Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Time Lapse

Well, I've screwed up my sleeping schedule again. Now I've been sleeping at around 11am and then waking up at 7pm. The problem is, I've become majorly unproductive. Just reading the textbook is taking me more time with all the distractions of the computer. It doesn't help that there are no questions for this course. There are no sample exams and not nearly enough questions. All there remains is to read and understand the material. But I can't learn just by reading. It's not my nature. I have to do problems in order to see the pattern in the material. Why is this making me so useless....

Anyways, we're pretty much stuck on our FYDP. So screwed. Going to have to ask Texas Instruments if they have the stuff that we need. If not, I have no clue what we're going to do. I hate problems. They're messy and unplanned for. Well, big problems anyways. Small problems gives a meaning to life.

I realized that when I go back to TO for my five days of break that everyone else would be in a panic-study mode. Dang. So that means that I'd probably be doing nothing but spending my time at home. Oh well... maybe I can go downtown or something and play around a bit. That reminds me, I have to get a letter for Needles Hall. Have to dig out RESP again. I'm broke...stupid double term. Six thousand for the term. Sigh.

On the plus side, I've made some food that I enjoy eating. First off is chicken broth rice made in the style of a risotto. I have no clue if I made it right, but it still tasted pretty damn good. To accompany it, I made pork chops with a crispy flour shell that tasted a bit like KFC. The meat tasted like the soy sauce I brined it in though. A mixed success. I also made my baked bacon, which accompanied the egg omelettes I made using a mix of flavoured bacon mayo. It tasted pretty good too. I'm especially proud that I got the damn technique of rolling the omelette down. Took me a couple of tries (like a couple of days of eating eggs), but I think I got it. My last dish, just made today, was calamari fritti. Or fried squid. Not as good as restaurants, I think my batter mix sucked. I don't have cayenne pepper for one, and the pot I used to fry it in wasn't the best. Nevertheless, the results were pretty good. At least I can stomach it =). Mmm...oh yeah, did I tell you I made these like 4am in the morning. My schedule is mixed up I tell you! Oh well, hopefully that fire alarm didn't wake too many people up. I'm just glad that my suitemates already went back home. Oh well... =)

Well, back to reading communications and stop procrastinating. It is the last barrier before heading off to fourth year. And then one more year to decide what to do with the rest of my life. Fun.

Sigh.

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Fourteen Days.

Well, a short period of hell is over. And now we have a rest.

What am I doing to relax? I have no clue. It's been a while since I've last done so. Last time was probably just after midterms with no labs or anything. I started to play DOTA (Warcraft 3 for all you uninitiated) and I got bored. I started watching Scrubs and House and I got bored. I don't feel like working or relaxing it seems. Reading a book seems to be very unmotivating for me. Writing seems to be out of reach. I don't know. It seems like everything's a bland stale color and I don't feel like doing anything. Darren and Allen are back in TO (Darrick's still here, but I think he wants to catch up on sleep). Most people are either already studying for the last exam (ECE 318) or in TO. Kenny and Jian went back to Ottawa. I just don't feel like doing anything.

Sigh. I need motivation. I need it badly. But I also need a damn good reason to tell myself to get off my lazy ass. Nothing is easy in this world is it. I'm in the mood to try something new, but something that's not too effort-intensive.

So I decided to check facebook and see what's up. It is a very good procrastination tool. Use it wisely.

So anyways, something I've thought about for the last while. What exactly are we doing? Life is such a rat race it seems that I wonder about what we're trying to do. After a discussion with someone (a person I knew (apparently) in HS, I don't remember. but seems pleasant enough) on facebook about religion and God, I think I have come to the conclusion that I may believe in a higher power, but Christianity is not it. Right...moving on.

As well as the meaning to higher powers, I have recently thought about what our goals will be in life. Well, I don't necessarily have a goal. This kind of makes me envy those that do. Right now, I can't even imagine what my life would be in 5 years. Yes, I've used this prediction system before, at the end of High school, imagining what university would be like. So far, it hasn't turned out exactly like it should be, but I suppose it could be a lot worse. Well, so far, life hasn't been a complete diaster, so that's good. But I suppose I should plan on what I should do after I finish my undergrad. Luck demands it.

But I just don't know, what exactly am I looking for out of life? Biological success? Romantic success? Materialistic success? Ugh. Am I looking for success at all? After all, success means you're growing up. Failure means you can stay a child. I wonder if this is psychological. Joe's suggested I take a chance because I really have nothing to lose. It's true, looking at it that way.

It may very well just be an infatuation. It's like this blandness of life has spread even to feelings. But if you think about it, it could just be lack of contact. I mean, out of sight, out of mind? Heh, what exactly am I looking for anyways? I guess until I can figure that out, there's really no point.

Oh, and I found Kyla on Facebook. I haven't seen her in years!

And Darren, why are 4 girls and 2 guys posed in front of the Stag Shop in a picture? Why is one of them you? Are you doing something you're not telling the rest of us? Dang...GJ GJ GJ.
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Battle of ECE 380. Technical Victory.
Battle of ANTH 102. Technical Victory.
Battle of ECE 332. Decisive Victory.
Battle of ECE 362. Strategic Retreat.
Battle of ECE 318. Undecided.

We'll see the last battle of the war soon. Guess I should go prepare.

I'm really bored. Sigh.

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

These are my breaks

Woo...after yesterday's marathon run over 380, today's 332 marathon was not as successful. After finishing only 2 problem sets in 11 hours, this has not bee too productive. Granted, I did take a 3 hour nap in between and eat for 2 hours. But the fact remains it remains slow progress. I need those breaks, or my sanity will crack.
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And we continue the epic. Why do I document so much? Because my memory is faulty to a degree. I'll forget all about this in a week. Sigh.

So once we were inside, I quickly located Colleen, who had been inside longer than we have by around 10 minutes. We ditched our coats and by this time, Darren, Roma, Vani made it in. After a few more minutes (3 minutes. that's what a few means after all) David came in. The gang was mostly reassembled. Darrick and Catherine went to sit with Catherine's friends(her chem eng class I think?). We saw Junette and Chris sitting at a table. They were sitting with the ASIC group and they had sat there for approximately 4 hours before we got there. Apparently they came at 9. We also saw Janet who was supposed to come with us, only I messed up the time and she got in with no line at 7 oclock. She was sitting with a bunch of friends so she wasn't too disappointed.

We ordered two pitchers of Keith's. Sigh. No matter what, most beer taste like horse piss to me. The lighter beer is like water, and most of the darker beers have off-tastes. Keith's didn't taste that good for some reason. The only table we found had one chair and was meant for 2 people. We hover over there for a while until we decided it would be much better to sit outside. We cleaned off a table and brought chairs over. So after drinking a few beers, Colleen complained of the cold and went inside to get her coat. David, being a woman, also couldn't stand the cold and went in to grab his. Janet came out and decided to chat with us. The gist of the conversation went like this (or at least the memorable parts).

Janet: White guys are cheap and selfish. Asian guys are nice and kind, but they're losers.
Us: No comment.

Well, what can we really say about that? Of course, later, we realised that she only talked about two ethnic groups. Oh well. So we decided to talk some more, and meanwhile I would go in and out and see what's up. Darren went in to get some fries, which we brought outside. Roma and Vani was going around with their partying friends. Somehow, after our two pitchers were done, people complained about the cold and so we went inside.

Once inside, we met back up with Lan and Lisa, who refused to go outside into the cold. David, being the alcoholic that he is, went to get some shots for us. He got 4 shots of Polar Bear which was given to me, Darren, Colleen and himself. After taking the shot, we went out to the dance floor. As David commented, Colleen got really into it. I don't get what the deal is with dancing and girls, but girls really like dancing. I have yet to understand the reason behind this. Needs more observation.

So after dancing (because it is tiring) we kinda went towards the tables. Since at this time, the ASIC group went to the dance floor, there were several chairs free. Junette had gone to the dance floor, but Chris did not go. So Darren and I sat down and talked to Chris for a while. Then 3 girls (who I assume are friends of his or Junette), tried to get him to the dance floor, but he just kept refusing them. Sigh. Anyways, at this point, Francis spotted me and he said he was surprised to see me there. Apparently, he just couldn't imagine me being at the last bomber of the term (pretty much. No one is going to go before exams) because his brother wouldn't. Tried to defend Edmund by saying that I did hear he does go out and he does get drunk sometimes. Francis counters that Edmund is probably a cheap drunk. Who knows? I've yet to go out drinking with Edmund.

At this point, we just randomly went inside and outside and the dance floor. Lan and Lisa went back to the dance floor with Darren. David and Colleen soon followed after. I saw Simon (my friend from NDI last term) and chatted for a bit. He was pretty drunk. Saw Manny talking to Lan. Went over and talked to him for a bit. Although neither of us really remembers each other.

At this point, it was pretty late. We just danced for a pretty long time. Until around 12 oclock when we just sat down and wander around to talk to people again. Talked to Janet for a while. And remembering her comments about the ethnicity of guys, I decided to ask her about hispanic guys, like Darrick. Her response was "Darrick who?".

Later, I saw Catherine and Darrick again. This time they were sitting down, after a bout of dancing on the dance floor I assume. He apparently won a Molson T-shirt. They were about to leave. So I decided to go back out to the dance floor and waste some more time. At around 1, when most people were about to go, Colleen needed to find her roommate to leave, since it was around 1. Being the tracker that I am, found her while the rest of them couldn't. Lan, Lisa, Darren and David were getting one last shot. They only got 5 shots. I gave mine to Colleen, mainly because it was a Melonball. I hate the artificial taste of melons. After the shot, Colleen left with her roommate. Lisa, Darren and David wanted to leave, so they left. I was supposed to look after Lan. Lan was talking to Karima(was it Kharima or Karima. I forget), and I really didn't want to be there. I was getting kind of sleepy. So Lan told me to go and that she wasn't that badly off. So I went home at around 1:30. And thus concludes our chapter.

I may have forgotten several details. I don't remember.

Anyways, here's some photos.














Darren dressed in his jacket after just getting into bomber and then outside again.















Colleen and I having a drink.














David posing with his beer. That alcoholic.















Darren and Colleen inside Bomber. Sorry, my camera wasn't fully charged and I couldn't use the flash as much as I wanted to.















Colleen feeling her face. Claims that it felt hot. Flushed would probably be the more correct term. Meh, be like Darren and blame it on genetics.















Darrick and Catherine. Sorry for the blurry picture. I'm going to blame my lack of flash and my lack of steady hands (not from the alcohol. I just have unsteady hands).
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Hope you guys enjoyed those photos. It's the first time I did photos on any of my blogs besides that firetruck photo.

Anyways, I should get back to studying for another bit to prepare for tomorrow's review session again.

Today's question is: How do we know we are truly happy? After all, the person you can lie the most adeptly to is yourself.

A good night to all and to all a good night.

Monday, April 03, 2006

Another 6 days

Well....

I haven't been productive at all. While others are busily studying....I have been distracted by WC3/DOTA way too many times. Add that to trying to figure out why our FYDP is so simple in some respects and way too difficult in others is also time consuming. Add to the growing confusion of what resources we can get....well, it's hard to figure out.

But its all good now. Now that I have gotten it out of my system, I have been hard at work trying to understand topics in general. Today, I have studied everything past midterm for 380 and done all the homework except for 2 assignments. This is good. I also found out that my first exam is on the 6th and not the 4th like I originally thought. Score!

Tomorrow, I will recommence studying earlier. This time for 332. Or 362. I don't know which yet. 362 will definately be a killer as I don't understand a thing. Maybe I should read the notes over for once.
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Non-academic topics.

Went to the bomber again this past wednesday. It was the last bomber of our 3rd year (and actually, only our 3rd time there).

Let's narrate in Chronological Order.

Well, we started the day with the plan to meet at 5:00 in the SLC. However, given that was the last day of class and skipped 380 (since I never liked the class) to find exams in engsoc office, it was hard to keep track of people. It wasn't till 4:30 that I could get into contact with some of them. Colleen at this point had already called me 3 times, and me, being the person that forgets to turn off silent mode after class, clearly misses the calls. So meanwhile, I noticed the calls after I get to SLC, and called her back. Turns out she missed the first shuttle from CLV and will be late. Called her back telling her that everyone else was late too. At this point, I use the computers at the SLC. The one I was using was so slow, I couldn't even log myself out. Yes, during this time, I was so bored, I was determined to do a Sudoku puzzle from the Imprint. Being the logical person I am, I thought it should be a breeze. It wasn't. I was still doing it when Colleen got there. Now, I'm a pretty obsessive-compulsive guy...kinda anyways...and once I get to doing something, I do it regardless of what else I'm doing. Now, we still didn't know where the rest of the gang was, so we wandered towards UWPlace. This was because all of the gang lived there and it would be easier to find people. Because David had call me once, he was the first target.

So Colleen and I were walking towards UWPlace and she was making fun of me how I was still doing that sudoku puzzle while walking. This is no challenge from me, as I used to read novels while walking, and a tiny scrap puzzle would not be hard. Now, don't think of it as rudeness as I was walking along with a girl and didn't engage in conversation. I'm just very good at multitasking, a bit weird, and obsessive-compulsive. Bah. Even as I write that, it doesn't sound like a very good excuse. But meh. I'm me.

So we went to David's place, only to buzz on the intercom and be told by Jack he went out. Jack told us he was at Darren's already, so we went to Darren's in a very short while. David was ready to go as soon as we got there and because no one else wanted to eat, we decided to go.

As par the usual circumstance, we had trouble of where to eat. We asked Colleen where she wanted to eat because she was the one that had least contact with the plaza so we'd like her to try new things. In the end, we settled on the Taiwanese place (again) because she's been there once (only), and the fact that there really wasn't that many good spots in the plaza.

While we were sitting down, waiting for our food, Kenny and Jian showed up. I was still working on the Sudoku puzzle. David suggested that I let Colleen help me finish it. I was really hesitant to this because Sudoku is something you do on your own. Not doing/finishing it on your own ruins the whole experience. He brought up the whole looking stupid thing again. I let Colleen look at it and she comments on one thing I missed. Meanwhile, Ammon got a hold of David and he was coming to eat with us. Lan and Vicky was called and were told we were at the Taiwanese place. We ordered the vegetarian combo for them ahead of time (with Vicky's to go since she had East Asian Studies to go to). Then, Carmen, Colleen's CLV roommate in Kinesology, called her to ask if she could hang with us. So this gathering became big. So meanwhile, we ate dinner and talked. I was still doing that Sudoku puzzle. After a while, I got bored of people commenting on it while I was working on it so I ripped it into little pieces. We ate pretty quickly and then we left for Darren's, going for a little 'pre-drinking'. Lan went home to 'change' (which means apparently one hour of changing clothes, putting on makeup...etc. Seriously, how come it takes 1 hour? I'll never understand girls.)

At Darren's place, Darren calls us. It was 7 and we were at his place doing a bit of predrinking, so we told him to come back. Since Lan wasn't there, and the fact there was no juice I could use, I made a Kaluha milkshake. I mixed the proportions by eye, until I forget that there was no ice in the shake. After putting ice in it again, only a few people tried some, Kenny, David, Colleen and I. This was because I only made 4 servings. Carmen left at this point to be with her friends. After that, Darren, David and I took some shots of Soho, mainly because there was no juice to mix with it. Then another shot of Soho. Then another shot of Tequila. After that, Darren and David, still feeling that it was not enough, got another shot of Tequila. I stopped. After all, I might having to take these guys home and the fact that Colleen might have to be walked home (since she lives all the way at CLV). Anyways, we leave for SLC. Jian was scared of the crowds and drinking and went home instead. The gang at this point consisted of David, Colleen, Darren, Kenny, Ammon, and I.

It was packed. I mean absolutely packed. The line stretched from the front of the bomber all the way to the back of the door, where Tim Hortons was. We got there at 7:45 and it was already halfway to the door. Good thing, our good friends Darrick and Catherine were already there since their friends drove them there. At that point, we had approximately 30 people in front of us. Ammon and Kenny left, after their conscience will not let them join us with Catherine and Darrick. So we wait. And wait. And wait. David called Lan and told her to come "NOW" since the line was so long. She said that Lisa and her will arrive shortly. At around 8:15, Roma and Vani showed up and they had to hop a small fence to join us. And we wait. and around 8:25, they let Colleen in, mainly because she had an out-of-province ID (more like out-of-country passport). At 8:30, Lan and Lisa showed up. At first, they tried to hop the fence. Lisa went first, and fell back over. The guards saw and shook their head. Knowing they didn't have another chance at getting in, I was standing in front of them as a sight shield and as soon as the female guard that was looking this way went inside for a bit, they tried to hop the fence...this time Lan first. This was successful and they joined our line. Soon, at around 8:45, they let 10 people in and I was somehow there. It took another 10 minutes before the gang was inside.

What follows after will have to wait another day. This post is long enough and it is 4:34 am. Stupid Daylight Savings Time.

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As to other topics...I have no opinion. I don't know what to do. I do best at things I can copy, imitate or have done before. But how do I start something that I have never done before? And another thing, I think that I may have thought too long and hard about it that I just don't care anymore. It's cool if it's successful, but it's not the end of the world if it's not.

I guess in a sense, everyone wants to find that special someone out there. But to what purpose? No matter what, you are still an individual. Love is not the merging of two people into one. Not even the merging of the feelings of two people into one.Perception is what shapes us and there is no way for you to share your perception with someone else. Language is a very ineffective and inexact way for us to share perception. Unless we have virtual reality that's capable of sharing the exact information in neurons to two different people, that perception will never be the same. Yet, love is still being experience now in the world. So is love just a meeting of similar minds, perception and physical components? Or is it something that's supposed to transcend everything? Heh. This is way too deep for me to consider right now considering I have no such experience. And the fact its 4:30 in the morning. I doubt anyone near my age has experienced something like that. Although, after watching "A Walk to Remember", it might be untrue. Some people may have experience love even when they were younger then me. Maybe I'm just sheltered. And yes, I know "A Walk to Remember" is a chick flick, but it appeals to my sentimental side. And yes, I'm still idealistic in this area. Probably because I still haven't experienced it. =P

Oh, and I just read all of ElGoonishShive. Another interesting webcomic with at least 2 of the main characters hooking up. I don't know why I like it when there's at least some of the main characters hooking up. It's like an unexpected bonus? Or maybe it's because love is supposedly a main theme of our lives?

Oh, and I read somewhere that while most western society and culture favor passionate love (such as physical intimacy), eastern society and culture favor compassionate love (such as emotional and intellectual intimacy). I kind of wonder how Asian people in western societies fare. Do they prefer the former or the latter? Oh, yes, I found this off of wikipedia. Yes, I'm addicted to reading random articles. They're interesting.

My question of the day is then, what exactly do we desire most in the world?

And to that, I sleep. A good night to all and to all a good night.