Rage

Argh, I hate the retarded first-years. Alright, I guess I'm a first year myself, so I'll amend the statement slightly. I hate first-years that are retards, which happens to be at least 1/2 of the people in Engineering.

One of the retards managed to piss me off severely today. I was explaining to this guy the reason for using the square root of a number in determining if it was a prime number. Its quite logical anyway, but some people don't get it. That I don't mind. Anyway, its like this, in case you don't know: If you wish to find the factors of a certain number n, you'll only find non-corresponding factors (eg, 2 and 4 are corresponding factors of 8) up till its square root. That's also kind of obvious. So it'll make sense in programming to only search up to its square root instead of every single number, right?

Anyway, this random retard sitting at the same table decides to open his big mouth and say: "I think I disagree. That's not what its used for?", which severely annoyed me. Bear in mind that I've been already enduring retards who think they'll try and act smart and object when they don't even understand what they're on about.

So, I snapped. A little. I challenged him to tell me what the square root value was used for and to kindly tell me. Then he was all like: "Let me look at the program, I don't know it as well as you." Retard. I had only looked at it for less than 5 minutes before explaining it. You don't need to know the program. You only have to know what it means mathematically. So I sort of told him to come over and tell me when he found an answer, and I just sat with Jack and Rupert. The bloody idiot never came back. I hope he went crawling back to the hole he came from. Hope he fails to get into Civil, because retards like to pick Civil (since they think its easy), and I hope he gets kicked out of Engineering. Idiots like that shouldn't even be in Engineering in the first place.

Raged. Raged. Raged.

Oh. In other news, I got 47/50 for my CHEMMAT test. And I did pretty shit in my Philosophy test. My preliminary mark was 49%. Which is just galling. I'm sending it back for a remark, considering I think some of my points were right.

Rumour has it...

I'm with a lot of guys apparently. So says Samin. I forgot about this, but he said it while we were waiting around on the concert floor for Linkin Park. I believe his friends were talking about Richard to me, and Samin apparently had still not met Richard. To which one of them said: "Haven't you met Richard? He's the guy Gabriel hangs around with sometimes at the study area." Samin's reply was loud and mortifying for me. "Man, Gabriel's with a lot of guys." Eek.

I didn't know I was that much of a player. And that being with the guys. Who would have thought that. Wow, gosh. And yes, I got a lot of stares from the surrounding people right after he said that. Ah well. Good thing I managed to not blush.

I've lost my voice...

I'm pretty sure its just a temporary thing. And well, I can still talk, but its completely hoarse and stuff. Too much screaming last night at Linkin Park, heh. It wasn't as bad as I thought it'd have been, and well... the mosh pit that wasn't supposed to be a mosh pit became one anyway. I'm suprised I actually managed to last the whole way over there... Although I did get drenched in my own sweat, and I found someone's blood on my jumper... Ah well. It was all fun.

I wonder if they'll be coming back again.

My only problem would have been the horrible fat girls. They're evil bitches, those girls. They just push and elbow everyone, and if you give them a nasty look, they shrug it off like: "Yeah what, I'm fat, can't help pushing everyone", when they're actually actively pushing people to get to the front. Stupid idiots. The worst one was when people starting a push-o-war over at our side of the pit. I swear I got squashed so many times. And the ironic thing was it was completely tranquil over at the other side of the mosh-pit. Unfair.

Back to sleep for me then. Only 1 more week of lectures left!

Thunder rumbled, and the wind howled ominously. Rain mercilessly poured down in torrents. Like little pebbles they fell, hard and fast. Trees groaned under the unforgiving torment. The dark and oppressive clouds hid the sky and sun. Not a soul could be seen wandering the streets, save for the woman in the black dress.

Purpose and determination marked her every stride as she struggled with the storm. She was once stunning, beautiful beyond compare. Now, age had worn at her, but old remnants of the beauty could still be seen. Her dress was plain, and she had no adornments except for a silver necklace with a little jade pendant.

Finally, she reached her destination, a little cottage with a pine tree. The front door was locked, but locked doors were no impediment to her, and she let herself in with ease. The interior was dark, and had an old, musty smell to it. A voice, a man's voice came from a dark corner.

"So you did come."

"It's time you told me the truth."

Old and New Memories

How strange. I was waiting for the bus today when I suddenly remembered this one time back in Preschool at Lodge. This one dude taught me to tie my shoelaces. Or maybe he did it for me, even. Funny thing is, I can't remember his name anymore. It was probably either Stephen or Clinton. I wonder if anyone remembers who he is. Come to think of it, I wonder if he even remembers any of us. I don't remember him being in our school after like our 2nd preschool year...

I've realised that I really enjoy meeting new people. Got to know some dude called Jeff, and a whole bunch of other people. I still don't know who Angry American is. Alright, fine... I don't even know if he's American in the first place, but he looks American, and he certainly looks angry. Fine, he looks like he's brooding. There's also another angry American apparently. Well, at least Iain thinks she's angry. She's definitely American though, heh.

Finished my C Project. I couldn't do the one I wanted to do, so I just reverted to the "old" one that everyone is expected to do. Completed it in 2 hours even, it was that easy. I really wish I knew what was wrong with the one I was doing though. It's such good work too, and it took me 10 hours to write it all up. If only I could figure out why its screwing me up...

OASIS test this Friday, and I still need to start studying. Come to think of it, I need to start studying for everything, especially Electrical. I've got transistors and OPAMPs to cover, plus revision on everything (I seem to have forgotten induction already).

Somehow, Alastair calling me Damian seems to have spread. I'm getting called Damian randomly by Rupert and David.... and Sara... and.... oh dear, quite a lot of people. Luckily not everyone. Its a good thing to have several circles that I hang around in, I guess.

Good job France. Your rugby team has just sent the whole nation of New Zealand into mourning, apparently. So says the NZ news at 6pm on TV3. What an absolute pile of crock. Well, I guess people may be mourning and all, but this isn't deserving of news.

OASIS test this Friday. Linkin Park this Friday. C Project due next Monday. ><>

I hope I did well in CHEMMAT and ELECTENG. I wanna get the marks back already, dammit.

Programming Pains

I reckon I did well for the Electrical test today. So long as I didn't screw up my explanation questions, that is. Sigh, its problematic though. I've got to finish that horrible poster by Thursday, which is so very incidentally when my CHEMMAT test is. Not to mention I need to make a start on my programming project.

ARGH! Its so hard to code for a priority queue using a binary heap in C. If anyone can do it, please feel free to pass me your code / instruct me.

Heh. I can't believe Richard did the project though. Not that he did it the way I'm doing mine. He just solved his the standard way: ie, the way the class will be doing it. But still, he did it incredibly quick. One afternoon if I recall correctly. Crazy dude...

Apparently Alastair goes roly-polying with the rest of his classmates from Kings. I heard this from Jack, who mentioned seeing Alastair with a clump of grass hanging off his elbow on Friday. To which it was explained as him and his friends roly-polying around into each other at Albert Park. I must say, it is a strange pastime to be had. So that must be what Kings people are like...

Alright, I gotta get some sleep. All that waiting around for the test to start today, and getting soaked by rain wasn't pleasant at all.

My week in short: Study, sleep, study. Yes, really. I managed to do my presentation today, which was by far the SHORTEST in my peer group. Honestly, you'd think that people would learn that in a company presentation (which we were simulating), they'd learn that stuffing in everything would be too much detail, but no..... Which led to 11 repeats, other than myself, of hearing the same boring shit for 5 minutes per person. It'd probably have been longer too, if it weren't for the 5 minute restriction.

Well, that's done now, and I've only got two tests to prepare for.

Oh, the crazy Mechatronics AP students (ie: first years who do second year) were seriously considering doing a robot wars thing. You know, like the ones you see on TV and all... Of course, it'll be limited for them, due to them sourcing the cash, and well, the limited time, but... I'd like to see what they come up with. Hah. One of them was going to use a reciprocating drill. Any engineers reading this, you should attempt the same thing in your campus too. Maybe you'll have lots of fun. Just implement good rules, k?

If you haven't read "i like cheese" on Lionel's blog, read it now! Read it, read it, read it...

Putting that thought aside, I suppose life can be likened to a great many things that we see everyday. The only thing that affects you in your deciding a good representative is which example you'd prefer more. After all, life is so full of variety, and the comparisons are in abundance as well.

As for me, I like chocolates. Why? I could say its only because of the bittersweet ones. Its always good to be reminded of some things in life, and to better appreciate them this way.

Can't say that I have something I could liken life to though. I don't think there's anything I feel that strongly about to liken it to life.

Spotted on last year's CHEMMAT 121 test. This question was worth 1 mark out of 50... or a total of 0.2% out of 10% for the final mark. And here it is:

Choose ONE option from the following that you think would improve the quality of your learning experience in the CHEMMAT 121 course:

(A) Have at least one spectacular materials ‘breaking’ demonstration in each lecture.

(B) Have all lectures consist of endless materials ‘breaking’ demonstrations.

(C) Have the University purchase a 4^th castor wheel for the OHP stand in B15.

(D) Have the first lecture slot commence at 6 am rather than 8 am.

(E) Have lecture room ‘sleepovers’ to avoid early morning commuter/transport problems.

(F) Have manufacturers of OHP pens invent a pen with a tip size intermediate between the large and fine tips currently available.

(G) None of the above.

Lol.

Free! for the weekend at least...

What a relief! I managed to finish my report last night and get it printed today and submitted. I'm happy... But tired... I've been getting 6 hours of sleep max every night ever since lectures started again. I really should just go to bed early before I fall sick again. Sigh...

Heh, it was a good thing I checked my report with both Jack and Rich, who informed me that I needed more than a title for my report's cover page. Which caused me to retype my title page after CHEMMAT. Then I followed Rich over to UG4 in Electrical, whilst he did his work, and whilst I bummed around.

And oh, he got 50/50 for his CHEMMAT test. Damn him. I'll beat him next time... Sigh, I've got my Philosophy test worth 30% next Friday again. It seems there is no rest for the wicked... Study, study, study. What a pain. I'm gonna have a rest. Night to you all.

P/S: I got my MATLAB project and electrical test marks back... Full marks for MATLAB (12%/12%)!!! And... well... 36/40 (9%/10%) for electrical. =( Stupid careless mistakes...

I knew it. I got 49 for my CHEMMAT test, for a grand score of 98%. *sniff* And I almost got 100%!!! 5 people beat me!!! Noooo! Lol, fine, I'm quite stoked about it. Happy now?

Heh, I skived off doing my report for quite a few days now... Finally finished watching the Tsubasa Chronicles series. It was slow to start, and had too many fillers at the end, but otherwise, it was one great series. I guess its a matter of choice, really. I really like it for the bittersweet situations, because thats one of those things that intrigue me. I also liked the almost lazy atmosphere sometimes present throughout. Heh, I guess I am a little strange.

Sigh, I really should get going with my work. I have exactly a week to finish the report. Alright, off to do it then. Speaking of which, "The song of storm and fire" composed by Kaijura Yuki for Tsubasa Chronicle is quite a good one too. I have no certainty on what language its meant to be. It sounds like it has its roots in Latin-based language, but it could be gibberish for all I know.

Well, I'll see you round then.

the holidays

My holidays... Its all been a whirl for me. One week gone, one week left. And all I've been doing is this: sleep, eat, gym. More or less. All my interactions for this week took place in the gym, so you could literally say that my life was subsumed by the gym, of sorts. Heh.

I met another Richard, who was climbing a, uhm... I don't know what to call it, a step-ladder sorta thing, I guess. You can only reach it with your hands though, and it's at a slight incline. I do believe you try and climb it, with obviously arm strength. I managed to climb it at least 1/2 of the way without reaching out and grabbing, ie. sorta letting go and grabbing the next highest one with just hands. Richard managed the whole thing, and he started showing off even. The ass.

Oh, yeah, met Richard (uhm, yet another Richard, the one from Engineering) today at gym again. Yes, I went to gym heaps this week... Probably 5 days in this week, though Rich's been more than me, like 5 or 6... hang on, 5 would be the same. Never mind that. Apparently he's started playing Final Fantasy 8 sometime ago... Wait a minute, I'm sure he told me that before too, now that I think of it. Ah well, getting pretty forgetful myself. Heh, FF8 was quite a fun game, if memory serves. I even met another guy I'm pretty sure I know, but whose name I couldn't remember. What made matters worse was that he actually did know my name, putting me to severe shame. I should really try and make a better effort at remembering people's names.

I still need to do my holiday assignment, worth 25%. Which is... a bloody report... Can you believe that Richard's already done it? And he said it was quite an enjoyable one too. Sometimes, just sometimes, I wanna strangle him =P lol....

I'm tired. And sore. I think I'll go to bed early. Oh, the Bioshock crack is out. Hehe, its an awesome game. And the crack's working pretty well, I'll say. I'm downloading the 52 episodes to Tsubasa Chronicle. Awesome manga, though I have yet to see the anime. But I hear its awesome too. Can't wait.

Another one I was thinking of trying out is Code Geass. I hear its a pretty decent series. Alright, ciao~

Truth be told...

Truth be told, I'm sick of this. Sick of you. No matter how much I try, I see you everywhere. You're inescapable, even if you don't know it. And as sick as I am of you, I can't help but feel a little down when I don't see you. Nor can I help brightening up a little when I see you. You see, you're like an addiction to me. The embodiment of my paradoxical feelings.

When did it all begin, I wouldn't know. Perhaps it was from the first day I met you. Perhaps it was later. I stopped caring since, I'm just waiting for the day when I'll be free. Perhaps my freedom will only come when I tell you. But that I cannot do. Some things should just never be told. Especially since I wouldn't want to devastate you, or trouble you. Rather than liberating myself at your expense, I'd rather see you happy and carefree, unknowing as we pass through the seasons of life.

I once thought it was merely a shallow thing, a physical infatuation. So I waited. But then I started seeing other things to you. And I was entranced.

All things in this world are governed by the flow of time. It might be so that, with time, I'll forget. Just as you may forget that once, I was a fellow student in a little campus in a little country with you, dreaming of a future where we were someplace else.

So, because I don't know when this will end, I shall say goodbye in advance. That way, I would never have to bid you farewell. Be successful in the path you choose, a leader with great power.

Here's a slogan spotted on an Abercrombie & Fitch t-shirt:

Sex Without Love Is Just Exercise.

Lol

Call me Damien...

That's right... My real name has been suppressed by Alastair, who decided that I looked more like a Damien than a Gabriel. He started calling me that since... Ah well.

My CHEMMAT test went well I think. I made one mistake out of the 50 questions, which kinda irks me, only because I could have gotten that right if I punched in the numbers into my calculator properly... Sigh... ah well, 98% is something I can live with I think. Same goes for my MATLAB test... I read the question wrong and picked the wrong answer, getting me 4.67 out of 5... Grr....

Engineering is such a small place sometimes. I met Henry, the current president of TANSA, which stands for some Taiwanese student association (I have no idea where the other A and N came from). It turns out he's in second year, doing Engineering Science. Which means he knows uhh, whats her name.... Uhm, Yun Mui's younger sister in Engineering Science.
Henry's girlfriend is in like 1st year Pharmacy, and I got to tell her a lot of random stuff about her study path. Such as... her subsequent exile to the hospital campus, Grafton from second year onwards. The joys of pharmacy workshop practice, and the pains of going through pharmacology, ethics and many more papers. Muahahaha. And of course, telling her that she should have done Optometry since optometrists earn much more than pharmacists.

You know something though... I actually didn't have to go to campus today, considering that I skipped out on my only lecture for the day, which was apparently really, really, dull and easy anyway. Ah well, that'll probably be the only time I skipped this lecture. I had fun today besides.

If any of you have free time, check out Weird Al Yankovic's Polkarama on YouTube. Its really great. Its a medley of his parodies on songs.

Dan's

Wow, what a busy night. Went to Dan's at 1:30 to meet up before heading off to mini-golf. Ended up helping him set up the spare house for the party, moving couches, the TV, the barbecue, a table and chairs, and so on. Well, Chris came along halfway so he did a fair amount of it too.

Mini-golf was actually fun. I met one of Dan's old mates Gary, who's pretty cool. Me, JiWin, Tim, Jason (Jason Michael), Alex, Chris and of course Dan played mini-golf, since the rest were catching the school rugby game and stuff at the time. It was pretty fun, I'll say. I didn't do too badly, considering it was my first time with mini-golf. We all managed to hit the ball out of the preset course several times. JiWin was superb at that... He managed to hit one that flew right past Chris, narrowly missing his face, and it got lost in some really thick bushes. All good, we found another one in some other bushes nearby... Heh, I think everyone loses their golf balls in the bushes. Alex broke his putter as well. How he did it I have no idea... But aside from that, it was all good...

Unfortunately for us, it was raining the whole time, and the rain didn't seem to be letting up either. Yes, we did play mini-golf in the rain. Still good though, even though whacking the ball around was slightly harder. Considering that no one would be insane enough to be sitting outside in raining weather, we got the barbecue fired up and started bringing cooked food into the house. It was around this time that Adil, Malcolm, Roberto, and Jason (Drake) showed up. Tim had to go back early, sadly... And we definitely had waaaaay too much beer. Aside from Dan's 40 or more beers, I bought another 15, and Gary bought 12... And we had a few people who were driving, and a few who weren't drinkers... So... well yeah, we had tons of beer, needless to say.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself though, even though I can't say I remember what I was doing. I do remember playing poker, then cards, till like 4:30 in the morning... And well yeah, I only got two hours of sleep this morning. I couldn't get back to sleep, made a bit of noise shuffling through the house and woke up Roberto. I think after that I pretty much woke up Chris, then Dan woke up too. Ah well... We were all sleepy. And we all cleaned up, the hardworking people that we are... And we still had uhm... 20 or so bottles of beer left over... So I say that was a pretty decent effort on our part, we reduced it by two-thirds. And I had a bottle of Jagermeister, which I only had a shot or two of before it mysteriously vanished. According to Dan, it was finished... I had no such recollection of it being finished... But ah well...

Considering it was Dan's 18th (well, an informal one), I would have thought people got him presents. Only me, Malcolm, Adil, and JiWin got him stuff though. I got him an Abercrombie a& Fitch shirt (which I wanted for myself, but ah well...), and Malc and JiWin gave cash, more or less. Adil gave him a hockey ball. Apparently its an inhouse joke that Dan steals hockey balls from the other schools during matches, and they always end up with more balls than they started with. Oh dear...

I'm sorta sleepy, hence the really rushed post. And well, I need to get back to studying for my CHEMMAT test, which is... tomorrow. Same goes for my MATLAB test. Wish me luck... I think I'll crash now...

palabras de elogio

Hehe, I got complimented for my coat again. It seems everyone who sees me in my coat starts complimenting it for some reason. Along with my scarf, if I do decide to wear it. Which I did today, since it was all windy and wet and cold. Not that I'm about to get a case of overblown ego from this, but it is nice to be praised once in a while.

Studying for the tests are going along nicely I guess. Dan's birthday party is coming up soon, this weekend... So I think I should really get him a gift tomorrow. And probably contribute to the alcohol stockpile =D

I need sleep... Been getting like 5-6 hours every single day for the past week. Night...

Argh!

I've got three tests next week!!! That's 3/5's of my subjects!!! *panics* Uhm, yeah... Aside from that...

I had quite a bit of fun today, ended up only going for an Electrical lecture and that was it. Short and simple, although the lecture was putting me to sleep. We were learning number systems. You know, binary, octal, hexadecimal, and decimal. The joy... It was more than enough to make me stop paying attention and nearly fall asleep. I resorted to attempt poking Alastair with my pen, which he effectively countered by snatching my pen off me. And putting it into his empty water bottle, and it got my pen slightly wet... =( Evil.

But ah well, 'twas all good. I later used him to jump the queue for sushi during lunchtime. Hehe. Then I left to go to Dan's. Oh yes, its his 18th today. I even went with him to Dressmart to find him a pair of shades. I don't remember what sort of shades we got him. I don't wear them anyway, I think I look like an idiot with them. And I even got myself another shirt from Hollister. Well, yeah, since I wanted another one of the exact long sleeve that I had, just a different colour.

We even went to Pak n' Save to get some beer for this coming Saturday. Somehow I don't think we have enough, so I might just go and get some spirits to supplement it. Wouldn't want a party where we have enough of everything but alcohol eh? I should be getting back to study.... There's just way too much to get done now. I should get sorted for iron-carbon phase diagrams tonight, hopefully...

Alone at the windowsill,

With my chin resting on my hand.

I watch the rain that doesn't stop.

I'm all alone by myself today.

Ah, its rather mysterious.

Just remembering about it,

Makes me a kind person

Its just like honey,

That spreads sweetly in warm milk.

That smile melts my heart,

Yes, its my prized honey.

"HONEY - Chihiro"

Have you heard "Painter Song" by Norah Jones? Its an awesome song. I don't know why, but I like it so much.

If I were a painter
I would paint my reverie
If that's the only way for you to be with me

We'd be there together
Just like we used to be
Underneath the swirling skies for all to see

And I'm dreaming of a place
Where I could see your face
And I think my brush would take me there
But only...

If I were a painter
And could paint a memory
I'd climb inside the swirling skies to be with you
I'd climb inside the skies to be with you

Hah, so many random things happened today, I'm actually having trouble coming up with a post name for it all. I started my day by snoozing for 30 full minutes, which resulted in me missing my shower and breakfast. Damn. Well, I did wash my hair at least so it wouldn't feel like a dead weight, but I had to rush... Then I got to campus 20 minutes early. Irony indeed. I might as well have eaten breakfast before leaving. Oh well, I decided that I'd get a latte and breakfast anyway. So off I went to POD cafe, when well, I saw this dude studying off the ELECTENG 101 coursenotes. Well, wouldn't have been anything out of the ordinary, but he seemed a little older than most first years to be studying that. So well, yeah, I was waiting on coffee and breakfast, so I stared. Discreetly.

Apparently not too discreetly, since he looked up after a while, and I got caught unawares. And then he greeted me with a nod. I was kinda freaked after that, and just left for philosophy. Haha, all good though, I figured out who he was 5 minutes after when another one of my mates greeted him. Apparently, yes he's like 25 and doing Engineering, after doing a Philosophy degree. Talk about random. And oh, his name is James. We did end up talking later in the afternoon just before I left, and he apparently did a Health Science degree too. Insane...

Anyway, point aside. Philosophy was dull, dull, dull. Apart from a random clip which was used to show how the argument that was presented could be contradicted by using another example. Our argument was that the woman said she would not leave her pet behind if it was feeling peekish. Our counter-example was that a lolly monster (yes, a lolly monster) could come and take her away. And they actually did play a video clip of that. Sadly, it was just a man in some weird costume and mask dragging off the woman, but still, it was pretty hilarious. I did leave after about 1.5 hours, since well... 2 hours of PHIL back to back, well, yeah, you get the picture.

Met up with Richard, Alastair and Rupert just before CHEMMAT, and so we all sat together. David came a little later, but well, the lecture hall was really full, so he was sitting at the aisles. (Yup, we had two streams of CHEMMAT, but a lot of the people assigned to the earlier stream for 8am always come to our stream, the retards.) Not much happened, with a few exceptions:

• Alastair got his highlighter, an orange one, and made a nice fat stripe on Rupert's cheek, causing Rupert to rub his face furiously in an effort to get it off.
• Rupert took paper off Alastair and tore it into little bits, you know, confetti-like, then subtly placed them on David's hair.
• Rupert asked me for confirmation that there were no orange marks on his cheek. I couldn't tell, since his cheek was already reddish then, and he threatened to hurt me if marks were there. Alastair said he'd protect me though =P
• David figured out that a multitude of little bits of paper were nesting themselves comfortably in his hair when he tried to scratch his head. He was not pleased, I think.
• I got reminded of what the lecturer was talking about, little granules of the strengthening alloy phase being likened to little pieces of paper. Then I realised how nerdish I was.
  

I don't think much happened in the lecture after, ELECTENG. I think my brain turned off. At some point later, however, I was in the computer labs helping someone do their MATLAB project. Or rather, I got roped into it. At first, I thought it'd be a quick thing, so I sat on the desk and leaned back till I could see the monitor/type, if you get the gist of it. Eventually Richard came along, and told me to stop posing. I then told him to stop staring. Then he started talking to, uhh, I forgot his name. I then borrowed his CHEMMAT textbook of him, and nearly forgot to return it to him when he was leaving. Or rather, I completely forgot, and he was asking me for it. Whoops.

Did I mention that Bizzy, Busy, (its a nickname, so I have no idea how he wants it spelt) has this odd tendency to tell me strange things? Such as, "I love you, Gabriel". Yeah, he told me that like everytime I met him, which I found amusing. Of course, I said stuff like: "Aww, love you too." Richard looked freaked out. I think he might be a little phobic. It would be fun if he was. Phobic people are fun to freak out. Its sad, but hell yeah, its fun. Which reminds me, there's a homophobic dude in first year, and well, everyone who knows him, or nearly everyone, enjoys making fun of him; either by hitting on him, or doing things of almost homo-erotic nature near him. Suffice to say, his reaction is amusing. Maybe we're just sad.

I fell asleep on the bus, twice, on the same bus ride. And I even nearly missed my stop. That would not be cool, but I am really tired. I would sleep now, but I've got to study for my PHIL test this Friday. Gah. At least I have no exams I guess.

I bleed it out, digging deeper just to throw it away.
I bleed it out, digging deeper just to throw it away.
I bleed it out, digging deeper just to throw it away,
Just to throw it away, just to throw it away.

OASIS test

Heh, I did my OASIS test today, and.... I got full marks! Yeah! Well, it was technically an online test, so it was very very easy to cheat, but I didn't cheat, one bit. Honest, cross my fingers. Well, I did get Richard to double check my answers, but I already did it on my own by then, so even if I submitted it, I'd have gotten everything right.

Speaking of Richard, yeah, I managed to drag him along with me during the test. Well, more like Bizzy (I can never remember his full name) was begging me to come along to help him, so Bizzy dragged me, and I dragged Richard. And then as soon as we got in, people started well, flooding me with requests for help. I then started to put my wonderful brain to use, and redirected them al to Richard. Muahaha! Well, Richard only ended up helping Bizzy, since he was obviously better than me at electrical, and I just checked that Bizzy was doing it right eventually. He got full marks anyway, for the record.

Oh yes, after I pointed out Richard to Melissa, she called him exactly what I call Rich in jest: "Genius". And he looked up! HAH! A conversation then proceeded like this:

Rich: Well, thats what he calls me all the time, eh?
Melissa: Oh, I'm sorry, I really didn't know your name anyway.
Me: His name's Richard by the way, but he likes being called genius.
Rich: You're a dick, Gabriel.
Me: Come on, Rich, you know you like being called that.
Rich: Yeah, I do.

Man, someone has a huge ego eh? Lol. That was random.

Made two new friends, well three today. I met, or rather, started chatting with Angela and Margaret during my workshop for my Technical Communication paper. They're pretty interesting for Civil engineers. (Yeah, I got dumped into a Civil engineering stream, since first years generally don't do a second year paper). We managed to finish all our work within one hour, which was all sweet. I also met Alistair after that, although I technically knew him by sight already through Rupert and Jack. He was doing his MATLAB project and also his design project. Apparently he knew Jamie too, and through Miles (mutual friend from school), and he met Miles randomly at a party. What a strange coincidence. And we're all in Engineering as well, heh.

I'm still feeling a lot like crap right now, but at least I'm kinda better already. Just weak, I guess, and my nose is blocked, and I have a sore throat. But otherwise, I'm pretty much alright. I'm a little behind in my MATLAB project eh? Some people already finished theirs, and I'm feeling competitive. Its already been out since Monday. So I want to be done with it as soon as possible, preferably by Wednesday, although that'll be a bit tough. I'm off now, ciao~

sick.

Spells of weakness. A sore neck, back, and shoulders. Skin that feels hot to the touch. Inability to solve simple problems. Lethargy.

Yes, I'm sick again. This is annoying. The worse time to get sick, with a test tomorrow, another test next week, and work piling up. I guess I did have it coming to me though, with overexerting myself with less than 6 hours of sleep on weeknights.

I'm off to catch some sleep. Perhaps I can squeeze in 11 hours tonight. Can't afford to miss out on my lab. Ciao~

Silence is golden, but I think its gonna kill me now.
Everything I've seen never seems to fail me now.
No one told me that the world could fall through, yeah.

In between this am I gonna find a way,
to defeat this living inside yesterday?
I'm alive I think its time to live like I am,
am I ever gonna find it,
am I ever gonna find it,
am I ever gonna find out?

Damn, I have no idea why this Lifehouse song is stuck in my head. My favourite song for the day.: "Am I Ever Gonna Find Out".

MATLAB project for Software Computation due in 2.5 weeks. PHIL 105 test in 10 days. OASIS test for ELECTENG 101 this Friday. All hail the end of my free time. All hail the end of my social life. I hate MATLAB. And back to practice OASIS problems. I don't hate you as much OASIS.

Random side-note: Yesterday, two chicks from Engineering were walking behind me, and they told me that I smelt nice. Yes. Apparently I did. Lol.

lost moments

One must wonder how the quickly time can pass. In a blink of the eye, the years pass, and events come to be. People, too, come and go, and sometimes in our rapid motion, we do not even pause to acknowledge them. We just step forward, and it all becomes a blur.

But yet, when we look back on these moments, only then do we realise the magic contained. If only we could pull ourselves back, so we could better appreciate the lost time. But time, that inexorable pull, draws us on, and we can do nothing but gaze upon lost opportunities.

But even through the regret, one must also realise that these moments are precious. Precious enough that someday we will look back and smile. Be it that those may have been times of great tension, strife, or laughter, like the axiom "a rose is a rose is a rose", we then only see how, happy or otherwise, it was a memory nevertheless, and such memories form a part of us.

As some say, however, to see the rainbow you must first have the rain. So endure we shall, and endure we must. Let us strengthen our resolve then, that we do not put to waste such treasured moments, that we do not let opportunities pass us by. Someday we will see the rainbow just over the horizon, and it shall become another memory in our hearts.


Haec Olim Meminisse Iuvabit
-"Perhaps, we'll look back at this and smile", Virgil-

Inland Empire

I'm pretty sure most people would never have heard of this movie, much less seen it. Its David Lynch's latest movie, and its seriously, to put it, some fucking weird shit. No kidding. Its like 3 hours of completely confusing stuff. I mean, I like Arthouse type movies and all, but this, is all just too much. Too many details, too many messages, and I particularly didn't understand the point. I think I stopped caring what it was about at some point, since it threw me offtrack every time I thought it started to make sense.

But hey, all good. I guess I need to expose myself to all this once in a while, and well, it was expected, considering it was a film by David Lynch after all.

Story...

I've just came across this short story, its a fantasy story. I must say, its one of the best stories I've actually read. So good that I'd actually recommend you read it. It comes from Karina Summer-Smith, and I found it from the SFWA Net Ring (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America). The story's called "An End to All Things" and the direct link to it is here.

Now, I have no idea if I'm breaking copyright laws, so if I am, just tell me, and I'll remove the link.

It has just come to my attention that I neglected to actually post up what happened at Shadows (you know, the pub where all the students hang out). Ah well, I'll try and see if I have enough time for today to post it. Actually, scratch that. I can't even remember much of it anyway, my memory's pretty hazy about it. I do know I got home in one piece, with two free T-shirts. Both of them re-orientation shirts, and one of which reads: "Someone once said that getting a degree is like brewing a great beer. We aren't sure why, but it seemed to make sense at the time." Got to get a shower and get things sorted, such as buying drinks and food to bring to a cocktail party tonight -_-".

But well, yeah. I must say I'm fully enjoying my first week, although I'm really tired. Only woke up at 1 today, for a grand total of.... 12 hours of sleep for the night. Yeah, thats like 2-3 times more than my usual during the week. I would have slept earlier but I was trying to get my tasks for next week's labs done in advance. And not to forget, I need to do the problem sheets for my other subjects. And some study has to be done. Wow, it feels crammed.

I'm pretty sure I'll be getting my MATLAB project (urghh, I hate MATLAB) sometime next week, or maybe the week after. At least I'm pretty sure it'll be easy, since I've already done MM2, and what's a first year MATLAB project in the face of a second year MATLAB project? Oh crap, I don't have my Philosophy course notes or workbook. Crap, how am I going to study for it? I'm already 2 lectures behind ><

It's going to be Richard's birthday next Wednesday. Heh, I wonder if I should get him something...

Ah crap, wasted enough time dallying already. I promise I'll blog about something more relevant when I have the time to actually post. Ciao.

Ughhhhh... I don't feel so good right now...

My head hurts. Not so much like New Year's, but I think I really flew off the handle, oops. Wrong cliche/idiom/whatever-the-hell-it-is. Uhm, yeah. I can't exactly remember how much I drank, but I estimate 3 or 4 jugs of beer and 3 Smirnoff blacks, for a total of at least 14 standard drinks last night. Ouch.

Well, I've got two free T-shirts for it. Oh god. And I'm woozy. Ah, the joys of re-orientation week in Shadows. The live band wasn't actually bad, but I think the opening band was better. Purely because I didn't like metal which degenerated completely to screaming. Maybe I'll post about it later. Got a really long day ahead of me, and I start in 1 hour's time. Gonna grab the Panadol and go.

Alright, before you start calling me a nerd. I found this extremely painful and cringe-inducing, but hey. It had its moments, especially when you understand most of these mathematical terms. Oh dear, what have I become. Its the story of "Pretty Little Polly Nomial and Curly Pi", which can be found here.

Prepare to start cringing you lot.

1st day back...

Alright, fine fine fine fine. I'm going to update the blog. Good call Lionel. I bet you're so happy now. Well, I guess its been awhile since I've last blogged.

I love going back to university and all, except for one little problem. Stupid lectures at 8am in the MORNING. YES, MORNING. (Which, really, is a damn shame.) I have to wake up at 6am in the morning just so I can take a long hot shower, because its so damn cold, and have enough time to fumble around in the dark, since its only 6AM IN THE MORNING; as well as eat some semblance of breakfast.

But, hey, I got there on time. And to start my day; was the most interesting discovery I made upon reaching my locker. MY LOCKER WAS BLOODY BROKEN INTO. Well, my padlock got completely twisted out of shape, like somebody attempted to wrench it or something (I'm guessing some pliers did the job), and someone even kindly dumped it inside my locker. And why my locker? WHY?! Its not like I have jewelry or limited edition textbooks which are worth $1000. Hell, I don't even have textbooks, since I'm too much of a cheapskate to buy them. (Don't need them anyway). Ah well, I'll just have to replace the lock I guess. This time with a really really THICK one. And here I thought everyone at Engineering was more than rich enough to afford their own lockers/books/pencils/formula book/paper.

Aside from that, lectures were actually fun, I daresay. Of course, ENGGEN 131 was a bore since they were going over multiplications in MATLAB. Which, in my humble opinion, is rather obvious. Like 5*3 is obviously 5 multiplied 3.

Oh my god, I'm thinking of actually switching my General Education (GE) paper to SPORTSCI 101: Myths & Fitness. Its so, uhm, interestingly educational? And they have heaps of lecturers, all of whom have multiple postgrads. I'm so impressed, I'm actually gushing. But I think I'll stick around and see what PHIL 105 is like... If its easy, then I'll stay. After all, free A+'s beat interesting, right?

CHEMMAT 121 was such a laugh. Our lecturer chose to take a sword (yes, a real one) as "a typical engineering specimen" for her illustrations of stress, strain and elasticity. Like: "Now, you wouldn't want this engineering specimen to bend too much when you attempt to stab someone with it" and so forth. She even brought two squash racquet's, one bent out of shape, the other snapped completely. She claimed it was due to her having issues of unhappiness with the said items during related games of squash. Oh god, she's got a good sense of humour, as well as a good sense of sarcasm, for an engineer. And our engineering lecturers are known to be lame and dull, so I think I'm in for some fun this semester.

I know this will sound really really sad, but I waited for Shadows to open at midday for 40 minutes. Yes, 40 minutes. Well, it wasn't my fault, really... There was nothing better to do for 3 hours, and Jamie suggested that we get a jug of beer (which turned out to be 3)... But hey, it was all good. I got into the ENGGEN 131 lab slightly tipsy. And I even managed to complete my lab work within half an hour!!! YAY!

Um, I think that's it for now... I'm like really tired, and grumpy because all I have tomorrow is a lecture, which wastes an hour or more of my life getting up and going to the lecture. Did I mention that I was bored? Oh... speaking of bored...

LIONEL UPDATE YOUR BLOG. DO IT, DO IT, DO IT.
FLAME HARRY POTTER SOME MORE!!!
JOIN THE FOOD FIGHT ON FACEBOOK!!!
START A WATER FIGHT! HELLS YEAH, WATER FIGHT!
200 POINTS FOR GETTING THE GUY IN THE SUIT!

Alright, ciao.

Yeah, 'twas a good day yesterday. I would normally have forgotten that my birthday was yesterday, but I got around to organising (albeit a little last minute) stuff to do with my friends, so it was, all in all, a fun day. I'm happy to spend my time with friends.

Lasertag at Ponsonby was good fun. I still suck heaps at it, but I'm getting better, I think. Or perhaps I'd like to think that, hehe. I definitely know that I did way worse the first time round... And I didn't even know half of the people I was playing with. Among the 15 of us (including myself), I only knew Mihailo, JiWin, Daniel, Chris, Allan, Carol, Laura, and Lily. Alright, fine. That's quite a few, considering its more than half of the 14. And I suppose I kinda knew Chen, since well, Carol got me and him talking to get this thing sorted. All good though, I basically ended up shooting anything that moved, even when it was my own team mate =P My bad...

Uhm, yeah. Dinner was a fun fun affair too. Gengy's is so totally worth it for like $21.95. Its all you can eat, and they cook it in front of you, Mongolian BBQ style. You even pick the seasoning, sauces and ingredients, etc. Fun, fun, fun. I definitely want to do that again. And oh, the dessert was pancakes with ice cream. Who could pass up on either pan cakes or ice cream? Gosh, and the sauces were fun to experiment with.

Strangely enough, I think Allan must have picked up something from Richard, even though I'm sure Allan's never seen Richard interact with me much. He decided to be rather mean (yes I hate you Allan =P) and called me a girl. I think it had something to do with him making a comparison between me and Laura and saying that she should shop more, etc. Considering that I do shop a lot... well, I guess it didn't help my case. Also, I guess the fact that I was the only guy who decided to wear a scarf, and well... Laura was wearing a scarf too... You get the point. And the jokes kept on rolling. Poor me, and it was my birthday even.

Oh well, I actually didn't mind. Its good to have a laugh at your own expense. And I did walk into some of the jokes. Silly me. Hehe.

I swear I must have gotten worse at bowling though. I remember playing 2 or so years ago, and I'm pretty certain I was NOT this horrible. I was awful. I got the ball into the gutter on so many occasions it became well, embarrassing. And to think the last time, I was actually not that bad, and could score well into the triple digit region by the end of every game. Ah well, I guess I've definitely showed them up when they say: "You can't completely forget how to play a game once you've learnt it". So there. I've not only forgotten it, but I've completely gone beyond forgetting to being utterly useless. They should let me play with the gutter-guards and that kiddish ramp. Hehe =P

Semester 1 Results Are OUT!!!

Yup! After a incessantly long and mundane period of time, I'm proud to say that I've finally got the results for my exam out. Well, I've been getting the results all through the week, but the last one came out today. I ended up getting an overall GPA of 6.75 (out of a maximum of 9), which is in between a B+ (6) and A- (7).

And the lowdown of the subjects:
ENGGEN 121: Mechanics A-
ENGSCI 211: Mathematical Modelling 2 A
ENGGEN 140: Biology & Chemistry A
ENGGEN 115: Design B-

Alright, I admit, I did screw up Design quite badly... at least 3 grades below my 2nd worst subject. But hey, at least I passed it within the B grade. A shame about BIOCHEM and MM2 though... I definitely know I could have gotten A+'s for both of them. And if I got one grade higher in any one subject, namely that bloody A+ for BIOCHEM... I would have gotten an overall GPA of 7... sigh.

Overall, I'd say I'm kinda happy with how things are going so far. Considering that I was too slack at the start, I think I managed to bounce back and pull through sufficiently well. All that remains is to tackle the second semester with the utmost of my ability, which should pretty much get me A-/A's, I should think. Oh wait, maybe not for ENGGEN 131: Software Computation.

The other thing that's got me confused is the ranking criteria for specialisation selection for Part II (second year). They say that they consider Part I academic results; but since I'm doing 9 subjects this year, 2 of which are from Part II itself, what then? Do they disregard them completely? I certainly hope not, since my MM2 results are partially holding up my GPA. Wouldn't want to fall behind.

Sadly though, I wouldn't be able to get anything more than an A- for my GPA for this year. Even if I get straight A+'s for next semester, my overall GPA would still be 7.8-ish... which is just a little shy of the 8 mark. Ah well.

Now I must say I'm quite impatient for the holidays to be over. I'm already bored enough with my holidays as it is. Perhaps I'll go get the course books next week and do a preemptive review of the subjects. Wow, I sound like a nerd already ><

I'd like to know... Why am I always the middle-man when it comes to some sort of issue with people liking others? No names here, it should be fairly obvious who you are if perchance, you stumble on my blog. But you know, you falling for her ain't helping matters.

Yes, I'm ranting. Yes, I shouldn't be, but why did you have to fall for her? You already knew she isn't going to be interested. I already hinted several times nicely. I said she's a heartbreaker in that she would not like you that way. After all, I know her well enough to say that. But you just had to didn't you?

Sigh, I guess I really can't blame you. You didn't really choose to be this way. But you're going to suffer a lot unless you get over her. And you're making it really difficult for her as well as yourself.

I shouldn't criticise you, especially when I'm in the same situation as you. Not the same person, and not exactly the same situation, but yeah well. Silly, ain't it?

Transformers: A Must-Watch

Yes. I never ever thought I'd be saying this, but Transformers is honestly AWESOME! Yeah, like the kind that makes you want to watch it again, and again. Come to think of it, I can't explain why, words fail me at this point. But its just great. Seriously. Do yourself a favour, and watch it now. DO IT.

You know, I was reading this magazine article, and I came across a mention of some crazy guy in the States who claims to be the Antichrist. So much so that he encourages his followers to tattoo "666" or their forearms. I wouldn't dismiss this straight up, though. He apparently is quite influential, although cult analysts are unsure how much of a "fad" he is at the moment. But most cults are dangerous anyway. It just pains me to see people do things like this.

I mean, I'm not the most fervent Christian, heck, I might as well be considered fully nominal religiously, but its a silly thing to do. Ah well, maybe something will happen to him along the way and it'll just be another stone tossed in the river.

I need help with picking out presents for guys. Well, I'm just out of ideas for cheap-ish presents.

Got to get stuff for Mihailo and Thomas, since, well, I forgot their birthdays. Both of which were like quite awhile ago. Tom's wasn't so bad, 1 June... but Mihailo's was like the 31 March... Heh... I'm so slack.

And I frankly can't think of anything that's a good gift. You know, something that isn't useless. Hmm.... suggestions anyone?

Exhaustion.

Well, yeah, you'd think that just because my exams are over, and my holidays have started, that I'd be having plenty of rest without feeling tired right?

Dead wrong. I'm so exhausted from going to the gym. I swear not one of my body is actually sore from doing only half of the required exercises. Sigh, I need to get myself in shape faster...

Apparently, the new gym programme that I got is a little bit too intense considering that I hadn't been doing much recently, according to another gym instructor. So he was advising that I reduce the number of sets I do from 5 to 3, then up it progressively in a few weeks time. I'll try following his advice.

Met Maxim again today, after meeting him yesterday at gym. He's good. Well, compared to me, he is. I have to work harder...

Napped for like 3 hours as soon as I got home from gym. Yeah I was really that tired. And finally got Halo 2 to install itself. Turns out I was doing something wrong all along, well, whatever. It works now, I think.

I've recently got the "Where You Lead" song stuck in my head. If no one can place it, its well-known as the Gilmore Girls opening credits song. Speaking of which, Gilmore Girls is finished. I only know 'cause my sister watches it every Sunday when they show it here, but its not a bad show. I found myself analyzing their story-telling techniques. They use a lot of symbolism, which I don't mind, and they have the occasional sarcastic humour, which is always a plus. Although sometimes they get too girly and mushy, which is well, only to be expected. So I still don't really like it that much. I'd rather watch House any day.

I really should get started on watching Heroes, but there's just so much to start with, I don't know if I can really be bothered with it...

Anyway, written enough for the moment I believe. See ya soon.

I'm free!

Yes! Exams are over, well... they were over for me since Wednesday, but I was too busy celebrating and all =P

Firstly, my exams were pretty good, I guess. Except for Design, as I expected. To be honest, it was horrible. For a two hour long exam that is easy in terms of work (I mean drawing, and regurgitating common sense, how hard is that?), you'd think that it was a breeze. But nooo, it wasn't... It was a nightmare. They gave way too much drawings, and while it was easy to regurgitate the writing bits, one of it involved doing a bloody MART (Multi-Attribute Rating Technique, don't ask, seriously, don't) which takes about half an hour, or 1/4 of the time allocated to you. And this was all for 10% of the exam mark. Honestly ridiculous. I only know of like less than 10 people who managed to finish the whole exam to its entirety in the time given. Even the genii like Richard and Alex got through 90%+ of the paper... I managed about 80% =( And I won't get 80% of it as well.

Ah well, the rest by comparison were alright. I didn't really like Mechanics, especially with 12 questions over 3 hours, or 15 minutes per question. The questions were easy, but when you can't figure it out initially and start to worry, like I did, you screw up a little. I did a question and crossed it out completely since it seemed so wrong, when I was doing it right. And I could have gotten partial credit too. Gah! Maths Modeling 2 was fun. I made some really dumb mistakes, like differentiating instead of integrating for my double integral, but I reckon I did everything else alright. Same goes for Biochem. I'm just galled that I made so many little mistakes because of sheer stupidity.

But enough of the exams. Its over, and I get 4 weeks of holiday!!! Well, officially I get 2, but I have "study leave", soooo.... HOLIDAYS!!!!! I even treated myself to a mini shopping spree. Went to ParisTexas and got myself a hoodie and sweater, and yeah, a few shirts. Maybe I'll go get myself that new fragrance, CK in2u as well...

Speaking of holidays, my holidays aren't going to be so fun since I, well, decided to remake my gym schedule. And well, my new one is the standard training regiment (mine before was a really relaxed one, but it probably did nothing for me), and I have to do it four times a week. Man, I'm going to be sooooo slaughtered by the end of each of those days.... Considering that I haven't been to gym for like 2 weeks now too.

I'm turning 18 soon! Well, a month from now, but still soon. Now I don't have to turn down invites from Ash to the pub. I've already turned him down like 4 times ever since I started talking to him 3 weeks ago. Practically just about every time I see him, in that sense.

Hehe, I'm a little tired now. I've worn myself out a gym today, and well... I only had 7 hours of sleep last night, when I should be having a big sleep-in... So, night!

That Maroon 5 song is quite an addictive one. You know, the one they call: "Makes Me Wonder"

I still don't have a reason,
and you don't have the time.
And it really makes me wonder,
if I ever gave a f**k about you and I...
And so this is goodbye.

Give me something to believe in,
'cause I don't believe in you anymore; anymore
I wonder if it makes a difference;
it even makes a difference to try.
And you told me how you're feeling
but I don't believe its true anymore; anymore.
I wonder if it makes a difference to cry.
So this is goodbye.

Yup, thats pretty much the bridge and chorus of the song. But I kinda liked it. So there.

At World's End... and G UNIT!!!!

Yeah! Saw pirates of the caribbean last Thurs, and it was great =D Although I only got back at like 1am the next day... ><>< I hope I don't fail the exam 'cause of that...

I only got up at like 11-ish, which was like 5 hours later than I normally woke up. Needless to say, it was good. Except that I was still tired, even at 3pm. I left for campus at like 12. Met up with Allan, Jamie, Miles, and Tommy. Then we just chilled for a bit before dispersing to our own things. Oh, did I mention that Jamie mixed this random song using one of our BioChem lecturer's voice? There was this quick video clip with her talking about bioenergy and biofuels, so it went like: "Hi, I'm Amy McLennan. Most of you may already know me as your BioChem lecturer, but I am also in... G UNIT." LOL. Needless to say it was quite funny, with bits like: "My name is.. my name is... my name is... Amy Mc - Mc -Mc Lennan." And other bits like: "bioenergy bio-bio energy RESPECT" Heh, alright, I admit that it'd have been funnier if you had her as a lecturer, and you could kind of tell where the mixes started and ended. But hey, Jamie did it when he was sick, and only spent 30 mins on it. Plus, it was his first attempt at such a thing. So, kudos to him =)

And then, I ran into Richard again. Man, considering we have no classes in common except Design and Maths, I still see him everywhere. ><>< Thats one hardcore dude. At least he didn't seem too wasted today. Except that I probably did.

Even ran into Eddie and Faith, and I haven't seen them for quite awhile. I guess Friday was the day to bump into everyone. Hmm, didn't bump into Matt. Ah well. Alright, I kinda have to get back to studying for Maths and others, especially Design and Mechanics. I got 32/40 for my last 121 test, which was only 1 mark above average. Sucky... although I'm doing well in 140, so I hope it all works out nicely. Ciao~

soon, real soon...

Yes! I finally finished my report, now all I have left are two assignments and the construction of my truss. I got my 140 project (Part 3) back too, and I got 48.5/50... which ain't too bad, but Allan beat me by 0.5... ALLAN BEAT ME BY 0.5!!!! ARGH! Yes, I can be competitive, especially with 140, since its the easiest subject for me.

Exams are coming up too soon. It feels too close for comfort, I think I'll start studying this Saturday when I'm feeling better rested.

And I'm still kinda stuck on Bic Runga's songs... Its not my fault that sometimes I feel that I can relate to the lyrics...

when love calls, how sudden the fall;
but falling is the easiest part...

I kinda missed out on my 121 lecture today. I felt too hungry, and I went with Matt (or Mat? I forget how these nicks go) to Subway for a quick breakfast... Mmm, that roast lamb sub is quite good. But now that's two Mechanics lectures I've missed already... Ah well, I'll just have to put in extra effort then. Sigh. I don't think I would have concentrated with those hunger pangs anyway...

I had a little bit of a chat with Matt too whilst waiting for 211/Maths to start. It appears that he has some stuff in common with me, as is expected, but otherwise we're very much different. We're both Asian, (wow, big obvious observation), and to some degree, we enjoy cooking/food preparation, and we like cheeses, and perhaps some other foods I can't remember... oh! That green curries. And the similarities end about there. He's athletic, I'm very much less so, he dislikes coffee, I love it. I would spend lots of money on clothes, or technology, he would spend it on getting a new bike. I can't imagine how a good bike would cost more than 5 grand.... ><>

Hmm, yeah I'm actually kinda bored right now, which is why I'm randomly cataloguing this. Oh, did I neglect to mention I already knew him, sorta, from last year? He was in my MAX course then (accelerated maths paper taken in college/uni). So yeah, then I met one of his friends, Ash (I think that's his name, I really can't remember), who I realized did MAX with us too... Strangely enough, he's one of those whites who seems to have a lot of Asian friends. Like almost as if he belongs in an Asian posse. Except that the Asian group in question is hardly Asian in personality... Uhm, its kinda hard to explain.

I can't believe I just devoted two paragraphs to this. I'm sorry to any readers who are rolling their eyes in frustration at this rather mundane post. I probably should actually go to sleep. Ciao~

if i had you...

Man, that song by Bic Runga (title above) can reflect my mood so much at times. Its making me so very wistful...

Sigh, I shouldn't be getting so down. Exams are coming up, I can't afford to falter now. But you know, when you're not sure if there's ever a possibility, and especially when it seems that window is closing so rapidly on you, one can help but pause and try to enjoy the light it brings, even with bittersweet feelings.

That's how I'm feeling right now... Ah, maybe its just another lesson for me to have, perhaps it should stay as it was, just a brief encounter. One to illuminate my path, one to provide the brief spark to my life. And who knows, other such moments may come again.

'cause in the warm, warm night,
does nothing stir your cold, cold heart?
there's not a thing that I can do to belong...


Its not over yet, though, so at least I should just soak in the sunshine. Then it will all end, with the heart of winter. Mayhap another such brief spark shall keep me warm through the winter.
Why is it then that I act as if the whole matter was past? Perhaps I just wish to dismiss it, so I give up hope now rather than later. After all, things are easier to cut away when nipped at the bud. Even if there's a chance it may flourish and bloom. The slightest, most remote chance. But is it really worth it setting yourself up for the disappointment? I really don't know, I really don't...

lol

I got this text from one of my mates yesterday, I thought it was a good laugh, but not everyone found it funny... =(

Here goes:

Mongo is a little Zimbabwean orphan who walks 5 miles to school each day.

With your kind donation of just $2 a month, we can buy a whip and make the lazy cunt run.

LOL. Did anyone find that funny? Or am I just a little sadistic?

><

Eep... Somehow I knew that I should have just forged ahead yesterday and made that joke about me being huge when I had the opportunity with Richard? Why? 'Cause he just did that to me today... It somehow started with us comparing how big our hands were, and obviously it progressed to a joke on his behalf about him being huge. -_-" I so knew that would happen.

And Richard started teasing me again =( He introduced me to one of his mates (I think he's called Josh, my bad memory's muddling me) as Gay-briel... And then they double-teamed me >< That dude made some mention about a girl being called "Gay", and then added: "Not that it will make much of a difference for you" =O Evil evil people. Goddamn Richard...

Haha, apparently I was flirting with Oliver, or making gay passes at him without intending to... I don't know how Olie thought that, but he did. And I guess it has some credence, but its only very very slight... And you'd have to be stretching it a little to actually make it a pass. Maybe Oliver has a huge ego. Ah well, why do I have to have egoistic people for friends... >< Like attracts like I guess, but now I have no room for my own ego =(

I lost my house keys too, so I just wasted another $20ish making another duplicate copy, since it hasn't made its way back to the Engineering Lost & Found yet =( How sad, money wasted that could have been put to better use, like food or coffee =\

Alright, ciao for now.

ARGH!

I fucked up my mechanics test. Really, really badly... I can't believe how badly I did, considering I knew how to do EVERYTHING. Gah, and such silly mistakes too. Like integrating -t/6 wrt t. I wrote -(t^2)/3 instead of -(t^2)/12... ><>

But on another note, its over. And I did get 34/36 for my ENGGEN 140 test (BioChem) =D I can't believe they took one mark of me for my explanation of a chemical that inhibits ATP synthesis through the electron transport chain being used as a diet pill. I mean seriously, there's not much more to say beyond it causing people to burn more food/fat/whatever 'cause they don't get enough energy right? Stingy markers.

Heh, Richard has a tendency to say the most uhm, possibly disturbing things and yet remain completely oblivious as to the possible implications. Or maybe my mind's too polluted. We went to have butter chicken before MM2 (maths) began, and he got a slightly bigger portion than I did. He attributed it to me being already huge (ha ha ha...) and him being small. Well, the small bit was waaay before, but him saying I was huge went like this: "But Gabriel, you're sooo huge!"

Did anyone get that? Or was it just my dirty mind? I didn't say anything back to him then, but I did kinda chuckle, a little. In a non-suggestively non-dirty sense, that is, and he remained yet completely oblivious to it -_-" Maybe I should have said: "Damn right, I'm huge" (with raised eyebrows =P)

You know, the prefects at my old school have been bugging me to go to the school ball... I don't even remember when it is anymore... Probably around my birthday... I don't really feel like going though. Why? Several reasons:
1) They're like school people. And we have little in common to talk about these days. (Edit: Whoa, I just noticed that the previous sentence sounds so blond...)
2) They probably wouldn't care too much anyway.
3) I don't have anything to wear to the ball. Clubbing clothes don't count...
4) I'll be going by myself... Since no person in AU wants to go to a school ball. I mean, engineers would rather go to the engineering ball.
So, I'm just making excuses. But I'm kinda running low on excuses, so the next time someone asks me why I'm not going, I'll just say: "'Cause I want to bring a guy along?" I think that'd work well. Then Jase chipped in when I was randomly mentioning that and he suggested I say: "I can't find a guy from school to go with" Well, that ought to make them stop asking, I hope. And there really are no girls that I know from school that I'd go with anyway. The one predictable
thing about high school, is they're so phobic, in a sense. Its almost funny in a way. That excuse will always allow you to get away with going to any high school functions requiring a partner.

Yes, I say what I please as long as it gives me the desired effect. So what do I care about what people think? I am what I am, and I know what I am. (Dumb phrasing, gosh, I almost sound like 50cent *cringe* *shudder*)

Alright, I should get some study done, or at least my assignments done. Have to finish my truss design + group report by Wednesday, so I aim to get most of it done by the weekend. Then maybe I can play Two Worlds for a good bit. Till later, ciao~

P/S: I wanna watch Pirates of the Caribbean 3!!! And Zodiac too! Sigh, I've got to get around to asking someone to watch it with me, maybe I could tag along with Richard for Pirates 3, and I guess I'll organise an outing with school people for Zodiac...

Bomb Threat

Heh, as preposterous as it sounds, there really was a bomb threat at college again today... Was sitting with Richard eating sushi at the engineering cafe when these guys started hollering at all of us to leave. The reason? A bomb threat.

You know, I don't think anyone believed him, but since he was so insistent, we all just left anyway... Within the space of 10 minutes, police and the firefighters were there. Then the best part came, they closed engineering for the day! NO LECTURES! YES!

Then the down for me came really quickly. I forgot to get my gym gear out of my locker. Sigh, its going to be sitting there till tomorrow. >_< Oh, apparently engineering is only closed till about 4pm, but by then most of us have no lectures anyway, so it amounts to the same thing. And I can't be bothered hanging around till 4pm to get my gym stuff. Went off with Richard and took the Link (the bus that just goes in a loop), since he was going home. I was originally planning to go to Newmarket to do some shopping, but I realised I took the wrong Link, and getting to Newmarket would take too long, so I got off at the university library (funny eh? I caught it from the city and made one huge loop back to college). Then I caught the bus home, ah well.

I guess having that little break, sudden as it is, is always good for me. Everyone, including... dun dun dun, Richard, thought it was a nice change. Coming from him, thats a shock. You'd think that all he ever did was study, heh.

A'ight, I think I'll take a nap. Then study for the Dynamics test that's coming up this Tuesday... Ciao~

P/S: Apparently the Crazed Woman's a genius. According to this guy who works at gym, she has a Master's in Architecture, but she has a head injury or some sort. So she finds some redemption in my judgment, although I still stand by my opinion that she IS strange.

The Child

"Come". The voice beckoned. "Come and find me"

"W-Where are you?" the boy asked, teeth chattering as the wind howled around him.

"If you come, you will find me..."

In the darkness, a child shivered.
One with shadow, one with rain,
Eyes untrained to blinding fog.


"I'm coming to you, but I cannot find you."

"Just a little longer, just a little longer."

"A-Alright, wait for me. I don't want to be alone."

Relentless, unending, pure.
In wind was chaos, calling,
The child hesitated not.


"H-Help me. I can't go any further."

The cacophony of the wind was his sole companion.

"Why didn't you come? I tried to find you..."

Lost, desolate, forgotten.
Mocking, derisive, laughing.
The child moved never again.

justin's going back to christchurch...

Yeah, I met Justin today to give him back his beanie, and he told me that he hadn't been to a lecture for a long time... Apparently, he doesn't like it here, and he's going back to Christchurch when the winter break is over... How sad, that's one less person in Auckland I know. Otherwise, I spent the afternoon just looking around some clothes and shoe stores with him, along Queen St, and High St. I found a few items of interest, and well, I think I'll come back in a little while and buy them...

You know, Richard honestly wouldn't stop calling me Gay-briel. -_-" I've been advised to use some sort of shock-treatment on him by uhm, either making a gay pass on him, or taking a leaf out of one of his classmate's book, dry-humping him from behind... Personally though, I think the latter is a little too out of my style, and I shudder to even try to attempt it...

Ah well, its all good, I'll get him for it sometime later. Also, shock, horror! I sat with Richard in the middle seatings! Well, its just something, considering Richard has a penchant for sitting in the front, and me for sitting at the back. I guess a compromise is good, and I did manage to check my assignment answers with his. (Since he's such the genius -_-)

Met Carol for the first time in a few weeks today. She commented on how everyone at Engineering seemed so busy, which is kind of true I guess, considering how hectic the last few weeks have been... I spent the better portion of my one-hour break catching up with her and giving her some pointers on her course (she's doing Health Science aka PreMed). I kinda feel sorry for Jase while me and Carol were conversing though, since he pretty much got neglected, but ah well... His fault for following me everywhere in between classes. I guess he doesn't really hang around with anyone else anyway...

Went for lunch with Eddie and his significant other Faith at Oporto's as well... I should really get myself to stop spending money, and Faith was really really helpful. She said: "As if any of us would stop spending". >_> Come on, a little faith would help here. No pun intended.

Alright, I need to just finish one more truss and complete the analysis for both of them. After my little nap, or maybe dinner first, then a short nap. I'm extremely sleepy right now... Ciao~

That strange woman...

Heh, I'm incredibly sleepy today. But aside from that, let me tell you all about this crazy woman who I think is a student in Engineering (I don't know what year though)...

There is this woman in Engineering whom, if you pointed out to anyone who studies here, everyone would say was a little weird. Firstly, let me tell you about what she does in the computer labs. Our computer labs, although maybe a little small at times, has sufficiently comfortable chairs that can be easily moved. Instead of taking advantage of this to sit on it however, she apparently eschews the blessing that is the chair, choosing to instead kneel, YES, kneel, on the floor and do her work. This wouldn't be so strange if she didn't constantly make strange noises as well as shift forwards and backwards in an odd manner. She also makes an odd habit of asking people for the time, when firstly, the computers themselves display the time, and the labs also have clocks, and she has a watch strapped to HER WRIST.

Let me tell you something about Engineering students. Even from Day 1, it is pounded into our heads that we are the cream of the crop, the best that New Zealand has to offer (which, as obnoxious as it sounds, I would admit is partially true, considering that they would take in people with the best results, but then again, NZ's exams are easy...) Also know that as the best, the simple operation of a computer should be common sense, especially if you have managed to type in it, log in, download and print, and even burn a CD. Especially burn a CD, since that's relevant here. If you have managed to actually burn a CD prior to trying to load it into the PC's in the lab, how is it that you cannot find the CD drive? HOW?!? She obviously could not find it, and well... There's only so many places this elusive drive can be. Perhaps behind the monitor on that huge black box with a really obvious button that basically screams "Press ME and insert YOUR CD!"? Or how bout on the huge black box down at your feet? Okay, I understand that not all PC's are the same, but the concept behind each one is simple enough, and even grandmothers can locate this drive that she spent minutes searching for, before finally embarrassing herself by asking one of the staff, who gave her an odd look before pointing it out. Its hardly rocket science to me... I think the faculty should perhaps reconsider their entry scheme.

Not only that, but I heard from one of my friends (who I happened to bump into since she and I had no lectures). Well, she told me that our subject in discussion also is apparently a little too slack on personal hygiene, and tolerance for the senses of others at that. While my friend was at the labs, cheerfully completing her assignments and such, Crazed Woman walks into the lab and sits right next to her. That was fine with her, and she continues. Then, Crazed Woman takes off her boots. Now, all I can say is, I don't want to imagine the smell emanating from her feet. Needless to say, she wasn't wearing socks, and my poor friend could not take the smell considering it pretty much stunk up the row she was in.

My friend also mentioned something else. Apparently, Crazed Woman stuffs tissue down her shirt. Okay, I understand if woman feel flat chested, and so does my friend, but she adds that instead of being a little bit sneakier about it, she makes her shirt stuffing a little too obvious. As in, you can clearly see the lumps of misshapen tissue. And not only that, but you can also see tissue poking from the neckline, and I've been told that once, her stuffing fell out of her shirt while she was walking. Thankfully, she didn't notice, or what she'll have done next will probably have induced post-traumatic stress to any witnesses in the vicinity.

And oh! I neglect to mention her weird liking for occupying multiple seats. In the engineering cafe, which is a rather long and wide area, people are often found there socializing or otherwise doing work. She, however, has this strange habit. She will firstly, drag a table and a chair to the edge of the cafe to sit in the sunshine. Well, this isn't so strange yet, but... After somehow managing to fill up the whole table with her things, she will order a filtered coffee or something, and walk over to another table at the OTHER END of the place with her coffee and more things, and start having coffee there. So, she has just managed to occupy two tables on opposite ends of the area. Then, she begins to shuffle back and forth, shuttling her things back and forth from one table to the next, sometimes dragging additional chairs to her table in the process... Right...

Right, I know that bit awhile ago was a tad random, but I happened across it by accident... I swear >_> Reading one of Lionel's recent posts suddenly about him being, uhh... innuendo-ed made me kinda remember stuff.... Such as how I seem to meet people who keep giving me odd glance-stares (that sorta thing, you know, where they look at you, then look away, then look at you... and like the glances tend to be more than fleeting) And the more you look, the more they look back, and it just gets awkward... And oddly, hmm, now that I think of it, they're gay. Can't exactly explain how I know (not that I wish to be obnoxious or assumptive), but maybe I've got some sort of "gaydar" or something as they term it, lol... Or maybe I'm a gay magnet too at that. LOL. Ok, I need to give the ego a rest before it gets too big =P

I dunno, its odd. Then again..... I've also had a few people I know joking about me being gay >_> Heh, I don't know whether to be flattered or insulted at times with these sort of people. Sigh... I need a good romance-ish story (in a non-sappy way, maybe sad) to read. Maybe it'll help to occupy some time for me... And take my mind of thinking of things... Especially since I don't really want to think of some right now...

Soooo.... I've still got a BioChem project to do, and I'm blogging away like there's no tomorrow. So much for productivity... I've gotten quite a bit lazier since I came here...

Ah well, screw BioChem for tonight, I'll just chill and chat.

I'm Blue... no seriously

Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.

pensive

Yeah, I don't know whats with me, but I'm feeling peckish for coffee again...

I installed Vista Professional awhile ago... After all, its free for me, and completely legit too, so I guess I don't mind...

Does anyone know much at all about trusses? I'm doing a project where I construct a truss of hot-dog sticks, and I would love some input/advice on how I should strengthen my truss...

Been listening to this song by Michelle Branch recently...

Well, that's all from me now... Cinnamon Dolce Latte from Starbucks is delicious by the way...

Ciao~


chaque fois que tu t'en vas, je prétend que tout va bien
Michelle Branch - 'Til I Get Over You

FINISHED!!!! YUSSSSSSSSSS!

Just had to get it out of my system, I'm quite exhilarated, but I still have a BioChem project and another Maths assignment. Gah. At least Design's done for the moment....

It seems I'm one of the only few people who ain't going back to Kuching this year, again. Tis sad, tis so sad... Ah well, I guess I'm losing touch with most of them now anyway. Maybe I should have made an effort to stay in touch more, or then again, what good might it have done?

Meh, no point worrying about things like these. My brain must be warping from drinking again. Heh, that's amusing, drinking while writing out my design project. I hope nothings wrong with it... But I don't honestly think I was that addled anyway... So it should be all good...

Look at me, just rambling on and on. I should go get some sleep for today. I'm off. Peace.

P/S: I don't really understand what it is with Richard and him teasing me about being gay... Ah well, maybe its my name after all. Gay-briel... -_-" He amuses me enough as it is, so I guess I won't hold a silly grudge against him anyway...

Design project due tomorrow, I still have the report to write out. I can't believe I did most of the work on my own, and that my team's probably doing the same, despite it being teamwork... But ah well, as long as my tutor doesn't mind and I get it done, right? I only borrowed the concept drawings, cause I'm like the crappiest artist ever.

I strained a muscle at gym yesterday. It fucking hurts every time I laugh, cough, or stretch. Its annoying, I think I'll go to physio tomorrow and get it checked up. No proper sleep for 3 days in a row, and I'm glad for the holiday on Thursday that is Engineering Graduation. Apparently, engineering lecturers in Auckland Uni have like the highest graduation attendance among the rest of the faculties. Its a good thing, regardless, I get to sleep in or shop or study at my own pace. Maybe more sleep than not, but whatever.

Alright, back to my design project report. Ciao~


If I just breathe, let it fill the space between
I'll know everything is alright...
Breathe - Michelle Branch