more break-like thoughts

Monday brought with it a quick reality check that shorts, while en vogue at Stanford for most of this month, aren't the best choice for San Francisco, which somehow manages to be 10-20 degrees cooler than the South Bay most days. Ah well.

Tuesday I bid farewell to another Berlin-bound traveler. We ended up going to see Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which was amazingly good for a Jim Carrey movie. The ending in particular had special relevance for me. <philosophical>Say you're wandering in the woods and see an intriguing path, lined with flowers, trees, and...well, whatever other nifty things you'd find in the woods. But you know it's a dead end. Do you still walk down it? It could be a really cool trail. Is it worthwhile to take such a detour even if you know it won't go anywhere? Or do you avoid that risk and opt not to explore?</philosophical>

Wednesday was quite possibly the most entertaining Wal-Mart run I've ever made. We got plenty of dirty looks I'm sure from shoppers who think Wal-Mart ought to be taken more seriously. But hula hooping in the toy department was worth it. Alas, I missed out on karaoke that night because I made dinner plans three hours in advance. Sadness...but we still made pretty good yakimeshi.

weekend update

Saturday night we took the Japanese students to Safeway. Not the crappy Secret Safeway, mind you, the mammoth one on El Camino. I've never seen two people more thrilled to be in a supermarket... one was rampaging through the aisles in search of potato chips...

Sunday night we spent bidding Rose farewell for Berlin. I maintain that, contrary to what she says, I knew exactly where I was and where I was going at all times. I just didn't know where the Mausoleum is, is all...

Monday night other Rose and I had a laundry party. Apparently, certain of our housemates decided they were the only ones who needed to do laundry and that, despite having to leave the next morning at 8, could wait to leave her clothes in washers and dryers for hours, preventing anyone else from getting any done. Suddenly I understood how we could have "laundry rage" added to dorm vernacular. Fortunately our patience--and our supply of Simpsons and Family Guy lasted us till 2, when we finally finished.

and the break begins

Friday night found me at Tim's apartment hanging out with a few SJEC students from Japan. Among other things, we saw Zatoichi, a Japanese epic featuring:

A blind swordsman

A crazy half-naked wannabe samurai

Lots of blood

Cross-dressing geisha

Random tap dancing
What more could you want?

We also saw Ju-on: The Grudge, a truly bizarre horror film loosely centered around this house that curses and kills anyone who lives in, sells, acts in, or visits it. There wasn't much of a cohesive plot other than random freaky things killing everyone who somehow came in contact with the house and lots of disturbing images. But even at the end of the second part (of the 3-hour movie) we still don't understand why all these people died. But it did establish a sort of code of conduct for each of the characters:

Any creepy sound should be investigated alone, with a petrified look on your face as though you know it's supernatural.

Once you've deduced that something is trying to kill you, the best strategy is to split up and try to investigate the killing force on your own.

When confronted by some apparition intent on killing you, back into a corner and scream melodramatically. Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to escape, run for an exit, fight back, or seek help.

so slothful

I slept for 11 hours last night. It felt sooooo good. And much needed. Though I didn't sleep as soundly as a few nights ago, when what started as a 20-minute nap took an alarm and five phone calls, two from a phone vibrating in my pocket, to end. But still.

It's 70 degrees outside, I'm done with finals, and I'm going have ramen for dinner. Sweeeeet...

mmm... sugar

Mary's the best. In addition to the usual junk food, she's also supplying us with free coffee all night long. Alas, when I got to Ricker ten minutes ago, they were out of graham crackers. So, tonight's grand discovery:

Smores Sandwich
2 slices white bread
A bunch of chocolate chips
A bunch of marshmallows

Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Enjoy.

It only slightly surprised me to find someone playing a violin there at 4 AM. Ricker's been getting a fair amount of live music to dine by lately, thanks to the seemingly limitless supply of talented underclassmen and supportive FroSoComrades. It's been adding a nice classy feel to lunch.

a preview of grad student life?

Friday night: coding. No sleep. No Jammix.
This morning: Wal-Mart run.
This afternoon: coding.
Tonight: Special Dinner in "the Rains Resort". As housing goes, it'd be a sweet place to live for the summer. They have a living room that's bigger than our two-room double, plus four bedrooms. But for some reason I'm excited about the kitchen. Not that I'll have time to cook much next year, but I'll be able to... and be freed from the shackles of a meal plan.

What can you do with your own kitchen and apartment? Grill burgers, for one. And deep fry anything. We had fried wings and fried shrimp. If you're frying it doesn't really matter what you're cooking, whether it's tempura carrots or old shoelaces. Or...Twinkies. Yes, I sampled the deep-fried Twinkies that have become a section leader tradition. Then I had two heart attacks. Or, as Mike put it, "it's like giving your heart an oil change".

I never came to appreciate just how convoluted and evil AIM is until now. Getting locked out of AIM at 4 AM is plenty fun. Having looked through the protocol, it's amazing AIM even works at all...

words of wisdom

If you're going to pass a counterfeit bill somewhere, make sure it's a bill that exists...

dancing like no one's watching

Tonight was the Dance Division's end of quarter showing. For me this meant a polka, schottische, redowa, and lindy hop all in a row. So now, despite a sugary muffin and much rehydration I'm exhausted. The norte~no suite had quite a few rough edges, missed cues, and music breakdowns, but in the end we got through it... and the audience seemed to enjoy it. Very few people will actually tell you honestly if a performance sucks, which is good in the ego-boosting sense but still doesn't really assuage the performer's fear that people notice these slip-ups. The swing dance went decently well, but I was so exhausted by then it wasn't much fun.

Supposedly we have an even longer set for Spring Migration. That'll be... interesting...

Instead of the president of some South American country, we have a Supreme Court justice as our Commencement speaker. How cool is that? Not that leaders of nations aren't impressive, but Sandra Day O'Connor? Rock on! It'll be odd walking Commencement without actually graduating (I'm going to be a super-senior next year to qualify for undergrad research funding), but it should still be exciting.

Yesterday I turned down SRC housing. It felt good to say I had a viable option besides getting ripped off on a meal plan. So a ragtag band of fellow CS geeks and I are looking for summer housing. An apartment in "the Rains Resort" would rock.

Speaking of becoming a grad student. Today's poll: Am I sketchy? A certain someone seemed to think so, which kind of amused me. Perhaps all grad students inevitably become sketchy. But I'd like to think I haven't jumped the gun on that...

And just what the devil is a "dynamic individual"? Consider this Google job posting:

Dynamic Individuals Wanted for Administrative Associate Positions at Google!

Do you enjoy technology and the internet? Are you eager to make an impact in a fast paced team environment?

Google is seeking three dynamic individuals to support our co-founders in a variety of tasks ranging from schedule management and travel arrangements to generating department budget reports.

Essentially they're looking for secretaries. But they're couching this in enough flowery language and throwing a serious-applicants-with-resumes-and-reservations-only dinner at Arrillaga on Thursday. The thing I don't understand is why this went out to the CS mailing list...

Will that be a tall, grande, or venti?

Finally someone asks that crucial question. From Erika's blog.

Good news for CS majors and office workers-to-be

Coffee is 'health drink': That's right, coffee is actually good for you: "the stronger the better". Woot!

It looks like I will officially be a supersenior next year. CURIS won't let me graduate next quarter. Which is OK, since all I miss out on is a boring hour-long CS department ceremony...

aaaaahh!

This will drive you nuts. You have been warned...

There is life on Mars...

And apparently, the Martians know how to write Es and Gs. So why hasn't NASA announced this amazing discovery? "They keep a lot from the public."

tail wagging?

Bush's first campaign slogan:
"President Bush: Steady Leadership in Times of Change."

Sounds suspiciously like "Don't change horses in midstream"...