i have a tendency to run everywhere.  walking is just too slow.

subjunctive

what a beautiful word.

where has this word been my whole life?

if you ever needed a crash course on preston 101

(8:57:30 PM) Preston Chang: i'm an introvert, but i love being with people and learning about people
(8:57:36 PM) Preston Chang: and learning about their personality, like i said
(8:57:48 PM) Preston Chang: so i love playing board games with people, because it exercises my competitive side
(8:58:12 PM) Preston Chang: and a board game is a situation that has a common goal and set parameters, and it throws all the players into that microcosm
(8:58:25 PM) Preston Chang: and i love observing others and interacting with others through the game
(8:58:37 PM) Preston Chang: since, in a way, it breaks down our ways of thinking into those set parameters
(8:58:40 PM) Preston Chang: i LOVE board games.
(8:58:57 PM) Preston Chang: i like being skilled at things
(8:59:07 PM) Preston Chang: so my hobbies typically involve refining and honing my skill in a particular area
(8:59:36 PM) Preston Chang: i made a list of "stuff i've spent my time on"
(8:59:45 PM) Preston Chang: in high school, i yo-yoed
(8:59:53 PM) Preston Chang: including offstring (NOT chinese yo-yo, gosh)
(8:59:55 PM) Preston Chang: and that was neat
(9:00:06 PM) Preston Chang: but 1) i didn't have friends who shared my same desire to get better
(9:00:21 PM) Preston Chang: and 2) it took too much effort to get better
(9:00:27 PM) Preston Chang: (reason 1 also caused reason 2)
(9:00:33 PM) Preston Chang: i also solved the rubik's cuber
(9:00:34 PM) Preston Chang: cube
(9:00:47 PM) Preston Chang: that was a really fun and fascinating spatial exercise activity
(9:00:58 PM) Preston Chang: i loved learning how to solve it (through looking up online methods)
(9:01:04 PM) Preston Chang: and i highly recommend it to anyone
(9:01:10 PM) Preston Chang: it's not difficult, and it's NOT just memorizing stuff
(9:01:17 PM) Preston Chang: (but if you're going to, i would recommend you a certain method)
(9:01:29 PM) Preston Chang: going into it, i didn't want to just memorize stuff, 'cause i felt like that was lame
(9:01:42 PM) Preston Chang: so the method i found and learned and still use to this day is the lars petrus method
(9:01:48 PM) Preston Chang: and it solves 2/3 of the cube by pure logic alone
(9:01:58 PM) Preston Chang: it doesn't require memorizing algorithms until the final layer
(9:02:09 PM) Preston Chang: my favorite is the 2x2x2 cube, it's just so cute :)
(9:02:17 PM) Preston Chang: my fastest consistent time was 30 seconds on the regular 3x3x3
(9:02:27 PM) Preston Chang: i played tennis in high school
(9:02:30 PM) Preston Chang: badminton in college
(9:02:37 PM) Preston Chang: and now i'm back to tennis (because it's hard to find a place to play badminton)
(9:02:52 PM) Preston Chang: i played tetris in college (tetris arena on tetrisfriends.com)
(9:03:10 PM) Preston Chang: and typically, for all my hobbies, i would say i'm good at them, definitely "above average"
(9:03:24 PM) Preston Chang: since "above average"/"proficient" is the standard i usually set for myself
(9:03:35 PM) Preston Chang: good enough to dominate people with average skill level :p
(9:03:54 PM) Preston Chang: so in tetris i learned how to t-spin, and THAT was also a very fun intellectual exercise
(9:04:07 PM) Preston Chang: and i'm not a godly player, but i can hold my own against most people
(9:04:15 PM) Preston Chang: 65 TPM and 30 LPM when i'm on my game
(9:04:39 PM) Preston Chang: i played pool for a bit of time due to irvin's influence (since he's really into pool), 'cause he let me borrow one of his pool cues and i brought it to school
(9:04:46 PM) Preston Chang: and there are pool tables all over campus, so i got to play whenever i wanted :)
(9:05:00 PM) Preston Chang: i'm not great at pool, def better than average, but not good enough that i would say "i play pool" hahah
(9:05:15 PM) Preston Chang: for all of these things, i have/had like no friends to play with
(9:05:22 PM) Preston Chang: i'm always the passionate one and trying to get other people interested
(9:05:33 PM) Preston Chang: i love teaching, so i'd teach plenty of newbies (anyone who wanted to learn)
(9:05:43 PM) Preston Chang: but i was still missing opponents who were on my level
(9:05:51 PM) Preston Chang: i play tf2 (love team fortress) still to this day
(9:06:06 PM) Preston Chang: brawl - i'm not fantastic at it, but pretty good (all relative, of course)
(9:06:11 PM) Preston Chang: but i would say i can hold my own against most people
(9:06:19 PM) Preston Chang: i love cycling
(9:06:24 PM) Preston Chang: don't have a community to cycle with though :(
(9:06:28 PM) Preston Chang: (i know cccnc has one :D)
(9:06:31 PM) Preston Chang: i love snowboarding
(9:06:43 PM) Preston Chang: don't have regular snowboarding buddies, though, but i like to go each season
(9:06:52 PM) Preston Chang: i'm going to stratton for a 3-day trip this winter yayyyy
(9:07:06 PM) Preston Chang: i go off jumps and stuff, no spins or rails, though
(9:07:14 PM) Preston Chang: still getting comfortable being in the air and stuff
(9:07:22 PM) Preston Chang: i've gotten hurt three times over six seasons hahaha
(9:07:26 PM) Preston Chang: but i still love it
(9:07:36 PM) Preston Chang: i'm an audiophile, so i love me a good set of headphones
(9:07:58 PM) Preston Chang: i have the hifiman he-400 open headphones (planar magnetic technology!) with the jds labs o2 headphone amp
(9:08:06 PM) Preston Chang: it's a $500 audio setup
(9:08:10 PM) Preston Chang: and i love it :)
(9:08:26 PM) Preston Chang: my audio journey started in my sophomore year of college (09-10)
(9:08:36 PM) Preston Chang: with a $99 pair of headphones
(9:08:46 PM) Preston Chang: and my current one is my third pair of headphones that i've owned
(9:08:52 PM) Preston Chang: (i sold or gave away the previous ones)
(9:09:07 PM) Preston Chang: and i don't see myself upgrading for a while
(9:10:07 PM) Christine Liang: and it seems like when you get interested in something you strive for greatness in it, is that like a self-acheivement thing or like a competitive thing?
(9:10:53 PM) Preston Chang: i take pride in what i do, and my philosophy is that if i'm going to spend time on a particular hobby, i want to be good at it!  so it goes hand-in-hand with my competitive nature
(9:11:03 PM) Preston Chang: being skilled at things is fun
(9:11:07 PM) Preston Chang: being mediocre at things is not
(9:11:18 PM) Preston Chang: more time invested (/practiced) = more fun!
(9:11:39 PM) Preston Chang: basically, i like things that involve people
(9:11:50 PM) Preston Chang: and things that involve mental analyzation
(9:11:58 PM) Preston Chang: because i find both to be incredibly fun
(9:12:03 PM) Preston Chang: physics is my favorite science
(9:12:21 PM) Preston Chang: i love puzzles (rubik's cube, indie puzzler games, LOGIC PUZZLES)
(9:12:28 PM) Preston Chang: not things like crosswords or sudoku haha
(9:12:49 PM) Preston Chang: it's just not really my thing
(9:12:54 PM) Preston Chang: but i've probably heard every logic puzzle out there so..
(9:13:01 PM) Preston Chang: oh yeah LOL
(9:13:09 PM) Preston Chang: i love webcomics, too
(9:13:10 PM) Preston Chang: like xkcd
(9:13:13 PM) Christine Liang: ??
(9:13:14 PM) Preston Chang: BUTTERSAFE is probably my favorite
(9:13:15 PM) Christine Liang: eh?
(9:13:18 PM) Preston Chang: dude what
(9:13:22 PM) Christine Liang: it's like you're speaking a different language
(9:13:26 PM) Preston Chang: WEB-COMICS
(9:13:29 PM) Preston Chang: comics on the web
(9:13:35 PM) Christine Liang: buttersafe?
(9:13:37 PM) Christine Liang: xkcd?
(9:13:43 PM) Preston Chang: http://buttersafe.com/2007/05/01/jk-bird/
(9:13:47 PM) Preston Chang: buttersafe is a webcomic
(9:13:48 PM) Preston Chang: and it is adorable
(9:13:56 PM) Preston Chang: http://buttersafe.com/2008/09/11/shark-rider/
(9:14:05 PM) Preston Chang: http://buttersafe.com/2009/02/05/fire-and-water/
(9:14:13 PM) Preston Chang: http://buttersafe.com/2011/03/01/robot-cat/
(9:14:15 PM) Preston Chang: http://buttersafe.com/2011/04/26/more-robot-cat/
(9:14:19 PM) Preston Chang: http://buttersafe.com/2011/05/19/even-more-robot-cat/
(9:14:20 PM) Preston Chang: I LOVE CATS
(9:14:25 PM) Preston Chang: SO I LOVE ROBOT CAT from buttersafe
(9:14:57 PM) Preston Chang: http://www.xkcd.com/
(9:15:05 PM) Preston Chang: xkcd is a math/physics/geeky webcomic
(9:15:10 PM) Preston Chang: it's been going on for a looooooong time
(9:15:22 PM) Preston Chang: and i feel like i have a connection with randall (the writer/drawer)
(9:15:30 PM) Preston Chang: through his comics, through the forums, through his BLOG
(9:15:32 PM) Christine Liang: lolllll
(9:15:42 PM) Preston Chang: i love stuffed animals
(9:15:49 PM) Preston Chang: i'm a huge sucker for stuffed animals :|
(9:15:58 PM) Preston Chang: i love some tv shows and some anime!
(9:16:08 PM) Preston Chang: LIE TO ME and MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE
(9:16:10 PM) Preston Chang: all-time favorites
(9:16:17 PM) Preston Chang: i'm still watching the walking dead right now, it's phenomenal
(9:16:25 PM) Preston Chang: and i just started attack on titan today and it is IMMENSELY AWESOME
(9:16:33 PM) Preston Chang: i haven't really watched anime since high school
(9:16:35 PM) Preston Chang: so, this is great
(9:16:48 PM) Preston Chang: i also have a ps3 and i love video games (the right kinds, of course)
(9:16:57 PM) Preston Chang: oh and i play piano <3 p="">(9:17:05 PM) Preston Chang: and i listen to music
(9:17:13 PM) Preston Chang: but if you want to ask me about what kind of music i like and listen to
(9:17:18 PM) Preston Chang: i am too tired to explain all that LOL
(9:17:36 PM) Preston Chang: i enjoy life's experiences
(9:17:37 PM) Preston Chang: i love eating
(9:17:46 PM) Preston Chang: i'm not a foodie
(9:17:55 PM) Preston Chang: but when i like a particular food, i LOVE it
(9:17:58 PM) Preston Chang: french fries and popcorn come to mind
(9:18:10 PM) Preston Chang: i love smells (i smell everything)
(9:18:16 PM) Preston Chang: i love the way things feel, too
(9:18:24 PM) Preston Chang: things with nice texture, soft - fuzzy - smooth - interesting
(9:18:33 PM) Preston Chang: and i love gadgets (like computer peripherals)
(9:18:41 PM) Preston Chang: so i have a mechanical keyboard which has a very nice sound and an even better feel
(9:18:51 PM) Preston Chang: and a nice mouse (excellent feel)
(9:18:57 PM) Preston Chang: mousepad, etc.
(9:19:26 PM) Preston Chang: sometimes i just pick up my ps3 controller and play with the joysticks for a few minutes because i love how they feel
(9:19:35 PM) Preston Chang: did i mention i love cats?
(9:19:36 PM) Preston Chang: and hamsters
(9:19:48 PM) Preston Chang: i could get a hamster now, actually, so i was considering it
(9:19:48 PM) Christine Liang: preston i am learning a lot about you
(9:19:53 PM) Preston Chang: when i had to go to the pet store with a friend recently
(9:19:59 PM) Christine Liang: do you usually have this much energy?
(9:20:03 PM) Preston Chang: yes, always
(9:20:04 PM) Christine Liang: haha yes
(9:20:16 PM) Christine Liang: i'm just impressed
(9:20:24 PM) Preston Chang: i'm a night owl but i like to wake up early to make the most of my day
(9:20:25 PM) Christine Liang: in how in depth you go
(9:20:28 PM) Preston Chang: i love typing
(9:20:30 PM) Christine Liang: loll idk why
(9:20:35 PM) Preston Chang: i love going in-depth with things
(9:20:36 PM) Christine Liang: waking up early*
(9:20:39 PM) Preston Chang: everything i do!
(9:20:45 PM) Preston Chang: relationships
(9:20:47 PM) Preston Chang: conversations
(9:20:49 PM) Preston Chang: hobbies
(9:20:53 PM) Preston Chang: analyzing things
(9:20:58 PM) Preston Chang: understanding things
(9:21:14 PM) Preston Chang: i believe there is always more than what meets the eye
(9:21:22 PM) Preston Chang: and i also believe that digging that out is always worth the effort
(9:21:47 PM) Preston Chang: everything i spend time on, i've thought it out and considered its implications and its benefits
(9:21:58 PM) Preston Chang: i'm a thinker
(9:22:14 PM) Preston Chang: i love to talk if you ask the right questions
(9:22:56 PM) Preston Chang: i also love nerdy / geeky things
(9:23:02 PM) Preston Chang: and sci-fi things
(9:23:03 PM) Preston Chang: techie things
(9:23:04 PM) Preston Chang: cute things
(9:23:32 PM) Preston Chang: but i love movies, too!
(9:23:41 PM) Preston Chang: esp the ones that involve dramatic thinking
(9:24:39 PM) Preston Chang: if i had to pick one favorite movie of all time
(9:24:44 PM) Preston Chang: first that comes to mind is the matrix
(9:24:51 PM) Christine Liang: why
(9:24:53 PM) Preston Chang: because it is fascinating
(9:25:01 PM) Preston Chang: and basically the POINT of the movie is to get us to ask questions
(9:25:05 PM) Preston Chang: and it poses really, really good questions
(9:25:18 PM) Preston Chang: i'm sure the effect of watching it now is very different than in 1999
(9:25:21 PM) Preston Chang: but it still holds its own
(9:25:27 PM) Preston Chang: yeah movies that make me think
(9:25:28 PM) Preston Chang: love 'em
(9:26:07 PM) Preston Chang: I LOVE TOM CRUISE
(9:26:09 PM) Preston Chang: HOW COULD I FORGET
(9:26:10 PM) Preston Chang: I LOVE HIM
(9:26:13 PM) Preston Chang: favorite actor ever
(9:27:23 PM) Preston Chang: I LOVE HIS SMILE
(9:27:23 PM) Preston Chang: AND HIS HAIR
(9:27:25 PM) Preston Chang: AND HIS SMILE
(9:26:20 PM) Preston Chang: i don't want to hear anything about him being short
(9:26:23 PM) Preston Chang: i've heard it all
(9:26:33 PM) Preston Chang: i also love the fast and the furious series
(9:26:40 PM) Preston Chang: vin diesel and paul walker <3 p="">(9:26:45 PM) Preston Chang: and cars are cool
(9:27:31 PM) Christine Liang: lol you're such a fan girl
(9:27:34 PM) Preston Chang: I AM A FAN GIRL
(9:27:36 PM) Preston Chang: FOR TOM CRUISE
(9:27:37 PM) Christine Liang: HAHAHHAA
(9:27:52 PM) Christine Liang: this is gold
(9:27:57 PM) Preston Chang: this is my life
(9:32:03 PM) Preston Chang: i'm tired
(9:32:05 PM) Preston Chang: from explaining all that

sleeping

for me, sleep is an interesting thing.

i wouldn't say it's one of my loves, though i do enjoy it a lot. how much i sleep is pretty much dependent on everything else in my life, though i generally am sleeping between the hours of 12 and 3. waking up at 12 is a good time for me.

i'm someone who's always had a difficult time waking up, being easily tempted back to the dream world and the pleasure of "just a few more minutes" when i know i should be waking up. this has resulted in many missed classes, overslept lunch appointments, and frantic bike rides to wherever i have to be.

note: before we proceed, i would like to say that i am not a sleep expert, and have not studied anything about sleep. these are just my personal opinions and gatherings.

what i'm going to talk about next is how i fall asleep and what i need to sleep. i realized this is something i should have written much earlier, and would have helped to have before college started. nonetheless, here it is.

when it comes to falling asleep, people talk mainly of light and sound. and of course, the definitions of light and sound can be subjective. however, i honestly think that the main proponent to being able to fall asleep in your circumstances is simply believing that you can.

(these upcoming "requirements" are for when i feel normally tired, not extremely tired. also, these are for going to sleep at night, but also translate to napping.)

lights

i can sleep with the lights on, meaning the room light, so that automatically includes everything not as bright as the room light, such as a desk lamp, computer monitor glow, you name it. as for strobing lights.. maybe, i haven't tried that yet, but i can imagine it'd be a bit harder.

in any case, i don't get why this is hard. if there are lights on,

1) close your eyes.

2) don't open them.

3) fall asleep.

sound

sound is where it gets interesting and more complex. for me, the criteria for sound for which i can fall asleep to depends on how attentive the sound is to me. i believe the better able you are in making a sound "background noise", the less hindering it will be towards your sleep.

in my mind, sound can be categorized with two factors: consistency and harshness.

consistency is described as intermittent vs. constant. scattered vs. predictable.

the less you have to guess, and the less randomness inherent in the sound, the easier it is to sleep to it. i believe this is because it's easier for your mind to not think about the sound when the sound is predictable.

harshness is described as piercing vs. gentle, and to a lesser degree, loud vs. soft. piercing sounds are hard to put in the background, but that's not necessarily the same with loud sounds.

these two factors combine to determine whether or not a sound is attentive (instrusive) to your efforts to sleep. i believe consistency plays a bigger part in the acceptability of the sound than harshness does, in that it's easier to sleep to a constant harsh sound than to an intermittent gentle sound.

(note: intermittent means irregular intervals.)

examples:

computers humming - most people don't hear this anyway, but if you do, it's really constant and gentle, and can easily be backgrounded [easy]

portable heater - very constant, a bit louder, but still a gentle sound. [easy]

tv - constant, gentle, predictable. this seems to be the standard test for people's acceptance of noise levels as they trying to sleep. [easy]

concerts - perhaps you've seen people (parents?) fall asleep when they went with you to concerts. how? even though it's monstrously loud, they're able to effectively put the noise in the background and not have it bother their sleep. the noise, while loud, is predictable and constant. boredom also probably helps a good bunch. [haven't done it myself, but if i had to, moderately easy]

group chatter - group chatter tends to have a high level of consistency (save for the outbursts), which makes up for the high volume it can have.

few people chatter - a few people talking tends to have a lower consistency with a lower volume.

so, they're about the same. [pretty easy]

radio - a moderately gentle sound, but radio stations aren't constant enough- different songs, talking, commercials. [difficult]

typing - THE WORST! intermittent, piercing sounds (partly depends on the keyboard, but most keystrokes sound like bullets when you're trying to sleep). [difficult]

snoring - while the sound can be described as predictable since it's regular breathing, the gaps between breaths makes it not "busy" enough, and the sound quality is also not gentle enough. [difficult]

beyond the nature of these sounds, flexibility is important, and a lot of what flexibility entails is first, how hard you try to sleep despite surrounding conditions, and second, how much you believe you can fall asleep in those conditions. both of those play a big role in sleeping. for example, i've fallen asleep to all of the "difficult" conditions above, because as hard as it may have been, it wasn't impossible.

with that said, think about the conditions which you think you need to sleep

on a somewhat-related side note: when i sleep, i like to occupy my mind with active thoughts about something- usually badminton, hockey, blog entry ideas, tetris, or something like that. this is because it helps me to block out anything else around me, and thus help me fall asleep better.

i like to sleep on my tummy. :}

no scratching necessary

a question i get asked a lot is: "why do you smell everything?"

i've finally thought of an answer: "why not?"

consider a book, a piece of paper, a mousepad, a racquet overgrip, a playing card, and any other item whose intrinsic purpose is for something other than its fragrance. though not necessarily created with its smell in mind, who would deny that each item has its unique scent?

and i believe that each item deserves to have its unique scent experienced. :]

indie

q: why did i always find it hard to give fall out boy a try?
q: why did i always refuse to watch naruto?
a: because everyone was into it!

at the time, i didn't know why exactly i was particularly disinterested and resistive to these things. i just felt like i didn't wanna.

that was a few years ago. in hindsight, it's so obvious!

i have an indie complex! :OOOOO

now, i've actually only very recently heard about this definition of indie, and the "indie complex" itself, specifically, at memorial day retreat.

to me, indie was simply a description of bands and their music, based off of how well-known it was. i didn't know about the indie groups and magazines and their beliefs etc etc, and i still don't.

story: i started listening to owl city and developing a real taste and affection for their music around last spring. i went to see owl city in september of last year, just around the time "fireflies" started populating the radio stations, before they got big. it was AWESOME. i totally dug(?) their ocean eyes album, as well, which i got shortly after that.

but once they started getting more popular, i starting finding it "weird" (personally) to mention owl city as one of my favorite artists. moreover, it even felt weird to listen to owl city on my own time.

money question: why?

random thoughts:
it doesn't seem special anymore, that i like it.
if i say i like it, i'm just another one of the mainstream population.
does that mean i don't want other people to like the music i like? certainly not! quite the contrary, actually, i love sharing music i like with other people!

and here is where.. i don't know anymore. (this is far from a conclusive entry.)

i'm really interested in the psychology behind this whole indie thing.

i'm also interested in if this is a common thing for people to feel.

do any of you share similar feelings? is this something that people easily recognize about themselves?

-why don't some people use question marks when they talk online? is it a personal decision? is it out of laziness?
-i always wear boxers under swim trunks.
-swim trunks = board shorts?
-i think my music player is broken. oh well. fix it some other time.
-mcd's fries > bk fries. 7-4. win. take that, dan! :P

pw plz

my computer is freeeee to use.

my computer used to have a password on the log-in screen, but i gave it to everyone who asked anyway. that, and i only ever had to enter it whenever i had to restart my computer for whatever reason (which was rare because i never turn my computer off or lock it or have it set to ever go into standby or sleep or whatever). that made me realize that there was no point to have it. so i removed it.

when i moved into the suite at the beginning of this year, i made an interesting realization: everyone locked their computers when not in use and required a password to unlock them. and also had a need to incessantly lock it when not in use (to varying degrees).

i didn't think much of it at first, until i realized that no one (save for matthew) would actually tell me the passwords to unlock their computers if i wanted to quickly use it for something. he might unlock it for me, but nope, wouldn't give me the password no matter what. most of them also made it a point to lock it whenever they weren't going to use it, some the instant he left the computer, others only when leaving for an extended period of time.

i didn't, and still don't, quite get the point of these passwords and incessantly locking.

to a small extent, it makes me feel like there's no trust here! that, or we have some weird stuff we wanna hide. most everyone leaves their computer in his own room (as opposed to using it often outside of the suite), so that rules out the reasoning of strangers using their computers.

and yeah, i guess i wouldn't want anyone reading my emails or chats or something, but i trust everyone enough to know they wouldn't read through all my archives of conversations and go out and tell the world or anything. and in the case someone does glance upon a snippet of a conversation, so what? i know they wouldn't make a big deal out of it.

on the other hand, just because my computer is an open book to everyone else doesn't mean i'm going to treat their computers the same way if they kept them unlocked. at most i use it to look something up, and only when necessary.

the bottom line is, i just don't get the big deal about passwords and locking computers. i'm sure you all have your own reasons and such.

i'm really curious as to what your take is on this subject. do you constantly keep your computer locked?

about [we shot the moon - tunnel vision] -- i really like this group. why? 'cause it's the new group that jonathan jones (the lead singer of waking ashland) started after waking ashland split up. i was pretty sad that waking ashland split up because i loved their composure album, and even some songs of their final (and not as good) album, the well. and i only found out a few days ago that he started this group! AWESOME! i am so happy.

[r]
-when i was younger, my handwriting was pretty bad and for important things, like putting my name with sharpie on something i owned, i asked my sister to write it for me. and i would always marvel at how neat her handwriting was. i think my handwriting can now hold its own against katie's. >:]
-i have this thing where i like to fart in little bits at a time. some of you know this. heeheehe.
-i have this other thing where when i burp, i keep it in my mouth to suppress the sound, and then i blow it away so it doesn't get on anyone. ehheehee.

all too familiar ..

(11:21:43 PM) Eric Chen: yo
(11:21:45 PM) Eric Chen: questino
(11:21:54 PM) Preston Chang: sups
(11:22:03 PM) Eric Chen: say you were walking to class
(11:22:12 PM) Eric Chen: and in the distance
(11:22:16 PM) Eric Chen: you saw someone you know
(11:22:23 PM) Eric Chen: walking towards you
(11:22:29 PM) Preston Chang: you didn't ask me this already?
(11:22:31 PM) Preston Chang: but keep going
(11:22:32 PM) Eric Chen: when do you say hi/wave?
(11:22:43 PM) Eric Chen: cause if you do it when ur really far away
(11:22:45 PM) Preston Chang: LOL
(11:22:46 PM) Eric Chen: what would you do
(11:22:53 PM) Eric Chen: when they were like right in front?
(11:22:53 PM) Preston Chang: WOW!
(11:22:56 PM) Preston Chang: i always have that dilemma too!
(11:22:56 PM) Eric Chen: do you say hi again?
(11:23:04 PM) Eric Chen: dude i'm freakin distraught
(11:23:07 PM) Preston Chang: alrihgt
(11:23:10 PM) Preston Chang: here's how you do it
(11:23:28 PM) Preston Chang: 1) you see them from far away
(11:23:41 PM) Preston Chang: if they don't see you yet
(11:23:45 PM) Preston Chang: avoid eye contact
(11:23:47 PM) Preston Chang: until you're closer
(11:23:50 PM) Preston Chang: and then pretend you just saw them
(11:23:54 PM) Eric Chen: OMG
(11:23:55 PM) Preston Chang: and be like, oh HEY!
(11:23:56 PM) Eric Chen: thats what i do
(11:23:59 PM) Preston Chang: SCORE
(11:24:04 PM) Preston Chang: if they see you too while you're still far away
(11:24:08 PM) Preston Chang: say hi
(11:24:09 PM) Preston Chang: and wave
(11:24:16 PM) Preston Chang: (because it'd be awkward now to in this case)
(11:24:16 PM) Eric Chen: yes of course
(11:24:20 PM) Preston Chang: and then make small talk when you get closer
(11:24:24 PM) Preston Chang: if you actually WANT to talk
(11:24:27 PM) Preston Chang: slow down or stop
(11:24:30 PM) Eric Chen: omg so much pressure
(11:24:30 PM) Preston Chang: otherwise keep walking
(11:24:34 PM) Eric Chen: thinking of small talk
(11:24:35 PM) Preston Chang: kind of "on an agenda" feeling
(11:24:35 PM) Eric Chen: topics
(11:24:40 PM) Preston Chang: not really
(11:24:41 PM) Preston Chang: go with easy ones
(11:24:45 PM) Eric Chen: like how are you
(11:24:47 PM) Preston Chang: where you going
(11:24:48 PM) Preston Chang: what class
(11:24:52 PM) Preston Chang: and they'll usually ask the same
(11:24:56 PM) Eric Chen: true
(11:24:58 PM) Preston Chang: and that's it!
(11:25:08 PM) Eric Chen: do you know what i did once?
(11:25:15 PM) Preston Chang: and if you keep walking then by then you won't even have time to talk about all that
(11:25:16 PM) Preston Chang: what?
(11:25:32 PM) Eric Chen: i said hi twice once
(11:25:34 PM) Eric Chen: it was hialr
(11:25:46 PM) Eric Chen: to someone
(11:25:48 PM) Preston Chang: YOU WOULD
(11:25:50 PM) Eric Chen: got mee
(11:25:57 PM) Eric Chen: this was freshman year
(11:26:12 PM) Preston Chang: how awkward was it, on a scale of 1-10?
(11:26:17 PM) Eric Chen: 7
(11:26:20 PM) Preston Chang: 10 being "oh my gosh i want to run away" awkward
(11:26:41 PM) Eric Chen: LOL
(11:26:43 PM) Eric Chen: oh yeah
(11:26:47 PM) Eric Chen: i found out who the girl was
(11:26:50 PM) Eric Chen: that i saw on the bus
(11:26:57 PM) Eric Chen: but didin't know if she knew me
(11:27:02 PM) Eric Chen: it was kimberly or something
(11:27:15 PM) Preston Chang: haha nice
(11:27:35 PM) Preston Chang: eric you ask the questions that everyone (including me) is thinking
(11:27:37 PM) Preston Chang: i like that
(11:27:43 PM) Preston Chang: like the one you asked before
(11:27:45 PM) Eric Chen: aw tnaks
(11:27:46 PM) Preston Chang: what was it?
(11:27:49 PM) Eric Chen: thanks*
(11:27:51 PM) Preston Chang: oh like the bus situation?
(11:28:18 PM) Preston Chang: if you're facing someone you know but don't know their name so you didn't say hi to them?
(11:28:31 PM) Eric Chen: omgosh!
(11:28:32 PM) Eric Chen: i hate that
(11:28:59 PM) Eric Chen: and i dont' know whether to do a head nod, wave, or just say hi
(11:29:07 PM) Eric Chen: if i see somone
(11:29:11 PM) Eric Chen: i usually stick with wave
(11:29:20 PM) Eric Chen: more obvious then head nod
(11:29:26 PM) Preston Chang: yep
(11:29:34 PM) Preston Chang: head nod i reserve for people i don't know that well
(11:29:43 PM) Preston Chang: or like, those people you always see in your classes but don't actually know their name
(11:29:52 PM) Eric Chen: LOL
(11:29:57 PM) Eric Chen: i ignore those ppl

about [a rocket to the moon - life of the party] -- i like this song. 'tis all. :]

[facts about me, 3]
-when i was younger, i used to go to the bathroom and love making myself pee until i got to a full stream, and then immediately stop as fast as i could, and then pee full stream, and then stop, and continue that cycle until i couldn't pee anymore. i loved that feeling of relief.
-in the same vein, i LOVE that feeling of falling asleep when i'm mad tired. so, when i was younger, i used to set my alarm clock for like, 4 in the morning on a weekend. this way, when it woke me up in the middle of the night, i would be able to turn it off and then feel that GLORIOUS feeling of falling asleep again. kind of like waking up to your alarm clock in the morning, except in this case, it's so much more awesome-feeling because you're allowed to fall back asleep.
-when i was younger, and i slept in a sleeping bag, my dad told me that if i ever put my head under the covers for an extended period of time, i would die. i believed him, and was deathly (no pun intended) afraid of putting my head under the covers. one time, i was crawling around in my [zipped up] sleeping bag and i lost my way out, and for those 20 seconds as i was looking for the opening, i thought i was going to die. that was mad scary.

a wave tossed in the ocean

what's playing: playradioplay! is a band i discovered recently. their music is trance-y.. and very interesting. not quite like anything i've heard before.

what defines each of us as a person?

is it what we do? what we say? what we think?

for every person that i know, i can think of something for which i would think, "that's so ________!" (like robert with his "something iffy is going on here..." face of skepticism, or eric with his spontaneous "HAHA GOT ME!" expression)

people have their own personality traits, characteristics, and mannerisms, that's for sure. but are those what define a person?

which brings me to the question.. can people change?

here. think about your younger 5-year old self. and then your 12-year old self. and now your present self.

are you the same person?

have you changed?

have you grown?

does growth imply change?

are you still the same you back then?

i wonder if i've changed.. i often hear people say that i've grown, but what does that actually mean?

compared to, say, five years ago, i can think of a few differences. i've gotten more comfortable with social situations, more outgoing. i've gotten more "mature" by learning from different experiences that i've been through. i've gotten more knowledgeable through the regular intake of information around me, and school and stuff.

but am i different? i'm still the same old me, right? really, i'm asking you that. for however long you've known me, have i changed at all? after all, you would be the one to notice, not myself.

let's say for example you have a car. and say you replace each part of the car piece by piece, until every piece of the car has been swapped with a new one. you still end up with a car, "your" car, but now it has entirely different pieces. is it still your same original car? at which point (which piece?) did it change?

this analogy kind of misses out on the whole aspect of the human mind, which is kind of a big deal, but you get what i'm saying. when it comes to a human being, is there an "essence" or "soul" of a person that doesn't change, even if their external surface (words, actions) changes?

over time, we mature and adjust the way that we think about things. the way that we make decisions. the way that we prioritize. the way that we live, quite frankly.

but sometimes, i hear the line, "you're a good person. don't ever change."

what does that second part mean exactly?

do we have the choice to change ourselves into bad people?

is that supposed to be encouragement to not do bad stuff, going off of the assumption that what we do defines us?

does that mean we should only make good changes to ourselves?

what makes a good change "good"?

what do you think?

can someone change?

what makes someone who they are?

is there a concrete and permanent identity for each person?

.. have you changed recently?

[wouldn't you like to know]

-when i was younger, i often went with my parents to chinese restaurants. i would see other people have cans of soda, and i would ask my parents if i could get one too. they always told me that other people brought it themselves, because then i would know i couldn't get one since the restaurant didn't have any, and that i would never have thought ahead enough to ask to bring a soda before we left for the restaurant. tricky. very tricky.

-i always cherish gifts i receive. and so, when i receive gifts that are use-able or edible, i always hold onto it and put it on my shelf or something so i don't use it up. that's why i tend to not like "perishable" gifts, because then i feel bad not using/eating the gift, but then i would personally feel bad if i did because the gift is gone! but eventually, it'll go bad and go to waste, so then i'd feel bad again! because of internal conflicts like these, i end up with uneaten chocolate penguins in their original packaging that i got for christmas maybe two years ago .. and i JUST might get around to eating them. but probs not.

-you know the kneepits of jeans, where the creases are? and when you sit down and you stretch out your legs and you can feel them? i love feeling them.

it's like going to the moon

you know what?

i'm tired. so here, enjoy the song that i know you've all been waiting for, here are some random facts, and have a great holiday season!

edgar got me crystal pineapple salt and pepper shakers. yessss.

our suite is homo. and eric is a cutieeeeeeeeeeeee.

[songs for christmas! 4 of 4]
so here's the deal, i've picked four songs in anticipation of christmas, and i'm going to have a new one up in each blog entry that i post, the four weeks before christmas. ideally one post a weekend. 3 of the 4 songs are by artists that you know or have at least heard of, but i'm almost certain that you won't have heard any of the songs before. so they'll be foreign but in a familiar kind of way.
this week's song is: the christmas song, by owl city. push play!


aww yeah, the best for last. :]

[randomly stuffingly random stuff]
-i only eat finger foods with my left hand. that means chips, french fries, and the like. i guess it became habit because i do other stuff with my dominant hand, like use the computer mouse and stuff.
-a few winters ago, i buried some soda cans in the snow piles outside my house 'cause i thought it was a fun idea for some reason. i only remembered i put them there when i found them in the spring. yay!
-i eat starburst with the wrapper. :]

gift-giving

[songs for christmas! 3 of 4]
so here's the deal, i've picked four songs in anticipation of christmas, and i'm going to have a new one up in each blog entry that i post, the four weeks before christmas. ideally one post a weekend. 3 of the 4 songs are by artists that you know or have at least heard of, but i'm almost certain that you won't have heard any of the songs before. so they'll be foreign but in a familiar kind of way.
this week's song is: baby please come home, by anberlin & various artists. push play!



oh you know it's getting to the good stuff, 'cause anberlin is AWESOME. the first time i listened to this song, i was totally thrown off 'cause i wasn't expecting a Christmas song. LEGIT.

i was never really big on getting people gifts for Christmas.

i didn't think it was silly or not meaningful or anything, but rather, i preferred to simply get people their individual gifts on their birthdays. it made it more sense to me because for me, i feel like it's more special when i remember that people's birthdays are coming up and i get to plan ahead in thinking about what they like and what to get for them and stuff. and also, that way, it's easier to make sure the quality and time spent on their gift/card isn't compromised because of needing to get gifts/cards for other people, as it tends to be for Christmas.

well, how about writing or making cards?

at one point in high school, as people got me cards and gifts and stuff for Christmas, i felt bad that i didn't get them stuff. i think, the year after that, i made cards for my friends, but i remember it just felt odd to me.. probably because i wasn't used to the whole getting-people-gifts-for-Christmas thing, and some of it felt obligatory to me because i knew i didn't put as much thought into it as i would have if it were the present for their birthday.

i feel like, with Christmas comes a certain expectancy from your friends. the difficult part is, i'm afraid of letting people down (even just slightly) if we've only recently become friends and they expect stuff from me because everyone else(?) does stuff for Christmas.

so what now?

i still don't know what i'm going to do in the way of making cards or giving gifts. AND this is made all the more difficult with finals being the week before Christmas, prime gift-shopping time. garrr.

haha, what i actually ORIGINALLy meant to write about is..

when i go looking for gifts to get people, for their birthdays or Christmas or any occasion, i often run into a dilemma.

i find something that's so cool that would be a great gift for the person, but i end up really wanting it myself. a few choices pop up in my head.

1) i'll get it for them and only them.
2) i'll get it for myself, and find them another gift.
3) i'll get it for myself and for them!

on one or two instances, i remember getting the gift for both of us because i really wanted it as well. it felt.. wrong for some reason.

that's when i realized something about myself.

good gifts for other people are the ones i would want myself to have.

and it means more to me if i don't buy it for myself, too.

hmm, something like that. lols.

on another note, i hope the "stuff i like" posts aren't boring you guys. they actually take me a mad long time to write because even though the descriptions and reasons of why i like stuff should come naturally, there are like a million thoughts in my head at once and it's TOO hard to organize them.

well, have fun in this lovely Christmas season, even amidst finals and all that stuff.

i leave you with this video of AWESOME. i get chills each time i watch it 'cause it's so awesome, no joke. enjoy!



[ru you know that]
-i need both of my shoes to have the same tightness when i wear them. sometimes i end up having to tie and re-tie my shoes for a few minutes to get them just right, especially with my skechers, which aren't as squishy and mold-fitting as my sneaks.
-i hate it when i eat chicken wings or something at a restaurant, and then i have to go pee, because when i go into the bathroom, i wash my hands with soap first, that way my hands aren't dirty and i can actually pee, and then have the dilemma of wondering if i should wash my hands again because they still feel squeaky clean. i usually do wash my hands again though.
-the best way for me to fall asleep is to think about something visual that occupies my mind. most frequently contemplated: snowboarding, badminton, hockey, video games. i'm speculating it works in that when i get lost in the thought of whatever i'm thinking about, it removes other sounds and distractions from around me to help me fall asleep. it's also fun to just think about fun stuff. so there's that.

stuff i like, part 3

[songs for christmas! 2 of 4]
so here's the deal, i've picked four songs in anticipation of christmas, and i'm going to have a new one up in each blog entry that i post, the four weeks before christmas. ideally one post a weekend. 3 of the 4 songs are by artists that you know or have at least heard of, but i'm almost certain that you won't have heard any of the songs before. so they'll be foreign but in a familiar kind of way.
this week's song is: santa baby, by mase, snoop dogg, puff daddy, and various artists. push play!


heehee, this song made me lol when i first heard it.



i like physics.

our high school curriculum has freshman year as biology, sophomore year as chemistry, and junior year as physics. (senior year is whatevs you wanna do.)

i didn't like bio. too much memorization. i didn't find mitosis to be that interesting, and by that interesting, i mean, at all.

i didn't like chemistry. AND I STILL DON'T. BUT I HAD TO TAKE IT AND IT WAS HORRIBLE. the problems aren't too bad, but the EXCEPTIONS are what i hate. there are still a good number of things to memorize and those are just annoying.

when i took physics, it just MADE SENSE. i think, since growing up, i've always had this interest in how the world and nature works, and a lot of it clicked conceptually right away in the classroom. chickens dropping off of cliffs, bullets embedding in blocks of wood going around loop-de-loops, all that MECHANICS stuff.

don't get it mixed up, though, i only like physics mechanics. electricity & magnetism, nuh-uh! even sound and light and thermodynamics and stuff like that is bordering on annoying because i can't really SEE the concepts of what's going on.

why do i like physics? because it gives you a set of formulas that govern how things work, and you use those formulas in creative and mind-stretching ways to figure out the solutions to problems. there's no needing to remember that cadmium randomly has a +2 charge that doesn't fit in with the rest of its group of elements or any nonsense like that.

although, i do admit, chemistry has the coolest equipment. beakers, flasks, thermometers, wooden molecular sets, and the such.



i like badminton.

discounting times i played badminton in the backyard during my younger childhood, my first experience with badminton was the end of high school, senior year. we played in gym, and holy crap, from the instant i picked up the racquet and started whacking around birdies with johnny, it felt like me and badminton were meant to be.

even though i still liked tennis very much, i started liking badminton more and more as i kept playing, either in gym, or in my backyard with james' ghetto net. you should see the two dirt patches worn into my backyard because of our badminton "court".

the main problem with my tennis game was inconsistency. i just was not able to develop groundstrokes that were consistent and good, and it was pretty discouraging, though i still really enjoyed playing tennis for fun. however, with badminton, consistency was never a big problem, which was a huge relief for me, transitioning from my days of tennis.

one big thing i like about badminton is the SPEED.

i don't like running far distances, but on the flip side, i REALLY enjoy sprinting short distances. there was some of that in tennis, but in badminton, it's all about quick starting and stopping to get to and from every spot on the court. there's also the speed required mentally, to quickly analyze all the factors of the situation and know (some would say "feel") the right shot to hit. to adapt to your opponent and change strategies on the fly. speed.

another big thing about badminton is the DEPTH (of the game).

there are so many different shots to hit, each with their own different opportunity, timing, and pace. one second it's a smash, then it's followed by a cross-court dropshot, and then a counter dropshot, and at the same time, having to incorporate all that with shot disguise, good technique, swift footwork, and mental awareness of the opponent's position, your position, and where the birdie is. AWESOME. depth.

another big thing about badminton is WHACKING-STUFF-WITH-A-RACQUET.

i like it.

haha, no, but really, whacking stuff with a racquet just feels so natural to me, and it's also cool having your "personalized" racquet that you can call your own and put whacky colors of grip tape on, etc.

but maybe.. i like badminton so much because of the great people that have always surrounded me when i've played the sport. :]

['tis time, the three things that thou .. thast thanticipated]
-i can crack my right pinkie whenever i want.
-when i write on a computer, i always, always, put two spaces after a period. it just makes sense to me.
-i like my boba tea to have a boba:tea ratio of 1:1, as viewed from the side of the cup. that means a lot more than is regularly given in a commercial cup of boba tea from i's or noodle gourmet or anywhere, really. i'm used to it because my mom would often make boba tea at home and we would have an insane amount of bobas so i would get to set the proportions myself. goood stuff.

stuff i like, part 2

[songs for christmas! 1 of 4]
so here's the deal, i've picked four songs in anticipation of christmas, and i'm going to have a new one up in each blog entry that i post, the four weeks before christmas. ideally one post a weekend. 3 of the 4 songs are by artists that you know or have at least heard of, but i'm almost certain that you won't have heard any of the songs before. so they'll be foreign but in a familiar kind of way.
this week's song is: 30 days, by never shout never. push play!



okay, this week's song is the artist that you probably don't know. hope you enjoy it!

i like winter.

yep, winter is my favorite season. by a big margin.

- i don't like greasy things, or fingerprint smudges, and in the wintertime, since the air is cooler, there is less moisture.
- i don't like sweating, also 'cause it relates to the reason above.
- coolness = less sweating.as opposed to the summer, if it gets too cold in the winter, you can simply put on more layers of clothes. in the summer, you'll still be hot even if, well, you're naked.
- i like wearing a big jacket and putting my hands in my pockets.
- since people wear more clothing, there's more room to customize and accessorize ie. with scarves and stuff [not applicable to me]
- SNOWBOARDDDDDDDDDDDIIIIIIIIING AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH TOO MUCH TO SAY BUT IT IS AWESOME MTCREEK KILLINGTON CAMELBAK LET'S GOOOOOOOOO
- CHRISTMAS! the holiday season and everything about it. and the christmas music that starts playing everywhere.
- family and friend get-togethers to be festive and enjoy each other's company.
- gifts?
- SNOOOOOOW. seeing it. throwing it. stepping on it. eating it. riding my bike on it. throwing it down people's shirts. missing school 'cause of it. burying soda cans in it and forgetting about them until spring. winter is the only season that has its own unique form of precipitation. how cool is THAT?

i like hockey.


i didn't even like hockey a few years ago. it was definitely acquired.

i randomly started watching hockey a few years ago because i was so bored that i turned on the television and had nothing else to watch. it seemed like a good mindless thing to stare at.

when i started watching it, hockey was just a sport where players skated up and down the ice, hitting each other into the boards, fighting over a puck that i could never find, and trying in vain to get the puck into a small goal covered by a gigantic goalie.

i think the speed of the game, and definitely the checking, was what slowly got me hooked.

the progression of my obsession:

07-08. i wrote down game times of the devils and the islanders in my planner and watched some games regularly, and watched my first all-star game.
08-09. by now i had decided that while the islanders are a cool bunch, i really only like the devils. i actually set time apart in my schedule to watch the devils games, and i watched the majority of the devils games this season, and also watched my first post-season. i'm glad i got interested at a good time. i witnessed as zach parise became an integral part of the team and also one of the top leading nhl goalscorers (3rd highest in 08-09 season). as martin brodeur became the most winningest goaltender. oh, so many times i had to pick between CCF (God) and the devils. i always found that kind of funny, heehee. i watched the highlights of every game that i missed, though, so it's all good.
09-10. i watch every game that i get a chance to. the devils were on fire with their away games from the start of the season with NINE straight road wins, going into the history books and coming second only to, uhh, the other team that i forget who they were who have ten straight away game wins from the start of the season. even though they've changed some key players (shanahan, GIONTA?!) and got some new faces, the devils are the still who they are, and they still do what they do best .. defense. LOL. okay, i'd be fortunate if even just ONE person understood that joke. but alas, that is how it is with being a fan of hockey. no one knows what hockey's about, no one wants to watch it with you, and everyone at some point in time asks, "you watch hockey?!"

while i'm still learning about and developing my appreciation for the complex and fast-paced sport that is hockey, i'm lovin' every minute of it. every face-off. every goal. every check. every slash. every cross-check. EVERY FIST FIGHT YEAHHHHH.

though i have yet to actually go see a devils game. maybe sometime this season. they even have college nights...

[san guh chi guai dong shi]
-one of my past habits: i used to use the lead of my lead pencil to get gunk out from under my fingernails.
-one of my hobbies: particularly at badminton, i like to steal compliments. when i'm around other people and i hear a compliment given out, i say "thanks!" even if it wasn't directed to me or even if i'm not doing anything.
-sprinkles. when i eat ice cream, i POUR on the sprinkles. ice cream just tastes kind of empty without it. you also kind of have to see to get an idea of what i mean. but i loooove sprinkles. the rainbow kind.

stuff i like, part 1

let's start with the basics.

i like pineapples.

come on now, who actually didn't know this?


i'm not sure how i came to like them, but.. i did!

what do i like about them? EVERYTHING.

first of all, it LOOKS cool. what other fruit looks as aggressive and spiky and awesome? it has a very distinct shape/design that is easily drawn and even more easily distinguished apart from other fruits. there's no getting a pineapple mixed up with an apple/peach/plum/blueberry/tomato, that's for sure.

it smells nice. i have a pineapple cologne from bath & body works. and various other good-smelling pineapple products.

it's nice to hold. it has a nice hefty weight, good for when you just wanna .. lug something around .. that LOOKS COOL.

the only thing that is amiss in my pineapple obsession is that i don't like to eat pineapples. if you eat too much pineapple, it messes with your tongue and you get that annoying irritated feeling on your tongue and i HATE THAT! maybe i just shouldn't eat pineapple in droves, but hey, that's what i do when i like to eat something!

all in all, pineapples are awesome. you can never go wrong with a pineapple-related item as a solid choice for a gift.

now, if only i had a baller friend who would get me the pineapple from swarovski...

next..

i like god of war.


so the story goes, one day in my senior year of high school, i was chillin' on the couch, watching gameplay hd, a gaming channel that, well, talks about games. they have this one feature where they show footage of a particular game being played, and as i watching one day, i witnessed the most awesome action game i had ever seen. it gripped me the instant i watched it, and i knew i had to play it. what about it? the violence is so awesomely over-the-top, the greek mythology is very interesting and well-integrated. the graphics are nice. and man, the game is just straight-up ba.

unfortunately, i felt sad because a game with such good graphics had to be on the 360, so i had little chance of playing it. BUT LO AND BEHOLD, it was actually FOR PS2. AND it was like 3 years old already! i jumped on ebay and snatched up a copy for <$20 .. and so it began. story: kratos is a spartan warrior who fights for ares, the god of war, because ares saved kratos' life in exchange for kratos' service. ares cursed (blessed?) kratos with the blades of chaos, a blade at the end of a chain, with one on each arm. however, kratos eventually vows to seek revenge on ares when ares tricks kratos into killing his own family. the goddess athena aids kratos in his journey to kill ares. that's god of war 1. and there's god of war 2. a whole second game. bigger and better in every way. thank you kevin for buying it for me. :] action. violence. challenge. puzzles. pure fun. god of war defines epic. the action, the battles, the story, kratos, the music, the sense of scale. mind-blowing.

although i must admit, i'm scared to play the game by myself. heehee.

i think it resonates so well with me because it satisfies this internal desire that i never even knew i had until i first experienced this game. or maybe seeing the game and playing it created this desire in me. who knows. AND WHO CARES. KRATOS IS THE MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN.

here, look. [WARNING: this video is kind of gory. and by kind of, i mean, immensely.]

More God of War III Info

kratos picks up a man and rips him in half with his bare hands. HOW AWESOME IS THAT.

god of war 3 is coming out march 2010. i am psyched beyond belief. and i am definitely getting the ultimate [collector's] edition, one way or another. mark my words, god of war 3 is going to be beautiful. in every sense of the word.

[wachu know bout me]
-the longest my hair has been is a little more than 5 inches. i plucked this one strand of hair out a few years ago and taped it onto a ruler. it's in my house, you can see it if you want! yay!
-i drape the toilet paper off the top of the roll. the one and only way to do it. unh.
-i only work with college ruled notebook paper. and it has to be 8.5" x 11".

counting--oh, the fun

in the first grade, i lived in oregon, because of my dad's work. we had a bichon frise named eddie, as well. anyway! i went to fisher's landing elementary school, and that was where i learned to count. funny thing is, though, they had an interesting way of teaching us first graders how to count. here's a little diagram explaining it..
the blue dots represent that "point" being counted once. the red dots represent that "point" being counted twice.

as you can see, the system doesn't really make too much sense for the majority of the numbers, except maybe 3 and 4.

the sad thing is, i think this actually hindered my mental math abilities, because i remember counting the dots in my head (including double-counting each red one), when adding numbers. and yeah, this was up until sometime in high school. from there, i gradually made a change to actually learning and REMEMBERING simple mental math instead of counting dots.

oregon.

in a similar vein, one of the things i'm excited for when/if i get to heaven is the FUN FACTS.

by fun facts i mean, since God knows everything, in heaven, we'll be able to know every single fact there is to know about our lives! i would totally want to be able to see and compare stuff with other people and see how we rank up in terms of statistics. 'cause you know, statistics are always fun.

a few examples of some things i would like to ask, see, and compare with other people..

[distance traveled..]
on bike
by foot

[time spent..]
watching movies
playing video games
pooping

[volume of..]
blood lost
mountain dew consumed

oops, the list came out to be much shorter than expected. yeah, i guess i never really had to sit down and make a list of stuff. but these are definitely biggies that i've thought about randomly.

[pic of the day!]

fiercest picture. i've ever seen. in a calc book.

[yofavfax]
-my favorite color shirt to wear is navy. however, it happens that navy shirts, given the dark color, also fade easily and noticeably after multiple washings. as a result, i never (rarely) wear my navy shirts anymore, because i don't want them to fade. funny how that works, huh? it's like the saying, "no one goes to that restaurant anymore because it's too crowded."
-when i drop food (like snacks) on the floor (that's not too dirty) and there are people around, i pick it up as if i'm going to throw it out, hold it for a few seconds, and then eat it. that way, when people are watching me to see what i do with it, they'll think i'm going to throw it out and not eat it, but i still do when they're not watching! score!
-when i'm by myself in a public bathroom, and the option is available, i like to hit the buttons on both of the hand dryers and dry one hand under each. yeah. sup.

cute kids, cool cars, close call, and a cleaaaaan cookie

i think my blog makes you guys read too much. here, a change of pace. (also no new music. sorry.)

these two kids are isaac and enoch, respectively.

i know them from church, and i went to their house and taught them piano for a while up until i had to go to college.

enoch is the older brother, but i don't remember exactly how old they are. they're ridiculously cute and cool at the same time, and i love hanging out with them.

fun fact!: enoch and isaac have beaten me in checkers every time that we've played. in my defense, i've only played checkers a handful of times as a kid, and haven't touched the game since.

isaac has two swirls!

i have this thing where i point out every nissan 350z that i see. and if i can, i take a picture of it. (which isn't creepy, 'cause they're just cars, not like people or something.)

i saw this sweet black one as i was biking on my way to mr. kevin yuey's house, and stopped to take these two pics, but not for too long, for fear of neighbors being suspicious.

i saw this tricked-out 350z as i was leaving rockaway mall.

i'm particularly proud of these shots that i got here, waiting for the traffic light at 46/beverwyck.

at rutgers. DIG the blue.


rutgers again. orange is pretty legit, too.

check it ouuuuut.

before i came to college, i mowed four lawns regularly, and carried the lawn mower to their houses in our mazda suv, pictured on the left. for these next pictures, even though i had full intention for this to happen, i'm not sure whether to describe it as something that i did or something that happened to me. i'll let you decide.

and last but not least.

SHO NUFF

[those 3 fax]
-when i was younger, i used to think i was clever by pointing my middle finger down at the ground. i don't recall doing it much, though.
-for as long as i can remember, i've slept on my tummy. on the rare occasion, i would sleep on my side. however, it wasn't until college that i actually deliberately slept on my back. still rare, though. it feels so weird.
-my favorite soda is mountain dew: code red. it doesn't have to do with the color red, that's for sure, because that's one of my least favorite colors. but i dunno. i'm a big mountain dew fan in general. all the mountain dews i've had: regular, code red, live wire, pitch black, pitch black ii, voltage, supernova, revolution, baja blast, and halo3 game fuel edition. i have yet to try the two world of warcraft ones. i still have an unopened can of the halo3 game fuel edition on the shelf in my room. :D