| Mar Talk |
[Jan. 7th, 2010|09:49 pm] |
I'm taking a new approach to this Mar Talk. I seem to be on the computer all of the time anyway, so I'm typing it up as my day proceeds
Woke up at 6:20AM today. Stumbled out of bed at 6:30AM. I left for class at 7:15 and got my usual seat in the front left corner.
There has to be a less unwieldy way of handling my econ notes with this whole "Template" system.
Class ended at 9:20AM and I got breakfast at the commons on my way back. I like hash browns. And I still keep forgetting the difference between honeydews and cantaloupes.
Back to my room right afterward. Got to work on this grammar diagnostic test thing. There were forty questions. Many of them were ridiculous and STUPID.
There was one that said to pick A if it was a complete sentence and B if it was a fragment. The excerpt was clearly a sentence fragment .. only the option for sentence fragments was C. wtf!?
It was clearly a stupid "test" and did no diagnostics as far as I'm concerned. There were two questions on adjectives and I got one of them wrong because of wording. Now the site automatically directed me to this ridiculous "Here's what an adjective is!" series of pages. I want to kill it or something!
There's all these ridiculous little steps to go through! Why yes, I'm well aware that Fast isn't as quick as Faster, and that Fastest is above those two. Why is this even here!?
I can't see how ANYONE can learn half-way decent grammar through memorizing these ridiculous little rules. Use the language properly and BAM! You've got grammar!
I can tell you what an adjective is. I can tell you what a semi colon is. I can tell you all sorts of little definitions. But do I think of them as I write or speak? Hell no. I know the English language on reflex. I don't think people need to go through the process of memorizing itty bitty rules.
Anyways, I'm pissed at this whole website thing and how assignments are approached on it. It also fails at English.
Is it just me, or are my two options of "Not" and "But" exactly the same.
It just called me an ESL student. Now I'm pissed. I mean seriously? So I'm not in to saying "The crisp morning light.." Why add a bunch of BS and fluff into a speech?
I guess I work on a basis of "This sounds correct." While only going deeper than that occasionally.
There's also this:
ALL of them are wrong.
hmm.. I'm being docked because I decided that writing "112 People" instead of "One hundred and twelve people"
So I'm not a fan of getting .12 of a person. I guess that's bad.
Well.. enough of that nonsense. My English isn't bad, is it? I mean, the only time I ever proof read my LJ posts and edit things are when I realize I've typed something horribly wrong (as in typo Not instead of Now).
Well, it's not 1:30, I'm off to my 2PM class! Hopefully it won't be so dreadfully monotone this time.
Back from class. It was nice.. I figured out why it seems so dull. The professor never really completes any sentences. He just mumbles on and one and eventually it gets so soft and repetitive that it doesn't really matter, so he starts a new sentence at the original volume.
Nonetheless, we saw a very cute picture of a koala.
On my way out from class, I was putting a notebook into my bag and as I was putting it in, the back of my finger (where the nail connects with skin) got caught on some papers. It was horribly painful for a split second, but I figured I should finish packing up. Next thing I know, I drop of blood hits my other hand.. so I take a look and realize that the "Small" cut was actually about a three millimeter split down the edge of my finger. I only lost about three drops of blood, but it was a shocking moment for me. Now it's just a dull pain that kind of perks up every now and then. I can't seem to clean off the blood because of where it dried, so it looks a lot worse than it is.
I should probably put on a bandage, but I don't really feel like it. Those bandages make typing difficult and inhibits many other aspects of my day. Like yoyoing. I can't yoyo with a bandage on any main finger.
Now I'm dallying about, getting a whole lot of nothing done. Maybe some hot cocoa.. but then I'd have to wash my mug. My hands are beaten up enough as is, hot water isn't going to help right now. -.-
Is it bad that I have this strange urge to dead head the flowers near my hall?
Honestly, one summer on a flower farm and I'll never look at flowers the same way again. Every time I see a bouquet, what comes to mind is the image of those buckets on the tables and people frantically grabbing things and pairing up three's and main attractions. A potted plant seems far more endearing.
Hmm, I think I'll go get some dinner before meeting the band for tonight's basketball game. I actually look forward to it right now. My new game plan for promoting positive reinforcement is to actively yell nice things. Constantly.
And I also want to play some trumpet stuff.
Back from the game. This time we played against CSUN. We won by five points. This time, however, the band was distinctly less rude to the other team. I don't know why, but they made horrible comments less often! Whoo! Progress!
There were still jerk like comments though. And the dots. But those don't have much effect, and are actually kind of funny. I will admit that in some cruel way, I do think some of their jokes are funny. I still refuse to partake in them and will stand steadfastly against them. Eventually, I hope a sense of honor spreads to other pep bands as well. But first, I'm still far from seeing my own school's band be honorable.
On my way back, I helped people load things back into the band room. Walking backwards while pulling a cart uphill for a quarter mile is very painful. Apparently I need to be ready to get picked up for Impulse at 7:30 AM now. I hope Impulse is worth the trouble.. I mean, a two month trip devoted only to marching band has its perks, right? I will have to miss AX this year. Hence the reason I didn't apply for staffing.
And now I'm back in my room. I guess I'll go make some hot cocoa. My throat is feeling a bit sore.. I hope I'm not about to become sick again. I figured that there's enough Vitamin C in my system to act like taking an airborne tablet right now.
What a rant filled post. I think I'll just do nightly recaps of my day instead of typing as the day goes on.
Zot!
-Mar Out |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Jan. 7th, 2010|11:36 pm] |
 |
The heavily armed monkeys guarding the servers currently report no site-wide problems. |
|
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Jan. 7th, 2010|08:24 pm] |
|
The heavily armed monkeys guarding the servers currently report no site-wide problems, however, some users may experience some slow load times while we test some performance tuning changes on our databases. |
|
|
|
| MAGFest 8 |
[Jan. 7th, 2010|04:31 pm] |
| [ | ☆ |
| |  nostalgic | ] |
| [ | ♪ |
| | Lady Gaga - Bad Romance | ] |
What follows is a recounting of the major events I encountered at MAGFest this year:
( Read more... )
If you were at MAGFest and we bumped into each other, feel free to post here so we can catch up! |
|
|
| Mar Talk |
[Jan. 6th, 2010|09:18 pm] |
I'm starting on my Mar Talk early because I highly doubt I'll be doing anything else today.
Rant: Women's watches. They're tiny, impossible for me to read without glasses on, never seem to come with an automatic drive, and, more often than not, have little jewels on them. And I don't like metal wristbands .. they chafe.
All in all, I don't see why there's a distinction between women's watches and men's watches. A watch exists to tell you what time it is. That is the most basic definition for one.
I guess it just bugged me right now because I prefer a practical way of life.
Today, I learned that analog displays make me panic better. It makes me more aware of time, so I'm late less often. I should've figured this out a while ago, eh?
This hit me just as I woke up at 8:30, looked at my watch, and panicked because I have a 9AM class today.
Anyhow, I made it to class on time and it went well. I wasn't early, so a RIGHT HANDED JERK took my lefty seat at the front of the desk. Right behind him was another RIGHT HANDED JERK taking up the 2nd row's lefty seat. Now third row is simply a no no for me, so I sat in the front row and used the desk for the seat to my left. It was slightly less comfortable than the lefty seat, but it was better than the righty desks.
Class ended and I biked back to my hall in peace and went through my morning.. it was funny, some of my suite mates were just waking up. It seems to be easier to have morning classes everyday than it is to have only one per week.
Another realization of the day .. my hair takes freaking FOREVER to dry. Luckily I had six hours before my next class started.
Anyways, after working on a bunch of things for my Writing class, as in some actual reading and figuring out the blog thing I have to do, I got lunch.
After lunch, I went back to my room and finished off my work.
Biked off to my writing class, where there are NO LEFTY DESKS at all! So I still sat in the front left corner. We proceeded to discuss the differences between Superman and Ironman.
Class ended and it was dark already, so I snapped on my bike lights and biked a couple blocks to the Albertsons. Once there, I went straight to the candy isle and got myself a new package of Andes Mints. My hot cocoa is incomplete without them.
Afterwards, I opted out of getting myself a bag of chips, and biked back to my room. Once there, I proceeded to waste time on the internet. That's what I've been doing for the last three hours.
And just a moment ago, I realized I forgot to go print the template out for Econ, so I had to print it from my own printer. My roommate explained this print setting called "Fast Track" to me, and it apparently saves ink .. it also makes my printer shoot out the pages being printed at an alarming rate. It was a very exciting and shocking moment.
Right now, I'm going to make my nightly call to my mom and then make a cup of instant rice porridge. Maybe I'll follow it up with a cup of hot cocoa now that I have a new supply of mints.
I'm admitting to my strange love for minty hot cocoa. It makes me very happy :)
I have Econ and Uni Studies tomorrow, so I may just waste time for the rest of this night.. just because I can. I know I have some econ assignments on Aplia I need to tend to, but they're due Monday.. and I've been productive for three days straight. And I can do them during the four hours I have between classes tomorrow.
.. and I haven't even reached the fourth dungeon in Spirit Tracks..
If I have time this weekend, I'll take my Pokémon Professoring exam .. it'll be one of the more .. random things I've done. But it shouldn't take more than half an hour, and it'll give me the benefits of getting to judge competitions. I'm taking a break from competing (since I got utterly trounced at the recent City Championships) and they really need more judges to help watch people.
So tah dah.
Zot!
-Mar Out |
|
|
| New Episode Ahoy! |
[Jan. 7th, 2010|12:08 am] |
| [ | ☆ |
| |  giggly | ] |
| [ | ♪ |
| | Stand By Me - Ben E. King | ] |
Episode 46! I shall try and keep my post about this relatively spoiler free, but suffice to say I won't be making any episodes for a while. Which means I have time to work on fun stuff! With my friends! And I can enjoy it! Yaaay!
Had a wonderful time at MAGFest. Yeah, there were some issues, but it's a con. It happens. You people are amazing. Kirbopher, Masako, the guys from TGWTG, Jon St. John, WhiteAsh, Alpha, Kroze, Dom, Matt Mercer... too many people to list! You're all so awesome. I would love to hang out with you guys over and over. |
|
|
| Mar Talk |
[Jan. 5th, 2010|10:44 pm] |
Today was .. just about as eventful as yesterday.
I woke up at 6:30AM and quickly got started on my day. Tuesday means almost as much work as Monday, only slightly better.
Made some easy mac .. it wasn't very pleasant, but it was quick morning food.
at 7:20, I left to go to Econ 20A. The class starts at 8AM, but there's tons of people in there, so I need to be early to get a good seat. I happily planted myself in the front most lefty seat and got comfy. Class went by nicely. Right now I'm debating on whether or not to print out the twenty sheet template thing for notes every week, or to simply use my notebook. Normally, I'd be happy using my notebook, but the template follows everything exactly.. which is really convenient. But that's A LOT of printing. At 5 cents a page, I can get it printed at the student computer lab .. a dollar a week doesn't seem quite as bad as a thirty buck printing cartridge after five weeks. I should go see if they make my printer's ink cartridges in those convenient "XL" cartridges.
Class finished up nicely. The professor has a pleasant sense of humor, and since it's microecon, it shouldn't be that bad. I'll probably enjoy the class. It ended at 9:20AM and I tried to find the most convenient way out, only to get stuck in the bottom of a stairwell. Hefting a bike up three flights of stairs is very painful on the hands.
Biked back to my room to sort out some things and got to work on getting my work for the week sorted out.
at 10:20 AM I left to go find where my Math 2A discussion room is. There was a conveniently placed floorplan at the front of the building, so I located it pretty quickly. I sat around in front of the room because the class didn't start until 11AM.
AND THE DOOR TO THIS ROOM SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE A CAT! As I listened to people going in and out, I realized that I was not sitting near a cat, but the door sounded EXACTLY like a cat's meow. It was crazy.
The TA in this discussion goes REALLY fast! As in she even talks fast, without pausing! Yup, I'm definitely not much of a math person. Luckily I had already gone through all of the things she was covering and only had to focus on keeping my notes orderly.
That ended about an hour later, so I biked to the Commons for lunch. Today I had a sandwich, a bowl of minestrone, and some apple juice. They were out of bananas, so I went with an apple instead. Hopefully I can get a hold of a banana some time tomorrow. I'm not a big fan of apples when they're still whole.. they're kind of messy to eat and take a while.
Got back to my room at around 12:45 and sorted out the things in my bag. Checked my email for maybe the sixth time today and tried to see if any info for my Uni Studies 13B class had been put up. Nothing up yet, so I facebooked for a little bit and biked off to class at 1:15.
2PM class.. same time, same place, and same classmates as my Uni Studies 13A class. Only different professor.
The guy has a slight Irish accent I think .. it may be Scottish actually .. either way, I think it's cool. But he is one of the DULLEST speakers I have had to experience in my time here! Egad! It's nearly monotone at some points! Half the class was starting to nod off as he droned on and on about the evolution of life. At some points, the topic slightly interested me (yes, I like dinosaurs) so I was able to pay more attention. But I really hope the rest of the quarter doesn't drone on like this!
He's also expecting a lot of work out of us. In terms of going out into the field and getting involved in the environment. Although going to the university observatory certainly sounds fun.
After an hour and a half of this, I happily left the building and returned to my room. Grabbed my biking bag, put my water bottle, note book, bike lights, and some emergency whatnot into it. After adjusting my helmet for the hundredth time, I biked off to Office Depot. It's about a mile away, so it's only about five minutes of biking. The bulk of the time spent getting there was from the traffic lights.
I went to office depot to see if I can find a TI-83 Plus Silver Edition to replace the one I've misplaced somewhere in the house or something. I also wanted to get a new highlighter and maybe some folders. To my dismay, I could have gotten the highlighters and folders from the Student Store at a much cheaper price! They had the regular TI-83 for $99.99, which is about sixty bucks cheaper than the student store. I opted to not buy anything and bike back to my room to get ready for pep band practice.
I washed my bowl that I used this morning and made myself a cup of hot cocoa. The mint really helps it because "Swiss Miss" instant cocoa is actually kind of bad. It's really watery and not very cocoa like. It was still delicious. After that interlude, I grabbed my trumpet and water bottle and left for practice.
Practice went by nicely. I'm starting to feel like I'm getting a semblance of my original trumpet playing ability back. I'm wondering about whether or not I'd want to try to join in the pep band trip to UC Davis for some sort of huge band picnic with all of the UC Bands. It sounds fun .. but also like one massive college party.
After band practice, there was the usual talk of going out for food later. I was feeling fairly hungry, so I was debating about whether or not to go join them in their trip to Del Taco for taco Tuesday. I opted out and walked over to the student rec center to see if I could rent Ironman. Apparently they didn't have it. Which doesn't make sense to me because it's an incredibly popular movie. I guess I'll just try to read some spoilers for it or something. I've seen the first half ONCE, so I can probably piece the end of it together.
While leaving the Rec center, I noticed there were people in the commons, so I went over and saw that the Late Night food had started. I went in and got myself a nice plate of pot stickers and a glass of apple juice. I like apple juice. Not quite as much as I like a good cup of cocoa, but still very good. While enjoying my late night food at 9:30, some girl suddenly comes up to me and asks to sit at my table. Suddenly she asks me a few questions and it seems to be that she knows me pretty well. It's kind of weird and stalker like, but it wasn't all that much info. I was just surprised that she remembered it because I had met her during welcome week on the day that all of the clubs were being displayed. I spoke with her for all of ten minutes and never came across her again.
But apparently she'd like to buy my old anthro book, so that's a plus.
At 9:45, I decided that I needed to get going, so I left to return to my room. It's fifty-four degrees out right now .. but I feel cold.
The muscles in my left arm hurt for some odd reason. I can't explain it, but it makes my usual functioning somewhat more difficult.
Well, I think I'll get to some of the things I need to do for my writing class tomorrow. Like read that thing about Superman and type a blog about me. It'll be like a shorter LJ post, but with proofread grammar and only about me, not my day.
-sigh- I've been over here two days, and I feel like going home to crawl into the comforts of my own bed already. Punchy spring or not, I'm actually missing my late night internet sprees. At least sleeping early is good for my system.
Zot!
-Mar Out |
|
|
| I Must Rant...I Must |
[Jan. 5th, 2010|09:06 pm] |
I swear, this won't be too long.
I'm just really irritated with this translating thing I've been doing.
So I headed to the main translation forum to see some people saying that they had given up on AG3 ever having a full translation because no one was working on it. Someone was kind enough to step in and say that I was still making an effort and that we should all band together just to get SOME kind of a finished product. But, even though he said that, no one is *really* helping. And I gave my word that I would at least finish one personality types' audio translations. But by GOD, is it ridiculously difficult.
For one, the damn bitches aren't smart enough to take the player's PERSONAL SPACES out of their MOUTH when they have something they want to say, which means I have to listen to some woman with their mouth full of MAN try to ask some stupid question that doesn't matter either way. And understand it. And translate it. Not to mention how some personalities have a Kansai or an Osakan accent, which makes it HARDER.
That ASIDE, I am not the best Japanese speaker in the world, so of course, I will run into some words I don't understand. Hearing "OCHICHIN" over and over has helped me to learn what it is (tee hee), but some are difficult to understand even when you DO hear it in so many different contexts. So I run online to see if I can find a translation of the word, only to get, like, fifteen different results. Some for kanji, some for hira, some for HDJKAHDJA.
Also, there are close to 2,000 different texts for each personality.
There are 12 personalities.
Some of the texts were pulled from the final product, but have to be translated anyway.
Go on. Do the math.
That's how much "AAAAAAAAHHHHHNNNN" and "MOOOOOORE" I have to deal with.
I hate squeaky loli voices. So much.
If it feels *that* good, you shouldn't be able to pull off a 20 second long speech about it.
Bitches.
I'm done. |
|
|
| Mar Talk |
[Jan. 4th, 2010|10:40 pm] |
Hello world. I've forcefully fixed my sleep schedule. The boring way.
So at around 10:30PM yesterday, I attempted to fall asleep. I proceeded to simply lie there, waiting for sleep until around 11PM. Next thing I knew it was five in the morning and my headphones were uncomfortably wrapped around my arm. So I flipped over and dozed for another hour and a half.
6:30AM, my day began as usual. I packed my bag and had it ready to go from the night before, so my morning went quickly. I got breakfast at the commons and left to go find my class. For some odd reason, I didn't cross reference the class number with my classes from last quarter. After searching for maybe twenty minutes, I realized that it had the same number as my geology class.
Then it hit me. My only Friday class this quarter is in the exact same room as my only Friday class from last quarter. Grand, eh?
I got to the room at around 8:15AM for a 9AM class and sat down in my usual seat from last quarter. Introductions went by quickly and class started up. Math 2A is required for all of the Business related majors and minors. It's also required for many other majors/minors, but I don't think it should be required. Ah well..
So fifty minutes later, I biked out of there and back to my room. I quickly put everything I wanted to print into my flash drive, looked up exactly what textbooks I needed and their prices throughout the internet, and figured out what I'd do for the rest of my day.
At around noon, I biked over to the Student Store and bought my textbooks and Connect Composition thingamajig. It was actually cheaper for me to get my books from the University because of how the university actually has these special "University of California, Irvine" editions of the textbooks. Also saw that they have the regular TI-83 Plus for $158.49 .. I need to find a silver edition of that because of how I somehow lost my brother's. I left it in the house somewhere and it must have been absorbed into the walls or something! I'll check Office Depot soon. I need to get some school supplies from there.
Since the line at the store was horribly long, I got back to my room at 1:20PM or so. I decided to get lunch so that I can burn through my meals a bit more .. gradually this time around.
Got back to my room at 1:45PM and sorted out some things. Then I went to the computer lab for Mesa Court and printed about thirty sheets of music that I needed for Impulse on Sunday. It cost me $1.50 and when I was about to pay with a twenty, the staff there discovered that they didn't have enough change! So I ran back to my room and dug out a beaten up dollar that I put in my Pencil Bag some time long ago. That and five dimes paid for my print work.
Got back to my room at around 2:30 and signed up for all these online things my classes were needing. I couldn't remember my turnitin.com password, but the emergency I-Forgot-My-Password question saved me.
It was nearly three by the time I finished that off, so I grabbed my bag and left to go find my Writing 39B class. I found it in about ten minutes and proceeded to wait until 3:50PM to enter the room. There was another class in there, so I couldn't go in an hour early.
So after getting the gist of the class explained and getting all of the introductions through, we got these papers about the schedules for the quarter, including our reading and whatnot for each week.
Most awesome assigned reading ever. I get to write about the heroism in it.. and being quizzed on the reading will certainly be .. interesting.
I mentioned that it was kind of difficult to find the Brotherhood episodes (I must be looking for them wrong), our seminar leader exclaimed that she just watched episode 38 last night and how it'll be possible.
But for this week, I need to go watch Ironman and read some Superman comics.
I love this class.
It finished up at around 5:30PM, so it was already pretty dark out. I then decided to go look for where this "BS3" building is, so that I wouldn't be incredibly lost tomorrow morning. I got back to my room at 5:50PM, grabbed my trumpet and band shirt, and promptly left for the basketball game.
The game went by well... I lost the game. So did the anteaters, but they lost a different game. It was a fun match to watch though.
The game ended at around 9:30PM and after packing things up and walking back to my room, it was nearly ten. Did my nightly call to my mom and got to writing today's entry. So tah dah! That was my day.
I'd make some hot cocoa, but I don't have time for it. I need to sleep early, so I'll pass on it, in favor of maximizing my sleep. I probably won't get breakfast tomorrow morning since my class starts at 8AM and the commons open at 7:15. I need to get to this early to beat four hundred other people to a good seat.
Zot!
-Mar Out |
|
|
| Mar Talk |
[Jan. 3rd, 2010|09:53 pm] |
Oh hey I'm back in my cold, cold dorm room.
Yesterday:
So I woke up at around 10AM and went on with my morning.
Got to Dylan Fox's house at around 12:30.. I know far too many Dylans. .. and most of them are people nearby my in music groups. The guy I sit next to in Pep Band is named Dylan. It kind of perpetuates the name's presence in my music life.
Anywho..
So I got there and Bobby was already there. Apparently they had a Wii set up but no Wiimote. Luckily I brought one. So the three of us played Brawl for a couple hours. Most of that time was spent doing ridiculous things like Coin Battle in a custom stage. We discovered that you can have your character constantly stand on spikes and generate infinite coins. Then we messed with the handicaps and all played as Pichu, fighting a level 9 Bowser. In coin battles. With bobombs as the only item. It was grand. If bowser so much as looked at you, you'd die.
Certainly an interesting afternoon.
Then Aubrey and Minh got there. After a bit of brawling and something about Adult Swim, we went to a dog park to play frisbee. At some point, it became "High-Stakes Frisbee" with four dogs chasing after the disc as Bobby and Dylan passed it between them. I stopped playing after this one dog decided to slobber all over the Frisbee. Although I kind of thought the idea of playing Frisbee in a dog park was kind of ridiculous from the beginning. It was also grand.
So then we all returned to playing Brawl and enjoyed a bit of pizza. Aubrey left, and then my brother showed up.. my brother's surprisingly good at playing smash with only a wiimote, while I failed miserably at it. I spent half the time trying to figure out how to throw stuff.
A bit of Mariokart later and Bobby's mom arrived. I was surprised that she remembered me .. and how when my brother introduced himself as "Marissa's brother," she asked if he was in High School .. to which he replied that he already graduated from college and that he's older than me by five years.
That's the third time this has happened within a few months. I'M the younger sibling! Only HE seems to have found the fountain of youth or something! I'm not that .. old.
So Bobby left and I had a crash course in how to play Magic the Gathering. For the most part I understand it. It's about as complicated as Pokemon tcg, only in Magic, the cards are simpler but there are more aspects to a turn, while in Pokemon it's the opposite. I'll stick with Pokemon.. I've got my foothold in that already and it'd take too much effort and time to make way into a different game.
It ended up taking much longer than I would have preferred. I was originally planning on leaving at 9PM latest.. but wound up leaving at 11PM. Then we gave Minh a ride back to her place.
On our way home, we dropped by Norms, where I opted to put most of my food in a to-go box, and got home at a bit past midnight. I interneted for a bit and then happily dozed off in the comfort of my own bed. Some spring on my bed has cracked or something and a metal wire now slightly protrudes in the middle of my bed. It gave my ribs a rather mean punch when it happened. I guess the thing is pretty old now, but I still like it.
TODAY!
Woke up at around 11AM. Got a call from my neighbor about a ride back to the university. It seemed like a good idea so I agreed and they said they'd pick me up around 6:30PM.
Spent the day making sure I had everything packed up and was ready to go. I also munched on my leftovers from yesterday while parked in front of the TV, since I know that I won't be watching any for a long time after today. Not to mention that after today, all Hell breaks loose and my schedule gets packed with things to do.
I've class at 9AM tomorrow and I haven't had the opportunity to locate where the room is. I know the building, but I hope I can find the room. I'll have to leave at 8AM just to be safe. I'll see if I can get breakfast beforehand, since I know the commons open at 7:15AM. After class, I'll spend the next few hours locating where exactly the rest of my classes are. Of the four things I have on Monday, two are discussions, so I only have to attend two classes tomorrow.
I also need to send out an email to my academic adviser and the humanities advising folks to see if I can make sure I have a game plan for the rest of my time here.
If time permits after this, I'll see if I can get to work on finding myself a job.. or maybe I'll drop by the financial aid office and see just what scholarships they were talking about for the dean's honor list, because I want in on those. I'm also curious about whether or not I can start paying back some loans because I didn't use all of the money. They're small loans anyway, and I can probably make do without them. So I'll try to look into that as well.
Whatever I can't complete tomorrow pours into the next day. I also need to figure out what's going on with my weekends for the next few weeks. This Sunday, I have a clinic/workshop with Impulse and I need to meet the other UCI folks at 8AM, and next Sunday is another workshop and also auditions. It continues into the following Sunday, but I really don't know if I need to attend all of them. Even if it's optional, I'd like to attend for the sake of making sure I don't miss out on anything. Albeit much of the workshop last time was dull because I'm not THAT weak of a trumpet player. I mean seriously! I don't want to boast, but it does get horribly boring spending HOURS on an incredibly easy trumpet piece.
But of the things I did learn, like how the group functions, I feel that it would make my life a lot easier if I learned those. Ah well.. better safe than sorry, eh?
So at around 6:30, my neighbors arrived and we promptly left for the university. My mom was with us this time, so that the parents could happily speak Thai with each other.
One rather short car ride later, and I was situated in my room again. Within twenty minutes of arrival, all of my things were sorted out to where they belonged and I was at my desk, online. Wow I reverted to that desk hermit rather quickly.
Hmm.. note to self: run MacScan on marbook just to be safe.
So here I am. Busy day tomorrow, so it's back to the I'm-Not-On-Break Sleep Schedule where I try to sleep at around ten and wake at around six. Eight hours of sleep but an early enough morning to get things done.
Zot!
-Mar Out |
|
|
| hello 2010 |
[Jan. 2nd, 2010|12:48 am] |
WHAT UP. it is the new year and i am home and confused and overdosed on 30rock (lying omg i want more), sorry but i'm not even gonna try to catch up on flist ahahaaaaaaaa sob
i stayed at the venetian with my family! and... and the encore. i'm not sure why we had two rooms. BUT YEAHHHH i'm slightly better at being tipsy than i have been in the past!!! i love vegas a lot and i lovehate ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) noonish and chinomi (WHY AREN'T WE FRIENDS I'M ADDING YOU) for reawakening my gambling boner, maybe it's a good thing that i'm not yet 21
we also, for some reason, adopted a rabbit that my cousin found
uh..... his/her name is toki i guess
AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL ♥ |
|
|
| Mar Talk |
[Jan. 1st, 2010|11:57 pm] |
Oh man.. it's twenty ten! Time's passing by so fast! I'll be turning 19 this year. I don't know why, but 19 just sounds and feels so much older than 18 to me. I feel like I need to pull off something grand before May, so that I can feel accomplished about doing something before I'm that .. old.
So, I was up at around 6AM, morning went smoothly and quietly, and I slipped downstairs without anyone waking up.
At 7AM, I was happily situated in front of the TV, covered with a fluffy blanket, leaning on a pillow, watching the Tournament of Roses count down, and hugging a husky plush. The countdown was nice.. I can remember seeing some of those float building hangars in person .. but only kind of vaguely in my mind. I got to see the ones they set up in the parking lot of the Rose Bowl last year, but I haven't seen the permanent ones since I was 6. I still have the entrance passes for that 1997 float decorators!
All I really remember doing was putting water into little tubes and capping them.. for a very short moment before I wandered off and got to stare at people working. It's the kind of childhood memory where there's maybe .. three VERY short clips/pictures that I can even remember. I want to remember more about what happened.. but I can't. The only reason I can remember I was six was because of the fact that I kept the passes. I often wish I could recall these sort of things more accurately.
I can remember getting breakfast with my mom, brother, and father .. wow. It actually feels kind of weird to type that out. I often say that I went there with mom and bro, but never mention my own father. I can't quite describe it, but I felt almost hesitant about typing the word "Father." I can't really explain why either .. but I digress.
So I remember getting breakfast at a McDonald's .. then I remember a gate with some grass out in front. Where we showed the passes and got in. After that, I can hazily remember being handed a cardboard box with little tubes and caps and something about being too young for anything else. Then I was by myself or something.. and of course my small attention span sent me wandering through the area. I can see a vivid image of some girl standing on scaffolding, holding a large paintbrush and using its handle to punch a hole in the frame of the float. Then she inserts a flower tube with a yellow flower in it and starts the process all over again.
And then I can remember walking outside, to a bright, cement area. And that's it. That's the end of everything I can remember for that day. If feels so short.. I want to know more.
Hmm.. my mom's in my room right now.. I hope she doesn't doze off on my bed -.-
It may be sheer coincidence, but she suddenly brought up how she feels kind of bad for my brother. Something about how my dad always yelled at him for things like drawing and forced him to drink milk when he didn't want to. It's evident in how I never really hear my brother speak much about him at all.
Which is what often bugs me. I want my own opinion of him. It takes so much effort to separate the tales people tell me from my scarce memories. I can barely even remember his voice. It annoys me so much that I was just old enough to know him yet not know him very well.. but even worse that everyone else around me knows him so much better than me.
But one thing I do know is that he introduced me to watching the Tournament of Roses Parade. I didn't need to have a mature mind or mastered motor skills to see that the floats are pretty, the horses are cute, and the music makes me happy.
Okay.. mom just left my room. I guess there's that small semblance of an advantage in our language barrier. I really hope I can breach it better .. ever time I speak Thai, I feel like my nonstop english has dulled my ability more and more. But there's still hope for me! I just need to find out where I can take UC accepted Thai classes. I've a small language requirement to fill. I might as well take a language I want to take!
Partway through watching the parade, my aunt suddenly came downstairs, sat down right next to me, and proceeded to pass tons of gas. Then say stupidly obvious things to me in broken English, as if I wouldn't understand them otherwise. It was a rather offensive moment in my morning, but I opted the just ignore much of it. I really didn't feel like talking much.. not that she'd ever really listen to me if I did say anything. .. I mean, come on! Basic courtesy!! You do not seat yourself next to a happy looking person, be flatulent until they look sad, and then sit behind them! My patience for her really runs thin on days like this!
After maybe ten minutes, she went to go nap on a couch somewhere behind me. I had to constantly look back to see that she was still there and nothing bad was happening. About ten minutes after that, she left on her car. Five minutes later, my mom goes outside and rushed back in to tell me about how my aunt parked incredibly close to the acura and dented the side of the car. I don't know how I'm supposed to fix this, but I feel like I need to. She really has no right to come in and mess up OUR house. Family or not, we should stand up to her! But my mom and brother don't want to .. and my mom doesn't want me to because it may seem offensive to the family in Thailand if I act rude to her.
I think my resolve is not to care much on what people think of me or offending them at this point. I'm going to defend my home!
But I do realize that she often drops by and gives me money, saying that a college student needs to be able to buy things. It's really nice of her .. but I can't help but think that the trouble isn't worth it.
Well, ignoring that interlude, I enjoyed the parade in peace. I really liked the La Cañada Flintridge float this year! I though it deserved the animation award more than the Burbank float, but they both got pretty amazing awards. It was an origami dragon where all of the joints moved so well! And it was fighting a wizard who was wielding a wand and a pair of scizzors. Get it? A CUT above the rest? eh? eh?
It got the Fantasy award, which is really cool too. Totally my favorite float this year. Not to mention how the La Cañada Flintridge area was rampaged by the Station Fire and how the float is completely volunteer made/funded, I'm very impressed :D
I also loved the Hollywood Bowl/Walt Disney Concert Hall/LA Opera House float. That one was certainly cool too. The Concert Hall's boat like features translated into float form very well.
And the newscasters said that All City represented SoCal in the Obama inauguration .. they said that last year and all city corrected them. Then for some odd reason they say it again this year O.o
But Honor Band rocked as usual. The aerial shot from the goodyear blimp looked AMAZING. The lines.. they're straight!
But then I realized that the Honor Band was maybe .. thirty something down the cue. THAT'S why the horrible horse smell was worst on my third year! We were towards the end of the parade last year, thus all of the horses had gone through! Man, those guys towards the beginning of the parade have it good! They get to go before the horses!
Then I spend the rest of my day watching a Criminal Minds marathon. mmmm productivity. Well.. at least I did some laundry and started packing up to go back to my dorm on Sunday. Wow, they want us back promptly. No opportunity to bask in 2010!
Right now I need to figure out if I can get to next Sunday's impulse workshop. It's at 8:30 in the morning! I can't drive, the buses don't roll there, and I sure as hell don't want to bike that far in the morning, only to have to bike back at the end of the day IN THE DARK. I have no qualms about darkness being creepy, but it conceals things. Things like potholes. Which can send me flying off my bike, into open traffic. Which is bad.
Yup.. that was my day. Resolutions? naw.. I'll use last year's. LJ Archives, that's what it's for.
Maybe with one more thing though .. I must have at least five productive moments per day. Just imagine how much I'll accomplish now!
Welcome to 2010 everyone! It's gonna rock.
Padoo!
-Mar Out |
|
|
| Mar Talk OH-NINE |
[Dec. 31st, 2009|11:33 pm] |
Wow .. 2009.. what a year!
I can remember heralding it right before the 120th Rose Parade.. Hat's off to entertainment, eh?
Well, 2010 is a Cut Above the Rest!
.. err. I guess I still liked Passport to the World's Celebrations more. That was a fun Rose Parade theme.
I WOKE UP NOT FEELING SICK!
AT 10:30AM!!! yessssss
Actually, I'm still a bit woozy.. but it's all good! My morning went at a normal pace today!
Checked my email and got contacted about the California Indoor competition going on in Tulare.. it's on Jan 9th and 10th. But I've got to be at an Impulse workshop on the 10th! This is just breaking my soul..
not to mention how it'd cost me about $85 + travel expenses + hotel expenses. Am I supposed to spout money from my ears!? T.T
I shoot 18m indoor.. I'm a "Coach" .. I've got equipment that works for me .. BUT I STILL CAN'T COMPETE!
I'd better be freaking rich in the future. I am so sick of how I've missed out on so much because I can't afford them!
I do still value enjoying my future career over money though.
Also got emails about Impulse starting their fundraising next week. I hope to be able to raise my entire tour fee off of these fundraisers. It's like give or take a bit $1000. I'm glad to have to opportunity to earn the money rather than simply need to spit it out.
I guess I could earn the money via a job.. but I'm currently hunting for one that'll fit into my crazy life schedule. I mean I've got 8AM classes AND 5PM classes on the same day. I'd like to keep my nights open for pep band and my personal projects... and I'll have classwork to do. Lazy as I am, I need to make sure I don't neglect any of my work.
err.. I also got my music emailed to me. I may just learn how to play the first trumpet parts because they're not that high. Speaking of practice, I should do that.. sigh .. I've lost much of my original skill due to sheer negligence.
Went downstairs and drank far more water than I normally would .. in fact, I'm thirsty right now. I think I'll go get some water.
At around 2PM, I made a bowl of Shin Ramyun. It was pleasantly spicy and had me smiling because I was totally not feeling nauseated in any way whatsoever!
I spent much of the day watching the Twilight Zone marathon on SyFy channel and the local News. I think I've seen most of the Twilight Zone episodes by now. Maybe I should try camping out for the Rose Parade some time ... .. .. nah. I will never forget that .. horse smell. Wow it was murder on the senses. Smell obviously. Then feeling as we were required to march in it. Then the sound it makes as you step on it. yech.. it still haunts me. I can still see that street in my mind.
At around 6, my mom sent me to go get the mail. It's kind of annoying that our mail box is so far from out house, but it really does make the mailman's life easier and I often enjoy walking over to it. It's a pretty short walk, but I get to go outside after being cooped up indoors.
My brother went out to go run some errands and came back at around the time I got the mail (whoo! we have milk again!), so I walked back in through the garage and simply shut the kitchen door without shutting the garage door. I figured my mom was going to go somewhere with my aunt soon, so I'd be better off leaving the garage door open.
So we were all sitting in the living room and I suddenly heard the sound of the kitchen door opening. So of course I panicked and nearly tackled the person to the floor .. but before I did, I saw it was my aunt. Who decided that simply opening the door without knocking or calling is a good idea. I've learned my lesson. I'm going to lock that door if I ever leave the garage door open again. Totally a stupid mistake on my part. Someone could have easily run of with my bike or something else of value in the garage.
So my mom and aunt left to go to the local temple for the New Year's prayer thing. I used to go to it, but when I used to march the Rose Parade, I'd try to sleep by ten because I'd have to be up and in Uniform by 5AM. But now I'm not.. so here I am. I'm such a horrible Buddhist!
EDIT: BABY BUNNIES! There is nothing cuter. NOTHING. Oh. My. Gosh. Summer of 2009. Baby freaking bunnies. I am going to go to NoHo's flower farm, bring two dozen pounds of carrots, take pictures of bunnies, and hug Fonzie.
End edit.
Ah 2009. I will remember you for so many things. Stomach flu, completing my first quarter of college, swine flu, moving in, getting my first job, "Buy some flowers!", saying good bye to my little buddy, volunteering with AX, graduating, not playing pomp and circumstance for the first time in seven years, Playboy Jazz Festival, last semester of being in the LAUSD, saying goodbye to twelve years in the HGM, Yosemite, my last AP tests, how relaxed spring semester of 12th grade is, regaining the optimist lost in 11th grade, becoming an anteater, the last time I wear my NH Band uniform, marching the 120th Rose Parade .. both pain and glory. Well, life does need a balance.
Quite a tough act for 2010 to follow.
2009 was a good year :)
I'll miss it.
Padoo!
-Mar Out |
|
|
| This Year~ |
[Dec. 31st, 2009|07:06 pm] |
This year.
AHAHAHA.
This year was damn hilarious. Started with me being miserable beyond belief because I misinterpreted an LJ entry, got happy, got WEIRD, and now we're here.
Just.
What happened to the months, guys? It still sorta feels like we just graduated, but we didn't. Like AX just ended a couple of days ago, but it didn't.
Mistakes were made.
Promises were broken.
Bonds were forged.
This has been both the best and worst year of my life.
Maybe next year will be better? Maybe I'll follow through with my plans? Maybe I'll respect myself more (doubt it)? Maybe...maybe dull aches will finally die.
Who knows. All I can do is hope for the best and work towards the wonderful life I dreamed I'd have when I was a kid.
DETERMINATION AND WILL.
These are what make us stronger!
...however, I will still allow myself to indulge in some small pleasures every hour day so often. As a treat to my hard work~ >3
EDIT: And already, the second the New year started, things began to look up! This is so...weird, but I am NOT complaining~<3 |
|
|
| To wish you all... |
[Dec. 31st, 2009|08:50 pm] |
A very happy new year! May it be full of new experiences and love, relaxation and excitement...
I seek to know my Savior better this coming year, because all the good things I have, I have from him; all the good I do he prepared for me to do and gives me the strength to do and all the good I am, is because of him. This year, as all others before it, has been a lesson in knowing him and I pray the next will be as well.
May the Lord richly bless you! |
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
| |
|
|
tired
enthralled
sick