Today, we had to bring out molecular model kits to class. I ended up making little stick animals during lecture. Don't worry, it's not because I was being a bad student. Our professor was still going over a lot of material I'm already familiar with, so I just started getting really bored. My friend Allison (whom I met yesterday) kept glancing over at me while I was messing around with my kit like a 2 year old. I probably looked incredibly smooth. Actually, I know I looked incredibly smooth. After class was over, it was time to go off to our 3 hour lab. w00t!

I like our lab TA. He's this tall, white dude with a goatee and tattoos all over his arms. He looks really laid back. I asked him about his tattoos today, just before class started. It turns out his arms alone have about $3000 worth of ink on them! I don't know if that's expensive, but it sure sounds like a lot of money just for a few pictures. Anyways, he's a pretty chill guy, and I look forward to having lab with him. In my experience, though, most chemistry and physics TA's are usually cool. I guess they know how much crap we have to go through, and are sympathetic to our cause. 

There's this black girl who sits across from me at my lab table. She has a cute face, but the thing that really caught my attention was her old-school Nintendo sweatshirt. At first, I thought it was a little odd that someone would go through the trouble of bringing along a sweatshirt when it was a hundred degrees outside, but then I realized that it was a NINTENDO shirt... and that she was pimp for wearing it. Any girl who wears an article of clothing related to retro gaming automatically gets one point for "coolness" in my book. It'd be so disappointing to find out she doesn't actually play any games... (>_<)

Elvenbead commented that maybe I should stop checking out girls, and just focus on school; very sound advice. *sigh* I'm going to try, but it's going to be hard....

Oop! Time to go to sleep! I have to wake up early tomorrow. Until next time...

P.S. I hate lab write-ups.  

UCR has a LOT of hot girls. WOW.

I met a really attractive girl in my class today. She doesn't actually go to UCR, though; she's out of state. She had gorgeous legs: long, tan (and I mean REALLY tan), and beautiful. It was all I could do to keep from staring at them while we were talking. She also has a very attractive face... very nice to look at. Unfortunately, she has a different lab from me, but I hope I can somehow manage to sit with her during lecture. Haha! The male mentality at work.

Class, so far, seems like a mixed bag. For those of you who don't know, I'm taking an accelerated Organic Chemistry course. It's basically a 10-week course smashed into 3. I'm taking a whole years' worth (3 sessions), so I'm looking at 9 weeks of hell. The setup of the class is really geared towards helping us out, though: an open-note exam every week, no comprehensive final (w00t!), and full credit for all homework. My initial impression when I heard this was one of relief, but, the more I thought about it, I realized that this can easily blow up in a student's face if that person isn't careful. It promotes slacking off! Who knows, maybe it's all a trick to screw the unsuspecting kid over. An effort to "separate the wheat from the chaff," so to speak...

My suspicions about this were validated by our lab TA. He told us about half of the people in our class are going to FAIL. Not "do poorly"... but FAIL. That wasn't very comforting to hear, as you can imagine.

It's our first day, but we already have homework due tomorrow. None of the problems assigned correlate with anything the professor said in lecture today. Basically, this class is going to be all about self-learning. Thank God I studied a ton of those chapters beforehand!

Well, after spending two months at home, I'm finally going to start my first day of school tomorrow, at UCR. I'm a bit nervous, because I know the class is going to be very tough. However, I'm also a bit excited, because I'm going to be at a new school. It's always fun to meet new people.

Due to the speed of the course, I'm either going to sink or swim. I'm going to really push myself, though, and hopefully I'll come out on top. Wish me luck, guys. I'm going to really need it.

I'm going to try to be around, but don't be surprised if I suddenly stop blogging. It just means I'm reallllly busy with school work. Talk to you guys later!

She boggles my mind. Not just by her actions, but the effect her very existence has on the American public.

It's no secret that Paris Hilton has been spending the last couple weeks in prison. I'm no fan of her, but I've been appalled by the reaction of the public to her being jailed. On every talk-show, the crowds cheer on as if some serial killer has finally been brought to justice. Comics openly rag on her, completely disregarding what effect they may have on the person. Sarah Silverman is one such example; while hosting the MTV awards, she made some vulgar, harsh jokes aimed at Paris, while Paris was in the crowd. What made it worse, was that the camera men shamelessly focused on Paris's face, as if trying to capture every moment of her discomfort and pain so they could expose it to the world. The worst acts towards the young socialite, though, can be found on the internet. On forums everywhere, people leave comments like "I hope she gets raped in jail," or "that bitch deserves to die!"

Now, I dislike Paris just as much as the next average Joe. She's a lazy, snobbish young woman who gained fame from some stupid "scandal," but what has she done to deserve the kind of treatment that she's been experiencing? Does she deserve to have people laugh and cheer at her misery? Does she deserve to be humiliated in public? Does she deserve the curses and grotesque wishes that everyone seems to wish on her?

Of course not.

So WHAT if she's an immoral snob? Why does that make her so deserving of the public's hatred? Who cares if she's promiscuous and likes the live the fast life, going clubbing and doing drugs? Hell, I think 30% of the people in that age range (A.K.A., college kids) do the same damn thing, except with a lot less money. 

If anything, the public should be ashamed. It was the PUBLIC's interest that helped launch her into fame, it was the PUBLIC's interest that got her all those million-dollar endorsements, and it was the PUBLIC's interest that gave her the impression that she was doing something right.

If you haven't figured it out by now, I've decided to return to Shoutpost. I'm still going to post in my "other" blog, but... well, I just don't see why I can't have two, dammit! I feel so silly, making that grand announcement, only to go back on it completely. I feel a bit like Michael Jordan (you know, what with the whole "I'm retiring.. wait, no I'm not!" thing he did), except without all the money, talent, or endorsements, which makes my comparison to him completely off mark... but has made me feel a little down about my own life. Yay, dental school... and boo to fame and glory... (T_T)

Anyways, I went to my friend's graduation at UC, Riverside yesterday. It was probably one of the funniest ceremonies I've ever went to in my life.

To start off, the person they chose to sing for the opening and closing parts of the graduation was horrible. She was offkey on several notes, and had a very nasally voice. When she first started singing, the people in my group all glanced at each other, winced periodically, and kept flashing those uncomfortable "this is really terrible, but I'm going to try and be polite" grins. By the end, though, we were praying to all that was holy for this gruesome spectacle of vocal carnage to end.

After that, the ceremony speaker came up, a professor of something-or-other. This man sounded like a lecherous Arnold Schwarzenegger on pot (so basically, Arnold 35 years ago). I just couldn't stop laughing! What made it worse, was that nobody else in the ceremony (save the people that I came with) was laughing, so the commotion we were making was all the more noticeable.

There were a lot of other humorous moments, but those were the highlights of the evening. Sorry that I'm not going more in-depth about the ceremony, but I'm sure you guys really don't want to hear a play-by-play of a boring formal event... and I definitely don't want to write about it.

I think it's great when one of my friends graduates from school or receives some kind of award, but I've always hated graduations. I just can't stand them. In fact, I haven't participated in my own graduation ceremonies since junior high. Why haven't I walked? Well, to tell you the truth, I've never seen high school and undergraduate college as anything but milestones; they were merely steps I had to take in order to qualify for graduate school. Thus, it seemed a bit pointless to me to celebrate something, when I haven't actually accomplished anything yet. If undergraduate college was the highest I was ever going to go in my academic career, then you better believe that I'd be excited about walking, but it's not, so...... meh.

That doesn't stop me from going to my friends' ceremonies, though. I know my friends still consider it a big deal, so I'm more than happy to congratulate them on their success; doesn't mean I have to like ceremonies though.

I mean, why do they all have to have such long-winded, boring speeches? Is it all really necessary? We all came for only one thing, when you think about it: to see our friends or family members walk. I don't need to hear about how that particular college got two new buildings in the last two years, or how some professor I'll never meet discovered X number of exo-planets (this is what they talked about at the UCR graduation). I mean, what the hell are "exo-planets," anyways? I'm sure that kind of stuff is all shits and giggles for the dean of the university, but for us average Joes? Pointless and boring.

Of course, you can't have a ceremony without doing something before handing out the diplomas, that just wouldn't feel very ceremonial. Instead of speeches, though, maybe they could have some carnival acts. I would love to come to a graduation ceremony and see some acrobatics and fire tricks, maybe throw in a contortionist or two in there, as well. We could follow it up with a massive fireworks display, followed by an Evel Knievel jump over a shark pit. The valedictorian could come in through parachute, after which he/she would engage in a fight to the death with a man-sized chinchilla.

After that spectacle, the graduates could walk.

If I saw something like that, I think the first things to come out of my mouth as I'm walking out would be, "Now, THAT was one hell of a ceremony. Shame about the valedictorian, though... she had so much potential."

How some women in the media will dress in slutty clothes, pose seductively, and then claim it's for female empowerment (e.g., I recently heard the Pussycat Dolls saying how they were running a "fashion show" for female empowerment; the whole line-up consisted of skanky lingerie...).

You know what female empowerment is? Running for office, staging political movements, saving the environment or just contributing something worthwhile to society, in general. By being a positive role mode as a woman, you can act as an icon for females everywhere... and give further proof that women are capable of doing great things.

I think it's a bit sad that these women in the media are teaching our children that sexual freedom = empowerment. Sex doesn't equal empowerment, because empowerment leads to power. Sexual flaunting only leads to a loss of respect.

I see tons of "little girls" (I'm talking about highschool and college, I'm not a pedophile, lol) dressing in slutty clothes, not realizing that they're just hurting themselves. They don't seem to understand that when they dress like that, men don't see them anymore; they see their legs, their breasts... everything else but them. And the fact that many of them do this in a college environment, an arena of higher learning... a place to realize your full potential as a human being, makes this all the more depressing.

I'm not going to pretend that I'm so noble; I'm a guy, and I'm attracted by breasts, legs, and ass just like the next guy (hell, look at my BANNER!), but I can speak for all men when I say that attraction doesn't earn respect. If you're a girl reading this blog, go and ask any of your male friends. They all draw a distinct line between sexy, hot, short-term relationship girls and classy, wifey-material women. The thing is, I can't believe that girls aren't aware of this, so I find myself asking, "Does it make them happy to be viewed as nothing more than a 'good time'?"

Bleh, stupid blog.

Keep your children away from television. It's bad.

Just writing for the sake of writing. A little "hello," to anyone whose still bothering to read this page. A little update as to what I've been up to this past week. Who knows, I might post every week from now on... (^_^)

I've been on a ridiculous Ebay shopping spree, lately. My addiction to online auctions is coming to a close, though. My attitude towards it has been soured somewhat, after unintentionally buying some bootleg dvds. 

I hate bootleggers; they're nothing short of demon spawn. They leech off of the hard work of artists who slaved away towards creating a movie or animation that they really believed in (or, that's how it's supposed to be, anyways). And what do bootleggers do? They sell these inferior and unlicensed rips of the original material, in order to make a profit. The picture quality isn't generally as good, and, in the case of foreign movies, the subtitling is usually abhorrent. What's worse, is they often fool buyers into thinking that they're buying the real deal. It's basically a lose-lose situation for everyone involved, except the bootlegger. 

I understand that there's a market for that sort of thing. If you're into that, then fine... that's your choice. But to deceive people who are trying to buy the real product is just low. 

I've been lucky to some degree; most of the DVDs I've bought just happened to be the authentic versions (albeit a little used). I'm going to get out of the Ebay game while I'm still ahead.

I reported the guy that sold me the counterfeits to Ebay. I know it's not really going to deter him in any way, but I hope it causes him some inconvenience. I'm just wondering how Ebay got so saturated with so many counterfeiters and bootleggers. In relation to media, there's practically no form of quality control on that site. It's a bit sad, because it really takes away from what Ebay could be. Of course, it's not really fair to point the finger solely at the Ebay staff. I'm sure they try to do whatever they can to minimize the amount of illegal activity that goes on. I just feel that there needs to be some higher level of regulation. I feel that when someone claims to be selling the authentic and original version... he/she shouldn't be able to get away with short-changing the buyer. 

Overall, I'm happy with my purchases from Ebay, though. I was able to get my hands on "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" at a really cheap price (under $10), and they were both real! I'm a big fan of Wes Anderson; I love how he shot the two movies. He really has a talent for cinematography. The music isn't half bad either. You guys should check out the soundtrack to Life Aquatic. It was so well received, that they released a spin-off album by Seu Jorge called "The Life Aquatic Sessions." If you don't know who Seu Jorge is, he's the guy who was always strumming his guitar throughout the movie. He barely had any lines at all... in fact, I think he sang more than he talked. Here's a picture of the album cover:

It's basically a cover of David Bowie songs, sung in Portugese (I think?). I can't understand a damn thing he's saying, but the whole CD has a nice sound to it.  

Well, that's all I've got for now. I'll try to check in next week, with some more interesting topics.

By the way, if you haven't already, you should really go on Youtube.com and search for "Paul Potts." He's a contestant who showed up on Simon Cowell's new reality contestant show "Britain's Got Talent." He blew the crowd away with some real class act opera singing.  

Sorry friends, but I will no longer be posting in Shoutpost!

Someone mentioned Blogger.com. I checked it out, and am in love!

It's totally for free, like Shoutpost, but has a wealth of more features. Also, I like how it's completely integrated with my Gmail account. Plus, they give you an entire gigabyte of storage for your photos!

Who knows, I might drop in from time to time (might even change my mind completely, and just stay here), but, for now, I'm going with Blogger. I really hope that Shoutpost is able to develop into something bigger and better while I'm gone. Plus, a little revamping of the interface couldn't hurt (like, why can't you click on comment poster's names, in your blog's comment section, to go to their blog?). Well, I guess this is good-bye!

Just out of curiosity... how many do you think there are? A few hundred? A few thousand?

I'm just asking, because I notice I keep seeing the same pictures and keep running into the same blog entries over and over again. I know the site only opened in January, so it doesn't bother me that so few people are on, but how many do you guys really think there are? I'm going to guess a few hundred, based on the rate that I keep seeing the same pictures.

I'll admit that the first time I signed up for this place, the interface was a little confusing; I'm more accustomed to the Xanga look (of course, their pages don't have nearly as many customization options... well, at least for free, anyways. ). After a few weeks, though, I have to say that this place has really grown on me.

I just hope more people sign up to Shoutpost. I know it's not likely that we're going to see a huge influx, though, since most people have already established themselves in places like LiveJournal or Xanga.  (>_<")

You know, a few posts ago, I was whining about how few templates there were to work with in Shoutpost. Well, one commenter suggested I take a look at a Scribble's blog, which gave some tips on how to design your page to have its own custom look. Well, it turns out all my bitching was a bit unfounded; even though there aren't many templates, they seem to have quite a few customization options!

Well, I did a little tweaking of my page. This is my new layout, and I must say I like it. Hope you guys like it, too, because I'm going to be keeping it for a while. Until tomorrow...

I was flipping through the channels, and I just saw two midgets wrestling on WWF/WWE (or whatever three letter acronym they think is cool now). They'll try anything to keep up the ratings, won't they? And you know this all started out as a joke among the execs, probably. Two dudes were sitting in the office, and one guy goes, " Hey, Bill, don't you think it'd be awesome to see two midgets wrestling?" Then Bill says, "Hell yeah! Great idea, Ted! Welp, we've fulfilled our 'idea' quota for the month, let's throw a kegger!"

You know, I used to be a huge fan of WWF wrestling, growing up, and it's a bit sad to see how far it's fallen. It used to be good, innocent fun; just something you could watch with your junior high friends. I remember Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior were such badasses. Once in a while, I'll tune in to the show, and now it's like a soap opera... but with wrestling. They try to throw in all these scandals and gimmicks to try and make the show interesting. I suppose, they're just trying to make their money... can't blame them for that. It just seems a little sad that the show seems to have grown more... "skanky" with time.

One thing that trips me out is how they've managed to keep all the wrestlers from the old days in business. I don't really have a problem with that, it's cool to see all the great wrestlers from my childhood still going at it. I have to say, though, that some of them have gotten really... wrinkly. LOL. Well, all of them could easily kick MY ass. Anyways.. until tomorrow! 

Well, I went to the kitchen to get a late night snack, heated up some soup and brought it back to my room. About an hour later, I started hearing some weird popping noise. I forgot to turn off the stove! Yup, I ran back to the kitchen... smack into a cloud of smoke. I've dealt with the situation, sort of, and am now waiting for the smoke to dissipate. Oh man, I hope my parents don't wake up soon. This isn't going to be pretty come morning.

Aside from that, nothing really interesting happened. I just studied... been listening to Utada Hikaru lately. Utada is one of the biggest Japanese pop singers, if you guys don't know. I haven't listened to her music in over a year, but now I'm all addicted again. I just read that she participated in some Nintendo DS Tetris Challenge, to help do some publicity for the game (that's her above, playing at the tournament). Apparently she's a huge tetris addict; she's claimed to have played almost seventeen hours of tetris in her blog. That's some real commitment! I don't think I've EVER logged that much play time in one sitting, and I've always considered myself a bit of a gamer. All-nighters? Easily, but I don't know about seventeen hours! (Although I know of some people who have.) She apparently did pretty welll at the tournament. It consisted of 30 normal players, and 2 Tetris "assassins," some skilled players from Nintendo. She ended up beating 26 of the normal players and one of the assassins. That's pretty damn good for an amateur tetris player!

Man, my room is more of a basement. It's submerged below level, and I can STILL smell smoke from the kitchen! I thought smoke traveled upwards! This is bad... I hope I'm not unknowingly killing myself off by breathing in toxic fumes, right now. Well, if you don't hear from me in the next few days, then you know what happened. Death by overcooked food, what a way to go.