¿ʇı ǝlpuɐɥ noʎ uɐɔ

˙ʇuıod sıɥʇ ʎq ƃuıpɐǝɹ pǝddoʇs ǝʌɐɥ ʇsoɯ ǝɹns ɯ,ı˙˙˙ʇuɐɔıɟıuƃıs ooʇ ɹo `ƃuol ooʇ ǝq ʇ,uoʍ ʇı ǝsıɯoɹd ı ˙os ǝʞıl ʎɹʇuǝ ƃolq ǝɹıʇuǝ sıɥʇ ǝʇıɹʍ oʇ pǝpıɔǝp ǝʌɐɥ ı ʇɐɥʇ pǝɹoq ʎlǝʇnlosqɐ os ɯɐ ı

˙ǝɔıds unɾɐɔ ɥʇıʍ pǝʇɐoɔ puɐ pǝʇɐuıɹɐɯ sɹǝʍǝʞs uʍɐɹd `suǝddɐɥ ʎllɐnʇɔɐ ʇı ɟı `ǝnɔǝqɹɐq ǝɥʇ ɹoɟ ʇɥƃıuoʇ ˙ʞǝǝʍ sıɥʇ sɹǝuuıp ǝlqıssod ɹoɟ sʇɔnpoɹd ɹǝɥʇo ʇsƃuoɯɐ `pooɟɐǝs ɟo uoıʇɔǝlǝs ʇsɐʌ ʎɹǝʌ ɐ ˙ƃuıʇsǝɹǝʇuı sɐʍ ʇɐɥʇ `ʎɐpoʇ ʇǝʞɹɐɯ ɥsıɟ - ʎɐʍʎuɐ ʇnq

˙ǝqʎɐɯ˙˙˙dn ǝpıs-ʇɥƃıɹ oʇ ʞɔɐq ǝq llıʍ ʍoɹɹoɯoʇ ˙ʍou sıɥʇ ɟo ɥƃnouǝ s,ʇɐɥʇ

a quiet weekend

Everyone can use a weekend of being antisocial, or dorky/dweeb-like, however you want to interpret it. It so happens that mine was this weekend. Don't get me wrong, I would've been more than content in putting such a weekend off as long as possible, maybe even until I return stateside. With everyone scattered all over the Northeast, be it for school or (mostly now) work, something tells me Montpelier will be a fairly desolate place. It's not like I'll be staying too long, just through Christmas - the whole time I will be looking for a job and whatnot.

Anyhow, no such luck. Finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in respect to catching up in Intro to Logic - only 3 chapters to go! Perhaps I'll be able to start going to lecture again and actually engaging in whatever-the-hell is being talked about! Yeah...about that, I have decided that for the remainder of the term, I shall attend all lectures and tutorials unless a extreme circumstance prohibits this (such as...being so far behind in material there's no point in going...heh heh). Well, okay, most who read that will scoff and realize that I will most likely break that pledge by say...Monday. Not true - I actually enjoy my one lecture at 3 pm...yes Monday is my easiest day.

Now that spring is in full swing around these parts, usually one person or another is holding a barbecue at their flat - such is the case tomorrow evening. They provide the grill, we bring our food and drink - I like the sound of that - however, I am thinking of going to the Auckland Fish Market in the morning with hopes of securing lump crab meat - if so, and depending on price, I plan to make crab cakes - enough for myself definitely, but perhaps for others...and some grilled asparagus and white wine...hmm deluxe barbecue...I'm salivating at the thought of this already. And if I can't do that, I have a backup plan involving marinated steak with cajun spice rub, mushrooms, and a red wine.

I will post pictures of the market if I get there.

Does anyone know why a memory card from a camera won't read in the card reader drive? To get technical - my camera's SD card, upon insertion in my computer's (important) SD drive, will not load (also important - the computer knows its there, as acknowledged in 'My Computer') However, said card works in my flatmate's computer, and other cards work fine in mine...

ugh.

October already?

I don't know what happened. All of the sudden, it's 45 days until I return to the US. It seems like such a blur in all reality...

This week has been strange - I've been sleeping, a lot. Inexplicably also, in my opinion. Today was the second day in a row I was unable to get up in time for my first class, and that led to a subsequent justification for taking the whole day off. Well...it's probably just because my sleeping schedule is completely whacked at the moment - I've been staying up until 1, 2 in the morning...plus 8 - 10 hours = wake up anywhere from 9 to noon. Hmmph. Perhaps tonight I'll try going to bed at, say, 11? Ironically tomorrow I have a light day, no class until 2 pm...

Not that I really think it matters, the classes here are nothing like Northeastern. There, I'd be inclined to go mainly because I knew that a substantial part of a term grade was based on actual participation. Here, it seems to be that course grades are based on one's ability to re-hash learned material. I suppose the one exception to this, and figuratively, the course I feel I'm doing best in, is my history class - that course requires two papers: no tests, no exams, not even that much reading.

I do know that I have some substantial catching up to do...I got my 2nd intro to logic test back, the grade was a spectacular 27%! (oh shit.) In my defense, I was really sick - I had the flu when I should have been studying, not to mention any emotional / mental chaos at the time...I did file the paperwork requesting 'compassionate consideration' for that test, maybe I'll get to take it again, or even better, just have the final exam count higher - because I am studied in the material...the last test was an 85% (which at UoA is an A-).

Also, I realized this week that I've done virtually nil on my senior dissertation...oops.

This weekend though most of my close friends are skipping town for another ski trip; of those left, one is busy with an orchestra concert and the other is in a precarious position equal to mine (well, maybe not...), and I don't know about the others. If I - upon finishing this - start working this afternoon, do a little tomorrow either before or after my two classes, and then go all out Saturday and Sunday, I should be able to handle a little drinking fun...

So on that note, time to delve into the wonderful world of Intro to Logic. Oh yeah, and laundry.

Free...as a bird...

There is really something to be said for subtlety. I just don't know with absolute certainty what it is yet - though I think I am starting to get my head around it though.

Here's what I've learned so far - subtlety is NOT:

• persistence to the degree that "yes" is really a sugar-coated "alright already let's do something so you shut up"
  
• visits without goals/activities in mind.
  
• [this bullet point is intentionally left blank] (well, I haven't learned that much yet I suppose...)
  

In other words, subtlety is what I'm not. And by "not," I mean what I used to not be. Effective 1:15 AM (NZ Summer Time), on Monday 29 September, I'm going to try being a subtle creature. This may result in me missing out, but given what ultimately has transgressed between myself and the reason for this change, I don't think (Bad play on words warning) I'll...miss...what I'm missing.

I think that this proves the whole part of how people change when they go overseas - oddly enough, I chose to open up a random entry in the blog - I chose an old entry from I think the first week of classes. some things remained the same - i was still bitching about Art History...


So anyway...

If only I could write papers as quickly as I write blog entries. In that I've gotten to -- 176 words...since I started this just after 1 am (it's now 1:36)...well, I guess it's not that fast. Point is, I have a 2,000 word paper due in just over 24 hours - and I haven't done one iota for it. I guess I've just really stopped caring about this class. See my last blog entry. However, there is hope - I had a paper of an exactly similar length late last week, and I managed to get that done in about four hours (no joke Mark...)

And to finish off, I share the following YouTube video to pay homage to all the negative political ads that everyone is being bombarded with stateside...

I absolutely hate this class...

...so instead I'm going to write in here, while sort of paying attention to lecture. The class is about historical art in Europe throughout the Renaissance Era. Don't get me wrong, I like looking at the pieces, and I'd love to get back to Europe sometime and see these places. However, I could care less about any of the other details. I would have dropped this course, why I didn't I don't know.

Anyway, nothing too new in life - tomorrow the residence hall that I live at is organizing a free trip to some hot pools outside Auckland - I hope that turns out to be fun...

Oh, our flat is finally having another party - well, it started out as a challenge from me to another girl over Edward Fortyhands - except here they don't measure in ounces, nor do they have bottles of beer in an equivalent size (1.2 liters). I guess here, it's called "Edward Scrumpyhands," I'm assuming that has something to do with the type of bottle...

que sera sera

For some reason, I was convinced to hit up the club scene again tonight, why I don't even know. It was more or less a drastic failure (at least for me) from the get-go. Worse, it wasn't anyone's fault but my own. In other words, for those who don't know me really intimately, pretty much every single weakness of mine manifested itself in some form, and somehow contributed to the detriment. Don't get me wrong, I'm elated that the two guy friends I went down with are probably hooking up with two very good looking girls tonight - they did the work, they earned it, but the whole reminded me of how shy (or maybe just socially retarded) I am. Alternatively, I could find fault in another friend of mine for not introducing me as enthusiastically, but they had a good point after I alluded to my issues - "you could always go over and introduce yourself..."

However, by the time the above transgressed, I would have violated the man law, in my interpretation. Although, yes, there were three girls initially (key), by the time I started protesting in secret, only the two girls that were introduced to the guys remained, and I strongly believe the third girl went elsewhere for the same reason I was hesitant to get in the middle of my guy mates. So anyway, I distanced myself, and was OK with things - I actually told my female friend (the one who told me to introduce myself), "well, if I'm not gonna meet anyone tonight, I might-as-well go drink and forget about everything." That was going well and we were all on the dance floor enjoying ourselves, until, oh yeah - forgot to mention, she's single too! So...her and her girl friend got hit on by other guys, who pretty much just shoved me out of the way - the first time through I shoved my way back in, but afterward I came to and decided it wasn't worth a fight, I just walked off the dance floor and stewed from afar.

Watching them enjoy themselves, and my mates enjoy themselves, versus me standing awkwardly alone drinking, further pissed me off. I felt it come up in my face...just the whole scowl and flushing of the cheeks, you probably know what I mean. In other words, I essentially started cock-blocking myself. To seal the deal, I saw my two mates and their gals do a dance train off the floor over to the bar. With that I decided it was time to go home, even though that meant going home alone. My mood plus my lack of self-promotion had more or less sealed my fate.

Perhaps I made my own bed on this one. [redacted] If so, read: I'M STILL SINGLE, AND I'M STILL LOOKING. [redacted]. I dunno, I'm just sick of always having to feel like I have to plead and beg to do things with people - when for every 10 times I do that, I maybe am once asked to join in without me doing any sort of action (asking, first observing then..., etc.).

don't drink and...have the flu

Wow, it's been a really long time since I wrote in this thing. Oh well - I've been away from Auckland the past two weeks, nor am I psyched to be back. At all. Aside from the tests and the fact I've class again, I have the flu. Bona fide this time. As in - body aches, severe chills, headache, etc...so to that effect this entry will be relatively short. Also the reason why I'm in on a Saturday night. Boo. Pretty much killing time while I have another cup of blackcurrant tea that has medicine in it...that's nice. And I'm definitely getting up at 5:30 tomorrow to have another...well maybe not.

Since I can't think clearly, I can't be bothered to write anything more now. Though I will definitely - it has been the best two weeks yet, on multiple fronts.