Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Not a bad start
Grades are in on STAR.
Three point five. Not bad at all. Not a bad start to a graduate program in computer science.
Three point five. Not bad at all. Not a bad start to a graduate program in computer science.
Labels: blogging, confidence, personal
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
This looks like my new future favorite movie
The new "Dark Knight" trailer is available on YouTube. Its awesome.
Just click "Why So Serious?"
Just click "Why So Serious?"
Labels: links, movies, youtube
Friday, December 14, 2007
Finally a Respite
My semester is finished, and fate willing I finished with Straight A's. That'd be the first time in a long time I pulled that off. The plus side of having your co-worker and office mate serve as your faculty advisor is that you end up taking really good courses from really professors, and it just makes the process of getting a master's a little less painful.
The Mantech Christmas party came and went, and I celebrated with my usual flair. I found it interesting that someone else showed up this year sporting a velvet white tie. My new suit was a hit. The funny story I ended up telling throughout the night was how my date got sick at the last minute. And she was the third person I'd asked. After the open bar, we hit up The Vintage Room, and Ryan was pleased to see me, as always. Around 2:15 or 2:30, and a hefty helping of Pizza, bought again with company money, I felt the spins starting to hit, and since I was alone this year and didn't have anyone to lean on, I excused myself before I really began to feel the effects of how hammered I was.
But it turns out I really didn't need anyone to take care of me by the time I got back to the Hotel room. My friends Corey and Greg checked on me, and after hanging out for a while, I basically told them, "I'm going to shut down now" and fell asleep when my head hit the pillow.
I woke up at 8:30 still drunk. What a way to start the weekend before finals. Another year where I get away with binge drinking and I don't really say anything to embarrass myself to co-workers or anyone I think highly of.
Now that the semester's over, I've got travel plans. I'm going home this weekend for Ben's 24th. It will be good to see Speed Racer, Brian Dylan, and the Penguin. I'm sure there will be lots of the usual drunken back-and-fourth between myself and the Penguin.
New Years is either going to be spent in Miami, D.C., or ATL. Right now its a huge toss up as to what I can afford because I need to decide this weekend how much I'm spending on everyone's christmas presents.
Then, my friend Emily and I have tickets to see WVU play in the Fiesta Bowl. (Go team!) Win or lose, that will be a good time. I'm trying to talk to one or two more people into going with us, but i don't think either of them is going to commit to the journey, so it'll just be the two of us.
I'm also planning a snowboarding trip out to Colorado. Ze Greg has offered to join me out there (and let me crash at his place, of course) for the week of spring break. That means I've got to spend some weekends on the slopes here, but I'm looking forward to tracking down some people in the WVU outdoors club from last semester and seeing if they snowboard.
I've been squirreling money away since I'm planning on moving out of my current apartment soon. My friend Matthew's family decided they're not ready to rent out his house yet, so I'm actually looking for a new place and actually looking at potentially buying a place, knowing that if I rent it out to one of the Ph D students that I'll be running into at WVU's Computer Science program, I could potentially have someone who'd be renting from me after I move out, and potentially until I've built up enough equity to sell the place. Its something I'll be discussing and researching over the holidays.
The Mantech Christmas party came and went, and I celebrated with my usual flair. I found it interesting that someone else showed up this year sporting a velvet white tie. My new suit was a hit. The funny story I ended up telling throughout the night was how my date got sick at the last minute. And she was the third person I'd asked. After the open bar, we hit up The Vintage Room, and Ryan was pleased to see me, as always. Around 2:15 or 2:30, and a hefty helping of Pizza, bought again with company money, I felt the spins starting to hit, and since I was alone this year and didn't have anyone to lean on, I excused myself before I really began to feel the effects of how hammered I was.
But it turns out I really didn't need anyone to take care of me by the time I got back to the Hotel room. My friends Corey and Greg checked on me, and after hanging out for a while, I basically told them, "I'm going to shut down now" and fell asleep when my head hit the pillow.
I woke up at 8:30 still drunk. What a way to start the weekend before finals. Another year where I get away with binge drinking and I don't really say anything to embarrass myself to co-workers or anyone I think highly of.
Now that the semester's over, I've got travel plans. I'm going home this weekend for Ben's 24th. It will be good to see Speed Racer, Brian Dylan, and the Penguin. I'm sure there will be lots of the usual drunken back-and-fourth between myself and the Penguin.
New Years is either going to be spent in Miami, D.C., or ATL. Right now its a huge toss up as to what I can afford because I need to decide this weekend how much I'm spending on everyone's christmas presents.
Then, my friend Emily and I have tickets to see WVU play in the Fiesta Bowl. (Go team!) Win or lose, that will be a good time. I'm trying to talk to one or two more people into going with us, but i don't think either of them is going to commit to the journey, so it'll just be the two of us.
I'm also planning a snowboarding trip out to Colorado. Ze Greg has offered to join me out there (and let me crash at his place, of course) for the week of spring break. That means I've got to spend some weekends on the slopes here, but I'm looking forward to tracking down some people in the WVU outdoors club from last semester and seeing if they snowboard.
I've been squirreling money away since I'm planning on moving out of my current apartment soon. My friend Matthew's family decided they're not ready to rent out his house yet, so I'm actually looking for a new place and actually looking at potentially buying a place, knowing that if I rent it out to one of the Ph D students that I'll be running into at WVU's Computer Science program, I could potentially have someone who'd be renting from me after I move out, and potentially until I've built up enough equity to sell the place. Its something I'll be discussing and researching over the holidays.
Labels: late night thoughts, personal, road trips
Monday, December 10, 2007
Major LOL
Sometimes in life, you're just thankful to be having an awkward conversation with someone and hope to see them again. Othertimes in life, you're just thankful for the "I don't know".
But with the facebook twist, this comic is hilarious.
Labels: web comics, xkcd
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Hands
Underneath the star light, she pressed my hands up against her heart and spoke through the darkness.
"Your hands are the most beautiful part of you.
When you were younger, they climbed trees and picked blackberries.
They played piano for your parents, filling your house with music.
The hurled snowballs at girls you didn't like
and tickled the ones you did
When you were older, they cut and trimmed
countless roses at the flower shop
for brides and grooms you'd never meet
church gatherings you'd never grace
They strummed the chords of guitar songs
you never played for anyone
gripped the tools that tuned up your first car
a tired, trusty pontiac almost as old as you were
held the wheel steady as you road tripped to see 311
hotboxing the whole way
they took the photos of your sister's first kiss as a married woman
and held the first cigarette smoked with family
They pulled you out of a managed dodge caravan
when a drunk driver nearly took your life in philadelphia
and held your sisters hand tight as you wandered the streets blind
in search of anything familiar as home
They held onto lisa tight as you took her to get help
and waited for her all night until the menace faded
They nailed the shingles to only roof you knew as home
and pulled the weeds from your mother's garden
They grew cold on that 4 mile walk
after the longest, sorriest, heart wrenching goodbye you'd ever make.
Look me in the eyes, with your hands in mine, and tell me again that you've never accomplished anything. Tell me you're not excited to be alive."
Before I could turn to see her face,
Before I could answer her challenge,
I awoke.
"Your hands are the most beautiful part of you.
When you were younger, they climbed trees and picked blackberries.
They played piano for your parents, filling your house with music.
The hurled snowballs at girls you didn't like
and tickled the ones you did
When you were older, they cut and trimmed
countless roses at the flower shop
for brides and grooms you'd never meet
church gatherings you'd never grace
They strummed the chords of guitar songs
you never played for anyone
gripped the tools that tuned up your first car
a tired, trusty pontiac almost as old as you were
held the wheel steady as you road tripped to see 311
hotboxing the whole way
they took the photos of your sister's first kiss as a married woman
and held the first cigarette smoked with family
They pulled you out of a managed dodge caravan
when a drunk driver nearly took your life in philadelphia
and held your sisters hand tight as you wandered the streets blind
in search of anything familiar as home
They held onto lisa tight as you took her to get help
and waited for her all night until the menace faded
They nailed the shingles to only roof you knew as home
and pulled the weeds from your mother's garden
They grew cold on that 4 mile walk
after the longest, sorriest, heart wrenching goodbye you'd ever make.
Look me in the eyes, with your hands in mine, and tell me again that you've never accomplished anything. Tell me you're not excited to be alive."
Before I could turn to see her face,
Before I could answer her challenge,
I awoke.
Labels: free expression is vital to the growth of every human being, life is short, personal
I am superbad, are you?
I bought superbad at midnight.
We were so fired up I drew "dix pix" like the main character did (back in 4th grade) in the movie. Left them on people's car. If they get the joke, they'll love it (or so I hope -- I mean, how can you NOT?) if they don't they'll simply be piss to see an illustration of a phallus on their windshield.
Its the most immature thing I've done in a long, long time, but it was much needed after hacking about on a final paper for the past few hours.
And now I rest.
We were so fired up I drew "dix pix" like the main character did (back in 4th grade) in the movie. Left them on people's car. If they get the joke, they'll love it (or so I hope -- I mean, how can you NOT?) if they don't they'll simply be piss to see an illustration of a phallus on their windshield.
Its the most immature thing I've done in a long, long time, but it was much needed after hacking about on a final paper for the past few hours.
And now I rest.
Labels: late night thoughts, me trying to be funny, movies
Sunday, December 02, 2007
On smoke
A friend of mine, a while back, casually stated that after some family related trauma, she went out, got drunk, and smoked her first cigarette, and threw up everywhere.
The thing that set off my "concerned for" bells was the phrase smoked my first cigarette. At the unwise age of 21, you typically have an idea if you fall into the categories of non-smoker, smoker, and casual smoker.
My personal experience with smoking boils down to that if you start older (aka, you're not 14 and doing it because your friends think its badass or cool), is usually because you're starting down a strange path, and if you start, it'll usually stick with you and be that bad habit you turn to anytime the chips are low.
You only learn to remember how disgusting it really is when you're in a "healthy phase", and getting your life on track.
The major difference is that I was 18, alone, and in a foreign place still finding friends. My friend has a veritable clan of friends around her that would go to bat for her.
But its so much easier to just watch and destroy something (yourself, when you run out of alternatives) than it is to get your own house in order.
The thing that set off my "concerned for" bells was the phrase smoked my first cigarette. At the unwise age of 21, you typically have an idea if you fall into the categories of non-smoker, smoker, and casual smoker.
My personal experience with smoking boils down to that if you start older (aka, you're not 14 and doing it because your friends think its badass or cool), is usually because you're starting down a strange path, and if you start, it'll usually stick with you and be that bad habit you turn to anytime the chips are low.
You only learn to remember how disgusting it really is when you're in a "healthy phase", and getting your life on track.
The major difference is that I was 18, alone, and in a foreign place still finding friends. My friend has a veritable clan of friends around her that would go to bat for her.
But its so much easier to just watch and destroy something (yourself, when you run out of alternatives) than it is to get your own house in order.
Labels: late night thoughts
Bash.org: Best Drinking Story ever
<> so I was with my friend bryan the other night in a bar
<> well he got really drunk and said he was gonna puke
<> so i helped him walk to the toilet
<> all the stalls were occupied
<> lol
<> bryan is a rugby player... so a big guy
<> so he fucking KICKS one of the stall doors open
<> and there's this guy in there taking a shit
<> hahahahahaha
<> and bryan throws up ALL OVER HIM
<> then (this is genius) bryan thinks 'oh shit... if i were taking a shit and someone came in and was sick all over me, i'd want to fuck him up... so i'd better hit him first'
<> so he fucking SMACKS this guy in the face
<> and runs away
<> imagine being that guy... WORST NIGHT OUT EVER
<> well he got really drunk and said he was gonna puke
<> so i helped him walk to the toilet
<> all the stalls were occupied
<> lol
<> bryan is a rugby player... so a big guy
<> so he fucking KICKS one of the stall doors open
<> and there's this guy in there taking a shit
<> hahahahahaha
<> and bryan throws up ALL OVER HIM
<> then (this is genius) bryan thinks 'oh shit... if i were taking a shit and someone came in and was sick all over me, i'd want to fuck him up... so i'd better hit him first'
<> so he fucking SMACKS this guy in the face
<> and runs away
<> imagine being that guy... WORST NIGHT OUT EVER
Labels: IM conversations, links, me trying to be funny, Reddit
