FOGGY COOL

One of the benefits of living right by the ocean is that you can get some pretty impressive fog rolling in from the water. Today, the whole campus was engulfed in a thick and encompassing fog. While I though the effect was great in the daytime, it only got better when the sun went down.

Everything looked very eerie. I'm almost sure the fog was even thicker and heavier at night. Buildings were shrouded in a mist of white-grey. All the street lights looked different as their lights bounced off all the water droplets in the air. It was very cool indeed.

I went on a short walk around midnight with my camera to take some quick shots. I was only out there a half hour or so, but the fog was so thick, my hair was wet from just walking through it! I don't think I've ever experienced that before. Unfortunately, the pictures do not even come close to capturing the fog we had tonight.

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DUMB

I've been working on the last question of my AI assignment for like two days now. I know for a fact the solution is easy and simple. The prof even said so. For some reason though, I can't seem to get it. I feel really, really dumb.

Meanwhile, all my other work is slipping by. That's no good. Someone who manages their time well would realize this and then move onto tasks. I'm afraid this is what I'm going to need to do. The assignment is due on Monday.

In the interim, go watch the latest trailer for Return of the King. It's worth it.

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WILL IRON FOR FOOD

Sometime around 3am, I made a bleary-eyed vow to myself that I wouldn't touch that damn Jedi Academy for 24 hours. I had just spent two hours on a "little break" after doing some very minor amounts of schoolwork. I felt shame, regret, and remorse. I'm sure those are sure signs of addictions. I'm pretty sure I could have finished my AI assignment by now had I put that much time in it as I did with the game.

I was so tired today because I went to bed around 4:30am. I felt so bad about gaming, I put in some time on my assignment. I went to one class, ate lunch, got my haircut, marked an assignment, took a 15 minute nap, and then ate dinner.

After dinner, I partook in a little arrangement I have with my friend Rhonda. A few weeks back, we were talking about things we hate doing. We both hate doing dishes. Then she mentioned she didn't like ironing clothes, with I actually do enjoy. The act of ironing calms me down, it's quite soothing. You can't rush ironing clothes, so it just naturally slows you down. It's meditative. Sometimes while I iron, I see other places, the future, the past. Also, the goal of ironing is to remove the wrinkles from your clothes and to straighten them out. From a metaphorical point of view, I'm trying to do with my life what I'm doing to clothes. Neatness. Order. Crispness.

Anyways, Rhonda came up with the idea that if I ironed her clothes, she'd cook for me (something I enjoy too, but that she is immensely better at than I). So tonight, I ironed a blouse and a pair of pants for her. I think I did a fairly good job. I usually don't iron for other people, so I had added pressure. Get it?!?!!? Ha ha ha...

The funny thing is both of us think we're getting a sweet deal of the arrangement. To be truthful though, I'm getting more out of this than her. Come on! A blouse and a pair of pants for a nicely cooked dinner? It's a steal for me. To be fair, I'll only get her to cook an entree or something.

And I'll finish with the weird coincidence of the night. I was leaving dinner and walking back with Michelle who's in 2nd year Med.

"Erwin, did you work at EA with a guy named Mike?"

"Mike? Yeah, I worked with lots of guys named Mike. Mike Wong?"

"Yeah, that's him. He found your website. He's my lab partner. He read that you live in St. John's and he knew I lived there too."

"Wow. So Mike is in Med too?"

"Yeah."

Mike Wong, if you're reading this, congratulations on making it into UBC medical school. I am sure you are one of the very few, if not the first, to have worked as an EA tester, then moved onto med school. See guys and gals? If you work hard in your SKU, write up bugs nicely, volunteer to work lots of overtime, and be nice to your lead, you too can be a doctor someday.

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CATCH ME IF YOU CAN

So after working like a Latin American sweat shop employee for the last two weeks, I've finally caught up with all my school work. I have an assignment due tomorrow that I'm pretty much done and happy with. The students in my tutorial will have all their assignments marked and returned tomorrow. I'm also where I need to be in terms of reading for all my classes. I should be in this situation for the rest of the term, there is really no excuse to be otherwise.

Of course, this can all change in a day. In a day, a prof can give out another assignment, ask you to read another chapter, or hand out another paper to analyze. Also, like clockwork, my students will have another assignment for me to mark tomorrow.

The only concern I have is my grad course in Artificial Intelligence. I've never taken a course in AI before and though this one is supposed to be introductory in nature, it is still a grad course, which means it'll be fast, it'll intense, and I'm guessing it won't be easy. There are many easy grad courses out there and I took several (to my delight) last year. AI, though, I just have a feeling this is gonna be tough one.

The first assignment for AI is due next Monday, so I have eight days to do. I'm really nervous about it. I should start now. Like right now. Human logic is well, illogical sometimes, so because I'm scared of my assignment, I'm going to clean my room, vacuum my floor, and perhaps do my dishes. Then I'm going to play croquet. Well, if I'm done my chores early, I might play video games. The main thing is I'm not going to start my assignment just yet... 'cause that'd be the intelligent thing to do.

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