a time in history :
quebec visit |
highschool grad |
university life |
victoria now and then
jun 30 '04 : 1722 [pacific] : life goes on to find a direction on the road of life
yesterday morning as the rest of canada was busy discussing the future of a minority liberal government, i received news that i have been rejected for the architecture program. i suppose i should include the phrase "for the second time", but on my first try i didn't have the minimum grade for one of the required architecture course, hence in reality this should be considered my real first application. unfortunately i didn't make the cut, and hence it has left me in a minor state of disorientation. was i disappointed? a little, yes, but not to the point where i would break down completely and cry, which i did last year. and i only did so out of shame really. i feel i've made an effort in improving my grades this year, so overall, it didn't hit me as badly. now that i didn't make it for the program, there is certainly a few things to consider. one, what am i going to do now? am i just going to finish my art history degree or is it time for me to rethink my career path? two, am i really suitable for architecture, or, is architecture suitable for me? do i still want to do architecture, or not? third, is it worth the time and money to return to the uoft? my father and eldest brother are pushing into thinking all these things. but summer has taught me well on how to be relaxed and laid back. i'm most certain that my family oversea is in a sort of panic and disoriented mood. my dad is worried, and hence my mother who loves my dad so dearly and cares for his feelings so much, even though knows and realizes that i have made tremendous improvement from first year, is ten times as worried and angry and disappointed. then my eldest brother, who has completely changed from his relaxed and laid back personality, when he was still living in victoria, into a stressfully overworked hong kong white collar, called me today and essentially lectured me on being more serious and that i should've thought about everything beforehand. i told him about the things i've thought about over the past few days, but apparently it wasn't enough. he urged me to do researchs and read up on other universities and other possible faculties and programs that might interest me. so it's like grade twelve all over again, except worst. seriously, my marks are not the best, but they are definitely not the worst. b- average is decent, in my opinion, but in my family's eyes, they are probably the worst marks i could ever receive. is it though, really, is it? i wonder if the whole situation actually happened in uvic, would they have been the same? or are they only so annoyed because i had them pay for me twenty six thousand dollars canadian for my two years of university education? anyway. enough of this university problem for now.
while i should focus and comtemplate on my future, i went to see michael moore's fahrenheit 9/11 tonight with my brothers. my thought was that since spider-man 2 comes out tonight, the theatre would be emptied since everyone in town would probably be at silvercity waiting outside to see the much anticipated summer blockbuster. to my surprise, the theatre was actually packed and there were no empty seats. i guess most people are curious about what the oscar and cannes festivial winner has to say this time around. the film itself was mediocore to its best, nothing truly spectacular, but it's a good film, i would suggest people to do see it. even though it is one sided and perhaps maybe only sixty percent of its content is true, regardless, george w bush is a truly pathetic and undoubtedly stupid person. how can you excuse yourself when you're presenting a speech, and you don't even remember a simple saying that is supposedly wide known? and as president of the us.of.a? [go watch the film and listen to his last line] idoit.
jun 27 '04 : 0205 [pacific] : returning and returned just a little change
sitting in front of computer, i suddenly decided to put my old entries back with links. i didn't know whether to remake those pages with the design i'm using now or to let them stay as their original state. in the end i decided to stick with the originals. one thing it'll take a little effort to retype the codes, which i'm too lazy to do so. so yah, now that i'm in the site making mood, i might finally work something out, as in turning this into a personal site instead of just a little blog world.
on a side note, france was out yesterday, and sweden is out too. there are more surprises than ever in the eurocup!
jun 24 '04 : 2251 [pacific] : football blues and so the sun went down on england
what a sad day it is. england is out of eurocup 2004. my hopes were high when they managed to score a goal just three minutes before the second half of the overtime was over and tied at two:two with portugal. but, history has the funny thing of repeating itself from time to time. once again, england lost to portugal by one goal, just like the last eurocup. i blame it all on beckham. as captain of england and one of the best mid-fielders in the world, who would've thought he could manage to kick start the shoot-out with a miss. to hell with beckham! and vassell, if only you didn't miss too. what a sad day it is.
tomorrow is france against greece; france, definitely.
jun 20 '04 : 2351 [pacific] : this father's day : happy birthday kristie! victoria, and how to ruin a night in one phonecall
i just read my friend's blog, and i would agree that she has a point, if she is making a comparison between victoria and seattle. then again, i don't think victoria can be compared to seattle. for one thing seattle can be considered as a major city in the states, so therefore, the road system would probably be more efficient, and it would be easier to navigate around town. victoria, being the small capital of b.c. canada, the road system is likely less systematic and at times confusing to follow. but because it is a small town, and because the number of cars moving about is hardly comparable to seattle, the road system is mainly designed so that people can get to their destinations in a safe and comfortable way. roads are created as more people populate the area, and hence sometimes one street can change two to three names. highways are only renovated and maintained just to make them more safe. and there are probably more accidents occuring in the big city because of speeding and all. anyway, imo, driving in victoria is almost a leisure, it's not as if anyone is in a hurry to anywhere, except in emergencies. there are flaws in the system, yes, but for a small town, i think it's quite good.
multiculturalism. right. seattle, victoria; big city, small city; more people, less people. i agree that in victoria, most white kids hang out with one another, so do the asians, blacks, so on. but we do live in more suburban areas of the city, and therefore i don't believe such occurrence should appear as surprising or strange. yesterday night i went downtown to a club to celebrate my friend's birthday, and as i stand on the street waiting to get inside i see the white people hanging out with the black people, the yellow people were with brown people, so on and so forth. there is multiculturalism in victoria, maybe not so much as in the densely populated downtown areas of seattle, but yes there is. now, toronto would be suitable to compare with seattle. the road system is pretty much the same: multi-lanes highway, express freeways, grided layout, higher speed limits, so on. multiculturalism, i don't think i have to say much about that, really, it is toronto which we're speaking of. anyway, that's what i have to say, in defending victoria.
now, yesterday night i and plenty others celebrated my friend's birthday; we did it a day early seeing how her birthday landed on father's day this year, and the plan was to go clubbing downtown. so i arrived at a friend's house around eight and we did a little bit of pre-drinking even though that was sorta meaningless since the alcohol pretty wore off while we were busing towards downtown. by the time of our arrival to the club, there was already a long line-up and we waited in line for two hours before we finally got in. we all bought drinks; i had a beer and a shooter to start with, which was just enough to set the mood. after that was mostly dancing, drinking some more, and taking pictures. in between that i gave my friend a lapdance, i suppose that was my gift to her. we all laughed; good fun it was.
unfortunately, with me being ever so stupid, i called home at about quarter past one, and my dad ordered me to be home immediately. so therefore, i was dragged out of a party, by my parents, who are all the way across the sea on the other side of the planet, through the phone. lame. and that was absolutely uncessary, but whatever, i have already said it once on the previous entry, and i suppose repeating it won't change or help anything. what is done, is done.
jun 17 '04 : 2312 [pacific] : parents are really weird i loathe my mom on occasions, and today is one
usually i get along fairly well with my parents and family, until they become crazy and unreasonable, or when they tell me what time to be back when i go out. my mom lectured me over the phone today because i got home real late last night and didn't wake up to make lunch for my brother. she said from now on i am only allowed to be out past midnight on fridays and saturdays, and i should have a more balanced sleeping pattern. okay, fine, she has a point. but really, it's summer, and then most of my friends have work in the day so the only time that i could hang out with them is during the late night. and even when i am at home, i don't go to bed until well past two in the morning playing video games or doing whatever. so what's so wrong with me being out late to hang out with friends? i would understand her worries if i was roaming on the street corners smoking pot, but no, that's not what i do. we are usually in an in-door environment and in general just having a good time. i get irritated when she pesters me over such, imo, trivial matter. and it's time like these when i really want to move out, just so i can be out of my parents', my mom's mostly, control. i am almost twenty, and i believe i should be able to decide when i have to be home. but really though, what can i say? they are paying for my food, my shelter, my education, my everything [actually only my dad, my mom just cooks and makes me feel guilty over everything] i was rather amazed to find out my friend's boyfriend worked for two jobs just so he can pay for his own rent, his own food, his own everything; now that's a determined and powerful person, and i respect him for that. then again, i suppose it's only chance and circumstances that shaped us into who we are and made us do the things we do. so i wonder, am i lucky to have my parents who have allowed me to spend the last nineteen years of my life simply enjoying life and having no worries for the basic human needs? or am i unlucky to have my parents who have allowed me to become a spoiled and lazy person who doesn't bother trying because i get everything to me easy? i suppose it's a little bit from column a, a little bit from column b, isn't it?
jun 13 '04 : 0138 [pacific] : suddenly sober so i vomited, but i wasn't drunk, swear
two firsts for me today. my first first was i got in a minor car accident this afternoon. i was driving on blanshard street and going to turn left on hillside, and it was a left turn signal thing and i thought i could make it through. i followed closely to the car in my front, but then the light turned yellow and i thought "ok i wouldn't make it." so i slowed down but my car was way past the stop line, somehow the truck behind me didn't manage to come to a halt and it hit my bumper. surprised, i got out and check the back, the other driver was rather nervous; as we exchanged numbers his hand was shaking vigorously. my brother told my dad about it just now, and apparently he wants me to call the insurance company and make a claim tomorrow, just to make sure the other driver doesn't turn evil and make a claim on me first. bah. i hate this, so much work to do, but i suppose i will have to do that tomorrow.
my second first was that i vomited after consuming five beers and a coke with rum tonight on my friend's front yard. that was nice. actually the disgusting taste of vomit in my esophagus was rather nasty [sorry, but i just had to be so explicit @_@] i chewed some excel gum and that eliminated some of that repulsive taste. then the group decided we would walk to the sev' in the rain, and i bought a small slurpee and a bag of corn chips for my friend. the slurplee was good, it helped to rid the taste a lot. well anyway, they say it's better out than in; and i did feel much better and sobered up a little after having emptied half my stomach. i should know better next time not to down two beers in a short period of time so quickly; a lesson i learned the hard way tonight.
and yes, i do usually have control over myself with alcohol. tonight was just special, and i am much better at ddr when i am a little drunk.
jun 07 '04 : 2248 [pacific] : and the winner is... go brother!
tonight my little brother and i attended his annual school's awards ceremony, and with my parents not being here, i played the role of a proud parent with him taking home the grade ten and eleven french awards, the grade ten science award [they forgot his medal somewhere, and most of the science winners didn't get their medals or little booklets] the honour roll, as well as the top academy award! simply amazing! go richard, we are all proud of you, w00t! now we'll need to push him into doing some community volunteering, some children-saving and or environmental program, some sports, and some music, in order for him to snatch the priciple's award when he graduates in two years time. haha. just kidding. i think he might go insane. actually my dad would most probably drive him insane this summer when he has the career talk with him; i'm sure my dad will be immersed in extreme happiness upon hearing the news of my brother having received four major awards. let's see, what would my parents buy for my brother for his achievements. i have heard that a new car might be coming our way. beep beep!
jun 04 '04 : 1147 [pacific] : mischief managed! prisoner of azkaban rocks!
alfonso cuaron is an excellent director, and the p.o.a surpasses the first two films in every way possible! the screenwriter did a great job too. great film. grand! ahhhhhhh! that felt good.
so of course i saw harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban tonight with my brothers and my two cousins. it was hectic. we went to silvercity at six fifteen [movie was at seven thirty] and already there was a long line up of people waiting. not looking good. well, they lined up, while i drove back to the uvic stadium to pick up my little cousin, who was supposedly running in the four by one hundred relay city final. let's just blame it on wrong timing, she decided to leave and i dragged her out before she made it to the track, so we wouldn't miss the movie. then we drove back, realized our seats were really up front and on stage left. that was bad, and after the movie my cousin was pouting a little. i wouldn't blame her; having missed the city final for such crappy seats? well, at least she learned a valuable lesson today, that is sometimes people have to make tough choices in life. i think she probably regretted her decision, but, such is life. deal with it, i suppose.
i watched 'mean girls' with some friends yesterday, it's actually better than i had expected and it's had some good moments. plus it brought back some fond memories the good old high school life. high school, how i've missed you. not.
after the movie we hit tim horton's for some food and talk. i ordered an iced capp with twenty timbits, which the server generously gave me fifty. i suppose it was late at night and they wanted to get rid of most of their old donuts and timbits; and that just means more for me to eat. and i pat myself on the back for successfully breaking my friend's useless soup diet. supposedly she she was only allowed to eat some carb burning soup for the week so she can shrink her stomach, but she couldn't resist and the tastiness of timbits and ate ten of them. well there goes her diet, yet again, for ten years in a row. we played the card game 'may i' which i won, and after that there was a dramatic moment where my friend's boyfriend left her to go home. the accusation was that she has been ignoring him the whole night and only been allowing him to get closer when she wants him to get closer. frankly i think he overreacted, but what do i know? and apparently it could be my fault since my friend casually told him that it bugs me that he's always clinging onto my friend when i try to have a conversation. plus i am cynical and i "send out negative vibes towards him." well, i essentially do that to everyone and anyone, so i suppose he just doesn't know me very well. some people do find my cynicism and negativity intriguing. anyway, there will be some good talking for the two of them, plus it's another reason to have sex! wait, who needs a reason for that? :P
