Phoenix was hot, believe it or not. I had a good time though, and it was good to see my friends from study abroad in China. We ended up staying inside much of the day because my two friends aren't really morning people, so they didn't usually roll out of bed until after noon or 1:00. Also, by that time it was so hot out that it was just better to stay inside anyway. We didn't really DO anything the whole time I was there and I don't think we strayed much more than 5 miles away from Natalie's apartment. We did rent some fun cruiser bikes that made getting around pretty fun and easy though. Our primary activities involved going to the grocery store, making food like eggplant lasagne, BLT's, and Chinese stir fry, eating out at a tasty vegan restaurant, at a friendly Indian restaurant, and a Mediterranean restaurant. We also spent a lot of time just sitting around on the internet and listening to music, and meeting Natalie's friends. I got to drive two kinds of cars that I'd never driven before (Honda CRV and a Volvo S40). The S40 was more fun, but I was less impressed with it than I was with the CRV. My friends complimented me on my authoritative parking skills. On my last day there we helped Natalie move out of her apartment into a room in a house with a bunch of messy nerdy boys.
It was a good trip and I'm glad I got to go, thanks to Mom's help. Also, I would recommend to anyone that they fly Southwest Airlines. They have FREE SEATING!!! Instead of getting assigned seating and having to sit in the middle seat next to stinky or annoying people, you can sit wherever you want once you get on the plane and hopefully avoid those kinds of people and instead sit next to attractive people. It is great.
And here's today's video, Helena by My Chemical Romance. I like it because the lead singer is so intense, and I like the black/red color scheme.
5.30.2006
5.22.2006
Job(less) Anatomy
I will be sure to let everyone know the very moment I get a job. In the mean time, I'm still looking.
I made some money this weekend 'babysitting' my cousins. They are old enough that I didn't really have to do any actual babysitting (no diaper changing, for example), so it was pretty easy. I really just had to spend the night there, but I ended up spending most of the days there too because their house is air-conditioned, unlike my apartment which is more like a sauna without the steam.
Aside from watching their cable and lounging in the AC, we also went to the Body Worlds exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. It was really amazing. It is an exhibit of real human bodies which have been dissected and preserved. It is like doing a cadaver lab without all the slicing and dicing and fainting. I would highly recommend that you go see it if you have a chance.
So, it was a pretty good weekend. Tomorrow I am helping my roomate Grant's parents move to their new house, and then I have to get ready to leave for Phoenix on tuesday morning.
Here's today's Jack Handy quote:
I'd like to be buried Indian-style, where they put you up on a high rack, above the ground. That way, you could get hit by meteorites and not even feel it.
And here's today's video of Shakira shaking her anatomy in "These Hips Don't Lie":
And finally, as a little bonus, here's a Natalie Dee cartoon called "giraffes are not encumbered by the rules of society."
I made some money this weekend 'babysitting' my cousins. They are old enough that I didn't really have to do any actual babysitting (no diaper changing, for example), so it was pretty easy. I really just had to spend the night there, but I ended up spending most of the days there too because their house is air-conditioned, unlike my apartment which is more like a sauna without the steam.
Aside from watching their cable and lounging in the AC, we also went to the Body Worlds exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. It was really amazing. It is an exhibit of real human bodies which have been dissected and preserved. It is like doing a cadaver lab without all the slicing and dicing and fainting. I would highly recommend that you go see it if you have a chance.
So, it was a pretty good weekend. Tomorrow I am helping my roomate Grant's parents move to their new house, and then I have to get ready to leave for Phoenix on tuesday morning.
Here's today's Jack Handy quote:
I'd like to be buried Indian-style, where they put you up on a high rack, above the ground. That way, you could get hit by meteorites and not even feel it.
And here's today's video of Shakira shaking her anatomy in "These Hips Don't Lie":
And finally, as a little bonus, here's a Natalie Dee cartoon called "giraffes are not encumbered by the rules of society."
5.19.2006
Summertime
Let's see... 9 days into summer vacation and I'm already kind of sick of it. Call me crazy, but I don't really like summer vacation very much. I kind of wish I were taking summer classes, but they are expensive. Luckily I've been pretty busy every day so far running errands or seeing people, or whatnot. Hopefully I find a job before the horrible summertime boredom sets in.
I got my grades for this past semester, and although they weren't very stellar, they were actually better than I was anticipating. I got an A in Phonetics and Phonology, and A- in both Study of Words and in Intro to Linguistics, so all my linguistics classes were in the A territory, which is fantastic but it's also what I was expecting. Then, in Political Geography, the class that I got a D on the first test, I managed to pull out a B-. I wasn't expecting anything higher than a C in that class, so I was very happy with that. Then, in American Foreign Policy, which I also messed up big-time and got a D on the final exam and wasn't expecting anything higher than a C, I got a B in. So I was happy about that too. Then, in my last class, Problems in International Relationsn, I got a lower-than-expected C+, but that's because I didn't really put any effort into the final paper which was worth 1/3 of our grade. I didn't put much effort in because I spent all my time trying to salvage that political geography grade instead and just didn't have time left over for that paper. So I'm actually not very upset about that. My cumulative GPA dropped this semester from a 3.487 to a 3.447. Hopefully, with any luck, I'll still be able to bring that up over a 3.5 next semester though.
In other summertime news, I've been looking for jobs, but not very hard. I figure I don't need to start getting desparate until the beginning of June. The study abroad thing in Jordan didn't pan out. The linguistics job that I applied for way back in March doesn't seem like it'll be an option. I might be able to get a gig doing a website for MiniTec, a company that makes the kind of Mini Coopers that I want to buy one day. Aside from that, I've called about a job here and there, and sent an email or two, but nothing very appealing. Can't someone just pay me to sit at home and work on my Chinese and go for bike rides and stuff?
One more summertime news item, as if it isn't hot enough for me here in Boulder (it's plenty hot, I have a pretty low tolerance for heat), I'm going to fly to Phoenix next week where it is some 20 degrees hotter. Why? No, it's not because I'm just that masochistic. I am going to visit two of my friends from study abroad in Nanjing whom I haven't seen in almost a year. I'm just going for 5 days, and hopefully the heat won't kill me (it almost gives me heat stroke just thinking about it). Hopefully I can con them into us going up into the mountains for some camping or something, it should be cooler there.
Here's today's Jack Handy quote:
Maybe in order to understand mankind, we have to look at the word itself: "Mankind". Basically, it's made up of two separate words - "mank" and "ind". What do these words mean ? It's a mystery, and that's why so is mankind.
Here's today's video. It is "Camisa Negra" by Juanes. He's Colombian. This is kind of a strange video, and I don't really see how it is at all related to the lyrics, but I like it anyway. One thing that bothers me though is that in the song he keeps saying, "tengo la camisa negra" which means something like, "I have the black shirt," yet he's actually wearing a white shirt in this video... I don't get it:
Alright, that's about it for now. Adios people.
I got my grades for this past semester, and although they weren't very stellar, they were actually better than I was anticipating. I got an A in Phonetics and Phonology, and A- in both Study of Words and in Intro to Linguistics, so all my linguistics classes were in the A territory, which is fantastic but it's also what I was expecting. Then, in Political Geography, the class that I got a D on the first test, I managed to pull out a B-. I wasn't expecting anything higher than a C in that class, so I was very happy with that. Then, in American Foreign Policy, which I also messed up big-time and got a D on the final exam and wasn't expecting anything higher than a C, I got a B in. So I was happy about that too. Then, in my last class, Problems in International Relationsn, I got a lower-than-expected C+, but that's because I didn't really put any effort into the final paper which was worth 1/3 of our grade. I didn't put much effort in because I spent all my time trying to salvage that political geography grade instead and just didn't have time left over for that paper. So I'm actually not very upset about that. My cumulative GPA dropped this semester from a 3.487 to a 3.447. Hopefully, with any luck, I'll still be able to bring that up over a 3.5 next semester though.
In other summertime news, I've been looking for jobs, but not very hard. I figure I don't need to start getting desparate until the beginning of June. The study abroad thing in Jordan didn't pan out. The linguistics job that I applied for way back in March doesn't seem like it'll be an option. I might be able to get a gig doing a website for MiniTec, a company that makes the kind of Mini Coopers that I want to buy one day. Aside from that, I've called about a job here and there, and sent an email or two, but nothing very appealing. Can't someone just pay me to sit at home and work on my Chinese and go for bike rides and stuff?
One more summertime news item, as if it isn't hot enough for me here in Boulder (it's plenty hot, I have a pretty low tolerance for heat), I'm going to fly to Phoenix next week where it is some 20 degrees hotter. Why? No, it's not because I'm just that masochistic. I am going to visit two of my friends from study abroad in Nanjing whom I haven't seen in almost a year. I'm just going for 5 days, and hopefully the heat won't kill me (it almost gives me heat stroke just thinking about it). Hopefully I can con them into us going up into the mountains for some camping or something, it should be cooler there.
Here's today's Jack Handy quote:
Maybe in order to understand mankind, we have to look at the word itself: "Mankind". Basically, it's made up of two separate words - "mank" and "ind". What do these words mean ? It's a mystery, and that's why so is mankind.
Here's today's video. It is "Camisa Negra" by Juanes. He's Colombian. This is kind of a strange video, and I don't really see how it is at all related to the lyrics, but I like it anyway. One thing that bothers me though is that in the song he keeps saying, "tengo la camisa negra" which means something like, "I have the black shirt," yet he's actually wearing a white shirt in this video... I don't get it:
Alright, that's about it for now. Adios people.
5.10.2006
What I'm Doing
What I should be doing right now: furiously writing my big paper and/or studying for my test-from-hell tomorrow.
What I'm actually doing now: blogging.
What else I'm doing at the moment: slowly writing my big paper. kind of studying for my test-from-hell tomorrow. listening to soothing classical music. wondering if I'll ever start playing the piano again. reading Jack Handy quotes. thinking about how tired I'm going to be tomorrow. thinking about how drunk I might be tomorrow night after I'm done with everything. thinking about how glad I am that I freaked out earlier in the week, so now I'm actually not as far behind as I might have been otherwise. thinking about my future (immediate, and less immediate). wondering what on earth I am going to do this summer. thinking about how much money I've spent on Starbucks double-tall lattes this week. wondering why it has taken me until this late in my college career to discover caffeine. thinking about fast custom old mini coopers. wondering how well I've done on some of my other final projects and exams and when I will find out. being pissed that I was .5% away from an A in my study of words class (I got an A-. I figure if I had earned just 3 more points over the whole semester, I would have an A).
Ok, that's enough for now. Back to work, but first, here's today's Jack Handy quote:
Too bad you can't buy a voodoo globe so that you could make the earth spin real fast and freak everybody out.
And also, here is today's video:
What I'm actually doing now: blogging.
What else I'm doing at the moment: slowly writing my big paper. kind of studying for my test-from-hell tomorrow. listening to soothing classical music. wondering if I'll ever start playing the piano again. reading Jack Handy quotes. thinking about how tired I'm going to be tomorrow. thinking about how drunk I might be tomorrow night after I'm done with everything. thinking about how glad I am that I freaked out earlier in the week, so now I'm actually not as far behind as I might have been otherwise. thinking about my future (immediate, and less immediate). wondering what on earth I am going to do this summer. thinking about how much money I've spent on Starbucks double-tall lattes this week. wondering why it has taken me until this late in my college career to discover caffeine. thinking about fast custom old mini coopers. wondering how well I've done on some of my other final projects and exams and when I will find out. being pissed that I was .5% away from an A in my study of words class (I got an A-. I figure if I had earned just 3 more points over the whole semester, I would have an A).
Ok, that's enough for now. Back to work, but first, here's today's Jack Handy quote:
Too bad you can't buy a voodoo globe so that you could make the earth spin real fast and freak everybody out.
And also, here is today's video:
5.07.2006
Our President and James Blunt
When asked what was his best moment since taking office in 2001, Dubya said, "I would say the best moment of all was when I caught a 7.5lb perch in my lake."
What a dolt.
Anyway, here's the whole (short) article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4982338.stm
On an unrelated note, here are five reasons why I don't like James Blunt (see his video below):
What a dolt.
Anyway, here's the whole (short) article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4982338.stm
On an unrelated note, here are five reasons why I don't like James Blunt (see his video below):
- The first two lines of this song are, "My life is brilliant. My life is brilliant."
- Later in the song, after some pretty girl smiled at him on a subway, he's bummed that he can't be with her, but luckily he has a plan: "I've got a plan. You're beautiful. You're beautiful. You're beautiful, it's true." First of all, that isn't a plan. That is merely a statement of truth. Second of all, he is getting way too worked up about some random girl smiling at him in a crowded place. It's actually pretty shallow of him to be so depressed over a girl who he's never even talked to. Sure, she may be beautiful, but she may also be stupid and annoying.
- He has ugly feet. I don't like his voice.
- This is a weird video, and not weird in a good way. Why does he line his stuff up all nice like that? Why does he jump into the water? Why is he in Antarctica? Why does he take his clothes off, but not his pants? Besides, aren't his clothes already wet anyway? So why does he even bother taking them off at all?
- Girls like him anyway.
5.03.2006
Is this funny? No, it's sad.
The world should be scared that we are the most powerful nation in the world:
4.28.2006
杂项 Miscellaneous
Well, thankfully I lost less sleep thinking about mini coopers than I did the previous two nights.
Here's my new favorite song. It's in Spanish by a Puerto Rican reggaeton group called Calle 13, but it's catchy and you might like it even if you don't know the words:
Yeah? You like? Te gusta? 你喜欢吗？
Here's my new favorite song. It's in Spanish by a Puerto Rican reggaeton group called Calle 13, but it's catchy and you might like it even if you don't know the words:
Yeah? You like? Te gusta? 你喜欢吗？
4.26.2006
Mini Mania
I had to come home this afternoon to take a nap because I was so tired because I couldn't sleep last night because I had MINI mania racing through my head all night. I couldn't stop thinking about racing around town getting 35+ miles per gallon in a sweet old Mini Cooper with an awesome honda engine shoehorned into the bonnet.
After some more research, it seems this Mini with a Honda engine idea is not so novel after all. Car and Driver did an article (click here to read it) about a shop in Georgia (click here to go to their site and daydream) that has made a business out of doing precisely this. So it looks like my previous estimate of $15k is a little off. This place says that they'll build you a custom one starting at $20k. For that price, they find an old mini, tear it down, restore it, find a honda engine to put in it, install that, and install anything else you want to pay them to install. It's built entirely custom to your specifications. I'm pretty sure that I want one for my next car. Seriously.
I'm sure nobody that reads this blog cares about cars or anything, but hey, I can write about whatever I want to write about. Haha!
After some more research, it seems this Mini with a Honda engine idea is not so novel after all. Car and Driver did an article (click here to read it) about a shop in Georgia (click here to go to their site and daydream) that has made a business out of doing precisely this. So it looks like my previous estimate of $15k is a little off. This place says that they'll build you a custom one starting at $20k. For that price, they find an old mini, tear it down, restore it, find a honda engine to put in it, install that, and install anything else you want to pay them to install. It's built entirely custom to your specifications. I'm pretty sure that I want one for my next car. Seriously.
I'm sure nobody that reads this blog cares about cars or anything, but hey, I can write about whatever I want to write about. Haha!
New Obsession
So, the new thing that I started obsessing about today is, believe it or not, a car.
I want to get a classic Mini Cooper (the tiny ones, not a new one) very much like this one that I saw on evil eBay:
And then maybe for the sake of better power, fuel efficiency, and reliability, I would like to swap the engine with a Honda engine. It would be fast and fun to drive, fun to park, not something you see every day, and it might get close to 40 miles per gallon! Also, because it is so small, I would almost never have to drive people places in it because they wouldn't fit (the car fits inside of 10 x 4 x 4 feet dimensions!). I would guess that altogether for the car and the Honda engine and the labor to swap the engines the grand total would come to MAYBE $15k, probably less... Also, because it is such an old car, insurance would be really cheap. Yeah, it would be pretty freakin' awesome.
I want to get a classic Mini Cooper (the tiny ones, not a new one) very much like this one that I saw on evil eBay:
And then maybe for the sake of better power, fuel efficiency, and reliability, I would like to swap the engine with a Honda engine. It would be fast and fun to drive, fun to park, not something you see every day, and it might get close to 40 miles per gallon! Also, because it is so small, I would almost never have to drive people places in it because they wouldn't fit (the car fits inside of 10 x 4 x 4 feet dimensions!). I would guess that altogether for the car and the Honda engine and the labor to swap the engines the grand total would come to MAYBE $15k, probably less... Also, because it is such an old car, insurance would be really cheap. Yeah, it would be pretty freakin' awesome.
4.21.2006
Busy Busy Busy
I'm burried up to my chin in final papers and such, so the last think I should be doing right now is blogging, but alas, here I am.
Basically I haven't been doing anything fun lately because I've been too busy freaking out about the Political Geography paper that I have due on monday. Big semester final papers usually freak me out because I suck at writing them, but this one has me extra freaked out because it is worth a pretty significant portion of our grade and I got a D on the first test (and only test so far). Also, I have to get at least a C- in this class for the International Affairs major. I've been getting pretty good grades in recent years, but this class is, um, not going so well for me. Sooo I need to do pretty well on this paper.
Also on monday, I am supposed to either turn in my final paper for my American Foregin policy class, or take the final exam. I've been planning on doing the paper because it will give me more time to think about what I'm saying and hopefully do a better job, but now I'm thinking that maybe I should take the exam instead. But since I will be spending this whole weekend freaking out over my political geography paper, I won't have time to study for that exam really... what a predicament. Luckily the American Foreign Policy teacher is awesome and she told me that I could get an extension on the paper, so now I have till next friday for that paper. That was so nice of her; I'd kiss her if it weren't illegal and she weren't married.
Then after those two things are done, I get to start on my third and final big International Affairs-related paper of the semester. I have no idea what I am going to write for this one, but at least we just have to choose from a list of already well-developed topics, so that part is already done for us.
I will also have to start on my two linguistics final projects, one of which could be pretty interesting if I put the effort into it. I will probably go into more detail later about it, but basically I will be recording myself and some other people saying some things and then I will be using the computer to analyze the difference between double and single vowels (example: see vs. seeing). So that could be a neat project.
Ok, back to work...
Basically I haven't been doing anything fun lately because I've been too busy freaking out about the Political Geography paper that I have due on monday. Big semester final papers usually freak me out because I suck at writing them, but this one has me extra freaked out because it is worth a pretty significant portion of our grade and I got a D on the first test (and only test so far). Also, I have to get at least a C- in this class for the International Affairs major. I've been getting pretty good grades in recent years, but this class is, um, not going so well for me. Sooo I need to do pretty well on this paper.
Also on monday, I am supposed to either turn in my final paper for my American Foregin policy class, or take the final exam. I've been planning on doing the paper because it will give me more time to think about what I'm saying and hopefully do a better job, but now I'm thinking that maybe I should take the exam instead. But since I will be spending this whole weekend freaking out over my political geography paper, I won't have time to study for that exam really... what a predicament. Luckily the American Foreign Policy teacher is awesome and she told me that I could get an extension on the paper, so now I have till next friday for that paper. That was so nice of her; I'd kiss her if it weren't illegal and she weren't married.
Then after those two things are done, I get to start on my third and final big International Affairs-related paper of the semester. I have no idea what I am going to write for this one, but at least we just have to choose from a list of already well-developed topics, so that part is already done for us.
I will also have to start on my two linguistics final projects, one of which could be pretty interesting if I put the effort into it. I will probably go into more detail later about it, but basically I will be recording myself and some other people saying some things and then I will be using the computer to analyze the difference between double and single vowels (example: see vs. seeing). So that could be a neat project.
Ok, back to work...
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