Auckland Anniversary Day?

You know, I seriously don't get the point of the Auckland Anniversary day. The only thing it is really, is just a public holiday after all. Nothing happens in the quiet deserted streets of the city. Everyone's away at the beaches, or relaxing in the comforts of home. Fun, too, I guess, but where's the sense in that?

Went over to Al's today, and well, I watched a movie called "C.R.A.Z.Y." That movie is ingenious. Actually really well written too. Its one of those movies full of themes and film techniques, and yet with a story simple enough and captivating. I was actually blown away by it. Can't believe I've never seen it before too. Just awesome, I tell you.

Hmm, I better get to typing out my bloody Accounting assignment out. I mean, I think the marker thinks my handwriting is a little hard to read. Probably because its so small. Ah well, whats there to do when you write tiny. In a way though, I think I'm ready for lectures to start again. Some semblance of normalcy is what I need I figure; going to lectures, interacting with Mike before lectures, then with Richie during and after lectures, before gym, and then back. I think sometimes I like routine a little too much. But I guess its not a bad thing, really.

Al brought up a topic today which I had short discussion with him about. What do you think, really, though? Everyone's read of stories where people can alter their personality, well, not really personality I guess, just the appearance of it, by subtle nuances and gestures. Mannerisms too, come to think of it. Even clothing. But really, do you ever reach a point when you lose yourself to the extent that you are the sum of it all, because each one of these "persona" are you? Or could you retain a sense of self, somehow knowing which is false, which is true? I went for the former, Al for the latter. I guess he has a point too, and that its all situational, and all down to how deeply you etch the differences on yourself. But think of it too. In most of these stories, these people feel so distant from others, from themselves. So maybe, just maybe, did they lose a portion of themselves, the very thing itself which defines us for we who are? Or maybe it was shattered into many portions, each a part of the whole. Whichever the outcome, the whole ceases to be since it is never manifested, except maybe through its agent personalities. I don't really know how to express what I think of the idea. There's just so much to say, so much to write about, and I don't think I know how well-formed my ideas are. Maybe its still yet a gut feeling, or maybe its retained knowledge from what I've read, heard, and thought for a long time. I think its a bit of both, but its not something I can fully articulate.

Enough rambling I believe. I think I shall get started with my assignment.

Great. Now I have a test to study for the rest of today before I FAIL because I procrastinated and didn't study for it at all. Not to mention I'm certain I'll have a hangover to nurse in the morning. GAH. Sleep now, worry later, I say.

Music

I happened to be exploring around, and I found this artist called Greg Williams aka Shinogo. He does quite a few genres of music, hip hop, trance, electronica, drum and bass, you get the picture. But his music's suprisingly good. I didn't listen to any of his hip hop, well, since it ain't really my thing, but I really like his drum & bass and electronica. Definitely worth a try.

Go on, try it. You might like his music. Most of it can be found on his myspace and acidplanet. A google search should yield the results.

Bastard! Course coordinator dude still hasn't enrolled me for Second Semester!!!! ARGH!!! How is it that he does it for Semester 1 and ignores Semester 2 for me? Bastard...

Quiz due tomorrow, assignment due tomorrow, another quiz due Thursday, and a test next Monday. Boy, am I loving summer school...

A Mix-Up

Well, yes... yesterday and today have been another of those whirlwind days. Woke up massively sleep deprived on Friday, dragged myself to lectures, blah blah blah. Then I went shoe shopping. I think I've found the pair I want, but I'll keep looking for a while longer. And oh, one of the assistants is this gay dude. Yes, I mean gay. We even traded numbers, since he was a cool guy and all, and well, I think it'll be cool having him as a friend. I don't think he was hitting on me, before anyone is inclined to suggest, heh.

Then basically met up with Alastair (still sleep-deprived) to do more.... shopping! Gosh, I'm incorrigible already I think. Its fun though. I like going shopping, and well... Yeah... Its not like I shop all the time anyway. You know what? I didn't even get anything from this shopping excursion, although Alastair got a nice shirt from Tarocash. Sigh.

After all that, we hit his place to chill, and have a business meeting of sorts. Well, basically Al here has got some ideas that he reckons he can capitalise on, and I would agree, these ideas are pretty viable. So yeah, I just became his sounding board, critique, and partner in research. I'm sure there will be more to help out as we go. But hey, start small, right?

I'd like to see where this little venture leads anyway. Even if I don't manage to see it through myself, it will be interesting if it does hit off. But anyway, thats a little into the future for the moment. Although I must say our productivity decreased very very very much when we decided to break halfway and have a few CC's and coke (Canadian Club, a sort of whisky, if you were wondering). And then tea even. Wow, I never actually did think that tea would be so distracting. Needless to say, we were tired and too tea-ed up and semi-alcohol-ed (yes, bad English, but you get the point) by 1am, so we stopped and watched Eddie Izzard on youtube. Eddie Izzard is a fully awesome stand-up comedian. Seriously, go watch some of his stuff. I never did laugh harder.

And yeah, I was only home for like half an hour before I had to rush over to Allan's and head down for like an hour's drive down to Silverdale with the boys to go to the luge. Well, it was more of a downhill cart thing rather than an actual luge, but hey. All good. And its for Allan's 19th, so well, hey, whatever the birthday boy says, right?

Needless to say, when it comes to anything that involves any of the following: speed, precision, physics, common sense, et cetera, I am absolutely horrendous at it. So, I sucked at the luge. Well, yes, I got scratches on my right hand and ring when I had to use my hand to steady myself from like being overturned onto the sidewalk because I couldn't execute a turn round the fucking sharp turn. And I pretty much got owned. I think I'll have to buy a new ring soon, before I scratch it beyond recovery. I even managed to actually get overturned on a COMPLETELY straight path because, well, I was uhm, texting while moving towards the side. Goes to show that you should NEVER text while driving, eh?

Then we headed back to town and hit... Nando's!!!! For dinner. I think I was craving chicken, which is why I'm so hyped about it. Can't blame a starving man, can you? The food never did stand a chance against us, except for poor Dan and Tommy, who aren't used to having real spicy stuff, and they ordered Extra Hot. Yeah, they got all sweaty and stuff too. Me and Allan on the other hand were just chowing it down so quickly. I would have moved on to the chips, but bloody Arnold had to finish all of it before we even got to that. And not to mention Jamie stole all my water, and Miles was his accomplice. Damn those two. Making me walk to the counter to get another bottle of water.

The wind down was incredibly long. Me, Allan and Arnold just chilled at some milk tea place for like an hour or two... I think... I swear Arnold loves milk tea completely. I reckon its Allan's influence, since I hardly go for milk tea myself. Then we went back to Allan's and played... Mario Kart! Yay! Haha, its been ages since I've played that, so it was kinda fun.

You know, I think this week, even with summer school starting and all, has been an incredible week. I could say I rarely did have a dull moment. Except now, I've got an assignment due this Tuesday, the reward for all my procrastination. ARGH!!!

P/S: Apparently I left my jacket at Alastair's. Damn. And apparently I have his tie. Double damnation. No idea how that happens. Didn't think I was ever that absent-minded, sheesh. Probably Alastair rubbing off me, since he frequently leaves his shades behind unless I remind him about them.

So much for the cruisy life

Damn, but I really thought I'd be having fun and have a lot of time on my hands, but I don't think that will be the case. Its only Day 2 of summer school, and I've already got 1 quiz to complete, and 1 assignment due next week. ARGH! And not to mention I'm waaaaay behind in my suggested readings (still haven't bought the textbook either).

Goddamn, I wonder how Richie manages to keep up with making notes and stuff. Grrr....

I'm considering the order in which I'll buy some items, and yes, it is the question I've been asking people all over: Shoes or Jeans?

When I finish I'll actually post the results of what the numbers are =P

Personally, I don't think it affects my decision, since I've already picked shoes as my side, but hey, its interesting to see where it goes, eh?

On a side note, I've decided to return the mouse I bought at the start of this year, the Logitech G7 cordless laser mouse. Apparently the issue I'm having is very very common, everyone seems to be having it, which is rather annoying. It happens when I'm like pressing the left-click button, but instead of single clicking, it sometimes (randomly, too) double-clicks. Which is most annoying. Imagine trying to select multiple objects, then your mouse double clicks and opens EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. Yeah. Bad mouse.

Summer school is starting tomorrow. I'm starting to question my decision in doing summer school. Ah well. What's done is done. Nothing I can do now, except to bite the bullet and hopefully find my rhythm and ride the wave. Alright, enough with clichés for now.

I decided to give in and finally watch "The Devil Wears Prada". No idea why I didn't do so earlier. I thought it was good in the way they reveal Miranda to be a conniving little bitch who's got an emotional side, and yet is the Devil in every sense in her temptation of her newest assistant Andrea. Perhaps a little common in its portrayal, but I've always liked the complexity of human behaviour and psyche.

Alright, I've gotta get to bed, got an early 8am start so I can have enough time to have breakfast, a shower, and get to lectures. Night y'all.

In Retrospect

I forgot to make a post of this nature before I left for the New Year's... So why not do it now? Let's see, last year was in many ways, a great year for me, although some aspects were left for want of improvement, but hey, you can't have everything, can you?

Last year for me was a fresh start of sorts for me. I left behind most of my peers in high school to join university a year early. Which, in some ways, didn't exactly make me the youngest either due to my school having weird cutoff dates. (Retarded school). The college life was well, exactly what I wanted. A greater degree of freedom, a reduction in social cliques because of the nature of the degree I was in. I'm not saying these cliques were completely eliminated, but that they were just reduced to an extent.

Last year was also a year in which I found myself becoming more socially active, or as some would prefer, extroverted. To be honest, I'm not that extroverted I reckon, but perhaps I became more approachable. Call it whatever you will. I found myself associating with more people and having to divide my time to hanging out with several groups of friends.

That may have been the upside, but the downside would be the inevitable drift between me and my old peers. As I found more and more people, it became hard to keep the same level of contact I once had, and so I drifted, far from some, and not too distant for others. I guess it could have been avoided, but I don't mind all that much. Perhaps it was for the best, too.

I learnt that in a way, having more freedom from the college life meant that you actually lost a lot of time trying to finish your assignments and projects in time. It certainly was the case for me in the 1st semester until I took a leaf out of Richie's book, so to speak, and attempted to manage my time better.

I learnt that helping and teaching others in their coursework brings a certain joy and satisfaction when they finally understand. Conversely, I found that when they failed to comprehend, it would be a most frustrating moment, at which point I would internally question their ability to understand and grasp the basic concepts of logic, or even mathematics.

Last year was a year in which I was christened with a new nickname. Yes, I actually do respond to Damian now, its more or less ingrained into me by now.

It has been reinforced into me that girls coming into Engineering in Auckland are:
1) a minority
2) rarely good looking (I'm not being mean, it is true)
3) not necessarily smarter than guys

I discovered that many people would never live up to my expectations of minimum intelligence. It also made me reconsider some of the principles I had established for myself since a few years back. Along the same lines of thought, I discovered that engineers all over, be it in Auckland, Christchurch, Melbourne, or some college in the States, share similar stereotypes. Perhaps we are all more interconnected than we know...

Despite the similarities though, it is also worth noting that we are all still different (obviously). For one, my almost extremist views on genetic purity and creating the perfect human (no, not Holocaust style, more like Gattaca if you've seen it) are rather distasteful to most, but the good thing is... everyone in Engineering has got their own quirks, so mine is well, just another quirk.

I learnt that engineers as a whole aren't too fashion conscious and would often make fashion mishaps within the faculty, although no one seems to care. I learnt that sometimes, its alright to loosen up your inhibitions and have some fun.

Since getting to know Richie, its come to my realisation that I have found an excellent role model in him. He's well-managed, able to find that balance between sport, study, and having fun. And he eats well too.

Last year, I learnt that as crazy as Alastair is, he's got a lot of substance under his whacked demeanour. I also learnt that I can trust people more than I would normally be prepared to, or more than I think they could be trusted. Which means I may have to tell more truth than skirting issues instead next time.

And lastly, I discovered that alcohol still tastes as good, and still is a great social tool, as it always was before. Cheers, and Happy New Year's! (Belatedly)

P/S: Yes, I really do have purist views. I, however, have my code of ethics, but I'm more relaxed than most people would be in their views concerning the optimisation of the human body.

Back!

Yeah, just got back from Tauranga at like 3am this morning... Damn, I'm so sleepy and tired... New Year's was a blast, we went to the Mount (more like the beach next to the Mount), and soooo many people were there. I have not actually seen this many people all crowded on the beach and streets. It was fun though, they had live bands going and all sorts of food and entertainment things going.

They even had spectacular fireworks to commemorate the New Year's. I was going to take some photos, but my phone died on me, since I forgot to charge it up for like 2 days... Hahaha... We went clubbing right after the countdown till like 3 in the morning... Fun fun times.

The beach and Tauranga is awesome, although a tad overcrowded. Its hard to find parking which is close by. Normally, you'd have to park somewhere in the shops near the beach which means a 15 minute walk from where you've parked... But you know what? It was well worth the walk. They were organising all sorts of events, like Bikini Competitions and the like, and it was such a hot and sunny day that I totally loved the beach. Too bad I couldn't have stayed longer though. Ah well, I'm off to sleep a little more then.