FhidioRT

ARTIE NOOOOOO

2012-01-27T09:11:00.000-08:00

and Rachel doesn't notice nothin'.

Glee en español

2012-01-26T17:57:00.000-08:00

Hey Santana, why don't you just tell everyone that you don't like burritos? I know por que eres tan mala, you're scared that todo el mundo will judge you just because te gusta quesadillas and hate burritos, you know what I think you are? Un cobarde.
---

I loled harder than I should have.

http://finn-hudson.tumblr.com/post/13098092236

Yellowstone part 3?

2012-01-26T17:47:00.000-08:00

In Yellowstone, cars don't pull over for ambulances. They pull over for buffalo.

This is where in Oregon Trail you pull out your Winchester and shoot down enough meat for the next week.

These elk scrambled onto the road, ran around in circles for a little bit, then finally galloped off safely into the bush.

Super geyser action.

Today, at the travel clinic

2012-01-24T17:13:00.001-08:00

(1st shot- Typhoid) Me: Hm, that didn't really hurt at all.
(2nd shot- Tetanus) Me: Hey, I barely felt it.
(3rd shot- Hep A) Me: AHHHHHHH
Nurse: Yeah about half my patients say they feel Hep A shooting up and down their arm, I guess it depends on whether you have nerves or not, hahaha!
Me: x_x

Super 88

2011-09-23T20:11:00.001-07:00

In line, at Super 88, a couple of old white folks near the registers.

Lady: "Ohh look! They have crackers made of RICE!!"
Man: "Ooooo."
Me: LOL white people

followed by,

Me: LOL racist

Mt. Washington

2011-09-22T15:16:00.001-07:00

Hiked 4 hrs up, 4 hrs down, for a total of approx. 10 miles and 4300 ft elevation change.

96 hours later, I finally regain full range of movement in my legs.

Yes, there was SNOW at the summit.

If Harry Potter studied medicine instead of herbalism

2011-09-12T19:37:00.001-07:00

me: if only medical terms sounded more appealing

like expelliarmus

Jenny: seriously!

what an awesome word

if i ever develop a drug that's what it'll be called

me: yay go for it

I think it would be appropriate as some sorts of expectorant

you can call it

expelliarmucus

Rappin' lols

2011-09-12T17:19:00.000-07:00

In lab rockin' out by myself to Nelly's Ride Wit Me and then realization: we totally need to create a rap version of the Bible. Imagine how easy verse memorization would be! Then I found out there already is one.

http://www.bibleraps.com/

Neat.

Scattergories

2011-08-04T19:52:00.001-07:00

Crimes that begin "F"

Jenny (K)'s group: "Fascism"
Amy: "How is that a crime??"
Jenny: "It's a crime against humanity!"

I voted in approval.

Yellowstone Adventures part 2

2011-07-18T18:34:00.000-07:00

IT'S JUST LIKE OREGON TRAIL!!

I spy with my little eye a ground squirrel. Superb camouflage though.

I literally had to run after this chipmunk before it finally stopped and let me take a picture of it.

This robin was chirping a happy song while it was out hunting for the early worm.

This geyser only measured a few feet in diameter and was just like an in-ground cauldron for boiling. My mom wanted to toss some eggs in to cook. Maybe someone did, because it reeked of overcooked/rotten eggs, which she loved and I gagged at. Actually they all smelled that way because of the sulfur dioxide. Also, this geyser was appropriately named "Chinese Spring".

Jen's Personal Statement

2011-07-17T20:56:00.000-07:00

"No profit grows where is no pleasure ta’en;
In brief, sir, study what you most affect."

Tranio was quite right when he advised poor Lucentio to stop being such an overachiever and follow his heart within his studies. Today’s world is full of such live wire folk- ready to give away their whole lives for wistful dreams of wealth and status. We’re taught to vie for those crucial letters “M.D.” appended to our names, much attributed to Gregory House. Rather than follow the masses, I spent years in careful meditation, achieving a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Biochemistry and entering a prestigious laboratory at the Massachusetts General Hospital, honing that which became a passion and not just a means to an end. My passion for medicine. And if there’s one lesson I’ve learned from my years of experience in the general care and hemorrhaging of pigs, it is this: humans are better!

So what are the foci of my affections? They range from gardening to playing the flute, young adult fiction, and British comedies. My lifelong dream consists primarily of cultivating an active treehouse chicken coop in my backyard, or in Jill’s room (in which case she can have the treehouse). Nevertheless, my greatest interests lie in the betterment of human health. For if we did not have good health, why would we need chicken eggs? And who would anchor BBC News?

The honest truth is that being a doctor is about life and death. I’ve seen death many times in my laboratory, and ethical morphine shot or no, it’s a tough sight to witness. Our society waters down the question of life and death as well as the importance of doctors to the point where the numerous doctor-type imposters have become more commonplace than real ones. Take for example the preeminence of Dr. Phil, Dr. Dre, and Dr. Pepper. The general populace can rattle off their names faster than their own PCPs. I know, because I don’t even have one. By entering your esteemed medical school and becoming a doctor myself, I desire to return the doctor to its rightful place as the servant to aid and abet mankind. In fact, I would insist that upon matriculation that I be named in reverence of the most well-known doctor of all, Dr. Who, and I would henceforth be called The Twelfth Doctor. Unless of course Matt Smith dies or is otherwise fired, in which case I would go by The (12 + n)th Doctor.

Joking aside, we as physicians should really strive to fulfill our responsibilities as stewards of human life and to help others come to know the Great Physician who truly transcends time (ask me how). Even as I embrace my identity as a British-Chinese-American who has affections for brownie baking and singing the song of purple summer, I will also undertake a more important role- healer of the body and soul.

Sincerely,

Jen

Yellowstone Adventures part 1

2011-07-16T20:58:00.000-07:00

It has obviously been too long since I posted the piles and piles of wildlife photos taken over the past year, so here I start the compilation of the wilds of Yellowstone Park.

Old Faithful on a cloudy day actually looks just like more cloudiness.

The beautiful black and white magpie is surprisingly common in these parts, but they rarely sit in one spot long enough for a picture.

The definition of "idyllic"

King of the hill horse poses in front of the mountains.

Pony rides horse lets me pet him just long enough to sniff me down for food; upon finding none he snorted and left.

Doctor Jenny Episode 1

2011-05-03T16:49:00.000-07:00

Jenny as Dr. Jenny, Pediatrician:

*Mother and 3 year old daughter walk in*

Dr. Jenny: Why hello there Mrs. Lin how is your daugh- ahhhhhh! so cuuuuute!!!

Dr. Jenny: *starts pinching daughter's cheeks*

Daughter: D':

Mother: Um Dr. Jenny we came today because she was diagnosed with a highly contagious staph infection on her face.

Dr. Jenny: ...Oh. Oh shoot. Hold on one second.

Dr. Jenny: Wahhhhh! *runs out of the room and down the hallway to the chemical emergency shower*

TBC

The ways that animals describe me

2011-04-19T17:53:00.002-07:00

Pictures from the aquarium in Cape Cod:

The tautog seems to have a way of movement similar to mine. I didn't actually see the fish probably because it was napping in the background.

FACEWALL. Sometimes when you're tired, you're tired.

These seals really wanted to roll over as their trainer asked, but they needed some help in the end.

If I had to trek on foot over ice to get to work, I'm sure this is what I would look like. I particularly like the polar bear's gentle slide into naptime at the end.

"I have thought of a wonderful present for you. Shall I give you despair?"

2011-02-11T14:02:00.000-08:00

-- Sephiroth

Jchan's Diary - 1/2/11

2011-01-27T19:55:00.000-08:00

Jchan's Diary
January 2, 2011

Dearest Diary,

It's been a long time since I've seen you! Here, let me dust off your soft leather covers... there. Much better.

Have you missed me? A lot has happened in my life since my last entry. I mean, I've spent weeks and months doing... med school things. And playing with my dog Haupia. Though I promise that I will keep you safe from him; you know how much he loves to gnaw. The other day, I was patiently trying to teach him to roll over by reinforcing his correct actions with his favorite I Can't Believe It's Not Bacon treats. I even rolled around on the kitchen floor to demonstrate! But no, he laid there contently watching me roll on my belly like a fool, gnawing on Mouse-Mouse. I tell you, he is schizophrenic with that toy- one minute licking and cleaning, the next chewing and scraping. You can hear Haupia coming down the hallway long before you see him with Mouse-Mouse's little squeaky squeaks like he's a real mouse trying to escape.

What was I talking about? Oh yes. My life. Well I don't know, I think my life kind of revolves around that dog anyway.

NO, NO STOP HAUPIA!! Excuse me, dearest diary, I need to go save Mouse-Mouse from being dunked in the toilet. Stupid dog...

- JChan :]

I wonder if I'd like some of that

2010-12-18T07:34:00.000-08:00

http://www.slate.com/id/2274736/pagenum/all/

The Adventures of Lida, Spinoff #1. Greg.

2010-12-02T23:41:00.000-08:00

It's a story that had been brewing in the back of my mind for quite a while now, but it wasn't until recently in my bouts of insomnia that the details started to flesh themselves out...

----

Greg imagined himself a soldier marching out to onto the battlefield as he approached the outdoor mini-amphitheater with his electric guitar slung over his back and amp in hand. Behind him, Dexter carried a mic stand as well as his own instruments: a couple of paint buckets and a pair of drumsticks. As they stepped up to the stone stage and began their equipment setup, nearby students looked up briefly from their lunches and peered at them with shifty, curious eyes. It was Greg's chance to free his fellow students, these poor souls enslaved to society's preconceptions, through the power of home-brewed rock n' roll.

A light tap on the microphone was all Greg needed to know it was working. "Hey guys," he announced, "my name is Greg, and this my man, Dexter-"

"That's me." Dexter confirmed.

"We're gonna get started with the show in just a minute...Are you guys ready to rock!" He pumped one fist in the air. Maybe one or two people looked up at him. Silence at first.

"Booooo!" Lida and Liz had been sitting under a slight tree at the corner of the ampitheater and Lida just couldn't resist a good chance to tease Greg, especially with so many onlookers. "Booo, get off the stage!" She turned to Liz and complained loudly, "Interrupting our peaceful and relaxing lunch break, what's his problem?" and took a big bite of sandwich for emphasis.

It was just his luck that Greg's archnemesis would be in attendance at his first public performance, but he was determined not to be fazed. Gritting his teeth, he stepped back from the mic and with a few quick twists and plucks tuned his guitar to perfection. Then he took the sixth string's knob and twisted it just a bit more, bringing the tone up a half step. It gave his sound a raspy harshness that he considered unique and distictive- musical genius really.

Drawn in by the sounds, a bit of a crowd consisting mostly of band geeks had started to gather around the amphitheater. At Greg's nod, Dexter started them off with four clacks of his drumsticks in time, and Greg rocked out to the rough beats he himself composed.

He strummed and belted and swayed, and the crowd just barely, minutely, appeared to sway with him. By the end of it, Greg's forehead was beaded with sweat and his well-calloused fingers sore, but he gave the audience one more chance. "Any requests?" He heard a squeal and some frantic applause as a pair of young girls at the foot of the stage jumped excitedly.

"That was awesome Greg, we love you!" the red-haired one called. Freshmen, no doubt, and newly-minted groupies. Greg grinned inwardly.

Then Lida jumped at her chance. "Booo!"

Liz called out, "I've heard better sounds coming out of my butt!" They turned to each other and giggled.

"Just shut it, Lida!" Greg shouted, finally losing his temper. The response to that came in the form of one red jello cup, hitting him in the chest and spilling all over his white t-shirt. He looked back at Lida, who was wide-eyed and equally surprised at her good aim. The two culprits grabbed their backpacks and took off running. "Urgh.." The red stain was slowly dripped down, looking like his heart had vomited. Although, it was arguably kind of fashionable...

The bell toned, and with the consciousness of Pavlov's dogs, the crowd of students gathered their things and headed back inside. Greg packed everything up without a word to Dexter and split to English, where he plopped down in his seat, still grumbling.

Leo was asking Marie for the umpteenth time, "So you Aussies really like your soccer players right?...How do you pronounce it? Socc-ah?"

"Football." Marie corrected.

"Socc-ah? Socc-ah?" He laughed at Marie's frown and took on a falsetto tone. "Those play-ahs, they-ah so buff!"

"I think they-ah cute." Marie retorted.

"I think they-ah..." Leo grasped for the right words, "bloody cute!"

Marie only gave enough pause to smack Leo upside the head with her purse before angrily relocating to the other side of the classroom.

"Vegemite sandwich!" Leo called after her.

And Greg found himself slouching into his seat as he relaxed.

The Sabbath. Reflections.

2010-12-01T20:20:00.000-08:00

We've been reading Leviticus 25ish and I was thinking about the Sabbath, about rest, and about Sabbath alarm clocks. Yes, there is an Instructable for building a Sabbath alarm clock. Imagine the dilemma, when it's Sunday, you're a Jew, your alarm wakes you up in time for morning service and YOU CANNOT TURN OFF THE ALARM CLOCK. Because it's work. And the darn thing's ringing all day long. The 'Ible describes a container for your alarm with a detachable lid. on the Sabbath, simply push the lid over the container (which in my physics book counts as work but who knows) to cover up the sound.

Occasionally Vania and I talk about all the time we spend working for the youth ministry on the weekends and also holidays, and we say, half joking, half in lamentation, "Where's my Sabbath?!" Where is the time for rest that God commands us to have? But here is Leviticus 23:32...

It is a day of sabbath rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath.”

Interesting, interesting. To the Israelites, God says they must take the Sabbath... to deny themselves. Huh? Leviticus goes on to detail how the Israelites must not worry about not working the fields, etc and instead trust that God will provide. Leviticus 25:20-21 on the Sabbath year, every seventh year:

You may ask, “What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?” ²¹ I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years.

It seems that for them, taking a rest was their self-denial because it could potentially mean starvation. To us in our times of plenty, work is our self-denial, and rest is our pleasure. If the purpose of the Sabbath is to revere God, to trust in Him, and to deny ourselves, well then onward ho.

There, there.

2010-11-28T16:15:00.000-08:00

Jenny: "Wag, Haupia, wag!"

Haupia: ???

Jenny: "Wag! Like this!" (wags finger)

Haupia: ??? *sniff*

Jenny: "Please wag?"

Haupia: Can you just give me the peanut already :(

Well

2010-10-07T19:03:00.001-07:00

We all feel misunderstood.
So if we realized we are all the same
in that we all feel misunderstood
Wouldn't we understand each other better??

On work

2010-09-27T19:28:00.000-07:00

Oh LOE,
How I miss thee.

Back in the day
With just one NWA

No end to the work I could do
For all of AN/TPY-2

The BOEs were easy
"sustainment" they'd say,
Just leverage the old stuff
It was easy that way...

Give me an apple and I'll say it again.

WPB Safari part 6

2010-09-22T20:10:00.000-07:00

These photos are actually from Key West. Key West was not the resort town I expected it to be- it was old school, dilapidated, with many tourists and vagrants as well. The vagrants looked free and happy, unlike the homeless here. It must be the weather and scenery. Oh, and the beautiful birds!

In Key West, roosters and hens roam free. They are reddish-brown (ginger-ish?) and deep blue with strong quick legs. Unlike in the movies, these roosters crow from morning till dusk.

Why did the...

Kung Fu Rooster says, keep as possessions only what you can carry on your back, while standing on one leg. Turtledove in the background ignores you.

Shy Brown Pelican says, I shy. I gives you my side profile.

Pelicans are commonly found hanging out in the water, or hovering above the water while fishing. You can tell a pelican is fishing because it will look straight down while it's flying. Also, pelicans often fly together in a V-formation just like geese. So smart.

White Egret keeps watch over the bay from invading sailboats.

WPB Safari Part 5

2010-09-05T18:35:00.000-07:00

I found some more pics!
These are mostly from Peanut Island, a small island that's a ferry ride away from the east coast. Walking trails, beachfronts, etc. Not many seashells though :/

A group of these large, gray, unappealing fishes were gathered right near the dock, obviously drawn in by the tourists feeding them bread and inadvertently damaging the ecosystem in the process. Anyway. If I had to venture a guess as to what this is, I'd say perhaps a type of Amberjack. You can't tell in the picture but these guys were 2-3 feet long and fat too, probably each weighing 30-40 lbs.

A little further offshore but still under the dock were small yellow and black zebra-striped fish. They were probably munching on the barnacles and algae clinging to the wooden dock support columns. These might have been Sheepshead fish. Look at how blue the water is!

A native Peanut Island dog. He was found hiding in the shade in the middle of the day. His rough, ruffled hair suggested that this guy has not been groomed or even handled by humans for a long time.

These Brown Anole lizards are highly common in Florida but actually invaded from the Caribbean Islands. They totally outnumber the native species to America, the Green Anole. Anoles have amazingly good eyesight for their size and can spot a human coming long before you can spot it. This particular lizard is most likely a female as the males have bright red dewlaps used to warn predators.

Another sunset

Festering maggots! Part 2.

2010-09-02T22:42:00.001-07:00

Today when I returned home I stepped into the kitchen and was stopped dead in my tracks by a horrible smell. I said to myself, "Self, you know what that smell is..." I opened the garbage can and indeed, it was festering maggots! They were brownish this time. I quickly and unceremoniously dumped the trash outside. I noticed there was a small hole in the bag that had caused a tiny amount of festering maggot juice to leak out into the kitchen. Upon opening the garbage can I saw there the culprit perhaps, a puddle of festering garbage precipitate, a baby carrot, and an orange peel.

Thus I propose cleaning out the trash can with soap and attempting to eradicate the festering maggots permanently.

- T.

about the rice pot....

2010-09-01T20:16:00.000-07:00

Hi,

When we are done cooking rice, we should unplug the power cord. Otherwise, the rice pot thinks we want to keep the rice warm, as it did all night long....which was very thoughtful of the pot, but completely unnecessary, as it was so hot last night.

Jen

----

I thank the pot for its generous consideration but dutifully concur that the rice pot should be unplugged at mealtime's end.

- T.

---

Eloquent emails are more fun.

none

2010-08-31T16:43:00.000-07:00

can't work
left phone at the office
it's like missing my right arm

:(

Minkuru

2010-08-06T23:39:00.000-07:00

Minkuru is Tokyo Bus mascot. And he is so cute!

"Toei Bus has an official mascot called Minkuru (みんくる), a bug-like personification of a bus vehicle."

A title would only give it away

2010-08-05T21:09:00.000-07:00

The sounds of a quick slide of the sole, a light scratch of the toe cap, and a firm clack of the heel was comfortingly monotonous in their continuous cycle. Day in, day out- sometimes a little louder and tinnier while going up the escalator, sometimes reverberating echoey and crisp across linoleum. Today, almost entirely drowned out by the morning rush; overpowered by car engines and cellphone conversations; absorbed and dissipated by poured concrete. The thunderous cacophony of man and machines stomped out their song. Such was the cruelty of the city.

Later, just before dusk, the car horns were replaced with children's laughter and familiar voices, and the hustle of busybodies exchanged with the smack of flip-flops ambling up and down the sidewalk. Precious breezes rustling the soft grass provided a gentle backdrop as the slide, the scratch, and the clack grew louder and more fervent, exalting themselves in their own music. The perpetual cycle, never suppressed for long, returned to its former intensity until it was finally shucked off to the side in favor of bare feet on the field.

In a surprising turn of events, while they were distracted by the bump back and forth of the volleyball, the Lynch's dog Eevee came by and made off with James’ shoes.

-----

IM DONE GOOD BYE

SYTYCD

2010-07-01T19:11:00.000-07:00

We interrupt this safari for a brief showing of what a genius Alex Wong is

WPB Safari part 4

2010-06-28T18:08:00.000-07:00

A few loose pics

Bright sunsets

Cranes again, the one in front defending the pack.

Zombie ducks! I have no idea what this vulture-fowl breed is but it was kind of scary when we found three of them in a parking lot.

WPB Safari Part 3

2010-06-27T19:45:00.000-07:00

Oh Blogger, your image upload interface is so annoying :(

I caught the biggest toad ever! This is presumably a very common Southern Toad. Most aren't this big though. The small ones are fast, and can easily jump a foot in the air. The big ones use a different defense mechanism- they suck in air and bloat up. Doing so impedes their movement, at which point you can go right over and pick them up.

Warning! Never kiss a toad! All toads have POISON sacs on the back of their heads and the stuff, though not usually lethal, can make you sick. Also, most reptiles and amphibians are carriers of salmonella. Wash hands thoroughly after use.

This cute little guy was found feasting on flies and moths gathered around a hanging lamp. He was extremely slimy (frogs are always covered in a coat of their own mucus). It's really hard to tell what species this is because this frog is albino! The camera flash makes his skin look green but in real life it's translucent.

Is it really "albino"? Well actually I don't know. The point is, these transculent-skinned frogs are becoming more and more common here because although their pale skin would normally spell death in the wild, it camoflauges them perfectly with the cream-colored stucco walls of Florida homes.

An albino gecko hangs out at the same feeding spot.

WPB Safari parte dos

2010-06-08T17:41:00.000-07:00

The Sandhill Crane stands 3-4 feet tall and often travels in small flocks. I believe they are somewhat endangered but quite common around here. They land in peoples' lawns to pick at worms or whatever, one keeping watch while the others feed, then fly off for greener pastures with distinctively loud and obxious-sounding honking noises that belie their physical beauty.

The crane's height contributes to their general lack of fear of humans. This one is not staring at the sky; it is staring the camera. Their side-mounted eyes and long beaks force them to crane (lulz) their necks around to see things in front of them.

The Anhinga is my favorite south Florida bird! Unlike ducks, the anhinga doesn't have a waterproof oil over its wings. This leads to two unusual characteristics of the bird: when they swim, they do not float on the water's surface; they remain buoyant right below it. Also, they spend much of the day with wings splayed outward to dry them in the sun. They can't just shake it off like ducks can.

This anhinga wisely dries his wings while perched safely in a tree at dusk.

A WPB Safari Part 1

2010-06-02T20:28:00.000-07:00

Palm Beach's proximity to the Everglades and its very recent development make a walk around the neighborhood a bonafide safari. All sorts of neat creatures native and unique to this area are surviving even within the hustle and bustle of the city.

West Palm Beach:
sorry for the bluriness :/

The Great Blue Heron is commonly found wading in shallow lakes, looking majestic.

The observant safari-goer would note the Slider turtle poking its head out of the water next to the heron, most likely waiting to feed on any leftovers the heron drops. It's the little triangular bob.

This heron was standing still as a statue, beak posed, probably hunting something within the reeds.

The Moorhen is a funky waterfowl. Here the red-billed version is with two young (the other parent usually also sticks around). The young moorhens hilariously look more like young emus, as their abnormally long legs allow them to wade and forage with their parents even at an early age.

This young squirrel dropped by to say hello!

Lost is lost... is lost

2010-05-30T21:04:00.000-07:00

So I just watched the series finale of Lost, with synopsis captions, having not watched a single episode of the rest of the series. From what I could gather from the finale, its crazy flashbacks, and my mom's responses to my 5,000 questions, is that life is repetitive, destiny is inevitable, and magical things are incomprehensible.

It's pretty depressing. Who'd want to live in a world where the memory of your past life being STRANDED AND KILLED ON AN ISLAND follows you with every resurrection?

And I have to say, I didn't even know who Sun and Jin were but their death scene in the submarine was SO SAD zomg.

JChan's Last Diary Entry

2010-05-23T20:21:00.000-07:00

Dearest diary,

I have sad news for you today. I will finally be returning home to Hawaii and closing up this journal as the Boston chapter of my life ends.

Let's take a moment to reminisce about the very fond memories I've had over the past six years. Foremost in my mind is my coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior (amen), followed shortly by the time I was smacked in the head with a dodgeball, burning down my dorm, applying to med school, and other more mundane events such as sneaking into JY's apartment, doing ninja rolls in the ninja park, spotting cute dogs out for a walk, and trying to claim the affections of many babies. All of this, I will miss so much. At least until I am back in Hawaii, eating 7-Eleven spam musubis, manapuas, and miso butterfish. Then the pain might be eased.

Actually, I look forward to continuing and completing the medicine track that started maybe four years prior. All this hard work and time I've invested into studying bioengineering, working at hospitals to investigate mice and men, and finishing a grueling run of several personal statements will finally be repaid with more hard work in med school. Which will then be followed by more hard work in residency. And more as an intern. And in turn, even more hard work as a real doctor, ad infinitum, until I retire, or until Jesus returns. Yay!

But let me take a moment to assure you, dearest diary, that not all hope for our relationship is lost. Perhaps someday I might return to Boston whether it be for short-term visits, or residency, full-time doctorship, or other reasons (cough). I do not know what the future holds. I will file my disclaimer that I won't be exactly the same person four years from now- after all, the world does not revolve around Boston; times change, scenery changes, people change. Still, dearest diary, know that there will always be a piece of my heart here with you, for the world is temporary, yet relationships grounded in Christ are eternal.

Aloha!

...that means 'goodbye' too.

- JChan :]

edited for a more accurate sig

Question of the Day

2010-05-19T20:00:00.000-07:00

If there is such a thing as spiritual wisdom,

must there also be such a thing as spiritual retardedness?

Quote of the Day

2010-05-19T19:57:00.000-07:00

"Remember when the platform was sliding into the firepit and I said 'Goodbye!' and you were like 'NO WAYYY!!!' and then I was all 'We pretended that were were going to murder you?' That was great."

The cake is a lie

2010-05-17T16:46:00.000-07:00

[Test Assessment Report:]

"This was a triumph

I'm making a note here

HUGE SUCCESS!

It's hard to overstate

my satisfaction.

Aperture Science

We do what we must

Because we can

For the good of all of us

Except the ones who are dead

But there's no sense crying

over every mistake

You just keep on trying

'til you run out of cake

And the science gets done

And you make a neat gun

For the people who are still alive

[Personnel File Addendum: Dear <<>>,]

I'm not even angry

I'm being so sincere right now

Even though you broke my heart

And killed me.

And tore me to pieces

And threw every piece into a fire.

As they burned it hurt because

I was so happy for you!

Now these points of data make a beautiful line

And we're out of beta

We're releasing on time.

And so I'm GLaD I got burned

Think of all the things we learned

For the people who are

Still alive.

[Personnel File Addendum Addendum: One Last Thing:]

Go ahead and leave me

I think I prefer to stay inside

Maybe you'll find someone else

To help you.

Maybe Black Mesa...

THAT WAS A JOKE HAHA! FAT CHANCE!

Anyway this cake is great

It's so delicious and moist

Look at me still talking

When there's science to do

When I look up there

It makes me GLaD I'm not you

I've experiments to run

There is research to be done

On the people who are

Still alive!

[PS:] And believe me I am still alive

[PPS:] I'm doing science and I'm still alive

[PPPS:] I feel FANTASTIC and I'm still alive

[FINAL THOUGHT:] While you're dying I'll be still alive

[FINAL THOUGHT PS:] And when you're dead I will be still alive.

STILL ALIVE!

Still alive!"

2010-05-15T14:06:00.000-07:00

DDR board building

=

back pain

nooooo

Question of the Day.

2010-05-11T20:42:00.000-07:00

It's Vicki's almost favorite song, "Battlefield" by Jordin Sparks. One part of it goes like this:

"Why does love always feel like a battlefield, a battlefield, a battlefield
Better go and get your armor (get your armor), get your armor (get your armor)"

And the question is: in light of conflicts (battlefields) in love relationships, should we really be putting on armor? Or should we be taking off that armor and allowing ourselves to be exposed? Maybe the armor represents something more like preparation, rather than purely defense. As someone who rarely prepares, my armor is fail.

Old School.

2010-05-10T20:50:00.000-07:00

brings back some good stuff yo.

---

Making a campfire is easy isn't it? That guy on Survivorman does it all the time, even when he's trapped in wintry Alaska. I had it even easier with the aid of a 2.670 lighter. The experiment had two key requirements: the availability of kindle, and the presence of a non-flammable surface.

You'd think that roasted marshmellows would smell sweet, but it turns out that they just smell like burning. Or possibly like burnt. It was that stench that brought some dude over to investigate.

Some dude: What are you doing?!
Me: Roasting marshmellows.

I sat next to a large, ignited pile of paper towels, orange flames licking five inches high, small piles of ash falling onto the table, grayish smoke quickly filling up the confines of the small 5E lounge. I held a chopstick with a half-roasted marshmellow impaled on the end. The ceiling fire alarm did nothing, having been recently dismantled by cheap radiation scientists.

Some dude: Dude. We have a dining hall downstairs. Why don't we just go there and get some real grilled food?

ABSK-UG Dinner
Wednesday 5:30pm
Next Dining

A New Story

2010-05-04T20:15:00.000-07:00

... is coming!

It is currently being jostled around in the tumultuous waves of my brain.

Perhaps it will come to fruition once I achieve the right mood.

Gone.

2010-04-29T19:44:00.000-07:00

And T. said,

“I regret to announce that – though, as I said, eleventy-one months (give or take a few dozen) is far too short a time to spend among you – this is the END! I am going. I am leaving NOW! GOOD BYE!”

With these words, T. stepped down from the DDR mat, and placed the One Ring (unknown for its true essence at this time) upon her finger. Nothing happened. Those dorks sold me a faulty Ring! So T. just grabbed her rolly suitcase and ran out the door. 144 (give or take a few dozen) housemates, two mini zebras, a cookie monster, a mohawked blue jay, and one nemo were speechless, but T. was gone, and would never return.

Youth Meetings

2010-04-19T21:09:00.000-07:00

What really happens at youth meetings:

Vania: What about the meringue?
Roy: I dunno, what about the meringue?
Vania: Isn't there going to be meringue?
Roy: Is Sophie bringing meringue?
Sophie: Meringue?
Eric: Meringue? Isn't that some sort of dance? Are we dancing?
Me: I'm going to look up "meringue" on urbandictionary to make sure I'm not missing something.
Roy: Well if Sophie's bringing meringue that's fine but I won't pressure her.
Sophie: Where's the meringue??

The original email from Roy:

---
Hi

Reminder that we will be having a youth staff meeting at our house at 9pm tonight. I will try and have the meringue end by 10pm.

Roy
---

Moral of the story: when you send an email by iPhone, do check over your spelling because when it auto-corrects "meeting" to "meringue", mass confusion ensues

Attack! of the Bread

2010-04-15T18:53:00.000-07:00

It was the perfect recipe: equal parts salt and dry yeast mixed thoroughly in several cups of watery flour and left to rise overnight. No time wasted kneading, and no wasted dough as I could break off just a dollop to bake each night and freeze the rest.

Or so I thought.

That morning, as part of my usual routine, I entered the kitchen to pick up my breakfast- exactly one red bean mochi. Just enough sugar to get me going without putting me straight back to sleep. As I reached for the bag, however, I noticed a dense, sticky blob of dough attached to its side, having somehow escaped from the loosely lidded Pyrex bowl in which the resting dough resided. In mild disgust, I grabbed a napkin and hastily swept up the mess, throwing it into the garbage can. No sooner had I turned back to my morning meal, I was stunned at - yet another dough blob, this time gripped against the napkin holder. I frowned. The stretchiness of the dough splayed across the wooden basket gave it the strange appearance of a hand...

Resorting to stronger cleaning instrument, I reached towards the sink to grab a sponge but froze when I heard an ominous rattling behind my back. Then a low gurgle. Fighting down panic, I looked back slowly. On the kitchen table the Pyrex dough bowl shook violently, its lid bulging dangerously upward, until finally the lid popped off. It clattered to the floor as the bread exhaled one thick, yeasty breath. One doughy hand reached up and up as a gaping mouth opened in the blob, full of gnashing teeth! The dough bowl rocked and tipped forward until the entirely of the bread spilled down onto the floor and the bowl followed right on top.

Instinctively, I grabbed the first weapons I could get my hands on- a large wooden spoon and a dirty pot lid. I inched carefully towards the bread with spoon raised at the ready. With one strong tomahawk chop and a war cry to boot, I struck the bread where its hand protruded from the Pyrex shell. The bread hissed in fury as the hand, having been cleaved clean off, writhed on ground in disjointed confusion. To my horror, the hand crept back to its body and seamlessly rejoined it. The bread growled.

This was not going to work. I backed up, shielding myself with the large pot lid as my mind raced. What to do against self-regenerating bread? Bread, of all things?? Then it came to me: more flour!

Dropping both implements, I grabbed the flour tin, voraciously tore the cover off, and dumped its entire contents over the bread monster. The bread moaned and fell into itself as one large, helpless lump. Seizing its moment of vunerability, I swiftly snatched up the dusty lump, and pulling the fridge door open with one foot, threw it inside. I slammed the door shut just as the entire fridge shuttered. It pitched perilously forward as I shoved my shoulder into that door and dug my heels into the linoleum, desperately trying to keep the bread entrapped. From inside the fridge was more pounding, knocking, slamming, until the bread finally settled down, placated into slumber by the cold.

In relief, I slid, with my back to the fridge door, melodramatically to the floor. And I heard one last hoarse whisper from within- "feeeeed meeeeee"

"Is everything okay?" Vicki was now awake.

"It's fine," I responded. For now.

Beware the bread. It seeks to devour your world!

Why am I here?

2010-04-15T17:34:00.000-07:00

No one else is!

Seriously, everyone's blog is either locked up or abandoned. I have some writings stalled at my fingertips but various life-goings-on have taken up my time. That, and zzzzzzzz

A writing!

2010-02-04T20:52:00.000-08:00

It's been so long!

I feel more inspired now. Actually, I feel kind of gross about my writing. Ashley's poetry is gentle yet full of depth, and feels like running the soft edges of silk through your fingers. In comparison, my stories are overloaded with fantasy and eccentricity, like sugar-coated gummy bears on top of an ice cream cone. Blech.

Maybe it's common to write that way- I read about the many bipolar creative artists that spent their manic phases producing incredible works of art and spent their depressive phases committing suicide. If I only write when I'm excited or happy, then naturally my stories will carry those emotions.

So I buckled down and decided to write a NOT HAPPY piece. omg. This piece has a lot of pronouns. I hate repeating pronouns like that but I didn't want to name this character because it's so sad. So there.

---

With his hands and knees on the cold stone tile floor, he finally hung his head in defeat. He got to his feet, further scattering the shreds of thin paper already strewn about and nudging aside a small pile of scraps he had tried to piece together. It didn't matter; the rest was already reduced to ashes in the fireplace. He barely flinched when a hand shot out and shoved him, hard. His mother stood behind him, her scowl accentuated by the creases on her hardened face formed through years of frowning. "Stop complaining," she spat, "you're late for school."

When you come from a destitute neighborhood, you tend not stray very far from home. Back in his heydays of high school, all his friends and classmates envisioned themselves escaping across state borders for college and fantasized about the great times they would have once liberated from their families. Instead, all of them were still here, right across town from the same old neighborhood at the local community college, still living at home and grappling with same festering family issues. Wasting hours a day pursuing a degree that would earn little money and even less respect.

There was a particular nook in one corner of his college's science building that was the only place where he felt free and unreserved. Its basement location was the one piece of seclusion far from the prying eyes and distracting voices of lecturers and students. Entering his little respite of a nook, he would turn and face at the whitewashed wall. Raising one fist and gritting his teeth, he punched forward as hard as he could. He kicked the wall, he beat on it with his fists, when his hands throbbed he used his elbows, and when his elbows ached, he rammed his shoulder into it. Blow after blow left tears running down his face, and when he stopped, the wall was still there, staring back at him, its glossy surface unblemished. With the sharp, burning pain on his knuckles, he didn't even have the look down to recognize that he was bleeding. Still, the warm ebb of pain flowing through his hands and feet were pleasant compared to the blistering welts left on his back the day that his mother found the Bible hidden under his bed; in blind rage reaching for a kitchen armament with which to discipline her son, he was only thankful that she had grasped the metal spoon and missed grabbing the knife.

Have you ever experienced that bodily sting that starts like a drill boring a hole into your chest and the little sparks of pain shooting outward to your fingertips? Have you ever wanted to wrench your own heart out just to find relief? Have you ever been so incapacitated by such a profound sense of inadequacy that its hurt delves deeper than any physical pain you've ever experienced?

That day, rather than sitting in a dingy, cramped lecture hall, he stood at the river bank with the strong winds tousling his bangs all about. He took from his backpack a small book bound in black vinyl. Opening it up, he grasped a handful of pages and with one strong jerk tore them out from the seam. He opened his fist, letting the wind carry away the fluttering pieces and depositing them into the churning waves. The sound of wind blowing and paper ripping like loud screams filled his ears as he slowly and systematically tore until barely the slightest nub of a sheet was left. He placed the empty bookcover back into his bag and looked out onto the water where the books of Ezra, of Nehemiah, and of Peter were floating out on the surface, having been given their funeral just as the ashes of loved ones were floated out to sea on little paper boats in the days of old.

The Dark Side

2009-10-28T14:11:00.001-07:00

...is here o_O

Birthday Olds and Youngs

2009-10-16T20:24:00.000-07:00

An account of my general confundledness that comes from being at an age and phase of life that sits on the cusp of being quite old (compared to school-aged kids) and quite young (compared to work-aged folks):

Youth:
Roy: "Hey, let's all guess how old T. is."
Karen: "30! 29!"
Abe: "20! 25!"
Joanna: "I looked it up on Facebook, she's 23!"
Isaac: "You cheater!"
Sarah: "T. emo, you're so young!"
Me: "I'm like twice your age!"

Sayings Old:
JY- "You're old!...you don't look old, but you are."
JY's correction: "I said you were OLDER not Old."
Jenny- "you old fut"
Jill and Vicki: "You're old like us now!"

Sayings Young:
Donna: "Ok you are not old."
Carma: "You're just a baby!"
Isaac: "Oh my gosh! I'm ten years older than you!"
Christy: "Oh my gosh (laughs) oh my gosh... oh my gosh."

Enjoys Evening Walks on the Beach in the Deserted Neighborhood

2009-09-23T20:10:00.000-07:00

There's just something very refreshing and invigorating about taking a walk outside in the cool, crisp night air. Maybe it's just the shock your body gets the moment it steps into the non-75 degree Farenheit regulated atmosphere and non-fake yellow unnatural lighting. There's something very comforting about the quietness plus the gentle overlay of chirping crickets, about the dark black blanket of a sky (or dark purple if you're in the thick of the city), and the relief of being able to stroll around without actually having to go anywhere.

It reminds of back in college, walking through the empty West Lot between Next and Simmons, by myself, at 2am, having finished a pset and journeying back to my bed. Sometimes I thought it'd be nice to just hang out there a little longer... if it weren't a dark parking lot where some rich dude shot himself. Do I miss school NO.

Perhaps I should do this more often.

2009-09-12T11:42:00.000-07:00

Donna: So you play games that require thinking?
Me: Yes, there are games that require more than just going like this (moves thumbs up and down)
Donna: Oh, so you go like this too? (moves thumbs sideways)

JChan's Tufts Statement

2009-09-09T16:08:00.000-07:00

There are a great many reasons why I aspire to become an integral part of your prestigious institution. In particular, there are three primary reasons as to why I should be accepted to the Tufts Medical Center with the intention of studying the prevention, treatment, and recovery of ailments particular to the Chinese. First of all, I strongly support the idea of free, high quality health care available to all citizens of our great nation, an ideal widely advocated by the self-proclaimed physician himself, Mao Zedong. Tufts Medical Center, also known in my culture as "The People's Medical Center", surely is the springboard towards replicating the
fine healing institutions in China. The second reason is a logical step towards maintaining the highest efficiency, and therefore highest effectivity, of the care I can provide. It is intuitively obvious that I should specialize in the mode of medicine that can treat the greatest number of patients possible, so serving specifically the Chinese people makes the most sense, as I have opened myself to the largest population of the world with over 1 billion clients. Finally, my third reason accounts for the most important aspect of my life: my life itself. As I am Chinese, it would be most beneficial to have the capability to heal myself of any dire physical condition. After all, I cannot heal others when I myself am dead.

Please take into careful consideration these three supporting arguments and I am confident you will agree that accepting me into Tufts is a just plain smart thing to do.

Saisuke is going to be my friend.

2009-09-04T20:34:00.000-07:00

Today: Bible study
Tomorrow: Youth Bible study
Sunday: Youth service, worship service
Monday: Labor Day outing
Tuesday: YA Sister's Rally
Wednesday: Youth practice (probably)
Thursday: Prayer meeting
Friday: Bible study
Saturday: Youth Bible study
Sunday: Youth service, worship service

dot dot dot

yarrrr! Must stock up on sleep tonight so that I can fight off sleepiness this week. Like a pirate.

---

REGARDING DRAMA AND LIFE.

I should really correct myself. Spiritual battles (internal ones) should not be considered "drama".

Life and Drama. Drama and Life.

2009-09-01T16:47:00.000-07:00

I have this urge to call up Donna and just say "OMG DONNA there is so much drama going on right now you wouldn't believe whatttt" and, "if this keeps up I won't have to watch reality TV anymore!" but I wouldn't want to because she'll think I'm not taking it seriously. Then I would learn that I should actually be presenting this to Christy instead and BOY this gets confusing!

... I think I should stop laughing now. But no really. what.

Even though I have admitted to being excited about the small group change I'll admit that it's easy for me- I get to be with new people, albeit people I already know, and get to shake things up a bit. I don't think it's as easy for others. I wonder if I shall have the opportunity to confront Donna about this, particularly the bombshell aspect of it. By the way, she abruptly and perhaps even inadvertently announced that many more people other than ourselves would be meeting Diana... at our house. Bombs away!!

Sumpthin' to think about (part I?)

2009-07-06T16:55:00.000-07:00

It would look silly to anyone else, the all of us praying over a broken saltine. It reminds me of my family at one point attending this Presbyterian church that had Lord's Supper every week and passed around the most awesome egg bread ever. I could not concentrate on my reconciliation with the Lord for dreaming of this bread. It was so good, my mom even bought it for normal consumption! It reminds me of times at my uncle's church, when I truly could not remember which cups on the tray contained the grape juice and which the wine. But when I ended up with the wine, I could tell. Phew!

The Lord's Supper is one of those rituals that I still sometimes have trouble explaining, even to myself. As of recent, I feel more messages have addressed the issue of eating the body of Christ and drinking His blood and what that really means. A oneness with God. A dependance on Him as sustenence. Allowing Him to live within me. Many many other things that are each only a fragment of what this commitment really means, but taken as a whole might come close to explaining its meaning fully.

Sometimes rituals are a hindrance because we become so complacent with the action itself that we forget what it means, but continue happily down that path doing the whatever it is without thinking. I'm pretty thankful that we don't take the Lord's Supper every single week because I know for certain I would get bored and deluded into thinking I am very spiritual at the same time. Bad combination.

Sometimes rituals aid in making a decision meaningful, or real. Holding that piece of bread (or saltine) and that dark cup drives home more strongly the meaning of Christ's life and death than me trying to squeeze my eyes shut and say to myself "reconcile with God reconcile with God reconcile with God" until I give up. It reminds me of one poignant quote from the Screwtape Letters- "At the very least, they can be persuaded that the bodily position makes no difference to their prayers; for they constantly forget, what you must always remember, that they are animals and that whatever their bodies do affects their souls."

Jchan's Personal Statement

2009-06-21T17:42:00.000-07:00

The first harbinger of my incredible natural talent in the field of medicine came about when I was three years of age and capable of plucking the wishbone from the red-nosed Operation man’s chest in three seconds or less. In the ninth grade, I had such an intimate knowledge of organic synthesis that my deft memorization of all standard amino acid chemical structures put my science teachers to shame and left my peers picking their jaws up off the floor. As of recently, my insightful and highly practical research of the activation of mitochondrial biogenesis by hormesis has vaulted me into a frontrunner position as the youngest Nobel laureate of Physiology in its history.

Just kidding.

That’s not to say I haven’t had my fair share of unique and character-building experiences. For years I served as a loving caretaker of cuddly, cancerous brown mice. I was a top student in organic chemistry and I have the battle scars to prove that I made every possible effort to stay awake in class. I survived 2.005 and obtained my degree in Mechanical Engineering, which is highly relevant to medicine…somehow. I even read the book, How to Become an Awesome Doctor in 30 Days.

But let us examine for a moment the absurdity of scrutinizing one’s pre-med school credentials as they apply to the real world. What qualities does a patient observe in a truly life-changing physician? The ability to treat each patient as a real person rather than as a customer, and not just ameliorating one’s pains but sharing in those pains. Understanding that the human body is much more as a whole than the sum of its parts and must be treated holistically. The truth of the matter is, pure intelligence and the drive to succeed are not, in fact, the most important qualities for a doctor. Patients yearn for a doctor who strives first to know your name and face before your health concerns, who takes the extra time to listen to your needs. Amazingly, all of this can be summed up in one word:

…
…
Compassion.

Let’s say it together, once more with feeling!

Ah yes, compassion is that one essential quality that allows a person to care for her neighbor as she would herself. It is the trait that is never mentioned on a resume, but always clearly evident through one’s face, actions, and ultimately, heart. It’s a quality that can never be taught through textbooks, lectures, or exams but must be experienced on an individual basis. By refusing to focus on compassion and concentrating on technical knowledge instead, schools are inherently driving the societal atrofication of these vital human qualities! But I digress.

Medical students need to experience compassion so that they might absorb that quality. And believe you me, I have both witnessed and experienced compassion on many occasions. I found forgiveness after burning down my dorm (please reference “Next House Destroyed by Fish”). I received the most sincere apologies upon being smacked in the head by a dodgeball (please reference my testimony part one). Even after that incident I risked life and limb to participate in dodgeball once again, this time partnered with my roommate (please reference my testimony part two).

Many other novice candidates would include in this statement their desire to change the world. The wiser ones would admit the difficulty in changing just one life. But surely only God makes changing lives possible (ask me how). The truth is, any profession that requires a tremendous depth of technical skill, whether it be doctor, lawyer, spy, or ultimate fighter, requires an equal part (if not more) of that one humanistic, romantic, selfless quality…compassion. Let us physicians go beyond being dispensers of medication and strive to be healers of those we are responsible for- to be healers of the body, mind, and soul.

- JChan (^ ^)V

Epic win.

2009-06-15T20:41:00.000-07:00

I had an epic dream last night.

I dreamt I was attending a military school, like Balamb Garden in Final Fantasy 8. I was in a team of about 4 or 5 others- One guy with short blonde hair who was the leader, a young woman and her young son, and two twin guys who were always fighting. That day I decided to go to the cafeteria for lunch because sometimes they had weekly specials. It happened to be Hawaiian week at the cafeteria, so I vacillated between the Hawaiian specials and the regular, cheaper cafeteria food. I chose Hawaiian and lined up at the specials desk.

After examining the menu, I asked the cashier if they had BBQ Ribs, but she didn't, so I contemplated the Pulled Pork or Pulled Beef Sandwiches and finally ordered a Pulled Pork Sandwich after noticing a long line of angry patrons had popped up behind me. And yes, this was all Hawaiian food. I took my tray of food out to the patio to sit with the rest of my team. The leader announced we would be traveling to Kawa Puwa, a city on the other side of the continent. It would be a long and ardous journey.

We took off on motorized vehicles across the plains and decided to stop by the mobile city of Mauna Loa. Mauna Loa was a massive city built like a robot with huge arms and legs. Everywhere the city traveled, it emitted huge plooms of thick black smoke, polluting the air. Mauna Loa appeared to be heading in the direction of Kawa Puwa so we hitched a ride there for a short while, refueling our motorbikes until the city reached the Highway that led straight to Kawa Puwa.

The Highway was a long stretch of magnetic road elevated at least 20 feet in the air, and the magnetized surface propelled us forward without our consuming any fuel. That is, until the Highway broke down halfway through and we had to crawl on our bellies all the way to the outer walls of Kawa Puwa.

Finally arriving, we dusted ourselves off and entered one of the outer factories, when we noticed an odd sign- it was a sign announcing the promoted status of our leader as one of the top managers of that very factory. We knew immediately what this meant: it must be a sign from the future! And sure enough, our future selves appeared behind us with a crash (they had been trying to sneak up on us) and we met our older versions.

The leader guy was wrinkley and wore dorky glasses; the young son was already a teenager. They told us that we had to stay in Kawa Puwa and protect it from certain doom. What doom, I asked.

They showed me a sample menu from the supplier of our school's special Hawaiian food, a menu that included such foods as Monkey! The slaying of a sentient being for food was unallowable. Additionally, Mauna Loa citizens were increasingly wearing bright red shirts and skirts, which were manufactured using un-environmentally friendly dyes. Instantly I understood the meaning of it all: the city of Mauna Loa was approaching Kawa Puwa to attack it, with the purpose of smothering animal rights and environmental activists where they originated, before they could cause upheaval within its own city borders. I ran back through the corridors to warn the rest of my team!

And then I woke up :(

Ma-tu-er

2009-06-14T19:36:00.000-07:00

Am I mature?

I suspect this is a paradoxical question just like "am I humble". For one primary sign of maturity is the acceptance of how little I know and understand in the grand scheme of things- that is, how immature I am.

I think there are some very concrete ways to try and measure maturity, such as the amount that one leads others, or serves others... all of these Martha-like qualities. And yet these actions might just be the justification for haughty self-delusions. O how I art more mature than thou!

Maybe maturity is a quality that must bloom from within and cannot be revealed to others intentionally. Thus the contradictions and the confusion.

??/

2009-06-09T21:01:00.000-07:00

A white light shined brightly at the end of the dark tunnel, just a speck radiating against a pitch black backdrop. I squinted. The image didn’t get any clearer. Am I dead? This is what I heard about from those returning from near-death experiences- a dark haze engulfing one’s vision, a gentle pull from vibrant life into the lull of eternal sleep.

I curled my fingers and toes, feeling them respond to my mind’s command. My body was intact, as was my mentality. I took a ginger step forward and heard the echo of my heels contacting a floor I could not see. I blinked once, then twice, and upon opening my eyes the darkness suddenly disappeared. I was staring at the cracked, off-white ceiling of my bedroom. My sheets had been flung into a crumpled, corrugated heap entangling my legs, and my pillow was nowhere in sight. I lifted my head off the floor just as a migraine began to set in. There wasn’t a moment to spare contemplating what sort of dream must have compelled me to roll over and hurl myself right off my own bed. It was time for work.

PLZZZZ

2009-06-09T19:58:00.000-07:00

plzzzz

can the Magic win just one game

Just. One. Game.

X_X

It's essential!

2009-06-09T19:35:00.001-07:00

Time flies by too quickly when you're not thinking.

Today I was trolling through my old blogs, and WOW, I was FUNNY back then! What's happened?? Life happened, that's what. It's time to go back and invest a little more time here, in my journal, somewhere, anywhere memories can be stored up.

Is quite interesting, that it appears whoever here is coming up from the class o' 2009 to YA might be joining our small group. It makes a lot of sense, considering that there's only one year difference and much in common between us... but at the same time... it makes me feel old!

2009-04-28T20:43:00.001-07:00

Man, stress stinks.

Arrid works!

:)

Question #1

2009-03-29T00:17:00.000-07:00

Lowl, I finally come back for a bit and it's like everyone has left (whether it be leaving blogger, or blogging en general)

For reals now.
---
What marks the line between trusting the church, of which God is the head and placed in front of me by Him, and ummm using your brain?

It doesn't seem like a fair question when worded in that manner.

Pastor Heechin perhaps two weeks ago discussed an interesting and potentially obvious point- if we trust God, and trust the Holy Spirit in others, then we should be able to trust other obediently despite the fact that we know they are sinners and imperfect. It makes so much sense! Trust God = trust God's people. Blindly give in to God's will, check. Blindly give in to God's people... ok. That where the nervousness starts.

What does reality say? The purpose of the church to produce leaders, not just followers. The need to believe a message out of trust, not by being coerced. The question of where fundamental truths end, and speculative gray areas arise. Sadly reality is just not so simple and objective. Even the Bible, in all its glory, is subject to misinterpretation. Even prayer yields different results for different people. What's there to do about that? Nothing, perhaps?

Sometimes I wish the pastor would go up to the pulpit and say something totally wrong. I dunno, something like "God spoke to me last night and told me that Dan Brown's novels were true on all accounts." And I would like to see people's reactions. Would they raise their hands and object, or keep on smiling? Maybe they wouldn't say anything upfront but surrepticiously whisper to each other, "He's gone bazonkers" (doesn't know how to spell bazonkers). Does the fact that I want this to happen make me a stinkin' rebel?

Whatever the case, methinks I need to spend some more time in DT to get my heart in the right place to answer correctly.

Confusions.

2008-08-05T20:04:00.000-07:00

As I was leaving for the day, exiting the doorway that requires a card swipe to get in, but not to get out...

Me: (pulls on the door)
(doesn't open)
Me: Oh no! (pulls on the door)
Me: What, do I need to swipe my card again? There's no card swipe on this side.
(doesn't open)
Me: ...oh wait. (push)

---

My mentor reminds me of Monk.

Mentor: So, the contract data leads to the data description which is conducted... I'm sorry, can we clean off this whiteboard?
Me: Umm, sure.
(we spend three minutes scrubbing off the whiteboard)
Mentor: Okay, continuing on...

---

Trips to Japan result in this.

Supervisor: Here, have some candy.
Mentor: Do you have some gum? (takes a piece) (opens it) Hey, this isn't gum, what is this?
Supervisor: I dunno. This one has a Mario Party on it.
Mentor: (chews the piece) Oh it is gum. (chews) But it tastes like Gatorade.

Organizing life

2008-07-22T19:43:00.000-07:00

I feel like an adult. Is this the real world, juggling all these real world responsibilities? It's not just deciding which dining hall to eat at or when to do laundry, it's...

- Moving furniture and items from home to Watertown
- Moving my car too
- Changing my permanent address for the USPS, banks, loans, etc.
- Setting up 2 student loans (thankfully not much money)
- Paying summer rent
- Finding a car insurer
- Setting up electricity for the new apartment (call NStar)
- Setting up heat for the new apartment (call National Grid)
- Finding an internet and cable provider
- Mailing in security on the apartment
- Keeping track of initial payments on the apartment (first month's rent + security + broker's fee = $3375)
- Buy that plane ticket back to Boston
- Submit receipts for reimbursement
- Finding a doctor, dentist, etc. that takes my insurance
- Finding a new savings account cuz mine's interest dropped too low
- Looking into Raytheon's policy on 401(k) matching and Roth IRA deposits

I want to sit here and not move -_-

2008-07-14T17:30:00.000-07:00

Reid McCullough (UF) wrote
at 1:14pm on July 9th, 2008
Melissa, I love you and you are a wonderful girl. That being said, why the
crap did you decide to become a Christian?

Melissa Prado (UF) wrote
at 1:31pm on July 9th, 2008
lol. you are equally wonderful. And to answer your question; because I
finally became convinced it was real and when that happens, the gratitude
that overtakes you leaves you with no other option but to sing praises and
live the life you were created to live.

JAPAN SMT

2008-07-09T00:24:00.000-07:00

Some pics for you.

Eating Coolish!

A plate of chicken katsu curry at the Tokyo University Hongo Campus cafeteria. The perfect opportunity to stop a student and ask how to order.

All of us + a few members of BBC Tokyo visiting Edo Museum.

2 SLO 4 FC

2008-05-22T22:19:00.000-07:00

giganto tauren body + no freeze trap + leather = FAIL.

lols that happen

2008-05-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

- I was sitting out by the pool, with my laptop of course, and the custodian dude came up to me and asked if I was selling my laptop. I guess it's not that common to sit out there with a laptop.

- Frogs love my car. I went outside at night to drive and there were two cute tree frogs sitting there. Then I shooed them away and they jumped like six feet into the bushes.

- Someone on the internets spelled word "obviously" as "abveiously"

- My betta fish is extremely agitated these days. He gets all angry-like at my fingers when I try to feed him, then calms down for a second while he eats, and continues rampaging around the tank.

- David Archuleta :DDD

Hello Kitty.

2008-05-19T17:25:00.000-07:00

Kimono-clad Hello Kitty holds her certificate received from Japan's Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Tetsuzo Fuyushiba, left, at his office in Tokyo, Monday, May 19, 2008. Fuyushiba appointed the popular cartoon character as ambassador to welcome tourists from China and Hong Kong.

To be written

2008-05-19T14:07:00.000-07:00

Basically these last two weeks have been the most hectic of my entire college career. At long last though, I have a chance to sit down and write. Sort of.

The short gist of it all, starting last last Sunday:

- Set up a meeting with my thesis prof to discuss my thesis despite the fact that only about 10 pages of it are written
- Thesis writing, most of which occurs between midnight-6am and 9am-4pm. No lab; no time for new data!
- Sit down with thesis prof over a 35-page paper
- Bump into department advisor, who demands a meeting too :(
- Adds a LOT of pictures plus an appendix to boost the page count to 50
- Run around getting signatures and figuring out how to print in color when all 3 copytech color printers are down
- Turn in thesis! ...and then realize that I didn't have to turn it in till the following Wednesday
- Senior outing! Henrietta's Table, JFK Presidential Library, that fried clam shack place, beach volleyball
- Senior banquet! Best pasta evarr. And like 23 people in our class.
- Becky jdsn gives a short Bible study. More on that later?
- Volleyball crises; playoffs, fines, reschedules, time sheets, etc.
- Run to the mall to buy Bibles and a gift for my grad student.
- Designing the cover for the food guide... twice -_-
- Final paper and presentation for my grad class. Of which most work occurs between 2am and 9am.
- Actually the presentations were overall pretty cool. Mine was on radiation hormesis, and others on x-ray CT/proton therapy, TransHub inflatable cosmic ray shielding in the ISS and on Mars, circadian rhythms and cancer sensitivity, and radon. Actually, the radon one was boring.
- Staff appreciation hardkore! Spent HOURS staring at the faces of the TEN people who were absent from church on Sunday.
- Make ice cream cake. Sam's a trooper. It was kinda funny that he almost gave it away:

Sam: "I hope I don't have to sing."
Diana W: "Why would you have to sing??"
Sam: "I don't know. Just randomly."
Me: (highly suspicious look)

- Staff appreciation and eating hardkore! Actually it should have been Everyone Appreciation Day.
- Run last minute errands and eat last minute lunch
- Helen gave me a ride to the airport, yay
- Beach.
- Sleep. A little.

SYTYCD!!

2008-05-17T12:43:00.000-07:00

Starts THURSDAY!!!!

Even better, MTV is airing reruns of season 3 in anticipation!!!

Doubly goodness!!!

So many exclamation points!!!

Fry

2008-05-02T22:07:00.000-07:00

And while I'm at it, I'd like to mention that Anthony Rapp looks like Fry.

I guess.

2008-05-02T21:22:00.000-07:00

I guess I should say something? Anything?

I dunno. There have been times in the past where I've felt like I was judged too hard, or unfairly. I felt angry, I felt misunderstood by everyone, I thought, what type of authority do you have to say all these things about me? Seriously, JY took a huge risk with me- it could have shattered our relationship, and it kinda almost did (to my chagrin only). She took it, and she chose to be totally and completely and painfully honest with me.

In the end... what broke my heart was that I was capable of such anger in the face of just plain good intentions. If you stripped away all the words and their twisted meanings in my head, there was someone who cared so much about making me a better person that she flat out spoke what everyone else was too afraid to say.

Maybe James' statements were too generalized, maybe he could have tried harder to cater the message to each person. But if one person out of twenty could feel half of what I felt and realize half of what I realized, then I think it was worth it.

This is not a shoutout into the network of anonymity (and spammers) but rather a shoutout to exactly two people, and I hope we can talk it out for reals sometime.

Something about somethings

2008-04-30T22:16:00.000-07:00

After hours and hours of VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULING, of all things, I finally have some time to return to that issue of last Friday's Bible study, and guess what- it looks like things have been somewhat resolved already. So that means I don't have to write anything meaningful right? Right.

What did I think of it? My first thought was: That's radical! It's rather unusual for the speaker to challenge others so directly, so personally, in front of everyone else. James might not have known the depth of the struggles and responsibilities that go along with those positions he mentioned.

The message was a simple call for introspection: check yourself, check your motives, because even "spiritual" activities can be fueled by ambition rather than a heart for servitude. Obvious message, though hard to actually carry out. I guess the problem arises from James' act of pointing out those specific examples (and specific people) because it implies, "check yourself...oh, and WE (the staff) ARE WATCHING YOO TOO"

It was pretty scary. I grimaced. I remember looking around at peoples' faces for their reactions, but everyone just stared stoicly. The thought that even those who you're supposed to be trusting the most could essentially betray you and judge you like the rest of the world... that totally could be enough to drive me back into my shell. But consider this: we could have thrown the whole question back at him. If he were to say "you think you're so holy, with your absk officer positions and all,"
we could have responded with "you think you're so holy, accusing us of thinking we're so holy, with our blahblah fishcakes...etc." So it's true- we could be judged by other Christians, but through his challenge, James gives an exact demonstration of the boldness we ought to respond with.

Does that make any sense?

Also, it's not to say we should quit everything, relegate ourselves to living like monks, and praying/reading the Bible 24/7. Sure, some things in life are fluff, but if God is capable of using any part of our lives for His work, then aren't all activities potentially not fluff? Wouldn't it be smarter to do as many activities as possible, so as to give God the maximum number of opportunities to use them? I mean, if God can work through dreams, then even my napping and sleeping all the time is potentially not fluff (hooray!) Scrapping unnecessary activities is one reaction to fluff, but the other one is, I guess, injecting God into those activities. It's like that one book I read and never finished, that talked about a monk who found God in everything he did, even washing the dishes. And I'm sure Jenny can testify about the dishes- it's possible for you and God to turn a rather fluffy fluff into super dense Godiva chocolate cheesecake. Oh yeah.

If I were more spiritual, I would be putting a Bible verse here instead of whetting your appetites for Cheesecake Factory.

In any case, I really hope that one pointed finger doesn't squash the support from others that's been garnered for years... the problems of self-esteem and personal significance are ones that make me particularly nervous because no amount of pats on the back or rhetoric can solve those on a fundamental level. Problems with fluff in my life? Problems with being judged? Only God and I can hammer out the solution. In both cases, the need for a solution drives me towards God.

And perhaps that was James' intention all along.

Renthead!

2008-04-27T22:19:00.000-07:00

Our adventure in New York brought about many a great memory between the three of us, but perhaps the most notable event was seeing Rent on Broadway. It was super exciting, considering that we got half-off student tickets and sat 13 rows from the front- I could actually see the actors' faces!

Well, neither Jill nor I knew what to expect from Rent at all. We decided on seeing it because it was popular, and because Wicked and Hairspray don't run on Mondays :( If you've ever heard about the plot of Rent, then you'd find it needless to say that we were really surprised. No doubt about it, some of the songs were amazing and the actors' performances were great (even as a few of the leads were understudies), but the story was...well... Tami called it "educational". Jill exclaimed, "how sinful this world is!" I describe it as "shock factor". Putting as much taboo on stage as possible and trying to string it together with a meaningful storyline. There was much said about poverty, sexuality, anarchy, and addiction. STDs. Suicide. Transvestites, in a Santa costume and platform heels, no less. And hideous burgundy PLAID tight pants. Oh my.

Now, the musical is supposed to be about love, hope, and seizing the day. But really, it's more like convoluted love triangles, hopelessness, and living without restraint. If life is only temporary, if nothing is owned but only rented (hence the title), then you'd better have yourself some fun and go out with a bang if you can.

Interestingly enough, the film version of the musical that came out in 2005 is quite different in its tone, in my opinion. It's more serious and meaningful, and there's more clarity to the story because some of the plot-moving songs were converted to easier-to-understand dialogue. In the movie, it's clear what drives home the theme of ephemerality throughout the whole piece- AIDS- and that makes it all so much more realistic. Life is short, so love as much as you can. Isn't that a decently relevant message?

There's only us
There's only this
Forget regret, or life is yours to miss
No other road
No other way
No day but today

I distinctly remember perking up today in church when David jdsn declared that without hope in eternal life, there's no point to love. I think that's easy for Christians to say: if God = love, then no God = no love. However, Rent seems to show that it's completely possible for people without hope to highly value love (as to whether all their breakup/makeup/cheating/gender-flopping can be called acts of love, I wouldn't be so sure), just because it's the morally right or natural or feelgood thing to do. I guess it's not enough to say that what distinguishes Christians is not that they love and others don't, but rather the depth of that love. Understanding that depth, describing that depth, and practicing that depth... that's awfully hard to do, yo.

Having sized up this article, I'll end it right here and now with the mandatory Youtube vid :) Even though my favorite song by a mile is the Finale, I wouldn't want to give away the ending. So here is the most popular song from Rent, Seasons of Love.

Rent the musical: B
Rent the film: A-

---

commentary on last week's bible study is forthcoming

LAST POST EVARR

2008-04-27T20:32:00.000-07:00

At long last, I will be free from this evil that is GoCrossCampus.

Partay!

The world is no

2008-04-25T21:09:00.000-07:00

NYC!

2008-04-19T22:59:00.000-07:00

Jill's plan for the day:

Wake up
Visit park
Visit H&M
Eat
Eat
Eat
Eat
Eat
Broadway show
Eat Leave

Me: At least we'll get a break from eating while we're walking in between places to eat... as long as I don't have to eat more than once per hour, I think I'll be okay.

Singin in Korean

2008-04-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

I dunno, I thought this was pretty funny/stupid but I wonder if people get offended by it.

In other news, wahhhh the Colbert Show is apparently so popular that it doesn't give out free tix. Oh well we'll just have to go see Tyra instead, ahahaha

Riding West

2008-04-13T21:30:00.000-07:00

MacGregor has been ousted from the east, but now comes some tricky maneuvering to move hundreds of Simmons troops back to the western front lines while allowing Next and EC to take up the front at Ashdown (again). Also, McCormick is actually growing to a threatening size... they would make a great ally...

In other news, finally one post without spammers.

Next is back in business

2008-04-10T10:41:00.000-07:00

After a few distractions in central campus, Next has officially rebounded from its ~50 armies left in Health Services to several hundred ready to reconquer what was lost. New needs to die right. now. And I wish EC would be less annoying.

Wiped

2008-04-07T20:08:00.000-07:00

Simmons eliminates BC at Muckley... with only like 35 casualties??

A lot of unexpected strangeness this turn: both MacGregor and BC pour into Tang in hopes of swapping but the result is MacGregor wiping out like 300 BC troops and essentially dooming them; in the process, Next's defender bonus fails with 331 def. 332; EC loses half its troops taking Bush from MacGregor, but simultaneously attacks Simmons at Brain and Cog; Next hangs on by a thread by swapping with Simmons but MacGregor takes Health Services. Simmons takes Guggenheim from EC. Huhhh??

In the end, Simmons and MacGregor are now almost equal in troop numbers as well as placement rates. It's now another two turns before New is wiped but Simmons will do anything to cut off their escape and finish the job.

Prolonged agony

2008-04-06T18:18:00.000-07:00

No pic available this time since Paint, of all programs, is acting up. Boo for Vista.

I am quite impressed that Next is still holding up against MacGregor, at least on one front. If all calculations are correct, BC will be dead next turn and New the turn right after. And finally Simmons will be done with the war of the allies and turn back to its attack on the real big evil.
Still hoping that EC will stay loyal. Simmons has actually pulled out of this war a much more easily defended position than MacGregor, and that might clinch the win in the end. But there are still many turns to go...

...and that means many days spent wasting my time on this wahhh

In other news, Simmons just started its new buffet-style dining selection and contrary to what all the flame wars say, it's turning out to be a surprisingly good deal. I can still get my stir fry, load it up with extra salad, take an extra soup, and fill up with milk/juice (not soda!) for like 75 cents more than a regular dish + drink. Or if I wanted even more bang for my buck, I could engage in all sorts of nefarious plans to sneak food out of the dining hall (in order of feasibility):

- bring a large backpack and pretend to study while shoving food into tupperware
- have one of us get the dine-in option and just share all the food while others get take out containers
- wear large, baggy clothing and stuff it with pieces of fruit
- distract the cashier and sneak past with plates of food
- carve out a textbook and place food inside
- build either an escape tunnel that exits the building from the dining hall, or an escape ladder that reaches the second floor

In the end, I'm a little dubious as to whether this all-you-can-eat plan will work simply because very very few people geniunely like it; everyone's either downright hating it or trying to take advantage of the program by eating as much expensive stuff as possible. For myself, I'm pretty optimistic about loading up till I only have to buy food every other day or so. We shall see.

we're kinda crazy

2008-04-04T21:24:00.000-07:00

Discourse over Pho, talking about the luau:

Jung Yoon: Are you going to have emu pig?
Brandon: ??? You mean kahlua pig?
Jung Yoon: No, emu pig.
Austin: ...I think that's a different animal.
Donald: It's a close relative of the ostrich.
Jung Yoon: No, it's called emu pig!
Brandon: I think you put the pig in an emu.
Donald: You stuff the pig in an emu?!
Justin: Is that like turducken?
Austin: Ok there's only one way to resolve this. (Pulls out IPhone)

It turns out the imu is an oven, and you do indeed put a pig in it. And contrary to common sense, it does not contain emu.

Overkill

2008-04-03T19:59:00.000-07:00

Umm the 550 troops in 5 Cambridge Center are enough to wipe out the entire nation of BC, kthx.

Anticipated moves: Macgregor has been surprisingly fractionated thus far but might be planning to strike upwards through EC. Hopefully EC will stay loyal and block them. Next attacks Tang and makes its stand there and at Health Services. BC and New have about 3 turns left to live.

In other news, spammers have been invading this blog and I don't appreciate it.

Mad dash

2008-04-02T19:32:00.000-07:00

Anticipated moves: Hopefully Next can take both Weisner and Tang. Macgregor moves east with another 2-3 territories and tries to take Dupont. BC might try to defend at 5 Cambridge Center or Tang, and without a conquer bonus, New's placement is so low it's like they aren't growing at all. Unfortunately, it'll be another 3-5 turns before Next and Simmons can get closer enough to kill all those little eastern territories, and who knows what will happen by then.

And with that, I hope I can stop staring at that stupid map and do some work :(

dunno what to expect anymore

2008-04-01T18:54:00.000-07:00

Going for the knockout.

Finally Next surpasses BC. Now the issue is defending against MacGregor long enough for Simmons to eliminate BC/New. Anticipated moves: MacGregor continues to attack Next, Next moves east into BC territory, New makes its last stand against BC. EC and McCormick sit there.

Box joyfully

2008-03-31T16:06:00.000-07:00

Clearly the funniest segment of America's Next Top Model that I've ever seen. Evarr.
...but you have to wait to about 6 minutes in to see it.

The East implodes

2008-03-22T14:55:00.000-07:00

No more Cold War...

BC's total invasion is spectacular and short-lived. Unless they can eliminate Next and New right now, they will still lose the war as a whole. But either way, it's pretty much weakening the entire East so that MacGregor can pour in. We'll see how that goes...after Spring Break. Yay!

Lots o' death

2008-03-19T20:18:00.000-07:00

You know you're dead when you're smaller than EC.

Anticipated moves: Next and BC make a mad grab for the last New territories. New House deserved it. Meanwhile, patiently waiting for McCormick to either die now or valiantly die later by assaulting campus police. Regardless, MacGregor will probably continue overextending themselves into Next territory.

At last, something changes

2008-03-18T18:19:00.000-07:00

Bigtime gz to Next for beating up New.

Pretty smart moves, MacGregor and Next taking down New at the same time. Well, hopefully they'll keep that up cuz this game is getting kinda boring.

Enormous Battle of Death

2008-03-17T15:52:00.000-07:00

You can't see it yet, but it's brewing...

Simmons stands a little stronger due to MacGregor's failed attack yesterday. EC isn't growing as fast anymore, New is still being crazy, and BC lost its conquer bonus! Someone should take them down!

Premonitions.

2008-03-17T10:23:00.000-07:00

Last night (Saturday), I dreamed that I was going to class for an exam. The other few students were waiting outside the building for no reason at all. So I walked inside, into this huge auditorium, and sat at one of the desks. Just as I was getting comfortable and preparing for some last-minute cramming, this dude sat down next to me and put some of his stuff down on my desk, including a cup of dark red fruit punch. I didn't appreciate that he was taking up my space, so I nonchalantly knocked over the fruit punch all over him. Heh. Then the professor asked us all to sit up front, on the ground. I was worried that I wasn't getting enough time to cram, but I went up anyway and sat with Corinna in front of Austin and Orton. And then Corinna poked me! She poked me so hard I thought I was getting shot! I fell backwards and... woke up.

So did it happen?
Did have an exam on Monday.
Dark red fruit punch -> Lord's Supper wine?
Corinna did poke me!...sorta. Kinda.

2008-03-15T23:19:00.000-07:00

*bump*

CPW Skit, prototype 1

2008-03-15T23:15:00.000-07:00

Needs input!

----
Intro
Characters: Frosh, Mom, Dad.
“Welcome Class of 2012!” sign on the wall
Music: ??? Any movie intro will do, but not that Forrest Gump stuff again

Frosh walks in with Mom and Dad. Dad is patting him on the back, Mom is bawling, and as parting gifts they hand over to him... a giganto BRIGHT RED (or any other BRIGHT color) backpack! It's empty for now. And, a BIBLE! Frosh can just carry that in his arms. They wave goodbye and Frosh is left to explore campus on his own.

Scene 1- Lecture Hall
Characters: Frosh, Prof, Students
A table with a few chairs, and one of those large erasable pages on the wall representing the blackboard. There are already a couple students sitting.
Music: ???

Frosh walks in, looks around, sits at the empty chair. Puts the Bible down and takes out a piece of paper and a pencil.
Prof walks up front, writes 8.012 or whatever on top of the page on the wall, then proceeds to pour out a bajillion equations.
Students start writing furiously!
Frosh scratches his head, not following.
Prof writes on the page, It's so simple!
Students nod furiously!
Frosh: extreme confusion!
Prof looks at her watch as Students pack up and leave.
As class ends, Frosh goes up to the Prof. Points to the whiteboard and complains that it's too confusing.
Prof pulls out two heavy textbooks and hands them to him. Goes back to her work.
Frosh slips them in his backpack and leaves. Forgetting his Bible (oh noes!)

Scene 2- Outside
Characters: Frosh, Athletic dude
No props required
Music: Stronger, Kanye West

As the Frosh walks out, an Athletic dude jogs past, looking buff.
Frosh looks on, admiring. He follows Athletic dude, and they do some stretches too. Athletic picks up the pace and continues running, but Frosh quickly tuckers out.
Athletic dude turns back to Frosh. He's all like, Come on, come on.
Frosh: Too tired.
Athletic dude shows off his bicep. Grrr!
Frosh shows off his bicep... weaksauce.
Athletic dude: Hold on a sec. He pulls out a dumbbell and pumps it a little before handing it over to Frosh.
Frosh pumps the dumbbell and puts that in his backpack too. Shifts its weight a little; it's getting heavy.
Athletic dude runs off.

Scene 3- Party Room
Characters: Frosh, Partier
A small stereo on a table.
Music: You Can't Stop the Beat, Hairspray

Frosh walks in. No one's there and it’s quiet. He looks at the stereo and presses play.
Partiers run in and dance! See the sytycd performance, http://youtube.com/watch?v=Nh9YTlnKHfY
Partier1: Dances with frosh. You know, do a little funky monkey.
Frosh tries to dance, except he's really weighed down. He can only bob in one place.
Partier2 has an idea and brings out something to help...um... blue suede shoes! Or some other fancy shoes. Displays them to the audience and gives them to Frosh.
Frosh puts on the shoes and all of the sudden can dance hardkore!! But only from the waist down.
Music change here to Beat It so he can do the moonwalk and other crazy Michael Jackson footwork.
Everyone: Dance!
Partiers take the stereo and dance off stage.
Frosh wipes his face of sweat and replaces his old shoes. Puts the dance shoes into his backpack and walks off.

Scene 4- Outside
Characters: Frosh, Rich girl
No props required
Music: Glamorous, Fergie

Some Rich girl walks in with the music, looking very haughty and showing off her bling.
Frosh turns around and bumps into her. Rich girl looks angry and brushes off her shoulder.
She looks at him up and down. What is he wearing?!
She pulls out a huge shopping bag and a fashionable dress shirt. She holds it up in front of the Frosh, sizing it up to him.
Frosh looks on, clueless.
Rich girl: Nahh, doesn't look good. Pulls out another shirt and fits it against him. Nahh.
Frosh waves his hand; he doesn't really want a new wardrobe.
Rich girl: Aha, got just the thing for you. Pulls out...a Guitar Hero guitar!
Frosh’s jaw drops to the floor. Goes bazonkers! Jams on the guitar!
Rich girl gives it to him and bids him tata. Walks off, looking haughty.
Frosh sticks the guitar into his backpack. Tries to put it on and is totally hunched over.

Scene 5- Still Outside
Characters: Frosh, Prof, Athletic dude, Partier, Rich Girl, Christian friend
No props required
Music: ???
At this point, the people from the previous scenes all come out and try to convince Frosh to join them. Frosh is torn between all of them and can't keep up because he's being pulled in so many different directions. Finally all the peoples give up on him and leave him alone.

Music change: My Savior, My God playing softly.
The Christian friend walks in an finds the Bible left behind in the lecture hall and picks it up. Looks at Frosh, who's like crawling on the ground by now. The Christian friend kneels down and tries to show Frosh the Bible, but he turns away quickly, not interested in another burden. Christian friend helps him stand up and he sees the Bible. Ohhh.
He's about to take it, but first the Christian friend points to the backpack.
Frosh: huh? He thinks about leaving the burden behind, then takes off the backpack with a thunk. Christian friend opens the Bible and they both hold it and read as the voiceover plays:

Matthew 11:28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Everyone claps!

Everybody hates Next

2008-03-14T23:50:00.000-07:00

Really, Next doesn't deserve all this.

Enormous stalemates occuring in west and central campus...it looks like these won't be resolved for at least 3-4 turns, or until one of the allies backs out. EC, Next, BC, and New are all bickering in the east and most likely BC and EC(!) will grow while Next and New get knocked out.

The world now

2008-03-14T13:28:00.000-07:00

It's like the entire nation of Burton Conner is crammed into Johnson.

Probably continuing the stalemate in central campus while BC and New revolt against Next. And EC just sits there. I hope McCormick can break out of their cages though.

More scariness.

2008-03-11T20:03:00.000-07:00

MacGregor slowly creeps towards Simmons...

Anticipated moves: MacGregor takes Campus Police and stores up there for a big fight, Next eats up another piece of EC, it would be really nice if New House breaks through Ashdown, and again Burton Conner doesn't really matter.