HANDART

boredom is the mother of all creations.


when my program refused to compile two nights ago, i opted for a much more fun way to waste time: hand art (at least thats what i like to call it :p).

all you need is a pen. and any part of any limb will work fine. then of course motivation. for me it was frustration from doing my programming lab. if you don't know what inspires you, try picking up a thick book on philosophy (preferably something along the lines of metaphysics where every single detail is scrutinized...zzzz..). then let your mind run loose and DRAW DRAW DRAW!!!

you're welcome.

HI, I'M A KLUTZ! AND YOU ARE?

Last friday, as I was walking through Newell-Simon to head back home, I met Sam at the stairs - he ascending and I descending the steps.

We exchanged "hi!"'s and "how're you doing?"'s at the stairs whilst moving to our respective directions. As I was about to reply "Fine thanks", I missed a step and tripped over my own foot. My super-sonic reflexes made me grab the railing, and that was all that kept me from hurtling down topsy-turvy to the landing below. I heard a slight gasp coming from my only witness.

The pain shot through me like a piston and for a while there, I was sure I had broken a bone or at least pulled the ligaments. Such was the agony. Even so, all I could really think was Great job Myn... now he'll think you're an ass.

Being the nice guy that he is, Sam kept asking if I was fine and held out his hand to aid this poor damsel whose ego had deflated and transmogrified into the minutest thing ever to exist on earth. With whatever dignity I had left I declined and told him that I would be fine, thank you now let me be off on my way and lock myself in my room for eternity.

As I limped my way down, I could feel his eyes burning on my back, just watching me hobble away and waiting to see if I would suddenly faint. I did not look back but I'm pretty sure I had amused my friend with that little stunt of mine.

I will now spend the rest of my entire academic life avoiding him.

SIMPLE JOYS

As soon as my last class for the day ended, a feeling of euphoria overtook me and i felt free again after a hectic week of group meetings, presentations and exams. And with this freedom, i decided to celebrate with some pent up poetry and a cup of coffee in my hand.

Enjoy :)

"daydream" by moi

I.S. MILIEUX

To Dave, Don, Jay and Winnie; thanks for being wonderful groupmates :')

I shall miss those monday afternoons we spent "gravely" discussing eXtreeeeeeme programming and emulating our greatest influence in "meelooh" - as jay would call it. Yeah...those were the days. sigh~

Well i've definitely learnt a lot from this experience; one of them being that politicians make the most moronic expressions one would care to see.

67-250

its 4.21am and i'm wide awake...
jay has just completed the site for our group project and since the presentation is tomorrow there's a last minute frenzy of mass emailing and IM-ing. and this is just a preview of what's to come next year. hmmm...

today was an ok day with the highlights being my final group meeting. seriously. yeah i know that sounds sad, but the rest of the day pretty much sucked and the guys always crack me up anyway. especially today when don started reading quotes from the "we love the iraqi information minister" site. something different from the normal lashing on our typical target - and i don't mean bush - whom i will not reveal here (so nyaaaaaaahaaaaaahaaaaa :p!).

so tomorrow will end my 67-250 group project, which will only mean i can look forward to presenting 88-223 on a research topic which is just as fun as doing laundry.

i might have said too much.

IT'S NOT A TURD

totemo kawaii desu ne!

SPRING

"...strolling along I see people giving back to the community and i ask myself, what have i done to contribute to the wealth of diversity which encompasses this thing we call unanimity? And so I stop and listen..."




Today was interesting. Walking back from Oakland I heard the wonderful squeals of an electric guitar and hence followed my ear to where the heavenly sounds came. Apparently there was a show being set up and a fairly large stage had been constructed between the streets that led to the Cathedral Of Learning in UPitt. Even as the band prepared their equipment and fooled around with their instruments, I found it highly entertaining. A band playing live is far more exciting than listening to prerecorded songs ripped from the net. With the stage set up in the middle of the road like that and flowers blooming everywhere, the atmosphere seemed so light and carefree that even though I had a programming class (yes on a Saturday :p) and a meeting later that afternoon, it didn't bother me that much.

Later in the day a couple of friends and I decided to check out this Community Artistic Expression that was going on around Oakland. It was suggested to us by the Kiva guy and so we thought we'd go ahead and see what the fuss was all about. The first thing that caught my eye was the lights. There was a laser show and upon entering, I was struck by this rythmatic poetry that seemed to be almost rap-like minus the percussions and supporting music. A guy stood on a small stage illuminated in red light reciting this wonderful poem which seemed to flow flawlessly with a certain beat that was awfully catchy. I've never heard poetry recited that way before.

As a band took over the stage it got too cold to stay and watch so we moved over to Kiva where the poetry reading was being resumed. It was fun listening to people spew poetry on all kinds of topics, none of which were related to sappy love and the likes. An elderly guy with a cane also presented a couple of haikus and though he was drawling so bad that it got a teeny boring, I caught the message of anti-war seamlessly interleaved in his brief but beautiful verses.

All in all, the whole experience was refreshing :)

Pictures of my daytime endeavors: The Spring Effect: Of Blooming Flowers and Bands
Pictures of my nighttime endeavors: Flux9: Community Artistic Expression

ALL IN A DAYS WORK...

Friday and I had errands to run. I headed out early to survey for places to cater food for the upcoming Eastern Games. And what initially was a burden on my back, turned to be an eventful day. I have been known to be just about the laziest person; always opting to stay in my room doing nothing when people ask me out just for the mere reason that I want to avoid walking. Even if it is just walking down to the busstop. But lately, with the weather being pleasant and all, I have been choosing to walk, sometimes even for the simple reason of snapping pictures. And so, though the trip to Oakland was quite a way, I decided to go on foot and not take the bus (besides I was unsure of what bus to take anyway :p).

I realized that with Spring being in the air, Pittsburgh is more alive and a lot happens around you. Nothing out of the ordinary happened really, but it was fun just watching people passing by and doing things that ordinary people do everyday. It was interesting meeting some of them. I approached a couple of strangers to have their pictures taken (to which it surprised me they agreed anyway) and it was somehow rewarding that after I had snapped their picture they would smile and say "You have a nice day!" like i did them a favor or something.

Anyway, while surveying for food, I arrived at Salims to get a qoutation from the store. As always Kak Na was at the counter and we chatted for a good hour, with the occasional customers coming over to us to let us taste some of their Mediterranean dishes. I was glad I came with an empty stomach. Even so when Salim himself came and offered some free food to me :)

Mental note: Talk to Usamah about electing me to be the official Food Surveyor for coming activities.

Pictures of Places and People around UPitt and Oakland

LET'S GO PENS!!!

Yes, i'm talking about the Pittsburgh Penguins! This, being the first ice hockey game i've ever been to, was totally worth watching. We played against the red Carolina Hurricanes and they proved to be quite a tough opponent. But it was mighty interesting and we finally won 3-2!! It somewhat reminded me of a badminton match i've watched in my early days with Sidek playing against Indonesia.

Even though Tarnstrom (32) shot the first goal, the Hurricanes soon caught up and by the second third of the game they were leading by one. At this point I was already pretty restless (I hate suspense) and was slouching on my seat sulking and stuffing my face with fries. Then as the crowd grew louder and people around me started picking up the trademark chant "Let's Go Pens!!!", the game quickened in pace and the Penguins started playing really well (sound like Sidek in Piala Thomas?). But by the last set of the game, spectators were quite sure we'd lose and so everyone was busy perfecting "the wave" which went on for a good 10 minutes. It was fun to watch people standing with arms above their heads saying "Woooo!". Especially old ladies wearing oversized Penguin jerseys. Anyway, somewhere between the 6th round of "the wave", the Penguins started getting aggressive and miraculously in the last 3 minutes, we scored. People stopped fooling around and we began chanting some more. Finally near the end of the match we managed to stuff the puck into the opponents goal once again. Even as a first-timer who knew nothing about ice hockey, I screamed with the rest and stood up cheering. It was great.

I'll definitely be going to more games in the near future. To heck with rules. I'll be there to cheer myself hoarse. And if my team loses, I'd at least get a free t-shirt :p

Pittsburgh Penguins in action

APRIL FOOL

"...when fools come out to play, little does he realize how nature dwarfs him into mere insignificance..."




It was hard not to notice how glorious the sky was today. It seemed to complement every object that came to sight; turning normal admin buildings into architectural magnificence and simple landscapes into absolute pittoresque scenery. Amusing since the same things look dull and lifeless during winter. SubhanAllah.

Anyway, first things first, today is the notorious April Fool's day. And who better to make a fool of me than yours truly. After a week's break, it suddenly occurred to me I had not prepared for a presentation for one of my classes. Of course this is nothing new. I thrive on that feeling of adrenaline rushing through my body, and last minute panic is my source of motivation. After a hellish day stacked with back-to-back meetings which officially ended at midnight, I stayed up all night preparing my presentation (which had not yet been researched nor given a topic until after an hour of actually sitting at the desk to write it up). It was beyond me how I would ever articulate my topic the next day. But somehow, after hours of repeating the text I prepared until the wee hours of morning, I managed an altogether coherent presentation to be delivered in class.

Somewhere between walking to campus and starting my first class for the day, it came to me that I had not been given a reminder from my cell of this presentation. Normally I would record important dates such as this so that I would at least have time to prepare such tasks (that's just talk. "Prepare" is absent from my vocabulary). So I checked my trusty organizer, and there on the screen... it read "70643 Presentation 29th April".

It escapes me why one would abuse oneself to such degree.

A fool and her camera: Of Buildings and Nature