what did i do the day before my last final exam?



i know i suck at golf. i think i shot about a 200. also, notice where i'm looking in the picture... that's where my ball went.

today i renewed my lease for my apartment. it is customary to increase your rent in north carolina, where it is the opposite in california right now. in any case, i talked with someone last weekend about it and they said they wanted to raise my rent by $15 dollars, not a big deal. today, it was a different guy, and he said that they needed raise my rent by $30 dollars.

"well, i talked to the lady last weekend and she said $15, so i went home and did some math and i can only do 10 dollars. also, my friend who also lives here just re-signed and it was raised by only 10 dollars for him." the math part is a half-truth, but the second part was true.

"wellll.... hmmm...." the manager is going over the numbers he wrote on his memo pad over and over again. he was visibly not happy.

"well, okay," he continues, "i'll give it to you for $10, but that's not what we normally do here."

"also, i know you guys have a special right now with the whole duck thing..."

my apartment complex has a special where there are these rubber duckies floating in this small fountain. each duck has a $100 to $400 written on the bottom, and whatever duck you pull, that is how much of a discount you will get off your first months rent. i knew that there was only one $400 duck and it was pink, because i did some "scouting" a few weeks back.

the manager says to me, "right. go ahead and pull a duck and tell me how much you get off."

so i go to the little duck area where nobody else is and the manager cannot see me at all. there are two pink ducks in the little pool. i choose one, it's only $200 off. crap, i tell myself. i then look underneath the other pink duck, and behold, it's the $400 off duck. nobody was watching me (they must really trust me since i'm asian or something), and $200 is a lot of money. i'm not breaking any laws, there are no signs about pulling a duck twice, and the manager really doesn't seem like he cares.

so what should i do? (edit: what DID i do?)

NYU student sleeps for months in library basement - Apr 27, 2004

"Stanzak, who dubbed himself "Bobst Boy" on the Web site, says he washed in the library's bathroom and took occasional showers at friends' apartments and dorm rooms."

pj and i were talking about this guy, and he is obviously a loser. granted, he has no money to pay for a room, but he has money to pay for a laptop and his own website domain. doesn't make sense.

also, according to the article, he took "occasional showers at friends' apartments and dorm rooms." if he had some real friends, they would take him in and not let a "friend" sleep in the library. either he doesn't have friends or those 'friends' really don't like him. either way you look at it, he's got to be a loser.

i haven't read his blog so maybe he WANTS to live in the library, or whatever. if that is the case... still a loser.

why korea is... oh forget it.

this site is one of the funniest sites i have ever seen.

thanks to janette for reminding me.

chargers warroom webcam:



maybe the chargers will get the better end of the deal... eli said he'd consider sitting out the season if he got chosen by the chargers, which gives san diego a lot of leverage in negotiating. it's going to be interesting to see what happens.

edit
okay i've calmed down. they just traded with the giants for a 3rd round AND next year's 1st and 3rd round picks plus rivers. not a big nc state fan, but whatever.

why am i writing this here? because nobody else really cares about the chargers like i do... and i try hard to get aileen to care, but she just really doesn't. that leaves you, blog, my sole friend with endless ears.

i need to work out more often. yesterday, i worked out for the first time since august. yes, august. i played tennis with a classmate, and i could not last one set. at 4-4, i had to quit because my stomach was cramping. my abs were rediscovered underneath layers of "protection" and started to really complain that they had to work again. i really think i overdid myself because i started getting a fever last night and chills... and i'm pretty sure it was because i overheated myself. anyways, i drank tons of water, woke up at least 5 times to go to the bathroom, and now, my body is a wreck. shame on me for working out!

anyways, yesterday was the last day of classes so a classmate bought a pig and roasted it in our courtyard. it's called a "pig pickin'" and it's really interesting. i took pictures and will post later, if anyone really cares. but the food was quite good, and people went out afterwards to get wasted... but again, i was getting really sick so i had to go home and just lie down. so yeah, someone brought this 11 week old golden retriever puppy (which i also took pictures of) and a classmate goes (he's white of course), "feed it to the chinese!" an international student was there and she was really confused or upset at that remark. i honestly still don't know how to feel about it, but i say "no, it's koreans that eat dog you idiot." so he goes "feed it to the koreans!" the first thing that came into my head was "man, i'm glad steve isn't here." the second thing in my head was "should i be offended?" i mean, it's true. koreans DO eat dog meat. but in a way, i felt a little offended but i really don't know why. i guess it's like only a black person can call another black person the n-word... like, only asians can make fun of other koreans for eating dog? not sure exactly, but yeah, that's the South. asians are a very small minority so a lot of the stereotype that existed when i was in grade school still exists today in North Carolina. i still get comments like "use you kung-fu andy!" and stuff like that. but i know they don't mean it in a derogatory way, because they are the nicest people ever so i really don't have big problems with it. but again, the cool thing about being asian and in the south is that people assume that you're a doctor and really smart. multiple people have guessed that i was a med student here... it's a nice feeling. :)

THIRD topic... i have herpes, but not genital herpes. so lately, my cold sores have been acting up a LOT because of school. so i went to see a doctor, and she prescribed me valtrex. now i'm sure you have seen the commercials, and i know i'm giving dave a lot of ammo to use on me right now, but i am only using it for my coldsores that are around my mouth. so yeah, if anyone has ever seen jason swallow a pill, it's the funniest scene. it literally takes him about 5 minutes to swallow two advils. he closes his eyes, puts the pill in his mouth, drinks about a cup of water and slowly tilts his head back and forth until he gets the courage to actually swallow the pill. it takes about 3 cups of water for him to swallow one pill. it's hilarious. so anyways, this valtrex pill, is gigantic. it's like a suppository. i think jason would get chills if he saw this... this is compared against a quarter. and it's really thick too, just look at the shadows.

steve you are absolutely correct. when you help other people just for self-gratification, you really aren't being nice because your motives are wrong. to be selfless means to do things purely for other people. that's why it's so hard sometimes in relationships, because we forget about that aspect. we're always in the mentality where we get so pissed off because we did so much for so-and-so and they don't ever "pay you back." that will always mess up relationships, and trust me, i have had to learn the hard way. so as wayne quoted a zen master, i'll quote my master, which i am sure everyone has heard before...

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

- 1 Corinthians 13


i know this passage is WAY overdone, but you really have to look at every word of every sentence... and then you realize that it's almost impossible to follow this all the time. so just makes you think...

okay long boring blog... i actually wrote about christianity today. pj must be shocked.

tell me the theme of this list, and the suggest who should go in the blank:

jason
art
steve
wayne
______

i was talking with aileen, and we both concurred on this observation: all of the good-looking girls we have seen in our lives combined before coming to the South does not nearly add up to the number of beautiful girls we have seen the past 8 months alone.

i think pj could concur too.

a1rtran it is. looks like i'll be in atlanta this summer (pending official paperwork approval).

okay. really. it's just gone too far.
too far.
too far.

too far andy?

yes. too freaking far.

i don't know who to feel more sorry for...
the dancers in the background, will for probably getting cheated by his manager and getting paid squat, or us cal alumni who have to live with this image. i liked it better when people thought berkeleyans were pot-smoking, bra-burning, free-speech hippies.

this link was going around my class today. "this site is awesome."

how many posts will this one have?

you can e-mail me your bets. you can comment, but i'd like to keep closed bids.

i woke up this morning and just knew that something bad was going to happen. i just knew that i was going to get punished somehow for not taking easter seriously enough and for being a horrible christian. 5 minutes later, i got my first speeding ticket.

anyways, i guess i'll just have to pay my $10 dollar fine... and oh yeah it doesn't go on my record so no points. gotta love the south (i should note that there is a court fee of $100 though, but i don't have to go).

had a very very long past two days. i haven't slept since yesterday morning at 7 am. i don't know if my body is just used to being tired or i've become numb to sleep deprivation. i'm so afraid that if i fall asleep, i will never be able to wake again.

today was a very productive day. besides finishing our presentation and getting slammed on the Q and A section, i drank a lot of beer today. our group finished presenting at 10 am and had some beer in the morning, beer for lunch, beer for happy hour, went to a couple bars and had some more beers and now it's 3am. i didn't get drunk or anything, amazingly, but i guess i had a lot of empty calories.

in any case, i started preparing for our next presentation which is 40% of my final International Business grade and we do that on tuesday. soooo busy. mellanie, you are one lucky girl.

but on the topic of jobs as steve mentioned, my internship prospects have been really looking up this week. i've got chosen or have final round interviews for:

a1rtran
booz, allen, hamilton
ABC disney
internet security systems
ikobo
silk road technologies
golf digest

i'm really really hoping that i get at least one internship!


knock on wood, but i am really expecting to get an internship next week.

pj

i would just like to say to fellow berkeley people, i made an appointment today for the student health center, and it is for tomorrow. no waiting 3 weeks or any of that crap... they had openings for tomorrow. amazing.

the test:
click here

the results:
me

wayne

dave

aileen

totally random entry, but i guess blogs are more about quantity than quality (right wayne?)

it was cool seeing pj again, even though it felt like things never changed. oh crap, i STILL have your birthday present with me... after over a year. nice.

anyways, we were watching south park and it reminded me of when my friends and i were really young and always played "ninja" or "spaceman." i don't know why, but it was almost always "ninja," even if it was with legos, GI Joe figures, or probably even my sister's barbies. i remember that i used to pretend that my long knee-high socks used to be nunchuks and i'd twirl them around like bruce lee.

another random thought: is it me, or does it feel that it is more in the late 1990's than mid-2000's? i still think there wasn't that big of a difference between 1999 and 2003, yet when we study all these topics in school, the 1990's seem so far away. why is that? for example, i feel like i JUST met aileen, but that was over 3 years ago now... and i was still an undergrad too... and to put things even in more perspective, a kid that was born in the 1990's could be in high school now... and i feel like i just met pj too, but it's already been almost 7 years now... freaking weird...

Duke covers spread on 'meaningless' shot

i had a bad day yesterday, and since it was a "light" work day, i got all my work done early and went to live the life i never did in college.
i went with a couple guys to this completely hole-in-the-wall-middle-of-nowhere-with-no-parking-lot chicken place and had the best chicken i ever had. when i walked in, of course i got some funny looks, but it was so good.
afterwards, went to one of the guys place, chilled on the couch, and watched dazed and confused with a few cans of miller lite. i never felt more redneck, but it was awesome.