Saturday, August 28, 2004
Another wave of freshmen are moving in and the typical middle-class American scene is playing out in the Car Park below. It really looks like American Suburbia: Rows of gas guzzling SUVs, doting middle-aged parents in denim and T-shirt moving ridiculously high volumes of bric-a-brac (who else but only stupid americans can move the entire suite of home gym fitness equipment into a rather small dorm room) with their DIY trolleys, tearfully saying goodbye to their fair-haired sons and daughters.
And for the year ahead, this batch of fair-haired children of America will again most likely than not, wreck havoc on the corridors of the dorm. Saturday nights will once again be penetrated by the shrieking of the dumb drunk bastards enjoying their illicit consumption of alcohol and/or pot away from home. There will again be new (and supposedly fun) experiences getting laid, getting hooked up with, and hooked up on, upon or whatever combination thats coool, while at the same time paying minimal attention to academcis ("oh well, I will always do well if I apply myself you know.. there's still time, don't be a dork and let's party!!"); oh the even more stupid and insidious hockey jocks on their second floor and their typical hijinks: peeing on cars, bringing hordes of female fans to their rooms at 1 am in the morning, just to name a few.
My friends, the circus has just begun.
And for the year ahead, this batch of fair-haired children of America will again most likely than not, wreck havoc on the corridors of the dorm. Saturday nights will once again be penetrated by the shrieking of the dumb drunk bastards enjoying their illicit consumption of alcohol and/or pot away from home. There will again be new (and supposedly fun) experiences getting laid, getting hooked up with, and hooked up on, upon or whatever combination thats coool, while at the same time paying minimal attention to academcis ("oh well, I will always do well if I apply myself you know.. there's still time, don't be a dork and let's party!!"); oh the even more stupid and insidious hockey jocks on their second floor and their typical hijinks: peeing on cars, bringing hordes of female fans to their rooms at 1 am in the morning, just to name a few.
My friends, the circus has just begun.
Starvation phase over. My paycheck has arrived, just bought my books, had a lunch of Thali downtown, and am feeling full for once in a long time. Don't think I'd be eating dinner again though; I'm too used to having a meal a day.
Fall is coming early to Madison this year. When I arrived as a blur freshman last year, the temperature was still hovering around 28-30 degrees Celsius. There were a dearth of tornado warnings this summer, and the temperature has now dropped to a nice and cool 23 degrees Celsius.
I'd better get around to eating again, since I need lag time to build up fat reserves for the winter ahead. Seems to me there is a selective advantage in being fat around these parts; if one can survive the -30 degree windchill, going to school at 7 am where there is still no sun is a rather refreshing experience. The bitter cold kicks you in the arse and jumpstarts your brain. The only trouble is that you'd be wont to spend more time than necessary in the warm shower, since walking out of the shower will give rise to a brief but traumatic episode of hypothermia.
Will be going back to lab tomorrow afternoon to run another assay. That ironically would be the highlight of the weekend, since again, there are no plans and Ram is still in Oregon. Hopefully it will work this time and my supervisor would have some nice data for the September meeting in Germany. Am looking forward to the meeting, since there would be two weeks of doing nothing in the lab every afternoon. That would be a nice change.
Three weeks have gone by in a whir, and school starts on Thursday. Am going to take full course load (again), with 4 core courses and 11 books to read for my breadth courses. Its going to be a pain in the arse!!! Woohooo.
Fall is coming early to Madison this year. When I arrived as a blur freshman last year, the temperature was still hovering around 28-30 degrees Celsius. There were a dearth of tornado warnings this summer, and the temperature has now dropped to a nice and cool 23 degrees Celsius.
I'd better get around to eating again, since I need lag time to build up fat reserves for the winter ahead. Seems to me there is a selective advantage in being fat around these parts; if one can survive the -30 degree windchill, going to school at 7 am where there is still no sun is a rather refreshing experience. The bitter cold kicks you in the arse and jumpstarts your brain. The only trouble is that you'd be wont to spend more time than necessary in the warm shower, since walking out of the shower will give rise to a brief but traumatic episode of hypothermia.
Will be going back to lab tomorrow afternoon to run another assay. That ironically would be the highlight of the weekend, since again, there are no plans and Ram is still in Oregon. Hopefully it will work this time and my supervisor would have some nice data for the September meeting in Germany. Am looking forward to the meeting, since there would be two weeks of doing nothing in the lab every afternoon. That would be a nice change.
Three weeks have gone by in a whir, and school starts on Thursday. Am going to take full course load (again), with 4 core courses and 11 books to read for my breadth courses. Its going to be a pain in the arse!!! Woohooo.
Sunday, August 22, 2004
I recalled, over a beer with Ram at the Angelic brewpub a few weeks ago, while he was ranting about how, essentially there are two main types of guys, and how the distribution of females that each type "gets" (apologies for, and ignore my rather sexist phraseology. we were slightly tipsy, and I'm quoting verbatim) is highly skewed. Specifically, there are the types who, by looks, by gift of the gab, or any other various factor, possess and enjoy a hold over girls, while people like Ram, who "will take care of them, make em my princess, even wipe their arses for them if necessary" (guess who said those words.. haha), don't get none at all, no matter how hard they try. And unfortunately, a large proportion of the former group tend to be bastards, so.... u know the rest of the story.
Unfortunately, the jostling for position has already started, from what i observed and heard yesterday. Only that well, there is just one guy involved. And he's playing the worst possible game of all: dibs-divide-and-conquer--- make contact a few months in advance, gain favor, pick her up at the airport, take her out, show her a good time --dibs (or chope, what ever you wanna call it) . Fill her head with crap about how shitty the rest of the singaporean population (more like the rest of the guys) are, and reinforce the isolation by spending much more time with her as compared with the rest of the population- divide-and-conquer.
Saw that game being played last year and ended in acrimony. I wasn't involved but it left a bad taste in my mouth nervetheless. To think the Games will start again.
Damn that asshole.
Unfortunately, the jostling for position has already started, from what i observed and heard yesterday. Only that well, there is just one guy involved. And he's playing the worst possible game of all: dibs-divide-and-conquer--- make contact a few months in advance, gain favor, pick her up at the airport, take her out, show her a good time --dibs (or chope, what ever you wanna call it) . Fill her head with crap about how shitty the rest of the singaporean population (more like the rest of the guys) are, and reinforce the isolation by spending much more time with her as compared with the rest of the population- divide-and-conquer.
Saw that game being played last year and ended in acrimony. I wasn't involved but it left a bad taste in my mouth nervetheless. To think the Games will start again.
Damn that asshole.
Saturday, August 21, 2004
Had the first proper meal since I moved out of the sublet yesterday. Scooted down to a korean restaurant nearby with Lewis and the twins and had bimbimpap, with extra rice, courtesy of the twins, who collectively, don't eat much (as opposed to me). Went to bed that night feeling full from rice, which surprisingly, is such a heartwarming feeling. Perhaps it is the contrast from eating Subway sandwiches everyday.
The good news is, I've got 5 more days before my paycheck arrives, and another week to go before the cafeteria opens up. Will be able to get more decent grub by next Friday. At this juncture, I daresay I've lost enough weight to more than offset the weight gain during the terrific/frantic/ and delicious 10 days in Singapore. However, I have this niggling feeling that I'm somehow not going to enjoy the better food as much as I would have liked; experience shows that two components make up a gastronomic experience: Good food and good kakis. And somehow, with my living in isolation now, good kakis seem to make the food taste better. Am waiting for Ram or Jaby or anyone else who appreciates real food (as opposed to burger (freedom) fries shake and the various other american monstrosities concocted by the big corporations) to come back.
Speaking of Ram, there is a high chance that he's not going to move out after all. I talked to Mike, the handyman, who's a sort of de facto buddy to Ram. It seems that Ram keeps wanting to move out after every semester, but due to some reason or another, doesnt seem to, and thats how he ended up staying for almost 3 years here. And since this year he's gone lolling in Oregon doing god-knows-what, he neglected to move out of the dorm before he left, and hence when he gets back, there is a high chance all the apartments would be full. I'm betting on it already. So its one more year of "WANG!! LETS GO EAT!" and "WANG!! U NEED TO GET LAID BRLADER!!" and "WANG you stupid CHHHink (emphasis on the CH)!" and the various other Ram-isms. (Can't think of more at the moment, but the three above are the most frequently used).
The other significant event today I guess, is the arrival of the freshmen to Madison. The sex ratio is terribly skewed: 9 girls to 1 guy. This means that there is a high chance I can't find a drinking kaki, since the girls well, they're underage. XM, the crazy "twin" of mine who Jaby and me like to needle, turns 21, but she has explicitly stated she does not drink ("screw you ar, over my dead body!"), so i guess its still the same as of now.
The arrival of freshmen also coincides with the age-old games guys like to play. Beo-ing, or the act of "assessing" junior girls, and jostling for position in case a chiobu shows up. Haven't met the freshman yet, but has had reports from the others that this year er, cannot make it. So, *shrug*
As if i'm not busy enough trying to survive next sem.
The good news is, I've got 5 more days before my paycheck arrives, and another week to go before the cafeteria opens up. Will be able to get more decent grub by next Friday. At this juncture, I daresay I've lost enough weight to more than offset the weight gain during the terrific/frantic/ and delicious 10 days in Singapore. However, I have this niggling feeling that I'm somehow not going to enjoy the better food as much as I would have liked; experience shows that two components make up a gastronomic experience: Good food and good kakis. And somehow, with my living in isolation now, good kakis seem to make the food taste better. Am waiting for Ram or Jaby or anyone else who appreciates real food (as opposed to burger (freedom) fries shake and the various other american monstrosities concocted by the big corporations) to come back.
Speaking of Ram, there is a high chance that he's not going to move out after all. I talked to Mike, the handyman, who's a sort of de facto buddy to Ram. It seems that Ram keeps wanting to move out after every semester, but due to some reason or another, doesnt seem to, and thats how he ended up staying for almost 3 years here. And since this year he's gone lolling in Oregon doing god-knows-what, he neglected to move out of the dorm before he left, and hence when he gets back, there is a high chance all the apartments would be full. I'm betting on it already. So its one more year of "WANG!! LETS GO EAT!" and "WANG!! U NEED TO GET LAID BRLADER!!" and "WANG you stupid CHHHink (emphasis on the CH)!" and the various other Ram-isms. (Can't think of more at the moment, but the three above are the most frequently used).
The other significant event today I guess, is the arrival of the freshmen to Madison. The sex ratio is terribly skewed: 9 girls to 1 guy. This means that there is a high chance I can't find a drinking kaki, since the girls well, they're underage. XM, the crazy "twin" of mine who Jaby and me like to needle, turns 21, but she has explicitly stated she does not drink ("screw you ar, over my dead body!"), so i guess its still the same as of now.
The arrival of freshmen also coincides with the age-old games guys like to play. Beo-ing, or the act of "assessing" junior girls, and jostling for position in case a chiobu shows up. Haven't met the freshman yet, but has had reports from the others that this year er, cannot make it. So, *shrug*
As if i'm not busy enough trying to survive next sem.
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Basically on starvation rations now, since my claim hasn't gone through and my paycheck from the sponsor hasn't yet arrived. On a-meal-a-day routine, with a budget of 8 bux a day. Not really fun, since I don't have a kitchen now, and I'm tired of eating out. No dhaal, yet, since I've been working my socks off everyday in the lab.
Surprisingly, am rather used to a meal a day already, since I was doing that in summer school, and for somedays in a row during spring semester. Thing is, one needs something to keep oneself occupied, especially if one is a yao kwee like me. Lock me up in a box somewhere and the first thought, presumably would be "Eh, whats to eat man."
The hunger pangs, surprisingly don't strike in the evening when I'm going to get my dinner/lunch/breakfast. It strikes at 12 noon when I'm all alone in the lab doing some long drawn out Western or something, the radio's on NPR (National Publik Radio, america's version of 95.8 fm) with the de rigueur Recomended Daily Allowance (no kidding, the presenter really said that) of Bach playing softly in the background, and everyone's in the room next door eating, and the smell of chinese homecooked food wafts from the tupperware box my supervisor and the Chinese graduate student in the lab always brings in... thats when my stomach starts to growl and i start thinking of murtabak and why-the-hell-did-i-do-summer-school-in-the-first-place-and-lets-get-some-curry-for-the-tummy-shall-we, and I'd just stare at my lab notebook and say "knn, thats life sial!"
Hunger pangs definitely don't come a-knocking when I'm cycling back to dorm from lab. No one's around to go eat with, so usually I'd be slacking in the room doing nothing until I'm bored enough to walk down to the local Subway to pick up the 6 bux roti with meat and veggies. At this juncture, I'm surprised by myself hoping that the cafeteria that serves that awful crap opens soon, just so that there is a steady source of food standing by, even if I work late and get back even later. Ah well..
Anyway, I found out that if I eat noodles and all the MSG laden stuff I have in a box in the dorm for a few days in a row, I 1) will not think clearly and will tend to screw up experiments 2) will lose even more weight with a higher rate than what I'm losing now. So the decision to eat noodles and spoil my brains is balanced by the desire to lose weight. I'm still deciding.
Summer life is soo sweet.
Surprisingly, am rather used to a meal a day already, since I was doing that in summer school, and for somedays in a row during spring semester. Thing is, one needs something to keep oneself occupied, especially if one is a yao kwee like me. Lock me up in a box somewhere and the first thought, presumably would be "Eh, whats to eat man."
The hunger pangs, surprisingly don't strike in the evening when I'm going to get my dinner/lunch/breakfast. It strikes at 12 noon when I'm all alone in the lab doing some long drawn out Western or something, the radio's on NPR (National Publik Radio, america's version of 95.8 fm) with the de rigueur Recomended Daily Allowance (no kidding, the presenter really said that) of Bach playing softly in the background, and everyone's in the room next door eating, and the smell of chinese homecooked food wafts from the tupperware box my supervisor and the Chinese graduate student in the lab always brings in... thats when my stomach starts to growl and i start thinking of murtabak and why-the-hell-did-i-do-summer-school-in-the-first-place-and-lets-get-some-curry-for-the-tummy-shall-we, and I'd just stare at my lab notebook and say "knn, thats life sial!"
Hunger pangs definitely don't come a-knocking when I'm cycling back to dorm from lab. No one's around to go eat with, so usually I'd be slacking in the room doing nothing until I'm bored enough to walk down to the local Subway to pick up the 6 bux roti with meat and veggies. At this juncture, I'm surprised by myself hoping that the cafeteria that serves that awful crap opens soon, just so that there is a steady source of food standing by, even if I work late and get back even later. Ah well..
Anyway, I found out that if I eat noodles and all the MSG laden stuff I have in a box in the dorm for a few days in a row, I 1) will not think clearly and will tend to screw up experiments 2) will lose even more weight with a higher rate than what I'm losing now. So the decision to eat noodles and spoil my brains is balanced by the desire to lose weight. I'm still deciding.
Summer life is soo sweet.
Saturday, August 14, 2004
Quite a good week. No school, got some nice results in lab, and I've moved back to Peehole. Wireless connection cannot make it, so I guess I have to hound the manager for a fixed line, if that stingy a**hole allows. Am restricted to going down to the computer room for a stronger signal in order to use the internet. Usually this would piss me off, but i guess 1) this is the hols (at least for 2 more weeks) 2) got a handphone now, so I'm feeling less isolated. The weather is getting cooler, and I can't wait for it to get 4 degrees or less. It still hoving around 20 degrees. Guess winter is coming sooner than expected. Anyway, I'd have to eat out from now, and spare myself from stew-pasta-stew-pasta combination back in the sublet. I wonder whether I'd ever get sick of dhaal. hrrm. Ram's gone, so I should be alcohol free for at least 2 more weeks. O well. You can't have your cake and eat it I guess.
Monday, August 09, 2004
Second straight day of updating my blog. Truth to be told, its not that I'm so enthusiastic about it. Rather,I'm goddamn bored. Hell, I was literally begging my supervisor to gimme some really long and drawn out procedure to perform, so that I could delay coming back to home.
This home for the summer doesnt feel like home to me though, even though it has a kitchen, a nice big bathroom and all that.. For one, Ram doesnt live nearby so I don't have someone to kachiao if I'm bored or desperate or just feel like disturbing the bugger.
Speaking of that @)$(@enaden stoner/fool, he's gone waltzing off to Oregon in his usual frenetic style. Specifically, he gets his airplane tickets and hotel bookings the day before he's supposed to leave. Thank the powers-up-there for the internet, otherwise, he'd be dead already.
3 weeks of Ram-less is going to be a pain in the arse, because I won't have a pigging/out and beer kaki anymore. I'd be living back in the dorm, but with no food, so I have to figure out a way to cook dhaal before I die of starvation before the cafeteria opens.
On the other hand, another round of weight loss won't be bad either...
This home for the summer doesnt feel like home to me though, even though it has a kitchen, a nice big bathroom and all that.. For one, Ram doesnt live nearby so I don't have someone to kachiao if I'm bored or desperate or just feel like disturbing the bugger.
Speaking of that @)$(@enaden stoner/fool, he's gone waltzing off to Oregon in his usual frenetic style. Specifically, he gets his airplane tickets and hotel bookings the day before he's supposed to leave. Thank the powers-up-there for the internet, otherwise, he'd be dead already.
3 weeks of Ram-less is going to be a pain in the arse, because I won't have a pigging/out and beer kaki anymore. I'd be living back in the dorm, but with no food, so I have to figure out a way to cook dhaal before I die of starvation before the cafeteria opens.
On the other hand, another round of weight loss won't be bad either...
Sunday, August 08, 2004
First of all, apologies. Been really slow to update the blog because summer school was a pain in the arse. How arse-kicky was it? Say you have a month to prepare for your finals, and you havent even started. How do you feel? Multiply this feeling by two, and halve the time you have to prepare, and thats summer school for you. Waking up at 7 am and not sleeping until 2 am is not fun at all, especially you have to do it everyday fot two months, including weekends. Anyway, i think it's also my fault, since well, summer school is not exactly compulsory isn't it? Couple that with the overambitious plan to finish my humanities and social science requirements by Fall 2004, I'm just about asking for it.
And as with any post exam euphoria, there is that tiny twinge of missing up a whole shitload of fun back home. Somehow, the 10 days in Singapore wasn't enough.
OK, enough of this emotional crap. Here are some stuff I learnt about myself over the course of this 2 months:
- that a stew is a messy muggertoad's best friend. No receipe needed. Just boil a big pot of water, and throw in whatever bits of meat you can find in the freezer, chop some onions and garlic, and you're ready for dinner/lunch, possibly even breakfast. For variety (provided you have a cast iron stomach) add in some weird combination and you'd be ready to call yourself an innovative soup conoisseur. In fact, I've got some weird combi boiling right now. Frozen corn (ran out of corn on the cob a few weeks ago), some (old) pork that was languishing in the freezer, a whole crapload of basil leaves, minced veal, and get this, chunks of swiss cheese. I'm pushing culinary (and intestinal) limits with every meal.
- ice cream is a good antidote for gastric pains. Long story.
-onions go well with anything and everything. Garlic too.
-Madison has really good beer, if you know where to find it. Ram was finally sick of the woodchuck-by-the-terrace routine, and brought me to a couple of microbrewery places. Damn chio the beer sial!
- When you're sleepy as hell, Mozart's violin concertos are not good for you. What you need is a good dose of a bravado and well, angst, in the form of an arse kicking Beethoven Symphony. The 9th, the 3rd, the 5th and the 6th were the mainstays that saved me from the desperation of mugging at 2 am in the morning. Better than coffee.
-Duke Ellington is damn chio. And his music is especially calming. Move over Norah Jones!
-Speaking of Ram, I suppose I'd have to learn how to make dhaal to tide me through two weeks of living back in dorm without any food. The bugger says its simple to prepare. Now, just need to find the store that sells the damn things.
Well, there are loads of other stuff that I've learnt about myself, so maybe the tradeoff between fun in singapore and here was worth it. I've got three weeks of no school, so I'd be in the lab everyday. Hopefully no accidents this time.
And as with any post exam euphoria, there is that tiny twinge of missing up a whole shitload of fun back home. Somehow, the 10 days in Singapore wasn't enough.
OK, enough of this emotional crap. Here are some stuff I learnt about myself over the course of this 2 months:
- that a stew is a messy muggertoad's best friend. No receipe needed. Just boil a big pot of water, and throw in whatever bits of meat you can find in the freezer, chop some onions and garlic, and you're ready for dinner/lunch, possibly even breakfast. For variety (provided you have a cast iron stomach) add in some weird combination and you'd be ready to call yourself an innovative soup conoisseur. In fact, I've got some weird combi boiling right now. Frozen corn (ran out of corn on the cob a few weeks ago), some (old) pork that was languishing in the freezer, a whole crapload of basil leaves, minced veal, and get this, chunks of swiss cheese. I'm pushing culinary (and intestinal) limits with every meal.
- ice cream is a good antidote for gastric pains. Long story.
-onions go well with anything and everything. Garlic too.
-Madison has really good beer, if you know where to find it. Ram was finally sick of the woodchuck-by-the-terrace routine, and brought me to a couple of microbrewery places. Damn chio the beer sial!
- When you're sleepy as hell, Mozart's violin concertos are not good for you. What you need is a good dose of a bravado and well, angst, in the form of an arse kicking Beethoven Symphony. The 9th, the 3rd, the 5th and the 6th were the mainstays that saved me from the desperation of mugging at 2 am in the morning. Better than coffee.
-Duke Ellington is damn chio. And his music is especially calming. Move over Norah Jones!
-Speaking of Ram, I suppose I'd have to learn how to make dhaal to tide me through two weeks of living back in dorm without any food. The bugger says its simple to prepare. Now, just need to find the store that sells the damn things.
Well, there are loads of other stuff that I've learnt about myself, so maybe the tradeoff between fun in singapore and here was worth it. I've got three weeks of no school, so I'd be in the lab everyday. Hopefully no accidents this time.
