Mid-Point Retail Therapy/ Ultimate Wish list
Friday, June 27, 2008
Mid-Point Retail Therapy/ Ultimate Wish List
It's the halfway point of the semester, I think it is time for a little celebration and a little confetti to rain down upon our heads. It feels less like the halfway point, but more like the end of the semester somehow. With the two modules crammed up within six weeks is just not something that should be attempted by just anybody out there, the word "hectic" does not begin to describe what goes on in the classrooms on a day to day basis. The speed at which Jan goes through her materials is as good as the lot of us speed reading through the text and then picking out random sentences to highlight. It is a complete waste of time for the most part, but you cannot exactly blame Jan for that either. Nobody likes to squeeze fourteen odd chapters into six weeks, and it's not like she has a say in things anyway. So a dozen quizzes later, a series of assignments and exams and not to mention those group presentations, we are here at the halfway point before we embark on the second leg of the journey through the summer semester. Yes, the summer semester, while everybody else is having their summer breaks. It's discouraging at times, but then the thought of you studying while others are doing overtimes in those claustrophobic offices with no extra pay changes everything, really.
I've been wanting to read this graphic novel for some time, and Frank Miller hasn't let me down in terms of his writing thus far - even Alan Moore has somehow let me down with his re-imagination of Wildcats. Anyway, it definitely is an interesting concept to blend elements of Japanese animations into an american graphic novel, and this is way ahead of its time when it was published in the 1980s. The book, so far, does seem to have a very heavy influence from both Japanese animations as well as Philip K. Dick books, something which I find to be a good thing in any medium. Philip K. Dick is a science fiction genius, and it doesn't get any better when you combine that with Frank Miller's awesome story telling abilities. It just occurred to me the other day while compiling a list of things to get my hands on that I actually haven't read one of his greatest masterpiece yet, and I guess it is on to the Sin City series next when I do save enough money to spend without guilt or restrains.
It's the halfway point of the semester, I think it is time for a little celebration and a little confetti to rain down upon our heads. It feels less like the halfway point, but more like the end of the semester somehow. With the two modules crammed up within six weeks is just not something that should be attempted by just anybody out there, the word "hectic" does not begin to describe what goes on in the classrooms on a day to day basis. The speed at which Jan goes through her materials is as good as the lot of us speed reading through the text and then picking out random sentences to highlight. It is a complete waste of time for the most part, but you cannot exactly blame Jan for that either. Nobody likes to squeeze fourteen odd chapters into six weeks, and it's not like she has a say in things anyway. So a dozen quizzes later, a series of assignments and exams and not to mention those group presentations, we are here at the halfway point before we embark on the second leg of the journey through the summer semester. Yes, the summer semester, while everybody else is having their summer breaks. It's discouraging at times, but then the thought of you studying while others are doing overtimes in those claustrophobic offices with no extra pay changes everything, really.
So tomorrow, or rather later today, is going to be the finals for my psychology module. It has gone by really quickly, perhaps a little too quickly considering the fact that Julie Bowker has been more than just a great lecturer, as if not enough good things have been said about her from the students anyway. Things have been going nice and smoothly so far, but it's not like we have not earned our rights to complain either. We are fatigued and we are frustrated, and we just want a mid-term break before we start everything all over again next week. The weekend is not going to be enough, it's going to feel like a brand new semester, I can wager that. Personally, my mind has been saturated with so much information about experimental designs, cultural imperialism, discursive imperialism, constructive repetitions, that I swear it has little room for anything else right now. The emotional rides aside, I think I need a breather somehow, and nothing is going to work better than retail therapy. And it is true, even guys need to splurge their money at times, I guess it's just the idea of not caring too much about the consequences that is so infinitely fun. Besides, my birthday is coming, what better reason to hang my head loose?
The following was typed 24 hours later after the above.
So the psychology paper is done now, and it turned out to be somewhat decent. There is a certain fear when you finish a paper too fast, and you start to wonder to yourself if you did horribly bad or fantastically well. Either way, it is a risk that I do not want to take, and it certainly does not help with the mindset at all. You need a mindset to go splurging your money, you need a particular frame of mind for things like that. You cannot go out there into the wild with extra baggage, you tend to hesitate and it becomes difficult to carry yourself through. So I decided that what has been done was done, and there wasn't anything I could do about it anyway. I made up a mental list of things to buy and things to look out for, and the amount of money involved is pretty staggering. Either way, nothing was going to stop me today, until the disappointing grade started to come in.
It is one in the morning right now, and more than the physical fatigue, I am also tired of talking about how Jan hasn't been the same old Jan from Louisiana. She has changed a little in this semester, somehow a little less approachable and strange. It must be because of the rushed schedule, or the big lecture class, or maybe a combination of both. She hardly taught anything in class really, and the brief summary of the chapters certainly didn't help with our understanding at all. There are times when you start to wonder if you spent your money on the right institution, since the quality of the lecturers isn't really there in my opinion, for the most part. We have a lecturer who'd like the oral presentations to be four minutes long for each person in the group - that's hardly a pop song on the radio! It is little absurd things like that that pisses me off, and it is made worse by the fact that the presentation grade single-handedly tore my hopes and dreams down for this semester. I was on the right path to score a good A, until the group presentation grade came - yes, it is that bad.
So, a whole bunch of us decided to hang out in town today after the paper, and I suppose it has been a long time since I did anything half as exciting. There was Felicia, Joyce, Barney, Jeremy, Kevin, Sarah, Shi Ting and myself, the old gang really. It was nice of them to take me in, and it was fun hanging out again doing absolutely aimless stuff. I ended up being the only person buying my head off while everybody kind of followed for the most part. I felt a little guilt-ridden, but at the same time I couldn't be bothered about that feeling either. I was out there for myself, and I needed my pills - or books - as fast as possible. Despite the absolute hatred for the town on Fridays and not to mention the excruciating heat, we braved all the elements and survived the ordeal with a strange lunch on my part and a great hang out at Subway - my craving fulfilled indeed! Disappointing doesn't exactly begin to say what I feel about the grade, but at the same time I suppose I just have to dust the dirt off my shoulders, like everything else in my life right now. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed on my psychology paper today, and that Julie Bowker would somehow be kind enough to award me with an A that, I think, I rightfully deserve.
So, here's a list of things that I bought today and the things that I intend to get in the near future. It's all about money these days, and even that has become quite a dilemma for me when I reach to the back of my pants for the wallet. Temptations and more temptations, I only wish sometimes that I'd be able to run away to an island without those lures in life. Anyway, spending money did get my mind off those disappointing grades and my murderous thoughts, and hanging out with old friends again was especially fun indeed.
Ronin by Frank Miller.
3X Carlin: An Orgy of George by George Carlin
As you may already know, one of my favorite comedians just died a couple of days ago. It is truly a great lost to the world of, not just comedy, but also the artistic world as a whole. He was more than a comedian, but he was a writer and a poet as well. I have two regrets in regards to his death, and they are: the fact that I didn't get to know about him sooner, and the fact that I never had the opportunity to attend one of his gigs. Anyway, I guess his legacy is going to live on in the DVDs and the books, which is why I decided to get my hands on this giant compilation monster. It is basically the compiled version of three of his more recent books, with a few pages of previously unpublished materials thrown in. I do enjoy his radical viewpoints, and the way he forces you to think and eases you into side-splitting laughter. This is one book you are never going to catch me reading in public places, because I wouldn't want to embarrass myself by laughing out loud. It was the last book in Borders today, and it came in a pretty hardcover slipcase! Well worth the money indeed, and the laughter to come!
P.S. I know the picture above is that of a calendar. I couldn't find a big enough picture of the book, so I guess I had to make do.
Tickets for the Death Cab for Cutie Concert
That's right, I woke up at nine in the morning today just to get my hands on the tickets for the upcoming concert. They are, after all, the so-called biggest indie band out there, and the fact that they canceled their gig in Malaysia just to come to Singapore because we offered them a better price is certainly going to cause an uproar in the music community here. So I knew I had to be there at nine in the morning just to get my tickets, and the Sistic website was very punctual about things - although their booking system was rather mind boggling on my part. I bought the tickets for myself and Ahmad, and the $128 seats are probably going to be close enough to the stage for me to fall into an absolute state of dream mode during the concert. I swear, if they play What Sarah Said and/or Title and Registration, I am going to scream and explode for all the good reasons. 12th of August just seems way too far away from where I am right now. I have thought of the question to ask Ben Gibbard if there is an autograph session after the concert, and I intend to get to the bottom of the question that hasn't been answered.
Wish List
I'm not big on wish lists, I don't usually get everything I want from that list. I think I have created a list some time last year as well, but most of the stuff never actually came true - Lego, anyone? It's somewhat like new year resolutions, they probably only last for a week or two after the first day of January before you just give up on yourself completely. They never stay long enough to come true anyway, but I figured there isn't a harm to create a future list for foreseeable retail therapy at the end of the summer semester.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
I've never read any of his books, but at least the story he crafted for No Country for Old Men got me incredibly intrigued. Books in regards to a dystopia-view of the future is always exciting, the way different authors have various interpretations and predictions. Ronin by Frank Miller had its own visualization of the future world, and Cormac McCarthy certainly has his own interpretations as well. I have read a few pages from No Country for Old Men, and I must say that his style of writing is very unique and different to say the very least. When it comes to books, I hardly ever hesitate really, and this books is definitely going to be a part of my collection in the near future - a future in which I hope to remain in status quo, and not in a state of dystopia.
Where The Light Is by John Mayer
Everybody should know, by now, just how much I respect this man as a musician, as a guitarist, and as a person. The last concert DVD he released was great, but it somehow felt underwhelming for the most part. It was just a collection of pop songs from his younger days, and it doesn't actually have a lot of "rewatchability" to be perfectly honest. So this time around, with more experiences under his belt and maturity, he is dishing out yet another live convert DVD that is going to include a solo acoustic set, a set with his Trio band, and another set with his full band. That is to say, three concerts for the price of one, and the evolution of John Mayer within the span of more than two hours. Where The Light Is is going to mark his return to what he does best, and that is to weave his lyrics seamlessly into his guitar riffs live on stage. I have been waiting for the release of this DVD ever since the announcement last December, and I must say that July 1st cannot come soon enough for me. I just hope that it is going to be released in Singapore on the same day, or I am going to explode - and bring HMV with me.
Apple Time Capsule
This may be a long shot, but it has been at the back of my head for a long time. I am a self-declared bitch of Apple, and anything produced by Apple has a lure to me that I cannot deny. For one, I do need something in my home to get rid of all the ethernet cables. Second of all, I do need an alternate storage device for the stuff that I have in my iMac, since it only has one hard drive - that'd also mean a complete clearance of files if something bad happens, knock on wood. Most of all, however, it is going to be pretty awesome to launch Time Machine on my iMac, the way the desktop disappears into the screen and reveals a series of cascading Finder windows in deep space - geek love! I'd expect myself to need some kind of storage device once I reach the States next year anyway, and the 120GB space inside the Macbook is certainly not going to be enough on the road. So, is it going to be the 500GB demon or the 1TB monster? The dilemma, the dilemma.
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