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May 13th, 2009

10:14 am - Shippai! So yeah, I've been swamped ever since Christmas, which has sucked pretty bad. I wanted to make this post back in March, but we didn't get the content off the camcorder, formatted, and posted to YouTube until just now. So, without further ado, I present... me making an ass of myself in a Japanese skit! Yaaay! URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxEvtwqgt-A (If you don't remember what I look like, I'm the guy in the black polo shirt and blue jeans who's generally loud and well, making an ass of himself.) This skit was the final group project for our Japanese II class, and we did pretty good. If you follow the URL above or search YouTube for "kojimanokurasu", you'll find the other four skits in our class. I also don't know how much you guys will be able to pick out, but I can post the translated script of our skit if you'd like. I'm finishing up my last week of actual class this week, and next week is all exams, so look for more posts after that. Hope you enjoy. Current Location: Work... ^^;;; Current Mood: busy Current Music: The lyrics "Go Go Godzilla" playing over and over again in my head.

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December 26th, 2008

12:00 am - Cursing my gifts, it's so cliche. I spent a part of this Christmas evening playing cards with my grandmother and mother downstairs in my grandmother's section of our house. I don't know why, but to this day, my grandmother insists on displaying a framed picture on her dining room wall. It's towards the corner, not too conspicuous, but it still catches your eye. It stands out amongst everything else, for too many reasons to list here. It is the first gift I received from Mamo. A hand-sketched, computer-finished picture of me and her, together. This was before I had asked her out, before I had thought such a thing was possible. What we had was pure and good. I destroy myself everyday, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second, for allowing it to become tainted and wither away. And even when I've started a family with a woman I love, I will still look back and miss the friend I lost in those times. She insists that she isn't the person she was before, the girl I knew. And to be honest, I wouldn't expect her to be. What happened between us changed me, as well. I am a different person. Better or worse, that's not for me to judge. But, I can say my resolve is stronger than ever, that I will make this world a better place. I spent the latter part of this evening with my father in his converted shed game room. When we left to go back inside, I found myself immersed in a cloud of cold, tingling tears. Snow was falling, and not like it had over this past week with the swirling winds and biting cold. No, this snow was just falling, gently covering everything in sight with a layer of purity. As I looked upward and to the west, the flakes slowly melted on my cheeks, giving me that sensation I haven't felt in years. She loved the snow, and I'll never forget that, as long as I live. ... For those interested, I have updated my profile bio to something more tasteful than what I was apparently capable of 3 1/2 years ago. Merry Christmas. Current Location: At my house, in my bed, looking out the window Current Mood: contemplative Current Music: Bits and pieces of the last gift she ever gave me, floating around in my mind

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December 8th, 2008

01:36 am - Well, it's over... but not really. Sunday was the big day. The day I've been preparing in secret for since the beginning of summer. The Level 4 Japanese Language Proficiency Test held in Chicago. And it was every bit as ugly as I thought it would be. You need 60% to pass, but that's a lot harder to get than it sounds... I walked in to the test with 30 hours of formal training, knowledge of maybe 75 kanji (the picture words), and a 304/400 on the practice test I took. For Level 4, you're supposed to have 150 hours of studying, know 100 kanji, and know about 800 words. So, I was a little underprepared. But considering I was self-taught outside of class, I felt at least halfway decent. Until I got to Chicago that is. Never in my life have I actually had shallow breathing due to stress. There were times on Saturday and Sunday before the test that I was actually convulsing due to the anxiety. If you ask anyone who has ever taken a class with me, they'll probably tell you that I'm "clutch" and I blow through most tests like they're nothing. So when a test is affecting a guy like me this much, it has to be big. And do you know why it's big? Because the JLPT isn't just any old test. No, it's a certification that you can speak and understand Japanese at a certain level. With a high enough certification, putting that on your resume can get you a job with a Japanese company. Granted, Level 4 is currently the lowest level (it'll be called Level 5 next year), and passing it certifies that you've got the comprehension skills of a Japanese second-grader, but it's a start. Generally, you have to be at Level 2 certification to be hired by a Japanese company directly, and Level 3 certification for an American company to transfer you in good faith to a Japanese branch. And since I'd like an alternative source of income while I'm getting my business off the ground and living in Japan, it would be nice to have said certification. So, after two and a half hours, I left the test site physically and mentally drained. How did I do? Fact is, I won't know until sometime in March. Personally, I think I scored somewhere between 50% and 70%, but that doesn't do me much good considering the pass/fail line is halfway between the two. So, I'm just going to keep studying; if I pass, I'll need it to get ready for the next level anyway. If I fail, well, I'll just use it to know more of the material for next year's Level 5 exam. ... That being said, I'm tired as fuck. Good night, everyone... I'm out. Current Location: Dorm couch Current Mood: tired Current Music: Too tired to play any music... zzz...

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October 31st, 2008

09:58 pm - What Hath God Wrought? Tonight's Halloween, and since I'm not walking out into the streets of Milwaukee in a costume at 10pm, I decided to have my fun earlier in the day... Oddly enough, I've established a name for myself during my studies at MSOE as one who has some damn good costumes when I actually put forth the effort. I had actually been planning this costume since last year, but I didn't really have the means to pull it off then. I've been growing out my hair a little (especially my bangs) since the beginning of summer to pull this one off, and I wear it as an emo/indie bang on most days, as shown here. But on this day, I went around the floor, borrowed a few things, and became something terrible: The Tool Box. NOTE: For those unfamiliar with the term "tool", it is used to describe guys of the "prep" clique that take the level of douchebaggery to a whole new level, most noticeably by wearing LAYERS of polo shirts and popping ALL the collars. Tools also find the need to wear flip-flops EVERYWHERE at all times, even in the winter. They also dress and do their hair almost EXACTLY like their friends do, so when you see a group of them, you sure as hell know it. Anyway, I decided to do this costume last year after two of the Mechanical Engineers on the floor annoyed me and my other floormates to no end. (Side note: At MSOE, MEs are generally the "cooler" guys, so they get the attention of what few girls we have on campus. They also have a higher rate of being tools.) We decided that mocking the way they acted wasn't enough to get the idea across that we thought they were stupid, so I came up with the Tool Box. So far, it's gotten me a few nasty looks, but more high-fives than I had imagined. Oh, and I won $25 in a costume contest. I mean, how often do you get paid for making fun of an entire clique? Not often enough, I say. ;p Current Location: In teh dorm room Current Mood: happy Current Music: The buzzing of Buzzy Light and Walter's J-Pop techno loops

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October 19th, 2008

12:48 am - Fact: Week 6 = Sub-Zero Rape Coaster At MSOE, Week 6 is usually midterm week. That's often bad enough. But this Week 6 was different. This week, I had multiple two-week lab projects due on top of studying for midterms. Yeah, needless to say, it kinda sucked. But it's over now, and I pulled off at least two miracles on the midterms, so I can't complain anymore. Instead, I'm going to talk about my "fackin orsome" day today! So, I was like up until 3am Saturday morning working on my Operating Systems lab. My friend Joe and I realized that there was a chess tournament the next morning at 10, so we only got a few hours of sleep in. Well, the cafeteria in the dorms doesn't open until 10 on the weekend, so we ran to the Einstein Bros. bagel shop a few blocks away. For your information, potato bagel + egg + cheese + turkey sausage = WIN. Throw in a chai tea latte and you get nothing short of EPIC WIN. So we make it to the signup first, putting us in Seeds A and B. Well, as it turns out, A and B were slated to play each other in the first round, so Joe and I had a match. The thing you need to know about this is that Joe is pretty damn good; I hadn't beaten him in over six months. He's a knight user, while I'm a rook and pawn user, so he usually catches me off-guard. We started off like we usually do, about even until mid-game. I started making horrible blunders due to his queen and knight controlling the entire queen-side of the board. After losing a bishop and a rook with nothing in return, I resigned myself to a losing fight. Focusing on taking down as many pieces as I could, we began to clear out the middle of the board. Then it happened. Joe's only weakness is that he makes a HUGE blunder once every game; the only catch is, you have to survive long enough for him to make it. He had left his queen unprotected inline with my protected queen. I took it, leaving him with six pawns, a knight, and a rook. We played chicken for a few more turns until it was MY turn to blunder. He used his rook to bait my queen into a position that ended up being a king-queen knightfork. Since the king needed to escape, he backed up, watch the queen get taken, and captured the knight in return. Now, here's the score. Joe: 6 pawns, king, and 16 minutes to play. Lee: 2 pawns, knight, king, and 3 minutes to play. Using my knight and king, I picked off his three pawns that were heading towards my back row. At the same time, Joe started advancing his other three pawns and king towards my unprotected pawns. I hurried to get my king and knight back, and with under a minute left, I forced his king to move into traffic against the side of the board. (my pieces are in italic bold) |P N _ |K P K |_ _ P |P _ P That was checkmate with only 28 seconds left before I would've lost by default on time. I couldn't believe I pulled it off; Joe still can't, so we're going to be having a lot of rematches in the near future. Anyway, I left the tournament after two rounds to meet my parents and grandfather who were coming down to spend the day in Milwaukee. After going out to eat at a Greek cafe for lunch, we drove to this bar that was having its 100th anniversary this year. More importantly, they have two (count them, 2) bowling lanes in the basement that are the original lanes from when they were put in back in 1918. The scoring was old school, using paper and pencil, but the pinsetters were even OLDER school: they had actual guys sitting behind the lanes, picking up and putting the pins into the tray after every throw so that they could be reset in formation after each frame. It was really interesting to bowl in that environment; I'm definitely doing it again soon. After that, we went up to the bar, which was tended by Marcy, an 82-year-old Polish woman with a finger-shakin' attitude. We talked with her for a while before this conversation came up. Marcy: "So, what can I get you to drink?" Dad: "I'll have a Miller Lite." Marcy: "And you?" Lee: "Umm..." Marcy: "You can have a beer too, if you want." Lee: "o.O;; Uh, I'm only 20. I'll just have an orange juice and Sprite." Marcy: "Bah, that don't really matter. But, come back on your 21st birthday and you've got a shot on the house, you hear?" Lee: "Sure thing. o.o; ..." Moral: Getting offered booze by really old ladies is awesome, but still weird. Very weird. After we finished our drinks, we went to the park by the Milwaukee Art Museum, took some pictures, and called it a day. I came back to the dorms, where I finally proved to my roommate that my father and I look NOTHING alike, and said our goodbyes. I then proceeded to play football for an hour, shower, order Chinese food, and finish coding a lab. This has been one of the best days I've had in a while, hands down. And boy, did I need it. Current Location: Joe's Room Current Mood: chipper Current Music: Whatever Joe's playing on his PC. FFX OST, mostly.

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September 27th, 2008

07:56 am - Meme from Teh Skunky 1. If you're on my friends list, I want to know 35 things about you. I don't care if we never talk, or if we already know everything about each other. Short and sweet is fine ... you're on my list, so I want to know you better. If you don't respond, I understand, too. 2. Comment here with your answers and repost the questionnaire on your own journal, for your friends to fill out. :) 01) Are you currently in a serious relationship? 02) What was your dream growing up? 03) What talent do you wish you had? 04) If I bought you a drink what would it be? 05) Favorite vegetable? 06) What was the last book you read? 07) What zodiac sign are you? 08) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where. 09) Worst Habit? 10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride? 11) What is your favorite sport? 12) Do you have a Pessimistic or Optimistic attitude? 13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me? 14) Worst thing to ever happen to you? 15) Tell me one weird fact about you. 16) Do you have any pets? 17) What if I showed up at your house unexpectedly? 18) What was your first impression of me? 19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary? 20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be? 21) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience? 22) What color eyes do you have? 23) Ever been arrested? 24) Bottle or can soda? 25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it? 26) What's your favorite place to hang out at? 27) Do you believe in ghosts? 28) Favorite thing to do in your spare time? 29) Do you swear a lot? 30) Biggest pet peeve? 31) In one word, how would you describe yourself? 32) Do you believe/appreciate romance? 33) Favorite and least favorite food? 34) Do you believe in God? 35) Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you? Current Location: In my dorm, waiting for the cafeteria to open Current Mood: hungry Current Music: None

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September 18th, 2008

12:15 am - Hoarg... Hatachi desu. Kanpai... (falls over) First off, before I go any further, I'd like to thank MOG for the eCard. It's been one of the few pick-me-ups this past week and a half. Currently, I have to say I'm burnt out, which is obviously not a good sign a week and a half into classes. Database Design and Operating Systems have been two classes that are just a little too new for me to pick up quickly, so they've been a struggle. Other than that, my classwork is fairly simple, but time-consuming; lengthy planning and meeting with Biomedical students for my Requirements & Specifications class, terminology and number crunching for Engineering Economy, and fluid conversation for Japanese. I'm also leading a study group for the Japanese class, so that takes two hours out of my Monday nights. Work takes up my mornings, classes are my days, and my evenings are often spent in meetings for groups and organizations I'm involved in. On top of this, my friend Alex is going through some seriously rough relationship waters right now, and I'm one of the few people he trusts, so I've been spending a good deal of time talking with him and helping him out. Don't get me wrong, I'd still spend the time with him whether I could afford to or not; it's just a trade off between social time and personal time. On top of that, my older cousin has moderately severe ulcerative colitis. In layman's terms, his intestines are on fire and he bleeds out his ass. This is his final year in college before he gets his Biology degree, which is stressful enough, but this only compounds the situation. His condition suddenly worsened, and he's been in the hospital for the past week and won't be able to leave for at least another week. He and I are the oldest of our generation, so we have a lot of pressure on us from our family, as well. All in all, I think that the stress he's under may be aggravating the condition. On a side note, his little brother's girlfriend has been in and out of the emergency room for a condition the doctors can't seem to pinpoint. I'll have to check in with him to get an update. But not everything's bad. I've got plenty of new gadgets to play around with, and I'm actually going to play intramural flag football this fall. I'm feeling much better, and it's good to be back doing something I haven't been able to enjoy for quite some time. And I can't forget that I've got the guys in the dorms to hang out with, so I've got it pretty good. I just need some time to take a break, sit down, and relax... ZzzzzZzzz... Current Location: On my couch in the dorm room Current Mood: drained Current Music: Caramelldansen (Speedycake Remix) - Caramell

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August 17th, 2008

11:16 pm - Moving Day, But Not the Good Kind... So, Saturday morning I got myself up at 7 to shower and get to campus by 8:30. I met my roommate outside the dorms (he had just finished working the maintenance crew night shift a few hours before), as well as my future roommate and a friend who is coming back after dropping out last winter. The reunion was nice but there was a looming air of loss. We had gathered to help one of our floormates, Vinnie, move out. The school had suspended him until further notice for poor grades. And while normally I would hold little to no pity for the situation, Vinnie was different. Hell, he's the definition of different. Vinnie is a small kid, about 5'6", 110 lbs, with jawline-length brown hair that he normally keeps to the side with a barrette if it doesn't stay by itself. He walks with an air of awkwardness, tottering along with a slight hunch most of the time. He surfs 4Chan in his spare time, and is always citing quotes from the online underground. He graduated from a Catholic high school in Ohio where he was told that he excelled in every area of academics. Most importantly, though, he was a natural-born artist, and yet he threw it away to chase his dream of becoming a Software Engineer three states away from home. He knew college would be tougher than high school, but the degree of difficulty caught him by surprise. He quickly fell behind in the math and core curricula, but instead of giving up and dropping out, he kept trying. And not just trying, but growing. Slowly but surely, you could see improvements. The problem was that he couldn't adjust to the material until halfway through the quarter, and by that time he was doomed to a D at best. Yet he kept going, talking with the registrar's office, retaking classes, never giving up. This summer, the school actually denied his academic appeal and refused to readmit him for the coming year. It was a blow not only to him, but to all of us; he was the life of our party. A crazy, often perverted and socially delinquent party, but our party. His father pulled up in front of the dorms with a Jeep at about 8:40. We had to fit all of Vinnie's possessions into the back seats and the trunk. Everything. Two and a half hours later, we had emptied the 10x15 room into the vehicle, stuffing in as many remnants of our times together as we could. After we talked with his father for a short while, Vinnie had finished handing in his room key and was rolling down the street before we knew it. It's sad, but we lost so many guys this year, it makes you feel almost like you're alone. You feel like you're a fish in a barrel, and you're just hoping that the school runs out of bullets before it sets its sights on you. I'd say right now, out of probably 150 Software and Computer Engineers in the class of 2010, we're down to 70 after just two years. The number will dwindle to about 50 after this coming year, leaving maybe 15 SEs to graduate alongside 25 CEs... The school is run almost like a military boot camp; whoever can put up with the administration longest survives. My favorite math professor is perpetually chastised by the registrar's office for giving out too many As and Bs, even though you fight for your grade in his classes. My favorite software professor has been influenced by the higher-ups to he point where one of his quizzes had an average score of 2.5 out of 10. And it would be OK if the school just had high standards, but that's not the case. MSOE does a metric fuck-ton (that's more than a standard fuck-ton) of research and development, and to fund it they ask for donations from wealthy businesses across the nation. In return, they breed us to be the cure-all for these companies, their own personal prodigies. We are supposed to rival MIT academically while entering the workforce like we've been there for four years already... I hate the way they do what they do and why they do it, but I can't argue with the fact that I'm benefitting from it on a personal level. It saddens me, but it's something I have to do to ensure my future, and the future of my children. That's all for now. Current Location: In the apartment, on the futon Current Mood: distressed Current Music: My roommate's typing, the fan, and crickets

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August 13th, 2008

11:22 pm - My (Kinda Crappy) Summer So Far Well, I'm back. I know I promised MOG I'd update after exams got over and done with, but a few things came up. First, let's take a nice trip back to March. I started looking for a summer job, and got involved with a somewhat large company called Brady. Brady had a Software Verification Intern position open, and the more we talked, the more it seemed like I was the perfect guy for the job. But a few things started making me uneasy; they were pushing me to buy a car instead of taking the bus, their growth over the past decade was mainly attributed to buying out other companies, they wanted me to work 15 hours per week during the school year, etc. Regardless, the pay offered was good ($13.50/hr), so when they made me a formal offer, I said I would get back to them in a week, to allow me to hear from other possible prospects. During that week, my uncle (and previous employer at the hospital) needed to know if I'd be coming back. Since Brady made me a FORMAL OFFER, I said that I wouldn't. After that, I got my finalized schedule for the fall quarter, and realize that if I'm going to work 15 hours per week, I'm going to have to work at least one night and one weekend per week. In my acceptance phone call, I told them that I needed to work at least one night and one weekend. After an afternoon of consideration, they replied that they needed me to work between the hours of 9am - 5pm DURING the week; if I couldn't, the offer would be retracted. There was no way to make that work, so they left me with less than nothing; I didn't even have my old job to fall back on. I could've even lied to them, just worked the summer full-time, then left for "personal reasons", but I just HAD to be honest. Apparently, honesty isn't the best policy in the business world. (FYI: Brady STILL hasn't found anyone willing to fill the position. I shake my head in disgust.) So, in mid-May, with no job to fall back on, I was frantically searching for a job in Milwaukee. Since I had reason to believe I'd need transportation to get to these possible jobs, I had already made an agreement to split rent with a college friend of mine if he'd let me stay at his apartment and would carpool with me. But every position I applied for was either filled, eliminated due to budget cuts, or I wasn't qualified enough for. By the end of June, I had applied to roughly 10-15 places, and none of them had panned out. My days went as follows: 5:00 - Get up 5:30 - Leave the apartment to get to my roommate's job on campus 6:00 - Drop my roommate off and wait in car 6:30 - Go to school's athletic facility and work out 11:00 - After showering, go to school's main building and eat at the cafe 11:30 - Research and apply for jobs, study computer languages, study Japanese, etc. 2:30 - Go home Finally, after hounding a guy at the school for three weeks, I got a position working in the MSOE's Rapid Prototyping Center with the Research Division. The Rapid Prototyping Center is the pride and joy of MSOE, where companies contract the school to design models, parts, and components that are too expensive or impossible to make elsewhere. I'm the only Software Engineer in the department, so I'm working with Mechanical and Electrical Engineers to help them automate their manufacturing processes. I'm also doing mathematical algorithm work and some software programming for modeling purposes. The pay is considerably less ($8.50/hr), but it's on campus, the hours are flexible, and I'm obligated to work there for the next two years (which means I don't have to go through the same job-hunting bullshit I did this summer). Besides, factoring in the pay raise next summer, I'll make about $15,000 by the time I graduate in two years. It's not the optimal scenario, but it's damn good, and I'll take what I can get. But yeah, up until the job, I had been working out five times a week for physical therapy. My shoulder has improved significantly and I have to continue working out AT LEAST twice a week to maintain muscle growth and joint strength. I've also buckled down on my Japanese; I've mastered both alphabets, 64 kanji, and many basic words. I have a Japanese I class this fall, and will be taking the JLPT 4 (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) this winter. The 4th level is the lowest, and passing it equates you to the average Japanese 7-year-old. Woot. I've also been visiting my family and friends back home on occasion, going up to their cabins, bowling, watching movies, hanging out, etc. When I went back last weekend, though, I ran a 10K race along with two of my friends. My old hometown has held it annually since before I was born, and I always wanted to run in it. After spending the first half of my summer working out and training, I pulled together a time of 42:25, or 6:50 per mile for 6.2 miles. It's still a minute slower than my friend's best time, but that's something to work toward for next year. Really, that's all of the big stuff that's happened to me over the spring and summer. I could talk about what's going on next weekend, but I think I'll start saving things like that for future posts. You know, to spread things out a bit. Look forward to hearing from you all. I'm out. Current Location: In the apartment, on big spinny chair Current Mood: tired Current Music: none

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February 14th, 2008

02:11 am - Code Monkey - Jonathan Coulton Code Monkey get up, get coffee. Code Monkey go to job. Code monkey have boring meeting with boring manager Rob. Rob say Code Monkey very diligent, But his output stink. His code not functional or elegant. What do Code Monkey think? Code Monkey think maybe manager wanna write goddamn login page himself. Code Monkey not say it out loud. Code Monkey not crazy, just proud. Code Monkey like Fritos. Code Monkey like Tab and Mountain Dew. Code Monkey very simple man, With big warm fuzzy secret heart. Code Monkey like you... Code Monkey like you... Code Monkey hang around at front desk, Tell you sweater look nice. Code Monkey offer buy you soda, Bring you cup, bring you ice. You say "no thank you" for the soda 'cause Soda make you fat. Anyway you busy with the telephone. No time for chat. Code Monkey have long walk back to cubicle. He sit down, pretend to work. Code Monkey not thinking so straight. Code Monkey not feeling so great. Code Monkey like Fritos. Code Monkey like Tab and Mountain Dew. Code Monkey very simple man, With big warm fuzzy secret heart. Code Monkey like you... Code Monkey like you a lot... Code Monkey have every reason To get out this place. Code Monkey just keep on working See your soft pretty face. Much rather wake up eat a coffee cake, Take bath, take nap. This job "fulfilling in creative way," Such a load of crap. Code Monkey think someday he have everything, even pretty girl like you. Code Monkey just waiting for now. Code Monkey say someday, somehow... Code Monkey like Fritos. Code Monkey like Tab and Mountain Dew. Code Monkey very simple man, with big warm fuzzy secret heart. Code Monkey like you... Code Monkey like you... ------------ I'm out. Current Mood: exhausted Current Music: Code Monkey - Jonathan Coulton

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January 22nd, 2008

01:42 am - She Always Liked the Snow...

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January 13th, 2008

10:59 pm - Meme from MOG 1. Leave me a casual comment of no particular significance, like a lyric to your current favorite song, your favorite kind of sandwich, or maybe your favorite game. Any remark, meaningless or not. 2. I will respond by asking you five personal questions so I can get to know you better. 3. Update your LJ with the answers to the questions. 4. Include this explanation and offer to ask someone else in your own post. 5. When others respond with a desultory comment, you will ask them five questions. I think peeps are supposed to leave a random comment if they want me to ask them five questions. Then they update their journals with the answers. Simple, no? Questions from MOG!!! 1)What anime/manga/games are you into these days? Anime: Naruto, Blood+, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Samurai Champloo, Shin Chan... My old stompin' grounds. Occasionally I'll watch InuYasha or Fullmetal Alchemist. Manga: .hack, Yotsuba&!, Hellsing. Games: Odin Sphere, Ace Combat 5, Soul Calibur 3, Super Smash Bros. Melee. Really, my tastes change with my mood. 2)What was the last thing that made you smile? Oh god... One of the guys on the floor just came into my room to tell me he completed this week's project in our Assembly programming class after much frustration and debugging. We pounded fists and laughed when he said, "LOL, ur doin it wrong!" ... We're software engineers. Nerdy humor delights us. 3)What's your zombie plan? Plan A: Decapitate all zombies, everywhere. Try and find out what the hell happened. Say "fuck" a lot. Plan B: Get bitten. Feast on brains. Go with the flow. 4)What are your thoughts on the war in Iraq? I've heard conflicting reports since before the war even started. I debated the topic and found evidence supporting multiple stances. So honestly, I'm pretty indifferent. It is what it is. It's not pretty; it's war. Anyone who expected to be in and out and have our soldiers come back riding rainbows was sadly mistaken from the get-go. On the other side, people who think we can just solve things by killing those who get in our way are just as mistaken. I respect the people who serve in our armed forces, though I'm glad I'm not one of them. 5)If you could have any job, regardless of money or time, what would it be? I would teach math. Hands down. Anyday. I think teaching high school math would be the most rewarding, simply because I know so many kids who hate math in college because they never were taught well in K-12. I'd like to be that teacher that makes the connection, that allows them to tolerate, if not enjoy, math again. Everyone, feel free to comment on my answers or ask questions of your own! I'm out for now. Current Mood: geeky Current Music: Near silence. It's beautiful.

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January 8th, 2008

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December 26th, 2007

11:46 pm - The Countdown to Zero Hour Eleven hours. That could be how long I have to live. If I don't wake up from the anesthesia, that's it. Game over. It has an extremely low probability of occurring, but I've been known to fill those spots in the bell curve quite nicely... However, it's risk I have to take to get my left arm fixed; what's a southpaw to do? Anyway, the doctor said he's never lost a patient, but on the off-chance I'm his first, I figured I'd say this now. And even if I don't kick the bucket, I'm feelin' sappy enough to tell you this anyway. MOG: You're a good kid with a good heart. I could tell from the instant you posted here that you were special. Thanks for proving me right. Skunky: We've clashed at times, and yet, every minute was interesting. You find ways to spice up life that leave me at a loss half the time, and leave me laughing the other half. Stay sharp; all studying and no sarcastic, biting humor leaves the world a naive place and Skunky a dull girl. Pearl: You've gone through some serious shit as of late, and my sympathies go out to you and your loved ones. Just know that I've appreciated the thoughtful discussions you've posted in the past. Silly Angel: I suppose we haven't really talked other than over your journal. I've thoroughly enjoyed reading and critiquing your works. It makes me happy to see that there is still hope for the art of writing. Have a Happy Birthday and wonderful New Year. ... Mamo: I'm sorry. Merry Belated Christmas to everyone, and a Happy New Year. Artemistech out... Peace. Current Mood: relaxed Current Music: Code Monkey - Jonathan Coulton

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December 14th, 2007

03:12 pm - Surgery Update So... Last week I had an MRI, and the results came back this week. After waiting for 40 minutes, the doctor walks in, flips to my MRI results, and frowns. Doc: "This isn't good." Me: "Why? What is it?" Doc: "There's a lot of words here." Me: (facepalm) A few more minutes go by. Doc: "Well, you know how your shoulder's structured?" Me: "Um, sort of..." Doc: "Yeah... there are two major tendons: one in front, one in back." Me: "OK..." Doc: "Yours are gone. They're torn so badly, they're essentially nonfunctional." Me: "Whoooo! GRRREAT!" But wait, there's more! Doc: "There's severe trauma to the joint... Apparently so severe, your humerus (the upper arm bone) has sustained heavy bruising." Me: "Heavy bruising? How does that work?" Doc: "Well, the bone probably got crushed somehow, creating extremely small cracks and fractures. Those fractures allow bone fluid to leak, hence, a bruise." Me: "..." Doc: "Oh, and they also found a small tear in your rotator cuff." Me: "... Fuck." Yeah... The date for surgery is set for December 27th, the Thursday after Christmas. I'll be out of commission (still in a sling) for 3 to 6 weeks, depending on the success of the surgery. After that, I start physical therapy. The good news is that after I complete physical therapy, I'll be at about 90%. And if I keep working out, I'll be back up to full strength with only minor stiffness. ... I can smell the football already... Current Mood: determined Current Music: Cruel Angel's Thesis - Yoko Takahashi

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November 28th, 2007

10:53 pm - And Behind Door #1... it's a Fabulous Prize!! WHOOO SURGERY! That's right people, I did it again. This time, I dislocated my shoulder OPENING A DOOR. Guess who feels like a complete retard? Yours truly. Although, the recovery time should be down to a few days, so I'll be functional until my surgery sometime over Christmas break. Hopefully that'll stop this shit from happening every three to four months. On top of this, we just started a new quarter at MSOE, so I've got new classes to worry about too. Well, I'll update as soon as I know more. I'm out for now. Current Location: Dorm Current Mood: sore Current Music: Whistling wind in the window

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September 10th, 2007

02:10 am - Because I feel like it, damn it. So yeah. It's been a whole fuckin' summer, and I haven't said hi. My fault really, but then again, you wouldn't have wanted to deal with me. If you couldn't tell, I'm just a little more foul-mouthed and bitter than I was when I left. Happy day. Well, I'm at college now, and things are going well enough. My roommate is my old Debate partner from high school. We generally spend our time doing stuff with the rest of the floor, but when we aren't, we're either discussing political/philosophical issues or commiserating about our failed relationships. Speaking of which, I've gotten to a phase where I really don't care about Mamo as a person or a friend anymore. She's just another entity on my list of people to prove wrong and inflict pain upon. I can only hope that she can make something productive of her life so she can give me a challenge. And on the topic of challenges, I've dislocated my left shoulder again. It's only been eight days since it happened, but with work, I'm on pace to cut my recovery time by 70%. I have an appointment with a doctor on Tuesday, and he'll probably bitch at me for not keeping it immobile. I also need to discuss the prospect of surgery with him, as it's very likely that the joint itself needs to be reconstructed in order to prevent a third occurrence. And on that horribly joyous note, I'm going to attempt to salvage 4 1/2 hours of sleep. I bid you all adieu. Current Location: On my couch, under my bed. Got a problem? Current Mood: irritated Current Music: A fan and faint traffic

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May 22nd, 2007

12:50 pm - A different view of the world warrants a different layout, no? Yeah... The navy/black and blue was starting to get to me, and it's been up for nearly a year. So many things have changed, I didn't think it was appropriate to keep things the same around here. Let me know what you think. The idea has really been developing over the past few months since my perspective on life was changed... But I really believe I'm doing better and a being better person. Anywho, I just finished my Chem final, and I did alright. Granted, I didn't study, and I didn't put forth a ton of effort, but I'm pretty sure I pulled a B out of that. Which, with my quiz scores and lab reports should still give me an A or AB. After that, I've got Prob & Stats, Differential Equations, and Data Structures exams to take. This summer I'm working as a PC analyst at the hospital again. It's good work, and it pays decent (although maybe they'll give me a raise now that I'm not just an intern anymore). I'll still be busy, but at least I won't have homework. I'll definitely miss the guys of RWJ 12 over the summer; they're almost like family now. But I'll see them again in three months, and we'll "roxorz some noob boxorz" with our leet skillz... Can hardly wait. Current Mood: relaxed Current Music: Aozora no Namida - Hitomi Takahashi

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April 23rd, 2007

08:37 pm - 10 Things Meme from MOG (cracks knuckles) Oh, doctor... Things you don't know about me... And 10 of 'em, too? Yeesh, MOG... ;p You're gonna turn me into a social butterfly yet. Hmmz... 1.) I can cook and bake decently. I'm an anomaly to the male gender. 2.) I have slight to moderate Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which I am slowly overcoming. 3.) I never really liked Mexican food, even though I love the Hispanic culture. 4.) As a destressing activity, I've started taking breaks from my work to translate raw manga scans with my horribly poor knowledge of the Japanese alphabets. 5.) I love good (fun) music and art, but have no talent for either. 6.) I'm very athletic, and enjoy running long distance and playing football, among other sports. 7.) I haven't been able to cry (other than through extreme laughter) for nearly the past two years. 8.) As a young child, I was ambidextrous, then chose to be left-handed upon being forced to choose between them. 9.) In general, I'm a cat person. I like dogs that listen well, though. 10.) Ever since senior prom, my neck cracks when I turn my head to the right. There, ten things about me that the average person doesn't know. If you've got any questions, feel free to ask. ^.- Current Mood: awake Current Music: Houkiboshi - Younha (Bleach 3rd Ending)

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April 13th, 2007

12:54 am - =D Let's all take a ride to the Emergengy Room! Well, tonight was fun and full of firsts. ^^ I was out playing racquetball with my father and two uncles at the YMCA, and everything was fine until I swung and felt my shoulder shift in a way I'd never felt it shift before. This was followed by a great deal of pain. Turns out I dislocated my left shoulder, and since my father couldn't get it back in its socket on the racquetball court, we paid a nice little visit to the ER. Ironically, we went to the hospital where I worked last summer, so the layout was quite familiar. Anywho, after taking X-rays and doing some diagnosing, they gave me an IV of morphine and sleep-inducing anesthetics, and before I knew it I woke up, able to move my arm a little with only a small amount of pain. I've got a nice little semi-sling now, and I'm supposed to go in for an analysis Friday or Saturday and have a checkup next weekend. I've got class next week, so taking notes and typing my formal lab report for Chemistry are gonna to be a blast. Eh, I'll manage. ^.-v Peace. Current Location: On the couch Current Mood: weird Current Music: Inner Universe - Yoko Kanno

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