Leaving me, leaving me here on my own

… but that’s all a lie. And yes, that line is also from that song. That I took a line from earlier.

I, unfortunately will not be my own. Hello again. Here is your week’s notice, because in some two week period between August 11 and 28, the old folks are off back home, leaving me and the two hellspawn creatures that are my siblings. I personally never liked flying, even before 9/11. Well, two or so weeks of freedom will do us some good, and when I use ‘us’, I refer to not me, because it will probably result, 13 hours and 43 minutes later that I will have to do everything myself, because neither one of my siblings can be trusted with watching the stove or oven. Might as well just turn the gas then light a match, same effect.

And now, take a breather. Not that the last paragraph was particularly long, that breather was for me. I think sometimes I take a little too long between entries. Or that may mean I live a very boring life. Or I’m lazy. How lazy? Must I say again? Well, I am writing this even though I promised myself this weekend I should be working on this assignment due next Thursday. “This weekend” proceeded to become “Saturday, after lunch”, which did not seem to pan out either. Maybe “Sunday, after lunch”, but I am planning to watch the Simpsons Movie, probably just before noon, so unless I lose my train of thought again I just might … what was I going on about now?

Oh yes, the last of my classes finish Thursday as well, which is when this assignment/presentation is due. I’m pretty sure I could do it on time, or even before, except I have this reminder that I am pretty lazy. I could be doing research, taking notes, preparing. Or I could be doing this. Obviously I am more important, so I am doing this for my own benefit, and I think I kept myself waiting long enough (anyone else who actually reads – but doesn’t comment, you fiends – also counts too. Just not as much as me).

Now before I forget:

The Thursday morning commute was a bit different. I may have stumbled on the subway train with more tourists (Tourists during rush hour? Doubt it), because the train driver who was announcing stops that morning at least had a sense of humour. And had proper annunciation; you cannot believe some of the drivers who mumble your next stop. Well, this guy, he was something else. Some of the most memorable lines include: “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all shapes and sizes, colours and origins … the next stop is Donlands, Donlands station.”, “It’s a beautiful day today in Toronto”, as we passed over the bridge over the Don Valley between Broadview and Castle Frank, “everyone enjoy your day and make the most of it” (or something along those lines). Lastly, which elicited a few chuckles was “Next stop is the Official Centre of the Universe, Bloor (-Yonge) Station”. If you get that joke, good, because I really don’t feel like explaining it right now. But it was funny. Pretty funny.

Weird tidbit: Weird things happen in bed, well, in this case, when I’m asleep. I go to sleep fully clothed (T-shirt, shorts, not winter pyjama attire), except I realize only after I take a late-night trip to the washroom do I realize I’m only down to my boxers. Such a mystery, I may need to film and document this … but that would be just a tad too creepy, even for me.

Some sad news: The ride is almost come to an end, because I’ve almost finished watching season 6 of Gilmour Girls. There are 7 seasons, which means at the pace I watch TV shows, this could be over before I start studying for my final test. Because I’m that lazy. But in all seriousness, Gilmour Girls was a good show, and damn those suits for cancelling it after all that, since all the characters, through good times and bad in their character development is always so likable, or even relatable. Sure, there aren’t guns blazing or SWAT teams busting through roofs or ninjas, but who says I can’t watch more than that? Screw your gender roles and stereotypes. Besides, Gilmour Girls was pretty funny.

Next TV season, new shows don’t look as promising though. There are maybe 4 or 5 new shows, and for the most part are dramadies, because that should be how life plays out, funny with a hint of “wow that was serious”. What am I watching out for?

Bionic Woman is a remake of the old 70s show, but better and contemporary. By the guys who remade Battlestar Galactica. No need to feel nerdy watching because it’s on a channel everyone gets, not some sci-fi specialty channel. Don’t worry, Heroes might’ve brought sci-fi to the mainstream.

Chuck is about a 20-year old something guy who becomes a human computer after his old roommate e-mails him everything all government secret like (CIA and friends), but the twist is he’s just a nerd who works in the tech department at a big box store. Geek and spy story, and it sounds interesting. (I could never figure out how to use geek and nerd, so sue me). Also Adam Baldwin from Firefly (Jayne) is one of the agents, so it doesn’t get better.

Reaper is about the main character Sam, who, strangely enough, also works at a big-box store (which is conveniently a Canadian Tire all dressed up differently), which he finds out when he turns 21, that his parents sold his soul to the devil, and the devil in turn recruits him to be his bounty hunter, collecting souls that escaped hell. The devil himself has a sense of humour, lucky/fortunate us

The Sarah Connor Chronicles is “the better sequel” to Terminator 2. Basically this is the better alternate universe (that is, Terminator 3 never happens), so it takes off two years after Terminator 2 (great movie), and the Connors are off to run from Terminators and travelling to 2008 to try to stop Judgement Day. Again. The ‘good’ terminator is the Summer Glau (River Tam from Firefly – what’s with all the Firefly? More awesome, obviously) and yes, she kicks shiny metal ass.

Yes, I watched all the pilot episodes, but if you’re a suit working for a big corporation and those last few paragraphs are just … coincidence. Coincidence … yes. Well, I’d watch it if they aired again, even with commercials. What I didn’t like was The Big Bang Theory, which is about a hot chick moving across the hall from a pair of nerds. When I say nerds, we are talking about the
1990s typical high-school chess-club, computer-club, A/V-club, Math-club, Algebra-club (because even they’re too intense for the math club) stereotypical nerds who basically watch frame-by-frame Star Wars/Star Trek/Battlestar Galactica for the slightest of hints. Needless to say, there goes their target audience. And the chick (her character at least) is a complete ditz (I’ll assume her being blonde is a total coincidence). The “jokes” are possibly funny, but that means you somehow ended up being in their target audience that didn’t turn away fast enough, even with the presence of a laugh track (which wasn’t put to much good use).

Oh wow, 1200 words. No, this is not practice for my 1000 word essay, which is part of my final assignment. But does it matter even if it was? Actually, I get docked points for going over 1000, which is the hard part. Damn these low word limits. Yes, I’m still horrible at conclusions in essay writing or not – still have and will probably always will be so I’ll just end it in the most classic way one can.

That’s it.

*goes back to seat*

Those idle hands...

... they are the devil's tools!

Well, I wouldn't try to make a movie out of this short-lived experience of mine (as such), and heck, I wouldn't even consider it even a partial or successful possession. And no, I am not trying to find anything funny about Happy Time, because this is not about it (If you've watched the Transformers movie it might sound familiar).

Ah yes, I forget, I may be talking to myself, but my senile, hysterical future self would kill me (if he had the time machine, the strength and something to rule out the paradox) for not writing down exactly what happened. Alright. Simply put, browsing the Internet late at night seems to qualify. At least for an automated probe by the possession forces of Lucifer/Satan/Lex Luthor (this list goes on and on). My finger twitched! As in, it had a mind of it's own! It took every ounce of willpower to beat it back to the hellish depths from whence it came. Give or take. I may have rolled a 20, which meant smooth sailing for me. I expect to have my room completely exorcised by the end of the week.

Lastly, I have discovered a smell that rivals Old Spice. Yes, Old Spice, I may or may not use it, and it is a familiar scent to those who do and know those who do. But take a towel that has been kept in a drawer for a lengthy amount of time (for the lack of a better term). An IKEA one, I might add. Bathe, then apply said towel in drying procedure. Apparently this scent (of a drawer) will overtake the mighty Old Spice. Or maybe not, I can never tell the two apart sometimes. But it's good if you want to pass off as being Swedish. Or an IKEA employee. Dye your hair bleach blonde, and you may pass as a Swedish IKEA employee.

I'm also more than meets the eye

So what about that Transformers movie? I thought it was pretty good, except, as some other people might've said, the robot forms were a little too busy and had too much on them. Whoever designed them did a helluva good job, just in the action sequences it gets kinda messy for the eyes (which haven't gone bad), although I would've just as much liked a throwback to the 80's designs, all blocky. I'm not exactly a hardcore Transformers fan, so I took most of the movie as it was instead of trying to compare it straight to the cartoons of yesteryear.

It was pretty entertaining, even though anyone who's watched a Steven Spielberg or Michael Bay film could probably tell it was pretty obvious who was in charge of which parts of the movie. And I'd be considered a neophyte in the field of moves. Well, at least, the moral of the story (and also the teen storyline) is that the only way you'll get the girl you've been pining for 10 years but hasn't acknowledged your existance is to get her caught up in saving the world with you. Now if I could only end up having to save the world...

I still hate the summer months, the air is hot and heavy, and as much as I like seeing girls in short attire, I wasn't made for this weather, no matter how much I was born in Hong Kong, aka humidity central (it's on the list, if there was a list).

And the first test for my biology class, results are out. Apparently:

The following is a breakdown of the class distribution:
A (>80%), 18.4%
B (70-79%), 28.6%
C (60-69%), 15.3%
D (50-59%), 22.4%
Less than 50%, 15.3%.

Now there's a reason why the classes have been so empty. I scored the in the B region. Yes, I'm just as dull as I seem.

It's a system

So, of all the worse times to be thinking of anything else, it just has to be during a test. On evolutionary biology, of all things. Anyways, it was all multiple choice, and it got me thinking that as I was going through my motions of doing multiple choice tests (which I completely loathe these days), I told myself, "Ye Gods, I have a system. How sad is that?"

Yes, apparently, a system for going through multiple choice tests, and is as follows:

• The goal is to run from one end of the test to the other as fast as possible, only answering what you can
  
• If I know it immediately, the corresponding spot on the scantron is filled
• If not, examine the question, see if the question and/or answers are wordy, and try to make an educated guess, or try to eliminate what I can
• If I can't, then I mark down on my scantron with a small scribble what I think would be the most likely - this may range between 1 and 3 - this helps in case I need to rush in the last few minutes and don't have time to think.
  
• I circle the number on the question page and cross out any eliminated answers to look at later
  
• lather, rinse, repeat until I reach the end
• start back at #1, then try to fill the rest in, taking my time.

If you can't figure out what the answer even remotely is, stop telling yourself you should've studied, and that bloodying the desk by slamming your head against it won't help your case. Though what I may suggest in the following may seem ... insane to do during a test, hey, if you don't know it and they you don't lose marks for guessing wrong, why not guess?

• If you can't decide from any of them, look away and point to one at random, or what I do, hold my pencil going up and down against my options, look away, then move my pencil up and down until I stop, then take what's there.
• if there are two possibilites left, think logically. If you can't, flip a coin, eraser, play rock-paper-scissors with the person beside you or something to figure out.

I take no responsibility for anyone doing this for real (besides myself), and it's your own darn fault for even trying to do anything I suggest, especially if it concerns something important. But it's damn fun, and the number of times you need to do this is a good indication of what you actually know (or think you know).

Although, looking back at this in hindsight, I shouldn't have said or typed a thing, and charged everyone to attend a class on taking multiple choice test stra by me. At least I could've made money. Oh well, what's done is done.


Funny coincidence of the day: at St. George subway station, they have posters up of the 10 girls in Canada's Next Top Model this year, and funny enough, all the girls that were eliminated (5 now) all have their faces plastered with a big red "X" to indicated they're gone. The strange thing is all of these 5 are on the Westbound side of the station. And they were always there, noone moved them whatsoever, they were the same since they were put up (don't ask how I would remember this. Really, don't ask). Strange, no?

I also bought Kelly Clarkson's new album, My December. It's not too bad, I probably just have to break it in by listening to it, but I'm sure Breakaway was better, though she's touched every song on this album. Oh, and go ahead and make jokes, but I won't be hurt, unless something like this happens to me.

No, I really bought it, take a looksee:



Kinda a shame noone even buys music anymore, that's why even Sam The Record Man is gone now. Most important thing is to vote with your money. If you take things like music or movies for free left and right, well, sure, your wallet is a little more full, but people who are trying to get some of that money are kinda gone. So, while I'm not saying buy everything at HMV, at least support your favourite artists, etc. by buying. I sound like a damn broken record saying it, but it's true, my naivete or not included. Or we could go utilitarian. Those guys sure have tons of fun.



Also, dumpy is an actual word. That would've helped me when I was trying to figure out that word in today's Jumble.

I hope everyone had a good Canada Day, maybe with a barbeque and everything, ending with watching some fireworks. I had to hold my face against the window with the lights off to make anything out from where I live and where my room faces. Happy 140, Canada.

Well, maybe next year...

Well, too bad for Ottawa, because they'll have to try again next year. If you're a Sens fan (you know who you all are, since there are so few of you), you might feel angry, distraught, betrayed, or other feelings. Do not fret, because you shall know the true value of telling yourself, "maybe next year"**. All the Leafs fans (like me) do it.

I, too, am feeling distraught, frustrated and betrayed, but not because of the Sens. I only watched the games because it was hockey, and I didn't root for either team, because who wants to cheer for Ottawa? And who wants to cheer for Anaheim in a room full of "Go Ottawa for the cup"-bandwagoners? I'm not that crazy. Well, let's just say it has something to do with the next SimCity, and how it's pissing off the community. Oh well, it seems we're going to stick with SimCity4. I am.

This week, my bio class has proven it actually has a sense of humour. Also, I'd like to have this down when I'm senile, old, grey haired and suffering from arthritis in my toes to read and dream about the "good 'ol days". A lecture on human evolution covered a part on sexual selection and the thesis of this book. It was quite a laugh to learn that females like guys with bigger brains (wait, did I italisize the wrong word again?) through the evolution of the human brain, so things like sense of humour completely outweighs things such as "he looks like and has the build of a pool boy or the man on the cover of a sappy romance novel". It apparently works both ways these days, but I always had a thing for smart and funny girls. ;)

Also, my lab manual is completely hilarious. According to exerpts of the lab instructions (especially more fun when reading this part completely out of context):

"Do not mate until instructed to do so by your instructor"
"Choose any student in the calss to mate with. Mates need not be of the opposite sex. You are completely promiscuous and cannot reject any suitor"

I nearly broke down and cried from laughter.


**Actual delusions sold seperately.

It's (going to be) a cruel summer

It's not even June 21st, and Mother Nature has decided to gear up to make my life just a little worse between now and until I die.

Oh, and yes, the title is pretty much ripped from the line of the song Cruel Summer.

I may have been born in Hong Kong, but for the record (for about the 237th time), I was born there, but it doesn't make me any more tolerant to heat, even if it should have. Humid hot is the worst - the air is heavy and wet, you're all sticky and you're struggling for each breath. Mother Nature's chokehold just about suits this phenomenon, and she probably wrestles too. It isn't made anymore comfortable by the fact my room is just above the garage. Roof shingles are generally asphalt-y, and asphalt, being black-coloured, absorbs light, gets all hot, and I can probably see the wavy lines during high noon. The window faces the direction the wind blows, so I get no wind. That is, my window opens to the right. Conveniently, the wind blows from the west, which is obviously my right. Entertaining as it is, even if my room were converted into a meat locker, it'd still be warmer than any other room in the house, plus, heat rises. Damn physics, I've been had again by you.

This means I've always liked to relocate into the basement, or the family room (I'd call it a den, but it's far from one) until the sun sets. During the long, hot days of summer, sleeping on the couch is a luxury (particularily because I'm not married and have a wife force me down there for thinking/doing/being stupid). I do wish pillows had more sides though, because as soon as that side you're resting on is warm, you switch it over. But what happens when you have to switch it again? That "still cooling down" feeling.

And to touch on the subject again regarding women's summer ... appearance (for lack of a better word). It's been pointed time in, time out - they dress as if to be stared at, but any bit of staring results in either a slap to the face, a eye full of pepper spray, a combination of both, or in the extremely rare case, a Hadouken. Now, for some women, that's not too bad, for some others, looking one way means you look regardless, especially in ... closer quarters. Not that close, but it's quite hard to concentrate with the fairly revealing top and the short skirt/shorts, especially if she is sitting in front of you. But as I said, close, but not that close. But close enough.


Here's a start for the summer season. I wouldn't say I've made anything of myself yet (or ever), but I've done something for myself. I cleaned my room. This is because I have a spiffy, new 19" monitor. I cleaned my desk to make room for it, which led to cleaning most of the rest of my room. I emphasize clean beacause, first, it is not infact entirely clean. I do not refer to the location and presense of the unavoidable villain, dust, but rather because I simply ... haven't finished cleaning my room. It was going to be my Mother's Day gift, but it's still a work in progress, and only 6-year-olds use this for a Mother's Day gift. Don't ask what I got for my mother, because I didn't. Wait, did I just say that out loud? Crap.

Secondly, my room is not clean in another sense, because I follow the Law of Conservation of Mess. Yes, I'm taking a shot at you, physics. An eye for an eye. Though it's not as equal as it should be. The law of conservation of mass states no matter can be created or destroyed. So, the same applies for messes, or if you really want to make this a real scientific law, use the word "disorganizationalification", because it sounds more sciencey. I may clean my room, but as I do, someone's room is getting more "disorganizationalificated". So, if you see/have a half-clean room (or half-dirty), it might be because of me. You can't defy physics, but I just made it work in my favour.

Waking up early is good

It's a terrible afflication, I enjoy waking up early, unlike most people at my age. I hope it's not contagious like the flu. Or snoring. But I never did mind waking up early, it's just that until recently I never did because of staying up until 3 AM every night, which meant I crawled out of bed around 10 or 11 AM. So I told (or promised for you optimistic weirdos) to go to bed early so I could get up earlier. Again. It worked, and it wasn't a New Years Resolution, because those always end up being broken, and that's also why I never make any.

On the subject of dreams, I get really weird ones, but the strangest I get are dreams involving me and mere acquaintances getting along all chum-chummy like, which is weird, because that contradicts the whole point of being 'meh' friends/acquaintences. I wish there was surgery for this, I'm sure I'd pay good money to get rid of it.

I'm still stuck on the fence if I should have breakfast before or after brushing my teeth. I like the freshness in my mouth before I eat something, but then again, I'm getting my mouth all full of food after waking up and washing it. And also, toothpaste, especially with that weird minty flavour, makes some of my food taste weird, especially my morning Frutopia, makes it all sour because of - I don't remember the science behind it but it means I have to wait (which means I get more hungrier) so my food doesn't taste like it came out of the rear end of a sub-saharan African animal. Pick any one, I really don't care.

Okay, Spiderman 3, I'm sure everyone's watched it by now, and - I really don't care what everyone (most other people) thought, I thought it was pretty good, but with a villain like Venom, they didn't really satisfy the really hardcore Spidey fans - I watched the old Marvel cartoons back in the day - so I didn't really like their interpretation of Venom, so comic book fans may be more ticked off but I thought it was a good movie regardless. There are worse movies out there.

Oh, and until you've watched the movie, just because the Symbiote is black and Peter's hair is down "emo" style, he is far from emo; womanizing is far from an emo characteristic. Neither is this:



On the subject of superheroes, who has watched NBC's Heroes? Unlike most other people, I didn't jump on the bandwagon onto a very successful show halfway in, I was in from the start - heck, before the start, I watched the leaked pilot in July or August (first episode). I remember seeing a promo or two in June/July, googled it, thought to myself, "Sci-fi is finally going to make it in prime time", considering there were some the year before that didn't do so well.

If you haven't watched Heroes though, you better find some way to catch up for the second season in September with the finale next Monday. Do it or you might find yourself waking up missing some vital organs or extremities. (Disclaimer: I really didn't mean that, in case you're deciding to call 911 or not but pretend I didn't say this.) One other show I'm planning on watching is Gilmour Girls, since the series is over (as in no more, that's it - kaput) I don't have to worry about catching up before September when it would've aired again. But 7 seasons is alot to go through.

Oh, and I have a Wii. More on that later.