A penny for your thoughts

Yes, Goodbye

2009-05-14T00:04:00.001-07:00

Here we are: the end of freshman year. I can't believe it's here already.

Some reflections:
Holy crap. College. I made it. I'm here.

That was the opening sentence of my first blog post as a college student. I was really excited back then, ready to begin a new chapter in my life. 9 months later, I feel like I've learned so much, and that I've been more exposed to real world (then again, compared to the bubble back in Cerritos/Whitney, any exposure is significant). I've cultivated meaningful friendships with some of the greatest people I've ever met, and I've bonded so much with my suite, collectively called "The 3312." (refer to 2 posts ago) So socially, I have definitely grown.

Academically, college has actually made me question my career choice, even if slightly. I've always wanted to be a doctor, but Bio and Chem in college was so much harder than I expected. There was just so much work involved, to the point that some of my friends told me that, in their view, I had disappeared off the face of the Earth. Is pre-med really worth the work involved? We'll see next semester, when I'll have to deal with O-Chem...

As this school year wraps up, I thank all my friends for their contributions to this wonderful experience I've had during my first year at USC. I look forward to seeing you guys again next year. Have an AWESOME summer!

Also noteworthy: Yesterday was my 1-year anniversary of this blog. Thank you, Blogspot, for constantly being there for me, both through my happiest and my saddest moments. Thank you for providing a medium through which I could express my thoughts and emotions. You have been an indispensible part of my life for the past 365 days.

Unfortunately, I believe I have found a better companion for the future: Tumblr. Please forgive me, Blogspot; I know you have been faithful for me, but I feel that Tumblr shall better serve my purposes from now on.

It's not you; it's me :P Goodbye!

Goodbye?

2009-05-11T22:43:00.000-07:00

Why must my life constantly be parallel with Scrubs?

I finally got a chance to watch the season finale (DONE WITH FINALS WOOT), and it really made me emotional. Just as Zach Braff is leaving the show, in a few days I will be saying my goodbyes to my friends at USC.

More to come later.

3312 Pride

2009-05-09T23:03:00.000-07:00

Today, I went out with my suite (most of it) for a suite dinner. We decided on Kushi Shabu in Little Tokyo, upon Bryant's recommendation.

I won't retell what happened, because I believe I took enough pictures for that. Still...significant thoughts:
1. Props to Brian for ordering unlimited Shabu for himself, then violating restaurant rules by dishing out the beef to us when the waiters weren't looking.
2. Still can't believe that even after looking at Kevin's and Elton's IDs (we said it was their birthdays), the waitress gave us a $20 bottle of champagne.

Final thoughts (someone a repetition of what I said during one of our toasts): 3312, thank you for making my transition to college such an unforgettable experience. Many people I know complain about their roommates/suitemates, and they ask me if I have "roommate problems," to which I reply, "What's that?" You guys have truly been my closest friends for the past 9 months, and I gratefully appreciate how quickly and closely we have bonded. I will never forget the 3312 experience.

Regurgitation

2009-05-08T22:23:00.001-07:00

First off, congrats to the Lakers for a solid Game 3. You're finally beginning to play with more effort rather than relying solely on talent.

From this blog post: http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2009/5/7/867864/making-sense-of-these-lakers?ref=yahoo

I have been waiting for the Lakers to "wake up," as though the realization of their or the shock of a loss that shouldn't have been would instantly motivate them, transforming them overnight into the team they are supposed to be. But that's not going to happen. Like me in high school, they have a particular skill set that allowed them to succeed in the regular season. It wasn't necessarily about playing their best basketball, it was about what it took to get the wins, and for the Lakers, it took less. Like me, that natural talent allowed them to slack off, and they weren't forced to work as hard as other teams to establish good habits and patterns. But in the end, these are things that they are going to need, if they want to attain the highest level of success — an NBA championship. Now, the ease with which they sailed through the regular season threatens to bite them in the ass.

The problem is that they have 82 games worth of bad habits to overcome. Just as it has been so hard for me to become a disciplined person, with well-developed time management skills, after such a long time of getting by without, so too will it be a struggle for the Lakers to find the motivation and self-discipline to play at a high level on both ends of the court. It's not going to happen overnight.

And this is why I'm thankful for the Rockets.

Second...I cannot believe how much Bio I absorbed between 4pm and 2am yesterday for today's Bio final. I'll now regurgitate as much information as I can from what I studied, just because I can.

By the way, this is completely from memory.

Osmoregulation and Excretion
Excretion involves three things: filtration, reabsorption, and secretion. The general formula is "Filtration - Reabsorption + Secretion = Excretion." The functions of the excretory system include regulation of water, regulation of ions, maintenance of osmolarity (these three constitute osmoregulation), maintenance of blood/plasma volume and blood pressure, elimination of toxic wastes, and secretion of the hormones EPO and Renin.
Side note: Urine is yellow is because excretion involves the massive destruction of RBCs; hemoglobin recycled except for the heme group, which is ripped out of the RBCs, after passage through the liver and kidney, the heme group becomes a yellow pigment.
Anatmoy: The afferent arteriole carries blood to the glomerulus. The efferent arteriole carries blood away fom the glomerulus. The vasa recta consists of the capillaries that wrap around the loop of Henle. Blood flow through the vasa recta is opposite of that of the loop of Henle, in a process called countercurrent flow.
Glomerular filtration: The capillaries of the glomerulus is wrapped by podocytes, which are flattened epithelial cells of the Bowman's capsule. Blood leaks through the porous capillaries, through the filtration slits of the podocytes.
Osmotic gradient: Osmotic gradient begins in the proximal tubule at around 300 mosm/L. Osmolarity increases as the filtrate moves deeper ino the kidney. At the bottom the loop of Henle, osmolarity is around 1200 mosm/L. This usually involves the juxtamedullary nephron; the cortical nephron lacks the long loop of Henle.
Reabsorption in proximal tubule: The sodium-potassium pump plays the largest role in reabsorption; it is the only form of active transport here, and powers all the other processes in the epithelial cells. Other mechanisms involved include the potassium channel, sodium dependent cotransporter, and aquaporin channels.
Changes in osmolarity: In the descending limb of the loop of Henle, water diffuses out of the tubule due to a high osmolarity in the interstital fluid. The ascending limb is not permeable to water, but osmolarity still decreases because NaCl is reabsorbed by the vasa recta. The NaCl is used to maintain the high osmolarity of the interstitial fluid that surround the ascending limb.
Regulation of kidney function by ADH: This negative feedback system is stimulated by an increase in plasma osmolarity. This stimulus causes the hypothalamus to secrete Antideuretic Hormone, which increases the permeability of the lower collecting duct, therefore increasing its capacity to reabsorb water. To end the system, the hypothalamus stimulates thirst, which increases blood osmolarity.
Regulation of kidney function by Renin Angiostenin Aldosterone: This is another negative feedback system, and begins with the

Okay screw this -_- Another day.

Where will amazing happen this year?

2009-05-08T16:28:00.001-07:00

Way too cool.

Final countdown

2009-05-06T17:35:00.000-07:00

One final down. Two more to go.

+5 focus
+10 perseverance
+500 intelligence
+1000 luck

-999999999 distractions

Interesting...

2009-05-04T14:28:00.001-07:00

The 50th annual stilton cheese rolling competition, held in Stilton, England.

Didn't really see that one coming.

History in the making

2009-05-02T12:52:00.000-07:00

Something I stumbled into (taken from an article titled "2008-2009 Top 5 NBA MVP Candidates," written in October 2008):

LeBron James also has a great shot to win the 2008-2009 MVP this year. However, a key thing to winning the MVP is getting 50 or more wins. Cavs will not get the 50 wins, for the simple fact that Mo Williams is not a huge upgrade or as a matter of fact not an upgrade at all. Mo Williams is a decent shooter and scorer, but he is not going to help the Cavs win ball games or as a matter of fact help LeBron get easy shots. Williams is not a playmaker at all, he is just a one-dimensional player who just scores the ball. It is not easy to make an improvement from being a scorer one year to a playmaker the next. James last year had one of the greatest statistical seasons ever last year, but he did not win MVP for the simple fact that his team was not able to get more than 50 wins. The Cavs have a chance to win 50 games, it's a possibility, but it is improbable.

HAHA. I don't like the Cavs, but I still find this hilarious.

Game 7 tonight. BULLS BABY. (just because Brian and Kevin are from the CHI)

SIR

2009-05-01T02:13:00.000-07:00

Wow. One year ago today, I signed away $50k/year.

Thank goodness for loans. Massive amounts of loans.

I love chemistry

2009-04-28T11:57:00.000-07:00

pentamminechlorocobalt(III) chloride

bis(ethylenediamine)dinitroiron(III) chloride

tetraamminediiodoplatinum(IV) tetraidodoplatinate(II)

I sure love coordination compounds. -_-

Unspoken communication

2009-04-27T02:36:00.001-07:00

HAHAHA. Enough said. Don't hate; I didn't draw the comic.

What a n00b

2009-04-26T02:45:00.000-07:00

Jialin is, by far, the funnest/funniest girl to play videogames with.

Hands down.

Evan (while playing Brawl): Jialin, where are you living next year? Car[dinal] Gar[dens]?
Jialin: SHUT UP EVAN I'M GAMING.

HAHAHA.
Final K.O. against George was way too hilarious.

It's a fight

2009-04-23T11:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my last day at JEP.

It was pretty slow for the first half-hour. A girl named Katisha then showed up, needing help in math. None of the other tutors moved to acknowledge her, so I stood up and told her I'd tutor her.

Her reaction after I introduced myself to her: "HAHA OH SHIT! Janet and Sienna are gonna be pissed off when they come!"

Janet and Sienna are the girls I normally tutor for math, and I later found out from Katisha that during school that day, the two had called dibs on me. Sure enough, when Janet and Sienna showed up, they made a fuss about how Katisha had stole me from them.

It felt good that I have had a positive impact on my students, that they do look forward to seeing me each week. I am going to apply for a paid job next year, so that I will be able to continue tutoring them.

Making a difference, even for a couple people, and being able to shape their future, is definitely one of life's greatest rewards.

It's time

2009-04-22T11:26:00.001-07:00

Judgment day.

My ID card

2009-04-20T09:59:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, I lent out my ID card to Kyle to let him into the Hawaii Club Lu'au, and unfortunately he lost it on the way back. He was really sorry, and gave me $20 to buy a new ID card on Monday. Still, I was bummed that I would be crippled for the weekend, since the card office was closed on weekends.

Yesterday, a girl Fb-messaged me, saying that she had my card. I was totally not expecting anything regarding my ID card, and I initially thought the "card" was referring to a greeting card, confusing me even more.

My response: Hey, I feel embarrassed for asking this, but remind me where we've met again?

Apparently, the girl lives on the floor above me, which is pretty random, since the Lu'au was located across campus in McCarthy Quad. Eventually, I learned that she is also a pre-med student, and is also a French horn performance major, and also enjoys Scrubs. I mean, what are the odds, of meeting someone who is so similar to me like that? And over a lost ID card too. Weird...

I love my mom

2009-04-16T14:13:00.000-07:00

From: Mom
Subject: Love/Food for ya
Date: April 15, 2009 10:57:37 AM PDT
To: Kevin Nguyen

Hi sweetie,

Mama saw on your Facebook that my baby K is single now. Aawww sweetie, I want to hug my baby to make you feel better. I am home today, so just tell me if you want me to hug you in person, ok sweetie? What happened between you and ------? Did she get mad because you went to the USC Spring Fling instead of prom with her? Just know that you're still very young, and in the many years ahead of you, you will be bound to find someone else, a girl that matches your personality and loves you through the bad times and good times. Any couple can sail thru the good times. It's the rough times that defines a relationship and tells you if you and your girlfriend can make it for the long run. Remember what you went through with -----, and know that this rough time with ------ will pass, and you'll find another girl to be happy again in the future. We all learned from our experience, both good and bad.

I love ya, Kevin!

Mama

The end of something beautiful

2009-04-15T01:40:00.000-07:00

Unbelievable.

Worst Day

2009-04-14T00:53:00.000-07:00

in a long time. My entire body is trembling. When's the last time I was this close to crying?

Sweet memories will last a long, long time

2009-04-12T23:41:00.000-07:00

One more month!

CAN YOU SAY, COOL?

2009-04-11T17:39:00.001-07:00

This short movie (almost 10 minutes) is really interesting, and simultaneously really moving. All the Architecture students wish they had this technology at their disposal.

World Builder from Bruce Branit on Vimeo.

Oldie but Goodie

2009-04-11T17:37:00.001-07:00

Earth Hour was a while ago, but this website still intrigues me:

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/03/earth_hour_2009.html

LONGBOARDING

2009-04-05T01:56:00.001-07:00

I love these kids.

Post-April Fool's Day

2009-04-03T21:42:00.001-07:00

April 1 this year was perhaps the funnest one I've ever experienced.

1. My suite planted a walkie-talkie in the 1314 bathroom to freak the girls out when they showered (although they located it way too soon)

2. Evan froze Dennis's underwear (HAHAHA)

3. Many status changes:

4. Random Facebook "likes":

5. Jessie and PJ switched their names on Facebook

6. Changed everything up in Kevin+Brian's room:

7. My room got hit.

8. Bryant's room got hit:

9. Switched two contacts on Steph Ting's phone: "HOME" and "GEORGE."

10. Inputed a script in Steph Leung's laptop so that whenever it started up, it would immediately shut down.

11. Cruel prank email from bio professor:

Happy April!

2009-04-01T09:42:00.000-07:00

Happy April Fools Day! I highly look forward to today. Many pranks have already taken place, and I shall post pictures when the day is over.

I find it really hard to let go.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN I HAVE DONE IT

2009-03-30T00:37:00.001-07:00

I have figured out how to embed/download Facebook video. A small triumph to start the week.

Example:

The world is your oyster

2009-03-29T21:38:00.000-07:00

I'm really interested in tilt-shift photography right now. Check out this example:

Looks like toys huh!

Apparently, tilt-shift photography is the fad among photographers today. By using tilt-shift lenses, the artist is able to distort the focus of the photo, making the scene seem much smaller than it really is.

Here's an photo as taken with a regular camera lens:

Here's the same scene taken with a tilt-shift lens:

FREAKING COOL.

Threadless

2009-03-28T17:45:00.001-07:00

I ORDERED 26 THREADLESS T-SHIRTS TODAY. WOOT.

Well, not really. I only ordered 2, and my friends ordered the rest. Threadless has this really great deal going on, and there are 2 parts:
1. Older designs are marked down to $5 and $10.
2. If your total order exceeds $45, then you get free shipping.

My friends went crazy over it, and the hype totally caught fire, resulting in 26 shirts ordered at the end of the day. I believe there is a 2nd wave of ordering going on soon.

I anticipate a video to be made when the order comes in, in similar fashion to the arrival of a longboard. WOOT.

I had an interesting day today

2009-03-26T23:38:00.001-07:00

100TH BLOG POST. -celebration-

1. Got suckered into doing Pilates with Steph and Linda (and later joined by Bryant). It's a lot more entertaining when you keep in mind 2 of its purposes:
1. Less painful pregnancies
2. Better orgasms

HAHAHA

2. Learned the dance moves to Britney Spears's "Crazy" and N'Sync's "Bye Bye Bye."

3. Failed a 10-minute popping tutorial (no pictures, sorry).

Interesting day indeed.

Recap of spring break

2009-03-23T21:41:00.000-07:00

Friday: Went to Quest Learning Center with Regina and Bernard. Look plenty of pictures with the banner. Chilled at Dolphin Bay; joined by Tim and Richard.
Saturday: NOTHING
Sunday: NOTHING
Monday: Tagged along with mom to run errands at Costco.
Tuesday: Introduced my mom to California Fish Grill. CAN'T BELIEVE FISH TACOS ARE $1.25 NOW. DANG. Completed my passport renewal at the post office.
Wednesday: Watched Watchmen with Regina. LANDED A SUMMER JOB WOOT. Had Albertacos. CARNE ASADA FRIES ONCE AGAIN YUM. Visited Loris at IAG.
Thursday: Hung out with Regina.
Friday: Stayed home all day to finish up my essay -_-.
Saturday: Went to the Whitney Foundation Dinner. More catching up with seniors/juniors. LANDED ANOTHER SUMMER JOB WOOT.
Sunday: Met up with Eric and Justin at Steam City. 69-cent steamed hot dogs, never a bad thing. Went back to school.

Overall, my break wasn't too eventful; it was mostly a relaxation period. Sure, I'm kinda jealous of my friends who went to Hong Kong or Shanghai or Hawaii or Ireland, but I really needed this week to recover from my double-hell week.

Today, there was essentially a Whitney explosion, with visits from Vishal, Vincent, Kaajal, Shivani, Uma, Maya, and Mukti. I look forward to seeing more UC people this week!

Turn around and hit you wit the MJ fadeaway

2009-03-22T17:58:00.000-07:00

This is from the NBA page of the Sports section of today's Los Angeles Times:

How they rank - Rankings, Comments through Saturday

THREE KINGS FROM EAST + LAKERS
1. Cleveland (56-13): Had injuries too - Ilgauskas, West, Wallace - just played through them.
2. LAKERS (55-14): Magic number is 11 - for second-best record in NBA.
3. Orlando (51-18): Close but no MVP: Howard is No. 1 in blocks, rebounds, No. 3 in shooting, No. 15 in scoring.
4. Boston (53-18): Marbury hasn't been any trouble, but he hasn't been any good, either.

RACE TO PUT OFF PLAYING LAKERS
5. San Antonio (45-23): Aging process: Ginobili working out again. Now Duncan's slowed by sore knee.
6. Houston (46-25): 1-5 vs. Lakers and Spurs, 28-8 vs. rest of West.
7. New Orleans (46-25): CP3 is 25-11-6 this month. If V in MVP counted, they'd name trophy after him.

Okay I'm gonna stop here. This is too great.

Sunday comics are the best

2009-03-22T17:23:00.001-07:00

I love Sunday comics.

2009-03-14T23:26:00.000-07:00

First thing's first: SHOUTOUT to Loris for being the first to identify the song "Vulnerable" a couple posts ago. Congrats!

Okay, credit to Regina for sending me this:

10 WINNERS IN THE RECESSION

#4: Condom Makers
Whether for at-home entertainment or to try to stave off the cost of a baby in trying times, condom sales rose 6 percent in January from the year before. "If people don't have the money to go out to a fancy dinner or are looking to cut back, Trojan gives them some real affordable ways to stay in and make some great memories together," Jim Daniels, Trojan's vice president of marketing, told USA Today.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnews/20090316/ts_usnews/10winnersintherecession

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY

2009-03-13T16:05:00.000-07:00

The number 13 suffers from its position after 12, according to numerologists who consider the latter to be a complete number - 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles of Jesus, 12 days of Christmas and 12 eggs in a dozen.

Happy Friday the 13th! Two down, one more to go (coming up in November).

In other news...I JUST FINISHED MY BIO MIDTERM. AND I PWNED IT. YAYAYAYAY. I'M COMING HOME. FINALLY. YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY

My mom is a fob

2009-03-11T20:50:00.000-07:00

Well, not really. But I feel like sharing:

HAHAHA

Unbelievable

2009-03-10T20:42:00.000-07:00

Fmylife.com: A recent staple of our lives, the fall-back option upon the slightest symptom of bordom. And now it's been hacked into. FML.

Visit the website yourself.

24-Hour BS

2009-03-09T16:04:00.000-07:00

This kid is such a great BSer. Or brilliant, however you look at it.

Metro

2009-03-08T01:25:00.001-08:00

I took the Metro this morning...at 8am o.o

It was for a Geography discussion assignment. I had to take a certain route and make appropriate observations to compose a journal entry. I took the #2 line from Vermont/Jefferson to Vermont/Sunset. For me, it was the first time this year that I went into L.A. simply to explore. I went with Steph, and when we got off at Vermont/Sunset, we walked back 4 blocks and looked around. We explored one of the underground subway stops, which was a first for both of us. Definitely an interesting experience in the midst of my double hell week.

Most of the pictures of me that I like are on Steph's camera, so this one will have to do for now:

What makes you think that you're invincible?

2009-03-06T13:12:00.000-08:00

Yeahh, I couldn't think of an appropriate title this time, so I just spit out lyrics to a song I'm listening to while writing this. -Shoutout to the first person who tells me the name of the song-

Tim hosted two high school seniors yesterday as part of Explore USC. It's funny how, at pretty much every other college I've visited, I've been called a "prospee." At USC, we apparently call the high school seniors "Explore kids."

So this is what we did with our Explore kids...

YEAHH PARKING STRUCTURE BOMBING!

Happy March!

2009-03-01T13:05:00.000-08:00

Bet you never had a movie night like this.

What the mess?!

2009-02-27T20:56:00.000-08:00

From: Dad
Subject: Hi Kevin. Please read ....
Date: February 27, 2009 12:07:21 AM PST
To: Kevin Nguyen

The last thing we ever want to do is to yell at you Kevin or give you more stress.
We care so much about you so when we don't hear from you (when you promised to call) then we just got upset. I know it sounds strange but the more we miss you the more upset we are.

I always feel really bad each time I yell at you.

Do you have a really close friend and feel bad when that person promises to call and forget?

I want us to keep an open communication so that we can talk truthfully to each other.

Please try your best to call or drop us a line of email.

I'm very sorry I yelled last night.

We love you Kevin.

Your family.

I love you too ><

FUCK. MY. LIFE.

2009-02-26T02:21:00.000-08:00

My mind is going through WAY too much stress right now. Upcoming schedule:
February 26: Chemistry lab exam
March 3: Biology formal lab report due
March 5: Chemistry midterm
March 10: Biology presentation
March 11: GEOG 100 midterm
March 13: Biology midterm

On top of that, I've been going through emotional stress as well. Yesterday, I was hurt by a close friend who apparently thought it was okay to use me. Thankfully, it's mostly resolved now.

Today, I endured the most spectacular 15-minute verbal beatdown from my parents. EVER. I couldn't call them today because I was busy studying for tomorrow's lab exam, and they were PISSED. They kept yelling, "DON'T YOU DARE TREAT US LIKE SHIT" and shit like that.

I checked my email inbox shortly after:
11:17pm: CALL HOME OR I WILL DISCONNECT YOUR CELL SERVICES
11:18pm: CALL HOME OR I WILL DISCONNECT YOUR CELL SERVICES
11:18pm: CALL HOME OR I WILL DISCONNECT YOUR CELL SERVICES
11:18pm: CALL HOME OR I WILL DISCONNECT YOUR CELL SERVICES
11:19pm: CALL HOME OR I WILL DISCONNECT YOUR CELL SERVICES
11:19pm: CALL HOME OR I WILL DISCONNECT YOUR CELL SERVICES - this is your last warning
11:19pm: CALL HOME OR I WILL DISCONNECT YOUR CELL SERVICES -- this is your last warning
11:20pm: CALL HOME OR I WILL DISCONNECT YOUR CELL SERVICES
11:20pm: CALL HOME OR I WILL DISCONNECT YOUR CELL SERVICES -- look like I will take back the cell phone
11:21pm: CALL HOME OR I WILL DISCONNECT YOUR CELL SERVICES
11:21pm: do not test me - CALL HOME OR I WILL DISCONNECT YOUR CELL SERVICES
11:22pm: CALL HOME OR I WILL DISCONNECT YOUR CELL SERVICES
11:22pm: CALL HOME OR I WILL DISCONNECT YOUR CELL SERVICES
11:23pm: CALL HOME OR I WILL DISCONNECT YOUR CELL SERVICES
11:23pm: CALL HOME OR I WILL DISCONNECT YOUR CELL SERVICES
11:23pm: don't be surprise if your cell phone doesnot work
11:24pm: ok ... look like we will disconnect your phone service

My parents gave me this shit about not having the time to talk to them. WOW OKAY. I'VE BEEN BUSY. PRE-MED TRACK FUCKING SUCKS. BIO AND CHEM FUCKING SUCKS. Then they get pissed off because I have time to talk to Roaring Tiger on the phone at night? WELL GUESS WHAT. SHE ACTUALLY OFFERS WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT. MY LIFE'S BEEN SO STRESSFUL LATELY, AND SHE GETS ME THROUGH THE DAY. UNLIKE YOU. I DON'T GET ANY ENCOURAGEMENT FROM YOU. DON'T BE SURPRISED THAT MANY TIMES, I DO PREFER TO TALK TO HER. ALL I GET FROM YOU IS ADDITIONAL STRESS, AND RIGHT NOW, I CAN'T FUCKING AFFORD THAT.

My parents are going to pick me up on Friday, and take away my phone. What else?

"Don't even think about Talent Show this weekend." Dammit!

These past two days have been so horrible. Fuck my life. fmylife.com has got NOTHING on me right now.

FUCK. >:[

I am going to feel better tomorrow.

DESPERATELY-NEEDED UPDATE (FEBRUARY)

2009-02-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

February update:

Slumdog Millionaire
It was about freaking time I watched it. Roaring Tiger had been raving about it since December, goodness gracious. Chenu had a *illegal* copy on his computer, so we hooked it up to a TV in the lounge and had a movie night. It was absolutely wonderful, and it truly deserved Best Picture. The actors were funny and genuine, and grasped my utmost attention for the entirety of the film. On top of that, the soundtrack was fitting and definitely contributed to the movie's themes and moods. In fact, I have the entire soundtrack on my computer now.

Valentine's Day (February 14, 2009)
Yay for being my first non-Single Awareness Day. At first, the plan was to go to Macaroni Grill and watch Benjamin Button afterwards. Unfortunately, complications led to us going to Daikokuya for dinner...with my parents. Thankfully, dinner wasn't awkward at all, and I'm sure my parents like her, at least a bit. The fact that Daikokuya was located inside a SUPERMARKET added to the comedic feel. Nonetheless, the ramen was still as delicious as ever. After dinner, we watched/finished My Sassy Girl. Overall, I had a wonderful day; I hadn't been so happy in quite a while, especially in the midst of an academic hell week-and-a-half back at USC.

Interruption:
Details of my hell week:
February 5: Chemistry midterm
February 11: GEOG 100 essay due
February 13: WRIT 140 essay due
February 13: Biology midterm

Okay, back to VDay. My gift for Roaring Tiger (her reaction... <333):

And her gift for me:

I kind of finished most of them by the time I took this picture. xD

Dance Marathon (February 21-22, 2009)
I sorely needed a break from my intense studies (seriously, to many I've completely disappeared off the face of the Earth this semester), so I decided to attend Dance Marathon, a 16-hour event in which the proceeds go to the Los Angeles Children's Hospital. While I'm glad my $15 went to a good cause, I found to actual event to be a near waste of time. The venue (the basketball courts of the Lyon Center) was far too large when attendance wasn't extraordinary. Essentially, the density of dancers was much too low, resulting in a negative dancing environment. Still, it was fun attempting to emulate the overwhelming white population. Watch this:

This is essentially what I saw at DM. HAHAHA. So funny.

Southland Pre-Health Conference (February 22, 2009)
Such a fail morning:
8:15am: Unwillingly woke up (I got back from DM at 4am the night before).
8:40am: Left with Bryant; went to Parkside to get breakfast; distraught when we realized that Parkside didn't open until 10am.
9:00am: Got back to our suite; decided to watch random TV shows (the conference started at 9:30am)
9:30am: Arrived at the conference; distraught when we found out the actual conference didn't start until 10am (9:30-10 was a breakfast reception); sat outside the building like bums to pass the time
10:05am: Went back inside, only to find that everyone was gone; went downstairs to get to the opening address; instead, found that everyone was leaving --> we missed the entire opening address
10:10am: Went back to Parkside to eat breakfast

Yes indeed. Fail morning.

Famous Chicken
I found a really funny video recently. Here it is:

HAHAHA.

Yiruma
I'm REALLY hooked on his music right now. Adri introduced me to it a few days ago, and I LOVE it. His music is so beautiful, and makes me feel like I'm living a Korean drama.

Listen!

Kiss The Rain (String Ver.) - Yiruma

OKAY THAT'S IT. FINALLY DONE FOR NOW.

DESPERATELY-NEEDED UPDATE (JANUARY)

2009-02-24T23:19:00.000-08:00

HOLY CRAP, it's been over a month since I last blogged. First of all, never before have I had as few as five posts in a month (January). Secondly, never have I gone as long as a month without updating my blog. Fortunately, I've been making notes as to what to write, so I have quite the list to follow. Here are my January occurrences:

Obama inauguration (January 20, 2009; HAHA yes, it indeed has been that long)
SO many things to say about this. I got up at 9am to watch the inauguration...ON MY COMPUTER. I find it really interesting that merely a decade ago, such a monumental event was reserved for the television set, a tradition for the family to share. In contrast, that morning, I was able to stream the inauguration online, from hulu.com. Regarding the inauguration as a speech, I didn't find it to be particularly special; Obama lacked key phrases that shall ring through history, as JFK and Abraham Lincoln were able to achieve (mentioned in an earlier post). However, as an event, the inauguration was remarkable; Obama conveyed his boundless energy that this nation so sorely needs. In addition, it was interesting that he made no mention of evildoers, and seldom if not never mentioned the famous Bushism "war on terror." To me, this was a symbol of reconciliation to he who would "unclench [his] fist." Finally, a final quote from Obama's speech to conclude this dreadfully long recap: "Know that you will be judged of what you can build, not what you can destroy."

Sunday Dilbert (January 25, 2009)

Dilbert is freaking hilarious.

Homecoming (January 23, 2009)
First time going to Homecoming as an alumnus. It was really cool to watch the game from such a perspective, especially with a feel-good win against Oxford. After the game, went out to In-N-Out with old friends whom I had not seen in FOREVER. I was really glad to be able to talk to them again.
Great memories!

Laughter (January 26, 2009)
12:56:02 AM Kevin Nguyen: soo i currently have a 3-foot samurai sword on my lap
12:56:09 AM Kevin Nguyen: and i momentarily forgot how it got there
12:56:10 AM Kevin Nguyen: hahahaha
12:56:33 AM Justin T.: is that USC talk for penis
This guy can really make me laugh.

2 phones
In a two-week span in January, I went from owning a Motorola Krzr (old phone) to obtaining a Blackberry Curve, then to trading it in for an LG Dare. I couldn't keep the Blackberry because my parents found out about the data plan, something they weren't willing to pay. :(

ALRIGHT this concludes my January update. Time to write up Febuary's equally-deserving post.

Note: Notice how I'm inserting two spaces between sentences in place of one? My writing professor told me to start doing so in accordance to the MLA format, so I'm attempting to get used to it. :)

Note #2: It appears that Blogspot re-formatted my post so that the two-spaces-between-sentences is not possible. So much for practicing.

Tell me more

2009-01-20T23:22:00.000-08:00

I read up on something fascinating today (from Justine's note, actually -_-): Cuil Theory. Denoted by what I find to be the strangest of symbols (a question mark with an exclamation mark, ‽), a unit of cuil is defined to be "One Level of Abstraction or Surreality away from the reality of a situation." In other words, Cuil Theory attempts to quantify that which is unquantifiable.

Huh?

Example: You ask me for a Hamburger.

1 Cuil: if you asked me for a hamburger, and I gave you a raccoon.

2 Cuils: If you asked me for a hamburger, but it turns out I don't really exist. Where I was originally standing, a picture of a hamburger rests on the ground.

3 Cuils: You awake as a hamburger. You start screaming only to have special sauce fly from your lips. The world is in sepia.

4 Cuils: Why are we speaking German? A mime cries softly as he cradles a young cow. Your grandfather stares at you as the cow falls apart into patties. You look down only to see me with pickles for eyes, I am singing the song that gives birth to the universe.

5 Cuils: You ask for a hamburger, I give you a hamburger. You raise it to your lips and take a bite. Your eye twitches involuntarily. Across the street a father of three falls down the stairs. You swallow and look down at the hamburger in your hands. I give you a hamburger. You swallow and look down at the hamburger in your hands. You cannot swallow. There are children at the top of the stairs. A pickle shifts uneasily under the bun. I give you a hamburger. You look at my face, and I am pleading with you. The children are crying now. You raise the hamburger to your lips, tears stream down your face as you take a bite. I give you a hamburger. You are on your knees. You plead with me to go across the street. I hear only children's laughter. I give you a hamburger. You are screaming as you fall down the stairs. I am your child. You cannot see anything. You take a bite of the hamburger. The concrete rushes up to meet you. You awake with a start in your own bed. Your eye twitches involuntarily. I give you a hamburger. As you kill me, I do not make a sound. I give you a hamburger.

6 Cuils: You ask me for a hamburger. My attempt to reciprocate is cut brutally short as my body experiences a sudden lack of electrons. Across a variety of hidden dimensions you are dismayed. John Lennon hands me an apple, but it slips through my fingers. I am reborn as an ocelot. You disapprove. A crack echoes through the universe in defiance of conventional physics as cosmological background noise shifts from randomness to a perfect A Flat. Children everywhere stop what they are doing and hum along in perfect pitch with the background radiation. Birds fall from the sky as the sun engulfs the earth. You hesitate momentarily before allowing yourself to assume the locus of all knowledge. Entropy crumbles as you peruse the information contained within the universe. A small library in Phoenix ceases to exist. You stumble under the weight of everythingness, Your mouth opens up to cry out, and collapses around your body before blinking you out of the spatial plane. You exist only within the fourth dimension. The fountainhead of all knowledge rolls along the ground and collides with a small dog. My head tastes sideways as spacetime is reestablished, you blink back into the corporeal world disoriented, only for me to hand you a hamburger as my body collapses under the strain of reconstitution. The universe has reasserted itself. A particular small dog is fed steak for the rest of its natural life. You die in a freak accident moments later, and you soul works at the returns desk for the Phoenix library. You disapprove. Your disapproval sends ripples through the inter-dimensional void between life and death. A small child begins to cry as he walks toward the stairway where his father stands.

In other news, I got a free book from Doheny Library today.

The Art of Seduction. YAYAYAYAY.

Of course, you knew that I'm just reading it for laughs. I don't need a manual.

Kidding.

Home for the holidays

2009-01-18T17:36:00.000-08:00

...technically, yes. Presidents Day.

I made a startling discovery about my study habits this weekend: When I sit down and just WORK (without any distractions), I reach completion in an astounding amount of time. I had four chapters of bio to read and take notes on, as well as a chapter of chem problems to do. I finished them all this morning. And now I get to play Combat Arms for the rest of the weekend. WHAT JOY.

I watched an awkward combination of movies with my dad yesterday (my mom and brother were in Mission Viejo for MUN): Pineapple Express and Hell Ride. Yepppp.

I just realized that my scrumptious sugar cookies from Wal-Mart expired on Jan. 16. And they're at USC right now. DANG.

Lastly, I now reveal my two favorite quotes of the moment, in celebration of Presidents Day:

1. "With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own." -from JFK's 1961 Inauguration speech.

2. "With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds...to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations." -from Abraham Lincoln's 1865 Inauguration speech, perhaps the greatest speech ever given on American soil.

Stop the music

2009-01-13T14:41:00.001-08:00

Let it be known that there are two songs I highly dislike right now:

1. Live Your Life - Rihanna: Never a Rihanna fan, and this song really annoys me during the "AY-AY, AY-AY, AY-AY" part.

2. Whatever You Like - T.I.: I love T.I., but "YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER YOU LIKE" repeats itself simply way too many times throughout the song.

Hate me or love me; this is my opinion. Let it be heard.

2nd Semester!

2009-01-11T21:33:00.001-08:00

Alright, schedule time:

Step back in time

2009-01-10T12:04:00.001-08:00

Bloody hell, I realized that I haven't made my New Year's resolutions yet. Oh well, better late than never.

1. Be a better son, brother, and friend
2. Preserve the bond with Roaring Tiger
3. Better grades for second semester
4. Find an internship for summer
5. Do not lose focus

Yesterday, I found myself at a high school dance, something I thought I had left behind back in June. It was my high school's Winter Formal, entitled "East of Eden," held at the Hyatt Resort and Spa in Huntington Beach (preview video found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQAkoREAyYE).

Plus:
1. Fabulous date. Although, we only took a disappointing 4 pictures together. We'll have to work on that xD Furthermore, it seemed that she was sorta holding back, as if she was constantly being watched. I suppose I can understand that; it's the price you pay for going to a school as small as Whitney. Pretty much everyone knows you.
2. Beautiful site. The hotel was GORGEOUS. The beach was a plus as well.

Minus:
1. Unfamilar with people. The '09 people I hung out with were really friendly, and I did know them from last year, but it just wasn't quite the same as being around '08 people. I'm sure they knew that too; they saw me as a friend, but not quite like an '09 person. It's this special bond you establish with people in your class, and we didn't quite have that bond.
2. DJ. His mixing skills were really good, I'll give him that. However, his music selection was sorely lacking. I couldn't recognize half the music he was playing, and it sucks when you're dancing to music you can't identify.
3. New setup. This year, dinner was located at the actual site, straying from previous years in which attendees had to make their own plans for dinner. I liked the old setup better; this new setup made the dance feel like a dinner party instead.

Overall, I probably didn't enjoy the dance as much as my date did. But it's okay; I know she really enjoyed herself, and that in itself makes me happy. Sometimes, I just have to look beyond my own wants.

This joy

2008-12-31T13:53:00.000-08:00

12:01:44 AM Loris Saprid: & BTWWWW . HAPPY LAST DAY OF 2008 ! :O

YAY HAPPY LAST DAY OF 2008

Read him like an open book

2008-12-30T20:39:00.000-08:00

I have rediscovered the joys of reading. My current reading list:

1. Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut
2. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
3. The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand
4. A Passage to India - E.M. Forster
5. The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner
6. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess

I believe the children are our future

2008-12-27T21:06:00.000-08:00

I just survived the first of undoubtedly many heated "discussions" with my parents regarding my future in college and beyond. At least that's what it was supposed to be. It really felt like an interrogation. It was a little difficult for me to participate, because your future is never an easy thing to talk about, especially with parents such as mine. However, every time I felt ready to say something, my parents would interrupt, making me feel somewhat trapped.

During the discussion, my mom constantly asked me, “WHY do you want to go into pre-med? Answer me that.” What kind of question is that? I mean, that’s something I would have had to answer during senior panels, or college interviews. But now? Just because my grades slipped a bit, my mom has to overreact and question my career path?

I know that next semester, things must change in order for me to stay on track. I know I must make sacrifices, give up a good chunk of my social life, eliminate most of my time spent online. It just stung a bit that my parents had to repeatedly rub it in.

I suppose by the end of winter break, I’ll need to have a plan ready to be executed. Sigh, why does college/life/pre-med have to be so hard?

I probably would have ranted more, but I’ve cooled off by now. Yay for me. Geez, I’m not ready to be an adult yet.

UPDATE FOR DAY 2: FRICK MY PARENTS PISS ME OFF. They seriously need to stop getting in my face every minute of the day. It’s hella annoying. I really can’t stand them right now. However, I can’t tell them that, because, knowing them, they’d just retaliate by pulling me out of college and sending me to the streets. Sucks. So much for freedom of speech.

2nd Semester Plan:
• Eliminate AIM
• De-activate Facebook?
• No more texting (already enforced by the parentals)
• Spend more study time away from my room (in the library, at VKC, etc.)
• Biology:
o Talk to professors more; establish a personal relationship with them; find out what they’re expecting. I seriously studied as hard as I could for the previous Bio midterms, but without positive results. I’m sure the missing key lies in the professors, so I need to take advantage of that.
o Stop underestimating those pre-lab quizzes. Every point counts.
o For lab practicals, find out what the TA is expecting, rather than trying to study completely on my own.
• Chemistry:
o Do every single one of those practice problems ahead of time, instead of waiting until a few days before the midterm to do select problems. The more practice, the better.
o Complete lab write-ups earlier in the week, instead of waiting until Sundays to do them.
o Talk to TA more about expectations for lab exams.
• Writing:
o Stay on top of writing assignments; start them as soon as they are assigned.
o Utilize the Writing Center as frequently as possible.
o Talk to professors regarding their expectations in essays.
o Get friends to read over my essays for support.
• Check grades every week
• Return parents emails and phone calls immediately
• Sleep earlier
• Take advantage of all extra credit opportunities

Christmas!

2008-12-26T22:39:00.000-08:00

Pre-post note: I finally realized that, regarding blogging, I experience peaks and valleys. There are times where I am so enthusiastic about making posts, that I wish I could make multiple posts each day. Other times, I feel so lethargic about doing so, and a week would pass before I'd feel obligated to post. I am currently going through a valley.

Pre-post note #2: How much longer must I continue blogging before I feel the need to take a peek into my life of the past (a.k.a. reading my early posts)? I suppose 7 months isn't long enough. Perhaps in a year...

Alright, other people have said it, and I'm not exception; Christmas definitely snuck up on me this year. I keep thinking it's because it doesn't snow here, but then again, it didn't snow in SoCal 10 years ago either. Perhaps studying for finals killed the Christmas mood. Perhaps I was just sitting there waiting for the mood to come to me. Whatever the case, I'll try harder to get in the mood next year.

I spent my Christmas with relatives in San Diego. It was funny; I tried to get them in the Christmas spirit by putting on Christmas music, but they always switched the stereo to Vietnamese music. So much for that.

I watched a Blu-Ray movie for the first time while at my relatives' house. It was The Dark Knight. Honestly, the quality isn't THAT much better.

Update me with your deepest feelings

2008-12-22T23:11:00.000-08:00

Today was my first time at South Coast Plaza. Truth be told, I've never felt so inadequate (I swear someone's used that word in regards to SCP before). Yes, Rodeo Drive made me feel inadequate as well, but it was outdoors, so I could at least look to the sky if I didn't want to look at the stores. Inside SCP, however, I was completely surrounded by high-end stores, resulting in such a suffocating atmosphere. Everywhere I turned, there was a $3000 price tag on something. Geez!

I also bought some items from H&M today for the first time. I am very excited.

Okay, happy/interesting things from this past week, before I forget:
Monday: Got to see my family again; rediscovered home cooking, memory foam, and soft toilet paper.
Tuesday: Roaring Tiger :)
Wednesday: Disproved my June woes that I would never be at a pep rally again; witnessed a sophomore boy ask TWO girls (seniors, too) to Winter Formal; attended Eric's jaj presentation; reunion with Bernard, Loris, and Brian, as well as Josh; visited a bunch of teachers; reunion with Jamie, Emily, and Tiff (not really for the last two HAHA) along the way; reunion with In-N-Out; failed attempt to watch The Day the Earth Stood Still; attended the band concert at night; unexpected reunion with Greg Taniguchi o.o
Thursday: Hung out with Eric for half a day at the mall; failed attempt to find a job at the mall; second and final failed attempt to watch The Day the Earth Stood Still.
Friday: Mega-huge reunion with c/o 2008 people at school; mini-reunion with Chipotle; Roaring Tiger.

No, I haven't begun replying to people on Facebook yet. So bad.
No, I haven't begun tagging my music. Not so bad.
Yes, I have cleaned out my email inbox! Excitement.
Kinda in the process of getting music from imeem.com.

I've started reading again! Currently reading: For One More Day, by Mitch Albom.

End-of-semester evaluation

2008-12-18T00:30:00.000-08:00

So now that my first semester in college has come to an end, it's time to look back and review the points made in a Facebook group, entitled "40 Things College Admissions Forgot to Tell You About College." I will list out each point, then follow it with commentary.

1. Quarters are like gold. [Maybe for laundry, but then I have a discretionary account, so maybe not]

2. Two meals a day is standard. [True. No breakfast ftl]

3. Road trip whenever possible. [If parking weren't so dang expensive]

4. Going to the mailbox was never an ego booster/breaker before. [Might have been true, except I always kept forgetting to check my mail]

5. You will begin to nap again. [SO TRUE]

6. Your bookstore bill will almost equal tuition. [Not possible at USC]

7. Squirt guns = stress relief. [Squirt guns = $300 suite repair fee. however, airsoft guns + laser pointers = stress relief]

8. E-mail becomes your second language. [True I suppose, but it's always my second language]

9. College students throw paper airplanes too. [Yeah I've seen my suitemates do it...]

10. You never realized so many people were smarter than you. [Except I went to Whitney High School...]

11. Western Europe could be wiped out by a horrible plague and you'd never know, but you can recite last week's rerun of Seinfeld verbatim. [Insert Scrubs in place of Seinfeld, then YES that would be true]

12. You will never rent more movies in your life. [Hehehe...]

13. No one is too old for video games. [TOO TRUE. Stupid N64 during finals week...]

14. The health service nurses are there because they couldn't make it in a real hospital. Never, ever forget that! [Good thing I haven't been sick yet]

15. Care packages are right up there with birthdays. [I haven't experienced it yet, but I've definitely seen it with my out-of-state friends]

16. Campus is only clean for family weekend and freshman orientation. [HAHA that's funny, but USC is generally a clean campus. Except for that horrific stench surrounding The Lot]

17. It never sucked so much to get sick. [Good thing I've never gotten sick! YEEE]

18. Nothing you want to register for will be open. [True, but only because Admissions accidentally put my account on restriction -_-]

19. Beware of the freshman 15. [Me? Yeah right]

20. Be creative in the dining hall. [Mixing drinks ftw!]

21. Classes: the later the better. [Very true. Stupid 8am Bio labs]

22. You are no longer thankful that fire alarms are here to protect you. [Huh?]

23. Disney movies are more than just classics. [I guess...]

24. Asleep by 2:30 AM is an early night. [TOO TRUE]

25. Cereal makes a meal any time of the day. [I should open my cereal boxes...]

26. New additions to food groups: Jolt Cola, Ramen, and Pizza. [All except Jolt Cola]

27. ATMs are the devils advocate. [Sigh...]

28. Duct tape heals all wounds. [Especially my longboard!]

29. Pro Wrestling is suddenly cool again. [When was this list written? The late 90s?]

30. Keys have never been so important, yet you seem to lose them even more. [Thank goodness I always remember]

31. Showers become less important, sleep becomes more important. [Agree with the 2nd part, but I still take my showers]

32. You will eat anywhere that is a buffet. [That's usually the only choice most nights]

33. You realize college is the ideal lifestyle, except for those pesky classes. [So true]

34. Procrastination is an art form. [That's kinda been always the case]

35. Jeans may be worm as many times as the wearer desires. [YES INDEED]

36. The only time to dress up is when all your jeans are dirty. [Haven't quite gotten to that point yet]

37. You'll eat anything if it's free. [HEHE]

38. College football is the coolest thing on the planet. [At USC? HELL YEAH]

39. Cartoons are for all ages, especially Scooby Doo. [Haven't watched Scooby Doo since school started, but yes, cartoons are always fun]

40. No matter how hard you try...you are never alone. [HOLY CRAP HOW TRUE; I CAN NEVER BE ALONE]

Done. All 40 points have been assessed. Time for sleep -_-

I'll be home for christmas

2008-12-16T10:03:00.000-08:00

It's really great to be home again, with home-cooked pho, my memory foam, and...yes, softer toilet paper.

Speaking of memory foam, I could NOT sleep in for crap this morning. You'd think that after all this time on a hard mattress at college, a memory foam would cause you to love your bed too much to allow you to wake up. But NO, all the memory foam did was rest me up more quickly, so by 9:30am, I was too well-rested to continue sleeping. Freaking.

I'll probably talk about more meaningful things as winter break progresses, but for now, I'm really looking forward to the first worry-free break (NO FINALS/PROJECTS AFTER BREAK YAY) in like 6 years. I'm also looking forward to seeing my high school friends again, but I'm not gonna lie, I already miss my friends at USC.

Lastly, here's my meaningless to-do list for winter break:
1. Reply to all those dang Facebook wall posts
2. Stop being lazy about properly tagging my music
3. Clean out email inbox
4. Get more music from imeem.com

Meaningful to-do list:
1. Roaring Tiger HAHA
2. Catch up with high school friends
3. Keep in touch with USC friends
4. Take more pictures
5. Get some reading done
6. More to be added!

Cute as a button

2008-12-10T18:37:00.000-08:00

My mom can be so adorable.

Away message: studying for chem final...IN A SECRET PLACE!
6:24:13 PM Mom: good for you! A super secret place, I hope, so that your suitemates and buddies can't find and bother you. No AIMing from people, no music from next rooms, no phone call or text. I hope! And keep the place hush-hush so people can't find you every final!

Damsel in distress

2008-12-09T02:59:00.000-08:00

I am so frustrated right now. I thought I was done with high school dances.

I can't afford to think about this. Not during finals week.

:D :D :D

2008-12-06T04:30:00.000-08:00

I swear, my happiness level is at an all-time high. It may very well be euphoria in its truest form. And it's not because I just watched Love Actually (AWESOME MOVIE, not gonna lie). It's not because I managed to touch Travis McCoy's wenis during the Gym Class Heroes concert from the front row yesterday.

FJR;AOIWFJAWHAU;HFAEIRO;WJIO;JIO;JHGFIORUAHGURA
:D :D :D

Happy December!

2008-12-01T03:44:00.000-08:00

If it weren't for the fact that I'm waiting for the shower right now (yes, at 3:45am -_-), I wouldn't have had time to write this post.

As this Thanksgiving break draws to a close, I figured I should take time to reflect on what I'm thankful for. I'd like to look back upon this post a few years from now and be able to recall my precise thoughts (as usual). But this post is especially important, probably the most important in a while.

My family: When I came home over break, I realized how much I had really missed my family. I seriously don't know where I'd be without them. Dad, thanks for being so supportive of me. Yes, I've had to deal with your yelling in the past, but I nonetheless appreciate the mellow attitude that you display most of the time. Mommy (YES I call her that, ain't nothing wrong with being a momma's boy), thanks for always being on my case. I do get annoyed sometimes, and I feel that you're being far too nosy. But in truth, I know that, at the other end of the spectrum, other moms simply don't care about their children, and I'm thankful that you show your love for me, in your own way, even if I get ticked off from time to time. Brendan, thanks for being my best friend. Parents may yell at me, and friends may ignore me, but I can always count on you to talk to during such dark times.We've been through so much together, and I'm glad you've always been there for me. Best of luck in high school!

Suite 3312: I don't think any of the guys are gonna read this, but whatevers, I'LL WRITE WHATEVER THE HELL I WANT TO WRITE. Anywho, I am so lucky to have you guys as my friends. You all have been such an integral part of my life at USC over these past few months. I know other people who aren't that close with their suitemates, and I am glad that we, in contrast, are all so close as a group, that we generally hang out in the same group. I joke with my high schools friends that the term "3312" has become the equivalent of area codes of LA gangs, but this reminds me of the unity we share. I shant forget this bond that we have developed, and shall cherish it in the years to come.

Friends: To friends I have made at USC...thanks so much for being a part of my life over these past 3 months. How would I make it through college without friends to talk to, to laugh with, to share memories with? Truth is, that wouldn't have been possible, and I am grateful for each and every one of you. To friends from Whitney...OKAY, I KINDA PURPOSELY LOCKED MYSELF UP DURING THANKSGIVING BREAK BECAUSE I HAD TOO MUCH WORK TO DO. I PROMISE I'LL CATCH UP WITH YOU GUYS DURING WINTER BREAK. THANKS FOR...BEING PATIENT :]

And last but not least:

1:44:00 AM Kevin Nguyen: thank YOU, ------, for being the endless source of happiness for me over these past 8 months
1:44:15 AM Kevin Nguyen: for being the single bright light in my life when all else was dark
1:45:25 AM Kevin Nguyen: for your inspiring words, your headstrong attitude, and your contagious smile
1:46:04 AM Kevin Nguyen: for meaning the world to me, and regardless of how cliche that is, i mean every word of it
1:47:01 AM Kevin Nguyen: i'm not gonna say that i'd be lost without you, but i sure as hell wouldn't be as dang happy as i am right now

And now, I can cry (MANLY TEARS) over my upcoming schedule.
Monday: Spanish oral examination
Tuesday: Biology lab practical
Thursday: Chemistry lab examination
Friday: Biology midterm

Jump for joy

2008-11-25T19:37:00.001-08:00

ONE MORE MONTH UNTIL CHRISTMAS. WOOOOOOOT!

Arcadia Festival of Bands

2008-11-24T01:46:00.000-08:00

First thing's first: November 12 marked the 6-month anniversary of my blog. A bit delayed, but whatevers. -cue fireworks-

Okay, some thoughts on the Arcadia Festival of Bands:
-It feels kinda awkward to be ogled at by all the color guard girls
-AHS's marching band has a wonderful sound, but marching isn't that great
-I am so proud of my (used to be mine) horn section. GREAT JOB
-Congrats to Andrew Park for winning the Mace Drum Major division for the second year in a row! ...and for beating out the Military Drum Major winner as well!

Basically, I was really glad to see my old marching band play, and it was really interesting to be in the competition from a spectator's point of view, as opposed to a performer's, as I had been one for the past 4 years. It was also cool to see Arcadia High School march for the first time. Since I was a performer for the past 4 years, I never had the chance to see AHS's "legendary" band perform. After the parade, I was glad that so many of the younger people in band still remembered me. I'm not gonna lie, it was a special feeling to see all these people yelling, "OMG IT'S KEVIN." Although, I did get kinda tired of telling each person how college was different from high school. But generally, I enjoyed catching up with friends who I haven't seen in SO long.

Time to introduce a new tool: ScEne Creation REcall Time (SECRET). HAHA this is so lame. But basically, sometimes I forget to take pictures of a scene I want to remember later. So here is SECRET #1 (around 10:10am):

1. I encounter WHS Marching Band at the overpass.
2. I wait under the bridge.
3. All the color guard girls turn their heads and stare.
4. Someone whispers, "KEVIN!"
5. I turn to look.
6. "OMG. TEEHEE HI KEVIN." Other color guard girls follow suit and ogle.
7. I slowly look away, towards the band.
8. Band passes by. Mr. England sees me.
9. Mr. England: "Hey, you look familiar!"

End of SECRET #1.

Elton picked me up from Bryant's house after the awards ceremony, and we went to watch the field show competition for the first time (for me). It was such an amazing experience. I have to admit it, the top competitors surpass USC's marching band in terms of precision. I loved the originality and skill level of each of the class 6A bands (that's all I saw, and those are usually the top bands anyways).

Notable thoughts of the field show:
-Field show color guards have so many more toys than WHS's color guard does! I saw Riverside King's color guard use this hollowed-out crescent as well as a saber. Rancho Bernardo's color guard used this strange 3-rod contraption (so much for descriptiveness HAHA), and Mt. Carmel's color guard used this 4-disc thingamajig.
-Chino's color guard was the best that I have EVER seen. They performed with such grace and precision. How the hell can a spread-out formation of girls twirl the flags in complete unison?! The outermost girls are 100 yards apart, and they're still together! Plus, in this one extremely compact circle formation, all the girls (around 30) threw up their rifles in complete unision as well. Even the way the rifles spun in the air was in unison! How do you accomplish such a feat in a tiny compact formation?!
-I really liked El Dorado's sound. They were really jazzy, and it was cool to see a marching band accomplish that. Props for the electric guitar!

I'm extremely happy right now. For an obvious reason. :D

A thing of beauty is a joy forever

2008-11-22T00:45:00.000-08:00

I'm currently working on my bio lab report...at Bryant's house in Arcadia. How cool is it that his parents would let me stay overnight?

Extremely excited for AFOB tomorrow (I can't believe I had never heard of that term until I heard AHS people use it). I get to see Arcadia High School march for the first time ever; I get to see (I hope to see) Rancho Bernardo march for the first time ever; I get to see the field show competition for the first time ever. Basically I get to do what I couldn't have done as a participant of the competition for the past 4 years. How exciting!

And plus there's the cherry on top...hmm I need a better analogy. BACK TO WORK.

BAM! Hit that little nigga with a freeze pop!

2008-11-20T17:42:00.001-08:00

This video is nearly guaranteed to make you laugh at some point. HAHAHA
Thanks for the share, Justin!

2 favorite quotes

2008-11-19T17:32:00.000-08:00

Hugh Jackman (when asked "how do you keep the passion alive?"):
"It's easy with my wife. She loves the idea of me coming home in costume because it makes her feel like she's having an affair in a good way. When we met, I was cast as a prisoner with tattoos and she'd say, 'Don't take your tattoos off tonight!' and I'd be like, 'All right!' But what works best with her is the stockbroker look. She also says, 'Do your sexy dance for me -- an '80s-like, hip-swiveling number -- and that works for me."

And...
11:50:38 PM _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _: call me
11:50:45 PM _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _: and ill whisper sweet nothings in your ear

Life wasn't meant to be easy

2008-11-17T16:45:00.000-08:00

My suitemate Bryant's laptop got hacked yesterday. He found a text file on his desktop:

Hello,
As you probably already noticed, your files on this PC/laptop are encrypted.
That means you can't use them before you decrypt them.
Decrypting these files without password and proper software is impossible.
I'm the only person in the world who has password and software you need to decrypt your files.
If you want to get ALL your files back to normal, that is,
decrypt them, you'll have to buy decryptor. To buy decrypting tool contact me at: brandos87@yahoo.com or brandos87@gmail.com.
I'll reply within hour or two, and you can have your files back within few minutes after that.
Price for decryptor and password is ow, so anyone affected by my encryptor could afford buying it.
I'll also help you delete my encryptor, that you installed on this machine without realizing that.
Also note that most of your private information is collected and sent to me.
In case you don't contact me, I'll sell your private information data (like email account logins, credit card numbers, paypal account logins, etc).
In case you do contact me and we reach agreement, I'll also remove spying tool from your machine,
and your private information will be destroyed from my system.
IMPORTANT:
If you want to get your data back, do not remove or install anything on this machine from now on, until you decrypt
all your files.
As I told you already, I'll reply in shortest possible time, most probably minutes, or in worst case few hours after you send me your message.
I'm sorry for trouble I caused you, but this is mostly your fault :)
I hope we will solve your computer problem, and I'm looking for friendly relationship with you.
Please be smart :=)
Good day.

Freaking creepy. ITS had no way to beat it. Best of luck with your laptop, Bryant!

In other news, class registration is tearing me apart. My registration time should've been at 3:30pm today, but when I logged in, I found a restriction on my account: "NON-DEPOSITED APPLICANT." I called the Registrar to sort things out, but they told me that it was an Admissions Office restriction, so I was to call them. I did just that, but the representative said she had no idea what to do. Apparently, the restriction was there because I hadn't paid my fees, but when she checked my files, all fees had been paid. She told me to physically go to the Registrar and register on one of their computers. So I had to go all the way to the Registrar, but once again, they told me to go to the Admissions Office. I did that, and the lady there finally had an answer:

...I am a transfer student, and I live on Maurice Ave. -_-

Turns out that someone else's file had merged with mine, and that someone else had the restriction, not me. The lady tried to contact the person who could lift my restriction, but with no success. So here I sit, awaiting an email from her. Meanwhile, my desired classes are filling up. Stupid stupid stupid...

Happy-go-lucky

2008-11-10T16:49:00.000-08:00

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=was-the-dinosaurs-long-reign-a-fluke

A new study shows that the dinosaurs' long reign on Earth may have been due to luck rather than superiority. Early dinosaurs were contemporaries of crurotarsans, the ancestors of modern crocodiles. The existing fossil record shows that the crurotarsans had a comparable rate of evolution with the dinosaurs, but was even more diverse in terms of body type. If not for an extinction event at the beginning of the Jurassic some 205 million years ago, the dinosaurs might have been outcompeted by the crurotarsans.

Daang. Interesting article.

You can't swing a dead cat without hitting one

2008-11-07T02:03:00.000-08:00

Statistics from www.downwithpinatas.com:

1. Since 1992 the Humane Society and the Department of Fish and Game have documented 480,000 incidents of pinata related violence against animals.
2. Most pinata related attacks occur within 48 hours of a child attending a pinata party.
3. The average of a perpetrator who engages in pinata related violence: 8.
4. Over 75% of violent offenders in the California prison system have actively participated in the bashing of a pinata.
5. An estimated 60,000 adults will be attacked by their children with a bat or stick following a pinata party this year.
6. Despite clear links between violent behavior and pinatas, California public schools continue to include pinatas in grade school festivities.
7. You are 10 times more likely to be the victim of pinata related violence than a terrorist attack.
8. Legislation to ban pinatas has been proposed in 32 states. So far none have passed because legislators dismiss the risk.

HAHAHA this is absolutely hilarious. The statistics in bold are my favorites.

Dance an Irish jig

2008-11-06T18:21:00.000-08:00

November 6, 2008: Greatest personal choreography feat.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=52148295816

Loris, thanks for brightening my day with your response. :]

Chemistry+Elections

2008-11-05T01:36:00.000-08:00

I had the greatest time in my Chem lab today. It involved mixing hydrogen peroxide with potassium iodide, and collecting the oxygen product in an inverted graduated cylinder.

I then proceeded to lift the graduated cylinder and breathe in the oxygen.

Oxygen highs are pretty trippy!

Next: Elections
It felt so good to be able to vote. The people there were so friendly, and really made me proud to be an American. Still, I had thought the voting process would be a bit more glamorous than it actually was. At least the punch holes are freaking tight.

When we came out, it was cool seeing the anti-Prop 8 activists on the streets. All of them held signs reading "NO ON PROP 8: UNFAIR AND WRONG," and almost every car would honk as they passed by. Being part of that cause must have been so uplifting, I'd imagine.

Congrats to Obama! CHANGE IS HERE. I'm a bit unsure about Obama, though. When I broke down my vote issue-by-issue, he only beat McCain 9-7. So I'm slightly uneasy about my presidential pick, considering he wasn't a dominant pick for me. I guess I'll have to see how it goes. I hope his tax model doesn't eff me (or my parents) up in the next couple of years.

So now, we're rapidly refreshing CNN as we await the results of Proposition 8. Can't believe 53% have voted YES so far...

More confused than a woodpecker in a concrete forest

2008-11-03T01:43:00.000-08:00

Quote of the day:

Background: Tim's trying to make a movie with picture stills with iMovie. However, the default setting places all images in a Ken Burns effect, which embeds still photographs in motion pictures, displayed with slow zooming and panning effects, and fading transitions between them.

Me: Tim, you have to turn off the Ken Burns effect.
Tim: WHO'S KEN BURNS?!

Loud and clear

2008-11-02T00:16:00.000-07:00

My new computer speakers make my chair vibrate. At 10% volume.

CLOUD NINE HERE I COME.

What a night

2008-10-31T10:16:00.001-07:00

Congratulations, Kevin.

You just pulled an all-nighter the night before your Biology midterm. The midterm which you had been studying for during these past 2 weeks. The midterm which just ripped you to shreds nonetheless. Congratulations, indeed.

My schedule of studying as of 8pm last night (when I got back from filming for a Spanish project):
8:00pm-8:30pm: Eat ramen for dinner
8:30pm-9:00pm: Finish protists (Ch. 28)
9:00-12:00am: Study all of plants (Ch. 29, 30, 35, 36)
12:00am-1:30am: Study fungi (Ch. 31)
1:30am-3:00am: Study origins of life (Ch. 25)
3:00am-4:00am: Study bacteria (Ch. 21, 27)
4:00am-5:00am: Study viruses (Ch. 19)

But then I took an hour to eat ramen.
Adjusted schedule:
9:00pm-9:30pm: Finish protists (Ch. 28)
9:30-12:00am: Study all of plants (Ch. 29, 30, 35, 36)
12:00am-1:30am: Study fungi (Ch. 31)
1:30am-3:00am: Study origins of life (Ch. 25)
3:00am-4:00am: Study bacteria (Ch. 21, 27)
4:00am-5:00am: Study viruses (Ch. 19)

But then I didn't finish protists until 10:45pm.
Adjusted schedule:
9:30-12:00am: Study all of plants (Ch. 29, 30, 35, 36)
12:00am-1:30am: Study fungi (Ch. 31)
1:30am-3:00am: Study origins of life (Ch. 25)
3:00am-4:00am: Study bacteria (Ch. 21, 27)
4:00am-5:00am: Study viruses (Ch. 19)

Fast forward to 4am. I'm still on plants. Horrible. And I need a nap.
Adjusted schedule:
4:00am-4:30am: Nap
4:30am-5:30am: Study fungi (Ch. 31)
5:30am-6:30am: Study origins of life (Ch. 25)
6:30am-7:30am: Study bacteria (Ch. 21, 27)
7:30am-8:30am: Study viruses (Ch. 19)
9:00am: Take midterm

Unfortunately, stupid Gladys, my study partner, pulled an EPIC FAIL and let me sleep until 7am.
Adjusted schedule:
7:00am-8:30am: CRAM FOR EVERYTHING
9:00am: Take midterm

So, to recap, this is what REALLY happened last night:
8:00pm-9:00pm: Eat ramen for dinner
9:00pm-10:45pm: Finish protists (Ch. 28)
10:45pm-4:00am: Study plants (Ch. 29, 30, 35, 36)
4:00am-7:00am: Epic fail nap
7:00am-8:30am: Rush-cram for fungi (Ch. 31), origins of life (Ch. 25), bacteria (Ch. 21, 27), and viruses (Ch. 19)

I'm sick of bio.

As luck would have had it

2008-10-24T11:04:00.000-07:00

Dear Kevin,

Congratulations!

You have been selected to purchase the quantity of tickets that you requested from the student lottery for UCLA / USC football game, December 6, 2008, at 1:30 PM, to be played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

*Lottery recipients must claim their tickets in the USC Ticket Office.
To pick up tickets students must present a valid Student USC ID, with a Student Football Season Ticket validation for each ticket requested. Only one ticket will be allowed per I.D.
*Recipients must pay for their tickets upon claiming them. Tickets are $35 each. Acceptable forms of payment are Cash, Visa, MasterCard, Discover and Discretionary.
*Tickets will be available for pick up the week of November 17.

USC Ticket Office

WOW I NEVER WIN LOTTERIES! YAYAYAY

Try as hard as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man

2008-10-17T11:04:00.000-07:00

Dr. Parr wasn't here to lecture for my Chem 105 class today. So Dr. Quinlan substituted in. Here was his introduction written on the board:

I AM NOT DR. PARR
1. FILL THE TANK!
2. DON'T GIVE RIDES TO LOSERS!
3. DON'T GO TOO FAST!

I pretty much got as far as "I AM NOT DR. PARR." For the remainder of the lecture, I felt like such a doofus listening to Dr. Quinlan speak. His lecture, which was supposed to cover energy/wavelengths (how is this a chemistry and not a physics topic?), began with slides titled "Who is Jed the Fish?" and "How long is a car antenna?" None of these slides seemed to make sense, yet Dr. Quinlan somehow managed to connect all of them. On top of that, he spent an average of 7 seconds on each slide, so that eliminated any chance of note-taking.

This man is too brilliant for me. I miss Dr. Parr. HAHA.

There will come a day when all the work is finished or when it is too late to finish it

2008-10-10T16:33:00.000-07:00

No words can describe how relieved I feel right now.

This past week has been hell for me, and the interesting thing is, I rather enjoyed it. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't volunteer to undergo the experience again (although it shall inevitably occur countless times in the next 4 years), but I found this week to be...fulfilling. Maybe it was because it was the first time in college I actually felt pressured to get work done. Maybe it was because I'm actually used to sleeping at 4am now. Maybe it was because at the end of the day, I've scored well on 2 out of the 3 exams this week (3rd exam result still pending; I just took it). Whatever the case, I didn't really feel "overwhelmed", per se. For this entire week, regardless of the amount of work I had, I nonetheless managed to maintain control.

I believe I have finally gained this sense of responsibility that comes with being a college student.

So what now? After 3 grueling exams in 3 days, how shall I enjoy life?

I'm going to do laundry. -_-
I need my USC shirt for tomorrow's game. BEAT THE SUN DEVILS.

Cat Got Your Tongue?

2008-10-06T11:25:00.000-07:00

Something I found in Sunday's Parade:

What causes the feeling of a lump in your throat when you're emotional?

The sensation occurs when excess activity of the autonomic (involuntary) nervous system causes a certain muscle in the throat to go into spasm. This muscle helps keep the esophagus closed when you're not eating. So, when the muscle misbehaves, you feel you can hardly swallow.

So now I finally know why I feel the way I do.

Eighteen

2008-10-03T16:12:00.001-07:00

Dammit I'm always lagging with my posts these day.

I suppose I should reflect about my birthday by now. Actually what I SHOULD be doing is my online Spanish homework, but let's forget that exists right now.

So how do I feel that I've finally reached the big ONE-EIGHT? Well, let's see what I can do...
1. Vote
2. Buy porn
3. Smoke
4. Get a tattoo
5. Gamble at Indian casinos
6. CLUBBING

Doesn't feel that different. What DOES feel different is that my friends ordered a freaking ULUWATU for me. WOOOT. Plus I have enough money to order a Logitech Z-2300. 400 WATTS BABY. Plus I got the greatest gift of all from some silly girl, and I just can't stop looking at it.

Truth be told, it does feel great to be 18. Yet, I still am cautious, as I transition into manhood. With this transition comes greater responsibility, and independence. I feel I am ready to accept this, but I have no idea of the outcome. In 10 years, I will look back upon this moment and...feel old HAHA.

With this new year, I'm going to try to become more aware of the choices I make, as I know they will very soon have a direct impact on my life. Gone are the days of depending on my parents to make the choices of me. Adulthood is approaching fast, and I must be ready for it, to, as they say, "hit the ground running."

In the meantime...let the good times roll! (how unfrackingbelievably cheesy)

UPDATE: Highlights of the night
1. While we're taking group pictures in the suite, we're trying to decide what pose to do. Kevin Wu yells "FOB POSE!" And Sean, who comes from Indonesia, is like, "What's a fob pose...?"
2. While we're taking group pictures in the suite, Brian yells "4 MORE SHOTS!" which refers to picture shots. However, at that point, our RA passes by and thinks we're getting crunk. We almost get in trouble.

Getting Old

2008-10-01T11:45:00.001-07:00

Today I relish my last day as a minor. Daaaang.

Wisdom!

2008-09-30T11:26:00.000-07:00

Any tool when dropped, will roll into the least accessible corner of the workshop.
-Anthony's Law of the Workshop

On he way to the corner, any dropped tool will first strike your toes.
-Corollary to Anthony's Law of the Workshop

Every instructor assumes that you have nothing else to do except study for that instructor's course.
-Fourth Law of Applied Terror

If you are given an open-book exam, you will forget your book.
-Fifth Law of Applied Terror

If you are given a take-home exam, you will forget where you live.
-Corollary to the Fifth Law of Applied Terror

What you don't know will always hurt you.
-First Law of Blissful Ignorance

The remaining work to finish in order to reach your goal increases as the deadline approaches.
-Bove's Theorem

If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the next morning you will have a flat tire.
-Cannon's Law

The only things that start on time are those that you're late for.
-Cayo's Law

No project was ever completed on time and within budget.
-Cheops Law

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
-Clarke's Third Law

Copiers will break down when there is only one more copy to make.
-Copier Breakdown Principle

Opportunity always knocks at the least opportune moment.
-Ducharme's Precept

In approaching a double door, you will always go to the one door that is locked, pull when you should have pushed, and pushed when the sign says pull.
-Ehre's Double-Door Law

The other line moves faster.
-Etorre's Observation

If an experiment works, something has gone wrong.
-Finagle's First Law

Information necessitating a change of design will be conveyed to the designer after and only after the design is complete (Often called the 'Now They Tell Us' Law).
-Fyfe's First Law of Revision

Complex problems have simple, easy to understand wrong answers.
-Grossman's Law

When you are served a meal aboard an aircraft, the aircraft will encounter turbulence.
-Gunter's First Law of Air Travel

The strength of the turbulence is directly proportional to the temperature of your coffee.
-Gunter's Second Law of Air Travel

There is no limit to how bad things can get.
-Hane's Law

The probability of someone watching you is proportional to the stupidity of your action.
-Hartley's First Law

It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take Hofstadter's Law into account.
-Hofstadter's Law

No amount of genius can overcome a preoccupation with detail.
-Levy's Eighth Law

The most important leg of a three legged stool is the one that's missing.
-Lyall's Fundamental Observation

If the facts do not conform to the theory, they must be disposed of.
-Maier's Law

Logic is a systematic method of coming to the wrong conclusion with confidence.
-Manley's Maxim

The shortest point between two points is under construction.
-McGregor's Revised Maxim

If at first you don't succeed, read the manual.
-Montgomery's Maxim

Negative expectations yield negative results.
Positive expectations yield negative results.
-Non-Reciprocal Law of Expectations

You cannot successfully determine beforehand which side of the bread to butter.
-Perversity of Nature Law

If you keep anything long enough you can throw it away.
If you throw anything away, you will need it the next day.
-Richard's Complimentary Rule of Ownership

When working toward the solution of a problem, it always helps if you know the answer.
-Rule of Accuracy

If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you have tried.
-Rule of Failure

If you put a spoonful of wine in a barrel of sewage, you get sewage. If you put a spoonful of sewage in a barrel full of wine, you get sewage.
-Schopenhaur's Law of Entropy

A man with a watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never sure.
-Segal's Law

Anyone can make a decision given enough facts.
A good manager can make a decision without enough facts.
A perfect manager can operate in perfect ignorance.
-Spencer's Law of Data

If you file it, you'll know where it is - but never need it.
If you don't file it, you'll need it - but never know where it is.
-Tillis' Organizational Principle

Assumption is the mother of all screw-ups.
-Wethern's Law

People are always available for work in the past tense.
-Zymurgy's Law of Volunteer Labour

LOL: Roger Ebert Responds to Disaster Movie Fan

2008-09-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

It’s not funny enough that someone out there actually liked Disaster Movie, e-mailed Roger Ebert in almost unreadable internet shorthand, but Roger actually took the time out to respond using the reader’s native language.

Question: Yo dude, u missed out on “Disaster Movie,” a hardcore laugh-ur-@zz-off movie! Y U not review this movie!? It was funny as #ell! Prolly the funniest movie of the summer! U never review these, wat up wit dat?

Ebert’s Response: Hey, bro, I wuz buzier than $#i+, @d they never shoed it b4 hand. I peeped in the IMDb and saw it zoomed to #1 as the low$ie$t flic of all time, wit @ lame-@zz UZer Rating of 1.3. U liked it? Wat up wit dat?

HAHA thanks for the link, Ashton.

Sleepcrawling

2008-09-28T14:57:00.000-07:00

Old news:

I got to watch the USC Thornton Symphony a few days ago. It was really weird to be sitting in the audience for an orchestra concert for once, rather than performing on stage as I had done for the past few years. The concert was definitely one of the most interesting I've ever been to. The first piece, Wagner's Overture to Reinzi, featured a really powerful horn section. Impressive indeed. The second piece was the most interesting, in my opinion. Titled Turangalila-Symphonie, it's an 80-minute piece composed by Messiaen, who required 2 years to write it for the Boston Symphony. I cannot describe how fascinated I was with this one; every section seemed to have its own rhythm, its own melody, and yet the entire orchestra was together. There was no unifying rhythm, as with traditional classical pieces. Finally, the 10th and final movement featured one of the most unusual instruments I've ever seen, called the ondes Martenot, which replicates both the human voice as well as the chirps of a bird. The woman who played it, Mary Chun, is one of only two people in the United States who can play the instrument. Freaking cool.

New news:

I sleptwalked for about the 2nd time in my life (1st time was in Houston over the summer). I took a nap on top of my sheets at 2:15am and told Tim to wake me up at 2:40am. The next thing I remember is that I woke up at 10am...UNDER my sheets. First thought: "How the hell did I get under my sheets..."

Apparently, according to Tim, this is what happened:
1. 2:40am: Tim wakes me up. I sit up, then fall asleep.
2. 3:30am: Tim wakes me up. I sit up, then fall asleep again. Tim lets me sleep.
3. 4:00am: I'm still sleeping. Tim closes the door, turns off the lights, and goes to sleep. He says I was still on top of my sheets when he went to sleep.
4. 10:00am: I wake up, apparently under my sheets.

So how did I get there...? o.o Sleepcrawling HAHA

Play Kiss

2008-09-25T00:03:00.000-07:00

Even without words what volumes do kisses speak. Its books are written by lovers who've made a pact. "Speak" carefully, for few words are so sweet yet so bitter when broken.

Point and Shoot, Point and Shoot

2008-09-23T01:54:00.001-07:00

I made a new friend at a Bio review session. Her name's Nicole, and she's from Hawaii. Great, that makes about the 25th Hawaiian person I've met at USC. The session ended at around 9, and since we were like the only two people who haven't eaten dinner yet, we went to get food at EVK. And there, she fed me what is perhaps the strangest sandwich ever.

Ingredients:
1. Raisin bread
2. Mayonnaise
3. Mayonnaise with sun-dried tomatoes
4. Mustard
5. Tomatoes
6. Ham

I think it was this sandwich that bloated my stomach to unexplainable reaches. On top of that, I had to walk with that stupid food baby all the way back to Parkside. It was without doubt the most painful yet most laughable walk across campus I've had so far. Back at Parkside, I experienced my first food baby sneeze. It was freaking PAINFUL. What followed was half an hour of clutching my food baby while kneeling next to the toilet, wanting to rid myself of the pain by puking, but not quite wanting to give up. Then I got to spawl on a chair for another hour, during which my suitemates actually thought I'd died.

Next followed a wonderful conversation:
12:04:24 AM [censored]: okay so you know how you have
12:04:29 AM [censored]: sympathetic/parasympathetic
12:05:05 AM [censored]: so parasympathetic is involved in erection
12:05:11 AM [censored]: and sympathetic is involved in ejaculation
12:05:22 AM [censored]: so Parasympathetic = point
12:05:27 AM [censored]: and Sympathetic = shoot
12:05:31 AM [censored]: point and shoot
12:05:31 AM [censored]: HAHAHAHA

HAHAHA

Phenom?

2008-09-22T00:06:00.001-07:00

My brother told me today about this guy I knew from elementary school.
1. Name: Corey Neilson
2. Sport: Football
3. Position: Quarterback
4. Last year, he was ranked first in the state in passing (for high school players)
5. Last year, he was ranked second in the nation in passing (for high school players)
6. Last year, he led Gahr High to a CIF title, and was MVP
7. Last year, he was a JUNIOR

o.o what the...
and he's Filipino too...?

CRAZY

Omgad

2008-09-21T01:23:00.000-07:00

I'm really worn out. Yeppp.

BIG BALLS PETE! BIG BALLS PETE!

2008-09-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

Old events:
1. Came within 10 feet of Akon at the Beverly Center last last Saturday
2. I'm now registered to vote!

Okay, on to the new (well now it's old) news...

I attended my first football game EVER last Saturday, and it honestly rates in the top 10 of my greatest experiences. It felt so great to be immersed in the full spirit of USC that makes me so proud to be a Trojan. It was also fun learning the fight song on the morning of the game. FIGHT ON!

WHERE MY PARTY PEOPLE AT

2008-09-06T00:40:00.000-07:00

I took a hip hop dance class today. And I think I'm going to drop it now. I seriously cannot dance the way the instructor did. As in, dirty-south-ghetto hip hop. I think it's fun to dance like that, just not for an entire semester. Good-bye, hip hop dance class!

My suite held a dance party tonight. It was a pretty good party, considering we didn't really start planning until this morning.

Unfortunately, the party only lasted an hour, because DPS eventually came -_-

This Should've Been Posted 2 Days Ago

2008-09-06T00:29:00.000-07:00

Yeahh...I was too lazy 2 days ago, so here's for a late blog post.

I got checked out by a girl o.o I was walking back to Parkside with Alejandro, when this girl walked by me and smiled at me. I think I unintentionally smiled back because the sun was in my eyes, so I was actually squinting. When the girl was gone, Alejandro was like "DAAAYUM BOY, that girl kept checking you out even after we passed her!"

I wonder if she was hot...stupid sun HAHA.

In other news, my left buttcheek is sore. I was doing some *hardcore* ballet the other night. Massage anyone? HAHA

Nicole once again broke the record for latest time stayed in my/Tim's room. 3:30am. I need to start enforcing my sign.

Already September?

2008-09-01T17:47:00.000-07:00

Back at USC! And as hate as it hurts to say it, I kinda looked forward to coming back. At home, I realized how much of a bubble Cerritos is.

Two moments of the day:
1. Eric randomly called me, essentially to tell me that he was thinking of me. Dangit man, why'd you have to make me feel so special? I miss you so much, man.
2. While I was talking to Loris via Skype, her mom came in and asked where my voice was coming from. While Loris was explaining, her mom was like, "IS HE UNDER YOUR BED?!" HAHAHAHA

It's Raining Men! Hallelujah!

2008-08-29T11:51:00.001-07:00

FIRST WEEK OF CLASSES ARE DONE. WOW SO ECSTATIC!

Clothes Clothes Clothes

2008-08-27T01:55:00.000-07:00

I did laundry for the first time at college today. It was so fracking epic. HAHA.

New potential facebook group: "I like to study/socialize with other people in the laundry room!" -_-

First Real Day of College

2008-08-26T01:57:00.001-07:00

I had my first day of classes today, and it was honestly really chill. I woke up at 7:40am, got ready, went downstairs to eat breakfast with a friend, and strolled to class. I got out at 10am, and strolled to my next class. I got out at 11, and strolled back to my dorm. I mean, how much more chill can you get than that?

Oh. Wait.

At lunch (around 12pm)...
KNguyen: Hey, so what class are you guys headed off to after lunch?
KWu: Erm...I'm done with class.
Jialin: Erm...I haven't started.

Wow. HAHA.

My Spanish class later that day was 95% white people. Before class, this girl was like, "So are all of you rushing?" *everyone nods* And another girl says, "Yeah, dude, I've only met 4 girls who aren't rushing. I mean, what the hell is up with that?"

Can you say, cultural differences?

Funniest random moment from yesterday:
So Tim and I are hanging out with two friends in our room. Kevin Wu is also in the room, and he's brushing his teeth. Brian suddenly rushes in.
Brian: "DUDES, KWu JUST RAN OUT OF BOXERS!"

...

Brian (to the two friends): "Oh, hi, I'm Brian."

Funniest icebreaker line ever.

Little Tokyo!

2008-08-24T23:53:00.001-07:00

I went with friends to Little Tokyo today. It was the first time by far at USC that I had a chance to go exploring deep into LA. Honestly, it was a great experience, considering I've been in the bubble of Cerritos for the past 18 years. We ate at this Japanese ramen place. AH it was so good! Definitely one of the best ramen places I've been to in recent memory.

At night, me and my suitemates screamed the lyrics to Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way." We were told to quiet down. HAHA. So we resorted to bboying in a dorm room. It was so hilarious HAHA.

I'm continuing to strengthen my bonds with both my existing and new friends. I absolutely love it.

I still can't quite believe I start class tomorrow.

Hellogoodbye!

2008-08-24T01:54:00.000-07:00

Hellogoodbye concert was amazing!

1. Posthuman Era: Ehh, they weren't that great.
2. Vogue in the Movement: They were really good, and I love the vocalist. I can't believe I had never heard of them before!
3. The Matches: Okay band, but not that great.
4. Hellogoodbye: AHH SO GOOD. I'm kinda jealous that Tiff and Amanda got both pictures with the entire band and autographs from Forrest Kline. Lucky butts!

The best part of the concert was the dang subwoofers. My leg hairs were freaking SHAKING the entire time, and I could feel my chest vibrating as well. What I didn't enjoy was the mosh pit white kids, who started out in the back of the crowd, and shoved their way to the front.

Other than that, I think I'm establishing stronger bonds with my existing friends, and I'm really happy about that. :]

College Parties!

2008-08-23T02:29:00.001-07:00

College parties are so fracking wild. No joke. North Hall=Sex dorm. It was funny seeing people there who I actually know.

Other than that eye-opening experience, I bonded more with my suitemates and others. I'm pretty content right now.

You did it! You met a white girl!

2008-08-22T01:03:00.000-07:00

So today...believe it or not, I made friends with not one, but THREE white girls. My suitemates are so hilarious. They were all giving me high-fives and fist pumps as if I had passed an initiation or something. HAHAHA

So now Brian and I are in a race of manliness to 100 points. I think for now, we've established that meeting a white girl is 10 points.

Kevin: 30 points
Brian: -10 points (he "met" a white girl who turned out to have gone to high school with him -_- that cheater)

You did it! You're a college boy!

2008-08-20T23:46:00.000-07:00

Holy crap. College. I made it. I'm here.

Long story short, I LOVE it here. No joke. My roommates are really awesome; we all clicked so well, almost immediately too. And oh man, we're all Asian too. When we went to the floor meeting, we were like the only Asian group. Someone even congratulated us for gathering an Asian crew so quickly. -_-

So me, Brian, and Kevin (two suitemates, both from Chicago), have a new goal: We're gonna pick up white girls. o.o We tried today at a social activity for our dorm, but we failed miserably. Brian was so hilarious; afterwards, he said: "DUDE GUYS, WE FAILED SO HARD TODAY. Alright, we gotta have a plan of attack for Friday's Welcome Back Dance..."

I'll have an update on that soon...

Anyways, other than that, I'm really happy to be here. I think I'm really going to enjoy it here! :D

My Message to the Team

2008-07-29T21:59:00.000-07:00

Guys (and Julia),

Let me first tell you how extremely proud I am of you. At the beginning of the summer, I really wasn't very confident in your performance, and I was worried that you wouldn't be ready in time for the competition. However, after this weekend, it was clear that I had been so wrong; you are the greatest group I have ever worked with, which includes groups outside of Spaceset.

Despite the way the Romanian team acted during the competition, you did the best job you could. Even without the leadership positions, you persevered, and at 4 in the morning, with 3.5 hours until deadline, it became apparent that it was your experience and training that was going to bail this company out and allow us to meet the 7:30 deadline.

Once again, I cannot begin to say how proud I am of all of you. Despite not winning, I know that you have learned a valuable lesson from working with the other two teams. You may not have the technical expertise that foreign teams can flaunt, but 14 years of Whitney's battle-tested experience in the Finals has prepared you for another role: to lead. When I held the training session earlier this summer, I wasn't doing it to prepare you for technical debates. What I was doing was preparing you to lead the company, preparing you to put together effective slides under pressure, and that is what I saw you do at 4 in the morning. For that reason, I know that I have trained you well, and there is nothing more that I can do for you. I am sorry that we were paired with such an arrogant team, a team that couldn't recognize and appreciate your qualities until it was much too late.

Obviously, there are some things you can work on. Despite having almost all of the qualities that I could ask for, you are still missing one that my training didn't prepare you for: assertiveness. The Romanian team took control early on, and by not voicing your own opinions, they saw that they could walk all over you, and continued to do so. Hopefully, you have learned from that, and when you next go to the Finals, don't let any technical expertise intimidate you; technical expertise is simply what's going to get information on the slides. You have something more than that: the foundation to ORGANIZE this information and SELL it to the judges. You have the foundation to LEAD the company, not serve as another team's slaves.

Recruitment is another important thing to keep in mind. Structure and Auto each have only 1 returning member, and without sufficient recruitment, Spaceset is dead next year. You guys need to try to get a permanent advisor, someone who will help you initiate more aggressive recruitment.

That's pretty much all I have to say. I wish you the best of luck next year and beyond, and I'll definitely see you around for a playday/banquet!

-Kevin Nguyen

Lessons Learned

2008-07-29T21:27:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, despite not winning in my last year in the competition, I did learn valuable lessons regarding management. Yes, while managing the Structural Design department during the year, I was questioned regarding my decisions (ahem, Allan HAHA), but experience usually justified my decisions. The fact that I had been around before to see similar decisions contribute to a winning proposal allowed me to convince my department to follow my judgment.

This weekend was entirely different. Last year, when the Romanian team was with Durango High School, the experience card worked. Durango has been in the ISSDC for many years, and is a powerhouse just like the Whitney team. Last year, it was the Romanian team's first year, which caused them to often submit to Durango, despite their arrogance. Additionally, there were only guys on the Romanian team. This year, some of the girls were complete bitches, and contributed to reducing the quality of the work seen in the Operations and Human Factors departments. Despite having 14 years of experience in the competition, my team's experience card was completely thrown out the window when dealing with the Romanian team.

At least I felt I did as much as I could do. Because the majority of the three-team company was Romanian, they voted one of their own members, Mircea, as the company president. Yes, I would've liked to be president, but I do admit he was really chill, and he allowed to make many of my decisions on my own. Therefore, regarding my own decisions, I didn't really have anyone to answer to, so I was essentially the company president, just not in name. Yet, this shows that the task at hand, to manage the Romanian team members (many of them were voted department directors just through majority), was entirely too large to be accomplished.

There were lessons learned with my own team members as well, not just with me. With the exception of the Automations department, every department was under control by the Romanian team. This competition showed that they were eager to hog the power, but at 4am, with only 3.5 hours left until deadline, it became clear that they needed my team's experience and training to bail them out. Guys, I hope you are reading this; your talents are there, but you do need to be more assertive. Otherwise, other incapable people are going to walk all over you.

It is said that you learn more from your losses than your victories. I had hoped that not qualifying for the finals last year would provide enough lessons, but apparently I was wrong. I hope that next year, my team can come out with this year's undoing and use it to pull out a win. At the same time, don't repeat what the Romanian team did and completely shut out the other teams; retain a sense of openness, but also establish a sense of authority. Unless you're teaming up with Durango next year, there is no one out else there with the experience to efficiently put together a proposal in a short amount of time.

Through this competition, I have learned to deal with people who have no regard for my advantages, whether that be experience or prior training. Perhaps this will serve to be a good topic for some application essay in the future, because this weekend really did have life lessons.

Highlights of the Weekend

2008-07-29T20:33:00.000-07:00

1. Many of us have Romanian accents (mainly me, Grant, Ian, and Andy) now. Enough said.

2. It's often said that sleeping while standing up is a physical impossibility. Wrong. An hour before the final presentation, I personally witnessed Mel Shin sleeping while standing up. A God-given talent? You decide.

3. I finally experienced sleepwalking for the first time. During the last night, I watched Knocked Up in another room with Grant, CJ, and Ian, and the next morning, I found myself in my own room. Apparently, all the guys had knocked out, and my dad had to bust in with a master key. According to my dad, I then walked down two flights of stairs, opened the door to my room, and went to sleep on my bed. I honestly have no memory of this.

4. QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND (and the source of long-term Spaceset inside jokes): "WiTricity is a very tricky thing. It's like a sneaky snake." *makes snake motion with both hands* "It's a very unpredictable technology. This isn't WiTricity; this is WiTrickery." Obviously, you have to hear me say it in a Romanian accent to laugh a little, and you have to have been a member of the Spaceset team to REALLY laugh.