*Maniacal Laughter*

It's 5:30am. I'm making notecards. My exam is at 8am. Then I'm off to spend another 5-6 hours on my final project for Controls before I turn it in.

Do you believe in God?
Written on the bullet.
Say yes to pull the trigger.

Charming words, but they're not mine. Don't worry, they're not in my head for depression reasons (relax everyone). This is just another random happening as a circumstance of being up this early. Does that even make sense?

I think my vocabulary and sentence structure start to deteriorate around 4am....


baha *twitch* haha *twitch twitch* ha.

The Partial Week from Hell

I don't even know where to begin.

-Controls sucks.
-Thermo sucks for distracting me from Controls.
-Cincinnati sucks for distracting me from finals and for leaving me only 3 days to be at home.
-I'm on the verge throwing my computer out the window in a whirl of loud cursing and violent fist-shaking.
-My sleep schedule no longer exists.
-Sleeping isn't actually an option.
-If ONE MORE PERSON mentions to me that I should CHILL or take a break to do this or that, I will save my computer until I see that person, and then I will hurl it at his/her face. I'm not joking.

Why are people so willing to accept average? To just say, "Well, I'm close...but honestly, I think I'm just gonna relax and let things play out." What do you have to gain? Sure, you get a few hours more of sleep, and you enjoy yourselves a little bit for a few days. But what happens in the future? You're fighting to get a job because you're in the same situation as a million other people who did the SAME THING. Is it honestly worth it to just accept things as they are? To stop putting all of your effort into it?

And then, when I go and throw myself into work, I'm GUILT-TRIPPED by those people into thinking that I'm a bad person for not taking the time to hang-out or party. I get the lines of "oh, well sucks for you," or "you're lame."

What do you want from me? What else can I give you?


You've honestly stolen everything I had to give to begin with.


*aaaaaand return to work-mode. Sorry 'bout that*

Music. Just Music.

*Be warned: another music-related blog entry*


I've described it to you before. That one instant in a movie where all sound cuts out. Time slows down. And then the music crescendoes into an all-consuming, monumental force of melody and emotion. Every orifice of your body, every sensory-detecting nerve is overwhelmed to the point where you'd like nothing more to drift along with the music through the air, your eyes rolled back into your head from sheer bliss...

THAT is my kind of music. Or rather, the way I prefer to experience music. When I listen to music, I want it coming from all directions, enveloping me in a blanket of amaranthine beauty. Outside noise is just a distraction. People may say that the little, external noises you hear from a concert are all part of the experience...but should they be? How would that concert sound if all you heard was the music?

I'm writing this post more out of frustration than anything else. Even as I sit here, listening to one of my favorite songs ("How to Disappear Completely" by Radiohead**) with noise-canceling headphones, I cannot for the life of me get that perfect experience. Sure, the music has completely enveloped my ears, but it's coming solely from two directions. And external noises still manage to permeate my being *not to sound corny*, which then translate to audible distractions in my brain. Wtf.



Who knew that listening to music could be such a hassle?


**on a side-note, if you have not heard of that Radiohead song, then take the following steps:
1.) Download it. Legally, illegally...honestly, I cant stop you.
2.) Put on the closest thing you have to ear-covering headphones, OR if you have a surround-sound system, even better. Make sure your door is closed to block out unwanted noises (as much as possible) and your roommate(s) can't hear/don't mind/shut up when you tell them to.
3.) Play the song. Turn off the lights or close your eyes if that's how you like to listen to music. Just make sure that you when you listen to this song, you recognize that it's not just a bit of music...it's an experience.

I hope you can enjoy it as much as I do.

Just made my day....

Today, when I sat down at my desk to diligently continue my work on a certain english paper, I stumbled across a particular article on the Automobile magazine website. The article detailed a comparison between the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish and the Porsche 911 Turbo. In my own mind, the ASM Vanquish wins at EVERYTHING, but I was willing to read through the entire article and give the 911 more than just a passing glance.

Now, as a reader of this blog I'm sure you've picked up that I use imagery as much as a fat panda gnaws on leafy bamboo. Especially when it comes to describing a new bit of music that I've caught on to. But the writer of this article has completely surpassed me in that regard, and I was more than happy to let him. Here's the part that almost brought me to tears (of joy, mind you):

"The V12 Vanquish is a seriously fast car, make no mistake. Although it isn't quite as rocketlike off the mark as the 911 Turbo and its maximum speed is 10 mph short of the 550 Maranello's, the V12 Vanquish reigns supreme in the 60-to-125-mph bracket. This is also the most melodious supercar engine we've listened to for a long time, even if its aural statements are inspired more by Metallica than by Mozart. Idle speed is a busy overture for four camshafts and a pair of orchestral intake manifolds. Part load is a rich mix of valve riffs and a dozen dark-voiced backup singers. Full throttle is a blend of hoarse intake rasps and stereophonic exhaust trumpets that will leave tattoos on your eardrums. The sound engineers should do a hot lap of the Nrburgring Nordschleife in the Vanquish, capture the music in motion on CD, and present it to those customers who are going to have to wait for twelve to twenty-four months for their toy. The first year's production, a mere 300 units, is, of course, long since spoken for."

I've checked about the CD...it still doesn't exist (grumble grumble grumble). One day, though, one day...I won't have to pop in a CD to hear that orchestra.


*drools....*

Your strings are all I need

I realize I talk quite a bit about music in this blog, but you'll have to bear with me again on this post. Sometimes music just takes me to places worth sharing...

I stumbled across a really extraordinary guitar piece today on youtube, which as of late has been my place to find some great, quirky artists. It's a 4 minute, 35 second fingerpicking piece called "Red Hills" from a guy named Staffan Svahn (hold up, dont go onto youtube just yet. Wait until I tell you). Now, I'm always a sucker for a good bit of fingerpicking on guitar because it usually has that laid-back, pure feeling that only a handful of instruments can produce. This song, however, completely blew my mind. The guy playing obviously has a deep well of talent, and when watching the video you can tell that he's completely immersed in singular beauty of each pluck as it sounds off the polished sunburst of his guitar.

Whenever I hear a bit of music like this, my mind immediately connects it to an imaginary movie scene. It's always one of those moments where you pause and think, "the song would be perfect for when this happened," etc etc. So now, before I describe to you my *award-winning* film scene, go ahead and find the song on youtube. Then, once you've got it playing, come back and continue reading. Hopefully that will set the mood as I futilely attempt to describe the motion picture in my head.

*The song reminds me of a transition/traveling/collage-of-moments shot. Beware, this may get a little artistic/mushy for everyone out there*

The scene opens with a couple in a car, driving along a two-lane road that crosses some hilly, grassy plains. The road is empty save for them. Evening is creeping across the sky, creating a mix of brilliant reds and oranges to the west and a dark, deep blue to the east. A warm wind creates a gentle, steady sway in the grass, which is reflecting a glowing red along with its original greens and tans.

In the car, the windows are wide open along with the sunroof. Subtle reds and mellow blues kiss the interior and the faces of the passengers. All sounds of purring engines, rustling grasses, and flapping clothes have fallen silent to the steady fingerpicking by our own Svahn. Our character in the passenger seat sits with eyes closed and head resting on the seat, embracing the warmth of the wind on a sun-drenched face. They slowly open their eyes to stare into the seemingly endless road stretched before the car, yet there is no rush reach a particular destination. Any time-of-arrival is swept out the window along with the breeze.

The passenger turns their head slightly to glance the driver, who watches the road intently and wears an impassive face, as if a warm evening and an open highway provide the perfect environment for quiet reflection. The passenger continues to watch the driver, who eventually feels the stare and looks away from the road for a moment to return the glance and flash a small smile. The passenger chuckles inwardly, mind racing through the last few days spent in the company of the driver. Through the single, mind-blowing moment that connected the two in an indescribable way.

Switch to an overhead shot, which pans off the car that drives along the road and over the surrounding, hilly terrain. The few trees that exist on the plain move fluidly in a slow-motion dance with the wind. Several leaves are torn asunder and sweep across the plain into a burning sunset. Fade to black.

Alright, so that probably wasnt the best of descriptions, but I'm an engineer, not a writer. Pardon my use of "they/their" instead of "his/her"; I figured that guys and gals might picture scenes differently.

Anyway, I should get back to a real writing assignment: my english paper. Good times with plasma arc gasification. Nice.

By the way, everyone reading this should create a google account and COMMENT. Or I could just stop writing....



AHORA MISMO!!!!!

#@%$ONION RINGS@%#$!

HONESTLY??? IF I GO TO A SUPERMARKET, I EXPECT TO FIND SOME FRENCH'S ONION RINGS. WTF?!

Is green bean casserole even green bean casserole without the onion rings? I think not.

I've been told that I should stop slacking and post, so in the next couple of days I'll try to pick it back up again. In the meantime, I'll bring you all (since there are so many of you, heh) up-to-date on my life.

This past weekend was the end of the pledge process for KKPsi, as well as a mad flurry of other events incluuuuuding elections. And *drum-roll please*, I am extremely excited to say that I am President of Gamma Xi for 2008-2009 :D. A couple people have commented (subtly and not-so-subtly) that I may have a bit too much on my plate for next year, to which I am heartily replying that dealing which a pseudo double major into two engineerings while pledging didn't prepare me for nothin (gotta love those double negatives).

Honestly, I expect next semester to be a LOT of work, but I'm prepared. So you can either support me, or keep talking behind your hands about how I'll drop the ball. Your choice.

Other than that, school is hard, i don't sleep much, blah blah blah. The lack of sleep has definitely gotten to me, though. I've taken to setting 4 alarms in the morning: two on my phone, one on my mini clock sitting across the room, and then another one of my phone for when I imminently decide sitting back down on my bed to recuperate from this hysteria of loud beeps and rings is a good idea *snort*. The extreme alarm-age has more or less become necessary to get me up early enough to finish whatever homework I may have passed-out and drooled on the night previously.

On one fine morning, I woke up to my sweet quartet after an hour's...nap...to finish some tarea. My 9am class, controls, was in two hours, which left me with considerable time to plow through the last of a problem set for something or other. Twenty minutes before class, my roommate V walks in to let me know he's leaving. In my disheveled and slightly unconscious state, I tell him to go ahead without me and that I would catch up after I put on my shoes. So I sit down on my bed to put on a shoe....

...and wake up an hour later, curled up in a ball and with one shoe on. I'm awesome.

Long story short; I miss class, sprint around to do some errands, and then study for an entire 5 minutes before a structures quiz at 11. Not the best of days, but certainly interesting.

I have a few more stories from my time away, but I'll save them for another time. As for now, I think I'm just gonna go to besdofjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj....