Friday, March 26, 2010

After winter ends...

I should post stuff! right? kind of? maybe...

So just a quick update. I moved like I said in my last post. I set up my apartment which is now awesome but borders on messy because my brother and I are always moving about during the weekends. I found an awesome market close by which has everything I could ever want in terms of food. The street I live on is relatively quiet during the day and at night although I get some porch monkeys during the day (especially after school lets out.. stupid kids get off my porch!)

I am currently working on writing a paper for the research work I am doing and will submit it after I run one more test on my samples of interest.

Aside from all that (and mostly because I cannot divulge the details of my research), i signed online to pose a stupid but strange question for no particular reason but to provide myself with some distraction on a relatively boring Friday. If you respond please be creative. I'll tell you my answer too!

What is the most impractical way to wash dishes?

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Apartment Update

After several months of suffering and acting like a homeless person (living out of suitcases and wondering where I was going to sleep next), I finally have a nice two bedroom apartment with a large common area and a nice brand-spanking new kitchen. The two bedrooms are a little bit small, but they fit full size beds and have closets. The common area is large enough to fit two large desks, a couch, a dresser, a tv, and more. I finally have lots of space to roam and enjoy instead of only sitting at a desk.

Aside from that, the new year went by without a hitch. I drove home to Michigan with my dad and brother and was able to enjoy a nice long winter break with my parents and siblings. Afterwards I jumped right into work and started enjoying my research topic. Aside starting a little bit behind on the literature, I think I've almost got the hang of it now and will be able to publish soon or at least near the end of the year.

Anywho, if you desire a place to crash, come visit. New York is annoying this time of year (they all freak out at the sight of snow) but there is a distinct possibility of going on a skiing/boarding day trip in upstate new york.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

How To...

kill several flies that pop up like daisies in the summer.

1. Smack with empty 20 oz. coke bottle and swear profusely as it falls onto the bed.
2. Punch with hand and scoop up with tissue. Bruce Lee you are.
3. Hit with empty orange juice carton into sink and then trap underneath unwashed dishes. After this turn on scalding hot water and wash it down the drain.
4. Smother with laundry. Dirty laundry means they'll suffer.
5. Hit with a tennis racket. The ping means you are 15-love.
6. Stun by hitting it with your hand and while its on the floor roll over it with your chair.
7. Hit the fly into the toilet. Pee. Flush. Finished.

More to come.

Also, work is interesting. Almost fun, almost disappointing. I'll write a post on the weekend.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Game Review: Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles

This is more for Kimmy than me, and I have yet to finish the game. Please bear with me.

So I finally picked up this game today and was immediately surprised by the graphics. For a Wii game this is not only great animation but great graphics in general. Think a combination of Resident Evil 4 and 5 + Umbrella Chronicles and you have even more in depth animation that does pays very close attention to the details in every part of the game. I've only finished the first chapter but damned did that take forever. All in all, the average length of a chapter is about 9 minutes and the status bars at the end of the chapter will show you how many kills, headshots, etc. are possible in each level.

The guns are about the same as before and the reload times differ making it hard to switch from gun to gun. Upgrading guns takes money instead of stars which you can collect by shooting stuff in the environment. You can make around 3000~4000 G a level which is enough for the basic upgrade but not enough for the second level of upgrades (those cost about 5000 up to 8000). Reloading guns is done with the same mechanism as in the Umbrella Chronicles but is a bit more sensitive than before requiring only a small flick instead of the violent shake from the last game.

While the graphics are awesome, the enemies are sometimes hard to see in the murky water. This would almost add to the element of surprise except for the fact that the things in the water include frogs, fish, and only one weird monster that appears in the first level.

If possible, play with a friend. It makes it funny and interesting.

At the end of it all, the story line is interesting, the game play is pretty fun, and the graphics are great for a Wii game.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Essay Help?

anyone want to help me cut 499 characters out of the following essay?


In my freshman year, I had my first allergic reaction. While my initial reaction was not life threatening, my allergies soon escalated and before I realized it, I was in a hospital staring up at the ceiling. Diagnosed with exercise-induced anaphylaxsis, this prognosis struck me to the core, because as an athlete, I relied on gym visits not only to maintain my physical health but also to relieve stress.

Shocked with my own brush with death, my immediate response was to deny any sort of problem. However, each visit to the gym reminded me that I was being reckless with my life and my future. As a future medical professional, I knew that allergies were treatable but suffered mentally after being weakened by just one reaction. My anxiety initially caused me to avoid proper medical treatment, but after a few weeks, I realized that my allergies should not be a restriction but rather a reminder. My allergies became a reminder of what I was working towards, understanding and relieving the uncertainty of patients who lost faith in their physical health.

Thankfully, my allergies are now managed with medication and I, have since, restored my physical and mental health. As a student of medicine, I realize now that my anxiety should not rule my life but serve as a reminder of how illness disrupts a person's confidence in their health. In the future, I hope that my experience as a patient will help me help patients to restore the physical and mental stability that comes with physical health.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Hot Water Update!

Excitement, excitement! The hot water came back a week ago much to my surprise especially since there are three gaping holes in our wall where the gas pipes used to exist. Anywho, they left a note on our door yesterday but in their moment of greatness, it was all in Chinese. Ah Chinatown. You would think that they would realize this by now. The only floor that has people who can't speak Chinese is the second floor. Since leaving a note on our door on Tuesday for repairs on Wednesday, they have replace the pipes in our room and ran them outside the wall and around a few corners in our room down to the stove (so maybe the stove will work soon...) and then finished.

The fun thing is that they left a TON of debris all over the floor. Now they did try to sweep it up but its more like pushing dust from one side of the room to the other. So after two weeks and more than 20 hours of them wandering in and out of our apartment, we had hot water AND heat for some reason. I was happy for like... a day.

I woke up this morning and di the normal stuff, bathroom duties, eat breakfast and whatnots. Unfortunately after I did some work on my computer I went to go brush my teeth before leaving the apartment (working in starbucks is usually a large part of my day) and the water did not work. At all. No water whatsoever. Fun. The manager of the building told me that it would take 30 minutes before the water was back on, but knowing Chinatown 30 minutes means at least 2 hours and possibly the entire day. I should just give up and move somewhere else already. They are determined to drive me out!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

More Chinatown Fun

So in the grand scale of fun Chinatown bullshit, I actually almost like Chinatown. Its full of yellow people who generally are rude and annoying, but will give you less looks than the tourists because you are... also of the same skin type. While I hated living here in the beginning (and still somewhat do) its gotten a bit better as I've met more people and have started to form friendships with people. I like most of the people we play soccer with, which works out well, and some of the folks who wander around the park (random drunk fat guy is not one of them).

Anywho, I went out today to get some fresh air and get out of this apartment (god knows what fumes I am inhaling by living here) and ended up reading my articles, coming back, and kicking the soccer ball around a bit regardless of the annoying cold I have right now. Afterwards I wandered back to my apartment to find a notice posted up on the lovely outer door from ConEdison that said "Gas has been shut off due to leaks". Now this does not make me the happiest camper in the world. ConEd's reputation is terrible about getting around to stuff which makes me think that this no gas, no hot water thing might last a LOOONNNNGGG time. So even though I was getting used to Chinatown and maybe actually enjoying my time doing my work and getting to play soccer every once and a while, now I can't actually take a shower after my relaxing bit of soccer. Boobears to that.

Sorry about the incohesiveness of this post. Fever makes me a bit weird, but willing to post apparently.