richard

What's this "Livejournal" that I seem to be registered to?

Wed, 06 Aug 2003 02:53:19 GMT

Wow. This is the first time that I've been online for more than 5 minutes in months. I probably would have forgotten about this site if it wasn't for an e-mail that I got that reminded me. So, how's everyone doing? Does anyone still know who I am? I just got a new laptop for school, so we'll see if that does anything to my updating patterns.

Thu, 12 Jun 2003 01:06:59 GMT

i graduated yesterday.

- the valedictorian made a kick ass speech.
- i was coughing out a lung during the whole thing.
- the hour wait before the ceremony was more interesting than the ceremony itself (b/c talking was allowed).
- after grad was ok. it wasn't as fun as i expected.
- i feel empty now.
- summer's going to suck.

this is ridiculous

Tue, 27 May 2003 23:40:57 GMT

does anyone know the correct way to pronounce kazaa? if so, please enlighten me.

wasting life away

Sat, 17 May 2003 01:08:05 GMT

[name] richard
[home] virginia, usa
[age] 17
[birthday] 07/18/1985 ...this stuff could be found under userinfo
[grade] senior, graduating on june 6
[sign] cancer
[eye color] brown
[hair] black
[bf/gf] no
[clothing style] i'm not sure if it's qualified as a style
[pets] two fish, and some cockroaches in the basement if you want to count those

*favorites*
[band] nightwish
[music genre] rock/metal/grunge
[color crayon] black or blue
[juice flavor] orange
[cereal] i don't like cereal
[jolly rancher flavor] lemon
[skittle flavor] they taste all the same to me
[color m & m] blue
[kind of cookie] chocolate chip ...i'm that interested in sweets anymore. i think i lost my sweet tooth.
[hangout] wherever my friends are
[day] monday...
[month] december, christmas ...oh, yeah
[season] spring or autumn
[shoes] i don't care about brand, it's the style that i look for
[restaurants] nothing in particular, olive garden i guess
[cars] no favorite, much like the questions about favorite candy favor, this one is also of no interest to me.
[star wars character] yoda ...anyone who doesn't say yoda isn't a fan.
[simpsons character] the comic book guy
[kitchen appliance] oven
[color of lava lamp] blue ...unless they make black ones, but that wouldn't make much sense.
[person to talk to online] all the same to me
[person to talk to on the phone] i don't like using the phone. i have no articulation skills.
[memories] that day that there was a blackout at my high school and all the students just hung out on the bleachers for about 3 to 4 hours until the bus came.

*this or that*
[boxers or briefs?] boxers
[plaid or striped?] plaid
[urban legend or the faculty?] haven't seen either
[star trek or star wars?] star wars
[alt or rap?] alternative
[ska or punk?] ska
[classical or country?] classical
[salt or pepper?] pepper
[coke or pepsi?] coke
[dr. pepper or mr. pibb?] dr. pepper is my favorite drink, it doesn't matter what it's compared to.
[sprite, slice, or 7-up?] sprite
[skittles-original, tropical, or wildberry?] i really can't tell the difference.
[m & m's-regular, peanut, peanut-butter, or crispy?] the person who wrote this survey must have been obsessed with candy. regular
[hershey's-hugs or kisses] kisses
[jolly ranchers or jolly rancher bubble gum?] jolly ranchers
[v-8 or hi-C?] hi-c
[bleh or blah?] blah
[okay, ok, or o.k.?] ok ...why would people say o.k. i don't think it's an abbreviation for anything.
[shake or stir?] if this is referencing alcohol, i don't drink.
[pens, crayons, pastels, or colored pencils?] pens
[bright colors or dark colors] usually dark
[snap,crackle, or pop?] pop
[half-empty or half-full?] heh, i wrote a journal entry about this. it depends on its previous state.
[adidas, nike, fila, or reebok?] doesn't matter
[sunshine or rain?] rain
[rain or snow?] snow
[sun or moon?] moon, i'm a night person. the day is depressing.
[cds or cassettes?] cds
[hot or mild?] hot
[rupaul or dennis rodman?] neither
[bsb or nsync?] i think there's a couple bsb songs that i like.
[keyboards-the normal kind or the separated kind?] seperated, just because i never get to use them.

*short answer* ....what is this, a test?
[left handed or right handed?] right
[are you smart?] compared to whom? yes and no, depending on the answer to that question.
[whats your middle name?] ...middle initial is 'r'
[how many personalities do you have?] three: happy, sad, and angry. i act like a completely different person depending on the mood.
[how many piercings do you have?] none
[what was your first word?] dad...in chinese, which is ba ba...which could just be jibberish.
[are you superstitious?] no
[do you read your horoscope?] no
[do you believe in that stuff?] no
[can you do a cartwheel?] no
[do you have bangs?] no
[can you drive?] yes...i don't think yes/no questions are considered short answer.
[what do you drive?] a car
[do you lick your envelopes or use a sponge?] i use the droplets of water remaining in the sink.
[do you keep a journal?] ...if you're reading this, you know the answer to that question.
[what languages do you know?] english (fluent), chinese (somewhat fluent), french (learning)
[what's the best awards show?] i don't like award shows. though the academy awards can be interesting depending on what movies or what people are nominated.
[do you like cotton candy?] sure
[do you like pina coladas?] wouldn't know
[what do you sleep in?] a bed
[how many pillows do you have?] 1
[how many cds do you have?] about 40
[is your room messy?] no
[how many people go to your school?] more than 2000
[do you like your handwriting?] yes
[do you like to fingerpaint?] no
[do you sleep with a stuffed animal?] ...........i have one next to be bed but i don't sleep with it ...in any sense of the phrase.
[do you sleep with socks on?] people do that?
[are you ticklish?] no
[did you go to preschool?] yes
[are you a morning person?] definitely not
[do you like classical music?] yes

*hard questions*
[would you rather be tall or short?] once again, this is relative. i'm 5'11", which i consider to be somewhat tall, and i'm happy with my current height.
[would you rather burn to death or freeze to death?] burned
[do you think guys or girls have it easier?] guys
[would you eat a bowl of live crickets for $40,000?] how big is the bowl?
[if you had a band what would you name it?] never thought about it, and don't feel like thinking about it now.
[gonna go to college?] yes
[where do you want to live?] new york or somewhere in california suburbia.
[if you had to dye your hair right now, what color would you make it?] blue ...the guy who did this survey before me was an utter moron.
[if you had to get a body piercing right now where would it be?] i wouldn't ...i think guys who have piercings looks ridiculous.
[if you had to get a tattoo right now, what would it be?] dragon on my arm.
[if you were gonna be stuck on a deserted tropical island forever with one other person who would you want it to be?] avril lavigne

movie fiend

Sat, 17 May 2003 00:23:50 GMT

matrix reloaded kicked ass. strangely, the key thing that i remember about that movie was the electronica song with trinity was on the freeway. my favorite scene was the one with neo vs. the thousand agent smiths. even though, it's been shown on the previews, it's still a great visual feast. obviously, the one isn't going to be as revolutionary as the first matrix, but i still think its better because of the level of action in it. the twin ghost programs could have done so much more with the power that they had. they could have fought like nightcrawler did in x2 except with switchblades. ...god, i need to stop with the movies.

if you're going to see this movie and you don't mind the wait, don't forget to sit through the preview for matrix revolution after the credits.

dmv

Thu, 15 May 2003 23:42:33 GMT

is it just me or is the dmv constant packed and the people working there, constantly bitter?

i hate it when lj deletes my entries

Mon, 12 May 2003 00:44:56 GMT

i had this long rant, which no one wanted to read anyway, typed up, but it got deleted. i think lj is trying to tell me something. so, here's the sparknotes version of it.

- i lost my wallet at the movies last night. the midnight cleaning crew probably found it and kept it. so now, i have to go and replace all the stuff in it like my driver's license, atm card, etc.
- x2 rules. nightcrawler rules. magneto rules. rogue sucks.

i'm a simpleton

Thu, 01 May 2003 02:45:13 GMT

it just started raining. i love listening to and watching the rain especially when it's at night. realizing this made me remember what i consider to be the best day of my life. nothing really special happened on that day except for the power going out in school. this forced everybody to wait outside until the problem was fixed or the buses arrived. the latter occurred about four hours later. in those four hours, all i did was play cards, listen to music, talk to friends, and enjoy the weather. i had no worries about the future and no regrets about the past. those were truly good times.

hell (no pun intended), everyone else is doing it

Thu, 01 May 2003 02:36:11 GMT

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Sixth Level of Hell - The City of Dis!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very Low
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Low
Level 2 (Lustful)	High
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	Moderate
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Moderate
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	Very High
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very High
Level 7 (Violent)	High
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	High
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	High

Take the Dante's Inferno Test

trivialities

Fri, 25 Apr 2003 02:52:56 GMT

my friends and i argue over the most pointless topics. here's one of them:

would it be better for humanity as a whole to live in a world with free will but also with disease, war, poverty, etc. or to live in a world like the garden of eden, where everything has already been provided for, but without the ability to chose your own path?

high school

Thu, 24 Apr 2003 01:41:04 GMT

some idiot set off firecrackers in the hallway after lunch today. people, thinking there was a shooting, started running.

note to self

Wed, 23 Apr 2003 00:54:12 GMT

no matter how much you try or, in my case, don't try, there's always going to be someone better. the only thing you can do is try your best and learn from your mistakes. ...yeah, i need to keep telling myself that, and maybe one day i'll believe it to be true. apparently, a guy that i've been going to chinese school with for the past three years, aka the class clown, is having a hard time deciding which college or university to attend next year. his options are: university of pennsylvania, massachusetts institute of technology, and harvard. but i'm not envious... to each his own. he chose his path, i chose mine. (although, his path might have been a tad more wise.)

since i'm on the subject. everyone go see/support the movie "better luck tomorrow"! even though i haven't seen it (it's only showing in major cities), i've read a lot of articles about it and seen a lot of previews for it. it's about a group of asian straight-a students who seem to be perfect on the outside, but turn to a life of crime because of a lack of satisfaction with their lives. i think it may be the first movie with an asian protagonist to come out in the united states that doesn't involve a karate chop.

survey

Sat, 19 Apr 2003 03:01:20 GMT

i got bored.

1) First grade teacher's name: mrs. i don't remember
2) Last words you said: what?
3) Last song you sang: evanescence - bring me to life (imo, it's the best song on mainstream radio today)
4) Last person you hugged: probably my mom. it must have been months since i hugged somebody.
5) Last thing you laughed at: something danny said on the way back from philip's house. i just don't remember what.
6) Last time you said i love you: i honestly don't think i have ever said "i love you" to anyone.
7) Last time you cried: i don't remember. the moments when i express my emotions seem to be few and far between.
8) What's in your CD player: nightwish - oceanborn
9) What colour socks are you wearing: white
10) What's under your bed: last time i checked, it was satan. but when i poked him in the eye, he ran off crying.
11) What time did you wake up today: 6:30 am. what the hell am i doing waking up at 6:30 am during spring break?!
12) Current taste: minty freshness
13) Current hair: messy
14) Current clothes: blue jeans, white shirt, black fleece (it'd suddenly turned 40 degrees today)
15) Current annoyance: my lack of motivation
16) Current longing: same as it has always been
17) Current desktop picture: neon genesis evangelion collage
18) Current worry: paying for college/ getting a job
19) Current hate: nothing really comes to mind
20) Story behind your username: my first favorite band was green day, and my first favorite song by them was basket case. i've been using screen names incorporating "basket case" for a long time now.
21) Current favourite article of clothing: um...khakis
22) Favourite physical feature of the opposite sex: face and tummy are tied
23) Last CD that you bought: radiohead - ok computer
24) Favourite place to be: wherever, as long as it's in the dark
25) Least favourite place: in the center of attention
26) Time you wake up in the morning for school: 6AM. around 6:15 am, give or take a few minutes.
27) If you could play an instrument, what would it be: piano
28) Favourite colour: black and blue
29) Do you believe in an afterlife: no
30) How tall are you: 5'11" last time i checked
31) Current favourite word/saying: good times
32) Favourite book: the count of monte cristo
33) Favourite season: autumn
34) One person from your past you wish you could go back and talk to: jennifer
35) Favourite day: monday...yes, you read correctly, monday.
36) Where do you want to go: location doesn't matter nearly as much as the company you keep when you are there. that said, i want to go to san franciso.
37) What is your career going to be like: i'm not a fortune teller.
38) How many kids do you want: one or two
39) What kind of car will you have: these "in the future" questions are so ambiguous (in terms of time frame) that i am no longer going to dignify them with an answer.
40) Type a line you remember from any book: one fish, two fish, three fish
41) A random lyric: at home drawing pictures... of mountain tops with him on top... lemon yellow sun... arms raised in a 'v'... the dead lay in pools of maroon below. (pearl jam - jeremy)
42) Identify some things surrounding your computer: one empty can of coca cola - $0.05, one english textbook - $50.00, one picture of my family - priceless.
43)What's up: i need to get my mind of the gutter.

two questions that have boggled minds for centuries

Fri, 18 Apr 2003 00:29:36 GMT

q: is the glass half empty or half full?
a: it depends on its previous state. if half a glass of milk was just poured into the cup, then it's half full. if you just drank the milk down to the half-way mark, then it's half empty.

q: which came first, the chicken or the egg?
a: the egg came first. the creature that laid the egg was technically not a chicken. that creature's dna mutated/evolved into that of a chicken. when the egg hatched, the first chicken was born.

good mood.

Wed, 16 Apr 2003 02:10:03 GMT

i'm in a good mood. i have no idea why. i shouldn't be. but i am. have a great week everyone! drink and be merry! hakuna matata! when i'm in a good mood, i like to listen to inspirational music or watch inspirational movies. here's a couple recommendations, just to spread the joy.

music:
superchick - poppy christian rock. catchy and uplifting songs.

movies:
rudy - based on a true story about a guy whose dream has been to get into notre dame and play football there, but his grades and physical attributes have always held him back. he works at it and reaches his goal. it's really touching when he gets in...i almost cried...almost (i've only cried in two movies: saving private ryan and the lion king).

i love this shirt

Sun, 13 Apr 2003 00:49:29 GMT

it has begun

Sat, 12 Apr 2003 00:47:57 GMT

spring break officially started exactly five hours and fifty-seven minutes ago. like most people, i'm not doing anything special, just hanging out with my friends, watching movies, applying for scholarships, and visiting colleges. i know some people that are planning on driving approximately ten hours round trip to visit their college campus. one of my friends' college's open house/tour/orientation starts at 7am. so he has to get out of bed and start driving over there at 2am. i find that to be ridiculous.

i have yet had a leisurely break ever since i joined my school's ib program. my math teacher is the only member of the faculty with some sense of mercy. he has a rule about no homework during vacation time (he genuinely believes that students should take a break during their spring break...such a novel idea), regardless of how behind schedule the class is. i only wish others would follow his example.

two of my friends and i are going to have an anime type marathon on friday by watching all 26 episodes of star ocean (based on the game) in one day. it should only take eight hours and forty minutes, assuming that we don't stop for any reason such as eating, going to the bathroom, going outside, etc. ...the answer is yes. yes i am aware that i'm a dork.

online lingo

Wed, 09 Apr 2003 02:23:58 GMT

http://www.usatoday.com/life/2003-03-31-chat_x.htm

i especially don't understand why people type "wuz" instead of "was." it's not like the former is an abbreviation of the latter. the same is true for "boi" and "boy." it actually takes me more time to write the wrong way.

which college should i go to...

Mon, 07 Apr 2003 00:29:28 GMT

not that i have much of a choice. it's basically down to virginia tech and university of virginia. i applied to uva's and vt's engineering schools. i've heard that vt's engineering program is better, but uva has a much better reputation. i'm also not sure if i want to be an engineer anymore. most of my friends will be going to vt, and i don't know anyone going to uva (mainly b/c they didn't get in). damn it, i hate making decisions.

today is a special day...

Fri, 04 Apr 2003 02:08:35 GMT

because, today, i declare myself as the dumbest chinese person living in the united states. no seriously, i did a survey of every chinese person (except for myself) in the u.s. and here are the results.

average gpa: 4.0 unweighted
average sat score: 1590
average number of extracurricular activities: 49
average ranking of their college: 2

yep, that proves it. this will be an accomplishment that i will proudly share with my grandchildren.

i'm dreaming of a white...spring break

Mon, 31 Mar 2003 03:24:50 GMT

it snowed today. it's two days until april and it snowed today. the weather seems to have gone haywire this year. just yesterday, people were outside wearing shades and hawaiian shirts. today, they were wearing those enormous "first down" coats that are twice their size.

Sat, 29 Mar 2003 23:43:56 GMT

i've noticed that my dad shows his disappointment much more freely than he shows his happiness. it's probably because he's more used to it. i got a one minute "congradulations," followed by one minute of "financial aid questions," then was sent off to take out the trash. i'm not that surprised at the reaction, but i still always see it as a downplay of my achievements. eh...

in case you don't know already, this post was inspired by my acceptance into a university, specifically the university of virginia.

!

Tue, 25 Mar 2003 02:23:51 GMT

oh my goodness! what is going on? is it possible that i am updating my journal? it seems like years since i last came to this site; it probably hasn't, but it seems like it. not surprisingly, nothing much has happened. eh, the story of my so called life.

however, i did get into george mason university with a 9,000 dollar scholarship. it's not that much money for four years and it's also my safety school.

i saw the oscars last night. i'm kind of mad that chicago won so many awards. i really don't have the right to be, since i haven't seen the movie. and even though it won best picture, i'm more inclined to check out "the pianist" simply from what i've heard about the story.

the school day over here has been extended for an extra half hour, because of the number of days missed from snow. but that doesn't really matter, i stop learning/caring/thinking after lunch anyway.

oh yeah, i finally saw the spiderman movie. it was amazingly (ahahaha... i crack myself up) good compared to what i was expecting. if they didn't have so much focus on peter parker, i wouldn't have liked it nearly as much.

btw, in case you guys haven't heard, we're attacking iraq. good times.

i don't handle rejection very well

Fri, 30 Aug 2002 00:54:48 GMT

random observation

Fri, 23 Aug 2002 01:32:22 GMT

people who have the word "punk" in their screen name, tend not to be punk. the same goes for every other teen label.