This used to be the homepage for Gaia Online.
Role-playing. Way back in the day when I first got acquainted with the internets and was an illiterate n00b, I was (and still am) a member of Gaia Online. I don’t know exactly how to describe the site, but a great deal of my pre-college days were spent on it. It’s been years since I’ve done anything more than lurked about and reminisced about the past; I don’t remember exactly why I stopped frequenting the site, but I think it was mainly due to many of my online friends getting lives leaving, as well as a feeling of strong dislike and derision towards the younger members of Gaia (an elitist reason, to be sure). This demeanor developed after I had begun to role-play seriously, which involved me abandoning my chat-speak-emoticon-laden-grammarless style in favor of the grammatically-correct and content-relevant style of posting.
Anyway, the point I was trying to make is that Gaia was where I first had my experiences with role-playing. Some of them (all of the literate roleplays) were short-lived. The other, more casual, role-plays were also fun but too superficial for my tastes. I viewed role-playing as writing stories in collaboration with others.
I always did like to write. Hurr durr, that’s why I have a blog. A blog (almost) no one knows about. YAY ME.
Every so often, I’ll log onto Gaia and visit old threads that I used to post in, old role-plays I had a part in, and the few posts I had in my journal. My journal on Gaia was used to archive bios for characters I had made for various role-playing threads. I just went through them earlier tonight, and I’m kinda surprised at how much I wrote for some of the bios and role-playing blurbs (which were sometimes a part of applications to participate in a role-play). They aren’t actually all that bad, either. The main thing that bugged me about all my old stuff is that nothing really seemed original. Many of my characters were half-animal. I guess it was sort of a “thing” back then to have characters who were Therianthropes (I had to google for that term). I’m pretty sure that every single character I made had some sort of distinguishing quality that I possess(ed) myself. Which, of course, made it all the easier for me to role-play, since half the time I was just typing stuff I would do in whatever situation the character happened to be in.
Of course it’s easy to come up with story stuffs when it’s something you would do.
I don’t think I ever tried making a character whose personality was, for the most part, something that I could not identify with. I probably didn’t want to go through that much effort. It already took me long enough to think of a cliche and unoriginal bio. I remember spending a great deal of time in writing posts for the literate threads. Hours, even.
That site ate away all of my time. The days before Facebook. And MySpace. It was the closest thing I could get to MMOs/MMORPGs, since my shoddy internet connection was too slow to allow me to actually play any.
Rambling.Like a boss. (SORRY I COULDN’T HELP MYSELF)I just found this image on Google, and it actually *is* a baby MMO!
Gaia Online is actually a pretty diverse site. Maybe it just seems that way to me because I haven’t been exposed to many sites of similar intent. In any case, I think it’s kind of interesting to have a site that has forums for art, writing, tv/anime/manga, etc. It also has this baby-MMO kind of thing, where users can explore the land of Gaia through their user avatars. I only tried it a few times (meaning, my internet only worked that hard a few times), so I can’t really say much about what there was to do on that part. There is a game section where users can entertain themselves through puzzles, word games, arcade games, and thereby earn gold (with which they by accessories for their avatar). Nowadays it seems that you get an aquarium, build a house and furnish it for the MMO-ish aspect, and maybe even have a car?
Now that I think about it, the last few points I mentioned make me think of Facebook for kids.
Man, I used to be really obsessed with that site. (I even installed a toolbar so I could post in threads more quickly and efficiently!) My hardcore weaboo days, I suppose? Every time I visit it, there’s a part of me that considers trying to integrate myself back into the community. I mean, some of the people on my friendslist are still somewhat frequent visitors, from what I saw on their profiles about last login and most recent posts and other stuff that I was being a creepy stalker about. So couldn’t I do the same thing? I guess what keeps me from doing that is the feeling that I’ll just compare everything to the way things were when I first joined that site (only a few years after the site was first conceived). In addition, most of the people I knew back then are no longer there; the ones who still are, are now strangers. I’d have to start all over again and build new relationships from scratch, and honestly? I have no motivation to do that.
So I guess I’ll be stuck forever reminiscing. And half-heartedly searching for another site with which I can experience the joy of role-playing once more.
Geebus, that ended on a rather depressing note.
Lol my dad had to write the letters for the keys that had been rubbed down by overuse on the keyboard. Toto is freaking out because I fed him outside and he’s not used to not being around me all the time. He’s worried that I’ll leave him or something, I suppose.
Jager seems like he’s having the time of his life; his tail is constantly swishing back and forth. He probably likes the bigger space of a house compared to my apartment. There are also more places for him to climb on, which makes it easier for him to get away from Toto. My parents don’t really like the fact that he jumps everywhere, though. Last night, he slept on the bed beside me a few times because it was tall and big enough to where Toto couldn’t bug him unless he jumped onto the bed himself. He tried to a few times, but was pushed off each time and quickly learned that he wasn’t allowed on it.
Lady has been hanging out inside the house a few times since I got home last night. My parents don’t seem to mind it at all anymore, though she can’t stay inside because she’s used to being an outside dog. I haven’t seen her go to the restroom before, and she probably doesn’t know yet that she can’t go to the restroom inside the house.
Toto’s really trying to bust through the back door.
Sandy bit someone while they were visiting the house, apparently. My mom took her to the vet to see if she has rabies or not. We’ve never kept our dogs up to date on their shots, but my mom sounded upset that my sister and I hadn’t taken Sandy to get her rabies shot every year, since it costs only $13. Sandy has to stay at the vet for 9 days for them to observe her and verify whether or not she has rabies. If she does, she’ll have to be put down, so here’s to hoping that she’s okay. She’s always been wary of visitors, and sometimes nipped at their heels if they got too close to her, but she’s never actually bitten anyone.
Time for some old news?
Hmm, well, I finished the semester rather poorly. Got a C on my last Neuroanatomy exam, leaving me with a B instead of an A. I straight out failed the Biochemistry final (not cumulative, thank goodness), leaving me with a D. I doubt I’ll be retaking the class, and this just makes it more official that I’ll be applying to that masters program at UNT for premed students needing to better their GPA. The only problem is telling my parents of this decision.
In any case, my other classes finished on a good note. I herped up plenty of times during the piano recital, but more due to nervousness than my inability to play. My professor was able to tell that I put effort into it, which is what was most important.
Toto is body slamming the door in his attempts to get in. He’s really not used to being in a separate room from me. Poor baby.
My psychiatric appointment left me confused. The psychiatrist said that, if I had ADD/ADHD, it would most likely be ADD, but the little rank-these-statements-on-a-scale-of-1-to-5 questionnaire isn’t a definitive test, so he couldn’t say for sure. Same thing with the depression questionnaire. Both said I likely had mild forms of ADD and depression, respectively. Based on our conversation throughout the hour session, he said that I had depressive symptoms, but didn’t say outright that I had depression. So . . . what the fuck? He didn’t hesitate on asking if I wanted to try a medication to see if that would help my problems, and I would like to think that he’s not one of those doctors who prescribes medicine to keep their patients from complaining or something. So I’m going to interpret his prescription as a confirmation that I have enough symptoms for it to be highly likely that I am mildly depressed and may have ADD. :<
Anyway, I was prescribed Wellbutrin. Our follow up appointment is in January, a week before classes start. During this month, I also intend to try the Ubermann sleep schedule, where you basically train your body to go into REM sleep every time you go to sleep. You take 20 minute naps every 4 hours, or 30 minute naps every 6 hours, leaving you with 2 hours of sleep and 22 hours of time awake. People who have been on this schedule state that once you get used to it, you feel energetic all the time, but that missing a nap is hell and quickly drains you of energy. Not to mention that the process to getting to that point is almost like hell.
Toto’s gonna end up tearing the door apart, and it’s time to eat. I’m going to take care of both those problems now.
So it’s been a bit under a month since my last post. Sorry guyyysss.
So, first of all, on November 19, one of my older cousins got married. I was a bridesmaid for his wedding. Except. He got mixed up and didn’t say that I was actually the Maid-of-Honor, seeing as I was the only bridesmaid. But no big deal. So for his wedding, I drove home the night of the 17th because a dress rehearsal was on the 18th. The night of the 18th, I stayed at the hotel with his fiance because we had to be prettified early early (5 AM) the next morning and it would be better if I didn’t have to drive an hour and a half from my parents’ house the morning of.
And they were sick.
Lemme stop here and take the time to say that when I get married, I’mma make sure they give me some simple hair style because having to wash the hair spray caked in your hair late at night after having been gallivanting around all day for wedding stuff is a big pain in the butt.
The number of guests for the wedding was small; it was just my family, but even so, that was about 50-60 people total. Since it was small, being the maid-of-honor wasn’t too stressful. The only thing I didn’t like was the fact that I didn’t get to spend much time with my other cousins during that weekend, and since I didn’t go home for Thanksgiving either, I won’t get to see them again until Christmas.
So, wedding was all fun and whatnot, and my sister caught the bouquet. There’s this rumor going around amongst the aunts and uncles that my sister is planning on getting married next year, but when I asked her about it, she had no clue what I was talking about. Asking my aunts and uncles about the source of their information pointed me to my mom, but she claimed that she hadn’t said anything about that either. Many people are curious as to when my sister and her boyfriend are going to get married, though, so I guess it’s not too surprising.
My second counseling session was the Monday after the wedding/before Thanksgiving. After expressing further interest on how I might get an appointment with the on-campus psychiatrist, my counselor took all the necessary information from me in order to fill out the referral form, since it seems the only way to get an appointment with the psychiatrist is through a referral from one’s counselor. After getting that out of the way, we ended up discussing my relationships with other people (keeping them distant) and why my relationships might be the way they are. At least, that was what fueled whatever we discussed for the rest of the session.
My next session is this coming Monday, and I have an appointment with the psychiatrist for next Friday.
Even though UTD had classes up to Wednesday (Thursday and Friday being the only days we had off for Thanksgiving holidays), I went to class only on Monday. Why? Because I got sick with a cold from the bride and groom. It wasn’t all bad; I was able to finish reading Eldest and Brisingr from the Inheritance cycle by Wednesday night. After finishing Brisingr, I immediately went out and bought Inheritance . . . and ended up finishing that Thursday afternoon. I was supposed to use Thanksgivin
g break for studying, since next week is the start of finals, but I’m so weak to temptation. D:
My parents, after having heard I was sick, decided to visit me and bring me food and, in general, baby me. They arrived Friday afternoon and left Saturday morning. Even though their visit was short (as it always is), I’m glad they came. It reminded me that my family is very amazing. The rest of the weekend was spent practicing piano and
OOhh, I want a tablet so bad!
wasting time looking at Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals and falling in love with the concept of Amazon’s new Kindle Fire even though I really don’t need it and there are many cons about it especially since it’s the first generation of it but I still really want it anyway. Since Amazon and Overstock.com both have Cyber Monday deals all weak, I’ve still spent a lot of time looking at all the sales, even though I haven’t found anything worth buying.
I really like the idea of the Kindle Fire. I have Amazon Prime already, and Amazon Prime users are given movie options to watch/download for free. As an eReader, those with Kindles have access to the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, which allows one to borrow a book for a month for reading without having to pay for the book. As one who likes to read, this is a very appealing aspect. My sister pointed out that a regular Kindle eReader may be better for me than the Kindle Fire, but if I’m going to get a Kindle, I’d rather be able to have the option of using it for other things that just reading. The Kindle Fire isn’t exactly a true tablet, but for $200, it’s not expected to be, either, and I don’t intend to use a tablet to replace my laptop. With some tablets costing nearly as much as a new laptop, I don’t see myself purchasing a full-blown tablet any time soon. As my sister said, “I’d want to be able to play games (WoW) on it, but you can’t do that.”
Akshually, I went to Best Buy yesterday evening to check it out (because, you know, it’s good to have a look at things you’re thinking of buying), and some of the bad things I heard about it aren’t really that bad. Some people complained about the interface being schizo, but the model in the store seemed perfectly fine. Yeah, the speakers are in an awkward place and don’t have much power to them, but I’d use earphones if I were watching a movie or listening to music. I have to admit, the power button is in a really stupid place. Why anyone would put it on the bottom of the device is beyond me. However, you can just flip it upside-down (and the screen will also flip) so it’s usable that way as well, aside from a few applications. I’m not sure how much the lack of a volume rocker will bother me, though, especially for applications that don’t have a way to change the volume in their settings.
I guess that’s enough of my Kindle Fire spiel. (Also, there’s already a way to root it, which would give me more freedom to do what I want with it toooo.)
Aside from being a good-for-nothing who spends too much time watching anime and reading manga and being useless in general, I’ve also been practicing my third piece for my piano class. We’re having a recital tomorrow night, which also takes the place of our final. I’m still having trouble with a few spots, but I think I’ll be all right by the time the recital comes around. That’s what’s been occupying the rest of my attention the past few weeks. I’ve only been practicing this piece for a total of about 2 weeks, while the other people in my class have been practicing theirs for closer to a month or more.
Good news! My only final exam is for my biochemistry class, which is next Friday morning. As I already mentioned, playing in tomorrow’s recital takes the place of the final for my piano class, I’ve already finished everything for my two online classes, if you have a passing grade in Neuroanatomy, you’re exempt from the final (it’s only for people who need it to pass), and for my History of American Medicine through Film class we have to write a paper on a movie we choose (and compare it to a movie we’ve watched in class). This weekend is gonna be crammed, since the paper is due next Tuesday, and my fourth Neuroanatomy exam is also on Tuesday.
Well, I should probably get started on some of that stuff.
Yay for another boring update that doesn’t really give any insight. Posting weekly makes me churn out more thoughtful content.
That I overslept again and both Toto and Jager peed everywhere in my apartment. And then my parents visited me and where like, “Wtf.” And they brought McDonald’s to eat for dinner. What? I guess that’s what I get for taking a 3-hour nap at four in the afternoon.
So, my first counseling session was on Monday afternoon, and while it was kinda weird to be going to counseling, overall, I was comfortable with who I had been assigned as a counselor. I have to attend a few more sessions before being able to see the psychiatrist, and if I want to know from them whether or not I have ADD/ADHD, I’d have to go to an off-site testing area to get tested (which would cost money). If I don’t want to wait til I’m eligible to see the psychiatrist on campus, then I have to find one off campus and either get tested by them, or just talk with them and see if they think that I do have ADD/ADHD (which would still cost money). I’m not sure whether or not I want to wait, as most of the studying tips she suggested are things I have already tried. One of my friends suggested I write in my books while I study as it helps one concentrate on what they’re actually reading if they actively take notes; while I can see that working, my mind immediately balked at the idea and said, “NO, it is forbidden!” And some of the textbooks I have do not belong to me.
As for my anger issues, she suggested that I try meditating daily. And said I should try and have a healthier lifestyle in general, which I know I should. I haven’t been really getting quality sleep lately, I never really ate regularly or healthily (I have more incentive when I’m cooking for other people, rather than for just myself), and I am soooo out of shape. I’m hoping to remedy that this coming semester by making a schedule that has me starting classes at the same time every day and finishing early in the afternoon, allowing me time to get into a habit of waking up at the same time every morning and giving me time to work out for an hour every afternoon. Wish me luck! I’m also much closer to the Activity Center than I was last year, so making the trip from my apartment won’t be as much of a deterrent when it’s cold. Or freezing.
8:40 – It’s so easy to get sidetracked watching videos of cats. Pretty sure I started writing this blog at 8. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzsssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
So that was my dog, Toto, giving his input. Maybe he was trying to imitate the creepers from Minecraft.
Speaking of pets, I think Jager and Toto were actually playing today! Well, Toto always tries to play with Jager, so that’s not news. However I think Jager was playing hide-n-seek with Toto today. It’s big news! It really is! I’ve never seen Jager play with Toto like that before. Anyway . . .
Hmm. Last night I was out shopping, so on the way back I stopped at my ex-boyfriend’s to pick up some stuff that I’d forgotten. We ended up talking for a while, and it became pretty clear to me that we’re better friends than we are boyfriend and girlfriend. I’m glad that I had the chance to talk with him. It’s put my mind at ease. Even though I haven’t been strong in my faith in the past, I can’t help feeling that God helped me out with this one. My close friends were very supportive of me once I told them, and even having the initiative to go and talk to Chris in the first place was not something I would have been able to do easily in the past. I’m glad with how this whole situation concluded.
I am uber excited for this weekend; my friend, Beth, is visiting Dallas for a swing dance class she’s taking with her swing dance club. Since it’s close to campus, she’s spending the night at my apartment for the weekend, and we haven’t been able to really hang out in a long while. (That was another reason why I feel God was really helping me this past week.) In addition, one of my other friends is having her birthday party on Sunday (eating out and going bowling). I love to bowl, so I think it’ll be fun overall, even though I probably won’t know anyone besides the birthday girl.
The only damper is that I have a biochem exam next Monday, so I should really be studying right now instead of blogging. I haven’t even eaten dinner yet! I’m soooo bad.
My ex has a snake and it’s so cool and I want a snake. My house is going to have a zoo.
I'll get rid of my stress even if it's the last thing I do!
I’mma be really stressed out soon. You thought I was going to say “Christmas,” didn’t you? We’re not even past Thanksgiving yet!
Class registration for spring starts next Monday! I’m a senior by credits, so I get to begin registering for classes Tuesday morning. I’m currently looking at 15-17 hours for spring semester, and hopefully, I can start some research during the summer.
I’m still having some trouble with procrastination and focus when studying, so I’ve begun counseling at the counseling center on campus to see what tips they have for students struggling with time management and whatnot. And, ultimately, to see if I have ADD/ADHD because, honestly, that would not be surprising and would explain a lot.
In addition, my GPA isn’t all too competitive right now, so I’m going to hold off on applying to med school by (hopefully only) a year, during which I will perhaps continue with research, gain hospital experience (volunteering and shadowing), and possibly also get a job. It’s somewhat comforting now that I’ve come to the decision to wait a year. I’ve yet to tell my parents that, though, so I’m also nervous about it.
Other updates? I got a cat! His name was Woody when I first met him (at the shelter at which I’m currently volunteering), but I felt that it didn’t fit. He has now been renamed as “Jagermeister.” Yes, like the alcohol, but that wasn’t the reason for which I named him. I like to call him “Jager.” My dog, Toto, is pretty herp and isn’t aware of how to properly interact with a cat. It also doesn’t help that Jager’s declawed, so whenever he hits Toto in the face, Toto thinks he’s playing. They get along, which is what I was hoping for; the only problem is that Toto always wants to play. And he is not a small dog, by any means.
This was Jager's first day at home.
Hmm, I also had a boyfriend whom I had begun dating in February. Our relationship ended this past Wednesday, and I’m trying to keep from blaming myself too much. I know that I’m not the only one to blame for the failure of this relationship. I’m upset, but moreover, I’m agitated that I do not know the complete reason for this recent turn of events.
Seeing as we’re both short-tempered individuals, it seems that he was tired of arguing all the time. It’s a reasonable thought, but I can’t help but feel that there’s more to it than that. Ah well. The decision was, for the most part, mutual. It just feels like it happened very abruptly.
In any case, I’ll try to remain optimistic about the whole thing.
The weather has been looking nicer. I feel that we skipped fall, though. Or that fall is more close to feeling like winter rather than being a halfway point between summer and winter. As long as I’m no longer sweating buckets outside and then freezing in my classes, I’ll be happy.
Here is my pre-New Year’s resolution:
One post per week. It shouldn’t be too difficult, right? As long as I don’t try to write a novel every time, I think it’ll be feasible.
So, see you guys next year week.
I'll keep up with my blog this time. I swears!
Here’s to (yet another) new blog! Actually, I haven’t had many blogs. There was only the Xanga, which I’ve had since 2005. It was my first blog, as well as one of my first exposures to the internets. As such, the first two or three years of posts were highly illiterate and pretty painful to read. There was one period where I had different paragraphs of text highlighted different colors. I was, in every sense of the word, a newb. Sometimes, I was even a n00b (and yes, there’s a difference).
All previous posts were brought over from my Xanga, but because I didn’t want to waste my time and yours, I decided to leave out all the posts where I typed like a retard. I’m sure the link to my xanga is around here somewhere, so if you’re really curious, you can go on a scavenger hunt for it. The prize is loss of vision from scratching your eyes out. Fun, isn’t it!?
In the last post I made, I spouted this nonsense about “buckl[ing] down and get[ting] to business when I need to.” Well, I always was better at procrastinating than I was at studying, and it still isn’t all that different. I took biology II over the summer, and I feel like I worked a bit harder at it, but I hypothesize that it was due more to the fact that it was the only class I took at the time, rather than me procrastinating less. Even now, when I know I should get a head start on studying biochem because I didn’t really learn my ochem – at all – I’m here blogging about how I should be studying. And my inability to kick this nasty habit of procrastinating. Of course, people usually start out the new school year trying to stay on top of things, but eventually, they feel like taking a break. And then they don’t come back from it. I think that happens rather early on in the semester for me. Not to be pessimistic or anything (I think I’m being rather realistic, in fact), but you know I’m right.
Pretty much the only game I ever played on the N64. Aside from multiplayers (Mario Smash Bros., Pokemon Stadium, Mario Party).
All that talk about not being distracted by anime and manga due to some of what I watch/read being taken down due to copyrights? Yeah. All but one of those was re-uploaded, and since I had found more to watch/read while those were gone, I am now currently reading 10 mangas (9 of them ongoing, 1 just not fully uploaded to my manga source) and watching 4 animes. Even if I didn’t have mangas or animes, I noticed that I will spend just about as much time playing video games. Whether it be replaying Ocarina of Time, or playing on my PSP until I ragequit all the games I’ve started, I can spend hours on end just playing games. Thankfully, that doesn’t happen as often as watching anime or reading manga, because then I’d really have no life. And I do have a life, thank you very much! It’s just a smidgen of what normal people call lives, but it still counts! I also tend to have books lying about (for leisure reading) and, being an avid reader, get easily caught up in reading a book. And if I ever run out of (or catch up to) my manga and anime (and tired of my video games and finish my books), I can always turn to YouTube for distraction. YouTube, or random online shopping. If I get really desperate for ways to waste time, I start blogging. Just kidding! (Ahahahaha . . . )
Guh, it’s my junior year, which means I don’t have much time to spare for procrastinating. Really, high school is such a joke compared to college. High school doesn’t prepare you for college at all. Unless you took AP or dual credit courses. That might prepare you for college. Just a little bit. This whole “you have to study to get a good grade” business is ridiculous. And time management? I obviously don’t have good time management skills because I’m sitting here blogging while I should be studying for neuroanatomy and biochem. And classes just started two days ago! Or three, actually. (I don’t have Friday classes, booyah!) But yes, I have no time to procrastinate because Neuroanatomy and Biochem will take most of my study time, as well as practicing for my Piano II class, and I still haven’t started studying for my MCAT. I have a sense of impending doom looming over me, but my procrastination manages to make it seem more like a niggling thought. Though, to be honest, I’m a bit worried about how my courses are gonna pan out for spring semester and senior year. I feel the need to retake a few classes that I did poorly in (procrastination at its finest), but I don’t know if I’ll be able to squeeze them into the remaining time I have. Especially since the scheduling for neuro classes senior year may be pretty tight. I’ll have to make sure I nab a projected schedule of courses from the advising department this coming week.
This app (I have it on my Android phone) allows one to make a "To Do" list, with a simple interface that allows one to procrastinate indefinitely.
All right, let’s see if I can wrap this up nicely for you. It’s starting to drag on a bit, isn’t it?
So this semester, I’m taking only 15 hours. Biochem (4 hours), Neuroanatomy (3 hours), Piano II (3 hours), History of American Medicine in Film (3 hours), Medical Terminology (1 hour online), and Library Research Skills (1 hour online). I can tell you right now that biochem, neuroanatomy, and piano are going to take up most of my study time outside of classes. My professor for neuroanatomy already told the class that most of the learning will be done by studying outside of lecture, rather than through attending lecture. Thankfully, he’s given many resources to help us through the process of rote memorization. I regret to say that biochem will take a lot of time merely because I didn’t put the effort into learning the related material when I had the classes (ochem and bio 1), so most of the beginning will be learning and (kinda) reviewing. As for piano, well, that takes a lot of practice, and my fingers are rusty because I didn’t touch a piano all summer. And I never learned to count while playing. I can count the piece, and I can play (more like bumble through) the piece – I’ll even count through the first few measures – but somewhere along the way, I focus more on playing the notes and stop counting altogether. So remedying that problem might take some time, and I feel as if I’m already at a disadvantage compared to the other students.
And this is way off topic, but my olfactory system keeps telling me that I smell cigarrette smoke, as if it’s lingering in the air, but it’s not. I hate when this happens. Stupid people jeopardizing my lungs just so they can “calm down” (even though nicotine is a stimulant) and get rid of their withdrawal symptoms. /rant
This semester is gonna kill me. For serious.
It’s getting hot in here (so hot!), so take off all your clothes
I am getting so hot, I wanna take my clothes off —
Hah?! In my defense, it really is hot here! Hot and humid. Where it’s common to break out in sweat while taking a mere stroll. At night. Even midnight. I’ve also been trying to cut down on the cost of electricity by only using my fans . . .
Anyway, I suppose it’s time for a blog post, neh? It’s been, what, six months? (Really, guys. I’m pretty sure I’m just talking to myself on this blog.) Much has happened this past year.
Spring semester was much more difficult than expected. I dunno what happened, but I realized again that I’m not exactly sure how to study. At all. I don’t understand this concept. “Studying.” What does that mean? Hopefully, now that I’ve got an apartment all to myself. I’ll buckle down and get to business when I need to. Of course, I was pretty much a hermit last semester, anyway . . . but my friends all lived in buildings next to me, so it was easier to be fine with dropping by for a visit, only to stay longer than needed. And maybe now that most of the manga that I read has been taken down due to copyright/license issues, I won’t have to worry about that distraction. I’m more inclined to reading manga than watching anime, so unless I find a good anime, I should be relatively safe in that area. I’m quite prone to marathon-ing manga and anime whenever I find a new one to read/watch, even though I know I should be doing more productive things and have class in the morning.
This blog post is epic fail.
Saturday, 2 January 2010
8:41 PM
Even though my holiday break is only three weeks, a bit shorter than some colleges or universities, I’m about ready to begin classes once more. I suppose my college has figured out the optimum break length to where students are able to feel like they’ve had a good amount of holiday relaxation, but haven’t been out of school for so long that they’ve forgotten how to aptly use their time once classes start again.
For me, college life hasn’t been too difficult to adapt to. I’ve always been rather independent, so I wasn’t very homesick when I moved out. However, the work for classes is a different matter. I didn’t study as much as I should have during my first semester of college. Actually, I’ve never had to really study before. All I really did throughout my years of junior and high school years was cram (because really, nobody should have to really study for school prior to junior high). By the time I did start studying hardcore, it was for my finals, and I wasn’t exactly sure what to do. Am I really supposed to just stare at this material for four or so hours? So this next semester, I’ll still be working on adapting to college coursework. Real college coursework because community college doesn’t exactly count.
I also had some difficulty cutting myself off from the fun and games when I knew I had to get down to business and study. I got pretty addicted to shooting pool for a month or two, and I still really enjoy playing it. However, I tend to rotate between my addictions. Pool and anime/manga are the main ones I had to deal with the first semester. At one point of one of my anime/manga addiction phases, I watched and finished Fruits Basket within a day, and went through one hundred and sixty-something chapters of a manga (basically until I finished all the chapters currently out for that manga) in two or three days. I got little sleep those nights; I don’t know how I was able to function in classes during those periods, or if I was able to function at all. At my most addicted phase for pool, I skipped one class (after already playing for pretty much the whole afternoon) and made a bet with a friend (which I won, mwuha!). At least I haven’t gotten addicted to coffee or energy drinks to power my way through the semester.
At one point, I lost my keys. Actually, I just forgot them in my chemistry lecture room, and didn’t realize that the keys my professor was holding up at the end of class were mine. And by the time I noticed, it was too late. I suppose, luckily enough, this happened on a Friday. Locked out of both my apartment and my room, I wouldn’t have been able to properly attend classes relying solely on what I had with me at the time. Or, perhaps this was an unlucky thing, since I would’ve been able to go to the lost and found on campus immediately to retrieve my keys. Except for the fact that I didn’t know my professor had left my keys there until the Monday after I lost them.
A friend (or two) of mine was kind enough to let me spend the night at their apartment for the duration of my homelessness. True, I could’ve just spent the nights in my own apartment, out in the living room, but that would’ve been more awkward for me. It’s not that I don’t like my roommates; to tell you the truth, I think they’re pretty cool, and I’m glad that I ended up having them as roomies. However, I’m just not as close to them as they are with each other. I feel rather out of place when spending time with them (and their other friends). I always was more comfortable being friends with guys than girls.
In any case, I’ve better prepared myself should such a thing happen again. (Yes, I know I fail epically for losing my keys in the first place, but I’m trying to be optimistic here!)
I, for one, have been really enjoying Christmas vacation. Aside from lack of immediate internet access (no internet at home anymore), the holidays have been pretty pleasant and relaxing. Go to sleep whenever (although I haven’t been able to fall asleep before midnight the whole break), wake up whenever (usually around ten or so, but I go back to sleep and don’t get out of bed until around one), I don’t have to make my own food, spend all day doing basically nothing, and somehow I’m still tired enough to take naps around six or seven at night. That’s probably why I can’t fall asleep before twelve.
I haven’t been completely lazy, though! I swear. But ask me what I’ve done over the holidays, and I honestly can’t remember doing much of anything. On the weekends, and during for Christmas Eve/Christmas and New Year’s Eve/New Year’s, I’ve been going to my grandpa’s house with my parents (like we did before I went off to college). That’s where we have family get-togethers. Our family visits our grandparents at least every two weeks. So all the cousins grew up as a pretty tight-knit group. And I love visiting my family.
It’s fun watching my cousins play games. My cousin, Quan, and his younger brother, Vinh, recently used their Christmas money to purchase an xBox 360 and Halo 3, along with a few other games. Of course, it’s always more fun playing such games with more people (the more the merrier, after all), especially with family, so Quan and Vinh brought their xbox and Halo 3 with them for everyone to play on. My older cousin, Tommy, and my younger cousin, Quan, are playing Halo 3 right now. A little while ago, they were standing in an elevator waiting to go to the next level (playing storymode). Quan recently had acquired a gravity hammer, an overpowering weapon, and was really excited.
Tommy: (health goes down to absolute minimum) Whoa, was that you?
Quan: Ehehehe . . .
And another time they were going up in the elevator and waiting until they reached the next level:
Tommy: (shoots Quan with a needler)
Quan: (wacks Tommy with the hammer)
(They reach the next level, both at minimum health, and see quite a few formidable opponents.)
Tommy: Oh, yeah . . . now was probably not a good time for that.
Later, Tommy got tired of playing, so another younger cousin, Nguyen, took the controller.
Nguyen: Chaaaaaaaarrggee! (Gets blown up)
Quan: (Gets blown up immediately afterwards) Aww, I was watching your screen!
Ten minutes later, they have sentinel guns that resemble lasers when they shoot:
Quan: (shoots Nguyen) Ehehe.
Nguyen: (Takes damage) Oohh, I want one of those!
One minute later, going against a horde of enemies:
Nguyen: (Imitating laser noises) Zzzzzzzzzzzzzeewwwwww.
Quan: (Dies) Aww, you killed me!
Finally, they get past that stage. Upon getting to the next one . . .
Nguyen: Awww, I don’t want to do this stage! It scares me!
A minute later:
Quan: (Dies) Nguyen, throw a grenade.
Nguyen: (Throws a grenade. Then walks into it and dies.)
For the next five minutes they have fun killing each other. Just for the giggles.
Quan: Aww, you douche!
Nguyen: My energy shield, you bitch!
And then, two minutes after they’ve declared the friendly fire war done . . .
Quan: Walk away from me, Nguyen. Walk away!
Nguyen: (Kills him with a plasma sword.)
Quan: You douche.
Well. This goes on for quite a while, and I’m sure you guys get the idea. Needless to say, it was quite entertaining to watch. I guess this is probably true for most gamers, but I like how when it’s time to seriously get into a game, my cousins and I sit up to play. That’s when we know it’s serious business.
Because that’s how we roll. [Ololol.]
Is it just me, or does anyone else think my new profile is uberly awesome?
The simplicity, coupled with the humorous drawings that reflect major characteristics of myself (love of food and dislike for dressing up).
Of course, I’m probably just building up my ego right about now. So, on with the summary!
Last thing I talked about was the visit to Baylor Med, right? Right. I went out of chronological order there, because the medical school experiences were the day before the clinical experiences. The day after clinical experiences (which was on Thursday) was the day of the Medical Ethics Caucus (basically a debate). Well, this was one thing among other events of the day, but the caucus was the main event. I was lucky and had a good team (MED groups were split into teams, and competed against teams of other MED groups. MED group teams didn’t compete against the other teams of their own MED group at any time. There were only two rounds, and each MED group team judged one round and debated in the other.). Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t like I was lazy and did no work, it’s just that, came debating time, my mind just completely blanked out on me. I never was really good at public speaking. Unfortunately, we did not realize we had to ask for the one minute rebuttal time, and so all we were able to do was present our side without refuting the other team’s arguments. I believe I would have done better during the rebuttal, since I would have something to feed off of for my own argument, but speculating all of this now won’t be doing any good, so I’ll be moving on now.
>.>
The next day was Saturday, which would bring us to the trip to Moody Gardens in Galveston. The weekend was designated for relaxation time, I guess. Before I forget, I should say that I’m pretty sure MED groups stuck with people in their own groups, for the most part. My MED group certainly did. We all started out at the . . . I want to say seafood pyramid, but I just know that’s not right. Aquatic? Marine? Well, we started out in the pyramid with all the sea animals in it. It was okay . . . I can be socially inept at times, and this was one of those times. I basically tagged along with the group of people from my MED group that I usually hung out with, or walked ahead of them at times . . . After we toured through that pyramid, the others decided to eat (since that we were supposed to eat dinner there because we’d be getting back too late for dinner at the hotel). After everyone ate, the group I was with divided again. Next place we went to was (I’m having trouble with my memory as of late. -_-; ) near the rainforest pyramid. Only thing we did there was go on this ride that sat us on this moving platform with a huge screen in front of us.
I’m doing a horrible job at explaining this ride, and it was very boring, so I’m going to give up trying.
After this I ended up in a group of three from the original quarter-group from my MED group (Me, David, and Jonathan). David wanted to go swimming, so Jonathan and I accompanied him to wherever the pool was. He ended up only going in the water for about a minute because it was the kiddie pool, and we couldn’t really find anywhere else to swim, ahaha. We then traipsed over to the rainforest pyramid, decided not to watch whatever cinema they had showing because we had heard it wasn’t worth while, and instead perused the gift shop. Now, I hadn’t planned to get anything, but I always like to look at the music in gift shops.
David and Jonathan are so awesome.
They bought me a CD, in spite of my many declines and attempts to place the CD back in its proper place on the shelf. Each time I put it back, one of them would get another CD with the music I had been looking at. I gave up trying to put it back when they were next in line at the cash register. -_-
After that, we basically hung out in the food court of the pyramid, playing with their purchases (spinner ring and bracelet, mainly. Haha, Jonathan’s bracelet went all the way up to my upper arm). A few minutes later, Jonathan’s room mate saw him and joined us at our table, and we commenced to playing cards. Oh geez, I love speed. ^-^ I’m also competitive, and one game, when I had only one card left and was about to put it down, out of my peripheral vision, I saw Jonathan’s room mate move to put his card down. I didn’t know which pile he was going for, but with my left hand, I pushed away his hand while placing my card on one of the piles with my right hand. “SPEED!” Highlight of the day, I have to admit. I hadn’t even realized I had done that until right after I finished the game; it was a reflex. o.O
Don’t worry, I apologized for it. x3
Sunday we were supposed to go to Kemah Boardwalk, but the rain prevented us from going there, and instead we went to Katy Mills Mall. I walked around with David and Garrett (who was from another MED group) there. First we visited Books a Million. I’m sure we spent at least fifteen minutes in there. Started walking elsewhere after David made his purchase. I think we went to look at music next, and I immediately headed for the anime. I’m so anime deprived, I couldn’t help it!
OH, two guys walked past me while I was looking at the anime, and one muttered some stereotypical/racist comment. Basically, he assumed I was Japanese because I was looking at anime. Ignorant idiot. GAH. D< This didn’t have much importance, but it stuck out in my mind, and I had to type it out.
Next stop was the Asian store, to look around; and then after that, the bubble tea place around that area because I persuaded David to get a drink. (He ended up not liking the boba/tapioca in his coffee, so I got to drink it; and, it was pretty much still full. SCORE! I <3 boba drinks.) After this, we just walked around the mall, and eventually met up with the other people of our quarter-group. They had already bought tickets to watch Transformers, so that was where they were headed. We had nothing else in mind to do, so we decided to join them. Mind you, this was only about five minutes after we had left the bubble tea place; Garrett, David, and I are fast-paced walkers, and we know how to weave through people. By this time, I had only about a quarter of the drink left. I paid for my ticket, and David’s, because I was adamant about buying something for him since he and Jonathan bought me the CD the day before; unfortunately, Jonathan had already bought his ticket. We found seats in the theater with our other friends and got ourselves comfortable, and I finished off the boba drink before the movie even started.
Darn David and his coffee addiction, and the fact that coffee’s a natural laxative. Not even halfway through Transformers, I had to go to the restroom. Of course, I’m stubborn, and didn’t want to miss any part of the movie, so I sat there and endured the pressure on my bladder while shaking my legs to keep myself preoccupied.
I have to say, Transformers is a very good movie; I certainly enjoyed it, even in my distraction. x] Well, the movie ended at around the same time we were supposed to be at our buses to go back to the hotel, so I left about ten minutes before the movie ended, took my restroom break, and came back out (surprised to see that David was waiting for me). The rest of the group had already headed to the entrance we were dropped off at, but we caught up with them pretty quickly. This basically ends the Katy Mills Mall summary, and now we’re on Monday.
Monday, the main event for the day was public health competition. Each MED group team (split into only two separate teams this time) chose a problem to do their presentation on that would raise public health awareness for that problem. Students judged everyones’ presentations based on verbal presentation and information presented on the tri-fold board. I admit, I basically BSed the second half of the paper. The students judged during lunch, and not much time was allotted for us. I think the FAs were telling us that we should only be taking about thirty seconds at each presentation. I missed lunch that day, but oh well.
Next was the public health symposium, which was a competition of the top presentations from each category. These were judged by some guests, I think (guests with a medical field background).
Tuesday was the last day, so the only thing planned that day was a MED session and a closing ceremony. I’ll explain about MED sessions next entry, and also tell about the social events of the nights. Fun fun.
(Aren’t I boring you yet?)
So, I am officially sixteen (and five days) old, have my (provisional) license, as well as a car. And a new phone to match! I should be driving myself to school starting on Tuesday (since I do not have school on Monday, huzzah). I’m contemplating on whether to buy a parking permit because, apparently, the guy who checks all the cars for the permits is supah-lazy. I’ll probably end up getting one, anyway. But I am going out of order, and that should not be . . .
So, shall we start with NYLF? That would probably be the best thing to do, after all, that is where I a week after I finished the Blinn dual credit class (first semester). Luckily, I went to the one in Houston, so I didn’t have much traveling to do. All the NYLF students stayed in one a Renaissance hotel (Plaza 6?); I think we numbered at around four hundred juniors and seniors, although there was one sophomore. Just one. Yeah, I think one of the elevators broke or something, probably on account of us trying to fit as many people as we can on an elevator that should only be holding ten. The food at the hotel was mediocre, not like I ate much at the hotel, anyway. I’m sure if I had gotten room service, my attitude about the food would be better, but I’m stingy and don’t like buying things I don’t necessarily need. I cannot believe my stinginess can overcome my love of food. It’s amazing, I know.
Over the course of ten days, we took trips to various places of Houston. Some medical-related sites, hospitals, and med schools in the Houston area. The rest of the time, we were at the hotel, listening to speakers, doing activities in our MED groups (all the students were separated into, I think, ten or twelve groups with around 25 people in each; each MED group is named for someone famous who made a major contribution to medicine), or participating in the (basically) mandatory fun activities that had been planned for the night.
The first site I went to was the Ronald McDonald House of Houston, where the group I was with (since we didn’t travel with our MED groups for site visits) had a brief tour of the place, and then made lunches for the parents who were staying there at the time. For those of you who do not know, the Ronald McDonald House of Houston houses the families of children who have cancer. It’s close to the hospital where their child is most likely being treated so that the parents don’t have to travel far or pay ridiculous prices to stay close to their children.
The second site I went to was the Spring Branch Hospital (I think. Not too sure about this one.) The group I was with this time was separated into groups of four, and then, once in the hospital, we did hospital rounds. My small group went to the ER first, and since it was morning, there weren’t any patients at the time. Next we went to the OR. I was allowed to watch part of a knee replacement surgery, before we had to change rounds again. All we did the next round was sit in the waiting room, since everyone who was there was off for lunch. Our last round was the radiology department. I would say that round was the highlight of the day, for my group got to have MRI scans of our heads. Yes, I still have mine. Bwuhaha.
For the medical schools, everyone traveled with their MED groups, and I think maybe three or four MED groups went to each med school. My MED group went to Baylor. The first few hours were lectures from some professors, but I kept falling asleep. Dark rooms + tired teens = everyone asleep. Honestly, I tried to stay awake, but I couldn’t do much to keep myself from falling asleep. I remember resorting to making paper shuriken for the rest of the lectures to keep myself awake, haha. I gave those to various people in my MED group.
I believe the funniest part of the whole ten days was me taking the stairs up to the twentieth floor for my MED group. If you try to take the elevators ten to fifteen minutes before the MED sessions start, you’ll end up waiting for a while, because that’s when everyone else heads to theirs as well. The MED sessions were held in separate rooms on the Plaza (twentieth floor) and the Concourse level (level below lobby). My room was on the eighth floor. I’m surprised I never got sore from taking those stairs up all the time.
Sadly, I’ve grown tired of typing at the moment, so I have split this summary into two parts. Maybe you’ll get the other half of the entry in a couple of weeks, at the rate I’m going.
