I'm not sure when they started this contest, but Safeway has been handing out these little prize booklets to their customers. They're celebrating their diamond anniversary or something. Anyways, you're supposed to spell out the words "SAFEWAY", "DIAMOND", and "75". You get three random letters per booklet.

So far, I have "A", "E", "I", "M", "O", and "Y".

If anyone has different letters, let me know, maybe we can get one of the words.

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As heard on Joey on Thursday night:

I'm twenty years old man, I shouldn't be living with my Mom. Everyone at school makes fun of me. And it's not like these are the cool kids, they're not quarterbacks... engineers!

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I am almost certain that back in undergrad had I been forced to commute from Coquitlam to UBC everyday, I would have dropped out of school. Or, I might have transfered to SFU... nah, I wouldn't sink that low. I keed!

Seriously though, this commute is wilting my will to live. When I come home, I feel like there's a sheen of dirt all over my body, and I'm not even talking about my oily T-zone. Oh, and being packed in thoses buses like sardines with the unwashed masses, that's no fun. I have noticed something though, the 99B pretty much empties out at Granville because no one is retarded enough (unlike me currently) to live so far from UBC.

Tonight, I came home all bloated, damnit get me some Midol. I try to drink as much water as I can when I'm on-campus, but it never seems enough.

I feel another swear coming on.

fuck

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A poll released this week revealed that 30 out of 35 countries would rather have John Kerry at the helm of the United States than George W. Bush. This only reaffirms my faith in the rest of the world, while reinforcing my belief that most citizens of the US have gone completely crazy.

In other news, reports have surfaced today that reveal Bush balked at a direct order from his superiors while "serving" in the Texas Air National Guard. These reports also put into question again whether or not Bush actually completed his service to the ANG.

Can someone explain to me why Kerry is supposed to be the weak guy when it comes to military decisions? How can the Republicans even keep a straight face when they tell Americans Bush is the better military leader? Oh, I forgot, it's because Americans eat this crap up like there's no tomorrow.

Yeah, Bush is better at being a leader because he refused to finish his country-club tour through the ANG. Kerry is weak because he actually was in combat in Vietnam and we all know pussies win Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star, and a Silver Star.

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I went to school today even though I didn't have to. Of course, I didn't realize this until I was sitting with 20 other students waiting for the prof to arrive. You see, I thought I had a night class at 6pm today. I missed the entire hockey game to attend this class. I got onto a bus at 3pm crowded with punks high school kids to get to UBC on time.

When I got to the classroom at 6pm, five minutes went by, then ten, and then fifteen. Finally, some guy with a laptop and wireless figured out the class web site. He told everyone the prof had written the first class would be next week not this week. Too bad the web site address isn't listed anywhere on the Internet. He had to guess it. I don't feel too stupid because 20 other engineering graduate students were there with me.

Having felt like my entire day was stolen from me, I tried to see how I could salvage the day. I decided to head on over to SJC since it was dinner time there. I managed to see the new resident that bought my fridge and picked up a cheque from her. I also got to see the old gang, Frank, Phil, Sarah, Bryan, Jeff, Sean, Carl... I even got to see Miriam who's visiting from England. I met a few new people as well.

After that, I got my ass back onto a bus for the trip home. Man, what a waste of a day.

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I just have to mention this in a public forum. I'm already ornery from the commute today, so bear with me.

Over the last couple of days, I've read some e-mails from some new residents of St. John's College. They've quaintly abbrievated St. John's College as "STJ". What the hell is that? The abbrievation that has been in place for years and that is in common use is "SJC". One letter for each word in "St. John's College".

Bah, this taking transit to UBC is making me go crazy.

I feel a swear coming on....

Yep, here it is...

fuck

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Tuesday will be a milestone day in my life. It will be the first day where I am enrolled in university yet I will not be living on-campus. I have completed seven years of post-secondary education in my life. Each and every one of those days where class was in session, I woke up that morning in residence. I have never commuted to university in my entire life. I know nothing other than having to walk to class. I have never feared traffic jams nor broken down buses. Forgetting an assignment at home has meant nothing to me. Packing a lunch? Why the hell would I do that?

On Tuesday, everything changes. Well, actually not really. On Tuesday, I'm sitting in on a class that I'm not even taking. Then I have a meeting at 4pm. I still have to bus it out to UBC though. I have my first real class on Wednesday, after which I don't have to be at UBC until next week. Tough, eh?

Seriously though, I'll start packing my bag with more care. I can't forget important documents. I'll have to remember to bring all my pens, pencils, and a ruler. I'll have to pack food for when there's no time to run off to grab a bite to eat. I'll have to actually read the weather reports to plan what to wear, rather than dressing for the next hour or so.

I'll just need to hold on until September 20 and then I can go back to all my old habits again.

I've written this before and I'm going to again, I hate the first couple weeks of a new term. Everything feels so unsettled. I feel so unsure about how the term is supposed to go. I'm always wondering what classes to take. I'm scared I'll pick the wrong ones. And even when I do pick them, I'm always thinking if I made the right choice. To be honest, I like it better several weeks in, because even though the real work has started, I'm into a groove by then. I know what to expect and I'm moving along.

So, here comes Tuesday, the first day of school. Hey, I'm not even sure when I need to catch the bus to get to class on time!

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Whenever TV news channels do their coverage on election night, invariably sometime during the evening, someone will utter the phrase, "(insert new channel) projects (insert candidate's name) to be the winner..." Well, even though the US presidential election is still two months away, the political analysts here at erwintang.com are ready to make a confident projection.

erwintang.com projects that George W. Bush will win re-election as President of the United States.

So, you must be wondering if this projection was made with any real analysis or if I did it off the top of my head. Yes, I did do some thinking about it, though I didn't analyze any polls. The whole reason why I have made this projection is based on one conclusion I have made: the average American voter has completely lost all common sense and the ability to use logic. Why do I think this? Allow me to explain.

We'll deal with the invasion of Iraq first, since it's the one point I can't seem to understand the most. Ok, so on September 11, 2001, al-Qaida operatives, at the direction of Osama bin Laden, crashed two hijacked airliners into the World Trade Centre in New York City. All intelligence points towards bin Laden as the mastermind. Bush rallies the world behind his cause, and the hunt begins in Afghanistan for bin Laden and his supporters. Unfortunately, he is not found. The search continues for weeks, months, and now years.

In the meantime, Bush worked in the background to link Iraq with al-Qaida. He attempted to find evidence of "weapons of mass destruction" programs in Iraq. On January 28, 2003, Bush delivered his State of the Union address in which he outlined the "danger" that Iraq posed to the United States. The claims he made though, were completely overstated. The claim that Iraq pursued uranium from Africa was made from bad intelligence. And those, much vaunted WMDs? Over a year later after the invasion, there is still no hard evidence of their existence.

Nearly a year and a half since the occupation of Iraq began, the justifications for going to war seem extremely weak. Yet somehow, the Bush administration's bending of reality has led 7 out of 10 Americans to believe that Iraq was involved with the terrorist attacks of 9/11, even though no evidence of this exists. Does this bother anyone else as much as it does me?

As an American, I would start putting the pieces together: nearly a thousand American lives lost in Iraq so far for a war that is still looking for real justification, a misleading of the American public, and a failure to concentrate on Afghanistan where bin Laden still hides. Why doesn't anyone ask why there are more troops in Iraq than in Afghanistan?

Yet over 50% of Americans still believe it was the right thing to do to invade Iraq. Why?

Back to my original argument: the average American voter has completely lost all common sense and the ability to use logic. The average American voter has no desire to examine facts or to think for themselves. I believe that after 9/11, the average American voter was looking for the US to attack any Arab country, no matter who it was, and no matter what justifications came along. As long Bush took military action in the Middle East, most Americans would support him regardless. That he invaded Iraq was good enough. The fact that the presidential race is a dead heat proves that the Iraq debacle had amazingly, no effect on the public.

Second, let's deal with the whole swift boat issue with John Kerry. Not surprisingly, Americans want a president who can take decisive, thoughtful, and confident military decisions. Let's compare the candidates, starting with Bush first. Bush has never been in combat and his military service consisted merely of flying Air National Guard jets over the unfriendly skies of Texas. Questions still remain whether or not Bush indeed fully complete his ANG requirements. Now, we turn to John Kerry. He enlisted to serve in Vietnam and saw combat on several occasions. By the time the war ended, he was decorated with two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star, and a Silver Star. Unfortunately, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth group dumped a whole boatload of BS on Kerry's record. And like a newborn piglet, the American public lapped it up like so much milk from a sow's teat.

For me, this one is a complete no-brainer. Kerry served in the military. I'm not talking about flying planes over oil fields, Kerry saw combat in Vietnam. He saw what war, bullets, and bombs did to soldiers. I would know he knew what the consequences of war would be. I would trust he knew what it meant to go to war and that it would not and could not be a lightly regarded decision. I'd also know that if he did go to war, his resolve would be strong, to the tune of two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star, and a Silver Star. Despite all this, most Americans still believe Bush would do a better job protecting the US from terrorists.

Why? Because I believe the average American voter has completely lost all common sense and the ability to use logic.

I could go on with more examples of average Americans eating up other lies and half-truths, but I want to go to bed. Thus, I will make my concluding remarks. Despite all the reasons not to vote for Bush, despite what common sense tells us, an overwhelming percentage of Americans will vote for Bush in November. The sooner everyone realizes this, the sooner we can get ready for the next set of conflicts in North Korea and Iran.

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