20051231
20051230
Recap: Grey
Time's trailing by now. Between today and the New Year (and by that, I mean 12:01am on this Sunday) is the odd sense of being in limbo (or have I spelled that wrong too?). It's the last day of this so called "work week" though, you have to admit, having people work in the five days between holidays with the popularity of Christmas and New Years may not be the smartest thing to do. Productivity, overall, can't be high on the priorities. Sadism, maybe, productivity, not so much.
But I diverge, even if only a little.
I mean to note that today is a Friday, which means that people generally have half of their mind wandering off somewhere (no split-brain syndrome though. Ha. Ha.), add it to the fact that this week is already not the best for focusing on work, for those who are working, it's safe to say that daydream might interrupt their work schedule occasionally today. Add to it then, that Sunday's New Years, the officially recognized day with which a new cycle of time (as we divide it into chunks and pieces) begins, and people's tendency to reflect upon the year past at that time (the media certainly does it, goodness knows).
Funny, these few days may be the most thoughtful days in some people's lives, of the whole year which they have lived.
THE MISTS OF AVALON- Marion Zimmer Bradley - 876 (at this many pages, the word "saga" takes on another meaning)
But I diverge, even if only a little.
I mean to note that today is a Friday, which means that people generally have half of their mind wandering off somewhere (no split-brain syndrome though. Ha. Ha.), add it to the fact that this week is already not the best for focusing on work, for those who are working, it's safe to say that daydream might interrupt their work schedule occasionally today. Add to it then, that Sunday's New Years, the officially recognized day with which a new cycle of time (as we divide it into chunks and pieces) begins, and people's tendency to reflect upon the year past at that time (the media certainly does it, goodness knows).
Funny, these few days may be the most thoughtful days in some people's lives, of the whole year which they have lived.
THE MISTS OF AVALON- Marion Zimmer Bradley - 876 (at this many pages, the word "saga" takes on another meaning)
20051229
Recap: Not a plant
A walk around the block in my neighborhood had revealed to me that, apparently, the region here-abouts is damp enough to start fungi. Or perhaps "start" is too meak a word--being taken over is much closer. We have mushrooms everywhere, of more kinds that I've ever seen in normal suburban areas. Mushrooms in shades of white and beige, in shapes like staircases, in fairy-rings, in clusters roughly the size of a basketball, on trees, in the grass, slowly eating away at the shubbery and ground covering.
At least they have not taken over the house yet but--as can be see with the progression of mildrew, it would appear to be only a matter of time.
Behold, the great war against the fungi is arriving.
Or, as we look at the days that are already lengthening, is that the spring?
At least they have not taken over the house yet but--as can be see with the progression of mildrew, it would appear to be only a matter of time.
Behold, the great war against the fungi is arriving.
Or, as we look at the days that are already lengthening, is that the spring?
20051228
Recap: Magi
Despite of the increase in noise levels and decrease in patience levels, despite of the tasks and conversations, there is one undeniable truth about having more people in the house: it makes the place warmer.
Perhaps I mean physical warmth, which, of course, would be true since Mr. Goes during my tenth grade year had once converted for the class the equivalent number of 100 watt lightbulbs that must burn to match the metabolism of one average high school aged male. (The number was quite impressive, I remember, though I don't remember the exact number.)
Then again, perhaps I meant psychological warmth which can be equally obvious because the presence of people, even (and sometimes especially) complete strangers plays fantastic phenomenon with our subconscious.
Good morning and I slept all the way till 9am today. It makes me feel philosophical, though that's not usually how it works. Usually I just get groggier if I overslept my own quota.
And the day is dark, and cold, and dreary.
Blessings of the season to you. I shall go now and attempt to write things.
Perhaps I mean physical warmth, which, of course, would be true since Mr. Goes during my tenth grade year had once converted for the class the equivalent number of 100 watt lightbulbs that must burn to match the metabolism of one average high school aged male. (The number was quite impressive, I remember, though I don't remember the exact number.)
Then again, perhaps I meant psychological warmth which can be equally obvious because the presence of people, even (and sometimes especially) complete strangers plays fantastic phenomenon with our subconscious.
Good morning and I slept all the way till 9am today. It makes me feel philosophical, though that's not usually how it works. Usually I just get groggier if I overslept my own quota.
And the day is dark, and cold, and dreary.
Blessings of the season to you. I shall go now and attempt to write things.
20051227
Recap: Hogswatch?
You really have to wonder about some of the names of the winter holidays, especially since there are so many of them. Very diverse, they are, but that would only make sense because, let's face it, no matter what culture or background you came from, everyone needs a good long holiday to look forward to in the middle of winter.
Being introduced to Robert Earl Keen, it seems, and wishing that I had faster internet connection but oh--the joy of being home does come with it's prices (joking. Well, sort of.)
Introduced my parents to Santana Row yesterday, for their first time. Mother quite liked the...I suppose you would call it structure, but we missed out on the giant chess pieces (anyone knew where they went?). I drove there, being held to the request that I should practice driving still, occasionally, and we stopped at B&N along the way because we're a family of bookworms and my parents promised to buy me a new book every Christmas and every birthday and they had a booksale and I got Longfellow's poem collection (it's almost insulting that it's brand new and costed only a dollar) and mother got me this small...it's called berry bonsai and I really should do something about these odd run-on sentences of mine.
And now my parents think that I'll read anything that has an antique-looking cover which is, of course, not true. GOOD OMENS being an example. The fairy book that Kate got me being another one though, admittedly, it looked like something that belongs in a display case in a folklore museum. But that's mostly because in my world, any book that has a cover like that automatically deserves a display case.
Have been sleeping around ten hours a day right now and so I wish...oh I don't know, Lucy. There can be many reasons why you'd still want to be sleeping at one pm so I think I'll just say that I hope you're getting just the right amount of sleep, whatever that amount may be. And that time wasted, even if you don't feel it, is still wasted because there is the high probability that one day you will realize that it will be wasted and THEN you will KNOW that that time is wasted. Sorry about the circular logic but I don't think I can do any better without typing an entire essay on it.
Also, before I retire offline again, let's all wish luck on Kate's wall, where plasters, I think, are continuing their unwanted but persistent migration downwards.
LOLITA- Vladimir Nabokov- 309
Being introduced to Robert Earl Keen, it seems, and wishing that I had faster internet connection but oh--the joy of being home does come with it's prices (joking. Well, sort of.)
Introduced my parents to Santana Row yesterday, for their first time. Mother quite liked the...I suppose you would call it structure, but we missed out on the giant chess pieces (anyone knew where they went?). I drove there, being held to the request that I should practice driving still, occasionally, and we stopped at B&N along the way because we're a family of bookworms and my parents promised to buy me a new book every Christmas and every birthday and they had a booksale and I got Longfellow's poem collection (it's almost insulting that it's brand new and costed only a dollar) and mother got me this small...it's called berry bonsai and I really should do something about these odd run-on sentences of mine.
And now my parents think that I'll read anything that has an antique-looking cover which is, of course, not true. GOOD OMENS being an example. The fairy book that Kate got me being another one though, admittedly, it looked like something that belongs in a display case in a folklore museum. But that's mostly because in my world, any book that has a cover like that automatically deserves a display case.
Have been sleeping around ten hours a day right now and so I wish...oh I don't know, Lucy. There can be many reasons why you'd still want to be sleeping at one pm so I think I'll just say that I hope you're getting just the right amount of sleep, whatever that amount may be. And that time wasted, even if you don't feel it, is still wasted because there is the high probability that one day you will realize that it will be wasted and THEN you will KNOW that that time is wasted. Sorry about the circular logic but I don't think I can do any better without typing an entire essay on it.
Also, before I retire offline again, let's all wish luck on Kate's wall, where plasters, I think, are continuing their unwanted but persistent migration downwards.
LOLITA- Vladimir Nabokov- 309
20051226
Recap: Paper cranes
I have yet to mention the other day when I slaughtered four bananas with a stainless-steel spoon...
(It's banana bread, calling for a cup of mashed bananas.)
Day two, post Christmas. How goes it?
(It's banana bread, calling for a cup of mashed bananas.)
Day two, post Christmas. How goes it?
20051225
Recap: happy holidays
'Tis the season to be jolly?
Or at least cold and insanely cheerful. Have a very happy Christmas (even if you don't celebrate it) to you and yours. I felt like diverging on the importance of winter holidays in human nature but that'll keep for another time. Like I said, today's for being cold and insanely cheerful.
Cheers.
Or at least cold and insanely cheerful. Have a very happy Christmas (even if you don't celebrate it) to you and yours. I felt like diverging on the importance of winter holidays in human nature but that'll keep for another time. Like I said, today's for being cold and insanely cheerful.
Cheers.
20051224
Recap: Strains
Spent first half of morning grocery shopping and the second half playing in dirt. Otherwise known as taking care of plants and getting rid of the plastic container which was crumbling from old-age and therefore transferring the plant that was in there to somewhere else and getting dirt everyone and having mother come after me with a broom (quite a scary sight). Am sending Christmas cards online now and the internet speed is ...well, after Davis, it makes me want to shred things. I am going to finish my book while waiting for things to load but at least I'll still be somewhat productive.
Baking stuff later on. My parents apparently REALLY liked the strawberry scones I made over the summer.
Baking stuff later on. My parents apparently REALLY liked the strawberry scones I made over the summer.
20051223
Recap: Over the horizon
Father's got the day off, so my morning (up to now, at least) is part secretary, part translator, part somewhat mortified teenager waiting all over the place and reading LOLITA while in line at Bank of America (but, at least, I was warned about what the book's aboutu). I was translating what was suppose to be a problem with the UPS bill only to have the desk clerk discover that it's USPS, not UPS. That was for the mortifying. Another memory to go down in the long-line of holiday season, but what else is the holiday season for, if not for burning your tongue on the slight-too-hot tea and drowning in memories?
Right-o. 'Tis the season to be jollly, and all that. It is time for each family, across the different backgrounds and at different places to observe their own tradition. That's what family is, isn't it? Another source of traditions. That concludes my observation of the day.
Readings:
JURASSIC PARK -Michael Crichton- 400
DANDELION WINE - Ray Bradbury- 269
[edit 15:06]
Apparently the UC/Bechtel team beat out the Univ. of Texas/Lockheed-Martin team for the management of the Los Alamos National Lab. Yay.
Right-o. 'Tis the season to be jollly, and all that. It is time for each family, across the different backgrounds and at different places to observe their own tradition. That's what family is, isn't it? Another source of traditions. That concludes my observation of the day.
Readings:
JURASSIC PARK -Michael Crichton- 400
DANDELION WINE - Ray Bradbury- 269
[edit 15:06]
Apparently the UC/Bechtel team beat out the Univ. of Texas/Lockheed-Martin team for the management of the Los Alamos National Lab. Yay.
20051222
Recap: Lights
My accomplishments of the day (or should I say, the previous 24 hours since I have the habit of updating this not at night) involves breaking one thumbtack and spending half an hour on my hands and knees looking for another one. I couldn't find that other one which is a very bad thing, since it means that it's somewhere on the carpet still, lurking and waiting for an unwary foot. I think I'll spend another hour or so looking for it later.
There go the squirrels, attacking the neighbor's birdfeeder again. And there go the birds, rather indignantly fleeing the onslaught of squirrels.
And a very happy holiday to you too.
I'll go and look for that other thumbtack now.
There go the squirrels, attacking the neighbor's birdfeeder again. And there go the birds, rather indignantly fleeing the onslaught of squirrels.
And a very happy holiday to you too.
I'll go and look for that other thumbtack now.
20051221
Recap: A shorter post
Happy Winter Solstice!
A time of supposidely reflections and thoughts, but I think between the two previous nights I've already done my share. It's time for a bit of record keeping then, and from my list of things I want to do, I can officially cross off going on the roof and hugging a tree.
I'm still working on everything else.
A time of supposidely reflections and thoughts, but I think between the two previous nights I've already done my share. It's time for a bit of record keeping then, and from my list of things I want to do, I can officially cross off going on the roof and hugging a tree.
I'm still working on everything else.
Recap: Visiting Lusine
Two entries today, and this’ll be the longer one. I’ll attempt to recount the four days involved if only so I can come back and laugh at the memory sometimes later (though this may have some entertainment values for Lusine and Kate, who are still in LA, should they read this).
Divided into four days in terms of style too, because I need to at least make an effort at keeping the memories organized.
Day 1
Mothers United: the Horror, the Horror
While waiting for the bus in front of Marina Foods we discovered that mothers have something about food and long trips by the bus. The general reasoning always being that since you’re sitting down and have nothing in particular to do, you should, therefore, eat. Hence there is the bringing of food, sandwiches in the case of Kate, apples and crackers in my case. The crackers were spiritually-empowered crackers because they had peanut butter.
Found out we needed to change our e-tickets for actual tickets at the last moment, which was cutting it a bit close and invoked a bit of a responsibility lecture which I’m sure I’ll be hearing very, very soon. Kate was feeling homicidal, the mothers were feeling worried, the difference in languages stopped being an issue and while we waited in the bus for it to leave we got to watch the bonds forged by maternal instincts wave at us. Merrily.
The bus trip itself involves…the tea kettle-like (or possibly high-pitched, speed up Morse code?) whistle of one window, the rattle of various parts of the roof, and the equivalent of “To die, or not to die” speech from Hamlet qua the bus radio. It’s a particularly fitting reference considering how many different types of music we tried along the way. The bus trip also involves the making of many paper cranes, war waged against the wires from Kate’s CD player’s earphones, the slow death of three flowers, and a bit more homicidal sentiments from Kate which was not helped when I started to count her yawns, thus forever ruining her ability to yawn for the rest of the night. (Yes I realized I used the word "forever".)
Did note, though, that Kate would like a motorbike, helicopter, possibly space ship and her own stargate too, if she can have it.
Renewed acquaintances with LA traffic sums up the end of the trip, then it’s to Lusine’s and present exchange and watching her cousin running around the house like…like… it’d be like one of those horses from the merry-go-round, stuck in a Pinocchio-magic and suddenly found itself capable of independent movement. (I’m sorry, Lusine, but that was the first thing I thought of. He does run in circles. ) Walk through the streets, books stores, going onto Lusine’s roof which does not have a railing and watching Lusine quietly freak out while Kate considered various possibilities, most of them ending with potentially broken bones and major surgery. Watched Hitchhikers (I’ve read the book, enough said). I abused Lusine’s large round chair who’s, I’m sure, very glad to see me leave.
Day 2
Lights, Movie, and Random Running
Writing Christmasy things next to a Christmas tree is a good move. There is something about the lights and the smell that inevitably injects the holiday spirit into your writing. I’ll make a note to try writing a horror story next to a Christmas tree some day in the future because I want to see the comedy that comes out of it.
Oh yes, that meant that I woke up early, and had enough time and was awake enough to write things. I didn’t know multicoloured Christmas lights included the colour orange. That was interesting.
Visited what I presumed to be the local mall afterwards, when it was still early enough for us to avoid over-crowding (Valleyfair is frightening at this time of the year). There were (and still are, probably) umbrellas on a balcony-like structure in the mall. There is the usual mall-hired Santa Claus, and a kid who cried while taking a picture with Santa which, of course, was highly ironic. The food court had squiggly blue lights on the ceiling and there was a very crowded toy store that I didn’t remember the name of. We saw Lego-Snape though, at the Lego store, and wondered why Snape was purple. Another mystery of life.
Watched HP4, some very nice scenic shots, too much interpretation from the director and overall…the movies are not for the people who have read and have liked the books.
Light display at night! (It’s somewhat sad and accurate to note that the lights at Beverly Hills are better than the “light show” we saw the day afterwards). They have some very pretty things with snowflakes there…and also creativity with general displays, such as the semi-underground clothing display tunnels, which really is the best I can do with words unless I want to waste half a page trying to describe the structuring, which I’d really rather not do. Lights and fountains and running through intersections when the pedestrian light came on because (I think?) Kate was wearing (er. Still is, am assuming) running shoes. More fountains and elevators and plants at this…place, where Lusine freaked out a bit more as Kate contemplated jumping onto a slanted glass roof. And some arguments about the healthy age for a piece of chocolate to be, when it’s extracted from Lucy’s purse. Apparently Lusine and Kate had quite different ideas about it (ahem).
Watched PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN And for some reason I got a very extensive lecture on slash afterwards (I really don’t know…). Then there persisted much hysterical giggling for unfathomable reasons, where Kate tried to edge away from Lucy and then ended up fighting or, more accurately, hit her repeatedly with a pillow and eventually tried to hide Lusine under a blanket which then quivered from Lusine’s laughter, emitting an occasional "hee!". I know that there is a reason to be deeply worried about slightly quivering piles of blankets that go "hee" now. Wondered slightly at the number of cushions the couches of the Vardanyan household always seemed to possess, because I still remember struggling with them during the movies days from last year.
Day 3
As Thoughts and Hysteria
Woke up WAY too early and stared at the Christmas tree. Following Lusine’s directions from the previous day I found where the bread was and had breakfast. Eventually (because there was time) I went up to the roof again and made naturalistic observations about the neighborhood which, despite of its distance, is amazingly like Cupertino in many areas. Went back downstairs at 9, and then sometimes afterwards Lusine’s relatives came and I admit to wanting to leave for the roof again even though yes, that would most definitely not be polite. Watched Narnia and concluded that the mind-numbing ideals behind the movie cancels out (in my opinion) with how pretty the entire movie is. There are scenes that I want to paint. The movie itself? As generally typical of the movies—it is probably a lot more enjoyable if you don’t think about it. ("Oh Lucy? Where are you?")
Mall again, and food from the Italian kitchen place, under the squiggle-light area. Discussion about allergies, for some reason. Kate buying a bath/shower/soap-thing for her mother. (We played the word game "fish" before this and I’m realizing that I have problems keeping memories that I have lumped together organized in chronological order which is slightly disturbing but, as people point out, I have a weird brain. Oh well, as said in the beginning, I'm making an effort.) The "light show", as can be seen, from the quotation marks, is a bit of a laugh, but we had an APUSH flash-back on the way there and were trying to remember all sorts of president names. Trip to a pastry-shop-place afterwards, where I was introduced to Russian ice cream, from "Dadu", which Lusine apparently make some sort of Russian-language-error about that and caused much amusement. Then back to the house and TV and some rather horrifying shows which I was considering whether or not can be used to support an argument of "reasons why not to watch TV". Hysterical giggling visited us again that night, and it got so bad for Lusine that she had to leave and drink some water to get rid of her hiccups. To try to go over all that had happened then would be difficult, but there were flying stuffed animals and depictions of classical literature and two very different flashbacks of WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF that ended with whispers and finally sleep, though probably not enough sleep for anyone.
Day 4
Slightly More Eventful Than Hoped
Subconscious can be a very annoying thing at times, even though being able to set a sort of internal alarm clock is very neat. Woke everyone up at 8 to go to Monterey Park for the bus (I appreciate your efforts, Lucy and Kate, especially since the bedtime was something like 3:30 am). I asked Lucy if she had a hangover and she informed me that that's the good thing about getting high off of stupidity: that you don't get hang-overs. (I did ask for permission.) Got there too early and walked around for a bit until the bus came. The driver handed us plastic bags that said "Thank You" on them, and I haven't a clue why. I think it's meant to be a garbage bag or something, and I got to see Lucy and Kate wave at me. A lot. And yes I have a funny wave but I'm sort of a funny person (in many different senses, I’m sure) so I might as well be consistent about it.
There was no radio on the way back. There was, however, what I call the Whistling Window Duet with background music of "The Death Rattle of the Luggage Rack". It took me the better part of the first hour to eliminate those sounds from my attention and by then we were going up the mountains and my ears were being weird enough so that sleeping was out of the question. Tried to sleep afterwards though, and managed one hour of five minute cat-naps before I decided that it'd be easier if I just sleep when I get home (it is easier). At the first break a girl threw up because she had milk last night or something, and we got to hear her retch for a very long time. That was unpleasant. At the lunch stop we had to switch buses because a bus that was destined for Las Vegas had mechanical problems so the passengers for that bus are going to go on our bus and we're going on the bus with the problems which is not terribly reassuring. At the third break we found out that the problem is with one of the generators and for a while the bus wouldn’t start and that was definitely not reassuring but eventually Cupertino was reached with no incidents and we were even on schedule, for some miraculous reason.
And at the end, just to reassure you guys, no, I am not in trouble for coming back on the bus by myself. My mother was more annoyed about the cellphone crises because I called my father (who was about to get off work at that time anyway) instead of her (who was at work) and since she usually calls me my father’s number isn’t under the “recent calls” menu and she couldn’t figure out how to get to the address book, where I entered both of our numbers. She also got me this type of chocolate bar that I liked, sometimes within the past 4 days so, you see, it all worked out.
Divided into four days in terms of style too, because I need to at least make an effort at keeping the memories organized.
Day 1
Mothers United: the Horror, the Horror
While waiting for the bus in front of Marina Foods we discovered that mothers have something about food and long trips by the bus. The general reasoning always being that since you’re sitting down and have nothing in particular to do, you should, therefore, eat. Hence there is the bringing of food, sandwiches in the case of Kate, apples and crackers in my case. The crackers were spiritually-empowered crackers because they had peanut butter.
Found out we needed to change our e-tickets for actual tickets at the last moment, which was cutting it a bit close and invoked a bit of a responsibility lecture which I’m sure I’ll be hearing very, very soon. Kate was feeling homicidal, the mothers were feeling worried, the difference in languages stopped being an issue and while we waited in the bus for it to leave we got to watch the bonds forged by maternal instincts wave at us. Merrily.
The bus trip itself involves…the tea kettle-like (or possibly high-pitched, speed up Morse code?) whistle of one window, the rattle of various parts of the roof, and the equivalent of “To die, or not to die” speech from Hamlet qua the bus radio. It’s a particularly fitting reference considering how many different types of music we tried along the way. The bus trip also involves the making of many paper cranes, war waged against the wires from Kate’s CD player’s earphones, the slow death of three flowers, and a bit more homicidal sentiments from Kate which was not helped when I started to count her yawns, thus forever ruining her ability to yawn for the rest of the night. (Yes I realized I used the word "forever".)
Did note, though, that Kate would like a motorbike, helicopter, possibly space ship and her own stargate too, if she can have it.
Renewed acquaintances with LA traffic sums up the end of the trip, then it’s to Lusine’s and present exchange and watching her cousin running around the house like…like… it’d be like one of those horses from the merry-go-round, stuck in a Pinocchio-magic and suddenly found itself capable of independent movement. (I’m sorry, Lusine, but that was the first thing I thought of. He does run in circles. ) Walk through the streets, books stores, going onto Lusine’s roof which does not have a railing and watching Lusine quietly freak out while Kate considered various possibilities, most of them ending with potentially broken bones and major surgery. Watched Hitchhikers (I’ve read the book, enough said). I abused Lusine’s large round chair who’s, I’m sure, very glad to see me leave.
Day 2
Lights, Movie, and Random Running
Writing Christmasy things next to a Christmas tree is a good move. There is something about the lights and the smell that inevitably injects the holiday spirit into your writing. I’ll make a note to try writing a horror story next to a Christmas tree some day in the future because I want to see the comedy that comes out of it.
Oh yes, that meant that I woke up early, and had enough time and was awake enough to write things. I didn’t know multicoloured Christmas lights included the colour orange. That was interesting.
Visited what I presumed to be the local mall afterwards, when it was still early enough for us to avoid over-crowding (Valleyfair is frightening at this time of the year). There were (and still are, probably) umbrellas on a balcony-like structure in the mall. There is the usual mall-hired Santa Claus, and a kid who cried while taking a picture with Santa which, of course, was highly ironic. The food court had squiggly blue lights on the ceiling and there was a very crowded toy store that I didn’t remember the name of. We saw Lego-Snape though, at the Lego store, and wondered why Snape was purple. Another mystery of life.
Watched HP4, some very nice scenic shots, too much interpretation from the director and overall…the movies are not for the people who have read and have liked the books.
Light display at night! (It’s somewhat sad and accurate to note that the lights at Beverly Hills are better than the “light show” we saw the day afterwards). They have some very pretty things with snowflakes there…and also creativity with general displays, such as the semi-underground clothing display tunnels, which really is the best I can do with words unless I want to waste half a page trying to describe the structuring, which I’d really rather not do. Lights and fountains and running through intersections when the pedestrian light came on because (I think?) Kate was wearing (er. Still is, am assuming) running shoes. More fountains and elevators and plants at this…place, where Lusine freaked out a bit more as Kate contemplated jumping onto a slanted glass roof. And some arguments about the healthy age for a piece of chocolate to be, when it’s extracted from Lucy’s purse. Apparently Lusine and Kate had quite different ideas about it (ahem).
Watched PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN And for some reason I got a very extensive lecture on slash afterwards (I really don’t know…). Then there persisted much hysterical giggling for unfathomable reasons, where Kate tried to edge away from Lucy and then ended up fighting or, more accurately, hit her repeatedly with a pillow and eventually tried to hide Lusine under a blanket which then quivered from Lusine’s laughter, emitting an occasional "hee!". I know that there is a reason to be deeply worried about slightly quivering piles of blankets that go "hee" now. Wondered slightly at the number of cushions the couches of the Vardanyan household always seemed to possess, because I still remember struggling with them during the movies days from last year.
Day 3
As Thoughts and Hysteria
Woke up WAY too early and stared at the Christmas tree. Following Lusine’s directions from the previous day I found where the bread was and had breakfast. Eventually (because there was time) I went up to the roof again and made naturalistic observations about the neighborhood which, despite of its distance, is amazingly like Cupertino in many areas. Went back downstairs at 9, and then sometimes afterwards Lusine’s relatives came and I admit to wanting to leave for the roof again even though yes, that would most definitely not be polite. Watched Narnia and concluded that the mind-numbing ideals behind the movie cancels out (in my opinion) with how pretty the entire movie is. There are scenes that I want to paint. The movie itself? As generally typical of the movies—it is probably a lot more enjoyable if you don’t think about it. ("Oh Lucy? Where are you?")
Mall again, and food from the Italian kitchen place, under the squiggle-light area. Discussion about allergies, for some reason. Kate buying a bath/shower/soap-thing for her mother. (We played the word game "fish" before this and I’m realizing that I have problems keeping memories that I have lumped together organized in chronological order which is slightly disturbing but, as people point out, I have a weird brain. Oh well, as said in the beginning, I'm making an effort.) The "light show", as can be seen, from the quotation marks, is a bit of a laugh, but we had an APUSH flash-back on the way there and were trying to remember all sorts of president names. Trip to a pastry-shop-place afterwards, where I was introduced to Russian ice cream, from "Dadu", which Lusine apparently make some sort of Russian-language-error about that and caused much amusement. Then back to the house and TV and some rather horrifying shows which I was considering whether or not can be used to support an argument of "reasons why not to watch TV". Hysterical giggling visited us again that night, and it got so bad for Lusine that she had to leave and drink some water to get rid of her hiccups. To try to go over all that had happened then would be difficult, but there were flying stuffed animals and depictions of classical literature and two very different flashbacks of WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF that ended with whispers and finally sleep, though probably not enough sleep for anyone.
Day 4
Slightly More Eventful Than Hoped
Subconscious can be a very annoying thing at times, even though being able to set a sort of internal alarm clock is very neat. Woke everyone up at 8 to go to Monterey Park for the bus (I appreciate your efforts, Lucy and Kate, especially since the bedtime was something like 3:30 am). I asked Lucy if she had a hangover and she informed me that that's the good thing about getting high off of stupidity: that you don't get hang-overs. (I did ask for permission.) Got there too early and walked around for a bit until the bus came. The driver handed us plastic bags that said "Thank You" on them, and I haven't a clue why. I think it's meant to be a garbage bag or something, and I got to see Lucy and Kate wave at me. A lot. And yes I have a funny wave but I'm sort of a funny person (in many different senses, I’m sure) so I might as well be consistent about it.
There was no radio on the way back. There was, however, what I call the Whistling Window Duet with background music of "The Death Rattle of the Luggage Rack". It took me the better part of the first hour to eliminate those sounds from my attention and by then we were going up the mountains and my ears were being weird enough so that sleeping was out of the question. Tried to sleep afterwards though, and managed one hour of five minute cat-naps before I decided that it'd be easier if I just sleep when I get home (it is easier). At the first break a girl threw up because she had milk last night or something, and we got to hear her retch for a very long time. That was unpleasant. At the lunch stop we had to switch buses because a bus that was destined for Las Vegas had mechanical problems so the passengers for that bus are going to go on our bus and we're going on the bus with the problems which is not terribly reassuring. At the third break we found out that the problem is with one of the generators and for a while the bus wouldn’t start and that was definitely not reassuring but eventually Cupertino was reached with no incidents and we were even on schedule, for some miraculous reason.
And at the end, just to reassure you guys, no, I am not in trouble for coming back on the bus by myself. My mother was more annoyed about the cellphone crises because I called my father (who was about to get off work at that time anyway) instead of her (who was at work) and since she usually calls me my father’s number isn’t under the “recent calls” menu and she couldn’t figure out how to get to the address book, where I entered both of our numbers. She also got me this type of chocolate bar that I liked, sometimes within the past 4 days so, you see, it all worked out.
20051220
Recap: A hundred thousand cows
That were located across from McDonalds, in the other direction. There were more cows there than there are people in Davis.
And yes am back. Despite of need to change bus and some minor incidents (which I'll include when I recap my LA trip tomorrow when I get more time) I have not been either temporarily or permanently delayed and arrived home quite safetly.
Cheers?
[edit 5:45]
...my math grades are posted...and somehow I managed to procure an A-...
I made it, apparently.
Hope that is my grade. Hm...better double check. (Don't laugh, I really DID panic during that final, it was that bad.)
And yes am back. Despite of need to change bus and some minor incidents (which I'll include when I recap my LA trip tomorrow when I get more time) I have not been either temporarily or permanently delayed and arrived home quite safetly.
Cheers?
[edit 5:45]
...my math grades are posted...and somehow I managed to procure an A-...
I made it, apparently.
Hope that is my grade. Hm...better double check. (Don't laugh, I really DID panic during that final, it was that bad.)
20051216
Recap: Preparations
No updates for the next few days, I don't think, as that I will be in LA and probably be occupied with things greater than updating my blog. Yes, Lusine, you may consider this a compliment of sorts. Meanwhile I still need to figure out what I should be bringing (I've never stayed over at a friend's house for longer than one might, you know), and I need to find out if I actually am in the possession of a bag that's bigger than my backpack but smaller than those dufflebags.
Switching back, temporarily, to writing things longhand. Staring with some bemusement at the lines of writing and deciding that the amount of concentration it'd take for me to make my writing less cramped will probably kill me.
I have maps. My backpack is my real moral suppport, but I have maps.
Switching back, temporarily, to writing things longhand. Staring with some bemusement at the lines of writing and deciding that the amount of concentration it'd take for me to make my writing less cramped will probably kill me.
I have maps. My backpack is my real moral suppport, but I have maps.
20051215
Recap: Eglantine
I have a runner, from a strawberry plant, from Davis, and I'm planting it. I wonder how that'll turn out.
Meanwhile, it's a bright and sunny (yet still fairly cold inside) day in San Jose, and I realize I still have an unbelievable amount of things to do, including but not limited to reading, which I'm very much behind in.
My reading list hit a hundred, I think, before I just got it down to ninety-something.
Meanwhile, it's a bright and sunny (yet still fairly cold inside) day in San Jose, and I realize I still have an unbelievable amount of things to do, including but not limited to reading, which I'm very much behind in.
My reading list hit a hundred, I think, before I just got it down to ninety-something.
20051214
Recap: Supreme paranoia
My life is unavoidably academic oriented and I have a feeling that this will not change soon.
Meanwhile, I have found out that the climate in my house is too cold for basil, which I took home during Thanksgiving. Remember the plant that I took a picture of and posted here? Here's the same plant:
Sad, isn't it?
20051213
Ranting: Superstring for Philosophy
[also done while in library]
Introduction
Physics have been rather obsessive of the String Theory of late, and Kate, being the individual that she is, suggested that a likewise concept be applied to general philosophy and such. There are both advantages and disadvantages to this, one, being that philosophy has very few scientifically applicable formulas and therefore painstaking math equations are not necessary in order for a point to be made: this is an advantage. The disadvantage then, is also because there are no formulas, and therefore the theoretical work remains that--a theory--to be taken on personal faith and thoughts only.
I have jolted down a few notes on the back of the photocopies of Sefer Zerubabbel, however, notes will only take you so far. Once the structure is laid out the rest remains to be filled by the thoughts as they are translated into words.
General Relativity (i.e. sociology)
Perhaps the only place where Relativity can be denoted with a capitalized ‘R’ outside of physics is in the field of philosophy. Philosophy, as something that is based on perspectives, cannot afford absolute terms which, as the physicists have developed when Einstein broke physics, physics turns out to not be able to afford, either.
This Relativity is reflected from microscales, such as each person’s individuality, to macroscales of entire cultures. Nothing demonstrates this fact by the simple (and generally agreed to be true) statement that what one person/culture may find acceptable, another will find offensive. This is why, as we grow up, we find that the basic rule of “treat others the way you’d like to be treated” should not be regarded beyond the most basic points (such as do not hit other people), and sometimes not even then (ever seen teenage guys punch each other as a sign of affection?).
The difference in perspectives and ideas means that nothing can be cleanly labelled and pack away into its own neat little niche in the minds of others. Terms such as ‘good’ and ‘bad’ often has no meaning unless you apply then with respect (i.e. relative) to other things. There is no ‘absolute’ goodness and badness, so to speak, because everything is rated based on everything else. Relative extrema exist, absolute extrema do not. In an analogy, this is ideologically the equivalent of saying: black and white exists only in theory when we are evaluating the various shades of grey.
And this Relativity is important. Relativity allows for ambiguity and acceptance. Had everyone insisted on their rights as ‘absolute rights’ and their wrongs as ‘absolute wrongs’ well—you can see the problem with that when it comes to negotiations between countries. (Yes, you might say that part of the problem with world peace started here, take the ever-present
Relativity is fundamental in human nature too, as can be seen in the over-used (and over-emphasized, in my case) statement of “no human can be absolutely good or absolutely evil.”
In a way, you might say that humanity is founded upon relativity. Einstein’d probably be happy, even though this is not quite what he was talking about.
Quantum Levels (i.e. psychology)
Take a step back from what humanity is supposedly based on, on how culture and countries function, and look at the fact that humanity and society (I mean culture/countries but I’m really talking about the same thing) are all composed of individuals. All those other words, society, humanity, are just larger units of measurement which when you’re looking at the individual particles, translates to about the same thing. An analogy: when you’re looking at particles of water (i.e. molecules), grams, litres, or gallons of water all matters only as larger units of the said particles.
In other words, let’s take a break and talk about you. Not you as a part of something greater, playing a role you may or may not be aware of (though we’ll eventually have to cover that bit too), but you as an individual, as yourself.
According to Freud, personality is a result of conflicts between biological urges and social standards. Though this definition is generally laughed off (partially because it’s completely unscientific), there is something to be said (isn’t there always?) about human urges: to want.
Human want things. We desire, wish, long for, et cetera (a infinum probably). It is fairly safe to say that people in general have, at one time or another, felt ashamed of something that they want—an urge that they found displeasing to their personal beliefs. For instance, there is the commonly held belief that some people are ‘shallow’, and that ‘shallow’ (sometimes translated to being ‘materialistic’) is ‘bad.’ Most of the so-called shallow people, we will find, are merely people who know that they find pleasure in simple things in life, and then set out to pursue those things that gave them pleasure. They are frowned upon either because of that pursuit or because the things that makes them happy lacks a ‘deeper, significant, meaning’.
What was that tangent about, you ask? Shallow people are only a more easily explained example of the things that goes on in each of us. As intelligent beings that we pride ourselves on, we frequently ask the question “why” a lot. Why we do this, why do we that. Why are we alive, and so on. Most of us are constrained by our own minds to the sphere of perception around us, hence most of us do what we do not because we know that this will significantly alter something a decade from now, or maybe save a person’s life in a bazaar chain of events (though wouldn’t you have liked that?), most of us do things because we want to do something, or because it will bring us something that we want. We have wants, ambitions, aspirations, it’s why we do things, it’s what drives each of our lives.
How does this relate to you? Ask yourself: what do you get up in the morning on a school day? Because you have to go to school. Why do you go to school? You may either answer that it’s because you want to graduate or because your parents told you so. If you answered that you want to graduate, it’s probably because you know it’ll get you a better job, which means the likelihood of a job you want, good pay, and therefore a life you enjoy which translates to happiness. If you’ve answered because your parents made you, then ask why they’re making you, and if you are seriously considering this and not just saying “because they’re sadistic that way”, you’ll find out that they’re making you graduate because they want you to graduate, find a good job, and so on. Conclusion: our actions (getting up and going to school) are driven by our desires (to have a comfortable life, well-paying job, whatever), and that the pursuit of happiness, as it turns out, is at the end of every equation. It’s what makes the whole ‘desire to action’ clockwork tick. Each of us leads individual lives, with individual (and often numerous) desires that we convert to actions each day, and the sum of those actions is our lives.
The Strings. (i.e. philosophy)
Now we take it a step further, but before we do that, let us recap the first two sections (because they’re very long and I wasn’t able to make them any more concise while writing this). General relativity is what allows humanity to function, the individual parts, such as culture and nations, to come together. At the individual level, humans lead individual lives which are a result of their various desires being converted to actions.
Excellent, now we move on. Now we wonder at what’s the point behind all this—this, the summing up of humanity, the individual lives, and if there’re any connection between the two. Good news, Sherlock, apparently there is (or otherwise I wouldn’t have wasted two pages ranting about them).
Despite of having individual desires humans are, dare I say it, somewhat boring creatures and a great deal of desires overlap though the combinations (of desires) are mostly unique to each individual. Relativity, when based on the overlap in desires does not only hold the individuals together in the thing we call humanity, but is directly responsible for the progression of humanity. Remember how desire drives our lives? Collective desires (i.e. overlapping ones) of multitudes, held together by Relativity, drives humanity forward as people seek the thing that they all collectively want (example: world peace, which I realize only applies to a certain group/culture of people, but never the less serves as a way to demonstrate how a shared desire holds a group of individuals, with their own unique combination of wants together, and results in plenty of action).
[Let me pause for a moment and mention that a guy sitting nearby is wearing too much cologne and it’s giving me a headache.]
Is there a greater meaning then, if the whole of what we are is the summed result of individuals who can see no further than their own sphere of perception?
There is indeed.
[Interrupted again, Kate, this is the point where you called me and I had to run outside with my cellphone.]
Some things need more than one person to be accomplished. Some insights require more than one mind behind it (if you’ve ever been to a good group discussion, you’d agree). Left alone, no one can find a meaning to his/her life beyond the individual desires and actions. Our definition of who we are and the role we play only has a meaning when taken in the context with everyone else. Our meaning in life, so to speak, is defined by the effect we have on what’s around us, be it our friends or family (as is the case for some people), the environment, or the ways of the world (in the case of all the Truth-seekers out there). The other people are the scaffolding we need to stand above our own viewpoints, humanity as a whole is what tells us of our position in life (see Relativity) and for all those of you who want a greater definition of the meaning of humanity—
--it suffices to say that humanity is by itself, and that unless we find some other context to compare it to, you’re looking at a long and twisty road ahead, paved in shades of grey.
Self-comparison with respect to history is overrated. It can be applied, but in a different tangent from the current one and is the subject for another entry.
Conclusion
As mentioned before, unlike physics, philosophy has very little that you can prove factually, only ideas that you can observe and/or take up on faith. All this lovely jumbled written above is, of course, the result of one person’s attempt to fill up the structures left by many other thinkers (which I will not cross-reference because I’ve had enough of cross-referencing for the year) and it’s not even strictly scientific, so therefore shouldn’t be taken to seriously. For further reading on the spheres of perception, i.e. levels of individual perception, please ask Kate about her Russian doll theory (sorry Kate, I would’ve linked it but I don’t know where you’ve gotten it written down, if you did have it written down). Otherwise, I’m in a library, I’ve been typing for far too long, and I am going to switch from output to input and go and read something.
Recap: Hopelessly nerdy
Time: 9:32
I am currently sitting in the Santa Clara library where, at a lack of CAT5 cables and the urge to reconfigure and search for wireless networks, I am without internet. However, since I do have my laptop with me, that will not influence at all upon my writing, as will be evidenced by length of my rants today.
Being back in Cupertino is nice. Being back home is nice. My parents never used heating so, after the weeks with the heating system in the dorms, it took a bit of getting used to. When I got up this morning I forgot and just sort of sat up, not thinking, and I believe the closest translation to the sound I made was "meep!" because, ye gods, the air was cold.
Very well, lesson learned. Tomorrow I'll be more careful when I get up in the morning. Then again, at the lack of library-ness tomorrow morning, perhaps I'll just stay in bed longer until the temperature difference between the Outside and my bed is less than what it was this morning, at seven thirty AM.
Despite of that though, it is still good to be back and know I can sleep soundly throughout the night without worrying who might pop up at two in the morning. The carride needed to get from point A to point B is always the worst--that's when I mope and miss things, but as soon as I step in the door (in Cupertino or in Davis) the feeling disappears. You feel Home. There're memories there. There're little things that make you feel like you've never left at all--that's how you know you're Home.
And it's far too easily for me to call a place home...I think my set range is three days to a week but then, perhaps that's all just as well.
The ducks behind the library, in the Central Park, do not remember me, but I didn't expect them to either. Neither did the pigeons nor the seagulls. However I'll forgive their short-termed memory and dedicate bits of my lunch to them. I wonder if they like peanut-butter....
[edit 18:18]
Yep, spent my first day back in the library.
I am currently sitting in the Santa Clara library where, at a lack of CAT5 cables and the urge to reconfigure and search for wireless networks, I am without internet. However, since I do have my laptop with me, that will not influence at all upon my writing, as will be evidenced by length of my rants today.
Being back in Cupertino is nice. Being back home is nice. My parents never used heating so, after the weeks with the heating system in the dorms, it took a bit of getting used to. When I got up this morning I forgot and just sort of sat up, not thinking, and I believe the closest translation to the sound I made was "meep!" because, ye gods, the air was cold.
Very well, lesson learned. Tomorrow I'll be more careful when I get up in the morning. Then again, at the lack of library-ness tomorrow morning, perhaps I'll just stay in bed longer until the temperature difference between the Outside and my bed is less than what it was this morning, at seven thirty AM.
Despite of that though, it is still good to be back and know I can sleep soundly throughout the night without worrying who might pop up at two in the morning. The carride needed to get from point A to point B is always the worst--that's when I mope and miss things, but as soon as I step in the door (in Cupertino or in Davis) the feeling disappears. You feel Home. There're memories there. There're little things that make you feel like you've never left at all--that's how you know you're Home.
And it's far too easily for me to call a place home...I think my set range is three days to a week but then, perhaps that's all just as well.
The ducks behind the library, in the Central Park, do not remember me, but I didn't expect them to either. Neither did the pigeons nor the seagulls. However I'll forgive their short-termed memory and dedicate bits of my lunch to them. I wonder if they like peanut-butter....
[edit 18:18]
Yep, spent my first day back in the library.
20051212
Recap: Urk
Math final absolutely horrendous. Have failed probably. But will be going home today anyway. I think.
20051211
Recap: The chicken didn't cross the road
Molly's still sleeping. Well.
I studied math this morning, took down the Christmas tree (as may be leaving tomorrow), and watered plants. Then I went to harvest my crops out there in the fields. I saw a giant rabbit there...it's roughtly the size of Anna's cat, Isis. On the way there I also saw a dead crow and while unlocking my bike for the return trip there was a chicken.
The fields where I grew the spinach and lettuce and stuff is directly across from the student's organic-farming project. They have chickens. The chickens were out loose, for some reason. There was a white chicken cross the road except, as you can see from my title of the post, it never quite managed. It stopped half way, paused, pecked around a bit, then turned around and went back, paused, then turned and so on. It never made it to the other half of the road while I was there, and I was contemplating whether or not the chicken might've came across Hamlet in its previous reincarnation.
I have also contributed to the soil erosion problem. There is enough mud on the bottom of my shoe for a miniture garden.
But enough about the fun stuff, it's time to get back to math....
And thank you, Lucy. Glad you liked the story. :-)
[edit 5:38]
Because of finals, we have set quiet hours as 21 hours a day, meaning that the only time when we're allowed to talk outside of our rooms while we're in the dorms is between 5pm and 8pm. I was out in the lounge (roommate having brought a friend over) when 5pm occurred. So fun to watch. Rebecca was running around and people were CELEBRATING the end of quiet hours (but, you have to give it to them, when the hours are here it's really, really quiet. To the point of being creepy.) and we had an invigorating discussion on widgets and found out how many seconds were left until Christmas.
HOliday cheer sneaks up on us all, finals or no.
I studied math this morning, took down the Christmas tree (as may be leaving tomorrow), and watered plants. Then I went to harvest my crops out there in the fields. I saw a giant rabbit there...it's roughtly the size of Anna's cat, Isis. On the way there I also saw a dead crow and while unlocking my bike for the return trip there was a chicken.
The fields where I grew the spinach and lettuce and stuff is directly across from the student's organic-farming project. They have chickens. The chickens were out loose, for some reason. There was a white chicken cross the road except, as you can see from my title of the post, it never quite managed. It stopped half way, paused, pecked around a bit, then turned around and went back, paused, then turned and so on. It never made it to the other half of the road while I was there, and I was contemplating whether or not the chicken might've came across Hamlet in its previous reincarnation.
I have also contributed to the soil erosion problem. There is enough mud on the bottom of my shoe for a miniture garden.
But enough about the fun stuff, it's time to get back to math....
And thank you, Lucy. Glad you liked the story. :-)
[edit 5:38]
Because of finals, we have set quiet hours as 21 hours a day, meaning that the only time when we're allowed to talk outside of our rooms while we're in the dorms is between 5pm and 8pm. I was out in the lounge (roommate having brought a friend over) when 5pm occurred. So fun to watch. Rebecca was running around and people were CELEBRATING the end of quiet hours (but, you have to give it to them, when the hours are here it's really, really quiet. To the point of being creepy.) and we had an invigorating discussion on widgets and found out how many seconds were left until Christmas.
HOliday cheer sneaks up on us all, finals or no.
20051210
Recap: Bump in the night
Molly was out again last night and came back at two thirty-ish in the morning, at which time she tried to change out of her dress and knocked over two very large piles of unknown objects. Even if I had not been awake already, I would've woken up at that point. It's pretty funny, actually, because she was bumping around alot so I asked if she were drunk and she said no. Then twenty minutes after she left (she returned at 8:15 this morning, having apparently forgotten her room key...I wonder if she knocked at any time between three and six am because I wouldn't have heard it...) something decided that its balance didn't work out and there was this huge CRASH from Molly's open wardrobe.
I turned on the light and looked around, but there was already a bunch of stuff on the floor there so I couldn't tell which bits were originally components of the crash.
Laundry, studying, packing today. Hannah (girl from my psychology class) asked me to help her and her friend study for the final (since I don't have to take it and they do) and so I agreed and went to meet her at the Starbucks across the street...and she never showed up.
C'est la vie. I'm developing a taste for tainted tea. As in half tea, half fruit juice. It's really quite good.
I turned on the light and looked around, but there was already a bunch of stuff on the floor there so I couldn't tell which bits were originally components of the crash.
Laundry, studying, packing today. Hannah (girl from my psychology class) asked me to help her and her friend study for the final (since I don't have to take it and they do) and so I agreed and went to meet her at the Starbucks across the street...and she never showed up.
C'est la vie. I'm developing a taste for tainted tea. As in half tea, half fruit juice. It's really quite good.
20051209
Recap: Flowers and holidays
Brain freeze, 9am, but math was over already, so that was alright. I went and got my plants today from the green house and will need to go and harvest my vegetables this Sunday (for freshness), but that took up parts of the morning, along with editing my final project of the apocalypse for oh, what must be either the fifth or the sixth time. (Have lost count, this is a separate editing after the one I completed last night...which version did I say that one was?)
Took a break and went to lunch with Annie (from my plant bio class), afterwards we biked over to the library (I need to return the books) and then wandered around in downtown Davis for a bit. This had this nice Christmas tree down on E street, on the townsquare across from Chipotle. They also wrapped red things around the white street-lamp-poles so we get the candycane effect. What was quote worthy was our discussion about Edgar Allan Poe, his works, but more specifically his poem "Bells." I was pointing out that that poem sounded improperly cheerful as compared to Mr. Poe's general works and Annie pointed out that "Bells" also had a melancholy undertone to it and we agreed that Mr. Poe wrote far too many things about women dying and I said this poem was happier because it didn't have a woman dying in it and she pointed out that at least, this poem doesn't DIRECTLY have a woman dying in it.
The quote went something along the lines of "Yeah, it's happier because there isn't a woman directly dying in it."
Both of us were exhausted (roommmate stayed up to work on stuff last night), so that might be why the conversation went that way. Besides the fact that I'm sort of strange, that is.
Took a break and went to lunch with Annie (from my plant bio class), afterwards we biked over to the library (I need to return the books) and then wandered around in downtown Davis for a bit. This had this nice Christmas tree down on E street, on the townsquare across from Chipotle. They also wrapped red things around the white street-lamp-poles so we get the candycane effect. What was quote worthy was our discussion about Edgar Allan Poe, his works, but more specifically his poem "Bells." I was pointing out that that poem sounded improperly cheerful as compared to Mr. Poe's general works and Annie pointed out that "Bells" also had a melancholy undertone to it and we agreed that Mr. Poe wrote far too many things about women dying and I said this poem was happier because it didn't have a woman dying in it and she pointed out that at least, this poem doesn't DIRECTLY have a woman dying in it.
The quote went something along the lines of "Yeah, it's happier because there isn't a woman directly dying in it."
Both of us were exhausted (roommmate stayed up to work on stuff last night), so that might be why the conversation went that way. Besides the fact that I'm sort of strange, that is.
20051208
Recap: Mounting tension
As the days towards the finals week draws closer, the overall stress of all the students increases exponentially...
The weather has gotten very cold here these past few days too, cold enough so that when you step outside in the morning you'd have to spend the first few moments gasping in the unlit air of dawn, before you jump out of the way as a bike zooms past you and remember, blearily, that oh yes, you have a lecture to get to, too.
Heating system worshipping continues, needless to say. There were odd thuds coming from second floor last night, I wonder what that was about.
The weather has gotten very cold here these past few days too, cold enough so that when you step outside in the morning you'd have to spend the first few moments gasping in the unlit air of dawn, before you jump out of the way as a bike zooms past you and remember, blearily, that oh yes, you have a lecture to get to, too.
Heating system worshipping continues, needless to say. There were odd thuds coming from second floor last night, I wonder what that was about.
20051207
Recap: Here
In theory I resent things working out at the last minute. In practice I'm so thankful that things did manage to come through afterall that I seldom managed to feel more than a twinge of peevishness. Had a 5 hour job orientation today (got paid for it, though) and another one possibly tomorrow and a midterm coming up that I have to walk to because the rain caught me coming back from the orientation so cheers.
20051206
Recap: Another day
Schedule completely messed up today and tomorrow. Had practice for presentation from 8-9 then class from 10-12, lab from 1-4, and lecture from 4-5 then a study abroad program from 8pm until I don't know when. More stuff tomorrow. One final still haven't study for so must do that.
Like I said, hectic.
Like I said, hectic.
20051205
20051204
Recap: Sunday mornings
Time: 10:57
Out in the lounge again. Roommate turned out to have stayed out all night (Friday evening) after all. She came back last night though, hence me in the lounge.
The Christmas tree has been decorated. Or rather, as we call the tree that looks like a Christmas tree and is decorated like a Christmas tree: The Non-Denominational Winter-Time Shrub.
Trust the ISers to try to be politically correct in a time where it's politically incorrect to be politically incorrect.
Last evening there was some sort of a race going on in the corridors, as in a running race, complete with someone shouting "ready, set, go" and the pounding of footsteps worthy of a herd of stampeding elephants. There were some screeches too, but I didn't step outside my room to see as that I was concerned about the possibility of being run-over.
I THINK those people are from our floor though, or at least some of the people who were shouting were from our floor.
Happy holidays...the lights are going up all over the place (in the student dorms) now. Very cozy look from the outside and inside. Certain people's doors have acquired their distinct decorations that let the people know about the people who lived behind those doors (such as the door overwhelmed with hundreds of colorful post-its, right across from the 3rd floor lounge where I am currently sitting in). Our lounge has also acquired a lot of TIME magazines, also a few WIRED and some VANITY FAIR (or at least I think that's what it's called). Only one Scientific America thought--terribly under-represented and battered copy at that, but none of us had to pay for the magazines, so I really shouldn't complain.
Out in the lounge again. Roommate turned out to have stayed out all night (Friday evening) after all. She came back last night though, hence me in the lounge.
The Christmas tree has been decorated. Or rather, as we call the tree that looks like a Christmas tree and is decorated like a Christmas tree: The Non-Denominational Winter-Time Shrub.
Trust the ISers to try to be politically correct in a time where it's politically incorrect to be politically incorrect.
Last evening there was some sort of a race going on in the corridors, as in a running race, complete with someone shouting "ready, set, go" and the pounding of footsteps worthy of a herd of stampeding elephants. There were some screeches too, but I didn't step outside my room to see as that I was concerned about the possibility of being run-over.
I THINK those people are from our floor though, or at least some of the people who were shouting were from our floor.
Happy holidays...the lights are going up all over the place (in the student dorms) now. Very cozy look from the outside and inside. Certain people's doors have acquired their distinct decorations that let the people know about the people who lived behind those doors (such as the door overwhelmed with hundreds of colorful post-its, right across from the 3rd floor lounge where I am currently sitting in). Our lounge has also acquired a lot of TIME magazines, also a few WIRED and some VANITY FAIR (or at least I think that's what it's called). Only one Scientific America thought--terribly under-represented and battered copy at that, but none of us had to pay for the magazines, so I really shouldn't complain.
20051203
Non Sequitor: Sarcasm in religion
After listening to a very intriguing lecture about the religion, our journal prompt for the week comes along and thwacks us between the head with the request to write our own religion.
It makes me think of the entry where I had to pretend to be a fish.
My sarcasm kept rising as I kept on typing, can you tell? :
I would like to discuss the religion called "College," which is, despite of popular beliefs, quite popular and gaining in popularity as a result of the twenty-first century.
The sacred grounds (i.e. sacred space) of College is anywhere abroad the grounds of a place that has been federally proven to be a campus where the majority of the students are at or above the age of eighteen, which, should be noted, is a sacred number. All members of College is considered to be sacred in their own rights, though of course, there is a hierarchy of order that should be observed, starting from the Board of Directors, to the Deans, to the Professors, to the Teacher’s Assistances, to the Students, and so on. Each class of people has their own special ritual that they must perform in order to maintain their level of sacredness, and it is not unusual that if certain rituals are performed just right and over the right amount of time, one may ascend to join the Higher Ranks. As previously mentioned, the sacred time, then, is different for each Rank. Most of the Students, for example, would argue that the sacred time is between their Last Class of the Day (a ritual which we will cover shortly) and midnight. However, most Professors would dutifully confess that their sacred time is any length of time they spend on the sacred ground (i.e. Campus).
The rituals of College are many and often very complex. It suffices to say that in general, it involves a great deal of paper and ink or, that of ink being printed on paper. Also involved are Words, which generally move freely about the Ranks. This flow of information, or of Words, is considered the central and most sacred of rituals.
College is thought to be in many things, one of which being a particularly thick-covered and heavy type of books with many Words. Many among the Student rank frequently worship these icons. In the turn of the century, however, we observe the rise of another icon: the Computer, which is accepted and generally held in high regards by all Ranks of College. For Students, the main index is often thought to be the Backpack, which often holds the many things needed to perform the sacred rituals specified for that Rank and is kept in contact of the body fairly often. (see, definition for indices in the Trichotomics handout, by Professor Janowitz) The indices for the Professors are much more ambiguous in terms of personal preference, though many carry the Briefcase. The most accepted symbol for every sect of the religion College is the pattern formed when the first letters in the name of the sacred ground are taken and placed together. It is also the most common symbol.
It makes me think of the entry where I had to pretend to be a fish.
My sarcasm kept rising as I kept on typing, can you tell? :
I would like to discuss the religion called "College," which is, despite of popular beliefs, quite popular and gaining in popularity as a result of the twenty-first century.
The sacred grounds (i.e. sacred space) of College is anywhere abroad the grounds of a place that has been federally proven to be a campus where the majority of the students are at or above the age of eighteen, which, should be noted, is a sacred number. All members of College is considered to be sacred in their own rights, though of course, there is a hierarchy of order that should be observed, starting from the Board of Directors, to the Deans, to the Professors, to the Teacher’s Assistances, to the Students, and so on. Each class of people has their own special ritual that they must perform in order to maintain their level of sacredness, and it is not unusual that if certain rituals are performed just right and over the right amount of time, one may ascend to join the Higher Ranks. As previously mentioned, the sacred time, then, is different for each Rank. Most of the Students, for example, would argue that the sacred time is between their Last Class of the Day (a ritual which we will cover shortly) and midnight. However, most Professors would dutifully confess that their sacred time is any length of time they spend on the sacred ground (i.e. Campus).
The rituals of College are many and often very complex. It suffices to say that in general, it involves a great deal of paper and ink or, that of ink being printed on paper. Also involved are Words, which generally move freely about the Ranks. This flow of information, or of Words, is considered the central and most sacred of rituals.
College is thought to be in many things, one of which being a particularly thick-covered and heavy type of books with many Words. Many among the Student rank frequently worship these icons. In the turn of the century, however, we observe the rise of another icon: the Computer, which is accepted and generally held in high regards by all Ranks of College. For Students, the main index is often thought to be the Backpack, which often holds the many things needed to perform the sacred rituals specified for that Rank and is kept in contact of the body fairly often. (see, definition for indices in the Trichotomics handout, by Professor Janowitz) The indices for the Professors are much more ambiguous in terms of personal preference, though many carry the Briefcase. The most accepted symbol for every sect of the religion College is the pattern formed when the first letters in the name of the sacred ground are taken and placed together. It is also the most common symbol.
Recap: Merry Christmas
Had an uninterrupted night of sleep, so roommate was either out all night and staying over somewhere or she has locked herself out again. Will go check in the lounge. People have decorated the Christmas tree (which for certain reasons of controversy, can't be called a 'Christmas' tree but more like a...a...'bush of diversity'?). All very nice. I need to go and buy peanut butter.
That was random, wasn't it.
Further development of floor 3 involves people from the apocalypse class running around seeking advice from each other about the final project. There is a woeful lack of directions but, at least, that meant we, in theory, gets more freedom with what we do with it. Oral presentation next Tuesday though. No escaping oral presentations. How do you orally present the apocalypse? No, just yelling "DOOM" is not going to do it, it has to be about 10 minutes long.
Maybe more later.
That was random, wasn't it.
Further development of floor 3 involves people from the apocalypse class running around seeking advice from each other about the final project. There is a woeful lack of directions but, at least, that meant we, in theory, gets more freedom with what we do with it. Oral presentation next Tuesday though. No escaping oral presentations. How do you orally present the apocalypse? No, just yelling "DOOM" is not going to do it, it has to be about 10 minutes long.
Maybe more later.
20051202
Recap: Sunshine and bikes
Blue sky again, after a rather--okay--very wet day yesterday. Biked over to the local library after midterm this morning and had an attack of non-fiction. Imagine that must be fun. More stuff to do when hiding in the lounge should my roommate decide to have friends over.
There is someone sleeping in the lounge when I came back at eleven. Sometimes that happens. You walk in and then realize that there's someone sleeping on one of the three couches (occasionally three people sleeping on the three couches). Usually it's someone from our floor, but that's not always necessary. Things happen occasionally but everyone's very nice about it.
The moans and groans of impending finals have finally begun. (Pun unintentional. Pun very bad. Please ignore pun.) Which in general means more closed doors, I suppose, and that floor three is quieter than usual. People might start considering the finals time prayers and no, Christine, I don't think anyone will be sacrificing gummy bears on sporks. Nor do I think anyone would want you to have their soul. People tend to be rather possessive their their souls (and their brain, sorry) around here.
I, on the other hand, will consider worshipping my pigma micron10 pen. It's the best thing since watercolor brushs that don't shed. Of course though, nothing quite beats the invention of erasors, which will always save the day, forever and ever. Amen.
Happy Friday, everyone.
There is someone sleeping in the lounge when I came back at eleven. Sometimes that happens. You walk in and then realize that there's someone sleeping on one of the three couches (occasionally three people sleeping on the three couches). Usually it's someone from our floor, but that's not always necessary. Things happen occasionally but everyone's very nice about it.
The moans and groans of impending finals have finally begun. (Pun unintentional. Pun very bad. Please ignore pun.) Which in general means more closed doors, I suppose, and that floor three is quieter than usual. People might start considering the finals time prayers and no, Christine, I don't think anyone will be sacrificing gummy bears on sporks. Nor do I think anyone would want you to have their soul. People tend to be rather possessive their their souls (and their brain, sorry) around here.
I, on the other hand, will consider worshipping my pigma micron10 pen. It's the best thing since watercolor brushs that don't shed. Of course though, nothing quite beats the invention of erasors, which will always save the day, forever and ever. Amen.
Happy Friday, everyone.
20051201
Recap: Santa Clause paid a visit...
...and so I had one less quiz to worry about yesterday. Unfortunately, for the most part, it's still midterms week, as can be seen by the regularly present groups of twos and threes in the lounge, quizzing each other on random things. There's another tradition, though so far I think those who're taking chem have been over-represented. Or maybe that's just because people are more likely to study chem in the morning than any other time in the day.
Weather: gray and cold--the worshipping of the heating system continues. Floor four have suggested a cross-dressing party that's extended beyond their floor, cross-dressing preferred by not "mandatory". I thought of you, Kate. AHem!
Everything else continues per usual. I was told a story about a guy who accidentally threw a way a video (CD?) that he borrowed while taking out trash. Apparently retrieving your trash from the trash chute is a very long and drawn out process. This concludes the beginning of the folk-lore part of our developing culture.
Now we just need an official name for it.
Weather: gray and cold--the worshipping of the heating system continues. Floor four have suggested a cross-dressing party that's extended beyond their floor, cross-dressing preferred by not "mandatory". I thought of you, Kate. AHem!
Everything else continues per usual. I was told a story about a guy who accidentally threw a way a video (CD?) that he borrowed while taking out trash. Apparently retrieving your trash from the trash chute is a very long and drawn out process. This concludes the beginning of the folk-lore part of our developing culture.
Now we just need an official name for it.
20051130
Recap: Greetings
Dated: 9:56 AM, Nov. 30th, 2005
Location: Miller Hall 3rd floor lounge
My roommate is still sleeping. She has received a laptop so that I will no longer be kept awake by the keys clicking when she stays up till 2 AM to work on a paper. I am very grateful.
What else has been happening within the past few days? Well, we've had our first wintry rain here. Not a shower, but a full-out icy rain that caught me coming and going to math, that was fun right up until the point where my fingers went from numb to distinctively-and-unforgiveably-painful. But such as it is--it's usually fun up to the point it becomes painful. I have given up biking to my 6-8 PM classes when it's raining, partially because of my nightvision (or my lack thereof), and partially because of a few people who insist on going clockwise at the counter-clockwise round-abouts. My bike skids in very interesting ways when I brake on wet ground. Overall, I think walking across the campus after dark is still safer.
Over the Thanksgiving break a few pictures involving plastic swords and a toy turkey have appeared in our floor lounge, courtesy of the few students who remained here. However, despite of the occasionally psychotic, if artistic shots, I'm still led to believe that floor three is, comparatively, very sane indeed. Yesterday while working on my play (first draft finished, by the way) I heard this very loud THUD and felt the floor shake. It originated from the floor below mine. After waiting a moment or two with no further THUDs and nothing collapsing, I'd dismissed it as one of the mysterious floor-2 rituals and went back to my work. It's a case of adaptation, I think, because it cannot be faith on the relative sanity of my fellow Miller-dwellers and human architectures.
We had a lecture on the creation of religion yesterday. Currently, with the temperature 10-20 degrees below what it was the previous week, most of us here have developed the habit of worshipping the heating system. It's very simple--short prayers of thanks, rubbing of the hands, nose, and ears, and no sacrifices except, possibly, on the evaporation of dampness.
No one mourned the dampness. It departs unmourned for.
Further thoughts on the developments of culture here in future entries, at the instruction of the instructor, amen.
[edit 11:28]
Almost forgot--photos from Thanksgiving have been uploaded under my yahoo account, both under the "yearbook 05-06" and the "random" albums.
Location: Miller Hall 3rd floor lounge
My roommate is still sleeping. She has received a laptop so that I will no longer be kept awake by the keys clicking when she stays up till 2 AM to work on a paper. I am very grateful.
What else has been happening within the past few days? Well, we've had our first wintry rain here. Not a shower, but a full-out icy rain that caught me coming and going to math, that was fun right up until the point where my fingers went from numb to distinctively-and-unforgiveably-painful. But such as it is--it's usually fun up to the point it becomes painful. I have given up biking to my 6-8 PM classes when it's raining, partially because of my nightvision (or my lack thereof), and partially because of a few people who insist on going clockwise at the counter-clockwise round-abouts. My bike skids in very interesting ways when I brake on wet ground. Overall, I think walking across the campus after dark is still safer.
Over the Thanksgiving break a few pictures involving plastic swords and a toy turkey have appeared in our floor lounge, courtesy of the few students who remained here. However, despite of the occasionally psychotic, if artistic shots, I'm still led to believe that floor three is, comparatively, very sane indeed. Yesterday while working on my play (first draft finished, by the way) I heard this very loud THUD and felt the floor shake. It originated from the floor below mine. After waiting a moment or two with no further THUDs and nothing collapsing, I'd dismissed it as one of the mysterious floor-2 rituals and went back to my work. It's a case of adaptation, I think, because it cannot be faith on the relative sanity of my fellow Miller-dwellers and human architectures.
We had a lecture on the creation of religion yesterday. Currently, with the temperature 10-20 degrees below what it was the previous week, most of us here have developed the habit of worshipping the heating system. It's very simple--short prayers of thanks, rubbing of the hands, nose, and ears, and no sacrifices except, possibly, on the evaporation of dampness.
No one mourned the dampness. It departs unmourned for.
Further thoughts on the developments of culture here in future entries, at the instruction of the instructor, amen.
[edit 11:28]
Almost forgot--photos from Thanksgiving have been uploaded under my yahoo account, both under the "yearbook 05-06" and the "random" albums.
20051126
Recap: Among the crowds
Valleyfair mall after Thanksgiving always held an uncanny amount of people. I almost forgot how many, but I got a reminder yesterday. Very sharp reminder.
Around 47500 words now. Whoa.
And somewhere around Soniya's anti-pigeon sentiments, Victoria's beaver shirt, Christine's koala Darth Vader III dreams, Anna's "OMG-school's going-to-start-for-me-soon" panics and Kate's losing battle with the bottom of her pants I thought that well, insanity really CAN become a long lasting tradition.
And we're not talking about asylums here either.
[edit 20:17]
Have finished NaNoWriMo story with around 51 thousand words!
Yay! Utterly and ridiculously proud of myself for having finished self-induced misery.
I am going to do three things that I promised I'd do somewhere while I was in the middle of this:
1. stop all non-academic writing for three days, which means tomorrow, Monday, and Tuesday I won't be working on any writing projects. Including this journal, which won't be updated, just so you know.
2. lock away my story and not look at it for an entire month. I need it, trust me, I do. It's possibly brain-damaging.
3. spend an hour lying down somewhere with earphone blasting music into my ears at a loudness that prohibits any thoughts. I deserve this.
Done! I'm done, I tell you!
Utterly ridiculous, yes.
Around 47500 words now. Whoa.
And somewhere around Soniya's anti-pigeon sentiments, Victoria's beaver shirt, Christine's koala Darth Vader III dreams, Anna's "OMG-school's going-to-start-for-me-soon" panics and Kate's losing battle with the bottom of her pants I thought that well, insanity really CAN become a long lasting tradition.
And we're not talking about asylums here either.
[edit 20:17]
Have finished NaNoWriMo story with around 51 thousand words!
Yay! Utterly and ridiculously proud of myself for having finished self-induced misery.
I am going to do three things that I promised I'd do somewhere while I was in the middle of this:
1. stop all non-academic writing for three days, which means tomorrow, Monday, and Tuesday I won't be working on any writing projects. Including this journal, which won't be updated, just so you know.
2. lock away my story and not look at it for an entire month. I need it, trust me, I do. It's possibly brain-damaging.
3. spend an hour lying down somewhere with earphone blasting music into my ears at a loudness that prohibits any thoughts. I deserve this.
Done! I'm done, I tell you!
Utterly ridiculous, yes.
20051125
Recap: Rain
It rained last night. Very interesting.
NaNoWriMo word count: 43925 of 50000. I am going to make it. Delirious with joy. Or just delirious at this stage, very hard to tell.
Insanity 'R Us, remember that? Good 'o times, yes.
Still no sign of final's proj partner. Panicking slightly? Think I should be? Or should I officially give up on the idea of anyone besides me taking academics so seriously even during the holidays?
Well, that's a rhetorical questin. Yes it is.
Maybe more later. An official 'recap' such as I haven't done for a while. We'll see.
NaNoWriMo word count: 43925 of 50000. I am going to make it. Delirious with joy. Or just delirious at this stage, very hard to tell.
Insanity 'R Us, remember that? Good 'o times, yes.
Still no sign of final's proj partner. Panicking slightly? Think I should be? Or should I officially give up on the idea of anyone besides me taking academics so seriously even during the holidays?
Well, that's a rhetorical questin. Yes it is.
Maybe more later. An official 'recap' such as I haven't done for a while. We'll see.
20051124
Recap: Blue skies and food
Journal update per usual while waiting for my partner to show up. Have waited 1 1/2 hours and, of course, she never did show up. C'est la vie. I shall quietly panic to myself now.
Slept for 11 hours, enjoyed sleeping so much that I almost feel guilty about it. Maybe more things later, but out for now.
Slept for 11 hours, enjoyed sleeping so much that I almost feel guilty about it. Maybe more things later, but out for now.
20051123
Recap: Speed v.s. Time
Getting there. More stuff. Blog sadly abused now but can't say I didn't see this coming.
20051122
Creative Ventures: Veritas
I am not insane, nor did I pull this entire thing out of my head. This is based on the Greek Apocalypse of Ezrah (or translated Esdras), you can find the link to it here. This part is based on the 1st chapter (my not-online version has it in chapters). There'll be more chapters. I literally can't get it out of my head, so here's the beta when I should be doing something else, such as math.
Chapter 1
Kyrie eleison, animabus famulorum
famularumque tuarum remissionem
cunctorum tribue peccatorum.
[translated: Lord have mercy, grant to the souls of Thy servants departed the remission of all their sins.]
Plead for mercy, for the mysteries
Which Man may never understand,
For the glory and grace, once granted, lost.
A plea from the human heart,
An angelic shadow cast upon
The light from the windows;
A plea, after moon dances its cycles
Of longing for purity, seeking
Truth. A wish granted, but
The question unanswered.
Higher: one step up, to be raised
Above those children of light. Looking
Down upon the Gehenna of fire praying
For those who have strayed, unknowing;
Praying for mercy and compassion, hoping
That one may suffer as much as many—
As a boon once granted, now given, again.
Righteous: eat the knifed fruit given
Only in paradise, the glass-embedded
Promise, glittering. Better to consume and
Continue to pray that the world may
Not yet end for those who have refused
This uncompromising dish. Pray, and give up
That which cannot be stolen in prayers.
Requiem aeternam dona eis.
[Eternal rest give unto them.]
If there is no rest to be granted,
No pacifying of anger, no reprieve…
Why then, is life so freely given?
Unless, in bestial innocence we find
A sanctuary from judgment.
Unless the perception of sin can seek
Other understandings than those of flames.
Animabus famulorum, famularumque tuarum
remissionem cunctorum tribue peccatorum.
Amen.
[repeat: grant to the souls of Thy servants departed the remission of all their sins. Amen]
Chapter 1
Kyrie eleison, animabus famulorum
famularumque tuarum remissionem
cunctorum tribue peccatorum.
[translated: Lord have mercy, grant to the souls of Thy servants departed the remission of all their sins.]
Plead for mercy, for the mysteries
Which Man may never understand,
For the glory and grace, once granted, lost.
A plea from the human heart,
An angelic shadow cast upon
The light from the windows;
A plea, after moon dances its cycles
Of longing for purity, seeking
Truth. A wish granted, but
The question unanswered.
Higher: one step up, to be raised
Above those children of light. Looking
Down upon the Gehenna of fire praying
For those who have strayed, unknowing;
Praying for mercy and compassion, hoping
That one may suffer as much as many—
As a boon once granted, now given, again.
Righteous: eat the knifed fruit given
Only in paradise, the glass-embedded
Promise, glittering. Better to consume and
Continue to pray that the world may
Not yet end for those who have refused
This uncompromising dish. Pray, and give up
That which cannot be stolen in prayers.
Requiem aeternam dona eis.
[Eternal rest give unto them.]
If there is no rest to be granted,
No pacifying of anger, no reprieve…
Why then, is life so freely given?
Unless, in bestial innocence we find
A sanctuary from judgment.
Unless the perception of sin can seek
Other understandings than those of flames.
Animabus famulorum, famularumque tuarum
remissionem cunctorum tribue peccatorum.
Amen.
[repeat: grant to the souls of Thy servants departed the remission of all their sins. Amen]
Recap: Untitled
Will be busy much of today & tomorrow and trying to finish homework so I can do more than doing homework this weekend.
Over and out.
Over and out.
20051121
Non Sequitor: Photos as a result of guilt
Isn't our green house nice?
This is what I meant when I said on weekends, the centre of the campus is like a park with too many bikes.
Look! It's a big pitcher-plant!
This is the guy I mentioned, playing guitar and singing in the lounge the other night. I was told his name is "David."
Prof. Mechling from this morning reminded me (unintentionally) that I've taken quite a few pictures last week that I have yet to upload. So here are a few. For the rest they're in my yahoo account (yearbook 05-06 and random), because, as you can see, I do take the pictures of many things. Some of the older IS pictures got uploaded there too.
Recap: Untitled
With all due respect, having breakfast with a professor at 7am is a heck of a way to start a week.
Discussions with the Frosh Doc project, looking for folklore traits and traditions and analyzations and such. Will not start now. NaNoWriMo ends in...9 days? (!!!!!) Maybe then. Meanwhile, just let me mention, as a reminder to myself to divulge in it later, that people from 4th floor have been building forts with bed-posts and attacking people with bananas and socks.
Third floor seems so much more sane when compared to that. Most of the people who run screaming through our corridors are not actually from our floor.
Two side to every story. This is the opposite of the honors students, the "THWACK" with the plastic spoon and the "You're dead!" followed by giggles.
Discussions with the Frosh Doc project, looking for folklore traits and traditions and analyzations and such. Will not start now. NaNoWriMo ends in...9 days? (!!!!!) Maybe then. Meanwhile, just let me mention, as a reminder to myself to divulge in it later, that people from 4th floor have been building forts with bed-posts and attacking people with bananas and socks.
Third floor seems so much more sane when compared to that. Most of the people who run screaming through our corridors are not actually from our floor.
Two side to every story. This is the opposite of the honors students, the "THWACK" with the plastic spoon and the "You're dead!" followed by giggles.
20051120
Recap: Carpe Diem
...only if you've really good grip.
Stuff!
Maybe more later if I feel like like. If not, then no.
Stuff!
Maybe more later if I feel like like. If not, then no.
20051119
Recap: Atomos
"Here, then, is the problem which we present to you, stark and dreadful and inescapable: shall we put an end to the human race or shall mankind renounce war? We appeal, as human beings to human beings; remember your humanity, and forget the rest. If youc an do so, the way lies open to a new paradise; if you cannot, there lies before you teh risk of universal death." - as taken from "a document which most of the inventors of H-bomb signed" and then sent to all world powers.
Rest assured that there are intelligent people in the scientific community, Mr. Lindsey. Hypocracy has never fueled a logical argument.
Meanwhile, my list of to-read books continue to grow. Visited local library yesterday and can reduce list by one sometimes next week. (Yes, it really is that pathetic.) Three pages of bad fiction and ten pages of co-written play and some forty page left to read for now(out of original of about two hundred). Feel v. accomplished.
More quote for your amusement:
Souls Of All the People Persecuted On Behalf of God: Holy, faithful Master, how much longer will you wait before you pass sentence and take vengeance for our death on the inhabitants of the earth?
Michael: [He points at Gabriel.] He is the one you seek, for he is the Messenger of your faithful Master.
Gabriel: [Aside to Michael.] Thanks, O brave defender of God... [He looks at the souls.] O, my holy ones, my little crumpets--you must wait longer! [Aside] The roll is not yet complete thanks to Jacques over at the office. [To the souls] Your fellow peers, servants and brothers have not yet perished in the necessary struggle! But here, whilst you wait, take these robes, for they are soft and comfortable, and for a time and two times and half a time they will keep you in faith! Have patience!
Gabriel sounds British by accident (not mine either!) so that's MY new source of amusement today.
[edit 11:30] Taken from NY Times
- QUOTATION OF THE DAY -
"You guys are pathetic."
- MARTIN MEEHAN, a House Democrat, in an argument with Republicans
over Iraq policy.
Rest assured that there are intelligent people in the scientific community, Mr. Lindsey. Hypocracy has never fueled a logical argument.
Meanwhile, my list of to-read books continue to grow. Visited local library yesterday and can reduce list by one sometimes next week. (Yes, it really is that pathetic.) Three pages of bad fiction and ten pages of co-written play and some forty page left to read for now(out of original of about two hundred). Feel v. accomplished.
More quote for your amusement:
Souls Of All the People Persecuted On Behalf of God: Holy, faithful Master, how much longer will you wait before you pass sentence and take vengeance for our death on the inhabitants of the earth?
Michael: [He points at Gabriel.] He is the one you seek, for he is the Messenger of your faithful Master.
Gabriel: [Aside to Michael.] Thanks, O brave defender of God... [He looks at the souls.] O, my holy ones, my little crumpets--you must wait longer! [Aside] The roll is not yet complete thanks to Jacques over at the office. [To the souls] Your fellow peers, servants and brothers have not yet perished in the necessary struggle! But here, whilst you wait, take these robes, for they are soft and comfortable, and for a time and two times and half a time they will keep you in faith! Have patience!
Gabriel sounds British by accident (not mine either!) so that's MY new source of amusement today.
[edit 11:30] Taken from NY Times
- QUOTATION OF THE DAY -
"You guys are pathetic."
- MARTIN MEEHAN, a House Democrat, in an argument with Republicans
over Iraq policy.
20051118
Non Sequitro: Requiem
Will die laughing soon. Have worked on final project (i.e. apocalyptic play) with Amara; are doing Book of Revelation spoof in style copied from Ros. & Guil Are Dead, from the view point of two archangels.
I.e.--Michael and Gabriel, because those two names are apparently the most well-known and famous, esp. when associated with end day.
Astronomically entertaining to do. Gabe is addicted to Graham crackers. Am doing Michael, commander angel, Amara's Gabriel, messenger angel. Do not pay attention to the UFOs, they are a work of the Devil.
I quoth:
Gabriel: Prada? No that's a hat company...
Michael: There's a reason why you're not a Representative on earth, Gabe
Gabriel: But I'd fit in well [he shakes the graham crackers]
Michael: [Dryly] Eating crackers in Disneyland
Gabriel: They just got some pretty amazing roller coasters. You should go sometime. Quite fun.
Amen.
I.e.--Michael and Gabriel, because those two names are apparently the most well-known and famous, esp. when associated with end day.
Astronomically entertaining to do. Gabe is addicted to Graham crackers. Am doing Michael, commander angel, Amara's Gabriel, messenger angel. Do not pay attention to the UFOs, they are a work of the Devil.
I quoth:
Gabriel: Prada? No that's a hat company...
Michael: There's a reason why you're not a Representative on earth, Gabe
Gabriel: But I'd fit in well [he shakes the graham crackers]
Michael: [Dryly] Eating crackers in Disneyland
Gabriel: They just got some pretty amazing roller coasters. You should go sometime. Quite fun.
Amen.
Recap: Summa cum laude
Happy Friday!
Two verses from last night (there were four, but I was interrupted after the first two and couldn't get the same feel again and didn't like the last two).
Silence has a music that few will ever hear
Emptiness is a place that's outside of your fears
Lives change, collide, moves on not like before
There's a better path to walk than the one traced in tears
Cold truth shatters without the comfort of lies
With no false promise of 'everything's alright'
Lives bleed, then mend, move on not like before
Under the stars lit for those who're lost in the night
Can't write prose so I'm stuck with my silly rhymes. Heh.
In response to the post in LUNATICS, I've actually seen my rabbit binkying (is that how you'd conjugate it?) before. I know it means that it's happy, just didn't know there's an actual word for it.
And honestly, I didn't know my rabbit was that acrobatic, to be able to jump that high while doing odd little half twists in the air.
I hope Sheppard's hair doesn't jump. But then, it ate Tokyo, so anything's possible I suppose.
It is official: my parents will be picking me up Wednesday night next week, right after my 6-8pm lecture which the teacher had send us a reminder about, because she's afraid we might not be coming, in which case a reminder would fulfill her purpose not at all.
Two verses from last night (there were four, but I was interrupted after the first two and couldn't get the same feel again and didn't like the last two).
Silence has a music that few will ever hear
Emptiness is a place that's outside of your fears
Lives change, collide, moves on not like before
There's a better path to walk than the one traced in tears
Cold truth shatters without the comfort of lies
With no false promise of 'everything's alright'
Lives bleed, then mend, move on not like before
Under the stars lit for those who're lost in the night
Can't write prose so I'm stuck with my silly rhymes. Heh.
In response to the post in LUNATICS, I've actually seen my rabbit binkying (is that how you'd conjugate it?) before. I know it means that it's happy, just didn't know there's an actual word for it.
And honestly, I didn't know my rabbit was that acrobatic, to be able to jump that high while doing odd little half twists in the air.
I hope Sheppard's hair doesn't jump. But then, it ate Tokyo, so anything's possible I suppose.
It is official: my parents will be picking me up Wednesday night next week, right after my 6-8pm lecture which the teacher had send us a reminder about, because she's afraid we might not be coming, in which case a reminder would fulfill her purpose not at all.
20051117
Recap: Two plums on a pear tree...
Class soon...possible things this weekend...Thanksgiving next week. Will update find time to make sketch for Lunatics tomorrow. Have to leave for class soon maybe more later?
[edit 12:29]
More time. Next week won't be as easy as I imagined, given the amount of reading that I suddenly realized I need to do as well as the sudden realization that our final project is due on December 1st and we technically have not started yet and it's past the halfway mark of November already. (Funny how happy I was about that 2 days ago, huh?)
Realizing that NaNoWriMo is sort of forcing my 'new' writing style to clunk together. There's no other word for it, it's clunking. Disorganized. Messy. Will probably spend the entire first week of December trying to realize exactly what I have now, in terms of style, so just a warning because I'll be testing myself in this blog and I haven't any idea how things will work out exactly.
I'll rely on faith that it will work out. Ha. Because of how strange I'm feeling about this.
[edit 12:29]
More time. Next week won't be as easy as I imagined, given the amount of reading that I suddenly realized I need to do as well as the sudden realization that our final project is due on December 1st and we technically have not started yet and it's past the halfway mark of November already. (Funny how happy I was about that 2 days ago, huh?)
Realizing that NaNoWriMo is sort of forcing my 'new' writing style to clunk together. There's no other word for it, it's clunking. Disorganized. Messy. Will probably spend the entire first week of December trying to realize exactly what I have now, in terms of style, so just a warning because I'll be testing myself in this blog and I haven't any idea how things will work out exactly.
I'll rely on faith that it will work out. Ha. Because of how strange I'm feeling about this.
20051116
Recap: A tree stuffed with owls
The sky this morning is very blue. It's the sort of blue you want to loose yourself in. I stared up at the sky like an idiot before getting on my bike, silently constructing the dimensions of the sky my head and wondering vaguely if fantasy has a separate category for skies.
Last night while doing homework I thought someone was playing their CD too loud, then after a moment of listening, decided that that can't be quite right either. There's abolutely NO background instrument in the sound of a guy and an acoustic guitar, and the sound is coming too loud, too close.
So I went out to the floor lounge and saw a guy sitting there with his guitar, playing and singing. I went right back to my room and got my camera and, despite the quality (or the lack thereof) took a picture which I will upload eventually, some day.
The musicians of Miller Hall.
Am doing p-series test now in math. Am doomed. There is no escaping it.
[edit 10:59]
Apparently AIM has launched its "bots". Remembering Anna's attempts to have a philosophical discussion with SmarterChild...was that freshman year?
Last night while doing homework I thought someone was playing their CD too loud, then after a moment of listening, decided that that can't be quite right either. There's abolutely NO background instrument in the sound of a guy and an acoustic guitar, and the sound is coming too loud, too close.
So I went out to the floor lounge and saw a guy sitting there with his guitar, playing and singing. I went right back to my room and got my camera and, despite the quality (or the lack thereof) took a picture which I will upload eventually, some day.
The musicians of Miller Hall.
Am doing p-series test now in math. Am doomed. There is no escaping it.
[edit 10:59]
Apparently AIM has launched its "bots". Remembering Anna's attempts to have a philosophical discussion with SmarterChild...was that freshman year?
20051115
Recap: Of peanut butter, iconic memory, and fishes
I thought I should mention that just last week the journal prompt of the IS program asked us to write a journal from the perspective of a FISH. Very interesting, this FISH perspective, because, you see, first of all, fishes don't generally form coherent thoughts and second of all, they can't type. I would've accepted it into a category of fantasy and be okay with it except we have to cite NY Times in our entry.
So yes, intelligent, typing fish who cites NY Times.
Note to Lucy- we have very good request systems. But even if that wasn't there, having someone else needing that book (both volumes) is really the lesser part of my worries. First and foremost is still finding the TIME to go through the entire, horric deal of it. Agh. Right.
Bright side though--Made it past the halfway mark for NaNoWriMo (26,536 words of 50,000) and I'm still there. Here. Wherever. Somewhere.
[edit 19:34]
For you, Lucy. Found in my apocalyptic reading:
"The Great White Lodge of Sirius has decreeded the Recall of the last to carry the authentic Ancestral Wisdom..."
And apparently the Great White Lodge of Sirius is the pantheon from the Theosophical doctrine. Whatever that means.
Sirius has a great white lodge. ..
So yes, intelligent, typing fish who cites NY Times.
Note to Lucy- we have very good request systems. But even if that wasn't there, having someone else needing that book (both volumes) is really the lesser part of my worries. First and foremost is still finding the TIME to go through the entire, horric deal of it. Agh. Right.
Bright side though--Made it past the halfway mark for NaNoWriMo (26,536 words of 50,000) and I'm still there. Here. Wherever. Somewhere.
[edit 19:34]
For you, Lucy. Found in my apocalyptic reading:
"The Great White Lodge of Sirius has decreeded the Recall of the last to carry the authentic Ancestral Wisdom..."
And apparently the Great White Lodge of Sirius is the pantheon from the Theosophical doctrine. Whatever that means.
Sirius has a great white lodge. ..
20051114
Recap: Lucky
Uncannily nice weather recently. I wonder if that's just here....
A test this week, and a quiz, and two papers due. Books to read, but that's a given because even if the teachers didn't assign anything I'd still have books to read. What is heartening is that next week should be relatively easy. If I don't count the dictionary-sized book on my desk.
Arg.
At least it's not due back till January.
Though my class ends in December, so that isn't even the limiting factor.
Sequences and series again in math. The horror the horror!
A test this week, and a quiz, and two papers due. Books to read, but that's a given because even if the teachers didn't assign anything I'd still have books to read. What is heartening is that next week should be relatively easy. If I don't count the dictionary-sized book on my desk.
Arg.
At least it's not due back till January.
Though my class ends in December, so that isn't even the limiting factor.
Sequences and series again in math. The horror the horror!
20051113
Recap: Endless practice
Project got postponed because partner was struggling with her midterms (engineering majors and their programming midterms, must be awful). Instead I supposed I should just start on the research part, and so, did, with the result that I have two books the same size as my Webster's Spanish-English dictionary sitting on my desk, both about Old Testament pseudephigrapha (a type of apocalyptic writing), and a slightly suicidal urge.
It's HUGE (bigger than the 5th hardcovered HP book, Lucy), and I am very much NOT inclined to read it.
Most other immediate homeworks are done though. NaNoWriMo still on track in terms of word count, but not much else. The story's stumbling. Okay, it's staggering and flopping about like a drunken bat. But the wordcount is still on track.
[edit 12:43] Have JUST realized that science says the world will end in ice, religion in fire. Go figure.
It's HUGE (bigger than the 5th hardcovered HP book, Lucy), and I am very much NOT inclined to read it.
Most other immediate homeworks are done though. NaNoWriMo still on track in terms of word count, but not much else. The story's stumbling. Okay, it's staggering and flopping about like a drunken bat. But the wordcount is still on track.
[edit 12:43] Have JUST realized that science says the world will end in ice, religion in fire. Go figure.
20051112
Recap: Sand and tea
Went to bed at 9pm yesterday and slept for 11 hours. Feeling excellent. It's currently 8:46am and once again I'm sitting in a lounge (first floor as costumary on Saturday mornings) while my laundry is being whirled around inside a room that is stuck permanently in the "springtime fresh" scent.
Have been up since 8:10ish. My excuse being that I still have a long day ahead?
Dorms can be strangely empty on long weekends, the DCs too. No lines at all. Extra chair areas sectioned off. Makes me think of the Christmas scenarios from Harry Potter with all the empty hallways and...oh...this is all your doing, Lusine, I blame you.
NaNoWriMo per usual, mostly done with rewrite, more reading was added, math, project. Happy weekending.
Have been up since 8:10ish. My excuse being that I still have a long day ahead?
Dorms can be strangely empty on long weekends, the DCs too. No lines at all. Extra chair areas sectioned off. Makes me think of the Christmas scenarios from Harry Potter with all the empty hallways and...oh...this is all your doing, Lusine, I blame you.
NaNoWriMo per usual, mostly done with rewrite, more reading was added, math, project. Happy weekending.
20051111
Non Sequitor: Green and Smelly
Have gone past half way mark for my readings and essay rewrite, am celebrating by taking a picture of the plant that I've acquired from plant bio, labeling the photo randomly in Photoshop, and sticking it here.
Am considering naming plant. It is basil and smells very nice. The first name that I thought of was "Crowley" but as there is already a laptop by that name I must think of something else. Zaphod momentarily appealed because of the weird branching at the head of the plant, then Zerubbabel (or Zerubbavel, depending on your translation) because I considered making fun of my apocalypse class. (Zerubbabel is the last known Davidic descendent and the Metatron supposidely spoke to him.) But that name is too long and so I think I'll revert back to something simple. Such as "Basil".
Suggestions?
Recap: Erk
Strange happenings before a long weekend. I ended up sleeping for about six hours. Roommate came about at 2-3ish in the morning, drunk, left again shortly afterwards and came back at 8am this morning. She's going home for the weekend, having either no unholy amount of work to tie her down at the moment, or, as is more likely, does not care about the unholy about of work which fortells some day in the future where she'll stumble back from the library at the wee hours of the morning. She lives very close too, that would help. It takes her 1/3 of the time it takes me to get home.
Essays, reading, reading, math (only if I actually feel like it), possible term project. Lovely day today. Was allergic to unknown substance in room but am all better now.
Essays, reading, reading, math (only if I actually feel like it), possible term project. Lovely day today. Was allergic to unknown substance in room but am all better now.
20051110
Recap: Interchangeable
Amara and I will be writing a play together, for our apocalypse class finals project.
We probably would have to start the research soon, because there is going to be a LOT of reading involved. More writing. Whee. I feel like I deserve an English minor just for the sheer AMOUNG of writing I'm doing even when I'm not enrolled in any English/Communication/Linguistics class (though, of course, enrolling in one of those classes'd probably help me loads with grammar...read over a paragraph of NoNo yesterday and am considering making an icon that says "My grammar is not weak, it is hoplessly cripples. / Funding for Grammar Rehab, please donate." Wonder how many would donate. Ha.) There's also been a change in my writing style. Very strange to be observing it when I am writing. Blame NaNo (even though it started before that).
[edit 14:27] Time for anothe re-write! Papers so far have all started out too theoretical & opinionated & therefore need to narrow down to facts. Plain facts, no assertions. Go figure.
We probably would have to start the research soon, because there is going to be a LOT of reading involved. More writing. Whee. I feel like I deserve an English minor just for the sheer AMOUNG of writing I'm doing even when I'm not enrolled in any English/Communication/Linguistics class (though, of course, enrolling in one of those classes'd probably help me loads with grammar...read over a paragraph of NoNo yesterday and am considering making an icon that says "My grammar is not weak, it is hoplessly cripples. / Funding for Grammar Rehab, please donate." Wonder how many would donate. Ha.) There's also been a change in my writing style. Very strange to be observing it when I am writing. Blame NaNo (even though it started before that).
[edit 14:27] Time for anothe re-write! Papers so far have all started out too theoretical & opinionated & therefore need to narrow down to facts. Plain facts, no assertions. Go figure.
20051109
Recap: Untitled
Math test this morning, actually, just now [am currently sitting in the library will I shall torture myself with NaNoWriMo until I finish] and you know how absolutely astounishing it is to finish a math test ON TIME? Very strange, this ON TIME thing, when applied to math tests. But you know what's even stranger? Finishing AHEAD OF TIME, with TWENTY MINUTES TO SPARE. Frightening concept as means that have either done well or horribly badly on test. TWENTY MINUTES! Holy stars, that's far, far, too much time. For an one hour class. Deeply unsettling. Had eight minutes left still after checking over test.
Well, pardon me; I am living in "the 321st century and there's a lot on my mind." (Reference to WEST WING, for all my non-obsessives readers out there. Hem.)
Current time, 9:00 sharp.Standard Pacific Time. Beep.
[edit 10:18] I think, Lucy, that they'd pick the term 'small dog' because there're people who'd assume that a small dog is still bigger than a large roden (unless we're talking about those giant rats the size of men from the PRINCESS BRIDE. Those don't count. Mutant animals don't count.)
Well, pardon me; I am living in "the 321st century and there's a lot on my mind." (Reference to WEST WING, for all my non-obsessives readers out there. Hem.)
Current time, 9:00 sharp.Standard Pacific Time. Beep.
[edit 10:18] I think, Lucy, that they'd pick the term 'small dog' because there're people who'd assume that a small dog is still bigger than a large roden (unless we're talking about those giant rats the size of men from the PRINCESS BRIDE. Those don't count. Mutant animals don't count.)
20051108
Recap: Untitled
Roommate eventually went to sleep at sometimes past two. Alarm clock (for her class, went off at 6:30). I slept in between. But I got stuff done for all that last night. Yay.
Meanwhile have noticed large crowd of birds here abouts, especially when leaving for dinner at 5:30-6:00ish time. Large amounts of either crows/ravens/magpies (really can't tell but looks creepy anyway, wheeling about in large circles. )
Oh and I got this in the NaNo email. Quoting this part because it's funny:
"As you move from the spring wood of Week One into the trying climate of Week Two, one or all of the following are likely to happen:
1) The fun, good-time feel of the first week will evaporate.
2) You will decide that your book is a miserable failure, that you are a creative fraud, and that novels are best left to novelists.
3) You will put 1 and 2 together, and decide to cut your losses and drop out now while the getting is good and the fall TV season is still relatively new.
I cycle through these feelings every year I participate in NaNoWriMo, and I have two words for anyone who finds themselves falling into a similar Week Two funk:
Cresta run.
Yep. The greatest toboggan run in the world is just one week away. Make it through the grumpiness and self-doubt of Week Two, and you'll be rewarded with renewed energy and an eerily improved outlook on your novel. Work diligently through this, the hardest week of NaNoWriMo, and you'll see the tangled mess of your story begin to unknot, and your book begin to soar.
I know it's hard to believe. But look at all the work you've done already. You have characters! You have settings! Your manuscript has grown large enough to injure a small dog!"
My manuscript has grown large enough to injure a small dog.
Meanwhile have noticed large crowd of birds here abouts, especially when leaving for dinner at 5:30-6:00ish time. Large amounts of either crows/ravens/magpies (really can't tell but looks creepy anyway, wheeling about in large circles. )
Oh and I got this in the NaNo email. Quoting this part because it's funny:
"As you move from the spring wood of Week One into the trying climate of Week Two, one or all of the following are likely to happen:
1) The fun, good-time feel of the first week will evaporate.
2) You will decide that your book is a miserable failure, that you are a creative fraud, and that novels are best left to novelists.
3) You will put 1 and 2 together, and decide to cut your losses and drop out now while the getting is good and the fall TV season is still relatively new.
I cycle through these feelings every year I participate in NaNoWriMo, and I have two words for anyone who finds themselves falling into a similar Week Two funk:
Cresta run.
Yep. The greatest toboggan run in the world is just one week away. Make it through the grumpiness and self-doubt of Week Two, and you'll be rewarded with renewed energy and an eerily improved outlook on your novel. Work diligently through this, the hardest week of NaNoWriMo, and you'll see the tangled mess of your story begin to unknot, and your book begin to soar.
I know it's hard to believe. But look at all the work you've done already. You have characters! You have settings! Your manuscript has grown large enough to injure a small dog!"
My manuscript has grown large enough to injure a small dog.
20051107
Recap: Half a time
Morning. Rain. Drizzle actually. Lots of typing in the library. More typing in the lounge. Spent time sketching and seriously considering whether to turn the story in LUNATICS into a Shoebox Project format because drawing seems to be so much easier for me now (even drawing guys!) it's unbelievable.
One week now. Keep thinking of Christine's "NaNoWriMo eats my soul", except have established that it's other people's soul that she'd been feeding it. Very diabolical, that Christine. Heh.
Ugh. More essay re-writes. It must be Monday again.
[edit 11:19] Might I just emphasize that FIVE drafts for one essay is TOO MANY? Because it is, and it's only a midterm, not my Thesis.
One week now. Keep thinking of Christine's "NaNoWriMo eats my soul", except have established that it's other people's soul that she'd been feeding it. Very diabolical, that Christine. Heh.
Ugh. More essay re-writes. It must be Monday again.
[edit 11:19] Might I just emphasize that FIVE drafts for one essay is TOO MANY? Because it is, and it's only a midterm, not my Thesis.
20051106
Recap: Another week
Slept until eight this morning. Yes, aaaaallll the way until eight despite of the twice-going off of the alarm clock. Am improving. Am fairly certain have spent far too long scrunched up in front of laptop and books already as creaking is something that should be happening at a much later age.
Math test again. Oh joy.
[edit 12:12] Random- resorting to desktop background to keep my spirit up already. Hem hem.
20051105
Recap: Untitled
It is 7:46 in the morning, I've done laundry, had breakfast, am working on NaNoWriMo, and I have something else to blame besides myself for this apparent bout of insanity. My roommate's alarm clock went off FOUR times consecutively, 5 minutes apart this morning, at the end of which I was left wide awake and she went back to sleep. Erp. I suppose that DOES mean I'm to blame after all, if we're going by comparason.
I tried, but it's a hopeless case, you see. Hope has long deserted eons and eons ago.
Only me and the janitors in the lounge. Everyone else's still asleep. Am typing on Wordpad as lounges have no wireless internet access and am not going to go into room and disturb roommate by unplugging my CAT5 cable (they're trying to get wireless in our dorms but it hasn't happened yet). Now the janitors are leaving.
Happy Saturday to you all.
[edit: 10:12]
Am posting now. Roommate still asleep. Been doing math. V. not normal.
I tried, but it's a hopeless case, you see. Hope has long deserted eons and eons ago.
Only me and the janitors in the lounge. Everyone else's still asleep. Am typing on Wordpad as lounges have no wireless internet access and am not going to go into room and disturb roommate by unplugging my CAT5 cable (they're trying to get wireless in our dorms but it hasn't happened yet). Now the janitors are leaving.
Happy Saturday to you all.
[edit: 10:12]
Am posting now. Roommate still asleep. Been doing math. V. not normal.
20051104
Recap: Haring
Haring Hall, since the begining of the school year, has its temperature (it seems, permanently) fixed at five degrees above normal. Stepping into Haring Hall makes me feel like a thawing, previously frozen potato. Now, if you've ever thawed a frozen potato, or have lived somewhere that involves potatos freezing in the winter, you know how that goes: limp, useless, and somewhat disgusting. It's not a particularly helpful state to be in for a math class at 8 in the morning.
I have nothing against chickens. They're just chickens.
[edit 20:47] Karaoke night. Unbelievable, is the word.
I have nothing against chickens. They're just chickens.
[edit 20:47] Karaoke night. Unbelievable, is the word.
20051103
Recap: Untitled
I am unnecesarrily sore from wielding a hoe, from yesterday's lab. Weeding by hand is so much more therapeutic, though I'll grant that chopping down stuff agressively does have its plus in anger management.
Let's see...have an uncanny amount of reading and writing to do. Classes today, then more writing and/or reading. Have pushed math homework till Saturday again which probably wouldn't be too good of an idea since I have test next week, had I any choice in the matter. Oh well.
At least it's not Wednesday anymore.
P.S. Get well soon, Lucy?
[edit: 17:30]
Mice can sing. Article from NY Times this Tuesday, found link to sound today. You can hear it here.
(links directly to .mp3 file)
Let's see...have an uncanny amount of reading and writing to do. Classes today, then more writing and/or reading. Have pushed math homework till Saturday again which probably wouldn't be too good of an idea since I have test next week, had I any choice in the matter. Oh well.
At least it's not Wednesday anymore.
P.S. Get well soon, Lucy?
[edit: 17:30]
Mice can sing. Article from NY Times this Tuesday, found link to sound today. You can hear it here.
(links directly to .mp3 file)
20051102
Recap: Et al
Discovered new use for the quiet study section in the library, at least in the morning: half of the people in there were SLEEPING! I wonder if I was typing too loudly or something.
Another day, another math homework, another test. All's right with the world still.
[edit 11:31]
I need to rewrite most of my apocalyse paper. Funny thing is, the teacher's aid asked if I knew how to use footnotes and I was just thinking about KATE STORY III. Ha. Footnotes? Yeah I've seen them before. Hem.
Another day, another math homework, another test. All's right with the world still.
[edit 11:31]
I need to rewrite most of my apocalyse paper. Funny thing is, the teacher's aid asked if I knew how to use footnotes and I was just thinking about KATE STORY III. Ha. Footnotes? Yeah I've seen them before. Hem.
20051101
Recap: The lack of sanity
First of all, in return to Lucy's post yesterday:
Of course.
Second of all, have gone and picked up a voice recorder for the student documentary project. Will be attempting that at regular intervaults (ahem...fixed intervault intermittence) I suppose.
Third of all. I feel not sane. Happy National Novel Writing Month to you.
I'll be posting the story, but, before I give you the link, let me warn you about the HORRORS of no grammar, lots of typos and basically NO PLOT worth speaking of. Woe to the sado-masochist who insists on reading it but, having warned you, I really cannot spare any sympathies.
Joking. Only about the sado-masochist part because I know what curiosity can do to a few friends of mine. Mind, however, all the other parts of the warning are TRUE.
Link here. Please remember: and curiosity killed the cat.
Of course.
Second of all, have gone and picked up a voice recorder for the student documentary project. Will be attempting that at regular intervaults (ahem...fixed intervault intermittence) I suppose.
Third of all. I feel not sane. Happy National Novel Writing Month to you.
I'll be posting the story, but, before I give you the link, let me warn you about the HORRORS of no grammar, lots of typos and basically NO PLOT worth speaking of. Woe to the sado-masochist who insists on reading it but, having warned you, I really cannot spare any sympathies.
Joking. Only about the sado-masochist part because I know what curiosity can do to a few friends of mine. Mind, however, all the other parts of the warning are TRUE.
Link here. Please remember: and curiosity killed the cat.
20051031
Recap: Huh
Have finished test. Returned to room, was very tired until heard wracket outside the door just in time to see a troop of ISers trick or treating! Ran out with camera but, as can be seen, camera none-too-coorperative at this hour. Molly (roommate) finally took pity on me and let me use her camera which actually FOCUSES and so I have these pictures uploaded while someone's playing the soundtrack from THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS. Excellent, isn't it? This FOCUS thing. 
And Lucy, looks you have someone competing for your position as Knight In Shining Armor. AHEM! No Spanish inquisition going on here, though.
Recap: The 25th hour
Roommate's alarm clock went off way too early this morning, after which she passed out back to sleep (I vaguely remember her going to bed sometimes between two and three am) and I was left wide awake. So, extra hour for me this morning, attempting to sort through my schedule, again.
Registration for classes went fairly well. I have 15 credits so far, meaning 15 hours per week of classes, and because it's the winter quarter, I plan on adding another class to satisfy my GE requirements, which would've given me a total of 19 units of credit which means, consequently, I have to wait till pass 2 appointment to register for it because pass 1 only allows a maximum of 17 credits.
Winter is going to be more heavily academic. Less trips home can potentially give me as much as six extra hours per week which I can be apallingly boring about. (i.e. studying)
I THINK there's a trick-or-treating occuring in my floor tonight. Will leave more candy out then, I guess. Still being amused by the "Death is Waiting for YOU" sign, there's, as just reported, yet another variation that goes "This is what Death looks like" with the picture of a skull on it.
And feliz el Dia de los Muertos to you too.
Registration for classes went fairly well. I have 15 credits so far, meaning 15 hours per week of classes, and because it's the winter quarter, I plan on adding another class to satisfy my GE requirements, which would've given me a total of 19 units of credit which means, consequently, I have to wait till pass 2 appointment to register for it because pass 1 only allows a maximum of 17 credits.
Winter is going to be more heavily academic. Less trips home can potentially give me as much as six extra hours per week which I can be apallingly boring about. (i.e. studying)
I THINK there's a trick-or-treating occuring in my floor tonight. Will leave more candy out then, I guess. Still being amused by the "Death is Waiting for YOU" sign, there's, as just reported, yet another variation that goes "This is what Death looks like" with the picture of a skull on it.
And feliz el Dia de los Muertos to you too.
20051030
Recap: Untitled
Studying. Physio-styled. Class have not warranted bio-styled studying (which was always closer to massive-panic attacks anyway). Later will take a break and wander over to Rite Aide, perhaps, and purchase Halloween candy, because I have no idea what my floor is planning to do and thought I should be prepared, even though I'll be absent during the peak hours of it.
My roommate can hand out candies if necessary, I guess (if she's here then). I'll settle for thinking wistfully about it during my test.
If time permits I'll be doing more apocalyptic reading...possibly then continuing on my massive research paper on the biotech/plant science ordeal.
My roommate can hand out candies if necessary, I guess (if she's here then). I'll settle for thinking wistfully about it during my test.
If time permits I'll be doing more apocalyptic reading...possibly then continuing on my massive research paper on the biotech/plant science ordeal.
20051029
Creative Venture: Starfish
[Beta]
Every wave in the darkness rising
Bringing with them mysteries hiding
In the repetitions in the back of my memories
Breaking likes the waves from the sea
There is only so tall that I could be
Fingers reaching for the sky’s infinity
Looking at the footprints without beginning or end
Among the starfishes stranded in the sand
How many would be there leaving without a trace?
How much do we know in the familiar faces?
How old would I be before I could understand
The patterns of the starfishes stranded in the sand?
The leaves are falling from the trees in a golden rain
The places are long gone but the feelings remain
Like the stillness in the afternoon, the words never said,
The nighttime stars and the satellites when their paths met.
Though we try so hard only so much can be done
Like a drop in the ocean that can never be found
But on top of the imperfections is where we stand
Looking at the starfish stranded in the sand.
How many would be there leaving without a trace?
How much do we know in the familiar faces?
How old would I be before I could understand
The patterns of the starfishes stranded in the sand?
And when the dawn breaks clear
Over the horizon, I’ll be there;
The waves breaking around my feet,
Throwing the starfish back into the sea.
[Wish I were intrumentally-talented so I can pound out the notes on a piano...or at least have a less squeaky-voice when I try to sing. Reference to both Lucy and Kate's previous journal entries as well as the "Starfish Story". Feel vaguely guilty for writing this instead of my essay, but what done is done, I suppose...it was a nice break, at least.]
Every wave in the darkness rising
Bringing with them mysteries hiding
In the repetitions in the back of my memories
Breaking likes the waves from the sea
There is only so tall that I could be
Fingers reaching for the sky’s infinity
Looking at the footprints without beginning or end
Among the starfishes stranded in the sand
How many would be there leaving without a trace?
How much do we know in the familiar faces?
How old would I be before I could understand
The patterns of the starfishes stranded in the sand?
The leaves are falling from the trees in a golden rain
The places are long gone but the feelings remain
Like the stillness in the afternoon, the words never said,
The nighttime stars and the satellites when their paths met.
Though we try so hard only so much can be done
Like a drop in the ocean that can never be found
But on top of the imperfections is where we stand
Looking at the starfish stranded in the sand.
How many would be there leaving without a trace?
How much do we know in the familiar faces?
How old would I be before I could understand
The patterns of the starfishes stranded in the sand?
And when the dawn breaks clear
Over the horizon, I’ll be there;
The waves breaking around my feet,
Throwing the starfish back into the sea.
[Wish I were intrumentally-talented so I can pound out the notes on a piano...or at least have a less squeaky-voice when I try to sing. Reference to both Lucy and Kate's previous journal entries as well as the "Starfish Story". Feel vaguely guilty for writing this instead of my essay, but what done is done, I suppose...it was a nice break, at least.]
Recap: Good Morning
Let's see what's in store for me today. Hm...
Math, math, plant bio essay, IST essay, possibly IST reading if I finish early, studying for psychology which takes up an indefinite amount of time.
Ah the joys of the academic school year. There is really nothing else I can add to it at the moment.
[edit 12:09]
Just went out to lunch and it is the perfect day out there. Or at least I think it is. Blue sky, fluffy clouds, breeze, just-right temperature, the works.
And here I am still in doors, doing homework. This is depressing. I'm going to give myself a break at 3pm and go wander around campus or something. From the fact that I seldom am drawn outside because of sheer WEATHER you can conclude how nice the day must be.
[edit 13:40]
Happy international internet day.
Math, math, plant bio essay, IST essay, possibly IST reading if I finish early, studying for psychology which takes up an indefinite amount of time.
Ah the joys of the academic school year. There is really nothing else I can add to it at the moment.
[edit 12:09]
Just went out to lunch and it is the perfect day out there. Or at least I think it is. Blue sky, fluffy clouds, breeze, just-right temperature, the works.
And here I am still in doors, doing homework. This is depressing. I'm going to give myself a break at 3pm and go wander around campus or something. From the fact that I seldom am drawn outside because of sheer WEATHER you can conclude how nice the day must be.
[edit 13:40]
Happy international internet day.
20051028
Recap: Another Week
It's midterms week, and obviously we lot looked so pathetic that my math professor felt it necessary to instruct us, at 8 in the morning, to get some extra hours of sleep this weekend.
Would that were possible. The quote of the day (actually, yesterday), was "I can't pass -out, I don't have the time!" So, you see, the sudden and mysteriously exponential growth of our workload is...alarming, to say the least.
Sort of gray and drizzily today. We call it the Davis weather. Meanwhile, I'm including some pictures from our ice-cream social, this Monday. 
German history MUY horrible. Actually, just boring, but I felt like complaining. What else? Oh yes, will not be going home for about four weeks...camera sort of malfunctioning now (yes, I am very sad)...heating system went on on Wednesday and I had a mild nose-bleed last night (or this morning) sadly forshadowing the relationship between me and the heating system for the rest of the winter. Still working on essays and will need to once again dedicate Saturday morning to math. My IS project partner is doing the 21-math series and they're doing the infinity sequences and series. Yes, THOSE things, my dear 04-05 calc comrades, remember the hours of agonized torture? Actually, don't remember it. Something are best left forgotten, mathmatical horrors being somewhere near the top of the list.
Blogger server is being strange and refuse to let me upload the photos. Will attempt again later.
[edit 12:55] Word: Photobucket.
Would that were possible. The quote of the day (actually, yesterday), was "I can't pass -out, I don't have the time!" So, you see, the sudden and mysteriously exponential growth of our workload is...alarming, to say the least.
Sort of gray and drizzily today. We call it the Davis weather. Meanwhile, I'm including some pictures from our ice-cream social, this Monday. German history MUY horrible. Actually, just boring, but I felt like complaining. What else? Oh yes, will not be going home for about four weeks...camera sort of malfunctioning now (yes, I am very sad)...heating system went on on Wednesday and I had a mild nose-bleed last night (or this morning) sadly forshadowing the relationship between me and the heating system for the rest of the winter. Still working on essays and will need to once again dedicate Saturday morning to math. My IS project partner is doing the 21-math series and they're doing the infinity sequences and series. Yes, THOSE things, my dear 04-05 calc comrades, remember the hours of agonized torture? Actually, don't remember it. Something are best left forgotten, mathmatical horrors being somewhere near the top of the list.
Blogger server is being strange and refuse to let me upload the photos. Will attempt again later.
[edit 12:55] Word: Photobucket.
20051027
Creative Venture: Apples
eden
once
now lost
paradise
gone
the spirit of man
forever striving
the eye focusing
searching
seeing
past dream
into reality
into historical future washed with gray
the heart beating
mind seeking
for the promised truth
past life
the potential realized
choices made
times past
then again
and again
and again
giving up
and gaining
again
paradise gone
spirit
forever striving
[Composed at the more-or-less unholy hour of 4: 17am, when my roommate has gone an entire night without sleeping to work on her essay and thus inducing mild-insomnia in my case. It looked better if I can do tabs, which I can do here using div tags but am currently too lazy to do.]
once
now lost
paradise
gone
the spirit of man
forever striving
the eye focusing
searching
seeing
past dream
into reality
into historical future washed with gray
the heart beating
mind seeking
for the promised truth
past life
the potential realized
choices made
times past
then again
and again
and again
giving up
and gaining
again
paradise gone
spirit
forever striving
[Composed at the more-or-less unholy hour of 4: 17am, when my roommate has gone an entire night without sleeping to work on her essay and thus inducing mild-insomnia in my case. It looked better if I can do tabs, which I can do here using div tags but am currently too lazy to do.]
20051026
Recap: Longfellow & Far Too Many Editorials
"The day is dark, and cold, and dreary...." Yes I still remember that poem and can probably recite it, in a moment of geek-induced literacy. The main point here being that it has rained for the first time here at Davis. Perhaps rain is an overstatement...it's more of a refined drizzle that made my bike all drippy when I got out of math. Good thing I had a small towel-rag thing with me. Plant bio lab this afternoon, think we're grafting grapes. If lucky will be inside, if not...well...I have just enough time for shower AND dinner before my next class, aren't I lucky?
Meanwhile, have subscribed to the free-online-NY Times ...subscription? (Redundancy department of redundancy, aye) Have found this headline in the newspaper this morning: "Wal-Mart Memo Suggests Ways to Cut Employee Benefit Costs", and am now imagining the mental stability of students under a certain anti-Wal-Mart history teacher when he hears of the news. Not that he usually needs a reason to rant, but this can induce such a bout Going-Off-Topic that lesson plans might need ...well...to go on a temporary hike? Then there's the article called "Legalized Torture, Reloaded" which left me...speechless, I think, would be the closest description.
Otherwise news have been utterly depressing, especially after another hundred-page or so reading about the end of the world. Counter-balancing that I have finished reading the shoe-box project and yes, it's a wonderful showcase of writing, though I'm still not sure that I entirely approve of interpreting relationships, heterosexual, homosexual, or otherwise into the story when it wasn't there but hey, this is fanfiction so I'll just file it away there. Very good writing though. Feels slightly disillusioned about Moony at the end but, agreeing with Lucy, it was definitely a happy ending.
Chocolate has been ruined for me though, for however long it might be. Heh.
Insert: Kate, I highly suggest de-caf tea.
Meanwhile, have subscribed to the free-online-NY Times ...subscription? (Redundancy department of redundancy, aye) Have found this headline in the newspaper this morning: "Wal-Mart Memo Suggests Ways to Cut Employee Benefit Costs", and am now imagining the mental stability of students under a certain anti-Wal-Mart history teacher when he hears of the news. Not that he usually needs a reason to rant, but this can induce such a bout Going-Off-Topic that lesson plans might need ...well...to go on a temporary hike? Then there's the article called "Legalized Torture, Reloaded" which left me...speechless, I think, would be the closest description.
Otherwise news have been utterly depressing, especially after another hundred-page or so reading about the end of the world. Counter-balancing that I have finished reading the shoe-box project and yes, it's a wonderful showcase of writing, though I'm still not sure that I entirely approve of interpreting relationships, heterosexual, homosexual, or otherwise into the story when it wasn't there but hey, this is fanfiction so I'll just file it away there. Very good writing though. Feels slightly disillusioned about Moony at the end but, agreeing with Lucy, it was definitely a happy ending.
Chocolate has been ruined for me though, for however long it might be. Heh.
Insert: Kate, I highly suggest de-caf tea.
20051025
Recap: Tea, Stir-fry, and Dorm Life
While going down the stairs today I was suddenly hit by the realization that I am a college student.
Yeah, I can imagine people's expression when they read that. Kate, stop injuring yourself.
What I meant was, though the knowledge was always there, somewhere, hovering in my mind, I don't really consider it or think about it, and then there comes some moments, like today, when it comes and smacks me over the head (much like how a few people are probably thinking of doing right now) and make me go a little dazed and cross-eyed, even though I can't really go cross-eyed, and say: huh.
Yep, I'm in college. I live in a dorm. I eat at the DC where I discovered that I am, in fact, hopelessly addicted to tea and Chinese food (tea addiction growing for some unexplanable reason). I am a college student and my life feels like it got flattened and now there's this one solid layer of reality.
Hello reality, thought you ate your heart out. Apparently not. Well, cheers.
And there's the homework of course. Nothing screams 'realism' like homework. Nothing kills off inspiration quite like homework either. Or imagination. Which is probably why it feeds realism in the first place and yes I realized I'm rambling and I don't know why so I'll kindly stop torturing you, my dear readers, and go do something useful now, such as starting my plant bio paper.
[edit 15:04]
Can you imagine someone from year 30 of the Common Era saying "Woe is me, my heart has been false, and my soul is very sad" ?
It makes me laugh for some reason.
My soul is very, very, sad, I'm afraid.
[edit 15:10]
Oh dear. Doing this homework is bad form when I'm in the mood to poke fun of things. I'm doing a summary on the conversation between Michael the angel and Zerubbabel the descendent of David and all I can think about Mike, i.e. Michael and what an ridiculous (I'm sorry, Kate) angel he would make. Arg need to be serious, except passage contains text about talking fig trees. (Messiah Text, Universal Blessings, Mid. Tehillim, p 168a if anyone is interested, though probably not.)
Yeah, I can imagine people's expression when they read that. Kate, stop injuring yourself.
What I meant was, though the knowledge was always there, somewhere, hovering in my mind, I don't really consider it or think about it, and then there comes some moments, like today, when it comes and smacks me over the head (much like how a few people are probably thinking of doing right now) and make me go a little dazed and cross-eyed, even though I can't really go cross-eyed, and say: huh.
Yep, I'm in college. I live in a dorm. I eat at the DC where I discovered that I am, in fact, hopelessly addicted to tea and Chinese food (tea addiction growing for some unexplanable reason). I am a college student and my life feels like it got flattened and now there's this one solid layer of reality.
Hello reality, thought you ate your heart out. Apparently not. Well, cheers.
And there's the homework of course. Nothing screams 'realism' like homework. Nothing kills off inspiration quite like homework either. Or imagination. Which is probably why it feeds realism in the first place and yes I realized I'm rambling and I don't know why so I'll kindly stop torturing you, my dear readers, and go do something useful now, such as starting my plant bio paper.
[edit 15:04]
Can you imagine someone from year 30 of the Common Era saying "Woe is me, my heart has been false, and my soul is very sad" ?
It makes me laugh for some reason.
My soul is very, very, sad, I'm afraid.
[edit 15:10]
Oh dear. Doing this homework is bad form when I'm in the mood to poke fun of things. I'm doing a summary on the conversation between Michael the angel and Zerubbabel the descendent of David and all I can think about Mike, i.e. Michael and what an ridiculous (I'm sorry, Kate) angel he would make. Arg need to be serious, except passage contains text about talking fig trees. (Messiah Text, Universal Blessings, Mid. Tehillim, p 168a if anyone is interested, though probably not.)
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