Psychopaths

I was reading a story and loved this sentence:

"...we should be sure not to hastily conclude that young people who are in the awkward phase of adolescence or who are under pressure because of school are psychopaths.”

:D

MR. PRESIDENT- BARACK OBAMA

YES WE CAN-
YES WE DID!

CONGRATULATIONS, MR. PRESIDENT!
My perfect first election!

I voted!

So, I voted! First time voter first time voter yeeeeeaaaahhh!

So I got up at 5:30 this morning, stood line line for an hour before 7, got in the wrong precinct line (but I was at the right place, thankfully) and got out at 7:30. Very nice. Getting to the polling place about an hour early is definitely the way to go... I mean, I waited an hour but I'm SURE I would have had to wait at least 3 if I'd gotten there at 7. My dad waited for 5 hours to early vote for Obama... 5 hours! Aaaah, but it's worth it.

I actually took a few pictures while in the booth with 'Obama Biden' bubbled in on my ballot... only one came out well :( There's one where it's just my ballot bubbled in, and another where I was staging actually bubbling it in with my pen to the paper... unfortunately in that picture, my pen ended up covering Obama's name :( Ugh otherwise, it would've been a good one. I was just trying to take them fast and secretly, because I wasn't sure if cameras were allowed, and I didn't want to get thrown out or anything. I can't find my camera cord or I'd upload the pics... waaah I'll find it when I go home. First time voting memories for the win!

And check out what I found last night:

This was painted by Phil Fung, an amazing Chinese-Jamaican artist out of Miami. You can get this on a shirt here. This painting actually won a contest at the DNC too (read about it at his site)! His 'Bruce Be Water' is pretty awesome too.


So I'm writing this outside my physics class, waiting for my class to start, and just now a Barack opponent has shown their ugly behavior again. Someone placed a VOTE window sticker (among other flyers) with Obama's face on it on the glass automatic doors next to me. Some girl came walking up, saw the sign, and quickly ripped the sticker off the door and threw it on the ground (I don't think she saw me until after). Geez- first of all, don't go around ripping people's flyers down if they if they legally are allowed to be posted there and second, if you're going to do that, then don't just throw it on the ground and leave it! I don't go around ripping down McCain signs! And littering- nice environmental policy there, too. Anyways, of course right after said person embarrassed herself (she eventually noticed I was watching) my friend and I got up and put the sticker back up :)

Re-re-re searching

I've neglected posting for awhile. Between summer classes, my baby sister, and my lab... I've no time to post anything.

So let's see... ugh I hate GST purification of HDAC! adsnfasiaonfg! It took me about 10 times (10 times!) for me to get enough HADC1 purified to do a methylation assay! And it was nowhere near the amount I should've gotten... and all this when I had originally set out for HDAC2! Uwaaa! I may seem like a crybaby, but with a 4 hour incubation time, every time I do a purification I'm in the lab from 5/6am to about 8/9pm (if not longer). It really sucks, especially since part of the summer program I'm in (which I'm a part of because of another 2 year research program I'm in) requires a 'research day' presentation to be given by all participants on August 4th (or 6th?) (at the end of the program). And do you know what sucks? I know my presentation isn't going to be nearly as good as some of the other participants, when I'm fairly certain that I've worked longer and harder than most of them. Ugh, I know this is becoming a pity party, and you know what? I will continue: I wasn't handed my proteins to use- I was told to purify them myself. I took me awhile to do so, because something was always not working correctly (which doesn't seem to be anything I'm doing, since Grad Student and I have been changing the protocols and successfully purifying other proteins along the way) and now that I've gotten enough for a few methylation assays, presentation day is almost here. Ugh my presentation is going to seem like I did barely anything... since I'll only have about 2 methylation films to show. UGH! But at the same time, I'm kind of excited, because now I'll be ready to proceed further with my project! After my presentation though. I actually think 'research day' is a competition too, lol I'm not getting my hopes up.

At least Grad Student and PI have been trying to build my confidence lately, and have been saying things about 'other interns being handed pre-done projects' so honestly, that makes me feel better, not because I need the pity points, but because it means they kind of care and that I've become 'part' of the lab. Stranger no more, Assa! (I need to get back to learning Korean too ugh) In fact, I really think that was my goal this summer, to get familiar with the lab (so I can work independently when I have a full class schedule, and find a 'place' in it for the coming years. I've gotten to know the Grad Students really well, so I think I've succeeded on that front. Although I wish I knew my PI better. I guess that'll come with time.

And on another (not too different) note, the paper I wrote up about my social work research was accepted to be published in the NCUR proceedings! And so now my old PI is going through my paper and will submit it to a journal... yay! Although now I'll be bumped down to second author and be replaced by my PI... but oh well, I understand. Second Author yay!

Which reminds me- I don't think my immunology research is going to result in a paper before I apply to medical schools... it doesn't seem like any papers will be written during my time in the lab. Which kinda stinks, but is no big deal really. I don't mind, but It would be cool to have some solid proof of my research experience and accomplishments if I happen to apply to an MD/PhD program (which I think I might... more on that later though). Oh well.

OUTLANDISH!

(warning: ridiculously long 'fangirl-ing' post ahead, if you experience any queasiness while reading, please scroll to next post, then immediately open google in another window and look up who Outlandish is and how awesome their music sounds.)

I've realized that more of my posts on this blog are really geared more toward myself, in that I'm writing more and more about things that happen to me that I just want to jot down to remember. So I'm sorry that many of these posts aren't geared toward the general public reading my blog (it's more to myself) and much of what I write may seem really boring... and long. Ahh, well, if you enjoy reading about stuff I want to remember, then more power to you!

I started writing the following post Friday night, right after I went to the OUTLANDISH concert, and I finished up again on Monday. Outlandish is a hip-hop group from Denmark with members of Cuban/Honduran, Pakistani, and Moroccan origin. They make positive music, while incorporating beats from their respective cultures and English, Spanish, Urdu, Arabic, and Danish- so their music always ends up with fresh beats and lyrics. I promise you you've never heard anything like them before... I'll do a post exclusively about them soon, they deserve a whole post.
-----------------------------------------

Aaaaah I just got back from the OUTLANDISH Concert!!!! fjdsfhk;gfgf;! It was AWESOME! Tonight was Outland's first concert EVER in the U.S., and at the beginning of their performance, they said that it had always been a dream of theirs to perform in the U.S. because their inspiration came from here- awww. It was awesome to be a part of their first U.S. show!

The Stage- no cameras were allowed durng the concert so my pics are all from before and after the show.

The concert started out with D- Clique and Raef Band. D- Clique did well, and when they jumped down from the stage the crowd really started responding to them. Raef Band was really impressive too! I had seen videos of them online and hadn't thought too much of them, but man, seeing them perform was awesome! Their resisting eating snow song was great! lol. And their 'ta-ala al badru' remix was amazing! Awesome stuff! When outland came on Isam was even like 'man, i never knew pakistanis could play guitar... something ain't right about that lol' and Waqas was like 'man, now you're being prejudiced!' but of course, Isam was just playing.

Anyways- Outland comes on and the crowd loved them. I was afraid that they might be disappointed a little because of the smallish turnout (a lot smaller than what they're used to) but I think they realized that it was their first show in the U.S. and that Tampa was a smaller city (And believe me, us volunteers tried our absolute best to sell tickets) and they really didn't show any disappointment at all; actually I was super relieved and happy because they were smiling soo much throughout the concert, right from the beginning to the end :)

So here's my awesome Outlandish encounter- I convinced my sister, friend, and cousin to come with me and buy $60 floor seats, in the section closest to the stage. The sections were assigned on the tickets but the seats were first come first serve. I had been at the Sundome since 4pm (concert started at 7, doors opened at 6) volunteering. I was doing sales tables and making badges and everything, and generally having a good time getting ready for the concert- and I got to see some of Outlandish's sound check! Seeing them was awesome, but I couldn't go close at that time. But anyways, as soon as 6pm hits, I rushed in and saved seats for my group, seats which were FRONT ROW and as 'center' as you could get (there was a middle aisle). Then I was working at the MAS and sale booths, and even was an usher for a bit and checked people's tickets who were going into the $60 section. Anyways, so the show started, the opening acts played, a few MAS videos were shown and Br. Omar of MAS Youth (National, he spoke to us volunteers at the meeting yesterday) gave some great quick explanations of MAS and the mission. Then there was the intermission, during which I went to the glowstick sale table with my friend to get decked out for outlandish. When I saw the long, skinny meant-to-be-necklaces glowsticks, I had the idea of spelling MORO out with them (MORO means 'homie' in slang, Outlandish calls all their fans moros, and moros are kind of like a family. They always use the term in their songs) and although the 'M' and the 'R' looked at little weird, I decided to get them. They were a little expensive and my friend was like "lol you're actually going to do that?! is it really worth the money though?" and I was like "UH YES. If they notice it, then it'll TOTALLY be worth it". Haha little did I know...

When outland first stepped on the stage, we spelled out MORO while they were talking and getting set up, but neither Waqas, Isam, nor Lenny seemed to notice it at first, even though it was pretty bright, but one of their 'back up' singers (whose solo was awesome!) pointed at us and was smiling! So we knew it it was readable at least. Once Outlandish started singing though, they definitely noticed it! We got Isam to laugh and point at us once and Waqas to give a thumbs up sign during a song (during a part where he wasn't singing). AND THEN- when one of their songs ended (for the life of me I can't remember which song it was but it was after one of the first few songs), right when it ended, Waqas pointed to us and said "I ain't never seen anything like that before- that's real creative!" OMA we raised it even higher and were going nuts! That was sooo cool!!!

A couple times during the concert Isam and Waqas would get the crowd to like repeat after them and stuff, like the "'Oh!' which side of the crowd is louder" contest. Isam had our side and Waqas had the other, but it was kinda unfair, b/c our side def. had less people to start out with lol. Therefore I tried to compensate by being extra loud ;) and Isam wouldn't agree with Waqas when Waqas said his (Waqas') side was louder. There was also a 'repeat after me as I increase the number of sounds each time' thing we did with one of the 'back up' guitarists/singers that was fun. As he increased the number of words spoken with a beat, Isam was just like 'you're making it too hard lol'.

Waqas was definitely the most talkative on stage, which I enjoyed. I really like Waqas, especially since he was really the first rapper I'd found that could rap in Urdu, in a way that sounds good/right to me. So imagine my happiness when he says 'I was going to do a rap in Urdu but Isam said no bring Br. Ahmed on stage...' then Isam said something that I couldn't make out, but Waqas asked the crowd "can I do an Urdu rap?" and I was yelling 'YES' like crazy. That seemed to work, since he went on and did it! And he did an awesome job, too! Lenny didn't speak very much, and Waqas said that Lenny doesn't speak very much on stage because he likes to keep his 'cool' image, lol. Then he asked him a question- 'are you married Lenny?' and he was like 'yeah' and crowd erupted with disappointed 'awws' but I was like congrats and clapping for him (b/c I'm pretty sure it was recent). Waqas took the 'awws' to mean that the crowd felt bad for Lenny for being married (lol) which I'm happy about, since it'd be weird if he realized and/or said the more likely reason. Then he pointed out that Isam was married and that his wife was pregnant (whom Isam brought to Tampa 7 months pregnant too, btw). Then Waqas said that he was married too and had two kids and said their ages while showing how tall they were (lol). After that, Waqas explained what Sakeena was (tranquility) and they sung 'Sakeena' (Perfect transition into the song, imho).

They performed most of the songs from Closer Than Veins, and a few from Bread & Barrels of Water. From what I remember, from Bread & Barrels they did 'Guantanamo' (ONE OF MY FAVORITES!), 'Walou', 'Peelo' (SO GOOD- they had the whole crowd of all different kinds of people saying 'Peelo!' in Urdu!), 'El Moro' (for the "Holla West coast?!/ Naah- West bank for life!/Upside down, holla for my moros aight" Waqas did west side/M sign), and 'Aicha'. From Closer Than Veins they did most of the songs, most notably, they entered the stage with the 'Introspective' (ask my friend- I totally called that before the concert! And it was awesome b/c I love this track! "don't let it defeat you"), of course they did 'Look Into My Eyes' (with a good intro, explaining how it's just a poem written by a girl, and not some huge statement some people are blowing it up into), 'Kom Igen' (for this one Waqas was like 'um we're going to bring the tempo for this up or something but also bring *somethingidon'tremember* down too, or something, *lol* I don't know!" and they said explained that 'Kom Igen' just meant 'Come Again'), 'Callin' You', 'Reggada' (perfect choice, since there were a lot of Arabs there- I even heard an Arab happy cry (lol you know what I'm talking about...;)- and most of the other Indians/ Pakistanis there like Arab music too), 'I Only Ask of God' (Waqas gave an intro to Leon Gieco before this song, which I thought was great and cheered), 'Beyond Words' (one of my all time favorites! But they changed the beat for this one... but it wasn't a bad change :), and a few others ('Appreciatin'' and 'Words Stuck To Heart' come to mind....)
For the encore, Waqas asked if we wanted more and of course, everyone was saying 'YES!' So then he said this counts as part of the encore, and it's actually a worldwide premiere of one of the new songs for their new CD! It was about 'blowing off steam' by engaging in positive creative outlets, and was basically awesome sounding. I can't wait for their new CD. Then Waqas was like 'is that it?' (or something like that) and people started chanting 'AICHA! AICHA!' and they were laughing and listening. So then, of course, they played Aicha! And they got a standing ovation at the end! Then Br. Omar came back on for final remarks and I saw Waqas come back on the back of the stage by the side and wave to the crowd, and of course, I waved back.

After the concert, my sis, cousin and friend left and I went back to help with the sales table and clean up. Then one of the head volunteers was telling a man that we (working the sales table) were allowed to go backstage, because we had volunteer badges! It was so awesome!

At first everyone was talking pictures with the 3 guys, and at the point that I came in it was the girls who were taking pictures with them, but everyone was keeping it halal and not getting too close, and Outlandish was cool about it too. It was so cool seeing Waqas, Isam and Lenny up close though! I was fumbling around looking for my permanent marker (which I ended up not finding) so that I could have them sign my Closer Than Veins CD, so I didn’t have a chance to get my camera out and have someone take a pic of me with them (probably with one of my friends with me too, because otherwise I’d feel weird). But I did get into one of the pictures, because some of my other friends were in it and they were like ‘anyone else?’ so I jumped in, but I was waaay on the side lol. Anyways, after the pictures, Isam kind of split from Waqas and Lenny and everyone was just talking to them separately and it was really cool and laid-back. I was standing with my CD (and no marker! But I did ask a girl next to me if I could possibly use hers when I went up and she said yes) but I’m kinda shy and I really didn’t want to rush up to Waqas and be like 'sign my cd! sign my cd!’ b/c that’s kinda rude too… but it didn’t matter, b/c once Waqas saw me with my CD looking kinda hesitant, he just asked- ‘do you want me to sign it?’ while smiling. And I was like ‘Yeah!’ and he was like ‘Do you have a pen?’ and of course I said no. He looked around a bit but then I pointed at the previous girl and said she’d said I could borrow hers, and she gave it to Waqas. He looked like he was about to sign the outside cover when I think Lenny pointed it out/said something and Waqas stopped and opened the CD case and took out the little book to sign lol. He wrote ‘SAlAM’ (lowercase L lol) and then asked me my name. I told him ‘Tahseen’ but he couldn’t hear me well so I just spelled it out and he wrote the letters. When he finished writing my name he stopped, looked at it for a second and was like- ‘Tahseen?’ and I was like ‘Yeah!‘ Because he pronounced it perfectly!! (well, he is Pakistani, and my name comes from Urdu) . Then he was signing it and I took a picture and even though I knew he had seen my sign already, I asked him anyway if he had seen our sign (the MORO sign). He said ‘Oh! That was you?’ ‘Yeah!’ ‘Haha, I seriously have never seen that before! That was so creative!’ again. And I said ‘Thank you! ☺’. Oh, and he was smiling! Waqas was so nice and cool!

Waqas signing my CD! A the time I didn't notce that this pic had the other members in it too! That Lenny on the left, then Isam in the middle and Waqas on the right. Sorry it's blurry!

Waqas then passed the CD to Lenny, who signed it too. I got a picture of him too, but it’s blurry :(. He was kinda far away from me, at least far enough that he wouldn’t be able to hear-hear me, unlike Waqas, who was right next to me, so I didn’t really talk to him, even though I wanted to :(. Then he gave me my CD back and I went to Isam.

My pic of Lenny is really blurry :( I think this was when Waqas was handing him my cd.

Isam at the time was talking to Br. Ahmed, whom Outlandish actually called out to come on stage and dance, and so when I came up to Isam, I really wanted to be polite and first ask him if he’d sign my CD (again, I didn’t want to be rude) but I didn’t get the chance to, since he was talking to someone else, he just kinda glanced at me a took it and started signing. I was a little disappointed at myself because I thought he was annoyed at me, as he was signing my CD while still talking to Br. Ahmed, but any feeling that he was annoyed totally went away when he stopped the conversation he was having to look at me and smile while giving me back my CD. I said ‘Thanks’ kind softly, but I think he still heard it because he smiled again at me when I did.

Super Nice Isam

Aaaagh, it was so awesome! After Isam, I took a pic of Raef band, who was just kinda standing. I told them that that I had to take a picture of them because they were definitely going to be stars in the future and after the pic I told them that I had never seen snow, but after listening to their song, I really had an urge to resist eating it (it had to do with their song) and I smiled but I don’t think they really heard the last part of what I said because they were kinda doing like a polite-smile/laugh-because-we-didn’t-hear-exactly-what-you-said but-you’re-smiling-so-it-might-have-been-funny. But it’s all goood.

Raef Band
My CD!

Delayed Post: NCUR 08- Research, Art, and JYP

So this is a post I wrote a looong time ago, back in April. I never published it, and I don't remember why. I think its because it was pretty long and I planned to shorten it, but since I haven't posted in while and I'm lazy, I'm just putting it up as is.
_____________________________________________________
So I went to NCUR 08 in Salisbury, Maryland last week and it was pretty cool. I definitely liked it better than ISEF, since the posters were divided into 5 (I think?) 1 hour 20 min sessions, and you actually presented in only one of these sessions. This allowed the other participants who were not presenting in that particular session to have a chance to walk around and talk to the presenters- a opportunity that I thoroughly took advantage of. Also, the oral and visual arts presentations were awesome- I went to quite a few oral sessions, and made it a point to attend at least one visual art session. The visual art session I attended was called 'John Larson: 1,000 pieces' and although the premise was nice (the personal information of 1,000 John Larson’s scrolling continuously, projected on a black screen, the presenter and audience's silhouettes outlined on the screen by the projector, the concept of identity being examined, the use of a Mac- +2 points!), the presenter's explanation of the 'piece' was... not done well. I'm not one to pretend I understand art when I really don't (a fact that I highlighted later on, at a certain dinner), but I actually liked the idea of the piece (it was a cool idea), however I really felt the artist took away from it when she started explaining the slightly crazy, OCD tendencies she developed while compiling her data. It went from 'this is kinda crazy and weird' to 'is this art? okay, I guess so' to 'this is actually kind of cool' to 'nevermind, if I'm supposed to buy the artist's story as a part of this piece, then this is back to being crazy and weird and only for artsy types'. But then again, my opinion isn't really valid I guess, since I don't think in artistic terms. I don't get Rothko. But then again, isn't that precisely why my opinion is valid? How much of art needs to appeal to the world? How practical does it need to be? Does it at all? Aaagh, I don’t care.

Anyways, the research aside, one of the plenary speakers was an executive producer at ABC. I don't really want to name him, because I don't want my blog to come up in search engines when people look for his name... I'd rather they get more professional results. He gave his speech, laced with trailers and clips from some of the shows he's done and spoke about some of the future shows he’s going to do, namely, '2100'. I didn't really like his talk, since he seemed really unprepared, but my friend and I went to his reception after his talk, where there were about 10 students, just asking him questions. The only reason my friend and I went was because I knew he had gone with the New York Philharmonic to Pyongyang, NK, and I wanted to ask him about it... which I did (and on another note, my friend, who came with me, is actually a Korean student studying abroad, who was chosen to visit North Korea for a highschool trip- pretty wild, I know). I think he liked that we knew about what was currently going on, and I myself was a bit surprised at how much he knew (he knew about the officials being kicked out and Lee Myung Bak's being hard on the North), and in the end, he gave us his card.

We left, went to the other side of campus, and I broke out my laptop to show SJ (my friend) The Vice Guide to North Korea, a 14 part series made by a guy that got into NK with a camera, and is pretty funny... and shows how twilight-zoney NK really is (go watch it! it's worth it!). The producer walked by, noticed us again, asked us what we were doing, and asked if he could watch too. Then we started talking. And talking. And talking. All 3 of us spent pretty much the rest of the day just talking. We ate together and continued talking. (I know this sounds creepy now, but it really wasn't.) It was cool though, because the conversation was literally a culmination of everything I’ve learned from the classes I've taken in college plus my extra research on North Korea, all in one sitting- it ranged from religion, to Obama v. Hillary v. McCain, gender roles, to I-Ching, Rothko and what art is, to Ming dynasty pottery, to Rain and JYP, I am a Cyborg but that's Okay and other movies, to anime, to Tibet and the Dalai and Pantung Lama, to Lee Myung Bak, and so much more (I really hate my sentence structure). I learned a lot but was also extremely happy that I was able to remember so much from my Arts & Humanities and Chinese Culture and Society classes and Nankai University’s VP’s lecture, and was actually able to keep the conversation going. I knew what he was talking about. It was awesome, and I'm kinda proud of myself :)

But anyways, there were a few things he told us that I'd like to remember, so I'm posting them here:
1. He told us that when in North Korea, he met the Swedish ambassador to North Korea- a lady who lives there and rides her bike around (he mentioned this specifically). He said that once, when she had the chance, she told him that "they have no idea what to do." I think it’s interesting to have someone ‘on the inside’ reassure you of something that only fits- I mean, it's known that Kim Jong-Il is crazy, and it seems like he’s been acting a lot more crazy lately, what with the escalating threats towards ROK in the last 2 months (here, here and here via The Marmot). It's interesting to hear such a statement from an inside source. It makes sense.

2. He told me something about the Dalai Lama that I made me change my opinion a bit about the man. I support the Dalai Lama's cause. But it was really interesting to hear a comment he made to the producer after having given an interview... I'm not going to post it here, because again, I support the Dalai Lama's cause and I don't want someone coming here and using it as an argument against him. And no, it doesn’t show Chinese nationalists in a good light either. I've just changed my view- I just don’t see the Dalai Lama as pure good now. But I do support his cause.

And no, the comment is not anyway related to him owning slaves, as so many people bring up. That argument used in the context of the Tibet situation is a logical fallacy. Ad hominem much?

3. JYP was once in his office, asking him to do a special/documentary on Rain, just like he had done for Britney Spears (a documentary that had been popular) (the Brit doc was awhile ago, pre-crazy Britney). He said that JYP acted like an “a**hole” when he was in his office (his words, not mine, and yup, that sounds like JYP). When the producer said he wouldn't and couldn't do it because Rain didn't speak English (duuuhhhh JYP) JYP sort of smacked Rain on the head. lol, it didn't seem like it was abuse or anything, but still, now I can sort of understand why Rain left JYP. I would too, if JYP thought he had the authority to smack me (even lightly). That's a weird relationship with your boss, and imagine how much weirder it gets (I know Asian business relationships are different, but still…). I used to think Rain was stupid for not renewing his contract with JYP, but as I slowly see JYP’s character, I can’t blame Rain for leaving him, entertainment genius or not. And he described some of JYP’s people that he’d met as ‘cronies’. That seems like it would fit, lol.

Lost in Translation

I'm taking a class (Chinese Culture and Society) in the newly founded Confucius Institute on campus. All the professors in the Institute are newly arrived from China's Nankai University, so while it's awesome to be taught by such high ranking professors, and while my professor, Dr. Teng, speaks English really well, there are always some interesting misunderstandings.

Like today, while discussing a famous poem by Li Bai- Dr. Teng was trying to explain that the English translation didn't do the poem justice, and that many things were lost in translation. His explanation: "You cannot translate the poem, it is like a beautiful woman, when you translate it, you kill it...." lol.

And he told us that our midterm would be open book (yay!) but that we had to keep it a secret "in case the director or provost finds out." :) Chinese universities are definitely different.

Yesterday...

I just found a quality version of 'Yesterday' by Boyz II Men on youtube! No, it's not 'It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday', although that's a good song by them too... but you have no idea how much scouring of the internet I have been doing for this mp3! Alas, the mp3 ws not to be found... but the vid can just go on my iPod. Great Success!

I love this song. Acapella is so awesome in general, but Boyz II Men makes it that much better.

I totally remember my cousins playing this on their boombox when I was little, and me being amazed when they pointed out that this was done with no instruments. I believe in yesterday!

Legends

Complete Randomness

You know what? Jack White reminds me of Miyavi a lot. Or Miyavi reminds me of Jack White. Something about their voices makes me link them together. And they both have the 'i'm-dark-but-actually-not-really' thing going on. I like that. Except jack white has really let himself go lately...
And they both do the whole 'pushing the limits of genre' type music. There was actually a quote by miyavi on genre that I really liked, but I cant find it right now... :( But yeah, they've both proved that they can excel at a bajillion different genres of music. But maybe Miyavi moreso than Jack? And they both have awesome guitar skills... If I remember correctly, when I was in middle school, Jack White was named one of the best guitar players of all time, right up there with Jimi Hendrix. I don't know if I'd put him up there, mostly because I don't really know enough of the 'top guitar players' to compare, but, well, if the internet says it, it must be true. And Miyavi's slap-style guitar is awesome:

There's a better vid of his guitar style on youtube, but apparently it was a copyright violation.

OOO WAIT! I FOUND IT! Place your thumb over his face/hair and try to appreciate his guitar playing, not his cough'interesting'cough hairstyle. Yes, that is a guy. You know the Japanese.-

I dunno. They just remind me of each other. It's their voices and musical style I guess. I just had to let it out. Actually as soon as I heard 'conquest' it reminded me of 'senor, senora, senorita' and miyavi's 'blew' cover...then i just went crazy from there.

Actually never mind, they're not really that similar. I just like their music.

---------------------
I got my first ticket EVER a couple fridays ago. I was doing 62 in a 45- but there was no one around me! I was late for moffitt... but either way, I wasn't able to run my experiment that day, because I ended up having to go to USF's and Moffitt's separate research day exhibitions on my PI's request... which lasted until 5pm. They were actually really interesting, but I felt retarded because I was wearing jeans and Key Club shirt while everyone else was in their business un-casual attire (if only my lab people hadn't told me 5 minutes before they came to get me from the lab...). But whatever, it was a good experience (the research presentations, not the ticket) overall.
---------------------
I really like fabric softener. It smells so good. "sehh gooood"

School Stuff

(or me rationalizing my decisions, probably to help fool myself into believing I'm making good choices that I like when I really don't or something like that)

I decided to join USF's 7 year med program. But do it in 8 years. Because I like International Studies too much to give it up, and I don't think I'd be able to get my Bio-Medical Sciences and Intl Studies majors in 3 years. Double majors usually take longer than 4 years, right? So doing it in 4 years is ambitious already, right? No, maybe not so so ambitious, especially with IB. But 3 years is too ambitious. Right? And whats the point of becoming a doctor in 7 years, rather than 8? Congratulations, you've just completed med school in 7 years, instead of 8! And your prize is... an extra year of your life to work! But I also don't want to start practicing medicine when I'm old and don't want to travel and stuff. But a year shouldn't make that much of a difference.

Ugh I think one of the things I'm going to hate is that if I do end up making good on this med school contract with USF, then all my friends are going to be one year ahead of me in Med School. Especially my Really Good Friends, because they're planning on doing it in 7 years, with no extra majors or minors. But then again, at the last 7 year med advising sessions (the first one I went to) when the woman asked the crowd of bright eyed and bushy tailed premeds "how many of you are thinking of doing the 4-plus plan?" (which is the 4 years of undergrad option I want to do) a lot of people raised their hands, and she wasn't surprised. Almost like most people opt for the 4 plus plan anyway, by the time they get to the point where they have to make a decision. And the woman did mention that she recommended it.

And I have to keep in mind the original reason why I didn't want to join 7 year med in the first place (before I was enrolled as a freshman), which is that I really wanted to have Intl Studies as a second major, and back then I didn't know that they offered the option to do it in 8 years, instead of 7 (with all the benefits). So I like Intl Studies so much that I didn't join 7 year med. But now that I have the option to do both, it's perfect, right? I just might be behind some of my friends in med school. But who knows, maybe that'll be a blessing. Getting old tests and advice and being involved in the higher ranks of organizations have all come to me by having friends who are further along/older than me in undergrad- whose to say it's not going to be exactly the same in med school?
So, I get to do my Intl Studies major in addition to my Bio-Med major, take 4 years if I want to to do it, just get a 30 (which is average) on my MCAT and do well in 2 interviews, add a sprinkling of volunteer hours in there somewhere, and I'll get a seat in a pretty good med school that has like 112 seats for 4,000 applicants or something. Not a bad deal.

Its like USF hands out Med school spots like candy. Seriously.

Only to USF undergrad students though.

And USF Med is awesome. I know geniuses, like some of my friends and cousins, who couldn't get in. I don't think I'd be 'settling' at all. Plus, if I really get to pursue my ideal career path, then I won't be making very much money. I'm perfectly okay with that, as I'd being doing what I love, but I don't think med school loan sharks would... and USF is pretty cheap, compared to other med schools. and my parents are definitely not rich.

I've asked (much to the happiness of my friends already in 7 year med, who were dying to know but too afraid to ask in case they got kicked out- which, by the way, is how I would feel if I were in their shoes) if I was allowed to apply to other Med schools while in the 7 year program and they said yes. So if I do get into the Johns Hopkins-es or the Harvards, then I'm allowed to break it off with USF med and go. It isn't binding. I'm not selling my soul and future prospects by entering the 7 year program, especially since I'm opting for the more traditional 8 year route, which will give me the opportunity to apply to other med schools while still being at the same level of the other applicants they'd be getting (not a year younger, which I doubt you'd even be allowed to do...). So it's a Good Deal. I'll take it.

As a side note, I think USF made up this 'Bio-Medical Sciences' major. Like, seriously. No other schools have it... but whatever, it covers the pre-reqs for med school. But I think I'll change my major to Biology or something, especially if I plan on applying to Med schools other than USF... just in case. They both cover med school pre-reqs, and are virtually the same anyways. Biology is just more recognized, I think.
--------------------

There's a lot of people who ask me (in my family and among my friends) why I'm doing International Studies as a major. Granted, I know a second major will take me more time than only 1 would, but I don't get why people cannot fathom that I'm doing it BECAUSE I LIKE IT. Geez. Is it so hard to understand that some people would opt to take extra classes to learn about something they like? And I hate having to justify it to them. They just cannot understand it. 'Doesn't count for med school? What? Why take it?'
And isn't it interesting that more med schools are looking for applicants with non science majors? I'm actually considering dropping my bio-med major and just do my intl studies major, while taking the pre-reqs for med school and a list of a few courses that an adviser I know (now on the USF med school admissions committee) told me directly correlate to sections on the MCAT (see, even they admit most of the courses you have to take for these science majors aren't even covered on the MCAT).
--------------------

So that was my incredibly long and boring post on my rationale behind the choices I'm going to make. Maybe someday I'll be able to look back (when I'm hopefully in Med school) and laugh at how wrong I was, while being thankful that I didn't think of something too crazy (as I will, again, hopefully be in Med school at the time).