Blog

After more than a year, this web site finally has a new layout not based on the same structure as the original layout. I call it Abstract because the images I used consist of abstract shapes. I know. Not a very creative title. I also don’t know how much I like this new layout, so for now, I’m just leaving it open as an option for you guys. Just go under themes in the sidebar, and select Abstract to view it. There are still some unfinished aspects of this layout. Most obviously, there isn’t a footer image. Also, the links at the top seem a bit plain. I also need to make an image for the submit/save button. I did test this on both Firefox 2.0 and IE 7.0, though I like it better in Firefox. There are some minor differences in appearance. So, tell me what you like and don’t like about it, and possibly something that can be improved.

Also, I’ve been thinking…well, I haven’t really been thinking. I’ve been busy with academia. I’m at a loss for things to write about in my current state. I mean, there are plenty of things to write about, yet I feel no topic are worthy of being written about at the current moment. There’s plenty in terms of anime, to write about but I’m sure many of you wouldn’t be interested in reading about anime. My state of mind is on anime and academia, neither of which are interesting topics for general viewers.

It snowed a lot on Thursday, I experienced a snow day on Friday. This is interesting because we had two snow days last year as well. Yet before then, there was more than a twenty year gap between the last snow day we’ve had. Also, on Wednesday, the tempurature dropped like 50 degrees Fahrenheit from morning to night. It was so warm during the day time that some people were wearing t-shirts. Then later there were blistering bitter cold winds that blew so strongly I could hardly breathe or keep my eyes open. The good thing about all the snow we received, aside from having a snow day, is that it covered all the ugly muddy snow that was melting previously. Now there’s a fresh blanket of pure white. I dislike snow when it gets all muddy. Also I dislike walking in a building and making and seeing puddles of muddy tracks everywhere. Yet I have the tendency to forget to sufficiently wipe my feet on the mat before entering a building so my dorm room sometimes has murky water on the tiled floor.

Also, I’ve been trying to find a new song to learn, one I can easily memorize yet is also interesting melody wise and lyric wise. I haven’t found one though. Right now I’m listening to Chi Xin Jue Dui by Li Sheng Jie. I don’t understand a small majority of the words, but it sounds nice anyways. Maybe if I saw the lyrics I’d understand more of the song. Better yet, if I had an English translation of the song, I’d understand it even more. I think the title means absolute senseless/foolish mind/heart, or something of the effect. Okay nevermind. I was completely off. I just looked up the translation, and it means Surely Infatuated. It’s a sweet song. I think I’ll try to learn it.

Yes I’m still alive. I haven’t posted in quite a long time because of finals and such. Also, I’ve been working on developing a forum. This forum will encompass just about any topic you can think of. It’s almost done but to get your password, you need to get it through email. Currently my host doesn’t give permission for emailing data from my web site since I have a free account. I just bought a paid account, the most affordable one there. They still haven’t verified my transaction yet though. Once they do, I’ll show you the site and I do hope you’ll join.

On another note, I’m proud to announce that one of my poems, Spring, has been selected as one of the finalists in a national poetry contest, and it has also been awarded the Editor’s Choice Award along with just 33 other poets. I was surprised because I just picked a random poem to submit that met the length requirement (of 20 lines or less) and submitted thinking nothing of it. It was read by a professional reader and it will be recorded professionally as a special part of a new CD poetry collection- The Sound of Poetry. Also, it will be published in a book.

What else have I been up to? Well, I’m currently watching Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle. I’m on episode 30 now. I stopped and now I’m reading the manga. I’m on chapter 4. I’m planning on reading all the manga before finishing the anime so I can compare the two and have something to discuss in my forum. I watched Cardcaptor Sakura right before that (all 70 episodes plus the two movies). I hope to get some interesting discussions going with that as well.

For now, here’s a riddle called “Make Up Your Mind” for you to think about, and maybe comment about if you’re feeling up to it:

Whoever makes it, tells it not.
Whoever takes it, knows it not.
And whoever knows it wants it not.

Hint: Don’t think too hard on this one.

I posted some pictures a few days ago under the miscellaneous section of my gallery. There are some sculptures, photographs, paintings and an origami dragon. I’ll probably end up spliting that into photographs, paintings, and sculptures. So far I don’t have enough of these categories images to split them under their own categories.

Now for updates on my life…school started today. I know it seems somewhat late, but I have a friend attending UIC who doesn’t start till late September. So far I haven’t made any friends besides my roommate. Hopefully that will change by the end of the week. I already know a few people who went to the same high school as me. I’m still feeling naustalgic towards UIUC though. I feel out of place at Bradley for being one of very few Asian people on campus.

I’m hoping to join the Asians Increasing Your Awareness (AIYA). So far the clubs I signed up for are Women in Business, Habitat for Humanity, and the Anime Club. I also signed up for some other random organizations but I can’t remember them so they aren’t as important to me.

So far the events I went to are Taste of Bradley which is where restaraunts from around campus set up tents on the quad for students to sample the food. It’s not free but $5 gets you a lot of food. I also went to the Transfer Student Orientation. That wasn’t as fun, but I got lots of free stuff including a calendar which I’m using now.

Classes I’m taking include the following: Contemporary Business, Accounting, Microeconomics, Art Appreciation, and Intro to Programming and Computer Science. Today I went to Art Appreciation, Microeconomics, and Intro to Programming and Computer Science. So far I think I’ll enjoy Intro to Comp Sci most because I think programming is fun. The program we’re using is more user friendly than SSH (what I used last year for intro to comp sci, a class I dropped among others).