The Sea of Red

Since the middle of last week, to the end of last week, I studied hard for two tests that were had on this passing Friday; One test was in Business Calculus, and the other was in Business Accounting.

Friday rolls around, and I'm feeling cautiously optimistic. I really did study, and I felt I had a sufficiently good grasp of the concepts at hand. Calculus started, and I started with the test right away. Somewhere after I started, I began to doubt myself. That was when I suffered from severe test anxiety. So I panicked. Really. I answered the questions completely when I thought I had time, but since I was panicking, I basically flew through the rest of the test to try to answer the test questions as quickly as I could. After that class ended, I was feeling so low. I scored myself a 62, which is a "D" on my first test, and I was really hoping I would "make my money back" on the second test. Since I felt that I bombed the second test...I began to think of the future and how much it would have to change if I had to withdraw from this class again because of bad grades.

After the calculus test, I ran up to B-wing to take my Business Accounting test. That test was remarkably easier since it deals with easy algebra, and some memorization of equations. I didn't finish my accounting test until near the end of class, so I just thought I would wait until after class to wait to see what I got after my instructor graded the tests. Since a large portion of the other students in my class turned in their tests before I did, I could see my accounting instructor correcting those tests. Since Business Accounting is basically just an introductory course, what we actually had to know for this test wasn't terribly complicated...at all. However, I'm watching my accounting instructor correct those tests, and I could see her hand flying all over the tests with a red pen. I could also see her becoming visibly frustrated. After I turned in my test to her, I asked her if she could correct it before I left school on Friday. Frustrated, she told me that she corrects the tests in the order she receives them. I didn't fully expect her to correct my test before I left school, but she did. I got a 102 on it.

I was very happy I got that grade on my second accounting test because my first test score was so mediocre. Since this is just an introductory class for accounting the first test was a cake-walk. I only scored a high "C" on it. So I was happy with my test score for the second accounting test. Although...the grade I thought I was going to receive kept my joy bitter-sweet. Yes: I had one success, but I also had one monumental failure.

Or so I thought.

After my accounting test I ran over to my academic adviser and basically freaked the fuck out in front of her because I thought I bombed my second calculus test, and therefore thought that I would have to change my entire academic trajectory again. I asked her to ask my calculus instructor to see if I could re-take the second calculus test, and much to my surprise my academic adviser said that she doesn't have that much sway when asking instructors for certain breaks. She told me that I should instead contact her regarding my situation and see if there was some sort of remedy to my situation, like a possible re-take of that test. So I emailed my Business Calculus instructor yesterday (Sunday) and asked her if that was so.

Cut to today I happened upon my calculus instructor as she was walking into my class, and I asked her if she received my email. She said yes, but she also said that a re-take was not necessary because I scored an 80% on my second test.

Well now. Saddle my ass and ride me to Texas. Apparently I didn't bomb anything. Apparently I actually accomplished my goal of "any score above a 75 at the minimum." My original goal was something above an 85% but I also knew not to press my luck.

Yes. I freaked out on Friday. By proxy I also ruined my weekend a little bit. I simply couldn't relax and feel like I accomplished something good, like I did with my accounting test. The score I thought I received dictated my happiness level. But I did OK...so therefore I should feel happy now. And I do. I also feel...content (?).

I'm guessing this is one of these situations in which I will have to continue what I've been doing -- studying and doing homework often -- but also relaxing and giving myself a chance to have a success. I also need to stop panicking. If I didn't panic I would have scored a higher grade on my second calculus test. However, since calculus really is challenging, I do accept my 80 in good faith and gratitude.

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Fly Away.

Last year Kevin spontaneously planned to go to New Zealand this winter, instead of flying to a Mountain state for skiing. This means that I am completely alone for the next two weeks.

Yay!

When Kevin told me that he was flying to the southern hemisphere last year, I thought he would be going during Spring Break. That would have been pretty damn good because I was also planning on surprising him with various tasks that needed to be done in the back yard. Specifically, I was planning on re-seeding the yard because of the invasive nimble weed that has displaced the regular grass. However, the nimble weed has covered approximately 80% of the back yard. My original plan was to completely rototill the soil, and then re-seed everything everywhere. Of course, that project would have been huge and expensive. It is a good thing that one of Kevin's neighbors happened to come by during the winter and tell me that would have been a monumental waste of time. Grass, if left to its own devices, will repopulate bare areas. Help doesn't hurt the grass; that was why he also suggested that I aerate the entire back lawn, throw down some fertilizer in the really bad spots, and then throw down some good grass seed. That way, I wouldn't have to break my back, and my budget, completely reworking the back yard.

When I showed him the back yard, in the middle of the winter, he showed me how the grass was infiltrating the bald spots where the nimble weed was eradicated. That made me happy.

However, I didn't stop there. Since Kevin has such a green thumb, I've been catching it through the years. During his trip to the mountains, I was also thinking of caring for the gardens in the back yard, too. I was thinking of completely roto-tilling the soil, fertilizing the gardens, and then throwing down a very mild, broad-spectrum fungicide-herbicide mix. For the past three years, we've been having trouble with mold spores on our tomato plants, and other pests, and I have been getting so sick and tired of constantly removing invasive bugs and plants. I am really hoping that the one-two punch of roto-tilling, fertilizer, and herbicide will significantly reduce the amount of bullshit we have to deal with this year.

But alas...Kevin's plans were not what I was expecting. Instead of him leaving for two weeks starting at the end of March, he instead is leaving for two weeks starting today. I'm still planning on executing my "Big Back-yard Plans," but I'll have to do them on my days off from school. I'm pretty sure I can execute 100% of everything I'm planning.

Since this is a big project, I also couldn't "surprise" him with a completely new back yard. So I told him what I was planning, and he is totally OK with it...for the most part. I know he gets paranoid whenever he repeatedly tells me things he does and does not want done in the name of lawn maintenance. I told him to relax because I'm not planning on...I don't know...renting a back-hoe and uprooting everything in the back yard. I'm just doing the same amount of maintenance he would do if he was here. Besides, when he has done his regular yard work in the past, he has usually done most of it. I wanted to surprise him with a yard he could actually enjoy...without the back-breaking labor. Besides, since the back-yard is totally "his," I wanted to make part of it "mine" by doing my own things and experimenting with regional plants.

Since yesterday I've already started a list of tasks that need to be done during the next two weeks. Perhaps I should also make a short shopping list of gardening things I need, too.

I think I'll have fun.

⊗

Fly away.

Last year Kevin spontaneously planned to go to New Zealand this winter, instead of flying to a Mountain state for skiing. This means that I am completely alone for the next two weeks.

Yay!

When Kevin told me that he was flying to the southern hemisphere last year, I thought he would be going during Spring Break. That would have been pretty damn good because I was also planning on surprising him with various tasks that needed to be done in the back yard. Specifically, I was planning on re-seeding the yard because of the invasive nimble weed that has displaced the regular grass. However, the nimble weed has covered approximately 80% of the back yard. My original plan was to completely rototill the soil, and then re-seed everything everywhere. Of course, that project would have been huge and expensive. It is a good thing that one of Kevin's neighbors happened to come by during the winter and tell me that would have been a monumental waste of time. Grass, if left to its own devices, will repopulate bare areas. Help doesn't hurt the grass; that was why he also suggested that I aerate the entire back lawn, throw down some fertilizer in the really bad spots, and then throw down some good grass seed. That way, I wouldn't have to break my back, and my budget, completely reworking the back yard.

When I showed him the back yard, in the middle of the winter, he showed me how the grass was infiltrating the bald spots where the nimble weed was eradicated. That made me happy.

However, I didn't stop there. Since Kevin has such a green thumb, I've been catching it through the years. During his trip to the mountains, I was also thinking of caring for the gardens in the back yard, too. I was thinking of completely roto-tilling the soil, fertilizing the gardens, and then throwing down a very mild, broad-spectrum fungicide-herbicide mix. For the past three years, we've been having trouble with mold spores on our tomato plants, and other pests, and I have been getting so sick and tired of constantly removing invasive bugs and plants. I am really hoping that the one-two punch of roto-tilling, fertilizer, and herbicide will significantly reduce the amount of bullshit we have to deal with this year.

But alas...Kevin's plans were not what I was expecting. Instead of him leaving for two weeks starting at the end of March, he instead is leaving for two weeks starting today. I'm still planning on executing my "Big Back-yard Plans," but I'll have to do them on my days off from school. I'm pretty sure I can execute 100% of everything I'm planning.

Since this is a big project, I also couldn't "surprise" him with a completely new back yard. So I told him what I was planning, and he is totally OK with it...for the most part. I know he gets paranoid whenever he repeatedly tells me things he does and does not want done in the name of lawn maintenance. I told him to relax because I'm not planning on...I don't know...renting a back-hoe and uprooting everything in the back yard. I'm just doing the same amount of maintenance he would do if he was here. Besides, when he has done his regular yard work in the past, he has usually done most of it. I wanted to surprise him with a yard he could actually enjoy...without the back-breaking labor. Besides, since the back-yard is totally "his," I wanted to make part of it "mine" by doing my own things and experimenting with regional plants.

Since yesterday I've already started a list of tasks that need to be done during the next two weeks. Perhaps I should also make a short shopping list of gardening things I need, too.

I think I'll have fun.

⊗

Fuck Football.

I hate how fucking football has become a fucking religion in this country. I hate how fucking obsessive the football commentators are. I fucking hate how crazy the fans are. I hate how fucking spoiled the football players are. I fucking hate everything attached to football. It is a stupid fucking "sport" that no one else in the world plays that is overflowing with fat, stupid, ignorant people who have no real athletic ability.

You know...if America put as much energy into education as they did into football, we would really be living in a sci-fi Utopian future. There would hardly be any poverty or disease. There would be 99.999% clean energy and no pollution. There would be no overpopulation and everyone would live a middle-class lifestyle. There would also be plenty of left-over natural places for relaxation. We would have vacuum-tube, world-wide, cheap transportation just like on Futurama. Hell, we would probably be on our way to colonizing near-by Earth-like planets in massive colony ships. But no....we have to break for football...and that other stupid, homophobic, violent, ignorant religion called Christianity.

Fuck football.

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Eggplant Parmesan

Pan size →	9 x 9	9 x 13	10 x 14
Ingredients ↓
Eggs	3 or 4 eggs scrambled	4 or 5 eggs scrambled	5 or 6 eggs scrambled
Sauce	1 Jar of sauce of your choice. (Approximately 2 cups.)	1 or 2 jars of sauce of your sauce.(Between 2 to 4 cups of sauce.)	2 Jars of sauce of your choice plus maybe one 4-oz can of tomato sauce.(4+ cups of sauce.)
Cheese	1 package of shredded cheese of your choice.(2 cups.)	1 or 2 packages of shredded cheese of your choice. (Between 2 and 3 cups.)	2 packages of cheese of your choice.(4 cups.)
Eggplants	1 Medium and 1 small;or maybe 2 medium.	2 Medium	3 medium; or 2 medium and 1 large.

Other Ingredients you will need:

• Parmesan cheese (The stuff from the can is fine.)
• Seasoned breadcrumbs (of any variety [unseasoned, Italian, etc]).
• Olive oil (of any variety).

The necessary cooking hardware:

• Large Cast-iron pan
• 2 bowls (Of a sufficient size to hold staged eggplant slices.)
• Your lasagna pan (obviously)
• Plates lined with paper-towels
• Kitchen tongs.

The first step in anything you will ever do in your life is to stage your gear! I learned that in the Marine Corps. So far, that way of thinking has served me well. For this recipe, you will need to:

Gear Stage:
1. Stage at least one plate with a paper-towel on top of that plate. You will need to do that to absorb excess olive oil.
2. Stage your scrambled eggs in one bowl next to your breadcrumb bowl. Throw in a few spoonfuls of Parmesan cheese into the scrambled eggs. Use as much or as little as you want.
3. Stage your breadcrumbs in another bowl next to your egg wash bowl.
4. Wash your eggplants with clean water. After washing, slice your eggplants into approximate 1cm slices.
5. Cover the bottom of your lasagna pan with a moderate layer of sauce.
6. While slicing your eggplant you may want to pre-heat your cast-iron pan with 1cm of olive oil in the bottom on high. This step can be done after all the eggplant slices are ready for cooking.

Recipe Stage:
To start making this recipe you will need to:
1: Cover your eggplant slices with the egg wash.
2: Cover each washed eggplant slice with breadcrumbs. (You can stage multiple eggplant slices in the egg wash and the breadcrumb bowl.)
3: Gently place into the cast-iron pan using Kitchen tongs. Hot olive oil sometimes splatters, so you might also want to have a splash guard handy, although it probably won't be necessary.
4: Cook the eggplant slices 2 to 3 minutes per side. Each slice should be golden brown on each side when done.
5: Place one layer of cooked eggplant slices on paper towel. You can have multiple layers of paper towels per plate.
6: When all of your eggplant slices are cooked you will need to lay down one layer of eggplant into the lasagna pan.
7: Cover your first eggplant slice layer with a moderate amount of sauce first, followed by....
8: ....a moderate covering of shredded cheese.<
REMEMBER!: You will need to spread out the amount of egg wash, breadcrumbs, sauce, and cheese for the size of the pan you are using. While covering your eggplant slice layers, use your best judgment so you don't run out of a necessary ingredients during your prep time.
9: Repeat step 6 and place your next layer on top of your previous layer.
10: Repeat steps 6, 7, and 8 until all of your eggplant slices are used. You should get three complete layers of eggplant, sauce, and cheese, per dish. If you don't, that is OK. If your top layer does not have enough slices to completely cover the lower layer, just spread it out as evenly as you can.

Note A: If you have excessive spaces in between your eggplant slices, you can just dice the small eggplant slices and fill in the gaps.
Note B: If you realize you don't have enough egg wash or breadcrumbs to make it through your recipe, that is OK. Just scramble one more egg to give yourself enough wash, and just pour in some more breadcrumbs, into each respective bowl. Finding extra sauce or cheese might be more difficult, that is why I also suggest one extra 4-oz can of sauce. They can bump you up to where you need to be. If you are making a large recipe I suggest you have at least one near by.

Cooking Directions:
When your eggplant Parmesan is completely assembled, simply put it in a pre-heated oven until the cheese is bubbly and the top of the lasagna is lightly golden brown. The oven temp is set to 350.

Remember!: All cooking times, temperatures, and measurements are approximate. Practice, and have fun.

Gear Stage:
1. Stage at least one plate with a paper-towel on top of that plate. You will need to do that to absorb excess olive oil.

From eggplantparmesan

2. Stage your scrambled eggs in one bowl next to your breadcrumb bowl. Throw in a few spoonfuls of Parmesan cheese into the scrambled eggs. Use as much or as little as you want.
3. Stage your breadcrumbs in another bowl next to your egg wash bowl.

From eggplantparmesan

4. Wash your eggplants with clean water. After washing, slice your eggplants into approximate 1cm slices. Note: Ignore the partial capture of the sink with soapy water! I just used that sink to wash dirty dishes, not to wash the eggplants!]

From eggplantparmesan

From eggplantparmesan

5. Cover the bottom of your lasagna pan with a moderate layer of sauce.

From eggplantparmesan

6. While slicing your eggplant you may want to pre-heat your cast-iron pan with 1cm of olive oil in the bottom on high. This step can be done after all the eggplant slices are ready for cooking.

From eggplantparmesan

Recipe Stage:
1: Cover your eggplant slices with the egg wash.
2: Cover each washed eggplant slice with breadcrumbs. (You can stage multiple eggplant slices in the egg wash and the breadcrumb bowl.)
3: Gently place into the cast-iron pan using Kitchen tongs. Hot olive oil sometimes splatters, so you might also want to have a splash guard handy, although it probably won’t be necessary.

From eggplantparmesan

From eggplantparmesan

From eggplantparmesan

4: Cook the eggplant slices 2 to 3 minutes per side. Each slice should be golden brown on each side when done.
5: Place one layer of cooked eggplant slices on paper towel. You can have multiple layers of paper towels per plate.

From eggplantparmesan

From eggplantparmesan

6: When all of your eggplant slices are cooked you will need to lay down one layer of eggplant into the lasagna pan. Remember, you previously slathered the bottom of your lasagna pan with a moderate layer of sauce!

From eggplantparmesan

From eggplantparmesan

7: Cover your first eggplant slice layer with a moderate amount of sauce first, followed by....
8: ....a moderate covering of shredded cheese.

From eggplantparmesan

REMEMBER!: You will need to spread out the amount of egg wash, breadcrumbs, sauce, and cheese for the size of the pan you are using. While covering your eggplant slice layers, use your best judgment so you don't run out of a necessary ingredients during your prep time.
9: Repeat step 6 and place your next layer on top of your previous layer.
10: Repeat steps 6, 7, and 8 until all of your eggplant slices are used. You should get three complete layers of eggplant, sauce, and cheese, per dish. If you don't, that is OK. If your top layer does not have enough slices to completely cover the lower layer, just spread it out as evenly as you can.

The New HDTV

Finally, Kevin and I decided to upgrade our standard definition to a shiny, new HDTV. It was all pretty sweet actually.

Near the very end of last year (2010), Kevin was looking at HDTVs trying to figure out which brand and model would best serve us in his house. So we bounced back and forth between Sears and Best Buy, while I also perused Amazon.com for reader reviews. Since Kevin's house isn't huge, we decided that a 40" HDTV would be the best for the living room. As we researched the televisions, I came to the conclusion that a plasma TV would be the absolute best value for what we were willing to spend. Kevin was worried about energy consumption, so he was leaning heavily in favor of LED TVs. We were butting heads a little bit as to which type of HDTV we should get. Eventually we did come an agreement.

Through out troubles we decided that buying the 46" Aquos was the best deal. There were actually two different models that we were looking at, and we decided to buy the close-out model because it did not have integrated wifi. Since I already own a PS3, buying a TV with practically the same technology would have been a waste.

So Kevin bought the TV and we picked it up this passing Thursday. We unpacked it, and damn, the thing is huge. During the planning phase of our expenditure, we realized that the absolute largest HDTV we could accommodate would be a 43" flat-screen. This TV is three inches larger. So yes, it does overpower the living room when it is turned toward the couch. Although, the HDTV is really, surprisingly light, and only a few inches thick.

My only complaint against this TV is that it still has refresh issues with regard to my PS3 video games; namely, the fast action in first-person shooters is lost whenever the player (me) turns quickly left or right. Interesting. Now, this blur isn't too bad. It is something I am nearly used to. Hell, this TV actually displays detail, which is something I couldn't see on Kevin's old SDTV, so I'm really very grateful for that. I just feel that a plasma TV would have handled the requirements of current-generation video games. I also feel that Kevin overestimated the energy inefficiency when comparing different HDTVs to each other. So; if he believed that plasma TVs weren't energy sinks, he probably would have considered some of the models I suggested. Then we both would have been extremely satisfied.

Anyway...did we make a good decision? Yes we did. I'm happy because I can actually see detail when I play my video games, and I can experience true HD whenever I watch my BD movies; and I'll bet Kevin is happy because he'll be able to enjoy his brutish football games.

Naturally, things don't happen unless there are pictures:

---

From newhdtv

Interestingly, the SDTV was 27", and it was damn heavy. It prevented the doors on the stand from closing properly. After we switched out the TVs, the doors could close fully. Whodathunk?

From newhdtv

From newhdtv

From newhdtv

From newhdtv

From newhdtv

From newhdtv

⊗

More man

I'm glad Kevin has a short day of work today. Perhaps we can do something together. Holding hands and such.

⊗

Toys 2

I've been dwelling on the toys I donated yesterday. I'm not worried that the kids won't like them. I'm sure they will, considering they probably have an inkling of their financial situation. Kids are very perceptive -- even though they may not know how to verbalize their situation. I just hope that the toys are allocated for the appropriate ages and sexes. There was this one charity I gave to a long time ago, and I could dictate the gender and age of the recipient. I guess with Toys for Tots, this doesn't happen.

I am also a bit worried that my art packs won't stay together during transit, sorting, and dispersal. Last night I realized I could have wrapped the art packs in plastic wrap. That would have helped to keep the individual elements together. I can only cross my fingers.

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Toys for poor kids.

I've had the same set of running shoes for the past few years. Professional runners say that running shoes should be replaced every three months, or 500 miles, whichever is shorter. Now, I have a "no China" clause. The only place shoes are made in this world are...China! So, how do I go about clearing my conscious about the fact I help support child slavery and sweat shops? How does one counter-act the reality of my purchase? Is it nigh impossible to come clean? I guess I could try.

I bought some toys for needy children to "offset" the bad karma for buying Nike running shoes that are made in China with sweatshop labor. I hopes this helps. I hope I make some poor kid feel like he is worth something to receive these meager gifts. Are my gifts enough? I always thought that creativity trumped every toy imaginable, so I wanted to find toys that would foster creativity and freedom.

One of the most memorable gifts I ever received were a few packs of markers. I drew with those things until they went dry. I hope the markers I give make a memory like that.

One of the most awesome toys I ever owned was a Tonka truck. It was a huge, heavy, blue beast that I would abuse and slam into the ground. That toy kept coming back for more. I played with that truck until I lost it, in the years.

One of the most creative gifts I ever had were water color paints. I could create completely new colors just from mixing of the eight. It seemed to me there were infinite colors to be explored and discovered. I used those paints until they all got used up.

One of the most precious gifts I ever received was from my aunt who gave me a stuffed animal. It was wrapped in aluminum foil and a red ribbon, and my sister helped me unwrap it. It was a stuffed animal dog with big eyes and a little tongue and four stout legs. One of the eyes fell off and tried to glue it back on, but it didn't stay. The knit-on tongue fell off long, long ago. I wondered how he panted when he got hot? I never gave him away. I never threw him away. I never got tired of him. I never lost him into the ether of the past and past memories. He is right here still in my life. He still protects me when I am scared. He soothes me when I am sad. He cuddles me when I need a friend. He doesn't judge. I hope my gift of the stuffed animals makes memories like that.



⊗

I spent my Thanks Giving break.....

...Doing house chores and writing an economics essay. Much to my surprise, I was perfectly content executing both of those tasks during the mini-vacation.

Kevin went to his mother's house by himself. Before he left, he and I decided that it would be best if he went by himself since most of his immediate family will be traveling to the southern United States, instead of staying close to Chicagoland. He knew that he would be helping his mother around the house regarding small projects, such as cleaning and some general fixing-up of things. I also do not travel well at all. I can't sleep, and I "become irregular." Urgh, traveling sucks so much for me.

While Kevin was away I cleaned the house. He left for the north on Wednesday, and on that day I just putzed around the house and surfed the internet. On Thursday, the actual holiday, I intended to start the essay that is due this Friday. However, I was feeling lethargic and did not get out of bed until 11:30am. When I finally did get my ass in gear, it was in the early afternoon, and I started cleaning the whole downstairs of the house. I vacuumed and dusted.

Feeling a sense of accomplishment, I thought I would surprise Kevin when he arrived back home with a batch of cookies. So...I baked a batch of cookies for him. The cookies were traditional chocolate-chip with nuts, but what have you. Thinking back, I realized the house chores and baking were just procrastination measures since it takes me forever to get motivated to start a major (or semi-major) school project.

On Friday I actually started my essay. I wrote the introduction, and started collecting peer-reviewed articles for my economics class.

So now I have my sources, and I am really close to actually starting to write the body of the essay. I know it will end up a solidly-written piece of work, but my biggest concern is actually writing an economic essay. I know I run the risk of the essay turning into an environmentalist manifesto on the destructive nature of classical economics. I know I can't do that; I just have to write the pros and cons of green thinking and implementation of green technologies and how they will affect our economy.

*sigh*

Anyway...enough procrastination. Time to type.

⊗

Amazon problems

Last week, I sold a Super Nintendo through my Amazon store. The customer who bought the system contacted me today to tell me he has yet to receive it! I sent him two emails telling him to be more patient, and contact me if he receives it in the meantime.

Between those two emails, I went to my Amazon store seller account and checked out the delivery confirmation code. Lo-and-behold, the shipment made it to Michigan on October 28^th, only two days after I sent it. I then sent him the second email that told him to check his local USPS to see if they had it in some undeliverable state.

So: there are two options. The first option is that the buyer is a shyster who is looking to shake me down for a primo retro video game system. The other option is that the system was delivered, but it was stolen between delivery time and when the buyer got home. Hell, I don't know.

Either way, this could be bad news for me if he doesn't receive his system. I rarely sell things through my Amazon store, so therefore my overall store rating would be severely affected by a negative rating from this buyer. I wonder what could have prevented this guy from receiving the system from me?

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Jack-O-Lanterns 2010

Not too long ago, Kevin, Steve, Bob, and I went to Curtis Orchard to go pick our pumpkins for Halloween. Much to my surprise, the patch wasn't as picked-over as it has been in previous years. I think it was last year I had to go deep into the patch to find the potentials for last Halloween. From what I remember, last year, when I went searching for pumpkins, the weather was dark and dreary and cold. During the day! This year was warm and sunny, so it wasn't too treacherous going in the middle of the field.

Anyway, I found two pumpkins for carving, but Kevin only wanted one. I think he just wanted them for festive decoration, but I wanted to carve them into jack-o-lanterns. I begged Kevin to buy the two I picked, and he did. Cut to today I carved them into delightful jack-o-lanterns. I got home from college just before 4pm, and I set to work immediately. One hour later I was done. Since I actually didn't carve any pumpkins last year, one of my goals was to recreate "Frankenstein" from 2008. This year's variation is different, but I think he has character. I like both of my creations.

From jackolantern

Traditional


Frankenstein


Friends forever.....until they get composted.


Pumpkin guts.


Front-step campers.




I hope they have a happy Halloween this year. I had fun carving them.

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The Test Taken

So I took that Business Calculus test about two hours ago. I think I did fairly satisfactory on it. Of course, like I said yesterday, there is the chance I either did simply OK, or bombed abysmally. There was one problem I knew I got (probably) completely wrong, but I tried to answer it as completely as possible. It was a calculus problem that dealt with efficiency, which means I had to implement the double-prime rule for a function. I managed to get the f'', but I think my implementation of the primes and double-primes was wrong.

I'll find out tomorrow. I don't want to talk about it because I think I'll jinx myself. That seems way too superstitious, but I still feel that way. I hope I did well.

On a side-note: My nervousness got the best of me while I was getting ready for school. I got out of bed at 8:10, and I was on the road by 9:15am to be at school. For some reason, I misinterpreted my watch. As I arrived at school, I thought it was an hour later than it actually was. I first went to my accounting class an hour before it started. The instructor from a different accounting section was like, "What are you doing here?" I was like, "I'm waiting for my class to start." (From my misinterpretation, I thought class was going to start in ten minutes. I also thought this instructor was a substitute.) She told me it was only 10:00am instead of 11:00am. Oops.

I spent the extra hour in the library going over my calculus notes. I hope that extra studying was worth it.

⊗

Lynchpin week

There is a point that falls between success and failure. There is a point that falls between exemplary and banality. There is a point that falls in between happiness and numbness. I've passed through many of those points in my past. I would imagine that I have more in the future that I will (have to?) pass through before I die. There are lynchpin points everywhere -- I don't know when they are approaching, but I certainly know when they have passed me. The trick in trying to zero-in on those metaphysical loci is attempting to figure out when they are approaching.

Naturally, this is a college update. I feel one of those lynchpin points coming. I would like to pass through it with a modicum of success, but I honestly don't know. This week I have two important tests and I am seriously freaking out about whether I will be successful or not. Tomorrow I have a major test in my Business Calculus class, and there is the possibility I could do relatively fine on it, or I could completely and utterly bomb the test and get a horrible score. If I did get a bad score, I honestly don't see the logic in staying in the class considering the class grade is determined by only four tests, plus the final. Oh yeah, I bombed the first test! Amazing! This class is so critical that if anything else goes wrong (besides the first test) I can just kiss my college schedule good-bye. Which would mean I could just forget about exiting Parkland College by 2011...which would mean I couldn't enroll into the U of I next year. So on and so forth.

Kevin let me know that he won't take care of me forever. I wouldn't allow him to do so. I'm just so sick and tired of being taken care of. I want to feel like an adult. I want to be an adult, but I've often thought that if I haven't learned how to be a grown-ass man by now, I never will.

Again, I wouldn't be worrying to the n^th degree if I actually had a sense of maturity to study more, like I should have. [Shouldacouldawoulda] I sometimes think there is an alternate universe in which I'm relatively happy and successful, instead of a 31-year-old boy who has to be taken care of just for his survival.

I wonder what it is like to be, and feel, self-sufficient.

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The Praying Mantis Adventure 2010

This morning I was drinking my coffee when I peered outside and saw a huge praying mantis on Trent's house. Naturally, I had to get pictures. Even from looking at the bug from across the driveway, I could see it was damn huge!

As I approached the insect, I got a bit...scared. I mean, I've seen praying mantises before, but none were as big as this one. I would estimate she was the length of my hand! Plus...she had wings. Insect wings freak me out to the n^th degree. But I persevered.

I approached the praying mantis and got a few good pictures. I then tried to coax her into my hand, but I guess I annoyed her because she flew away. She flew away over my head! That scared the shit out of me. I mean, I closed my eyes and protected my head with my hands. I'll bet I looked really silly (over)reacting like I did over a harmless, albeit huge, insect.

The few pictures I managed to take came out sufficiently well.

From prayingmantis2010

From prayingmantis2010

From prayingmantis2010

From prayingmantis2010

From prayingmantis2010

From prayingmantis2010

I'm still wishing I could have coaxed her into my hand because I think those pictures would have been awesome. Oh well.

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My digital camera is sick.

My Samgsung SL720 has not been the same since I had it sent to a repair depot. Previously, the LCD screen went on the fritz when two rows of pixels washed out and would only display white. Since I only owned the camera for seven months at that time, it was within the default limited warranty; so I called Samgsung and they told me to send it in to one of their repair locations. (I think it might have been in California.)

About a week later the camera comes back and the screen was replaced, so I thought that everything was fine. I was wrong: The camera is not fine. Ever since I received the camera after its "repair," it has had another weird problem: There is something wrong with the battery compartment. Something was amiss when, a week after I got my camera back, I went to recharge the battery and the charging indicator light does not light up. I thought I simply didn't plug the general purpose USB cable into the camera, so I double-checked. The same problem occurred again. I knew the battery still had some juice in it, so I tried to turn on the camera, and it didn't turn on.

Confused, I opened the battery compartment, removed the battery and closely inspected it. It looked fine to me. So I re-inserted the battery into the battery compartment and the camera started right up. It would also start charging. (Samsung is too cheap to include a separate charger for its proprietary battery, which means the battery has to be in the camera and the camera has to be plugged into a USB port, or into its proprietary outlet plug. I scream shenanigans on that design layout.)

The only conclusion I can glean from this weird malfunction is that there is some kind of obstruction between the battery and the copper contacts that come in contact with the battery. Or maybe the copper contacts that pull power from the battery aren't fully connected to the camera itself. Last night I took my mini-flashlight and shined it into the battery compartment, but I don't see any kind of dirt or grime that might interfere with the transfer of power from the battery, to the contacts, to the camera.

Color me confused.

I'm wondering, if Samsung, in its effort to save money on repairs, accidentally caused more damage in my camera. I'm wondering if I should call Samsung again and have them (try to) repair my camera again since there is an obvious electrical malfunction somewhere inside my camera.

Since I discovered this malfunction, I've dealt with it...until yesterday. Since I owned the camera I make it a common practice to remove the battery whenever it is done charging, and whenever I'm not going to use it for longer than a day. Yesterday I took some pictures of the wandering cat, and then I removed the battery. I realized the battery was pretty damn hot. That weird affect has never happened before. Is there an electrical problem in my camera?

Even though Samsung makes good cameras, I'm not going to deal with them if they constantly have hardware issues. I had a similar LCD problem with my Samsung Digimax A7, but I was lucky in the fact I bought an extended warranty through Sears, where I bought my camera.

I was really hoping I could get more use and life out of this camera, as I did with the Digimax A7, but if this camera cannot even handle a year of gentle use, then I'll wash my hands of it and move on. I mean, if the goddamn battery explodes because of some crossed wires, I'll just suck it up and buy myself a modest DSLR with a nice general purpose lense.

Cheap electronics are cheap, I guess.

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Adventures of a Meow-meow

One day last year, I was minding my own business when suddenly a cat appeared. (Now that I think about it, I might have already blogged about it.) The cat had a collar with a phone number on it, and I called that number. Come to find out, the cat lives on California Street, which is two streets parallel above Oregon Street. Considering how idiotic a huge percentage of drivers are, I'm surprised that cat hasn't turned into road pizza by now.

From time to time, the cat would traverse the dangerous path to Kevin's house. I would say that over the past year the cat has appeared four or five times to both Kevin and me. One time the cat scared the hell out of me one night. It was around 12:30am and I was playing video games, when suddenly I heard this rustling outside -- like literally outside the window of the living room. When I realized it was that cat, I shooed her away.

Cut to today that cat appeared again! Either the cat is really dumb, oblivious, or adventurous, because she just came up to me nonchalantly like an old friend visiting. Also, she is really vociferous; every pet, every action I made, every move I made, she was there right under my feet meowing incessantly. It was cute, I had to admit. I tried to give her some water, but she refused.

So anyway, a little while later, she got board with me, or maybe she got distracted by something, because she left. Before she did, I got some pictures...naturally.







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this before that

I honestly don't understand my brain. There are times it will be lit on fire; ideas will come to me and creativity will flow. Other times, it will be muddled with fog. It seems like I simply can't "ignite" my brain to do what I want it to do. I've talked about this before as "fog." I experienced this today, and I found it frustrating.

I tried to do my pre-calculus homework, but I just couldn't comprehend the algebra. These damn word problems aren't even that difficult, and I have a feeling I could have done more of them if I could just get my brain started. I got angry.

So I put away that math homework and took notes from my Accounting book. It is a good thing the first part of my accounting course is mostly concepts, because I am better with those. Later in the semester it changes over to mathematical concepts of accounting. I hope I can handle it because I'm worried since I can't handle the "easy" shit from pre-calc.

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Bits & Pieces XX

• College started August 23^rd, which means I've been going to school already for a week now. At the beginning of the semester, I was sufficiently nervous. However, after the first week, my anxiety is allayed. I'm not...expecting something easy, I'm just expecting to not be freaking out like I was at the beginning of the summer semester. And speaking of the previous summer semester...
• I'm still weird-ed-out about the fact I passed a sufficiently challenging math course. I mean, even my academic adviser, Marilyn Ryan, was trying to prepare me for the possibility I might botch that attempt at passing that class. She wasn't suggesting I would fail because I'm stupid, but she was trying to warn me about the fact that class only has a pass rate (of higher than a "C") of 25%. I somehow got an 80 average, which means I got a "B." So that means I'm in that 25%. I think it is even stranger to know that I had the same instructor who also taught the Statistics class I botched. Maybe I was meant to redeem myself with that summer class, and with him. Who knows. The Universe works in mysterious ways.
• But anyway, before the fall semester began I wanted to do something special for Kevin, and our friends, so I thought I would throw a cook-out. For the most part, it was relatively successful...except the fact I excessively charred the turkey burgers. Urgh. The actual turkey meat was just acting weird. I don't know if it was because the meat was excessively lean or fatty, but I couldn't form patties at all. The meat was just so sticky. I somehow managed to form them into patty shapes, but they "melted" into each other since they were stacked on top of each other before I grilled them. It was especially challenging trying to put them on the grill since they lost their shape. I had to pick up the turkey burgers and reform them on the grill. That was a tricky endeavor. Alas, they tasted OK, they just didn't look too tasty. I asked Kevin if I could throw another cook-out in September, and he said I could. I think I'll use regular 85%-lean ground beef the next time. At least beef won't give me grief like turkey meat will.
• Also, after the summer college semester ended, I thought I would treat myself to a new (used) video game since I passed with a decent grade. So I trolled eBay for one of the best games in existence, Yoshi's Island for the Super Nintendo. I don't know why, but that game goes for a higher price than what I was expecting. It isn't like it is a rare game; Decent used copies were selling for over $30. I found a nice copy for $28 with free shipping, so I think I broke even with that price. Oh, wow, I forgot how difficult this game is -- for a "kids" game. The challenge level of this game seems to increase exponentially, but it does so without feeling "cheap." Plus the graphics are simply stunning. It is like playing a game in a coloring book. Just like Super Mario Bros. 3 before it for the 8-bit era, Yoshi's Island is a pinnacle (or one of them, anyway) of the 16-bit gaming era. I guess I can understand why the game goes for what it does on the internet.
• 

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School Today

My new semester at Parkland College starts tomorrowlater today. I forgot I signed up for that much math this semester. Accounting? Business Calculus? *sob*

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