Goal of the Day.
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Goal of the day:
Become the best God damned PHP programmer ever.
First C, then C++, then Java, now JavaScript and PHP. I'm getting a little
overwhelmed, a...
14 years ago
30 September 2009
After feeling some pressure to get my portion of the project done and meet with my group at 7 last night while still holding a ticket for the game, I ended up deciding in favor of Petco. Which was the right call because it was the best game I've been to all year.
Tuesdays are pretty much my one ''free'' weeknight. So about a week before I had bought tickets with Chris to go to the game the following Tuesday against LA, but I didn't realize that I also made plans to meet with my group and turn in our weekly project assignment. Typically, it would be a huge guilt-trip to bail out and not come to a meeting, but bailing out on a friend who already paid for a baseball game would be worse. And my group this semester gets things done much more efficiently than those in the past; all the work gets done on our own with as little meeting time as possible. I handled the majority of the work on our last section and earned a 95/100 (should have been a full 100), so I felt I deserved to go to this game. And I did...
...which brings me to this baseball update for the last week of the season. Of course, playoff brackets will follow later but here is where the playoff teams/contenders stand:
Clinched Division:
American League
East - New York Yankees (currently 102-56)
West - Los Angeles Angels (currently 93-64)
National League
Central - St. Louis Cardinals (currently 90-67)
Clinched Wild Card:
American League - Boston Red Sox (currently 91-66)
Clinched Playoff Spot:
National League - Los Angeles Dodgers (currently 93-65)
In the American League, everything is decided except the Central. Detroit is up 2 games on Minnesota with 5 games left. The two actually split a doubleheader yesterday and will finish the series up today and tomorrow. Detroit's magic number is 4, but if the twins can win the final two games of the series they'll be tied with 3 games left. Detroit has 3 against Chicago, Minnesota 3 against Kansas City.
The National League has a few more races going, but primarily for the Wild Card. Division races are interesting but a long shot. Los Angeles is already in the playoffs no matter what, but they share the same magic number of 1 with Philadelphia. Colorado is 3.5 games behind Los Angeles for the NL West. Atlanta is 5 games behind Philadelphia for the NL East. Philadelphia has 5 games left and Los Angeles has 4, and most likely they will win one of these games and clinch their division. Each are 5-5 in their last 10 games...
However, San Diego beat Los Angeles last night and plays them again today. If they win and Colorado beats Milwaukee again, Los Angeles will go into Colorado for a 3-game series with only a 2 game lead. It's more a of a stretch for Atlanta in the East, who is 5 behind Philadelphia and have the 1 more with Florida then 4 with Washington. Philadelphia has 2 with Houston and 3 with Florida.
After all, it may just come down to Colorado and Atlanta fighting for the Wild Card, with Colorado only 1.5 games ahead.
Although my ultimate fantasy is to see Los Angeles and New York in the World Series, I would love it if after everything Los Angeles went in as the Wild Card and were upset by Colorado in the final 3-game series. It looks like I could possibly have both!
21 September 2009
Tough Charger loss on Sunday. It's hard to see the offensive line give no protection to the quarterback, have him still throw for 400+ yards and end up losing. Actually the problems lie in both lines; the defensive line can't stop runs or tackle short passes to save their life. Other than that, the defensive ends looked pretty good and you're at least not watching the long bombs come down for catches too often. I think we kinda saw it coming because they played the same way against Oakland last week and everyone knew Baltimore is no AFC West chump.
For some reason, my internet has completely stopped working on my desktop and is either great or sketchy on my laptop. I'm starting to have my doubts about the AT&T cable, both internet and TV. I couldn't even watch the Chargers in HD because the channel wasn't subscribed, even though it says our package includes it. We're at the point where HD is basically standard now for the big networks, so we shouldn't be having these problems even though the service is so cheap. I think I can find a better deal with better features that my Mom will agree to.
Also, the PS3 is boxed up for good since I discovered the disc drive motor, or whatever spins the disc, isn't working anymore. It's going to cost about $70-100 for a new one, so I have to decide whether that will be worth it or if I should just sell the thing as-is on eBay and put the money towards a Slim or something. I guess I should also return that Blu Ray remote.
And congratulations to Casey B. I got a text early this morning that her baby was born, and I guess it's just natural to feel good about that. Because I did, and it's been a good Monday morning!
09 September 2009
Even on UStream, there didn't seem to be any pirate live streams of today's Apple Event in San Francisco so I was forced to stay updated with liveblogs on Engadget. I think the coolest thing is the new iPod Nano, which now has a built in video camera, FM radio, pedometer and voice recorder. I would consider it over the iPod Touch if I was ever to get a new one.
And in other news, my PS3 is broken (probably the blu ray drive) and Windows won't start on my desktop after installing another new CPU fan. I need help : (
01 September 2009
As a refreshing change, I decided to hang out with my brothers for the majority of the weekend. Actually, it just worked out that the most fun things I did were with them, and my cousin tagged along to join the fun as well.
Everett and I spent most of the time working on my computers, which included installing the latest OS on both. It took all weekend to download Snow Leopard (6 GB with low ratio) but it finally completed, although I haven't installed it yet. From what I've heard, it definitely makes things run smoother and clears up 8-10 GB of hard drive space which will be nice. It only costs $29, which is a reasonable deal, but I torrented it anyway because Mac does not need my money; actually, they already have more of it than I should have allowed...
While all that was downloading on the Mac, me Everett and Chris went to Fry's to pick up a new hard drive and either a new power supply or cpu fan. The fan was definitely what was making all the noise in my computer, but I couldn't really decide if it was worth it to replace it. One, the better fans are really only meant for better cooling for bigger processors, so they wouldn't necessarily be more quiet. Especially in an old Pentium 4. Also, I didn't realize the socket 775 has either a 3-pin or 4-pin connector. Plugging the 3-pin fan, which I ended up buying for $10, into the 4 pins on the motherboard meant that it would spin but not be detected in the BIOS. Therefore, no boot. Also, the stupid snap pins wouldn't fit unless I removed the metal plate that the old heat sync screwed into, and I even tried frankenstein the old and the new to get it to fit. I ended up just going back to the old one, which was much quieter after I cleaned out the cake of dust anyway. So I'll be going back this weekend to get my $10.
I did pick up the Blu Ray remote for the PS3 (sweet) and a 1 TB hard drive. I didn't realized there was an extra bay in the case, so I now have 1.2 TB of space. Installed much easier than the fan. Pretty much spent the whole night drinking some New Castle and installing Windows 7 with Everett, Mark and Yimmit. It took some time to get a few programs and hardware running since a lot of the drivers disappeared or were incompatible, but we got all the essentials done (network card, sound card, graphics card, etc..) because the troubleshooting is really good in 7. The OS runs really nice after a clean install. I like it. Mark had his own project with two old Thinkpads from my uncle, which he cleaned up and installed Obuntu on. He's good at doing well with low resources.
The next day after Chula Vista beat NON-commy China, I went back to Fry's with all three brothers to pick up the CPU fan (which I now have to return) and a new DVI cable for Darick. When we got home, I started to play around with the comp when Mark asked if I wanted to jam with them. This kind of took me by surprise...
Never have we all four played music together. The first thing I did was drag the stack and bass amp back into the music room. Next, I opened up Garage Band really quick and plugged the little mic I have into it. I just hung it on the door outside and didn't tell anyone. Then the magic happened. Mark was on drums, Darick played bass and me and Everett alternated lead and rhythm. We kept doing these long jam songs and alternating instruments; Everett on drums, Mark on bass, Darick on guitar, etc...someone would just start playing and we would add to it and build it up until it erupted, then bring it back down to earth and end it. We did this for a pretty long time, and I got the whole thing on tape. We can all pretty much read each other like a book and it was easily the best jam I've ever played.
28 August 2009
Ahhh, finally the Fall semester is upon us. Although this has been the hottest, most miserable week this summer it still feels like the season is going to turnover soon.
I have a total of 7 units this semester and I'm hoping to finally have some FUN with classes instead of putting too much on my plate and being completely overwhelmed. I only have class Monday, Wednesday and Thursday so I get a little break in the week. And since this the last little bit of my major, I'm expecting to get some good grades for a last-minute GPA boost before applying to grad school somewhere.
For the first time since Fall 2007 (man, that shouldn't feel like ages ago, but it does, and it was) I'm going to buy a trolley pass and ride without having to watch my back or look over my shoulder. The amount of money I paid in trolley tickets was foolish after all. I will be an adult and pay my fair share like the rest of society : )
23 August 2009
Since we started talking about the differences between the G1 and the MyTouch (what we call the G2), I decided to look it up and pin down the specs on both once and for all. Here's the best article I found:
It basically says that everything is the same on the phones except for the obvious lack of physical keyboard on the MyTouch, as well as better battery life and a slimmer design. One forum stated that the G2 had more RAM, but I looked it up and it's not true; both have 192 MB. So I still think it stands that the G1 is the better phone, unless you insist on having the ''hippest'' phone available.
It also got me interested in jailbreaking the G1, which would allow apps to be installed on the much larger micro SD card rather than the internal memory. My G1 always runs best when nothing is installed, so this would definitely make for a smoother-running phone.
19 August 2009
Since I got my G1, which has been satisfactory but expensive for the most part, the one thing it lacked for me was e-mail. I've always used hotmail, but using all the Google apps and services required that I create a Gmail account when I bought the phone. It has its own Gmail app, as well as an E-mail app for retrieving mail from other servers. The problem is that my particular Hotmail account does not support the POP (Post Office Protocol) application-layer standard, which is needed to ''pull'' data across the TCP/IP connection from Hotmail to Gmail(a lot of technical jargon from networking, I know)...that is, unless you PAY for a plus account. Yeah right.
But, I read in a forum that there's a trick to getting around this, which is really just the result of lazy programmers at Microsoft not noticing this ''glitch'': All you have to do is go into settings and turn on mobile updates, get an access code for your phone, activate it and then turn OFF mobile updates. For some reason, this disables the lock and allows messages to be forwarded, or ''pushed'', to Gmail using POP. Neat. Free.
So now, utilizing my one Hotmail address that I've had for 11 years, I can receive the messages in Hotmail and Gmail, as well as on the G1 and Macmail. In fact, you can send me e-mail to either address and I'll get it in both my Gmail box and my Macmail box. I'm hesitant to forward Gmail messages to Hotmail because it may create some loop, but I'll try it. It's cool because you can actually see the forwarding process as the data travels. If you send a message to Hotmail, the actual server gets it first, then Macmail, then Gmail, and finally the G1, all in succession. The whole thing takes about a minute, but it's worth it!
18 August 2009
Per our Green Day conversation Monday night at Second Wind...
While their albums have mainly been produced by Rob Cavallo and themselves, the credits vary from album to album (Green Day did Warning themselves, they used Butch Vig on their latest, Rob Cavallo was on most, etc.)...
however...
ALL Green Day albums have been released on Reprise, minus 1,039/Smooth and Kerplunk! from Lookout!. Record labels really don't have much to do with the actual recording and production of an album for big name bands. Once groups have the money and experience to make the music themselves in their own private recording studios, like Green Day does mostly, labels don't care where or how it gets done, as long as it gets done. They just handle all the marketing and other business aspects so they can bring in their cut.
So, it wasn't Adeline or any other label. Just Reprise the whole time. Look it up. Plus, none of this even really matters to me. I don't care who would ''skool'' me at knowing useless Green Day trivia. I'll play any Green Day song better than any other chump, guaranteed.
05 August 2009
Finally, after my boss was gone for a month in France, I can think about planning my vacation. I had mentioned taking one in the middle of July, but he happened to just ''disappear'' without notice and leave me feeling obligated to stick around. It always surprises me how little I even consider taking one in the course of a year, and the last time I did was more than a year ago when I went to New York with my Dad. Anyway, I want to save one week off for finals and take one week off before school starts again and go somewhere cool! I don't really know where or with whom yet, but it will happen.
Also, parties are gonna be a little less cool since we found out Martin is moving to 'bama to start a new life in the south. The four of us at least got in one last game of Hot Shots last night and shared a final dip. Hope the new area treats you well and you come back and see us sometime!
06 July 2009
Have we all stopped blogging already!? Yeah I'm guilty too, but it only happens because we're having so much fun and there's no time to waste writing about it. Actually, I had a very long blog about our camping trip saved but never posted it, so I'll finish that up and post it just for fun. Don't want this thing to get too stale...
This really was the most eventful 4th of July in recent years. We started with a big breakfast and champagne around 10:00 AM, although I cracked open my first Corona under the already scorching sun and passed on the food. With the sun, beer, and somewhat clear pool, the afternoon felt similar to those daily summer swims of our childhood. I also made my way home to check out our own family bbq and rest some, since I think I was more out of it than I realized from all the sun and drinking. After heading to 7-11 with Tiffany for more beer and some ice cream for the walk back, I bent over to wash my hands in the pool...I assume everyone made their way to the hill to watch fireworks; I just sat on my roof and then passed out...
...until Kate came and dragged me out of bed and a whole new July 4th started. I definitely had a second wind since the sun had set, but I was afraid to drive anywhere because of all the cops on the roads and the checkpoints they had set up. I really just played pong, ate and did shots until walking back and forth multiple times between there and Ryder. Don't quite know exactly what happened with Lucas, but that was the last piece of drama before the night ended.
So that was July 4th. I'm loving summer and I wanna keep swimming all week. And where did Martin and Justyn go?
19 June 2009
Finally, we're getting out of Santee and not staying in a hotel for the night! Camping this weekend is gonna be a blast and I think the last time I went I was a sophomore in high school. This is a good time to post a blog as all electronics and other forms of communication, including cell phones and laptops, will be shut down for the weekend. Just the guys, beer, and nature.
Otherwise, work has been entertaining and my search for a new pad continues. Finding the right place requires time, and I'm still happily caught up in summer activities to properly devote enough to really find one I like. But I'm close...
Right now I'm just enjoying going to weekly baseball games and working on stuff at home with the bros. I've been torrenting like mad to get parallels on my laptop and run windows and OSX simultaneously. I kinda want to experiment with Windows 7, and I got a new copy of Sims 3 to try out. Also, iLife and iWork have new '09 editions that I want. Once I have a professional looking website for myself, I can start building a new resume and hit the job market again.
13 June 2009
When was the last time I blogged? I've been putting it off and I like to think it's because I'm so busy I don't have the time to recap everything going on...sure, let's go with that.
School officially feels over after ending 3 weeks ago and I like it. Everything worked out as planned; it wasn't my best semester in college (probably my worst) but my solid GPA going into it and superior ability to improvise effort made sure that all the classes were passed and that I even managed to learn a thing or two along the way. I think I already talked about this, but I get a free summer and then I only have two classes in Fall. I'm actually looking forward to it because two other ladies from Santee will be heading west as well : ) Also, congratulations to Eli for graduating UCSD and Justyn for a successful first semester. Let's have a great summer!
So far, times have been good. Despite this June gloom, which makes it feel like we've been living in the Astrodome for two weeks, it's finally starting to feel like summer vacation. I've just been working, hanging out with people and actually starting to work out consistently again. There's a lot to improve on, both physically and mentally, but I'm enjoying the challenge and have to remember to not be impatient. The hunt for a new place to live has at least started, although it's tough to find that perfect one. Initially I was set on moving out ASAP, but I've kind of settled into the Santee slacker lifestyle again so I'm taking my time. I'm hoping we decide on Pravada, which is nice and out of the house but close enough to maintain said lifestyle somewhat.
What else..Desiree is moving to New York for the summer, baseball on Sundays is the highlight of my week, and we're going to Anaheim to see the Padres play the Angels tomorrow. Times are good.
26 May 2009
For that weekend series when the San Diego is in LA against the Angels, I think we should drive up for the day and go the game on Saturday night. Then we can grab dinner after at you know where. To anyone who is interested, we'll buy tickets Thursday night at poker.
22 May 2009
I would say this weekend officially kicks off my first ''summer vacation'' in a couple years!
After my lone final last week and my five this week, I'm finally done with this semester and school for Spring. I knew it would feel good to be finished regardless of the outcome, but to be honest I've been worried the past month about some of my grades. I don't mind barely passing the classes I don't care about, but I was at risk of affecting my GPA too much or even having to repeat IDS 396 W, and that would have REALLY messed up my plans for the rest of 2009. Right before my last final last night, I got word that some of the final grades were already posted on webportal, and I was debating whether to check them and risk hearing the seemingly inevitable news. However, something told me to go ahead and check, and sure enough I did fine on all my finals and projects, enough to keep my grade steady. What a relief! So as scheduled, I only have two more classes to take during Fall, which I already checked and they're available during the evenings. It has me wishing I had actually walked this semester, but maybe I'll just wait. It's not really a big deal to me anyway, but I should do it for my mom if nothing else.
It sounds like there's a ton of plans cooking up for summer so it'll be nice to be free for all of it. And I want to start by having a fantastic memorial day weekend. I really want to have a good barbeque, we don't do that nearly enough anymore and we used to have some pretty epic ones.
20 May 2009
Besides the many casual home games at Petco throughout the summer, I went ahead and made a list of all the big games and trips we should be aware of:
San Diego @ LA of Anaheim
Friday, June 12 - 7:05 PM
Saturday, June 13 - 6:05 PM
Sunday, June 14 12:35 PM
*Definitely going to at least one...maybe hotel trip, Saturday night and Sunday day game?
Seattle @ San Diego
Tuesday, June 16 - 7:05 PM
Wednesday, June 17 - 7:05 PM
Thursday, June 18 - 12:35 PM
*Nice weekday interleague game
San Diego @ Seattle
Tuesday, June 23 - 7:10 PM
Wednesday, June 24 - 7:10 PM
Thursday, June 25 - 1:40 PM
*Probably a longshot, unless we make another Seattle vacation out of it
Los Angeles @ San Diego
Friday, July 3 - 7:05 PM
Saturday, July 4 - 4:05 PM
Sunday, July 5 - 1:05 PM
*July 4th weekend vs. the Dodgers, sweet
San Diego @ San Francisco
Thursday, July 9 - 7:15 PM
Friday, July 10 - 7:15 PM
Saturday, July 11 - 6:05 PM
Sunday, July 12 - 1:05 PM
*San Francisco trip, and last series before the All Star break
San Diego @ Los Angeles
Friday, September 4 - 7:10 PM
Saturday, September 5 - 7:10 PM
Sunday, September 6 - TBD
*Last weekend series in LA
Also, for a weekend baseball roadtrip, San Francisco and Oakland are in town together only once, while Los Angeles and LA of Anaheim are in town twice:
Friday, July 31 - Sunday, August 2
Philadelphia @ San Francisco
Friday, July 31 - 7:15 PM
Saturday, August 1 - 6:05 PM
Sunday, August 2 - 1:05 PM
Toronto @ Oakland
Friday, July 31 - 7:05 PM
Saturday, August 1 - 6:05 PM
Sunday, August 2 - 1:05 PM
-------------------------------------------------------
Friday, July 24 - Sunday, July 26
Florida @ Los Angeles
Friday, July 24 - 7:10 PM
Saturday, July 25 - 7:10 PM
Sunday, July 26 - 1:10 PM
Minnesota @ LA of Anaheim
Friday, July 24 - 7:05 PM
Saturday, July 25 - 1:10 PM
Sunday, July 26 - TBD
Friday, August 7 - Sunday, August 9
Atlanta @ Los Angeles
Friday, August 7 - 7:10 PM
Saturday, August 8 - 7:10 PM
Sunday, August 9 - 1:10 PM
Texas @ LA of Anaheim
Friday, August 7 - 7:05 PM
Saturday, August 8 - 1:10 PM
Sunday, August 9 - TBD
Everybody can choose their faves and we can plan accordingly!
19 May 2009
I thought practice on Saturday sounded good and was really enjoyable, probably due to the fact that we haven't done it in a while. Even though it seems like we've lost a step, I'm excited to get back into it once school is over, and I want to keep writing stuff so we have new material to play.
I also think we should have our own place to practice during the summer. I say we throw all our money into it and have a fat studio with everything we've ever wanted. We should make a point to record everything in us before it slips away: indie stuff, hardcore, Jetlag, pop punk, whatever. That's living. I want new guitars!
AND, even though I feel like I'm more productive on my own, once songs are pretty much complete we should bring Eli in to play guitar 2 and add more depth.
15 May 2009
I just had my wisdom teeth removed this morning. The bottom two were always a bit irritating, but they ended up taking out all four, which I wasn't expecting.
The whole procedure really wasn't bad at all, despite all the speculation built up from others' experiences and stories. I was under the whole time (well mostly). I don't think he gave me much of anything during the procedure because I woke up twice; the first time he game a little more anesthesia, second time toward the end he just said "fuck it" and finished up. I can remember opening my eyes, seeing strange colors, and trying to speak, probably to tell him I was awake. It was hard because there was so much shit in my mouth and I was hopped up. Also, the numbness in my lips and chin went away in about 2 hours, while others said they were numb for 14!
Anyway, it went by really quickly and to make up for the lack of drugs during the thing, he hooked me up with some Oxycodone, the stronger, bigger brother of Hydrocodone (Vicodin). Everything I needed for post surgery enjoyment was in one spot in Santee: Sav-On filled my drugs, Lucky had my hot and sour soup, and Best Buy provided 21st Century Breakdown limited edition. I promptly went home, popped a couple and blasted my first listen. Also Flo brought me ice cream, thank you! : )
I don't take the whole image seriously with Green Day's rock opera trend. But there are some good songs and I enjoyed it. They do know how to record an album, they're veterans now.
13 May 2009
Three things that get me hyphy:
1. Going to Stone with my mom and then talking about death on the drive back home...weird.
2. Playing baseball for 4 hours and then going to the beach, in 62 degree cloudy weather, to swim in the water.
3. Doing a shot of Hennessy with a pincher bug in it (I assume) and Grey Goose with Martin.
My first final is today, followed by 5 next week. AND, the Fall 2009 schedule has been posted with the two classes I need, both after 5 PM. I'm going to have a free summer and travel to India I suppose.
08 May 2009
I see everyone is blogging again so I guess I better keep up.
This semester is REALLY winding down now with only one week left of "classes" and the next week begins finals. I say "classes" because I'm not quite sure which ones are holding meetings and which ones aren't; the ones I actually went to the last few weeks pretty much already wrapped up. Even so, there's not much left except finals anyway so I'm just going to hit them hard and finish this up as quick as I can.
The last two weeks were really a load but provided a finale to most of the courses. I finished two big semester presentations, one last week and one this week. Those cost the majority of my free-time all semester, so I gasped as I finally came up for air when they were over. AND I did pretty well on them; the MGT 405 basically crowned me king of bullshit because everybody knows that class is a joke, unless for some reason you major in management, but I clinched our grade by nailing all the stupid questions they threw at us. The other more useful and relevant presentation went well last night, and I'm just glad it's all over. With the 50 or so page report of our work at designing an information system, at least I have something pretty to bring into interviews now.
After arriving home tired but satisfied, it would have been perfect to top off the week seeing Star Trek with everyone but I had to finish this last SQL project. Man, that shit is a bitch. And it just goes to show how this class is run and how outdated it really is by his instructions on turning it in: "Please turn in before noon on Friday (when there are no classes) and slide it under my office door". So I had spend lunch driving out there just to turn it in. But, again, I'm just glad it's over and I hope I did enough to keep my grade up. I really slacked in that class toward the end.
In a couple hours it will be weekend time though! I'm going to swim after work (finally : /) and then take my entire extended family to Stone tonight for my mom's late but important 50th birthday. I'm down to make it a double tomorrow too. Can't wait to go with Martin, and glad to see your first blog since who knows when!!
28 April 2009
Yeah, it really was a weekend dominated by baseball. I hadn't really realized it until Chris said so. Friday was our first Padre game of the year and the only win of the homestand, so I'm glad we went that night instead of Saturday, which would have meant no 99 or sweet disco party! That was seriously the best night I've had in a long time, and the party wasn't bad either.
As I find myself trudging through the semester, it looks like there's only two weeks left before finals. I can't wait for this to end and summer to begin, and I can't believe my 36 unit barrage of classes in two semesters is coming to an end. Honestly, it's been the most work I've ever had to handle, but it's been been the best time of my life. All the memories made it whiz by; I can remember my first day after Bumbershoot like it was yesterday. AND after two full years here, I've officially taken more units at State than I did at SFSU. I guess this is home again... : )
So projects, presentations, and final exams pretty much fill the first three quarters of May, but I'm going to burn through it and hit summer with a bang. Sorry I missed basketball yesterday, but I had to be at school to finish up some final projects. Three weeks from now, I promise I'll be a basketball machine! All I want to do this summer is work out, travel, and start life after college. Yes, technically I have two more classes left, but who's counting. If they had offered them this semester, I gladly would have taken them, but I can't control that and I'm not going to let it ruin my "graduation". The bulk of the work is done and I don't care about walking or throwing caps in the air or any of that GradFest bullshit. I'm educated, I have high school diploma part two, time to move on.
20 April 2009
Definitely hating life right now. I'm so sick of school, and so disappointed in myself for not caring anymore. 33% of my skin is dry and itchy, and there's so much grey hair on my head that I'm gonna look like Eli soon. No, not Loi, Eli II.
I can't seem to do anything right anymore. Just confusion, that's all...
15 April 2009
For one night's work, I'm pretty satisfied with what I got done on this project. I'm sitting in class right now, about to turn it it and it seems like everyone was in the same boat...they keep talking about ''Question 11". "Damn, that shit was hard!" Wish I had gotten to it :/
14 April 2009
I'm hoping this senioritis is at its worse right now, because it's pretty bad and I know as the semester winds up there will be potential for much more harmful damage.
I just turned in my second VB project, which came out OK but I just completed it about an hour ago and put about 2 total hours of work into it. Currently, I might be around a low B in the class with one more project left. I think I'll need a good grade on the final too.
09 April 2009
06 April 2009
*SIGH*
Spring break is over and the grind must continue on. I do feel pretty relaxed and refreshed, but I really need to get myself back into the swing of things mentally. I've put off a lot of work and I know it's going to bite me in the ass with long nights and tired eyes. So while everyone else is on THEIR spring break (excluding Justyn and Eli of course), I hope to get caught up with everything and finish the final stretch with authority. As Dr. Cheeks would say, "I'm a little behind..."
01 April 2009
I think because of spring break, I've put off this weekend blog until now. But it definitely was a weekend, and especially Saturday, worth writing late about.
In preparation for Saturday, we didn't do very much on Friday night. Actually, I don't even remember what we did.
Saturday though, we all woke up early (for a Saturday) to play some badminton at Balboa. For some reason, the activity center was closed and it surprised everyone who showed up, not just us. Anyway, I prefer the sunshine anyway so it was nice to hit the cocks around for a while right outside, even got in a good catch. While Garrett and Kim broke away to go watch Lucas get his new tattoo, the rest went to Spaghetti Factory for lunch downtown. Despite to-go drama, it was a good lunch followed by a car nap and Blick trip. No Saturday afternoon during the months of March-September would be complete without a swim, which I was surprised I still had time for with all the things we had already done. I guess that's the beauty of waking up at a decent hour. But the pool was great, and once dry and slightly more tan, I found I had to choose between Darick's dinner at BJ's or Stone. Yeah, tough choice. Luckily, but not surprisingly, Justyn was still down to go and finish the Vertical Epic trio with the '08. This was literally a "cool" Stone trip; we brought two coolers of ice, filled 5 total 2-liters and a baby 1-liter and brought them all back ice-cold. It made the beer taste so much better. Ryder was sweet that night too. Played a game of Vert Ep pong, fireside chats, got to chip some lip, then bailed for some Yellow Shack. We weren't done yet though. The night owls (Justyn, Martin, Flo, Everett) got in some Hot Shots for the first time in ages.
We spent Sunday looking at animals at the zoo, then bypassed a nap to read at Barnes and Noble before dinner at Domo.
24 March 2009
Japan took the World Baseball Classic last night against Korea 5-3, their second time out of two WBCs (2006). I was all set to come home, relax, and put off my homework to watch the match, but of course I forgot about our ghetto cable set-up that lacks ESPN. From what I followed on the cheesy play-by-play flash app, it was a great game. Korea tied it in the 9th, down 3-1, but ended up losing 5-3 on a two out, two RBI single by Ichiro Suzuki. I guess it's nice for him to taste victory, because that ninja sure as hell won't eat in his American hometown.
Also, just finished my last midterm and presentation. Even though I still have classes this week, I'm going into spring break mode.
23 March 2009
We did some new things this weekend with people who we don't see so often anymore, which made for good times.
Darick actually got in late Wednesday night, but with work and classes I didn't even see him until late Thursday night at poker. I guess he's a decent player too from what I heard so he's got me beat.
On Friday, the first day of spring and Eli's birthday, I went swimming after work for the first time since August. It's going to take a long time to get back to where I was before, and it completely wore me out. So it was nice to just chill at San Diego Brewing Company over some tasty beer. I think my buzz/fatigue contributed to me leaving without my wallet and lowering my spirits most of the night. However, we visited this Korean karaoke place where we could rent a room, bring our booze and sing all night. Tiffany was also in town and pretty much organized the whole thing, and it was actually pretty enjoyable. Once back on Ryder with Justyn off of work, we just sat around the table as Eli entertained us with his drunk talk. I don't think anyone really wanted to sleep either, because after Ryder we went to my house and recorded some clicks until 4:30 AM. That's how you spend a Friday night.
Of course I didn't wake until about 11:45 AM on Saturday, which I don't mind because I rarely get the opportunity these days. Luckily, the Brewing Company had found my wallet and saved it for me to come pick up. Quite a relief. And, it gave me the perfect excuse to spend money on clothes for Jessica's 21st. Before the party, however, the typical Saturday afternoon activities had to be completed: practice/lay down live tracks for all the songs we've practiced up to this point, and get the growlers filled with the '07 Vertical Epic from Stone. It was just Eli, Justyn, George and I, but it was a fun trip and I'm glad we sucked it up and got our hands on some of that stuff because it tasted great, much better than the '06. I actually decided to purchase a 1-liter for the weekends when I feel like staying cool. Once everybody got their act together, it was already 10:30 but we headed out to party with the North County punks. Topped off with some yellow shack, it was another fun 21st birthday celebration.
Sunday was relaxing, but we decided to go back to '07 again and do Sunday at Tokyo. Everyone agreed the food was great, and it was nice to go back there and find our picture on the wall.
WBC
It's been a while since I updated, and the championship game is actually going on right now between Korea and Japan. I'll post the outcome sometime this week.
Monday, March 16
Cuba 7 @ Mexico 4 (Mexico eliminated)
Venezuela 2 @ Puerto rico 0
Tuesday, March 17
Korea 4 @ Japan 1
USA 6 @ Puerto Rico 5 (Puerto Rico eliminated)
Wednesday, March 18
Japan 5 @ Cuba 0 (Cuba eliminated)
Venezuela 10 @ USA 6 (Venezuela top seed from Pool 2 for Semifinals)
Thursday, March 19
Japan 6 @ Korea 2 (Japan top seed from Pool 1 for Semifinals)
Semi-Finals
Saturday, March 21
Korea 10 @ Venezuela 2 (Venezuela eliminated)
Sunday, March 22
Japan 9 @ USA 4 (USA eliminated)
Final
Japan @ Korea 6:00 PM
16 March 2009
With my PDR meeting on Thursday and nothing to worry about school-wise, the weekend was pretty fun and relaxing. And actually, I don't recall it stinking very much, no matter how much I wanted it to. For that I am now grateful.
There really wasn't too much going on except hanging out at Ryder, both the Friday night routine and the Saturday night St. Patrick's celebration. That vertical epic was kinda meh. Everyone except Justyn and I bailed on Hot Shots. Practice got cut short Saturday afternoon. Alex got beat up. Actually this weekend was pretty shitty...
...BUT...The computer is, for the most part, ready to go (thanks Bellwick). And I found myself for most of the weekend just wanting to stop what I was doing and go home to write. Which I did. And THAT salvaged the weekend.
WBC
Saturday's Scores:
Venezuela 3 @ Netherlands 1
Puerto Rico 11 @ USA 1
Sunday's Scores:
Japan 6 @ Cuba 0
Korea 8 @ Mexico 2
USA 9 @ Netherlands 3 (Netherlands eliminated)
12 March 2009
Finally downloaded and imported some new music into the iTunes last night : ) Speaking of new music, see pic at the top. Fuuuuck yes, think and say what you will, that will MAKE this summer!
WBC
Yesterday's Scores:
Mexico 16 @ Australia 1 (Australia eliminated)
Venezuela 5 @ USA 3 (Venezuela top seed from Pool C for Round 2)
Puerto Rico 5 @ Netherlands 0 (Puerto Rico top seed from Pool D for Round 2)
Today's Games:
Mexico @ Cuba 7:00 PM
Here are the teams for Round 2:
Pool 1: Japan, Korea, Mexico, Cuba
Pool 2: Netherlands, Venezuela, USA, Puerto Rico
Right now, Cuba is leading Mexico 7-4 in the bottom of the 6th. The winner will be the top seed from Pool B for Round 2 and play Japan in Game 1 of Round 2 here at Petco.
Round 2 games begin Saturday.
11 March 2009
Eli and I were discussing some our future projects and business ventures. They include:
- A podcast starring Lucas and Eli, discussing random topics that become humorous simply because they are Rascons.
- A 2010 SuperBowl add for coke, which we will pitch. The idea: "Coke Me".
- *A massive brewery/restaurant/venue located in Santee as a town landmark. Everyone we know will have a role.*
Other ideas will follow.
WBC
Yesterday's Scores:
Cuba 5 @ Australia 4
Venezuela 10 @ Italy 1 (Italy eliminated)
Netherlands 2 @ Dominican Republic 1 (Dominican Republic eliminated)
Today's Games:
Netherlands @ Puerto Rico 5:30 PM
Venezuela @ USA 6:30 PM
Mexico @ Australia 8:00 PM
At this point, either Mexico or Australia will be the last team eliminated in Round 1. Everyone else not eliminated already will move on to Round 2. USA must win tonight against Venezuela to be top seed, but they advance regardless.
09 March 2009
So this weekend, although disappointing in some ways to others, was really fun thanks to some good luck.
Friday night, I took off to school right after work to get some work done on our semester ISD project. Kind of some drama involved with that, and we didn't get as much done as we would have liked, but at least I got out of there in time to make a 10:25 Watchmen showing. Bullet number one dodged; as I was about to get on the 125, Justyn calls me wondering when we may show up at Ricky's party. For some reason, I really wasn't feeling a movie at the time, with the sitting and staring (and sleeping), so I flipped a bitch and drove down Woodside for a sweet party with Martin and Justyn. Played some pong, drank some whiskey, and chipped some lip all in the backroads of Lakeside. And, as it turns out after meeting up with the crew on Ryder, Watchmen wasn't an Oscar winner. Sweet.
Saturday was great, starting with sleeping in until 8. Unfortunately, father son bonding replaced a Saturday morning jam, but family always takes priority, we all know that. So, played some catch with Flo at the park, rounded up Chris, Martin and Nate and went to our Balboa spots to look at art. Took a break at home to get some stuff done, then went to Saturday night Stone with Chris, Justyn, Eli and Tiffany. The Growlers were filled and transported downtown to Kate's condo, which actually was really sweet. I didn't really mean to drink as much as I did because I had to meet up at 8 AM the next morning at school, but my growler was empty when we left and got home around 3:30. Also, way disappointing that the Hot Shots at the condo didn't work out. I blame myself. BUT, the condo was way sweet and I can't wait to do it again.
Sunday after getting the school work out of the way and waking everyone up, the Zoo ended up being me, Flo and Lily. Garret joined up later, and it made for a very educational, entertaining afternoon of watching animal drama. Grabbed some dinner at Panda later, which was very relaxing. I like how we meet up there and basically close the place up with 20% off food. Finished the night getting some more work done, which ended up taking a lot longer than expected. Didn't get to sleep until 4:30, so I was pretty tired this morning. But, a pleasant Sunday night and great weekend lingered in me all day.
OK, I made a mistake on the pools. Game 6 doesn't eliminate a team, it just determines the top seed for pool 2. Both move on.
WBC
Today's Scores:
Korea 1 @ Japan 0 (Korea top seed from Pool A for Round 2)
Mexico 14 @ South Africa 3 (South Africa eliminated)
Italy 6 @ Canada 2 (Canada eliminated)
Puerto Rico 3 @ Netherlands 1
Tomorrow's Games
Italy @ Venezuela 5:00 PM
Dominican Republic @ Netherlands 6:30 PM
Cuba @ Australia 8:00 PM
Looks like Japan is coming to San Diego. And my prediction is against Cuba.
08 March 2009
Here's a little WBC post before my weekend recap. Probably do that sometime tomorrow during work.
I know I missed a lot yesterday because Pool A is already in the final Game 6. Taipei, China and Panama are out, and I guess there must be a 10 run rule in this tourney because both Korea and China lost by more than 10 and the game ended in 7 innings. Funny.
WBC
Friday's Scores:
China 4 @ Taipei 1 (Taipei eliminated)
Saturday's Scores:
Japan 14 @ Korea 2 (7 innings)
USA 6 @ Canada 5
Venezuela 7 @ Italy 0
Netherlands 3 @ Dominican Republic 2
Puerto Rico 7 @ Panama 0
Today's Scores:
Korea 14 @ China 0 (7 innings, China eliminated)
Cuba 8 @ South Africa 1
Dominican Republic 9 @ Panama 0 (Panama eliminated)
Australia 17 @ Mexico 7
USA 15 @ Venezuela 6
Tomorrow's Games:
Korea @ Japan 6:30 PM
Italy @ Canada 6:30 PM
Netherlands @ Puerto Rico 6:30 PM
Mexico @ South Africa 7:00 PM
Round 2 starts in San Diego, and there's 6 games total. Only two weekend games though, both on Sunday. I'm looking at that 1:00 PM game, the rest are all 8:00 PM weekday games except one at 6:00 PM. Leave comments if you're interested.
06 March 2009
It felt good to get back to Thursday nights: work, school, poker, etc. Good stuff, and actually it's almost the REAL weekend!
WBC
Today's Scores:
Taipei 0 @ Korea 9
Tonight's Game:
Taipei @ China 7:30 PM (Loser is eliminated)
Tomorrow's Games:
Japan @ Korea 2:00 AM
Netherlands @ Dominican Republic 8:00 AM
Canada @ USA 11:00 AM
Panama @ Puerto Rico 2:00 PM
Italy @ Venezuela 5:00 PM
05 March 2009
Pools for World Baseball Classic:
Pool A: China, Japan, Taipei, Korea
Pool B: South Africa, Cuba, Australia, Mexico
Pool C: Canada, USA, Italy, Venezuela
Pool D: Kingdom of the Netherlands, Dominican Republic, Panama, Puerto Rico
Each pool has 6 games: Two teams play in Game 1, the other two play in Game 2. Game 3 is the losers of Game 1 and 2, Game 4 is the winners. Whoever wins game 4 goes on to Game 6, whoever wins Game 3 plays the loser of game 4 in Game 5. The loser of Game 3 is eliminated. The winner of Game 5 goes on to Game 6, the loser is eliminated. The winner of Game 6 is the pool winner. Simple.
I couldn't find a Google app with scores or schedules or anything, so I'll just do it myself. Today's post and all of the proceeding will look as follows:
WBC
Today's Scores:
China 0 @ Japan 4
Tomorrow's Games:
Taipei @ Korea 1:30 PM
All times are Pacific. Interesting note, looks like a lot of the WBC teams are playing spring training games against MLB teams right now.
02 March 2009
San Francisco was obviously a great escape, but it felt kind of ordinary. Even though I haven't been there since May I think, I just blended in like one of the locals and didn't get too much excitement outside of the partying. That's probably why I ended up doing my entire database modeling project while I was there...
Friday night I landed around 9 and made it to the house by 10. I guess they had been going since 6, so it was in full swing once I strolled in. It was actually one of the bigger parties but I still got in a sweet game of pong with this other guy from SD that went into triple overtime. That really was the highlight, and after it proceeded into some guys fighting over something stupid, others doing lines of Reel Big Fish CDs, and then a random stray dog entering the house. It had weird tumor thing on its neck, so no one liked it and they kept throwing it out. Kind of sad but necessary. Once it hit three or four, some of us were ready to crash and others weren't, so there was no way I was getting a couch upstairs. I was feeling kinda bummed when I remembered the couch downstairs in the garage. Success! That was, however, reason number one for sleeping with the rats.
Saturday morning I slept until about 11, got up, did my best to shower in the sink, and headed to school to start my project. Nice walk actually, I stopped on Ocean for my typical bag of fruit, chips, an Vietnamese sandwich. The library was totally under construction and shut down, and I didn't feel like walking to the temporary one they set up all the way over by the police station. Luckily the student center was open and I cracked open the project syllabus for the first time to get some good headway. I also napped a lot in those chairs that start comfortable and end up like bricks. They ended up kicking me out of there before closing, so my last option was Borders at Stonestown mall. Always crowded at Seattle's Best, but after a minute I scored a table and got a couple more hours of work in. I figured I had done enough for the day so I made the trek home in time for Saturday night beer pong, which usually starts around 3 or 4. One guy that I beat punched a hole in the drywall, another one kicked a chair into the window and just CRACKED it. He decided that wasn't good enough and ended up just kicking it in. Keep in mind this is on the top floor in the living room. After such a large bash on Friday, we just played at home for a few more hours and chilled before heading to another party in the Sunset. We left around 10:30 I think and had to take the 29, which stops running around 12:30. Therefore we got there, made the rounds for an hour or so, and then had to leave to catch it home. On the bus ride back, called up Red Sea, smoked and ate before calling it a night. Of course, with a broken window now and night time temperatures around 45 degrees, I wasn't going to sleep upstairs Saturday night either. Reason number two for sleeping with the rats...
I at least woke up a little earlier on Sunday morning, around 9, although I now knew I had caught some bad germs over the course of the last two days. I still needed to finish that project and I wanted to go downtown so I headed for the library on Powell. Closed. So I went to the Apple store (I now own a mighty mouse) and H&M, got lunch at Sam Wo and went to the Borders in Union Square where I pretty much finished the whole thing. Of course, when I got off BART at Balboa Park to walk 3 blocks back home, 4 guys followed me and might of done something had I not made it to the front steps just in time. Seriously 1 minute later I looked out and they had got some guy just walking out of his house. On that note, I took off for SFO and put some finishing touches on the project while waiting for my delayed flight. Finally, back in San Diego!
Honestly, it was a fun trip but it felt kind of unnecessary. And I definitely caught something gross there, and I've spent this week trying to rid it from my body. It's good to be home again.
27 February 2009
This birthday week could not have been better, and now this weekend is going to be even more celebratory. I decided to post a pre-weekend blog in addition to the weekend update which will follow on Sunday. I'm about to head up to SF for a huge and party and EVERYONE from the past will be there. Everyone is so different now, but I know it will feel the same. Can I handle this?
25 February 2009
Ok, I read Justyn's rant on dip. All valid points to a critical, objective thinker, and I agree with most of it. I just thought you (Justyn) were the one that wanted to stop, so I blogged some inspiration to get us going. But I don't care, I like it and we'll just stop doing it excessively I suppose.
Also, I'm sitting in an International Business class right now and we started talking about how a lot of fast food restaurants are actually outsourcing the work of employees who take orders from the drive-thru intercom to other places. Wow, did not know that. And it reminds me of that stupid self-serve order machine at the Carl's Jr.
24 February 2009
I will stop dipping for the following valid reasons:
- It's bad for my mind, blood, gums and heart
- I think it's draining my daily energy supply and making me lazy
- It makes me enjoy unhealthy food, both before and after a spit
- It's a bad influence on my friends
- Girls think it's disgusting
- It's all over Summer
- I do it when I'm bored, or before class
- Source of above image: oralcancerfoundation.org
- It feels great, tastes great with cold beer (preferably Hefeweizen) and makes me feel like I'm in the back roads of Virginia
Ok the last one isn't a great reason, but the rest should be enough to make me forget it.
--NK
23 February 2009
This weekend really was one for the books. I don't know how it happened, but along with all the work, friends, fun and adventure came a broad range of emotions I hadn't felt in a long time. And then of course surreal feelings produced surreal events that hit me like a sucker-punch but make perfect sense none the less.
Friday started with a slight lack of energy due to the all night poker party at the Rascon's Thursday night, which was way fun. After work I just crashed for a while but then got myself up to at least start my Wiki for IDS 492. After that, I grabbed some Alaskan and went to Ryder again for some sweet hangout. I actually ended up feeling kinda shitty after a while and left to go fix that over a burrito and discussion of life with Kate. When I returned, everyone was ready for their Santana's trip so I came along. Nothing wrong with eating two burritos right? Maybe I should start thinking so...
Saturday I was NOT ready to wake up at 9, drive to Escondido, eat Jamaba Juice, a pretzel and a bacon western cheeseburger for breakfast, throw some pinches and then take a Stone Brewery tour with free beer. But I did. And it was grand. I'm pretty sure that perfect amount of Stone's starting lineup made for a pretty good practice session because everything felt really tight. After playing around with some of the Wii homebrew, I had to head out to school to get shit done with Justyn, who I know misses the feeling. And I GOT that shit done, so we celebrated with a Panda dinner, and everyone came even if they weren't eating which was really nice. After a quick disband, pajamas were equipped and we gathered around the table for some intimate partying. I'm kind of struggling to put into words how this night and the rest of the weekend felt, and as much as I want to write something descriptive and accurate, it makes sense that I can't. It was just something about the unusually warm weather, the fact that everyone was chilling in their pajamas, and the sense that everyone had had a long Saturday and were in the mood to just veg. But after a swing and a miss on strike three, I also remember laughing at Piper being fat, discussing Android tattoos, watching Kate feed Indy bread, hiding in a small broom closet that no one else could fit in. Ending the night with some hot shots and donuts topped it off.
Sunday was fuzzy in every sense; the clouds covered the sky all day and the weather was warm again, and I woke up partially remembering everything that had happened the night before. I had a ton of stuff I had to do for school, but I just couldn't get started. Luckily I saw a bit of sun as it was setting out on Harbor Drive. Very nice afternoon : ) Following was dinner at Domo with the largest group ever (13 or so?) and then some more Wiki work. I was about to call it a night, but then...well, we don't talk about what happens next...
17 February 2009
Snow day yesterday was FANTASTIC! I'm actually kind of surprised because I really hate cold weather, but I think it's because I never dress warm enough. When you know you have to be completely prepared and get all bundled up, it's actually pretty comfortable and a lot of fun. There was a ton of snow already on the ground as well as a strong wind with flakes/hail. The whole experience was completely refreshing.
Also, the weekend Valentines Day party on Saturday was pretty cool, and included another trip to Stone for some smoked porter. Friday I had to spend most of my night at school before coming home and crashing. Although I still had work and school yesterday, I stayed out until 4 am drinking, playing poker and getting yellow shack. Probably the better night of the weekend. Nutmeg anyone?
12 February 2009
This week has been the COLDEST. I do NOT approve.
10 February 2009
Zack and Miri is probably the funniest Seth Rogen movie so far, which is somewhat surprising given it can be cheesy and romantic at the same time. Anyway, we all watched that on Saturday night at my house before playing 18 holes of Hot Shots until 4 am. And we had our growlers refilled a few hours earlier and all enjoyed them during, except me; I decided to save my IPA to share with the fam the next night over Indian food. But I did have some tasty Pabst Genuine Draft when Lucas stumbled into my room at 2 am with a soggy 18 pack box and offered me one. Yum.
The night before was all rainy and wet, but it was a nice night none the less.
--NK
03 February 2009
I know this post is kind of late, but I'll just do it anyway.
Friday we partied at the Santee Inn. Martin, Garrett and I stayed the night, woke up the next morning, bypassed the sorry continental breakfast at our hotel and walked about a quarter mile to the Best Western down the road for a huge free meal. As I walked down the street in the clothes I slept in, hood covering my floor-matted hair, I couldn't help but think that this was one of the trashiest things I've ever done in Santee ; )
Despite a crazy Friday night, it actually forced me to wake up early and after breakfast head home to help Mark move into Darick's old room, which freed up the one next to mine to move the lab into. After all the gear was in, Justyn, Martin and I journeyed to Fry's for a video card, and even though it was the cheapest one available, it ended up being needless. He returned it yesterday before we went to La Jolla to chill on the beach. Anyway, once we were bored with setting up, the adults went to Stone Brewery to refill the Growlers and initiate the noobs with their own. I got Pale Ale. We chilled for a little while and drank great beer outside in the garden. That place is awesome. Later in the night, we drank the Growlers in the Beatles pilsner glasses Eli got me for Christmas. Then I went on an adventure, twice, to see the cannon. It's cold down there!
Sunday I didn't wake up until 1:00 PM, but there was still enough time to go shopping and cook a ton of food at my house for the Super Bowl. Lucas and I owned that kitchen by the way, and you're all welcome. The game was good too, even though Arizona couldn't pull it off at the end. But congratulations to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Weekend well done.
30 January 2009
My first week of school was low-key but busy and informative. Even though it was mostly just housekeeping (i.e. accommodating crashers, course overviews and syllabi) I had to get used to the new schedule, which has me running back and forth between work and school multiple times a day. I'm enjoying the change of scenery during the day however; like I said before, it's really nice to be outdoors again on campus during the day instead of the late night classes I've gotten so used to the last few years.
My actual courses are really exciting. They're mostly project-team oriented, so it's just one giant semester project which has us designing systems for real-life situations, start to finish. It seems like whichever class falls on Thursday night always seems to be the most enjoyable, even if it's the most challenging or the most work. IDS 406 was awesome last night, although I've pretty much committed every weekend to it for the next 4 months : )
26 January 2009
So after a long Vegas weekend, it's good to be home and get back to routine again. Even though it was in the party capital of the world, it was actually very relaxing thanks to the spa in our suite at the Luxor. It was Garrett's first time, so we did a lot of walking around the strip, mostly to just get a lay of the land. It sounds like there will be multiple trips to Nevada this year, so it will be even better when we're all 21.
In music news, it looks like we're going to practice and record in the Kowalski house now. Well as long as everyone in the fam. is cool with it, which I'm pretty confident they will be. We're going to move into my old room, which I think is a cool practice environment for what we're doing musically. I'll post back when all is confirmed.
Pretty much back to the same thing as usual: school, work, music, adventures, partying. Yay.
23 January 2009
First thing's first: this was a crazy winter break full of non-stop partying and other indulgences. It may have gotten a little out of hand at times, but I hope there are no regrets. For anyone. I'm not exactly sure how it even started, but I think it was just one giant release from the intense Fall semester. That's NOT to say that Fall was not the best time of 2008, maybe even my life.
Sorry if these version analogies seem lame or confusing, but it just seems relevant and I know there are some you who do understand. So read on. If you can remember 3.0, those days were what I wanted to model all of 2009 on. I and everyone around me just seemed to be running on all cylinders like a well-oiled machine in its prime. It was a great melting pot of fun and conscientiousness with all the people I love.
Then everything seemed to go a little haywire, at least on my part. School stopped. The blogging stopped. The jogging stopped. And the fun began. But there is such a thing as too much fun, and it's something I learned once before, long ago in my SF days, but then forgot. Or maybe I just missed it. After a while, I realized I had lost myself when looking like shit outside meant feeling like shit inside, which is much worse. Anyway, like I said, no regrets but it's time to get back business.
Chris was quoted as saying I flicked a switch, from 3.0 to 3.5. It seemed more like a downgrade to though. Either way, I can't relive old days and I can't move ahead too fast. 3.1 is where I need to be. And I really felt it sinking in starting yesterday.
The first day of class for my final full semester of college. This was actually the most easy-going first day of any, which does make sense since I've done it so many times. Normally, it's a mixture of anxiety, nervousness, stress, and uncertainty. It takes me a while to get in the swing of things and get a feel for my schedule and classes. Because I'm only taking IS classes and the small major means I see a lot of the same faces as last semester, I felt like I just fell right back into place and had never left Fall 2008. Even though my daily work/class schedule is very hectic this time (lots more commuting back and forth everyday), I'm excited to have one last chance at daytime classes. I haven't taken a class before 4:00 PM since 2006 I think. It was nice to walk around campus at noon when it's really buzzing. Reminds me of State in SF.
It's been a surprisingly warm January as well, so it's time to end the running season and start swimming. It's cold and painful in the early stages, but it's also low impact and wakes you up in the morning. Seriously, there's no better feeling than coming home after swimming and taking a hot shower. It's a great way to start the day. I would like to say I'm going to start eating less or watching the types of food I do eat, but I would be lying to myself. That's just not going to happen, and I don't want it to happen anyway. But I will stop spending so much money on food and alcohol and get back to just sipping on good beer that tastes right.
Despite the crazy start, I still stand by 2009 all the way. There's going to be adventures (Vegas, Chicago), parties, etc. I've dumped a lot of emotional baggage and I'm not going to revisit it anymore. I won't be duped anymore, and I'll see things and people for what/who they really are instead of what I want them to be. To summarize, I just want to get along with everyone. When it comes down to it, there's not really anyone I don't like. And I'll do my best to prove it.
So that's that. As Justyn says, ''time to get shit done!''
22 January 2009
Just a quick update before my big blog:
For some reason, the first day of classes is today (a Thursday). I'm pretty excited and I feel really refreshed after a long winter break. I'll also have a big gap between my 2:00 and 7:00 classes, so I'll probably do a big post for the start of Spring 2009 sometime then.
20 January 2009
First day of classes is Thursday (kind of odd), then trip to Vegas on Friday. Should be fun. After that, Winter Break 2008-2009 is over. Thank God.
15 January 2009
GRAN TORINO IS THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER!
12 January 2009
The last two Saturdays we've had a hotel party downtown. It's things like this I find myself doing more of in 2009, which is so refreshing. I've always been about random, spur of the moment craziness, but it seems like there are more people to share it with these days. Sure it's expensive and maybe even impractical, but look at the benefits. It's a new environment instead of the routine spots and it keeps us safe because no one has to drive after and risk getting pulled over or hurting someone/themselves in an accident. Good times all around.
06 January 2009
December 31st, 2008: To start the night and finish 2008, we started with hopes of a pre-game at SDBC. After driving all the way out there to find that they were closed, we grabbed some Pyramid Hefeweizen and Coors and golfed at my house instead. I guess I pushed it a little too far and my dad got a little annoyed with all the beer and people in my room, but it was cool. Consider it the last time in 2008. Although we hadn't been there in a while, Josh's was really fun too. All the fancy decorations and moderate drinking made the final moments of 2008 so memorable.
Honestly, the majority of 2008 was horrible. Some of the worst times of my life. But the tail-end of it seemed to bring new life and turned into some of the best. It WILL foreshadow 2009.
Then the countdown began...
3...
2...
1...
January 1st, 2009, 12:01 AM: The new year went off like a gun and never seemed to look back. We all just kept drinking into the night, and luckily Chris was smart enough to be our driver when the entire Santee police force was on the streets. Ruben was good and loaded, and soon after he wanted to kill me like so many of those old nights. We ditched him after he got too stupid to tolerate anymore (no remorse) and drove out to yellow shack for the first mexican food of 2009. We always seem to meet the strangest people there, and this time it was a group of young adults all dressed up and driving their own limo from 1992. Went home, said happy new year to mama and went to bed.
January 1st, 2009: I literally woke up feeling like a younger version of myself. The weather was amazing in Santee, so we walked around the Trolley Center while waiting for our table at Mimi's. After that, we jammed, watched some of The Office outtakes, took our breaks and then met up for ....
Ok, you can see where I'm going with this post, but I'm seriously struggling to remember all of this shit. If you read my earlier posts, I can usually describe every little thing we did for the night. My brain hurts. I'll finish it later. It's 2009 ; )
31 December 2008
Christmas this year seemed laid back and exhausting at the same time. Maybe it was because I was still recovering from finals, or maybe it was due to the rainy weather. Regardless, there was just so much going on and flew by in a flash.
The entire family gathered at our house this year, with a new twist aimed at relieving the overwhelming nature of Christmas morning. Instead of all getting together and opening a mountain of presents under one tree, the many small, immediate families opened together at their own houses and then met at our house for dinner. Also, the adults only bought presents for the kids this year, nothing for each other. I was still considered a kid : ) I had a lot of fun seeing the family and hanging out with all the cousins every night.
Other than that, I pretty much just took it easy. Did some shopping, saw some movies, played some games. That's about it. I'm really looking forward to the New Year.
22 December 2008
Wow, it's been a long time since I updated my blog. So much has happened since the last real post and there's a lot to say, but I'll try and keep it as short as possible.
Last I checked in, I was on the trolley, on my way to take the last final and the biggest one of the semester. School is the reason why I haven't blogged in so long, so I'll start with that. The two weeks leading up to finals were spent preparing for all six of them; making and reviewing flashcards, cheat sheets, and study guides. Lots of late nights and very little sleep. So much so that my body finally caved in and a got a little under the weather. Of course, I was able to bounce back in about 2 days thanks to apple cider vinegar and a lot of tea. Also, the burden on all the intense studying was a little lighter thanks to all the fun study sessions we had with so many different people and places. We all met at Starbucks, other coffee shops, and people's houses to get shit done and have fun at the same time. In the end, I did really well on all my finals and made sure I got through all my classes. I'm so close to graduating and I can finally see light at the end of the tunnel. It's really exciting.
Now for the fun stuff. Thursday night after my FIN 323 final, I headed to Parkway Bowl to celebrate with the guys. Had some beer and played pool for a while. Chasing the feeling of victory and relief with Coors Light and Cope was one of the best feelings, followed by a burrito at Sombrero's. Not our first choice, but for some reason Santana's was closed : (. Watched some of The Office with Martin and Justyn, went for a run and finally got some sleep. Great way to start winter break '08.
On Friday, I banged out a productive day at work with nothing to distract me. I don't really like talking abut anything work-related, but it's actually kind of exciting. The boss and I are embarking on a new business venture in which I have to script, write, produce, and edit all of our marketing e-mails, websites, and movies. Oh and it's all done on Mac! Welcome to Final Cut. Anyway, i came home excited for the weekend and got in a good weight sesh before heading out to Fashion Valley with Chris, Martin and Eli. I bought some clothes for the next night and searched for someone to stick a hole in my lip. It was a no-go that night, but I lucked out and found a guy who would do it the next day for $21 because it was his birthday. Guess what age? So it was nice to eat one last NK at Del Taco without having metal scrape my teeth.
Saturday started with carpet cleaning at the Kowalski house. The plan was to be picked up by Chris and the guys to head over to Parkway to finish shopping. My family needed help however, so I had to drive all the way to El Cajon for a vacuum cleaner part, pick up Del Taco, drop it all off at home and then go back to the mall to meet everyone. I finally got there and changed my attire plans for the night, which I ended up liking more. After the mall, we stopped at Santana's to eat, although I didn't : (. Walked across the parking lot, climbed in the chair and got a metal rod stuck through my bottom left lip where the old one used to be. It didn't really hurt, although it's much thicker than the first one and the stud is a little more annoying than the ring. It's kind of growing on me, but once it heals, I'll find something better. After that, we got Justyn outfitted in his cowboy gear for the night, hit up Target and BevMo for the beverage of choice that night and returned to Santee for a rest.
The party wasn't starting until 9:00, so we all met in our formal gear and watched some Office at Justyn's to kill some time. Once we arrived, everything started a little slow until picking up and becoming a really fun night. We all did our shots of 151, some more than others, and basically just enjoyed the Christmas atmosphere with friends. We also found a moment to sing happy birthday to Justyn and watch him have his first drink of alcohol. Way to go big boy. Oh and Martin, Justyn, Ruben, Scotty, and I all did flaming Dr. Peppers. That was cool. Once everything settled down, we cleaned up some and started to crash on the couch. I think. Actually, Justyn and I walked home. Except he didn't want to sleep so he went back to 7-11 to chill with some fine company and eat a 14 hour old hot dog. Happy birthday man.
Sunday was a very nice day as well. I woke up in time to watch the second half of the Chargers beating the Buccaneers in Tampa over at Kate's with Martin and Mike. Hurdle one done: beat Tampa Bay. Now, all we needed was a loss from Denver to Buffalo. So we went, picked up Justyn and ate at Oggi's while watching some of the game. good times, but it looked like Buffalo was going to fuck up once again. Once we left though, Buffalo somehow slowly pulled it off and ended up winning by a touchdown. Hurdle two down: Denver loss to Tampa Bay. Next week is going to be the most exciting football game of the year. Cannot wait. After that, I went home to help unload our Christmas tree. Very nice. After, I went over to Parkway for a private shopping sesh to get almost all of my gifts purchased and wrapped. I only need a few more things, but this is going to be a great Christmas and I'm excited to spend it with you all.
18 December 2008
Finally, the final final. And it's Finance, 323 to be specific. Since last night, I've been focused solely on this exam and nothing else in my life.
I need this to be my best one, and I'm riding the trolley to SDSU for the last time this year confident that it will be. I've noticed that the tests you actually look forward to taking are the ones you are most prepared for. And I cannot WAIT to take this thing.
My head is just laughing at my heart and saying "I told you so"...
09 December 2008
I just finished the Chapter 8 cheat sheet for FIN 323. Still have to do Chapter 10. Flashcards for IDS 483 and IDS 306 are done. I should get started in IDS 302 and maybe MGT 350.
Just finished my last IDS 483 assignment, due today, and MKTG 370 which is done but I don't have to submit for a few days.
Even though I'm incredibly busy, it's been fun.
08 December 2008
I think I'll keep this one short since we took it pretty easy this weekend. Everyone is busy preparing for finals, Christmas shopping, or just in anticipation of all the fun we're going to have during winter break.
Friday night we just lounged around finishing up Season 03 of The Office at Martin's. Kind of a good thing because we had to get shit done the next morning, although I did manage to stay up until 4 am talking on AIM and hanging out with the bros. Sounded like Justyn even eventually went to sleep around 6 because he was doing some hw. Damn bro, that's dedication.
Saturday Chris, Jusyn and I left around 11 to do some errands: return the projector to Office Depot, return the kegs to BevMo (I got them to waive all the cleaning and rental fees because the O ring on the winter lager tap broke : ), lunch at Arby's, then Guitar Center to cash in our free $10 we all got in the mail. After all that, meet up with Martin at the lab for a Saturday session. We ran through everything we know so far and then learned a new one. I think we have a good variety of genres in the music we're playing: some emo-sap pop rock, alternative, dance punk. I even plan on throwing in some classic but tasteful country-sounding stuff. This latest one is kind of gritty, with a drive that comes purely from how hard you strum the augmented, somewhat painful dischords on a clean guitar turned up really loud. No effects, just blood to muscle to impact to sound. After breaking for showers/dinner, we all headed up to attempt Christmas celebrating at Balboa, with a stop along the way at Macy's for Justyn's sweet new jacket. All of downtown was packed and we couldn't find a single space to park (or we just didn't want to drive around for very long looking). We decided to meet Flo at Grossmont to see 4 Christmases, which turned out to be less about Christmas and more about dysfunctionality. Not what we were looking for! Came home, played some game boards, grabbed some Yellow Shack and called it a night. Everyone went home to their cozy, warm beds ; )
Sunday was very unproductive. No Charger game, I woke up around 11 and didn't do much except play guitar until going back to sleep. I decided I should probably get some work done and I wanted to get out of the house so I went to Starbucks to study. Chris and Flo met me there and then we disbanded to our designated dinner assignments: Flo to 99 for family dinner time, Chris and I to Domo for Sushi Sunday with the crew. We all regrouped at Del Taco to help Justyn close up and then relocated to my dining room table for some cyber cafe studying. Fun, productive night.
This is the last week before finals. I have to finish all my preparations and start cramming the information in my head. On top of that, I have to finish my Christmas shopping and get something to wear to Kate's party. All work but very exciting.
04 December 2008
I think I'll layout my situation and strategy for December 4th thru December 18th. Here it is:
The week of finals is the 15th of December, six finals in 4 days (Monday-Thursday).
The test in each class requires a different method of study: flashcards (heavy memorization), cheat sheet (can be used on test), or study guide (lost of equations). Could also be a combination of two. Also, certain tests take priority over others based on amount of material to cover, current grade in the class, date of Final, or level of relevance to my career (i.e. do I give a shit about the material). Here are all six, top priority first:
FIN 323 - Cheat Sheet - Great class, but horrible Midterm 1 grade requires an A on both Midterm 2 and Final.
IDS 483 - Flashcards - Favorite class, tons of memorization, current grade must be sustained/improved
IDS 306 - Flashcards - Interesting, excellent project grade but weak Midterm 1 grade. Decent Final will clinch class.
IDS 302 - Flashcards, Study Guide - Awesome class, good current grade, just do well on Final.
MGT 350 - Cheat Sheet - Bullshit class, but I kind of need a good grade on the Final.
MKTG 370 - Flashcards - Another BSer and I have a solid grade so it gets lowest priority.
So I have the rest of this week and next week to prepare and study. Throw in a little extra time during finals week for late night cram sessions. As of now, I have all flashcards complete for IDS 483 and I should be finishing IDS 306 tonight. This weekend I hope to start on MGT 350 cheat sheet and maybe IDS 302 flashcards/study guide.
02 December 2008
I'm just sitting here listening to Wilco and, you know, I hope in another few years I'm not the same person I am today. I want to be completely different, more calm, less wide-eyed. I don't really think I can stop that from happening anyway, but it will be really beneficial. Strangely, I feel very at peace today.
For the next two weeks though, I need to really focus on school and avoid, or at least put-off for a while, any emotional baggage I'm carrying. There will be time for that, but I HAVE to get stuff done. And so do YOU ;)
01 December 2008
As many people know, it's been a wild last few days during the Thanksgiving holiday. Here's what went down:
It was a short week for my normal routine so my adventure started on Wednesday afternoon. I went to work and then routinely left for school only to find that quiet, deserted campus that comes around during holiday breaks. It was overcast and somewhat erie, but also ominous of the events that were to come. After turning in a networking assignment, the class was promptly dismissed and left me with an extra hour or so to kill. I ate some dinner and did a little studying, just to keep up during the break. School was even more quiet when I went to my 7:00 class, but we only lectured for about an hour and then the weekend finally began. My family was already on their way to the airport so I was stoked to come home to an empty house that would be my playground all weekend. I ended up playing Sims all night with Flo and left the initial preparations for Thanksgiving Day.
Thursday, Thanksgiving, I woke up and did a little work on the house, mostly tidying up, hiding the breakables, vacuuming, and ''boarding'' up the doors with blankets. Dinner at my aunt's house was at 3, so I went with Flo to get some groceries and such for Friday and then took a shower before heading over. The food was great and the atmosphere was low-key and laid back. Very enjoyable. When I returned home, the REAL adventure began. Martin and Justyn came over with the bar and we set it up in the kitchen, along with a well-lit beer pong stadium in the back yard. Chris came over after his Thanksgiving with all the mixers and bar accessories. It was beginning to look legit, especially with all the rope light we found (thanks Mom :) ). We settled down to watch a little Office Season 03, but Chris had to work so we stopped a little early. Justyn also had to get some C++ done, so he went home for a while leaving me and Martin. We were all planning on hitting up the doorbusters in the early morning with Flo, but we weren't sure when that would happen exactly. I don't think either of us felt like sleeping anyway so we just stayed up, chilling in the bar we created. I even went on a run to kill some time. After we both scoped out some of the lines forming around east county (both Santee and Parkway Best Buys and Office Depots), we met up with Justyn again, laptop in possession, to head to Best Buy at 5 am. At this point, I don't think any of us except Flo had been to sleep yet. Best Buy FAILED to offer me a projector, so we left for Office Depot and picked one up. Then we went to Parkway, shopped (bought some shoes), and stopped at McDonald's on the way home for McMuffins. After a quick disbandment, Justyn took us to get the kegs and liquor from BevMo. We brought them home, and rest of the day was full of final preparations, errands, sound and light checks, etc. The final calm before the storm was upon us and the ultimate explosion looming...
You'll notice no paragraph break between Thursday and most of Friday in the story above. This happens when fun replaces sleep. Friday night deserves its own section anyway.
If I do say so myself, we had a great setup at the party. Originally, I had wanted a large quantity of people, just to say the party got that big, but with everyone pitching in, quality prevailed in the end. It was really nice to see more friendly, familiar faces around than a bunch of random people. Elements I think turned out the best and made the party: the bar (with Chris at the helm), the beer pong stadium (glass table, awesome lighting, MGD keg), and the playlist w/ itunes visualizer (not repetitive, good variety, energetic yet sophisticated). There was such a warm feeling in that kitchen with everyone around, having drinks, baking pumpkin bread, etc. I loved it. Of course with alcohol comes the invitation for hot heads and swinging fists. Some moron with a fucked up head or too much to drink thought my house was his, but thanks to some great guys he wasn't able to kick in my door. I remember at one point really wanting all of the riff raff to leave and call it a night. But once it was just the Santee boys, I got a second wind and cranked the MGMT up. The goal then became to drink anything that Chris made and like it. I probably would have drank myself dead if Flo hadn't rescued me. A bunch of people helped clean up the kitchen and then took off to Denny's, but I must have passed out on the couch in exhaustion. Great night.
Chris and Martin cam to wake me up around 1 pm on Saturday. I fell asleep fully clothed, woke up, and just continued on as-was. We grabbed some Santana's, cleaned up a bit, jammed a little, then the crew came over to play pictionary and drain the keg. WAY fun.
Sunday, my mind was swimming with all that had taken place the last couple of days, but I felt pretty good and went to go meet with my 306 group to prepare our final presentation for Tuesday. Things went smoothly and the time seemed to fly by. Sometimes I don't realize how burnt out I get with all the work and school, and a long break really helps. When I finished, I drove around town returning unneeded party supplies before meeting everyone for a small sushi sunday. Weekend over, time to pick up the fam. from the airport. I think they all knew about the party, except my dad, and were really impressed at how clean the house was. My dad had a talk with me about how I should just be honest with him; he wouldn't really have minded me having a party if I just told him. I'll remember that.
So we all had our fun, now let's get our head back in the game and, as Bell would say, get shit done. School, work, music...I just have to say that life rocks right now, and on Valentines day we are going to have an album to tell you all about it. Only three weeks left in this fantastic semester. So get it done and we'll do it all again on December 20th, the official first day of Winter Break '08! Cannot wait.
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