Listening to:

Meltdown – Ash
02 – Orpheus

I can’t believe I’m leaving again. So soon. I’ve been trying to get stuff settled down in California, trying to get broadband set up because for some reason, I can’t live without it. You know, everything else is secondary. Internet first.

So I was digging through my stuff the other day, and I realised how many horrible CDs I owned. I saw my personal copies of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera’s respective debuts, and I just wanted to shoot myself. What a waste of space.

But, I did find this American Eagle Outfitters Compilation Disc from 1996. I never listened to the disc much. The only song that ever really caught my attention was this annoying little tune “Vitamins” by Supernova. But upon closer inspection, it contains stuff from Radiohead, Supergrass, Jimmy Eat World, Less Than Jake, and the Cocteau Twins. Craziness!

So actually, the CD bears Capital Records and Spin branding, so I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised at the contents of the compilation disc. I think I’m just a little slow. There was also this note inside mentioning how you can go to American Eagle and enter a drawing to win a year’s college tuition. That implies that college students used to wear AE? Funny, I always remember it as my favorite store when I was in grade school.

Ok, I received this email today. Twice, actually:

I really liked ur web site when i checked few days back ( i accidently happen to see ur web). I just wanted to see it again today and its changed. It was with black background and ur pic on side. Cud u pls put up that whole web back for some time.
Your help will be appreciated alot.

All right, so no, I will not take down all my updates and reload the previous version to appease your whims. But the bigger question remains: Why? I mean, what’s this guy going to do with it? I’m really worried, actually. You know, Paul is completely right. My webpage is this little vanity project. But it never occurred to me that people I don’t know would actually come and read it. Then there are the psycho people who send me these weird requests. At least I don’t have stalkers yet.

Listening to:

Franz Ferdinand
03 – Take Me Out

They say that one of the greatest things about being disorganised is that you’re constantly discovering new things. Today, I uncovered my top secret fanny pack back from the IMSA days.

There, I found my precious Hi-Tech 0.3mm diameter pens, my Reflect.com mirror compact, and an old frequent flyer card that doesn’t say “premier.” It’s pretty funny, actually. I never know where anything of mine is. Each time I move, I get a little more confused.

It’s funny, but I do this everytime I come back. The typical schedule looks something like this. First 5 days: Jetlag… Wake up at 3am… Try to find my stuff…. Along the way, I’ll stumble upon notes from 3 years ago that inevitably prove embarassing. I throw them away. Second 5 days: do stuff with family and old friends, realise how nicely Shanghai has developed since I was last here. Realise just how many people live here. You can’t cross the street without getting nearly run over by a flood of human flesh. Next two days: Complain about going back to school. My mom laughs at me. Next thing I know, I’m leaving on a jet plane. Again.

Sometimes, at the end of the day, I really wonder… Why do I even bother coming back at all? Then I remember that life on campus drives me nuts and the 5 productive days I spend here seem completely worth the 24 hour trip.

From the New York Times article:

“The attorney general’s unilateral attempt to regulate general medical practices historically entrusted to state lawmakers,” Judge Richard C. Tallman wrote for the majority, “interferes with the democratic debate about physician-assisted suicide and far exceeds the scope of his authority under federal law.”

God forbid Ashcroft allow states to give their residents a choice. What horrible things could possibly happen? Is Oregon going to become the next California, or worse, the next Amsterdam? All I have to say is, one small step for the US Court of Appeals, one more option for me when I get cancer from all the carcinogens I work with.

Everyone’s getting so excited about Velvet Revolver’s new release. I guess it’s no surprise. It’s Guns ‘n Roses meets Stone Temple Pilots. Those are two big name bands…. You know, Slither is an fine song, but don’t you feel sorry for these guys? It’s a debut album, and everyone already has all these expectations of what the band should sound like, what the album should mean. Come now.

Let’s not get ourselves all excited only to be hugely disappointed. Remember all the bitter Soundgarden and Rage Against the Machine fans when they heard Audioslave? Yeah. That could happen to you.

But if you’re looking for some real amusement, take a look at this list. It’s bound to upset most people in one way or another. Hey, at least I’m not as bitter as that guy. Yet.

Listening to:


Do It Yourself – The Seahorses
07 – Love Me and Leave Me

Wow, I thought I’d have to make it for the entire two weeks without posting. Apparently, due to some strange routing issues, I couldn’t access my webpage from home. You really have to wonder: exactly how broad is this broadband connection? But now, I’ve been able to VPN into MITnet and access stuff. Score!

My grandmother and I went out to the Pearl Tower today. That would be the twentieth time for me. Not very exciting. High-rises in the city generally only offer beautiful views at night, but it’s a pain to go all the way over there, and the place closes after a while, so whatever. Grandma didn’t seem all that impressed either, but we did have a nice meal at this noodle place that I hadn’t yet visited.

Something more amusing will come once I shower and become clean.

The past weekend has made me realise that I have officially lost my nerd status. First, someone informed me that I was linked on slashdot, and I still haven’t figured out when or why. Then, my friend asked me if my blog had RSS, and I could only dumbly reply, “What’s that?” So the link is up. Or rather down. It’s on the bottom, that pink footer.

Worse of all, this song that I’d been enjoying for quite some time turned out to be about lasagne. How much worse can it get? Oh yeah. I also have four finals.

See you next week!