tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-153691302011-04-21T14:43:20.987-05:00Stage twoAmirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.comBlogger761100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-14162690886065097452008-01-23T19:02:00.000-06:002008-01-24T01:12:49.526-06:00

He reached out to me and although the first inquiry almost lacked enough information to make a little suspicious, I felt slightly flattered. Interested in me? My future plans? I could contribute? Without much else going for me, I agreed to meet.And I left the meeting with ambivalence rooted to the core. He opened his mouth and talked so intently and quickly that I couldn't so much as breathe for

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-61976574998299510012008-01-02T16:29:00.000-06:002008-01-02T17:23:08.991-06:00

Happy new year to everyone. May 2008 bring better times for us all.Spoiler alert!I just saw the movie Namesake. It helped me and another friend round out 2007 and welcome in 2008 in one of the most mellow ways possible. I enjoyed the movie and felt that I could relate to it quite a bit--my family following a somewhat similar storyline in coming to the USA. Anyway, the movie stirred up some

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1762942453491530482007-11-25T01:59:00.000-06:002007-11-25T01:01:36.198-06:00

My year off came to an end in early August, and to mark the transition I found myself heading back to the aca-duh-me. During my year off I finally started to live a more fulfilling life. After my college escapades in NY--a state that had deceptively caputred my imagination growing up in the Midwest--I retreated back to the Heartland; back to my parents' home to regain my bearings and heal from a

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-11399660825477970932007-06-23T15:33:00.000-05:002007-06-23T15:45:20.655-05:00

Two long but fascinating articles about China and India.Impasse in India - by Pankaj Mishra in the New York Review of Books. A review of, and analysis of the issues raised in, The Clash Within: Democracy, Religious Violence, and India's Future by Martha C. Nussbaum.Empire of Lies - by Guy Sorman in City Journal. An analysis of China's economic development and communist regime.

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-29130727852581970592007-06-06T23:16:00.000-05:002007-06-07T00:43:03.659-05:00

I wish I knew where to start or how to begin. There have been a few nights since that May 8th post when I felt an inkling of a desire to seat myself in front of the computer and begin to type up some sort of post that would pass as a summary of my past year and provide some sort of explanation for my prolonged silence.I haven't been able to, though. For one thing, lately I only seem to get the

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-83810263651669470942007-05-08T09:11:00.000-05:002007-05-08T01:11:49.648-05:00

I guess it's time to start coming out of hiberation? More to come soon. -ish. I hope.

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1161581893147338912006-10-23T00:37:00.000-05:002006-10-24T02:37:09.360-05:00

The internet used to be thought of as a new frontier, a new, untamed "wild west" of sorts. The internet offered anonymity, privacy in addition to the functional benefits of staying connected and accessing almost unlimited amounts of information. Of course, this new frontier also introduced new worries. It offered opportunities for scammers to find new prey around the world (who hasn't received

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1160719298471347922006-10-12T23:48:00.000-05:002006-10-14T15:19:45.386-05:00

I just came across two articles USA Today has recently published about blog lawsuits. Far from just concerning a antics of a few outrageous bloggers, these articles should concern almost anyone who blogs or even just posts stuff online in messageboards or comments.One article: Jury awards $11.3M over defamatory Internet posts"A Florida woman has been awarded $11.3 million in a defamation lawsuit

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1156446832997886382006-08-24T13:53:00.000-05:002006-08-24T14:25:19.676-05:00

I've been enjoying almost every moment at home since I graduated. It's been relaxing, refreshing, rejuvenating, whatever you want to call it. But then the war broke out between Israel and Lebanon, and although that did almost nothing to change my summer, it introduced an element of distress. I found myself worried for a friend who was stuck in Beirut, and just as worried for my family members

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1154241171653211192006-07-29T23:38:00.000-05:002006-07-30T01:56:53.906-05:00

I'm starving and fuming because I boycotted our family dinner tonight. Aside from the immediate circumstances leading up to this, my action perhaps represents the culmination of a summer full of tension between me and my sister.Despite the glaring differences that make my sister and I so extremely unalike I think that my she might be in the same tough stage I just escaped. My sister is a social

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1152401533810666692006-07-08T18:19:00.000-05:002006-07-08T18:36:37.616-05:00

If bears hibernate all winter, I guess I'm just the opposite. I'm sorry for not writing for such a long time. I didn't mean it this way. Just after graduation (and yes, shockingly, graduation went by without a glitch) my family whisked me off with them to Vancouver and Alaska, and when I finally got home from the trip I collapsed into a deep slumber.I'm sure you all know that after three insanely

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1148669237840719192006-05-26T13:38:00.000-05:002006-05-26T13:47:17.863-05:00

Thank you all for your encouraging comments on the last post again. It's This will likely be my last post as a college student. My parents, grandparents and sister flew in today and they're on their way to my room now. I could have stayed in here until Monday, but I'm choosing to leave early. I just need to get out. I need this whole experience to be over with. This whole week has dragged on, and

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1148264302375158192006-05-21T20:49:00.000-05:002006-05-21T21:37:56.953-05:00

Thank you for your encouraging words in the comments of my last post. They really gave me much-needed encouragement when I was feeling quite hopeless. Here's what happened...After hearing from the Assistant Dean of my dorm that it would be too much of a hassle to move me rather than politely ask the person to whom they sold my room to relocate, I sent a long letter to him, along with a counselor

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1147850180583667182006-05-17T03:10:00.000-05:002006-05-17T02:18:16.920-05:00

Well, I have my last final this Thursday night, but I've been almost completely unable to study. All that's been on my mind is this housing mess that I described in my last post. It's consuming me, keeping me up at night, and it's almost all I can think about during the day.It looks like they want me out. They offered me a room in an adjacent building, and they've apologized, but they still want

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1147738711622387592006-05-15T18:56:00.000-05:002006-05-16T17:00:39.220-05:00

The hell of last week is over, and now I have to deal with the hell of the next two weeks. I turned in my thesis on Friday and also checked one final exam of my list. I'm pretty happy with the thesis. I was a bit nervous since my advisor didn't confirm that he received it or anything like that. The grade was due today. To my relief, I heard from him today.I have a nasty situation going on with

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1147223302749711932006-05-09T20:04:00.000-05:002006-05-09T20:10:36.163-05:00

Just a note from the sidelines, or work-nonstop headquarters, however you choose to view my current situation. Thesis is work is coming along well... I have till Friday to hand it in. It's looking like it might end up being a solid 60 pages--and that's thanks to the luxury of my stories being long enough t0 allow me to drop a bunch of stuff I originally thought I would include. This spares me so

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1146983674955834652006-05-07T01:19:00.000-05:002006-05-07T01:39:06.083-05:00

He told me today that he spent his whole life trying to escape the wealth connection. He was aware of how coming from good money and a good family can make life good. Good things kept coming his way, and he said that he desperately wanted to believe that it was not because he could fill a pool with hundred dollar bills if he wanted. "I'm just me," he said. Despite all the money, "I'm just me."It

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1146881855526971622006-05-05T21:12:00.000-05:002006-05-05T21:17:35.543-05:00

Well, today was my third and final "Slope Day" as a student. On the final day of classes, the University organizes a big outdoor event on the slope leading down to west campus. There are some freebies, food, and live music. This year The Acceptance, Talib Kweli, and Ben Folds all performed for us.It was all right. I was out there in the sun for four hours hodge-podging between friends, trying to

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1146529856471607542006-05-01T19:14:00.000-05:002006-05-01T19:56:29.860-05:00

I might have said in Fall 2005 that this year was my final stretch. Then I probably said in January 2006 that this semester was my final stretch. Then in late March 2006 after spring break, it was my real final stretch with no breaks left. But now, this... This is my real final stretch.It's officially May and I have two weeks until the official deadline for my thesis. I have one final after that,

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1146288266747500512006-04-29T00:07:00.000-05:002006-04-29T00:30:26.656-05:00

Well, it looks like the unamusing, ironic joke was on me. Not that I was starting to get big-headed from a pleasant social calendar of events for today, but I was at least looking forward to a day of some non-academic fun. Not much fun was to be found.First of all, the friend who I was supposed to meet in the afternoon never showed up. I got out of work half an hour early just to meet her at the

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1146188803829323422006-04-27T20:34:00.000-05:002006-04-27T20:48:29.176-05:00

Well, there's not much new to report. I have a little more than two weeks until my senior project is due. I'm not very far along, but I think I have a good idea of what I need to do to wrap things up. I think I will try to take the next week off of work at physics so I can have a week of almost uninterrupted writing minus classes.I can't belive it's almost May already. April went by in an

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1145600790429233322006-04-21T01:05:00.000-05:002006-04-21T01:26:30.456-05:00

This week has been a wreck. Spring is really here and so are all the awful pollens and ragweeds and who knows what. My sleep deprivation and all the allergens in the air have been conspiring to shut me down. What started out as a mild itch, and slight bluish tired-bags, under my eyes escalated into redness, a burning itch, and swelling on the bottom of one of my eye lids.Sleep has been tougher to

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1145344272939373412006-04-18T01:21:00.000-05:002006-04-18T02:42:24.873-05:00

The senior engineering student sat next to me, the one from India--where in that huge, diverse subcontinent I do not know. He was all to ready to call himself "Asian." We had never met before, and faciliated by a mutual friend we went through the motions of an introduction.I asked him what his major was and he replied "electrical engineering." He asked me the same question, and I replied "College

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1145172037048214862006-04-16T01:58:00.000-05:002006-04-16T02:37:07.430-05:00

She snapped at me to shut the door because she had something to tell me. She appeared agitated, and nervous, and repeated that she wanted to tell me something. I did as she asked, and let out a nervous chuckle, "Is everything all right?" I always get nervous when people announce to me that they want to say to me something in private before actually doing so."I've been very distracted this

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1144991740618310542006-04-13T23:46:00.000-05:002006-04-14T00:43:42.340-05:00

Welp, I think spring is finally here. That's kind of a risky statement to make considering that we were fighting off some snow accumulation a little over a week ago, but nevertheless, I think spring is finally here. For the last few weeks I have not had to wear four layers of clothing. I wore three for a short while, but these days I'm down to two. Two layers of clothing sounds like a good place

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1144746650297093652006-04-11T04:35:00.000-05:002006-04-11T04:30:52.250-05:00

Wow, something just isn't right. I spotted dark blue-black bags under my eyes this evening and thought I'd crash into bed, into dreamland tonight. Instead, it's past 4:30 A.M. and I can't fall asleep for the life of me. My brain aches from sleep deprivation, but I can't get it to shut down and let my exhausted self be. Hmph. Something about this insomnia thing is going to have to give soon, I

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1144380486872161712006-04-06T21:51:00.000-05:002006-04-06T22:50:40.733-05:00

Just when I thought that my long history of trouble with the University administration reached an end I was infuriated to run into more of the same this week. See, Martin Luther King Jr.'s son is the graduation speaker this year, and ever since I found out I've been eagerly awaiting to see and hear him speak. You would think that every graduating senior, at the very least, would be entitled

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1144114602831734642006-04-03T20:11:00.000-05:002006-04-03T20:44:29.536-05:00

Last night I had a category-five headache that kept me up till way too late. I couldn't fall asleep and then somehow I woke up with the same pounding headache; and so the minute I opened my eyes I just wanted the day to be over. I dragged myself around campus all day with that Katrina-kinda headache and then fainted into bed the minute I got back to my room. Sleeping it off was a good idea. After

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1143785833444777912006-03-31T00:30:00.000-06:002006-04-01T14:40:35.580-06:00

Once I dreamt of being an astrophysicist. I romanticized the thought of having a job that regularly involved spending quiet nights gazing at the stars, moons, and planets from the high deserts or quiet mountaintops flanked with telescope arrays. So in high school, when I was still young, ideaslistic, motivated, and fortunate enough to be taking college classes paid by the state I decided to take

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1143698315551341032006-03-30T00:56:00.000-06:002006-03-30T00:08:28.813-06:00

With a little over a month left to whip up my final project I've forced myself to get serious. I've rearranged my work schedule so that now I can devote every Tuesday to working on my thesis/project/whateveryouwanttocallit. This has necessitated some painful sacrifices: I had to swap my Tuesday schedule with Friday--my only free day of the week. So instead of being easy and bookish on Fridays for

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1143360341262975462006-03-26T17:59:00.000-06:002006-03-26T15:35:40.813-06:00

Well, I'm back at school. Excuse me as I unpack and stress about upcoming deadlines. Although my life feels dull the music hasn't stopped playing. If I'm short on words these days, take a bored moment to amuse yourself with some lists.My recently listened tracks:My most-listened tracks of the week:

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1143358691442741562006-03-26T01:25:00.000-06:002006-03-29T01:09:01.143-06:00

Well, much to my own dismay, I have been completely unable to bring myself to write. Life has been terribly mediocre and mundane, yet I really can't complain. That being said, I haven't been living for much of anything these days--just waiting for enough ticks of the clock till I graduate and somehow expecting that all the work I need to do between now and then will get done.Flying back to

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1141941057541584322006-03-09T15:13:00.000-06:002006-03-09T16:33:46.546-06:00

I went to the Commencement Office today ready to put up a fight. An e-mail and a phone call hadn't been enough to get them to send me the graduation materials that I rightly deserved and the that the other seniors had already received a week and a half ago. Instead, yesterday I received a mass e-mail from the Commencement Office in which they declared that all the packets had been sent out a

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1141709858365817642006-03-06T23:25:00.000-06:002006-03-06T23:52:25.663-06:00

Not that I'm much of a writer these days, but I've been experiencing writer's block lately and running into other sorts of annoying, but not too significant, blocks.I'm getting four credits this semester to write my thesis/senior project/whateveryouwanttocallit/whatIneedtofinishtograduate. Hm. It's mostly four credits of unsupervised work, which is rather heavenly. I secretly promised myself that

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1141192090766724922006-03-01T01:24:00.000-06:002006-03-01T13:58:25.730-06:00

When I'm wrapped up in whatever it may be, I sometimes catch myself scribbling down the date on the top-right side of my day's worth of class notes, or I'll notice it on TV or the bottom-right hand corner of my computer monitor. Today I noticed Feb. 28, 2006 and the thoughts came rushing into my head.Yesterday evening I found myself stretched out on my bed attempting to do government readings. A

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1140814284133471082006-02-24T15:49:00.000-06:002006-02-24T23:51:54.636-06:00

Freshman year Fridays were the day I dreaded most because class began at 9 a.m. and the hell-sent day with no breaks spat me out around 4:30 p.m. only after a finale of 4 torturous hours in chemistry lab. The weekend didn't start out all too well either because I often left lab reliving the horrors of experiments almost exploding in my face, bitchy impatient lab-assistants, or completely knocked

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1140337314739422182006-02-19T17:52:00.000-06:002006-04-03T21:34:14.796-05:00

If you're perceptive, you'll see them on the weekends digging through the trashbins, hoping to be the first to collect the empty beer bottles and cans that accumulated during the previous day and night's worth of partying. They're the ones we see on a daily basis strolling through our halls. They clean up our ivy-league shit and piss stains off the toilets, each and every one. They empty out

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1139649435645524512006-02-11T04:25:00.000-06:002006-02-12T01:35:08.730-06:00

My brain is ringing with echoes of foreign accents. They crossed several continents and oceans, a distant cousin and two friends. They wanted to see what an "American Uni" was like, and perhaps they got more than they bargained for.For weeks before their arrival I had been rehearsing my one plea, "just promise me you won't get drunk and sick." Before we went out, I managed to squeeze out my

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1139553828496448202006-02-10T00:09:00.000-06:002006-02-10T00:57:54.790-06:00

Sometimes my mind drifts to a place where I wonder what is there left to live for? I know the answer to that question: I have a loving family, I've had an overall good life, I've had a good education and maybe I have potential to do something good some day. I live for the people I love and who love me, and I live for the hope that I could someday take part in making the world just a little more

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1139206384108265802006-02-06T02:53:00.000-06:002006-02-06T02:00:02.826-06:00

The say that if you go to a college like this you should have a bright future. We live in an elite (-ist?) society so all the Ivy Leaguers, Stanfordians, Northwesterners and the like are supposed to have bright employment opportunities. Most of the graduates eagerly work their way into the vicious bureaucracies and tangled up hierarchies of corporate America. The few who don't tend to follow the

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1138823615710241192006-02-01T13:36:00.000-06:002006-02-01T13:56:43.240-06:00

11:15 a.m. I wake up in a sticky, confused sweat, although feeling bewilderingly refreshed--something that doesn't happen on weekday mornings. I slept through my alarm clock, and as I was rolling out of bed my first class was already beginning.Damn, I think, jumping out of bed, hoping to toss on some decent clothes, snag my backpack and run up to class. I quickly abandoned the idea, statistics

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1138141640945967272006-01-24T16:14:00.000-06:002006-01-24T16:33:52.693-06:00

The first few days of a new semester are like a broken record that repeats every year. The same song, same scene, same mayhem repeats and repeats. The sidewalks connecting the campus buildings swell more than ever during passing time as seemingly 95% of the students who don't normally show up to class make a forced showing to the first lecture, or two. The bookstore resembles an ant hill with

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1137900783504740292006-01-21T21:30:00.000-06:002006-01-21T21:33:03.520-06:00

I made it back to New York, but who knows about my luggage. Luckily I split my stuff between two suitcases, so I'm not at a complete loss with one missing. But still, what a pain in the ass. This really is a little bit of a nightmare, and all too parallel to my awful journey back to NY after winter break last year.I really miss my toothbrush.Classes start on Monday.

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1137817113600971582006-01-21T04:40:00.000-06:002006-01-21T05:00:15.416-06:00

After writing my last post, I slipped into something of a narcoleptic episode. In the midst of sitting up from my bed and wiping those cobwebs off my eyes I decided that with more than a week at home, I ought to continue to take it easy and have fun, even if that means being a bum.In truth, that period of proto-awakening consisted of a string of 3 or 4 days in which I had plans back to back. It

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1137055337270982212006-01-12T02:35:00.000-06:002006-01-12T02:45:00.063-06:00

The past four weeks of my life have whizzed by in a quick blur. My canker sores have long healed; I've just about had my fill of re-runs of TV shows I've never seen before; and I think I've spent enough time in my bed and on the couch to leave permanent imprints. I have almost nothing to show for this most recent crash and burn event in my life, but that's OK. I suppose a good dose of hiberation

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1135150406672435602005-12-21T01:31:00.000-06:002005-12-21T01:39:57.413-06:00

Daily temperatures in the single digits and windchills in the negative teens since I got home have made for perfect hiberation weather. I don't think I've ever felt more like a bear before, and this makes me awfully jealous of their winter lifestyles. Anyway, I've been sleeping anywhere from 9 - 11 hours nightly and passing my waking hours in a semi-conscious state. While it's given me a much

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1134535187052497702005-12-13T22:12:00.000-06:002005-12-13T22:39:47.066-06:00

The nightmare is over. I finished my work. I made it home. Things sure came down to the wire. At 11:59 p.m. yesterday night I still had two papers that I had yet to write and had yet to begin my packing. I typed and revised and copy-edited my way into the night, and by 6 a.m. I had e-mailed my two last papers to the respective professors. I have to say, I wouldn't call any of those essays a

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1134197435299728432005-12-10T01:46:00.000-06:002005-12-10T00:50:35.313-06:00

When I get home it will feel like the whole semester went by in the blink of an eye. But can somebody tell me why it feels like the most agonizing days with the most work seem incredibely long? Finals week is ticking away at snails' pace, and it's just painful.Here's a quick update though. I offically completed one paper and handed it in. I finished another paper tonight, but I won't be able to

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1134015288196451092005-12-07T21:35:00.000-06:002005-12-08T02:07:09.996-06:00

My attempt to go to bed around 8 p.m. tonight (because I feel like crap) has been effectively thwarted. Around 10 p.m. I woke up to the sound of my neighbors chatting and laughing obnoxiously outside of my door. Thanks a lot friends.After lingering awake in my bed for 10 minutes, I decided not to fight it anymore and to get up. I go to the bathroom to take care of some business and as I head back

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1133763352920871332005-12-05T00:07:00.000-06:002005-12-05T00:18:32.840-06:00

My paper writing has been going quite awfully. I can't say I've finished any of my four papers. I can't say I've made a serious attempt at starting more than one. Wow, time's ticking: got a week left. It's not that I'm lazy or whatever, I'm just not feeling too well and I'm so overwhelmed at the scope of this work load. Fast forward my life by 10 days, please!!!In other news, I took a break to go

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1133477231100582982005-12-01T18:05:00.000-06:002005-12-01T17:06:54.746-06:00

Leaving home from Thanksgiving was dreadful knowing what lies ahead. My last stretch of the semester is especially short and loaded with deadlines. I have less than two weeks now until I'll be flying home again for winter break, but in that short period of time I have so much to survive.I got back here on Sunday, and this week is the last week of classes. Unfortunately, classes and regular

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1133059316005037082005-11-26T20:43:00.000-06:002005-11-26T20:54:46.200-06:00

It was great to be home for Thanksgiving. I didn't do a whole lot, which was perfect. I slept better in the last three nights than I have in the last three months at school, which was amazing. Very refreshing. Of course, then I felt tired all day because I actually got a good night's sleep for a change. What's up with that? Well, at least it was the good kind of tired.More than anything, I told

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1132636786500884372005-11-21T23:09:00.000-06:002005-11-21T23:25:16.923-06:00

I haven't done anything significant these last few weeks. I've expended all of my energy on my two jobs, packaging physics labs and failing again and again to teach a class of rambunctious 7th graders, and on school work. I've been walking around campus lately always sleep deprived and fluctuating between two main emotions: complete anger at some of my professors, and feeling totally overwhelmed

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1132286858395619282005-11-17T22:41:00.000-06:002005-11-17T22:14:49.360-06:00

How do you explain to your professors that your neighbor and her boyfriend kept you up all night as they indulged in insanely uninhibited sex until 4 a.m?Last night filled up my cup of patience with her. See, this girl, who lives next door to me in a tiny 10'x10' single room, like mine, has effectively decided to let her boyfriend come live with her. I see him every night as we both cross paths

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1131690355694193252005-11-11T01:25:00.000-06:002005-11-11T00:44:28.680-06:00

I can't seem to go too long without an angry post these days. Let me just say that this past day was my half birthday. Halfway through 20?! Yes, I do remember those things. It's a shame that the few dates in my life that I consider special have to be so crappy. For the last two years my birthday has been during or days before final exams, and my half birthday this year got me fuming with

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1131084824695988542005-11-04T12:59:00.000-06:002005-11-04T00:32:32.526-06:00

The last few nights I've been submerged in ice-cold showers, emerging out of them with my teeth clanking. Aside from really pissing me off, it's made me realize that I need to change my showering schedule if I expect any hope of experiencing warm water again. I'm devastated that this might mean an end to my 2 a.m. showers; but hey, since showering is the last thing I do before bed, this change

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1130732016746776472005-10-30T22:48:00.000-06:002005-10-30T22:31:58.186-06:00

Pre-enrollment for spring courses begins at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow morning. When I was a freshman and didn't know better, I made the effort to wake up as soon as the online queues opened. Of course, the morning would go by with me maybe locking in two classes if I were lucky. And of course, by the end of the week I somehow always got the classes that I wanted. I wasn't the only big loser for waking

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1130479514868153152005-10-28T00:45:00.000-05:002005-10-28T01:14:59.930-05:00

Nearly halfway through the semester, I want to stop and look back on the time that passed in the blink of an eye that got me to this point. Made it to the middle; I'm at rock bottom and it's an uphill climb to the top at the end. This could be the worst. My life these days is fused to the clock, so even if I want to stop and look back, time pushes me forward.Despite my hectic schedule, I'm

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1129785094846602502005-10-20T00:36:00.000-05:002005-10-21T23:02:43.300-05:00

I really needed to take a year off before I started college. Lord knows how hard I worked in high school to get into this one (snobbish like the rest) ivy league university and rejected from all the others I applied to. I took all honors classes, two and a half hours a of an evening program twice a week, volunteering on Sunday mornings at the community center, extracurriculars at school, and

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1129230327534535542005-10-13T13:40:00.000-05:002005-10-14T21:41:40.390-05:00

Three to four meaningful and thought-provoking contributions to class each day will earn you an A for your participation grade, so my professor determined when he wrote up the class syllabus. People dropped the class like dead flies after the first day, but I stayed. Not many people remained, we're only a class of five students now and we meet once a week for two hours.Since the class is so long

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1128925890880640472005-10-10T01:31:00.000-05:002005-10-10T01:42:10.716-05:00

A few weeks into my freshman year at college, about a month after I bought new glasses, my dorm's social committee decided to throw a dorm-wide game of capture the flag. In my effort to be social and make new friends, I decided to join in.About 100 of us descended upon the Arts Quad around dusk and split into our two teams: the west side of the dorm versus the east side. We each claimed our half

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1128393385206052872005-10-03T21:35:00.000-05:002005-10-06T23:51:06.456-05:00

I had a wonderful time in New York, New York. It was nice because I got to get out of school, and because I got to see family whom I love very much, and because the wedding was amazing, small, elegant, and classy. The couple picked out this place on the tip of Manhattan overlooking the statue of liberty and all the surrounding islands. The food was delectable, the people friendly, the setting

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1128047683884147082005-09-29T22:28:00.000-05:002005-09-29T21:34:43.896-05:00

Excuse me, excuse me. I would like to make an announcement! I just want to say that I've reached that point in the semester where I'm ready to drop all my classes.Thank you for your attention. :-)Could you hear the fork clanking against the wine glass right there?In other news, I'm going to NYC for a family wedding this weekend. I'm really excited! Haven't been to one of those in a lonnnggg

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1127615771181479002005-09-24T22:25:00.000-05:002005-09-24T21:40:27.043-05:00

Thanks for all your nice comments on my last angry post. It helped calm my rage. I've relegated myself to my old glasses for now. It's not the most comfortable thing, and I can't see the best, but I'm getting by all right. It's a bit freaky though; if these glasses get screwed up I'm really going to be helpless. I think I might try to get new ones when I go to NYC next weekend.This week was sort

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1127174691094596702005-09-19T19:49:00.000-05:002005-09-19T19:19:19.390-05:00

It's my fault this time, but that doesn't mean I can't get angry. In fact I'm pissed off, and probably all the more so, because it was all me. I came home after classes and 4 more hours of work and I was exhausted. I sat down on my bed, set my glasses down on the bed beside me, and picked up a book I had to read for class. A page and a half later my eyes were drooping. Oh, I got 7 hours of sleep,

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1127020333623052002005-09-18T01:12:00.000-05:002005-09-18T00:15:56.460-05:00

It was one of those moments you hear creepy stories about, but I never expected it to happen to me, or for it to hit so close to home. I was just logging on to see if anyone left me a message, or if there was anyone I could say goodnight to. That's all I wanted. I was ready to end my day, and I wanted it to go smoothly. Besides I have to wake up at 8am to teach my rowdy 7th graders.There was one

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1126917691144064092005-09-16T20:30:00.000-05:002005-09-16T19:46:38.736-05:00

I don't think I've had dinner alone even once since I moved back in to the dorms. That might be business as usual for some people, but considering last year you could probably find me eating alone at least 4 nights a week, this is pretty impressive. I suppose it's just one of the benefits of having blocked with a bunch of really cool people mixed in with some luck of having a floor of pretty nice

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1126507241588255852005-09-12T02:30:00.000-05:002006-04-03T20:48:38.926-05:00

I'm still coming to grips with my complete shock over a 5 page paper I have due this Thursday! What?!? Didn't I just move back here? Didn't classes just begin a few days ago? A five page paper due already?!? What?!?!? I'm still in complete disbelief as you can tell, and I'm a bit afraid that I will only come to accept the true beginning of the semester deluge at like uhmm 2 a.m. the very day the

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1125986490043515212005-09-06T01:51:00.000-05:002005-09-06T01:05:08.490-05:00

That time in the semester has arrived. I'm officially behind schedule on my school work. It's all thanks to anthropology this time around. I'm taking this ridiculous course, partly because it fits in my schedule (that was a big issue this semester), partly because it offers a juicy 4 credits, but mostly because it sounded really interesting.Anyway, the woman assigned 11 books for the whole

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1125718375295116452005-09-02T23:32:00.000-05:002005-09-02T22:40:50.893-05:00

What is it time for? A reality check to remind me that sometimes my most stressful problems of the hour can be so insignificant compared to what befalls other people. Tucked away in collegeland with no TV and a really static-y alarmclock radio, it's easy for me to overindulge in my own problems (as big or small as they may be) and forget about what's going on in the rest of the world. Katrina and

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1125114028045970532005-08-26T23:40:00.000-05:002005-08-29T00:40:31.950-05:00

I hate to think that I painted a too-rosy picture of my situation back at school in the last few posts. I wish I had that rosy-dandy feeling all the time, but as much as I appreciate the housing and the friend situation this year around, I can't deny that I'm getting stronger and more unavoidable shivers with every step I take deeper into the back-to-school pond.Get ready for a far-fetched

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1125088690701874512005-08-26T14:42:00.000-05:002005-08-26T15:52:54.643-05:00

My campus has been undergoing a pretty drastic facelift in the last couple years. Some of the classroom buildings, and most notoriously the dorms, that were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s were getting embarrassingly run down and slummy. Tables and chairs were wobbling and the wood was giving in to decades of bored scribbles. Some of the walls were sagging and paint crumbling. Carpets

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1124832964372344942005-08-23T21:18:00.000-05:002005-08-23T21:37:14.153-05:00

Do you think it's hypocritical to criticize or question something without carrying out what you criticize or question? Up until today I thought that the general consensus was that in order to live fulfilling lives we need to "be the change we want," or live our lives the way we would like others to be, and therefore analysts, consultants, pundits, professors, and whomever else who jabbers about

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1124768805273118112005-08-22T23:35:00.000-05:002005-08-22T22:54:22.996-05:00

After a night of packing followed by a 6 a.m. flight, my third year at college is about to begin. Surprisingly, the whole transition, though stressful as usual, went by quite smoothly. My Northwest Airline flights were roughly on time, despite the strikes, and both of my suitcases arrived at my final destination (two for two? Wow!). A bus ride and a ten-minute suitcase haul later, I found the

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1124258502423918632005-08-17T00:49:00.000-05:002005-08-17T01:01:42.430-05:00

Welcome to my new spot. I hope you like it a little more than More to Life, or at least just the same. As you can see this isn't one of the blogger templates, so I had to spend a couple painstaking days wrestling with XHTML code to work this out.I've got three columns up for a little more content and flexibility. On the left-hand column, you can take walk down memory lane with me as I highlight

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15369130.post-1123873712001466942005-08-14T01:08:00.000-05:002005-08-14T01:26:11.746-05:00

Welcome to stage two of my life as a blogger. In case you're wondering, stage one lasted a healthy two years in the form of More to Life. More to Life was my crash landing. It was my crash landing onto the blogosphere, and it also chronicled a period in my life when I crash-landed into independent college life. I had so much going on, I was depressed, angry, sleep deprived, and all the other

Amirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289734051057713575noreply@blogger.com2