Friday, June 10, 2011

X-Men: First Class

Brother and I went to go watch the movie today. Mother dropped us off at Oakridge. Jovany sold us our tickets :D

For a two-hour-long movie, "First Class" was pretty awesome. I loved it. Great action, great storyline, great acting. I found my sympathy to lie with Erik for most if not all of the movie. Michael Fassbender is a superb actor, who made it easy for me to empathize with Erik. James MacAvoy was good as Charles. Played calm and cool very well. The scumbag antagonist varied between meh and grr haha. Kevin Bacon keeps playing bad guys; I wonder why, but at least he's good and convincing.
Overall, I really liked the characters. This movie explains a few things that I always wondered about XD Awesome story throughout the movie, but especially in the first half of the movie, I think. And the action was best toward the end.

Anyway, Brother fell asleep during the movie. So sad. I had to wake him up several times because he was snoring -.- He thought the story was too slow and boring. He wanted more action. I'm so disappointed -.- You shouldn't watch X-Men just for the action. It's the story that really makes the movie.

Afterward, Brother and I walked to the light rail station to go home. On the way, we passed a dead cat ;-; It was lying on its side with its eyes and mouth open. The legs were straight and rigid. I asked Brother, "Is that a dead cat?!" T_T So scary and sad. Flies were buzzing in and out of the mouth. Didn't look like it had been run over. Looked more like it had been scared to death. But yeah, image scarred into my brain T_T

Now, I have to drive Brother home -.- But I'm hoping to go watch more movies and do other things this summer with people :) Can't wait!


Btw (off-topic), I think asking people to give you an answer to certain questions is unfair and stupid, to say the least, in given situations. Like, Brother asked Mother is she loved him. I thought, "Why wouldn't she? She does so much for you when she doesn't have to and when you cause her so much pain. How could she not love you? Why do you need to ask?" Anyway, yeah, just thoughts and thoughts on my mind.

Now, time to drive.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Weekend with Shiva

So Shiva came back up to SJ on Friday with her cousin. She stayed at my house for the weekend.

She got to my house around 19h00, I'm not sure. Helped her bring food and other stuff inside. Got her settled in haha. Mother had bought vegetarian food for her. So we ate that for dinner. After, she modeled her new pinstripe suit for me XD Mother said the jacket looked too small on her, but otherwise she looked really pretty and professional haha. Before Shiva and I went to sleep, she practiced her two-minute speech, which she had to give during her interview on Saturday.

Saturday, woke up around 6h30. I debated about whether I should go with Shiva to the interview or not, to keep her company while she waited for her interview. But the whole thing was supposed to last from 8h00 to 16h00, and we didn't know if there was any place I could sit to wait for her. And it was raining that day. So, ultimately, I stayed at home.
Spent the whole day waiting for Shiva to come home. Worked on a bunch of Sudoku puzzles that she had given me almost a year ago haha. I made 19h30 reservations at the Vegetarian House for a group of ten. I don't remember what else I did. Shiva called to tell me that she had two interviews, one at 9h00 (the earliest one possible) and one at 15h30 (the latest one possible). So sad. But at least she was able to talk to people and hang out with them.
When she came back to my house, I was happy to see that she was still alive. But she was still nervous about her interviews. Will find out if she got the position next Monday.
We just hung around the house a bit, talking and stuff about her interviews and whatnot. Then around 19h00, we went to pick up Harrison from his house to go to the Vegetarian House.
Missed our exit XD because Shiva is confused by the signs in SJ. But we got to the restaurant about on time. Most of our other guest were already there: Marian L, Sabrina, Stephanie S (I didn't really know her before though), and Killol. I think Jen L and Cathy B came later, I don't remember ;-;
Interesting restaurant. Pictures of Supreme Master Ching Hai (or Thanh Hai for us Viet people) everywhere in the restaurant. The servers were very nice and accommodating. We really only had about an hour and a half to eat because the restaurant closed at 21h00. But we took a while to order drinks and food. Ended up getting the summer rolls, Sizzling Tofu, Namaste Set, Kung Pao Tofu, Spicy Cha Cha, Dancing Asparagus, Spaghetti Jambalaya, a bowl of white rice, and a bowl of brown rice (which I took home). We all split the cost of most of the things that were ordered. The exceptions were the Spaghetti Jambalaya (Sabrina), Hummus and cheesecake (Stephanie and Killol). Drinks were good: Thai Iced Tea had soy milk in it, very tasty. I had the Steaz Sparkling Orange, yum. Iced teas, I heard, were good too. So, I say the servers of the restaurant were very accommodating because there wasn't enough space on our table to fit all the dishes and so we asked them if we could place the food on a separate table to make it like buffet-style dining. And they let us :D Much easier to reach the food, instead of trying to pass around dishes and plates.
Shiva had fun looking at a book of birds (though, Ching Hai was almost in every single picture).
But anyway, we had to leave the restaurant at 21h30, half hour after closing. We stood in front of the restaurant and then at the bus stop to wait for Cathy's bus. Talked for more than an hour and a half. It was fun. Some silly and crazy times. Cathy got hella hugs before she got on her bus because the first two or three buses that came were not hers but everyone hugged her thinking it was her bus :P So silly. Harrison and Shiva gave me and Jen piggyback rides XD I felt like Harrison was tossing me off at times haha, but he's just crazy XP He even climbed the bus stop sign for pictures. Talking to Stephanie led to us finding out that she went to high school with Brother :D and that she was friends with the guys who became Brother's enemies <_< She recognized Brother from the photo I had in my wallet, but chances are Brother may not recognize her. Haha small world though, yeah? Turns out she's not very good friends with those guys though, so that's good haha :P
Anyway, Mother kept calling me, yelling at me to get home. She got pissed at me because I said I would come home soon, but I didn't. Had to drop Marian, Jen, and Sabrina off at their respective places. Harrison got a ride from Killol to somewhere else in downtown. Stephanie was sad that she was driving alone XD haha.
Went to Sabrina's room to collect some of the things that Shiva had left with her. Then we went home. Mother was not happy. Glared at me. Shiva thought Mother was glaring at her, but it turned out it only looked that way because Shiva was standing behind me when Mother glared at me XD But Mother was angry at me because I was out too late during a time where quite a few kidnappings had been occurring (Michelle Le, little kids, and others).

Sunday, I woke up at 4h30 to wake up Mother, so that she could get ready for a day trip to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in Ukiah. I fell back asleep. She woke me up at 5h30 to drive her to the meet-up point for the charter buses. I didn't wake Shiva up for this because she didn't seem to want to be woken up XD
Dropped Mother off and came back home to sleep. Shiva and I didn't get up till near noon. Took our time getting up and getting ready. Went to IHOP. Got there around 15h00 when Mother called to say that she'd be back in SJ in about two hours. So Shiva and I ate kinda quickly. Then we went on a search for pet shops with cats. Went to Andy's Pet Shop, where Shiva's GPS said it would be. But it turned out it was the old location. Went to the new location with the help of Carlo (I had to call him). But no cats ): Only rats, a guinea pig, a macaw, and a few dogs, mostly chihuahuas. Texted Carlo to ask him if there were any places with cats.
On the way to one of the places that Carlo suggested, Mother called to say she was back. So Shiva and I went to pick Mother up. It was a difficult parking lot to maneuver through because people were walking and cars were blocking passages. But we got through it eventually. Took Mother home. Then off to the Animal Care Center, except it had closed ):
So we went to Harrison's house because we knew he had a cat. Got there. Tried to pet the cat and it ran away from us ;-; So we just hung out in Harrison's living room and bedroom. I injured my shin on Harrison's couch T_T Painful. In his bedroom, we watched some survival show. Played and lost at chess against Shiva. There was a tickle war, in which Shiva was the victor XP She sprayed silly string on Harrison's closet doors before we left.
Got home early. Slept kinda early.
Mother and Shiva talking to each other is interesting :D Mother invited her over to our house again. Talked about a bunch of stuff, like Mother's complaints about our landlady haha. I think Shiva understood Mother pretty well though :P

Monday, we had our alarms going off from 8h00 to 9h00. Got up. Got ready. Ate breakfast. Found that my wireless keyboard was acting funky. It added a bunch of "g" and "12" to a message that Shiva was writing XD
I helped Shiva pack her stuff into her car. She left after 12h00. Anxious about this because she was driving to So Cal by herself, since her cousin was no longer going back to So Cal.
But she called around 19h30 to say that she made it home safely :) Amazing haha.

I haven't really done too much this weekend haha. I need to apply to more jobs though and do other stuff. Make more plans with people. Make sure plans come to fruition :) Lots of things to do, yes? Like register for classes tomorrow morning :P

Anyway, yeah, fun stuff. Now off to do more fun stuff by myself XP Yay, Sudoku and whatever else I decide to do...

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Shiva's Move-Out & My Obligatory Jury Duty

Sunday, Michelle W took grad photos of Shiva. She couldn't finish taking them. So our friend Phil came to help finish. Went outside into the windy day, along with Sabrina, to take nice scenic photos. It was really COLD ;-; But we braved the temperature to finish taking photos in the CV Quad and on Tower Lawn.

Sunday and Monday were spent packing Shiva's things into boxes and stuff. Most of it actually happened on Monday XD Her parents came to help pack, which did not make for a completely pleasant experience. Lots of arguments about what to keep, what to throw away, where to put things, who should keep what, etc etc.
Her parents wanted her to throw or give away a lot of things because there wasn't enough space in their SUV. But a lot of that stuff has sentimental value -nods- I offered to take some stuff home in Mother's car, so that Shiva could pick them up when she comes back this weekend for her job interview. Shiva's parents then tried to get me to take like 2/5 of the stuff Shiva had <_<; A lot of stuff. When we took the stuff down to Mother's car, she got kinda annoyed at me for offering to take stuff. But seriously, it wasn't that much compared to what was in Shiva's parent's car haha.
So Mother and Shiva's mom talked to each other >_> I felt weird. I always feel weird when she tries to talk to my friends or their parents XD Anyway, I left after putting the last few things in Mother's car. Long hugs before Shiva and I parted ways.
At home, I had to leave the boxes and two zipped bags in the garage. Brought her small luggage, bogu bag, shinai bag, and stuff into my room. I suppose I could have taken like one or two more things. But we had figured that Shiva's Camry might not fit everything especially since she's gonna have a passenger in her car with his own stuff.
But yeah, Monday was an exhausting day.

Tuesday, I had to report for jury duty at the Superior Court downtown at 13h00. Lasted about an hour. I read 1984 while waiting. The judge came, introduced staff, lawyers and clients, read a statement that summarized the case details, and asked prospective jurors as a group a few questions. Questions included whether we knew any of the people in the court and whether we had any hardships that interfered with jury duty. All those who had no hardships--this included me--could leave but had to return Wednesday morning at 8h55.

So today, I returned. Sat in court while we all went through the jury selection. 80+ prospective jurors. Quite a few SJSU students. Two breaks and a 1.5-hour-long lunch break. Lasted till about 16h30. One juror fell asleep, and the judge got angry at him. Most of the original eighteen people who were randomly selected were chosen to stay on the jury. A lot of prospective jurors were anxious about being selected to go up for jury selection and interview. When jurors were dismissed, the waiting jurors to be selected were all like "I hope I don't get selected next." But luckily, we didn't have to go through all eighty or so people. More like twenty-two people. Just sucked that we had to spend so many hours waiting.
Few things I can remember about a few jurors:
one worked at Flextronics (This caught my attention because Brother used to work there)
a female juror stated that her significant other was an attorney (Her significant other was a "she." I got all excited when I heard that just because I don't normally hear people mention same-sex relationships in public outside of QTIP and Q&A)
a couple of jurors left for health or work-related reasons (arthritis. And some employers were not paying their employees for the work they were missing)

I finished reading 1984 because of all the waiting I had to do. Oh, and supposedly, I will be paid $15 per day I'm on duty starting today, as well as $0.34 per mile traveled from my zip code. Not that much. It's like being paid $3 an hour, maybe a little more.

Anyway, I'm gonna spend tomorrow reorganizing my room. And I need to apply to more jobs -_- No replies from the other ones that I have applied to. Sad.

Oh, I checked my grades for this past semester. Three A's and one A- so far. One more class to check, but I'm pretty sure I got an A in that one too. Next Wednesday, I get to register up to eighteen units :D because I'm a graduating senior <_< I thought that only counted when I'm in my last semester, but I guess it counts in my last two semesters? I dunno. But yay! I get to register for the five classes that I want. Woot woot!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Shiva's Graduation Ceremonies (May 28)

So today, I woke up early to go to Shiva's SJSU Commencement Ceremony, which was at the Spartan Stadium. Marian L and I got a ride with Shiva and her parents. A bit of traffic on the way, but it wasn't too bad.

Took pictures. There was a spartan helmet made of blue and yellow balloons :D Pretty cool.

Shiva went to the assembly area for the Social Sciences, while her parents, Marian, and I went to the bleachers. Found seats facing the the Social Sciences section. Marian and I sat away from Shiva's parents.

She and I watched the procession. Laughed because, while all the other colleges had continuous lines of graduates walking in, the social sciences line had like a ten-minute gap in the procession. Tried to look for Shiva, but it took a long while. She called. I called. We called. All trying to find out where the other was. Eventually, Marian and I spotted Shiva on the football field. Tried to take pictures, but there was this tall guy sitting in front of Shiva -_- Had to wait for his head to get out of the way. But it kept getting in the way, grr. He moved a lot and talked to his friend a lot. Whenever there was a good shot of Shiva (the guy moved out of the way) and I lifted her camera to take a picture, he would disrupt the photo >_< Even when Shiva stood on the chair, the guy would still get in the way by either being too tall and standing in front of her or standing on his friggin' chair in front of her -______________- When the guy was finally completely out of the way for a few minutes, Shiva's camera died on me T__T

Hmm, many of the attendees, including myself, learned that SJSU had a fight song o_o The weather was interesting. Cold and hot. Scorching sun at times, windy at others. Sunny, but sprinkled once or twice. 3ish hours long in this weather, not too fun. I didn't really pay too much attention to the speeches because I had been focusing on taking pictures. After the camera died, I started paying attention. Also waved to Shiva a couple of times. I wonder if she noticed when I waved at her with my whole body (or rather top half of my body XD).

Oh, at one point during the ceremony, Marian took out a bottle to blow bubbles. The wind was kinda strong. So when she blew the bubbles, they flew behind her into a little boy's face XD hahaha... He scrunched up his face and tried to swat the bubbles away haha.

The ceremony ended around 12. It wasn't that amazing. Not very personal. Just large groups of people on the field, classified by college and major. Each group standing up and sitting down, with clapping and cheering mixed in. Anyway, lots of pictures to be taken after the ceremony with flags and family.

Then back to campus for another graduation ceremony for Behavioral Science/Anthropology. Had food snacks and cake. I forgot Shiva's mom's camera in the car. Or rather I had forgotten that I did not have the camera with me when I got out of the car because someone else had been holding it. Anyway, used Shiva's Nintendo DS to take pictures. I sat on the steps instead of a seat because there were no more seats in the room. Sat next to the second row of graduates >_> Took pictures of the faculty in the front and of Shiva while she gave a short thank-you speech, which all of the graduates did.

Oh, Harrison made it to this one. He meant to attend the main graduation but was late. He walked all the way there, but the main one had ended. So he came back to campus to attend the second, smaller ceremony :)

After that, we all went back to Shiva's to rest. Rested a bit. Shiva's parents left. Marian left to be with her mother. Harrison and I helped Shiva pack up a little. Then she went to eat dinner with her parents. Harrison and I went to Subway. I went home, and Harrison went to Fanime.

I'm skipping lots of details because I can't recall many of them and today wasn't completely pleasant. There was a lot of anger and stuff today. A day that was supposed to be one of the best days ever turned out to not be one of those days ): But hopefully, the next two or three days will make up for it.

Oh, Harrison, Shiva, and I made a sandwich piggyback ride XP That was kinda scary. I was slipping off... to my DOOOOOM O_O !! Ohh, I'm also borrowing Shiva's copy of the book Howl's Moving Castle :D I remember watching the movie at Le's house because she loved it :P


Anyway, I'm tired -_- But tomorrow I shall help Shiva pack up more, Michelle W will hopefully take Shiva's grad pictures, Shiva and I will go to Japantown for some shaved ice, and we'll watch a movie at night. Then Monday morning, we'll go to IHOP :) Tuesday, Shiva will be leaving, or at least that's what I hope <_< And then I have to report for jury duty downtown... I dunno if I'm looking forward to that or not.

I still need to find a job...

Friday, May 27, 2011

Shiva's Graduation Ceremonies (May 26)

Yesterday, Shiva had two mini graduation ceremonies in the Student Union: Sociology Graduation and Rainbow Graduation.

I took pictures and videos with her camera; I am such a bad cameraperson haha--shaky hands and whatnot.

At the Sociology ceremony, Shiva and I could see each other from where we both sat. She sat in the second-to-last row of graduates. I sat in the first row behind the graduates with a mother to my left and two white guys to my right. I wish I had more guts or something, so that I could tell those guys to be respectful, shut up, or leave.

When one of the student speakers went up to give his speech, the two guys snickered and laughed because "he sounds so gay." Later on, when the graduate walked the stage, the two guys looked at each other and laughed again, saying "It's the gay guy." I don't fucking get them. I don't even know why they were there. They didn't clap for anyone. Instead, they seemed to have spent most of the ceremony texting, listening to their iPods, talking to each other, and laughing at a few of the graduates who walked the stage. Grr.

But otherwise, the graduation was fun. I got to clap for Shiva and a few other friends (I think I will know many more graduates at next year's ceremony).

So when the graduates walked across the stage, Prof Boero read their names and other info that they had written on a little card, like their double major, minor, honors, and such. I had seen what Shiva wrote on her card before I went to get my seat. Future plans: "Law school, gazillionaire, community action." Sounds good. But when Shiva went across the stage and I was recording what Boero was saying, I realized that Shiva had added some stuff to her card. She thanked her family and me specifically o_o I didn't know how to react >_> <_< >_>

The reception afterward had some food. Cake, brownies, egg rolls, samosas, fruit, water, and lemonade. Took pictures of Shiva with her professors and fellow students.

Went back to Shiva's room to upload photos from her camera, so that there would be memory for the next ceremony, Rainbow Grad.

Got to Rainbow Graduation on time. Met up with Harrison, Marian, and Brian (late!). Talked to people and noticed that Shiva was the only one in her graduation gown XD Luis and Shiva gave speeches :) I liked them.

Graduates were then called up one by one--there were only nine graduates, but only eight attended, I think--and allowed two-minute speeches. Shiva thanked me again <_< but this time, she got to explain why haha :3

There was also cake at this celebration. There were lots of photos being taken throughout the ceremony. Oh, Luis and Shiva shared the knife to cut the cake, but somehow did not cut the cake. Instead, the knife plopped through it :P Such tasty cake. There were also samosas and fruit here, as well as spanakopita, quiches, and punch.

It was nice seeing Jeff and Tri again :) Hadn't seen either of them since my first semester or year in QTIP and Q&A. Got to say some goodbyes to people whom I might not see again, at least for a while.

After Rainbow grad, Shiva and I stood outside the door to the English graduation ceremony. We were attempting to get Shiva's friend's attention, which we eventually managed to do :)

Then it was back to Shiva's room to start making enchiladas. Bulk enchiladas, yay! Marian came to help. Harrison helped too. We kept making them while guests were there. I think we stopped after the third batch. Happy to know people liked the food.

A few of the guests also accidentally ate food that was not for the party. They felt bad, but it was ok. They didn't finish off the food haha. Well, except for the samoa cookies, which had been placed out of the way. Someone found them and ate her last cookie ):

Other people who showed up were Michelle W, Steven P, Jen (Steven's friend), Christina(?), Karishma, Crystal, Danny V, Melissa(?), Cathy, Rahul, Ton, Evelyn H, Phil and Killol (both late). Adan and his friend came in for like five seconds and then left. Tim W and his roommate Tim also came for a while :P Michelle brought John--he talked about smoking weed quite a bit O_o

The night was going pretty well. Then a moment of tension arose. One guest trying to spread a rumor/story about another guest who had left. Shiva stepped up and told the guest not to disrespect other people, even if he didn't like them or didn't think they were good people. Treating someone the same way they treat you doesn't make you any better than them. This incident just kinda dampened the party atmosphere a little. A few people left, including the particular guest. Then the atmosphere got cheerful again. Phil kept taking pictures of people XD

I started falling asleep. How sad. I think Phil made fun of me, but I don't remember -_- Something about my neck.

Anyway, the party was fun. Though, Shiva feels like she should have held it on Saturday because a couple of the people who had wanted the party on Thursday didn't show up :/ But I think the party was pretty good anyway...


Ahaha, on Wednesday, Shiva went home with me on the light rail at night. Sad she wasn't feeling well. I told her she should have stayed home -_- But anyway, when I had gotten home and she was taking the light rail back to campus, she called to tell me about something that happened just a bit before she called XD A guy on the light rail had been staring at her the whole time. Then he walked toward her and tossed/dropped a piece of paper near her and left without saying a word. Shiva opened the paper. It said something like "Hi, I think you're cute... :) Uh... Idk, text me ###-###-####." Shiva wanted to burst out laughing apparently. When she told me the story, I laughed XP I also wish I could have been there to watch this happen. Seems the guy looked like he was in high school and was really shy/nervous or something like that haha. Awww XD


Ok, that's all I'm gonna say now. Shiva wants me to go to bed because she has two more graduation ceremonies tomorrow. One at 9h30 and the other at 13h00. I have to wake up early to get to campus, so that I can get a ride from her parents. Though, it seems at least one of her parents may not be too fond of me <_<;
[Shiva had dinner with her parents and sensei tonight. At one point in the conversation, Shiva mentioned how she thanked me during the sociology ceremony. The reaction wasn't completely pleasant(?).]

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Crazy End of Spring 2011

The past couple of weeks have been crazy. Except I can't remember that many details. As usual. I'll try to remember as much as I can...

Throughout May: SPSS Research Report for Quantitative Research Methods. Interview project for Qualitative Research Methods. Ten-page paper for Social Change. Team paper for Computer, Ethics, and Society (not done yet; but my team will hopefully turn it in tonight). I had finals last Monday, Thursday, and Friday. Online final for Philosophy, which I completed on Sunday. Brother got a job in Santana Row, yay! I've been applying to jobs online. I suppose I should eventually go directly to stores and apply. Meh.

May 10: School shooting. It actually happened in the Tenth Street Garage. Found out two days later kinda what happened and who was involved. 25-year-old Filipino female and 26-year-old Caucasian male found shot to death in a car on the fifth floor. They were both graduating seniors, majoring in accounting. 54-year-old Filipino male found bleeding from self-inflicted gunshot wound elsewhere in the garage. He was married to the female in the car. He was also the gunman. No other details have really been revealed except for their names and relationships.

May 12: The second Zombie Apocalypse. Four Marine ROTC guys started the game as the original zombies. The game wasn't as exciting as the first one because not that many people participated. Getting ready for finals, you know. Supposedly, more people survived this time.
Shiva and I survived till about 13h20. We were walking along the side of the Event Center with Cathy and Rahul (a zombie, but he promised not to tag us). Then we noticed four zombies walking toward us, still somewhat far away. Panic set in. Shiva and I turned to run away. Sadly, the zombies saw us and started chasing us. Shiva tried to run toward the Health Center, but the door she tried to open was locked. So she was tagged. I ran further, but the wind blew my hat off. So I ran back for it. Tried to get into the Art Building, but a zombie got me ;-; Did not get to chase any humans. All the humans I saw were either too far away or were already about to get tagged by a horde of zombies or something. Sadness.

May 19: Free test materials. I got a small stack of large blue books and scantrons XD I got them with the intention of handing out extras to my classmates who forgot theirs. But I realize I can have my own personal stack without paying for them. Wish I had gotten more when I could though haha.

May 20: My SOCI 116 (Global Society) final. Before that though, I was talking to my friend Evan L for a while, as we stared at and watched incoming freshmen/transfer students go through their Freshmen Orientation. Good talk about being different, being yourself, and having an open mind. After talking to him, I went to Shiva's classroom, where she had finished taking her Sexualities final. Two other students were still there. Prof Rokni (also my Social Change prof) was arguing with one of the other students. He was a 6'4", black male student--he described himself. He accused Rokni of looking through his backpack when he left the room (earlier in the semester) and being prejudiced against him, implying that she was racist. For the final, she had moved him from the back of the room to the front, which is what she often does to her students.
Very heated argument with him accusing her of being "one of those people" who make his education difficult and her repeating "I don't even know who you are. I don't know your name. How can I be prejudiced against you?" I think her point was that she couldn't screw with his grade even if she tried because she didn't recognize him nor did she know his name. And he said he had gotten an A on his midterm, which is proof that she wasn't out to get him or screw with his goal of education. I dunno where this argument was going, but it's the first time any of my profs/teachers have ever been accused of being racist. First time I've ever really seen anyone pull the race card at SJSU for sure.

May 21: The fated Rapture did not happen. I even checked the news to see if New Zealand had been struck by a crazy big earthquake. It had not. I'm so disappointed <_< We're all still alive, yay. But wait, the preacher who predicted the Rapture has maintained that October 21 will definitely be the end of days o_o ...

May 23: ST Graduation. I didn't see it. But I stopped by in the alleyway next to the Event Center to look for Brian P and Kristen P. Ahh, I can't believe they graduated XD Oh, I still see them as freshmen haha. Brian told me their graduating class was small (only 40% of the original class or something). I congratulated them and gave hugs. Promised Kristen we would hang out this summer and catch up. Brian's gonna be going to UC Merced, and Kristen's going to UC Davis. It's crazy, but I gotta start thinking of them as adults now haha XD It was good seeing them though. It's been a looong time.
Oh, I saw Madame as I was walking toward the graduates, but she disappeared into the sea of blue. I didn't really feel like wading through the crowd to find her. I'll make sure to visit her in the next school year.

May 24: Andrew Hill Graduation. Tried to find and even call Nancy T. But apparently, she hadn't arrived yet. Promised to get caught up with her this summer as well.

So I've slept over at Shiva's a couple of times this past week or so (like four times or something). Shiva had a couple of all-nighters. I feel bad. I should have been better at encouraging her to get her work done sooner -_- I have failed you, Shiva.

Oh, she had a Kendo tournament on Sunday at Leigh HS. And a memorhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifial afterward for Hazard Sensei, who pretty much led the way for Kendo here in California and stuff. I met him once, but I didn't actually talk to him. But he sounded like a good person and maybe somewhat silly at times haha. May he rest in peace.

So I just got a Facebook invite, but it's not to an event. It seems that an SJSU student has gone missing since yesterday.
Missing: Marlon Hoang

Seems like quite a bit of bad/sad things keep happening around here.

Brother has had some troubles lately. I'm not sharing many details about this because I'm still confused as to what happened. He recently got a new girlfriend. It's only been a few weeks. Thought she was good for him, but she really wasn't. Lies, arguments, violence, police, etc etc. At least that's what I've heard from Mother. Who knows what else will unfold? I just hope Brother did not put himself or our family in more danger.

In somewhat happier news, Shiva is graduating and leaving me behind. She'll be having four different graduation ceremonies XD Two on Thursday and two on Saturday. I'll be going to all four hopefully haha. And we're gonna celebrate her graduation sometime this weekend as well :) I say "somewhat happier" because Shiva doesn't want to graduate XP She doesn't want to leave San Jose/SJSU. Really, she just doesn't want to leave me >_> hahaha jkjk :P But really, she's leaving next Tuesday. It makes me really sad.. I hope she gets a job around here, so that she'll come back to SJ :3


I know there's a lot of things from this past month that I don't recall right now. I don't really know what else to say. Uhh, I'm happy school is finally over--last day of classes was last Tuesday--, and I don't have to really stress over any assignments for the next few months. Grades will come out in like a week or two, I think. I'm also just trying to keep my cool; I think I'm doing a pretty darn good job at it. I hope I can get a job for this summer. I need work experience and an excuse to not be home.

I also want to hang out with people this summer. So far as I know, I may be going to SoCal again this summer to visit Shiva. I've only told two or three people I'd hang out with them this summer,and I look forward to hanging out with them, especially the ones I haven't seen in a while. Some people that I want to hang out with will not be back in SJ all or most of the summer sadly.


I dunno if I'll be updating my blog more this summer. I might have more free time if I don't get a job. But I'll also not be going out too often if Shiva's not here, I think XD
I'm gonna be sorting through all my stuff in the next week or so. Must get rid of junk. Must organize room. Must clean. Also: Must read. Must rest. Must register for classes.
I already have a tentative class schedule for the Fall, yay. Been eliminating class choices the past three or so weeks. Narrowed down to six. I plan to take five, since I feel like I won't have much to do next semester. Yay for senior status; my registration appointment is June 8 at 7h00, which is exactly twenty-four hours after Advanced Registration opens :) And I dunno if it's an error, but it seems I can sign up for eighteen units during Advanced Registration. No fourteen-unit cap? We'll see what happens when I register.


My tentative Fall 2011 classes:

Monday/Wednesday
1030-1145 JS 136 Family and Community Violence -- Lowell
1200-1315 PHIL 155 Philosophy of Law -- Manning
1330-1445 PHIL 132 Ethical Theory -- Vaidya

Tuesday/Thursday
0900-1015 SOCI 181B Sociology Career Capstone -- Ng
1200-1315 PHYS 123 Physics of Animation -- [Staff]
1330-1445 SOCI 156 Gangs & Mobs -- Dexheimer

The two Philosophy and the two Sociology classes are the four classes I know I want or need to take. My fifth class, if I decide to take a fifth, will probably be PHYS 123.
If I get this schedule, then I'll only have three classes left that I need to take next Spring: two sociology classes and an Area S class. It would leave an extra elective that I can take for fun during my last semester.
I hope this works out.


Anyway, yeah, that's what's on my mind. Other than the want for sleep and a few other things :P

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Birthday Dinner, QACON 2011, & SJ Japantown

Shiva, Marian, and I went to The Cheesecake Factory with people on Friday night to celebrate Michelle W's 25th birthday. Didn't eat too much. Shiva and I split a dish called Evelyn's Favorite Pasta or something like that. It was bland. Shiva asked for pasta sauce.

Harrison came late. There was endless bread. Server was nice. Food was eh. Expensive. I think I may decline next time someone invites me to go eat at The Cheesecake Factory.

I slept over at Shiva's. Woke up kinda early Saturday morning. Got ready. Billy N picked us up in his minivan, along with Adan, Tan, and Danny. Went to Berkeley for QACON.

Keynote speaker Cecilia Chung was cool. Shared her story about becoming and being a woman. Very heartrending, at least for me.

Three workshops--I went to the ones about oppression (good; started off slow, but the end was fun; we made skits), asexuality (not very good; speaker was not completely informative about the different aspects of asexuality and the community), and coming out to family (pretty good; originally a panel, turned into 6 different groups because a lot of people showed up; my group did a share-your-story-with-a-partner kinda thing and a chair game thing kinda like I Love My Neighbor).

Shiva and I skipped Storytime because we didn't think it would be any better than the one from Western Regional. Plus, we were tired. Went to nap on the grass near where lunch had been served. Ran into Karishma. She was skipping Storytime too.

Uhh, after the third workshop, Shiva told me to decide where we were gonna go next. Either to the scavenger hunt or to the leadership caucus. I chose the former. When we got to Sather Tower, only six other people showed up to do the hunt. So I decided not to participate. Shiva and I went back to find the caucus but couldn't. Later, we found out it had moved to another room.

Walked around, looking for Crossroads, except that was not the store that Shiva actually wanted to check out. Went into Hot Topic instead. She bought a black tie with a skull on it. Took that skull off with the help of Billy's mini-scissors.

Went to eat at the "Asian ghetto." Shiva and I shared veggie dragon rolls and vegetable tempura.

Went to Alex R's place. Alex is a UCB student that SJSU Q&A people know. Hella guys crammed in there. So SJSU Q&A people walked several blocks down to Alex's friend Patrick's place. Patrick was shocked to see 10 of us. He had only expected 3 or 4. He was "bitchy." He said so himself. Ultimately, Billy, Shiva, and I stayed at his place, while the rest went back to Alex's and another person's place.

I tried to think of anyone I knew at Berkeley to see if I could ask for a place to stay. I texted Cristina D, but she didn't know anyone with a place. Told her about the afterparty at Kip's. I just realized I could have asked Jeisun X. Totally forgot about him.

Anyway, afterparty at Kip's was all right. Danced almost the whole time. Only times I didn't were when the "DJ" played stupid songs, like "Friday" by Rebecca Black. Shiva wanted to dance swing with me. Did that for a while. Apparently, other people started doing the same thing (Oh my, people know how to dance outside of freaking). Our friends showed up later. Danced with them. Group kept changing size throughout the night. Tan was messed up from alcohol. Very touchy-feely -_- Kissy, wobbly, and stuff like that. He elbowed me and other people several times.

Cristina came and danced with me and my friends a bit. Then she went and danced with other people. She thought Tan was hilarious because he was dancing crazy. Oh, Tan ended up dancing all night with some guy he met.

Though it was fun seeing friends dance, I wasn't really into the dancing until the last few songs. Sad. So much freaking going on. I kinda wanted to leave, but I also wanted to dance. So I just stayed and danced, though my dancing was way less energetic than usual. I just felt hella tired.

Party ended at 1h20. Was supposed to go till 2h00. But the establishment kicked us all out. Yelled at us to not loiter in front of the bar.

Uh, what else? Oh, Shiva and I got to play with Alex's 2 cats, Pixel and Scout. They were so calm and well-behaved. And fluffy.

Anyway, slept on Patrick's couch for the night. Tan slept over at Patrick's too because he was too drunk to go elsewhere. Though, he, Patrick, and Billy didn't return till 4 in the morning. I remember hearing them come in to the living room, but that's all I remember.

In the morning, we woke up, got ready, and went to Alex's place. Talked to Danny, Crystal, Karishma, Jen, and Alex. Played with the cats. Watched Alex feed them. Went to brunch on campus. Open mic: some interesting and good performances. The dance performances were probably my least favorite. I dunno why.

Anyway, left UCB after the Open Mic. Evan Low was the keynote speaker afterward, but we left before he really started talking.

Back in SJ, Shiva and I went to the Nikkei Matsuri festival to volunteer. She helped out. I didn't. I felt bad. I didn't help out because I had been waiting in line for shaved ice with a snow cap (one hour and ten minutes or so). Really hot day. When Shiva and I were eating/drinking it, quite a bit of it fell out. So sad.

Went back to Shiva's place around 6. Talked.


So QACON was good. Though, I don't know if I'm going again next year. Maybe. We'll see. I don't really feel like a conference-attending kind of person.

Blah. I have allergies. My eyes are burning, and my nose is runny. Today has ended not so well, but I won't complain too much. I just feel something that's the equivalent of a heavy weight on me. Not quite the same but similar.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

QTIP's Drag Show 2011

I slept over at Shiva's Wednesday night because we both had two back-to-back midterms the next day. The 104 midterm was difficult -_- I hope we both got good scores.

The drag show was on Thursday. I was late for setup because I had gone home around 3 and tried to get back to campus by 5. But I had to wait for D to stop by, which made me an hour late. Setup started late though and ended quickly.

The show itself was all right. Turnout was not as high as it seemed to be last year. There were fewer performances too, I think. Or maybe just fewer performers; some of them did two or three performances.

I liked a few of the performances. Bonnie's "Love The Way You Lie" was good, especially with the IPV (Intimate Partner Violence) facts. Pandora's Myth's dance routine was pretty awesome; probably my favorite performance of the night. Oh, Bonnie's drag troupe (Gender Queer Society) did the final performance of the night. Performing with a pair of drumsticks and inflatable guitars, the four performers were each dressed as a member of a different band or musician. Kiss, George Michael, Bon Jovi, Flock of Seagulls. That was just a fun performance.

Oh, there was also Tim's Emily Rose/Rebecca Black performance o_O The intro was taken from the movie "The Exorcism of Emily Rose." Turned into the song "Friday." The audience sang along. I still don't even remember the tune, and this was probably the third time I'd heard that song. I think Shiva's ears died and her brain lost some cells.

Parker's group, Pimps and Pros, had a fourteen-minute long performance before intermission. A bunch of hip hop songs, quite a bit of profanity, and too much provocative dancing and grinding. Toward the end of the song, the women of the group came off-stage to give lap dances to members in the audience O_O Next time, I want to sit away from the aisles. Anyway, I don't really remember anything else from this performance other than Danny's top fell down (I don't know if it was planned).

There was also a drag queen performing two Cher songs. She held a microphone and everything. Another performer was a guy singing and dancing to his own written song.

I named the performances out of order, but that's 'cause I can't remember them in order. I'm probably missing a few too -shrug-

Mm, so Shiva made me go in drag with her. Except I wasn't really in drag. All I did was wear my usual clothes, and she drew a mustache on me. And a swirly beard thing. In eyeliner stuff. Shiva had a mustache, beard, and sideburns. I brought my baggy hand-me-down jeans from Brother, so that she could borrow it. But she ended up not using them. Made me carry extra weight -_- But anyway, apparently, we looked like twins, I looked like an Asian gangster, and we were just cute (I mean, we were oh so manly). You'll see pictures on Facebook soon probably.

Harrison came to the show after the intermission. I had contacted him too late to get him to the show on time ): Sad. But he enjoyed what he didn't miss :)

So I slept over at Shiva's again Thursday night. And again Saturday night. Slept over quite a bit this week. Even though we broke up...

This past week has been difficult. Lots of tears have been shed. But smiles are still plenty enough.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

I Lied

I lied. From the beginning till now (or rather April 10, this past Sunday). And I fucked up all the good things right from the beginning.

I'm a liar and a hypocrite. I hurt the one person who means the world to me.

I don't deserve her. I never did.

I'm sorry, Shiva.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Taking Down Capitalism!

So today, after our first two classes, Shiva and I were posting up fliers in DMH for QTIP's upcoming drag show (next Thursday). Around noon, we left to the Student Union so that she could take pictures of the Tunnel of Oppression before everything was taken down. I did a bit of running around because Shiva's camera was in her room and I went to finish putting up fliers (Shiva's feet are still wounded).

When I came back to the SU to find Shiva, we ended up staying for a long while to help take things down and clean up a bit. Not many people came to help clean up. Maybe they didn't think they should.

But anyway, we were pulling down plastic tarps, peeling off all kinds of adhesive tape, rolling up the tarps, tossing away trash, salvaging what we wanted to keep, moving tables that were used as walls, and taking apart the poles that were used to hold up the tarps. Shiva and I found our knives to be useful :)

I somehow managed to cut my left index finger on a table though. I thought the knife would be dangerous, but no the table cuts me instead -_- Oh, and when we started taking apart the poles, I got injured.

We had one or two people at each corner of the poles (8 poles put together to make a box shape). Shiva was standing directly underneath the first pole we were taking out. So I held the supporting pole, so that the pole wouldn't fall on her head when we took it out. Somehow, the pole was pulled out without any warning to us, and it fell on my middle finger ;-;

At first, I reacted, jerked my finger away and winced. In my head, I was thinking, "Why am I reacting so much? It doesn't hurt that badly." A few seconds later, the pain became unbearable, and I started crying a little. I kept turning around, putting some pressure on my finger with my lips, and fighting back tears.

Sadika (MOSAIC Cross Cultural Center person XD) told me I should stay away from the poles so that I wouldn't injure myself again. But I kept helping out with taking the poles down. I'm injured, but that doesn't mean I'll stop helping if I am still able.

So I didn't really notice anything about my finger other than that it hurt like hell and was sensitive to slight pressure. After a couple of minutes, I noticed that the part of my nail where the pole hit was a bit discolored. Then a dark line started to form around the edge of the injured part. Probably just a bruise. I was afraid my whole nail was gonna turn black. It doesn't look like it will turn black, but who knows? My nail is so sensitive now @_@ When I got home from school, I noticed that my nail was slightly damaged -_-

But it's all good. If my finger hadn't taken the hit, Shiva could have been hit in the head D:

But anyway, afterward, we went to Subway downstairs in the food court. While waiting in line, we kissed each other. And a guy who was sitting in front of Subway complimented us. "If you two are really lesbians, I give you balls for showing your love..." He fumbled a lot over his words. But he was trying to give us props. That hasn't happened to us in a while. And I was kinda surprised that it happened haha XD


Anyway, I did not get any work done today. When we came back to her room, Brian L was with us. We finished watching "Macross" (Was that what it was called?). Strange anime.

Mm, so I'm hoping to get a lot of homework and reading done this weekend. I really wanna keep up or get ahead of my school work, but I don't know how likely that will happen. Lots of reading I want to do tomorrow, since I didn't do any of it today--I really wanted to get all my reading for one class done today -_- Oh well.


Lots of events coming up soon. Been advertising events on Facebook. Would work better if I had more Facebook friends XD Hopefully, the ones I do have will spread the word anyway :)

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Zombie Apocalypse at SJSU

Because I am a bit exhausted from the past two days, I'm gonna glaze over what I've been doing.


Yesterday, my 10h30 class was canceled. So Shiva and I spent the rest of the day in the Student Union working on the Tunnel of Oppression. Shiva and her LT friends had a room in the exhibit that was supposed to show the oppression caused by capitalism. A few people didn't seem to help out that much. I think I helped out a bit more with the physical labor than they did, and I'm not even a part of the LT crew <_<

Anyway, today, she, Harrison, and I checked it out. The Tunnel was pretty informative, depressing, and more. Had rooms about capitalism, disability, the War on Drugs, anti-Semitism, bullying, and ageism. I liked the room about capitalism (LT room), bullying, and ageism. In the end, there was the Tunnel (or was it room?) of Hope. Motivational quotes and such placed around mirrors. Positive and/or motivational sayings on the walls. Lists of movies, books, magazines, etc to check out.


So the Apocalypse... I wore dark clothing and had a white bandanna. Stands out real easy. Was nervous going to campus because I expected zombies to be patrolling the entrances to campus. But there were none. I went to class unharmed. Saw no zombies (bandanna on head). Saw no humans either (bandanna on arm). I was a bit worried that no one decided to participate.

Shiva and I were in class till 11h45. My goal was to stay human till noon at least. Did not make it. An Asian guy with a purple bandanna got the both of us in front of Clark Hall thirteen minutes before noon T-T I'm so sad.

As soon as we were tagged, Shiva and I started seeing a lot of bandannas, mostly zombies though ): Walked toward Student Union. I saw a human, pointed, and yelled, "Human!" Shiva and I fumbled a bit trying to run after her (I didn't know what to do with the stuff in my hand). Shiva went after her, and I carried Shiva's stuff. The human screamed quite a bit. Wasn't caught sadly.

We saw another human heading toward the Art Building. Shiva caught him, and he transformed (He put on a "bloody" shirt). I wanted a human. No chances. Saw another human, but he was on a bike.

Later, I caught a human near the Event Center. But I think I only caught her because she was being chased by like ten people, including Evan L and Rahul J. So that was too easy for me >_> The second human I got was a guy sitting down in the hallway of DMH.

Shiva had apparently chased a lot of people while I was in my third class. Sad I didn't get to see. Oh, so in my third class, I was sitting near a classmate who said he wanted to play but didn't have a bandanna. So I let him borrow the extra one that I had originally brought for Amy G--she decided not to play--and told him I would let him live so he could have a chance. When we left class, I met up with Shiva right after she tackled my classmate on his skateboard XD Sadly, Shiva got injured from that ): Had to go to Student Involvement to ask for a first aid kit. She went shoeless the rest of the day.

But Shiva was having a field day with hunting when I wasn't there or wasn't paying attention to humans. She'd just dart off after someone, and I'd just be confused for a moment haha. But yeah, Shiva looked really cool. I swooned every time I learned of how she chased a human, just to impress me XD She got a lot of zombie kisses from me today haha. Her kills made my undead heart flutter :3

While Shiva was in class, I was with Harrison when I caught my third person. We were in the SU food court. He was talking to a friend. I saw a girl running from zombies, so I chased her. Out of the food court and the SU. Got her in front of the Engineering Building. I was so proud of myself. Like, finally a real challenge and stuff. Then she kinda killed my high by letting me know that she had already been tagged; she just didn't want to be a zombie ;-; My fresh kill was not a fresh kill. I felt like I was cheated out of my experience.

And like fifteen minutes later, when I was with Harrison and Billy, Billy and I stalked two girls with purple bandannas near the Akbayan table. I went after one girl and she switched directions, so I let Billy get her. So I went for the next girl. She just turned around and said, "What are you doing?! You already got me!" I was kinda pissed because she sounded like she was irritated by me. All I could think was "Then play by the rules or take the fucking bandanna off!" But I just turned and left.

Much more happened today that was good and fun, like watching humans run from zombies or get caught by them. I feel like the individual chases were the best part. The overall atmosphere was exhilarating and united strangers haha. But it was just some people that pissed me off.

I was listening to a few other people's experiences as zombies and humans. Several complaints: some humans were abusing the safe zones by hiding out in the library or in class rooms; some humans took off their bandannas and pretended they weren't a part of the game until the zombies disappeared; some humans didn't die when they were supposed to; some, both humans and zombies, were on bikes, scooters, skateboards, etc; humans had no defense against zombies--totally unrealistic, as compared to what? Fictional movies? >_> The list goes on, but that's all I can think of right now.


Anyway, today was fun, except for the few instances where people just didn't play fair. I don't know why they wouldn't. It's a game. Would it hurt to follow the rules? It doesn't benefit anyone much to lie or cheat. If you're gonna hide out in the library or whatever, you might as well not participate because that's essentially what you're doing--not participating. But whatever. People will do what they do.

Jovany and Guillermo (organizers) want to make the game bigger with improved rules and enforcement for next semester. I'm up for it. I kinda wanna volunteer to be the original zombie though XP Oh well, we'll see what happens.

Friday, April 1, 2011

April Fool's!

So life has been ok lately. Been getting some work done every day this Spring Break. Have not hung out with anyone. But I've been talking to Shiva online and stuff, so that's good. Also been organizing my music stuff. Have less than 300 songs left to go through. Been downloading a lot of songs that I've been wanting to get. Not done with that sadly.


So on Facebook last night, Shiva wanted to do an April Fool's joke. I was a little hesitant at first, but I agreed to join in. Hence, the Facebook breakup and subsequent argument on her relationship status. She broke up with me because I'm clingy and too high maintenance basically, always wanting to talk to her and keep her to myself. Not letting her talk to her friends. I, on the other hand, feel like she's abandoning me and not paying enough attention.

So far, a few of my friends have made small comments on my status, and one friend sent me a message in support. Alex A from high school doesn't believe it XD but that's just 'cause he can't read the 'argument' on Shiva's status. For the most part, I don't think many people responded to mine because it was late, people just didn't notice, or they didn't believe it XD

On Shiva's end, a few of her friends are supporting her, which is good :) I'm happy to know she's got friends to back her up, even if they don't know the whole story and are only assuming things from the one short argument. It's good to have friends to support you :) Though, I am very sad that two people like the breakup ;-; unless they realized it was a joke and liked it for that reason XP

But anyway, just so we're clear here, we have not broken up and are not intending to. The argument is based on a bit of reality, but I won't tell you which part of the argument nor which of reality.

So I'm a bit afraid of saying April Fool's haha <_<; Because quite a few people believe it and might have strong feelings about it. Especially if they recently broke up with someone for similar reasons >_< That kinda makes me feel bad. Last night, as Shiva and I were 'arguing,' our hearts were racing or beating hella hard haha. I cannot be a practical joker of any kind because I feel too guilty XD Cannot lie very well about this kinda stuff.

Btw, I do kinda agree with Rochelle's comment on Shiva's status--I dunno why it made me think of a hotel. Friends and lovers are on a similar level. But it really depends on the person, his/her friends, and the lover(s).
It could be like you have a few rooms on the same floor. A few friends go in one room, a few go in another, and so on. Your love gets his or her own separate room.
Another way of doing it would be like people staying on different floors.
Everyone could be in the same room, and there's no difference between your friends and your lover(s).
There are just many ways you could treat your many relationships in comparison to each other.

But yeah, just wanted to put this down somewhere. Just so whoever reads this knows I am not that clingy and high maintenance. Or at least I hope I'm not >_> And I was hoping people would know Shiva (and maybe me) well enough to know that she wouldn't argue over Facebook for everyone to see -_-

I can understand Shiva's friends having that opinion of me because they don't know me and all.

Overall, it was too easy to convince some people because they don't know us.


Btw, does the Internet make everything believable?