Saturday, January 31, 2004
Please, one more pill, one more night...
For the past week, I've been waiting for last night: "Pilate's gonna be playing Alfie's, with a couple of opening bands nobody has ever heard of!"
I downloaded all that I could find of theirs on DC (in hindsight, might have been a bad idea - more on that later), and listened to it throughout the week (interspread with Dashboard, since Jenna returned my CD...sweet sweet Carrabba).
The doors opened at 9, so I met Winnie and Gary outside Vic around 8:30, and headed over to Alfie's, where Eileen was waiting. Got there around quarter to 9, and started waiting. It seems when they said "doors open at 9" they meant "door will open at some point after 9". We waited until 9:20 for the doors to open, then finally got in, moved a little table closer to the stage, and sat down.
Only to have a StuCon come by and tell us all to move our tables further ahead - worked for us, as we ended up about 6 feet away from the stage, with only one row of chairs in front of us. Nobody stood in the empty area in front of the first row of chairs. At least, not at this point.
Somewhere around 9:45, the first opener took the stage: Flood, "from Kingston, Ontario...not Jamaica. Kingston, Jamaica, Man...". They were fairly mediocre - it seemed like they hadn't played too many gigs, because they had a hard time connecting with the crowd. When he wasn't playing his guitar, the lead singer had 2 positions for his right hand - on his left bicep, or on his crotch. Ewww. Still, they get points for having digital samples, and for having a live drummer AND a drum machine playing at the same time!
They left, and it was time to change all the equipment on stage. Around 10:50, the second opener took the stage: Stabilo Boss, from Vancouver BC area. The lead singer was an outrageously tall lanky white guy with 3 shocks of hair standing out from his head. I was kinda scared when a stage hand taped a fake sunflower onto some stand-thing in front of the stage (it held some of the singer's guitar picks, but didn't seem to serve any other purpose). Then these guys started their set.
Oh...my...God...
They were soooo good. From about a minute into their first song, I knew I was going to buy their CD, no matter how much it cost. It sounded at first like a fusion between Moist and Mat Good, then just became more of a "If Mat Good were 10x more talented than he is, this is what he would sound like". Yet even that doesn't really give an accurate description. I can detect another heavy influence in their music, but I can't pinpoint exactly who it is.
If these guys don't make it big, then there is something seriously wrong with the music scene in Canada.
Finally, the stage started being set for the night's main event, Pilate. Remember that open area in front of the first row of seats? It wasn't empty or open anymore - it was full of people standing as close as a foot or so away from the stage. As a result, we couldn't see a thing. I took the opportunity of the set change to rush over and purchase the Stabilo Boss CD, then came back to our table/area and sat back down.
And waited.
Pilate finally came to the stage somewhere around 11:30. By this time, we'd been in Alfie's for 2 hours, and been waiting at various places for almost 3. We were all pretty tired going into this, for various reasons not having slept much the night before, so as the stage crew did their thing Gary and Eileen literally dozed off.
But as Pilate came out, we all woke back up. Turns out they're from our very own Unionville...UHS, in fact! There were a few things that plagued their set.
First of all, they were waaaay too loud. For that small space, and considering the type of band they are, the tech crew had the amps/speakers way too high. It was painful at times, and we had a wall of people between us and the hardware. It also caused the bass/guitar to drown out the vocals, which were being screamed out, distorting the mellow beauty of studio-recorded Pilate. As a result of this, they also experienced problems with feedback, which was definitely not pretty. Finally, hearing all their songs before backfired - instead of it being fun recognizing them, I was bored because there wasn't anything new. I was almost hoping it would end, and not only because my bladder was exploding by this point. They finished their set, and walked off...
And were called back for an encore, of course. Well, by this point some of the people in the front area had wandered off, so Eileen, Winnie, and I took the opportunity to get a bit closer and actually SEE the band.
We stood right beside one of the stacks of speakers - bad idea.
Still, when they finished their encore, they walked off the stage on our side, close enough to touch without really extending my arm in any real way. I thought that was kinda cool.
All in all, a great night, but a bit too long. Probably would have been better had I not been so tired. I think that in general 2 openers is a bit long anyway - you have to deal with 2 equipment/stage changes, not just one, and that gets tedious.
Been listening to the Stabilo Boss CD while writing this...it's still good, but doesn't begin to compare to what they sound like live. There's a distinct lack of strong rich harmony, which was very present last night.
For the past week, I've been waiting for last night: "Pilate's gonna be playing Alfie's, with a couple of opening bands nobody has ever heard of!"
I downloaded all that I could find of theirs on DC (in hindsight, might have been a bad idea - more on that later), and listened to it throughout the week (interspread with Dashboard, since Jenna returned my CD...sweet sweet Carrabba).
The doors opened at 9, so I met Winnie and Gary outside Vic around 8:30, and headed over to Alfie's, where Eileen was waiting. Got there around quarter to 9, and started waiting. It seems when they said "doors open at 9" they meant "door will open at some point after 9". We waited until 9:20 for the doors to open, then finally got in, moved a little table closer to the stage, and sat down.
Only to have a StuCon come by and tell us all to move our tables further ahead - worked for us, as we ended up about 6 feet away from the stage, with only one row of chairs in front of us. Nobody stood in the empty area in front of the first row of chairs. At least, not at this point.
Somewhere around 9:45, the first opener took the stage: Flood, "from Kingston, Ontario...not Jamaica. Kingston, Jamaica, Man...". They were fairly mediocre - it seemed like they hadn't played too many gigs, because they had a hard time connecting with the crowd. When he wasn't playing his guitar, the lead singer had 2 positions for his right hand - on his left bicep, or on his crotch. Ewww. Still, they get points for having digital samples, and for having a live drummer AND a drum machine playing at the same time!
They left, and it was time to change all the equipment on stage. Around 10:50, the second opener took the stage: Stabilo Boss, from Vancouver BC area. The lead singer was an outrageously tall lanky white guy with 3 shocks of hair standing out from his head. I was kinda scared when a stage hand taped a fake sunflower onto some stand-thing in front of the stage (it held some of the singer's guitar picks, but didn't seem to serve any other purpose). Then these guys started their set.
Oh...my...God...
They were soooo good. From about a minute into their first song, I knew I was going to buy their CD, no matter how much it cost. It sounded at first like a fusion between Moist and Mat Good, then just became more of a "If Mat Good were 10x more talented than he is, this is what he would sound like". Yet even that doesn't really give an accurate description. I can detect another heavy influence in their music, but I can't pinpoint exactly who it is.
If these guys don't make it big, then there is something seriously wrong with the music scene in Canada.
Finally, the stage started being set for the night's main event, Pilate. Remember that open area in front of the first row of seats? It wasn't empty or open anymore - it was full of people standing as close as a foot or so away from the stage. As a result, we couldn't see a thing. I took the opportunity of the set change to rush over and purchase the Stabilo Boss CD, then came back to our table/area and sat back down.
And waited.
Pilate finally came to the stage somewhere around 11:30. By this time, we'd been in Alfie's for 2 hours, and been waiting at various places for almost 3. We were all pretty tired going into this, for various reasons not having slept much the night before, so as the stage crew did their thing Gary and Eileen literally dozed off.
But as Pilate came out, we all woke back up. Turns out they're from our very own Unionville...UHS, in fact! There were a few things that plagued their set.
First of all, they were waaaay too loud. For that small space, and considering the type of band they are, the tech crew had the amps/speakers way too high. It was painful at times, and we had a wall of people between us and the hardware. It also caused the bass/guitar to drown out the vocals, which were being screamed out, distorting the mellow beauty of studio-recorded Pilate. As a result of this, they also experienced problems with feedback, which was definitely not pretty. Finally, hearing all their songs before backfired - instead of it being fun recognizing them, I was bored because there wasn't anything new. I was almost hoping it would end, and not only because my bladder was exploding by this point. They finished their set, and walked off...
And were called back for an encore, of course. Well, by this point some of the people in the front area had wandered off, so Eileen, Winnie, and I took the opportunity to get a bit closer and actually SEE the band.
We stood right beside one of the stacks of speakers - bad idea.
Still, when they finished their encore, they walked off the stage on our side, close enough to touch without really extending my arm in any real way. I thought that was kinda cool.
All in all, a great night, but a bit too long. Probably would have been better had I not been so tired. I think that in general 2 openers is a bit long anyway - you have to deal with 2 equipment/stage changes, not just one, and that gets tedious.
Been listening to the Stabilo Boss CD while writing this...it's still good, but doesn't begin to compare to what they sound like live. There's a distinct lack of strong rich harmony, which was very present last night.
Pilate disappoints; Stabilo Steals the Show
Full concert report to come tomorrow...err...later today.
'night all!
Full concert report to come tomorrow...err...later today.
'night all!
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
Don't try to save me I'm not all I thought I was...
I decided to be a bit daring today:
Guy At the Grill Station: "Hey, what can I get you?"
Me: "I'll have a chicken burger and a cheesburger...on the same bun"
Him: [tone of complete incredulity]"On the same bun!?!" [/tone of complete incredulity]
It wasn't that bad, actually...stood quite well on its own without any condiments of any kind (besides the cheese, of course). Although I'm feeling a bit ill right now...but I'll chalk that up to the 'Chicken a la King'.
Man...caf food sucks! :(
I really have to find some way to deal with this prosopagnosia of mine.
"Hey...it's Carmen, right?"
"Actually...it's Sara"
"Oh...sorry..I'm terrible with names"
Now, I've seen/exchanged pleasantries with this girl a couple of times in the past week or so. Or, at least I *think* I have. See, there actually is another girl named Carmen, who I swear looks a lot like her [Sara], so it could have been her [Carmen] that I have been talking to.
Either way, it's very confusing. I'm all for people wearing nametags all the time.
In my defense, I was about 60% sure that the person I was talking to wasn't Carmen, but I had no clue what her name was, so I just went with it anyway. I've managed to completely not recognize people who've done their hair a different way or started to wear contacts instead of glasses (or vice versa) before, so it could have just been Carmen in a new guise.
Anyway, in general I don't think my problem isn't recognizing faces - I realize that this is a person I have met before. However, I have major problems in associating the face with a name, or anything else for that matter. As seen in the above real-life example, I have a hard time differentiating between 2 people (when both parties aren't present; it's easy if they are both there to differentiate them of course!) who look even remotely similar. Combined with my bad memory and tendency to forget names, I'm a social wreck.
Maybe this is why I like digital communication - don't need to memorize names (in ICQ I've renamed y'all to your real names; MSN nicks and/or emails usually give a strong clue), or faces...
I'm sorry, who are you again?
I decided to be a bit daring today:
Guy At the Grill Station: "Hey, what can I get you?"
Me: "I'll have a chicken burger and a cheesburger...on the same bun"
Him: [tone of complete incredulity]"On the same bun!?!" [/tone of complete incredulity]
It wasn't that bad, actually...stood quite well on its own without any condiments of any kind (besides the cheese, of course). Although I'm feeling a bit ill right now...but I'll chalk that up to the 'Chicken a la King'.
Man...caf food sucks! :(
I really have to find some way to deal with this prosopagnosia of mine.
"Hey...it's Carmen, right?"
"Actually...it's Sara"
"Oh...sorry..I'm terrible with names"
Now, I've seen/exchanged pleasantries with this girl a couple of times in the past week or so. Or, at least I *think* I have. See, there actually is another girl named Carmen, who I swear looks a lot like her [Sara], so it could have been her [Carmen] that I have been talking to.
Either way, it's very confusing. I'm all for people wearing nametags all the time.
In my defense, I was about 60% sure that the person I was talking to wasn't Carmen, but I had no clue what her name was, so I just went with it anyway. I've managed to completely not recognize people who've done their hair a different way or started to wear contacts instead of glasses (or vice versa) before, so it could have just been Carmen in a new guise.
Anyway, in general I don't think my problem isn't recognizing faces - I realize that this is a person I have met before. However, I have major problems in associating the face with a name, or anything else for that matter. As seen in the above real-life example, I have a hard time differentiating between 2 people (when both parties aren't present; it's easy if they are both there to differentiate them of course!) who look even remotely similar. Combined with my bad memory and tendency to forget names, I'm a social wreck.
Maybe this is why I like digital communication - don't need to memorize names (in ICQ I've renamed y'all to your real names; MSN nicks and/or emails usually give a strong clue), or faces...
I'm sorry, who are you again?
Saturday, January 24, 2004
Who are you? A series of lines that fill a comprehensive chart...
This is your Queen's tuition fees at work...at least, if you take chemistry.
I picked up this cup yesterday outside of a guest lecture given by Dr. Jeff Moore on the topic of "self-healing polymers".
Having finished chemistry in Chernoff Auditorium around 9:15, I headed over to the main building so I could get a seat in this lecture hall. After waiting for the class that was using the room to finish their 8:30 (damn engineers), I headed in and sat down.
I saw some TAs walk in. Then I saw my current chem prof. Then my chem prof from last term. As more and more people shuffled in, I began to notice something.
I was the only 1st year student in the room. There were a couple of other students who looked maybe 3rd or 4th year, but everyone else was either a grad student or a professor. Seemed a little daunting at first, but nobody was paying me any attention (as usual), so it was alright. As Dr. Moore talked, holding a wireless mouse in one hand and a laser pointer in the other, I thought that what really needs to be developed is a laser pointer with a button that would act as a remote left-mouse click. Since most professors use powerpoint, and laser pointers, it would allow them the freedom of mobility to change slides and point, while not encumbering both hands.
I think I'll pitch that to Microsoft...there would be a market for it, I'm sure. They could call it the Powerpoint Assistant, or something like that.
I had to leave that lecture early, unfortunately (it was very interesting), to get over to bio, where we had yet another guest lecturer. This, unfortunately, wasn't all that interesting. Should have just stayed with Dr. Moore. And no cool cup here either.
Finally, at night I get a phone call from Jenna, one of my floormates:
"Lee, there's this concert by Darren Copeland here at Harrison LeCaine [the music building], it's starting in 5 minutes, Gary and I are here, want to come?"
Having no clue who Darren Copeland was, I thought "ok, sounds like it might be some cool jazz improv or something" and dashed over.
Turns out Darren Copeland is a Canadian "electroacoustic music" composer. We sat around in 2 concentric circles of chairs, facing inwards, with 8 speakers arranged around the room behind us. At the centre of the circle sat Mr. Copeland, with a computer and an "audio box", along with his assistant, a crazy looking young guy with giant headphones on.
For the next hour, we were subjected to train sounds, disembodies voices, screeches, birds tweeting, and various other ambient noises, all being diffused through the room. Due to the 8-point stereoscopic speaker arrangement, there were quite some interesting musical events taking place. Before this performance, I always thought of this "electroacoustic" music being just noise, but Mr. Copeland has allowed me to see that there can be music in what many hear as just noise. Take a look at the program notes/script for Lapse in Perception to get a non-aural idea of what this stuff was like.
This is your Queen's tuition fees at work...at least, if you take chemistry.
I picked up this cup yesterday outside of a guest lecture given by Dr. Jeff Moore on the topic of "self-healing polymers".
Having finished chemistry in Chernoff Auditorium around 9:15, I headed over to the main building so I could get a seat in this lecture hall. After waiting for the class that was using the room to finish their 8:30 (damn engineers), I headed in and sat down.
I saw some TAs walk in. Then I saw my current chem prof. Then my chem prof from last term. As more and more people shuffled in, I began to notice something.
I was the only 1st year student in the room. There were a couple of other students who looked maybe 3rd or 4th year, but everyone else was either a grad student or a professor. Seemed a little daunting at first, but nobody was paying me any attention (as usual), so it was alright. As Dr. Moore talked, holding a wireless mouse in one hand and a laser pointer in the other, I thought that what really needs to be developed is a laser pointer with a button that would act as a remote left-mouse click. Since most professors use powerpoint, and laser pointers, it would allow them the freedom of mobility to change slides and point, while not encumbering both hands.
I think I'll pitch that to Microsoft...there would be a market for it, I'm sure. They could call it the Powerpoint Assistant, or something like that.
I had to leave that lecture early, unfortunately (it was very interesting), to get over to bio, where we had yet another guest lecturer. This, unfortunately, wasn't all that interesting. Should have just stayed with Dr. Moore. And no cool cup here either.
Finally, at night I get a phone call from Jenna, one of my floormates:
"Lee, there's this concert by Darren Copeland here at Harrison LeCaine [the music building], it's starting in 5 minutes, Gary and I are here, want to come?"
Having no clue who Darren Copeland was, I thought "ok, sounds like it might be some cool jazz improv or something" and dashed over.
Turns out Darren Copeland is a Canadian "electroacoustic music" composer. We sat around in 2 concentric circles of chairs, facing inwards, with 8 speakers arranged around the room behind us. At the centre of the circle sat Mr. Copeland, with a computer and an "audio box", along with his assistant, a crazy looking young guy with giant headphones on.
For the next hour, we were subjected to train sounds, disembodies voices, screeches, birds tweeting, and various other ambient noises, all being diffused through the room. Due to the 8-point stereoscopic speaker arrangement, there were quite some interesting musical events taking place. Before this performance, I always thought of this "electroacoustic" music being just noise, but Mr. Copeland has allowed me to see that there can be music in what many hear as just noise. Take a look at the program notes/script for Lapse in Perception to get a non-aural idea of what this stuff was like.
Thursday, January 22, 2004
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
We all want something beautiful, I wish I was beautiful...
Listening to Mr Jones on repeat.
Have for the past half hour or so.
I'm bored right now, and tired (possibly due to the boredom), and when I'm bored I brood.
I don't brood about anything in particular, I just get in that melancholic, bothered, brooding state. At this point, almost anything seems bothersome.
I think I need a hobby...
But not one that involved movement or brain stimulation.
Or, perhaps it's that very lack of physical and mental exertion that's leading to boredom. I've been told that any form of physical activity can help alleviate boredom and, in the long run, lead to being less tired. The problem is that when you're bored and tired, it's hard to get doing anything. And the PEC seems to far away...and I don't know exactly how to "work out".
But those are all excuses.
The preceeding was just some mental diarrhea...just felt like writing a bunch of crap, needed to get it out of my system. Ended up sounding like a whiny bitch, no doubt...meh, your fault for reading this.
Last night I had a dream. All I remember was waking up and looking in a mirror and discovering that someone had given me a reverse mullet - my head was shaved completely to stubble, except this long shock of hair falling straight down in front of my face.
I guess it was probably prompted by my searching for a barber in the phonebook/med student "where to in Kingston" guide I found on the 'net.
Decided to go out today and, as the Beastie Boys put it, "cut that hair", despite the dream.
$7 later, I had shed probably a good pound of hair. Back to the short and sweet...and let me tell you, there was a noticeable difference when I tried to put my toque back on...it had been stretched out of shape by my shaggy 5-month mane (yes, I know that doesn't sound like much, but remember that I'm a guy).
Pilate's coming to Kingston a week Friday. I've been told the tickets are only $7...seems like a steal. Now all I need is to gather a crowd...
Listening to Mr Jones on repeat.
Have for the past half hour or so.
I'm bored right now, and tired (possibly due to the boredom), and when I'm bored I brood.
I don't brood about anything in particular, I just get in that melancholic, bothered, brooding state. At this point, almost anything seems bothersome.
I think I need a hobby...
But not one that involved movement or brain stimulation.
Or, perhaps it's that very lack of physical and mental exertion that's leading to boredom. I've been told that any form of physical activity can help alleviate boredom and, in the long run, lead to being less tired. The problem is that when you're bored and tired, it's hard to get doing anything. And the PEC seems to far away...and I don't know exactly how to "work out".
But those are all excuses.
The preceeding was just some mental diarrhea...just felt like writing a bunch of crap, needed to get it out of my system. Ended up sounding like a whiny bitch, no doubt...meh, your fault for reading this.
Last night I had a dream. All I remember was waking up and looking in a mirror and discovering that someone had given me a reverse mullet - my head was shaved completely to stubble, except this long shock of hair falling straight down in front of my face.
I guess it was probably prompted by my searching for a barber in the phonebook/med student "where to in Kingston" guide I found on the 'net.
Decided to go out today and, as the Beastie Boys put it, "cut that hair", despite the dream.
$7 later, I had shed probably a good pound of hair. Back to the short and sweet...and let me tell you, there was a noticeable difference when I tried to put my toque back on...it had been stretched out of shape by my shaggy 5-month mane (yes, I know that doesn't sound like much, but remember that I'm a guy).
Pilate's coming to Kingston a week Friday. I've been told the tickets are only $7...seems like a steal. Now all I need is to gather a crowd...
Monday, January 19, 2004
Say that you'll stay forever and a day...
Found out by perusing the menu, in an attempt to refresh my memory, that the delicious rice marrobone things last night were actually something called "cheung fun".
Now I just need to remember that for the next time I order chinese food...
later
Spirited Away gets two thumbs up!!!
I don't know exactly what it was about the movie...for the first part, I was just like "omg WTF?!?!!!1111", but then it started making more sense.
I don't know what it was...I just got this warm fuzzy feeling from the movie. It made me feel happy.
And it led me to listen to my favourite sappy/sad/contemplative music:
Pachelbel's Canon
Pathetique Sonata, mvmt 2
Moonlight Sonata, mvmt 1
Track 11/12 from the Hellsing OST (nice, simple, piano stuff there)
And now I really wish I had a piano! >.<
And listening to Pachelbel's makes me want to watch My Sassy Girl again...
Oi, I'm such a sap...when did this happen?
Found out by perusing the menu, in an attempt to refresh my memory, that the delicious rice marrobone things last night were actually something called "cheung fun".
Now I just need to remember that for the next time I order chinese food...
later
Spirited Away gets two thumbs up!!!
I don't know exactly what it was about the movie...for the first part, I was just like "omg WTF?!?!!!1111", but then it started making more sense.
I don't know what it was...I just got this warm fuzzy feeling from the movie. It made me feel happy.
And it led me to listen to my favourite sappy/sad/contemplative music:
Pachelbel's Canon
Pathetique Sonata, mvmt 2
Moonlight Sonata, mvmt 1
Track 11/12 from the Hellsing OST (nice, simple, piano stuff there)
And now I really wish I had a piano! >.<
And listening to Pachelbel's makes me want to watch My Sassy Girl again...
Oi, I'm such a sap...when did this happen?
Sunday, January 18, 2004
Uncle Richard, me and James Earl Jones...
When you're the floor hermit, and like to neglect your work, it's very easy to get kinda bored in rez.
Thankfully, I had an optical mouse to entertain me. I managed to get my foot caught in the cord last week, and flung the mouse against my desk leg. The scrolly-thingie was permanently stuck in, and one of the buttons really didn't work all that well, so I bought a new one. Boredom and curiosity led me to pull out the pliers and see what was really inside a mouse.
As you can see, it's not all that exciting. Definitely not worth the effort of prying off a screwed-in piece of molded plastic with my bare hands.
I'm now trying to find a way to incorporate it into my room decor. If nothing else, it may make a semi-interesting conversation piece...
Went to the QACC Chinese New Year dinner/buffet thing tonight, and it was definitely not worth the $12 I paid for the ticket. The food was mediocre (although these rice thingies that kinda looked like those marrobone dog biscuit were good), and very cold. Didn't actually get all that much, either...even if it was buffet style. And the MC-ing/games stuff was so badly run...as Bri pointed out "this feels like high school".
Still, I guess you have to give them a bit of credit - I mean, the did cook all this food themselves. And it seems they couldn't use the oil lamps they usually use, which might have contributed to non-warmth of the food.
All in all, a bad event. I don't want to rag on the QACC too much, though - I'm sure their usual events, which are more like cooking classes I'm lead to believe, are better. I mean, you have an equal or almost equal cook:guest ratio, as opposed to trying to cater to a large group.
One last thing: when did Eggo waffles with peanut butter become a traditional Chinese dish?
When you're the floor hermit, and like to neglect your work, it's very easy to get kinda bored in rez.
Thankfully, I had an optical mouse to entertain me. I managed to get my foot caught in the cord last week, and flung the mouse against my desk leg. The scrolly-thingie was permanently stuck in, and one of the buttons really didn't work all that well, so I bought a new one. Boredom and curiosity led me to pull out the pliers and see what was really inside a mouse.
As you can see, it's not all that exciting. Definitely not worth the effort of prying off a screwed-in piece of molded plastic with my bare hands.
I'm now trying to find a way to incorporate it into my room decor. If nothing else, it may make a semi-interesting conversation piece...
Went to the QACC Chinese New Year dinner/buffet thing tonight, and it was definitely not worth the $12 I paid for the ticket. The food was mediocre (although these rice thingies that kinda looked like those marrobone dog biscuit were good), and very cold. Didn't actually get all that much, either...even if it was buffet style. And the MC-ing/games stuff was so badly run...as Bri pointed out "this feels like high school".
Still, I guess you have to give them a bit of credit - I mean, the did cook all this food themselves. And it seems they couldn't use the oil lamps they usually use, which might have contributed to non-warmth of the food.
All in all, a bad event. I don't want to rag on the QACC too much, though - I'm sure their usual events, which are more like cooking classes I'm lead to believe, are better. I mean, you have an equal or almost equal cook:guest ratio, as opposed to trying to cater to a large group.
One last thing: when did Eggo waffles with peanut butter become a traditional Chinese dish?
Saturday, January 17, 2004
Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away...
Today we actually got to spar in gumdo.
It was an interesting experience...
It's quite hard to apply our gumdo practices in real combat. I found it particularly hard to actually perform a decent block or parry, while at the same time it was exceedingly difficult to bypass the opponent's sword. Got caught on a few right-left combos, with the last swing coming from behind. Personally, I couldn't apply the concept of bypassing the opponent and hitting from behind. Locking swords made it hard to get behind the opponent without suffering a hit.
Also, it turns out that trying to be nimble and sort of hopping around isn't as useful as it seems. Due to the hardwood floor, I managed to embarrass myself by slipping a couple of times. I was told to "use the shuffling foot movement" that we use for our forms. Unfortunately, I can't move as quickly like that as I can with regular foot motions. However, it's supposed to improve balance, so I guess I should attempt to apply it - save me from falling on my face again.
Apologies to Adam, my opponent - seems I banged up his hand pretty bad (our club has 4 helmets but only 2 sets of "armor" (breastplate/gloves), so we only got helmets). I have a couple of sores on my hands, but I think I was a bit more aggressive than he was.
Looking forward to doing it again...Grant's going to make every Saturday sparring/informal day, so that'll be fun. Wish there was somewhere to take kendo around here...then I could improve my sparring skillz.
Just finished watching Ghost in the Shell...it's pretty good. I really wish I had it subbed, tho - the English dubbing was atrocious. I almost couldn't take it...the voice-actors were so wooden, it drove me insane. It's a very transparent movie, imho - it seems like it'll be deep, but it only tackles a small issue, and tries hard to really explain it. I guess after Lain, it's a bit of a let-down.
I still don't know whether Lain is brilliant or just confused. I know I'm confused, but I'm not sure if that was the intent. Is it thought-provoking, or does it just not explain itself well enough?
The jury is still out on that one.
There is a third option, of course - maybe I'm just obtuse.
That's probably it :)
Today we actually got to spar in gumdo.
It was an interesting experience...
It's quite hard to apply our gumdo practices in real combat. I found it particularly hard to actually perform a decent block or parry, while at the same time it was exceedingly difficult to bypass the opponent's sword. Got caught on a few right-left combos, with the last swing coming from behind. Personally, I couldn't apply the concept of bypassing the opponent and hitting from behind. Locking swords made it hard to get behind the opponent without suffering a hit.
Also, it turns out that trying to be nimble and sort of hopping around isn't as useful as it seems. Due to the hardwood floor, I managed to embarrass myself by slipping a couple of times. I was told to "use the shuffling foot movement" that we use for our forms. Unfortunately, I can't move as quickly like that as I can with regular foot motions. However, it's supposed to improve balance, so I guess I should attempt to apply it - save me from falling on my face again.
Apologies to Adam, my opponent - seems I banged up his hand pretty bad (our club has 4 helmets but only 2 sets of "armor" (breastplate/gloves), so we only got helmets). I have a couple of sores on my hands, but I think I was a bit more aggressive than he was.
Looking forward to doing it again...Grant's going to make every Saturday sparring/informal day, so that'll be fun. Wish there was somewhere to take kendo around here...then I could improve my sparring skillz.
Just finished watching Ghost in the Shell...it's pretty good. I really wish I had it subbed, tho - the English dubbing was atrocious. I almost couldn't take it...the voice-actors were so wooden, it drove me insane. It's a very transparent movie, imho - it seems like it'll be deep, but it only tackles a small issue, and tries hard to really explain it. I guess after Lain, it's a bit of a let-down.
I still don't know whether Lain is brilliant or just confused. I know I'm confused, but I'm not sure if that was the intent. Is it thought-provoking, or does it just not explain itself well enough?
The jury is still out on that one.
There is a third option, of course - maybe I'm just obtuse.
That's probably it :)
Friday, January 16, 2004
[piano solo]
Sorry if last night's post seemed a little incomplete, short, terse, or generally incoherent.
While blogging, I was making instant noodles while talking on the phone and dealing with a wicked behind-the-eyes sinus headache (the only type of headache I ever get).
Turns out that's nothing alcohol can't solve (the headache, I mean). Neither is sleepiness - don't listen when they lie to you and tell you that alcohol is a depressant. The only reason I didn't leave Tom's at 2am (a full hour longer than I had intended to stay) was because I felt completely awake. So I stuck around until about 3, when my "you fucking moron you have to get up in 4 hours"-sense starting tingling.
Alcohol is an odd thing. Last night, compared to last Thursday, I had less to drink and more food in my stomach. Yet I got kinda tipsy and a bit giggly, I'm ashamed to say, this time around, whereas last time there was no noticeable effect whatsoever. It is true that this time I imbibed on a shorter time scale, so maybe that has something to do with it.
Piaget was right - children (and adults) are little scientists, always trying to conduct experiments. Change a variable here, hold that one constant, and see how everything turns out. Unfortunately, I think the current experiment my inner child scientist is conducting is the effects of differing amounts and types of alcohol and their effects on Lee, taking into account stomach content, speed of imbibing, location, etc.
The day after I have anything but the smallest amount to drink is always painful.
I don't get the standard headache hangover...although truth be told I haven't had enough drink in me at any time to warrant a hangover the next day.
Instead, I develop an insatiable hunger, coupled with a feeling of nausea anytime I attempt to eat food. I find it quite ironic. In fact, this seems to point to the existance of some higher being - nature, at random, could never develop quite so fitting a juxtaposition of repercussions.
By about lunchtime the nausea seems to have died down, leaving me feeling like I haven't eaten food in weeks...
And then I raid the caf...like I'm about to do now.
And find no palatable food.
Oh the irony...Queen's is chock-full of it.
Almost forgot - apparently my floormates talk about me with their friends from other floors. I ran into someone in Tom's common room, who had just come back from my floor. As soon as I told her my name, she said "oh yeah, they were talking about you."
Turns out I've become "the guy who doesn't do anything with the floor"...
Probably a bad name to have for myself, but strangely I'm finding I really don't care.
Sorry if last night's post seemed a little incomplete, short, terse, or generally incoherent.
While blogging, I was making instant noodles while talking on the phone and dealing with a wicked behind-the-eyes sinus headache (the only type of headache I ever get).
Turns out that's nothing alcohol can't solve (the headache, I mean). Neither is sleepiness - don't listen when they lie to you and tell you that alcohol is a depressant. The only reason I didn't leave Tom's at 2am (a full hour longer than I had intended to stay) was because I felt completely awake. So I stuck around until about 3, when my "you fucking moron you have to get up in 4 hours"-sense starting tingling.
Alcohol is an odd thing. Last night, compared to last Thursday, I had less to drink and more food in my stomach. Yet I got kinda tipsy and a bit giggly, I'm ashamed to say, this time around, whereas last time there was no noticeable effect whatsoever. It is true that this time I imbibed on a shorter time scale, so maybe that has something to do with it.
Piaget was right - children (and adults) are little scientists, always trying to conduct experiments. Change a variable here, hold that one constant, and see how everything turns out. Unfortunately, I think the current experiment my inner child scientist is conducting is the effects of differing amounts and types of alcohol and their effects on Lee, taking into account stomach content, speed of imbibing, location, etc.
The day after I have anything but the smallest amount to drink is always painful.
I don't get the standard headache hangover...although truth be told I haven't had enough drink in me at any time to warrant a hangover the next day.
Instead, I develop an insatiable hunger, coupled with a feeling of nausea anytime I attempt to eat food. I find it quite ironic. In fact, this seems to point to the existance of some higher being - nature, at random, could never develop quite so fitting a juxtaposition of repercussions.
By about lunchtime the nausea seems to have died down, leaving me feeling like I haven't eaten food in weeks...
And then I raid the caf...like I'm about to do now.
And find no palatable food.
Oh the irony...Queen's is chock-full of it.
Almost forgot - apparently my floormates talk about me with their friends from other floors. I ran into someone in Tom's common room, who had just come back from my floor. As soon as I told her my name, she said "oh yeah, they were talking about you."
Turns out I've become "the guy who doesn't do anything with the floor"...
Probably a bad name to have for myself, but strangely I'm finding I really don't care.
Thursday, January 15, 2004
Our house, in the middle of our street...
House hunting is officially over.
Gary, Jamie, Brian and I sat through a 3 hour plus talk, going over every detail in the lease, then signed it and handed it to our future landlady, Ms. Daphne Dean.
As of May 1st of this year, we will be the proud tenants of 112 Gore St., unit 4.
Right across the hall from some fine young ladies (Ellen, Winnie, Eileen, Fanny).
It would be party central, if it weren't for that"no-parties" clause. ;P
My head is pounding...I should go to bed. Unfortunately, I'm an idiot, so I'm going Chez Tom...after all, he ain't gonna be here for the weekend, so it's only right to spend some time with him tonight.
But I'll have to cut the night short, unfortunately - damn that 8:30 Chem116 lecture!
House hunting is officially over.
Gary, Jamie, Brian and I sat through a 3 hour plus talk, going over every detail in the lease, then signed it and handed it to our future landlady, Ms. Daphne Dean.
As of May 1st of this year, we will be the proud tenants of 112 Gore St., unit 4.
Right across the hall from some fine young ladies (Ellen, Winnie, Eileen, Fanny).
It would be party central, if it weren't for that"no-parties" clause. ;P
My head is pounding...I should go to bed. Unfortunately, I'm an idiot, so I'm going Chez Tom...after all, he ain't gonna be here for the weekend, so it's only right to spend some time with him tonight.
But I'll have to cut the night short, unfortunately - damn that 8:30 Chem116 lecture!
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Come with me in the twilight of a summer night for a while...
Just got my first "report card" from Queen's.
What can I say? Even without the +5% bonus for psyc studies (which will be added to my mark at the end of the year), I still managed a respectable 93.5% average.
Of course, in term 2 I expect my chem mark to drop a bit (how could it not? I'm sitting at 99 right now :), my bio mark to drop a good 5% (damn labs), my math mark to maybe drop a couple percent, and hopefully my physics mark will go up a tiny bit.
Psyc...should stay where it is.
So overall I expect maybe a 92% average at the end of the year...hopefully I can achieve that.
Unfortunately, because of the break, I've lost all work ethic, and I'm cutting corners like mad...
And it just so happens that the 3 midterms I know about are on 2 consecutive days. All I can hope is that psyc is after reading week, otherwise I'm all kinds of screwed.
I should frame this thing...I'll never see marks like this in my life again.
Almost done Lain...I swear, Tsukasa and Lain's personalities have rubbed off on me, and I've become a complete hermit, sitting in my room with no lights on staring at a computer screen, shunning all human contact and hissing when I hear voices in the hall.
Maybe I should watch something like Love Hina next...put me back into a semi-sociable mood.
Well, as sociable as I get...
Just got my first "report card" from Queen's.
What can I say? Even without the +5% bonus for psyc studies (which will be added to my mark at the end of the year), I still managed a respectable 93.5% average.
Of course, in term 2 I expect my chem mark to drop a bit (how could it not? I'm sitting at 99 right now :), my bio mark to drop a good 5% (damn labs), my math mark to maybe drop a couple percent, and hopefully my physics mark will go up a tiny bit.
Psyc...should stay where it is.
So overall I expect maybe a 92% average at the end of the year...hopefully I can achieve that.
Unfortunately, because of the break, I've lost all work ethic, and I'm cutting corners like mad...
And it just so happens that the 3 midterms I know about are on 2 consecutive days. All I can hope is that psyc is after reading week, otherwise I'm all kinds of screwed.
I should frame this thing...I'll never see marks like this in my life again.
Almost done Lain...I swear, Tsukasa and Lain's personalities have rubbed off on me, and I've become a complete hermit, sitting in my room with no lights on staring at a computer screen, shunning all human contact and hissing when I hear voices in the hall.
Maybe I should watch something like Love Hina next...put me back into a semi-sociable mood.
Well, as sociable as I get...
Saturday, January 10, 2004
Shine bright morning light...
Went house-hunting today, and wasn't that exciting. Finally met up with Ms. Daphne "Dictator" Dean, and, even if she does go around every night with a security team checking her houses, her terms, as she laid them out in the preliminary speech, don't seem that bad.
No partying.
No drinking outside.
No more than 3 or 4 guests after 9pm.
No pets (fish and birds are ok, tho)
Cleaning inspections every 2 months.
I think that's about it. Not too bad - especially given the stories we'd heard before. Frankly, we're not going to violate any of those rules anyway ('cept maybe the cleaning inspections...but we get a week's notice so meh).
Still, her tenants all think she's crazy, and she won't let someone pay an electrician to come in and install grounding in the outlets. The houses themselves aren't bad - I'd have to say the 4 persons, especially on Gore, are newer and nicer than the 5 persons, but the pleasures of Master Carter's company more than outweigh these benefits.
We're going to have to go on yet another tour before Ms Dean will give us applications, and this time we'll have to make sure we ask good questions, be polite and cordial, and give her the "Austrian Handshake" (minus the sleep-killing, mind you). Hopefully she'll remember us, and let us get an application.
Then it's just praying that our references check out (should be no problem there) and that nobody else beats us to it. But it's all good - the Magic 8-Ball (Al, you're the man) tells us that we'll get a house off her.
Of course, this whole affair meant being outside for most of the period between 1:30 and 4:30, in -30-something weather with a leather jacket and no face protection...I could have sworn my lips were going to fall off.
But I survived...
and yes, I know I'm a wussy....so what?
In other news, finally finished .hack//SIGN, which was a decent anime. Not great, but not bad. Probably the worst subtitling I've ever seen, to the point where I could barely understand what they were trying to say at times. It had some good music...I think I only noticed this because not only is there music playing almost ALL the time, but also the music is very obvious - it's not so much in the background as most anime music is. And there's English lyrics...with the lyrics being displayed as surtitles (they're above, not below, the screen), which I found quite distracting. Much of the music is very fitting to the series, BUT there's so much repetition that I found myself getting quite sick of it after a while.
Then again, I don't think the series was meant to be watched in just one week.
On to Lain now...and after that, who knows? Gotta catch up on Naruto - finally got episode 65...wonder if 66 is available...?
I guess I'll have to check DC tomorrow...
Now we are on the edge of Hell...
Went house-hunting today, and wasn't that exciting. Finally met up with Ms. Daphne "Dictator" Dean, and, even if she does go around every night with a security team checking her houses, her terms, as she laid them out in the preliminary speech, don't seem that bad.
No partying.
No drinking outside.
No more than 3 or 4 guests after 9pm.
No pets (fish and birds are ok, tho)
Cleaning inspections every 2 months.
I think that's about it. Not too bad - especially given the stories we'd heard before. Frankly, we're not going to violate any of those rules anyway ('cept maybe the cleaning inspections...but we get a week's notice so meh).
Still, her tenants all think she's crazy, and she won't let someone pay an electrician to come in and install grounding in the outlets. The houses themselves aren't bad - I'd have to say the 4 persons, especially on Gore, are newer and nicer than the 5 persons, but the pleasures of Master Carter's company more than outweigh these benefits.
We're going to have to go on yet another tour before Ms Dean will give us applications, and this time we'll have to make sure we ask good questions, be polite and cordial, and give her the "Austrian Handshake" (minus the sleep-killing, mind you). Hopefully she'll remember us, and let us get an application.
Then it's just praying that our references check out (should be no problem there) and that nobody else beats us to it. But it's all good - the Magic 8-Ball (Al, you're the man) tells us that we'll get a house off her.
Of course, this whole affair meant being outside for most of the period between 1:30 and 4:30, in -30-something weather with a leather jacket and no face protection...I could have sworn my lips were going to fall off.
But I survived...
and yes, I know I'm a wussy....so what?
In other news, finally finished .hack//SIGN, which was a decent anime. Not great, but not bad. Probably the worst subtitling I've ever seen, to the point where I could barely understand what they were trying to say at times. It had some good music...I think I only noticed this because not only is there music playing almost ALL the time, but also the music is very obvious - it's not so much in the background as most anime music is. And there's English lyrics...with the lyrics being displayed as surtitles (they're above, not below, the screen), which I found quite distracting. Much of the music is very fitting to the series, BUT there's so much repetition that I found myself getting quite sick of it after a while.
Then again, I don't think the series was meant to be watched in just one week.
On to Lain now...and after that, who knows? Gotta catch up on Naruto - finally got episode 65...wonder if 66 is available...?
I guess I'll have to check DC tomorrow...
Now we are on the edge of Hell...
Friday, January 09, 2004
I need more friends with wings...
Something troubled me all last term - namely, that Bri and Tom's drunken antics often led to very interesting and humorous situations.
Now, whenever I had hung out with them last term, it was usually just staying in someone's room, often with them drinking and me not, and it ended up being, I must say, rather uneventful. When they went out clubbing/kegging, I was always either otherwise engaged or decided to not go.
There are only 2 reasonable explanations: the world hates me, and nothing interesting will happen when I'm around; or I should just dive in fully, get some drink in me, and follow wherever those two intrepid adventurers would lead me - hopefully leading to interesting and/or humorous incidents worthy of blogging about afterward. Maybe even tales that I would pass on to my grandchildren (who will most likely never exist)
I rejected the first option, despite the fact that I have had every indication throughout my life that the world does, indeed, hate me (all my technological problems, my "incident", and now my jacket zipper undoing itself as soon as I do it up, in the middle of the coldest stretch of any winter I've ever experienced).
That left only the second option. So I resolved that I would go wild and crazy and totally let myself go one night, to see just what it would be like. I thought the first week back would be a good time, considering the lack of labs, and the relatively low work-load. When Tom informed me, on Wednesday, that he could get me on the guest list at the *cringe* Cocamo for Thursday night, I thought, "Jesus no! It's the bloody Cocamo!!!" (aka the Poke-a-ho, or "the dirtiest nightclub in Kingston"). But then I found out that Tom and Bri were in, as well as some members of Tom's floor with whom I was acquainted, and some of my floormates, so I decided to go for it. Since we weren't going until about 11 (according to the plan), and Tom didn't want to spend too much money, he decided that we would indulge in that age-old tradition of "pre-drinking".
So he calls around 9, says he's gonna dial-a-bottle, asks if I want anything. Of course, I don't order anything - I'll just mooch off Tom...yes, I'm a devious bastard and a horrible friend.
Tom says he'll call back in a while...
Time passes, I get hungry - time to grab some instant noodles. Unfortunately, they taste horrible...so I need something to drink with it. Look in the fridge, grab an opened bottle of OJ I've had since before xmas break. Remembered I had some Smirnoff Raspberry Twist, thought "what the Hell, tonight's the night to let loose, right?", and mixed in about a shot's worth of that.
Drink #1.
About 45 mins later, Bri calls, inviting me up chez Tom.
Excellent. The night was about to begin.
Get up there, and they're waiting for the dial-a-bottle. I grab some sake, take a shot (yes, I'm an uncouth bastard, I take shots of sake...cold!). We sit for a long time, waiting...
Finally, we call them back, wondering where our booze is. Turns out the delivery guy's been frantically calling for the past hour or so, but kept getting a busy line. Weird, considering the phone's been on the hook for all that time...
Anyway, the booze gets delivered, Chiu is called, and I go out with Bri to grab some ginger ale.
Come back, take a shot of scotch. Shortly thereafter, take a shot of gin. Gin, I must say, is the most foul liquid I've ever drank. Upon a night's reflecting, it is in fact worse than rum. Nearly retched after that shot...so I figured I should wash it down with a ginger ale and scotch.
Which is probably the best alcoholic beverage I've ever had...my dad's got good tastes (he's a scotch fan).
We sit around, waiting (I don't really know why...I guess because we wanted to drink some more?), and watching the people in the front lobby waiting for the Cocamobile (coincidentally, it was mostly my floormates)...at this point, I'm feeling a tiny bit dizzy, but relatively unaffected. "Watch out," they tell me, "hard liquor takes a while to kick in". I didn't feel like joining Tom's "casuality list" that night, so I decided to take it easy.
Half an hour passes, and I still don't really feel anything. Grab for some scotch, and at this point Tom tells me he's washing his hands of this - anything that happens is my own damn fault. Scared, I put the bottle down.
Another 20 minutes pass. I grab again for the scotch. Tom again washes his hands...literally as well as metaphorically this time. I take a big swig.
More time passes, probably about another half hour. We figure we'd better leave, and call Laura (my floormate), up. I take another swig of scotch.
It's my last drink of the night, putting me at a total of 1 Raspberry screwdriver, 3 shots (sake, scotch, gin), 1 mixed drink (ginger ale + scotch), and 2 swigs of scotch, in a period of about 2.5 hours. And I'm still feeling, if anything, perhaps still just a tiny bit dizzy.
Oh, and my already over-active bladder becomes even more over-active.
Not bad for an almost completely inexperienced drinker, I'd say...props to my white genes!
Go down to see what's taking Laura...she had been conversing with my floormates. Fair enough, they're more interesting company than I. Turns out they had already gone to the 'Mo, found ridiculously long lines, and had come back. Still, she agreed to come up chez Tom, along with Tristan. We sat around for another 10 minutes or so, then Tom calls a cab to take us to...
The Mo....
Where there was a line...not a terrible line, but a line nonetheless.
Which wasn't moving.
Because the club was filled to capacity.
At this point I'm no longer feeling dizzy...I'm feeling absolutely nothing. Except the frigid, numbing cold of Kingston at midnight in January (it was, supposedly, -38 with the windchill). My jacket zipper falls open, and won't do back up. Damn.
After about 15, maybe 20 minutes, we're finally let in...and then wait in line for the coat-check.
Which isn't actually that long.
Finally ready to head on to the dance-floor...which is absolutely packed. No room whatsoever. Dance with members of Tom's floor for a while, but, despite what many might say, even pre-drinking can't make dancing fun, especially in a sleezy club filled to capacity.
As Tom said after we had left - he could only get us there, we had to KNOW people there to make it fun, and I guess that could be true.
But I think this is the end of my clubbing life...barring either:
a) a huge Queen's MDHS grad clubbing night
b) a large group of friends going to The Kingdom some Friday night, to catch some kickin' rock instead of this crappy hip-hop/rap shit they play here in Kingston.
Walked off the dance floor, hung out with Bri and Tom at the bar for a while, then we left.
It was quite uneventful.
Came home and slept. Woke up this morning feeling like I hadn't eaten in weeks, as well as a bit nauseous. But it wasn't really any worse than when I didn't sleep well over the holidays - lack of sleep literally makes me nauseous. It's really weird, but supposedly my mom's the same way.
Stupid parents...passed on EVERY bad gene they had. >:(
So, my first drinking+clubbing experience...and I'd have to say, it doesn't live up to expectations.
I think "getting drunk" has come off my list of things to do before I die...
Just doesn't seem appealing anymore.
Something troubled me all last term - namely, that Bri and Tom's drunken antics often led to very interesting and humorous situations.
Now, whenever I had hung out with them last term, it was usually just staying in someone's room, often with them drinking and me not, and it ended up being, I must say, rather uneventful. When they went out clubbing/kegging, I was always either otherwise engaged or decided to not go.
There are only 2 reasonable explanations: the world hates me, and nothing interesting will happen when I'm around; or I should just dive in fully, get some drink in me, and follow wherever those two intrepid adventurers would lead me - hopefully leading to interesting and/or humorous incidents worthy of blogging about afterward. Maybe even tales that I would pass on to my grandchildren (who will most likely never exist)
I rejected the first option, despite the fact that I have had every indication throughout my life that the world does, indeed, hate me (all my technological problems, my "incident", and now my jacket zipper undoing itself as soon as I do it up, in the middle of the coldest stretch of any winter I've ever experienced).
That left only the second option. So I resolved that I would go wild and crazy and totally let myself go one night, to see just what it would be like. I thought the first week back would be a good time, considering the lack of labs, and the relatively low work-load. When Tom informed me, on Wednesday, that he could get me on the guest list at the *cringe* Cocamo for Thursday night, I thought, "Jesus no! It's the bloody Cocamo!!!" (aka the Poke-a-ho, or "the dirtiest nightclub in Kingston"). But then I found out that Tom and Bri were in, as well as some members of Tom's floor with whom I was acquainted, and some of my floormates, so I decided to go for it. Since we weren't going until about 11 (according to the plan), and Tom didn't want to spend too much money, he decided that we would indulge in that age-old tradition of "pre-drinking".
So he calls around 9, says he's gonna dial-a-bottle, asks if I want anything. Of course, I don't order anything - I'll just mooch off Tom...yes, I'm a devious bastard and a horrible friend.
Tom says he'll call back in a while...
Time passes, I get hungry - time to grab some instant noodles. Unfortunately, they taste horrible...so I need something to drink with it. Look in the fridge, grab an opened bottle of OJ I've had since before xmas break. Remembered I had some Smirnoff Raspberry Twist, thought "what the Hell, tonight's the night to let loose, right?", and mixed in about a shot's worth of that.
Drink #1.
About 45 mins later, Bri calls, inviting me up chez Tom.
Excellent. The night was about to begin.
Get up there, and they're waiting for the dial-a-bottle. I grab some sake, take a shot (yes, I'm an uncouth bastard, I take shots of sake...cold!). We sit for a long time, waiting...
Finally, we call them back, wondering where our booze is. Turns out the delivery guy's been frantically calling for the past hour or so, but kept getting a busy line. Weird, considering the phone's been on the hook for all that time...
Anyway, the booze gets delivered, Chiu is called, and I go out with Bri to grab some ginger ale.
Come back, take a shot of scotch. Shortly thereafter, take a shot of gin. Gin, I must say, is the most foul liquid I've ever drank. Upon a night's reflecting, it is in fact worse than rum. Nearly retched after that shot...so I figured I should wash it down with a ginger ale and scotch.
Which is probably the best alcoholic beverage I've ever had...my dad's got good tastes (he's a scotch fan).
We sit around, waiting (I don't really know why...I guess because we wanted to drink some more?), and watching the people in the front lobby waiting for the Cocamobile (coincidentally, it was mostly my floormates)...at this point, I'm feeling a tiny bit dizzy, but relatively unaffected. "Watch out," they tell me, "hard liquor takes a while to kick in". I didn't feel like joining Tom's "casuality list" that night, so I decided to take it easy.
Half an hour passes, and I still don't really feel anything. Grab for some scotch, and at this point Tom tells me he's washing his hands of this - anything that happens is my own damn fault. Scared, I put the bottle down.
Another 20 minutes pass. I grab again for the scotch. Tom again washes his hands...literally as well as metaphorically this time. I take a big swig.
More time passes, probably about another half hour. We figure we'd better leave, and call Laura (my floormate), up. I take another swig of scotch.
It's my last drink of the night, putting me at a total of 1 Raspberry screwdriver, 3 shots (sake, scotch, gin), 1 mixed drink (ginger ale + scotch), and 2 swigs of scotch, in a period of about 2.5 hours. And I'm still feeling, if anything, perhaps still just a tiny bit dizzy.
Oh, and my already over-active bladder becomes even more over-active.
Not bad for an almost completely inexperienced drinker, I'd say...props to my white genes!
Go down to see what's taking Laura...she had been conversing with my floormates. Fair enough, they're more interesting company than I. Turns out they had already gone to the 'Mo, found ridiculously long lines, and had come back. Still, she agreed to come up chez Tom, along with Tristan. We sat around for another 10 minutes or so, then Tom calls a cab to take us to...
The Mo....
Where there was a line...not a terrible line, but a line nonetheless.
Which wasn't moving.
Because the club was filled to capacity.
At this point I'm no longer feeling dizzy...I'm feeling absolutely nothing. Except the frigid, numbing cold of Kingston at midnight in January (it was, supposedly, -38 with the windchill). My jacket zipper falls open, and won't do back up. Damn.
After about 15, maybe 20 minutes, we're finally let in...and then wait in line for the coat-check.
Which isn't actually that long.
Finally ready to head on to the dance-floor...which is absolutely packed. No room whatsoever. Dance with members of Tom's floor for a while, but, despite what many might say, even pre-drinking can't make dancing fun, especially in a sleezy club filled to capacity.
As Tom said after we had left - he could only get us there, we had to KNOW people there to make it fun, and I guess that could be true.
But I think this is the end of my clubbing life...barring either:
a) a huge Queen's MDHS grad clubbing night
b) a large group of friends going to The Kingdom some Friday night, to catch some kickin' rock instead of this crappy hip-hop/rap shit they play here in Kingston.
Walked off the dance floor, hung out with Bri and Tom at the bar for a while, then we left.
It was quite uneventful.
Came home and slept. Woke up this morning feeling like I hadn't eaten in weeks, as well as a bit nauseous. But it wasn't really any worse than when I didn't sleep well over the holidays - lack of sleep literally makes me nauseous. It's really weird, but supposedly my mom's the same way.
Stupid parents...passed on EVERY bad gene they had. >:(
So, my first drinking+clubbing experience...and I'd have to say, it doesn't live up to expectations.
I think "getting drunk" has come off my list of things to do before I die...
Just doesn't seem appealing anymore.
Thursday, January 08, 2004
This is the greatest and best song in the world...
Gah! I hate standard tuning!
Had to get down to double-drop-D to play this tab I found (which ended up sounding pretty bad), and while I was tuning my high-e back up to E, it snapped :*(
grr...and the guitar shop is so far away...and it's so cold...
Hopefully I'll be able to bum a string off someone...then as soon as it gets warmer, I'm gonna make sure I always have extras lying around...
I need to discover the lore of story-telling; this blog is not nearly as eloquent as some.
Gah! I hate standard tuning!
Had to get down to double-drop-D to play this tab I found (which ended up sounding pretty bad), and while I was tuning my high-e back up to E, it snapped :*(
grr...and the guitar shop is so far away...and it's so cold...
Hopefully I'll be able to bum a string off someone...then as soon as it gets warmer, I'm gonna make sure I always have extras lying around...
I need to discover the lore of story-telling; this blog is not nearly as eloquent as some.
Tuesday, January 06, 2004
He was shakin' lots of bacon, cook an egg in his shoe...
What, exactly, does it mean to be shaking lots of bacon?
Term has started again, and with it comes the inevitable readings, assignments, labs (although no chem/phys for 2/1 week(s)!), and math quizzes (on stuff covered BEFORE BREAK! Oi!).
And, of course, the endless movie/anime watching - that's pretty much all I've been filling (killing) my free time with - along with IM-ing, of course. Things just haven't really gotten into full swing yet here, which is really good because my work ethic is non-existant; my willpower is gone, I can't get myself to do any work of any sort...hopefully that will come back as the term progresses, otherwise I'm screwed.
This new bio lab looks like it will add considerable work-load to what I was accustomed to in the fall...
In other news, the new bio prof seems kinda boring but pretty good - check out his pic, it's hilarious (talking about Dr. "B for Baywatch" Tufts here).
The new psyc prof doesn't speak English well, which is a bit of a problem. Still trying to figure out if she's Polish or Russian. My money's on Russian...maybe Yugoslavian. (Her name's Dr. Stanka Fitneva).
New chem prof seems like a fun guy - youngish, very friendly-like. Unfortunately, he's jointly appointed to the dept. of Chem and the school of environmental science. So we'll have an environmentalist slant to everything we learn. Which shouldn't be that bad, actually....I'm interested to see how this term is going to go.
Wish Ableson was staying for more than a week...why can't Orzech's "conference" be the whole term? :( He is such a superior prof!
Alright, that's it for me...for now. Expect updates to come less frequently as the term progresses. Two reasons for this - my life gets busier (thus I can't devote as much time to blogging, or, unfortunately, reading blogs), and more boring...you don't want to hear me recap how I "woke up, went to class, did homework, ate, and went to sleep"...
What, exactly, does it mean to be shaking lots of bacon?
Term has started again, and with it comes the inevitable readings, assignments, labs (although no chem/phys for 2/1 week(s)!), and math quizzes (on stuff covered BEFORE BREAK! Oi!).
And, of course, the endless movie/anime watching - that's pretty much all I've been filling (killing) my free time with - along with IM-ing, of course. Things just haven't really gotten into full swing yet here, which is really good because my work ethic is non-existant; my willpower is gone, I can't get myself to do any work of any sort...hopefully that will come back as the term progresses, otherwise I'm screwed.
This new bio lab looks like it will add considerable work-load to what I was accustomed to in the fall...
In other news, the new bio prof seems kinda boring but pretty good - check out his pic, it's hilarious (talking about Dr. "B for Baywatch" Tufts here).
The new psyc prof doesn't speak English well, which is a bit of a problem. Still trying to figure out if she's Polish or Russian. My money's on Russian...maybe Yugoslavian. (Her name's Dr. Stanka Fitneva).
New chem prof seems like a fun guy - youngish, very friendly-like. Unfortunately, he's jointly appointed to the dept. of Chem and the school of environmental science. So we'll have an environmentalist slant to everything we learn. Which shouldn't be that bad, actually....I'm interested to see how this term is going to go.
Wish Ableson was staying for more than a week...why can't Orzech's "conference" be the whole term? :( He is such a superior prof!
Alright, that's it for me...for now. Expect updates to come less frequently as the term progresses. Two reasons for this - my life gets busier (thus I can't devote as much time to blogging, or, unfortunately, reading blogs), and more boring...you don't want to hear me recap how I "woke up, went to class, did homework, ate, and went to sleep"...
Sunday, January 04, 2004
If you ever thought of doing drugs...
Watch Requiem for a Dream...and you'll never start, I guarantee it. It would be like a Clockwork Orange-esque treatment method.
I swear, that is the most disturbing movie I've ever seen. I felt like vomiting afterwards.
I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight...
Watch Requiem for a Dream...and you'll never start, I guarantee it. It would be like a Clockwork Orange-esque treatment method.
I swear, that is the most disturbing movie I've ever seen. I felt like vomiting afterwards.
I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight...
Saturday, January 03, 2004
Hello there, the angel from my nightmare...
Well, I'm bored, and I guess since I never get junk mail (do NOT send it to me now! >:| ), this is as close as it comes.
Courtesy of Celine and someone from her link section:
1. Describe the best feeling you've ever had: I went through a month where I was completely contented, optimistic, and...I DIDN'T FEEL TIRED!!!
2. Were you named after anyone: My middle name, John, comes from my late (maternal) grandfather, who was, as my mother tells it, a prominent figure in the Hungarian revolution (against the Reds)
3. Do you wish on stars: Absolutely not. I pray instead.
4. Which finger is your favourite: Index. And don't you DARE tell me it's impolite to point!
5. When did you last cry: hrm...during my "incident" (see end of Sept. if you REALLY need to know) - coincidentally, it was also the last time I threw up - both from PAIN ALONE...now do you understand how painful it was?
6. Do you like your handwriting: Not at all. It's illegible, and often cramps my hand. I don't really like my signature either.
7. What is your favorite lunch meat: Salami. Although in the past year smoked (and spiced) turkey started crawling up there...
8. Do you think there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow: No. Rainbows are merely light reflected off moisture in the air.
9. Do fish have feelings?: They feel pain or physical pressure, but they don't have emotions, no.
10. Are you trendy: I wear plaid, for God's sake - I'm still stuck in the grunge era :P
11. How do you release anger: Crank up angry music and pace while making violent hand gestures (which are often very similar to conducting...). Wish I had a punching bag, tho...
12. Where is your second home: In Markham. My first home is Stuart St. Residence at Queen's University!
13. Do you trust others easily: Hell yah. I'm the most gullible person ever. I should just wear a sign that says "take advantage of me, please"
14. What was your favorite toy as a child: Nintendo. Or maybe Nerf. Not sure.
15. What class in school do you think is totally useless: French, but only in the public system. They teach it all wrong. Within a month of GRADE ONE at TFS (Toronto French School), I could speak more fluent French than ANY OAC (now gr. 12) French graduate (who has never had French emersion or any other form of external French language tutoring, of course)
16. Do you like sappy love songs: No. I swear... *teardrop*....uhh...next question....*sweat*
17. Have you ever been on radio or television: I could only wish. Actually, I'd probably be incredibly nervous and screw up (2 separate thoughts - I'd be nervous, and I'd screw up, not necessarily from the stress)
18. Do you have a journal: I have a blog....does that count?
19. Do you use sarcasm a lot: *insert sarcastic remark here*
20. Have you ever been in a mosh pit: nadda.
21. What are your nicknames: None. Although I have an alias and a self-imposed quasi-"nick-name" (Flying Llama)
22. Would you ever bunjee jump: I'd rather skydive...or paraglide - now THAT looks fun.
23. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off: Yes, and I think I'm the only person who still does. I can't imagine wearing shoes loose enough that you can just pull them off...I break shoelaces tightening my shoes to obscene levels.
24. What are you worried about right now: Surprisingly, nothing. This is a new feeling - let me bask in it...
25. Do you ever wear overalls: Never. I don't even wear jeans - I'm a khaki/cargo-only man.
26. Do you think that you are strong: No, even if I do lift heavy plants for a living.
27. What's your favorite ice cream flavor: hmm....prolly mint-chocolate-chip, of the usual varieties, otherwise...french and frosted mint, from Laura Secord.
28.What's your favourite thing in the world: Life. And cute Asian girls (haha....just kidding).
29. What is your least favorite thing in the world: Jackasses, jerks, and those smokers who hung out behind MDHS.
30. How many wisdom teeth do you have: 0. Had all 4 removed, even though only 2 were really in danger of causing any problems.
31. Do you have a crush on someone?: Not really. See my New Year's Wish.
32. How many people have a crush on you right now?: Come on....first of all, it's not like I'd notice (I am the most blind person on Earth when it comes to this), and second of all, it's friggin' LEE BAKER we're talking about here! Obviously, 0.
33. What do you miss most right now: Direct Connect. I only have the old IP, and that hub has been shut down :'(
34. Do you want everyone you sent this to to send it back to you: ummm....well, I'll visit your blog and see your answers if you decide to do it and tell me about it and I know you....
35. What are your fears: Dying before I can make a difference in the world. Also, asking a girl out. Those are probably my 2 biggest fears.
36. Do you talk to your laundry?: Ummm...no. Only crazy people would do that.
37. At what point do your clothes become laundry?: T-shirts, after 1 day. Other shirts, after 2 days worn (I wear T-shirts underneath). Pants, after 3 days worn.
Ignore previous rules if I spill something on them, or do something dirty.
Well...that's it. That wasted a good hour...which is good, cuz I was pretty bored. Comment away, or don't.
Well, I'm bored, and I guess since I never get junk mail (do NOT send it to me now! >:| ), this is as close as it comes.
Courtesy of Celine and someone from her link section:
1. Describe the best feeling you've ever had: I went through a month where I was completely contented, optimistic, and...I DIDN'T FEEL TIRED!!!
2. Were you named after anyone: My middle name, John, comes from my late (maternal) grandfather, who was, as my mother tells it, a prominent figure in the Hungarian revolution (against the Reds)
3. Do you wish on stars: Absolutely not. I pray instead.
4. Which finger is your favourite: Index. And don't you DARE tell me it's impolite to point!
5. When did you last cry: hrm...during my "incident" (see end of Sept. if you REALLY need to know) - coincidentally, it was also the last time I threw up - both from PAIN ALONE...now do you understand how painful it was?
6. Do you like your handwriting: Not at all. It's illegible, and often cramps my hand. I don't really like my signature either.
7. What is your favorite lunch meat: Salami. Although in the past year smoked (and spiced) turkey started crawling up there...
8. Do you think there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow: No. Rainbows are merely light reflected off moisture in the air.
9. Do fish have feelings?: They feel pain or physical pressure, but they don't have emotions, no.
10. Are you trendy: I wear plaid, for God's sake - I'm still stuck in the grunge era :P
11. How do you release anger: Crank up angry music and pace while making violent hand gestures (which are often very similar to conducting...). Wish I had a punching bag, tho...
12. Where is your second home: In Markham. My first home is Stuart St. Residence at Queen's University!
13. Do you trust others easily: Hell yah. I'm the most gullible person ever. I should just wear a sign that says "take advantage of me, please"
14. What was your favorite toy as a child: Nintendo. Or maybe Nerf. Not sure.
15. What class in school do you think is totally useless: French, but only in the public system. They teach it all wrong. Within a month of GRADE ONE at TFS (Toronto French School), I could speak more fluent French than ANY OAC (now gr. 12) French graduate (who has never had French emersion or any other form of external French language tutoring, of course)
16. Do you like sappy love songs: No. I swear... *teardrop*....uhh...next question....*sweat*
17. Have you ever been on radio or television: I could only wish. Actually, I'd probably be incredibly nervous and screw up (2 separate thoughts - I'd be nervous, and I'd screw up, not necessarily from the stress)
18. Do you have a journal: I have a blog....does that count?
19. Do you use sarcasm a lot: *insert sarcastic remark here*
20. Have you ever been in a mosh pit: nadda.
21. What are your nicknames: None. Although I have an alias and a self-imposed quasi-"nick-name" (Flying Llama)
22. Would you ever bunjee jump: I'd rather skydive...or paraglide - now THAT looks fun.
23. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off: Yes, and I think I'm the only person who still does. I can't imagine wearing shoes loose enough that you can just pull them off...I break shoelaces tightening my shoes to obscene levels.
24. What are you worried about right now: Surprisingly, nothing. This is a new feeling - let me bask in it...
25. Do you ever wear overalls: Never. I don't even wear jeans - I'm a khaki/cargo-only man.
26. Do you think that you are strong: No, even if I do lift heavy plants for a living.
27. What's your favorite ice cream flavor: hmm....prolly mint-chocolate-chip, of the usual varieties, otherwise...french and frosted mint, from Laura Secord.
28.What's your favourite thing in the world: Life. And cute Asian girls (haha....just kidding).
29. What is your least favorite thing in the world: Jackasses, jerks, and those smokers who hung out behind MDHS.
30. How many wisdom teeth do you have: 0. Had all 4 removed, even though only 2 were really in danger of causing any problems.
31. Do you have a crush on someone?: Not really. See my New Year's Wish.
32. How many people have a crush on you right now?: Come on....first of all, it's not like I'd notice (I am the most blind person on Earth when it comes to this), and second of all, it's friggin' LEE BAKER we're talking about here! Obviously, 0.
33. What do you miss most right now: Direct Connect. I only have the old IP, and that hub has been shut down :'(
34. Do you want everyone you sent this to to send it back to you: ummm....well, I'll visit your blog and see your answers if you decide to do it and tell me about it and I know you....
35. What are your fears: Dying before I can make a difference in the world. Also, asking a girl out. Those are probably my 2 biggest fears.
36. Do you talk to your laundry?: Ummm...no. Only crazy people would do that.
37. At what point do your clothes become laundry?: T-shirts, after 1 day. Other shirts, after 2 days worn (I wear T-shirts underneath). Pants, after 3 days worn.
Ignore previous rules if I spill something on them, or do something dirty.
Well...that's it. That wasted a good hour...which is good, cuz I was pretty bored. Comment away, or don't.
This is how it is, this is how it goes...
Finally got my hard drive problem fixed, thanks to my man Tom. It turns out that the one from FutureShop was, indeed, faulty, so I just refunded it and headed off to Pacific Mall - aka the worst place on Earth to try to park. There are only a few times in life I regret having my licence, and going to PacMall is one of them. Ended up picking up the same hard drive for $103...so hopefully my mail-in rebate will still go through from FutureShop, and I'll have ended up saving about $10. Which doesn't nearly pay for the gas needed to go to and from the shop, or the approx. 8 hours of my life wasted waiting in line (both buying and returning) and trying to install the damned thing.
But it's all good now.
I'm back at Queen's, and my desktop is currently in the process of being formatted...the old drive, that is. Gonna reinstall Windows and those few programs I use, and hopefully everything will work a little better.
Then, if DC is up, it's time to make use of my new 80GB hard drive by downloading a shit-load of movies, music, and anime. :)
I've missed my network-speed downloading capabilities while in Markham....
Finally I'd like to say that Celine is quite an impressive driver, what with her never having been behind the wheel before...and that if my mom ever found out I'd let her (Celine) drive her (my mom's) car, I'd never drive again...
I'm sure those few people at the mall were confused to see a station wagon doing slow, halting figure-8s in the parking lot at midnight...
Yay for being back home ^.^
Now if only everyone else was back...
(and, by everyone else, I mean only my friends and the hot chicks...hopefully the rest of them won't ever come back :P)
Finally got my hard drive problem fixed, thanks to my man Tom. It turns out that the one from FutureShop was, indeed, faulty, so I just refunded it and headed off to Pacific Mall - aka the worst place on Earth to try to park. There are only a few times in life I regret having my licence, and going to PacMall is one of them. Ended up picking up the same hard drive for $103...so hopefully my mail-in rebate will still go through from FutureShop, and I'll have ended up saving about $10. Which doesn't nearly pay for the gas needed to go to and from the shop, or the approx. 8 hours of my life wasted waiting in line (both buying and returning) and trying to install the damned thing.
But it's all good now.
I'm back at Queen's, and my desktop is currently in the process of being formatted...the old drive, that is. Gonna reinstall Windows and those few programs I use, and hopefully everything will work a little better.
Then, if DC is up, it's time to make use of my new 80GB hard drive by downloading a shit-load of movies, music, and anime. :)
I've missed my network-speed downloading capabilities while in Markham....
Finally I'd like to say that Celine is quite an impressive driver, what with her never having been behind the wheel before...and that if my mom ever found out I'd let her (Celine) drive her (my mom's) car, I'd never drive again...
I'm sure those few people at the mall were confused to see a station wagon doing slow, halting figure-8s in the parking lot at midnight...
Yay for being back home ^.^
Now if only everyone else was back...
(and, by everyone else, I mean only my friends and the hot chicks...hopefully the rest of them won't ever come back :P)
Thursday, January 01, 2004
To carry our love away, to carry it away...
Happy new year, everybody! Here's to life, love, and luck in 2004 - may it be bigger and better than 2003 ever was.
So now you're expecting a big heartfelt recap of 2003, right?
Truth be told, I can't really remember all that much before...oh...about late November.
Seriously.
So I'll just say that I seem to recall that 2003 was a good year.
First girlfriend, first breakup, and thank God it was a mutual, friendly one. Joyce, those (almost) 8 months were fantastic, and I'm glad we could still be friends afterwards.
2003 meant leaving high school, and although I'm glad to be out of the house and away at Queen's, I do miss some things about good ol' MDHS. A bittersweet thing, leaving, but more sweet than bitter, I think. And I still gotz my Vox connections, so it's all good. :)
Somehow pulled off being champion of SIN....still don't know how that happened, but that was certainly something noteworthy of 2003.
Right, enough with the recaps, on to the future.
Do you really want to hear my resolutions?
Well, I've got 2 real resolutions (ie. things I can do), and 1 that's more of a wish (ie. have no control over). Ready?
1. Explore Christianity further. I want to become closer to God, understand His word, try to figure out his plans for me and, in general, become more knowledgeable about the faith. Yah, I know all you atheistic readers are shaking your heads and thinking I've become a crazed religious maniac, but that's fine - it's your prerogative (sp?). I'm not going to turn into some crazy evangelical person either damning you to Hell or trying to force you to convert or anything, it's cool.
2. Offer my services more often to more people. I like to think I've helped people throughout the year, either directly by giving academic help or just by being an ear to listen, a shoulder to cry on, and a hand to pick you up. Especially in the past few months, I've tried to make this sort of who I am.
I want to be the go-to-guy, I want to be able to help everyone with whatever problem they may have. I want to show people their inner beauty and potential, and help them bring it out.
Perhaps I try to take on this role because I like to feel I have control, because I'm a nosy bugger, because I want the praise of everyone telling me how great, helpful, and wonderful I am; maybe I want this role just because I honestly want to help people. I pray that it's the latter, not the former, that motivates me. All I know is that I get a warm fuzzy feeling when someone tells me something I've done/said has helped, or I read it in their eyes. And I don't think it's the praise itself that gives me that feeling, but instead the satisfaction of seeing another person overcome a hurdle. I can only hope that's really the truth. Regardless of my motives, I want to help guide more people this year.
3. Here's the wish - I want to fall heads-over-heels in love. I want to meet a girl I go absolutely crazy for. I don't even really care if she returns the affection - although that would be incredibly sweet. That's not the important part. What's important is the opening of a well of emotion within me. To be completely and utterly consumed by love for another...that's what I want to feel. And if those feeling were returned, well, then it could be so blissful...
ahem...*hopeless romantic crushed by unfeeling mask of masculinity*
There, that's better. Whew...almost got kinda gushy on you guys - sorry about that. My sincere apologies all around.
May 2004 bring all the best for every last one of you. Make those resolutions, and at least pretend to stick to them (unless you're a small, slim, underweight Asian girl resolving to go on yet another diet, in which case forget it - your weight is fine [no, I'm actually not speaking of anyone in particular here - the entire demographic seems to think it's fat when it is extremely far from it]).
And make those wishes...and then wait for them to come true. For they will come true - what goes around comes around, and you are all amazing people.
Best of luck in all you do in 2004.
Happy new year, everybody! Here's to life, love, and luck in 2004 - may it be bigger and better than 2003 ever was.
So now you're expecting a big heartfelt recap of 2003, right?
Truth be told, I can't really remember all that much before...oh...about late November.
Seriously.
So I'll just say that I seem to recall that 2003 was a good year.
First girlfriend, first breakup, and thank God it was a mutual, friendly one. Joyce, those (almost) 8 months were fantastic, and I'm glad we could still be friends afterwards.
2003 meant leaving high school, and although I'm glad to be out of the house and away at Queen's, I do miss some things about good ol' MDHS. A bittersweet thing, leaving, but more sweet than bitter, I think. And I still gotz my Vox connections, so it's all good. :)
Somehow pulled off being champion of SIN....still don't know how that happened, but that was certainly something noteworthy of 2003.
Right, enough with the recaps, on to the future.
Do you really want to hear my resolutions?
Well, I've got 2 real resolutions (ie. things I can do), and 1 that's more of a wish (ie. have no control over). Ready?
1. Explore Christianity further. I want to become closer to God, understand His word, try to figure out his plans for me and, in general, become more knowledgeable about the faith. Yah, I know all you atheistic readers are shaking your heads and thinking I've become a crazed religious maniac, but that's fine - it's your prerogative (sp?). I'm not going to turn into some crazy evangelical person either damning you to Hell or trying to force you to convert or anything, it's cool.
2. Offer my services more often to more people. I like to think I've helped people throughout the year, either directly by giving academic help or just by being an ear to listen, a shoulder to cry on, and a hand to pick you up. Especially in the past few months, I've tried to make this sort of who I am.
I want to be the go-to-guy, I want to be able to help everyone with whatever problem they may have. I want to show people their inner beauty and potential, and help them bring it out.
Perhaps I try to take on this role because I like to feel I have control, because I'm a nosy bugger, because I want the praise of everyone telling me how great, helpful, and wonderful I am; maybe I want this role just because I honestly want to help people. I pray that it's the latter, not the former, that motivates me. All I know is that I get a warm fuzzy feeling when someone tells me something I've done/said has helped, or I read it in their eyes. And I don't think it's the praise itself that gives me that feeling, but instead the satisfaction of seeing another person overcome a hurdle. I can only hope that's really the truth. Regardless of my motives, I want to help guide more people this year.
3. Here's the wish - I want to fall heads-over-heels in love. I want to meet a girl I go absolutely crazy for. I don't even really care if she returns the affection - although that would be incredibly sweet. That's not the important part. What's important is the opening of a well of emotion within me. To be completely and utterly consumed by love for another...that's what I want to feel. And if those feeling were returned, well, then it could be so blissful...
ahem...*hopeless romantic crushed by unfeeling mask of masculinity*
There, that's better. Whew...almost got kinda gushy on you guys - sorry about that. My sincere apologies all around.
May 2004 bring all the best for every last one of you. Make those resolutions, and at least pretend to stick to them (unless you're a small, slim, underweight Asian girl resolving to go on yet another diet, in which case forget it - your weight is fine [no, I'm actually not speaking of anyone in particular here - the entire demographic seems to think it's fat when it is extremely far from it]).
And make those wishes...and then wait for them to come true. For they will come true - what goes around comes around, and you are all amazing people.
Best of luck in all you do in 2004.
