Doremifasewlatidooooooo
Made an awesome decision tonight in cancelling plans with some friends in order to attend a concert I'd already said I would go to a week prior (I never remember these things)... It was the fall concert for Naked Voices, the only a capella group here at UCSB. My friend on the fifth floor was performing, as well as someone I knew from the third floor last year. The first song they did was "Earth Song" by Michael Jackson. This had been a favorite of mine from years ago, back when his HIStory cd first came out. Hearing it again was like a blast from the past, and they just performed it beautifully. I was seriously amazed, a lot of what they did was just mind blowing.
Literally made me want to go try out then and there, then came the realization I was most likely not at the talent level that they need, and might not be able to mesh with the group and such. Basically a lot of the reasons I end up not going through with a lot of things I consider. I've never thought I had very good range as a vocalist, and no one outside my mother has ever taken me seriously (guys singing = cute, but not cool). I'll probably get into something music related some day. One of those things I do on rainy days. Teach myself piano, sing, whistle, anything to make the day a little brighter.
Tried something new at Carrow's tonight, which tends to be a pretty rare thing when it comes to me and food. The southwestern crispy rolls, or something. Yummy stuff, although unhealthy as my eating buddy pointed out. Then came a petty argument about something not worth arguing about. Least to me it seemed petty. We settled it eventually though, striking a deal to not bother each other about a specific thing that we felt was important even though the other person did not. So anyway. If only all riddles and relationships were so easy to solve.
Wednesday, December 05, 2001
ShuffStaffel!
No idea whether I'm spelling it right, and most of you probably don't care, but some of you will recognize that as a familiar grunt from the enemies in the first person shooter (fps) computer game that started it all, Wolfenstein 3D. I must have been in about 6th grade or something when that originally came out, even before the grandaddy of them all, Doom. Made quick work of its sequel tonight, of the title Return to Castle Wolfenstein. The differences between the games are profound however. Largely due to my graphics card, some of the visuals are just breathtaking. By far some of the best World War II areas such as bombed cities and factories I've ever seen in a computer game. It was very realistic, almost like it was right out of Saving Private Ryan or Enemy at the Gates. The set pieces were incredible, they did things I've never seen done in that type of game. Of course, it was created based on the Quake 3 engine, my personal favorite, so I suppose I'm a little biased. Still working on finishing Alien vs Predator 2, which thus far has also been very impressive with some absolutely humongous level sizes, albeit a short game altogether.
Now that those of you who don't share my passion for computer games (all of you) have fallen asleep... I'll do the same. :)
No idea whether I'm spelling it right, and most of you probably don't care, but some of you will recognize that as a familiar grunt from the enemies in the first person shooter (fps) computer game that started it all, Wolfenstein 3D. I must have been in about 6th grade or something when that originally came out, even before the grandaddy of them all, Doom. Made quick work of its sequel tonight, of the title Return to Castle Wolfenstein. The differences between the games are profound however. Largely due to my graphics card, some of the visuals are just breathtaking. By far some of the best World War II areas such as bombed cities and factories I've ever seen in a computer game. It was very realistic, almost like it was right out of Saving Private Ryan or Enemy at the Gates. The set pieces were incredible, they did things I've never seen done in that type of game. Of course, it was created based on the Quake 3 engine, my personal favorite, so I suppose I'm a little biased. Still working on finishing Alien vs Predator 2, which thus far has also been very impressive with some absolutely humongous level sizes, albeit a short game altogether.
Now that those of you who don't share my passion for computer games (all of you) have fallen asleep... I'll do the same. :)
Tuesday, December 04, 2001
Highway Run Into the Midnight Sun...
Downloaded "Faithfully" by Journey tonight, not sure why I didn't have it before. I'm an 80's fan for the most part, enjoy collecting the songs I heard so much growing up. Some melodies just stick in your head for ages, hearing them come on the radio is like hearing a familiar voice, catching a whiff of a familiar scent, or tasting a favorite food. The ones I catch myself whistling randomly even if I haven't heard them in a few years.
Had a contemplative conversation with someone I met recently tonight, interesting enough that it had us both up at 4am. If there's one person its useful to know, its the one that can give the best back massage. Had the usual conversation about my driver's license picture...
Them: HOLY JEEZ YOU WERE SKINNY
Me: Gee thx.
Them: No you're not fat now, well I mean you're fatter than you were but its not bad, I mean, well you know?
Me: ...
General consensus appears to be its nice not to be skin and bones, but I could use some improvement anyway. Guess I haven't been honest with myself updating the weight lately. After the first five pounds or so it seems to be quite stagnant. I'm sure going home will change things, since at home what you eat tends to be what you fix, and if you don't fix you don't eat.
Winamp's shuffle just managed to pick Mark Schultz's "He's My Son" out of the mix. Still one of the most heartfelt songs I've ever heard. I remember the first time I heard it, when I was on my way to work last summer. The story behind it told prior and the song itself kept me in the car an extra five minutes, causing me to be late to work and earning me a reprimand. Truth be told, I didn't care. Just a really touching song. Word of warning, its hopeful, but not cheerful.
Downloaded "Faithfully" by Journey tonight, not sure why I didn't have it before. I'm an 80's fan for the most part, enjoy collecting the songs I heard so much growing up. Some melodies just stick in your head for ages, hearing them come on the radio is like hearing a familiar voice, catching a whiff of a familiar scent, or tasting a favorite food. The ones I catch myself whistling randomly even if I haven't heard them in a few years.
Had a contemplative conversation with someone I met recently tonight, interesting enough that it had us both up at 4am. If there's one person its useful to know, its the one that can give the best back massage. Had the usual conversation about my driver's license picture...
Them: HOLY JEEZ YOU WERE SKINNY
Me: Gee thx.
Them: No you're not fat now, well I mean you're fatter than you were but its not bad, I mean, well you know?
Me: ...
General consensus appears to be its nice not to be skin and bones, but I could use some improvement anyway. Guess I haven't been honest with myself updating the weight lately. After the first five pounds or so it seems to be quite stagnant. I'm sure going home will change things, since at home what you eat tends to be what you fix, and if you don't fix you don't eat.
Winamp's shuffle just managed to pick Mark Schultz's "He's My Son" out of the mix. Still one of the most heartfelt songs I've ever heard. I remember the first time I heard it, when I was on my way to work last summer. The story behind it told prior and the song itself kept me in the car an extra five minutes, causing me to be late to work and earning me a reprimand. Truth be told, I didn't care. Just a really touching song. Word of warning, its hopeful, but not cheerful.
Monday, December 03, 2001
COME ON DOWN!!!!!!
Thursday was Price is Right day. This was cool because I only found out about it the day before from a friend of mine on the 5th floor. Each two floors is considered a unit hall that meets together and such in this building, so mine is the 3rd/4th. Unfortunately (for the girls) there is a greater number of them this year, so the floor breakdown is 5 girl/3 guy. So anyway, the 5th/6th are both female floors, and they were the ones going, but needed drivers, so I was able to go. In other words there were about twenty girls, their R/A and our ARD, and me. I wasn't complaining.
Ended up having an absolute blast like I always do when we go to the Price Is Right (this is my third time, once each year). It started out kind of crummy, we left at 7:15am to a chorus of rainstorms and traffic, ended up taking WAY longer than usual to get to LA, almost got there too late, were supposed to be there at 10:30 and didn't make it til 11, luckily enough of us got there on time to hold down the fort and save our slots.
We went through the usual five hour screening process, where you get your nametags, get a short interview from the producers, and so on and so forth. Eventually got inside, got to hear the same speech by Rod Roddy (no idea on the spelling there) and eventually the show started. There's an absolute ton of energy in that room, reminds me of Disneyland at New Years. So to make a long story short, I didn't get picked again (sniffle sniffle) but our ARD did, and ended up winning a cool 13 G's in cash. I should mention that if you take a group of twenty or more people they guarantee that one of them will make it into contestants row. Rolando (the ARD) ended up making most of his money on the big wheel, spinning .35 and .65 for a grand the first time around, and then hitting the 1.00 on his bonus spin for another ten grand. Must be nice... :P
Afterward we all went to Universal Citywalk, somewhere I'd never been before (sad, given I live in LA). That place was actually really awesome, plenty of cool restaurants in there, fun shops, the whole area seeming much like an amusement park (it basically is). Wow, major abuse of parentheses in this post. We ate at the Hard Rock cafe, had some yummy burgers and such. Drive back was actually really lame, both the friends of mine that were riding with me fell asleep, and I had some major trouble trying to keep from hitting the sack myself (while driving). Ended up pulling off in Ventura to circle surface streets for a bit and shake myself back into it, where I ended up seeing a fire in progress, ambulances and fire engines and everything. That shocked me awake to the point the rest of the drive was no problem, but was still pretty boring. Then again any drive is boring after you've done it over fifty times.
More later, I'm only caught up through Thursday, and its Sunday night/Monday morning now. :)
Thursday was Price is Right day. This was cool because I only found out about it the day before from a friend of mine on the 5th floor. Each two floors is considered a unit hall that meets together and such in this building, so mine is the 3rd/4th. Unfortunately (for the girls) there is a greater number of them this year, so the floor breakdown is 5 girl/3 guy. So anyway, the 5th/6th are both female floors, and they were the ones going, but needed drivers, so I was able to go. In other words there were about twenty girls, their R/A and our ARD, and me. I wasn't complaining.
Ended up having an absolute blast like I always do when we go to the Price Is Right (this is my third time, once each year). It started out kind of crummy, we left at 7:15am to a chorus of rainstorms and traffic, ended up taking WAY longer than usual to get to LA, almost got there too late, were supposed to be there at 10:30 and didn't make it til 11, luckily enough of us got there on time to hold down the fort and save our slots.
We went through the usual five hour screening process, where you get your nametags, get a short interview from the producers, and so on and so forth. Eventually got inside, got to hear the same speech by Rod Roddy (no idea on the spelling there) and eventually the show started. There's an absolute ton of energy in that room, reminds me of Disneyland at New Years. So to make a long story short, I didn't get picked again (sniffle sniffle) but our ARD did, and ended up winning a cool 13 G's in cash. I should mention that if you take a group of twenty or more people they guarantee that one of them will make it into contestants row. Rolando (the ARD) ended up making most of his money on the big wheel, spinning .35 and .65 for a grand the first time around, and then hitting the 1.00 on his bonus spin for another ten grand. Must be nice... :P
Afterward we all went to Universal Citywalk, somewhere I'd never been before (sad, given I live in LA). That place was actually really awesome, plenty of cool restaurants in there, fun shops, the whole area seeming much like an amusement park (it basically is). Wow, major abuse of parentheses in this post. We ate at the Hard Rock cafe, had some yummy burgers and such. Drive back was actually really lame, both the friends of mine that were riding with me fell asleep, and I had some major trouble trying to keep from hitting the sack myself (while driving). Ended up pulling off in Ventura to circle surface streets for a bit and shake myself back into it, where I ended up seeing a fire in progress, ambulances and fire engines and everything. That shocked me awake to the point the rest of the drive was no problem, but was still pretty boring. Then again any drive is boring after you've done it over fifty times.
More later, I'm only caught up through Thursday, and its Sunday night/Monday morning now. :)
Sunday, December 02, 2001
ASDLKJASFDLKJ
Okay, I'm bad. So I'm gonna start posting in chunks since a full post on the last few days would be really, really, long.
We'll start with Wednesday. This was the day I carried out a decision I made the week prior. Well I guess I have to start there, really.
So I'm doing my math homework on Wednesday, planning to drive home much later that night. The thought occurs to me that I have no interest in the field of math I'm doing homework in. Then I come to the realization that I haven't enjoyed doing homework or going to class in quite some time. So to make a long story short I hop in the car around 3pm, fed up with what I'm doing, what I'm not doing, and life in general. Its about a three hour ride down to my house from UCSB if I take the winding Highway 1, and on a day such as the Wednesday before Thanksgiving I tend to go that way, since I'd rather enjoy a peaceful ride with a wonderful view all along the way, than sitting in the smog and horn honking wilderness that is the 405. So basically on the way home I decide I'm not going to major in computer science at UCSB. Yeah, kind of bad to come to this conclusion once already seven quarters into college. Then again, that's better than being twenty years down the road and deciding you hate what you do.
So after hours of discussion with the parents (the father was less than pleased that this last quarter has been wasted repeating classes I ended up withdrawing from) it was decided that I'd switch over to Business Economics. The theory is I got four's on both the Macroecon and Microecon AP's, and have always liked/been good at it, so I shouldn't have any problem with the major. Besides which, a Buis Econ degree will be useful in the same companies I was planning to work at preferrably, specifically something to do with the recreational technology industry.
Hm, rereading that I spelled Busi differently in two places. Turns out its Busi. That doesn't really work when tryin to say "bis econ" like most people do. Hm...
So Wednesday was spent following through with all the paperwork, in order to change college/major, and also withdraw from the current quarter and get reaccepted into the Winter one. This was basically an eight hour process, from an early morning appointment through the middle of the afternoon. One particular piece of paper (the application for withdrawal) required signatures from like eight different places around campus, which meant crisscrossing campus on my bike at least a dozen times. In particular Housing and Residential Services made my life a living hell, as they tried to tell me I would have to move out of my room for the next two weeks and give it to someone else, just so that I would move into somewhere else next quarter once a registered student again. Retarded.
So finally got all my stuff in the mail, turns out my Econ classes and such stay registered for next quarter, so I'm done with all the paperwork and mumbojumbo that was required. Basically for two weeks I can focus on other aspects of my life that have been recently ignored. Next update in a bit.
Okay, I'm bad. So I'm gonna start posting in chunks since a full post on the last few days would be really, really, long.
We'll start with Wednesday. This was the day I carried out a decision I made the week prior. Well I guess I have to start there, really.
So I'm doing my math homework on Wednesday, planning to drive home much later that night. The thought occurs to me that I have no interest in the field of math I'm doing homework in. Then I come to the realization that I haven't enjoyed doing homework or going to class in quite some time. So to make a long story short I hop in the car around 3pm, fed up with what I'm doing, what I'm not doing, and life in general. Its about a three hour ride down to my house from UCSB if I take the winding Highway 1, and on a day such as the Wednesday before Thanksgiving I tend to go that way, since I'd rather enjoy a peaceful ride with a wonderful view all along the way, than sitting in the smog and horn honking wilderness that is the 405. So basically on the way home I decide I'm not going to major in computer science at UCSB. Yeah, kind of bad to come to this conclusion once already seven quarters into college. Then again, that's better than being twenty years down the road and deciding you hate what you do.
So after hours of discussion with the parents (the father was less than pleased that this last quarter has been wasted repeating classes I ended up withdrawing from) it was decided that I'd switch over to Business Economics. The theory is I got four's on both the Macroecon and Microecon AP's, and have always liked/been good at it, so I shouldn't have any problem with the major. Besides which, a Buis Econ degree will be useful in the same companies I was planning to work at preferrably, specifically something to do with the recreational technology industry.
Hm, rereading that I spelled Busi differently in two places. Turns out its Busi. That doesn't really work when tryin to say "bis econ" like most people do. Hm...
So Wednesday was spent following through with all the paperwork, in order to change college/major, and also withdraw from the current quarter and get reaccepted into the Winter one. This was basically an eight hour process, from an early morning appointment through the middle of the afternoon. One particular piece of paper (the application for withdrawal) required signatures from like eight different places around campus, which meant crisscrossing campus on my bike at least a dozen times. In particular Housing and Residential Services made my life a living hell, as they tried to tell me I would have to move out of my room for the next two weeks and give it to someone else, just so that I would move into somewhere else next quarter once a registered student again. Retarded.
So finally got all my stuff in the mail, turns out my Econ classes and such stay registered for next quarter, so I'm done with all the paperwork and mumbojumbo that was required. Basically for two weeks I can focus on other aspects of my life that have been recently ignored. Next update in a bit.
