Filed under: posts | Tags: china, mario kart, relationships, school, sights & sounds, youtube
First and foremost. This thing just plays in my head over and over when I’m biking in the morning.
The blue shell is coming
so I’ll go ahead
If you hang behind
it’ll hit me instead
but never look back
cause I’m down but not dead
I’ll catch up to you
Nerdy, yes. Awesome? YES. (and also yesterday’s news, but who the hell cares?)
I’ve come to realize starting a new relationship is very different each time. This one is so natural and strangely free of those awkward moments, at least for me. My life is so uncertain right now in so many different aspects, but spending time with her grounds and calms me. A good start.
In other news, the next week is my last week of classes with a day of finals coming in two weeks. School is almost over! I think some people are already heading home so I’ll try plan some kind of get together when I have some time. I will have a good window of time between the 18th and the 24th. Who needs to pack for China?
If anyone wants anything from the cheap labor pool that is China, give me a ring or a comment or some signal.
‘Tis all.
Filed under: posts | Tags: Abagail Adams, art & lit, freedom, HBO, idealism, John Adams, politics, realism, school, self, society, Thomas Jefferson
Ok, so Jefferson was a schizophrenic about slavery. He seemed to be a product tried and true of Virginia, but his logical subconscious suffered for it. But, let’s not debate the morals of Jefferson, this piece is about “John Adams”
First, here’s some free advertising courtesy of HBO and youtube:
This seven-part miniseries from HBO is nothing short of fascinating and maybe even needed. The acting comes from a top-notch cast headed by Paul Giamatti as John Adams and Laura Linney as Abigail. Tom Wilkinson does a great job at portraying an eccentric Franklin.
More after the hop.
Filed under: posts | Tags: cars, crime, dialogue, Evo, punks, school, self, society, vandalism
If you guys don’t know me that well, then you do not know the relationship I have with my car. The evo to me, is like what a dog is like to its owner. It’s reliable, proud and is always there for me when I need it. There’s nothing like boosting away the world’s problems. So when I tell you today some punk(s) keyed my passenger side door, it is akin to a parent just realizing someone had blinded their child with a pitchfork. Sure, life goes on, but does it really?!
For those in the car detailing know, there are two scratches from the key. One is just barely through to the color while the second, more bitterness-filled one goes right on into the primer. This means that either my car will look like it has tissue scars or my local body shop is getting a phone call. Nonetheless I will see what magic I can conjure up with paint touch-up pen before spending the repair bucks.
In my mind, I keep making up how this all went down:
(2) kids probably because one isn’t usually brave enough and has no one to show off to.
Kid 1: Hey [Bob, Joe, Francis, Kareem, Tayshawn, Soo-Kim, Cheng Jian, Kimberly, Collete*, Mary, Hasheem, Andre, Jose, Ivan, Peter], check it out! It’s a mother****** Evo!
Kid 2: Yeah [long list of possible names], probably some rich **** drives it around.
Kid 1: Yeah, f*** those guys. You know what?
Kid 2: Wha?
Kid 1: Watch this!
Kid 2: Oh, hell, you’re crazy man!
Kid 1: Haha, you know it!
*Evo violation*
*Silent Evo weeping*
Kid 1: F***, let’s get the f*** outta here!
Kid 2: **** *** ***** *** ** **** *** (I don’t know if you can string foul language this long consecutively, but I want to imagine you can)
*Runs away*
*This name is too awesome to be associated with this nonsense
Now, before the real mourning process can begin, I must take another final.
‘Tis all.
Filed under: posts | Tags: AP English, Berkeley, economics, everyday, Midterms, risk, school, sights & sounds, Tim Minear, tirade, Waiting for Godot, Wonderfalls
So today I took my econ midterm. It was a stressful as hell experience. In an hour and twenty minute class, the professor gave us four problems, each with at least three subsets. But there’s more! Those subsets had subsets. It ended up the equivalent of thirty some odd questions. Needless to day, I think I made some careless mistakes about signs and explanations, but hopefully, nothing too serious. Thank God it is the first of two midterms – with the second being worth more.
This post needs a cut-off.
Filed under: posts | Tags: Dunder Mifflin, NBC premieres, school, sights & sounds, Steve Carrell, The Office, TV
Thursday night was the preview of The Office. After this hell-week of work, this had been a great wind-down, break kinda thing. This weekend is PS120 mid-term weekend and I’m ready! Tomorrow, I’m going to run over an outline with my GSI and see if everything checks out.
It’s going to be about the nature of order in an anarchic state as seen by the neorealist versus the neoliberal – it’s exciting stuff, really!
Anyhow, The Office premiere was awesome. It was just pure awesome. It’s just one of those shows that doesn’t seem to miss. I was almost motivated enough to buy that shirt, it’s 24 bucks. But eh, I’m too frugal and it isn’t that clever. For those of you that follow the show, this episode was a bit weird. They treated the cameraman as a more active character in the show, which felt a bit awkward for me.
However, all that awkwardness was easily worth the great moments during that marathon. Oh yes, the PB&J thing was brilliant considering fans have been using the name “Jam” since the show first started. I like the parallelism (or perpendicular-ism) with the relationships. It is hard not to root for the prettier, nicer people though.
It is a great start to what is probably going to be an awesome season. Let the hilarity ensue!
Also of note, How I Met Your Mother has aired already and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is 6 episodes in already. Scrubs is going to start its seventh (and final) season next month. Hurray for the time-waster that is television (and the various online sources of it!)
‘Tis all.
[Via Crunchgear]
My brain just imploded into the first dimension. I like how he explains that what we are able to see like how a two dimensional object would be restricted from the third. It really makes you think, what do we really know?
So i’m taking a break from reading this:
Today was a relatively awesome day. I had almost forgotten that I had switched my morning section so I rushed to find 20 Wheeler, which turns out, is in the catacomb-like belly of the building. After that section, I realize now the GSI team and Prof. Delong really mean it when they say we are “guinea pigs” for this class.
After a harrowing Chinese oral presentation and surprisingly understandable Econ discussion, I went to the dreaded money hoarding bookstore. At this monetary hell-hole, I sacrificed 247 bucks for two measly books, a study guide (because my French economics professor does not explain slides) and a really crappy stapler. From the business standpoint, I can see why they include no staples, but from a good-will to the customer standpoint, WHY!?!?!
I then jumped on my bike and raced towards home. Two seconds into my daily downhill extravaganza near VLSB, the bottom of my jeans catches the chain-guard. My leg is then trapped with the whirling motion of the pedals and I wildly swerve to gain balance again. The result is a nice sized whole in my jeans (repairable!) and a really scared me. I’m going to have to go invest in one of those pant-leg-velcro-reflective-bands so I don’t die.
Oh, and tonight, I made some fried rice with egg and minced pork. To my surprise, it was absolutely delicious. I coupled it with some Miso soup with tofu and I had a fine meal. I’m proud of my housewife abilities (as Chris would call them).
Before I get back to Keynes, here’s a interesting snippet from my reading so far:
Praise, therefore, the beauty of the flame he wishes to touch, the music of the breaking toy; even urge him forward; yet waiting with vigilant care, the wise and kindly savior of Society, for the right moment to snatch him back, just singed and now attentive.
Amen, Keynes, amen.
‘Tis all.
[Image via threadless]
I always loved that threadless shirt. Too bad they were sold out before I got one. But it does represent some brewing rage I had today.
Today I spoke to one of you. Not my parents, but another father of an Asian American kid growing up. I understand that as a parent, you are concerned for your child’s education and future. I also understand that the American system is faulty at points and does not provide a clear path to success.
Even so, the path that you have placed your daughters in – one of endless rote memorization and asceticism is not the right one. I guess in the end, I really have no right to tell you how to parent your child, but if we are to take this as an objective evaluation of what works, I say you are wrong.
1. Chinese class is harder than my political theory classes. However, I feel a real personal gain when I learn a new way to say “hypocritical” in my native tongue.
2. There are some really boring but completely stress-less jobs out there. For instance, my BART ticket was demagnetized, all $16.60 of it. I went down to the Berkeley station to get an exchange and I was directed by the station official to a small little booth where a small Asian man sat.
He had a nice little insulated lunch box in the background. I wondered someone who loved him packed that each day. He also had the obligatory tea bottle with Jasmine tea. On his left ring finger he wore a golden ring with a jade insert. It’s very unstylish, but it fit with his look. Married, from Southern part of Asia I would assume where gold and jade still are in fashion.
He spoke tersely, gruffly and directly.
“40 Cents,” he said in a muffled, accented voice.
I hand him the change and get my nicely exchanged 17 dollar ticket and a cardboard ticket sleeve. I like it – it gives my wallet some structure.
This guy just sits in this 7 feet by 7 feet square locked room in a neglected corner of Berkeley BART on select days and exchanges damaged tickets. He’s very diligent. I wonder what he thinks about. Is he just checking out the college girls that walk by? Does he think about his family or his country? Who knows?
So I think, there are plenty of people with such mindless jobs. They are all needed elements of our economy and they all do what they do to support people they love (or themselves). The American Dream?
How does someone make that person feel more apart of this society? Eh, that’s for another day.
3. One cute girl can really make my day better. So I’m getting myself a drink at a Boba place and the girl who takes my order is one of those people are just massively outgoing and excited. I’ve talked to her before in one of my classes and her personality once again overwhelms me. Bubbly is the best way to describe it.
It is not even like I was gonna hit on her or anything. It was just a random conversation after a tiring day filled with economics and Chinese tests. Gotta make more friends with bubbly personalities.
4. I saw a homeless person give a guitar-toting street performer 2 dollars and a handful of change. Hobbes is wrong, people are generally good.
5. I’m very confident when I have a task to do. I need purpose to be effectively confident.
Well, that’s what I learned today. Sweet huh?
‘Tis all.
