going postal

It was a tough week. It was TOUGH, tough. Everyone was going postal. Everyone was angry, and stressed out, and disappointed and just simply uptight. And multiply those negative moods and emotions with the depressingly still, cold early winter weather; you can just feel the grimness in the air once you set your eyes on the first brown-brick building on campus. It’s very close towards the last day of the semester, crunch time; which means minimal sleep, no weekends, 12 hours in the lab, and 3 hours at home a day kind of week. Heck, everything is due on the same day.

So, what better way to get rid of all the foul emotions? Go hook up with some crazy people.
Here, we have this cool tradition called the Breakfast Club. People dress up in Halloween costumes and get drunk as early as 7 in the morning on game days.
And what better Saturday to at last cross that one out from the ‘25 before you graduate to do list’ than on the last game day of the season, on your last rivalry game as a student here. BTW, I don’t drink, and the slightest smell of liquor makes me sick.
Anyways, I didn’t have a costume, so I went along with a couple of ‘light-drinker’ mates dressed up as King Cantonna. We met up with some friends at one of the bars on the strip I had some coke, left 15 minutes later, and went straight home, back to bed before waking up later in the morning for the game. Sleeping time don't come easy these days...

And heck, it was one of the best games ever. We got them right in the face. What better thing to do after a hellish week than to scream your hearts out for your team on a cold depressing Saturday afternoon along with 68000 other spectators and see the other team get a beating?

The game, it should rank somewhere up there, probably tied for the top spot with the game against Michigan some weeks ago, in my personal all time most memorable Ross-Ade games. It is probably the best clash between two sub-.5 teams ever. The energy was amazing, though more free hugs were given out during the Michigan game I guess.

And the game was the one last one for the seniors, and more importantly, the last one for the living legend, the coach.
It didn’t snow as I hoped it would, but it was one perfect last one for everyone.

one!!!.. two!!!.. three!!!... four!!!... 1st down B***H!!

one for the record books

it was always gonna be a special day, so let's bring 3 of those today... why not?... lol

the bucket is somewhere in there

they took a beating

one for the legend

one last speech...

one last song...from the man who restored the pride back himself

where pride happens

And as football season commences, comes basketball season. The team is in the NIT preseason tip-off final game tomorrow, and everyone is looking forward to the game against the Blue Devils next week.

And yeah, next time, get VIP….

The girl reading Kierkegaard, who are you??...

leg breaking

So, I was facing this big dilemma. I don’t like to choose, especially when it comes down to choosing people. If it were a staffing decision, then, a simple linear model would suffice, but this one is way beyond complicated.

But a man has to do what a man got to do. And Dawes’ and Ben Franklin’s long explanation on prudential algebra brought me down to this decision which cost me $20. I chose a Polish-born Nobel Prize winner over my favorite scientist, who also happens to be one of the coolest physicist, science idol and writer ever; Rotblat over Feynman.

And after reading one of the best composed and sincere writings by a scientist or a philosopher I’ve ever came across, I signed the pledge.

And then paid the $20 membership fee, and got my cool t-shirt and other ‘free’ stuff.

Anyways, the Student Pugwash is all about engaging students to promote the socially responsible use of science and technology, and in order to create effective social change, students must first understand the issues at stake, and then contemplate their ethical and moral responsibility to themselves and to society as a whole.

And as I can’t really get a consistent 10 hours of sleep a day and not that much soccer or football or sweat anymore this semester because of schoolwork and all, I decided to take the passenger’s seat for this particular intention, by the door in the backseat. Well, I didn’t get myself all messy with the administration stuff, but I’ve learnt some pretty cool and great new stuff from the very people who are pioneers and the crème de la crème in their respective already cool fields.
Seriously, after the short an hour or so lecture, you’ll get out feeling a little bit more intelligent, which is good to feed the deflated ego after having to do too much schoolwork and projects that make you feel dumber than a 12 year old giraffe. And some of the lectures even helped me change my stand on certain issues. Anyway, the most important lesson I’ve got so far is that, information, small or little goes a very long way. For $20 (actually the lecture series can be attended for free), now I’m a big advocate of nuclear energy, I have a pretty good idea on what to feed my wife during and even before pregnancy, how calico cats and women are the same, a new dimension on the black gold, corn and the energy issue, and I get to meet some new cool geeks.

So, yup, Feynman is still the favorite and the coolest scientist ever, but Rotblat, Einstein and a couple of their scientist friends made the better choice. Well, consistent to what Erick Erikson suggested, people in between their teen years, up to their early 20’s usually have this Identity vs. Role confusion. So, choosing what’s cool and what you’re supposed to be and do is pretty confusing at this age.

And talking about another favorite writer, I had a chance to hear a lecture and get my book signed by Mr. Tom Friedman some one month ago, the same night I saw Frank Duong at the Union, the night before he scored a touchdown out of an interception. He talked about his book which I yet to get a chance to read beyond page 34, and a couple of his personal experience which was great. And with this entire APEX thing going on, maybe the particular university back home should really look into this energy engineering technology thing, which according to Freidman, is the new ‘it’ thing, the new big tomorrow. And as I was 12th in line out of the nearly packed 6,025 capacity Elliot Hall of Music audience during the book signing, I get to have a little chat with him, but I forgot to ask him to sign his other book I brought along.
Ohh, again, if you somehow managed to find this humble blog, thanks for the book……

We went to see my classmate take the basketball court during the halloween night exhibition game last night. We were pretty good. The future is bright.

And for one last time, let's go slay some wolverine for lunch.

-the best indoor kicks yet--

-The tired, deflated, stressed, and in need of a pair of new kicks, a new graphic card and to break some legs-