Ghost Town

Even in the holidays, I'm too busy to blog. I have more drafts on my dashboard than I do actual posts. I keep telling myself that i would save the draft and then come work on it when I'm free, but it never does happen. I've got almost 2 weeks worth of draft in there! And due to the difference in dates between here and Malaysia, I don't know what goes where. Even under normal circumstances, it can get a little tricky to distinguish between today and tomorrow (I always try to write as if I'm under Malaysian timing), so you can imagine what it's like now. So, if you see something new that wasn't there 2 weeks ago, or if you see the dates of posts being shifted around, you know what happened lah. Ok?

Anyways, today is (since it is only 10.14pm EST), or rather has been a bittersweet day. Bitter because the university has turned into a bloody ghost town! Almost everyone I know has left! But that's not the worst part. The worst part is seeing friends for what could be the very last time. A few of my good friends have decided to withdraw from Riddle, and pursue their dreams somewhere else. Mike Delacruz left for Maryland a couple of hours ago. I helped him pack up today, and after packing, the bunch of us went to Subway for lunch. It was great having him as a friend, and hanging out with him will sorely be missed. I'm gonna miss swearing at him. Den left this morning at 9. I was really sad to see him go because I really liked that guy. He is definitely among the most sincere person that I've ever had the privilege of knowing and working with. It's also sad to see him go because I knew that he liked it here, and given half the chance, he wouldn't have want to have left. He has so much potential on his hands, and I'm sure that if he was given the right conditions, he would have smoked me alive. But that's life isn't it? Not all pastures are green as they should be. Mike too left because he didn't have the funds to keep going on. I just hope I get to see them both again. They really are cool people.

Sweet because I now have the whole internet connection to myself. No more jack arses to slow the internet connection down! Plus this little "ghost town" gives me some time to think. I enjoy the calmness of an empty area.

Training with Sean was good today. We covered bar fights, and random attacks. I can't say that I'm developed as hell, but, I'm on my way. It's just that I've been really inconsistent due to my schedule. I can't wait to get back to the gym though. It's been almost 2 weeks since I last worked out!!

Gone Fishin'

So we went fishing today. It was a great experience, and we spent almost 6 hours doing it. I'll let the pictures do the talking.


My first ever catch. A Pompino. We ad to throw it back because it was too small.


Mike and myself with the Hammerhead shark that Mike caught. We threw it back into the sea too.


Kenneth with his second catch of the day: A Whiting fish.


My third catch of the day: A Sail Catfish.


Our final tally:
7 Whiting.
1 Catfish.

We fried them later that night. I helped to clean the fish. And in the process of cutting the catfish's fins, I got cut by it.

The End

After nearly 6 hours of finals, I've finally finished the semester! And to be honest with you, I'm extremely glad to see the rear end of this semester. I will definitely miss a few things and people from this semester, but generally, I'm just glad to have finally gotten through all my engineering sciences courses. I can now finally start doing what I came here to do, which is to learn about Aeroplanes, and aerodynamics so I can one day streamline a title winning Formula 1 car. In case you didn't know, that's what I want to do as a career. Of course, I will definitely want to go into commercial and fighter aircraft, but my ultimate target is to do aerodynamics in Formula 1. But all that is gonna be a long time from now.

What I liked best about this semester is my Astronomy class. In astronomy, I didn't just learn about what was out there, about how the development of astronomy has helped propel the development of humankind both scientifically and spiritually, how it advanced our knowledge about navigation, mathematics and the like. What I've developed along the way are plenty of ideas about our place in the universe. At the beginning of the course, Dr. Fleck, who stood in for Dr. Aufdenberg, said that after learning astronomy, you will feel insignificant. True enough, as I began measuring in astronomical units, I did begin to feel rather insignificant. In terms of size, the solar system really isn't huge. If it somehow were to disappear today, the universe will still dance on, oblivious to our disappearance. So I kept asking myself, why are we here? Could there really be more to life and death than what we are taught to believe? Are we alone? Is it possible that we have "siblings" in other star systems. Siblings that we have yet to find due to the large cosmic distances. If someone were to look at the solar system from another galaxy, they will come to a conclusion that we do not exist, simply because they just can't see us no matter how hard they try. Even from the nearest galaxy, which is Andromeda, fellow Andromadeans will conclude that there is no life on planet earth. They will only learn of our existence in about 4.5 billion years later!! We do know that in our galaxy alone, there are hundreds of earth like planets capable of supporting life. The Kepler mission is now searching for them. But then again, what if different forms of life really didn't need the basic ingredients which we need for survival? As we know it, even on earth, oxygen is poisonous to certain types of bacteria. So, what if alien life required other ingredients to survive? Are we looking at the wrong places? We know that certain life forms can survive in the treacherous conditions of space. We know that they can survive the radiation for years, and also the heat of entry into a planet. Could it be that based on these facts, we were planted here? Could we all be nothing but experiments? Could learning about all these things lead us closer to understanding the hand of our creator? These are things that I find myself contemplating. We may thin that these questions are crazy, but in the recent development of science, we have uncovered many bizarre truths about nature. Not long ago, we would have been thrown into prison for suggesting that the sun was at the center. But now we now otherwise. Of course, I may never know the answers to these things, but it is indeed refreshing to know that there are bigger things in life to contemplate. Will there be another revolution in scientific thinking? The answers will definitely be interesting.

Ratz, I think I sounded like a lunatic on that last paragraph =P

Anyways, the semester is over. It's time to stop cracking my head. It's time to start having fun! I'm going fishing tomorrow!!

Name

Name: Federico Villagra

This fella is gonna have a hard time introducing himself to people. And people are gonna have a hard time calling him, while sounding polite. Haha

This is exactly why parents have to do some research before naming their kids. Or else, you're gonna end up with a son by the name of Chee...you know the rest =P

Lost

I seem very good at losing things these days. Here's the list.

Nearly lost:

1. Watch.
I left it at the gym, but thankfully my friends found it.

2. Spectacles.
I dropped it on the grass while changing into my shades. I didn't notice it, until I reached class. Tried looking for it, but nothing turned up. Lost and found didn't have it either. I traced my steps back a couple of hours later, and saw it lying on the grass.

Lost:

1. Camera Tripod.
Left it on the ship. Didn't realize it until about 2 or 3 days later while I was reading Popular Photography.

2. Eagle Card.
Dumped it into the dumpster while throwing my excess food. I went to retrieve it, 15 minutes later, but the cleaner had already thrown it into the compacter.

3. Calculator.
Got stolen.

Is it because I watch too much Lost these days??

Update

So, it seems that I didn't do so bad afterall. In fact, the reason that I was just a couple of points shy of the ultimate result was because, well, I was just being me. I didn't read everything properly and I just overlooked things. It's not because I didn't know it. But to have the realization that, it was possible is just a very refreshing feeling. I know that over the next couple of days, many new and difficult challenges will present itself before me. In some ways I look forward to them, but in some ways, I wish I didn't have to take them. They are a pain in the arse. Really! But I guess, that's what makes it a whole lot sweeter because once all is said and done, I really have no reason to say that I should have, or could have, because I know I covered them all.

These days, I find failure so easy to swallow. In fact, I feel very sanguine about these things. Even when something really bad or serious happens, I realize that I've developed this twisted way of laughing it out. I'd make a joke about it, a few seconds of laughter, and the next few seconds would be me trying to find my way back, a way forward. In some ways, I am annoyed by it, but In some ways I'm glad. It reduces my stress levels by a huge percentage. I screwed up? Oh ok... I'll try again next time. It's not to say that I like failure, but, I think staying positive and not worrying about it really is the way to go.

I've been thinking lately, about how to solve most of our problems in Malaysia, and in some respect, certain parts of the world like Israel and Palestine. I have a way, but it is going to involve a very radical approach, where Malaysia is concerned, about how we view ourselves. A good portion of it is indeed race related, so in effect, what I'm suggesting is the creation of a new race-term and a huge amendment to the constitution. No longer should we call ourselves Chinese, Indians and, Malays, but rather, Malaysians. Malaysians, with an equal identity, and of equal opportunities in everything. I also believe that this is the time to separate religion from our education and governance. I think it is time that we became a nation of humanity, and not a nation of religion and ethnicity. I've seen this model work wonders in other nations where diversity is much more pronounced than that which we have in Malaysia. I think it is time we tried it too. It will be difficult, but I believe that time will certainly prove its worth. Our ancestors may have come from different parts of the world to settle here, and I respect that and we should indeed be proud of and celebrate our roots, but we certainly did not. I work on the assumption that we will not fight and kill if we know we are common. What do you think?

Not Since 1981

Ever went fishing before? Well, I never have been fishing in my entire 21 years of life. The closest that I've probably had to fishing was catching the fish in my aquarium with a net. That doesn't count does it? Well anyways, yesterday, a bunch of friends and I wanted to go for some fishing. We had been talking about it for quite some time now, but the weather during the previous months were anything but friendly for fishing. Plus the winds by the sea are even stronger during those months, so unless you have proper gear, you're gonna be shivering throughout that whole two or three hours. So, while I was studying yesterday, Mike knocked on my door and asked me if I wanted to go fishing with them. They did tell me about it last night, but I assumed that it would be in the morning, and since I had woken up late, as I usually do these days, I assumed that they had already gone. So, him coming up to me at around 4 pm was rather surprising. Not being in the est of study moods, I excitedly packed my stuff, and agreed to follow them.

Upon arrival to the pier, we got off and walked to inquire about the fishing activities for that day. The lady at the counter told us that the waves have been pretty rough for the past 3 days, and that fishing had not been so great for those who have tried. But she said that maybe we could pay a dollar, walk down to the pier and speak to some of the fishers about their luck. But upon seeing the waves, Mike, being an experienced fisher, decided that it would be a waste of money to try. Apparently, the waves drive the fishes away. Plus, equipment rentals were not cheap. It cost perhaps 6 dollars to rent the rod for two hours, a further thee for bait, and there was another charge which I cant remember. So we decided to just hang around by the pier and just watch the other fishers do their thing. It was depressing though, because we were kinda excited the night before, and to be let down by the weather, definitely isn't any fun. Plus, we probably won't be able to try again anytome soon because of the exams, and the fact that Mike and Evin will be going back to Maryland for the summer.

But anyways, I watched the race last night. It was great that Vettel won in such a classy manner, but what disappointed me again was the poor showing from Ferrari. Stayed up all the way till 5 in the morning only to watch Kimi finish a distant 12th because his Ferrari was absolutely a handful in the rain. So, afteryesterday, it is the first time since 1981 that Ferrari has gone 3 races in, without any points. Genius. Pure genius.

X Ray Beams

It's 12.15 in the afternoon, and I am still in my dorm room. I know that I'm supposed to be at the library putting in some hours, but somehow, I just don't feel like it. Life thus far, has been anything but smooth. I find it weird that eventhough there are plenty of good times, plenty of good people, but, it is just that one thing that keeps bugging me. It's like that one thing trumps everything else! Even me messing up on two exams doesn't even come close to making me anxious. It's really funny. But as funny as it may seem, I know that the consequence of it would be far from funny.

I was having a conversation with, this morning.

5ut3s# says:
I said don't know, she damn PARANOID

Nighthawk: says:
I know...She keeps insisting that she is. what can I say?
Apparently, all my female friends are related to me =S

5ut3s# says:
HAHAHAHAHAHAH.

What am I now? The superman of the, world? Does it look like I have, coming out of my eyes??? When I say I don't have, I don't have lahhhhh.... Aiyo... It's alright when, makes a joke or two about it. But to keep insisting on it every other time is just plain annoying lah. It's even more annoying when it becomes serious, and decisions are made because of. I wish I had Wayne's vocabulary when it comes to things like these. His English ain't perfect, but it does convey the message clearer than anything I know.

Beautifully Imperfect

I don't know why, but I've been craving to listen to Pearl Jam's Even Flow all day long. It was so bad that while studying in the library, I was going "Oh Even Flow!! Oh He don't know!!" under my breath. I don't know if anyone heard it though. At one point, I wanted to know the lyrics so badly that I just stood up, went to the computer, and googled it. And now that it's that time of day again where I can just sit back and relax, and what do I have to calm my senses? An awesome, kick arse live version of the song. Ahh... If ever heaven existed, this is what it must sound like and Eddie Vedder must be it's leader =D

By the way, check this video out. You won't regret it. Trust me. It's called beautifully imperfect.

hahaha

Bad Joke

Joking around is cool. I think it's fun. But never, ever joke about someone being dead, and then trying to be serious about it. I think it's stupid.

Two days ago, two of my friends informed me that one of my old lecturers from INTI, Dr. Borges, had passed, last year. I felt really bad for two days straight. Try as I may, I couldn't find any information. Not even on the front pages which they said it was on. Those that I asked, knew nothing about it. But the weird part is that, while searching on the internet, I found evidence showing that he was alive during the early months of November 2008. And today, after doing some out sourcing, I found out that he is alive and well. I really am relieved to hear that.

As for the two who started the joke, you really should be ashamed of yourselves. Death is not the kind of jokes you want to play around with. It's distasteful, no matter how you look at it.

Music As A Weapon 4

Music As A Weapon 4 was insanely amazing! The god's of rock finally answered my prayers by making disturbed play Prayer! When they broke into that riff, I just went crazy, because that was the first song that really got me into Disturbed. Through the rest of the night, they played some of my favorite numbers like Stricken, Just Stop, Voices, and 10000 fists. Eventhough we were in the seats, we went crazy. We head banged, screamed, sang along,raised our fists and showed the devil horns on countless occasions. It definitely was an event to remember. By the end of it, my voice was cracking!!

\m/

Why

I just got off the line with my mom... Not good news. Not good news at all. Look's like I'll have to play negotiator again. I hope to know by Monday.

High

Man, I'm just so high right now. I'm high because I don't have control over what's going on right now. I just read that prices are soaring through the roof, and guess who's still on the waiting list?? The one I'm looking for just took a huge leap in less than 7 days. Want to take a guess what might happen in the next 7?

What I don't get is why the indecision? Why the delay? Do we only do it when it's beyond reach, then not do it and sit around regretting?

Sigh..

Thru

I love the soft and dreamy music in the background. One moment it's a power ballad from an 80's band, and the next moment it's a dreamy riff from a alternative rock band.

I think I'm gonna screw up real badly.

If I get through this, I know who to credit.

I don't want to go for Disturbed this Saturday... I really don't.

Sebastian

Let me ask you a question. Would you ever call me or mistake my name as Sebastian? Apparently, someone I know, thinks that my name is Sebastian. I don't know about you, but I find it funny as hell.

I think the interweb has a problem with me. It always fails whenever I need it. I need to register for classes in like an hours time, but each time I click the link, some stupid server error comes out. Stupid interweb.

It must think that I'm a Sebastian....

Anytime something goes wrong, it must be because of Sebastian...

Stupid Sebastian...

Dr. Ku Li Ng Phaan

I love it when Formula 1 teams play April Fool's with the media. And I love it even more when the Malaysian press takes it very seriously and makes it one of their leading stories, without checking the facts!

Excerpt taken from : autosport.com

In Australia last weekend, Scuderia Toro Rosso caused much amusement when its pre-event press release of a mock Sebastien Buemi diary was taken as fact by a local journalist. Poor Buemi had found himself asked in an official FIA press conference if it was true that his Toblerone bars had been confiscated by Australian customs.

But Toro Rosso went one better in Malaysia last weekend when an April Fools it sent out was also believed to be true by far too many people who should have known better.

In a press release issued by the team on the morning of April 1, the team announced that it was to use its Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) for the Malaysian Grand Prix. Indeed, the first paragraph looked like a genuine news story about KERS being used to power a cooling-aid for the drivers.

It was so good in fact that it suckered a few people in. It was only if you read Toro Rosso's story further that you realised what they were up to.

"We are indebted to Professor Hugh Masterby-Jerrkin of Imperial College, London for his department's assistance in moving this project forward so quickly," commented Wayne Kerr, Toro Rosso's Head of KERS.

"While the team was racing in Melbourne, we came directly to Kuala Lumpur to evaluate the system in real conditions and for this we were given invaluable help by the Thermal Energy faculty of the Kuala Lumpur Polytechnic, particularly the head of department, Doctor Ku Lin 'Ng Phaan."

The names should have acted as enough of a warning, but Toro Rosso's press office could not quite believe it when some publications printed stories briefly.

And their jaws dropped to the ground when Malaysia's local newspaper the New Straits Times, ran a big story under the headline: "Toro Rosso get 'invaluable' help from a local polytechnic."

Worse was to come later when senior management from Toro Rosso's clothing supplier Puma started asking questions about why it had not been consulted about modifications being made to the drivers' race suits!

=End=

Kuala Lumpur has a Polytechnic with a Dr. named Cooling Fan?? hahaha

Sigh

I slept at 7 am this morning, after watching an amazingly frustrating Malaysian Grand Prix. I was glad there was a whole lot of action going on between the drivers, with quite a few of them demonstrating how much easier it was to overtake under the new technical regulations. The unpredictable weather made the race a whole lot more interesting. But there were two things which I was completely unhappy about. Bernie Ecclestone, the idiot who proposed to move the start to 5pm, and the Ferrari team strategists. Personally, if what we saw on Sunday were a reflection of Ferrari's thinking power, then I can safely say that I am 100% qualified to be their strategists and the Italians would definitely love me more than whoever it is that chose to put Kimi out on wet tires when the track was dry. Kimi drove an amazing race and worked his way up to fifth. But a blunder in thinking caused all of that hard effort to be thrown out the window. This is not the first time in this race that Ferrari has managed to so spectacularly ruin their races. Just look at Saturday's qualifying! It was the first time in years that a Ferrari failed to make it beyond Q1!

Anyways, I spent my whole weekend buried in books. Another 3 weeks and the semester will be over.

Two Ends

It's funny how a day can have both ends of the spectrum, all in one go. Today and Friday were just like that. On Friday morning, I was extremely pissed with one of my lecturer. That douchebag ruined my entire morning. All I did was to ask him a few conceptual questions on my homework, and all he did was try to play god and pick on all the silliest things in my working, and not even once attempt to answer my questions. It's like asking for an explanation as to why 1+1 is equals to 2, but getting an explanation about why the plus sign has two bloody lines in it, and why I will never get the answer unless both lines are exactly perpendicular to each other. But then in the evening, I had a great time with Sean Dodds, Deuce, and the rest of the gang. We had our monthly outing once again. But it was made a whole lot more cooler because Dodds's mom, Khatijah, flew all the way down from Pennsylvania. We went to the sushi bar again and we had some amazing sushi. Oh, and we all passed our Wasabi ritual test(I had some help from the coke). At night, we went over to Laura's place and had a great time as well. Being friends with Dodds and the rest of them really opens up new doors for me as a person. Already I'm trying out new things, learning new lessons and just having a great time being us. I enjoy training with him, and he's awesome person.

Today was alright, I guess. We had a rock concert in campus. The headliners were Sugarcult. The opening bands were LunaHalo and The Sleeping. They were all great bands, and I certainly had a good time moshing, after a very, very long time.

Oh Happy Days =D

While doing some work at Lehman building.

Me:*Smiling* Dude, guess who's our new Prime Minister?
Ramon: *Gives me the look, while trying to guess* Ibrahim?
Me: *While laughing* No dude, It's Najib.
Ramon: No way dude..



Happy Najib day from all of us Malaysians at Daytona Beach. This is going to be a blast!! Literally =P

*Now where's that C4 of mine?*

Hmm...

First off, I'd like to say that I'm really, really sorry to Rachel, Sara and to some of the others who got really excited but only to be let down when they found out that the previous post was an April Fool's joke. I know should have thought harder before making that joke. But, I'll make it up to you when I get back. I promise!

Letter To Gods

Dear Gods of Fighter Jets and Dredging,

I have one wish of you tonight. Grant me that wish and I will forever be grateful to the both of you. In fact, I'll design and awesome fighter jet in your honor. Please guide me in my homework questions. I know the concept, I understand the questions, but I just don't get why I keep getting the wrong answers. I'm sure the god of mathematical calculations isn't playing a trick on me right now, so silly errors are out of the question. So please, give me a hint, or anything that will help me solve the problem. It is due tomorrow morning and I don't have the solution manuals. Thank you.

yours,
Me

*update* The god of Fighter Jet responded in a timely manner. So I guess I'll have to make good on my promise. I think the God of dredging will give me my answer in my dreams... I hope =P

Yay!

What a sigh of relief. Remember in my last post I said that I was not allowed to accelerate my degree program eventhough I took summer lessons? Well, so I thought about it, and decided that since staying for summer was not going to bring me any benefit, why stay? So, I spoke to my parents, and they said that I could come home once my current semester is over, and that would be on the 29th of April. So, if it all goes to plan, I'll be home on the first or second of May!! I'll have three whole months to sleep in dhal and chicken curry!! wohoo!!!!

p.s For those of you who have wish lists, faster let me know so I can get em for you!