Hubba Hubba Zoot Zoot

I just failed so hard at eating dinner. At the end of last week I made a pot of rice and prepared some lap xuong (a type of Chinese sausage), and practically every chopstick-full of rice I ate resulted in dropping rice grains all over myself. Not to mention that I spilled rice even before I started eating because my hands were being all derp and dropped the chopsticks multiple times.
No matter what the amount, getting money is always fun. Even if you don't yet understand the concept of money.
But anywho. Uhh, today is lunar new year. Chuc Mung Nam Moi! (“Happy new year” in Vietnamese.) It’s the year of the dragon, the 5th sign in the Chinese zodiac which symbolizes power, good luck, success, and happiness. The day where lunar-new-year-celebrating-Asians will get little red and gold envelopes filled with dollars bills and the occasional $5 or $10. OR, you could be really lucky and get $2 bills. /sarcasm? Unfortunately, I was not able to return home and partake in the Tet festivities. I wonder if I’ll have any red envelopes waiting for me the next time I visit home. So, so, so, I bought a Kindle Fire off of Craigslist last week, after waiting for what seemed like foreeveerrrr to find a price I liked and a person who actually responded to my inquiry. I got a pretty good deal (25% off retail price), especially considering that some people insist on trying to sell their Kindle Fires above the price listed on Amazon.com. I may have mentioned in a previous post the idea of rooting my Kindle Fire. As of right now, I’m pretty pleased with the Fire the way it is, even if the roulette showing recent activity is pretty ridiculous. In addition, the root for the latest Android build (Ice Cream Sandwich –> ICS) has already been made, although it’s buggy and still being worked on by developers. Besides, if I root my Kindle, then I won’t be able to have access to the Kindle Reader’s Lending Library or whatever it’s called, as well as free access to selected movies and TV shows. Of course, to take advantage of these perks, one needs to be a member of Amazon Prime. My only real complaint is that there are no decent note-taking apps (that use handwriting, rather than typing the text) on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread, which is what the Fire has, albeit changed up and slightly crippled). The promising apps I found are only available for Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) and up, and apparently the code for Honeycomb wasn’t released; the only roots available for theĀ  Fire as of right now are the full-blown Android Gingerbread and buggy ICS. In any case, not being able to take hand-written notes on my Fire isn’t remotely close to being a deal-breaker. The 7″ screen isn’t exactly ideal for that kind of thing.
Total "wtf" title, but it makes sense after it's explained.
  As for the academic front, I feel like I’m off to a decent start. I’ve been exercising on a regular basis, though not every day like I originally planned. Right now I’m only up to 1 hour gym work-outs Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. But hey, it’s a start, right? I also bought this ebook off of Amazon during the break when it was on sale called Eat That Frog: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time. Kinda seems ridiculous, but for me, it’s helped quite a bit, and I’ve only read 3 chapters (less than halfway). The main thing that it’s stressed so far is to plan ahead. For you non-procrastinators, this seems like a no-brainer, right? And perhaps even for procrastinators too. But the simple act of writing everything down actually helps a lot. Granted, I haven’t been completing everything I’ve written on my To-Do lists for the past two days that I’ve tried it, but I’ve been able to get the most important things done, at least. It’s gonna be a challenging semester, probably moreso than I realize, but I’m sure it’ll be worth it in the long run. It better be, though for $1.50, if it doesn’t turn out to be worth it, at least it won’t be a big loss. Last week I had my first counseling session for the semester, and my counselor noted that I seem much happier than I had last semester, though we both aren’t sure yet if that’s because of the break, or because of the Wellbutrin. That being said, I do feel happier this semester, as well as actually motivated to do well. Of course, the motivation may be due to me only taking classes that I’m actually interested in for this semester, rather than because I need it as a prereq for med school. My lifestyle in general has become more healthy; I’m eating 3 meals a day at more regular intervals, rather than the 1 or 2 I would eat in the past few years. As I already stated, I began my journey to getting fit. My sleep seems to be more restful and undisturbed as well. I just feel good. Knock on wood. We’ll see how things are after the first round of exams. Which come at the end of next week. Yikes. Also also also, I applied for a job on campus. It’s a typing data entry thing and only pays $8/hr, but a job is a job, and at least it’s not my only means of support. Actually, it’s more for personal spending money. Project money. I applied Saturday evening (I think?) and haven’t gotten a reply yet, but hopefully I can nab it. If not, then maybe I can get a job at a center that specializes in programs for ADD, ADHD, autistic, dyslexic, etc. children, which would be more up my alley what with being a neuroscience major and all. It’d probably look better on my resume too. I’m hoping to be able to stay on campus for work, though. Geebus, so many things to talk about! I swear this is the last thing. It seems that I’ve finally gotten a volunteer position at a hospital. People must not like to communicate with me, because scheduling an interview appointment with the volunteer coordinator took forever (and didn’t even happen when I applied last spring). So did scheduling an appointment to get my TB test. And the first two people I tried to buy a Kindle Fire from on Craigslist never responded; one contact number was completely wrong. People just don’t pick up their phone. To be fair, I screen my calls too. Anyway, the volunteer orientation is this Wednesday. After that and after my reference gives back a completed reference form, I should be all ready to volunteer. The only thing left is to get my DART pass so I don’t have to drive in that abysmal traffic. (Srsly, why is there traffic when there are no vehicle accidents or anything???) Also, someone stole my bike. Really? My bike? And why the fusk can’t I change the color of the strike-out font? P.S. My cat has been much more affectionate as of late. I feel loved.