Wednesday, August 31, 2005

sprinklers and skateboards

two things you find all over campus.

people ride skateboards all the time. it's like a serious mode of transport here. i mean yeah they're kick flipping them all over the parking lots sometimes too but more often they're just getting to class...so that's interesting.

then yeah...walking home at night you sometimes have to dodge sprinklers and then sometimes it's made so that you would have to take a huge detour if you don't want to get wet...which is really annoying (cuz usually i just get wet...i mean if it's midnight you would kinda rather just be in bed V_V)

the other common campus item is this variety of small vehicle. it's orange and white...and sort of like a van...truck...bus...only miniature. useful for transporting people and goods...

i dunno

funny things...

yeah i'm sitting here chillin' when i should be reading or something. it's ok tho. i'm going to work and if we're not busy i'll just read there.

jammin' out!

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Edwin S. Porter Terrifies Small Children

I dunno...would've probably traumatized me anyhow...Goldilocks and the Three Bears but with a hunter who shoots the parent bears at the end...and they go steal teddy bear acrobats (stop motion at that...very eerie...)

i dunno @_@ lol

We also saw this ubershort about a shoe salesman who is fitting this lady right? and she lifts her skirt a bit...to show some not really leg but stocking and suddenly he's like...kissing her (cuz THAT'S a natural reaction) and since her mom is right there he gets whacked over the head repeated. Apparently that was amusing.

Thankfully sound and the Marx Brothers follow in less than three decades :D lol

I was given the screening from last week...but haven't gotten to see it yet. Tomorrow is gonna be yet another crazy busy hardcore day:

11:00 japanese
12:20 lunch
12:30 Asian Cinema
2:00 meet with French prof
here is my first break of the day...shortlived tho and probably devoted to homework...or e-mail
4:00 work
5:00 film screening (probably right after this i will dash to the dining hall for a to-go box)
7:00 work
8:00 watch make up screening
followed by the rest of the my homework which is...a chapter of the current (out of six remember) film history book and a bunch of analects. if i have time i should really try to get some of the stuff for friday done too cuz its' a sizable amount...of...stuff...including an article for asian cinema, a japanese intro speech, and bite-size info on about ten japanese culture figures...

whoooo

and then there's work in there...and stuff

and i'm TRYING to set up an asian film series

wow

so much to do

this weekend there is a pow-wow (no a real one)

a native american thing at school on hand hall lawn. so that should be interesting. definitely head down there.

one thing about being so busy is that you really appreciate bed and you really appreciate weekends.

even tho you spend them doing homework anyhow...

lol

Sunday, August 28, 2005

franceinfo *spoilers for Raise the Red Lantern*

makes me miss paris

they're playin' funky music...i guess cuz it's the middle of the night there : /

interesting stuff...

i kinda like it...i hope they mention what it is...

uhm...

so i've found that having this blog is almost a pain because it doesn't serve the same purpose as my parisian blog and yet it's still accessible to the same folks who read that one.

i thought about getting a xanga for a while...

see cuz i still have to talk to everyone in my family and whatever about what's going on whereas in paris i just blogged and they knew what happened

here it's just a doubling

which i should just change the point BUT its' like i said...they could stumble upon it and then what

oh well

yeah i like franceinfo

hmmmmm

so today i read Wives and Concubines (aka Raise the Red Lantern)

I have to say I really didn't like any of the characters except MAYBE Feipu. (That was his name right?) All the endless jealous bitch fights etc etc just annoyed me half to death. I wasn't surprised when they threw Coral into the well...I figured as much, and then Lotus went insane. WHY? I was just frustrated with the whole thing. 99 pages of frustration was too much...

esp after all that dense film history stuff. Different companies and exchanges, FSA, Motion Picture Patent Company, Nation Board of Censorship to the National Board of Review, Biograph, IMP, General Flimco...etc etc It just gets muddled after a while and you have no idea what's going on. All I know is that the independents started making some headway! Good for them! I'm glad.

ok now i'm kinda mad...i want news and the music got boring...

maybe i should switch and go listen to the voiceblog i like. i'm WAY behind!

hmmm

*ponders things*

Saturday, August 27, 2005

prose and poetry and groceries

so the bbq was pretty fun. well it was ok anyhow

turns out my supervisor lex is in 2 of my classes.

hahaha

she didn't work as long as i did tho.

I saw Sin City, what a cool movie. I didn't think I would like it cuz of the gore and such but I actually really did. The stylization makes it so fun to watch...pretty...*drool* I'm thinking about going to see it again alTHO now I see that I can take movies out of the library...which I can watch at work. I should go check out the collection...

so i just printed out this short story we have to read for monday (Asian Cinema). it's quite long...45 8 x 11s

it's cool tho. this morning i read all the analects stuff assigned for Tuesday...

analects - Selections from or parts of a literary work or group of works. Often used as a title.

yay confucius...

uhmmmmmm and then what else. so for the rest of the day i will read film and do japanese and see a movie annnnd maybe read some more stuff lol cuz i sure have a lot to do.

in other news nicole and i were stood up today! we were supposed to meet a guy i know and he didnt' show.

which was lame.

we DID however go grocery shopping. i got a luna bar, almonds, water, dried plums, and cereal bars. we don't have a microwave or fridge yet.

i also have an orange and a peach i stocked up from meals.

OOOH today was vegan chili and cornbread for dinner yummmmm

and german chocolate cake for dessert XD

that chili was killer tho...sooooo tasty.

back to shopping tho...the store isn't toooo far but it about triples the distance when you have to carry a case of 24 aquafinas...lol

there is a deli over there i want to check out. maybe i will do that tomorrow afternoon. they have falafel (yum)

errr OH and one of my friends introduced me to bukowski and it turns out that they have quite a few of works here at the library so i'm happy. i like poetry but only if i like it...you know what i mean?

lol

so it turns out nicole likes him as well

i'd never heard of him

Friday, August 26, 2005

spam comments? lol

did anyone notice that last comment? how obnoxious o_o

hmmmm so what was i going to say?

oh i really want to start an asian film series here. i'm going to ask if we could run it in the PRIDE center since the equipment is there and it's a good environment. that would be SWEET.

i even e-mailed the dude who's in charge currently at UWM to get advice. :D

uhm...it really does seem like ther was something more pertinent.

oh there was stuff i wanted to mull over but wasn't going to...here...

oh!

and i learned about the periodization by generation directors of chinese cinema today :D i feel so informed. my classes are the best ones.

there is one guy i met who i have class with EVERYDAY lol. every...single...day. we have asian cinmea mwf and film history tr

that is pretty goofy

in fact we could work it so we did group projects together for both classes and be hardcore study buddies.

i really need someone else to hang out with. he commutes tho so it could be difficult. i suppose he will have to do group projects either way tho ne...

i NEED TO FIND THE FRENCH CLUB!!!

there has to be one! i need it!

now! lol

Thursday, August 25, 2005

haha...funny...this was from the 21st...

Today I finally registered which is such a relief.

I even finagled my way into all the classes I wanted…well sort of.

I found out that the Modern Japanese Lit course is advanced Japanese which is odd cuz all the required books are in English??? But whatev…

So what am I taking?

Math for losers (as soon as I REtest since I failed the first one so horribly)
Japanese (better be third semester but we’ll see…I haven’t talked to a prof or tested yet…)
East Asian History I (this was actually full but they signed me up anyhow ;D)
Asian Cinemas (sooooooo excited)

So basically I have three quarters bliss and one quarter flaming hell…

That’s manageable I suppose

Also I may be getting a job at the Pride Resource Center which is killerDDR club is every Monday XD (Nicole, my roommate, and I found this out last night…we played and tried to do well but we just looked stupid haha. There are some crazy people there tho o_o whoa…I think there was at least one guy on Challenge mode or something…getting perfects and goods the whole way)

Might start playing soccer again…for the clubWill not join a sorority (altho I did gank some free breakfast this morning off them)

There is a BBQ next FridayAnd actually tomorrow as well…or something like one…a luau…but I mean how much do you want to bet they will serve burgers? I’ll stick to the meal plan lol

Actually there is a BBQ in less than an hour…Which is actually ok cuz I did lunch reallllll light at about 11:30 cuz breakfast was at 9:30 and lunch was nonexistent until this BBQ and blah blah blah

Stupid trying to plan food around anything other than your body!

Annnnnnnd…what else…So that “up all night thing” yeah we played DDR and sorta danced a little…me ‘n Nicole…lookin’ like goofballs OH BUT CUZ WE WERE lol

I’ve also been playing a lot of Final Fantasy…I’m stuck tho…dunno where to go…I got the mystical key…or whatev and went back to some places and got some treasures…and a little elf keeps telling me about a buried flying ship? And also…a cave with a monster? I dunno…I tried going back to the first cave where it all rotted and caved-in or whatever but nothing happened…maybe I should talk to the man again…bleuh

HmmmmmDid I already talk about the hypnotist the other night?

I have never been to one before and I have to say it was probably one of the single most hilarious episodes of my entire life.

Also let me just clarify right now for anyone who was confused that I am not in any way susceptible to being hypnotized….which is kinda too bad cuz I think it would be fun. Not only did I completely fail the susceptibility test but I really don’t think it surprised me at all, nor would it surprise anyone else who knows me, that I just don’t lose control of my mind like that lolIt was just insane tho. He had them land on mars and be accosted by aliens and the FACES on these people were just a riot.

There was a dating show where they had to be the opposite sex and the THINGS that came out of these peoples’ MOUTHS were just totally crazy. Ex. “Hi I’m Rick. I like’em either really old or really young…and I don’t need to keep’em around for very long…” “Ok…anything…else?” “hmm…I don’t last very long” *saunters off and sits down* So this was some tan cali chick…lol and oh there was this gay guy who turned into a lesbian which was crazy and then at the end of everyone’s introductions he went on a rant about how women need to stand up for themselves and not be treated like objects lol

There are really too many stories from those two hours…to list…it just goes on and on and on.

Uhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Anything else?

Ice cream tomorrow!

Whoo!

What else…

So much goes on here lol it’s crubazubery! XD

Having fun but it’s kind of lonely too because I don’t really know anyone. Lots of social activity but I haven’t made any FRIENDS yet…only acquaintances or not even that. Nicole is cool tho. I’m really glad we’re roomies. Some of the people I met already I would totally hate to room with but she is definitely a-ok.

Welp I guess that’s it. Maybe I will see if I can buy my books yet. That would be fun XD At least for history and cinema…should wait on the Japanese to find out for sure which course I’m in…and of course on the math since I haven’t even added it yet…cuz I dunno what I’ll end up in….hopefully I’ll pass this new test I have to take otherwise I will have to take TWO math classes…Gah…*cry*it’s sort of a bummer tho…I will only have 15 units this semester…stupid four unit classes…who came up with that anyhow??

Grr X_X

So it goes…

----

so the story behind this...is that it was posted on the WRONG BLOG haha

it went on my old one from Paris

how stupid XD

anyhow...problem solved...enjoy...

or hello...

Well i decided not to crush my dreams by not taking film history so i will deal with math next semester. actually they also recommended that freshies not take that course and while i am not a freshie it IS my first year HERE and it will definitely take some getting used to...

for instance

i have over fifty pages to read for my film history class
at least 45 for asian film
probably around 50 for my east asian civ class

lol

it's all good stuff tho

today i actually found out that i need five MORE textbooks for my film history class. there is the straight up film history book, and then this series of big normal thickness textbooks on american cinema that we have to get. i got three of them today. two they didnt' have new and i don't want scribbled-on copies. for my main subjects i am picky!!! (of course the math book i have is used...i'll save it for next semester...

what else...

well i already left a big note on last post about my japanese class.

i tested into fourth semester...i think i said that

i also tested into advanced french, altho i can't say i didn't expect that

prof is impressed :D which is the best thing he could possibly be :D

besides that tomorrow is (as i have been recounting continously all week) the big BBQ...putting in probably...7 or 8 hours tomorrow doing that. should be fun tho :D

i guess that's it...i have to do some work on japanese now (and catch up on my voice blog listening! lol)

laterz

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Farewell to Film History

OK...so this is one class I have ALWAYS wanted to take since like MIDDLE SCHOOL and now I can't because it's offered once every two years and...grr.

This is not really true. Maybe I could take it in Japan? I dunno.

Probably not.

I dunno.

*cry*

Also I've discovered that to minor in French I will basically have to major because 12 of the 20 credits have to be taken in the dept here. So by the time I take those I basically have the major minus the proficiency test. I should talk to someone over there in the dept.

blah

other news...

I'm just gonna have to pretend I know what's going on in my textbook and read it with the missing chunk cuz there's nothing I can do before tomorrow.

*sigh*

So I'm off to do that.

Nicole is fun! I'm so glad we're colocs.

et oui...le francais me manque meme si je ne trouve pas les accents. j'aime mieux le clavier francais mais ici ils ont seulement les claviers pour des langues comme le japonais et le koreen...c'est ca koreen? (accent aigue...)

*cry*

yeah i totally wish they had the french keyboard. i would be all over that.

being in france is way better for your french than being in california.

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

obnoxious textbook errors

yes here they are in almost all their "glory." i kept the line breaks and page turns are marked but everything is typed with single spaces regardless of how many spaces they used to make it look nice on the page.

pages 3-4

"It is with the Neolothic that we begin to have more solid ev-
idence. The Neolithic Age (or new stone age) began in China about 10,000 years [page turn] idence. The Neolithic (or new stone age) began in China about 10,000 years
ago."

pages 16-18

"Like the artifacts found at the Xingan site, some of the ma-
terial remains from the
Sanxingdui site point to
early contacts with the late
Neolithic precursors to the
Shang--and to other non-
Shang Bronze Age civiliza-
tions from the middle
Yangzi region. More inter-
estingly, there is no evi-
dence that the Sanxingdui
artisans, unlike their
Xingan contemporaries,
had much contact with
Shang culture. In fact,
much of what was found at
Sanxingdui strongly sug-
gests the presence of a tra-
dition distinct from those
found in the North China
Plains. For example, in one
of the sacrificial pits, arche-
ologists discovered a life-size
statue on a pedestal, fort-
one heads, and twenty or so
mask-like items (see Figure
1.13). These masks have
caught the attention of [page break]
Shang Bronze Age civilizations from the middle
Yangzi region. More interestingly, there is no evi-
dence that the Sanxingdui artisans, unlike their
Xingan contemporaries, had much contact with
Shang culture. In fact, much of what was found at
Sanxingdui strongly suggests the presence of a tra-
dition distinct from those found in the North China
Plains. For example, in one of the sacrificial pits,
archeologists discovered a life-size statue on a
pedestal, fort-one heads, and twenty or so mask-like
items (see Figure1.13). These masks have caught
the attention of scholars because they are so dif-
ferent from anyting found in the North China
Plains, where craftsmen showed little interest mak-
ing human representations."

pages 17-18

"According to later Chinese historians, the Shang house lost its mandate be-
cause their rules had failed to serve the people. As a result, Heaven (tian)--the
Zhou's highest deity--revoked the mandate and gave it to the Zhou house, [page break]
the king came to the capital, ready to fight the invaders. This spectacle caught
the beloved's fancy, so the king had the beacon lit again so that the lords would
come to the capital."

So that was about when I quit doing homework and e-mailed my prof.

Class was good tho, even if the book is starting to seriously worry me. :D

Other activities of the day include poking around the PRIDE resource center and reading some info...eating...annnnnd well i was doing homework ne...

i have this thing with order (chronology)

so i realllly dont' want to start the analects until after i finish reading this assignment and i would be realllly reluctant to keep going on this until i know what is supposed to come between page 17 and 18.

show stopper...

i mean i GUESS I could FORCE myself to work on the analects.

probably i will just go read more stuff for work.

i was thinking about maybe going to work out later...

stir-fry was for dinner...yummmmm

i gotsa jam looks like i missed a phone call!!!

Monday, August 22, 2005

the fate of my intelligence

WORRYING to say the least.

I feel stupid today.

Real stupid.

I mean really...I haven't felt this just totally dumb in a really really really...long...

no probably never.

I have probably never felt so completely hopeless in my life...

I spent the better part of two hours reading a magazine today. I didn't get too much out of it.

I don't know enough history or econ or polisci.

(Do I know ANY econ or polisci?)

And then I was thinking...college is going to end eventually. Like...in three years.

Soooooo

I really don't have time to study everything. I'm going to be doing what I'm doing now basically and then leaving. So all this wishful dreamy econ, polisci, history, philosophy, stuff is just going to kind of die.

I am so stupid!

I can't write papers!

I can't even read anymore...

Lately I honestly feel like I can't read. I forget what the sentence is talking about halfway through.

This seriously makes me want to kill myself.

Except I'm not suicidal.

We are lucky there.

What if I'm really just stupid? And all the people keep telling me I'm smart? I mean that would be a really great way to fuck with someone right? Take some total idiot and coach them into believing they are hot shit?

(hmmm that was so a reality tv show...)

but no really...sometimes I just feel way to stupid to be smart OR intelligent.

I guess in the end I'm just going to have to do Japanese, probably a double in film studies, and my French minor. Or a film studies minor and throw in some of those pesky classes like econ and polisci.

The problem is tho I dunno if a survey intro whatever course will satisfy me. I need to know ENOUGH. I'm curious about everything...

lately tho i just feel too dumb. trying to remember what the paragraph is talking about.

like it's really sad. i read a page and can't even really explain what it's about.

that's like someone asked me what one of my favorite books is about...and i totally couldn't even explain it to them...

like not even the plot

you'd wonder if i'd read it

and i dont' remember character names, much less what they said or what kind of person they were

i think i haven't been this depressed since france

since

a really really shitty day in france

i dunno which day it was

but one of those really shitty ones where it wouldn't matter if i threw myself off a cliff

cuz i dont' want to be stupid

i want to be cut out for something

something cool

and be intelligent

and elaborate on things...

i want to know tons of stuff about everything

like

ok it's pretty obvious that i'm a geek

but i'm not even a geek who knows a ridiculous amount of pointless information

i'm a STUPID geek!!!!

how painful

well the library is gonna close soon so this pathetic rant will end here

but GOD

depressing

that's all i have to say

say hello to...

the new assistant coordinator of the PRIDE Resource Center at UOP :D

yay!

yep that's me...well i'm ONE of them anyhow. there are a couple. straight allies SHOULD be involved that's what i say. so i'm gonna be :D this friday is the bbq!!!

retested the math, taking Elementary Statistical Interference...which sounds scary...the book looks scary...it will just in general be a bit spooky. i'm not looking foward to it. : / UNPLEASANT!

still waiting to find out about japanese altho i should be able to get into 3rd semester for sure...i dunno if i mentioned that last time...i've been looking at some study materials for the book online and it seems like i should be able to function well in third semester

:D

yesterday night was kinda boring. there was that bbq which was tasty but then nothing really to do. in fact i don't even remember what i did. i talked on the phone for a while with the boy. yes that one. let's not discuss it! (unless you are him ;p)

uhmmmm

other than that...what...i dunno...talked to the japanese prof...i heard he's a nice guy and that i think is very true. i also heard he is not the greatest teacher which is maybe unfair to repeat since i have no idea but i'm just reporting what has been said.

tonite is ice cream and ddr club...if i haven't said that already...i probaby have...

lol

and tomorrow is east asian history!!! *so excited*

it seems like lots of it will be china. there is a book on chinese and japanese history, then an abridged copy of The Tale of Genji, but the other two books are Confucius' Analects and a book about contemporary views on Chinese civilization or something. I dunno it sounds cool. I found out today about a ONE TIME ONLY economics class about Asian countries. I would SO take that except I don't have the prereqs and i really don't have time...*sigh* cuz Asian Cinema! How exciting! and that stupid math class...

stupid...

grr...

lol

anyhow wow the afternoon is going sloooooooow....got everything done early. technically i could go work out after three but i already showered today V_V and i'm not doing it again...so we'll just wait till tomorrow.

looo looo looo

i like bananas better than apples

for sure

Friday, August 19, 2005

california time

soooo things are going pretty well i suppose
i love this keyboard...it allows me to type ridiculously fast since it does not stick at ALL
amazering
of course this means that my fingers get ahead of themselves and i have quite a few typos hahahahahaha
so yeah...my dorm is cool. i was really really excruciatingly bored the other day...and yesterday...i mean there really is not much to do. i went and got my id early so i can go to the fitness center and stuff. i have lunch at the cafe since the dining hall doesn't open until tonite...
blah
food isn't too bad so far
its' definitely really really easy to eat like absolute crap tho...so i have to watch it extra. today i'm doing good
my roommate showed up last night. she seems really nice. cute girl from san diego. freshie. awww. her mentor (mom-type mentor?? i dunno exactly what the deal is) took us both out to this kickin' mexican restaurant that's been there since 1946...on a lake...yum yum. i had a beef enchilada...really tasty food...gosh i would go there everyday if i wouldn't gain a THOUSAND pounds doing it haha
hmmmm what else...
i checked out more of the library today...so that is cool. nice to check my e-mail!! yes!! ;D
oh and last night i met my RA and some other people. they were making signs in the hallway. we inspected the showers which was really amusing cuz it was me, Hien (f), Joyce, and Colin (definitely m) in the girl's bathroom on our floor lamenting the handicapped shower (which really isn't that bad. Hien was daring Joyce to use it...she said she would.) The best shower tho...is not the one with the bathtub, nor is it the handicapped one (with the bench), it is the super one with the anteroom with hooks and a shelf for your stuff...YES! and a lock on the door lol instead of just a flimsy curtin.
there is lots of a/c which kinda bites because it gets really nice and cool at night so it's ridiculously freezing in our rooms
errr so tonite there is a party :D
and tomorrow i finally start orientation
yay!
apart from that...yeah i worked out yesterday and today...good times...haven't been to the pool yet but the cross-trainers are good.
i guess i can't really think of anything else...to say...
oh...
my flights were fine :D
the one to phoenix was louder cuz there was a just about toddler aged kid behind me whose mom kept playing with him so he was noisy...but to sacramento i think it was the quietest flight ever
then the shuttle was cool. one of the guys was actually from kenosha and the driver was born in japan so we all talked and stuff. pretty fun.
everything is good; i just wish i knew what classes i was going to be taking V_V
lol
i picked some out...loitered at the bookstore checking out all the stuff they have...
they use nakama textbooks here!! lol
which is good i guess (variety and themed chapters! alright!) but i'm worried about testing : /
>_<
also instead of 3 credits a class it's 4 "units" a class...which is really annoying since the limit is still 18 that means that here i can take only 4 classes (and waste two credits? i need to talk to someone lol) whereas at mke i could take 6 @_@
anyhow if i don't have to take a mentor class or they think it would be a waste of time (i dunno...it's a gen ed thing for freshies...but it might still be good...) i'm planning on taking japanese, modern japanese lit, asian history i, and maybe intro to philosophy...i'm not really sure tho. i wanted to take science of nutrition but that's during japanese 3 which is the one i had better test into : /
i dunno
there is tons of stuff unfortunately it all seems to be at the same time
oh welllll
i'll get an advisor soon hopefully...so then i will be able to figure it out better...
i need some boring meetings to go to!!! lol

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

thinking freely

i think it's easier to think when it's a social process

maybe

and it's also easier to think when there isn't mtv in the background

i wish i could retain more of what i read

*mates of state in my head*******

so tomorrow i leave...at 5 am

should be cool

half of the state of ca is offering me roadtrips ;D

*sigh*

Thursday, August 11, 2005

summer drags on

This evening I finished reading A Public Betrayed. What an eye-opener! It was really interesting to read about inside the Japanese media but also rather scary. It's so mind-boggling to me that stuff like that happens. People...

bleh.

I dunno but I'm pretty hooked. I think Japan IS really fascinating but I hope they are going in the right direction.

Wish everyone was just going in the right direction....

Also today I found out some alarming things about my new place of residence.

Apparently Stockton is just...lots of evil death.

THE hell-hole

scarey gangy druggie...

someone please tell me I'm wrong?

Supposedly I'm safe on campus tho, which is good. I'm really planning on focusing so much anyhow that I shouldn't need to be wandering around too much...

altho i was really looking forward to exploring a new city.

I guess that's out tho. I've heard if i wander i the wrong neighborhood i'll be dead...

so...

rather not be dead o_o

even tho i've got some negative news i'm still really psyched.

less than a week to go here...just waiting it out.

i got some new books to read INcluding the new haruki murakami (PSYCHED!!!)

i've also been thinking i would like to reread david mitchell (or is it just one l...why can i never remember?) and murakami's other stuff (and find the stuff i haven't read yet)

but what else...a book about the glycemic index based diet...(g.i.) which is sort of my healthy skew...we'll see what it says...annnnnd economics and a big glossy book about manga :D

should keep me very busy

i also need to be reviewing japanese

i decided that to continue trying to cram in new stuff is a waste because either way my kanji is not nearly what it should be so that will hold me back. right now i just need to make sure i know the stuff i already covered and by know i mean DOWN PAT so we'll be doing that too.

tomorrow i'm heading to mke to hang with my relatives. saturday and sunday are sort of toss ups so far...definitely bringing books tho. agressive reading shcedule heh

if anything thrilling happens rest assured you shall know ;p

Monday, August 08, 2005

cross-training

yup a half hour...that was really cool. i felt really healthy. and then very tired lol

hung out with Ryan all day :D

i'm sleeeepy tho

weekend ended up semi-sleepless but fun

i saw brian's house and he saw mine...

i also saw xav's new place

man so get this. the letter i got from uop is wrong and i don't have to be there till the 20th. luckily (well just wait) this news came AFTER my mom (grr...i wanted to take the train) bought me a plane ticket. so basically i get to move in three days early cuz it was their fault and they're gonna be nice about it.

no meals tho.

which is almost a perk cuz i can test out area food.

hmm

so i leave a week from the day after tomorrow

worried and excited

and sleeeeepy lol

oh well

boring blog

once i get to where i'm going things will heat up

for now...

they need micro-waving

and a fast-foward button ^_~

Saturday, August 06, 2005

afternoon lake blue emptiness

Hmm…I feel…

Hmm…

Yeah.

So I’ve been busier than expected. Hung with Ryan after that boredom from the last post…we played some God of War and then the disc died again. Disk. Disc. Is that random variation?

Uhm…

So then I saw Megan who I haven’t seen in ages. I talked to Colin briefly, he was going to call me back. I will have to call him and Luke during the week. And Jamie. And people. Blah.

Hmm I’m sorta in a funk right now.

So last night I spent at some cousins’ place. We went to the state fair and saw The Rockerfellers. We’re related…vaguely. We stayed for the WHOLE FOUR HOURS. I wasn’t expecting that. I kinda glaze over in crowds…

One of my not as interesting quirks maybe…

Maybe it shouldn’t really be called a quirk.

Anyhow this morning I met up with A at EC. Read my book for an hour and there he was. We went to Trocadero which was really cool. Very Euro. We had bakery and crepes actually…yeah…mine was veggie and super good but I couldn’t finish it.

Then he burned me SIX cds, including one we ran to the library to get. Three Mates of State, two samplers, and Rocketship.

Good music.

He had to go so now I’m dropped off at school…feeling…

Hmm…

Yeah.

I guess kinda lousy.

Lonely.

Dropped off at school kinda feeling.

I have to carry around my bag with all my overnight stuff in it for one thing. So I feel like I look homeless or something. Xav didn’t answer his phone. Brian didn’t answer, nor is he online. I feel sorta stranded.

I’m sure I won’t be.

But

Still…

: /

If I didn’t feel so weird I would probably go say hi to my former roommates (of three days if you recall)



*sigh*

Thursday, August 04, 2005

the only little boy in new york

"heyyy i've got nothing to dooo toooday"

yeah...

this evening is kind of a complete and utter bust...

maybe i shoudl kick the soccer ball around...i already did the basketball thing...it doesn't last too long by yourself tho

at least not by MYself

maybe i should just keep reading...

lol

but now i'm all sweaty

*sigh*

i could take a walk...maybe i should call xav...

lambast, celerity, bartizan

lambast - beat with a cane 2. censure severely or angrily; "The mother scolded the child for entering a stranger's car"; "The deputy ragged the Prime Minister"; "The customer dressed down the waiter for bringing cold soup"

celerity - (for clarification...i may have learned this word in french too...) Swiftness of action or motion; speed (yep)

bartizan - A small, overhanging turret on a wall or tower

WELL i finished the book. it is unfortunate that so much of it was read through the garish mtv haze, but there it is. i don't have anything deep to say though. : / but those are my last three words...which is nice...now we can all review and get the real learning done.

next up is that book about the "Japanese media atrocities" as well as that middle schoolish book on california....just the basic facts ne

whooo hoping to bum a swim off the neighbors this afternoon...i said that to steve and decided i liked the way it sounded...bum a swim...

----many minutes pass

yeah guess i'm not really writing...anymore lol

XD

early awakening

esp for going to bed at 1:30 what was the point of that? lol

but yeah i had breakfast at like 10 to 8

hot

lol

but yeah everyone else is still sleeping so it's nice.

that was a big batch of words but it's cuz pretty much all i did yesterday was read.

sometimes it seems over my head. this guy must really be a genius...i guess i rpobably said that already...

so i have a thing with A on saturday if i can finagle my way into town

i feel like i had more to write than this...

but maybe not...

chiaroscuro, uxorious, chthonic, etc

chiaroscuro - 1. The technique of using light and shade in pictorial representation. 2. The arrangement of light and dark elements in a pictorial work of art. 3. a. A woodcut technique in which several blocks are used to print different shades of a color. b. A woodcut print made by this technique.

so i totally remembered that word, just not what it meant. now i see it must've come from my complit class...or something like that...

atrabilious - . Inclined to melancholy. 2. Having a peevish disposition; surly

curmurring - Murmuring; grumbling; - sometimes applied to the rumbling produced by a slight attack of the gripes

"Mortals cannot help but fear those curmurring walls." (p. 123)

eviscerate - 1. To remove the entrails of; disembowel. 2. To take away a vital or essential part of: a compromise that eviscerated the proposed bill. 3. Medicine a. To remove the contents of (an organ). b. To remove an organ, such as an eye, from (a patient). v.intr. Medicine To protrude through a wound or surgical incision.

so that was more of a clarification than anything...obviously has viscer like visceral in it which is hot...

yeah morphology is hot

YOU KNOW IT

expurgate - To remove erroneous, vulgar, obscene, or otherwise objectionable material from (a book, for example) before publication

"Whether it was the growl or the expurgating qualities of the house or something entirely else, Holloway decided to redefine that goal mid-way." (p. 124)

I wanted to see whether they were really referring to publishing...but i guess the word is applicable more widely.

egregriously - Greatly; enormously; shamefully; as, egregiously cheated

which kinda makes me wonder about egregrious (Conspicuously bad or offensive)

acumen - (i should know this word) Quickness, accuracy, and keenness of judgment or insight

"The combination of his will and his tactical acumen made hsi success, especially in retrospect, seem inevitable." (p. 135)

tumescence - tumidity resulting from the presence of blood or other fluid in the tissues

;p

tumidity - slight swelling of an organ or part

rapacious - Taking by force; plundering. 2. Greedy; ravenous. See Synonyms at voracious. 3. Subsisting on live prey.

uxorious - Excessively submissive or devoted to one's wife

well we certainly don't want that

modicum - (for clarification) A small, moderate, or token amount (yeah that's what i figured)

hegemony - (also for clarification...this is one of those words everybody should know...i just can't remember what exactly...*sigh*) The predominant influence, as of a state, region, or group, over another or others. (cuz they've been peeping over the hedge! i just have to trust myself on that mnemonic...)

aporia - A figure of speech in which the speaker expresses or purports to be in doubt about a question. 2. An insoluble contradiction or paradox in a text's meanings.

ah ha! rhetoric...that's cool

bifurcation - a bifurcating branch (one or both of them) 2. bifurcation - the place where something divides into two branches 3. bifurcation - the act of splitting into two branches

veracity - Adherence to the truth; truthfulness. See Synonyms at truth. 2. Conformity to fact or truth; accuracy or precision: a report of doubtful veracity. 3. Something that is true.

sweet

glib - (clarification) a. Performed with a natural, offhand ease: glib conversation. b. Showing little thought, preparation, or concern: a glib response to a complex question. 2. Marked by ease and fluency of speech or writing that often suggests or stems from insincerity, superficiality, or deceitfulness.

really tho, definitions are so refreshing.

solipsistic - (again clarification) the adj from solipsism ( a theory holding that the self can know nothing but its own modifications and that the self is the only existent thing www.m-w.com)

so that means...very self-absorbed? not really...just...ignorant of the world...or... two snakes biting each other's tales...

micturate - To urinate

see i'm glad i look these things up. i need context on that, stat!

"Only later after I find some candles, stomp around my room, splash water on the old face, micturate, light a sterno can and put the kettle on..." (p. 403)

so he uses it very mundanely here...show off ^_~ that's fun tho...hmm...have to remember that one

commensurate - Of the same size, extent, or duration as another. 2. Corresponding in size or degree; proportionate: a salary commensurate with my performance. 3. Measurable by a common standard; commensurable.

exegesis - Critical explanation or analysis, especially of a text.

oh, good deal...lol

expectoration - the process of coughing up an spitting out, act of spitting (forefully expelling saliva)

it was a pun in the book, on expect oration or expectoration. i have a feeling i've heard this word before...

chthonic - Of or relating to the underworld

i wonder if you can only use that greek mythology or not...should check the context...also note the sexy silent ch

"...their thoughts, describe what their bodies have already begun to prepare for, the chthonic expectation which commanded the thought in the first place--...sos.sos.sos" (p. 298)

that is really cool

rebarbative - (this i'm almost positive i learned as a cognate in french but i don't remember what it meant in french either : /) Tending to irritate; repellent

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Cimmerian, eidetic, priapic...etc

Cimmerian - Pertaining to the Cimmerii, a fabulous people, said to have lived, in very ancient times, in profound and perpetual darkness/ Without any light; intensely dark

where do you FIND these words? this guy must be uber smart o_o

anfractuosity - A state of being anfractuous, or full of windings and turnings; sinuosity/ A sinuous depression or sulcus like those separating the convolutions of the brain

i think i may have heard that before...must retain vocabulary words!!! like voraginous...lol that is actual pertinent as well now that i think of it...to the book i mean o_O

adamantine - Made of adamant, or having the qualities of adamant; incapable of being broken, dissolved, or penetrated; as, adamantine bonds or chains/ Like the diamond in hardness or luster

it's thundering o_o

eidetic - marked by or involving extraordinarily accurate and vivid recall especially of visual images (www.m-w.com)

ambage - Ambiguity. Often used in the plural/ ambages Winding ways or indirect proceedings. (www.thefreedictionary.com)

priapic - Of, relating to, or resembling a phallus; phallic/ Relating to or overly concerned with masculinity

never would've guessed that one. hmm...interesting tho, here's the quote: "Of course the downside is that this new discovery [(perhaps "getting off was all i needed to diminish some of this dread and panic")] has left me practically beside myself, by which i mean priapic."

this book is definitely hot lol

elegiac - (i swear i've looked this up before...oh cuz i have...i knew i sorta remember this word...i was just thinking about it in the wrong way...and i'm switching the default dictionary to www.thefreedictionary.com) 1. Of, relating to, or involving elegy or mourning or expressing sorrow for that which is irrecoverably past: an elegiac lament for youthful ideals. 2. Of or composed in elegiac couplets.

ooh big thunder >_<

morning time or perhaps the illusion of such a thing

so living here in o-town, weekday mornings have become my mtv-free haven of quiet. my sibs have this summer habit of just crashing wherever apparently (which never would have flown for me back in the day, and i guess technically doesn't really fly with my mom now but they get away with it...) so i wake up and it's perfectly silent in the house unless the dog is clicking around. toenails...

oh man here is someone now...yeah it generally is shattered by 10 or 11 i guess...

really if you think about it it hasn't happened all that often even...but the past couple mornings have been like this.

i dunno

nevermind lol

i think i just wanted to believe that i COULD have mornings that were just habitually like this. i can read on the couch without the television picking at the edges of my attn. see picture my attn as a sticker label over my brain, OCCUPIED or something you know? and then 24/7 continuous mtv spewage is swarming unbidded, second-hand, around the corners, trying to get that fingernail under there to rip it right off...

and the SAME episodes OVER and OVER

ah well...

back to the book while the tv stays off...sister's friend has appeared as well...perhaps they can amuse themselves for five minutes...we'll see

i wish i had coffee : /

ingenuous - http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=disingenuous

vitiously - apparently this is just another way to spell "viciously"

talaria - Small wings or winged shoes represented as fastened to the ankles, -- chiefly used as an attribute of Mercury

(let's attribute all definitions to www.brainydictionary.com unless otherwise marked)

occlude - (which reminds you of occlumency doesn't it?? :D i love hp) To shut up; to close/
To take in and retain; to absorb; -- said especially with respect to gases; as iron, platinum, and palladium occlude large volumes of hydrogen.

redolent - Diffusing odor or fragrance; spreading sweet scent; scented; odorous; smelling; -- usually followed by of

aphonia - ( like aphony - Loss of voice or vocal utterance)

pyritic - also pyritical - Of or pertaining to pyrites; consisting of, or resembling, pyrites

;p

does anyone know what a pyrite is cuz i sure don't

pyrite - A common mineral of a pale brass-yellow color and brilliant metallic luster, crystallizing in the isometric system; iron pyrites; iron disulphide.

now that sort of begs context...page 58...

"...it was invariably rewarded with the pyritic prize of high school popularity."

I remember liking that sentence. Hmm tho...pyritic...who says that? How do you work that into your everday? lol Cool word tho...

vicissitude - (this is definitely one of those pesky ones) Regular change or succession from one thing to another; alternation; mutual succession; interchange

see generally i think we just skip words we REALLY dont' know...like "vicissitude" it always just sort of gave off these vibes like i understood but really i didn't. i think our brains just get lazy or something and we don't bother. "At least the implication seems clear, vicissitudes in Karen's life, whatever those may be, affect her sensitivity to space." (page 59 note 62)

incontrovertibly - not open to question (www.m-w.com)

moither - To perplex; to confuse/ To toil; to labor. As in: "He calls me all the time on my tardiness, my tendency to drft & moither..."

hmmm...moither...lol

i'll moither you! o_O with my endless vocabulary lists!!! rar! actually i've been moithering on this long enough so i kinda hope it DOESN'T moither you. that would render it kinda pointless...

i'm trying to SHARE my proclivity for interesting words with everyone.

prevaricate - To shift or turn from one side to the other, from the direct course, or from truth; to speak with equivocation; to shuffle; to quibble; as, he prevaricates in his statement/ To collude, as where an informer colludes with the defendant, and makes a sham prosecution/ To undertake a thing falsely and deceitfully, with the purpose of defeating or destroying it/ To evade by a quibble; to transgress; to pervert.

mete - (i only used the part of the definition i was looking for) To find the quantity, dimensions, or capacity of, by any rule or standard; to measure/ To measure/ Measure; limit; boundary; -- used chiefly in the plural, and in the phrase metes and bounds.

filigree - Ornamental work, formerly with grains or breads, but now composed of fine wire and used chiefly in decorating gold and silver to which the wire is soldered, being arranged in designs frequently of a delicate and intricate arabesque pattern/Relating to, composed of, or resembling, work in filigree; as, a filigree basket. Hence: Fanciful; unsubstantial; merely decorative.

concomitant - Accompanying; conjoined; attending/ One who, or that which, accompanies, or is collaterally connected with another; a companion; an associate; an accompaniment.

word...(no pun...intended?) i guess that's it for now...this book is really great. it makes you scared of the dark just like when you were a little kid. :D House of Leaves...highly recommended. Moji-kun I miss you!

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

vocabulary rejoices

This book really IS good. I love the way it's written and the words and everything. Ah...bliss. My latest finds:

bucolic - http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=bucolic

amaurotic - http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=amaurotic

proclivity - http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=proclivity

laconic - http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=laconic

preadamite - http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Preadamite

So some of these are pesky words you see and look up and forget or see everywhere and only guess as to what they are referring to, but I've never even seen "amaurotic" before. These are GOOD words too, like really useful or interesting or delightfully obscure. Preadamite I guess you can figure out easy enough, still interesting. hmm...

i enjoy this :D

mundane update

So I had to abandon all the books I had taken out from the mke libraries. Today I went to the one in o-town and was pleasantly surprised. They had a lot of stuff I want to read.

I got a cursory look at California, House of Leaves (Moses I'm finally gonna read it!), and A Public Betrayed.

Yay! Thrilled!

I dunno what else is going on. Chatting online is great, hanging with Ryan is fun. We've been playing God of War for the PS2 which is a truly sweet game.

In fact I hope he wants to play when he gets off work tonite.

I'm gonna go read some more...

oh but I'm learning words

antinomy - http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=antinomies

patina - http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=patina

i love vocab...it's hot lol

also i'm addicted to voiceblogs...i really want one.

OH the battle for the laptop...i REALLY want a laptop...so that i can just have a computer that can come with me all over and have my stuff on it. enough of this irrevocably broken used thing and trying to stash stuff at home. i need my own space! also, it would just be nice to take advantage of the free net at the dorms at you-op

hummm

i'll put a link on the page...to my current addiction. it's in japanese so i really can't understand much of anything, but it's fun to listen to and i do catch stuff every once in a while.

...

:D