I moved into my brother's old apartment here in Austin for the summer last week. It's located in the Mediation Center right across from the Plucker's near campus. Anyways, it's been a harsh adjustment, adapting to apartment life. I'm like a total apartment hermit, hahaha. I go whole days without seeing sunlight or speaking any words. But yea, man, it's such a big jump in independence/responsibility going from dorms to apartment. Cooking, cleaning, dishes, and other household chores easily take 2-3 of my 12 waking hours a day, hahah. I can totally see now how "housewife" could be a full-time profession. I utterly loooaaaathe doing dishes; it's probably the household chore I detest doing the most (; well, that and maybe mowing the lawn). And cooking is a lot harder than I remember (; I used to cook a good bit as a young'un). I gotta figure it out fast, cuz I'm getting pretty sick of eating burnt food. I had to get on a stool and take the batteries out of the smoke detector my second day here, haha.

Anyways, I'm here in Austin, "researching" till mid July. I set my own hours, and quite honestly, I don't set a whole lot for myself, haha. Still hunting around for ppl in Austin to play.

I went and watched "The Producers" this past Thursday. It was hilarious; classic Mel Brooks. And Springtime for Hitler is such a hilarious concept; they should seriously turn it into a show, haha. But anyways, there was a mix up with my ticket. I bought the ticket the afternoon of the show; then when I show up, I find out that I've been issued a ticket for the night before cuz of a "computer glitch". So while I was straightening that whole situation out, I missed the whole first scene, grrrrr...

I finished reading Maus: a Survivor's Tale and Frank Miller's 300. Maus was really good; like reading an Elie Wiesel, but a lot more entertaining, hahah. 300 was kinda whatever. Oh yea, I read some Star Wars comics also, they were just whatever also.

*Changed the blog template back to a previous one.

So grade-wise, I guess this semester went roughly as expected. Mostly B's with a smattering of A and C. I ended up with a C in compressible fluid mechanics (supersonic aerodynamics), though I really deserved to fail that one. But it's a required senior-level class that's only offered once a year, and if they failed someone, they'd have to wait a whole 'nother year to graduate. So they basically pass everybody. Yup, I guess this would be my first experience with the much fabled "Gentleman's C," heheh, can't say it felt too bad. =P Part of the reason I did so bad, I guess was that I spent most of the weekend before (that I had meant to study) watching all of Samurai Champloo. It was quite an amusing series, though it seriously was just like Cowboy Bebop set in the samurai era- one reckless guy, one straight-lace, plus a girl. The whole hip-hop theme was kinda weird though.

*Oh yea, and in keeping with my semester-long tradition of turning labs in late, I kept putting off my final compressibles lab for so long that final averages came out before I turned it in. I don't think it got graded. I think I woulda made a B in that class regardless though, so no tears shed over that one. Meh...

The Boxer Rebellion. Today marked the first time that I've worn boxers for a full day. I've really always been a briefs kinda guy, but I just got back from atx, and all my underwear was dirty, and I had a pair of boxers laying around at home that I bought on a whim a couple years back but never wore. Anyways, I dunno, I'm just not used to the whole [unsupported] feeling, with everything just kinda dangling, hanging free... kinda like going commando (which I've done, though not for any extended period of time). I imagine it's roughly akin to how a girl feels going bra-less.

But yea, I guess it seems to be the natural course of events for everyone to switch to boxers at some point nowadays. It's like the typical undergarment progression throughout the male lifetime goes something like: diapers -> briefs -> boxers -> diapers. Has the age-old question of "boxers or briefs?" become decidedly swayed in one direction? Boxers seem to be quite en vogue these days. Perhaps it's because of boxers' rumored *ahem* [phallic amplification] qualities, or the rumor that they allow a greater running speed, who knows? For all we know, it may not be long before boxers go the way of the loincloth, the union suit, and hosen for men. I dunno, I tell you one thing though, personally I still can't get used to the lack of compressive pressure on my lower bum.

Apathy Killed the Anteater. This past semester I've been plagued by an overwhelming sense of laziness/apathy. I just can't find the motivation to do anything. I've found myself skipping classes at least an order of magnitude more than I did in that past. Sometimes I wake up around 11:45, decide I'm not going to make it in time for my noon class, go back to sleep, then oversleep my 2 o'clock, then decide to just not bother going to the rest of the day either. And I hardly ever turn my assignments in on time anymore; that is, if I even bother to turn it in at all. I know that one by one they're turning into zeros, but strangely this doesn't bother me. It's like I can tell I'm throwing my life down the drain, and yet I find myself completely unable to care. I know there should be some vague sense of remorse or guilt or something, but in its place is just a complete void of caring- apathy. I feel like I finally understand my cousin Shaan, who at one point just seemed to waste a couple years of his life, much to my parents' chagrin; I think I finally get how you can just burn out and lose all your will to do anything.

Several of my friends have asked me if I'm on pot, and in some ways I wish I was, cuz then at least I'd have an explanation for why I've gotten so lazy and unmotivated. To some extent, I guess I've been burying myself in the bottle these days, hoping to escape this drab and meaningless existence for just awhile. I'm not sure exactly what snapped, but I just don't have that drive anymore- that drive to work, that drive to live. I think the root of my problems is that I'm not passionate about anything these days. There's nothing I feel strongly about that gets me up and out of bed in the morning. So I just lie there reflecting on how meaningless my life is and try to get back into my dreams where stuff's not so bleak. I used to be passionate about my schoolwork, always wanting to make the grade, but recently I feel like a horse that's realized that the carrot's just tied to a stick, perpetually hanging in front of me. I guess I've kinda started to bury myself in weightlifting, but unlike kung fu, it feels like a sport completely devoid of soul. I dunno, I guess I'm just desperately grasping for something to care about in the slightest.

*I looked up this information on the website for Zoloft (antidepressant)

Symptoms:
1. A lasting sad mood - mmm, not terribly
2. Loss of interest or pleasure in most activities - yea, a lot
3. Changes in appetite or weight - gained 10 lbs this semester
4. Changes in sleep patterns - sleeping longer but feeling less refreshed
5. Restlessness or decreased activity that others notice - definitely got the decreased activity thing down
6. Loss of energy or feeling tired all the time - ummm, harder to get up in the morning? (and by morning, I usually mean 2 or 3pm)
7. Hard time concentrating or making decisions - mainly the concentrating part, and mainly just when school-related (hardly an "affliction," I'd say)
8. Feelings of worthlesness or guilt - worthless maybe, guilt no
9. Repeated thoughts of death or suicide - nah, not like I used to when I was younger

...hmmmm, I've got a good number of those symptoms though. I seriously think I may be suffering from depression, guys.

I have a habit of keeping all my liquour (and/or liqueur) in a small duffle bag cuz I'm technically not allowed to keep booze in my dorm (since my roommate is underage), but they're not allowed to look through anything not in plain sight- hence the bag. So today I was carrying a particularly large haul ($165 worth) from my car to my dorm when the shoulder strap SNAPS and I was like nooooot myyyyy coooooorrrn poppppps! as the bag plopped onto hard concrete. I heard a shattering sound and I was like =O and was about to cry, but I couldn't just pop the bag open and do a damage check in public, so I hurried back to my room. Much to my relief, I only lost one bottle, DiSaronno (amaretto), to which I had purchased a backup. But yea, man, now I understand that proverb: "Don't put all your eggs in one basket."

The Mad Scientists' Corner (Vol. 4)

Slim Jim Sport. This one first came to me like a year ago or so but came back to memory recently. Anyways, why is it that powerbars are always sweet flavored? Sometimes after a workout, you could really just go for something salty. Meat flavored would be great. And I got to thinking, why can't they make a meat flavored powerbar? ...possibly even with real meat; the perfect ingredient for any protein bar. I mean, if they can market certain kinds of beers as "sport beers," seems like it wouldn't be that crazy a business decision to market like Slim Jim Sport, the ultimate in satisfying your post-workout hunger. Unleash the carnivore within while fulfilling all your protein needs, with all your daily vitamins and minerals, and the electrolytes you need to get back in the game. I'd totally buy it.

Lightning Power. I was watching Back to the Future the other day, and I get to the part where they hear that they need to generate a couple gigawatts (or "jigawatts" as the professor called them. jigga what?) to power the flux capacitor. Anyways, they said that other than like a nuclear reaction, the only way they could get that kinda power was with a bolt of lightning. So I got to thinking, if lightning rods can exist, why can't you just set up like a huge field of 'em (like those windmills in a wind farm) in a rainy area and harness lightning energy? ...well, other than that thing they say about lightning never striking the same place twice. I dunno, the whole thing doesn't strike me as that absurd, but then again I'm not a EE.

Sponge Fork. Going back to my bread glove idea from a couple months back, one of the major problems while eating is getting your hands dirty. It's especially problematic when you're switching back and forth between finger foods and silverware foods (e.g. bbq ribs and coleslaw). Your hands get all nasty and then you can't grip your silverware properly. Well anyways, I was using a wetnap during a meal while switching between food types, and it strikes me: Why not stick the wetnap onto the fork? Like if you had like a sponge or something that cleans your hands while you grip the (plastic) utensil, that would save you so much hassle.

Color-change Toothpaste. They say that one of Alexander the Great's military tactics was to use the power of chemistry to synchronize his attacks. He would send each of his generals off in different directions with an armband soaked in a special chemical, and after the chemical had been exposed to the air for a given amount of time, the color would change and they'd all know to start their (pincer) attacks at the same time. Anyways, I remember hearing that most people have a problem of not brushing their teeth for long enough. If I remember correctly, dentists recommend that you brush your teeth for (at least) 3 minutes straight. I think most people probably have a hard time gauging how long they've brushed for. It's not like most people sit there with a stopwatch or anything. Well, I was thinking, couldn't they come up with some kinda chemical that reacts with your saliva or something, and after about 3 minutes, the normally white foam starts turning like purple or something? Hah, other than the slightly weird thought of having colored foam in your mouth, I think it'd be a pretty cool idea.

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