Battlecry

Tired, tired and tired. Having a BBQ is a lot of fun, but it takes a lot of effort. You have to do the initial set up, maintain the pace and then pack and clean it all up. Everytime we have a BBQ, it seems to become slightly more troublesome each time.

But then again, it's more likely my teenage rebelliousness surfacing more strongly. It's amazing how parents can drive you to the border of insanity and you start to wonder whether it's just you or if they're somehow doing it deliberately or both.

Now that I'm older, my dad delgates most of the setting up to me. Which wouldn't be that bad, if he doesn't overrule me on every single decision I make and completely ignores what I'm saying. At first, I was thinking "it's probably me, just calm down..." then it becomes obvious that it's not just only me, but it's my dad as well.

So I have the BBQ out, and then my dad asks 'do you think that's enough?' and I'm like 'yeah, totally'. Then he goes 'nah, take out the other bigger BBQ as well', so I go along thinking 'so we're cooking more meat..'. Then my dad explains his decision, reasoning that 'we should only cook as we eat', that is we cook the meat at a pace that can supply the demand, no oversupply or undersupply. Now this is the same reasoning at all our BBQs, it doesn't matter the size of the BBQ, but that rate of cooking. Now I'm pissed because the other BBQ is enough and I know it is enough because I do the cooking and the reason he gives doesn't change anything. When I point this out, he tells me to 'be quiet and stop being a smartarse'. What? I'm a smartarse because I point something out? I was right in the end. We didn't even use the second BBQ.

It doesn't end there. He calls me over and starts going on about how I didn't arrange the tablecloth properly. You know what was wrong? A smallish wrinkle that I didn't smooth out properly. Fair enough, but it's nothing that you should start making a big deal about it and go all out on the person who did it. Sheesh.

Finally, he tells me to setup the BBQ to suit me, since I'm doing the cooking. So I do. Then my dad comes and starts to rearrange everything to 'better suit me'. What the hell? I know what suits me. That's period. But I didn't want to fuss too much. So I just rearrange it again to suit me. Then my dad chucks a fit, and starts fixing and yelling, saying stuff like 'not like that, like this!'.

I probably sound a bit bitter. I'm not. Just incredibly fustrated and annoyed. I'm extremely pissed off though at the smartarse counter. Just because someone younger than yourself, pointing out something in a calm, logical manner doesn't mean that they are a smartarse. Parents know that they've been outmanoeuvred, so they hit with the smartarse counter.

Still, plenty of good people are coming over, so it won't be that bad. Plus I just registered my savings account to Netbank, so I can transfers funds and buy stuff off the net that accepts bank deposits. There are some anime stuff that I would like to get. Evanglion Platinum boxset tops the list. And now I can search and maybe buy something of eBay. Probably have to do after my return from holidays on the 8th of January.

Happy New Year people!

...and Appear on the Dark Side of the Moon

The bus was late as usual, so the planned relaxed browse for PS2 games became a more frantic treasure hunt. We ended up with two games, with one that we regret, NBA Ballers and King of Fighters NeoWave. My brother loves basketball, so guess the one that we regret.

City Hunter was fun. Only Paul Tran showed up, probably only because he had some free time, rather than my leet *cough* organising skills. My brother eagerly jumped on the many games on offer, but his friends never showed up. Apparently, they woke up at 2pm, and thus considered 11am way too early for some reason. Now look here, 11am is anything but early. It's almost noon, for heaven's sake! But then again, I'm not out partying or gaming until 3am...

Anyway, on that quick trip to Westfield, I saw a box collection of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex for $119.95. I didn't buy it and when I got home I kinda wished that I did buy it. Hell, I'm not to impulsive. But my mother needed to go to Westfield to refill on makeup or something, so I tagged along and bought the box set for only $70. Apparently, it was reduced.

Shopping isn't something that men do often. We rarely shop, we usually go buy a specific thing. Like I need a new shirt or two, or I really need a fan for the office. But when Westfield, or at least the stores, have thought ahead some. They know that guys rarely shop and when they get dragged along by their mother/wife/girlfriend/female friends, they don't fit in very well sometimes. That's not to say that all guys hat shopping with women. But a sizeable majority do. Thankfully, in major "female" shopping areas of clothes or cosmetics, there are these nice soft, comfy seats, that men can sit and wait, rather than being pulled in a comestics area, the mysterious hostile zone that defies many a man's mind.

Arrgh, that box set is just taunting and tempting me to watch it. Well, the only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.

Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun...

The book-cd-dvd sale thing at Homebush was again huge but overall not that spectacular. The books were cheap and the large selection was pretty much trash. There were definitely treasures though. I picked up three great books. There was this fantasy book that was really good, but it was part of a trilogy and it was the second volume. I mean, I don't need the entire trilogy to start reading, if that was true I would have never read Harry Potter, but I definitely need the first book to start off. Anyway, the books that I bought are as follows:

• How to be a megalomaniac (or, advice to a young politician) by Mungo MacCallum
• The Miocene Arrow by Sean McMullen
• The Electronic Whorehouse by Paul Sheehan (the same dude that wrote Among the Barbarians.)

So anyway, City Hunter Burwood tomorrow. I hate organising shit, having to make sure that there are so-so people coming along. So I'll keep this brief. I'm going, so is my brother, other people may be coming, if you want to play some games and have some fun, you should come along to. Be there tomorrow at 11am or so.

Besides the books I snatched up at the sale, I managed to snag a copy of Eldest, the sequel to Eragon, of a friend. It's not a bad sequel and I like it immensely. But I've been hearing rumbles about the movie adaptation. Still, it is my firm belief that the book is always better than the movie, with the sole exception of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. That trilogy of movies broke all the rules (and probably a few bladders, 9+ hours altogether, whew!) and is the lofty ideal that I think no other book-to-film conversion will ever achieve within my lifetime.

Well, I hope you guys and girls out there have some fun. Until the offers come out at least.

Keep on Lifting

The person that posted a comment about my spelling, see the the comments page of the previous post for my reply.

It's been dead boring these couple of days. Parents are at home on these public holidays and that means I can't play the PS2, since they don't know it exists. I'm falling behind on FFX, man! Come on! Give us a break.

Went to a Christmas Eve party on Sunday, and it was pretty cool. The food was quite decent and I managed to have a little chat with a university student on what the campus of USyd at Cumberland is like. According to him, it's very small and you get to know everyone pretty well. Sounds like my kind of place. Entertainment was sparse, until we found the owners big tv and sound system. We ended up watching Samurai Champloo, which was pretty good anime. But the size or zoom or whatever was kinda screwed and we couldn't get the video to size up exactly with the screen. And the subtitles were out of sync. It got kinda tiring, and soon, it was only my brother, my cousin and I watching. Then we discovered Harold and Kumar go to White Castle.

I heard about this movie from Jack, but never really got around to seeing it. Sounds like the time Jack gave me Infernal Affairs. I still haven't watched that. But White Castle was really cool. A basic road trip type of story, it's about Harold, this Asian guy, and Kumar, this Indian, trying to get to White Castle, a fast food joint, but are put through a series of misadventures along the way. It touches lightly on racial discrimination, not enough to get you riled up and throwing boulders, but enough for you to take notice. Unfortunately, we had to leave before we finished the movie. That's it, I gotta find the DVD.

So boring week, what's a guy to do? Well take a leaf out the girls' book and go shopping. There's this ad on TV going on about the really cheap books, cd, and dvds sale going on at Sydney Showground tomorrow, so that's where I'll be. Don't know what time I'll be there, most likely around 10am - 11am. So if you come and long and happen to meet, I'll say hi to ya.

And on the 28th of December, a Thursday, my brother wants to check out City Hunter Burwood, grab his friends and play some DoTA and CS:S. If anyone wants to tag along, you're welcome to. We'd probably get there at 11ish am, grab lunch at the Hungry Jack's nearby and stay until 2-3ism pm.

And I'm going to Queensland on the 2nd of January to the 8th, so I'll be out of communication until I return. And I think there's a band thing event at the Annandale Hotel on the 13th of January. I'm 70% certain to go, so tag along as well!

Have a Happy New Year everyone!

Touch of Jazz

3 sleeps to Christmas. 12 sleeps to holiday to Queensland. I've been to Queensland so many times. All those trips to Surfer's Paradise, Brisbane and so on, well, it must be my 6th trip to the Sunshine Coast. Not that I'm complaining. Once you get there and settle in, it's a very relaxed place. You sit on the balcony and just watch the wind and the waves, and forget the spectres of the past, the stress of the present, and the terror of the future. Plenty of friends on this trip, so it'll be fun.

But until then it is going to be a bit boring. I mean, the euphoria of the UAI has faded away and now I sit, listening to music or playing FFX. I've been trying to expand my musical taste. Usually, when I hear a song that I like, I listen to it obsessively then stop since it has become so familar. So I'm trying to find some new tracks and albums that I can sink my teeth into. A new band that has popped onto my radar is The Temper Trap, courtesy of Serena. Check out the song My Sun either on their mySpace or Youtube.

Getting 92.45 is pretty good, considering that just months ago I was scared as heck with the possibility of getting a UAI in the 80s. But some last minute focusing poked it above 90. Thinking back, I definately could have done better, by studying harder and whatnot. In hindsight, the HSC wasn't that bad. It wasn't the 'end-of-the-world' thing that most people seemed to be predicting.

So now the relatives are going to reward me. Granted, it's not that much compared to if I got 99 or something, but since I have no job, I've been trying to maximise gain, not just for me, but for other close friends as well. I know my aunt is guaranteed to give me some cash. I'd probably shove some into the bank, but I have no idea what to spend it on. I have some vague ideas on upgrading or replacing my computer, but now is not the best of times with Vista, the new Windows, being released next year. I have plans though.

My tutor was happy with my mark, though disappointed since he expected me to do really well. But I was a lazy student, so I didn't study that much, yeah. I told him of my plans to study diagnostic radiography, and he said it was alright. Except it didn't pay a lot of cash compared to other jobs and kept recommending pharmacy. I'll think about it, but pharmacy seems beyond reach right now. I'd have to do very well in my first year of Uni before thinking of switching courses. But for now, I'm sticking to my path. Plenty of time.

Oh, and I found this techno cd that Kevin Tran gave to me way back in 2002. The 27th of May, 2002 if the date is correct. Right now, I'm blasting this at max bass on my computer. It's a hella different to the ultimate acoustic guitar collection I was listening to before.

Ninety Two Point Forty Five

So lets get this said straight out.

Wait for it....

Now, it is finally over.

The HSC is done. I know we jumped the gun a little bit when we finished testing in November, but now that we finally have our course marks and UAI, I think it is safe to say that it is finally over. All you guys, congratuations on your marks, and I hope you can now get into the course of your choice. And thanks to Phuong, for telling me that the UAC line was open at around 8:30am.

Today will definately be a celebration. Forget about the enormous bad luck with the aborted driving test, I'm happy with my UAI and that, as they say, is that.

My last words on this?

"Maths makes it easy to shoot yourself in the foot. Maths Extension 1 makes it harder, but when you do, it blows away your whole leg. And don't even talk about Maths Extension 2..."

So now onwards to Christmas.

It's Only Natural

Do you believe in bad luck? Or karma or whatever? I'd like to think that when something happens, it happens for a reason. The laws of cause and effect coldly apply. Not today. Today, I think some bad luck decided to strike.

I was supposed to take my driving test today, and when the examiner was checking out the car, she noticed that the rear right brake light wasn't working. So the test had to be cancelled. Which sucked because I had checked the lights yesterday and everything was working fine.

*sigh*

Well, as the saying goes, 'shit happens' or as some others say 'excreta occurs'. So the test is rebooked to the 17th of January next year. I know there may be some comments going 'oh snap! sucks to be you' and lots of repetitive uses of 'noob', but well, I'm past caring at this point.

Anyway, moving on from the bad news, the side mirror was fixed quite easily and cheaply. The mirror was taken to this shop that cuts glass and the guys there measured and cut out a piece of glass and stuck onto the mirror. And it cost a mere $25 compared to $260 for replacing the entire mirror.

Well, hopefully some good news later, eh?

Melodic Melodies Merge Merrily

1.) Put your music player on shuffle
2.) Press forward for each question.
3.) Use the song title as the answer to the question.
4.) NO CHEATING!!!
Translate them if necessary.

1.) How am I feeling today?
Within Temptation - Jillian

2.) Where will I get married?
Nickleback - Hero

3.) What is my best friend's theme song?
Harry Gregson-Williams - Metal Gear Solid 3 Main Theme

4.) What is/was highschool like?
U2 - All Because of You

5.) What is the best thing about me?
Utadu Hikaru - Simple and Clean (really? I'm not so sure...)

6.) How is today going to be?
Peter Frampton - Do You Feel Like I Do?

7.) What is in store for this weekend?
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn - Waiting For You

8.) What song describes my parents?
Hoobastank - The Reason (wtf?)

9.) How is my life going?
The Game feat 50Cent - Hate or Love It

10.) What song will they play at my funeral?
Franz Ferdinand - The Fallen (oh yeah..)

11.) How does the world see me?
U2 - Beautiful Day

12.) What do my friends really think of me?
Rogue Traders - We're Coming Home

13) Do people secretly lust after me?
Fatboy Slim - Weapon of Choice

14.) How can I make myself happy?
Evangelion OST - Both of You, Dance Like You Want to Win

15.) What should I do with my life?
Remy Zero - Save Me (how utterly appropriate...i'm ignoring that)

16.) Will I ever have children?
John Legend - Save Room

17.) What is some good advice?
Meja - How Crazy Are You?

18.) What do I think my current theme song is?
Wolfmother - The White Unicorn

19.) What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
Chris Cornell - You Know My Name (wtf?...the new James Bond intro song?)

20.) What type of men/women do you like?:
Kanye West feat Jamie Foxx - Golddigger (Now this is a bad sign of things to come)

21.) Will you get married?:
Franz Ferdinand - You're the Reason I'm Leaving (maybe not....)

22.) What should I do with my love life?
AC/DC - Big Balls (now this is funny...)

23.) The original poster forgot this one so I'll just make one up. What's up?
Bambee - Bumble Bee

24.) Where will you live?
lostprophets - Rooftops

25.) What will your dying words be?
The Killers - When You Were Young

Triangular Situations

Has anyone Viet seen the latest Paris By Night 84? No, not the Paris Hilton sex tape. To explain to our non-Viet readers, Paris By Night is a Viet concert thingy, where a bunch of songs are sung, a few skits are acted out and some information is throw in to enlighten the audience. It has its competitors though, like Asia. In recent memory, Asia been trying to court the old crowd, playing old, classic Viet songs, harking back to the good old days before the Communist takeover. The problem is that the old crowd is dying off, so Paris By Night is trying to lure the young crowd by transforming itself as the "passport to music and fashion", with mixed results.

Basically, all contemporary Viet music can be classed into two group: 'sad/romantic/missing a lover/emo/about love/etc' and the 'others'. Watching these concerts gets kinda boring, when 90% of the music is of the former group. Very occassionally, an artist will spice it up and do something different, but very rarely. You also get some young Viet performers who sing in English, but for some inexplicable reason still sing about lost love/romance/whatever. Where is the Viet version of The Killers, Eminem or AC/DC? Where are the bands or artists that sing about Viet parents, the pressure of being an Asian and why rice has to be white? Damn it all to hell.

And the fashion? Well, it's slightly better, but the women either end up anorexic, slutty or so-so (to me anyway). Actually this Paris By Night was not that bad. With the greater emphasis on fashion, most women looked pretty good, except for the few that looked so damn thin. I mean, there's a fine line between slender and too thin. It could be worse. There were no Nicole Ritchie types who only weigh 30 kilos or so.

It never rains, but it pours, eh? My brother was driving home from tutor and as he turned into our street there was another car. So he moved furthur to the left, a bit too close to a parked truck. The other car signalled him to move forward and my brother accelerated and now the left side mirror is completely screwed. All the glass has shattered off. And my driving exam is on next Monday. So that has to get replaced. Also, the laser printer has finally run out of ink, just when my brother needed to photocopy some stuff. Bad luck seems to follow him around like the plague.

I'm fairly confident about my driving test (or DART - Driving Ability Road Test), and I've gone through the guide and stuff and I think that as long as I stay cool and keep below the speed limit, I'll be alright. So fingers crossed.

Also, I've been discovering that Final Fantasy X is proving way bigger than expected. I mean, there's a lot of stuff you can do, all these secrets and treasures. Damn, looks like it'll take a bit longer than expected.

And how is this for comedy gold? I found it in bash.org :
|TrivBot| Question 3. A man's beard grows fastest when he ______?
|_Cozmo_| shaves it
|emul8or__| shaves
|RatAway| jacks off
|TrivBot| Here's a hint: antici
|Rjx| anticipates sex
|TrivBot| Rjx got the answer: anticipates sex. In: 5.7secs.
|Rjx| wtf?
Yeah, I'm like "WTF?" too. Hey! They should test this on Mythbusters!

And some parting words or wisdom:
Love is blind,
Lust is deaf,
But psychosis is obvious.

Diversion Inversion VI

"I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
"But what...is it good for?"
- Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip
"Bigamy is having one wife too many. Monogamy is the same."
- Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Solitary Desperation

I only have one thing to say. Ahem.

PAINTBALL IS FRICKEN AMAZING!

We went to Advanture Quest Paintball Skirmish, with a massive group of 34 with a mix of Viets and Lebos. Started the actual game close to 10am. It was intense. You hiding behind a tree, paintballs are flinging themselves towards you and you desperately try to find the shooter. Getting hit by a paintball at a distance didn't hurt that much. But when you start to get to the 5-10m range, then it stings. It leaves a mark like you wouldn't believe. Apparently, some marks can take a couple of months to disappear fully.

The basic gear were camo overalls, throat protectors and a mask. Since the group was all guys (and one girl), most people invested in a groin protector or brought along their own. Getting hit in the balls with a paintball is not fun at all.

Lunch was basically snags and salad, but it was unlimited so you could go for thirds and fourths. Our package was different from the standard ones. It was $31 for clothing, lunch and 100 shots. To but more shots, you had to use your own money. The ammo is expensive, $22 for 100; $40 for 200 and $90 for 500. My recommendation is to go big early. Some people bought an extra 700 shots and didn't have to worry about the cost of refilling. I went for 200 extra shots and that runs out hella quick. Altogether I used 800 shots, but some guys were reaching the thousands mark.

Games were variations of team deathmatch, two teams eliminating each other. Viets were on side with the Lebos and some Viets on the other, at 17 people in a team. There was a capture the flag games, and my favourite was to kill the enemy general. The arena was smaller and you didn't worry about being outmaneuvered. However, the best game in my opinion was the free-for-all. Well, technically is was pure team deathmatch. It was supposed to be free-for-all, but sticking in teams was better and safer. You don't have to worry about being backstabbed or ganked. The Lebs split into two groups with one up the hill and one down the hill in a corner. Using covering fire, we surrounded their group. Imagine 10 Asians surrounding 4 Lebs, with no escape and at around 6 metres. We just stood there and rained paintball hell onto them. It was a slaughter.

Anyway, here's a little 10 tips for when you decide to go paintballing.

1. Bring lots of money
   Paintballing can be quick expensive, since you use ammo so quickly. Check the prices and bring some cash or better yet, a credit card. I used $130 worth of ammo and would have probably used more if I had more cash.
2. Conserve your ammo
   A standard paintball gun will hold 200 shots. If you're not careful, it can easily run out in less than 10 minutes. Try to shoot when you have a clear shot and don't let rip a massive burst, 3 shots is a fine enough burst.
3. Accuracy by volume
   This may seem a bit contradictory to the above, but paintball guns are not accurate. A wind, a cough or even a butterfly flying past can divert your paintball. When you are close to your opponent, let it rip. They can't fire back under the withering amount of fire and chances are you hit them too.
4. There is no 'I' in 'team'
   Teamwork is key. Stay in a unit of 3-4 friends. Yell out when you see an enemy. Concentrate your fire. Teamwork is essential. No Ramboing. It'll get you killed in 10 seconds.
5. Covering fire!
   Winning a match is easier if you advance relentlessly towards the other team. Use cover fire to ensure 1-2 friends can safely reach the next rock or tree. Fire on the move. Just make sure that while your moving, the enemy can't fire back.
6. Stay low and go
   Standing up makes you a sitting duck. Find some cover and stay low. The barricades has slots to fire out, and with enough patience, you can put shots between those gaps and hit someone. Try to keep moving.
7. The better part of valour
   Don't be afraid to hide or even retreat. Too many deaths were brought about by reckless advancing. Wait when the enemy runs out of ammo, or use covering fire.
8. Be like the wind
   Outmaneuvered the opposition is more important than any other tactic or advantage. They may be stronger, more ammo or whatever, but attack from the left and right usually means victory.

Paintball was awesome fun. And not only for guys. The only girl in our group nabbed some decent kills, and sent most of guys running with accurate shooting and cover. The only crap thing was that I only knew about 2-3 people there. But it was fun. You guys should do this. Try to arrange a large team, it's more fun that way.

Exit Strategy

Plenty of time for regular blogging, that's good. While everyone else is off working or minding younger siblings, I'm at home with almost nothing to do. Actually, scratch that, I have plenty of stuff to do. I'm taking regular driving sessions to strengthen my reverse parking and three-point turning for my upcoming driving test. Hopefully, I should do okay. And I'm digging through Jung Chang's Mao: The Unknown Story as well. But I'm not sure about it. I mean, she spends most of her time laying out the scene, then dissing Mao. It's like, "look, he's a bastard when he was young, so he became a bigger bastard later on..." Damn Eng Adv, now I'm analysing this book and reading and all that. What book after that? No idea, but my dad has this autobiography of Che Guevara, so I'm covered.

Cricket/soccer/sports tomorrow with the boys. And a whole bunch of ex-Sefton uni students as well. These sessions are always fun. Last time I went, we played cricket in the morning and ended up playing golf in the afternoon, using cricket bats as clubs. So fun all around. If anyone wants to come it's at Guildford Park, corner Oxford and Marian Street, at around 10am. Bring money for KFC and $1 for the cricket ball. Everyone welcome.

Now I had a quick whip-around the blogs, and Phuong's recent post is a horror story. Not only is she stuck with a younger sibling but an entire family of relatives are coming to stay and no one except her mother knows them. Now that is so Asian, cramming people in one house. I kinda know the feeling. A few years ago, my mother's brother's family came over and stay at my place and it was kinda crowded. Still, it wasn't that bad because we could all talk Viet and I learned a lot of their stay. Still, find a reason to get out of the house, even if it's for one day.

Now Casino Royale is coming out tomorrow. So the cinemas are going to be packed. I want to see it. So do a lot of other people. We should organise a day to go watch. Not this Saturday, I'm off at paintball and I think Sabrina is having some party. Maybe Sunday or Monday? Well, lets see how the next few days pan out, okay?

There was a recent Doctor Who concert, where they played live music from the two series from the Children in Need charity. And I snagged a copy of the music. Damn, does it sound good! Especially when they start hammering out the theme song. The original soundtrack studio version will be released within the next few days, and I plan on getting that.

Finally, check out this 60 sec ad on Halo 3. It rocks. Gotta start saving some cash....

The Face of Boredom

Well, Anonymous had a go at guessing the books, but can you believe the cheek of this person?

1. Ernie and the Alien(s)
2. Under Siege
3. Physics Jacaranda (or Excel, and the like)
4. The Pied Piper of Hamlin
5. The Heart of Darkness

I bet whatever the titles are, mine are better. :) .

I'd like to dispute that. But come on, Physics Jacaranda/Excel? Who the hell still has that on their bookshelves. Yes, I still have the books but their on my brother's bookshelf now. Still, I guess I'll reveal the titles, so all the millions (cough cough) of readers don't have to live in constant suspense.

1. Hegemony or Survival by Noam Chomsky
2. Eon by Greg Bear
3. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
4. Men At Arms by Terry Pratchett
5. Only the Heart by Brain Caswell and David Phu An Chiem

Granted Only the Heart and Heart of Darkness share a one word similarity, so half a mark.

I'll be away on Saturday December 9th so participate in some paintball action. I used to do martial arts and the entire group is basically Viet. Some guy there booked a session for some time now and he now needed more people because it's 15 people a team and he wants to have a Viet vs Viet match. Something about the Aussies being sore losers and starting fights. Still, I'm sure it's an overreaction. Aussies aren't that bad, they're just a bit more spirited.

In other news, our Daihatsu Terios was fitted with a new CD player. My brother received it as a gift and since I'll be eventually driving the Terios (it's a manual so I have to wait to my P2 license). But then my mother started to really like the player because it can play MP3/WMA and she has a bunch of Viet stories narrated by Nguyen Ngoc Ngan that she can listen to. Viet readers will now who NNN is. If not, ask your parents. And watch some Paris by Night 80-something or latest one. And I'm not referring to the Paris Hilton sex tape. So now my mother convinced my dad that the Toyota Prado needs a new CD players as well, so if we go on long trips, they can listen to Viet stories. And he reluctantly agreed. My dad, he's just, to borrow a term, 'financially prudent'.

Oh yeah, and I finally managed to snag a copy of Eragon. It's not a bad book, so if you like fantasy, this would be pretty good. Lots of Lord of the Rings type stuff and a bit of Star Warsy stuff thrown in. *minor spoilers* But Arya is such a Mary Sue. I mean, do we really need another know-it-all, hot elf chick so is the possible romantic interest of the protangonist and whom the author spends more time describes her looks than her character? That's probably the only flaw the book suffers from. But read it. It's good. *end spoilers*

And far out, House Season 3 is shaping up to be a killer. Best line so far?

"I'm going to need 30 pieces of silver..."

Something to Pass the Downtime

So, how's everybody? From the general feeling I'm picking up, some people are getting bored. I mean, we've finished the HSC and now...we have nothing to do. Except the people with jobs and they're getting money. So what's a person to do? Well I am playing Final Fantasy X but this is a quick break for me. Sitting in one place for a few hours staring at a TV and having radiation bombard your eyes isn't healthy. So to pass the time, here's something I picked up from Land's blog:

1. Take five books off your bookshelf.
2. Book #1 -- first sentence
3. Book #2 -- last sentence on page fifty
4. Book #3 -- second sentence on page one hundred
5. Book #4 -- next to the last sentence on page one hundred fifty
6. Book #5 -- final sentence of the book
7. Make the five sentences into a paragraph:

A few years ago, one of the great figures of contemporary biology, Ernst Mayer, publsihed some reflections on the likelihood of success in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Electronic sensors had been placed around the building. We also now have evidence for several other black holes in systems like Cygnus X-1 in our galaxy and in two neighbouring galaxies called the Magellanic Clouds. "Eater of rats!". I know it by heart.

Go ahead and knock yourselves our to guess the five books.