Yesterday was the 2009 MTV Movie Awards Show. I have personally banned MTV out of my life [Why? Turn it on. Done.], but as a not-so-secret Twilight fan [though I am NOT a raving mad fangirl like the media seems to think EVERY Twilight fan is...] I tuned in for the world premiere of the New Moon [twilight 2] trailer, as well as the exclusive clips of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Transformers 2.
Last year, MTV revealed exclusive clips like these during the pre-show red carpet interviews - so of course everyone [myself included] watched the previews and tuned out of the abysmal "awards show" [if you can call it that]. Realizing their mistake, MTV decided to reveal the clips during the award show, making people watch their torturous mockery of the entertainment industry, also known as the MTV Movie Awards.
Andy Samberg hosted and there was a funny intro reel of him being inserted into some popular films as a show opener. Unfortunately it all went downhill from there. I won't really go into it, but there was:
> a performance by Eminem [I muted it]
> Bruno [Sasha Baron Cohen] flying in on stunt ropes, only to end up crotch-first on Eminem [MTV condones teabagging] causing Eminem to storm out
> a Transformers clip that was full of random shots of Megan Fox and was overall unimpressive
> a Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince clip that was very good [that movie is going to be great]
> the world premiere of the New Moon teaser [I. Cannot. Wait. Until. November 20].
> other random and stupid things, like Keifer Sutherland crying himself to death on Ben Stiller's shoulder and Twilight winning in every category it entered [Best Kiss, Best Fight, Best Breakthrough Male Performance-Rob Pattinson, Best Female Performance-Kristen Stewart and (gag) Best Movie] except the one it actually should have won in [Best Song, Decode by Paramore]
Honestly, I love the Twilight series and the movie was okay [New Moon's going to be way better], but it does NOT deserve to win the Best Movie award, even at a poor excuse of an awards show like the MTV Movie Awards, when its against movies like The Dark Knight and Slumdog Millionaire. Either way, MTV realized that the only reason the vast majority of viewers were watching for was the New Moon preview, so much so that they mentioned Twilight/Robert Pattinson at every given opportunity and even went as far as to play a fake trailer before they got around to the real thing.
Lesson learned? Do. Not. Watch. MTV. Just wait for the trailers/exclusive clips to get online, which, I would like to note, they did within a few minutes of the television premiere ending.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
a concerted affair
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of seeing Fall Out Boy in concert for the third time. Overall, it was a great concert I had a great time, but I still liked them best the first time I saw them, which also happened to be my first concert [you never forget your first, right? :P] Cobra Starship, All Time Low, and Hey Monday also performed.
Anyway, there were a few things that irked me about this concert. Not the acts [though I personally did NOT like 'All Time Low' at all], not the venue [UCF Arena is cool, though the recently added no-moshing rule is madness], not even the fact that the majority of the people attending were 12-17 year old girls screaming about Pete Wentz. What really bothered me are what I dub "pit-poopers" [think party-poopers, but applied to the floor pit at a concert]. They are at every concert: the few people who are up-front-and-center in a concert pit and not wanting anyone to touch them, claiming to be claustrophobic, hyperventilating if someone comes within a 3-foot range of them. Those people are pit-poopers.
At this concert, there was one entire family [Mom, Dad, and FOUR children ranging from ages 12-17ish] like that. The Mom and Dad were actually standing there with their arms outstretched around the kids and yelling if anyone bumped into them. Note: they were in the CENTER of the very FRONT of the pit at a FALL OUT BOY concert. It was hands down one of the stupidest things I have experienced in my relatively short life and hands down the stupidest thing I have witnessed at a concert...ever - and I have seen some stupid things done at concerts.
Either way, it will most likely be the last time I see Fall Out Boy [Thank you Kristy!]. Three times is enough. Next concert: INCUBUS in August! I can hardly wait.
Anyway, there were a few things that irked me about this concert. Not the acts [though I personally did NOT like 'All Time Low' at all], not the venue [UCF Arena is cool, though the recently added no-moshing rule is madness], not even the fact that the majority of the people attending were 12-17 year old girls screaming about Pete Wentz. What really bothered me are what I dub "pit-poopers" [think party-poopers, but applied to the floor pit at a concert]. They are at every concert: the few people who are up-front-and-center in a concert pit and not wanting anyone to touch them, claiming to be claustrophobic, hyperventilating if someone comes within a 3-foot range of them. Those people are pit-poopers.
At this concert, there was one entire family [Mom, Dad, and FOUR children ranging from ages 12-17ish] like that. The Mom and Dad were actually standing there with their arms outstretched around the kids and yelling if anyone bumped into them. Note: they were in the CENTER of the very FRONT of the pit at a FALL OUT BOY concert. It was hands down one of the stupidest things I have experienced in my relatively short life and hands down the stupidest thing I have witnessed at a concert...ever - and I have seen some stupid things done at concerts.
Either way, it will most likely be the last time I see Fall Out Boy [Thank you Kristy!]. Three times is enough. Next concert: INCUBUS in August! I can hardly wait.
Monday, April 20, 2009
new harry potter 6 trailer
Despite being the obsessed Harry Potter fan that I am [yes, even more than Twilight], I was very skeptical about the upcoming "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" movie that was upcoming, especially since it had received a 'PG' rating and should be the darkest book to date.
However, my fears have been calmed. Check out this new trailer - I cannot WAIT for the summer movie scene.
However, my fears have been calmed. Check out this new trailer - I cannot WAIT for the summer movie scene.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
tv science and reality
Recently found out about PhD comics, and so far I've liked what I've seen. Thought I'd share one of my fave so far.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
autopilot meltdown
Google released a new application today called Google Autopilot. I would love to see the responses to these Autopilot responses that were "sent" to people :P
Well, other than the fact that today is April 1 and the year is steadily plodding on, I am doing well - though i wouldn't mind having an autopilot version of myself to turn on sometimes.
In the mean time, some interesting things I have found on the internet recently:
>Soundwave Jewelry: basically, this artist can take a sound clip and make jewelry [rings, brooches, etc] out of the resulting soundwave pattern. Neat, huh?
>Cool Photomanipulations, by artist Erik Johansson. Below is my favorite, though more are shown at the link.
Well, other than the fact that today is April 1 and the year is steadily plodding on, I am doing well - though i wouldn't mind having an autopilot version of myself to turn on sometimes.
In the mean time, some interesting things I have found on the internet recently:
>Soundwave Jewelry: basically, this artist can take a sound clip and make jewelry [rings, brooches, etc] out of the resulting soundwave pattern. Neat, huh?
>Cool Photomanipulations, by artist Erik Johansson. Below is my favorite, though more are shown at the link.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
freudian trauma
I'm currently in my Western Civilization II class, listening to my teacher give incorrect information regarding Freud; hence the title of the post. Besides that, it has been an interesting month [exactly] since I last updated. Let's see, there was:
-Mardi Gras Frisbee Tournament: went very well - us girls and the guys B-team [Havoc] have decided to go as a mixed team from now on; Baton Rouge was pretty cool, from what we saw of it. We didn't get the chance to go to New Orleans, but oh well. There's always next year... Next [and last] tournament is this weekend in GA.
-Sick, Sick, Sick: the entire week after the frisbee tournament, I was very ill. Like, could-barely-get-out-of-bed-to-use-the-bathroom sick. After about a gallon of orange juice, more sleep than I've gotten...ever, a visit to the health center, and some puzzle therapy with Spencer, I got better :)
-Spencer: my ally. Facebook says we're in a relationship, but its just a disguise for our alliance against the others :P [note: if you have not seen season 1 of "The Office", you may be slightly confused...]
-Watchmen: the comic is blow-your-mind awesome. The movie got released a few weeks ago [I went to the midnight showing, of course] and it was okay. I personally liked it, but the main critique of it from critics/people I know is that it sticks TOO much to the comic. There is just no pleasing people, is there?
-Spring Break: Went home for 3 days, then went to High School Robert's beach house in New Smyrna and hung out with some cool people. It was literally a sleep-in-until-you-physically-could-not-anymore, then go to the beach-until-you-could-not-stand-it, with food/dream interpretations/scrabble thrown into the mix. It was great :P Then I came back to UCF on the Wednesday to go to a Magic vs. Bulls game with Spencer [Magic won 109-79], and to prepare for the robotics competition.
-Robotics!: The FIRST Florida Regional was last Thursday-Saturday. I was volunteering and doing field reset [which was awesome - best view in the house!], but I was still mentoring 1251 when I got the chance. After a technical difficulties and one match where we were disabled due to not having our trailer hitch attached [grrr], we managed to get picked by teams 744 and 79 [the 3rd seeded alliance] and eventually became the regional finalists, losing in the third match of the finals to teams 179, 233, and 1649. It was one of the most epic finals rounds I have ever witnessed; too bad we couldn't make it a 1251 3-peat FL regional win, but there's always next year...
-True Blood: the vampire HBO show. I've been watching it with Spencer recently and HOLY CRAP is it addicting. The characters make you want to simultaneously kill them and make them your best friends, but either way they draw you in and make you desperately want to find out what happens next. I'm looking forward to the next season which starts this summer.
-Failing at nothings: sooo, I have not been running thrice a week. And I have missed a few days of my Photo-a-day project, making the entire thing null. I'll have to restart at some point... Until then though, I have failed at [my] nothing[s].
Ok, class is done.
-Mardi Gras Frisbee Tournament: went very well - us girls and the guys B-team [Havoc] have decided to go as a mixed team from now on; Baton Rouge was pretty cool, from what we saw of it. We didn't get the chance to go to New Orleans, but oh well. There's always next year... Next [and last] tournament is this weekend in GA.
-Sick, Sick, Sick: the entire week after the frisbee tournament, I was very ill. Like, could-barely-get-out-of-bed-to-use-the-bathroom sick. After about a gallon of orange juice, more sleep than I've gotten...ever, a visit to the health center, and some puzzle therapy with Spencer, I got better :)
-Spencer: my ally. Facebook says we're in a relationship, but its just a disguise for our alliance against the others :P [note: if you have not seen season 1 of "The Office", you may be slightly confused...]
-Watchmen: the comic is blow-your-mind awesome. The movie got released a few weeks ago [I went to the midnight showing, of course] and it was okay. I personally liked it, but the main critique of it from critics/people I know is that it sticks TOO much to the comic. There is just no pleasing people, is there?
-Spring Break: Went home for 3 days, then went to High School Robert's beach house in New Smyrna and hung out with some cool people. It was literally a sleep-in-until-you-physically-could-not-anymore, then go to the beach-until-you-could-not-stand-it, with food/dream interpretations/scrabble thrown into the mix. It was great :P Then I came back to UCF on the Wednesday to go to a Magic vs. Bulls game with Spencer [Magic won 109-79], and to prepare for the robotics competition.
-Robotics!: The FIRST Florida Regional was last Thursday-Saturday. I was volunteering and doing field reset [which was awesome - best view in the house!], but I was still mentoring 1251 when I got the chance. After a technical difficulties and one match where we were disabled due to not having our trailer hitch attached [grrr], we managed to get picked by teams 744 and 79 [the 3rd seeded alliance] and eventually became the regional finalists, losing in the third match of the finals to teams 179, 233, and 1649. It was one of the most epic finals rounds I have ever witnessed; too bad we couldn't make it a 1251 3-peat FL regional win, but there's always next year...
-True Blood: the vampire HBO show. I've been watching it with Spencer recently and HOLY CRAP is it addicting. The characters make you want to simultaneously kill them and make them your best friends, but either way they draw you in and make you desperately want to find out what happens next. I'm looking forward to the next season which starts this summer.
-Failing at nothings: sooo, I have not been running thrice a week. And I have missed a few days of my Photo-a-day project, making the entire thing null. I'll have to restart at some point... Until then though, I have failed at [my] nothing[s].
Ok, class is done.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
whelmed
One can be overwhelmed and one can be underwhelmed - but can one just be whelmed? I had a discussion about this a while back with some friends and it came back to me earlier. Its an pause-worthy thought...
Anyway, I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed recently, only because so many things are going on at once. For instance:
>Robotics: I haven't been posting about it as much this season, but its still happening and we shipped our robots [1251 (my team) collaborated with teams 1902 and 408 to make triplets] on Tuesday after an epic 4 day build-marathon. [Pics can be found here.] I'm still recovering...
>Birthdays: there will have been 6 significant birthdays within two weeks come next Tuesday, each of which requiring its own set of planning/secrecy/execution/etc. Its alot of fun, but it is alot in general.
>Schoolwork: so far this semester has been great, and my first set of tests came back well. However, I definitely am starting to fall behind - and putting off papers/skipping class out of sheer exhaustion isn't helping too much @.@
>Frisbee: I've been to 2 competitions so far this semester, going to another one this weekend in Baton Rouge [leaving Friday morning,coming back early Monday morning, 20hour drive round-trip]. Should definitely be interesting, since us girls will be playing on a mixed team with the B-Team guys.
>Nothings: I have fallen wayyyy behind with the uploading of my "Photo A Day" photos on Flickr and hence this blog, but I am taking them so I'll post them eventually...
Until next time...
Anyway, I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed recently, only because so many things are going on at once. For instance:
>Robotics: I haven't been posting about it as much this season, but its still happening and we shipped our robots [1251 (my team) collaborated with teams 1902 and 408 to make triplets] on Tuesday after an epic 4 day build-marathon. [Pics can be found here.] I'm still recovering...
>Birthdays: there will have been 6 significant birthdays within two weeks come next Tuesday, each of which requiring its own set of planning/secrecy/execution/etc. Its alot of fun, but it is alot in general.
>Schoolwork: so far this semester has been great, and my first set of tests came back well. However, I definitely am starting to fall behind - and putting off papers/skipping class out of sheer exhaustion isn't helping too much @.@
>Frisbee: I've been to 2 competitions so far this semester, going to another one this weekend in Baton Rouge [leaving Friday morning,coming back early Monday morning, 20hour drive round-trip]. Should definitely be interesting, since us girls will be playing on a mixed team with the B-Team guys.
>Nothings: I have fallen wayyyy behind with the uploading of my "Photo A Day" photos on Flickr and hence this blog, but I am taking them so I'll post them eventually...
Until next time...
Monday, February 09, 2009
Book Review: "The Hunger Games"
Don't worry, I don't spoil books - and I loathe people who take pleasure in doing such.
I stumbled across this book as a recommendation from one of my favorite authors on her website; as most authors tend to not recommend books on their own websites, I took heed and managed to procure a copy from my local public library a couple weeks ago. Fast forward to this past weekend when I took a quick trip to Jamaica and needed a break from studying. I started reading it yesterday [Sunday] morning while we were waiting for our ride to the airport - and I read straight through the entire 2 hour
trip to the airport, through the 2 hour wait at the airport, on the initial plane trip to Montego Bay, through the connecting flight to Miami, on the entire drive home from the airport [no, I wasn't driving - i haven't mastered the art of driving and reading yet...just kidding, that's a big no no, even for bookaholics like me], and the minute I got back to my dorm at UCF, finishing it well within 24 hours. It has been a while since a book has drawn me in so completely.
The story takes place in the future in the remains of what is now known as North America. The nation [called Panem] has The Capital and 12 outlying districts, each district divided by its main export [coal, agriculture, manufactured goods, etc]. Every year the districts are forced to send 1 girl and 1 boy between the ages of 12 and 18 to participate in The Hunger Games, a fight-to-the-death competition in which there can only be 1 victor. The games are one of the ways the Capital reminds the districts that they are at the Capitol's mercy and are forced to submit to it.
The story follows a girl from district 12 named Katniss and right from the get-go, its enthralling to read her story. The characters are unforgettable, the plot very unique, with a very original story line, lots of action and intrigue - as well as a cliffhanger that screams for a second book [Catching Fire, which has been confirmed to be arriving in stores on September 1]. I would recommend this book to anyone [girl OR boy] who likes an excellent story, a relatively quick read [370+ pages, as opposed to HP or Twilight...], and unforgettable characters who you will find yourself rooting for without even realizing it.
I stumbled across this book as a recommendation from one of my favorite authors on her website; as most authors tend to not recommend books on their own websites, I took heed and managed to procure a copy from my local public library a couple weeks ago. Fast forward to this past weekend when I took a quick trip to Jamaica and needed a break from studying. I started reading it yesterday [Sunday] morning while we were waiting for our ride to the airport - and I read straight through the entire 2 hour
trip to the airport, through the 2 hour wait at the airport, on the initial plane trip to Montego Bay, through the connecting flight to Miami, on the entire drive home from the airport [no, I wasn't driving - i haven't mastered the art of driving and reading yet...just kidding, that's a big no no, even for bookaholics like me], and the minute I got back to my dorm at UCF, finishing it well within 24 hours. It has been a while since a book has drawn me in so completely.The story takes place in the future in the remains of what is now known as North America. The nation [called Panem] has The Capital and 12 outlying districts, each district divided by its main export [coal, agriculture, manufactured goods, etc]. Every year the districts are forced to send 1 girl and 1 boy between the ages of 12 and 18 to participate in The Hunger Games, a fight-to-the-death competition in which there can only be 1 victor. The games are one of the ways the Capital reminds the districts that they are at the Capitol's mercy and are forced to submit to it.
The story follows a girl from district 12 named Katniss and right from the get-go, its enthralling to read her story. The characters are unforgettable, the plot very unique, with a very original story line, lots of action and intrigue - as well as a cliffhanger that screams for a second book [Catching Fire, which has been confirmed to be arriving in stores on September 1]. I would recommend this book to anyone [girl OR boy] who likes an excellent story, a relatively quick read [370+ pages, as opposed to HP or Twilight...], and unforgettable characters who you will find yourself rooting for without even realizing it.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
2009 Fave Superbowl Commercials
Its that time of year again! I was actually not as impressed overall by the commercials this year...the game definitely made up for it though. I don't follow professional football, but it was a very good game to watch regardless. Below are my favorite commercials from Suberbowl XLIII
--GoDaddy.com - Enhancement Issue
I haven't ever been to GoDaddy.com, but their commercials sure make people want to go see what's going on...
--CareerBuilder.com - You may need a new job...
It may be annoying, but the glasses-wearing koala muttering 'oh dear' in a British accent makes this commercial awesome
--BudLight: Budget Cuts
Defenestration, for the win.
--Coca Cola: Insect Heist
Too cute for words - and the animation is excellent.
--Pepsi: Bob Dylan and Will.I.Am
This commercial makes me very happy...it just shows that no matter what, there are some parts of life that will always be constant and lasting, no matter how modernized technology is and how much Google crashing can ruin someone's day :)
--GoDaddy.com - Enhancement Issue
I haven't ever been to GoDaddy.com, but their commercials sure make people want to go see what's going on...
--CareerBuilder.com - You may need a new job...
It may be annoying, but the glasses-wearing koala muttering 'oh dear' in a British accent makes this commercial awesome
--BudLight: Budget Cuts
Defenestration, for the win.
--Coca Cola: Insect Heist
Too cute for words - and the animation is excellent.
--Pepsi: Bob Dylan and Will.I.Am
This commercial makes me very happy...it just shows that no matter what, there are some parts of life that will always be constant and lasting, no matter how modernized technology is and how much Google crashing can ruin someone's day :)
Thursday, January 29, 2009
resonation
This Week I Recommend
Kings of Leon - I had one song by them ["On Call"] for the longest time and they recently released the song "Sex On Fire" that's been getting a lot of airtime on radio stations, in commercials/television shows, etc. Then at the washboard abs/flexibility class I took this morning, I heard the song "Closer" by them and was hooked. Their different, utilizing catchy beats, old school sounds, and resonating vocals in an impressive way. Similar Artists: Modest Mouse, Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party, The Strokes
This Week I Don't Recommend
Wanted: the movie. Honestly, it was an interesting premise and who doesn't like looking at Morgan Freeman, James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie? But honestly, the complete disregard for things like physics and good acting made me laugh out loud literally multiple times during the movie. Forgetting the bullets stopping other bullets and one bullet taking out at least 12 people at once for a second, did you know that a person falling into the side of the train can knock it off its tracks? I learned that during this movie. I did like the ending line though...you just have to get through 200 minutes of comedy first to hear it =D
Movie Quote of the Moment: "This is me taking control of my life...what the **** have you done lately?" - Wanted
Band of the Moment: Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon - I had one song by them ["On Call"] for the longest time and they recently released the song "Sex On Fire" that's been getting a lot of airtime on radio stations, in commercials/television shows, etc. Then at the washboard abs/flexibility class I took this morning, I heard the song "Closer" by them and was hooked. Their different, utilizing catchy beats, old school sounds, and resonating vocals in an impressive way. Similar Artists: Modest Mouse, Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party, The Strokes
This Week I Don't Recommend
Wanted: the movie. Honestly, it was an interesting premise and who doesn't like looking at Morgan Freeman, James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie? But honestly, the complete disregard for things like physics and good acting made me laugh out loud literally multiple times during the movie. Forgetting the bullets stopping other bullets and one bullet taking out at least 12 people at once for a second, did you know that a person falling into the side of the train can knock it off its tracks? I learned that during this movie. I did like the ending line though...you just have to get through 200 minutes of comedy first to hear it =D
Movie Quote of the Moment: "This is me taking control of my life...what the **** have you done lately?" - Wanted
Band of the Moment: Kings of Leon
Monday, January 26, 2009
Werewolves and Jamaicans
Last Friday was my 19th birthday - and my roommates and friends surprised me by taking me to a local Jamaican restaurant for dinner, followed by going to see the new movie "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans." I had a great time and I was happy to get the chance to hang out with all my friends at once; we all seem to be having an really busy semester so far.
In honor of of turning 19, I'm going to share 19 fun facts about myself that you may or may not know. Enjoy my birthday lexicon!
xix
1) I know more useless information about Harry Potter/J.K. Rowling/Twilight/Stephenie Meyer than you will ever need to know.
2) I have always wanted to go on the gameshow Jeopardy.
3) I often write down notes in my phone containing lyrics to music I hear and like so I can find it later.
4) I have never smoked anything or done any illegal substance [excluding alcohol, but that's only illegal because of my current age, not because of the substance itself].
5)I think vanilla is the best scent in existence. Also, I will almost always choose it when given a choice between something vanilla flavored and anything else.
6) I skipped a grade in elementary school; hence the turning 19 as a college sophomore.
7) I'm the oldest of 4 kids.
8) I still want to go to space, despite the very slim odds made even more slim with my recent major change.
9) I'm a realistic optimist, though lately I've been becoming more pessimistic and it makes me sad.
10) Biggest Concert I've been to: Foo Fighters; Best concert I've been to: Say Anything; Worst concert: Panic At the Disco
11) I like wearing fun, patterned, knee-high socks.
12) I have never solved a Rubik's cube.
13) I'm addicted to Scrabble.
14) My favorite shade of color is dark blue, followed closely by dark green.
15) I can't draw.
16) I like new school supplies.
17) I like even numbers.
18) I hate stereotypes with an f-ing passion.
19) I don't know how I'd function without Google Calendar.
In honor of of turning 19, I'm going to share 19 fun facts about myself that you may or may not know. Enjoy my birthday lexicon!
xix
1) I know more useless information about Harry Potter/J.K. Rowling/Twilight/Stephenie Meyer than you will ever need to know.
2) I have always wanted to go on the gameshow Jeopardy.
3) I often write down notes in my phone containing lyrics to music I hear and like so I can find it later.
4) I have never smoked anything or done any illegal substance [excluding alcohol, but that's only illegal because of my current age, not because of the substance itself].
5)I think vanilla is the best scent in existence. Also, I will almost always choose it when given a choice between something vanilla flavored and anything else.
6) I skipped a grade in elementary school; hence the turning 19 as a college sophomore.
7) I'm the oldest of 4 kids.
8) I still want to go to space, despite the very slim odds made even more slim with my recent major change.
9) I'm a realistic optimist, though lately I've been becoming more pessimistic and it makes me sad.
10) Biggest Concert I've been to: Foo Fighters; Best concert I've been to: Say Anything; Worst concert: Panic At the Disco
11) I like wearing fun, patterned, knee-high socks.
12) I have never solved a Rubik's cube.
13) I'm addicted to Scrabble.
14) My favorite shade of color is dark blue, followed closely by dark green.
15) I can't draw.
16) I like new school supplies.
17) I like even numbers.
18) I hate stereotypes with an f-ing passion.
19) I don't know how I'd function without Google Calendar.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
opportunities
I keep misspelling the word "opportunity". So I'm using every opportunity I can to type the word opportunity correctly.
Yay Inauguration Day! I'm not sure I'll be able to watch it live at noon, but I'll definitely watch the Inaugural Address later at some point.
Time has been doing what it does best, regardless of current activities [aka flying], so its shocking to think that January is almost over. I shall take this opportunity to overview stuff going on right now:
>Status of my Nothings: I made 2 nothings this year [take a photo a day and run thrice a week]. So far I have been keeping up with the photo one (refer to the past 2 weeks of blogs), but I haven't been running thrice a week. I HAVE been taking classes at the gym and actually doing our pre-practice run at frisbee though, so I'm not totally off track.
Also, I'm going to start posting my "photo a day" pics weekly all at once - it makes life simpler.
>First Frisbee Tournament: Last weekend was the UCF Women's Club Frisbee team's first tournament. It was the Janus Frisbee Tournament in Bradenton, FL [near Tampa] and overall it was a great first tournament. We didn't win any games [we didn't expect to], but we learned alot and improved immensely over the course of the 2 days. Our next tournament is next weekend in Gainesville [Florida Winter Classic]. More on that later.
>Classes: So far, so good! I am thoroughly enjoying 4/5 of my classes, though we'll see how I feel after the first tests in each of these classes. My fifth class, however, is already getting to me. The class is Western Civilization II and the content itself is actually manageable - its the teacher that is very successfully driving me insane. I won't name him until after I'm done with his class, but he spouts off his personal opinion about politics, criticizing and ridiculing anyone who doesn't agree with his personal views, and wastes class time interrogating students about their views so he can belittle them. I am barely 2 weeks into his class and I want it to end. Its honestly the first time I have ever disliked a class solely because of the instructor.
Anyway, I'll get through the semester - and then I'll make sure to never take him again...
Ok, back to human factors psychology!
Yay Inauguration Day! I'm not sure I'll be able to watch it live at noon, but I'll definitely watch the Inaugural Address later at some point.
Time has been doing what it does best, regardless of current activities [aka flying], so its shocking to think that January is almost over. I shall take this opportunity to overview stuff going on right now:
>Status of my Nothings: I made 2 nothings this year [take a photo a day and run thrice a week]. So far I have been keeping up with the photo one (refer to the past 2 weeks of blogs), but I haven't been running thrice a week. I HAVE been taking classes at the gym and actually doing our pre-practice run at frisbee though, so I'm not totally off track.
Also, I'm going to start posting my "photo a day" pics weekly all at once - it makes life simpler.
>First Frisbee Tournament: Last weekend was the UCF Women's Club Frisbee team's first tournament. It was the Janus Frisbee Tournament in Bradenton, FL [near Tampa] and overall it was a great first tournament. We didn't win any games [we didn't expect to], but we learned alot and improved immensely over the course of the 2 days. Our next tournament is next weekend in Gainesville [Florida Winter Classic]. More on that later.
>Classes: So far, so good! I am thoroughly enjoying 4/5 of my classes, though we'll see how I feel after the first tests in each of these classes. My fifth class, however, is already getting to me. The class is Western Civilization II and the content itself is actually manageable - its the teacher that is very successfully driving me insane. I won't name him until after I'm done with his class, but he spouts off his personal opinion about politics, criticizing and ridiculing anyone who doesn't agree with his personal views, and wastes class time interrogating students about their views so he can belittle them. I am barely 2 weeks into his class and I want it to end. Its honestly the first time I have ever disliked a class solely because of the instructor.
Anyway, I'll get through the semester - and then I'll make sure to never take him again...
Ok, back to human factors psychology!
Monday, January 12, 2009
A Passing
My father passed away this morning. He's been sick for quite a while now with kidney failure, which in turn weakened his heart to the point where it couldn't support him anymore.
Rest In Peace, Daddy
09/05/1956-01/12/2009
Rest In Peace, Daddy
09/05/1956-01/12/2009
Friday, January 09, 2009
Spring 2009
5 Classes, 15 credit hours
EUH2001: Western Civilization II
-European history from the Renaissance to present. This may surprisingly be my most difficult class due to the insane professor I have...but we'll see.
EXP3250: Principles of Human Factors Psychology
-Basically in an age where machines and computers are becoming more commonplace and necessary for everyday life, humans are being exposed to, working with, and utilizing them more. Human factors psychology[like ergonomics and industrial engineering] deals with figuring out how to improve work conditions, improve overall health and make life better in general for humans.
PPE3003: Personality Theory
-Probably going to be my favorite class this semester and in college to date. Basically we learn about all the different personality theories developed by famous psychologists of old [Freud, Jung, Myers-Briggs, etc] and apply them to people we know in 2 papers we have to write during the semester. The best part: my professor plays clips from "The Office" and other popular television shows to demonstrate personality traits/characteristics :)
PSB3002: Physiological Psychology
-Studying the brain to find out how it works, how it controls things in the body, how it relates to things like emotion and personality - and what happens when it doesn't work correctly and things like schizophrenia and other psychological disorders develop. I'm really looking forward to learning the content of this class.
STA2023: Statistical Methods I
-Statistics. I've never taken a statistics class, not even in high school, so it should be interesting to see how I like it. Especially since I'll be taking a lot more stat classes with my recent major change.
Oh yeah, I changed my major to psychology, in case all the pysch classes were not an indication or anything... Should be an interesting semester.
EUH2001: Western Civilization II
-European history from the Renaissance to present. This may surprisingly be my most difficult class due to the insane professor I have...but we'll see.
EXP3250: Principles of Human Factors Psychology
-Basically in an age where machines and computers are becoming more commonplace and necessary for everyday life, humans are being exposed to, working with, and utilizing them more. Human factors psychology[like ergonomics and industrial engineering] deals with figuring out how to improve work conditions, improve overall health and make life better in general for humans.
PPE3003: Personality Theory
-Probably going to be my favorite class this semester and in college to date. Basically we learn about all the different personality theories developed by famous psychologists of old [Freud, Jung, Myers-Briggs, etc] and apply them to people we know in 2 papers we have to write during the semester. The best part: my professor plays clips from "The Office" and other popular television shows to demonstrate personality traits/characteristics :)
PSB3002: Physiological Psychology
-Studying the brain to find out how it works, how it controls things in the body, how it relates to things like emotion and personality - and what happens when it doesn't work correctly and things like schizophrenia and other psychological disorders develop. I'm really looking forward to learning the content of this class.
STA2023: Statistical Methods I
-Statistics. I've never taken a statistics class, not even in high school, so it should be interesting to see how I like it. Especially since I'll be taking a lot more stat classes with my recent major change.
Oh yeah, I changed my major to psychology, in case all the pysch classes were not an indication or anything... Should be an interesting semester.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
2008 in Review
2008: a rollercoaster ride of a year.
January
-18th Birthday, and surprise Kobe's dinner from the roommates
-Elected 'Head of Academic Affairs' for Honors Congress
-Started dating MarkL
-Foo Fighters/Jimmy Eat World concert
February
-Existed.
March
-FIRST Robotics Florida Regional at UCF; TechTigers were Regional Champions for the 2nd year in a row!
-Broke up with MarkL
-1st Ron Jon Surf Trip
-Knights for the Arts
-Paramore concert
April
-Universal Knights, where I lost my cell phone to an angry, dueling dragon
-'El Tango de Roxanne' performance for ballroom dance class
-Habitat for Humanity!
-Wicked at the Bob Carr Center; 10x better than anything I expected
-Say Anything concert
May
-New laptop!
-The Host novel released
-Pennywise concert
June
-Iron Man movie released
July
-4th of July in Jacksonville: discovered my love of archery and watched the Sound of Music for the 1st time
-The Dark Knight movie released
-Olympics; Michael Phelps pwns
August
-Breaking Dawn [Twilight 4] novel released
-Projekt Revolution [Linkin Park, Chris Cornell, The Bravery, Atreyu] concert
September
-Joined UCF's Ultimate Frisbee Club
-Mission Mayhen off-season robotics competition
October
-Halloween Horror Nights - my first and probably last...
-2nd Ron Jon Surf Trip
-Tempest 'N Tampa off-season robotics competition
-The Rocket Summer/Phantom Planet concert
November
-Blue Man Group!
-Quantum of Solace [James Bond #22] movie released
-Twilight Movie released
-Presidential elections; Barack Obama wins
-Homecoming!; participated in skit for the first time
-Panic at the Disco/Dashboard Confessional/Plain White T's/The Cab concert
-statewide Thanksgiving road trip around the state
December
-discovered my addiction to Scrabble
-Fall Out Boy/The Academy Is.../We The Kings concert
January
-18th Birthday, and surprise Kobe's dinner from the roommates
-Elected 'Head of Academic Affairs' for Honors Congress
-Started dating MarkL
-Foo Fighters/Jimmy Eat World concert
February
-Existed.
March
-FIRST Robotics Florida Regional at UCF; TechTigers were Regional Champions for the 2nd year in a row!
-Broke up with MarkL
-1st Ron Jon Surf Trip
-Knights for the Arts
-Paramore concert
April
-Universal Knights, where I lost my cell phone to an angry, dueling dragon
-'El Tango de Roxanne' performance for ballroom dance class
-Habitat for Humanity!
-Wicked at the Bob Carr Center; 10x better than anything I expected
-Say Anything concert
May
-New laptop!
-The Host novel released
-Pennywise concert
June
-Iron Man movie released
July
-4th of July in Jacksonville: discovered my love of archery and watched the Sound of Music for the 1st time
-The Dark Knight movie released
-Olympics; Michael Phelps pwns
August
-Breaking Dawn [Twilight 4] novel released
-Projekt Revolution [Linkin Park, Chris Cornell, The Bravery, Atreyu] concert
September
-Joined UCF's Ultimate Frisbee Club
-Mission Mayhen off-season robotics competition
October
-Halloween Horror Nights - my first and probably last...
-2nd Ron Jon Surf Trip
-Tempest 'N Tampa off-season robotics competition
-The Rocket Summer/Phantom Planet concert
November
-Blue Man Group!
-Quantum of Solace [James Bond #22] movie released
-Twilight Movie released
-Presidential elections; Barack Obama wins
-Homecoming!; participated in skit for the first time
-Panic at the Disco/Dashboard Confessional/Plain White T's/The Cab concert
-statewide Thanksgiving road trip around the state
December
-discovered my addiction to Scrabble
-Fall Out Boy/The Academy Is.../We The Kings concert
Thursday, January 01, 2009
rants and nothings
So, another year has meandered its way into existence. 2008 was an interesting year... I'll do my "year in review" post sometime soon. All in all, I think I learned a lot about myself this year and hopefully can start using some of this knowledge in 2009 as I learn more.
Anyway, as it is the new year, one is compelled to lie to oneself about one's ability to commit to goals in the form of New Year's Resolutions. I have never been a proponent of said resolutions, only because it seems that they are expected to be broken, so why waste the effort? Because of that, I will name my goals "nothings" - this way if I fail, I failed at nothing and if I succeeded...well, we'll cross that bridge if I get to it. I only have 2 nothings this year
Nothing #1: Run 3 times a week
-This will be the harder of the nothings, as I don't really like running. Ironic, since ultimate frisbee [something I DO like] requires a lot of it. So, to get over my aversion to running - and help build up my endurance for competition season, I aim to run thrice a week.
Nothing #2: Project 365
-Photojojo is this really cool website with random photography facts, information, competition, and projects. One of their projects is Project 365, a picture-a-day project that, like it implies, has someone take a picture a day for one year. The pictures can be of anything/anyone/etc, you just have to take at least one a day. I was intrigued, looked at some of the previous participant's albums and now here I am, going to attempt to do this for the year 2009. And, of course, I will be posting the pics here in my blog [although I may figure out how to use flickr and put them on there too...]
2009 will be memorable, one way or another...
Friday, December 19, 2008
superfluous fixation
Facebook has been tagged as the medium that will revolutionize the internet and bridge the gap between social networking sites and professional networking sites. Its also been found to be useful for keeping in touch with old friends, distant relatives, and for finding out every time those people-you-will-probably-never-speak-to-ever-again-and-basically-never-spoke-to-at-all-in-high-school-but-for-some-reason-requested-you-as-a-friend-on-Facebook-and-you-didn't-want-to-be-mean-so-you-added-them sneezes.
Regardless, I recently found a feature on Facebook that puts all the other to rest. Facebook Scrabble. There was a previous form known as Scrabulous, but Hasbro sued for copyright infringement, settled the case, and proceeded to make an official-but-crappier Facebook version of its game.
Now, fun fact about myself: I like boardgames - alot. I also like competing and winning, but I mainly just like boardgames. And puzzles. And Scrabble happens to be a really good mix of both. So because of that, I have been really happy to be able to play Scrabble on Facebook against friends from all over the world. Having been playing Scrabble about non-stop for about 9 hours yesterday, one realizes how quickly things like going to the gym, eating healthy, and leaving your room become irrelevant in comparison with how to utilize the remaining triple word spot with the letters RCJPSUA in your hand [jars, caps, pars, cars, carp, cups, spar].
I think I may be entering a whole new level of dork. o.O
Regardless, I recently found a feature on Facebook that puts all the other to rest. Facebook Scrabble. There was a previous form known as Scrabulous, but Hasbro sued for copyright infringement, settled the case, and proceeded to make an official-but-crappier Facebook version of its game.
Now, fun fact about myself: I like boardgames - alot. I also like competing and winning, but I mainly just like boardgames. And puzzles. And Scrabble happens to be a really good mix of both. So because of that, I have been really happy to be able to play Scrabble on Facebook against friends from all over the world. Having been playing Scrabble about non-stop for about 9 hours yesterday, one realizes how quickly things like going to the gym, eating healthy, and leaving your room become irrelevant in comparison with how to utilize the remaining triple word spot with the letters RCJPSUA in your hand [jars, caps, pars, cars, carp, cups, spar].
I think I may be entering a whole new level of dork. o.O
Sunday, December 14, 2008
chaotic regurgitation
Randomness I have found in the past few weeks and felt like sharing:
Oops...
Proposition 8: The Musical
An amusing take on a very serious issue.
I personally do not recall the 'Wassup' beer commercial, but apparently it was a big hit.
Wassup has been updated. Here is 'Wassup 2008'
I find that if I do not have anything specific to accomplish [like attending class or leaving my dorm], I spend hours on end reading and/or browsing the internet via 'StumbleUpon'. I think I may end up messing with my blog layout again; we'll see...
Oops...
Proposition 8: The Musical
An amusing take on a very serious issue.
I personally do not recall the 'Wassup' beer commercial, but apparently it was a big hit.
Wassup has been updated. Here is 'Wassup 2008'
I find that if I do not have anything specific to accomplish [like attending class or leaving my dorm], I spend hours on end reading and/or browsing the internet via 'StumbleUpon'. I think I may end up messing with my blog layout again; we'll see...
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
unnatural deselection
Being exam week, I have found myself with an unnatural urge to study more than normal. By more than normal, I mean that I find myself actually studying for the first time this all semester. [<-- that is an exaggeration. I distinctly remember looking at the pretty pictures in my Bio book one Monday during my Cprogramming class =D]
Regardless, I have determined that I do better on tests and quizzes, and therefore feel better about myself, when I have studied and actually know what I am doing. So I shall be doing more of that in the near future.
This, along with running 3 times a week, is my goal for the coming break/semester. We'll see how long it lasts... :)
Regardless, I have determined that I do better on tests and quizzes, and therefore feel better about myself, when I have studied and actually know what I am doing. So I shall be doing more of that in the near future.
This, along with running 3 times a week, is my goal for the coming break/semester. We'll see how long it lasts... :)
Monday, December 08, 2008
smoke alarms and 6am rage
This week is that dreaded time of the semester when the average [and even the above-average] college student says a big "oh %$*@" [a word that, depending on the person, could rhyme with trap, bell, duck, or meh] and gets down to business of learning that we all [I hope] are here at college for: exam week.
This week has also been known throughout time as hell, stress overload, the most important week of my life (this semester), and that time when no sleep is meant to be had.
Taking this concept of no sleep to the extremes, I woke up at the pleasant hour of 5:47am this morning - to the sounds of screeching fire alarms. [NOTE: NEVER a pleasant thing to wake up to, much less at 6 in the morning the day before exams.] Stumbling out of my room, grabbing my laptop, cell phone and wallet, I made my way down to the Tower courtyard where I joined the mass of confused and angry college students, wondering what was going on.Temperature conditions of our 6am sojourn outside: 45 degrees - and the sprinklers all came on, in deference of the invisible flames.
After about 10 minutes, it became apparent that no one, including the RAs knew what was going on and after about 15 minutes, we were allowed back inside. Grumbling about how this would ruin our college careers and plans to lodge formal complaints, we made our way back into the Tower to our respective abodes. Time now is 6:12am. Fully awake with no possibility of going back to sleep - since I'd have to wake up in about an hour anyway, I decide to blog about this annoying event - because that's what fully functioning people of society do nowadays. As I am whittling away at the loom that is my blog, the fire alarm goes off again. Time now is 6:34am. That means about 20 minutes since we got back, more than enough time for a tired college child to fall asleep if they felt the need.
Wary of being sent back out into the cold again, the majority of my hallmates, my roommates and I included, waited in our doorways to see if an RA in shining armor would walk through with a "please excuse this alarm" message emblazoned on his/her/its chain mail - we were not so lucky. So for the SECOND time in a 30 MINUTE PERIOD, we were sent outside into the 45 degree freezebox known as our courtyard; I had brought my laptop so I could continue updating this post - and so that it wouldn't melt if there really were a fire this time around. We were allowed back inside within 6 minutes this time.
Turns out that there was some faulty fire alarm sensor being set off in the Starbucks located in the Barnes and Noble connected to our tower; even the best caffeine fix isn't worth waking up at 5:47am the night before exams.
Vive le sommeil.
This week has also been known throughout time as hell, stress overload, the most important week of my life (this semester), and that time when no sleep is meant to be had.
Taking this concept of no sleep to the extremes, I woke up at the pleasant hour of 5:47am this morning - to the sounds of screeching fire alarms. [NOTE: NEVER a pleasant thing to wake up to, much less at 6 in the morning the day before exams.] Stumbling out of my room, grabbing my laptop, cell phone and wallet, I made my way down to the Tower courtyard where I joined the mass of confused and angry college students, wondering what was going on.Temperature conditions of our 6am sojourn outside: 45 degrees - and the sprinklers all came on, in deference of the invisible flames.
After about 10 minutes, it became apparent that no one, including the RAs knew what was going on and after about 15 minutes, we were allowed back inside. Grumbling about how this would ruin our college careers and plans to lodge formal complaints, we made our way back into the Tower to our respective abodes. Time now is 6:12am. Fully awake with no possibility of going back to sleep - since I'd have to wake up in about an hour anyway, I decide to blog about this annoying event - because that's what fully functioning people of society do nowadays. As I am whittling away at the loom that is my blog, the fire alarm goes off again. Time now is 6:34am. That means about 20 minutes since we got back, more than enough time for a tired college child to fall asleep if they felt the need.
Wary of being sent back out into the cold again, the majority of my hallmates, my roommates and I included, waited in our doorways to see if an RA in shining armor would walk through with a "please excuse this alarm" message emblazoned on his/her/its chain mail - we were not so lucky. So for the SECOND time in a 30 MINUTE PERIOD, we were sent outside into the 45 degree freezebox known as our courtyard; I had brought my laptop so I could continue updating this post - and so that it wouldn't melt if there really were a fire this time around. We were allowed back inside within 6 minutes this time.
Turns out that there was some faulty fire alarm sensor being set off in the Starbucks located in the Barnes and Noble connected to our tower; even the best caffeine fix isn't worth waking up at 5:47am the night before exams.
Vive le sommeil.
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