The World Loves a Bastard
Quiz Part 1
There was a short ionic equation balancing quiz last friday. It was a group quiz so you had maybe 3 to 8 people in your group depending on who showed up to class. Fridays are always kinda empty since only annoying classes like Chem is scheduled. It was a fairly simple quiz if you know what you're doing. Today we got the quiz back and as expected my group received the full 4 points. No biggie, no surprise. Just very simple. But as I walked around the class scanning at other groups quiz I noticed big red marks and writing all over their quiz. What the heck is going on? You've got all these people in your group and you managed to miss some questions? I looked closer thinking maybe they did some arithmetic errors. Even my group balanced the equation wrong due to that but one girl and I noticed before we turned it in. But when I looked at other people's quiz, I noticed they didn't make errors, they flat out didn't know how to do the problem. I just saw chicken scratch and erase marks. I guess I come from a lucky group. Out of 12 groups, my row is 1 of 3 that is consistently filled with people. The other rows always have huge gaps in it. But still, that's at least 3 heads put together, there is no excuse for not being able to do the problems.
Political Spin
I was stopped the other day by a person sporting a magazine with Bush and some guy on the cover mimicing the box cover of the Arnold Shwartwhatever movie: Twins. I tried to make a wide arc around their booth but the dude caught me and I tried to squirm away but he got me. Worse than that, I had nothing to do for 4 hours. I am not good at lying so I didn't want to say that I was busy and couldn't talk and he just droned on. I decided to make the best of it and hear his story. I'm an enlightened 21st century male. He spouted Bush's Social Security reform is a faschism taking over the US and Argentina tried privatizing social security and now it's a mess. I can hardly understand what he's saying so I just tried to provoke him to say what I already thought he was: A Bush hater. Now let me say that I have no problems with a Bush hater, I don't like the guy either. But there are so many things wrong with him that you could say without trivializinng it with this movie box tie-in. I mean, his record with the war is reason enough to put him down. You don't need to equate him with Hitler.
"And why not?" he said to me.
"Are you kidding me? The fact that you are standing here talking to me about him being worse than Hitler is evidence that he is not. You'd be shot if he is anything like him."
And so our conversation kept going for almost 45 minutes and he kept trying to get me to sign my name on the list. To his credit he was better than others I've talked to. People are always quick to criticise how Bush is doing it wrong and how he's messing things up. But when you ask them what they would do instead, they go blank. Or if you ask them who would replace Bush if you impeach, they go blank. I understand you might not like Bush, but the person you force to replace him could be worse. I want my actions to mean something.
"But that's exactly what we're doing right now. Making our voices heard. What are you doing about it?"
"I voted, that's how I voice my opinion."
After all that banter he finally broke down, "If this is the way you are. What was the point of this? Why did you stop and talk to me for so long?"
I tried not to laugh as I walked away. O! The hypocrisy!
Quiz Part 2
My Physics lecture is in the same room as my Chem lecture. After Physics, I noticed a piece of paper that looked like the Chem quiz so I looked at it and wondered why someone forgot it. One missed problem of course and no names. What the heck? You mean everyone in the group forgot their names?
Another day
Today is a special day for me. It is a day I have been looking forward to, half dreading and half hoping that it will turn out not bad... doesn't have to be good, just not bad. Today marks 4 weeks that I have been here and I can't say it's been a total success but I am good and I can see this things go up from here.
It was kinda ominous when I got to class. Goth chick asks me what I thought about the test. I said it was fairly easy and she said, "Really?" with a surprised look on her face. She asks me about a question on the test and I tell her I got A for that one. She says she got C and worries she misses it. Person sitting next to her says oh no, she's right C is the right answer and goes on to explain how I am wrong. And she was right, I was wrong. They then go to the next question upon which person proves me wrong again. SHIT, easy test huh? You just missed two random questions that they both got. Not only that, they were easy mistakes. I am such a pompous fool I thought.
I got 22 out of 30. Pretty bad percentage wise huh? It's out of 150 points and the teacher is curving it 32 points. I don't really know how he is calculating things. He just said multiply your score by 6 to get your grade. That makes 132 for me and according to his chart 132+ is an A. I got an A? That's crazy because 135 and up is an A according to percentages. I don't know if it matters what he calls an A because at the end of the day he gives me 132 points out of 150. That's a B. And that is a B I happily accept for a test I didn't study for. One whole letter grade curve? Oh, Goth chick and person both got a C. Looks like I am pompous, but I'm no fool. Hehehe, I'm liking it more and more at this school.
Veronica Mars
Serena is back and she is going for glory again. Where is Venus?
Crazy train wreck down here yesterday. I might be traveling in one of those trains in the future. Isn't it exciting. The dude who was contemplating suicide might as well go ahead now because the future is not gonna be pretty now.
Cellphones ring with impunity here. Every single class I go to at least one cell phone rings. At a physics lecture where the professor is oblivious to the world, 5 phones rang in succession. I was so amazed. Now, I can almost understand why the 2nd phone went off but by that time I would think people would check their phones. But no, they kept ringing off the hook.
Smoking is either extremely banned down here or they just don't do it. At Foothill and Deanza at the bottom of every hour, toxic clouds on cue appears. Here, I hardly see anyone lighting up. Just like wearing black. Chem teacher forced assigned seating and I am seated next to this goth chick. That's right, we're a black smudge in a sea of color.
Easiness continues to permeate through my classes. Quiz 2 in Calc was another no brainer. You'd have to be an idiot to not be able to do a simple 1 problem quiz like that. Chem midterm was another snooze. Lengthy but very fundamental. Chem lab and Physics lab reports come back with perfect or near perfect grades. Only got one booboo but the teacher is letting me redo it for a better grade. Amazing. I think I might actually enjoy it here at this school. Oh throw in that curve and smooth sailing for me.
Got back my TB chest xray. Negative. Looks like I am healthy as an ox. The cynical in me wanted me to have a disease.
Made a sample schedule for myself and if classes are available and don't conflict and I pass on one try then I can graduate by Dec 06 with a BS. I don't know why I worried so much before. I should have made a sample schedule for myself long ago. Realistically though, I would graduate Jun 07 because of class availability, which is my goal of 2.5 years. Now, I just have to confirm it with an advisor.
The learning curve for living by myself is still pretty steep. There are still a lot of things I am not used to and things I don't know how to deal with. But I am getting there. I'm glad I dropped my 4th class this quarter, I totally needed the time to adjust my way of thinking and living.
Mute
Yeah yeah yeah, I know I said I would write something this weekend, but I didn't so there.
Let's start with injustice. There is a thing called recitation here in CalstateLA. It's basically a study group headed by a teacher. They make it mandatory because so many people fail the course. They force you to take it in some courses and optional on others. It will be mandatory for the next quarter of Calculus and right now you have to take it for Chem101. So this is a study session to get you more practice in the subject you are taking, right? But this is a class so you have to get a grade so you don't slack off defeating the purpose of having an extra day of class. So teachers have to grade you? A separate teacher? One that doesn't know what is going on in class? That's right. I was given a quiz last week by this recitation teacher. It's a fairly easy quiz by Chem standards. I bombed though because I didn't know some of the concepts being asked. The quiz was a complete mystery to me at how to do. In fact, I went through my brain and relearned as much as I can from my past experience to take the quiz. Again it's easy if you know what you are doing. I'm wondering how everyone else is doing. HOW IN THE WORLD CAN THE TEACHER GIVE A TEST ON SOMETHING SHE HASN'T GONE OVER??? What the heck? She even went over a part of the quiz afterwards after seeing all the puzzled looks on the class. She totally did not go over this before. And to make matters worse she said we will go over some of this in Ch 3 of the lecture. She was right, we did go over this stuff in Ch 3. Which was today. The quiz was last week. This is what recitation is for? They force us to take an extra hour of class for this? Oh and if you are working out equations and have to express the answer in scientific notation. YOU DO THAT AFTER YOU ARE DONE with the calculations, not before. She FORCES us to do scientific notation first and then do the calculations. Right, let's make it harder on us. The answer comes out in different significant figures too. THIS IS NOT HOW YOU DO IT. Grrrrr.... this school is pissing me off.
On a lighter note, I've been mute since Thursday when I had lab and that lousy recitation class. I didn't speak to anyone until I met this truck driver at the local laundomat while waiting for our clothes. I wonder if this is how it's gonna be by myself. Silence for 5 days at a time.
I'm smiling more now. I love my teeth. They're not done yet but with the aligners in they are shiny white and straight. It's one of my life's dream to smile at people. I have this messed up face all the time because I am self conscious of these two gaps. Anyway, 24 aligners to go.
Home Sweet Home
I was on highway 5 the other night going south stuck in some emergency rain related mudslide road work. The amber lights warned of up to 3 hour delay due to the lane closures. I almost got that feeling. I almost arrived at that plane. I was thinking, when will I get home. Home, in Los Angeles. And that's right. It is my home here. I have a lot of homework to do so I will go more in-depth maybe this weekend or maybe never. Call me if you're interested in my dull life.
Anyway, I couldn't take my eyes off the tv last night. I haven't had adequate antenna reception or digital tv since forever. My room seems to pick up stuff fairly well even without an antenna. I got UPN and the new show
Veronica Mars blew me away. Of course, if you know me, you know why I was so blown away. That's right, a Miss
Kristen Bell. She is so pretty. I first thought she looked like Chloe on Smallville. That's the reason I watched the show from the previews. I am one of those weird people who like her more than Lana. But to my surprise and delight it was someone else. It wouldn't have been cool to drop Smallville for this show. We all know how UPN is. They drop shows even faster than Fox. Anyway, first glances would tell you that Kristen is just too pretty to play this independent tough girl part. It seemed like they should have gave her a pony tail or glasses. Thank goodness they didn't. But as opposed to most of my usual infatuations, Kristine actually has talent. That's right, she played her part well. I look forward to tuning in every Tuesday for Veronica Mars, knowing full well of course, that it will be canceled in about 7 episodes. I will enjoy her while it lasts. Oh, Veronica Mars is about a detective agency run by her and her dad. The over-arcing story is the death of her bestfriend. Her father, the sheriff, accused the most popular man in town who was responsible for the town's great wealth. The town shunned them and stripped him of his title. Her mother left them, but they remain ever vigilante in finding out the truth.
Words overheard:
"Do you know how to get to 5th Avenue?"
This was asked by a tourist when Lucy and I were in NYC. She felt so good when he asked that because it meant she looked like a New Yorker. We both had dreams of becoming New Yorkers. A lady asked me how to get to 10 West. I actually knew. Now, I am an Angelean. Or whatever they call it. New York will have to wait in line.
Life goes on
Why is it always a guy on the other end of the line? Why can't it be a hot babe asking me out? And why do I have to be so... pick a word, conceited, superficial, snobby, blah blah... Anyway, Luan calls me to ask about the lab that was due this morning. It's kinda after-the-fact isn't it? You should have finished it already. And being that it was incredibly easy to do, you should have finished. I just wonder how he could have finished all the calculus classes already. He just seems a little slow to me. I feel kinda bad for him though. He wants to get to know someone and get some group work. But asking me if I have time to study is bad bad. I am nowhere near a good enough or reliable enough person to help you. I really want to help but I just can't commit. Not unless you are a cute girl... actually you don't have to be cute, just be a girl. Because I don't discriminate like that. I am a pig, I admit it.
I got my place finally. It's a house that has been converted into 3 or 4 self contained sections. So I get my own bathroom and entrance. My own place pretty much for around 450 a month. Quite a deal. Don't need to deal with roommates or other people living in the place. It is a little bit rundown but for the price, you can't match it. And one of the best features is that it is only 3 miles from school. Mandy has a bike that a previous renter left behind that I can have. So I am pretty much set. I'll be moving in tomorrow and once again, the pieces fit in a little too well. Thank God.
Wait a minute!
I haven't done any homework yet. As always, I don't do any work the first week in case I ever drop any classes. So I have a mound of homework to do now and lots of time. I thought I might even work ahead a little and be prepared for later stuff. How's that for being a good student? Of course, it's all talk, actually doing the work is another story. So anyway, I go to my single class on friday at 8 AM in the morning feeling fairly grubbly because I have to be there for a single 50 minute class and then go home. My lab mate across the table calls to me and says he's photocopied the lab book for me. Already? See, the book store forgot to order more so now the whole chemistry class is f'ed with the exception of a few individuals lucky enough to have a copy. And the neat thing is I actually made a friend fast enough to garner myself a copy. I felt good. At the end of class I got a "Good morning, John" from behind me. Damm, more recognition. People know me now. I'm no longer a stranger, not totally anyway. It was my lab partner and she reminded me to go up to the 6th floor for some printouts our professor promised for us. As we get off on the 6th floor the cute girl from yesterday appeared and said, "She didn't make them." So we marched back into the elevator cursing our accent rich instructor for not photocopying ch1 of the lab book. Wait a minute! I have the lab book! What am I doing!? So I pull it out and cute girl comes to my side and finds the 2 pages we need to read up on. Why do I have to be a sucker for a pretty face?
"Can I borrow this and give it back to you on Monday?"
"No, I need it this weekend," But I didn't say that. I just smiled, handed her the 2 pages and said, "Sure, I'm not gonna do anything this weekend anyway."
Crap, you're not here to be nice to girls, you're here to study. Oh well.
Wonders of the world
I'm in
love. I haven't felt this way about anyone before. It all happened so fast, that I'm blinded by the sheer size of it.
Today's adventures brought smiles on my face
Cute chick in chem lab. She's too loud though, but that's ok. I'm a sucker for bright eyes. Too bad she didn't become my lab partner, I got another chick instead. She lives in the dorm. She's one of the few that got in easy. But maybe her athlete status had something to do with it. But from what she tells me, she deserves to stay there more than me.
No more late fees at
blockbuster. But if you can weed through their small print and translate their sale language. All they did was replace late fee with restocking fee. Still gonna cost you.
I finally finished my raft puzzle. Now I need to face the rafters in the other direction. The game got someone's attention at the Food Court and so I got to know the local yokels a little more. Meeting people is what it's all about.
Lastly, I decided to take the room I looked at last night. I'll tell you more about it if he calls me back to ok it. He's showing it to another person. If he takes the other guy then there is nothing more to report.
Words overheard
"Kramer is comic genius."
From the head of the math department. An Indian guy who watches a little too much Seinfeld in my opinion.
Winter Scents
Ack, the sofa is so soft. It swallows my whole middle torso. My back! MY BACK! But a good thing is my good friend got me this memory foam thing. My gosh, it makes the wood floor feel like a bed. Amazing piece of whatever it is. I should have taken it out earlier to use.
The past two days haven't been going all that well for me. It's been raining hard in LA. Flooding makes cars drive crazy. I almost got killed when someone swerved in front of me. Living temporarily means I have to be extra clean and always have to bundle my stuff together into as small a pile as possible. So it's painstakingly annoying opening up my suitcase to find clothes and then packing it back up again. Rain makes going from class to class difficult. School is so big. Takes me over 15 min to get from car to class. Hard to find parking.
But, it all faded away when I sat down at Noodle Planet and ordered myself a Yakisoba. This is why I went to LA. This is the way life should be. Good food, good service. Mmmmmm... I feel... dare I say it? at home. Came back tonight and got two prospective places to stay at. 400 a month. I have a morning class on Friday so with any luck, I should be back in San Jose on the 14th afternoon. It's almost time to smell the roses.
