Tuesday 31 July 2007

Wino


Class, originally uploaded by onlygood2.

I find it funny that when I used this picture in Your Heritage - the which celebrity do you look like website - the top three people of the eight celebrities were of Asian descent. This probably because my eyes nearly close when I smile.

Ahh well. This picture was taken at Imbibe, and I cut out some people in the photo to use it as my Facebook profile picture. I think I look tan.. for me, anyways.

Wednesday 25 July 2007

I'm not lazy, I'm just connecting

This blog is actually an opinion article I wrote for my final. I was happy with it (you may make your own opinion) but I felt like posting it.

Being a student in the year 2007 is exciting with Web 2.0. There is so much information at my fingertips. I really wanted to watch the YouTube Democratic debate, however without a television and not being in the US, this would have been close to impossible. But with the invention of video-sharing websites, I was able to go onto YouTube the next day and watch the entire debate – with no commercials!

With Wikipedia, Google, and Factiva, the library seems like a foreign concept. Many of my peers would be hard-pressed to visit one of those anytime soon. Are we getting lazy? Do we have too much information being thrown at us from unlimited sources all on one screen?

If the 90s were the age of excess, then the 00s must be the age of the Internet. Web 2.0 has given us knowledge and connected users from around the globe. It’s evolutionised the way we conduct our day-to-day dealings and with each other. From instant messaging, social networking sites, blogs, Flickr, and YouTube, I can stay connected with my friends and family thousands of miles away – without having to worry about a large phone bill.

Does this make us lazy? It certainly doesn’t make me lazy. With the more information I stumble across, the more I want. It’s like a drug. Once I read a blog that recommends a book, a movie, or a place to go, I want to do it all. I want to form my own opinion. Sure, there are people who are content with sitting in front of the computer screen, but they’re no different to those who were content sitting in front of the television.

Andrew Keen has recently put out a book, The Cult of the Amateur. In it, he discusses the end of our society and the end of old media. Blogs are “collectively corrupting and confusing popular opinion about everything from politics, to commerce, to arts and culture”. He should only be so happy, as I learnt about his book on a blog. And I probably will go out and buy his book, just to see his point of view, and then I’ll blog about it.

Everyone has the ability to have his or her voices and songs heard, words read, and videos seen. Does this make us lazy? People need to look at the big picture. The dot-com bubble burst around the same time terrorists attacked the Twin Towers in the ‘impenetrable’ US. Shit hit the fan. Things haven’t been the same since. Maybe we want to connect with each other, since no one seems to be gelling in the real world?

Perhaps Second Life isn’t such a bad idea, if I can avoid a war I never believed in. A blog I can rant and rave in because no one else is listening. Upload videos of people that matter to me. This doesn’t make me lazy. I’m just connecting, in a world where no one else is.

Tuesday 24 July 2007

A tart, I am not

Somehow, without Adderall, I've been able to stay course with my final project. I wasn't lying to people when I told them I'd do much better with it if I had two weeks to complete it. Now, it may seem to others that I'm in-fact a slacker, but I'm in fact a furious writer when under pressure. People should stop judging.

Do you think that I worked any differently throughout high school and UMass Amherst? Come on now. Of course I didn't. And I still managed to graduate with honors at both schools. I'm not a moron. I'm a procrastinator. There's a huge difference.

I'm actually really glad I picked the topic I did. Web 2.0 came to me in a dream (not really) and I'm so glad it came out of my mouth in the group meeting back in May while declaring what I'd be writing 12,000 words on. I've learned so much, and I'm not trying to sound like a tart.

To be honest, I think everyone should learn about Web 2.0 (which more or less means the new platform of the web and how the public are the new producers). In the process, I've even stumbled across some really great blogs, like dooce.com.

In another post I'll link to all of them, but I'm too exhausted (from writing 2,000 words today). I've also found some really creepy websites, like LiveLeak.com (previously ogrish.com) and military.com. Video-sharing just got a whole lot more uncut and uncensored. (Viewer discretion IS advised. I had to write about, so had to go to them, but I watched some videos with my eyes closed. I'm a wuss.)

Finally, since I've been writing so much, my carpal tunnel has come back in full fledge. It hasn't been this bad since nearly two years ago when my friends and I bowled every Friday night (don't judge, the bar served beers for $2). I'm currently loving my new bandage that looks like a sock, yet it's a certified Boots bandage. Not quite sure how the public will take it, but I am in London, and as I say fashion-wise, anything goes here.

Friday 20 July 2007

Today was a good day!

Well, my parents, my flat mate, and I can breathe easy today. I got a job offer! I will not be moving onto the street anytime soon. I envisioned myself finding scraps of food to eat in trash bins whilst clanging around a tin can begging for change and fighting over prime spots near cash points. OK, so I made that last bit up, but the money situation was getting a little tense. Tomorrow I'm going to be calling to accept the offer, and I will officially enjoy my first salary paid position of my life - in London! Hooray.

Other notes worth mentioning. I got Kaiser Chief tickets for Decemeber. Sure, it's ages away, but I'm so excited. General admission, which means I'm getting right up there. It's been a while since I've had the opportunity to sing along to every song, while having other people jabbing their elbows and entire bodies into me. When the crowd sways one way, we all sway. It's like a giant blob that I used to really enjoy. I'm sure I'll hate it now, and forget why I ever enjoyed it. But damnit, it's the Kaiser Chiefs!!

I went for a drink with Drew at the Elgin. I haven't been since the smoking ban. It's amazing to be able to breath in their, I found it to be one of the smokiest bars in the city. And I don't smell like an ashtray, either. Brilliant if you ask me. I'm not sure why people were so worried about the ban, it's amazing. Second-hand smoke, even if you're a smoker, is never pleasant. You can't argue that with me. Unless you hate oxygen. Then, well, sorry you were born on this planet, it's too bad.

I'm exhausted. Today was an exhilarating day. And tomorrow is going to suck. 2,000 more words to write. But then I get to go out for Samira's birthday and celebrate with friends whom I haven't partied with in a while. Should be a good time.

Ciao for now.

Wednesday 18 July 2007

I think I should go to bed

So yes, it's officially 2.11am. I should certainly be sleeping, if not tossing and turning. I took melatonin about 20 minutes ago and am beginning to feel it's effects.

Case-in-point: I applied Burt's Bees to my lips -nightly ritual. Then I idiotically rubbed my eye. Have you ever gotten Burt's Bees in your eye? Well I'm pretty sure that icy comforting burn that takes place on your lips is never supposed to be intended for your eyes. I literally had tears running down my cheeks for a good five minutes. It still feels funny, but I'm not running out of bed to dose my eye in cold water (I'm pretty sure that's what the warning label would say to do, anyways).

Today I amazed myself and wrote two more articles for my final. I have completed a total of 4,000 words. In the bigger view, I've completed 1/3 of it. I'm pretty impressed with myself as well. I cannot wait until 27 July (and yet, I can?).

Ok, time to do a sudoku puzzle and fall asleep. I only hope this cool, icy feeling in my eye goes away. Oyyy.

Monday 16 July 2007

My Blogging survey!

Blogs
Do you blog?
If so, what do you blog about?
Do you read other peoples' blogs?
How do you feel about blogs?
Are blogs news or harder to trust than the mainstream media?
Are blogs a good thing?
Did you know what a blog was 3 years ago?
Did you know what a blog was 5 years ago?
Do you know what the term 'blog' is short for?
Do you go to sites such as Technorati or Digg?

Take This Survey Yourself
More Quizzes & Surveys

Procrastination should be my middle name

You know when people say, 'I work well under pressure'?? Yeah, I'm not kidding when I say that either. T-minus 11 days and counting until my final project is due and I have barely gotten anywhere with it. Am I nervous? Heck yes. Will I get it done in time? Hell yes. This is how I work - when the heat is on! Well, I suppose it's boiling at this point, but I'm not too concerned.

My battle plan is to write around 2,000 words a day. At that pace, I should have written the 12,000 words necessary by Saturday. If that's the case, I should have time to go through it all and make sure it's accurate and correct. Fingers crossed. Do pray for me in the meantime.

Changing topics, I have a question. So I flew back to London from my American holiday back in Boston (to be exact Reading, Medford, Malden, Marblehead, Maynard, Ipswich, Nahant, Saugus, Southie, Newton and finally, Boston)last Mon night/Tues morning, and here's my predicament: I had a cold/flu bug thing going on when I flew, and my ears clogged terribly from my stuffy nose. It killed - a pain I wouldn't wish upon any one of my worst enemies. I've since gotten over the cold, but my right ear still feels like it's got water in it. Have I lost hearing from the plane ride? Is that possible? Will it ever be normal again? I'm having heart palpatations just thinking about it. If anyone can answer me that, please, PLEASE do so soon.

Onto some better news. I officially am no longer single. That's right, folks, I have a boyfriend. I know, I know, You maybe as shocked as I am. Trouble is, I keep forgetting I do - three years single is a long time. I figure I'll slowly get into the ways of coupledom. Thankfully, he's fully employed (a London 'bobby'!) and with me trying to write 2,000 words a day, I don't have to feel like I'm ignoring him. And he's not clingy so I also don't have to feel like a bitch that we don't talk, text, or see each other everyday.

Well, I'm officially going to get started on this project. Cheers!