...And AMF = (Always More Fun)

To fight my concerns about how I haven't bought any new clothes in a while, I decided to head down to the riff yesterday to cure that problem. With our one-of-kind summer here, I'm not looking for anything too fancy, so I bought a couple of plain tee's. I also tried to stop by Toby's work for a chat, but his work had way too much selling to do with a never ending supply of customers, and it was only 11am in the morning.

Later that day I watched Twilight with AJ (Adrian+Jasmine) and my thoughts you ask? It definitely didn't live up to all the hype, but still a good watch. Some awkward moments here and there that seemed unfitting, but whatever.

After the movie I went bowling with AJ and Tim and got $3 games courtesy of Jasmine's brother and myself. We made a bet that whoever came last in the first game would be recognised as a "teeny bopper for life". I hope you enjoy your crown Tim.

In other news, uni results are out. Since I'm capped for another 2 weeks, I got Geoff to check my results for me. Here's what he returned:

2008 Spring Semester 24108 Marketing Foundations 72 C Credit 6
2008 Spring Semester 25115 Economics for Business 68 C Credit 6
2008 Spring Semester 31267 Programming Fundamentals 72 C Credit 6
2008 Spring Semester 31268 Web Systems 70 C Credit 6

Originally I was upset that I missed out on opportunities to get Distinctions, but it's all water under the bridge.

...And As Age Ascends, Appearances Are Angelic

Happy birthday mother. Thanks for everything and I wish you a great day. I greeted you before at 12am on the dot just in time before you went to bed, but I thought I'd write it on my blog too despite the fact that you probably won't come across this.

Super Mario Cake !

...And Airy Appetites Are Administered

To accommodate the needs of my swelling mouth and slowly recovering gums which both require a soft diet, I drove to Woolworth's a little while ago to do some grocery shopping. The only difference this time round was that I was scouting goods for myself rather than for the family. In a selfish journey through the isles of Woolworths, I looked for anything soft and painlessly edible.

I obviously picked up bottle of milk because I drink that stuff non-stop as if it's water. I also picked up 3 packets of aeroplane jelly including Blueberry, Raspberry and Port Wine, a 6-pack of chocolate yogo yoghurt, a 6-pack of Ski Berry Basket and a 6-pack of strawberry flavored Up & Go breakfast drinks. That's a fair bit of 6-packs, though contrastingly, I will get fat. I should have picked up some ice-cream too, but on the same token, my freezer is overcrowded with spring rolls and nuggets.

In the meantime, I have a bowl of Blueberry Jelly resting in the fridge, which should be nice and firm in 4 hours time. Plus I also have a home-made mango soothie cooling down, and some cheese cake in the freezer. With all those things to be consumed later, I've got the ball rolling by eating some latina fresh pasta. Damn, I really will get fat over these holidays.

...And Articulative Agony Augments

Just a heads up people. I'm going to discontinue these alliteration blog titles once 2009 commences, and I'll implement a new titling theme. I guess the theme/pattern will change as each year passes by, if this blog even lasts that long.

Today I got my two lower wisdom teeth extracted, and while the extraction process was completely forgettable and unmemorable thanks to the injection, the post-operation condition could be better. Pain is existent but minimal. I just wish I could recover overnight and get back to living a healthy normal life. This means I'll have to cancel my blood donation tomorrow which is a shame because I was looking forward to stuffing my face at the hospital again.

In other news, I've been listening to a lot of Deathcore music. This was once a genre of music I promised myself I would never listen to back when I was a metal purist, but after taking the time to check out some recommendations, I'm hooked. Evident from my last.fm, I've been listening to a lot of Carnifex, Suicide Silence, Burning the Masses and All Shall Perish. While most of the music is generic, those bands make unique music.

Just to finish off, Mark has a new blog out which looks win, and is just as insightful as any column from the New York Times. Check it out here!

...And Adeiu Actions Arranged

So almost a week of holidays have passed and I am just dead-set relieved that these holidays will last until late February to early March. Apart from the nervous anticipations of my uni results, everything else is sweet. On that note, I do have the results for one of my subjects already. I guess the faculty was nice enough to release our results prematurely. I got a 69. Funnily enough, this blog post is my 69th. One pass out of four so far.

During the week I got together with my 'band mates' to record a farewell video for our dearest friend Gloria who left this morning for Hong Kong. She'll be there for a month. How sad. What's even more depressing is that she'll be discontinuing her studies at UTS next year. Anyways, the recording process took place at Jasmine's house and in the fields of Woodcroft using my trusty digicam. Our ever-reliable video editor Adrian put in the finishing touches to make it look something else ...

On Wednesday evening I drove to Baulkham Hills and picked up Tim and we were off to Fitness First at Norwest. That evening would be Tim's debut workout. It was fun showing him the ropes. Unfortunately for me, I can no longer bench the same amount of weights I used to when I practically whored the gym during the HSC year. On the bright side, we managed to score a free entry pass for the next time we visit which is great.

On Thursday we officially gave our farewells to Gloria by having a day out in the city, which comprised of Adrian and myself following Gloria and Jasmine around the city while they shopped, and watching 'Four Christmases'. A partially funny movie, but overnall not an enjoyable watch. Bye Gloria !

Here's a band photo !

Anyways there's a bunch of steaks resting on the kitchen bench just waiting to be seared. Bye.

...And All-Done.

First year of university.
Complete.

So what to do with the free time on my hands? I've started by whoring Seasons 5, 6 and 7 of Friends courtesy of Yen. I should have watched these along time ago, but I'm making up for lost time now.

Anyone want to hit up the gym?

...And AMF Allowances Acquired

This morning I had my first exam of four, which was for Marketing Foundations. It's always good to start the exam period with an easy subject since obviously it gives you a larger window to study for the harder subjects. I can now use this whole day, and most of tomorrow to study for my Economics exam at 6pm tomorrow ... (knowing me, I most probably will not take advantage of the time).

So what's with the blog title? I finally received my first payment from AMF Bowling, and it's about time too. I think a gym membership is on the table ...

But yeah ... on the subject of bowling, Jasmine wants to go bowling. That can definitely be arranged, but I believe more priority should be placed on Adrian's christmas party ...

Well that's it for now. See you after Eco !

...And Acceptance Activates Alleviation

*yawn* 3am. Who cares about sleep? Let's blog. It's been a long time coming, and boy do I have nothing constructive to talk about, therefore I'll blabber about my boring life like any other post. But before you read on, I've uploaded new pictures on Flickr. Check them out! http://www.flickr.com/photos/31331028@N06/

The past couple of days have been psychologically absurd for me. I recently watched the 5th installment of the Saw series, and certain images and scenes from that movie continue to stick with me. I shall refrain from talking about certain scenes to prevent any spoilage, but the unfortunate ending haunts me. It's quite frightening to put yourselves into the shoes of these unfortunate prisoners who have to contest for their lives in a harsh and perpetually agonizing environment. I keep placing myself in the shoes of the person in the final trap of Saw 5, and I think to myself "life's a bitch". Apart from the lingering ending, I enjoyed this movie because it was a wonderfully character driven piece rather than a generic gore-fest.

Now onto other things ...

I guess the main aspect of this post is 'acceptance'. Now by using that word, I feel I may have already established a serious tone to this post, but seldom do I ever discuss topics of a meaningful or serious nature, so sorry to disappoint you.

Last week I had a group interview at uni to join the Peer Networking Program, which is basically a program containing current students who's objectives are to assist the new students coming through and helping them adjust to university life. The group interview was really enjoyable, in fact the first task we had to do was to write down qualities or characteristics that describe us, however the qualities had to begin with each letter in our first name. It didn't have to be totally spot-on; a lot of it was about having fun. Here's what I was able to conjure up:

Left-Handed
Exuberant
Open-Minded
New-Things
Active
Responsive
Damaging

After reading out that last quality, the interviewers kept making jokes at me about trying not to break or damage anything until the end of the interview. Anyways a week has passed since the interview and I have finally got an e-mail yesterday informing me that my application got accepted and that I would be a Peer Networker for 2009 which I am stoked about. Some of you may be wondering why I would want to participate in such a program, and there are many factors that influenced my decision. One of the main reasons was to obtain a sense of involvement with the university, and without trying to sound like a Private, I'd like to serve the university that serves me. Throughout my secondary education, I never really took the iniative to involve myself with the extra-curricular activites and programs that the school had on offer, therefore I believe this Peer Networking Program at uni is a great opportunity to start getting myself involved. A lot of self-achievement and satisfaction can be obtained from this program by helping new students, both domestic and international, find their way through tertiary life.

Still on the topic of 'acceptance', I've also got myself a job ... like finally. After giving myself high hopes for Myer, and even higher hopes for the night-fill job at the local grocery store, I got myself a job at an AMF Bowling Center as a Guest Services Attendant. I had my first shift lastnight at 7pm till close and boy was it busy. If it wasn't for my ever so leniant and perseverant supervisor and my asian partner in crime Christian, I would have failed miserably. The customers were also friendly and very comforting which made it much easier. I hope it's like that for every shift.

What else ... ah yes exams.

Marketing - 12/11 - I currently sit on 47% for my overall assessment, however I still need to pass the final exam to adhere to the 40% exam guideline in the subject outline.
Economics - 13/11 - Depending on my results for my media assessment, I can slightly cruise through this final exam, or I may have to go nuts and bolts.
Programming - 21/11 - A mark of at least 40% must be obtained, or else a failure in the course will result, despite results in other assessments.
Web Systems - 25/11 - I have no idea what's going on in web systems. But I think I'll pass.

...And Altered Appearances Actuate and Allure

So it is currently 1 in the morning and I should be acquiring some much needed sleep but I think a blog post is in order. I'm actually in the middle of watching a documentary called 'Some Kind of Monster' which is based on the studio recording experience of Metallica's St. Anger album. Why am I watching it? I have no idea.

I have to wake up later or fairly soon and drive up to Beaumont Hills to check on a few things and then quickly head back to St Marys station and catch a train in time to uni for my Economics lecture. It's been a great 2 week absence from Economics but now its time to return to the lecture in which I'm most likely to fall asleep.

Some few months have passed since the handy acquisition of my Canon Ixus digital camera and within that period I have taken the time to thoroughly familiarize myself with the different settings and modes. In that time I've also taken a lot of pictures however there is no doubt in my mind that I am still a noob and am always experimenting. Regardless, I've recently registered at flickr which is an image hosting site. I've uploaded various photo's in which I've added some cool effects with the aid of photoshop. To be honest, my weekend was comprised of two things: marketing plan and photoshopping. One could say I've whored and abused my photoshop software. Either way, check out my flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/31331028@N06/

In other news it was Tim's birthday recently (8/10) and he was nice enough to perform a bunch of songs for us UTS students at the alumni green. At the same time he was also nice enough to almost get us killed while crossing the streets of Market City, getting in the way of speeding truck driver. Plenty of pictures are on Facebook, so check them out ! Still speaking of the same day, a good return to fitness was endured, doing 5 pushups everytime a fuckup occured in a game of hacky sack.

Just lastly, my web systems lecturer played this video on last Friday's lecture and I found it amazing. Basically it is a video of a math-a-magician acting like a human calculator. Check it out for yourself !

...And Algorithmic Agony Arrives

*/

\run program>/
...

\objective: PROGRAMMING ASSESSMENT #2
...


...

system check ..............................
system UNSTABLE.

*/

...And Another Account Amongst Amigos

It's okay everyone. I am alive. I can't imagine how terribly worried all of you must have been about my where-abouts, but fret no longer for I am still active. But in all seriousness, this blog is back with a different look because sometimes change is for the best ... and besides I was getting sick of the yellow. You feeling me?

Right now I am currently in the middle of Student Vacation which unfortunately goes for a time span of 1 week, unlike those MAC students who get an additional week ... those bastards. I thought there would be a balance of studying and social life, unfortunately the latter has outweighed the former significantly, which is why today I decided to stay home all day and catch up on academic objectives instead of being at the beach. Oh, and to eat ice-cream, people.

These past couple of days have been really great, specifically because of the uni results that have come out. Whilst I was unable to pwn any assessments or exams, I didn't fail any either, which is great for me because I really thought I would have.

Such is life:

Monday: Had the best Monday morning, because as you all should know, I just love being woken up by Jeaneline and Adrian to talk on the phone at 7am in the morning. Keep it up guys. In all seriousness, we had a discussion on what movie we would be watching and what time. We all agreed to watch Wall-E. I opted for an evening time slot, however we had no choice but to watch in the afternoon if Jeaneline was to make it to her mom's birthday dinner.

In the end, due to my lateness, we were heaps late to the movie (half an hour late) so we ended up just bumming at Rouse Hill with Ivan and Lawrence talking about a million things in the deserted food court. Afterwards we crashed Jeaneline's house in Kellyville which is freakin huge. When I pulled up on her driveway, we were like 'damnnnn'. You'd think Mariah Carey lived in that joint.

At around 6 we went back to Rouse Hill to pick up Tim, and then drove back the other way up to Castle Towers to have dinner at Hog's Breath. I should get a prize or some form of recognition for being the only noble person on my table to eat everything on the plate.

Tuesday: Since we were unable to watch Wall-E the day before, Adrian, Jeaneline and myself watched it today. My thoughts of the movie? While I thought it was really original, smart and entertaining, it's not something I'd watch again on my own accord. A good movie none the less. After the movie, we ate some churros because no visit to Rouse Hill is complete without the consumption of these spanish treats.

Afterwards I rushed back to St Marys soccer fields and met up with Jinno and Toby for a game of headache and more.

Wednesday: I made my way to Blacktown Library in the morning to study economics. I anticipated that the library would be packed full of HSC'ers, but to my surprise vacant tables came in plenty. While studying in the quiet room, the girl on my table sneezed right in front of me, so I politely said 'bless you' in a tone that I'm sure could be heard by anyone within 5 metres. I looked at her for a couple of seconds expecting her to say 'thank you', but what do I get? Nothing. She continued on studying as if I didn't say anything. How embarassing for me.

I also ran into Kirill and Angel (who scared the heck out of me) at the computers labs and then eventually met up with Jeaneline to go on an unplanned adventure around the world.

It's amazing how hard it is to find a place to eat. Actually, it's not 'finding' the place that is hard, it's more the process of 'thinking' of a place to eat. After almost a half hour of thinking where to eat, we decided to get a large pizza from the Pizza Hut at Glenwood (good timing too for their lunch special). We took the pizza to the park with the flying fox and talked about a million things.

We then went up to Kellyville to randomly crash Scarlett's place who I had only just met that day. Cheers for the chewy. After that we went joy-riding looking at pretty houses until we finally tried crashing Julienne's place. She wouldn't pick up her phone so we assumed she was uni. We also tried crashing Kevin's place but he was at work. So we went back to Blacktown and picked up Shirley and hung at Westpoint. Cheers for the easy-way ... even though you left your rubbish in my car.

Thursday: Woke up at 10, picked up Adrian and headed off to Jasmine's place for another movie marathon and bike riding. We watched:

• The Devil Wears Prada - Not the best movie out there, but still an enjoyable watch.
• Battle Royale - We watched this for the sake of entertainment despite the fact we had all seen this. Funny moments were spawned, including the 'over-exaggerated death' of one of the girls. Frankly I cannot concur with that observation.
• The Butterfly Effect- I hadn't seen this movie before, so obviously I was in strong agreeance with watching this. I never really thought much of Ashton Kutcher as an actor, but after watching this I like him more. A great movie despite all the questions I was asking throughout.
• Zathura - This was another movie I hadn't seen. It was pretty good overall but not overly spectacular.

We also went bike riding over Woodcroft, going back to the park and through the forest where we found a terrorist sitting on slab of rock discussing some sort of instructions to his leader. And to think I asked him for directions to the M7...

Friday: The one full day I commited myself to uni work and it was boring. The only highlight of my day was getting a call from Yen from work and talking about stuff. Thank you for saving me from going madly insane.

...And Anagrams Are Abounding Again

Okay so half an hour ago I came home from Kirill's place only to discover that Romel has beaten my Word Challenge score just like he promised he would. Credit to him for surpassing me fairly quickly and by surprise. Anyways, I decided to play just one game before calling it a night...



While I may be wasting my life on a facebook game, there's another kind of a game that I'm attached too. It's a game called Taboo which most of you will have already played at a friends house. Basically you are given a card containing a specific word that your team mates must guess by the clues you give them.

We had 5 or so games at Kirill's house and it was great fun, especially when Kirill made reference to that 'industry superfunds' advertisement. Freakish guesses from Toby came in plenty as well. One of the words on the cards was 'Ecaudor' and of all counties to name, he named the right one. Overall I was part of 3 losing teams and only 1 winning team. Oh well.

Apart from facebooking, I have my two mid semester exams this week, including Marketing on Tuesday and Economics on Wednesday. I'm not too fussed about Economics since it's comprised of 35 multiple choice question's only and I'm expecting the questions to be similar to the questions we answer on the weekly online quizzes. The marketing exam on the other hand will be such a drag ...

Anyways Yen set an alarm on my phone and I want to be able to acquire a sufficient amount of sleep before I'm woken by it. Au revoir !

...And Anagrams Are Abounding

How good was the Storm and Broncos game last night? As much as I feel sorry for the Broncos, I am so happy for Melbourne to be one game away from the big one. If it were up to me, I'd want a Melbourne and Manly rematch, however I'd be just as content if the Sharks were to win the grand final. In fact they're yet to win a grand final in over 40 years of existence.

Anyhow, I played a game of Word Challenge during half-time and managed to conjure up this score. I dedicate this score to Jasmine (yeah eat that), however this video goes out to the haters. I only uploaded half of the video because it would have been around about 20 minutes and total and almost 2GB !



Yen killed any form of happiness I gained from this score after blatantly telling me how Jade has over 150k.

...And An Airing #4

New camera. New vlog.



At uni on our way to programming - trying Adrian's epic fail shortcut.



I'd write a blog about the week so far, but Adrian has pretty much summed it up in his blog.

...And Amazing Applications Are Adored

At the moment, Jason is playing Tetris, Lenny is doing Programming, Adrian is being weak and Jasmine is blogging for Lenny. We are in the computer labs, being very happy about Programming because of the united feeling that is "screwed-ness".

But onto better things. Today we all bought cup noodles to eat for lunch at the I.T. lounge. It wasn't very filling so we had to resort to microwaving microwave popcorn. It still didn't suffice. Carribbean. Consumption. Hello Lenny.

Now for a bit of Programming. I will now create a script that will enable Adrian to stop being weak.


import Jasmine's.Strength.*;

public class Homo
{
private double guiltTrip;
private double weakness;
private double tears;

public void gainStrength(double strength)
{
if (guiltTrip < weakness)
gainStrength() = strength;
else
return tears;
}
}

Jasmine out :)


-------------------------
Today during programming time, a guy with a really weird haircut walked in. At the moment we are pigging out on Maltesers and Lenny's fave, Milky Bar. Jason told us he has AIDS, and is lactose intolerant, but is allergic to the malt in Maltesers. ............... But he was lying, as usual. So if he happens to have a random seizure and is squirming on the floor, we'll know what to do.... stand there and watch. :)

Now for some programming:

import awesomely.amazing.Adrian;

public class teamAwesome; //consisting of: Adrian. That is all. (edit: I'M IN IT TOO, I'M AWESOME - Lenny)
{
private boolean racist;
private boolean guiltTrip;
string truth = ("I am trash monster");

if (racist != true)
System.out.println(truth);
else
System.out.println("FUCK THIS PROGRAMMING. I LIKE FAT ARMS :)))) I'm kidding. They're not fat. Just muscles. :)");

}

Adrian out.
End.
kthxbye

...And Aquatic Appetites Answered

I went to the fish market today with the fam-bam. Went to Trixie's place first to pick up my birthday present and then we were off to the fish market in the city. I had never been there before and I wasn't expecting anything special but it was pretty good. I must have ate like 15 baby octupus' and an excessive amount of sashimi plus a whole heap of other unknown sea foods.

After hitting up the markets, I walked around aimlessly in Town Hall looking for potential clothing purchases that I should save for, until eventually heading home. Since there was train trackwork, I had to catch a bus from Granville all the way to St. Mary's. It had been so long since I had caught a bus that when I sat down, I actually tried reaching for a seat belt that wasn't there. And in other news ...

Go the chooks ! After missing the finals series for 3 years in a row, the Roosters have returned to finals football, beating the Dragons 10-0 in an ugly affair at the Sydney Football Stadium. It's also the first time they have kept a team scoreless since 2004 when they thrashed the Tigers 56-0. Now that they've booked 4th spot on the ladder, the Roosters now have a home semi-final against the Broncos next Friday. I'm pumped.

Right, so I am very well aware not every one is a fan of rugby league. If someone talks league, I tend to get carried away therefore I'll stop babbling on here.

What else to talk about? Only a select few of you will care about the following, but the the new Metallica album leaked a couple days ago. The album Death Magnetic is their 9th studio album and the sound steers clear of the atrocity that was St. Anger (their previous album). While I don't enjoy the whole album, there are some songs that are really listenable such as That Was Just Your Life, All Nightmare Long, The Judas Kiss and The Day That Never Comes. Their thrash prowess returns to the mix in this album and so do Kirk's WAH WAH solos.

Oh and Mark, if you are reading this, I am a man of my word, so either keep reading or skip all the way to the end of this blog to find the goodies.

So how's life?

Monday: Woke up earlier than usual to pick Nikki up and go to uni. I went to the library and studied Economics for a while and then met up with Adrian. We killed time doing stuff I have since forgotten, and then I was off to my economics lecture. It's 6 weeks into the semester and I think I can say that its my favorite subject so far. After the lecture, I met with CJ and we were off to our tutorial where she showed me her pro web systems assignment.

Tuesday: A perfect start to the morning, which had me waking up at almost 11. I left the Marketing lecture after 20 minutes to do my own catch-up study on the subject. I eventually made my way to the computer labs where I saw Adrian and Jasmine who had also left early. For the rest of the night up until the tutorial, Adrian and myself played the typing speed application on Facebook. Competitiveness really gets you going.

Wednesday: I resisted the opportunity to have an extended sleep this morning in order to meet Adrian and Jasmine at Westpoint to catch a film. We walked around Westpoint for a while, leading up to me buying a table tennis paddle at Rebel, and then each of us buying lollies for the movie because we are too cool for popcorn. I saw Shirley and Jono at Zero who eventually decided to tag along. The movie we watched was The Strangers which was not bad. It reminded me of the movie Vacancy, but was much better and exciting. That closet scene got me by surprise, and I'm sure it got Jasmine by surprise who was still walking up the stairs returning to her seat during the scene. Funny stuff.

After the movie we headed off to our Programming lecture where we learnt about ... uhmm ... ah yes of course, as usual I have forgotten anything that was even mentioned in the lecture. The only thing I achieved in that lecture was solving all of Jasmine's word jumbles. On the way home, we confronted Adrian about why he takes so long to reply on MSN and the rudeness behind such behavior.

Thursday: I woke up early today to head to Town Hall to attend my Myer group interview session, which to my delight turned out pretty well. I was already switched and confident prior to the interview thanks to Yen's words of wisdom. Believe it or not, it was my first group interview but I had a lot of fun meeting new people despite the fact I'd never see them again. I'm not expecting to make it through the next round, but I've taken a lot out of these recruitment processes.

After the interview I walked randomly throughout the city until I eventually met up with Yen and followed closely in her search of a summer dress. I want an iTouch now.

Friday: Woke up early to attend my Web Systems lecture, however instead of going to the actual lecture, I went straight to my lab to just study the lecture notes. I had my multiple choice quiz and then a bunch of us all went to Pizza Hut for the buffet. Had my programming tutorial and lab at 5pm and then finishing at 7pm.

Saturday: Had nothing to do on Saturday until Jin decided to have a get-together at his place. Didn't get there until 10pm though because I had to teach my mom and her girlfriends' how to play the wii sport games, and then I had to do my weekly economic quiz which wasn't too difficult. I got to Jin's and I played Metal Slug until 2:30 in the morning. 15 minute repetitive boss battles ftw.

Why is Mark Kemp good?
For those of you don't know, Mark and myself held a bet a couple of weeks ago based on the Roosters and Sharks game. Since the Roosters drowned 20-0, it is time to honor our bet.

So why is Mark Kemp so good?

If you ever met this bloke, it would not take long to realize what a legend this guy is. If you're one to judge, you honestly wouldn't imagine him being the person he really is just by his appearance. Once you meet this person, you will be amazed by his intelligence and his knowledge and concern for global matters. Just take a read of his blogs and observe his appreciation for the small things in life. You'd think this guy would one day be Prime Minister. Yet outside this layer of intelligence lies a drunken pothead who studies under the influence and apparently shows up to uni baked.

Rest in peace.

...And Aborning Anniversaries Appreciated

So it's currently Thursday afternoon and my weekly economics quiz results have just been released. In all honesty, the results I retrieve from my economics quiz every Thursday are one of the many determinants of whether the following week will be good or not. I'm sure most of you live off particular results or outcomes that have have an influence on the times or moods that follow. Actually scrap that. I'm known for being weird like that, so I'll just assume it's just me. But getting deeper into this philosophy, I'll give you an example. The chances of me wanting to have a good time this weekend will depend on whether the Roosters win their Friday Night clash with the Rabbits. Or how about this. My mood for the latter half of tomorrow all depends if I finish Chapter 7 of LinuxGym in my Web Systems lab tomorrow. (EDIT: Oh man there's an exam tomorrow)

Sunday: Week 5 of university has been a memorable week so far and I hope it continues to. On Sunday, after dropping Nikki off to work, I watched The Edge of Love with Shirley and Christine. I should have known watching a love story film was always going to happen with these girls. Funnily enough there were only 2 other people in the cinema watching it with us. So what's the verdict? BORING. I forced myself to understand as much as I could though, but I felt the movie never really went anywhere. It really failed to eventuate to something big.

Monday: I left for university earlier than usual. I walked to Goulbourn St and met up with Yen to do lunch in which she stubbornly shouted me. I learned a great deal about etiquette let me tell you that. After a delightful consumption of carbs, I headed off to the Building 10 labs to make further, yet uncessary progress on my LinuxGym e-book. Fellow classmates of mine who do Web Systems with me, you may find the following statement hard to believe, sad, even offensive. Completing those LinuxGym chapters are fun. There I said it. I later had my Economics lecture at 4, followed by a tutorial, and then me heading home at 7pm.

Tuesday: I headed off to university early again to attempt further chapters of LinuxGym. After struggling with Chapter 7, I went back to Chapter 5 and made some progress with assistance from Adrian. We then met up with some friends at the UTS food court where I scabbed some of Jasmine's soaky pasta. After that a bunch of us went to Market City for some reason. Adrian and I arrived halfway through the Marketing Lecture, followed by our tutorial, finishing at 9pm. Our iWatch proposal also got approved which was great. Now that I've brought it up, I still haven't allocated tasks to my group members. I'll get to it eventually.

Wednesday: I'd like to mention that this is one of the more memorable and enjoyable birthdays I've had and I thank everyone who was apart of it. It was a great 19th because my friends wanted to celebrate it, despite the fact that I myself wasn't planning to celebrate. In fact, I was originally going to spend the whole day at the library studying programming. If you seen my recent video blog, I highlighted that I wasn't really keen on celebrating my 19th, however after some encouragement and brainstorming from a bunch of very special programming-jigging friends of mine, we made a day of it.

I started the day by going shopping with Adrian and Jasmine at Rouse Hill Shopping Town Center. It was the first time I saw either of their houses and it seems they are very well accommodated in terms of living. It was a rocky ride finding Jasmine's house, after scanning the wrong part of Woodcroft but we eventually got there. We went to General Pants with each of us spending a considerable amount of times in the change rooms (or maybe it was just me). I ended up buying two plain v-necks for the summer, however I couldn't decide on what colors to pick so I got the trustworthey Jasmine to decide. Afterwards we had a round of churros.

After a very convincing (I think?), yet bollox conversation with Ivan on the phone, we decided to chill at Jasmine's place and watch a movie. We ended up watching Zoolander which I had never seen before. I always used to hear my friends recite lines from this movie and I always wondered what on earth they were going about. This movie is ridiculously funny and all of it makes sense now. Afterwards we watched one episode of Seinfeld and then we headed off to Blacktown Workers Club.

After arriving at Workers, we waited at the gambling section for the first lot of the birthday raffle draws. Those fortunate enough to win would be recipients of $1000. It was a shocking sight watching the winners collect their cash, not because I was disappointed, but because of their reactions to winning. They were inanimate beings showing absolutely zero emotion to winning $1000 each. If it were me who won, I'd be doing headspins over the damn tables.

After more friends of mine arrived at the club, we made our way to the buffet area and commenced our long and filling dinner. When the night hit 9pm, we made our way downstairs for the final birthday raffle draws, however me winning on my birthday was not to be. There's no problems there because I had such a great birthday anyway. When I got home, I replied to 30+ facebook greetings because I am so nice. Thanks to those who were a part of my birthday, and were able to come out for dinner even though it was short notice. Appreciate it. And thank you Shirley for the shirt you high roller. Seriously.

Top: Ivan, Jasmine, Adrian
Bottom: Brent, Nikki, Toby, Tim, Veronica, Salih, Jinno, Lenny, Jono, Shirley.

I would like to say that for those of you are wondering "where was my invite?", everything was a spur of the moment kind of thing with hope that word would eventually get around so don't feel left out !

Until next time, good afternoon, good evening and goodnight.

...And Arguably Asleep, Advantageous, and Astute

For those of you who bother to read or even just drop by my blog once in a blue moon, you'll have noticed the alliterated blog titles I include for every post. A friend from school seems to doubt my ability to conjure up further alliterated titles, believing that I won't last until the end of the year. Little does he know of the genius circulating around this brain. Thesaurus much?

This morning, like every other morning, I slept in because I can, and it feels great. To add further insight to this post's blog title, most people laugh or question my choice to have evening classes for university, though their criticism is mainly limited to the dangers of travelling, followed by no futher arguement. Well for you evening timetable critics, I laugh right back at you. Have fun waking up early. Have fun standing on the train from Central to wherever. Have fun getting home, and instead of studying, you have an afternoon nap that eventually escalates into oversleeping. Have fun arriving at uni, realizing you forgot to bring an item of great importance all because you were in a rush. Have fun catching a later train all because you missed yours by a few seconds. In all honesty, 3/4 of my lectures are stationed in the evening and intervention was impossible. I confidently selected the latest tutorials to simply compliment the timing of my lectures. I would rather have quality study in a single 4-5 hour break, than to study in three lots of 1 hour gaps situated throughout the day.

Right, so the main purpose of this particular blog is to promote my new video blog, but now that I am blogging, I might as well recount my day. Before going to university, I passed by Blacktown and I met up with Adrian and Hilary and her friend whose name I have since forgotten, and we had pizza at the food court. After a great lunch and falsely accusing Hilary of spilling her drink in front of the cleaner, Adrian and I thought a good way to kill time would be to hang out at Blacktown Workers. We were hoping to get the underage Hilary to come inside the RSL, but the customer service staff saw right through our lies, especially when Hilary claimed she was 18, followed by her saying "I forgot my wallet". On the same token, it was me who told them we would only be eating at the buffet, even though we were an hour early until opening. Getting rejected is so awkward, so embarrassing. This situation proves just how important planning is before execution. There's no such thing as a bad plan, it's just a lack of will by man to execute. Unfortunately for us, we had neither.

After a failed attempt to infiltrate the RSL, the three of us sat down in a particular section of Blacktown, which I like to refer as the 'serene' part of Blacktown. After some minutes we met up with Lawrence in some random car park and conversed for a bit, and then it was off to university for my 6pm lecture.

Ok, so below is another attempt at a video blog. Enjoy.

...And Adipose Alimentaries Absorbed

As of today, my university timetable is comprised of 4 days, all of those days concluding past 7pm. On Mondays I finish at 7, Tuesdays at 9, Wednesdays at 8, and as of now, Fridays at 7. Originally on Fridays, I had my Programming classes at 3-5pm, but now I've been voluntarily moved to 5-7pm. Today during my Programming laboratory class, without even thinking, I volunteered to switch to a later class all because one of the other students desperately needed a class within the 3-5pm range. So me, being a nice guy and all, volunteered to take part in the swap at the expense of coming home in time to watch Friday night football. This also means that I have a 5 hour break in the middle of the day, which is a good thing as it warrants for a productive study session in the library. There is a downside though. I can no longer be spoon-fed programming advice by Adrian, meaning my progress in programming will slide downhill dramatically.

In other news, though still uni related, for the first time ever I tried a McDonald's pounder burger. With invasive influence from Tim and the other boys, we all bought pounder burgers and raced to see who could consume their burger the fastest. Eventually it was Jimmy who finished his first, followed by Simon, Gordon, Ivan, myself, Adrian, Tim and then Jason. Never again will I attempt to eat that burger. Maybe.

...And An Accidental Articulation

I realize my blogging activity has been a bit scarce in recent times. Looking back at the first few months of when this blog originally began (January, February, March), I realize how much of an eager beaver I was towards blogging. Most of my posts back then were almost 3 days apart from each other, if not, purely days. I guess the fascination I carried towards blogging back then led to the high volumes of posts. Nowadays my blogging activity has steadily declined from daily posts to simply weekly posts.

The desire to blog is still in existence, though the regularity to carry out those activities has obviously dropped. Time is not an issue, it's just a lack of priority and substance. I have a very routine life at the moment. A typical day of mine would be to sleep in until 10am, study at Blacktown library until 5pm, start uni at 6pm and then repeat the next day. If you put this life of mine into consideration, you really would not see any dimensions of excitement to write about.

So what's new? I added three new blogs to the link section. They are all mates from uni so be sure to check them out when you get the chance. The blogging craze is really catching on despite how Year 8-ish it may seem.

Tim W. - http://moviescriptlife.wordpress.com/
Ivan C. - http://ice-van.blogspot.com/
Adrian C. - http://its-adrian.blogspot.com/

What else? Nothing new on my side. Just living the life of a nocturnal university student. Study by day. Learn by night.

Today was a good day I suppose. I got dropped off at the station midday to catch a train to Blacktown Library and accumulate some much needed study for marketing. When I was on the platform, I noticed what looked like a gothic girl on the opposite platform with her back towards me. When she turned out and looked at me, I realized it was Angel. Sorry friend.

I got to the library and I met up with Jeaneline and Adrian. In my time there, Adrian and I managed to get through a chapter of marketing, though the study was not sufficient as we had to get through an additional two chapters. Nevertheless, the study we achieved was much better than that of Jeaneline who managed to write only one word in her book plus a few random notes aimed at us. Seriously woman. STUDY.

I left Blacktown at 4:50 and headed to univeristy for my 6pm class. After the two-hour lecture (which consisted of Veronica's loudness throughout, plus my row doing the 'pass it on' game) I went to my Marketing Tutorial, which I must say is the most intimidating class I've participated in. My class is full of cadets and interns and everyone seems to be socially, politically and economically aware. Sheesh. After the tutorial I met up with the kids from the west and headed off home.

My day today will be repeated tomorrow, however tomorrow I finish at 8pm instead of 9.
Well that's the end of that boring chapter. Until next time.

...And Academic Anthropical Atavism

Back to school. Back to school, to prove to Dad that I'm not a fool. I got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight. Ohhhh, back to school. Back to school. Back to school. Well, here goes nothing.

I had a great first day back at school. Apart from the excessively cold weather, it was a good return. I got to sleep extensively this morning which is always a pleasure. In fact, I slept from 9pm the previous day through to 9am this morning. My early nap last night was a result from a messed up body clock caused by Nikki's party on Saturday night. Anyways a 12 hour nap combined with not having to be at school until 4pm is a great first day in my book.

I started the day with a mega breakfast comprised of two home made meat pies and strawberry jam toast. Sadly, this would be my last meal in a while, for the rest of the day I consumed just two muesli bars and a pack of chewing gum until my arrival back home at 7:30pm.

My arrival at school was an hour early since I'm not one to take any risks of late embarrassing arrivals. I hate being more than 5 minutes late to church (when I used to go), let alone late to the first lecture of school. Anyways when I approached the hallway to the lecture room, I went from my casual frowny look to an instant smile as I saw all my friends from last semester. A great relief because originally I thought I would be a lone wolf in my economics classes.

After 2 hours of economics, I already feel like I'm going to fail the subject. Apparently its a harder subject then Accounting, but I've got enough experience of school to have an awareness of the correct way to handle this subject.

Thankfully I get to sleep in tomorrow, considering I don't start until 6pm.

...And Actors and Actresses Assessed

So I watched The Dark Knight last night. My desire to watch the movie really took care of itself. You're talking about a movie that surpassed Spider Man 3 at the box office in a million categories, surpassed The Godfather to be the #1 film on imdb.com and currently boasts a 94% on rotten tomatoes. When all these factors come into play, you really have no reason not to watch it, unless of course you're a *bleeping* idiot.

Bale was outstanding as usual. When you have Bale in a film, it's a definite given that the film will kick ass. I also think it's safe to say that Heath Ledger left with a bang, and I'm happy for him and the movie. His performance in terms of creepiness is right up there with Ed Harris in Just Cause and Jack Nicholson in The Shining. Obviously his role warranted a more versatile performance and I'm certain he nailed it. To highlight the passion he incorporates into this character, put it this way. If you were to watch The Dark Knight without knowing the cast and then later find out it was Heath Ledger playing the Joker, you'd think 'no way'.

While I'm on the subject of films, I figured I'd compile a list of my Top 10 films. I must say however that my Top 10 is always changing, so here is the current list. You'll notice that my list is missing foreign flavor, simply because I haven't had the opportunity to see any good foreign films. Either way, I encourage you to watch the accompanying youtube clips to get an insight to the films if you haven't already seen them.

My Top 10 films:

10. The Deer Hunter (1978) - Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep.
A brilliant psychological film that focuses on how the Vietnam War affects the lifestyles of a group of industrial workers and their families. While this is a war movie, the movie emphasizes emotional stability rather than action. I repeat, it is not a shoot-em-up, but more a character driven piece. On initial viewing I thought the pre-war section was quite long, but eventually I realized it was important in establishing the build-up to what would become post-war or the 'result'.

Check out this clip showing 'part of' the Russian Roulette scene. Perhaps the most intense scene of the film.

9. American History X (1998) - Edward Norton, Edward Furlong
With the exception of his small role in The Italian Job, this film was my first exposure to Edward Norton and safe to say, he left me with a great 'second' impression. The film looks at a former neo-nazi skinhead's attempt to prevent his younger brother from going down the same path.

While I have all the respect in the world for Norton, I don't believe his later performances have matched the intensity and passion put into this film. His only other performance that comes close to his role in the film is his role as the alter boy in Primal Fear back in '96. Back on track, the movie provides the audience with a philosophical insight to the world of black and white. If there was one thing I disliked about the movie, it would be the ending, but for all the wrong reasons if you know what I mean.



8. Before Sunrise (1995) / Before Sunset (2004) - Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy
Yes that's right people, I'm a fan of romantic dramas as well. If you don't like it, then you can go to hell. I put these two films together as one because they are basically one whole film if you combine them. Before Sunrise shows how a young man named Jesse (Hawke) meets a young woman (Delpy) in Europe. They end up spending the night together, forming a very special bond, unfortunately they both realize it may be their only night together. Before Sunset is set 9 years later in which the couple meet again on Jesse's book tour of France. Like the first film, this one day may be their only chance together.

The film does a great job of capturing a couple's adventure that has endured an 8 year gap. It shows how strong a couple can stand against the test of time. I must give props to both lead actors and their acting ability since the film features various one-take scenes that durate over 5 minutes. In fact, the average shot length is 10.1 minutes.

Why do I like this movie so much? It's simple. I'm attracted to the characters, to the extent that to this day I still carry hope that they're going to make a 3rd film.



7. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) - Gene Wilder
This film perhaps pretty much sums up my whole childhood. It's been years since I last watched this film, but I remember it as if I watched it only an hour ago. In fact I must have watched it at least 30 times up to now, it's that good. Watching it all those years ago, I was green with envy of those kids that got to be surrounded by all that candy even if it only a film.



6. American Psycho (2000) - Christian Bale, William Dafoe.
While I haven't read the book, and I doubt I ever will, I thoroughly enjoyed this film, particularly Bale's performance. Bale plays a wealthy New York banking executive named Patrick Bateman who secretly carries a psychopathic alter-ego, eventually unveiling this alternate ego upon his co-workers and friends. Bale's talent is clearly evident in this film, with his artificial yet accurate American accent despite being from Wales, as well as his ability to demonstrate different personalities. Defoe is also great as the cop who is investigating whether Bateman was behind the murders or not.

One of my favorite scenes:


5. Police Story (1985) - Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung
This would have to be pinned down as my favorite Jackie Chan film, and its a shame his later movies are unparalled to the genius of this film. Jackie Chan shows us his versaility in this film by not being the lead, but also the director. I'll be honest though, I'm guilty of watching Jackie Chan films for only the action. Police Story however contains a great script, and magnificent acting of a Spielberg or Scorcese standard. The scene where Chan is about to be arrested by his own police force is the single most intense acting I have seen from Chan. The film has been an inspiration for other action movies as well. For example, the scene in Bad Boys II where they drive through the shack village was taken from Police Story.

Check out one of the greatest fight sequences ever. They eventually nick-named this movie 'Glass Story' because of so much glass used.



4. Die Hard (1988) - Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman
Over the decades we have been blessed with many entertaining action flicks, including Predator, Under Siege and Hard Target, but this film definitely takes the cake.



3. Memento (2000) - Guy Pearce, Carrie-Ann Moss
This is the film that truly exposed director Christopher Nolan to the film industry. Since then, he has gone on to direct Batman Begins, The Prestige and The Dark Knight, which most would consider to be as brilliant. Director Nolan was also responsible for the screenplay of this film.

Guy Pearce plays Leonard Shelby, a man suffering from short-term memory loss. Under his condition, he uses notes and tattoos to find out the people who murdered his wife. This movie is confusing upon first viewing. At first I was trying to figure out whether Teddy was a good guy or bad guy, but after a couple more watches, I understand everything now.

For a low budget film, this film truly is fantastic. Original as well.



2. The Cure (1995) - Brad Renfo (R.I.P)
This is another one of those films I watched many times as a kid. The film looks at Dexter, an 11 year old with AIDS who befriends his older and much bigger neighbor Eric. The pair become best friends and go on an adventure to look for a cure for Dexter's illness.

I don't care how much of a man you are when you watch this film. If you don't at least shed a little tear at the end of the film, there's truly something wrong with you.

Here is the first 9 minutes of the film. The whole movie is available on youtube.




... now for my number one film that has always been my number one

...

... number one by a longshot

...

... I based my first ever HSC assessment task on this movie, and I FAILED with a mark of 7/15.

...

... BUT it's still my favorite film of all time.

...

... It is ...

...

...

...

1. Stand By Me (1986) - Jerry O'Connel, River Pheonix (R.I.P)
This film really needs no introduction. I don't care how old it is, you should have at least seen it at one point in your life. If not, shame on you and keep reading.

I first watched this film when I was 3 or 4 years old. I eventually bought the VHS and I still enjoy it on every viewing. Everything about this movie is perfect. Story, casting, acting, heck even the soundtrack is ace. Great performances from such a young bunch of actors including a young Jerry O'Connel, River Pheonix, Keifer Sutherland and John Cusack.

The film centres on a man's reflection of his boyhood, particularly a journey he undertook with 3 other friends in a quest to find a missing body. Within minutes, we are engaged in his reflection as we follow the footsteps from home all the way to the discovery of the missing body. The train dodge scene will go down as one of my favorite scenes in a film.

I've seen this film too many times, enough to be able to recite all dialogue.

Here are the first few minutes of the film.



Thanks for reading ! I encourage you to see these films if you have not already done so.

...And An Assuasive Arrangement

Ok. Let's see.

• Uni starts in a week.
• I have no car until Thursday.
• Wanting to watch The Dark Knight because Bale is God.
• In urgent need of a Programming textbook. Any givers?
• I can no longer write insightful blog posts.

It's 12:30 in the morning and I'm in no mood to write up a long post, so rather I will share with you a list of songs that I found very calming. I could name trillions of songs, but I'll mention the 10 that come to mind.

Final Fantasy X Piano Collection - Besaid Island - A great piece that I underestimated when I first heard it years ago. I only started listening to it again this year, and I realize what great melodies the piece contains.



Final Fantasy X Piano Collection - Via Purifico - I fell in love with this piece on initial listen, enough to attempt to learn a few bars on piano.



Zero 7 - Destiny - I first heard this song one night on Channel V's Night Shift segment back in Year 9. Come to think of it, that was the last time Channel V was ever great. A very calming song with amazing female leads. The video clip is a piece of art too.



Kenny G - By The Time This Night Is Over - Don't hate on this man people. An undeniably talented musician. His 1992 album 'Breathless' is probably the best thing in my house at the moment. Not only that, but he looks hell of a lot like former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman.




Massive Attack - Teardrop - No need for an explanation. You should already know this song.



Mista - Blackberry Molasses - While this same came out while I was still in Kindergarten, I only came across this song a couple years ago, and its slowly risen to become one of my favorites. It features a young Bobby Valentino on lead with very laid back beats. Check it.



Floetry - Getting Late - I don't know how I came across this song, but dammit I'm glad I did. This is real music.



A Tribe Called Quest - Bonita Applebum - Ok most ATCQ songs are calming and have the best laid back beats, but this one takes the cake. Electric Relaxation is probably their most recognized song, but it has nothing on this. Long live the tribe.




Donkey Kong Country - Aquatic Ambience - Before I explain this song, I just want to say that Donkey Kong Country for the Super Nintendo is without a doubt the best game I've ever played. I used to play this game 24/7 with my older sister before I was even in school. As for the song itself, this is the the theme used for water levels. It is just atmospheric and beautiful.



And last but not least...

Agalloch - Falling Snow - To be honest, all Agalloch songs are calming, despite the compelling dark atmosphere that they carry. This song however is the cream of the crop. In the video, 7:27 and onwards is probably the most beautiful tune I have heard in my life. This song is just epic greatness.

...And Accounting Abortive

What up people. Life hasn't changed one bit since the last blog entry. I'm still my inactive jobless self with messy hair.

Ok so uni results came out today. No holding back. All will be revealed.

Managing People and Organisations - Credit - 71%
Accounting for Business - Fail - 35%
Communications for IT - Distinction - 81%
Information Systems - Credit - 69%.

Give it to me.

Meanwhile, I've managed to watch 4 seasons of Entourage in 6 days. Great series. Can't wait until Season 5.

...And Absent-Mindedness Appears

Throughout the weekend I watched the entire first season of 30 Rock. While it's not entirely the most entertaining show, at least not as much as Two and a Half Men or Friends, it still has its moments. I'm currently a few episodes into the second season, and thankfully they are shooting a 3rd season which is scheduled to premiere later in October. I could easily give you many reasons to watch 30 Rock, but realistically I only need two. Number one, Alec Baldwin. Number two, Katrina Bowden. Have a taste of 30 Rock.

Today I unecessarily woke up at 6am to prepare for what I imagined would be a long day in the city. I headed off to uni courtesy of Brent for transport which I am greatful for, especially now that petrol prices are totally bollox, so bollox that I haven't bothered to refill in over 3 weeks. After dropping Nikki off to her marketing exam, Brent and I walked down to Capital Square post office so that I could post off an overdue eBay item.

I then paid a visit to Building 10 to apply for a student ID replacement which I happily received within a matter of seconds upon applying. No more paying extra for public transport now. While I was at Building 10, I retrieved my recently marked Communications assignment, just barely scraping into the High Distinction zone with a mark of 85%.

After getting my assignment, we still had an hour to kill until Nikki finished her exam, so Brent and I played ping-pong at UTS. We played a total of 6 games, the two of us winning 3 each. Eventually Nikki met up with us and then we bought some goods from the bakery and then we finally went off home.

Unfortunately for me, it is at this point where I lost my newly marked assignment I talked about earlier in this blog. I lost it in similar fashion to my mobile phone, where I put it on top of a surface, later leaving it there without realizing. In this case, on our way back to Brents car, I put my assignment on top of his car so that I could have a drink of Apple Juice, and then we left the carpark, forgotting that I had placed my assignment on his car. Right now my assignment is lieing somewhere in Market City carpark.

On the way home we passed by Plumpton shops for a much needed toilet break, and then passed by Det's for a little bit, until Brent finally dropped me home. I used the afternoon to spray paint a pair of yellow shoes that I had lying around to a wearable white-cream color. It's resting as I speak.

Before I end this post, I'd just like point out a music video I stumbled upon on youtube. It is one of the weirdest songs + videos I have ever laid eyes on. It is right up there with Aphex Twin's 'Windowlicker'.



It's a song called 'Tastes Like Kevin Bacon' by a band called 'IWRESTLEDABEARONCE'. They are an experimental grindcore band featuring a female vocalist who has great singing range from piercing screams to hardcore to the singing reminiscent of the girl from Evanescence. I was wtf at 0:17 and and 2:22.

...And Automotive Ammunition Abates

I have a lot of things I want to talk about in this blog entry, but I'm not going to talk about them. Uhmmm ... what? Basically, I say a lot of things that I say I'll do, but I don't end up doing them. Prominent Example. I promised myself this week that I would take it extremely easy on the petrol consumption, but sure enough I've managed to spoil the balance.

Today I spent the whole day with Kevin. He was given a day off work, and I don't even work, so when you add those two terms into the equation, you're given one great day. Our rendezvous was Mounty Westfield since he had to buy a DS Lite, and I had to cash in a cheque from Zinifex shares. Our stay at Mt. Druitt was limited because of my own selfishness, spawned by the absolute emptiness of a cesspool of a shopping center. I decided to quickly visit ShopSmart to see if Irregular Jeans Warehouse was still in business, but disappointingly its operations had ceased. Since Donut King was there, I decided to buy a donut dinosaur. I bought one with green icing. Now when you buy a treat with bright green icing, you expect it to taste out of this world. You expect a surprise. I was definitely surprised. I was surprised as to awful it was. The flavors were an offence to my taste buds. I might as well have ate mangled animal carcus, I can tell you that much. Worst $2.20 I've spent in quite some time.

After sharing my graphic review to the public, we decided to drive up to Blacktown to catch a movie. On the way there, Kevin used his phone to check what screening times were available. I seriously didn't know you could get your phone to do that. What will they think of next? We ended up watching Kung-Fu Panda, which I must say was better than expected. I couldn't imagine anyone else but Jack Black doing the voice of Po. Now that I've seen Kung-Fu Panda, I am now looking forward to Wall-E. Despite how recent it is, it is already #9 on the Top 250 films of imdb.com.

At around 2pm, we decided to drive up to Rouse Hill to get some churros. Since I shouted for the movies, Kevin shouted for the churros. We bought cinnamon churros with caramel dipping sauce which was bloody ownage. After Rouse Hill, we drove up to Kellyville to make a pit stop at Kevin's house so that I could borrow his can of white spray-paint for reasons to extreme to disclose. While I was there, I had a chat with Kevin's parents who I must say are the coolest parents out. They fill you with food and drinks like you've just come back from the Sahara.

After exhausting the capacity of my stomach, we went back to St. Clair where eventually Brent came over and told me about his new high-tech PC setup. Hopefully I'll get to see his new gear tomorrow ... rich bastard. At around 6pm, I picked Ana up and we went to John Paul's house for our youth meeting, which was very vocal and informative. Lots of ideas were exchanged which made for a very constructive meeting. We then had pizza thanks to JP's private chef. If I had my own chef that could cook as good as that, I'd never have to eat out.

...And An All-Round Account

Just jumped fresh out of the shower, therefore I thought I'd write up another blog entry as a way of occupying myself while I wait for my hair to dry. I guess I'll use this blog as a way of summarising events that occured in the past 72 hours ... not that there's really anything exciting to recount on.

Last week was Det's 18th - while a great party it turned out to be, at the same time it was also a reunion for the St Marys people. I managed to enjoyed myself even though I was sitting in front of the outdoor heater playing with fire and blocks of coal for the majority of the evening. Apologies to Salih for immaturely pulling back his chair, resulting in him falling. The damage was returned when he pushed me and I broke one of Det's chairs.

On Tuesday I drove up to Parramatta to look for a certain pair of Lacoste shoes at Zero, but unfortunately they didn't have my size, so instead I drove back to Blacktown and bought it from the Zero there. I don't know why I didn't just buy it there in the first place. Later that day I went to Blacktown Workers Club with Shirley to play a much needed table tennis match. She completely dominated me. *eye rolling*. But yes, I intend on making an impact at the UTS ping-pong tables once the Spring semester commences. Using my membership card, I was able to get free drinks off the vending machines located on the gambling floor. The membership actually permits you to receive three free drinks per day. I opted for 3 hot chocolates.

Last night was the decider of the State of Origin series. I feel very sorry for Danny Buderus who was playing his final game for the blues. Not entirely the best way to leave the arena, but I'm sure his career will continue to blossom over in Englad. Like he said, there really wasn't much between the two sides, only the brilliance of Johnathan Thurston in the final quarter.

Today was a great day weather-wise. Actually, the whole week has delivered us great weather. Cold and sunny is the way I like it. Had a morning session of kicks with St. Clair boys and then a short game of 2 on 2 soccer, and then hung out at Jinno's after. Later in the evening I caught the train to Parra to meet up with Shirley, Veronica and Carmen to go shopping. In the end, everyone bought a piece of clothing except me. The only thing my money went to towards was dinner at Pho Pasteur, which is my 3rd dining there in as many weeks. I decided to order combination vegetable with beef and rice noodles. If it wasn't for the high amounts of sauce they put, the meal would have been good, but instead I was left with a soggy plate. On the bright side, I saw Michelle eating there as well, whom I haven't seen in a long time.

Tomorrow I believe I am hanging out with Kevin at Mounty County and maybe catch a movie. Feel free to invite yourself if you're reading. If not then I guess I can start watching the 30 Rock seasons I got from Jinno. Katrina Bowden = WIN.


Well my hair is dry so I guess its time for bed.

...And An All-Day Adventure

Misinterpretation is a funny thing. Not long ago, my ears were victim to a piercingly loud television set located in the other room that happened to be airing the Filipino Channel. My mother was watching a particular program belonging to the drama genre and I could clearly hear a girl crying, if not, a moaning sound of some sort. From where I was (my room), it sounded like a porno. You'd think the same. I 'almost' wanted to investigate.

Today I visited a couple of places, though not by choice. My mother recently took a months absence of leave from work. Considering the amount of free time she currently has, you could imagine her desire to visit many places. Due to her incapability to operate an automobile, I was forced to transport her to these places.

Our first destination was a certain solicitor's office in Parramatta. While my mother was at her appointment, I decided to drive nearby to Westfield and search for potential clothing purchases. My search wasn't too expansive, for I only visited Myer and David Jones. I eventually came across a sweet pair of Lost Highway skinny jeans in an acid grey color. Hopefully that size 30 will still be there when I return.

Next destination was Rouse Hill Town Center. It's always a delight visiting this place, though the concept of an out-door shopping environment finally displayed its disadvantages thanks to the extreme winds circling about. We didn't spend too much time here, in fact the only reason we visited Rouse Hill was so I could buy me a pack of churros. I got so greedy, I bought myself two lots of them.


When you dip these babies in chocolate, it tastes too damn good. I'm glad to see a cafe in Sydney that focuses on these Spanish treats. The people that work at this cafe are a friendly bunch too. I remember many months ago, I bought myself a pack of churros and ice-cream covered with hundreds and thousands. When the lady walked over to hand me my food, she wittingly asked "are you the little baby who ordered this"?

Our next destination was Windsor. My mother wanted to visit my old man at his work to give him some documents that required his signature. I didn't mind driving all the way to Windsor because not only would I be able to drive by the pretty houses in Windsor Downs, but for the first time I'd be seeing where my dad works. Finding his work was annoyingly difficult which consisted of extremely slow driving and unclear directions over the phone. I eventually dropped my mother off while I devoured the churros I had bought from Rouse Hill.

The final destination was actually the place I currently reside. St. Clair yo. I had to visit the Post Office to post out some shirts I had sold on eBay. You know what they say; there's no harm selling a bunch of shirts that have become obsolete to you. Okay fine, I don't actually know anyone who says that, but I think you see where I'm coming from.

Well I'm going to log off now, but before that I'd just like to say Happy Birthday Det !

...And An Analysis Around Action

Thought I'd use this bright and sunny Tuesday morning to publish a blog entry, especially with this blog encompassing such a desolate atmosphere (for my standards anyway). I spent the weekend at my sisters place in the city while she and her boyfriend were on holidays in Mauritius and Seychelles. While I was making myself home in their apartment, I managed to raid their DVD collection. Unfortunately I didn't have the time to watch them all, but I managed to watch a select few. One of those movies watched was the original Die Hard made in 1988, also the first movie I intentionally browsed for. This was probably the 20th time watching this fabulous gem.

I'm going to use this opportunity to discuss the Die Hard movies through the comparing and constrasting of several areas. I must warn you; spoilers may be contained in the following paragraphs.

There are currently 4 Die Hard movies:

• Die Hard
• Die Hard 2: Die Harder
• Die Hard: With a Veangeance
• Die Hard 4.0

These are the Die Hard movies in order of personal favoritism:

1. Die Hard (by a long stretch)
2. Die Hard 4.0
3. Die Hard: With a Veangeance
4. Die Hard 2: Die Harder
   

Evidence of the first Die Hard's superiority lies simply in personal observation in that other 3 movies don't come anywhere close. Don't get me wrong, I love the 3 Die Hard movies that proceed the first one, but they fall short of the standard set by John McTiernan and his team in 1988.

Die Hard is most definitely unmatched in terms of action, dialogue and characters and is a movie that set the benchmark for many proceeding action movies even up to now. Die Hard has been one of the most influential action movies and is up there with The Matrix and T2.

For those of you who have not seen the movie (and if there are, please watch immediately), the story is simple. Detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) visits Nakatomi Plaza on Christmas day to visit his wife, however their Christmas celebrations don't go to fruition, as the building is eventually taken over by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) and his men. While everyone is held hostage, McClane happens to escape to one of the building's higher floors as he attempts to figure out what is going on. From then on, it's non-stop action as its McClane vs Hans + 20 terrorists.

The one important characteristic this movie had over the other Die Hard movies was the fluidity of chemistry among characters. It was easy for the audience to attach themselves to characters on both sides of the spectrum, including both the good guys and the terrorists. I thoroughly enjoyed the inclusion of McClane's limosuine driver young Argyle who delivers a humorous dimension. Then there's the 2 terrorist brothers Tony and Karl who have a very sharp rivalry, not to mention the main villain Hans Gruber, who delivers a strikingly elegant performance.

One set of characters I thought were the heart and soul of this film was the blind relationship between McClane and Sgt. Al Powell that durates through the entire movie - a great example of trust and loyalty. Without even knowing each other before hand, McClane must communicate with Powell who is on the outside via walkie-talkie. The difficult part is on Powell. Since he is communicating to McClane through radio, he cannot see what McClane looks like, therefore he must make the decision whether to believe that McClane is really who he says he, or a terrorist himself. When these two character's finally see each other face to face in the end, it's a chilling feeling. Throughout the movie, you can really observe how the communication on the radio between these two characters really changed each other. McClane realized how important his wife was, and Powell was able to overcome his personal demons of shooting by saving McClane's life in the end.

Action sequences is another area in this movie that dominates the other films. Most of the action is basically an exchange of muzzle flash, therefore it's not as expansive as the 3rd and 4th Die Hard films. What makes the action in this movie just as good is the the manner of execution. Every action scene is direct and straight to the point - no scenes are carried out overly long which can be frustrating for some. No one wants to see an exchange of pointless fire for 20 minutes.

Now I'm not trying to establish myself as a fanboy. Far from that. This is definitely not the best action movie I've seen, but is one that should be recognized and commended. The film is currently #122 on imdb.com's Top 250 movies, and is also 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. Don't use these statistics though, judge it for yourself.

Die Hard 2 was a major disappointment, perhaps the worst of the trilogy. It was always going to be a challenge for this film to live up to the standards set by the previous film, especially with a new director and all. On the same token, the movie is not bad. The movie is basically about terrorists siezing control of an airport and threatening to cause plane crashes if the authorities fail to meet their demands.

Unfortunately the characters that McClane communicates with do not seem to be equipped with the same chemistry shown in the first movie, resulting in one-dimensional characters that are flat and ordinary, leaving the viewer not even caring about anyone else but McClane. I thoroughly liked the airport shootout between McClane and the airport terrorists. I was susprised to see Robert Patrick being cast as one of the terrorists. For those of you who don't know, Robert Patrick played T-1000 in Terminator 2. Another great action scene was McClane vs a bunch of terrorists on snow mobiles. The frantic blizzard-like weather made it very suspenseful.

Overall this movie has failed to incorporate the substances of the first movie that made it work. Instead we have a film with appalling dialogue and rushed direction. If you're simply watching this for the action, disregarding any form of directional art, then you will not be disappointed, but even on those terms, the action is still lacking. Just watch the ending, and you'll see what I mean. A lot of missed opportunities on this film.

Die Hard 3 would have to be my second favorite movie of the series. This would be the reunion of Bruce Willis and Samuel L Jackson, only one year after their appearances together in Pulp Fiction. The duo would then go on to star in Unbreakable in 2002. The story in this movie is about a guy named Simon who deliberately calls for John McClane to play a game called 'Simon Says'. For each task that McClane fails to complete, Simon will blow off a bomb hidden somehwere in the city. Throughout this game, McClane teams up with Zeus to run all over New York City completing these deadly tasks.

The action here is definitely more expansive than the first movie containing car chases, bomb defusals, lateral riddle solving all over New York City. I liked the part where McClane and Zeus takes a detour through the park endangering the lives of many civillians. Why do I find that funny? I don't know. There's even a part where McClane is up against a gang of Harlem brovaz' on the street. This whole journey of trickery and deceit during the Simon Says segments make for an interesting build-up to the ending.

Another characteristic that makes a return is the relationships among characters. The connection established between McClane and Simon is much more prominent than the villain relationships established in other Die Hard films. While they are fighting on opposite sides of the law, we see glimpses of friendship and the sharing of laughter, showing that villains can still have charm over malevolance. I really wish the female villain they casted had a more dominant role. A female villain is something we haven't seen in the two previous Die Hard films, therefore expanding her role would have given the film another original edge.

While the ending of Die Hard 2 was atrocious in its own right, the ending of Die Hard 3 is no better. There was definitely the opportunity for the directors to incorporate some sort of action-packed sequence, but what we've been left with is a lacklustre filler sequence. If you've seen this on DVD, you'll have noticed the alternate ending they put on there. I really wish they had used that ending instead. It would have made it the best ending out of all the Die Hard films.

Die Hard 4.0 is the first film of the series to utilize the services of several high-profile actors including Justin Long, Timothy Olyphant and Maggie Q. The movie also broke a 12 year gap between the last Die Hard movie made back in 1995. If I had to give an award to the Die Hard movie with the best plot, this movie would receive it without question. In this film, John McClane must fight a group of terrorists who carry out their operations in a more unorthdoxed manner. McClane and Matt Farrell team up to stop a group of internet-based terrorists slowly shutting down the United States.

The action sequences featured are very gripping and entertaining, leaving the audience excited and hungry for more. A lot of original ideas were implemented, including the helicopter chase and the tunnel blackout. This movie comes extremely close to matching the superiority of the Die Hard, but its inconsistency brought it down in the end. The scene where John is up against the air fighter near the end was a really dragging scene, heck the movie would have been better without it. In fact, this scene runs longer than the actual ending itself. There were also stupid segments thrown in, such as McClane driving a car up a toll booth into a helicopter, and McClane shooting himself in the end which in turn killed the villain. All these little things did not help the movie's cause.

I was disappointed in Olyphant's performance as the villain. In fact, he would have to be the worst villain of the series. He just seemed like another lonely hacker, not carrying any qualities of a terrorist group leader. No hints of evil in him whatsoever. McClane even managed to make him crack after the death of Maggie Q's character. Pathetic.

Overall
The Die Hard movies have a nack for containing really short endings. Obviously one's ending has to be really significant and memorable, for its one of the segments that really dominates the audience's overall impression of the movie, unless of course the director wanted to make an ending open to view interpretation, but even then that's a pain the ass.

While all the Die Hard endings were short, I feel the ending of the first Die Hard was the ending that made the most of its screen time. The way McClane killed the last 2 terrorists with only 2 shots was intense.

Overall, I think I've made it fairly clear as to why the first Die Hard will always be superior to the other films. It simply contains the whole package executed at a higher level - acting, action, character development and humor.