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Sunday, April 13th, 2008
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2:33 pm - The Sakura Matsuri and other stuff.
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So yesterday I went to the Sakura Matsuri, an event near the end of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which was sort of an "all about Japan" festival. It was predicated by the Cherry Blossom Parade, which was entertaining save for the blocks of minutes between some groups because of performances in other areas and what not. But oh well.
Being who I am, with an anime blog and all, I checked out everything the festival had to offer, but spent most of my time looking at what the "J-Pop Land" had to offer. And it was alright I guess. I had a couple of "I'm getting too old for this" moments, such as seeing a DDR setup and playing a couple of songs on there (but for someone who hasn't played in 11 months, I haven't lost much, if at all), jamming on Guitar Hero 2 with random people, or observing a cosplay contest that was being held on the main stage. I kept face-palming and covering my eyes when I saw how some of the contestants acted on stage, but then I wondered why I was caring in the first place. Maybe it's my worry about how anime culture is seen as a whole in the US, but seeing that they were fine with it, I shouldn't really be complaining or worrying about it. Especially since I didn't participate in it myself. And I could say it was a "pleasant" surprise, since some of the cosplay was pretty good (shame I had no camera, or maybe that was a good option). And I saw a good Nanoha cosplay, so yeah.
I went to the festival two weeks ago to walk around the cherry trees alongside the Tidal Basin and near the FDR/Jefferson memorials, and that was fun as well. This being the first time that I've done that makes me wonder how much I've been missing doing stuff in DC until recently. And if I have time, I definitely want to go to next year's festival.
Finishing up on my first year of med school, and it's been interesting. It continues to be tough but fair, and in some ways easier than Cornell, while harder in other ways. I was burned out for a couple of weeks after the Neuroanatomy section, but I feel like I'm back to normal now, and am just pounding things out to finish and hopefully relax somewhat over break.
And today's my 22nd birthday. Just thought I'd like to let you know. ;P
current mood:  chipper
current music: I Wonder - Kanye West
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| Tuesday, February 5th, 2008
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1:52 pm - Hrm...
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| Tuesday, October 9th, 2007
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12:19 pm - Oh yeah...
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Two months is it?
So medical school isn't as bad as I thought it would be, and it's not kicking my ass, but at the same time I'm hesitant to say it's the reverse. I'm doing pretty well, but you never know what's going to happen in the future. I also began a preceptorship where I'll be shadowing an ophthalmologist (or eye doctor) for about 9 weeks. It's very interesting so far. The doctor is very congenial with his patients, and I'm able to see how he performs an eye exam: What he looks for to make diagnoses, and things like that. Good stuff.
And I keep forgetting, but I've had an anime blog for a couple of months now for those who don't know: http://bignanime.wordpress.com
Fun times have been had with that at least. :P
current mood:  meh
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| Thursday, August 2nd, 2007
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9:21 am - First impressions of medical school classes
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Just when I thought that I had escaped biochemistry and orgo... o_o
It's not quite as bad. A lot more info to take in though. :P
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| Thursday, July 5th, 2007
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12:02 am - Summertime...
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Lounging around with nothing to do is boring, and makes me miss my friends at Cornell... -_-
current mood:  nostalgic
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| Saturday, May 26th, 2007
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8:15 pm - What to say...
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In only a couple of hours, I will be holding a diploma signifying that my 4 years at Cornell have not been wasted. And while I'm happy about finishing, it's very bitter that I won't get to see some awesome people I've come to known as regularly as I do now. But everyone in college faces this, and most move on. Hopefully I can.
Regrets? Not summoning up the courage to ask to do research when I had the chance, to go to the Lab of Ornithology and the Observatory, to go to more social events than I have done, and so on...
But what can I do now? Breathe in all the experiences I've had, and believe that I've become a better (or at least more mature) person from my time here. :)
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| Sunday, May 13th, 2007
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10:11 pm - Time for the last run.
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One more final to go, then that's it. Fill out some surveys, fool around for a couple of days and leave...
Jeez. College went by way too fast. :3
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| Saturday, April 21st, 2007
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1:36 am - Load off my chest.
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So I finally received the verdict from both medical schools that I've had interviews for so far. I got rejected from one, but I happened to be accepted by the other. I'm pretty jazzed right now. Wheee! :3
current mood:  jazzed
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| Friday, April 13th, 2007
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12:16 pm - I can rent a car!
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| Thursday, April 5th, 2007
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6:19 pm - Oh jeez.
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So the end of the year is quickly coming up, and I still don't know where exactly I stand. I don't know all the results yet, so I don't know what I'll be doing next year, and while it shouldn't really be that important (I am only just turning 21 in a matter of days), I worry. Have I wasted my time here? That's for me to decide, but it's so hard not to take what society says about you seriously.
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| Friday, March 16th, 2007
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11:08 am - Wheee...
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So more than half of my last semester at Cornell has gone... and the nostalgia still hasn't come out in full force yet. That would probably be when I finally get my diploma as proof of my toiling.
And in other news, tomorrow Spring Break starts... so yay...
current mood: meh...
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| Wednesday, March 7th, 2007
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11:11 am - Brief...
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So I went down to Atlanta for another interview on Friday, and I came back home on time and safely, which was a worry. I personally think that the interview went well myself, and I'll find out in the middle of March anyway, so hopefully something to my benefit comes out of this. In other news... less than like 80 days away from graduating... Time's going by way too soon. :/
current mood:  contemplative
current music: Printer Noises
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| Friday, February 23rd, 2007
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10:40 pm - Last week's trip...
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So last Monday night, I flew from Ithaca down to Washington for an interview that Tuesday. The flight from Ithaca to LaGuardia was late so me and another passenger were worried that we'd miss our connection. The staff at US Airways was nice enough to let us keep our luggage inside of the cabin, and when the plane landed, we were the first ones out of the plane. We got to experience a cart ride down to our gate (and those things can really move), and we made it to the plane heading to Washington just in time. I get there safely, and then stay over at my house which is about 40 minutes away from the airport.
( Long Post Ahead )
current mood:  very tired.
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| Sunday, February 11th, 2007
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1:34 pm - Hrmm...
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So on late Monday, I'll be flying back home for my first medical school interview on Tuesday, then quickly fly back to Ithaca later that day. It's going to be interesting, since I'm not feeling nervous about it at all, yet at the same time, I'm feeling a bit apathetic about it, which isn't necessarily a good thing. I'm going to try and make the most of it though, since I just want to get in to a medical school. I can do the rest after that. :3
current mood:  unknown
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| Monday, February 5th, 2007
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7:56 pm - Anime mindsets and whatnot.
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Reading this article made me think about omo's idea about an anime-watching mindset, and how we responds to things that fit/don't fit into it. He brings up an interesting point about how we tend to hate anime that goes outside of what it's supposed to be, or rather, what we expect it to be. If someone tries to make a piece of work more that what it should be, it tends not to be a good idea for most people watching. Case in point being Futakoi Alternative. I liked the change in direction they took in the middle episodes by having Rentarou be more self-introspective, and by making the show more emo as a whole. I felt it added to make the ending kick more ass than normal. But before that change of direction, it was madcap fun for the most part, so I can see why the sudden change would not work well with others. "Don't fix what isn't broken" and all that jazz. While the execution wasn't as good as it could have been, I love what ufotable was trying to do. Trying to go beyond the means, attempting to make the show more profound than people expected. I feel it's really hard to make a statement in anime, especially when people are interested in just rehashes of the same stuff. Placing a spin of things at least helps to try and be different, and may change a few mindsets at the same time.
In a more real-life aspect, it can seem like many people have a main mindset, and barely waver from that area in terms of the anime they watch. In CJAS, I try to find out about people's tastes in anime, and often they just fit a specific area. If that's fine with them, then by all means they should go with that, but it's depressing to hear people not bother even trying to watch a show because "I don't think it will be something I like". It still gnaws on my mind the fact that people won't bother to watch shows after they hear certain buzzwords that seem to be incompatible with their mindset. I wonder if I'm bothered by this more than I should, since really anime just one of many methods from which a person can derive entertainment. If the stuff you watch is stuff that makes you feel a certain way that you want, than have at it; if you don't want to feel forced to move out of a comfort zone with what you watch, that's cool. But I feel that the best stuff are things that you willingly allow to change your mindset while watching. Or better yet, not having a mindset at all when watching things. You could be surprised at how you react.
current mood: contemplative
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| Friday, January 26th, 2007
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11:41 am - Being sick is being contemplative...
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So I'm currently going on my fourth (or really third and a half) day of being sick. Thinking back on it, it started on Tuesday night, where a cough that I thought had been all but extinguished resurfaced. Wednesday, I had a little headache to go with that cough, but it was nothing too serious. Yesterday really sucked, where I was coughing frequently and loudly. I also had a fever with some chills, but that broke before the day's end. I didn't feel too horrible, persay, but it was very uncomfortable, nonetheless. And my coughs were so bad that they apparently sounded like a pig squealing to one of my suitemates. :( While sleeping, I woke up twice with coughing fits, which while they weren't painful, were disruptive to me, and probably to the people in the rooms that border mine. Today, I'm not coughing as much, but when I do, there's a bit of pain associated with it. My body is also very sore from the coughing apparently, and I was out of breath walking up to the first class of the day today.
I feel weaker whenever I'm sick. It becomes easier for me to find excuses not to do stuff on the account of me aggravating my problems, and I feel that I can't achieve as much as I want to because the cold limits me in doing so. There's also a feeling of helplessness, as no-one I know is currently experiencing what I am experiencing right now, and I don't "look" sickly or under the weather, so save for the coughs, it seems as if no-one knows, or probably cares about what's currently bothering me. It also sucks that I still have to go to class when I don't feel even up to 80%, because college students have no sick days. But oh well. I've persevered through worse before (just not at college :P), and I can do it again. I feel like my immune system is strong enough that this problem should completely disappear during the weekend. Woo.
current mood:  sick
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| Wednesday, January 24th, 2007
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11:11 am - You know a class will be good when...
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The professor for the course states that depending on point of view, Robin Hood was a terrorist. I can tell that Global Conflict and Terrorism will be an interesting and hopefully fun class to take.
Still, it's times like this where I wonder, "What exactly am I doing with my life?" We'll see how things go with that.
And on another note, why do I feel so hypocritical all of a sudden. I don't like it at all... :/
current music: Noble Mind (Melty Blood OST) - RAITO
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| Tuesday, January 16th, 2007
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9:29 pm - The Traveling Trevails of TBN.
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So, I came back to Ithaca early today morning, which was about 15 hours later then what I was expected to come back by. Weather did not seem to like me that day, and some cancellations helped cause problems as well.
So yesterday, my correct schedule was such that I had a 11:40AM flight from Baltimore-Washington Int'l (BWI) to Philadelphia, then about a 1:40PM flight from Philly to Ithaca, which would have me back at 3PM. Because of a prior cancellation of a flight with the plane taking me to Philly, my 11:40PM flight was canceled, and I was rescheduled to take a 12:50PM flight to LaGuardia, and then only be "late" for my arrival in about an hour.
It turns out that weather difficulties push back the start time of the flight to about 2:30PM, which didn't really bug me. We get in the air, and we're right about LaGuardia, but apparently the weather was being troublesome for everyone. At that time, no-one could fly in or out of the airport for some reason, so after about 30min. of circling around, we become a diverted flight, and land in Philadelphia, my original target for the connection in the first place (at the time, I was wondering how come my 11:40AM flight couldn't have been un-canceled or whatever, so I wouldn't be having this problem). We land at around 4:40PM, where I find that a flight to Ithaca that should have left at 4:35 was still on the runway, and I think I might have a chance to catch a lucky break. I go to that target gate and find that the plane was full, and that two people were even taken off of the plane because apparently bags are a higher priority than people in airplane travel to Ithaca (constant late baggages say otherwise though).
The next flight out of Ithaca was at 10:20PM at night, and initially that flight was full too, so I was placed on stand-by. My parents, worrying about me, attempted to schedule a flight for this morning, but found out that I couldn't get a full hotel voucher from US Airways because the problems with my flights were beyond anyone's control. Somehow in the discussion that ensued, I managed to get a boarding pass for that flight, which ended up being delayed a bit making everyone leave at around 10:45ish or so. At the start of the flight, we are informed that visibility in Ithaca is at the bare minimum to attempt flying, so we get in the air. We're right about Ithaca and then find out that the runway was too icey to make a safe landing. Unfortunately, the weather in that area only started sucking right around the time we we're flying, as weather is wont to do sometimes.
So, we fly back to Philadelphia to the annoyance of all the passengers, yet all of us we,re rebooked on an early 6:00AM flight today. Landing at around 12:30ishAM, there was no point in going to a hotel and immediately coming back, especially if you have to pay $70.00 for the effort, so many of us, including myself, stayed overnight at the airport. It was an interesting experience, to say the least. We were given refreshments (the stuff you usually get on low-cost flights - soda, water, ice, pretzels- oh, yeah man), allowed to use the employee break rooms, and crash as well as we could before the flight. Some of us proved to be very resourceful given the situation, as some people tilted two chairs over to make a makeshift bed and another person created a mini-office using a pay-phone area with an internet jack. I couldn't go to sleep, so I mostly read xxxHolic vol. 8, studied some beginning Japanese, and walked around the corridor we were in. Others who couldn't sleep just worked on their computers, and two people managed to find wheelchairs and ended up racing with them.
I find that being in a delayed airplane is one of the easier ways to find solidarity with strangers, as evidenced by yesterday/today's situation. All the passengers are thrust into the same situation: whatever lead them to the flight doesn't matter, but when flying, they all share the same fate, the same circumstances. I feel it leads to a feeling of mutual trust, since we all experienced what happened together whether we liked it or not. We all assumed it was the most convenient way (or most feasible at that time) to get to our destination, but we can't choose for the most part who the other passengers are. So you just work with what you have, "get along" with the other passengers, and always be prepared for change, I guess.
So we board the 6:00AM flight, and actually leave at around 7:00AM due to the addition of leftover baggage from previous flights, and we manage to get to Ithaca at 8:00AM. For me, I felt relief ("We actually touched down where we're supposed to be!"), some needless anger, and a lot of sleepyness, but finally the journey is over. Now I have that last semester of work at Cornell to worry about now. :D
current mood: tired
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| Monday, December 4th, 2006
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2:59 pm - I blame my friend for this...
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So during November, I had a random conversation with one of my friends on AIM, and he started talking about a trailer of this game I hadn't heard of before called Ar Tonelico. So I see the trailer, fall in love with the music, and am now waiting for the game myself when it comes out. However, apparently it's not a type of game that would sell well here, and would probably be controversial according to a well-informed source... BUT THE MUSIC'S SO GOOD! ;_;
current mood:  pensive
current music: Expressive Hill (Ar Tonelico OP) - Akiko Shikata
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| Sunday, December 3rd, 2006
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9:49 pm - An interesting past week...
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I don't know if I've ever felt this tired at Cornell, where I've to do all that I needed to do to ensure I do really well this semester, yet I guess at the cost of enjoying myself a lot or even getting a lot of sleep. But four things have made this week worthwhile, despite me feeling more tired than before:
( Click to see more. )
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