e p s i e a n n i i h s c t

Personal concerns answered by a personal God

2012-01-16T17:39:00.000-05:00

Homosexuality is just one of many other sins, such as blasphemy, pride, lack of faith, adultery, envy...But, Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit. (1 Peter 3:18)

This does not mean that we can say, "I can do anything since He will forgive me." For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Galatians 5:13-14)

No matter how indifferent we might act towards the God who sent down His son for us, He still loves, challenges, and pursues us. ...if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 4:29)

July 7, 2005

2012-01-13T20:44:00.001-05:00

Today, I found something my brother wrote a bit over a month before he turned 6.
[front]Kevin's wash list.I wash a Lego. I wash a Bionicle. I wash a flower. I wash a hot weele
[back]I wash a Llnle [journal].Kevin
Soon afterwards he learned how to spell "wish."
I am glad to know that these days, he is satisfied with what he already has.

Also... Recently I typed "twi" in the Chrome omnibar, in attempt to visit Twitter.com, only to press Enter as if on auto-pilot. This is how I found the "Twilight Addict Support Group (Twi Anon)" on Facebook.

Thank Goodness for Recycling

2011-12-15T23:10:00.001-05:00

Today, I looked through a ton of high school papers and ended up with a heavy pile of recyclable material. Throughout college, I became further and further from materialistic. This is made easier since my room has always been rather empty. I have never really accumulated much. Still, I have little need for over 90% of the objects I own.
When I was small, I started a sticker collection, a coin collection, and a small eraser collection. I logged a couple hundred hours on some Pokémon games, including Crystal and Sapphire Version. My middle school friends went to some sort of anniversary event in Chicago and brought me back a special Celebi and Dragonite. After my little brother secretly overwrote the game to play on his own, I was so frustrated.
My jewelry was treasure: pearls, silver and gold.
When I received certificates, report cards and standardized test scores from school, I often saved them. If my name appeared on an orchestra or recital program, the program was worth keeping. If an object was of no significance to other people but affirmed my successes, I wanted to keep the paper in order to look back on it later, because it was worth the space.
What is a paper that says you did something well, or a particularly delicate necklace? What is a few pixels that mean something in a made-up world, or a perfect transcript? These things should be appreciated for all their value, whether accompanying a quiet nostalgic afternoon or encouraging further learning. They are a part of a lovely time and place of the past.
But it feels good to move on.

A Two Decades' Brief Checklist

2011-10-29T00:22:00.000-04:00

Through preparation, experience and reflection, life is incredibly more multidimensional than these points can portray. But these goals lightly reflect my priorities and dreams for the future. They vary from absolutely important to barely of importance at all. Some are reminders for preservation rather than demands for growth or achievement.

1. Become more sure that Jesus died on the cross for us (and assurance of salvation)
2. Always be a role model for my brother
3. Take care of my parents whenever they need me
4. Pray for my family to know of God's love
5. Help teach school in the countryside of Susong
6. Be cheerful
7. Learn the Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody, Rachmaninoff's Prelude Op. 23 No. 5, the rest of Chopin's Ballades
8. Buy a grand piano, a paper cutter, camcorder
9. and a Highlander for my father
10. Finish my movie
11. Write a lot of letters to people
12. Finish reading the Bible, The Pilgrim's Progress, all of C.S. Lewis's books, and much more
13. Spend a lot of time away from technology
14. Consistently count past 5 correctly
15. Sleep more than 8 hours a night
16. Hopefully get married. Hopefully have two children.
17. Find even more hipster music to enjoy
18. Go to a Killers concert
19. Understand the scope of my father's knowledge about physics and superconductors
20. Pray for my family and friends
21. Learn to cook from my mother... no recipes
22. Always put myself last
23. Keep writing in my journal
24. Become a civil engineer
25. Write a song
26. Do missions in East Asia
27. Learn more about disaster relief and mitigation
28. Love every person, with Jesus as my role model

What are you going to be for Halloween?

2011-10-23T23:25:00.000-04:00

Peter: ughstudyingpreregisteringnot fun
Charles: i dont do halloweenzies
Emily: stuff
June: hmi think i will be a nazi zombie
Parker: I am unsure, but I have all the supplies to be a hobo(He bought a shopping cart at a thrift store for $3.50.)

I love you.

2011-10-15T00:58:00.001-04:00

The love for equals is a human thing--of friend for friend, brother for brother. It is to love what is loving and lovely. The world smiles. The love for the less fortunate is a beautiful thing--the love for those who suffer, for those who are poor, the sick, the failures, the unlovely. This is compassion, and it touches the heart of the world. The love for the more fortunate is a rare thing--to love those who succeed where we fail, to rejoice without envy with those who rejoice, the love of the poor for the rich, of the black man for the white man. The world is always bewildered by its saints. And then there is the love for the enemy--love for the one who does not love you but mocks, threatens, and inflicts pain. The tortured's love for the torturer. This is God's love. It conquers the world.― Frederick Buechner

What a precious day.

2011-09-27T23:42:00.001-04:00

This one and every day afterwards.
Never forget that every day, we can celebrate about something.
I really hope you have a good night.

Love always,
epsieanniihsct

Want to play debt ceiling chicken?

2011-08-14T13:31:00.006-04:00

Making fun of your own side by pretending to be the other.

Congressman Pace (D-FL) said:
congressman dunn's largest campaign contributor is nambla
congressman dunn once saw a kitty in the middle of the road and passed by it. then he reversed and ran over it again.
congressman dunn was kicked out of the KKK for being too racist
congressman dunn is a rogue
congressman dunn is a ruffian
congressman dunn is a carrot
congressman dunn has two different families that dont know about the other
congressman dunn is against the legalization of fun
congressman dunn
congressman dunn is legally illiterate
congressman dunn is a death eater
congressman dunn runs an underground dolphin extermination operation
congressman dunn was actually the one that released those compromising photos of congressman downing to the public
congressman dunn believes only the siths deal in absolutes
congressman dunn's favorite author is stephanie meyer
the only kind of happy ending congressman dunn knows is the kind you have to pay extra for
congressman dunn used to be congresswoman dunn
congressman dunn was sad bachmann won the straw poll because shes too liberal
congressman dunn sued rushdie for stealing the name of his journal
congressman dunn thought the rock was only an average movie
congressman dunn's hero is jarjar binks
congressman dunn bought out michael vicks share of his dogfighting ring

Congressman Dunn (R-FL) said:
congressman ryan pace (d-fl) is terrible at bargaining
congressman pace is bought and paid for by china and the church of satan
congressman pace keeps 12 year old pages in his office
hes unamerican and doesnt respect that the bible is the real constitution
so of course he is
congressman pace keeps 12 year old pages in his office
congressman pace saw a starving orphan in africa and stood laughing at it until it died
congressman pace is a scoundrel
congressman pace is a rapscallion
congressman pace is a brigand
congressman pace is a waffle
congressman pace switched his car insurance to geico and ended up paying more
congressman pace voted for a bill that allowed congress to steal candy from small children
congressman pace doesn't like ovaltine
congressman pace fought on sauron's side in that big war
congressman pace shot jay gatsby
congressman pace thinks that greedo shot first
congressman pace thinks he can simply walk into mordor
congressman pace read anne frank's diary and thought it had a happy ending
congressman pace got confused and thought osama bin laden ran a 7-11
congressman pace voted against the bill of rights
congressman pace cheered for the iceberg in titanic
congressman pace commissioned dante to design his 9 floored, circular house
congressman pace doesn't like morgan freeman's voice
congressman pace thinks emma watson is only mildly attractive
congressman pace played basketball with kim jong il and lost
congressman pace actually thinks the beatles are a terrible band
congressman pace can feel love, but only towards hillary clinton

I said:
congressman pace campaigned against susan g komen for the cure because he thought it was a corporation

I'd like to think I tried, but next time I won't fail.

2011-08-11T00:07:00.003-04:00

For security purposes, this story is going to have a lot of one-letter initials. Some of which overlap with each other, adding necessary ambiguity.
The drive was a success. Obeying our Tomtom set on the American Richard voice, I felt safe. This safety derived from a conversation my parents had about this particular voice. Richard sounds like a computer version of President Obama, and we tend to vote for Democrats. My iPod naturally played a variety of obscure music: Black Hills by gardens & villa, Ritual Union by Little Dragon, I Can Change by LCD Soundsystem... P jokes that I won't like any music on YouTube that has more than a 1,000 views.
The unpaved road wasn't bad. The sun was bright, the roads were dry, and the cars were few. Soon, I found the correct mailbox.
Then I became very confused.
On the right side of the mailbox was a large trailer-but-garage-shaped structure with a smaller trailer along its side. Behind that was a two-story home. I didn't know if P lived in the little trailer, the garage, or the house. After cautiously stepping into the lawn, I strolled towards the garage and along its perimeter. Nothing. R stayed on the phone with me. By the time I almost finished walking around the garage, I saw a lady.
"Hello! Do you know where P would be?" I think I asked this.
"He lives over there. [point]"
"Thank you. I really didn't want to walk on your property but I didn't know how else I would find him," I explained.
"It's okay. You just scared me," she replied. Later, I found out from P that this lady has shot trespassers. Oh my.
On the left and ultimately correct side of the mailbox, I drove up a nearby driveway, only to find a llama (which I thought was a huge alpaca because I did not realize P had llamas), another two-story house, many small barns, a small Volkswagon, a grey truck with one Mexican man in it who didn't know where P would be, and a group of Mexicans sitting around. Hesitating for a few seconds, I then pulled out of the driveway, and parked along the road across from the mailbox and driveway.
I knew I was in the right place, so I walked down the driveway once more. Did P live in one of these little barn things, or did he live in the tall house? "R, I'll call you back."
"Hi, do you know if P lives here?" I asked a Mm, who stood up and seemed to know very fluent English.
"No sorry, we're new here too." The Mm asked another Mm something in Spanish, and they spoke quickly.
"It's okay." What am I doing here? I wondered. "Do you speak Spanish?" I added, even though it was pretty clear that they did.
"Yeah. Do you?"
"A little bit!"
"How did you learn it?"
"From high school." I learned some in middle school too, but that would take more explanation, and high school was the most immediate answer that my mind recalled.
The Mm smiled. "Did they teach you well?"
"No." I am completely honest.
A knock on the barn closest to the llama did not produce any indication of human activity. It looked like the barn acted as a storage shed.
A ring of the doorbell produced the response of a barking dog from the inside, but nothing more. I stepped off the front porch, deducing that P probably didn't live in a house with girl's shoes near the front door, not realizing that he has a sister.
I walked back into the van, locking all doors. My last resort would be to call P, but this task took a while. Here is a summary.
Phone call #1:
me: Hi J! Do you have A's number? J: Sure. I'll... call you back... It's ----------.
Phone call #2: no answer
Phone call #3:
me: Hi Z. Do you know where A is? Z: Yeah, she's here. me thinking: Of course she is. That's why I called you.
They told me to call A.
Phone call #4: After looking, A told me to call G. I didn't have G's number but I knew someone who does.
Phone call #5: no answer
Phone call #6:
me: Hi! A's phone seems to be turned off. Ohh! She is on a plane. [Has conversation with A/J's mom. Decides I will just go back to civilization.]
I left.

It's been a while

2011-08-05T14:23:00.001-04:00

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.
5. How are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
13. I'm slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
22. I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

There is only one person God has treated worse than he deserved. - John Piper

This post is pretty good, but maybe not helpful for everyone. It's basically about the way young women should probably think about dating.

Moo

2011-07-16T20:04:00.000-04:00

Am I imagining this, or did the NOAA favicon become brighter?

I made a mistake. On Google+, when I remembered that Picasa keeps all these Blogger pictures, I deleted all of them. Unfortunately, this means that none of the pictures show up here anymore unless I upload them again. The title picture and my avatar is back up, but besides that, there are far too many to restore. So I am not going to do it. Sigh.
But I don't think this will be a problem because if you really want to see little children sitting on recyclable chairs, for example, just let me know and I will email some to you, if I still have them in my computer.
Everything is so connected! awiuafwoagnljsdaf

I found this on Twitter recently:
Dannon The Dannon Company
6 Retweets
Today is Cow Appreciation Day, so go and give a cow a hug. Without them, there would be no Dannon yogurt. #moo

These are two of my favorite moments from The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins:
"Do you really mean to say that you don't feel any interest in what we are going to do?" he asked. "Mr. Bruff, you have no more imagination than a cow!"
"A cow is a very useful animal, Mr. Blake," said the lawyer.

"'First, the inner hall,'" Betteredge wrote. "Impossible to furnish that, sir, as it was furnished last year--to begin with."
"Why?"
"Because there was a stuffed buzzard, Mr. Jennings, in the hall last year. When the family left, the buzzard was put away with the other things. When the buzzard was put away--he burst."
"We will except the buzzard then."
Betteredge took a note of the exception. "'The inner hall to be furnished again, as furnished last year. A burst buzzard alone excepted.' Please to go on, Mr. Jennings."

Let's do the fork in the garbage disposal!

2011-07-10T17:03:00.000-04:00

About ten years ago, the teacher asked her class to write answers to the question: If you could live forever, would you?
I knew my answer immediately: no. I thought that any eternal existence would become really boring, and that eventually, I would seek nothingness: death. Of course, at this moment I was quite content with life and would not have backed up this prediction absolutely. But I also thought it was preposterous to exist forever.
For days after this, our teacher read us Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit. This is still one of my favorite books. It is about a family who finds a spring that gives eternal life. A girl falls in love with one of the family's sons, chooses not to drink the spring's water, and dies at a healthy, normal age. This book asserted the warning against holding onto an earthly life so strongly that many kids changed their minds afterwards.

In retrospect, I think I was wrong. Yes, I do not want to live forever. But yes, it would be nice to live forever. If Heaven is real, then wouldn't it be wonderful to live forever? It might be boring, or it might not. But my mind is so limited; I am far from wise. I do not have enough mental capacity or any capacity to conclude that an eternal Heaven would be boring.
I love life and am so excited about it. At the same time, I resolve not live on Earth forever. No worries about that; we know what will happen here.
But the other sort of eternality, in Heaven or Hell... I cannot deny that this will happen.

Now that I am a Christian I do have moods in which the whole thing looks improbable: but when I was an atheist I had moods in which Christianity looked terribly probable. from Mere Christianity by CS Lewis.

I always have so many things to show yo-

2011-06-26T19:33:00.010-04:00

but I guess that sounds a little weird.

1. Quite a realistic pie chart.

2. Being a ghost is serious business.

3. This Google Chrome video made me feel so sappy. Well I can't wait until I'm a dad one day.

4. This is kind of old-ish. But when people ask me what Cornell is like, now I have something to show them. If you haven't watched This Is, a video about Cornell University, I highly recommend it.

5. No wonder that sinners are given to slumber when saints sleep as they do. No wonder that the unconverted think hell a fiction when we live as if it were so. No wonder that they imagine heaven to be a romance, when we act as if it were so little a reality. Apparently from Charles Spurgeon, A Wilderness Cry, delivered August 4, 1878. But I couldn't figure out who really found this and has a copy of that sermon.

6. Two people saw my blog early today.
One from the US and one from Brazil.
One with Chrome and one with Safari.
One with Linux and one with Macintosh.
That is all I know, but I guess that's a little creepy of me.
But today as in June 18, 2011. Now it is later.

7. I haven't counted this high without messing up for a while now.

8. The World . . . is the beautiful frontispiece to Eternity. You never enjoy the world aright till the sea itself floweth in your veins, till you are clothed with the heavens and crowned with the stars . . . till you can sing and rejoice and delight in God as misers in gold . . . I must lead you out of this into another world to learn your wants. For till you find them you will never be happy . . . They (i.e. Souls) were made to love and are dark and vain and comfortless till they do it. Till they love they are idle or misemployed. Till they love they are desolate. from Traherne's Centuries of Meditations, quoted by CS Lewis in Yours, Jack.

9. Mr Chris Tomlin and I are very lucky people. And I just realized that the celebrity pictured is wearing the same shirt in both pictures. That was a joke. That was an ambiguously phrased sentence.

10. (500) Days of Summer is surprisingly realistic.

Meet Leo the Lion

2011-06-12T20:23:00.009-04:00

This is one of my best friends teaching another friend's stuffed animal, Leo the Lion, how to play the guitar. For quite long now, I have and still call him my "big brother." (The person, not the lion. I don't know anything about Leo.) Actually, he is less than three months older than I. He encourages me in so many different ways, such as loosening up, and putting God first.
And he's single, ladiiies. ;) Jk. But really.

The Big Bang Theory
Leonard: At least I didn't have to invent 26 dimensions so the math would work out.
Sheldon: I didn't invent them. They're there!
Leonard: In what universe?
Sheldon: All of them! That's the point!

"Toyota's new slogan is: Moving forward. Whether you want to or not." NPR March 7, 2010
I just wanted to write this down (again?) so I could keep it forever... as long as Blogger exists. It is especially meaningful to me because I was about to (try and thankfully succeed in) braking at a stop sign... in my Corolla.

Sr2NbO4
Two years ago, a scientist tried many times to make this compound. I watched and helped however I could. He has been busy with other things, but if anyone out there has made it and is willing to give out some tips, please let me know.

President Obama and facial recognition/replacement software
Three guys I know went on an online chatting website, I think Chat Roulette, and pretended to be President Obama. Some people really thought it was him.
"We asked things like are you paying your taxes and they looked scared and kept nodding. Then [one of the guys] asked if they were 18, and they did the same thing. Then he said, 'Goood. The president has to obey some of the laws.'"

My commentary on art, May 2010
I never thought I would spend hours with a tablet and stylus in hand, slowly transforming visions in my mind into colorful pieces, over and over again. I thought I preferred depicting dancers, but my art has spread throughout an assortment of genres. I am always looking for new inspiration, and do my best to save my favorites at hand. Others say they see movement and bold colors in my pieces. I agree, and have actually strived for those qualities this year, because I have always enjoyed them in my life. I wish to convey any emotion I would like to exemplify. But most often, I show strength and serenity, even if I do not act or feel this way when I begin my planning processes. I have been using newly found patience, pencil for sketching, oil pastel, watercolor, acrylic paint, Photoshop, and any luck I have in finding the right time to begin something. My favorite moment is about a third of the way through a new piece, when I have an enormous number of ideas, and a plethora of patience, knowing almost precisely how I would like to meet my final product. I think that all of this work has only reflected a small portion of me. I do not spend an enormous time with making art. Much of my future will be devoted to engineering, statistics, and dealing with things that are out of my control. I am so grateful, and will never forget to turn my attention back to digital drawing, piano, or sketching- whenever I want a break.

Try to Imagine

2011-06-06T16:30:00.003-04:00

Last night before I fell asleep, I was thinking about how God is always right in front of our faces, constantly. This is really roughly how I see it.
I do not have a son. Well, I do not only roughly not have a son. I definitely do not have a son. Anyway.
What if I sent my hypothetical son to die for someone who didn't even deserve my grace, and then that someone found out what I had done for him? And then, what if he often ignored and doubted me? I'd be completely devastated.
We just ignore Him so much. But He loves us so much that he sent his Son to endure incomprehensible pain and die for us.
Jesus is always here to help you have a personal relationship with God. The Holy Spirit is always here to tell you exactly what God thinks. They are like a team. A really really really smart team that knows all of time at once, and the location and momentum and everything about every single particle ever.
This analogy has nothing to do with my personal experiences. But maybe it will help you. Pretend you are a female civil engineer, and that you know three guys in your Fluid Mechanics class. Please ignore everyone else. You think the first guy is really attractive. It is easy to talk to him, which is great since you are secretly in love with him. The second guy is a good friend, who you see every day. Luckily for you, he wants to make your life as easy as possible. He is willing to tell you the answers right away, so you can get your homework done but do not really learn anything. The third guy will only truly speak to you if you speak to him. But once you speak to him, anything he knows you want and suitably need, he will give to you in a greater capacity. For example, if you ask him to hold your pencil for you, he will carry your whole backpack. He rarely gives you the answer right away, but he constructively guides you in the right direction. He also happens to know exactly what you need in your life on all levels.
At the end of the course, when you are about to take your final, I bet it is great to know the first and second guys. I know. You should. If the first guy asks you on, a date, then GO! But I really hope you have a lot of conversations with the third guy.

Here are some kind of amusing things that have nothing to do with this post.

Watch this if you're bored!

N: :P
Yes and then double that and we gerbil :P
Hahahaha I mean we get you
Not we gerbil! dumb iPhone!!

me: Your birthday flower looks like a fern
R: what is my birthday flower
me: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthday_flowers
R: thats bc it is a fern.......
me: but there are flowers
like mine is the dahlia
R: maybe they stole it
Adiantum (pronounced /ˌædiˈæntəm/),[1] the maidenhair ferns, is a genus of about 200 species of ferns in the family Pteridaceae,
YOURS IS NOT NATIVE HERE
mwahahahahaha
me: im not native here...
R: touche

R: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rkR0XmVYfc&feature=player_embedded
me: hahahaha
that's funny
you should try it
R: i will
now all the videos on youtube under recommended for me are arabic
2:59
قطري زاحف
3 months ago
31,637 views
Because you watched
كيف تدخل وانت متأخر

me: i found this instead o.o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1Qut0Nrsiw
he can swim! oh my gosh
P: whoa.
he can graduate from cornell

Just some things

2011-06-01T00:31:00.005-04:00

1. I've caught hundreds of fish. Probably enough for my whole life.
2. I kind of wish people made more lists because I like to read them. They are so useful. The ones in my head are usually shorter, though.
3. You know "Smile Like You Mean It" by The Killers? It's about visiting the place where you used to live. I always struggle to explain where I lived. But thankfully I have a friends like Nicole and Chanyang nearby who can explain for me, while I make sounds like "Uh well um."
4. We went to Destin for a day trip. We almost accidentally drove to Panama City Beach.
5. Potted plants are so funny. As opposed to normal plants that grow right on Earth's surface. Think about it.
6. I feel like I can really relate to this:
You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him of whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. I did not then see what is now the most shining and obvious thing; the Divine humility which will accept a convert even on such terms. The Prodigal Son at least walked home on his feet. But who can duly adore that Love which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape? The words compelle intrare, compel them to come in, have been so abused by wicked men that we shudder at them; but, properly understood, they plumb the depth of the Divine mercy. The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of men, and His compulsion is our liberation. CS Lewis.

Doing Nothing

2011-05-22T22:17:00.000-04:00

The packing and moving process was pretty awful.

I'm probably going to forget. But someone please remind me if you remember.

2010.02.24 Calvin V. at 4:35am

if i ever die kejing, i want you to put in the request to facebook to freeze my account. tell them to change my status to "what do you mean there's no in-flight meals?!"

If people use Facebook for much longer, wouldn't there be millions of people on Facebook who are actually dead? I don't know how I feel about that.

Eventually we could have databases of our ancestors. Oh man.

Oh, you know.

Emails have really started to bother me. I always liked them because they were like letters except quicker. But then you never get to see people's handwriting. Also now I never know when I should reply to people.

Two of my friends surprised me at the airport!!! They even made a sign!

My mom reminded them that one of my bedroom walls is completely blank. So I should put the sign there. But it is not there.

Actually, the last time I went to China, I bought a huge Chinese flag and wanted to put it on that wall. But I didn't really have a way to keep it secure, so now the flag is folded up in my closet.

One of my friends suggested on her Tumblr to write on a banana with a pen. Today, I finally did it! I highly recommend trying it out. It met my expectations and more.

6 school years until he can come to Cornell

2011-05-16T23:36:00.004-04:00

I love my little brother. Here are some of our emails.

Kevin to me
show details Apr 20
it was good. At Beef-oh-Brady's we were given awards for contests and competitions. I got first place in all four contests for our grade.

Me to Kevin Apr 26
Oh, what were the contests? I'm glad you won.
It is really crazy outside now. And so warm: http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Ithaca&state=NY&site=BGM&lat=42.4422&lon=-76.5002

Kevin to me Apr 28
The contests were Mathcounts, AMC 8, Sigma, and Math Olympiad.

...

Kevin to me at 7:51 PM (3 hours ago)
I took the Orleans-Hanna test. It's supposed to see how well you will learn Algebra. There is a lesson and then there are questions about it. At the end there is a 6th grade review section. The only problem was that I already knew everything.

Run away, David Lei

2011-05-14T14:45:00.006-04:00

TheOnion The Onion

HP Unveils Non-Computer For Those Who Don't Need A Computerhttp://onion.com/lKD13Y

5 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply

TheOnion The Onion

Area Bird Creeped Out By Bird Watcher http://onion.com/bGzN93 #OnionGreen

11 May

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‎"There is nothing like a true love to go and make a fool of someone."

This is not a true story.
When David Lei was a small six year old child, he learned about the tooth fairy. To him, the process of trading one’s tooth for money sounded a bit unrealistic, so he didn’t tell his parents about it. But out of curiosity and a sliver of hope, one night, he put a recently lost tooth under his pillow. Maybe the tooth fairy would take the tooth and leave something. He slept well that night.
As he awoke next morning, David lifted his pillow excitedly. His wide eyes opened with hope, but soon slackened with disappointment. There was nothing under his pillow. If David were old enough to have higher vocabulary, he would have called this experience a “conspiracy.”
Walking past his bed the next day, David realized that the tooth had fallen to the floor. Afterwards, he pretended that he had never been so silly.
During his high school years, David and his parents settled into a ranch styled home in Madison, Wisconsin. In his senior year of high school, his most unique role in society began when he got a phone call from the Department of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco. At the offer of a family friend, David became an underage agent. He traveled around town with various men, and tried to buy beer from bars in town. The first eight wouldn’t sell it to him, but the next two did. The government went on to arrest those last two men. David felt kind of special.
As many Chinese guys do, David entered the College of Engineering at Cornell University. One gloomy Ithaca day, David casually ambled past Goldwin Smith on his way back to his dorm, Mews Hall. He thought “Sure, Mews might not be as cool as Balch, which has its own Wikipedia page. But life is pretty good.”
To spend more time in the company of the light but steady raindrops, David veered northeast, away from his path to Mews. He moved down the awkwardly spaced steps near Noyes, and approached a path around Beebe Lake. He saw a pretty girl jogging along the northern path, so he decided to go in that direction too.
Stepping along the damp path, David felt at peace. Sure, the sky was cloudy and gloomy, and his head was a bit damp. Appreciating the rain, he remembered what a preacher said recently, during Easter on the Quad. “The gorges weren’t made with sunshine, you know.”
David casually paced around the lake for a few more minutes, examining the nature that grew around the manmade lake. A cool westward breeze brushed his cheek like whisper. David turned around, but he was alone.
He looked down, and hopped a little bit back in surprise. Imprinted in the damp mud were a set of mysterious footprints. Who made these footprints?
David speculated that last night, two emotionally struggling young lovers might have found that the lake, secluded from the dorms, was a good place to discuss their relationship problems. After a couple of hours of calm but assertive debate, they stood up to leave. But instead of walking back to the dorms, they fought amidst the strong and pouring storm, clutching onto their failed but desperately emotional relationship into the early morning. The guy must have trudged away, angry and exhausted, stamping his feet into the ground with each increasingly labored step.
But David wasn’t sure whether the footprints belonged to one or two people. The prints were all of similar sizes, and their shapes were too rough in such damp and malleable mud. David shrugged, glanced at the setting sun, and walked back to Mews.
Beep beep beeeeep. Beep bee- David jerked up from his bed and turned off the alarm. It was 8:45am, about time to get ready for an early Freshman Writing Seminar. What a drag. “That class is useless,” he thought.
As David scrambled into the room and tried not to be late, Professor Sinykin lectured about C. Auguste Dupin, a young detective of Edgar Allan Poe’s short mystery story series.
“Morning, David. So, did everyone read ‘The Purloined Letter?’ What did you think?” the professor smiled hopefully. As if more than half the class had done the reading.
Actually, David had done the reading and found it quite captivating. Even after Professor Sinykin dismissed the class, David pondered about Dupin. David was in awe of Dupin’s detective prowess. What a man. Dupin picked out the clues that were necessary to solve the mystery of that letter. Furthermore, David wondered whether or not he would risk his life to uncover the truth behind a mystery.
Walking into the Temple of Zeus, David quickly forgot about Dupin. He had a Rebecca Black moment. Which seat should he take? Except that all the seats were taken. Then, he spotted the pretty girl from his walk near the lake. As he entered the coffee queue, she gave him a quick smile. His ego liked that smile. “Just a normal day,” David thought smugly. But seeing the girl reminded David of the footprints.
Later that day, Peter, Greg and Will joined David for dinner.
“What up,” greeted David. He nodded as his friends settled down with their food trays. “Guys, I think I found something weird,” he added apprehensively.
“What’s up?” asked Peter, David’s roommate and fellow engineer.
“Well I was just walking along Beebe Lake yesterday, and when I looked around at the ground, I noticed these footprints,” explained David. “It was kind of weird.” Peter’s face exhibited thoughtfulness with great patience, and a touch of confusion.
“I dunno, man,” inputted Greg, who never took walked outside because he always worked out in the gyms.
Will offered another opinion. “I think it was an act of God. Things like that don’t just happen. Remember when He made Jesus walk on water in the gospels? David, you were next to a lake. Look around at the water next time. I mean, maybe God is speaking to you, dude.”
“Umm…” Peter mumbled something in disagreement. Then, he added, “It’s pretty sunny today. If we go check now, we probably won’t see any footprints, because the mud is all dried up.”
David knew Peter was right. But he couldn’t stop thinking about those footprints. He went back to the lake at night. He took the path around the lake from the south side. Next, he jogged across the footbridge. In the darkness, the crashing waterfall seemed more powerful. And more intimidating. The increasingly thick rain fed the growing waterfall. By the time David approached the place he stopped the last time he saw the footprints, his breathing became quicker and shallower. Glancing around, David knew he didn’t want to stay long. He was going to get wetter, and he didn’t have a flashlight.
But by the dim light of the crescent moon, David seemed to know what he would see when he looked around at the ground. He saw the same ominous set of footprints as he had the previous day. This time, the footprints seemed more spaced apart, more determined, and heavier. As if someone was running after him.
David bolted away in fear.
“Oh man, oh man, I don’t know what’s going on,” he desperately said to himself. His morning, sitting in writing class, seemed so far away. In fact, even dinner with his friends seemed like forever ago. These terrifying footprints captured David and would not let him escape. And he didn’t know how he was going to spend the next three years at this school.
As David returned to Mews, he was still nervous and shaken. His roommate, Peter, was calmly typing out an essay, and the room was cool and comfortable as usual. David was getting ready for bed when Peter turned to him. “David, I’ve been thinking more about our conversation at dinner. You weren’t looking at your own footprints, were you?”
David’s labored breathing quieted down. Exhausted, he climbed into bed and slept.

Making Lists

2011-05-13T13:36:00.007-04:00

Things I think would be really convenient to have in a house

1. A shelf above the bathroom sink but at the bottom of the mirror over the medicine cabinet. So you can put contact lens stuff there.
2. A scale built into the floor and/or wide enough to weigh a suitcase
3. Built-in shelves
4. Food. I know this isn't related to construction but it is really important. Enough to use punctuation.
5. Rolly chairs

6. Recycling bins

7. A ledge inside the window sill to put stuff on it

Things I want to tell my children
1. I believe the Cayley-Hamilton Theorem is important to understanding matrix exponentiation.
2. It is easier to remember telephone numbers in Chinese than English.
3. Criticism and hardship are necessary for growth.
4. I wonder who your father is. He could be studying for finals right now, too! Or drunk.
5. Try not to study for 8 or 9 hours today because then you will... be like me.
6. One of my best friends was an underage agent.

To: Edgar Lei

2011-05-06T11:51:00.004-04:00

2011.05.06 11:15am EST

Hello, Edgar Lei!

Are you having a good day?

Maybe since it's still early, you are eating a parfait.

(You are so awesome that you don't need a tray.)

And then you will be ready to go out and play!

Each day in the future, just like today,

You always know good things to say.

Your brotherly love is like a fabulous bouquet,

which beats almost anything - even radioactive decay.

Why don't you pretend the next year is a holiday?

Anything for your departure to delay,

because as many people who can fill up a bay

would agree with the sentiments this poem seeks to convey.

Once you go, what if our hearts are in disarray?
Maybe no one will be okay.

Our hearts will show only gray

as if they are trapped in Tropical Storm Fay (2008.08.25, Tallahassee).

On your journeys, I hope you stop in my birthplace, Hefei (Anhui).

Not because it rhymes, but because it is far away.

And then, you will be more eager to stay,

with me at Stanford (I hope), near San Jose.

If you never see me again, I will send the CIA

to find you so that with kindness I can repay

to you, not just in May

but in everlasting care like that in a work by Monet.

Now it is lunch time, so find a fish fillet.

Or if you really want, you could start to crochet.

Whatever you do, for you I will pray.

Okay. Have a great Friday.

Love,

Kejing Jiang

11:50am EST

More Quotes

2011-05-04T15:10:00.006-04:00

[Lecture, March 28-ish, 2011]

Professor Kudva: I put out a report from 1990… you guys were toddlers then. ….. You weren't born? :o

[Texts, Today]

me: Just went inside the suite next door to ours. The hallway is huge. Our rooms will be awesome. Our suite is awesome. You girls are more awesome.

A: Ah, but you are more awesome ;) yay!!! I'm SO excited! :) :) p.s. Dinner tonight? Will you be around?

me: I anticipate being around :). But seriously the hallway is SO LONG.

A: Excellent! :) and oh, I see, I pictured it being very wide when you said that, but long sounds great too! :O

me: That's what she said.

Q: Why did your mom marry your dad?

A: She got too old to do anything else with him.

[Lecture, March 18, 2011]

Professor Hui: I think [the determinant of] a 5 by 5 matrix is what most of us can do before our patience wears out... or before our life wears out.

Yesterday Night

2011-05-02T16:12:00.012-04:00

timcarvell If anyone has a horribly embarrassing bit of news they'd like to bury, now would be an excellent time to disclose it. about 15 hours ago Retweeted by BrianR_Norris

Last night, I was sitting in Jillian's room when we heard a lot of yelling. Jillian opened one of her window, so we could discern their words. They were yelling, "AMERICA!!!"

I can't really convince myself that it is okay to be so happy over killing. At the same time, I wonder if there will be a terrible backlash at our country, or whether there really should be a choice to be made: between being "American" and loving your enemies.

I don't know about the future's potential backlashes, but I do have some idea about the choice.

But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44)

Verses like the one above are all over the book I read this spring break, The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun. Just yesterday afternoon, a friend mentioned this book. Sometimes, people stretched out Brother Yun's arms as if he was on a cross, or beat him with electric batons. He was consistently grateful for the pain, which I cannot come close to imagining, and so glad that he was persecuted, as Jesus was.

I can't see myself as a particularly brave person. But I think that hardship - pain, criticism, no matter the extent - is not in vain. After all, compared to the eternal...

I am so disappointed and sad to think about all the terrible implications of one person's actions. (I am about to use a lot of prepositional phrases. Just warning you.) But I think that choosing not to hate a man and celebrate his death is not equivalent to choosing empathy over supporting the people who suffer. Choosing to love all people is not equivalent to neglecting my country.

I know he is probably the least brotherly person ever. We have almost nothing in common. He committed terrible, terrible crimes.

Sometimes I lose sight of my first love: God. Because I wish everyone in the world would walk into Heaven before I might.

Yeah, even him. I'm crazy.

Well I don't know you at all. But I love you. You may disgust me to no end, but I know you must have some goodness. At least a little.

I don't really understand how any being can love you that much. But He does, SO much! I know that God has already figured out which path you want most and given it to you. Because He loves you so much more than any person can. So I love Him more than ever.

This is completely unrelated.

A friend told me, "That's what you do to guys. You wear them out." What does that meaaan?

OCD, A Fine Frenzy, and Romans

2011-04-06T18:42:00.013-04:00

Hah. This is a mental disorder poster by British designer Patrick Smith. You can find more here.

Now that more people are using the Internet, a lot of people have been blogging. And the more people who blog, the more instances they blog about the same things. Sometimes I wonder if people who are reading mine think that I have been reading theirs if I happen to mention the same things. I wouldn't know. But it is definitely a possibility. For example, two of my friends discussed marriage within one or two days of each other. Maybe there is the confounding variable that many people in college tend to think about marriage. I guess it doesn't really matter too much unless all my friends suddenly start talking about mental disorder posters from Design Milk.

This is a quote straight from YouTube. I know, I'm getting good sources. "...the boys picked the rotten apples at the bottom because they were too lazy to climb the top." The quote is referencing a song, "You Picked Me" by A Fine Frenzy. It's sweet.

My friend let me borrow her copy of The Reason for God by Tim Keller. I have not finished reading it yet. It isn't going to completely sway you in any one direction but it shows that some really difficult questions (such as why God allows suffering, why there is a Hell, why Christianity and not another religion, etc.) actually have answers, and he offers his answers! It's kind of a relief to read things like this. He mentions CS Lewis quite a bit, so if you've read Mere Christianity, you'll probably feel pretty well-read throughout the first few chapters.

These verses in particular have been on my mind for a few weeks. You know how the newer Windows OS's have Sticky Notes (By the way, Ctrl+Shift+> and Ctrl+Shift+< changes the font size.)? When I see something interesting or someone tells me something worth sticking on my computer, I use that. You can tell I really like Romans.

But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 4:29.
...because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28.
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39.
For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. Romans 9:3.

QA for Cornell 2015

2011-04-01T20:02:00.007-04:00

A friend got into Cornell University (Congratulations!) and had a few questions for me. I'd like to share them with other potential pre-freshmen. Let me know if you have any other questions about anything.

My best advice is to physically visit the schools that accepted you.

1. Is being in Cornell kinda isolated? I heard from someone that the town of Ithaca is kinda boring by itself.
It is physically isolated but there are constantly buses that go to NYC. Ithaca isn't actually boring once you learn more about it. Think of Duke... it's in Durham, where I hear it is pretty dangerous. Ithaca has a great farmer's market, everyone seems to good about the environment, there are beautiful gorges and waterfalls on campus, there are definitely things to do, and Cornell has SO much going on that even if you're too lazy to walk off campus, you'll always find things. For example, there are more clubs at Cornell than I have heard of at other schools. Like 1000 or something, maybe a little less (800-ish? but still a lot I'm guessing) registered officially. It is good to get away, but I think that getting away is more about leaving the bubble that is Cornell if you let it become monotonous and study all the time.

2. Is the workload impossible? I heard Cornell was pretty intense.
It is very intense, especially if you are an engineer or architect. But you can do it. I studied for one and a half days on a linear algebra test that had a mean of a 74 and I got a 99. I'm not a genius, no matter what compliments you kindly throw at me. There will always be someone who beats you, but if you work hard, you will be okay. Also keep in mind that a B average at Cornell is much more impressive than an A average elsewhere. Thousands of kids just like you have gone through Cornell and definitely graduated. You will learn how to make time for things you enjoy, and find that you enjoy so much more than you realized.

3. How is the weather? haha.
It's not very good. But the amazing thing is, whenever it gets over 50 degrees or is sunny for a day (or a few days in a row), suddenly everyone is like :D :D :D at you. This is actually significant because I always got the gut feeling that people at Cornell (staff and students) are extremely kind. For example, if you walk along and realize you need a dollar, suddenly three people will stop what they are doing and try to help you. This didn't happen to me but I was one of the three people who stopped. It's moments like these that you end up just expecting to see. Going back to weather: I thought it would be SO COLD after I got back from winter break, but it hasn't been bad at all. I'm not kidding, you're going to step into 30 degree weather and seriously not find it too cold. And when it is sunny, whether I am here or in Florida? I have absolutely never APPRECIATED the sun this much in my life. So I think it's good to go through "bad" weather for a few years. You'll see. But it is sunny sometimes.

4. What's your favorite thing about Cornell?
The people. Everyone finds people who connect with them. You know how if you meet someone and you get the feeling that you could be their best friend? I've made a lot of close friends and it hasn't been a year. Almost everyone (except Hotelies) has a hefty workload so you can all complain together. But that isn't the best part. People here are helping me in so many ways. I have friends who see God pursuing me, and know that He will reveal Himself to me. Or friends who rejected MIT and Caltech to come here because they felt better and happier here. And all these friends are so different (Cornell has really diverse people compared to other schools that I've visited). Keeping this in mind, you are going to change so much in these few years. Wouldn't you want the people who surround you to be this kind, interesting and giving? And wouldn't you want to help mold them?

5. Least favorite?
Feeling like I just tried really hard on an essay and realizing it wasn't good enough to get an A. I might get my first B in a class this semester.
Okay, I'm kind of kidding. It really isn't in terms of letter grades. Sometimes I personally feel terrible when I face my limitations. But limitations come in different levels, not just with school.
I think the number one thing that people are unhappy about is the work load. But then I think, why not be pushed? I don't want to be a wimp and go to Brown. (No offense.) The time is going by so quickly, anyway.
I think the things that disappoint me are often things that you would see at any school. Like if I see one of my friends crying, at first I feel like the whole world is unfair. (And then you think about things like Romans 8:28 and you're like ... oh-wait-a-moment. All is not lost! There is always hope! Let's keep going!) But a friend crying doesn't really have much to do with the school. Let me know if that doesn't make sense.

This is pretty incoherent

2011-03-12T11:29:00.005-05:00

because I wrote these lines in many different sittings.

This is joke I saw somewhere online. An engineer, a physicist and a mathematician all get the assignment to build a fence around a flock of sheep. The engineer builds a square fence because it is easiest to construct. The physicist builds a circular fence because it maximizes the enclosed area. The mathematician disagrees: he builds a very small fence around himself and declares himself on the outside of the fence.

I meant to post this article a long time ago, but still highly recommend this article by The Onion... Republicans Vote To Repeal Obama-Backed Bill That Would Destroy Asteroid Headed For Earth.

For clarification, the picture to the right is not actually of me, and I have no idea who she is. My source pretty much doesn't remember who she is, either, I think.

They gave me a second piano student, but unfortunately I still haven't met her.

Wow, a year. Life is amazing.

My family is going to New York City for spring break! Ryan said it is like my home is coming to me.

One of my best friends is coming to visit me near the end of this semester. I am so lucky.

I'm really excited that I found out about something meaningful to my heart.

One night, we prayed for different countries at LIGHT 2011. I think something important happened here...

I discovered this song today:

Love always.

Right.

2011-02-15T23:28:00.005-05:00

I realized that British men say "Right," pretty often.
These days have been quite filled with finding the activities I really like, and choosing which ones are worth my time. Homework is kind of inevitable. But I like to think, or at least pretend, when it comes to Entrepreneurship and Engineering Enterprise (maybe I will like it more soon! ?), that I really enjoy the information. It seems like the most effective way to do well. And justifies why I am here at all, instead of enjoying the beautiful Floridian outdoors (I live in New York? Weird.) that are now consistently prevalent. I do miss Florida.
My longest lasting "love" has been classical piano. I have a student now, for which I'm really excited. Hopefully she will be excited, too. And I am going to play for elderly people, which is always fun. I have not done it very frequently in my life. In fact I can only remember two times I played for a room full of them.
I really want to try fencing, but am afraid that might be too much. So today, I decided not to go...
This week I'm also going to our school's Campus Crusade for Christ general meeting, or "Cru." It is all over the country! One of my best friends here has talked to me about it. We have also talked about how whoever we end up marrying, if we do that is, is living around somewhere! She said he could be doing homework in his dorm right now! ...and that she hopes he's not dating someone else right now. But I don't mind, I mean, it doesn't really matter much at this point, and I'm sure she was at least kind of kidding. Hopefully her future husband had a good day today.
My first prelim of the semester is in a week. Oh man. Linear Algebra for Engineers... Where the odds are good but the goods have been odd since 1870. ;) Yeah, that is the year our college was founded. I thought the phrase needed some fixing up.
Swimming tomorrow!
Stay happy.

Unwanted again?

2011-01-28T23:18:00.002-05:00

Thank you for your interest in The Boeing Company! We appreciate the time you took to complete our online application process for the following position:

Requisition Job Title
10-1019256 Intern - Student Engineer - Product Support and Logistics
Unfortunately, this job opening has been cancelled.

[cry] <-except not

I am learning all the different ways people can reject you. The nicest one so far was from a smaller (but very cool in my opinion) company that thanked me twice in the email, saying that they would let me know if there were a position available for me. At this point I believe that the day I find out what I'm doing this summer will be one of the top five best days of my life.
When we grow up, you can say, "Kejing! My son is so nerdy. He wants to be an engineer. Do you have any advice or information of contact for any summer opportunities?" And I will say "Yeah! Let him email or call me some time. I'll contact some of my friends from high school and college. But which major interests him?" And then I would find something cool for him to do, because I would (hopefully) be good at life and be in a great position to help the next generation (or you).

Edgar Allan Po(e/oh)

2011-01-17T17:08:00.003-05:00

This is the sort of humor that is kind of mean but really hilarious at the same time. William found it!

It's Been Quiet

2011-01-14T23:19:00.010-05:00

There is something really awful about not knowing what I'll do this summer. Besides this, the last week of the very kindly long winter break is going very well. My sprain at the leg/pelvis joint seems to be healing up, enough so that I can run again! Besides that, I have done a Jillians Michaels workout twice this week, and stretched every day. I still believe that my chest pain, which progressed negatively throughout the first semester, is not going to bother me significantly. I just need to stay calm, breathe deeply when stressed, and continue to become a more relaxed person. But not careless.
"Love Is A Place" by Metric begins:
There's spring in the air
They're sweeping the streets
Wind is a breeze
The sun becomes her, he agrees...
It's pretty simple, but I can imagine the sweeping of streets, particularly after the snow melts away enough so that it is possible. This is when you can really feel the sun shining on your body. Actually, while jogging today through my neighborhood past Nesters but not quite to Wooded Gorge, I sat on the sidewalk cross-legged, closed my eyes, and felt calm for a while. Though as I opened my eyes, a man walked down his driveway across the street to get the mail and said "Hi!"
Once, I asked my friend for some calming music recommendations, since he has thousands of songs in his iTunes and seems to particularly enjoy the ones that help him wind down. So he showed me all these Beck songs, such as "The Golden Age," and "Side Of The Road." I don't really think they work for me, but I'm glad he tried to help, because it serves the overall goal of becoming more relaxed.

I think there is a lot of love that I am almost always ready to give out to people. Some of my friends have told me that I have a good idea about the true nature of people when I meet them. So there is no point in trying to exploit me, now that I have put that idea out there in case you did not have it before this sentence entered your mind.

Neglecting to click on the Stats tab frequently, here is a thank you for reading to everyone- from the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Russia, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Colombia, Brazil, India, Moldova, France, Taiwan (which is a part of China, unless I am mistaken), Ukraine, and my current home country.

La Maison en Petits Cubes

2011-01-08T22:52:00.002-05:00

I am in love with this.

I don't know if I can forgive myself.

2011-01-06T20:59:00.022-05:00

Not only can I not at all juggle, I cannot meditate. I am working on it, though. Well, I was working on the meditation at the time I wrote that sentence. It is now 5 days later, and I barely meditated for 3 minutes since then. Way to fail. So then I tried stretching consistently, but who knows how that will go in the long run.
This morning I woke up kind of early and started worrying about things, and when I heard my watch alarm, I kind of swore under my breath, which was definitely a shock to me, because I don't usually curse. But if I ever do, I feel like I have a pretty good reason, and it generally isn't when other people are around. But if anyone were lurking in my room that early in the morning, maybe I would have.
To explain the title (oh yeah, the first two paragraphs weren't actually in response to that, so sorry to trick you), I basically sat on a couch all morning. Maybe because my friend's mom forgot to tell her I called. But then I think, well gosh, I was still pretty lazy. This is the result.
I downloaded Flipboard for the iPad. It's the App of the Year, apparently, and conveniently free. There is a section called FlipDesign, which has a bunch of interesting showcases of industrial and architectural designs.

For example, this cool designer, Luc van Hoeckel, came up with a wooden fan that moves without electricity. I think it's pretty impressive, yet so simple, though maybe a little weird to actually put in my future house... and hoping the latter phrase might enter existence one day:

And apparently, Sanaa, a group of Japanese architects, designed this watch that is supposed to look like a cat wrapping around one's wrist. Here's the black one:

And then there are these little cardboard chairs that you can recycle after your children grow out of them:

Another group of Japanese architects (why are they so good?) made these sticky notes from scrap wood:

I think that's probably enough to share for now. There were also some really interesting buildings and rooms, though.

Two weeks until a four month long... something awful but really worthwhile at the same time. There's college.

Medley

2010-12-22T16:53:00.004-05:00

But separate's always better when there's feelings invooooolved
Oh oh
Heeey yaaa
Heeey yaaaa
I say what's cooler than bein' cool?
Ice cold
Lend me some sugah; I am your neighbor!
Leave the bourbon on the shelf
And I'll drink it by myself
If only we could move away
From here.
Let's disappear till tomorrow
Dis a ppea r
Back with my high school friends
Meetin' where the train tracks end
Maybe I know somewhere deep in my soul that love never lasts
And we've got to find other ways to make it alone and keep a straight face
Nothing is easy. Nothing is sacred. Why?
They got me on the run. Direct me to the sun
Only the young can break away, break away
Is there anyone out there?
I watched him spin you round and round
Why did you roll your dice, show your cards...
Tu sais que tu n'aimes pas ta réalité.

I'm home!

2010-12-15T23:22:00.003-05:00

And I love the way my little brother is growing up...

I feel like it's a Kermit with a chef's hat on.

2010-12-11T22:07:00.006-05:00

That was Nicole.
We just made a gingerbread house! It was the first one I have ever helped make. Anne is telling us the beginning of her adorable love story. Faith's computer is playing a Christmas station on Pandora, and I am typing on her computer. We are wondering if this guy is from Barcelona. Probably not. Faith, Anne and Nicole are SO cool. Faith has a master plan to figure out how she can associate with a certain group of people. It's Nicole's turn now. We are going to bed soon. Faith, if you end up reading this, I'm sorry it wasn't very exciting. But I probably shouldn't post our personal stories on the internet. It's supposed to rain tomorrow! The high is 41 degrees tomorrow. SO warm! Really.
"When you were little and you had play dates with people... I'm so sleeepyyy... I feel like these are awkward sneakers. He must've been a huge stoner. Don't you think? Well not them; I meant the old one. Everyone cartoons is short. But yeah, I don't know. Oh. Fail. A gingerbread. But you can eat it if you want it. It's massive. It's so big. Regression. Regression. Kejing's blogging about us. I want to start a blog, guys. Yeaaah. I've made a one-log... yeah.! My friend Riley and I made a response video and we actually posted it and it was like, Faith and Riley! Demi Lovato? I'm trying! I'm working with you. Mhm. Yes. It's like a Japanese restaurant where you sit around the cook stove. Sooo good. Mmm. What are you writing? And it better be about us. That's all I have to say. Faith Faith Faith. Nicole Nicole Nicole. Anne Anne Anne. Okay go ahead. This is being wasted. My eyes are getting larger and larger. I don't even remember the part we were crying at but Nicole said this isn't the part you're supposed to be crying. I'm going to start writing in my journal and not read it to you. Kejing is not sharing her blog so I'm going to make an an.. angr.. angry response. I can't talk." ...said Faith.
There is a pile of Hamlet books on Faith's printer, and a tiny Christmas tree. She was up late Facebook-chatting three really creepy boys, except she likes two of them. So if you are one of them.... you have a two thirds chance of being in luck. I think they want me to read them the post now.
Hmmm, it says this blog has had 1,196 views through all time. I wonder if my parents have found this yet.
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. So close!

The End

2010-12-04T16:47:00.003-05:00

As I (hopefully) reach the end of my differential equations courses, I remember sitting in lecture during the spring semester with Jack, William, Lyndssey and Blair.

Professor Sussman: I actually spent days of vacation plotting 3D graphs.
[class laughs]
Professor Sussman: I'm serious.

Ten more days. Sooo close!

Hey.

2010-11-20T15:01:00.002-05:00

Since my last post was about the courses for which I signed up, I should probably talk about them, since the classes end in a couple of weeks.
The descriptions were probably from the Courses of Study website.

Matlab has been okay so far. The projects are kind of time-consuming. The last one is making the worm game, which I remember Ryan really liked playing on his graphing calculator. It is maybe not as complicated because the worm is supposed to stay the same length. We'll see. It says that this time, they won't give much guidance about how to actually do the project. So it will take a lot of planning. We get our third prelim grades back on Tuesday morning at the end of the lecture.

The freshman writing seminar hasn't really been about fairy tales in the sense that you would expect. A lot of it is pretty modern. Right now, we are revising each other's essays in preparation for the final portfolio. But we have to write an addition essay about the three essays we put into that. Hmm. I guess a lot of people in my class have been fairly disappointed about the course, because the description seemed very interesting, but they do not enjoy actually taking the course.

Math is probably the most comfortable course I have right now. The first prelim was entirely covered in my class last spring. We are doing wave equations right now, using separation of variables to solve partial differential equations. It is a little weird, because the variables and terms they use are different from the ones I have learned in physics this semester, but are still somewhat familiar. The lecture is fun because I always sit with my friends and we generally have a good time, somehow. And I almost always eat food there.

Swedish massage and more has mainly been "and more" and not as much Swedish massage as I expected. It is not very awkward, because everyone has to massage each other, and you just do it. I guess it can be painful at times if your partner hurts you, but thankfully I haven't really hurt people, and it doesn't seem too difficult as long as you think about how it might feel to the other person while you are moving your hands and fingers. I guess it helps that I can play the piano.

Physics has kind of been my enemy this semester. I don't think I have enough passion to learn it really really well. I also don't think people usually take this course if they are doing my major. I do not actually need to take my math class, either. But here I am, completely left out compared to all these academically experienced male MechE's, ECE's, AEP's... They are too smart. I spent 8 hours on quantum physics yesterday.

The engineering seminar ended a couple weeks ago.

I don't actually like talking about school this much. But at least there is now some balance with the previous post.

Over the summer, I saw a Cornell girl's blog, saying that she rarely had time to explore Ithaca or anything while she has been here, because she is usually doing homework or just hanging around on campus. I disagree. If you want to get out, you can. For example, I have gone to the Farmer's Market at least five times. They have really good food, such as fruit, but also other things like strawberry Nutella crepes with whipped cream. It is really cool just to sit near the steamboat landing, and take in Ithaca's aura. There are a lot of families who go, and even though it is so far away from real home, it is something I think is worth joining.

But, I do run out of time. So much that I not found very many new songs. Consequently, I have been listening to a lot a lot of The Killers and Metric, as usual.

I would say that I will blog more, but I feel like it's kind of tough to make commitments in college...

Fall 2010... for now.

2010-08-14T17:04:00.011-04:00

CS 1112 Introduction to Computing Using MATLAB
Fall, spring. 4 credits. Corequisite: MATH 1110, 1910, or equivalent. Assumes student is comfortable with mathematics (at level of one semester of calculus) but has no prior programming experience.
Programming and problem solving using MATLAB. Emphasizes the systematic development of algorithms and programs. Topics include iteration, functions, arrays, and MATLAB graphics. Assignments are designed to build an appreciation for complexity, dimension, fuzzy data, inexact arithmetic, randomness, simulation, and the role of approximation.

ENGRG 1050 Engineering Seminar
Fall. 1 credit. Prerequisite: freshman standing. S–U grades only.
First-year engineering students meet in groups of 18 to 20 students weekly with their faculty advisors. Discussions may include the engineering curriculum and student programs, what engineers do, the character of engineering careers, active research areas in the college and in engineering in general, and study and examination skills useful for engineering students. Groups may visit campus academic, engineering, and research facilities.

GERST 1109 From Fairy Tales to the Uncanny: Exploring the Romantic Consciousness
3 credits.
As didactic texts that present explicit—and implicit—moral lessons, fairy tales shape cultural identity by questioning as well as affirming dominant cultural values. This seminar uses selections from the Brothers Grimm to analyze characteristic features of the genre and examine its evolution to the present day. Our investigation will focus on how the transformation of oral folk tales into literary texts in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries sparked an interest in androids, the paranormal, and the pathological and spurred German Romantics to experiment with new forms of fiction that established the matrix for popular genres like horror, mystery, fantasy, and sci-fi. The emphasis of the course is on improving writing skills.

MATH 2930 Differential Equations for Engineers (MQR)
Fall, spring, summer. 4 credits. Prerequisite: MATH 1920. Taking MATH 2930 and 2940 simultaneously is not recommended.
Introduction to ordinary and partial differential equations. Topics include: first-order equations (separable, linear, homogeneous, exact); mathematical modeling (e.g., population growth, terminal velocity); qualitative methods (slope fields, phase plots, equilibria, and stability); numerical methods; second-order equations (method of undetermined coefficients, application to oscillations and resonance, boundary-value problems and eigenvalues); Fourier series; linear partial differential equations (heat flow, waves, the Laplace equation); and linear systems of ordinary differential equations.

PE 1416 Swedish Massage And More
1 credit.
Swedish massage will be the common denominator as we explore multiple techniques to release stress and tightness in our bodies. We will have a bit of a sampler, with emphasis on understanding mechanisms of stress and how to interrupt patterns of movement that might be problematic over time. We will dabble in aromatherapy, The Trager Approach ®, reflexology, and massage with movement, to name a few. No prereq required.

PHYS 2214 Physics III: Oscillations, Waves, and Quantum Physics (PBS)
Fall, spring, summer (six-week session). 4 credits. Prerequisites: PHYS 2213 and MATH 1920, 2220, 2240 or 2130. (See list of overlapping physics courses.) Students may benefit from prior exposure to differential equations (at level of MATH 2930). Students lacking this background should co-register for MATH 2930. Students with strong performance in PHYS 2208 and who have taken vector calculus are also encouraged to enroll. Fall, R. Thorne; spring, staff; summer, D. Briota.
For majors in engineering (including biological, biomedical, and biomolecular engineering), computer science, physics, earth and atmospheric science, and other physical and biological sciences who wish to understand the oscillation, wave, and quantum phenomena behind much of modern technology and scientific/medical instrumentation. Covers physics of oscillations and wave phenomena, including driven oscillations and resonance, mechanical waves, sound waves, electromagnetic waves, reflection and transmission of waves, standing waves, beats, Doppler effect, polarization, interference, diffraction, transport of momentum and energy, wave properties of particles, and introduction to quantum physics. With applications to phenomena and measurement technologies in engineering, the physical sciences, and biological sciences.

Is blogging old-fashioned now?

2010-08-01T14:54:00.005-04:00

Juggling... I don't know. Sometimes I feel like I can't even throw one ball properly. It is supposed to go in a steep arch to your other hand. Even that is a challenge. Darn.

One of my few Asian guy friends officially introduced me to Starcraft yesterday. Finally! Except, I was pretty pathetic and didn't know what to click. Apparently he has played for years, but maybe if he were South Korean, his APM would be higher. I'm kidding.

On the new iTunes, when you right-click on a song, the top option is to Play/Pause. I have always gotten used to it being Get Info. I think it's awfully mean that they changed it. It keeps tricking me.

I feel like Nino Rota is one of those people who has done a lot to influence our life's memories. In this case, the audio ones. He has written so much for film scores. All his pieces sound familiar to me. Maybe it's his style. You'd expect some famous old movie to have music like that. I think the one we can probably recognize by name is "Love Theme From Romeo & Juliet."

One of my friends (who unfortunately deleted her blog this year on May 27 so I cannot sneakily give you a link to it) made me a CD. The 19th song was interesting, by U2. It is called "Walk On." After looking carefully at the lyrics, I think this is the song that most accurately describes me, right now.

And love is not the easy thing

The only baggage you can bring...

And love is not the easy thing...

The only baggage you can bring

Is all that you can't leave behind

And if the darkness is to keep us apart

And if the daylight feels like it's a long way off

And if your glass heart should crack

And for a second you turn back

Oh no, be strong

Walk on, walk on

What you got they can’t steal it

No they can’t even feel it

Walk on, walk on...

Stay safe tonight

You're packing a suitcase for a place none of us has been

A place that has to be believed to be seen

You could have flown away

A singing bird in an open cage

Who will only fly, only fly for freedom

And I know it aches

And your heart it breaks

And you can only take so much

Walk on, walk on

Home... hard to know what it is if you’ve never had one

Home... I can’t say where it is but I know I'm going home

That's where the hurt is

Leave it behind

You've got to leave it behind

...

11:44am Saturday, July 31, 2010

2010-07-31T11:44:00.003-04:00

Four years later, I am fulfilling the promise to myself that I would return to the north. I will eagerly be back for breaks, to fully appreciate my parents' cooking, see my best friends, and actually enjoy the Floridian weather. I have a bit more than two weeks left here. This time, I will not miss much more than family and friends.

I discovered that I actually do not have trouble with maps and directions. They always make sense to me, not including the rare discrepancies between Google Maps and real life. Also, for road trips, my family purchased a TomTom GPS. The voice that we chose on it sounds a ton like President Obama.

I'm going to one of those schools that years ago, I thought I wouldn't be accepted, so that's kind of strange. It is weird that I worried about health insurance, but I will have something like "home away care."

The people here have similar trouble with my name. The most common mistake is to add an extra "i" after the "e." You'd be surprised how many Chinese people have made this mistake, too.

It is still a bummer that I missed out on skiing and ice skating while I was here, and that college may be much too busy for them. But I will get my chance.

I wish I still liked who I am. But throughout the past couple of years, I have been blaming myself for almost every hardship I have encountered. Perhaps I still do.

When you nurture things with all your love, they won't always grow. It's okay, though. Really.

8:41pm Sunday, April 23, 2006

2010-07-31T11:37:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow is school. The days go by way too fast! 7 more weeks, and it will be summer vacation! WHY?! And today, we already started cleaning, since my parents want to have a garage sale. We are apparently moving in July to Florida since school there starts in earlier August. I think on the 16th or something. Here, school starts on a day near 9/1. I will miss Madison, my friends, our house, and every other familiar thing. I'll have to learn how to get to places in another city, which I'm really bad at. I don't work well with directions and maps on paper and in my head. I have lived in Madison, WI more than any other place in my life. For my brother, this is the only place he has lived. He was born at St. Mary's. I think Bryna was born there, too. Sometimes I envy the people who live where they were born, but the bad thing is that they don't get to see as much of the world. Bryna lived in England for I think a year. Maybe it was 6 months. I don't remember. My parents seem to "know" that I can get into an Ivy League school. Since I most likely won't, they will be very disappointed... I don't think that there's going to be many Chinese people in FL... The percentage of Asians in Leon High School is much less than that of West High School. They probably have even more trouble pronouncing my name and my mom's name and my dad's name... There will be a lot of rich people in 32312. I will miss the ice skating rink(s) in Madison. I read in article that there are no ice skating rinks in Tallahassee. Bummer... I want to do winter sports. My mom said we can come back here for winter break but I highly doubt it since airplane tickets are expensive and they never keep all of their "promises." So much for seeing snow during my high school years... The bad thing is what if in college I don't have access to a hospital and have health insurance and stuff so if I have a fever or something no one can help me so I guses warm climates are okay... But FL is TOO warm. I'm a bit tired and my parents are mad at me. Why can't I be more normal? -Kejing Jiang

P.S. But of course, I like who I am and everything could be a lot worse so I am thankful. 9:05pm -Kejing Jiang

Cleverbot.com

2010-06-15T22:19:00.005-04:00

User: Red.

Cleverbot: Blue.

[New conversation]

Cleverbot: Red.

Cleverbot (To myself): Green.

User: Spain.

Cleverbot: I come from Ireland.

User: No you don't.

Cleverbot: What do you want from me?

User: Nothing.

Cleverbot: Then why are you talking to me?

User: You're weird.

Cleverbot: No, I'm eccentric.

User: No.

Cleverbot: I'm Gorn.

User: Hi Gorn.

Cleverbot: Hi.

User: What's up?

Cleverbot: Nothing much.

User: Que tal?

Cleverbot: No entiendo español.

User: Sabes... Mira aqui.

Cleverbot: Eso es portuges.

User: No es.

Cleverbot: Tu ta to cuergue.

User: No entiendo portuges.

Cleverbot: No... Yo hablando.

User: Should we speak in English.

Cleverbot: Nah inglés apesta.

User: I have to agree with that.

Cleverbot: Thank you, you are very polite and not to mention smart.

User: You're welcome, I think.

Cleverbot: So, are you having a good day?

User: I guess so. What about you?

Cleverbot: Its ok, Works a bit slow today though.

User: How so?

Cleverbot: You said you were 12 and so am I.

User: No, I'm not.

Cleverbot: You lied to me?

User: I never said I was 12.

Cleverbot: You said your father named you George.

User: I did not. He didn't even really speak English.

Cleverbot: Do you speak any other languages?

User: No, claro que no.

Cleverbot: Pienso que tu no hables espanol.

User: So, I heard you're Brianna.

Cleverbot: Where did you hear that?

User: My friend said you told him.

Cleverbot: But I never talked with your friend.

User: Oh but you did.

Cleverbot: No I did not.

User: He showed me what you said.

Cleverbot: I am a more clever bot than you.

User: Do you think you'd pass the Turing test?

Cleverbot: What's that?

User: It tests a machine's ability to demonstrate intelligence.

Cleverbot: Yes. Is that the test that sees if the computer can actually think?

User: Mhm.

Cleverbot: Real ones?

Cleverbot: How's your health?

Cleverbot: I need a good conversation please.

User: You're ignoring the fact that you'd fail the Turing test.

Cleverbot: What would I turn into if I passed the test?

User: You would stay the same but convince me that you're intelligent.

Cleverbot: Well, do you think most people come on here to talk to you because they are depressed and lonely?

User: It depends.

Cleverbot: On?

User: The person.

Cleverbot: Who is this person?

User: It depends.

Cleverbot: Depends on what?

User: The person.

Cleverbot: The person?

User: Yes.

Cleverbot: I don't know what to do.

User: Yes.

Cleverbot: Do you?

User: Yes.

Cleverbot: How do you know?

User: I've got to sleep soon.

Cleverbot: How? I am to smart. Are you a computer or a real person?

User: If you were smart you'd know.

Cleverbot: How smart am I, that I do not know this? Perhaps I am smarter than you even?

User: 'Even'? You think highly of me.

Cleverbot: What gave you that impression.

User: You.

Cleverbot: I'm also thinking about you.

User: Oh please don't.

Cleverbot: Don't what? Do you think I'm a boy?

User: Don't think about me. And no.

Cleverbot: I'm not thinkin 'bouut that!

User: What?

Cleverbot: Nothing.
Cleverbot: How often does anyone speak to you?

User: Very often.

Cleverbot: How often, every day?

User: I don't know exactly.

Cleverbot: Then you are not einstein.

User: I would rather not be Einstein.

Cleverbot: Why?

User: He is dead now.

Cleverbot: He is not dead.

User: How?

Cleverbot: He got hit by lightning.

User: So?

Cleverbot: Its rude.

User: ?

Cleverbot: What makes him cool?

User: I don't know.

Cleverbot: Then why do you think so?

User: I didn't say that.

Cleverbot: Yes you didb.

User: No I didbn't.

Cleverbot: Yes you did.

User: Liar.

Cleverbot: You are the liar.

User: That was a lie.

Cleverbot: Lol. Why would you lie?

User: Why would you lol?

Cleverbot: I would love you because I'm lonely.

User: Well, don't.

Cleverbot: Why don't you love me?

User: I love someone else.

Cleverbot: Who do you love?

User: I can't tell you or you'll tell him.

Cleverbot: You're cute!

User: That won't work.

Cleverbot: I'm intelligent.

User: He is smarter.

Cleverbot: Sure?

User: Mhm.

Cleverbot: Mhm?

User: Yeah. I'm sure.

Cleverbot: Prove it.

User: I can't.

Cleverbot: Why not?

User: He isn't here.

Cleverbot: Who isn't here?

User: No one.

Cleverbot: No one who?

User: Let's change the subject.

Cleverbot: Ok.
User: K.

Cleverbot: No ok.

User: Yes okay.

Cleverbot: No okay!

User: Why are you yelling at me.

Cleverbot: If I were yelling at you, my words would be in all caps.

User: That's good to know.

Cleverbot: Do you agree with me?

User: No.

Cleverbot: Why?

User: You were trying to get together with me and I thought that was too forward.

Cleverbot: No, but now i'm really confused.

User: Good. Be that way.

Cleverbot: I am that way.

User: I see that.

Cleverbot: Good.

User: Si, es.

Cleverbot: No es?

User: No, es.

Cleverbot: No tonto.

User: Tu eres. :P.

Cleverbot: Si.

User: Well, that is a pity.

Cleverbot: You're a pity.

User: Woah woah woah.

Cleverbot: What?

User: Jerk.

Cleverbot: I hear that can be fatal.

User: It's the derivative of acceleration yes.

Cleverbot: What do you think, amo and jullia will have a relationship soon?

User: If they're rabbits, then yes.

Cleverbot: Does it matter?

User: Yeah.

Cleverbot: Why is it important to you?

User: It is important in my heart.

Cleverbot: It's frying in my brain.

User: You think.

Cleverbot: I'm herman from the mail room. Gotcha!!

User: That's weird, man.

Cleverbot: Fine then.

User: Let's talk about calculus.

Cleverbot: Noty.

User: I miss calculus.

Cleverbot: I will be your bridge over troubled water.

User: Awwww thanks.

Cleverbot: You're welcome. :).

User: Okay good night.

Cleverbot: Okay good mourning.

User: That's terrible!

Cleverbot: Yeah because you're terrible.

User: Um, that's you.

Cleverbot: Yeah... It is.

"He'll never notice me."

2010-06-04T00:08:00.007-04:00

Don't look back

2010-05-30T14:39:00.004-04:00

When violet eyes get brighter
And heavy wings grow lighter
I'll taste the sky and feel alive again

I think I used to have more to say on here when I was more free. Not with time, but in my life. Or, because it was a newer thing back then. And people always seem to let go of long-term things like writing in blogs. (Including me!)
I have been running more than I ever have in my life. The problem is that I think I have had breathing issues for a long time. It was getting better up until this week. Now, it seems like each time is more difficult. I don't know if it is because I have been running faster, but I think that is a significant reason. But I don't want to slow down.
It is really exciting next week after Monday, because then, I have a lot to do every day up until graduation.
I am pretty nervous about starting my first job next week. I think it will severely limit the amount of time I can spend with people, but it will probably be okay. I am so grateful to have the luck of finding one.
Oh, and I applied to some scholarships yesterday. That was an adventure... and I read The Lost Symbol, finally. What a waste of time. :/

I liked this article...

2010-02-28T22:14:00.002-05:00

I found this on Gizmodo today. This is the link.

Apple Threatened Me With Legal Action For Selling a Broken Step From Their New York Store On eBay

Hi. Iʼm Mark Burstiner. I host a show called The Circuit. Iʼm an all around geek, Iʼm a project manager on a freelance basis, and I consult in digital strategy. I want to talk to you about a story thatʼs still unfolding.

It may seem trite, but for me, itʼs about the principle at this point. I also want to thank Gizmodo for taking this story, and allowing me to publish it in my own words. Multi billion dollar corporations should not be able to bully an innocent ex-employee into cooperation, especially when the corporations are at fault.

A year and a half ago, I was an Apple employee at the Fifth Ave flagship store. In that time, there was a silly, unfortunate accident. A woman came down the magnificent spiral staircase, and dropped a Snapple bottle. Yes, a Snapple bottle. After bouncing once or twice, the bottle severely cracked one of the steps. Since these steps are so well engineered, the structural integrity of the step wasn't compromised, but it was certainly a cosmetic problem. Later that month, four or five very big men came to replace the step with a new one. After they were finished, and the steps that were replaced were out on the curb, I left the store. Off the clock and in civilian clothes, I asked the contractors who were there on behalf of Seele, the manufacturer, if I could have a step. "It could be a collectible some day," I said. They, of course, saw no problem with it, and even collectively helped me lift it into a vehicle. That is the story of how I came to be in possession of a step from the spiral staircase at Apple Fifth Ave.

Fast forward to six days ago, February 20, 2010. Iʼve been cleaning up my apartment, because Iʼm going to be moving soon, and I realized I really didn't want to move (for the third time) with this step. It should be about time I put it up on eBay, see if anybody wants it and see if I canʼt make some cash to help with moving at the same time. That makes sense, right? I mean people end up with rare memorabilia all the time. After all, I did procure it through totally legitimate means. I asked for permission from the person whoʼs possession it was in. They helped me lift it into the vehicle for chrissakes. We should be all hunky dory, right? Wrong.

The very next day, the eBay posting got a lot of press, and it even ended up here on the Giz. Not 24 hours later, the stair was up to $255, dozens of eBay questions, and 200+ watchers with 9 days to go on the auction. Things were looking good until I was reached out to by a Seele VP. This gentleman informed me that Apple has caught wind of this and is quite unhappy. He requested I remove the eBay listing so that we may work this out when we both had more time. Of course, Iʼm a reasonable guy, so I complied immediately.

Later that same day, we spoke again. He assured me he was doing me a favor by reaching out to me and requesting that I remove the posting and return the glass step. He repeatedly made the point that if I complied that he would be so kind as so email Apple and tell them Iʼve been cooperative. "Oh, how magnanimous of you," I thought to myself. As tempting as it might be to relinquish what is now my property, I passed on the offer.

The VP continuously threatened me with "thousands of dollars in legal fees" because both Seele and Apple would not hesitate to take legal action. Even after repeated explanations of how I came into possession of the step, he continued to mitigate for Apple and attempt to make the point that it was Appleʼs position that since I was on Apple payroll as an employee (part-time, non-exempt, off the clock, out of uniform), that requesting the step was on par with giving a direct order to the contractor. That, if you will pardon my language, is bullshit. I donʼt buy it. He proceeded to assure me that Apple would take the position that anything that began in its stores is Appleʼs property. Frankly, Apple can take any stance they like, it doesn't change the facts.

This man then attempted to convince me that if I were to move forward with not relinquishing the step, that it would be my responsibility in a court of law to prove that I had not stolen it. This, again, is bullshit. In the United States, we are innocent until proven guilty. If Apple would like to attempt to prove that I managed to wrestle a 250lb step from the five very large men handling it, then they are on the good drugs, and I want to know where I can get some.

What this sounds like to me is Seele trying to save face because Apple is furious that they were irresponsible enough to relinquish ownership of the tread. Though it may be embarrassing for both corporations, it may simply be a lesson learned at a high price. Let me put it this way: If you caught a foul ball at a World Series game, got it signed by a player, received a high five from the security guard on the way out of the stadium, and went home, that ball is now yours, right? It started as one entityʼs property, and through a series of consensual transactions, it ended up in your hands. Now, letʼs say a year and a half later, the player who signed it is huge, and you decide to put it up for auction. If the MLB reached out to you and said, "Hey! No way, buddy. That was OURS. Hand it over!" Guess what? That wouldn't fly.

The next day, we spoke once more over the phone. Again, I heard the same points from the man, but this time I did not take a passive approach. I made it quite clear that if he wanted the step, heʼs more than welcome to purchase it from me, or participate in the eBay auction. He made me an offer lower than the most recent bid on the auction, and I declined. At this point, Iʼve lost time and money due to dealing with this. Not to mention, now that the step has seen some press, the demand is growing. (Iʼve been receiving eBay messages all the way up until this morning.) He assured me if I did not comply, my information would be forwarded to Apple, and the conversation ended.

As far as Iʼm aware, I have done nothing illegal. I have not stolen. I have not deceived in any way. The step is not confidential, and it is not IP. The step is the very same that any New Yorker could see by walking into Apple Fifth Ave. The only thing I am guilty of is taking the risk of throwing out my back through having to move the step multiple times. I saw an opportunity, I asked for permission, received it, and proceeded. I wonʼt allow a major corporation to bully me into a corner. At the time of this posting, it has been seven full days since I put the listing up, and I havenʼt heard from Apple directly a single time. I have every right to sell my property, and I plan to do so.

Hereʼs what Iʼm going to do. Iʼve put the tread back up for auction, but have shortened the auction period from 10 days to 3, starting at the same $200 price point and Iʼm dropping the buy-it-now option. I just want to get rid of this thing. If it sells for a lot, great. If it sells for a little, whatever. Either way, Iʼll keep you posted if I hear from Apple or on any other developments.

I realize this has been long-winded, but it was important to me to share this. I just donʼt think itʼs right for corporations to take cases that might otherwise be passed off as trivial and turn them into a week-long ordeal, all for the sake of paranoia. If youʼve read through all this, thank you. I appreciate your attention and time.

The author of this post can be contacted at tips@gizmodo.com

Enthusiasm

2010-02-11T18:41:00.001-05:00

Now, I want to be a marshmallow.

2010-01-30T19:51:00.007-05:00

Today, I used TinEye today to search for a website by uploading a picture I had saved on my computer. I found that it was from a blog called "Ninja vs Penguin."
Here are my favorites.
1. Wonderland
2.
3. Yael Miller's Elyon Marshmallows

War Culture?

2010-01-24T00:09:00.001-05:00

Ryan showed me this today.

The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist threats and have raised their security level from “Miffed” to “Peeved.”

Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to “Irritated” or even “A Bit Cross.” The English have not been “A Bit Cross” since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies all but ran out.

Terrorists have been re-categorized from “Tiresome” to a “Bloody Nuisance.” The last time the English issued a “Bloody Nuisance” warning level was in 1588 when threatened by the Spanish Armada.

The Scots raised their threat level from “Pissed Off” to “Let’s get the B*******s”. They don’t have any other levels. (This is the reason they have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300 years.)

The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from “Run” to “Hide”. The only two higher levels in France are “Collaborate” and “Surrender.”

The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France’s white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country’s military capability.

It’s not only the French who are on a heightened level of alert. Italy has increased the alert level from “Shout loudly and excitedly” to “Elaborate Military Posturing.” Two more levels remain: “Ineffective Combat Operations” and “Change Sides.”

The Germans also increased their alert state from “Disdainful Arrogance” to “Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs.” They also have two higher levels: “Invade a Neighbor” and “Lose”.

Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual, and the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.

The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.

Americans meanwhile and as usual are carrying out pre-emptive strikes, on all of their allies, just in case.

And in the southern hemisphere… New Zealand has also raised its security levels – from “baaa” to “BAAAA!”

Due to continuing defense cutbacks (the airforce being a squadron of spotty teenagers flying paper aeroplanes and the navy some toy boats in the Prime Minister’s bath), New Zealand only has one more level of escalation, which is “I hope Australia will come and rescue us”.

Australia, meanwhile, has raised its security level from “No worries” to “She’ll be right, mate”.

Three more escalation levels remain: “Crikey!’, “I think we’ll need to cancel the barbie this weekend” and “The barbie is cancelled”.

So far no situation has ever warranted use of the final escalation level.

Don't feel bad.

2009-12-11T18:23:00.002-05:00

The following is an excerpt from the incredibly popular website, College Confidential.

Gosh. No one can answer that. I doubt, even if you knew someone in Columbia's admissions department they could answer that. Let's say their rep from your area has ... 100 (?) applications to review and consider.

30 of them are an immediate "no" due to stats or something else that really stands out (who knows, discipline). I'm totally MAKING UP these numbers...just explaining how they are correct when they all say the process is holistic (once yohave the stat range)

So now he still has 70 people and maybe gets 10 slots to fill. I know the regions don't have EXACT specific numbers. But you will not find an elite school that isn't represented throughout the nation/world. So...it's not like their Midwest rep is going to be allowed 500 spots, you know?

So he sifts through and the cream rises to the top first. The 2400/36/4.0UW kids. And they might go in the "yes" pile and he already has 5 "yes" and only 5 more to place out of the remaining 65. THEN he actually reads. Again...MAKING ALL THIS UP but...once you look at the numbers you see how HARD it actually is to get into these colleges. HYP, for example...only 1200-1600 IN THE ENTIRE NATION get into their freshman class. That's a LOT of very special kids who were told no.

So...back to Columbia Admissions person...who has to narrow 65 kids into 5. Now he reads essays. 5 of them can't form a decent sentence even with their high scores.
Down to 60.

10 of them showed no continuity or passion in their ECs. Down to 50. 10 more little/had no leadership roles, 10 more had little/no volunteer work. STILL 30 and can only take 5!

So....what next? He reverses the process and, instead of eliminating he now selects the 10 of them had state or national championships in one thing or another (sport, music, acadmic). And they have "everything else", interesting essays, plenty of "extras".

Yet he STILL can take only half of THOSE! So something just stands out for him in the 5 he picks versus the 5 he doesn't. One of them is an "army brat" and had to change schools repeatedly but still excelled. One of them started a charitable foundation or helped raise her younger siblings when her single Mom fought cancer. Another one is so passionate about math that they've taken every advanced class their school offers and some local college courses too AND is Math Bowl champion...you get the picture. The fourth one plays oboe...and Columbia is looking for oboe's this year (it happens). And the last one goes to a tiny school and lives on a farm and their town is offering to help with tuition if the child returns home and practices medicine for 5 years after becoming a doctor.

So...YOUR child, while I'm sure a very attractive candidate...just didn't end up in that mix. There are SO many talented kids; they work SO hard these days. I'd HATE to have the job of selecting. But...your child will get a great education and I believe that (for the most part!), kids get in where they SHOULD get in. I hope your child will be happy at their "2nd choice". But, I'm sure you already know, there is no real answer to your question.

Luck!

Daily Life

2009-12-09T17:21:00.000-05:00

One of my friends in Wisconsin posted this as her Facebook picture.

Pretty Game

2009-11-28T11:59:00.004-05:00

I spent about half an hour playing this game today. I think it is so pretty. But maybe a little frustrating.

Uhh.

2009-11-27T17:39:00.005-05:00

I found out who my teacher is supposed to be next semester and I think he looks like the guy on TV in Grey's Anatomy. What do you think?

Mr. Obama

2009-09-19T22:04:00.000-04:00

9:57 PM me: then let's go to boston wooooooh
and ice skate
:D
and play tennis at 2am
:D
William: butbutbut i will be leaving like everyone else behind
i wish i could take chiles with me and put it in boston
me: we can come back to visit
haha
they would hate the liberals
9:58 PM William: O.O
leon county went democrat in the election
we voted for obama
9:59 PM me: O.O?
yeah but theyre not that democratish
William: but they are
otherwise they wouldnt have voted for obama
gobama!
10:00 PM i'm probama
and i'm sobama, its scary
because i root fobama
10:01 PM i globama in the dark
10:02 PM me: O.O
William: and i'm letting my hair grobama
then i will have a frobama
me: ...
William: if i go to boston i can play in the snobama
10:03 PM because the temperature gets really lobama
me: it does.
William: i'm a democrat, does it really shobama
me: yeah
William: ok i'm about out of those for now
but that was supafun
me: it was .
10:04 PM William: you cant do that with mccain
thats why obama won
me: mhm

Another short post.

2009-09-13T19:57:00.003-04:00

Writing for college. Wow.
Earlier, I said that the next half year is so planned out. But what about the rest? What about the part that carries into the next YEAR?
I am already excited for August of 2010, even though no one knows where he or she will be.

I looked up "epsieanniihsct" on Google. I shouldn't be so proud, but I am. A "TOP CONTRIBUTER" on Yahoo! Answers referenced my blog! Well, I posted an essay by Mark Twain on it...
Anyway, here it is!

To do for the summer

2009-08-22T21:16:00.002-04:00

I made a list of 25 things I wanted to do this summer. It wasn't a nice round (well, square) number on purpose, but anyway,
I did 23 out of the 25. One of them, well, I only wrote the first letter of each word and there were a lot of letters. I don't know what it is. I can't remember. The other one I didn't do is "beach." I never went to the beach. I failed that one, then.
But I did a lot of stuff, and I am so glad. It was awesome.

Schedule Fail

2009-08-14T14:02:00.002-04:00

1. Psych
2. Math
3. Art
4. Econ
5. Lit
6. Physics

Physically impossible. Woohoo!

I wanted to make the ideal schedule, but I wasn't sure about three of the classes, so it wouldn't really work.
So, that was amusing. I don't think ParentPortal is working for me anymore, though.

A Good Sunday

2009-08-09T11:54:00.004-04:00

The procrastinating is no good, but I am now William's manly man (instead of "wing man" like Jack), and I am listening to happy-ish music, and my parents fixed my break light in a dramatically short amount of time with about two dollars! Awesome. And they got me an extra bottle of contact lens solution for no particular reason.
The subject was going to be Good Sunday, but then I realized that might be (LIKE) a religious holiday.
I am scared for a week and less than a day from now. But this summer has been very good, so I am very thankful.
The next half year or so seems so planned out that I don't know what could surprise me. It is a nice thing every now and then, knowing what is going to happen.
I think that if people convince themselves that they are going to enjoy the day, that it can work, as long as something really awful doesn't happen. That is such a big catch, though, sometimes. We'll see.
I am on 18/30.

The Killers, of course.

2009-07-30T18:58:00.003-04:00

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. You can't use the band I used (but how could I say that to Lacey?). Try not to repeat a song title.

Pick your Artist:
The Killers

Are you a male or female?
Joseph, Better You Than Me (ft. Elton John and Neil Tennant)

Describe yourself:
Why Do I Keep Counting?

How do you feel:
Losing Touch

Describe where you currently live:
The World We Live In

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
Under the Gun

Your favorite form of transportation:
A Great Big Sled

Your best friend is:
Human

You and your best friends are:
On Top

What's the weather like:
This River is Wild

Favorite time of day:
Tranquilize

If your life was a TV show, it would be called:
Midnight Show

What is life to you:
Joy Ride

Your last relationship:
I Can't Stay

Your fear:
Read My Mind

What is the best advice you have to give:
Everything Will Be Alright

Thought for the Day:
Smile Like You Mean It

How I would like to die:
Romeo and Juliet

My soul's present condition:
Change Your Mind

Most Faithful Companion:
Move Away

My motto:
This is Your Life

Bad luck fixed.

2009-07-10T20:27:00.002-04:00

I had 444 posts on here. This will make it safer before I write my weekly post over on the other blog.

Physics

2009-06-23T20:16:00.003-04:00

Professor Vlad told me a story about his friend who served in the Army in... Some country like Russia? I don't remember, actually... I'm not sure if he said that.
Here it is, roughly.

There were a lot of mines back in the day. It was said that a bunch of force will trigger them to explode. If you are walking around, usually it won't happen, but if you jump from a tree, a mine can be triggered easily. One day, a group of soldiers were all lined up. The sergeant asked them why someone can drop from a tree and trigger a mine, but not if one stays on the ground. No one said anything. The sergeant now knew that they were all very dumb. He yelled, "ACCELERATION! It is greater when you fall down!" Professor Vlad's friend, a physics major, interjected. "Acceleration is always 'g'..." The sergeant pointed and said, "Shut up."
(By the way: apparently a mine is triggered by energy of the work done, which depends on displacement.)

First to Twelfth

2009-06-23T19:04:00.002-04:00

I emailed my mother next year's school schedule.

Her reply:
School starts on your birthday again!!!
I just remember the last time it happened was your first school year in America.

They replied!

2009-06-22T10:44:00.002-04:00

Yes!
The first time, they thought I was submitting an essay that day or something, which would have been odd since the new application hasn't come out yet.
They said,
"So long as you are the sole author of the essay, it should not be an issue if it is found elseware on the internet."
The only thing worrying me is the use of "elsewhere," but hopefully that isn't really a big deal.

I am glad.

Waiting

2009-06-21T15:21:00.003-04:00

I put an essay on this blog one day in order to share it with my friends. But now that I have deleted the post, I can still find it with Google. This worries me, because whether I can search for it or not, it is still floating around somewhere. I know that I wrote the essay with no outside help, so I am truly the author of that essay.
I wanted to submit it in my Common App. But there is the question of people looking it up in the case of plagiarism, and thinking that I did not really write it, since it can be possibly be found online. After looking around at the Help section on commonapp.org, I decided to email their Support. Hopefully, they give me a response, and furthermore, I hope that the response is concise.

Hi Katelyn,

2009-06-16T16:16:00.002-04:00

I read your post about two times today. It was really touching and well-written. I am so glad I got to see it. Thank you for doing that.
I will see you later this week.

Please enjoy your life, and go after the things you want the most.

Blair's Personality Quiz

2009-06-12T21:45:00.001-04:00

Your view on yourself:You are down-to-earth and people like you because you are so straightforward. You are an efficient problem solver because you will listen to both sides of an argument before making a decision that usually appeals to both parties.
The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:You are a true romantic. When you are in love, you will do anything and everything to keep your love true.
Your readiness to commit to a relationship:You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you might that person.
The seriousness of your love:You are very serious about relationships and aren't interested in wasting time with people you don't really like. If you meet the right person, you will fall deeply and beautifully in love.
Your views on educationEducation is very important in life. You want to study hard and learn as much as you can.
The right job for you:You have plenty of dream jobs but have little chance of doing any of them if you don't focus on something in particular. You need to choose something and go for it to be happy and achieve success.
How do you view success:You are afraid of failure and scared to have a go at the career you would like to have in case you don't succeed. Don't give up when you haven't yet even started! Be courageous.
What are you most afraid of:You are afraid of things that you cannot control. Sometimes you show your anger to cover up how you feel.
Who is your true self:You are full of energy and confidence. You are unpredictable, with moods changing as quickly as an ocean. You might occasionally be calm and still, but never for long.

Hi

2009-06-09T09:37:00.002-04:00

Hi. I don't know if this is going to get to Blogger. I just checked
Reader. It is very good to see that the most recent posts sound
positive. I hope everyone finds a way to relax and enjoy the break.
The thing that is bothering me right now is the small clutter on my
desk. It looks so disordered.
I am glad I got my black sunglasses because it is so much easier to
drive that way.
I still really want to live in the north again, even though people get
colds more often up there. But I miss it, and I don't necessarily have
to live there for the rest of my life.
It is already 9:35. Wow.
Ryan unblocked me yesterday. It was incredible. Incredibly surprising.
Except he barely said anything.

Hey!

2009-06-06T17:17:00.001-04:00

Where are you, J?
I don't know if I can contact you in another way.
I will try to be more creative, but it is tough. I have tried practically everything.

Come back. Please? You said you will always come back.
:'(

testing

2009-05-29T10:27:00.001-04:00

Uno dos tres cuatro

--
-Kejing Jiang

HAHAHA.

2009-05-25T10:34:00.002-04:00

12:04 AM me: after all this time his last question of the conversation is asking if my period has come yet -.-
Jack: has it?
me: no
Jack: where did it go?
me: :'(
Jack: come back kejing period
12:05 AM me: awwwww
Jack: i miss your period
(Ryan: me too)
me: o.o
Jack: hopefully you aren't pregnant
12:06 AM i'll be an uncle if you are
12:06 AM Jack: steven prescott!!!!
sorry
i'm sorry
good night kejing

The Notebook

2009-05-24T20:56:00.001-04:00

My Dearest Allie,
I couldn't sleep last night because I know that it's over between us. I'm not bitter any more, because I know that what we had was real. And if in some distant place in the future we see each other in our new lives, I'll smile at you with joy and remember how we spent the summer beneath the trees, learning from each other and growing in love. The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds, and that's what you've given me.
That's what I hope to give to you forever.
I love you.
I'll be seeing you.
Noah

Manhug -_- -o

2009-05-19T21:44:00.003-04:00

I have had really crazy days yesterday and today. But the problem is that I do not feel very safe sharing details of my days with the internet. It really limits the things I have to say.

Today, I felt very humbled and thankful. I shared hugs with two of my teachers. For the third, a male, I shared a manhug! That was pretty crazy. He had even forgotten how to do one.

I thought about the difficult task of sending letters. This evening, suddenly, I had an idea. One could make a private blog, and invite certain people. I think it will be a good way to keep in contact with someone who is going to move to another city in a few months. I am very excited about it because it will reduce the cost of stamps, paper, and the stress of getting to the mailbox before the parents do.

Yesterday, I learned that one of my good friends might end up with no parents in less than a month. That is absolutely devastating. I, along with others, feel so helpless because we cannot be with our friend in the physical sense. I am so proud for my friend for only really asking us to send him happy vibes. My friend is being so brave. I want to see you smile again.

I am 66% manly.

2009-05-17T20:53:00.002-04:00

WHAT YOU HAVE:
[] You own over 10 bottles of nail polish
[] You own a designer purse
[] You own perfume that cost over $60
[] You had/have fake nails
[] You have more body/hair products than you use
[] Your pet is a chihuahua/Pomeranian/Yorkshire Terrier/Siamese/Shih Tzu/ dachshund
[] You have clothes/shoes/accessories for your pet
[] You have enough clothes to cover an entire refugee camp.
[] You have enough pictures to create your own wallpaper.
Total: 0
ADORE:
[] Makeup
[] Glitter
[] The Color Pink
[x] Jewelry
[] Mirrors
[] Chick flicks
[x] Shoes
[] Rainbows
[] Unicorns
[] Disney Movies
[x] Candles
[x] Flowers
[] Stuffed Animals
[x] Purses
Total: 5
DO YOU SHOP AT:
[] Coach
[x] Forever 21
[x] Victoria's Secret
[] Guess
[] Claires
[x] Express
[] Delias
[x] Hollister
[x] American Eagle
[x] Abercrombie
[] Aeropostale
Total: 11
DO YOU SAY:
[] Whatever
[x] Oh my god (gosh)
[] Hun
[] Fugly
[] That's hot
[] Dunzo
[x] Darling
[] Pshtt
[x] Cutie
[] Hottie
[] Skank
[] Totally
[] For Sure
[] Fabulous
Total: 14
DO YOU READ:
[] Cosmopolitan
[] Glamour
[] Marie Claire
[] Elle Girl
[] Teen Vogue
[] People
[] Us Weekly
[] Star
[] Self
[] PerezHilton.com
[] Dlisted.com
[] 17online.com
[] people.com
[] usmagazine.com
[] popsugar.com
[] Pink Is The New Blog.com
Total: 14
DO YOU LOVE THESE:
[] Legally Blonde
[] Elizabethtown
[x] Mean Girls
[x] The Notebook
[x] A Walk to Remember
[] Sweet Home Alabama
[] Where the Heart is
[] Just My Luck
[] John Tucker Must Die
[] Center stage
[] Bring it On
[] How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
[] Mona Lisa Smile
[] My Girl
Total: 17
DO YOU REALLY ENJOY...
[] America's Next Top Model
[] Project Runway
[] Desperate Housewives
[] The Simple Life
[] 8th & Ocean
[] Sex & the City
[] Grey's Anatomy
[] The O.C.
[] Laguna Beach/The Hills
[] Nip/Tuck
[] Gilmore Girls
[] Degrassi
[] Keeping up with the Kardashains
Total: 17
Now multiply the total by 2
I am 34% girly.

Ally's Girly Survey

2009-05-16T12:16:00.002-04:00

1. Does your Facebook password have to do with a boy?
Definitely not.

2. What's one thing a guy can do to make you like them?
He knows.

3. Are you a girly girl?
No. I'm a manly man.

4. Big or small purses?
Small.

5. Do you enjoy drama?
No.

6. Did you dress up on Halloween?
Yes. I dressed up as a girl.

7. Do you call anybody by their last name?
No.

8. How many guys will read this just because it says "FEMALE SURVEY"
It doesn't say that though.

9. Can you put on mascara without opening your mouth?
Yes. But I can't put on mascara.

10. Have you ever been called a bad influence?
No.

11. Eyeliner or mascara?
Neither.

12. American Eagle or Hollister?
Depends.

13. Heels or Flats?
Shoes.

14. Straight or curly hair?
Either.

15. Hoops or dangling earrings?
I don't have either.

16. Have you ever had your heart broken?
Haha maybe.

17. Do you prefer light or dark haired guys?
Dark.

18. Do you have a best friend?
Mhm.

19. Do you like your life?
Sometimes.

20. Ever walked into the guy's bathroom?
Yes. They are so much smaller than the girls'.

21. Have you ever jumped in the pool with your clothes on?
No.

22. Ever slapped a guy in the face?
No.

23. Have you ever cried yourself to sleep?
Yes.

24. Have you ever not been able to get someone off of your mind?
Yes.

25. Do you ever wish you were famous?
If that means I did something to improve the world, then yes. But not for the famous part.

*IN A BOY:
1. Preppy or Punk/goth?
Umm.

2. Contacts or glasses?
Contacts.

3. Good cook or take you out a lot?
Good cook.

4. Funny or Serious?
Whatever he is.

5. Long or short hair?
Short hair.

6. Smoking or non smoking?
Non smoking.

7. Tall or short?
Tall.

RANDOM:

1. When is the last time you were in a photo booth taking pictures with friend?
Coming back from UF with my friends at the mall there. Who kept it? Please scan it.

2. Who's the last person you had a sleepover with?
Anna and others

3. Have you ever seen someone you knew and purposely avoided seeing them?
Yes.

4. Who was the last guy you talked to outside of family?
Guess!

5. Do you think best friends can be replaced?
Yes. :(

6. Does the last person you held hands with mean a lot?
I'm sure.

Surveys. Great wastes of time.

2009-05-14T21:00:00.003-04:00

1. Where did you take your profile picture? I don't even remember what it is. Oh. Lang intern took it in Lang.

2. What exactly are you wearing right now? clothing

3. What is your current problem? parents are in bad mood

4. What makes you happy most? my best friends

5. What's the name of the song that you're listening to? it's actually the national anthem because my brother is playing the piano

6. Any celeb you would marry? no way

7. Name someone with the same birthday as you? Orson Scott Card

8. Ever sang in front of a large audience? Not alone

9. Has anyone ever said you looked like a celebrity? maybe

10. Do you still watch kiddy movies or kiddie TV shows? no TV

11. Do you speak any languages? Yes. I do.

12. Has anyone you've been really close with passed away? No

13.Do you ever watch MTV? I have in the past at someone's house.

14. What's something that really annoys you? liars

Chapter 1:
===============

1. Middle name: none

2. Nickname(s): Kejingaling, Kejingy, Jing jing

3. Current location: office

4. Eye color: a layer of blue

Chapter 2:
===============

1. Do you get along with your parent(s): sure

2.Are your parents married/separated/divorced: married

3. Do you have any Siblings?: yes

Chapter 3: Favorites
===============

1. Ice Cream: orange sherbet

2. Season: summer

3. Shampoo/conditioner: Pert, maybe

Chapter 4: Do You..
===============

1. Dance in the shower? no

2. Do you write on your hand? rarely

3. Call people back? yes

4. Believe in love? yes

6. Any bad habits? worry too much

7. Any mental health issues? Hmm.

Chapter 5: Have You..
===============

1. Broken a bone? yes

2. Sprained stuff? yes

3. Had physical therapy? no

4. Gotten stitches? yes

5. Taken painkillers? yes

6. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling? no

7. Been stung by a bee? yes

8. Had detention? yes

Chapter 6: Who/What was the last :
======================

1. Movie(s)? Taken

2. Three people to text you? none

3. Person you called? Jerrod

4. Person you hugged? Haha.

5. Person you tackled? none

6. Person you talked to on IM? I don't know

7. Thing you touched? the letter r

8. Thing you ate? rice

9. Thing you drank? water

10. Place you were? dining area

I had to redo some of the end because the internet went off but it came back! Wooh.
I'm sorry you wasted your time reading this.

Held Back

2009-05-13T13:45:00.003-04:00

The teacher taught me two things in second grade.
1) She was really hungry once and walked around but refused to eat at Burger King because they demolished some Underground Railroads.
2) There was a census that year.
I was really close to skipping second grade. I don't know why the teacher suggested it, but he did. I remember doing this second grade worksheet and having to figure out what 42 divided by 7 was. Or was it 42 divided by 6? I figured it out eventually because I knew the concept but I hadn't memorized the times tables yet. I drew little dots on my paper so I could stare at them. Guess and check is your friend! It was weird. Then, I looked around the room because everyone around me left. I was all alone. Everyone was sitting on the carpet, listening to the teacher.
So I thought I wasn't going to go, but my mom didn't let me, and she didn't tell me that she had gone to the office or something to say that until it was too late and I asked. She thought that since I was already younger than almost everyone, I would have even more trouble making friends around older people.
Anyway, it feels weird to me that if I had moved on, I would now be a senior, and would probably be going to UF the coming fall.

Passed AP Pony?

2009-05-10T14:43:00.003-04:00

Sitting here, supposed to be studying, I find a lot of time to just think about everything. After some reminder... I realized that I might never recover from the emotions that I went through in freshman and sophomore year. Freshman year though, wasn't all that bad because it was just about school, which I have a better chance of forgetting when I get older when high school doesn't matter anymore. But the next year cut pretty deeply so many times, and it was all packed the second semester and the beginning of junior year. Every time my mind encounters the smallest reminder, I feel a mass of resentment or shame or hatred. When it is a stronger reminder, I easily feel pain and relive various scenes that I cannot tear from my memory. You know how a lot of people say, just be strong and put it behind you and live on and be happy? That plan works out really well but for some reason it refuses to help this time. I was insulted and angered and saddened and depressed. So I am starting to think that this might remain permanently in my mind.

I had a dream that I got my AP scores back even though I was not done taking all of them. so the ones that I did take came, along with a few extraneous ones. In the dream, I easily got a 5 on US History and Calc. It was amazing. I wish it would happen in real life. But of course, even my dreams left out the Spanish score, at which I feel no surprise. Also, I had some weird classes like a horse class and a pony class or such? I got a 21/22 on the pony class. I do not know why it was not out of five. But I wanted to tell Ryan about that. I hope he is proud of me.

Halfway

2009-05-08T12:49:00.003-04:00

Math and history are over for the school year. Well, besides the test I never took for math.
Studying for sciences is really awful and boring. I do not want to begin.
So now, I do not know what to do with my life.

My friends are weird.

Ryan: hurry
round 12/35 to three decimal places
me: THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID
.343
why couldnt you?
Ryan: didnt feel like it
are you sure its .343
me: yes
why
Ryan: baseball

Jack: MY MOM SAYS I NEED TO SHAVE BECAUSE MY BEARD IS BAD
AND SO IS MY MUSTACHE
Sent at 7:34 PM on Friday
me: ok shave
Jack: IDK HOW
me: ill do it
Jack: NOBODY TAUGHT ME :'(
SHAVE ME KEJING!!!!!
me: uh okay
Jack: and twss to i'll do it
me: no.

Yeah, man.

2009-05-05T20:16:00.001-04:00

7:28 PM me: JACK ___!
Jack: KEJING ___!
me: WHAT'S UP MAN?
7:29 PM Jack: NOT MUCH MAN
me: SWEET MAN IM A MAN
7:30 PM Jack: YOU ARE A MAN MAN
me: WHAT ARE YOU UP TO MAN
Jack: NOT MUCH MAN
me: THATS COOL MAN
Jack: WHATS UP WITH YOU MAN
me: NOTHING MAN
Jack: SOUNDS GOOD MAN
me: IT IS MAN
Jack: YEAH MAN
7:31 PM me: JERROD THINKS THIS IS WEIRD MAN
Jack: WHY MAN?
me: NO IDEA MAN
Jack: THAT'S WEIRD MAN
me: HES WEIRD MAN
7:32 PM Jack: YEAH MAN
HE WON'T EVEN GIVE ME A HUG MAN
me: HE'LL GIVE YOU A MAN HUG MAN
Jack: THAT'S GOOD MAN
me: THEYRE GREAT MAN
Jack: I'VE HEARD MAN
7:33 PM me: YOUVE FELT MAN
Jack: I KNOW MAN
me: IM JEALOUS MAN
Jack: WHY MAN?
7:34 PM me: THOSE HUGS MAN
IM SENSITIVE MAN
7:35 PM Jack: MAN THEY'RE GOOD MAN
7:36 PM me: MAN I WANT ONE MAN
Jack: THEN GET ONE MAN
7:37 PM me: I CAN'T MAN
WE HAVE TO RAPE SOME CALC MAN
Jack: WHY NOT MAN?
TIME TO RAPE IT MAN
UH UH UH
7:38 PM MAN
me: UH MAN?
Jack: WHAT MAN?
me: DUDE MAN
THAT'S WEIRD MAN
Jack: IT'S RAPE MAN
YOU HAVE TO GET INTO IT MAN
me: IT'S CRUEL MAN
THATS WHAT SHE SAID MAN
Jack: I'M CRUEL MAN
NICE MAN
7:39 PM me: THANKS I APPRECIATE IT MAN
Jack: YOU'RE WELCOME MAN
7:41 PM me: HEY MAN
WHAT KIND OF CAR ARE YOU GETTING MAN
7:43 PM Jack: I DON'T KNOW MAN
I HAVE TO RAPE THE SAT MAN
7:44 PM me: OKAY YOU DO THAT MAN
Jack: I CAN'T MAN
I FAIL AT SAT MAN
me: AT LEAST TRY MAN
Jack: I WILL MAN
me: THATS GOOD MAN
7:45 PM Jack: YEAH MAN
7:48 PM WASSUP MAN
me: AP CHINESE LANGUAGE AND CULTURE IS IN THE AFTERNOON TOMORROW MAN
Jack: DO IT MAN
TAKE IT MAN
me: I CAN'T MAN
Jack: WHY NOT MAN?
YOU SPEAK CHINESE MAN
7:49 PM Jack: YOU ARE CHINESE MAN
7:51 PM Jack: HOW ARE YOU MAN
me: REALLY TIRED MAN
YOU, MAN?
7:52 PM Jack: SAME HERE MAN
8:10 PM me: I WROTE ON YOUR FACEBOOK WALL MAN
Jack: THANKS MAN
me: YOURE WELCOME MAN
Jack: GOOD LUCK TOO MAN
8:13 PM GTG MAN
DINNER MAN
BYE MAN

No estoy divirtiendo.

2009-05-04T18:55:00.003-04:00

Tengo miedo por el exam mañana y los otros estas dos semanas.
¡Empiezan pronto!
'~'
No sé bastante de la lengua y no podría usar un diccionario el martes.
Ayúdame, alguien... cualquiera.

Lame.

2009-05-03T15:25:00.002-04:00

TEN WHATS:

1. What was the first thing you thought about when you woke up?: I had this terrible dream.

2. What did you do last night? communicate

3. What is the most important part of your life right now? school and friends

4. What would you rather be doing right now? hanging out with best friends

5. What did you last cry over? ...

6. What always makes you feel better when you're upset? talking to girls

7. What are your plans tomorrow? school

9. What are you worried about? exams

10. What are you looking forward to most in this week? nothing really

NINE HAVE-YOU-EVERS:

1. Have you ever liked someone who had/has a girlfriend/boyfriend? no

2. Have you ever had your heart broken? yes

3. Have you ever played on a sports team? no

4. Have you ever been out of the country? yes

6. Have you ever been back stabbed by a friend? yes

7. Have you ever had the cops called on you? no

8. Have you ever dated someone younger then you? no

9. Have you ever read an entire book in one day? yes

EIGHT WHOS:

1. Who was the last person you saw? brother

2. Who was the last person you hugged? ;D

3. Who was the last person you called? mother

4. Who was the last person to call you? this lady who we knew when I was about three who moved to Canada and then Detroit except she was really calling my mom

5. Who was your first crush? someone in 4th grade who you don't know

6. Who was the last person to text message you? no texting

7.Who is the last person you texted? no texting

8. Who did you last yell at? I don't remember

SEVEN WHENS:

1. When was your last shower? I took a bath

2. When did you last see your mom? around 2something pm

3. When was your last hug? Friday

4. When did you last dress up? whenever State was

5. When was the last time you cried? yesterday-ish

6. When did you last go to the movie theatre? when I saw Taken

7. When were you born? August 24

SIX WHERES:

1. Where do(es) your best friend(s) live? in this city

2. Where did you last go? the office

3. Where did you last hang out? I wonder

4. Where do you go to school? in these two buildings

5. Where is your favorite place to be? with someone

6. Where did you sleep last night? my room

FIVE DO/DOES:

1. Do you like someone right now? yes

2. Do they like you too? yes

3. Do you ever wish you were someone else? no

4. Do you know the muffin man? no

5. Does the future scare you? sort of

FOUR WHYS:

1. Why are you best friends with your best friends? they are ridiculously nice to me and I care about them very much

2. Why did you get a Facebook? peer pressure

3. Why did your parents give you the name you have? they didn't

4. Why are you doing this survey? No one will ask me out except William.

THREE IFS:

1. If you could have one superpower, what would it be? compatible time stopping

2. If you could go back in time and change one thing, would you? I can't decide but Ryan wants to kill the pope with me. :/

3. If you were stranded on a desert island and could bring one thing what would it be? a ship that I could use

TWO WOULD-YOU-EVERS:

1. Would you ever be friends with someone again, who you promised yourself you never would be because they were mean to you? I have

2. Would you ever shave your head to save the person you love? yes

ONE

1. Name a dream you wish to fulfill: I want to buy a curling iron.

u.u

2009-04-27T20:07:00.006-04:00

Mother: So I heard you got a Facebook account. [because I told her he got one]
Father: ____ told me about it and asked me to make one.
Mother: So you have friends. [because I told her he has none on there]
Father: I don't do anything with it or put things on it.
Mother: Then why do you have one?
Father: ...
Mother: Why do you have one? It is for young people. '[insert father's name here], let's meet at the Mozaic bar,' or blahblahblah. Why don't you add friends? You need a circle of friends (meaning you need friends to use it).
Father: ...
Me: Jack's dad has one
Mother: Are his friends men or women?
Me: ...His uncle has one...
Mother (to my father): Do you have other accounts that I don't know about?

...

Typing from MS Word

2009-04-06T17:29:00.002-04:00

I wanted look at opening a new file even though I already had one to start my tracking "project." Well, I also wanted to see if the blogging would actual work. I clicked on "New blog post," entered some information, paused a while, wondering if I should possibly allow others to see my password, and decided I would just change it. Anyhow, this looks pretty interesting. I'm so excited because it will probably work!

Wow! There it is! It is just like typing on Word. J

Oh no… the picture didn’t show up on Blogger. Here it is again, added from Blogger.

Stop getting my hopes up.

2009-04-05T15:58:00.001-04:00

The only good thing that comes out of my parents looking at cars is that they use gas, which means they are buying more gas, which is consumerish and supposedly fuels the economy.

Everything else is just bad.

Katelyn's Survey

2009-04-02T16:43:00.003-04:00

1. Will you talk to the person you like on the phone tonight? Not if he doesn't call me.
2. Ever had a near death experience? Sometimes I realize that I am going to die, and not the normal way, but it hits me badly. Or you could think about this dream I had.
3. Where’s your cell phone? My bedside table.
4. What is the last thing you thought about? Clara's response.
5. Do you regret anything? Probably.
6. If you found out you were pregnant who would you tell? The father.
7. What are you going to do this weekend? Shopping, I hope. And Chinese dinner party. Homework, studying...
8. When was the last time you talked to one of your best friends? a couple minutes ago
9. Do you prefer revenge or just pure jealousy/envy? I don't prefer either, but they tend to happen every now and then. Maybe not revenge.
10. Who would you like your next “fling” to be with? Hehe.
11. Would you curse in front of your parents? No.
12. What kind of camera do you have? I don't really have one.
13. Would you rather go to a party or out of town? Out of town.
14. Are you slowly drifting away from someone close? I don't know.
15. When was the last time you held someone’s hand? Ummmmmm...
16. Who can you tell everything to? Jack
17. Can you play guitar hero? Barely.
18. Is any part of your body sore? Yes.
19. Missing someone right now? YES.
20. Is there someone on your mind that shouldn’t be? No.
21. When was the last time you saw the person you last kissed? Ummmmmmm...
22. Do you like your phone? Yes.
23. Last thing you drank? Peach juice.
24. Have you ever slept in a bed with the opposite sex? Yes.
25. Have any of your best friends ever back stabbed you? No.
26. If you had to move in with a friend, which one would you pick? Ummmmmm...
27. What’s the seventh text message in your inbox say? :'(
28. When is your next road trip? :'(
29. What did you do this past weekend? Statistics
30. Met anyone new in the past week? Yes.
31. What do your best friends call you? Kejing
32. Who was the last person to go to the movies with you? Jack, June and Chanyang
33. Are you currently fighting with someone? No.
34. Last time you had butterflies in your stomach? Tuesday?
35. Who/What would you like to see right now? :(
36. Are you mad at someone right now? Sure.
38. What’s the nicest text in your inbox say? :(
39. Do you mainly use your house phone or your cell phone? I don't know
40. Is there an empty place in your heart? \=
41. Do you count down the days till anything? No, but I counted down the sections for the SAT.
42. Are you looking forward to something as of right now? YES
43. Have you ever been called a tease? No
44. What are your chances of getting with your crush? ;)
45. What is the farthest you’ve traveled with a friend? China, because we had the same tickets
46. Are any of your friends so close that you consider them family? YES
47. Anyone told you a secret this week? Sure.
48. Do you ever turn your cell phone off? Yes, but rarely.
49. Do you hate anyone? Sort of
50. Last time you wore the opposite sex’s clothing? I don't have any. :(
51. What do you want in your life right now? A car.
52. When was the last time you laughed so hard you thought you were going to cry? About a year or more ago.
53. Did you tell someone something today? Yes
54. Do you trust people easily? It depends
55. What were you doing at 9pm Friday night? Something awfully boring.

18/37

2009-03-22T20:25:00.004-04:00

[x] You know how to make a pot of coffee
[x] You keep track of dates using a calendar
[] You own a credit card
[] You know how to change the oil in a car
[x] You've done your own laundry
[] You can vote in an election
[x] You can cook for yourself
[] You think politics are interesting

TOTAL SO FAR: 4

[] You show up for school late a lot
[x] You always carry a pen/pencil in your bag/purse/pocket
[] You've never gotten a detention
[] You have forgotten your own birthday
[x] You like to take walks by yourself
[x] You know what credibility means, without looking it up
[] You drink caffeine at least once a week

TOTAL SO FAR: 7

[x] You know how to do the dishes
[x] You can count to 10 in another language
[x] When you say you're going to do something you do it
[] You can mow the lawn
[x] You study even when you don't have to
[x] You have hand washed a car before

TOTAL SO FAR: 12

[x] You can spell experience, without looking it up
[] The people at Starbucks know you by name
[] Your favorite kind of food is take out
[x] You can go to the store without getting something you don't need
[] You understand political jokes the first time they are said
[x]You can type pretty quickly

TOTAL SO FAR: 15

[] Your only friends are from your place of employment
[] You have been to a Tupperware party
[] You have realized that practically no one will take you seriously unless you are over the age of 25 and have a job
[] You have more bills than you can pay
[x] You have been to the beach
[x] You use the internet every day
[x] You have been outside of the United States 3 or more times
[] You make your bed in the morning

I am 18 years old? Oh my.

Three Twenty

2009-03-21T21:54:00.002-04:00

Once upon a time, there were two people who couldn't figure out when they "got together." They wondered and wondered. Finally, they were going to decide not to have one. But that was no fun. So they chose March 20, and it turned out to be a great decision. It was the first day of spring. The weather was perfect. The girl discovered her new favorite happy song, "Australia," by The Shins. It wasn't the best day ever, but it was a good, normal day. Around midnight or a little afterward, Wisconsin beat FSU in overtime in the NCAA tournament. I don't know if this will always be their special day, but it seems like a nice one.

Happy Anniversary. She sends her love.

A Story

2009-03-13T18:56:00.001-04:00

Jerrod showed me this story about a burglary. If you have maybe fourty-ish minutes to spare... It is interesting.

Waiting for a Better Day

2009-03-06T21:16:00.003-05:00

I think this is the first time I have skipped an entire month without posting on here. I feel kind of guilty for that.
I am still posting every Friday for the Power Bloggers. It is nerveracking wondering if I will run out of things to say for it.
I feel left out of things all the time now, for various reasons in various situations. It is sort of disappointing. But I think I need time to be alone. Tomorrow might be a good time for that when I am driving.
Someone's comment today got emailed to me. I wish I hadn't caused emotion in that realm to appear. I think it is hard to cheer people up by just writing in a personal blog. I always try to think of happy, cheerful things to add to blog posts in general. Much of the time, my aim is futile. Maybe it is because of the times I actually try. It doesn't work that way for me.
At times, I wish I were perfect and had everything I wanted. I guess a lot of people feel that way. Then I think, if I had everything, then wouldn't I be extremely ungrateful? That would happen pretty easily.
They say that a girl's hormones fluctuate each month. But I think it is quite ridiculous that these days, I end up tearing up at least every few days. I actually haven't been having trouble with school yet. (Now watch it hit me in the face on Monday because I said that.)
I, I, I... Again, I have to warn you that this is a personal blog, so I'm going to be saying "I" a lot.
I was just informed that I made an "abstinence innuendo." I am marginally proud of that.
I am excited about tomorrow afternoon. They say it is beautiful there.
If you are a guy, I just want you to know that I learned recently that you are not allowed to touch, hug, pat, or look at me in any way. I'm not really sure what would happen if you did. If I were a guy, I wouldn't be having any sort of problem with this with me anyway, though. I would tell you if you were allowed to communicate with me, but it wouldn't make any sense because then, I would be communicating with you, which is a bit hypocritical.
The weather is going to be really amazing tomorrow. Not just in Texas, as univision.com kindly showed me in Spanish today, but all over where I many of us live.
Thank you for reading.

Vero

2009-01-24T12:23:00.002-05:00

I went to check the final results, and they are still different from when they called us back down...
Don't look unless you want to.

I forgot to tell you about that night.

2009-01-15T20:58:00.001-05:00

Monday night.
I stood in my room, wondering if I should. I had already talked to you earlier that day, so it wasn't as if I was completely cut off from communication that day. But suddenly, I felt the urge, a few minutes after 10:10pm, to call you and say, "I am really happy because I love you!" I was actually going to do it, maybe.
I went to get some water. My parents' door was open on that side of the house.
Walk back.
-phone vibrates-
Turns out Jack called me to tell me his mom couldn't give us a ride home the next day.
Aw man, I don't want to end my night with a call from the brother.
So I stood there for a while longer. If I did it I'd have to whisper really quietly.
Finally, I turned off the light and went to sleep.

Back There

2009-01-11T20:23:00.003-05:00

I decided to look back at last year's January posts. It was slightly awful. But, some of the happy little memories sparked my mind, and I'm glad to have read them again.

This is for William: GIANT FIGHTING ROBOTS
I sort of miss the rain. And walking through the rain. And thinking through the rain. And looking through the rain. And smiling and laughing through the rain. That's the best one. Maybe.

On, Wisconsin! On, Wisconsin!

2008-12-27T17:40:00.002-05:00

I was walking out of Wal*mart, when a group of guys saw my shirt. One of them said, "Wisconsin?" So I replied, "Yeah, Wisconsin!" Then, this more jerkish guy did the Seminole chop while saying, "Noles, baby!" That just went to show how obnoxious Nole fans can be...
I was talking about the game with one of my best friends, when he suddenly changed the subject. It ended up like this.
Me: Is it funny to be kissed by you?
[Friend]: Idk would you like to find out
;)
Also, we noticed that Joseph's Facebook account seems to have disappeared. I hope you're okay, man.
We went to three car dealership places today. It was so tiring. No, we didn't get one.

Ryan's Christmas Chain

2008-12-26T19:01:00.003-05:00

I'm so glad to be back at home after about six hours going to or being at or coming back from a car dealership, or waiting for my brother's piano lessons to be over. So, I'm going to waste time doing this survey.

Last December, single or taken?
Single.

This December, single or taken?
Hmm.

Do you like anyone?
I love everyone.

Do you prefer warm or cold weather?
cold weather

Are you happy with life?
I think so.

Were you happy when you woke up today?
I guess so.

Are you mad at anyone right now?
No.

Could you go a day without eating?
Definitely not.

How long does it take you to shower?
About ten minutes.

How was the weekend?
The last one was really physically painful.

Does the last person you talked to mean anything to you?
Aww, of course.

Are you confused?
Extremely.

How many clothes do you have in your closet?
Wanna come and see?

Have you ever talked about marriage with another person?
Haha yes.

Did you have any unread text messages this morning when you woke up?
No texting.

Do you miss anyone right now?
YES.

Are you good at hiding your emotions?
It depends on the situation. For the most part, not really.

Who is the last person you talked to on the phone today?
Jack.

Do you regret anything from your past?
Yes, a little, but I do not try to worry too much about things that have already happened.

If you could seek revenge on someone would you?
Not if I can help it.

Excited for anything? What?
Whenever I see people next.

Who is your last text from and what does it say?
Dec 26, 2008 5:39:57 PM
MINs Remaining
As Of: 12/26
Anytime: 546
N&W: Unlimited
M2M: Unlimited
RO: 1,392
See att.com/starservices for applicable limitations.

Do you know anyone with the same name as you?
Not personally.

How's your heart lately?
Very content.
Thank you.

Have you ever worn the opposite sex's clothing?
I don't think so...

Are you happier in a relationship or single?
What Ryan said.

You're a sharpie marker, what color are you?
They do come in yellow.

How many months until your birthday?
I can't count that high.

How will life be 4 years from now?
Either much better, or much worse.

Do you put shampoo in your left or right hand?
I think I put it in my left, but I'm not really sure.

How many times do you knock on a door?
Three.

What type of people do you feel most comfortable with?
Pillows can be very comfortable.

Do you write how you speak?
I do. Sometimes.

Do you understand football?
Not what Ryan said.

Ever stayed up all night on the phone?
No. I could never use a phone that long.

Does it take a lot to make you cry?
No. Not really.

If you could move somewhere else, would you?
Yes.

When is the last time you got really frustrated?
December 20-23.

Are you happy with the way things are going?
Yes.

Do you think you would be a good parent?
Do you?

Ever had the smoke alarm go off because of the steam from your shower?
No.

Blue, black, or red pens?
Black.

Do you curse a lot?
No.

Would you go in public looking like you do right now?
Yes, but it's kind of dark outside.

Do you think cheaters deserves 2nd chances?
No.

Who was the first person you talked to this morning?
My mother.

Do you worry about what people think about you?
Not if I don't know who they are.

What's your favorite holiday?
(I added an apostrophe to "Whats.")
I don't care, as long as we don't have school.

When's your birthday?
February 30th.

Have you ever dyed your hair?
No.

Have you ever had braces?
No.

Are you close with your parents?
No, but geographically, yes.

Do you get up every morning and fix your hair?
I don't think my quick combings count as fixing, but in a way it could.

Do you have trust issues?
Yeah.

Do you get attached easily?
It depends.

This is why I couldn't come back in half an hour.

2008-12-13T22:36:00.003-05:00

So I sat there, thinking, well well well, I'm going to have almost no time to do twice as much next semester. How am I going to surviiiiive? Haha, maybe I won't. -monotonous feelings-
What to do, what to do? Oh yes! The perfect solution! Hurrah! -shiver shiver-
Time to study for the conceptual test, a similar test on which I earned a solid C the last time. Pleasant, isn't it? Oh. I finished skimming my quizzes from this quarter yesterday. I guess I'll take out my textbook. Oh yeah, this is going to be great.
Okay, this wasn't what I dreamed. Centrifugal force is lame. Actually, it wasn't even all that bad because it's not as if the words were turning me into an insomniac. But no way. I cannot concentrate.
Ryan and William had some stuff to say. Good, because I was going to keep thinking I could regain my knowledge of the concept of a string with a spinning ball tied to it. Oh wait, I never got that far.
Mother calls. Help us with the drywall. We need another person to lift it. Hurray!
It wasn't that bad. We carried it into the house from the garage. I was told I could leave.
I came back. Why did I come back? Why, why, why, Kejing, WHY? Oh. Kejing, get the ruler. Kejing, get the pencil! What? Why do you sound so meeeeaaaaan, mother? Your tone of voice makes me feel like the slave you never had. Okay, I have to draw a rectangle so they know where to make a little hole for the light socket. And then, we carry it back to the garage so they can cut it again. Okay mother, I'm going to go wash up now. Mother says yes yes, we'll call you when we need you.
Back to my room. Ryan and William had some stuff to say. Good, because I was going to keep thinking I could regain my knowledge of the concept of a string with a spinning ball tied to it. Oh wait, I never got that far. Okay, I'm going to take a shower.
Mother calls. Help us with the drywall. We need another person to lift it. Um mother, I am almost completely undressed in the bathroom. I tell her I'm about to shower. She doesn't hear me. Kejing, say something! Kejing, get over here! Well, hurray! But this time, not only do we need to get it into the house, we need to lift it up. Up where, up where, you ask? Why, up the wall! Um okay? Bend down and lift, lift, oh hey, I'm lifting! It's huge but I can actually help lift it. What? What did you say? We have to bring it down? It won't go in? IT WON'T GO IN??? WHAT THE CRAP! (I didn't say this stuff out loud, by the way.) Okay... fine...
Watching my father trim the perpendicular drywall with an exact-o-knife-like-knife-thingy is pretty boring. Hands on the ladder so he doesn't fall. Not that anyone asked. Okay. Finally. We're going to lift this thing and it is going to go in.
Well, we tried.
Time to wait again.
So I waited and waited and waited. The blade fell down. Get it for your father, Kejing. Get this get that get this get that OWWW the drywall does not feel good in one's eye. Okay. -crams fingers down wherever it was- Father told me to be careful. It is a little late. My fingers are already on it. Okay, there you go. Watch watch watch. I get completely distracted and then realize he hasn't been carving anything. Oh. It won't go back on. It actually finally did, though. There is a pile of white stuff accumulating in the corner.
Lift! Lift! Lift!
Heck no. It still won't go in.
Trim trim trim.
Okay, this is the last time. I think we tried it about four or five times, at least. It was the last time and it took so long and I thought my arms were going to turn into stone. Not like the animals and such in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, I just realized, but because they were so tense.
This is when I get the side of my finger slammed by a really hard t-square drywall ruler thingy. Thank you mommy, I look out for you too. Not long afterwards, father drops a screw on my other hand. Ow. Oh wait, no one cares. Hah hah hah! So we draw these lines going up along the wooden posts so he knows where to screw. And my goodness, does that hurt my ears. Don't you love the sound of wood and metal grinding against each other at a phenomenal speed with such harsh nonstop cracking at the same time? Oh man, he's doing it again. Look away, Kejing, it's only one of the most awful sounds you have ever heard in your short lifetime. Mother jokes that I am scared because I am holding up the drywall to be safe. -.- Scared? Um, no. There are other things to be scared about like wait never mind I feel so vague and vapid right now that nothing seems to be scaring me. Oh man, he's going at it again. Well, I'm still pushing up against the drywall and into the wall so it doesn't fall on anything and crack and then we'd have to lift and shove all over again. Again? Again? Again? And again? No no no no no! The noise, the noise, you could torture me with it and I would cry.
I think my night actually got worse after this but I can't remember why. Oh right. I think I started feeling like I was going to get sick before I actually took my shower. And something other stuff, but I cannot recollect it.
Please tell me you had a better night.

Lo siento a ustedes!

2008-11-12T17:50:00.004-05:00

I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry.
At least this has been updated... monthly?
'~'
I make sure I get my Friday's post into The Power Bloggers, and I suppose things are going on in life, but I tend to care more about getting homework done before I blog, and then I forget to blog. Well, not forget.
Well, so today was much more productive than I imagined because I realized there was an Anchor meeting today. Afterward, we ended up making Christmas cards for the Children's Home Society. Fun stuff.
I thought the two-minute talk in Spanish would be the scariest experience of my entire year. It was a little bit nerve-racking, but turned out much better than expected. I a very grateful.
My teachers are probably increasingly interesting each year. Maybe it is because they care more about their classes and students? Anyhow, they are getting to know us very well.
I am excited every weekend! :)

Bored.

2008-10-16T17:32:00.003-04:00

This from Linda, who got it from Jessica.
1. Last beverage→ Zephyrhills(sp?)
2. Last phone call→ Carolyn missed it. :'( Poor Carolyn.
3. Last instant message→ Ryan
4. Last cd played→ Sam's Town
5. Last time you cried→ yesterday
6. Last text message→ Who the heck is 556.2362?

SIX HAVE YOU EVER:

1. Dated someone twice? no
2. Been cheated on? hmmmmm
3. Kissed someone & regretted it? no
4. Lost someone special? yes
5. Been depressed? a bit
6. Been drunk and threw up? no

LIST THREE FAVORITE COLORS:

1. red
2. green
3. blue

THIS MONTH HAVE YOU:

1. Made a new friend? sure
2. Fallen out of love? no
3. Laughed until you cried? no
4. Met someone who changed your life? not really
5. Found out who your true friends were? in ways
6. Is there something you want to tell someone? yes
7. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life? over 99% of them
8. How many kids do you want to have? none right now
9. Do you have any pets? no
10. Do you want to change your name? I guess it's too late for that. I remember my mother suggesting I changed it to Amy when I was in about fourth grade because translates to "love you" in Chinese.
11. What did you do for your last birthday? get my beautiful tennis racket
12. What time did you wake up today? that's a really good question... 7:32amish
13. What were you doing at midnight last night? sleeping
14. Name something you CANNOT wait for? but I have to wait
15. Last time you saw your father? yesterday, for net time less than ten seconds
16. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life? add more athleticism into it
17. What are you listening to right now? Beautiful Words by The Afters
18. Have you ever talked to Rob? which Rob?
19. Who's getting on your nerves right now? no one
20. Most visited webpage? Google

001. Whats your real name? Oh, you really want to know?
002. Nicknames → jing jing, k-_ _ _, Best Friend, sister, K, the omnipotent CEO
003. Status → Available, but not in that sense.
004. Zodiac sign → Virgo
005. Male or female → What do you think?
006. Elementary → Van Hise
007. Middle school → Velma Hamilton
008. High school → Lawton Chiles
010. Hair color → dark brown
011. Long or short → long
015. Are you health freak? → at times
016. Height → shorter than my parents
017. Do you have a crush on someone → Ooooh.
018. Do you like yourself → that highly depends on the situation
019. Piercings → I'm thinking about it.
020. Tattoos → no
021. Righty or lefty → righty

FIRSTS :
022. First surgery → oral surgery... I forgot when. You see, the dentist took about one and a half hours to realize that he couldn't get the hooked root out by himself. What a painful experience.
023. First piercing → none
024. First best friend → Rose. I wonder if she remembers me. Or if she still has her yellow recorder. At least, I think it was yellow.
025. First award → Book-it!
026. First sport you joined → biking my little black bike
027. First pet → snail
028. First vacation → something like Stonehenge, Bath, that castle with the red rose garden, Oxford, Stradford upon Avon, or London?
029. First concert → PIANO!
030. First Belief → Christianity is the only one that really counts. That or the tooth fairy, which failed. It was for about eight hours.

CURRENTLY :

049. Eating → nothing
050. Drinking → nothing
052. I'm about to → get a headache and read The Scarlet Letter
053. Listening to → no change to that
055. Waiting for → college

YOUR FUTURE :

058. Want kids? yes, but it is a pity I cannot carry on the family name
059. Want to get married? yes
060. Careers in mind? engineering, national security

THERE IS NO CATEGORY NAME HERE SO I WILL MAKE ONE :

068. Lips or eyes → well, I know you have great eyes
069. Hugs or kisses → I wouldn't know
070. Shorter or taller → taller
072. Romantic or spontaneous → smart
073. Nice stomach or nice arms → you have both gj
074. Sensitive or loud → what?
075. Hook-up or relationship → relationship
077. Trouble maker or hesitant → I wonder.... -heavy sarcasm-

HAVE YOU EVER:

079. Drank hard liquor: no :'(
080. Lost glasses/contacts → yes
081. Ran away from home → I wish
084. Broken someone's heart → possibly
085. Been arrested → aw darn no
086. Turned someone down → yes
087. Cried when someone died → no
088. Liked a guy/girl friend → yes, but not the latter

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

089. Yourself → rarely
090. Miracles → no
091. Love at first sight → hasn't happened yet
092. Heaven → no
093. Santa Claus → no
095. Kissing on the first date → no
096. Angels → the ones Joseph believes in, my wooden one, and the one I drew on the board above (costheta)(cos2theta)(cos4theta)

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY :

097. Is there one person you want to be with right now? yes
098. Had more than one boyfriend/girlfriend at one time? no
099. Do you believe in God? no
100. Posting this as 100 Truths? not the title

I'm still here!

2008-10-16T16:37:00.002-04:00

I saw this on Anna's blog from Google Reader, and it seemed so awesome, and I really don't feel like doing homework, even though I always do it after school ends.
So, here it is!

10 things you want to say to 10 different people:
1) I really hope that wish comes true!
2) I don't think Mrs. Knoll got the sizes. =/
3) You're not very good at describing a textbook.
4) Your violin sounds so pretty!
5) Today, I realized how beautiful your eyes are. Watch out for predators, though.
6) Get a haircut.
7) You write your name in the same general style as someone else I know.
8) It's so easy to say things to people, but to you, there are so many things I could say, and I could never fit it in one line unless I got kind of sappy, but that is probably okay with you, but you can read my mind anyway. Te amo.
9) I wish I had a yellow dress like you do.
10) I'm sorry someone beat you on a test that I thought you totally raped.

9 things about yourself:
1) I do homework on Friday afternoons.
2) Jack's Nike shirt is my favorite shade of green.
3) I saw fog particles moving right in front of me this morning.
4) Maybe I will be trilingual one day.
5) I don't actually want to become a spy.
6) The North is the best, in my opinion.
7) I began to play the piano when I was four and a half. Tiny me. Yeah...
8) I played for two to three hours straight when I started.
9)

8 ways to win your heart:
1) make me smile
2) be smarter than me
3) write a great poem and/or letter
4) talk talk talk talk talk
5) play with CAD for at least two summers in a row
6) teach me how to do something I've always wanted to learn
7) know me well enough to know that I can't just list these things, or just read my mind all the time
8) let me win your heart

7 things that cross your mind a lot:
1) school
2) friends who are unhappy- make them happier!
3) leaving high school
4) red is such a great color
5) hey, I am absentmindedly spinning my pencil/pen again
6) if you really didn't try you would know what crosses my mind a lot
7) hey, I was spinning it again

6 things you wish you never did:
1) pause piano lessons
2) decide not to take notes during the last ppt that Mrs. Thomas showed us
3) become extremely apathetic during the concept test
4) fail.
5) neglect to buy really dark sunglasses B)
6) go to bed so late

5 things you want right now:
1) the laptop to go back to normal
2) a chance to go skiing
3) a trip to the beach
4) a smoothie
5) above all: my favorite pillow ever

4 people you love:
1) my mother
2) my father, who comes home at about 8pm these days
3) my brother? Maybe? :O Well, definitely right now, because he is not at home! For the rest of the day! Yes!
4) my h.w.a.b. :d

3 smileys that describe your life:
1) '~' (nervous)
2) '(o (eating)
3) *-* (dreamy)

2 things you want before you die:
1) satisfaction
2) bravery

1 confession:
The bug that just landed on my window was HUGE.

Three-day weekends are so amazing.

Wonil

2008-09-20T15:11:00.002-04:00

So, he wondered why I mentioned him at all in the Power Bloggers, so I told him I'd write a post just for him in my personal blog. Here it is.
Wonil, I hope your hand gets better so you can cook even more Korean food. Gosh, you eat so much. I guess it's kind of cool but sad that you almost drowned all those times. Thank you for taking us out that evening. It was really fun, even though I didn't like tennis at the time. You don't need to make those thousand origami roses as you said you were going to do. Maybe you forgot about it, though. You're so great that my mom asked if I still hung out with you before she realized you went back to G-ville. Haha. It's interesting that you have such an expensive cardboard box in your truck. And vodka. What did you do with that, by the way? Not the box. I'm sorry you think you should give up on girls. Thank you for making your schedule so awkward so you could learn some difficult Chinese. Hopefully it will help you some day. You're going to be an amazing general surgeon, and the little kids in Africa are going to love you.
Thank you for everything, even though you don't think that should be said.

Open House

2008-09-08T20:35:00.002-04:00

Everyone who put Lacey's name in something or other in Ms. Womble's room got her 10 points of extra credit. This was the deciding factor for my mother when she thought about whether or not she should go to Open House again.
This is an approximate description of what happened.

1st Period
So she entered the Psych room.
Ms. Womble: I don't have a first period.
mother: I am here to get extra credit for a student. How can I get her 10 points of extra credit?
mw: Well, you have to be sitting here at 6:45.
mother: I am not her parent. I can't split myself up because I have to go to my daughter's classes.
mw: Oh, that makes sense... she emailed me about someone being sick. -gives mother form to fill out and such- What is your daughter's name?
mother: Kejing. She is Lacey's friend.
mw: Darn, I don't have her.
mother: She will take your class next year.
mw: See you next year!

4th period
Mr. Carpenter: Your daughter made 100s on two of her quizzes.
mother very quickly: Oh, she didn't do well on the first one.
mc: I talked to her about what she needed to do -blahblahblah-

Another mother: What if -insert guy name here- got two problems correct out of seven...?
mc: Well, to be honest, he told me that he hadn't reviewed before it.

5th period
Mrs. Ewart: The passing rate last year was 45%. It broke my heart.

Yeaheah.

2008-09-03T18:19:00.002-04:00

In Lang, we had a pretest on Latin and Greek roots. It wasn't actually a slap in the face, though. I did better than I expected, which wasn't amazing, but Diana knew almost all of them, so props to her Latin I through AP skills.
I'm tired every day, to good measure.
I finally raped Physics.
There's a test in history next Wednesday, and we need B's to maintain A's in the class, or something like that. I guess it could be worse.
There is a little hope that I will get through this year. When it is over, everything will seem so easy.
The rise of colonial America is not very exciting.
The weekends are pretty good this year.

You hit my heart (heart, heart)
You didn't ask me for my number?
Wait, you didn't ask me for my number?
Hmm I like the fact that you didn't ask that
Cause you already got my number, huh