Category: Uncategorized

DAYS OF FREEDOM

I am in my last week of freedom before I have to start work. I’ve been reviewing a Dreamweaver manual in preparation.

I also went to Metrotown today. I haven’t been there in quite a while. The plan was to go buy sheets for my bed and to visit Old Navy. I’ve been using one set of sheets for the last eight months. The wear and tear is starting to show as my bed sheet is starting to pill. Anyways, I went into Zellars, Sears, and The Bay to take a look in their bedding departments. A set of sheets can be expensive, $60 or more for a nice twin set with a high thread count. I did find a beautiful lavender coloured set for only $20 at Zellars. I was going to buy it and then I realized it was for a double, so I had to leave it. Only later, someone told me it would have probably been ok since we have extra long twin mattresses here at SJC. I wish I had known that. So, I still have natty, old, worn sheets. I may pay a visit to Linen ‘N Things on the weekend, though I’m expecting to pay a premium there.

I did buy some stuff at Old Navy, but I won’t tell you what, because how much more boring can a blog get than me telling the world what I bought at Old Navy? I’m going off on a tangent here, but speaking of t-shirts, I’m thinking about making a limited run of erwintang.com t-shirts. It seems that Cafe Press has a pretty attractive merchandising option. I would plan on charging a very small fee for them or give them away for free. The question is, would anyone want to wear them?

So, yeah, I have a few more days of freedom left and I start making the big summer bucks on Monday!

THE LOST ARCHIVES

The archived posts for June 2003 are non-existent, and Blogger refuses to publish them no matter how many times I push the button. Sorry for the inconvenience.

WE’RE GOING STREAKING!!!

I picked up Old School on DVD today from Future Shop. Since I had Mark’s PS2, I set it up in the TV room so that a few others could watch it with me tonight.

I mentioned to the room that I got the unrated version. I was wondering what it meant to be unrated. We pop the disc in and after the Dreamworks logo, we immediately see two chicks take their tops off and display their boobs. This is the opening menu sequence. Unrated. I see.

I would say Old School is pretty good, but not better than the American Pie movies nor Road Trip which was also directed by Todd Phillips.

Besides picking up and watching the DVD, I had a bit of a leisurely day. I got my hair cut. I think there’s some sorta rule that says it’s bad form to mention in your blog that you got a haircut. Oh well.

I had to rush back onto campus for our weekly softball game. It was an interesting game. We were playing the Physiology grad team, which includes my good friend, Rhonda, a fellow SJC resident. I hope her loyalties were a bit divided, after all, it’s us! The people she lives with!

Anyways, I played right field for the entire game. I sucked… big time in the field. I let a few balls get away from me. Luckily, I batted a bit better, but I did pop up a few more times that I had liked.

The game actually went into the last inning with SJC leading by two runs. I’ll be honest and say that I thought we were going to lose. Our D is still pretty suspect and I was expecting the worst. My hopes were lifted slightly when we threw out the first batter. Then some dude got a home run but luckily the bases were clear when he hit it. I think they got another base hit. Then Rhonda came up to bat and then drove in the tying run. I felt our team sag a bit, but we still had to get the final outs. We got another out for the next batter.

The next guy then spanked a rope to left and it hit the turf behind Max. He ran back and grabbed it. In what I can only describe as a laser of throw, Max sent the ball hurtling towards home where Rhonda had been waved in. Karen was waiting there patiently for Max’s bomb. I have to mention that Karen had one of her nails nearly ripped off on her catching hand during warm-up. She sucked it though and here she was ready to catch the most critical throw in the game. And catch the ball she did! With a resounding smack!, the ball found its way into the pocket and thus enabling us to end the game in a tie.

There are no extra innings in GSS softball which I guess was the best way to end a hard-fought game on both sides. Though, if SJC had won, it would not have bothered me that much. 😉

GAMING GOODNESS

I have a PS2 in my room now.

Mark, one of the post-docs at SJC, is leaving for a conference and family visit back East. Since he’ll be away, he’s generously allowed me to borrow his PS2 for about a week and a half. Nice.

I’ve got NHL 2002 (my own personal copy), Batman : Vengeance, GTA Vice, and a few Bloody Roar titles. I popped in NHL just for old times sake. I’m a bit rusty! Batman is pretty cool. I can’t wait to try Vice.

Well, time spent posting is less time on PS2! See ya!

BRUNCH… AGAIN!

After having posted that I was enjoying brunch, Karen suggested we go for brunch today.

Nic, Karen, and I wound up at this place on 4th Ave called Hell’s Kitchen. It was quite nice. We got to sit on the patio, the weather was pleasant, and it was fun people-watching. The food itself was neither terribly bad nor was it terribly good.

I realized at brunch this was my first summer living in the Kitsilano area, which is something I’ve wanted to do for a while. With just a few days of good weather behind us, I can already tell it’s going to be a good summer. Living in Kitsilano, the weather makes it great for many, many different reasons.

After we had brunch, we just missed our bus, so we wandered into this store called The Candy Aisle. It sells nothing but candy and the whole store is brightly decorated. Dumb as this sounds, but it made me feel like… a kid in a candy store.

Karen bought some little treats, but I bought a couple packages of pop rocks and this tiny 150 ml can of Coke. I just tried the two of them together now, and not only did I not explode, but I think the pop rocks are more fun with out the Coke.

When we left the store, Nic had to go back to his place by the beach, so Karen and I waited by the bus stop. While we were waiting, some guy in a car either yelled at us or beeped us as he drove by. I looked, and it was Adrian. Adrian used to live at SJC, but he drops by almost daily. Anyways, he pointed down the street, so Karen and I followed. We hopped into his car and he gave us a ride back onto campus, which was real kind of him.

Not long after, I had to go to softball practice with my team. Not that many people showed up, but it was fun still. We were out there for almost two hours in the hot sun. Near the end, people were waning in the heat.

On the way back from the field, someone remarked that we were having cheese and spinach tortellini for dinner. Yuck. I suggested that we go to Swiss Chalet instead. I found agreement from Rhonda and Dana. Dana was nice enough to drive us there. Dinner was fabulous of course, but then again, when isn’t it at the Chalet?

Now, I’m at home doing laundry, writing this post, and eating pop rocks and Coke. Now that I mention it, my hands are all tingly now… I hope that’s not from the pop rocks and Coke. That’s a lot of carbon dioxide. I wonder if that would cause any major.dfgdf #RRG dgd dbf b.btrer

HOT TIME, SUMMER IN THE CITY

Yes, I mentioned how hot it was earlier but seriously dude, around 4pm in my room, it was warm.

I had to go out for the evening and I was hoping that my room would cool down while I was gone. As I returned from the bus stop, I was pleasantly surprised at the gentle breeze that was blowing.

Sadly, I discovered that this gentle breeze had done nothing to cool down my room. I now have my door propped open with a shoe so that the air can travel more freely into my room. It’s a shame I can’t go to sleep with my door propped open… or can I? Hmm… even if I did find a way, the light from the hallway would make it difficult to fall asleep. Still, it’s much cooler with the moving air.

I also need a screen for my windows. Last night, it seemed like every tiny creature with more than two legs had found its way through them.

Having gone through a winter already at SJC, I must admit I’d rather deal with the heat than the cold!

EMPLOYED

It is freaking hot in my room and my window doesn’t even face the sun! We really need A/C in our SJC rooms.

Anyways, I have managed to secure employment for the summer. I am now the Course Development Assistant for Applied Science 201. APSC 201 is a required course for all undergrad engineers at UBC. It teaches students the fundamentals of technical communication. Coincidentally, I took APSC 201 myself the very first semester that it was offered.

It was actually a very quick sequence of events that led me to this job. I had applied for this job weeks ago and heard nothing. Then on Wednesday afternoon, while I was away playing soccer, I received a voicemail from the Director of the Technical Communications Centre. She actually was the person who taught me APSC 201 many years ago. We arranged to meet on Thursday morning. It wasn’t really an interview per se but more like a friendly chat. I signed some papers and I was good to go.

I start June 16th and I’ll be doing some web site maintenance and various other course content related work. It’s on campus, so the commute is virtually non-existant.

I’m quite relieved to have secured a summer job because I think I was going to apply to Blockbuster Video next.

STRAPPING ON A JOCK

You know I originally wrote this long, great post last night, but then blogger took a crap on me while I posting and I lost it. Re-writing a post is one of the most annoying things that you can do on the Internet, so I’m not going to do it. I will however, give a condensed version of it…

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In a feat of atheleticism not seen since my days in junior high, I played three different sports in the consecutive days. Tennis on Monday, softball on Tuesday, and soccer on Wednesday.

As reflection of the international nature of futbal, SJC has three soccer teams and only one softball team.

I’m not officially on the Wednesday soccer team but anyone is welcome to play. I can definitely say that I’m a better softball player than I am a soccer player.

For the most part, I ran around like an idiot on the field, though I did assist on Paula’s goal where my shot rang off the post.

I’m not sure if I’ll continue to play soccer, but I’d like to. I getting a pretty good tan now and if I keep this up, I may actually be fit by the end of the summer.

SPELLBOUND

I was at the corner of Granville and Broadway today at 10am. Early! I had to drop some crap off with a friend and that was the only time she could meet me.

Afterwards, I did a little window shopping at Restoration Hardware, Multimedia Technologies, and Pottery Barn. Gaming software and home furnishing. It’s what Carmack does on his weekends for sure.

I didn’t buy anything at those places, but I did pick up the new Black Hawk Down : Deluxe Edition over at Future Shop. I got home around 1:30pm and resisted the temptation to play tennis with Arash and Mitchell.

Instead, I had to send out some e-mails and I popped in Black Hawk for a quick spin. I just started it and did my e-mailing as I went. I’ve seen the movie before, but I was impressively reminded of why the sound guys on that film won an Oscar. I couldn’t finish the film because I had softball to get ready for.

I’m the team captain for softball, which isn’t a testament to my leadership abilities, but more for the fact I was the sap who decided he would organize the whole team. I send out e-mails, remind people of their games, make sure everybody has all the equipment, and in general rally the troops. We meet at 4pm in our courtyard and I’m relieved to see we have exactly enough people to prevent a default. We head off to the fields and we get one more on the way, so we’re totally in the clear.

At the field, I see our opposition, the Metals and Materials Engineering grad team. It’s like 12 guys throwing around the ball. The bases are all set-up and ready to go. I leave my team to warm-up and I jog over to the MMAT team. I figure out who’s their captain.

I ask, “Where are all your ladies?”

“They’ll be here soon.”

I give him the benefit of the doubt. It’s 4:25pm and game time is supposed to be 4:30pm on the dot. I go back to warm-up with my team. Ten minutes pass and none of their girls show up. I go back to their captain at 4:35pm.

I ask him again where his ladies are. He assures me again that two of them will show up. I tell him we can’t wait forever. He assures me again that he’ll have his ladies. He asks me if his two females show up, can he have eight players in total. I tell him that the rules are 7 players total with only with two girls. Generously, I agree with him that if by 4:50pm if he doesn’t get his girls then his team defaults.

I toss the ball around with my team for the next several minutes. Around 4:48pm one of MMAT’s girls shows up. Time advances to 4:50pm. Our team goes over to the other team.

“So, MMAT what’s up, where’s your other girl?”, I ask.

“The second girl should be on that bus right now, she should be getting off at that stop”, MMAT captain responds.

He points to a bus that’s on the street parallel to the field. He then points to the stop down the road. Everybody is now watching the bus as it whizzes down the road towards the stop.

I tell my team if a girl gets off that bus, we have a game, otherwise we win by default. The bus barrels down the road and shows no sign of stopping and it blows by the stop with emphasis.

MMAT captain turns around and concedes defeat to me. I accept. I suddenly realize that I have just won my first game/match as a member of a St. John’s College sports team. I also realize I don’t give a damn that I won it by a technicality.

Both teams agree to play for fun, and they smoke us. Then again, it wasn’t really fair. And who cares really? We won already.

We return back to SJC for dinner. During dinner Arash and I, convince Patrick to go see Spellbound with us. It’s playing at the Fifth Avenue Cinemas.

I’ve always known it for being an art house theatre where the literati go to see their “arty” films. It’s my first time going. We’re in Cinema 3 and as we sit down, we notice there’s a balcony.

Several seconds later, we’re in the balcony and approve of its sight lines. I’ve never watched a movie in a balcony before. I am excited, possibly visibly so. We’re early, so Patrick, Arash, and I embark on a very interesting conversation, the contents of which do not belong anywhere near a blog.

Spellbound is a documentary about eight contestants in the 1999 American Spelling Bee. It’s a fantastic, entertaining, and candid look into the high-pressure world of spelling bees. When done right, documentaries can be some of the most compelling films. If you’ve been looking to try something new in your movie-watching ways, I strongly suggest Spellbound.

So, now I’m home and at the end of this rambling post, fueled by the cheese nachos I made myself about twenty minutes ago.

HEART ON A SLEEVE

Dear Lord am I tired! I should stop posting before I go to bed. Anyways, here goes… as some of you know, I read a blog written by this girl Devon. In her latest post, she wishes that she “could just post the contents of [her] heart onto [her] blog without knowing that people would judge [her]”.

That’s quite an admirable wish, but also something that will never come true. A blog is a wonderful thing. Just about anyone in the world now can write up any little thought they have and put it on the Internet. It can be read by ten people or ten thousand people. I can wonder if anyone else finds the host of While You Were Out hot. Instead of asking one person at a time that question, I can post it on my blog once and have it read many times over.

Writing to a blog can be a very cathartic experience. Much like talking about something will make you feel better, writing about it can do the same thing.

The one thing that bloggers must realize though, is that a blog is not a diary. You may treat it as such, but that’s like making every thought and feeling you put in your diary available to anyone with Internet access.

I can understand how some people would want to write so-and-so did this and it made me feel bad, or I am so in love with so-and-so, but there’s a time and a place for that. I’m not so sure a blog is a good place for that though. At least not for Devon. The problem I see is that her blog is very popular and is read by lots of people. I believe beyond a certain number of people, a blog reaches a critical mass. You just can’t be posting every personal detail of your life after that.

I remember when I first started, no one and I mean no one gave a rat’s ass about my blog. I could have written anything and only my good friend Joanna would have had the chance to read it. Now though, I have people regularly reading this and I have no clue who the hell they are, where they’re from, and how they found me in the first place.

I don’t put every little thought or worry I have in my blog. First, it’d be boring and second, some things just aren’t made for going into a blog. A blog is not a diary.

In many ways, I treat my blog like a sit-com. What are the most entertaining moments or thoughts in my life? That’s what goes into my blog. I may stray here or there once in a while, but for the most part, I’m writing to entertain. I keep some semblance of privacy, but I still get to post a few of my thoughts.

If Devon wants to post about all of her feelings and thoughts, she certainly can, but there’s no way that’s going to happen without repercussions. It’s akin to letting anyone on the Internet read your mind!

I must admit though, I like the candid nature of her posts. If I got pierced “down there”, would I have the cojones to tell the world? I wonder…

Will Devon continue to be as candid? I guess we’ll have to keep on reading.