Daily // September 2006
September 30, 2006 Aftermath
I woke up this morning hoping that everything happened was just a bad dream. Wishful thinking, I guess. Time cannot be turned back, and only through time can cuts and wounds be healed.
On a sidenote, we finally dined at Charles Commons Kitchen tonight. The food was alrite..it feels like eating nicely packaged fast food. Most restaurants nowadays sell presentation and environment anyway, and since the food isn't that bad and the environment is very pleasant, CC is a good place to dine.
September ends. Tomorow will be a better day.
September 29, 2006 |
September 28, 2006
Today was the most unproductive day I've been through since the start of september. I spent almost all my breaks doing math, and now I still have one problem left and a few that I'm not sure about. Maybe this marks the start of dark-age in math..
On a sidenote, HKSA + SSA beat TSA in a soccer match just now. The game started at 10pm, so I went to give my moral support..until I was asked to play table tennis. I guess I'll finish the remaining math hwk tmr.
September 26, 2006
Time is now 1:27. We just watched Kingdom of Heaven..which wasn't bad. I should really sleep now..bye.
September 25, 2006
Martina Hingis crowned for 42nd time
I forgot to report that Martina won her second title of the year at the Sunfeast Open in India yesterday. You know, her 42 titles leads Roger Federer's 41! Let's see when Federer catches up..
I hate mondays. 11-4. No lunch, no break. 5 hrs of classes in a row. But I heard that Vivian had 6.5 hrs today.. If she can survive that on top of studying for GRE, I guess my 5 hr of classes is trivial..
Anyway, I finished the book '月老' by 九把刀 just now. 九把刀 is a taiwanese writer and I quite admire his blunt, blog-like writing that just cuts directly and tells the truth. The next book on my reading list is..well, we'll see.
September 24, 2006
Tennis practice was cancelled today due to rain, so I went to Stepping Stone's sunday service. Besides that I also finished the two java programs and the problem set. Now working on econ.. Seeya.
September 23, 2006
Today's an interesting day..perhaps in a bad way. Let's just fast forward to what I did at night. Derek, Lihan and I arrived at Towson town center after waiting 1 and a half hr for the collegetown shuttle. The mall was quite boring and bland actually, and the only shop that appealed to us was Apple. Came back around 9:30.
Well, I'm ending it here tonight. So..bye.
September 22, 2006
The much anticipated bowling night finally arrived. Before that, ten of us dined in Cheesecake Factory in Inner Harbor to celebrate 1) Vivian's completion of her GRE; 2) Ryan's birthday. We ate until 7:30 and got in the Stepping Stone service 30 mins 1 hr late.
Since there were almost 80 of us, we occupied most of the lanes in the bowling venue. We played two rounds..but I didn't do well in either one. I guess I lack beginner's luck today.. Overall it was fun and enjoyable.
Before I leave today, let's take a look at a poster for the Zurich Open, which is in October. Guess who the figure represents. If you have common sense and remember my entries from August, you should get it immediately.
P.S. I got a collection of Sammi's songs, and recognized many melodies even though I've never heard the full versions before. 最後一次 is definitely one of the best ones..so enjoy.
September 21, 2006
Today was quite relaxing. I got to finish my math homework, played both tennis and badminton, and tried my hands on poker at Charles Commons (playing seperately from the competition). You know, I won one game of poker against Derek, James and Kevin. (Aren't these names familiar? They are totally different people though.) One more class tmr..then weekend starts!
Can't believe it's the end of september already. Time really flies..
September 20, 2006
We're seriously addicted to watching movies at night. Last night we saw Sincity, a violent and bloody movie about corruption in Basin City; and just now we watched Blade Trinity, an intense action movie about exterminating vampires.
Tmr will be relaxing for me..I only have java lab from 6-9pm. Hopefully with that much free time, I could catch up on my econ and java readings. Bye for now.
September 19, 2006
I don't remember waking up so tired before. Maybe the workload of my classes is taking its toll, and I'm starting to feel the pressure surrounding me. People here are so studious that it's scary. Some finish assignments a week ahead; some seclude themselves from the world by hiding in D-level of the library (our library is built underground..so imagine how deep underground a->b->c->d level is).
The good thing is this motivates me, since I cannot allow myself to fall behind.
Our house played an intramural soccer game against Wolman T but lost 3-6. Well, we'll win next time. Go Hollander Hammers!
September 18, 2006
Having five classes in a row is not fun. Maybe the professor in intro chemE knew that I was hungry and thus made ice-cream as a demonstration of chemical process.. After java, I went to Amy's apartment for a tiny, tiny piece of 糯米雞 and discussed the hksa website. I wouldn't mind to make another one...if i have the time to do it.
Anyway, I don't even know what's happening..but almost 10 days of plain text entries are staring at me. It certainly doesn't reflect how colorful life at Hopkins is..
September 17, 2006
Sometimes satisfaction come from accomplishments. Today I won my mixed doubles match (9-5) and finished most of my reading (40/160 for java..) assignments. But I feel most satisfied by the small, ordinary things, like drinking black coffee, doing my laundry and talking to friends on msn.
Speaking of that, I'd like to thank my private Kevin-Ko-instructor..who clarified my questions in economics. Now, I won't forget to add depreciation when I see net investment expenditure anymore.
Anyway, weekend ends and classes resume tmr. To further explore other engineering majors, I decided to take intro chemE. That means I'll have five classes in a row tmr, from 11-4. God bless me..
September 16, 2006
Before I realized that I have 160 pgs of reading to do for Intro Java, my day had been going quite well. I finally got a chance to visit Eddie's Market, where Nick and I got some grounded coffee beans. Drinking coffee can be a habit, but for some it can also be an art. Maybe I'll enjoy drinking black coffee instead of sweet, milky coffee some day. We also played badminton for a while and dined in Niwana, a japanese and korean cuisine place opposite to Charles Commons. It was fun and I don't think I've ever taught someone how to use chopsticks that quickly. o.o
Since it rained today, our tennis match against Towson is postponed to tmr. Hopefully it won't rain..
September 15, 2006 Finding myself
I originally wanted to write something about rationality and sensibility, but 15 minutes passed and I haven't typed a word. Maybe next time.
Everybody has their stories of finding themselves. Tonight I had the chance of hearing ones from Amy and Vivian after the Stepping Stone Ministry (which was awesome and everyone should come by: 7pm fridays at Shaffer 3). Besides eating smores and drinking coffee, we discussed many things..from philosophy of life to future jobs. They leave me enough food for thought for a week..
Well, I have to stop here since my roommate's waiting to start a movie. We watched The Boondock Saints last night, which was rather violent and bloody. Bye for now.
P.S. You can now listen to the theme song of 1 Litre of Tears. It'll be the last song from this drama..enjoy.
September 13, 2006
Has everyone downloaded itunes 7 yet? I was 'notified' by Kevin this morning so I tried to see what new features there are. Well, the most impressive one is the cover art viewer. I praised Apple's innovation..until I discovered it's actually not. Apparently the cover art viewer was a extension for Mac itunes users for quite a while, but Apple bought the code and included it in the new version. Is this innovation? I'm not so sure..
The original extension was called CoverFlow.
My roommate, Nick, and I went to eat at Charles Commons Kitchens (a very tricky name) today. The opening has been delayed for a week already, and its doors were finally open last night. Unfortunately, all that was available were pizza and salad. We'll go back sometime again next week.
September 12, 2006
Today I experimented with two different math courses and skipped econ. What I've discovered is that a higher level course (i.e. honors) usually has a better professor. It reminds me of Calc BC in Taft..Mr. P was so lucid in his lessons and I believe that if AB students were to study BC with him, they would still get good grades.
Our econ professor has assigned us 6 chapters to read already. The good news is that I've skimmed through 3. Oh btw, it looks like I won't have any class this thursday. Why is that? Because after much discussion, the physics lab can be waived through Physics C, and also MechE Lab won't meet until the end of the month. Hopefully I'll utilize the day well.
September 11, 2006
Another September 11 has come and passed us by. It has almost become a post in time, reminding us that a year had gone, all because of human's capability of causing terror.
Today I had my first ever lectures, and they weren't as good as I expected, especially my math lecturer. He had a hard time explaining the things he wrote on board and actually tried to make the class boring, as to force us to read our textbooks. He believes thats the only way to learn. He even resorted to using eccentric symbols to avoid writing on the board but never explained them well enough for anyone to understand. To avoid seeing him again, I'll attend another class tmr..
You can now listen to another one of my favorites in the 1 Litre of Tears OST, Konayuki. Enjoy.
September 10, 2006
Club Tennis tryouts went quite successfully today. Besides playing with a sophomore, I also played with a French exchange student. Maybe I'll get to talk french with him in practices.
After that, I watched part of the US Open final with Amy and Tim @ McCoy. We somewhat rooted for Roddick..but deep inside we all expected Federer to win, and he did. As for dinner, we headed to a korean bbq place not too far from campus. It's great to explore places with people who have been here for a while.
Anyway, my weekend ends here, as classes resume tmr. Better get some sleep now. Bye.
September 9, 2006
Besides playing 5 hrs of badminton + tennis, I went to the HKSA meeting @ Amy's apartment. It was quite fun..and it seems that mahjong is a big part among hk students here. I should really learn to play it.
Exhausted now. Good nite.
September 8, 2006
Today was a long day. My Calc III class actually met, and our TA (teaching assisstant) went through the entire first chapter as if mid-terms were next week. Fortunately, that was my only class of the day. After that, I went to the Rec center for the Students Club Fair. It was quite chaotic, though i got to join a few clubs anyway.
Then, Renee and I hired a cab to what we thought was Walmart+Target+Ikea. Eventually we realized they were in different malls. We arrived at Ikea first. Shopping in Ikea is always fun..but not so if you have to walk 20 minutes afterwards, carrying everything you bought. We managed to get to Target with all the stuff, but our legs were dead. We got back at 9.
Our stomachs were rumbling when we got back, so we ordered food and listened to music. I really like the suite-style rooms in Wolman, but Wolman is too far away from the main campus. Went back to my room at 11.
I'll have much reading to do this weekend, especially math. Besides that, there'll be a Tennis Club tryout this sunday. Hopefully I'll get to practice tmr.
September 7, 2006 First day of classes
Woke up at 6:45 today to add/drop classes. At 7, I immediately clicked the "login" button..and since the entire Hopkins network is probably processing the same request, it took over 2 minutes to get in. My advisor told me there's one spot left in econ yesterday, and I lucked out in getting that one. Here's my tentative schedule:
This schedule will give me 15 credits. 11am classes do look relaxing, but having two classes after that is not. I'm thinking of adding an Intro to ChemE class, which is a 1 credit lecture class that meets weekly on Monday at 2. But that would mean four classes in a row on Monday. Should I sacrifice my lunch to explore ChemE?
One thing I've never mentioned here is that, since the day I arrived, there hasn't been any chairs in our room. Everyday I have to kneel, half-kneel or stand up to use my notebook. The housing office still haven't brought us any yet, but fortunately we found some chairs in the back stairway. This is one of the times you realize how these small commodities affect your life when you don't have them. Lastly, I'd like to show you how much walking I have to do each day:
P.S. Enjoy the new Fall theme.
September 6, 2006
Firstly, Happy Birthday to my little brother.
Actually he is no longer little, but in my heart he will always be my little brother. Anyway, classes officially start tmr, so does the add/drop period. I'll most likely wake up early to beat the rush. Hopefully the registrar website won't be jammed.
I finally finished the whole series of 1 Litre of Tears. It's very touching in the end..and it definitely touched me..
September 5, 2006 Inner Harbor
If there is one big news today, it is that I cannot bt here with Hopkin's network. It's unbearable. Thank the Lord that I downloaded the entire series of 1 Litre no Namida (1 Litre of Tears) before I left home.
For those who don't know, it is an exceptional japanese drama derived from a true story about Ikeuchi Aya, who suffers from spinocerebellar degeneration. The victim of this disease will gradually deteriorate to a point where walking, speaking, writing and eating become impossible. It is a very meaningful story about humanity. You can listen to the theme song Aya conducted for her class.
Meanwhile, I finally met Renee, a student from hk. Together with her thai friend (who's playing in the girls tennis team), we visited Inner Harbor despite the rain and not having the Access Pass. We had fun shopping and eating 99% black chocolate. Next time we'll visit the famous Baltimore Aquarium.
 September 4, 2006 |
September 2, 2006
It's well past midnight, but after all the moving and unpacking and meeting new (and the familiar) people, my mind is racing. Maybe a good night sleep will calm it down..
Btw, I actually had time on aug 31 to type in an entry. But the fact that Martina was blasted out in 2nd round in the US Open distressed me. The same thing happened in June actually..maybe that's how history repeats itself.
P.S. The average visits in August was not ideal. It's the lowest in the year actually - 10.45 daily. Don't worry; I'll try my best to bring the rates up again.
September 27, 2006
從來都覺得, 擦身而過就代表沒有緣無份.你我生活在不同的圈子, 碰面的機會並不多;
卻因幾秒的差異, 只能略略擦過對方的背影.
但其實, 無緣的人連碰面的機會也沒有,
別說巧合到只看到對方的背影.
所以現在的我相信, 擦身而過也是一種緣份.
或許, 我開始變得樂觀吧.