BAD HAIR WEEK

I've had bad hair all week. Anyone experience this? One day your hair is fine, the next, it looks like a sparrow's nest. My haircut is barely three weeks old, if that. I can't believe I have to get another haircut to rectify this.

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TIME UNYIELDING

As I write this, the month of August is not an hour old. My clichéd question of course is.... Where did all the time go?

Though officially August is still part of the summer months, in my mind, it is purely a transitional month. August is when panic sets in. I usually take stock of what I haven't done in the summer and then realize I only have precious few weeks left to do what I need to do. Invariably, my attempts to cram everthing in before August disappears is met with failure. I also then look nervously to September, when classes begin and the weather begins to turn cooler. The combination of frenzied last second activity and apprehension of the future usually makes for not-so-pleasant month.

Back to my original question though. Yeah, where did the time go? My summer actually began on April 26, the day after my last exam ended. Holy crap, on paper that seemed a long time ago, but it's still fresh in my mind. I had my dental surgery at the end of April. I can remember that day as clear as the sky was today.

May, June, and July, they all went so fast. As will August, perhaps even faster, since I'll anticipating the fall.

Wow, this post had no direction. :)

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THIS IS GOING TO FEEL A LITTLE WEIRD

This post is going to be all over the place.

First, I'd like to publicly apologize to Arash for forgetting to pick up his dinner tonight. One of the most sacred bonds between two SJC residents is the "dinner pick-up". I broke that bond tonight. I hope that Country Style sandwich is tasty buddy!

Second, I am now the owner of a Kodak EasyShare CX4230 digital camera. I bought one from Ebay today. Final price? $140... Canadian. And get this, it's just not a used camera, it's a factory refurbished model, so it's up to original specs and there's a one year warranty from Kodak. If you're curious as to how much this camera retails new, I found this store in Delta that sells cameras on-line. Their price? $314.95 Canadian and that's before taxes. Even if you factor in shipping and possibly duties (which I hope there will be none), I think I'll have saved myself $200, which is more than the price of the camera itself.

I'm hoping to get the camera sometime next week. You can bet I'll be having fun trying it out.

The third item of this post is that I did accupuncture for the first time tonight. Someone at the College here had her friend come over for dinner. I heard them talking over dinner about her training in the ancient art. I was really interested in what she had to say about accupuncture treatments. Well, before dinner ended, she mentioned how she had all her stuff here and that if I wanted, she could give me a simple treatment. I happily agreed.

So, after dinner the accupuncturist had me sit on a bed with my legs over the side and my hands on a pillow on my lap. Next, she brought out two needles sheathed in thin, plastic tubes. She placed the tube over my hand, in a spot where my thumb and index finger meet. Then she took off the top part of the tube and asked me if I was ready. I said yes. Then she took a finger and tapped the needle firmly but gently into my hand. It barely registered. Off slid the tube and there was this super thin needle poking up from my hand. She took the needle and then gently worked it deeper into my hand. I felt this more, but it was nowhere near painful. She remarked I was doing really well.

She repeated this again for my right hand. Only this time, I immediately felt a warmth along my right arm when the needle went in. With two needles sticking out of me, she asked me if I was sore or stiff anywhere before we started. I said my neck was a bit tight. She said she'd leave the needles in for 20 minutes.

For the duration of the 20 minutes, I didn't really feel all that weird. I didn't even feel them anymore. It was then time to take out the needles. Out they came and I checked my neck. It was definitely less tight than it was before. Not as good as a real massage, but there was improvement. She then warned me that where she put the needles in would probably feel sore or achy. She was right. About five minutes after the needles came out, it felt really sore where they were put in, like I had touched my index fingers to my thumb a million times in a row.

I was also warned I might feel a bit tired or light-headed, but that two needles most likely would not be enough to cause that.

After tonight, I have to say I'm a fan of accupuncture. It is a most interesting method of treatment.

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TUESDAY'S TALES

I was very tired throughout the day at work. When it finally ended, I had to go my last softball game of the season. We lost. It left a bitter taste behind.

Then I went out to dinner with the four friends I still hang out with from high school. One of them, Roney is heading off to Manhattan for five months. This was our goodbye for him.

I came home, had a nice conversation with Rhonda and then played Max Payne for a little while. Geez, I'm tempted to play it again now. Nah, I gotta get to bed.

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VIDEO GAMES... TOO BUSY

I'd really like to write a super long post right now, but I got Max Payne in the mail today. Bullet time! Woooommmm!!!

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WHO IS THIS GUY?

A few weeks ago, I made the realization that I know a lot more people at St. John's now than I ever did in first term. By "know" I mean I feel comfortable talking to these people, I can ask them relevant questions about their lives, and go beyond random smalltalk.

What really surprised me is how few people I really knew in first term. From September to December, I basically hung around five people. Out of a residence of nearly 200 people, I really only knew five. I remember one Friday night around October or so, I was going to the Village with Lindsay for dinner. On the way, I got her to tell me about some of the people in the College.

"So, do you know who so and so is?"

"Sorta."

"Do you know what she looks like, where she's from, what's she studying, and where in the College she lives?"

"No."

"How about so and so?"

"Well, I think I've heard his name before, but I don't any know anything about him."

She continued with a list of names, but I gave her similar answers. At dinner, she went on to describe some of the people in the College. It wasn't even gossip just basic stuff like what they looked like and what they were studying.

It was crazy how few people I knew then compared to now. Rhonda is a really good friend of mine here at the College. We talk everyday, but I can't remember if we had a single conversation in first term. The first time I really remember talking to her was in late December when we both attended a going-away brunch for someone. On the way home, I sat next to her on the bus, and I was thinking, "So, this is Rhonda, at least I think that's her name..." So we just started talking.

I have similar stories about how I met other people here. The funniest thing is finding out what people thought of me in first term! I've been asking people lately and some of their answers are interesting.

"You were a bit of a mystery to people, no one knew what you were about"

"Someone mentioned you casually, and from that, I thought you were really mean guy"

"Someone once asked me about you and all I could say was, he has a message board on his door"

"All I knew was that you had a picture of Obi-Wan Kenobi on your door and that made you dangerous... you had skills"

"I thought you were gay... still do"

Well, in second term I had way more work than in first term, but I managed to be much more social. This resulted in me getting to know a lot more people. It certainly helped by playing on the ball hockey team. Even though we lost eight straight games, the losing led to some bonding.

I knew I had reached a milestone one day when I was going for dinner. Early on in the year, I always went to dinner with my friends Nic and Marcia. If they weren't there, I wouldn't feel as comfortable sitting with others. On that particular day though, I realized it didn't matter who I was going to sit with, I would feel comfortable with anyone at my table.

I am glad that I feel more connected with the community here at the College now. It would have been a shame to miss out on all the great people that live here.

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