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May 3, Mon
+ Big Mess For A Little Incident
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09:53 PM
It's official now; I'm transferring to UCSD this fall. I didn't get accepted to UCLA. Oh well, I'm not too upset over that though, because now I don't have to make a decision on which school to go to. Anyway, I've already accepted UCSD's offer, and now I've tons of paperwork I need to do.
I talked to my family and one of my friend back home last night. Talking to them every once a while really helps remind me of exactly what I'm doing here and all my old perspectives -- the way I used to look at friends and people and life in general. It's also a good motivation for me. Anyway, I'm really excited about going back to visit this summer. I'll be spending more than two months there from mid June to late August. I still need to get the flight tickets though.
Today was another happiest day of this semester. We've gotten our last Calculus exam back, and guess what! I got a 101%!! Yes, I DID! I got a 99% on the exam but I got 2 points on the take home extra credit part. I just couldn't believe it. I was the highest in the class. The teacher was kinda easy on grading though, at least on my paper. Well, I'm just happy and excited. Now I've an average of 92% in that class, and if I keep up the good work and don't screw up then I'll be able to get an A out of it. Stephen is driving me nut. I'm trying to take him off my mind and stop myself from liking him anymore, but then he just kept being nicer and nicer to me. What the heck is he trying to do? Is it like I'm not tortured enough!? Of course he doesn't know I've a huge crush on him, but still!!
Well, there was this little incident this weekend. Someone has somehow obtained the password to my Hotmail and Yahoo accounts, and changed my passwords and the secret questions, so I had no way to login again. I've managed to retrieve my Hotmail account, but I'm not gonna get my Yahoo account back 'cause I hardly use it anyway. After a bit investigation, this whole thing turned into a big mess with some other people I don't even know involved. The complete details are in the extended part of this entry.
That psycho guy with the screenname PaperPlateOrgy who has stolen my accounts was brave enough to IM me tonight and told me that he did it. He said his name was Shawn, and that it was his friend Zac told him to do that, and Zac's screenname LoveIs2Beauty was the same one of that guy who talked shit to me on AIM last weekend. He even gave me these two Live Journals and said they were his and Zac's, then he went offline. So I went to Shawn's LJ, and found his real screenname and added him, and started asking him questions. He was as shocked as I was, and I told him about the whole deal. Of course it turned out PaperPlateOrgy wasn't really Shawn, and that was when the REAL Shawn I just added told me that his friend Zac's LJ and screenname have been stolen last week. That explains the entries on there and the weird IM messages he sent out to me. That also mean that the guy who stole Zac's LJ and his screenname to send me shit and that psycho PaperPlateOrgy who stole my email account was the same person!! This is great, isn't it? I don't even know Zac or Shawn nor have I heard of them for that matter, and I somehow got involved into this whole thing. Well, it got better though. Later tonight I got an angry message from this girl named Kate asking me to explain the entry on Zac's LJ and she's Zac's best friend. So I told her the whole thing and now she said she's gonna talk to Zac and figure out the whole thing and let me know. Crazy, isn't it? Get a life, psycho! How could someone has so much time online to stalk people and create drama! I'll keep you guys up to date with this whole mess.
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May 6, Thu
+ Successful Presentation
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01:52 PM
This week has been crazy. I was so busy with schoolwork it wasn't even funny. In fact, I just finished a presentation for English 2. It went really well, and my class and the teacher like it alot. Well, they better! I stayed up 'til 5am to work on it this morning. Okay, that was mostly my fault 'cause I'm such a procrastinator and I never get anything done until the last minute, then realize that the work actually take way longer to finish. Our group did our presentation on how American culture influences other cultures more specifically Asian cultures. I set up a PowerPoint slideshow with various posters and advertisements, and also some Japanese commercials that feature our governor Arnold. They were funny too and my class laughed so hard. A HUGE THANKS to Jenny, who helped me find most of the slides and videos. My other 2 groupmates also brought in some video clips, so our presentation was pretty resourceful and fun. My class was really responsive and actively participated in the presentation too, which just made things that much easier. Well, I'm just glad I got it done and over with.
I bought the Peter Pan DVD on Tuesday right when it came out. LOL Yeah, I'm a little kid at heart, not to mention Peter Pan has always been my favorite kid story since I was young. I didn't see it in theater when it first came out, so I just need to get the DVD. The thing is I was so freakin' occupied with schoolwork that I haven't even had a chance to watch it yet, but I think I'll definitely watch it tonight.
A HUGE THANKS TO MIKE for this incredibly cool fansign featuring my favorite Yellowcard! The fansign below is resized to fit in my blog, so go check out the full size version in my fansigns page under the portfolio section.
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May 8, Sat
+ Peter Pan and Elephant
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06:34 PM
I finally watched the Peter Pan DVD on Thursday night. My roommates Vladi and Eli both didn't like it cause it's somewhat childish and corny, but I like it. It wasn't what I expected it to be, but it was good nonetheless. I respected how they stayed true to the original Peter Pan story. I think with that movie you can't really watch it with an expectation that it's gonna be another Pirates of the Caribbean like kid-story-turns-adult-movie. If you go in expecting nothing more than a little kid movie, then you'll be amazed by it. I agree, the storyline feels a bit unorganized, the actings aren't Hollywood level, and the special effects certainly aren't super, but just the pureness of the story alone is enough to make me forget about the faults and enjoy the movie with a child's attitude.
Elephant was another DVD I've seen in these past 2 days. I rented it with a high anticipation and the movie turned out to be a little disappointment for me. However, I somehow couldn't take it off my mind, and the movie kept me thinking for so long. And I came to like the movie a lot more than I would've been. For those who're not familiar with this new independent film. Here's a bit background information. This film's director Gus Van Sant is famous for directing My Private Idaho, Good Will Hunting, and Finding Forrester. This is the second independent film he has made since he decided to say goodbye to making Hollywood main stream movies. Elephant is inspired by the Columbine school-shooting incident, even though no clear statement is made from the movie nor the director himself. The movie was shot in Portland, Oregon with real highschool kids from that area as well. The plot in general is slow pacing and yet keep you on the edge 'cause you know something bad is going to happen but you've no idea when and how. Unlike most main stream movies nowadays, Gus didn't tell the audiences what to think or simply giving them an explanation, instead, he put in several possibilities and let the audiences decide. After all, life itself usually doesn't have one clear explanation. People are left thinking about the movie long after it's finished. Well, it might be boring to some people, but it's the message that's important, not the media that the message sent through.
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May 10, Mon
+ Texas Chainsaw Massacre
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12:47 AM
I rented Texas Chainsaw Massacre last night. Texas Chainsaw Massacre was so gory. Seriously, I don't really like it much. I mean, I like scary movies, but not this kind. I like psychological thrillers more than these never-die-monster running around killing people types of scary movies. Anyway, I've also rented The Laramie Project last night. It was originally a play about the Matthew Shepard incident, and HBO made it into a documentary-type film. I've actually seen it before but since I got a DVD-burner now, so I decided to rent it again so I can burn myself a copy. Seriously, I cried everytime I watched that film. I just can't stand the fact that such a thing could actually happen.
Anyway, This was basically my weekend. I didn't get any homework done. I've a feeling that I'm going to be working my ass off this coming week, 'cause I've a Calculus exam on Wednesday, a program for Java Programming due Wednesday also, and a research paper rough draft for English due Thursday. Why didn't I do anything this weekend? Because I'm lazy and I wasn't in the mood of doing homework, wait... not just homework; I wasn't in the mood of doing anything at all.
Last night I was talking to Stephen and he was telling me about how well his dates went with this girl he met online a while ago. The girl actually spent a night at his place Friday night, and I was like... "so did you guys do anything?" and he was like "dude, of course not, we just met not too long ago, and it's not all about sex." Ya, like I don't know. When you like someone and really clicked with them, you just wanna be with them. As long as you guys are together, you're happy. Well, too bad he doesn't know that's exactly how I feel towards him. Oh well, this is life. Anyway, I met this cool guy named Brian on Downelink several days ago. He's going to UCSD right now, which is where I'll be going this Fall. I've been talking to him this weekend and he seemed like a cool guy. He said he might be looking for roommate after the summer so I might be able to move in with him. Anyway, I've bought the flight tickets for Hong Kong already. I'll be leaving from San Jose on June 11th, and I won't be back to the U.S. until August 22nd. The tickets cost me like $1100!! Crazy, isn't it? And it was like one of the cheapest I could find. I better hurry up and get all the paperwork done before I leave. I've like a little more than a month to get them all done.
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May 12, Wed
+ A Few Bizarre Days
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02:18 AM
These several days are kinda bizarre. My sleeping pattern has been so messed up that I stayed up 'til 3/4-ish every night and waking up at around 1/2-ish every afternoon. It just started like last Thursday and lasted all through the weekend. Then Monday night I was up 'til 4am talking to my friend Leo in Hong Kong. My English class being canceled the next day just didn't help but made it worse since I gotta sleep in. Well, I hope that I'll be able to get my sleeping pattern straight again soon! In addition, I've so many paperwork for transferring to UCSD and school work that it's just overwhelming. But then again, I'm such a worrywart that I think I'm the one who's constantly giving myself unnecessary stress.
Anyway, this Saturday is UCSD's Transfer Admit Day, where they'll give transfer students all the information and stuff. It's kinda like an orientation for transfer students or something like that. I know that you should at least go check out the campus and the area before you go to a university, but at first I wasn't planning on going at all 'cause I had no idea how would I get down there, and even if I could I had no where to stay and I didn't wanna stay at a hotel... there were just too much hassles that I rather just miss the Admit Day. Then I started talking to Brian, who's currently attending UCSD and living in an apartment near the school, and he said I can crash at his place for the weekend and taught me how to take the Greyhound to get down there. So, now my hope is up again, and I'll be going down there this weekend to check out the school and the area. A HUGE thank to Brian for making this happen! Stupid Greyhound is expensive though. It cost me $116 for the round trip tickets. Of course it's still way cheaper than flying down there, but at first I was expecting something around $60-80, not to mention it's gonna take me 14 hours for each trip. Don't get me wrong, I'm still grateful and happy that I gotta go down there for the weekend.
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May 13, Thu
+ Leaving for San Diego
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03:41 PM
I'll be leaving for San Diego for the weekend tonight. I've been packing since I came back from my class this morning. But then I'm just gonna be there for the weekend only, so there isn't very much to pack. My bus leaves downtown Santa Cruz at 9:05pm and I need to get there at least an hour early to check in and get my tickets. I think I'll leave at around 6pm, so it won't be too rush and I'll still have some time to go Borders and pick up a magazine or two for the long trip. Even though my bus leaves tonight, I won't get to San Diego until 10:30am tomorrow morning (that reminds me, I better pack my pillow also). The other thing is I need to make 2 connections. One in Salinas at 11:30pm and another one in Los Angeles at 8am. That's what worried me. But I don't think it will be that bad. Hopefully it's as easy as changing flights, if not easier. I can always ask people too, so ya, I should be fine. This should be quite an adventure for me. I've only taken the Greyhound once before to go to San Francisco, and that was like a 2 hour trip only and I was with another friend. This time it's the real deal; I'm taking a 14 hour trip all by myself! Wish me luck, guys! I don't know what the situation would be down there, so in case I don't have a chance to get online over the weekend, I'll post again when I come back on Monday.
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May 17, Mon
+ Weekend in San Diego
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11:43 PM
Hey guys, I'm back. Just want to let you guys know that my trip went well and I'm not dead. LOL. Well, it was quite an adventure. I got to downtown San Diego on Friday morning, hung around downtown for a little bit and then went to La Jolla with Brian. I love the city dearly. San Diego is like my favorite city in America now besides Seattle. San Francisco is too business like, and Los Angeles is kinda... ghetto, not to offense anyone. San Diego is just perfect. The city is nice and relaxing and the people are friendly there. They even have a huge mall right in downtown. I don't know, it just left me with a great impression. Friday night Brian and I went to watch Troy. It was an awesome movie! I've been anticipating it since last Christmas when I first saw its trailer.
I went to that Transfer Admit Day thing at UCSD on Saturday. The campus is really (and I mean REALLY) nice. I would definitely love going to school there. One of the events during the Admit Day was an Information Fair thing, where all the organizations and clubs set up tables with all their information and stuff. There was this table for the LGBTQI Assoication. I walked by so many times and I still couldn't get the gut to walk up to the table... I'm kinda ashamed of myself for that. I mean, it basically saying that I'm still not comfortable about my own sexuality. How am I gonna expect other people to accept me if I can't even accept myself? I don't know. But I'm sure I'll join the association once I get there though. I've promised myself that. I've also checked out the whole La Jolla area, which is really nice since many things like malls, shopping centers, movie theaters are really close by. I'm really excited about and looking forward to living down there this coming Fall.
Then that very same night I got a phone call from my parents back in Hong Kong. My dad was asking about the scholarships I've applied back in last semester. They made it sound like they won't have enough money for me to come back for university next year. I mean, I've worked my ass off just for this, to get in university and get a degree. I mean, that's what the past three and a half years are all about, and now my parents are telling me they might not have enough money. I don't know, like they didn't come straight out and said it, they just kinda implied it, but I hope I was wrong. My dad said we'll talk about it this summer when I get home. I don't know, I worked so hard for this, to get in a good university and such. I think if nothing works out, I'll just have to get student loans and such. I really can't just give this all away.
Sunday we just stayed at Brian's apartment and watched Queer As Folk. Because Brian has the first two seasons and I have only seen a couple episodes here and there before, so we decided to watch it all from the beginning. At first I don't really like it 'cause it kinda reinforcing the negative stereotypes people have on gay people, like how they portray gay people as all slutty and shit. But then again, it's like the first TV series ever to focus on gay people, so I just try to watch it without judging it! It's a great piece of entertainment. We didn't finish them, but Brian let me borrow them so a BIG thanks go to him!
I left San Diego on Sunday night and just get back this early morning at 9:00am. I was suppose to go to my Calculus class but I skipped it, 'cause I didn't really sleep much at all on the bus last night, so I was really tired. Plus I've a research paper due tomorrow for English, so I really need the enery to do it tonight!
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May 20, Thu
+ $300 Scholarship
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08:04 PM
Good news! Last semester I've applied for some scholarships at my school, and I found out that I've gotten one of them. I've been selected as the recipient of The Shirley Family Endowed Scholarship in the amount of $300. LOL, I know, $300 isn't much, especially comparing to what I'll have to pay next year at UCSD, but it's better than nothing! I'm really proud of myself. Seriously, I've never thought that I would even get any of them, especially since I'm an international student, I thought they would rather give it to people who are actually from the U.S. you know. Well, I wish they would've given me more money though. (Okay, I need to stop being greedy!! :p) Anyway, they've this little ceremony thing tomorrow at 4pm that I need to attend, and I actually get to meet the people who gave me the scholarship, so I guess it should be fun. I've also won second prize in the Cabrillo College Writing Awards. You guys remember the Legalizing Same Sex Marriage research paper I wrote for English 1A last semester. My professor asked me to submit my paper but I've never thought that I would even have a chance. Anyway, the award would be handed out at the same ceremony tomorrow.
I got a haircut today, 'cause my hair was getting really long. Well, let just say that the hair-stylist cut my hair way shorter than what I've intented. Oh well, it's still good nevertheless. My roommates said I look ALOT younger now. They said I look like a 13-15 year old. I'll try to put up a couple cam pics maybe this weekend, but I'm not promising anything, since I hate taking pictures of my ugly ass self. I've been watching Queer As Folk these past few days. I'm all the way up to episode 11th now, and I must say, the plot is indeed getting better, WAY better!
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May 22, Sat
+ Topless Cam
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07:26 PM
I was talking to my mom on Thursday night about the whole financial thing, but she reassured me that things will work out. I really hope so, 'cause I really wanna go to UCSD. I work way too hard for this to just give it up. I might've to pay back for the loans 'til I die but I don't care. Anyway, in our conversation she slipped the fact that she was hurt. I was like... "what did you just say?" (of course not in English, since my parents aren't that good in English) And the truth came out. Okay, there was this bookshelf hanging on the wall above my parents' bed in their room. About three weeks ago, in an afternoon when my mom was taking a nap, the whole bookshelf fell down on my mom. She went to the doctor and taken x-ray. They said it wasn't anything serious and just gave my mom some pain-killers and sent her home. I really hope they were right, but my mom said that her body is still hurt and sore occasionally. She has been on and off work for the last couple weeks. I was so mad. It was three weeks ago and no one bother to tell me! My mom said they didn't want me to worry, but still, that's not an acceptable excuse! I'll be home in three weeks, so I'll be able to take care of her.
Anyway, that scholarship and award ceremony yesterday was so boring and unorganized. Oh well, it's just a community college, what do you expect? It sure did waste half of my day though. The only reason I stayed through the whole thing was for the reception afterward, which had lots of food. My roommate, Brandon was there too. Not to support me, but for the food. When we were about to leave, there was this girl whose car had a flat-tire, so we helped her to change the tire. Well, I've no idea how to change one, so Brandon was the one who did the whole thing; I just stood on the side holding the tires for him. LOL After we got home, me and Vladi went to Costco to get some grocery 'cause we bascially had nothing. I got a whole box of oranges, some stir-fly packages and potstickers. I don't wanna get too much 'cause I only have like three weeks left before I go home. I also got the Miracle DVD. Vladi made me do it; he talked me into gettin' it. Ok, that was only half the truth. I wanted to watch it when it first came out in theater but never got a chance, so I bought the DVD instead, since according to Vladi, it was supposed to be really good. Oh well, we watched it last night. It was good indeed, but not too impressive. I like it, but it'll not be on my top-ten list. Even though it's from the same studio who made Remember the Titans, I found Remember the Titans to be a more enjoyable and a better movie overall.
I've a take-home exam for Calculus and a final program project for Java Programming that are due Wednesday, but instead of doing any of them today, I just sat around all day feeling bored. Well, because I was bored I took some pictures of my new haircut and my naked self. LOL You wish!! Just topless and nothing R-rated! I don't wanna scare my blog-readers away yet. So go check them out in my cam section if you dare. :D
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May 24, Mon
+ Last Week of Lectures
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11:19 PM
I was so surprised when my Calculus instructor told us that our final exam will be on next Friday. I knew that we only have a few weeks of school left but I wasn't aware that it was that close. This week is basically the last week of lectures, and next week is finals week, and I'll be done with my A.A. Can you believe that? Anyway, I still have to finish this take home exam for Calculus, which is due Wednesday. I started working on it last night, and Stephen was helping me online through AIM last night. I think I got it down pretty much. I just need to write it out and such. We're gonna meet again at school tomorrow to make sure we got everything right. I'm not too worry about it. However, I'm worry about my final project for Java Programming though, which is due Wednesday also. And I haven't even started it yet. I know that my procrastination will get me in trouble someday. Hopefully I'll be able to get it done tomorrow. I also have 20 more pages journal entries needed to be finished by this week for English. Last time I pull off 40 pages in 2 days, so 20 pages shouldn't be too bad. Then I've two final exams next week. One for Calculus and one for Java Programming, and I'll be done. And a week after that I'll be off to Hong Kong for the summer. Man, I'm so ready to go back. I haven't seen my family and friends in two and a half years. This is gonna be fun.
I've been watching the Queer As Folk episodes Brian downloaded, but the thing is it's not complete. There're various episodes missing. So I promise myself I'll go buy the complete first, second, and third seasons bootleg DVD sets once I go back to Hong Kong. Talking about DVD, The Return of the King is coming out tomorrow. Gotta get that also. Man, I'm so into Downelink lately, so if any of you guys have an account there, please add me as your friend. My email there is emoclement[at]yahoo[dot]com.
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May 27, Thu
+ An All-Nighter
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07:40 PM
Last two days were crazy! Remember the final program project for Java Programming that was due Wednesday? I didn't start on it until Tuesday night. Late night! Ok, I bought The Return of the King DVD on that day after my classes. So me and my roommates watched it that night right after The Real World: San Diego, and we didn't finish watching it until 2am in the morning. Since I had a two-hour nap earlier, I thought I was gonna be fine. Besides, the project didn't seem that difficult. But then guess what!? I ended up having an all-nighter! I worked all the way through the night and until the next day morning! In fact, it wasn't even like 100% done, but I was out of time, so I just took a quick shower and headed off to school at around 1:30pm. I was like a walking zombie the rest of the day. I got a Red Bull (just one of those energy drinks) right when I got to school. It did help a bit. It was kinda weird though; like I was dead tired but energized at the same time. I turned in my take-home exam for Calculus. I'm sure I've aced that exam. My teacher let us out early, so I had 3 hours until my Java Programming class. Stephen and I went to the library. I worked on the program for like a little bit before the class, and I got it figured out. It still wasn't like a 100% finished 'cause I didn't meet all the specifications, but at least it was totally functionable. The Java Programming class didn't finish until 9pm, so I was awake for way more than 24 hours. I went straight to bed right when I got home and didn't wake up 'til 10am this morning. Anyway, I gotta go. I might post more later.
[ADDED 11:25 PM] Hey guys, guess what? I'm at Tim's place right now in Santa Clara. I'm spending a night here and tomorrow morning we're gonna drive up to Washington State. Crazy, isn't it? And the thing is I didn't even know I was gonna go until this late afternoon. I had an English class earlier this morning from 11:10am to 12:30pm. Right after that Vladi came to school to pick me up and we went to Costco, where I bought Avril Lavigne's new CD Under My Skin. When I got home I immediately ripped the entire CD onto my iPod, and I took a little nap also. Then Beth called later and asked me do I wanna go up to Washington for the weekend. I was so surprised, but hey, why not? I'm done with all my classes already, and my only two final exams are not until later next week. So they came pick me up in about an hour or so, right when I was still writing the entry. That was why I was in a hurry. Tomorrow morning around 9am we're gonna go pick up Beth's little sister, Shannon from the airport. She's my age and she's going to Arizona State University. I haven't seen her since last winter at Tim and Beth's wedding, so it would be nice to see her again. Then Tim, Beth, Shannon and I will be heading up to Washington. It's gonna be a fun roadtrip. I won't be back until Monday, so I'll see you guys later. Have a nice Memorial Day weekend!
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