(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.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
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. :]
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. :]
Friday, December 11, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, December 7, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, November 30, 2009
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!
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?
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.
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.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
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.]
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".
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.]
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".
Sunday, November 15, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
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
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
Friday, October 2, 2009
pour me a heavy dose of atmosphere
i SAW OWL CITY IN CONCERT, the same venue as the one i saw amber pacific at. IT WAS AWESOME. adam sang and played some electric guitar (two different ones!). there was also a celloist, violinist, drummer, and a female vocalist who also played keyboard and synth. it was AWESOME. oh wait i said that already, lols. they didn't stick around afterwards, unfortunately. i didn't get any merch this time, because the wristband was $10, t-shirts were expensive ($20), and the poster wasn't interesting enough on its own (meaning without autographs).
i'm planning to go see ANBERLIN in concert sunday, october 25th. allentown, pa. 1hr20min drive, daaang. BUT IT WILL BE AWESOME. ANBERLIN = AWESOME.
---
what IS integrity?
what does it mean?
what is it comprised of?
some questions..
is it okay to do something illegal if no one sees?
what if everyone else is doing it, too?
are some laws not as important as other ones?
these days, i think it's tremendously hard to have good integrity.
it's hard in the sense that a lot of things push us to cheat or cut corners or bend the rules, perhaps to get ahead, to make things easier, or because it's an easy source of enjoyment.
it's also hard in the sense that even if we put a ton of effort into trying to maintain our integrity, there are so many little subjective things that an outsider could pick at if trying to pinpoint cracks and faults.
some thoughts..
one thing that comes to mind for me is music piracy. yeah, it's illegal, but it's also widely prevalent. you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who adheres strictly to not downloading music.
now this isn't some self-righteous post about how i purchase [almost] all my music and everyone else downloads everything illegally and i'm so right and i hate piracy and blalhbalhhlab, it's just meant to get your mind crankin'.
even though i like to purchase music and support the artists, i'm conflicted a lot of the time, too.
as one (okay, probably more) of my friends said, "BUY music? that's such a waste of money, since it's so easy to get it from anywhere!" and it's true! why buy music?
i think one of the reasons that people don't feel bad, or as bad, about breaking the law, is when it relates to something that isn't monitored. you know, download a few songs, or a few thousand, no one's gonna know or catch you.
or, they feel like it's okay because it's not something physical. "it's not like i'm stealing the CD from the store!"
or, better yet, it's okay because everyone else is doing it, too, or they're more illegal! "i'm only downloading a few songs that i like since the rest of the songs on the CD are crappy, and other people download so much more than me! i'm GOOD compared to them."
or, some people say, if it's a big corporation, or someone wealthy, it's not as bad to steal from them. "it's okay, kanye's mad ballin', he doesn't need my money and it won't affect him at all if i don't buy his music."
or, that the law is unfair and a rip-off. "CDs are way too expensive, they overcharge for them! $10 for a movie ticket? get real!"
here's a thought: who ever even officially said that music should be cheap, let alone free? is it easy or cheap to write and produce and publish amazing music?
owning music that we can listen to whenever we want is not some right that we have, and i think we've grown to feel like it is.
just because a flatscreen plasma HDTV is expensive and is awesome and you want it, is it okay to steal it?
but this makes the situation most real for me.. even though i've never worked on a movie, or wrote any kind of great music, i know i can't even imagine how much work it takes to put it all together.
put yourself in their shoes.
if you wrote an original song.. if you designed a beautiful piece of art..
would you want someone to steal that from you?
[randoms]
-i will never use 0.7mm lead. i don't know why. i just grew up with 0.5mm and stuck with it. but that's only for lead pencils. as for pens, i will practically never use blue ink. i dunno why i just don't like it. my preferred is black, and i don't have any other colors.
-now that i live in a suite with five other doods, i re-discovered one of my shower hobbies. re-directing water from the showerhead to wash away random strands of hair stuck on the wall, the shower curtain, or anywhere on the bathtub. it's so addicting! and fun! maybe that's my slightly-OCD side of me talking.
-ever since i was younger, one of my dreams was to be trapped in shoprite. with a few friends, of course. i would wanna see how long we would be able to survive, only living off of what we could find in the store. we could last for months! more! YEARS?! hooohoo awesome, i'm laughing just thinking about it. if you steal that idea for a reality show after reading the post above, you have no heart.
i'm planning to go see ANBERLIN in concert sunday, october 25th. allentown, pa. 1hr20min drive, daaang. BUT IT WILL BE AWESOME. ANBERLIN = AWESOME.
---
what IS integrity?
what does it mean?
what is it comprised of?
some questions..
is it okay to do something illegal if no one sees?
what if everyone else is doing it, too?
are some laws not as important as other ones?
these days, i think it's tremendously hard to have good integrity.
it's hard in the sense that a lot of things push us to cheat or cut corners or bend the rules, perhaps to get ahead, to make things easier, or because it's an easy source of enjoyment.
it's also hard in the sense that even if we put a ton of effort into trying to maintain our integrity, there are so many little subjective things that an outsider could pick at if trying to pinpoint cracks and faults.
some thoughts..
one thing that comes to mind for me is music piracy. yeah, it's illegal, but it's also widely prevalent. you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who adheres strictly to not downloading music.
now this isn't some self-righteous post about how i purchase [almost] all my music and everyone else downloads everything illegally and i'm so right and i hate piracy and blalhbalhhlab, it's just meant to get your mind crankin'.
even though i like to purchase music and support the artists, i'm conflicted a lot of the time, too.
as one (okay, probably more) of my friends said, "BUY music? that's such a waste of money, since it's so easy to get it from anywhere!" and it's true! why buy music?
i think one of the reasons that people don't feel bad, or as bad, about breaking the law, is when it relates to something that isn't monitored. you know, download a few songs, or a few thousand, no one's gonna know or catch you.
or, they feel like it's okay because it's not something physical. "it's not like i'm stealing the CD from the store!"
or, better yet, it's okay because everyone else is doing it, too, or they're more illegal! "i'm only downloading a few songs that i like since the rest of the songs on the CD are crappy, and other people download so much more than me! i'm GOOD compared to them."
or, some people say, if it's a big corporation, or someone wealthy, it's not as bad to steal from them. "it's okay, kanye's mad ballin', he doesn't need my money and it won't affect him at all if i don't buy his music."
or, that the law is unfair and a rip-off. "CDs are way too expensive, they overcharge for them! $10 for a movie ticket? get real!"
here's a thought: who ever even officially said that music should be cheap, let alone free? is it easy or cheap to write and produce and publish amazing music?
owning music that we can listen to whenever we want is not some right that we have, and i think we've grown to feel like it is.
just because a flatscreen plasma HDTV is expensive and is awesome and you want it, is it okay to steal it?
but this makes the situation most real for me.. even though i've never worked on a movie, or wrote any kind of great music, i know i can't even imagine how much work it takes to put it all together.
put yourself in their shoes.
if you wrote an original song.. if you designed a beautiful piece of art..
would you want someone to steal that from you?
[randoms]
-i will never use 0.7mm lead. i don't know why. i just grew up with 0.5mm and stuck with it. but that's only for lead pencils. as for pens, i will practically never use blue ink. i dunno why i just don't like it. my preferred is black, and i don't have any other colors.
-now that i live in a suite with five other doods, i re-discovered one of my shower hobbies. re-directing water from the showerhead to wash away random strands of hair stuck on the wall, the shower curtain, or anywhere on the bathtub. it's so addicting! and fun! maybe that's my slightly-OCD side of me talking.
-ever since i was younger, one of my dreams was to be trapped in shoprite. with a few friends, of course. i would wanna see how long we would be able to survive, only living off of what we could find in the store. we could last for months! more! YEARS?! hooohoo awesome, i'm laughing just thinking about it. if you steal that idea for a reality show after reading the post above, you have no heart.
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