and just this morning, i received a letter from kyocera, which surprised me a little that they are considering me for something, if i match any of the openings. so 3 companies, thats always good to know.
alright, laundry's in the drier, its going to be another hour before that's done, so im heading for lunch...
but im glad that thats done and over with. that more or less sums up the two classes for this semester, i just need to complete blog entries for english on articles.
on the other hand, im really switching my classes up for next semester. i decided to drop english II and postpone it to some other semester, since thats only a prerequisite for LCC, and take up the special topics classes for ISyE and JAPN which isnt offered every semester. and as my peer leader suggested, i took as many classes as i can to survey what the class is like, and then drop it at the end of the semester. my JAPN isnt settled right now, but when it is, i would have signed up for 19 semesters. can i go on with that? likely not. its a big difference from 14 hours i signed up for this semester. i knew i shouldnt have dropped psychology. if i had kept it, then it would have made scheduling so much easier. dang.
but assuming i can go on, then it will go a long way. im requesting overload for MSE2001 directly to the professor, which will mean i must change something again, probably drop the ECE2710 and retain ECON2100. I might have to request overload for ENGL1102 to replace ECON2100 coz i will have too much reading between ECON and PSYC1101. oh man, what am i getting myself into....
another dent in my plans is that it does not seem possible for me to be an officer in RHA if i am not there for the whole duration of the elected term. in another words it means i have to be there studying in tech for 2 successive terms, or i can be studying in one semester and be working in atlanta area for the other. since my current situation is such that i might be moving off to midwest area for my co-op, its not a good news for me. i dont even know if i can be a hall council officer next year. if thats the case, then my only way of being involved might be through fraternities or small societies. hell, i might even join the japan club or the singaporean association for that matter. there's this thing like friendster, which is named thefacebook, which is only open to selected university students and what i notice is there are so many people involved in so many things, and sometimes i wonder how they do it. just gotta juggle time properly, i guess. if they can do it, so can i.
so yeah, thats the situation im in now. i wont know about toyota til next semester, so theres more time to work things out. i also got an email from applied materials and just this morning, i received a letter from kyocera, which surprised me a little that they are considering me for something, if i match any of the openings. so 3 companies, thats always good to know.
alright, laundry's in the drier, its going to be another hour before that's done, so im heading for lunch...
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
overload
i signed up for my next semester classes and boy, am i pissed.
i cant take some of the classes coz theyre maxed out. they have this priority system where people on scholarships and advanced standing get to register first, but still, that should not take fill the MSE2001 class that i wanted to take. now, its gonna be two courses in my third semester thats going to be something of an intro class for two different majors. not to mention, ill also be taking statistics so that means on my third semester, ill have to decide between computer, industrial & systems or material science & engineering. thats gonna be tough.
i didnt get the psychology professor that i wanted either. instead, ive signed up for a class that didnt list any professor's name. thats going to be risky, i might end up with a bad professor. so now that i cant take MSE2001, im taking ECON2100 a semester early, which works out for me.
and guess what, all these while, the data online showed i had my MATH1501 credit listed as a free elective while i retook it here. and just last week, it vanished. so now i need to cover 4 hours somewhere, be it through japanese or some other foreign language that takes 4 hours. and they still have not registered my japanese credit i took. no wonder i was down in the pecking order, coz without the calc credit and japanese, i was considered a freshman. im supposed to be in sophomore standing by next semester.
whatever it is, im happy that i got the calc, eng and CS professors i wanted. you cant really ask for everything.
lately, ive been pondering to do a 6 months professional internship instead of co-op. then if i cram my semesters, which i am already going to anyway, i might get out in 3 years, but graduating in july instead. hmmm. gotta talk it out with some advisors before i look that up. co-op will be better, but i cant take it all at once.
after tomorrow, i can chill out a little. my english and material science papers are due tomorrow. its not well organized, but i think its good enough for now.
i cant take some of the classes coz theyre maxed out. they have this priority system where people on scholarships and advanced standing get to register first, but still, that should not take fill the MSE2001 class that i wanted to take. now, its gonna be two courses in my third semester thats going to be something of an intro class for two different majors. not to mention, ill also be taking statistics so that means on my third semester, ill have to decide between computer, industrial & systems or material science & engineering. thats gonna be tough.
i didnt get the psychology professor that i wanted either. instead, ive signed up for a class that didnt list any professor's name. thats going to be risky, i might end up with a bad professor. so now that i cant take MSE2001, im taking ECON2100 a semester early, which works out for me.
and guess what, all these while, the data online showed i had my MATH1501 credit listed as a free elective while i retook it here. and just last week, it vanished. so now i need to cover 4 hours somewhere, be it through japanese or some other foreign language that takes 4 hours. and they still have not registered my japanese credit i took. no wonder i was down in the pecking order, coz without the calc credit and japanese, i was considered a freshman. im supposed to be in sophomore standing by next semester.
whatever it is, im happy that i got the calc, eng and CS professors i wanted. you cant really ask for everything.
lately, ive been pondering to do a 6 months professional internship instead of co-op. then if i cram my semesters, which i am already going to anyway, i might get out in 3 years, but graduating in july instead. hmmm. gotta talk it out with some advisors before i look that up. co-op will be better, but i cant take it all at once.
after tomorrow, i can chill out a little. my english and material science papers are due tomorrow. its not well organized, but i think its good enough for now.
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
election day
i was surfing about and came across a weird ad saying 'muslims for nader' thats full of crap. i just chuckled at that to myself when i saw it. he's never gonna be a contender.
talking about elections, today is going to be very interesting. not only is the result going to be crucial, everyone's talking about it. its huge. can you believe theres gonna be parties around campus as the results are coming out? i personally think they'll try not to announce the results by tonight though, something like florida of 2000 might take place again. but people are going to be all over campus anyway.
heh, party to celebrate the election. thats weird, considering was previously living in a country where winning the election didnt mean jack.
anyway, some people has been gettin on my nerve recently. i try not to think about it, but it doesnt help that people come and go in my room. so what if i say something that someone dont agree with, that doesnt necessarily mean im wrong. dont make me sound as if it was so wrong for me to say what i said, you can just say that you dont agree and proceed to explain why you think im wrong. dont just tell me to shut the fuck up or fuck off. or did you say that coz you knew i was dead right. i wasnt trying to make it seem something demeaning, but i was just stating the obvious truth and if you dont like it, well, go fuck yourself. you think you can say shit to me coz i dont retaliate, and whenever i say something that offends you, i am automatically wrong? dont take my patience and good naturedness for granted. yeah, you go fuck yourself.
i apologize for the expletives. i just needed to get that out.
talking about elections, today is going to be very interesting. not only is the result going to be crucial, everyone's talking about it. its huge. can you believe theres gonna be parties around campus as the results are coming out? i personally think they'll try not to announce the results by tonight though, something like florida of 2000 might take place again. but people are going to be all over campus anyway.
heh, party to celebrate the election. thats weird, considering was previously living in a country where winning the election didnt mean jack.
anyway, some people has been gettin on my nerve recently. i try not to think about it, but it doesnt help that people come and go in my room. so what if i say something that someone dont agree with, that doesnt necessarily mean im wrong. dont make me sound as if it was so wrong for me to say what i said, you can just say that you dont agree and proceed to explain why you think im wrong. dont just tell me to shut the fuck up or fuck off. or did you say that coz you knew i was dead right. i wasnt trying to make it seem something demeaning, but i was just stating the obvious truth and if you dont like it, well, go fuck yourself. you think you can say shit to me coz i dont retaliate, and whenever i say something that offends you, i am automatically wrong? dont take my patience and good naturedness for granted. yeah, you go fuck yourself.
i apologize for the expletives. i just needed to get that out.
Monday, November 01, 2004
a rare weekend
this weekend would be something i wouldnt get in a long time, the kind of weekend i crave for.
i realized on sunday that for the longest time, that was probably one sunday where there wasnt anything for me to attend do. usually, i would be running off to delta sig for whatever reason after brunch, and then gotta handle the hall council meeting in the night, then read history text in preparation for the week.
yesterday, nothing. the only thing i had to handle was the costume contest for my halls, which barely took an hour. i thought i'll be having the judicial board meeting on sunday, only to realize that that was next week. so i was sitting down there, not knowing what to do. there was no hall council meeting due to halloween.
we all crave for free time. and when we suddenly get it, we dont know how to spend it, and we end up doing absolutely nothing. its ironic considering the fact that i was so mad busy, running from place to place throughout the week, and the weekend was suddenly so free, i was just sitting in my room most of the time, listening to quality music and watching really good movies. and i was truly a tech student for once, being oblivious to all the halloween parties and events happening around campus.
it began well, wit a nice jazz concert on friday night. that was a good way to unwind and not care about anything. and i saw that person again, but this time after a long time of not bumping into her. but somehow the impact had diminished. somehow or other, it feels like she's any other person now. just chilling and listening to good performance made me think of what it would be like if i had absolutely no obligation to anything. it would probably be nice for that time duration, but i know i cant stay being like that for too long.
and then i watched 'office space' that night. i didnt think that was a good movie at all, i still dont understand why so many people liked it. however, the 3 movies i was to watch later on were all excellent. i managed to get 'the abyss' from stephen, and watched it, as well as 'big fish' from dan and finally, 'eternal sunshine of the spotless mind.' those three movies made my weekend, really. 'the abyss' was mystical, and intriguing. and to quote dan's words about 'big fish,' it was sad, funny, happy all rolled into one. halfway through 'eternal sunshine' i thought that the movie was fucked up, but in the end, everything made so much sense, i was very impressed. my room mate liked it a lot, and i encouraged him to watch 'the butterfly effect' after that. he was glad he watched that later on, he seemed to like it a lot.
because i had caught 3 excellent movies in a row, i had a serious headache, mainly because i was thinking so hard while watching the events unfold during 'eternal sunshine.' but it was well worth it.
i wonder when ill have such a weekend where there wont be anything. i always think that i will do so many things when i have time, but this shows that nothing really gets done.
i downloaded bunch of jane monheit and other older jamie cullum songs, as well as some outstanding songs from 'garden state' soundtrack. frou frou's 'let go' and zero 7's 'in the waiting line' are my new favourite songs to listen to. oh, and i so knew i had heard 'high & dry' somewhere previously. when i heard that song at the jamie cullum concert, i knew it wasnt his, and i found out the answer; that it was by radiohead. i kind of like jamie's rearrangement of that track, but i was going crazy about the fact that i heard it before and wanted to find out.
'Do you believe
In what you see
Motionless wheel
Nothing is real
Wasting my time
In the waiting line
Do you believe in
What you see'
man, this song by zero 7 is awesome!
i realized on sunday that for the longest time, that was probably one sunday where there wasnt anything for me to attend do. usually, i would be running off to delta sig for whatever reason after brunch, and then gotta handle the hall council meeting in the night, then read history text in preparation for the week.
yesterday, nothing. the only thing i had to handle was the costume contest for my halls, which barely took an hour. i thought i'll be having the judicial board meeting on sunday, only to realize that that was next week. so i was sitting down there, not knowing what to do. there was no hall council meeting due to halloween.
we all crave for free time. and when we suddenly get it, we dont know how to spend it, and we end up doing absolutely nothing. its ironic considering the fact that i was so mad busy, running from place to place throughout the week, and the weekend was suddenly so free, i was just sitting in my room most of the time, listening to quality music and watching really good movies. and i was truly a tech student for once, being oblivious to all the halloween parties and events happening around campus.
it began well, wit a nice jazz concert on friday night. that was a good way to unwind and not care about anything. and i saw that person again, but this time after a long time of not bumping into her. but somehow the impact had diminished. somehow or other, it feels like she's any other person now. just chilling and listening to good performance made me think of what it would be like if i had absolutely no obligation to anything. it would probably be nice for that time duration, but i know i cant stay being like that for too long.
and then i watched 'office space' that night. i didnt think that was a good movie at all, i still dont understand why so many people liked it. however, the 3 movies i was to watch later on were all excellent. i managed to get 'the abyss' from stephen, and watched it, as well as 'big fish' from dan and finally, 'eternal sunshine of the spotless mind.' those three movies made my weekend, really. 'the abyss' was mystical, and intriguing. and to quote dan's words about 'big fish,' it was sad, funny, happy all rolled into one. halfway through 'eternal sunshine' i thought that the movie was fucked up, but in the end, everything made so much sense, i was very impressed. my room mate liked it a lot, and i encouraged him to watch 'the butterfly effect' after that. he was glad he watched that later on, he seemed to like it a lot.
because i had caught 3 excellent movies in a row, i had a serious headache, mainly because i was thinking so hard while watching the events unfold during 'eternal sunshine.' but it was well worth it.
i wonder when ill have such a weekend where there wont be anything. i always think that i will do so many things when i have time, but this shows that nothing really gets done.
i downloaded bunch of jane monheit and other older jamie cullum songs, as well as some outstanding songs from 'garden state' soundtrack. frou frou's 'let go' and zero 7's 'in the waiting line' are my new favourite songs to listen to. oh, and i so knew i had heard 'high & dry' somewhere previously. when i heard that song at the jamie cullum concert, i knew it wasnt his, and i found out the answer; that it was by radiohead. i kind of like jamie's rearrangement of that track, but i was going crazy about the fact that i heard it before and wanted to find out.
'Do you believe
In what you see
Motionless wheel
Nothing is real
Wasting my time
In the waiting line
Do you believe in
What you see'
man, this song by zero 7 is awesome!
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