i am going to try my best to shit out this entry within the few hours i have left at work. a few hours should be enough, right? enough to have the words splattered thoughtlessly over this screen, sure, but maybe not enough to run a meaningful message through them. alas, i will try my best...but bear with me.
my mind has been fumbling around with this idea for quite some time ever since my short walking commute from rubin to tisch hall became so deeply rooted in my everyday routine that i no longer had to devote any conscious thought to it. instead, i devoted 60% of my conscious thought to why am i studying at an undergraduate business school? (the other 40% is divided into listening to my ipod, meandering through camera crews, trying to step on the crunchiest looking leaf, greeting friends along the way, punching the midget hobo who yells out the amount of time left before our next classes begin, etc). i ask again, why?
what used to be an industry where networking and connections were the main ways of landing a finance job is now an industry where thousands of 'programs' (created by undergraduate universities or colleges) are established to mold the minds of younger and younger people to chase money. and they train them damn well.
and here i am, in one of those programs learning how to chase money. these four years, which i would like to spend learning what i want to learn, experimenting, and finding myself, will be spent learning about collateralized debt obligations, leveraged buyouts, and market derivatives. am i supposed to have this time stripped away from me so i can spend more time making money during my prime years of life? to be honest, i do not care too much (having chinese parents, i am limited to being either a doctor, an engineer, a lawyer, or a businessman. i don't want to be a doctor because i would be a damn bad one and get all the hospitals within a 100 mile radius sued, i don't want to be an engineer because i like girls too much and would not like to spend my free time with mr. right-hand, but i may want to be a lawyer or a politician because i like to lie, but those professions require a master's degree that i can get after studying something as lame as art history in an undergraduate school). doing business for me is kind of a cop out from life. but hey, whatever makes the green, right?
recently, it seems that everyone i talk to is pursuing business in some way. that means that the value of holding a business degree of some sort or graduating from a business school will depreciate. that only makes it more difficult to land a secure job in the finance industry, with so many other young, qualified, money-chasers entering the work force. how can i differentiate myself from the rest? wear a pink hat. no, seriously. a large, feathery, pink hat.
from what i gathered about the finance industry, anyone with basic knowledge of math can become a 'big swinging dick' (if you are unfamiliar with this term, read the book 'liar's poker'). the stuff we learn in finance class will be retaught to us in an internship. the stuff we learn in accounting class will become as easy and mindless as browsing facebook (ok, but maybe not as procrastination-inducing). so why make us waste our four years learning and relearning, not to mention creating unnecessary competition that erodes egos and self-esteem?
because of the fundamentals of economics: supply and demand. wall street is to chasing and making money as sparta is to chasing and killing enemies. wall street is always looking for younger and younger people to become 'investment bankers' (what they call their henchmen that makes the majority of their money). however, the investment banker side of the deal isn't so bad either; they get paid lavishly in year-end bonuses. so in order to bridge the gap between wall street who want more and more qualified individuals (more so that the limited number of available job positions is high in demand) and high school graduates looking for high paying jobs (but aren't willing to go into medicine or engineering or anything that requires more than 8 years of studying), undergraduate business programs are cropping up everywhere. these programs are feeding the young people's demand for high paying jobs as well as wall street's demand for qualified young people.
i remember a few months ago, i was talking to some of my friends about chasing money. regardless of whether you make hundreds of thousands per year or tens of thousands per year, you will still be living roughly the same life style. with that being said, how important is money in our lives? i think there is a certain point in our lives where we don't need any more money to live comfortably. and when i say 'live comfortably' i mean that you can buy whatever you need/want without thinking twice about the amount of money you dropped. after that point, greed overtakes our rational thought. once we start the race of chasing money, its tough to get out. its tough to stop and say, 'ok, i have made the five million mark that i set for myself eight years ago, i'll see you guys in tijuana.' by then, you'll think 'but i could make five more million in less than half the time it got me this five now'. you're going to need balls of steel to get yourself out of that race. just don't forget the big picture (how much money would you like to make before you throw in the towel?).
when i think about the jobs that people have in the finance industry and all the minute-by-minute news updates that they have to inform themselves in order to make financially sound decisions, it overwhelms me. i used to think that working on wall street is like being on the forefront of the world: in terms of news, technology, and even lifestyles. you will hear news that the general public will not hear for a few days at least. at first, this appealed to me. why would i not want to know about shit first? i could finally say, in my wretched sing-song voice, 'i know something you don't know' and actually mean it. but then i realized the twisted, sad truth. that keeping up with the news, minute-by-minute, will only make me more secular, more worldly. thinking that i am on the forefront of 'life' itself, have i forgot how to live it? have i forgot the simple pleasures of waking up on a late sunday afternoon, only to decide whether or not to stroll into the park with my book of beginner's crossword puzzles?
all this money chasing business will only weigh down my conscience. i will spend time deciding which piece of news is important and which to ignore, weeding out the advice of investors, slowly learning to trust my gut. hedge fund managers, for instance, sacrifice a night's worth of sound sleep for the opportunity to eat a delicious, albeit expensive, meal. not to mention the amount of time i will spend working. soon, i will slowly forget what is important in my life, the values, the morals, the family, the friends. that is something i wish does not happen. just don't forget the big picture.
and this is what i keep telling myself. but i don't know why i should even start worrying about this. what i should be worrying about is getting a good gpa so i can stick my shiny black shoes into the door of finance opportunity.
money, hoes, and clothes; all a nigga knows...
-andy
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
scattered thoughts, pt 4
why don't people learn to use the vast resource we call the intronet? seriously, if you can't figure something out, you are not looking hard enough. trying to find software? bittorrent or various p2p programs and then crack keygens. looking for a remedy? there are tons and tons of forums out there with people who share your problem. also, if somebody brings up something that you are unfamiliar with in a conversation, google it. it sure makes me sound a lot smarter than i really am. its called google, baby. oh, and wikipedia.
here are two other innovative search engines:
www.dogpile.com - returns sites from other leading search engines, including google.
www.clusty.com - another metasearch engine that groups sites based on 'clusters'. check it out.
this entry isn't a complaint towards incompetence but an eye opener to the internet's resources. just so you know ;).
work still blows.
-andy
here are two other innovative search engines:
www.dogpile.com - returns sites from other leading search engines, including google.
www.clusty.com - another metasearch engine that groups sites based on 'clusters'. check it out.
this entry isn't a complaint towards incompetence but an eye opener to the internet's resources. just so you know ;).
work still blows.
-andy
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
my 43rd entry on this lovely blag
hello readers; let me update you on my day.
today my department had a picnic at the morningside campus, the one that is generally associated with the undergraduate college at columbia university (i work at the columbia medical campus, located on 168st/broadway). there was plenty of free food and alcohol, both of which my hedonist self gorged on. i think i had seven alcoholic beverages (some budweiser, some coors light, some mike's hard lemonade) and i was fairly tipsy. we played a pick up game of football, watched the girls hoola hooping, and just plain chilled. it was fun times, especially since i can't stand office work (such mindless, mindless shit) and this picnic was a good change of pace.
i forget how fun drinking was. i really enjoy hearing myself talk when i'm tipsy.
they also handed out free t-shirts. they are so hilariously lame that i'm going to wear it proudly next year at school. when people ask, i'll just reply 'this was my summer.' for those curious as to what the shirt looks like, the lame (and only important) part of the shirt is the back: 'you propose, we submit'. that pretty much sums up our department's purpose and my entire summer working here. i also copped myself an extra t-shirt for a friend. are you that friend? perhaps.
anyway, i decided to write today because i wanted to leave an imprint of my virtual fist on this random place in the internet that i have deemed my blag. i had so many random thoughts today, most of which i forgot as soon as a new one arose. but i will try my best to retrieve them now.
1) marc and dan (my bosses, dan is technically marc's boss, and the boss of the entire research department) were discussing data and how with the help of the internet with so many users, people are interpreting data much differently than several years ago. interesting shit. consider this--people understand data but in direct comparison with other data, say for example, data over time, or the gdp of america vs gdp of another country. but there are now so many new innovative ways to visualize and present data that now people can view metadata (the simplest definition of metadata is 'data about data'). for a good example of how data is viewed, check out this (debunking myths about third world countries). the future of the internet and technology, i believe, is about new ways of showing, manipulating, and presenting data. before marc and dan had that conversation, i had no idea the impact of data on everything. i'm now certain i will take a data mining class at stern.
2) just a completely random thought: the next time you brush your teeth, use the hand you don't normally use (sorry if i just offended anyone missing an arm or two, or maybe even three if your parents were in hiroshima when the a-bomb detonated; sorry again if i just offended anyone for the hiroshima remark). i've been brushing my teeth with my left hand for the past couple of days. before, my left hand felt so clumsy clutching the toothbrush insensitively poking the insides of my mouth, but now i feel pretty comfortable. balance and symmetry are important. my right side is so much more dominant than my left and i want to change that.
3) what do you think of the future of the internet? i've been reading articles about google bidding for open airwaves from the FCC, but only if certain conditions are met. verizon/at&t oppose this plan because if it goes through, google's value would increase immensely. can you imagine what it would be like if there was a third service wireless 'wholesaler' for the american public? then people who don't even own a computer can surf the net. interesting lead to follow up on in the near future.
4) speaking of which, access to the internet should be provided to people in third world countries. providing internet to third world countries should be as necessary as providing food, water, education, and vaccinations. with the new $100 laptop, it is definitely possible (large corporations are working together to implement a 'one laptop per child' plan). i wonder which broadband tycoon will take advantage of this new opportunity. likewise, we should invest in that company.
5) what do you think is the new way to interact with technology? before there was a joystick with a button (atari), then a keyboard, then a mouse. there are stylus/tablets so people can draw and write. microsoft surface is pretty intense. wii's motion sensor is intense shit, too (the wii is badass--if you haven't heard of wii-fit, i highly suggest a google search; i am convinced that the wii is going to pioneer a whole new world of video gamers and leave the ps3 in the dust). i never gave this any thought until today when marc was talking about the microsoft surface. the way we interact with computers and technology in general is way taken for granted. i couldn't do shit without a keyboard. microsoft surface is a step in the right direction. we should follow steve job's example: simplicity and intuitiveness. his creations have helped dumb ass retards operate computers (macbooks), listen to music (ipods), and make phone calls (iphone). job's next step is helping dumb ass retards with their lives with ilife.
6) there must be an easier way to move through the internet. lets forget about internet 'browsers' and think of something new. along the same lines, web 3.0 is almost here. how about a facebook application that allows users to choose how to interact with facebook? take your time to understand that last line, because i'm not sure i understand it completely, either ;). but not even a facebook application. how about just something that lets users define how they interact with the web?
7) wireless laptop chargers. lets make one and get rich.
8) the republican party is going down the drain. consider this--ever since the bush administration took office in 2000, they have been working hard to restore the machiavellian executive power of the president that was taken away during nixon's presidency. they allowed, no, engineered 9/11, lied to the american public (seriously, i feel like people just buy the media propaganda bullshit), waged a 'war on terror', created the patriot act (i think this may have been the first move on the public that lets bush do whatever the hell he wants), sent troops to iraq (think vietnam war) and the list goes on. the democrats haven't made any move on the gop, but there are plenty of people who want bush and cheney out of office. there are also rumors of a terrorist attack (could also be engineered by the bush administration) so then bush would pull the 'i told your ass so, america, you should've listened to me' bullshit. seriously, one more year...
9) with 8 being said, i feel like i am more distrusting of institutions. i don't know how people can be so misled about the government. like in harry potter, so many people trust the ministry of magic (of course, with voldemort breathing down their necks, it is understandable). but in america where speech and thought are supposed to be free, why do people bend to the government and are proud to stand behind their leaders? america is a shithole. the government needs to fix the real problems in the country instead of pursuing their own monetary interests, aka oil. people should stop being sheep and think for themselves (especially to those living in between new york city and los angeles).
10) i discovered today that i am an environmentalist. the thought of renewable sustainable energy really turns me on.
congratulations if you read through all 10. after re-reading those points, i realized that i am a major dork.
ASS PUSSY PUSSY SEX GUNS DRUGS ALCOHOL
goodnight, folks.
-andy
today my department had a picnic at the morningside campus, the one that is generally associated with the undergraduate college at columbia university (i work at the columbia medical campus, located on 168st/broadway). there was plenty of free food and alcohol, both of which my hedonist self gorged on. i think i had seven alcoholic beverages (some budweiser, some coors light, some mike's hard lemonade) and i was fairly tipsy. we played a pick up game of football, watched the girls hoola hooping, and just plain chilled. it was fun times, especially since i can't stand office work (such mindless, mindless shit) and this picnic was a good change of pace.
i forget how fun drinking was. i really enjoy hearing myself talk when i'm tipsy.
they also handed out free t-shirts. they are so hilariously lame that i'm going to wear it proudly next year at school. when people ask, i'll just reply 'this was my summer.' for those curious as to what the shirt looks like, the lame (and only important) part of the shirt is the back: 'you propose, we submit'. that pretty much sums up our department's purpose and my entire summer working here. i also copped myself an extra t-shirt for a friend. are you that friend? perhaps.
anyway, i decided to write today because i wanted to leave an imprint of my virtual fist on this random place in the internet that i have deemed my blag. i had so many random thoughts today, most of which i forgot as soon as a new one arose. but i will try my best to retrieve them now.
1) marc and dan (my bosses, dan is technically marc's boss, and the boss of the entire research department) were discussing data and how with the help of the internet with so many users, people are interpreting data much differently than several years ago. interesting shit. consider this--people understand data but in direct comparison with other data, say for example, data over time, or the gdp of america vs gdp of another country. but there are now so many new innovative ways to visualize and present data that now people can view metadata (the simplest definition of metadata is 'data about data'). for a good example of how data is viewed, check out this (debunking myths about third world countries). the future of the internet and technology, i believe, is about new ways of showing, manipulating, and presenting data. before marc and dan had that conversation, i had no idea the impact of data on everything. i'm now certain i will take a data mining class at stern.
2) just a completely random thought: the next time you brush your teeth, use the hand you don't normally use (sorry if i just offended anyone missing an arm or two, or maybe even three if your parents were in hiroshima when the a-bomb detonated; sorry again if i just offended anyone for the hiroshima remark). i've been brushing my teeth with my left hand for the past couple of days. before, my left hand felt so clumsy clutching the toothbrush insensitively poking the insides of my mouth, but now i feel pretty comfortable. balance and symmetry are important. my right side is so much more dominant than my left and i want to change that.
3) what do you think of the future of the internet? i've been reading articles about google bidding for open airwaves from the FCC, but only if certain conditions are met. verizon/at&t oppose this plan because if it goes through, google's value would increase immensely. can you imagine what it would be like if there was a third service wireless 'wholesaler' for the american public? then people who don't even own a computer can surf the net. interesting lead to follow up on in the near future.
4) speaking of which, access to the internet should be provided to people in third world countries. providing internet to third world countries should be as necessary as providing food, water, education, and vaccinations. with the new $100 laptop, it is definitely possible (large corporations are working together to implement a 'one laptop per child' plan). i wonder which broadband tycoon will take advantage of this new opportunity. likewise, we should invest in that company.
5) what do you think is the new way to interact with technology? before there was a joystick with a button (atari), then a keyboard, then a mouse. there are stylus/tablets so people can draw and write. microsoft surface is pretty intense. wii's motion sensor is intense shit, too (the wii is badass--if you haven't heard of wii-fit, i highly suggest a google search; i am convinced that the wii is going to pioneer a whole new world of video gamers and leave the ps3 in the dust). i never gave this any thought until today when marc was talking about the microsoft surface. the way we interact with computers and technology in general is way taken for granted. i couldn't do shit without a keyboard. microsoft surface is a step in the right direction. we should follow steve job's example: simplicity and intuitiveness. his creations have helped dumb ass retards operate computers (macbooks), listen to music (ipods), and make phone calls (iphone). job's next step is helping dumb ass retards with their lives with ilife.
6) there must be an easier way to move through the internet. lets forget about internet 'browsers' and think of something new. along the same lines, web 3.0 is almost here. how about a facebook application that allows users to choose how to interact with facebook? take your time to understand that last line, because i'm not sure i understand it completely, either ;). but not even a facebook application. how about just something that lets users define how they interact with the web?
7) wireless laptop chargers. lets make one and get rich.
8) the republican party is going down the drain. consider this--ever since the bush administration took office in 2000, they have been working hard to restore the machiavellian executive power of the president that was taken away during nixon's presidency. they allowed, no, engineered 9/11, lied to the american public (seriously, i feel like people just buy the media propaganda bullshit), waged a 'war on terror', created the patriot act (i think this may have been the first move on the public that lets bush do whatever the hell he wants), sent troops to iraq (think vietnam war) and the list goes on. the democrats haven't made any move on the gop, but there are plenty of people who want bush and cheney out of office. there are also rumors of a terrorist attack (could also be engineered by the bush administration) so then bush would pull the 'i told your ass so, america, you should've listened to me' bullshit. seriously, one more year...
9) with 8 being said, i feel like i am more distrusting of institutions. i don't know how people can be so misled about the government. like in harry potter, so many people trust the ministry of magic (of course, with voldemort breathing down their necks, it is understandable). but in america where speech and thought are supposed to be free, why do people bend to the government and are proud to stand behind their leaders? america is a shithole. the government needs to fix the real problems in the country instead of pursuing their own monetary interests, aka oil. people should stop being sheep and think for themselves (especially to those living in between new york city and los angeles).
10) i discovered today that i am an environmentalist. the thought of renewable sustainable energy really turns me on.
congratulations if you read through all 10. after re-reading those points, i realized that i am a major dork.
ASS PUSSY PUSSY SEX GUNS DRUGS ALCOHOL
goodnight, folks.
-andy
Monday, July 23, 2007
a brief, fleeting moment
usually i never ever know what to write about.
but i think i have a pretty good idea of why i write.
i want to put into words how i feel about things and about the way i live and about the way i think, but i suck at it since my command of the english language blows (the phrase 'how i feel about things', for instance, is as boring and unoriginal as this parenthetical insert. hah.) i want to believe that each entry i write is another opportunity to understand who i am or the way i think or whatever.
i put specific, fleeting moments in my life into words so i can understand them better. but i am unable to visit and revisit all of those fleeting moments long enough to process them into text. most of them slip through my shallow short term memory (i should be more willing to write shit down in a notebook/remember to carry my notebook on the subway trains).
i try to revisit those moments in my life where i am searching for a specific within an ambiguity. you may ask, where the fuck did you get that phrase from, andy? well, i got it from my expository writing class. anyway, i try to revisit those moments, but i can't recreate them on command. sometimes its a scent that makes me take a step back and remember the summer before my sophomore year at blair (its my roommate's shampoo and i cannot describe in words the scent). sometimes its the color of the sky or the shape and movement of the clouds that reminds me of early march, the spring tennis season. sometimes its the rattling of the 1 train that reminds me of my childhood in chicago, living beneath the rude racket of the elevated track in a tall, narrow red bricked building. regardless, as the memories flash quickly in my mind's eye, it just as quickly fades into now, the present, reality. i want to capture those moments and put them into words that i can visit and revisit whenever i desire.
and the 'moments' are not as simple as 'this smell reminds me of working at NIST', but more of the emotions evoked when thinking about those moments; emotions that the most complex, hi-res emoticon cannot handle ;). but feel free to prove me wrong.
i like to write about myself. about my life, the things i do, the things i don't do. about the way i think, my thought processes, my sense of humor. about little things during the day that matter to me. about people who i talk to, laugh with, love dearly, miss considerably. i write to tackle my problems, to find solace in my confusion, to reconnect with myself. i write to figure shit. i do not write with the word 'and' :).
i am carving my own niche into the world, one spoken word at a time. hello, world!
my habit of smoking weed this past year has made me talk to myself in my thoughts, a la scrubs. is that weird? now i forget if i have always did that. but i know for a fact i have a conscience, just not sure if it is a good one.
-andy
now playing: alanis morrisette - you learn
but i think i have a pretty good idea of why i write.
i want to put into words how i feel about things and about the way i live and about the way i think, but i suck at it since my command of the english language blows (the phrase 'how i feel about things', for instance, is as boring and unoriginal as this parenthetical insert. hah.) i want to believe that each entry i write is another opportunity to understand who i am or the way i think or whatever.
i put specific, fleeting moments in my life into words so i can understand them better. but i am unable to visit and revisit all of those fleeting moments long enough to process them into text. most of them slip through my shallow short term memory (i should be more willing to write shit down in a notebook/remember to carry my notebook on the subway trains).
i try to revisit those moments in my life where i am searching for a specific within an ambiguity. you may ask, where the fuck did you get that phrase from, andy? well, i got it from my expository writing class. anyway, i try to revisit those moments, but i can't recreate them on command. sometimes its a scent that makes me take a step back and remember the summer before my sophomore year at blair (its my roommate's shampoo and i cannot describe in words the scent). sometimes its the color of the sky or the shape and movement of the clouds that reminds me of early march, the spring tennis season. sometimes its the rattling of the 1 train that reminds me of my childhood in chicago, living beneath the rude racket of the elevated track in a tall, narrow red bricked building. regardless, as the memories flash quickly in my mind's eye, it just as quickly fades into now, the present, reality. i want to capture those moments and put them into words that i can visit and revisit whenever i desire.
and the 'moments' are not as simple as 'this smell reminds me of working at NIST', but more of the emotions evoked when thinking about those moments; emotions that the most complex, hi-res emoticon cannot handle ;). but feel free to prove me wrong.
i like to write about myself. about my life, the things i do, the things i don't do. about the way i think, my thought processes, my sense of humor. about little things during the day that matter to me. about people who i talk to, laugh with, love dearly, miss considerably. i write to tackle my problems, to find solace in my confusion, to reconnect with myself. i write to figure shit. i do not write with the word 'and' :).
i am carving my own niche into the world, one spoken word at a time. hello, world!
my habit of smoking weed this past year has made me talk to myself in my thoughts, a la scrubs. is that weird? now i forget if i have always did that. but i know for a fact i have a conscience, just not sure if it is a good one.
-andy
now playing: alanis morrisette - you learn
Friday, July 20, 2007
freewriting, pt 1
i know i've said this billions of times before, but i really want to improve my writing skills. and no better way to do that than to just set aside ten minutes everyday to just write random shit. so here it goes.
freewriting--
i hate freewriting. i remember that this task used to be assigned to me as early as second grade. 'just write whatever you feel like writing, children' my teacher told us. whenever i looked at my black sheet of paper, i could not produce any words from my pen. i always drew a blank. what should i write about? i asked myself, time and time again. i would end up writing about nothing--the weather, my immediate thoughts (what should i write about?), my daily events--just very boring shit.
the last time i was asked to freewrite was in maaza's writing the essay class. except then, we were given a flower to write about. of course, i copped out and resorted to writing a haiku about flowers, since all i could do then was draw a blank. i couldn't think of anything meaningful to write about. i figured that my writing would not stand out amongst my class's writing and i needed to think of something different, hence the haiku. who the hell writes haikus about flowers in a writing expository class?
now, i have officially run out of free writing material. i am drawing many blanks. fuck. oh well, baby steps, right?
--
-andy
freewriting--
i hate freewriting. i remember that this task used to be assigned to me as early as second grade. 'just write whatever you feel like writing, children' my teacher told us. whenever i looked at my black sheet of paper, i could not produce any words from my pen. i always drew a blank. what should i write about? i asked myself, time and time again. i would end up writing about nothing--the weather, my immediate thoughts (what should i write about?), my daily events--just very boring shit.
the last time i was asked to freewrite was in maaza's writing the essay class. except then, we were given a flower to write about. of course, i copped out and resorted to writing a haiku about flowers, since all i could do then was draw a blank. i couldn't think of anything meaningful to write about. i figured that my writing would not stand out amongst my class's writing and i needed to think of something different, hence the haiku. who the hell writes haikus about flowers in a writing expository class?
now, i have officially run out of free writing material. i am drawing many blanks. fuck. oh well, baby steps, right?
--
-andy
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
finally
i am finally going to sam's apartment to pick up my fucking bag. finally.
i wish i cared more about certain things. mom is upset about the broken window screens. i can't redeem myself as i do not have any opportunity to do so. and i can't apologize because i have done so too many times. i am pretty hopeless about this, but i feel like there isn't much i can do, regardless.
whatevs.
-andy
i wish i cared more about certain things. mom is upset about the broken window screens. i can't redeem myself as i do not have any opportunity to do so. and i can't apologize because i have done so too many times. i am pretty hopeless about this, but i feel like there isn't much i can do, regardless.
whatevs.
-andy
morning routine
just because i'm bored.
i set three alarms on my cell phone--8:00am, 8:20am, 8:40am--and i always turn off the first two to go back to sleep. i don't wake up that early because my roommates are usually up using the bathroom and showering. by 8:40am, i'm the only one left in the apartment so i can do whatever i want.
i shower, brush my teeth, then pour myself a bowl of honey bunches of oats and watch some morning news for a brief five minutes. or i turn to the insider, which is a tv program about celebrities. hot.
i put my clothes on and walk out the door. i stop next to the 1station and get my free copy of amny and walk ten blocks to 168th/b'way reading it.
walking from 157st to 168st is like walking through a different part of the world. the dominican republic, in particular. nobody speaks a lick of english. everyone is chilling on the sidewalk playing dominos or standing around. there are boxes of clothes on the street for less than ten dollars a piece.
but once i turn from broadway to 168th st, then it feels like i'm back in new york. a lot of different people (mostly nurses, doctors, students who work at the columbia medical center) and a lot of street vendors selling bagels, danishes, coffee, and egg sandwiches.
and then i get to my building, say 'hola' the security officer, press the button that summons the elevator carriage and go down to R4.
and here i am.
and work blows. :)
-andy
i set three alarms on my cell phone--8:00am, 8:20am, 8:40am--and i always turn off the first two to go back to sleep. i don't wake up that early because my roommates are usually up using the bathroom and showering. by 8:40am, i'm the only one left in the apartment so i can do whatever i want.
i shower, brush my teeth, then pour myself a bowl of honey bunches of oats and watch some morning news for a brief five minutes. or i turn to the insider, which is a tv program about celebrities. hot.
i put my clothes on and walk out the door. i stop next to the 1station and get my free copy of amny and walk ten blocks to 168th/b'way reading it.
walking from 157st to 168st is like walking through a different part of the world. the dominican republic, in particular. nobody speaks a lick of english. everyone is chilling on the sidewalk playing dominos or standing around. there are boxes of clothes on the street for less than ten dollars a piece.
but once i turn from broadway to 168th st, then it feels like i'm back in new york. a lot of different people (mostly nurses, doctors, students who work at the columbia medical center) and a lot of street vendors selling bagels, danishes, coffee, and egg sandwiches.
and then i get to my building, say 'hola' the security officer, press the button that summons the elevator carriage and go down to R4.
and here i am.
and work blows. :)
-andy
Thursday, July 12, 2007
scattered thoughts, pt 3
day number 33 at work. marc, my casual supervisor (aka boss) is not in today. confusion ensues.
here is a list of random thoughts.
1) bookstores are soon going out of business. i heard the barnes&nobles on astor place is closing down. shopping on amazon, or even online, has gotten to be so convenient that baby boomers who can't tell the difference between the monitor and the mouse are buying how-to books on computers. buy from strand, your local bookstore! too bad i don't care enough to do so myself.
2) facebook applications have gone crazy. the number of facebook applications for each of the 20-some categories are in the hundred thousands. with that daunting number of facebook applications, someone should make a facebook application that organizes facebook applications. or something. facebook is becoming too much like myspace with the widgets, except i have to admit, it is much cleaner and easier on the eyes than myspace. myspace is trash. facebook is cleaner trash.
3) work blows. mindless, mindless work.
4) marc told me that on his roadtrip across the united states, he met tons and tons of people and understood how someone like george w. bush can get elected. the usa contains the east coast, the west coast, and everything in between is just filler. unfortunate.
5) marc also has a seven month old baby girl named shawna. he tells me this all the time: 'when you have your first kid, you will feel like all the accomplishments is reduced to nothing. your sole purpose now is to provide for a new life.' since he imparted that wisdom, i have been thinking about what kind of father i would be. it is still too early to tell.
6) i have developed the worst elevator rage imaginable. sometimes they are just too slow or people just have to get off at every single floor. that being said, i hate having to wait for the subway train, especially late nights when they are less frequent and not express. i'm just impatient.
7) more mindless, mindless work.
8) i am using a lot more abbrevs online lately. and ';)'. some other ones that i use regularly: omg, OMGZ, LOL (but never 'lol'), btw, ttyl. i like spelling 'what the fuck' out.
i'm bored.
-andy
here is a list of random thoughts.
1) bookstores are soon going out of business. i heard the barnes&nobles on astor place is closing down. shopping on amazon, or even online, has gotten to be so convenient that baby boomers who can't tell the difference between the monitor and the mouse are buying how-to books on computers. buy from strand, your local bookstore! too bad i don't care enough to do so myself.
2) facebook applications have gone crazy. the number of facebook applications for each of the 20-some categories are in the hundred thousands. with that daunting number of facebook applications, someone should make a facebook application that organizes facebook applications. or something. facebook is becoming too much like myspace with the widgets, except i have to admit, it is much cleaner and easier on the eyes than myspace. myspace is trash. facebook is cleaner trash.
3) work blows. mindless, mindless work.
4) marc told me that on his roadtrip across the united states, he met tons and tons of people and understood how someone like george w. bush can get elected. the usa contains the east coast, the west coast, and everything in between is just filler. unfortunate.
5) marc also has a seven month old baby girl named shawna. he tells me this all the time: 'when you have your first kid, you will feel like all the accomplishments is reduced to nothing. your sole purpose now is to provide for a new life.' since he imparted that wisdom, i have been thinking about what kind of father i would be. it is still too early to tell.
6) i have developed the worst elevator rage imaginable. sometimes they are just too slow or people just have to get off at every single floor. that being said, i hate having to wait for the subway train, especially late nights when they are less frequent and not express. i'm just impatient.
7) more mindless, mindless work.
8) i am using a lot more abbrevs online lately. and ';)'. some other ones that i use regularly: omg, OMGZ, LOL (but never 'lol'), btw, ttyl. i like spelling 'what the fuck' out.
i'm bored.
-andy
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
it was all a dream...
...and if you don't know, now you know, nigguh
today, it poured. the sun, the clouds, the stars all paused--a brief, fleeting moment of silence--before the heavens erupted with rain. it was grandiose, extravagant, unrelenting. the rain punished the earth with waves after waves of merciless down pour.
you can tell when its about to rain when the air is noticeably still, the humidity weighing you down at the shoulders and ankles. you feel shackled and imprisoned by the stifling heat. walking soon resembles wading through thick, musky paste. the moisture in the air could be cut cleanly by one bolt of lightning and the rain that comes thereafter.
so it rains.
i was caught in the rain. like the stubborn, forgetful idiot i am, i was caught in the rain. stubborn, in that i knew it would rain. forgetful, in that i left my umbrella at jennifer's apartment. regardless, i was forced by mother nature to purchase a shitty, black umbrella for three dollars.
but what i hate about the rain in new york city is that it is never light rain. it is never calm, serene rain, but always unforgiving, determined-to-get-the-bottom-of-your-nice-pants-shit-dirty rain. this is the kind of rain that most can only enjoy from indoors, except for those who lack any tiny bit of their sanity. they may appreciate the hard rain directly from the gods.
after getting caught in the rain god's wrath, i realized i miss the rain in maryland or over any grassy field, for that matter. i miss the fresh cut lawn smell after a hard hour's work of mowing. i miss the slowly rising heat emanating from a 'black top' or driveway after a hot summer's day. i miss the quiet, peaceful scene that a light refreshing rain storm provides. my dad would turn off the television, open the garage door, prop open two lawn chairs for the both of us, and we would sit and watch waves after waves of jovial, carefree rain. the rain, in this case, is therapeutic to our senses, calming and nurturing our tired eyes, strained ears, and unappreciated noses. soothing, sometimes necessary, like a good cry.
however, the rain in the city will lower the humidity and the temperature. but only temporarily.
beautiful weekend coming up.
-andy
today, it poured. the sun, the clouds, the stars all paused--a brief, fleeting moment of silence--before the heavens erupted with rain. it was grandiose, extravagant, unrelenting. the rain punished the earth with waves after waves of merciless down pour.
you can tell when its about to rain when the air is noticeably still, the humidity weighing you down at the shoulders and ankles. you feel shackled and imprisoned by the stifling heat. walking soon resembles wading through thick, musky paste. the moisture in the air could be cut cleanly by one bolt of lightning and the rain that comes thereafter.
so it rains.
i was caught in the rain. like the stubborn, forgetful idiot i am, i was caught in the rain. stubborn, in that i knew it would rain. forgetful, in that i left my umbrella at jennifer's apartment. regardless, i was forced by mother nature to purchase a shitty, black umbrella for three dollars.
but what i hate about the rain in new york city is that it is never light rain. it is never calm, serene rain, but always unforgiving, determined-to-get-the-bottom-of-your-nice-pants-shit-dirty rain. this is the kind of rain that most can only enjoy from indoors, except for those who lack any tiny bit of their sanity. they may appreciate the hard rain directly from the gods.
after getting caught in the rain god's wrath, i realized i miss the rain in maryland or over any grassy field, for that matter. i miss the fresh cut lawn smell after a hard hour's work of mowing. i miss the slowly rising heat emanating from a 'black top' or driveway after a hot summer's day. i miss the quiet, peaceful scene that a light refreshing rain storm provides. my dad would turn off the television, open the garage door, prop open two lawn chairs for the both of us, and we would sit and watch waves after waves of jovial, carefree rain. the rain, in this case, is therapeutic to our senses, calming and nurturing our tired eyes, strained ears, and unappreciated noses. soothing, sometimes necessary, like a good cry.
however, the rain in the city will lower the humidity and the temperature. but only temporarily.
beautiful weekend coming up.
-andy
CRISP, harry potter, and ratatouille
the tool i use to search the data base for proposals is CRISP--computer retrieval of information on scientific projects. and its damn slow. each inquiry takes about 5-10 minutes, which leaves me ample time to vegetate in between searches.
anyway, i saw harry potter: order of the phoenix last night at the 12:01am show. i got there at around 10:14pm and talked to kim about costume ideas.
-wizard, patronus, dementor (includes a fight scene at the bookstore)
-whomping willow (includes a car and flailing branches)
-harry potter books
-harry potter and many dementors (also includes a fight scene)
-a wizard attempting to dress as a muggle (credit goes to bictor)
-broomstick (nimbus2001 or any, riding wizard optional)
-invisibility cloak
-a snitch, two quaffles, and a quidditch goal hoop (includes a flight scene)
-floo powder, portkey, or both (for added effect, grabbing and throwing the person who touches you)
i cannot wait for the seventh book to be released. i still need to decide on a costume.
on a random movie-related tangent, i saw ratatouille maybe a week and a half ago and i can honestly say i was not that impressed. sure, it was a cute movie with a little rat that talks. but there were some problems i had with the movie. first, the young boy is too one-dimensional. he is such a pushover and the writers did not give him enough redeeming qualities to make the audience empathize during his tribulations. and when he finally did triumph, it was more of a 'oh ok. i thought that would happen'. ho hum, nothing out of the ordinary. likewise, the chemistry between him and the girl seems too artificial, like the writers were trying to pull a romance story out of their asses. to put it simply, it is too cliche. additionally, there were too many slapstick visual gags that got old too quickly. they could have made more quality jokes.
although the idea and premise of ratatouille is cute, the movie falls short in the development of characters and quality of jokes. ratatouille is not as good as monsters, inc, finding nemo, or the incredibles.
work blows.
-andy
anyway, i saw harry potter: order of the phoenix last night at the 12:01am show. i got there at around 10:14pm and talked to kim about costume ideas.
-wizard, patronus, dementor (includes a fight scene at the bookstore)
-whomping willow (includes a car and flailing branches)
-harry potter books
-harry potter and many dementors (also includes a fight scene)
-a wizard attempting to dress as a muggle (credit goes to bictor)
-broomstick (nimbus2001 or any, riding wizard optional)
-invisibility cloak
-a snitch, two quaffles, and a quidditch goal hoop (includes a flight scene)
-floo powder, portkey, or both (for added effect, grabbing and throwing the person who touches you)
i cannot wait for the seventh book to be released. i still need to decide on a costume.
on a random movie-related tangent, i saw ratatouille maybe a week and a half ago and i can honestly say i was not that impressed. sure, it was a cute movie with a little rat that talks. but there were some problems i had with the movie. first, the young boy is too one-dimensional. he is such a pushover and the writers did not give him enough redeeming qualities to make the audience empathize during his tribulations. and when he finally did triumph, it was more of a 'oh ok. i thought that would happen'. ho hum, nothing out of the ordinary. likewise, the chemistry between him and the girl seems too artificial, like the writers were trying to pull a romance story out of their asses. to put it simply, it is too cliche. additionally, there were too many slapstick visual gags that got old too quickly. they could have made more quality jokes.
although the idea and premise of ratatouille is cute, the movie falls short in the development of characters and quality of jokes. ratatouille is not as good as monsters, inc, finding nemo, or the incredibles.
work blows.
-andy
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
my first real day of work
hello blag readers.
today i was assigned a nice, thick stack of papers to sort through. and i swear, the fatigue you get in your eyes after 6 hours of doing this mindless task is exhausting.
so this is what i do.
i am given institution numbers (these numbers correspond to proposals that need to be tracked during their progress of securing research funds) so i can determine the principal investigator of said proposal. then depending on its fiscal year, i either grant it an award or terminate it.
lather, rinse, repeat four hundred times.
time for a nap.
-andy
today i was assigned a nice, thick stack of papers to sort through. and i swear, the fatigue you get in your eyes after 6 hours of doing this mindless task is exhausting.
so this is what i do.
i am given institution numbers (these numbers correspond to proposals that need to be tracked during their progress of securing research funds) so i can determine the principal investigator of said proposal. then depending on its fiscal year, i either grant it an award or terminate it.
lather, rinse, repeat four hundred times.
time for a nap.
-andy
Monday, July 9, 2007
interblaze, pt 1
i'm interblazing, currently, with victor and anita. hard to multi-task and hard to type while stoned.
i like my orange juice pulpy.
victor using his friends names in conversations makes me feel like i'm closer friends with him. he is such a sweetie.
and i forget why i opened this blag.
-andy
i like my orange juice pulpy.
victor using his friends names in conversations makes me feel like i'm closer friends with him. he is such a sweetie.
and i forget why i opened this blag.
-andy
Sunday, July 8, 2007
this is what i want you to do...
this week i would like you readers to do this.
go up to one random ass motherfuckin' person and say 'you are never ever going to see me ever again.'
and leave.
-andy
go up to one random ass motherfuckin' person and say 'you are never ever going to see me ever again.'
and leave.
-andy
Thursday, July 5, 2007
now what?
sometimes i feel like there are too many people who know of this blog and that in order to continue writing about people i hate without repercussions (yes, i'm talking about you), i will eventually have to start a new one under my pen name 'bananas'.
but until then, all names that appear in this blog are changed.
i wish i remembered what i was going to write about.
-andy
but until then, all names that appear in this blog are changed.
i wish i remembered what i was going to write about.
-andy
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
things i should avoid eating
i drank soda yesterday and felt like shit. here is a list of things i'm going to avoid eating:
> too much meat. i'll get mad food coma/nigger-itis.
> soda
> anything triple-deep-fried
> canned soup, chips, 'junk food'
yeah.
-andy
> too much meat. i'll get mad food coma/nigger-itis.
> soda
> anything triple-deep-fried
> canned soup, chips, 'junk food'
yeah.
-andy
Monday, July 2, 2007
thanks for all the memories
: did you know his first time smoking was one year ago at your party?
: OMGZ. NO WAI.
yeah its true. funny how fast things can change in only a year. the way people talk about other people from blair, as if we were all part of the same large family and have all gone separate ways. and its interesting hearing about people and learning so many new things about them. and then judging them based on their decisions they made in college >:) (just kidding...). its hard to imagine not seeing some of them for a long long time, possibly forever.
upperclassmen tell me they stop going back home because fewer people are left there the older they get. that makes sense. who am i going to be talking to 5, 10 years from now?
-andy
now playing: fall out boy - gay is not a synonym for stupid
editted at 2:46
i just wasted an hour of my life.
things i've learned today:
80/transaction at western union
you need licence/passport to transfer wire anywhere in the world (45/transaction)
: OMGZ. NO WAI.
yeah its true. funny how fast things can change in only a year. the way people talk about other people from blair, as if we were all part of the same large family and have all gone separate ways. and its interesting hearing about people and learning so many new things about them. and then judging them based on their decisions they made in college >:) (just kidding...). its hard to imagine not seeing some of them for a long long time, possibly forever.
upperclassmen tell me they stop going back home because fewer people are left there the older they get. that makes sense. who am i going to be talking to 5, 10 years from now?
-andy
now playing: fall out boy - gay is not a synonym for stupid
editted at 2:46
i just wasted an hour of my life.
things i've learned today:
80/transaction at western union
you need licence/passport to transfer wire anywhere in the world (45/transaction)
Sunday, July 1, 2007
how are ya, new york city?
after my quiet, lull of a weekend in maryland, i was quickly jolted back to the sense of urgency prevalent in new york--the shouting, the pushing, the shoving, the elbows, the not-knowing-thousands-of-people-surrounding-you--in the form of the new york subway.
but i will miss maryland for these next few days.
life is complicated.
-andy
but i will miss maryland for these next few days.
life is complicated.
-andy
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