The New Year

So I got back on New Year's Day, but I was a little too tired for two days to write anything. Camping was fun, did you know it was a full moon on New Year's Eve? Amazing moon as well.

I don't have a sufficient tan for me to happy, but it's better than nothing I guess.

Me, Timmy and Simon got rather creative with cooking. Instead of the usual uhm, camping fare (sausages, steak, etc), we decided to go for better food, like bolognaise, Thai red curry, flat bread, and even a pie. Fun times indeed.

Thanks to the incessant flooding of Ke$ha on the radio, I now have that song Tik Tok stuck in my head.

So did I make any resolutions? Not really, but I did resolve to get fit. I wonder now how much it will conflict with my desire to still have a grand time with relaxed drinking and all.

The long summer truly begins, since there are few to no public holidays left before the semester starts. Only 8 weeks left. I start gym-ming again on the 11th, but I probably might go back once or twice to gently kickstart the routine this coming week.

Seems like fun, so we'll see how it is. Well, I gotta go and do a little bit of cleaning in my room. It's still a bit of a mess.

Introspection

Before I had noticed, Christmas is already come and gone. The end of the year is fast approaching, and like most people, I turn my thoughts inward in reflection of the year that was.

I always have been, and always will be surprised at how quickly this year passed. You'd think I'd learn to make every moment count, but I still feel like I've wasted time.

This year also marks the end of the fourth years' degrees (with the exceptions of the ones embarking on a post-grad). Some of these fourth years I have come to know well, and they will be sorely missed by me. It's sometimes comforting to go to a fourth year and just start bitching about some project or assignment you hate. Like an elder brother or sister in the adoptive family of Engineering Science really.

If I haven't mentioned it before, Richie, the one hell of a clever bastard that he is, managed to land himself the Rhodes scholarship. Free ride to Oxford for him. Which well, means he will be leaving Auckland as well.

Everyone I've gotten attached to is going away. 'Tis a most sad year.

But hey, not everyone's gone yet. I still have the 3rd years, soon-to-be 4th years.

So, I'm going up north to Otamure Bay (further north from Whangarei) for a few days with Timmy, Simon and Matt Butcher and some of his pals. Beats spending the New Years' in Auckland though. Unless there's a house party someone's throwing, it really isn't fun. I also refuse to do what Danny is and go to the casino. Ridiculous concept if you ask me. I'd rather go for antipasti and tapas. Yep, both of them one after the other.

Did I mention that I've gained a little more mass than the last time? Unfortunately not all of it is muscle, due to my occasional slip-ups with food and training. I'm finally 71 kilos though, and bodyweight-wise, I wouldn't think I would want to gain much more. No more than 5 anyway. Like I worry about my weight anyway. I'm far more worried about lowering my body fat percentage. That reminds me: I should check mine again sometime soon.

Well, gosh, I've certainly rambled on long enough. Maybe I'll update sometime soon.

Now there's no leaving New York...

So Far Around The Bend by The National is still stuck in my head after all these months. It's seriously an awesome song.

Take a bath and get high through an apple

Wanted to cry but you can't when you're laughing

Nobody knows where you are living

Nobody knows where you are

You're so far around the bend

You're so far around the bend

Somehow, I feel somewhat comforted by this.

Ange's Christmas party was yesterday. It was pretty fun, I had a lovely bottle of wine, and made a Niçoise salad. That went well I think, considering that there was none left after. Iain was really tipsy when I got there, which was hilarious. Except for him continuously telling me not to hit on some dude. Yeah... the curious antics from Iain I have to put up with.

Fun times regardless, I'm looking forward to something as exciting for next time, whenever that'll be. I guess I'll head off to bed now. Another day's over already, gosh it's going by quickly isn't it?

Adrift

Much like a hollow log I'm afraid this time. It's not that I'm bored, either. I just can't help but feel my days just stretching out before me, but at the same time I'm rushing towards the horizon. I'm being rather vague and nonsensical again aren't I?

It's like I'm living my days one at a time, but I know time is running out. Problem is, I don't know what's going to happen. I feel like a rat on a sinking ship that found a vast, vast hoard of food. More than I could consume in my lifetime, but the ship do be sinking.

I've probably got to just socialise and get out in the sun more. Make a panna cotta while I'm at it. Yum. Now I'm hungry, at 11.54 PM. Lovely.

I think I'll start touching up on my calligraphy skills (or lack thereof) and buy some lovely Christmas cards. I am feeling very much in the season, and the lack of snow and abundance of sunshine definitely puts things in an unusual-but-welcome perspective. It's wonderful.

Gosh, I'm rather bipolar these days too. I blame gym tiredness. Anyway, off I go. It's time for bed, and I for one am welcoming this.

If you read this Amy...

I was wondering, since I happened across a post of mine from before, and the comments that were in. Did you ever go drinking with them pommies? And you're finished aren't you?

That ends my aside. I've completed 1 week at the gym! My programme goes on for another 5 weeks before a reassessment. If I have mentioned that before, I apologise but I am rather excited about the prospect of gym.

The holidays are slow. I got all my results back though, finally... And I must say I passed this semester with flying colours (ish). 1 A-, 1 A, 2 A+'s, and an A for MEDSCI of all things. The subject that I thought I'd fail. Wow. Not questioning that. Not at all.

I talked to a researcher, one of the (many?) associate professors at the university. This time, as usual, I was fishing for a potential supervisor and a fourth year project that aligned with my interests. It seems I may have finally hit the jackpot, he seems to have a wealth of experiments that align quite closely to the things I am most interested in. I mean, it's not perfect but no one tends to have the exact same field of interest as you, so I'm pretty happy with today.

Jason, or Drake as I've come to call him (including nicknames such as Drak'ems and Drakey) so totally needs to have a birthday party. Me, Ange and Timmy want one. We demand our party. PARTY.... PARTY.... at Drake's house! Haha, but yeah.

I forgot to talk to Richie about catching up with him today. Oops, there's always next week I guess. Did I mention he's the Rhode Scholar for NZ this year? Insane aye? Well, not too suprising with his grasp on issues, intellect and the perfect grade score couldn't hurt either... I'm a little jealous, but really proud too. Dunno whether I should feel proud considering I've only known him for 2 or so years, but I do anyway. Put it down to my fondness for the lad. May the sun always smile on his path.

I'm back!

To those who still follow this blog,

Or if you don't follow it, this blog exists as a memory dump for me too, so it's all good if I go crazy and talk to myself, right?

I've been totally busy over the last few weeks, first with exams, then with the post-exam craziness. Went to the Law Stein, got remarkably drunk (was drinking for 12 hours straight), and had a remarkable hangover. We went down to Thames and climbed the Pinnacles, which was a tramping kinda thing up a mountain (small mount): stayed the night and had a quiet sit and talk with whisky and friends. Then the night we got back, we went for Laserstrike. That was insane. My legs were sore for 2 days after all that.

And I started going to the gym again last Monday. Feels pretty good, knowing that I'm hitting myself again. Now I guess I have to alter my diet slightly for the reduced alcohol and junk food consumption (I am filled with such sorrow at the loss of the former). Should be good though, I look forward to re-accessing myself in 6 weeks.

I'm a little sleepy right now to be honest... I've got to get some sleep, so maybe I'll update soon, hopefully not in another month like before.

Whew

It's certainly been a hectic 2 weeks or so. Getting caught up with lab reports, project work and assignments ain't fun, that's what I can tell you. I'm sure you already know this anyway.

My penultimate year at university is finished (with the exception of exams), and gosh, was it fast. Someone mentioned that they felt like they were losing track of the future. I feel the same too. Even more frightening is the knowledge that some people I know and could always rely on to distract me from the many stresses in university are going.

The Part IV dinner, birthday parties, and the inevitable day of drinking, it's all become a ritual now. I certainly enjoy these little events, and now I lack something to do in the summertime this year. I may graduate late but I don't know, it's become less of an issue for me now.

Did I ever mention this blog called "The Sartorialist"? If I have, I apologise for repeating myself. It's a pretty awesome blog, plus I always find the way people dress themselves inspiring. Not all of them suit my taste (read: the dudes with odd hair and really long t-shirts). Something about that just rubs me the wrong way, but hey. To each their own.

I suppose I should stop procrastinating and study for real. My first exam is next Thursday, which isn't too far away now. I should probably give Richie a ring and have a mean catch-up with him. It's definitely been too long. Well, that's my update for now; and I think it'll be getting a little more sporadic since I'm getting a little busier.

P/S: I injured my rotator cuff muscle (right arm) at the gym, and now it's impeding my upper body workout. My physiotherapist told me to stop doing all upper body workout (at which I gave him this incredulous look). We eventually decided to compromise and go only for machine workouts with very minimal movement, which really sucks. There goes my gains. Ah well. C'est la vie.

It's going, just going.

I realise I've neglected this little blog here for some time, but I've been just a little too busy for my liking. Add to that the stupid lab reports and the upcoming project that's due (!!!) and you've got one very busy person on your hands.

In fact, the only reason I'm finding the time to write now is because I missed the bus, plus I'm a little hungover from the Stein last night. Only problem now is that my cough has returned with a vengeance. A horrible vengeance too, might I add. I'm hacking and coughing and nothing's coming up, which kinda sucks because all over-the-counter cough medicines have no proven effect to help these kinda coughs. Go look it up if you don't believe me. Wet coughs are less of a problem, but these dry coughs aren't going anywhere soon. Gah.

That aside, I've only got a few weeks more till the exams. It doesn't feel like it was that long ago when I was sitting for 4 exams. This kinda sucks. I'm so behind in everything too...

I should get going. I'll write again.

AUES Ball 09

That was one hell of an epic ball. I truly loved every moment of it, well at least every moment I could remember. The memories get really incoherent at some point. I vaguely remember the photos, but man I was drunk. Meh, so was everyone else around me anyway.

The theme was "Land of the Rising Sun", which would obviously explain why Iain had the uhm, thing on. I can't remember what it's called, you know the stuff you wear to 'matsuri' during the summertime. Here's a picture for effect:

There were quite a lot of pictures taken that night, over 190 or so. I'm just going to add a few to this blog, but the rest are up on Facebook if you're curious. The following photos are not arranged in chronological order.

Me, Timmy and Simon. I like this picture quite a lot, although there were like 3 other photos that looked like this because the camera didn't like us. It's most obviously my profile picture as well.

Here's me and a glass of wine. I forget to mention that I switched to red wine at some point, and it got spilled over my shirt. Which is now proving really difficult to remove. Grr... I need to find some stain remover.

I just realised Iain reminds me a little of the dude from Empire of the Sun. You know, the one that did "Walking on a Dream". Kinda random, but yeah.

Me and Timmy.

I don't even remember this one.

And then it was over far too quickly. But me and Mel are going to the Med Ball this coming weekend! The party lives on!

Obviously I was hungover the next day. Everyone knows how the rest of that goes. I took a mega cat-nap from 4 till 7 as well. Pretty mean, since I'm feeling better now. Well, one more week before the mid-semester break! YEAH!

Stuff is like, exploding.

Literally. I mean, I've had pretty much no rest in between the mountain-load of assignments, lab reports, project and just trying to fit only 3 days of gym. I get so tired so quickly too, I've actually taken to having 20 minute long naps on the bus, which I'd prefer not to do.

The ball's tomorrow night!! I'm excited, because it's a destress opportunity. Who wouldn't be? Plus, I'm also going to the Med Ball next week as Malcolm's man date. Fun fun times indeed. I can't wait for that one too, since I expect there will be some interesting people to meet there too. By interesting I, of course, mean hot.

I had a discussion with Richie a few days back, and we inferred that I'm becoming quite... I suppose arrogant would be a way to put it, except that I'm not arrogant. I just behave like I lack a lot of humility due to an overblown ego. Heh. Something like that. I still know my limits, but at the moment I don't think I can be bothered taking people seriously, so... I mean hey, I'm going clinically insane at this rate, at least it's not being expressed in horrible ways. Right?

There's so many 21sts this year it's not even funny. I'm going to run severely short on cash really quickly. Plus, with so many 21sts clashing on the same night, I'm being made to pick and choose, because there's just no way I can manage going to multiple. I feel it would be a little rude to show up and leave before speeches.

Whatever, yeah? I've got to get going. Gym, then bloody university work. Woohoo!

P/S: I have no idea if Lionel reads this, but your post with the piano video for luring girls into your trap was funny. Good luck with that yeah? =P

Awesomeness

I just realised this blog has been dying on me, just a little. Thought I'd take some time off my assignments and dwell on the past few weeks. It's just been a whirlwind and all, really. I mean, the holidays, the Stein, Marcel's 21st... Assignments... And I get my project tomorrow too. It's gonna be sooooooooo busy.

The Stein was pretty meh really, it was rather tame for some reason I couldn't quite put my finger on. Place was awesome, but I think people having pint glasses made it a bit more of a civilised affair (which ain't fun for a Stein), and there was something odd about the dance floors. Just kinda strange. I mean, me not drinking much that night (just 4 pints or so) might have helped, but I dunno. Strangely disappointing, and I wasn't the only one who thought so. On the other hand, I saw heaps of my former classmates from high school. Kinda surreal really.

Marcel's 21st went kinda funnily. I started out deciding I'd actually not drink, which made sense since it was BYO. Then an hour in, I decided that everyone around me was drinking and I wanted one. So across the road I went to a liquor store and bought a bottle of wine. Just one bottle too (I'm proud of myself). Which I then finished. Oh, not that quickly, mind you. I'm not an alcoholic after all =P Maybe like... an hour? I reckon that was fairly slow. There was this really drunk guy who was dancing and stuff, and he knew the whole YMCA dance. Kinda amusing. A huge amount of the songs there were like blasts from the past. Nice in a way too.

But yeah, the next thing coming up is the ball, although that isn't for two weeks. Kinda looking forward to it because it would be a bit of a breather from all this work. I really want to scream, and the semester is already 1/4 of the way in. Argh!

I haven't caught up with Richie in a while... Maybe I should...

Speaking of which, I finally started going back to the gym again (during the holidays)... And I gained a little more weight (which I'm attributing to my legs, I think). I now weigh 69 kg's. Not sure that it's a significant gain for my goals, but it's progress. Although my back (cursed weakness) is getting in the way of me doing heavier deadlifts. I keep failing miserably because it becomes tough to keep it straight. Ah well, I have a while if I keep going at it. I think I should reach my body weight, upper-body wise in the next 8 weeks or so.

Another thing I can hardly understand is why people think I'm out there to get all big and stuff. I'm not, really. My body type isn't really suited for this, I'm more of the lean sort. It's easier for me to get stronger than it is for me to get bigger. Provided I do this properly, size should come as a side effect anyway, and I'm not too fussed about it, so long as I don't get ridiculous. I should really watch my technique with the exercises though, I can see myself slipping with some of them (wrists not perfect, back not straight) occasionally. Not that it's too severe, since I stop myself, but it's an annoying impedance.

I really should be getting ready for bed. Then, a whole day of work tomorrow for me. There is no rest for the wicked.

A Quick Update

I realise I haven't actually written here for a while, but I have been pretty busy with attempting to readjust to the university schedule, which includes the pain of having to adhere to a different sleeping plan.

The semester is going quite well actually, with the exception of getting shafted with an assignment pretty much in the first week (which I still am slowly working through), and another assignment this week (which I've thankfully finished). Just managed to get a bit of breather for the moment, so I thought I'd write here.

As I expected, some classes that I'm required to take will always be dull and uninteresting. I recently discovered via a psychology article that we apparently are capable of convincing ourselves that something inherently boring can be thought of as interesting. I'm going to go with that and say that I will eventually find within myself some appreciation for the boring boring classes.

We had a PhD student from MIT coming over to give a mini-seminar on his work. It was pretty much his take on creating a bio-inspired mechanical device. In other words, he wants to create a robotic bird with a motor system that has similar output statistics as bird muscle. He seems pretty confident about it, so I'll take his word for it. I find his talk of arrays of permanent magnets (all highly technical for just a simple bloke like me) too confusing.

As an aside, the 3rd Stein of the year is on tomorrow! I'm pretty keen, although a little apprehensive (and unsure) on what to do for the theme: Man vs Wild. I mean, yeah it's easy... but I'm reluctant to be left cold (due to the fact that it's still pretty darn chilly at night here), plus.... I lack "wild" clothing, or any safari clothing... I'm simply not sure dropping more than $50 on a whole set of clothes I will NEVER wear again would work. Meh, I'll think of something... Maybe... Or I could just find some leaves and make a hat =P. The cheap and uninspired way.

I'm thinking I'm probably making a foolish, foolish mistake not going to the gym today... I was technically feeling a little under the weather, but... hm. I can't help but feel a little guilty. Ah well. I'll be going regularly (bar sickness) pretty much come Saturday, so I guess it's not too much to worry bout.

Alright, break's over. Back to work, and then sleep. Later!

So...

Yes, I know that getting upset and mad at one result was a little silly, but I don't make any apologies. It was something I needed to let out of my system lest it fester. At any rate, it was frustrating to the utmost, particularly when it seemed to be telling me I didn't study enough when I actually did study a fair amount for it.

A period of rest does do wonders at dissipating my bitter resentment however. And besides, I have gym today with my trainer. There's much fun to be had all around. Joyous indeed.

I only have exactly one week of holidays left. It kinda sucks, I have so many things left to do: which mainly revolve around catching up with more of my mates, but still. Too little time! Plus, I still haven't had the time to go and see Bruno. Although I'm not quite sure if I want to. Ah well, I'll talk to Richie and see if he's keen. Anyway, I want closure from my results, so I'm going to request to have a copy of my exam scripts. See ya!

Ragequit

Fucking rage. I got my MEDSCI 205 mark back just today... WTF with a C+?! I sure as hell didn't see that one coming. The minimum mark I expected for myself was a B. I'm gonna get to the bottom of this. If they say I fucked up my essays and gave me sufficient reason, fine. Otherwise, they better have a fucking good reason, because I sure as hell am NOT a happy chappy.

So, I know I haven't been writing in a while, but I've been busy. Honest!

I've got two of my exam results back today... Let's just say Math sucked. I kinda predicted it, and I mean I kinda knew deep down before I took it that it might be a little risky taking the 4th year paper ahead of myself. Then exams came round and I was hard pressed to complete studying for it. I got a B- in the end. Yeah, I'm pretty gutted. Looking on the bright side though, at least it wasn't a C or something worse. Although, still pretty gutting.

Bio was a bit of a better situation, I got A; but not the A+ I was hoping for. Ah well. A's good enough I guess, considering that all the other biomedical engineers only had 4 days (like me) to study for it, I think I did pretty well. Still waiting on the other two subjects though.

Went to the gym for the first time in yonks on Monday, and again on Wednesday, because I'm such a sucker for pain and punishment. Monday was... fun... Let's just say that my trainer made me throw up water. At least it was 90 minutes after my meal, so most of that was gone. I'm still feeling the effects of Monday today... My chest and lats are sore as anything. Can't stretch my right side fully without feeling twinges in my chest. Ouch.

I kinda got bored yesterday, so I picked up a calligraphy pen and started practising. I'm getting better, but I'm still having trouble forming certain strokes. I think I have a natural tendency to curve the pen when drawing straight lines (with little hooks or sweeps at the end), so it distorts it. Not too bad though, just not too great either. Ah well.

Bought a Bill Granger cookbook. Not because I know who he is, but the cookbook did seem interesting, so I bought it. I suppose I'll try some of the recipes out and let you know if I find something nice, eh?

Alright, enough lazing around. I'm going to try see if this chest of mine is injured or just sore.

FREEDOM!

I've finally finished my exams. They went alright, I guess. Math was probably the worst one though, since I had the least time to prepare. I think I went alright for Bio and Physiology, I made up crap when I couldn't think of stuff, but it wasn't too bad so I think I'll get away with an B+ or A- for Physiology. Continuum went really well. Better than I expected. Although Math... let's just say it was akin to getting caught with pants down. Out of the 6 questions given (of which you have to choose 5), I could only do 4. To make matters worse, I can't be certain that I was absolutely correct for those questions. I got the nagging feeling that I introduced horrible horrible errors. I'd be lucky to get away with a B+ for that one I think. Disappointing, but 'tis the sad reality of it all.

But as with all post exam events, I went drinking. At Ange's with the rest of them. And goddamn, I got really drunk. I was there from 7 to 11-ish, and by 9 I was through about 2 bottles of wine already. Go figure, I woke up at 5am drunk. I suppose the benefit of that was just that I managed to get some painkillers, sugar, salt, minerals and heaps of water into my system before I woke up at 8:30. That actually alleviated the symptoms of my hangover, to the extent that I was feeling kinda good, although tired and slightly jetlagged by the time we met up at 11 to see Transformers 2. Fun times, that movie.

*SPOILERS FOLLOW* - not that it matters

It was a terrible movie to watch, but CG effects were like OMG. I particularly laughed at various cliches scattered through the film. And I especially laughed at Shia LaBeouf dying and going to heaven where God are the Primes.

Anyway, I'm glad I got the drinking bit out of my system. I had been wanting to get really drunk for some time now. Stress relief and all. Although I might have drunk a little too much, but meh. I'll live. And now time to enjoy the holidays!

I st-st-stuttered when...

Yes, it's not something I'm particularly happy with but I have "See You Again" stuck in my head. Yes, it's that Miley Cyrus song. Oh my god. Make it stop! Ever since someone played it at Kane's wine and cheese, I've been hearing it when I stop thinking for a while. ARGH!

That aside, studying's going horribly. I'm sick of learning stuff from Physiology. Also commented to a lecturer (with the ability to add input in Biomedical Engineering staff meetings) that it seemed slightly like a irrelevant subject, and he didn't quite agree but he did mention that the issue had been raised among a staff meeting. Hmm.

I should stop procrastinating again. But yes, it's stuck in my head!

"The last time we hang out, I will redeem myself
My heart won't rest till then..."

ARGH!

Just a little something

I've managed to procrastinate some more. This one is slightly productive though... I finally figured out image masks on Photoshop. Hehe, I know it's not hard, but I just never got around to it. So here's one of my attempts:

Pretty huh?

Study Break.

It's begun. My first exam starts in 2 weeks, giving me ample time to prepare. Unfortunately, I would need to prepare for all 4 of them, so it's not really that advantageous either. Last day of semester was as usual, fun. I bumped into Richie randomly again, and we had our mini-catchups. Then there was the EngSci barbecue! Hurrah! You know that free beer and sausages are always great.

On another note entirely, I somewhat filled that gap in my memory from last Friday. Suffice to say, I don't want to bring it up. It's rather embarassing, but I'm sure it's happened to some of us before too. =X

My camera still hasn't come in yet. WTF! I'm annoyed as hell, especially since I told them that I wanted it by Friday. It's now Saturday. Seriously, its like they're just out to get me and ruin some of my plans. It'd be great to have photographic evidence of mayhem courtesy of Iain Dunning. After all, it is his 21st tonight. Gah. Whatever. Idiots all.

I think I'll be a little productive today and get some work done. Later!

P/S: I found a recipe by Nigella Lawson which takes 24 hours to cook. Something like a slow roast pork shoulder. Sounds amazing though, and I'll have to say, I'm sorely tempted to try it out. Except that it serves 12, and there's no way I would be able to eat that. Well, even my family would be hard pressed. I suppose I could try it and serve it for lunch and dinner, yeah? If someone else is keen to try it out, lemme know how that goes!

Bad Idea

I'm not quite sure what possessed me to drink that much, but yeah, last night was not the smartest move I made. At least I got home alright, but I have no idea what happened towards the end of that night. Plus, I know I managed to rack up expenses of $200. Oh no. Only $30 of it went to food as well, so wtf?

Was at Shadz for quite a long time, 3-7ish, and had quite a few long island teas to begin with. That slowly progressed with me going to dinner at The Java Room. Nice food by the way, but I do believe I was drunk at dinner as well. Then we went to Deschlers' and then finally to the Flight Lounge. Hell, I don't even know why/when I left, but my fractured memories seem to be telling me that I just left like that and climbed into a cab. Not even sure if I said goodbye to the people I was with either. Weird. 

Yeah, plus I really don't remember how the cab got me home. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep. Whatever. Yeah, spent most of today just sleeping. Sleeping and sleeping. Damn.