Saturday, April 12, 2008

A Week: Ups and Downs

I have discovered this semester that within a weeks time that one's mood can start on an high go through a valley to the lowest depths then rise triumphantly in the end. Unfortunately, this triumphant ending is sadly a misconception for the fear of going through another tumultuous week is always present. It seems to make little to no difference that this can very well happen though when one is in that happy moment.

I wont go into much details but this week has been quite critical. I started out with high hopes for the future on Monday, however by the end of the day I realized that success isn't guaranteed no matter how prepared one can be. Although they can make every effort to study it seems that it all boils down to in the end whether you were correct or incorrect. Regardless, with the help of many people around me throughout the week and a surprising A on my Chinese test, I soon recovered from that critical blow in Organic Chemistry and realized that there is new hope for tomorrow.

Ultimately, coming up in the near future is another attempt to reach the mark and attempt to regain the "phosphorescence of learning" (Emily Dickenson said that in a short story of sorts). I hope that something does turn up in this matter.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Sunday Confession: Sunday April 6 (14 of 52)

People continue to change and the times continue to change. The silly games that people play are getting old. Everything is becoming taxing, people are getting older but they are not changing for the better. People are in college now and still thrive in the high school mentality. Apparently we are still in an age in which we have hierarchical setups of friends and try to please friends by comparing them to others based on how much they take one out and pay for their food.

It is my claim that this needs to stop and people need to be reexamined. I think the time has passed beyond that which we can continue to keep poshing each other up and examining everyone under the looking glass in an attempt to compare them to each other. This is wrong and downright dirty. Everyone is not the same, in fact, everyone is different. What someone does for you does not need to be done to you by another person. In fact, be glad that there are people willing to talk and at least care and treat you to things just because you are their friend and partner in crime.

It is disgusting to see that people only go to others to seek advice. Even more is it that when they give advice or answer your question, you program the answer as wrong and they have to spend all their precious time to find evidence to support their answer that you shot down in the beginning. It does not make me proud to have to find evidence to support an answer and prove your never accepting the initial as answer as truth self wrong. In fact, it disenchants me that I have to waste my time to do it. If that was the case then next time find the answer yourself.

Ultimately, the times have changed and it is time to move on. People can not remain in their high school and immature mindset moving into their young adult hood years and time in which they will begin to seek to establish themselves with a successful career and possibly a family. Gone are the times when the jokes are cast and everything is laughed at. Gone are the times when you seek friends based on aesthetic things and not on that which they will help you the most with.



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Now playing: The Cheetah Girls - Fuego
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Friday, April 4, 2008

The Beginning of the End (1)

Well today was the final day of lecture for Introduction to Chemistry Lab 102. Because of a bit of fated purpose of trying to get all 100's on every class period and attaining at least a 95 in each lab, I can say that I did not attend today's class. And currently, I doubt that I am also going to go to the final Lab Class on this upcoming Monday. It seems that it would be a bit futile knowing that what we do in lab wont really be on the test in that capacity. Sure there will be questions about it, but all of that can be gleamed from just reading the lab instructions and attempting to recognize what is happening before we take the test.

This reminds me that we have only about a few more mere weeks left in class for this semester. This will mark the end of my second year at Virginia Commonwealth University. The beginning of the end of the college career is starting to come to a close. On the four year plan aspect, this marks the crossing of the halfway point and the sprint downwards to the bottom.

I have had a great time in my first part of college and I can say that this will hopefully continue as I go further along.


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Now playing: Rose Royce - Car Wash
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St. Andrews

Usually I don't get too descriptive of my various endeavors in the realm of extracurricular activities. But lately, I have been having exciting thoughts and massive fun with one such event. The events that I take part in at St. Andrews school is quite fun.

At St. Andrews, which is located about two blocks away from the main VCU Monroe Park campus, we (usually about three other students either in Bioinformatics or an education major) guide the fifth graders (and usually a mix of other grades) through various science labs. The last lab we conducted involved the making of tree vests, so that the students can show their love of trees.

I think it is a quite fun endeavor mainly because the students have this infinite reservoir of energy that seems to emanate and sap my energy. Sometimes, I can come there with the highest amount of energy and I will leave feeling as tired as ever. I do have a bit of fun with them, they are so funny and sometimes say the weirdest things. Other times you would think they were in high school with the knowledge that they posses. I cant wait to go again and help out.



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Now playing: TLC - Waterfalls
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Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Summer Plans: (1)

It seems that I may have been offered accepted into the HSURP (Honors Summer Undergraduate Research Program) for Summer 2008. The program says that it will last from May 27th (looks like the same time HHMI starts) until July 22 (a week before HHMI ends).

It is going to be amazing to see the contrasts between HHMI and HSURP. Ironically I am going to be research with the same professor I had for HHMI and a project that looks and sounds most spectacular. Although the amount of stipend is considerable less (50%, HHMI we got $3000, HSURP only $1500, zomg this is literally a step downwards, BBSI gets the most with $3500, it seems and this other CSBSI program gets $4000!!!).

Obviously, they seem to value the research interests in the program so it will be interesting to see what will be done. I have been desiring a way to continue to launch into my undergraduate research and this seems to be yet another program to launch me into that career of pursuing my future goal in life: To perform research.


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Now playing: Selena - Dreaming of You
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Tuesday, April 1, 2008

High School: In Memory (1)

After browsing and realizing that there were new people from High School (I.C. Norcom), I was just thinking of how long ago it was when I was in High School. It has been over 2 years now since the last time I had class at Norcom. Somedays, it feels like High School was only yesterday, but other times it feels as if High School was so very long ago.

I wonder now, if we and everyone I knew and the people they knew, were to get back together would the same relationships and social structure that existed still be prevalent. There are so many people that I have not been able to contact. Some people seem to have vanished off the face of the Earth, and others seem to be going in ways at rates upwards of Mach 3 speeds. Apart from seeing maybe about eight people, I have not seen anyone else from Norcom since graduation. I wonder if people have forgotten me. I wonder if people even think about everyone else. Am I the only one who has these memories of times back then?



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Now playing: Alicia Keys - If I Aint Got You
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