This is funny. I cancelled my WaMu credit card because Chase took over and ended a key benefit. I started using my Bank of America card just because it's easier to pay than my Amazon card. Now I'm gonna start using the latter since Chase, owner of Amazon credit, has finally integrated former WaMu accounts within their umbrella website, making it easier to transfer money from checking to credit accounts.

It's finally November! Today's actually the second of November. Why am I happy? Because it brings me closer to when I finally move out. As hoped for, the Alex episode seems to be completely over. I was afraid he would seek more attention and call me despite the end of friendship, but he hasn't so all's well.

After summer my first priority was to find a job. That came about pretty easy: after months of saying I had to start the job search, the first email I sent out was answered and I was hired. Of course, finding a second job hasn't been so quick. I'm going to trim down the Education section on my resume and move it to the back for all the receptionist jobs I've been applying to. They don't want to hire "overqualified" people because they'll probably leave after finding a better job; I want a temporary job that'll last until I find a better one, so they've got me figured out pretty well, haha. But even if I don't find a second job, it's okay because starting January this tutoring gig should pay enough for me to move out.

My plans to move out are becoming a little more defined. The sooner I do it the better, but I need to save up some money first for those just-in-case moments. Most likely I'll be getting my own place either in February or March; the former if I put aside enough in the next few months, the latter if I want to be certain of financial security in the event I lose my job or get fewer hours. That's why I'm so happy it's November. Because now it's Nov, Dec, then Jan, and my goal finally comes within reach. Even if I move out in March, Jan and Feb are gonna be exciting because I'll be looking for an apartment. Yeah yeah, the process is actually annoying and frustrating, but only if you're 1) in college looking for something a few blocks from the hottest attraction in town (i.e. campus), 2) have a narrow window in which you can actually move out/in, and 3) in a vacancy-deficient area. My move out/in date is flexible, I'm down with living anywhere in the SF Valley, and Craigslist tells me there are lots of vacancies available.

BUT! I still gotta keep my cool. After all, three/four months is still three/four months. That's at least one whole season. I've been hanging out a bit more lately than the weeks/months before, spending more money on socializing, and so on. But y'know, the most important thing to me is to enjoy life. That doesn't mean that one should shirk the responsibilities of life, but there are rights to life as well, such as sleep, and friends, and holidays where you don't give a damn when you get home, and going on mini- and major-vacations, and smoking when you feel like it, and all that shiz. Basically, if hanging out with friends means I'm not going to save money as quickly and that I'll have to wait until March and not February to move out, that's fine. Three months of boredom before getting a place of my own or four months of measurable fun before the apt? I choose the latter. Plus, if I don't socialize before getting my own place, by the time I do get an apt no one's gonna remember me and come visit me, hahaha, jk.

Tutoring is going well. I have regular students that come on the same day at the same time each week. There are 12.5 weekly hours of regulars. Then I have clients that come sporadically, or just new ones want one or two hours of prep before a test. There are on average about 5-6 weekly hours of those people. I'm more interested in upping the regular hours, which has been happening. Each week or two someone new will try me out and want regular sessions, which is good for me.

There's probably a lot more to write about, but I should stop here. I have five hours of tutoring today and I have to leave home in about an hour, so I'd like to watch TV or read in the interim.

But yeah, I really really want to write more in this thing. Writing this entry sorta made me miss LiveJournal. I suppose I have more things happening in life thus I have more to record. Then again, the happenings are mostly with friends; work and all is pretty constant (which is good!). But oooh, I'm sooo excited about moving out. Every time I've visited Jett I've admired his place. Not his place in particular, but that he has a place. I got excited when I saw Reachal's 1-bdrm apt in Berkeley because that's about what I'm gonna be getting. Jett's place is nice, situated in Studio City with gated security and all. But I'd prefer something smaller, maybe more ghetto, a place with actual street parking in front, where friends can come right up to my door. On Halloween we spent so much time just getting cars parked, grabbing things from cars, reparking cars, going back to the car, walking to-and-from the curb and Jett's apt, and so on... I want something small and simple. I'll be happy with just that.

And you're ALL invited! (...until I get sick of ya! haha)





Ends: 12:48PM

So I couldn't possibly let the new Muse album go by without reviewing it.

MUSE
The Resistance (2009)

1. Uprising
2. Resistance
3. Undisclosed Desires
4. United States of Eurasia / Collateral Damage
5. Guiding Light
6. Unnatural Selection
7. MK Ultra
8. I Belong to You / Mon Cœur S'ouvre a Ta Voix
9. Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1 (Overture)
10. Exogenesis: Symphony Part 2 (Cross-Pollination)
11. Exogenesis: Symphony Part 3 (Redemption)

I've heard from a couple people that Uprising is a good song to start the album with. I agree. It's not a favorite but it's catchy in the Muse way. Not anyone can sing slowly and stretch out words AND make it sound good; Bellamy can do it. The song gets four stars out of five and will likely stay there. The roughness of the first track contrasts with the long soft intro of the second song, Resistance. This is one of my favorites because it sort of contains a story within it and it's epic. The first signs of heavy classical instrumentals begins here with piano. And there's a certain abruptness to the chorus that surprised me the first time I heard it and now I really like it. This track gets five stars, as does the next one, Undisclosed Desires. Bass heavy with punctuated beats and a sprinkle of reverberation during the chorus. I'm probably drawn to the song because I'm a hopeless romantic and that's all I'll say.

United States of Eurasia has relatively elementary lyrics. Bellamy can sing abstract or unclear lyrics, but this song is pretty straight forward. These wars will never end. There are a couple parts with intense string, percussion, and piano combos which might eventually raise this track from three stars to four, if they really really grow on me. This is the first track that includes an unoriginal segment (35 seconds of a piece by Chopin). The next track is my least favorite and it is called Guiding
Light. It's mostly slow. I don't really know what to say about it. I gave it three stars because there are certain moods during which I would like to listen to this track.

The next two tracks have potential for growth in my heart but are currently rated at three stars. Unnatural Selection might possibly be one of several reasons that Glenn Beck loves this album. Perhaps he believes Muse is denouncing Darwin. Well, the way I see it Bellamy is referring to human society. Reviews don't go into details but listen to the lyrics because they're good. The most advanced Muse lyrics are sometimes indecipherable, and the decipherable are often not too advanced (like with track 4), but this maintains a good balance. Also, the song's beat varies along a wide range which is cool. MK Ultra is one of the more abstract tracks, with lots of drums and guitar to give it energy. The second half of the song is a call to action, as are many of the more recent songs in Muse's repoitoire (starting with the album Absolution). Both these tracks abandon the classical instruments and are reminiscient of earlier material.

I absolutely love I Belong to You but I'm holding off on promoting it to five stars because it might just be an auditory fling. You know those songs that really sound good and a little sexy and have a melody but might not hold out for long in your heart? This might be one of those, only it's still really cool-sounding. Part of it is the hopeless romantic in me. One of my favorite parts of the song is when Bellamy almost uses the word "muse." They way he sings it is a clever way to avoid using the band's name in the song. He offers you the word but pulls it away with a string without any break in the melody's continuity. He does this continuous transition again after he inserts unoriginal material, this time almost a minute from Saint-Saens's opera Samson and Delilah--rearranged by Bellamy.

The next three tracks are parts (think movements) of a symphony called Exogenesis. All music within the symphony is original. The first part, Overture, reminds me a little of the strings in the Expressionist German film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. And also a little of the percussion in the N64 game Perfect Dark. For a more Muse-centric reference, refer to Ruled by Secrecy. Slow yet powerful. Ominous. Out there, questioning, but not alone. This
track gets three stars for now. Following is Part 2, Cross-Pollination. It starts slow, taking you out of this world, and then the powerful urgency of being saved. Bellamy is inclined toward life forms beyond our planet, saying "You can rescue us all." Without similar beliefs one cannot relate to the song, but it's certainly enjoyable to listen to and quite epic, hence four stars. Finally we come to the last part, Redemption. Once again, the first half of the three-star track is a melodic introduction that builds up to a plea, this time to start over. Such advice may be practical in some senses, but not universally doable. We cannot just "start over again," but the ending of this last track is moving for me anyway. "And we'll be good // This time we'll get it right // Last chance to forgive ourselves."





Ends: 12:31AM

I haven't been on LiveJournal in a while. I certainly have not updated in a bit. I'm less likely to post via my laptop than my desktop (which has been unresponsive) because, well, not sure. Laptop heats up and I don't like warm hands, maybe?

I have responding to do. I'll be commenting soon, hopefully before I head off to Berkeley tomorrow. Here's a brief update on things that must suffice until my next update.

I wanted to find a part-time job but I wasn't too keen on the idea during the summer. I like the idea of making money but I was comfortable lazing around the house. Not to say it wasn't boring, but it was convenient. At the ending of August I told myself that summer is ending and that I should finally get a job. I didn't apply for any jobs until the last day of summer, Sept 21, though that wasn't intentional. The one Craigslist listing I replied to called me the very next day, the first day of autumn. I had my interview this morning and I think he was satisfied.

It's a part-time tutoring gig at some center really close to my house and it pays at least $20 an hour, though I have to make sure what the pay actually is. I know, I know, tutoring? $20 an hour? As far as tutoring jobs go, $20 seems to be the minimum pay and if I solicit my own customers I'd likely get paid more. But every other entry-level job out there will definitely pay less, though I might get more/guaranteed hours elsewhere. Tutoring won't boost anything on my resume or show for anything, but it will satisfy my desire to teach and to make some extra money to save up for a security deposit when I move out early next year. Plus, it won't be a permanent or full-time thing, it's just a way to make money while I study for the MCATs. And if I'm not happy, I can always say sianara and find something else.

There are a total of five candidates for the position. He hasn't even finished interviewing the others but I've already been assigned a couple sessions. I start today! I think this is a "probationary" thing to see if I'm a good tutor, but today's student is taking Honors Chemistry, so I'm sure I can handle it. The guy says he wants to get me two more sessions before I leave for Berkeley tomorrow, and I have one next week as well. I just hope I get regular hours and that it's not an on-call type of thing. I don't want to keep my schedule open everyday, all-day just for a potential hour here and there.

So that's all the information with regard to a job. I guess this is better than applying for a receptionist job, though I'd be totally down with one of those if this doesn't work out.

MCAT studying is going slower than I expected. I just can't commit to hours and hours each day, but at least I have a lot of time until the test date in January. But I've begun thinking... my plan was to take the test, get a full-time job, then move out. Maybe I'll prioritize the full-time job and moving out and postpone the MCAT date by a month or two. If I have any readers left I'm sure some will be wary of this idea. I don't want to postpone this test forever, but I don't want to live at home forever either. By the way, home is fine, at least for now, but it'd be much much better if I had my own place.

Hanging out with friends is going fine. There's no regularity in anything I do nowadays and that includes hanging out. I might go a week without seeing anyone, then see people three days in one week. I'm actually pretty happy with how things are, except it would be nice to hang out more often, maybe. I dunno, it's hard being 100% comfortable around just anyone. Ken and I are no longer friends and Alex, well, all he does nowadays is complain that he's not getting laid. It's annoying because he keeps sighing heavily and mumbling comments about how much it sucks being alone but he won't do shit about it. Yeah yeah, I've actually told him this but it's up to him to act.

I've been preoccupying myself a little with planting things. I bought four small trees: Dawn Redwood, Giant Sequoia, Coast Redwood, and Engelmann Spruce. I also bought like ten different types of seeds though I've only planted two so far. These two, however, have germinated! I have two Dawn Redwood sprouts and four!! Coast Redwood sprouts. I'm so freakin' happy. I'm also trying to expand my succulent and cactus collection. Currently I only have a few but I'm happy with them. The newest additions are Pterocactus tuberosus (looks very weird) and Crassula tetragona, aka Miniature Pine Tree, though it's a succulent. I want to propagate as many of these plants as possible and either give them away or sell them on the internet. A random dream of mine is to own a nursery and grow and sell plants for a living.

Ooh, the guy from the tutoring center just called and arranged another session. So far there are three set up and if I get paid the minimum $20 then I should be making $60 within a week. Not grand but splendid given I have no income at the moment.

Well, I really should go. I slept late last night and awoke early today so I'm bound to get tired earlier tonight. This is intentional because I need to be up early tomorrow. I was planning on leaving for Berkeley in the AM but knowing me I wouldn't leave until noon anyway. At least this way the session from 11-12 forces me to leave my house in the AM and I'll hit the 101 right at noon. But damn does this make things a little tight. I need to get to Berkeley no later than 6 so can't make too many stops.

Got things to do today like get ready for tutoring, take care of personal business, get shit in order to hopefully meet up with professors, pack, get a haircut, ... agh, fuck it. Adios.





Ends: 1:10PM

I can't wait until Walmart crushes every single competitor. I can't wait until cuts in education result in an even dumber population. I can't wait until health care cuts literally cripple this nation. I can't wait until US military and economic hegemony around the world causes countries to spurn future attempts of the same. Because I'll be watching from wherever I've moved--outside the US.

I have been wanting to post for a while now. For most of 2009 I haven't had much to write, but suddenly I have some stuff. There's my roadtrip that I have yet to describe. I feel like this trip is never going to end. Everyone on Facebook thinks I'm still on the trip because I've been posting photos in segments. C'mon, there were so many pictures I can't/won't upload and tag and caption them all in one day. I'm done with uploading the photos, but I have yet to finish writing in my little logbook. I have this small notebook that I've apparently kept since the summer of 2000 (before high school!) and I sorta log my summers.

My first entry is June 29th to June 1st. I went camping in Sequoia NP with my dad. It says we did some sailing on Hume Lake though I don't remember that. Good thing I keep this. July 3-4 I slept over at a friend's house; it's especially nice having this little memo because he passed away last year at the young age of 18. We played backgammon, tossed around some water balloons, and played baseball at night. God damn, I'm really glad I have this recorded because I only remember it with this little hint. I kept up with the notebook in 2001 and 2002 but forgot about it since then. It's okay; I was able to record my trip to Iran during the latter year.

I found the notebook before the roadtrip and decided to record the roadtrip. I didn't write much during the trip but I'm catching up afterward. *Sigh* It's almost been a month and I'm still doing these things. I wanted to write about my trip here, too. Maybe I will, just not now.

I haven't been keeping up with people. I really need to start on those phone calls lest people give up on me. I've found living at home tolerable. I like the rest and relaxation, I like studying for the MCATs (I'm on chem section so maybe that's why), I like the home cooking. I really like not going out or seeing someone everyday. Is this a bad sign? Haha. I think I'll end this whenever I get saturated with R&R. I especially need to call people in Berkeley because that's where most of my friends are right now. Far far away... (cf SFV's "diameter")

I'm trying to think things over. I've figured some things out, others will take a little time to resolve, but I hope to acquire certainty before the month's end. Not to be certain, because that's hard to do is practically any situation, but to acquire some degree or measure of certainty will be nice. There's something I've been considering for some time and I suppose I should talk to a couple people about it. I've talked to Andrew, I should talk to Jon; these two are probably the only ones that I could talk to about this. (Andrew = confused b/c why only these two? Just b/c you have enough background information but are not close to it... and you two provide good advice.)

O, an update on what I'm doing nowadays. I've put off finding a full-time job because I can't study for MCATs and work 40 hours a week. Can I? Yes. Do I want to? No. I'm done with college for now. Instead I'm going to get a part-time job tutoring. I'm applying to one of those companies that finds tutors and students, takes a big cut, but arranges everything for you. My parents also suggested putting up fliers at the local high school and community college so I might try that, too. I do not think I want to go to medical school, but I'm not even 10% sure about that, or anything. The only way to keep the option open is to study for and take the test while I still know the information and have the (mostly) undivided attention. I've talked to several peers who are also doing the same, with either the MCATs or LSATs.

I bought a bicycle odometer for under 5 dollars, shipping included! It gives distance traveled, current speed, max speed, average speed, tire rotations per minute, time elapsed, and the current time. I arrived today and I was so excited using it. This piece of cheaply-made technology for under $5 excited me more than a GPS gadget probably would. Now I can go bike riding in the desert and know where I am. I guess a GPS would do that better, but then they don't cost $5 now, do they? I plan on visiting Joshua Tree NP soon and would like to explore some remote desert and abandoned mining sites. The path I'd ideally like to take is almost 25 miles, making a roundtrip 50 miles. That sounds like it's too much for one day of all-terrain travel but I won't know until I try. That's where the odometer comes in; I'll know when I have to turn back. Wow, a whole paragraph on a fucking odometer... I should go.

I'll be sure to write again once I've figured out and possibly acted on my decision.





Ends: 11:50PM

Oh man, this cookie I'm eating has a whole gram of trans fat in it. I've been resisting for about a week and today I cracked. It's so good though... tasty lemon cookies in a value pak! But I'm sure my stomach is stereochemically confused. (Andrew, Sara, help me out here. Where would trans fats be processed in the digestive system? Where does fat hydrolysis take place?) I'm only eating one cookie though... they're freakin' bombshells and maybe it's dumb of me to care but it's like eating plastic... sorta.

I'm recovering from a "cold" because I am taking antibiotics. After this cough subsides I've got phone calls to make. And I should ride my bike when temperatures are tolerable. Give myself happy faces in grids with 'exercise' and 'study' and 'play' and at the end you count the happy faces and whoever has the most gets to go to Taco Bell for lunch while the other kids eat at the cafeteria. True story.

I'm slowly putting up roadtrip pictures on Facebook. I'm still on California, haha. Maybe once I'm done I'll post a link here (friends only) for people who don't use Facebook.

I'm going to stop playing Mafia Wars in a week or two. One of my Achievements requires Jett, who's also playing the game, to reach Level 100. Before then I expect to master some job tiers, become a business emperor in Cuba, and maybe achieve a personal goal of $1 billion/day New York income (~$42 million/hr). After I attain the Achievements I'm patient enough to work for, I'll stop playing. Maybe I'll check up on it just to see how shit changes. But at some point I'll unadd fo sho.





Ends: 12:11AM

From my FB note (only with better-looking text):
"
Cost of gas:

$486.93

Gas used:

176.091 gallons

Distance traveled:

6987.7 miles

Highest gas prices:

1. Arcata, CA @ $3.199/g
2. Grand Canyon, North Rim, AZ @ $3.164/g*
3. Somewhere in CA, not sure where @ $3.159/g
4. Berkeley, CA @ $2.999/g
4. Fall River Mills, CA @ $2.999/g

The next one is in CA, too.
*a. gas in NPs is always very expensive; b. that 4-thousandth isn't a mistake, weird, huh?

Lowest gas prices:

1. Omaha, NE @ $2.499/g
2. Kayenta, AZ @ $2.529/g
2. Fargo, ND @ $2.529/g

(Also, E85 fuel could be bought in corn-growing states for under $2.)

[I probably used a little more gas than indicated. I might've lost a receipt or two. But for the most part, 35+ mpg!]
"

And the extra stuff.

Cost of lodging (paid with debit card or check):

$252.66

Other costs, including lodging paid with cash:

$545.94

Total cost of this trip for me:

$1,285.53

Expensive! But at least I got to visit like a quarter of the US states.

I'll write an entry about the trip later. Not now... it's too warm.



Ends: 5:19PM

Paying Comcast for a month and a half b/c I didn't cancel it until today.

Missed my credit card payment cuz of the roadtrip so I had to pay more.

Fucking kayaking place didn't refund the deposit like they said they did.

Friends owe me money.

Agh! I really need to get shit back into place. I'm broke now that the roadtrip is over.

More incentive to get a job.

Readers, I do this because I am dedicated, committed! to bringing you the most updated stories in my life. Here is one I wish not to repeat, or think about, or look at, since I took a photo, but I shall do all just for you. If you're just as scared of spiders as I am, don't look under the cut. It's a combination of mild arachnophobia (I'm trying to ignore the possibility that a random spider could jump on me at ANY moment) and having just seen the beast of interest. I present one, sadly, of many large black widows hanging around my house (outdoors only thank god). I haaaate spiders...

(Maybe I'll just look at thumbnails... but what about cropping? .... Mars Volta should NOT be playing now...)

( Read more... )

And my dad once playfully caught one of these!! Like wthhhhh...





Ends: 1:04AM

So I need to compile a list of states and parks I'm tentatively visiting this summer so I can get free maps from AAA. I know I write way too much about my trip but I'm too excited and this will help me organize it a bit.

States:
California
Nevada
Utah
Wyoming
North Dakota
South Dakota
Minnesota
Iowa
Nebraska
Kansas
Missouri
Colorado
Arizona

Parks:
Grand Teton
Badlands
Rocky Mountain
Arches
Canyonlands
Glen Canyon
Bryce Canyon
Zion
Grand Canyon
Plus others, like Nat'l Forests and State Parks





Ends: 10:03PM

What I'm cooking up tonight.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus:
-roasted red peppers
-lemon juice


Chicken Florentine Casserole:
-garlic
-lemon juice
-broccoli
-spinach

Pat's Baked Beans:
-pinto beans
-great Northern beans
-pink beans
-red kidney beans
-garbanzo beans

The last dinner I will be cooking in Berkeley.
And somehow I gotta feed 12 people.





Ends: 3:15PM

I am simultaneously upset and happy. Very upset that I have to write this paper, very upset that I'm still in the info-gathering phase, generally tired of thinking only about finals for a while. Very happy that this is my last final, for all of college, very happy that I don't have to perfect this paper because I'm doing really well in the class, very happy that tonight's the last night I lose sleep over academic obligations. I would seriously be cracking right now if I had yet another (fourth) paper due after this one. Right now the only thing keeping me going is that I'll be "finished" soon.

But what does it really mean to be finished? I still have my parents to await. Graduation. A week of saying goodbyes and last hangouts and moving things into boxes. Will I be done on May 31? And what about unpacking when I return to LA? And finding a new direction. And then postponing the direction-finding because all I'll be doing is seeing friends and family. Then my road....

OK, gotta stop. I ain't done with finals yet, so stfu man.





Ends: 8:49PM

it's late y'all

It's harder to catch gnats in warmer weather.

I now know a lot about biocatalytic production of succinic acid through in vivo fermentation by E. coli.

Fuck the difficulty in finding engineering and traffic survey reports for segments of highways. Damn the CHP officer that wrote 08 in one field but correctly wrote 09 in the other. If he wrote 08 in both I could possibly say, "I was not on that stretch of highway on March 23, 2008."

I'm getting a little hungry but I don't have anything to eat at the apartment.

How many times do you want to die? // How many ways do you want to die? (--Silversun Pickups)

Hopeful stops and paths on this summer's road trip: CA east of the Sierra (US 395); Carson City and Reno, NV; deserts of NV; Salt Lake City, UT (not too excited about this one, but they have a particular "regional cultural influence"); Grand Teton NP, WY; Great Plains and the 98th meridian; Denver, CO; NPs of the Southwest, like Arches, Canyonlands, Glen Canyon, Zion, maybe Grand Canyon (probably not all, but some); Las Vegas, NV. I want to be out for 2-3 weeks and must balance taking my time and seeing lots of landscapes. This is the tentative skeleton of my trip, though additions and deletions may occur, especially after input from other road trippers. It will be a self-guided tour of the West, Southwest, and Midwest. I am intentionally excluding the more traditional South because I want to devote a future trip entirely to the region, one that will probably be cross-country.

Why am I repeating things that I've said in recent entries? Because it's finals season, that's why.

I think I'm done with most of the research needed for my chem paper/review. I will take a break (like this wasn't one), perhaps make a Safeway or gas station run, and start outlining and hopefully writing when I return.





Ends: 1:17AM

It's funny when a restaurant says everyone at the table must opt for the all-you-can-eat option because they don't allow sharing. That is, they don't want one person getting it and sharing with others. The way I would have phrased it is that everyone has to opt for the all-you-can-eat option precisely for the reason of sharing. That is, everyone can order what they want and can share with whomever they want at the table. I guess what I'm saying is that their policy can have both limiting and enhancing effects on sharing, it just depends on how you look at it. They advertise it in the "glass half empty" perspective. That blond waitress fumbled her words the entire night.

* * *

So I've finally begun work on tackling my finals. I'm starting with chemistry because a) it's due sooner than my other three finals and b) I ought to write one of my three papers before preparing for the exam (lest I write constantly for the last few days).

I have to write a "current opinion in chemical biology." I'm examining the conversion of biomass into useful fuels through pathways that don't include food sources, so that means no corn or edible sugars as starting points. I don't really know too much about biofuels, except that making ethanol from corn fucks over poor people all around the world. The process I'm focusing on is the biocatalytic conversion of cellulose into its constituent sugars. These sugars are usually fermented to ethanol, but you can also make dimethylfuran (DMF) via chemical catalysis. DMF can be used as a fuel. Another possibility for my paper is looking at the engineering of bacteria to increase production of succinic acid, which can be chemically converted into many compounds that serve as fuels and solvents. The latter sounds a little more interesting since succinic acid serves as a platform intermediate that leads to tons of other chemicals.

Basically, my paper has to introduce a technique or series of reactions that's relatively new in the field of chemical biology. I need to find recently-published sources and write about challenges and ways they've been overcome. I also need to include pros and cons for the different articles I'm reviewing and conclude with remaining obstacles and my opinion of where the field should go in the near future. The whole thing needs to be about seven pages which isn't bad. I mean, at least a page just to introduce the topic and another page to conclude things means I need no more than five pages for the bulk of the material. I can review five articles at a page each, or a couple more if I find really interesting information. But yeah, that's my task for tonight and tomorrow. Today's Tuesday and it's due Friday, but I would like to finish sooner so I can start on the other three finals... I have more finals than everyone I've talked to so far, haha.

* * *

I've been having less-than-fun dreams lately. It's like I've internalized my depression even further and it only seems to manifest itself in my dreams. I've been feeling better the past week because it's finally May and I can see the light at the ending of the tunnel. Or rather, what I perceive to be light; let's hope it ain't fire. I'm graduating in LESS THAN two weeks and leaving Berkeley in LESS THAN three weeks. I'm not counting down in terms of days because that'd just stress me out. I get excited every time I look at my calendar. Just three more days and I'm half way through May. Hopefully finals will distract me from whatever my dreams portend. Hopefully graduation and moving out will also distract me post-finals.

* * *

Nothing else to really say. I just wanted to add another separator. But I am getting hungry... I ate about four hours ago and I've had coffee since, so I'm not really hungry. I want to snack on something but I've been trying to cut down on unhealthy crap. Wow, is it really past 10pm? OK, I don't actually have too many still-open options. Ooh, I can make mashed potatoes. I have a potato!





Ends: 10:23PM

You know what I need to do? Find interesting blogs. And cite those, too. Too often I cite the filtered, watered-down (yeah, cliche words to call dominant media outlets but true) news but not the insight of some good blogs out there. Who cares if it's not conventional? I don't give a damn. Good information is good, and in the end the more sources you use the more holistic your outcome will be. Yeah, that's what I'll do.

Hamid Karzai, president of Afghanistan, May 5: The airstrikes are not acceptable. This is something that we've raised in the Afghan government very clearly, that terrorism is not in the Afghan villages, not in Afghan homes. And you cannot defeat terrorists by airstrikes. We cannot justify in any manner, for whatever number of Taliban, for whatever number of significantly important terrorists, the accidental or otherwise loss of civilians. [...] We don't demand compensations, we don't demand any other assistance for our civilians. We demand the proper (conduct) of operations. We demand an end to these operations.

James Jones, national security adviser of US, May 10: We can't fight with one hand tied behind our back.

The US will continue with its air strikes against the will of the people and government of Afghanistan. Do you really wonder why the Taleban has some appeal in the region? No matter how bad--and they're pretty bad--they're not dropping thousand-pound bombs from aircraft high in the sky. To those that say morals are objective and the Taleban is baaad nomatterwhatanyonesays, please consider the options: oppressive peace with Taleban or mounting death and destruction with the US?

And to those that say oppression is not peace, live in warfare and see the difference.

It truly is constructed and relative and varied through time and space.





Ends: 6:58PM

P.S. It's a shame because I don't think my links are permanent. I feel like all my links to sources will be dead if I go back and check them. That's why you gotta CITE your sources...

Just four finals. That's it.

ED: final exam
NES: 10 page paper, probably will write on children in Iranian film and fiction
GWS: 6-7 page paper, not long at all, topic is pretty open to various responses
Chem: 7 page paper, probably will write on recent improvements in converting biomass into fuels using bacteria's machinery as a biocatalyst to generate succinic acid which is chemically catalyzed to fuels





Ends: 9:38PM

Hahahaha. I'm in class right now and we had to fill out evaluations for our professor. Most evals consist of statements followed by a 1-7 scale. My friend who hasn't been doing very well in the class decided to give the professor a 3 on "The instructor motivates me to learn." A couple of us saw that and started making fun of him for not giving higher marks. He actually got up and retrieved his eval to change his responses. That's when we figured out that he also gave the professor a 1 for some other question. I joked that right as he's putting the eval back into the folder the professor was going to walk in the class and see it. Just as I "predicted," the professor walked in when he was trying to put his eval into the already-full folder. A few of us busted out laughing. He was having trouble putting the eval back which makes it even funnier. It was obvious something was amiss because the professor asked, "What's so amusing?" Hahahaha.

The above could be a transposon that induces laughter. Only the termini are not palindromic.

(Technical note: I finished this entry at home.)





Ends: 2:53PM