beautiful is my picture

i got infamous. it is AWESOME.

it's funny, cause the game is based around a karma system, where you can either be good or evil (derr), with three ranks for each side. i had already decided before playing the game that i would be good for the first playthrough, and evil for the second playthrough, since each one has different side missions, different powers, as well as a different storyline. in the first mission, a "karma moment" came up: food crates were dropped in the park. i had the choice either to let the starving civilians eat, or to fry them and take the food for my friend and myself. i, being the goody good person that i am, let them have at it, and i felt good about myself. but then, some dood on tv was badmouthing me and saying i was trying to steal their food, so all the twenty or so civilians start STONING me. i'm like, what the heck!

so i killed them. eheheh. [it didn't have major negative karma in relation to the mission-based "karma moment"]

but yo, i'm really looking forward to the evil playthrough, cause if you know me, i just like to kill and destroy and blow up stuff, like my allies and innocent civilians. ahh, so good. it's hard to resist the urge while i'm on my nice-guy playthrough.

johnny also loves the game and has his own save file. i think he's going to play through it all.. which.. i guess isn't a big shock since it's summer anyway.

now, for my other hobby, i'm looking to head down to rutgers pretty often this summer to play BADMINTON, so if anyone would like to come along and play, just lemme know. LIKE WITH WORDS.

[randumzz]

-i don't wear jeans. the last time i recall wearing a pair of jeans was back in middle school, 6th grade or something. but after that, not at all. i'm considering getting a pair because my favorite pair of khakis got inked in the wash, and i had to go to RCCC with sweatpants, which looked super bum. and i'm not doing that again. plus, sometimes you need jeans for stuff, and i'm like .. i don't have jeans.

-i think for all of high school, i only wore shorts, even through the winter. (well, minus snowboarding.) i love my khakis! then i wisened up. but that was after my legs grew like mad cold resistance. eheh.

-after my first year at college, i've become more of a finger food eater. i try to eat everything i can with my hands, and when i can, also pick food that i can eat with my hands (but not at the expense of yummies, of course). i dunno, utensils are just hasslesome. and i really dislike that feeling/sound when metal slides against my teeth.

ps. also, for those of you not in the know: whether you have a blog or not, you CAN add comments.

august evenings bring solemn warnings

i love movie theatre popcorn!

there is nothing quite like the taste of that popcorn which only comes from those glorious popcorn-kernel-popping machines behind that crazy-expensive snack bar.

however, over the years, i've seen clearview cinema 12's jumbo tub of popcorn rise in price from $5.50 to a whopping $7.50 (i think, the figures might be a bit off, but it was at least a two dollar difference). but with free refills and that undeniable yummy popcorn taste, i still kept going back for more. FREE REFILLS. UNLIMITED. i would always get a whole refill after the movie on the way out, even if i was sick of it, because i knew that the next day, i would get to indulge in the yummy popcorn goodness AGAIN. love it. oh, and only the jumbo tubs are refill-able.

[wow, i realize that when i want to write an entry on one specific idea i have in mind, i end up (voluntarily) explaining all the details of the other topics related to the idea.]

however, i later realized that going to the movies with a group of friends who all want popcorn is the way to go, since you can split the cost, and simply get more refills! even better, if each person has a container to hold popcorn in (like a big ziploc bag), there's none of that pesky need to share!

tonight, i went to see terminator salvation with johnny.

man, i really dig that optimum rewards benefit, now that i'm home again to be able to use it. [for those of you who don't live in this area, optimum rewards members are granted a special offer at clearview cinemas each tuesday, in the form of two free movie tickets, or four discounted ($6) tickets. which basically results in the parsippany clearview theatre selling out and being uber crowded in the parking lot, as all the asians and indians (and oh, there are so many) of p-town go to the movies. delightful.]

as i was in my car waiting for johnny to check which showtimes weren't sold out, i witnessed two interesting sights.

the first, was a bunch of indian people getting out of a car to walk into the theatres, and one man was holding a bag of popcorn popped straight out of the microwave. i actually laughed out loud. man, those indians.

the second incident, was a little [caucasian] kid who was carrying an empty jumbo popcorn tub, clearly purchased from clearview cinemas on a previous visit.

the second incident was the one that made me think. can i do that? i'd save myself $8 every time if i just brought in my old tub.

i mentioned my two sights to johnny, and he brought up an idea, the likes of which i had heard numerous many times in my head, but never from another source.

"we could just take a tub from the garbage"

YES JOHNNY. HOLY. WOW. YES. YESSSSSSS.

i never really brought it up because i didn't think anyone would want to do it with me, but can you imagine the joy to my ears when johnny said that? aw yeah.

we went in. we checked trash cans. we saw a tub in a trash can, filled with lots of miscellaneous waste. we debated pouring out all the crap in it and then using it. we checked some more trash cans. then, in one out-of-the-way trash can, we see an empty jumbo tub, face up in the garbage. VICTORY. i seize it. johnny gets the refill.

we watch terminator salvation, which is a decent movie. made all the better with popcorn. which, in itself, was made all the better because it was FREE.

that's right! let's see you tell me of someone who did something as smart(?) as we did!

i will say, though, we both did feel a little dirty while eating. but, i wisely told johnny, "hey, just like if you had to re-wear your underwear for a day: just don't think about it."

if you've known me for a while now, this is the kind of topic i've brought up and debated multiple times. the eating-stuff-off-the-ground kind of topics.

first example: i walk into a restaurant with some friends, get seated at a table, and on a nearby table, the guests had clearly left and there is food leftover in the form of some fries on a plate. i want to eat it. my friends, however, react as though i just said i wanted to eat my barf.

is it really that bad?!

ah, yes, johnny. finally, someone who understands me.

[rx3]

-when i was a kid, my parents said that i cried unbelievably much. over the smallest things, i just wouldn't stop crying, to the point where my parents brought me to see doctors because they thought there was something wrong with me. ... maybe there is. -sob-

-is it weird if i write something and actually find it humorous? kind of like, making a joke and actually being amused at it. ish. i find that i have a few moments of those whenever i blog. which makes me happy.

-choob is a name i came up with in 8th grade. it means chinky noob. or chinese noob, too, i guess, for those of you offended by the word chink. :x i also don't find that word to be offensive. rather, i find it humorous when someone calls me that. at one point in time, i tried to get some classmates to call me that, but my attempts were futile.

ps. poll on the right if you haven't yet. -->

you're my summer that fades to these cold autumn days

I JUST SAW AMBER PACIFIC LIVE IN CONCERT LAST NIGHT. SO SICK.

after listening to and loving amber pacific's albums for many years, i finally went with hanna and saw them in concert yesterday at the school of rock in south hackensack. there were about 50ish people or so, so it was a small little gathering. also there were fight fair, farewell, and houston calls, bands which i had never heard of before.

probably said many times before, but seeing a band play in concert is totaaaally different. EPIC, almost describes it well. i wish i had gone to see amber pacific's concerts in years past, when they still had their first lead singer, matt. it was an awesome feeling seeing them perform, but it had just a slight tinge of bittersweetness because i was thinking about what it would have been like if matt was there. sad sad.

i (as well as hanna, since she copied me :P) got a new(!) poster from them and got it signed too (as did hanna, since she copied me :P)!

now i just have to see anberlin in concert, and i'll have seen my two favorite bands!

AW YEAH. (that's dango, the sicknasty drummer.)

amber pacific is awesome. listen to them now. ask me for some songs!

on the other hand, i am like a poster fiend now. i have two amber pacific posters (not including the signed pre-order truth in sincerity one), one anberlin poster, and two other posters. i can't wait until i live in a suite next year when i can finally put these up.

[rrr]

-i love word games. prolific, scrabble, speed scrabble. i don't like vocabulary, because my vocabulary stinks, but i like making words with letters and manipulating words to make other words. fun stuff like that. yahimnerdy.

-water tubing at AYL has been the single most fun/exhilarating thing i've done in my life [and among the top funniest things].

-i am red-green colorblind. surprise! yes, most of you knew this already. to clarify, this means i SEE colors, but i have trouble differentiating colors, and also require large samples to better identify colors. typical mix-ups include.. light blue/purple/pink/gray/white. dark green/dark brown. charcoal/brown. yellow/green. blue/purple. you know, stuff like that.

a machine where your heart once was

kfc broke my heart. i remember when i was younger, eating at fast food places was always a treat for me because my parents didn't spoil me with that, and we ate at such places very sparingly, especially kfc. and so whenever the fried chicken-y goodness was brought home, i ate up that stuff like crazy!

skip ahead a buncha years. the next time i ate at kfc was sometime in early high school. first impressions: wait.. something's off.. this doesn't taste like the chicken i remember.. -looks at box- "Now with NO TRANS FAT!" (or something like that.)

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. -heart breaks-

it's still yummy, the only thing that was affected were the wings/drumsticks/breasts (the things on bones), the crispy skin just doesn't taste quite the same. the colonel's strips and popcorn chicken and all that boneless stuff still tastes the same. and the kfc bowls are still mad yummy (though they didn't have them way back when).

what if i WANT the trans fat? it's not like i'm gonna binge on kfc, i'm still going to enjoy it in moderation, but the trans fat made a HUGE taste difference. they should have an option where i can request it on my chicken.

oh, and the same thing happened with cup noodles (with MSG i think).

[3r]

-my favorite color is blue. next, orange.

-i love physics. the concept of it. doing physics problems (at least so far). reading about it. buying geeky books about it. in the same vein, i'm a sucker for physics games. like, simple games based around a nifty physics engine, requiring out-of-the-box physics-related thinking to achieve goals, like WORLD OF GOO. PLAY IT NOW.

(wow i started writing this post about 4 hours ago, couldn't think of one more random thing, and then played killzone for a while and just now realized i have to finish this post. dang.)

-i have a $150 men's ring from tiffany's. i got it for my 18th birthday from a bunch of people at church. i don't really know why i wanted it. now it just sits at home, since i'm afraid i might ding it up or lose it if i wear it, plus it's a little out of place if i just wear it normally. and i lost my silver polish cloth. dang it! but it does have its sentimental value to it, regardless. :]

we write to apologize

i REALLY ENJOY blogging!

thinking about what to write about.. putting thoughts into sentences.. cracking myself up witht he sentences i formulate..

but HELP! if i do WANT to blog, and i do think about it A LOT, then why don't i blog more often?

it's because i feel too CONSTRAINED. hopefully my explanation will serve as an adequate apology to katie (my grant-writer sister who is semi-dependent on my blog to get her through her boredom at work), as well as everyone else who looks(/ed) forward to my blog entries, but is(/was) constantly disappointed by the lack of them.

i'm not sure how you would describe me (like in terms of OCD or perfectionist or whatever). you can diagnose me afterwards in the comments. my thought process typically goes like this:

hey, i wanna blog about this idea!

oh, wait, does it "fit" in my blog?

is my blog one of those blogs about everyday events?

is it about my thoughts in the present?

is it about reflections on the past?

do i want my blog to be about completely random stuff?

oh nose! I HAVE TO BE CONSISTENT!

wait, i haven't even blogged in such a long time!

this has to be a good post!

are people expecting a better post cause i haven't blogged in a while?

should i blog more often?

i want to!

wait, but i can't, because i still don't know what my blog is for!

but if i blog too often, won't people automatically assume each post is less thought-out?

but if i blog too rarely, people may forget my blog exists.

how often do people visit blogs anyway?

bah, i'll just save my ideas and post next time.

i am WAY too constrained. i think i get hung up on the littlest details, because i have this need to make things optimal. why am i like this? :| how can i fix this? (that's a legit question.)

good thing, though, that it's not a cycle that goes on forever, since there is a breaking point where i chug out a ginormous post full of ideas that i wanted to blog about multiple instances before but didn't. and that's what you're reading right now.

if you take anything from all i talked about above, just remember that whenever i actually DO get around to writing a post, every post i write is scanned, proofread, revised, arranged, and edited with care before posting.

---

i just moved all my stuff home today. i didn't think all the stuff in my dorm room would take up THAT much space in my car. i wish i took a picture of it, since my trunk and backseats were competely stuffed. i have yet to unpack it all, though. i found out that the only badminton thing available at the PAL is on saturday evenings, because some asian guy rents out one a gym of badminton courts and then people go there and pay him to play. i'm gonna go on saturday to see what it's like and ask him about pricing. but man.. ONLY saturdays... :[

---

being in my bloggy mood, i feel like i need to write something about my reflections on my freshman year of college. lots of things come to mind. (but i actually i don't want to start writing about any of them because i know i won't say EVERY detail about each of them that i want to say, and thus, if it's not complete, it's no good and there's no point to even begin writing. yes, this is actually how my mind works. GAH.) so maybe here's a summarized version:

[college reflections]

-i've definitely grown, and am still growing a lot in a variety of different ways. and it's good.

-friends are great. board games build community like no other.

-schoolwork is harder in college. the act of getting yourself to do schoolwork is harder in college. the combination of those two is killer.

-college really is mostly what you make of it. the friends, the academics, the events. i'm not gonna say stuff never "happens" to you to get things start, or that some circumstances aren't worse than others, but largely, initiative is a huge thing to have in mind day to day.

-having a car on campus is GREAT.

-despite it sounding gross, having had my roommate pee in our room is a funny memory to have, and an even funnier story to share.

---

please comment if you can, because i know you have thoughts. it could be the littlest thing. comments go far in encouraging me to write future posts (and more often) as well as in inspiring me on different topics to write about.

---

also, i thought of an interesting idea for my blog. i really don't know how it occurred to me, but i like random things, and i like telling people about myself, so putting those two together, i came up with this: at the end of every one of my blog posts, i'll simply have three facts about myself. no money-back guarantees here, it's really just a grab-bag from my life. look forward to them! i hope they're worth your time. :]

[3 randoms]

- i love pineapples. i don't like eating them. i like how they look. i like how they smell. i like the design of it and how it's so unique and different from other fruit. i would like it more if it were blue. i have a collection full of random pineapple stuff (candle, cologne, gold-plated fruit cutter..), that's always open for more new additions! :]

- sometime in middle school, for a year or so, i didn't brush my teeth at all. i just didn't feel like it, and i didn't think it was really necessary. i didn't get any cavities either. yuck. going into high school, i changed my ways. i brushed my teeth whenever i showered, which pretty much only meant every morning, since i showered in the morning. a tad better. but going in COLLEGE, oh man, things completely changed. danyo, my discipler, challenged me to brush my teeth twice a day, morning and evening, as a test of discipline. now i brush my teeth twice a day. yum. :]

- i have dandruff. (and of course i use the almighty head & shoulders which conquers all.) except, it seems like times when my hair is too long, i still get mad dandruff. coincidence? i think not, because i think the way it works is that since my hair is so thick, once my hair gets longer, it's harder for the h&s to clean out / weed out / eliminate the dandruff, despite my conscious efforts to shampoo a couple jillion times. however, it's not completely bad, because when i realize i have this dandruff, i like to try to pick/brush all of it out of my hair. it delivers a certain satisfaction akin to picking my nose. (which i definitely don't do anymore. especially not in private. psh.)

now that i think about it, i think this 3randoms-per-post idea could create some potentially interesting situations in the future with anonymous readers of my blog.

ALL THE BETTER!