LIRIT TEN' MELLONAMIN

thanks to all who responded to my last essay. I had no idea it would stir quite an issue. i find many disagree (no surprise there) but i also found a couple of people who kind of allowed the idea to be worth considered. again, thanks for the emails, messages and comments. :)

classes are almost done. and this weekend has been the most hectic yet. funnily enough i did find some time to read about elven and tolkien's many many invented languages. it has always been something i've wondered and awed about - the creation of new languages.

well i decided to experiment and wrote a short poem in elven. it's not exactly poetic since my vocabulary still sucks (not to mention there's bound to be plenty of grammatical errors). i'm not quite sure as to which language it is exactly but it's definitely not Sindarin, which was the language widely used in the movie. so it may not sound as pretty as it did when arwen or aragorn was speaking it. then again aragorn can make anything sound pretty :p. i'm guessing it's an inaccurate version of Sindarin or maybe just common elvish. by the way, it's written in Tengwar, not tamil. if you don't know what i mean, you will when you see the writing ;)

"Lirit ten' Mellonamin"

harthanen le sui ha!

SUMMER SEMESTER

one word to describe summer classes: intense.

And boy are they fast!

Anyhoo, i've finally taken time off to write. I've written a short story which was a result of one of my many sleepless nights. Lately i've been getting only 2-3 hours worth of sleep. And somehow i still manage to stay awake in class. The fact that i dont miss my 1030 class is a miracle itself.

Yesterday i participated in an experiment which paid $25. nyahahaha. i could do this for a living. All i had to do was sit down for 45 minutes and answer some decision making under uncertainty questions. They usually have experiments like this and post them all over the school. The other day as I was staring at the noticeboard somewhere on campus, I technically had made $110. Even if you don't take part in the experiment, fantasizing that you did and pretending you earned all that money is fun enough, believe me.

Point of digression. People who know me know that it seems at times i distance myself from crowds. I've been wondering about that. not such a big thing, but it has raised some questions. Here i wrote a short essay on friends and friendship; which in this case borrows a lot from my personal experience. The essay may seem hostile, but i've decided that i'd take nozick's approach on things: through skepticism. I figured the results of my final conclusion could be interesting if i start off by questioning my topic through pure ignorance and dubiety. Having said that, try not to judge me on the basis of this sole essay.

"Part I: Friend…. Or Entity of Validation"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANGAH

hey! i'm still aliiiiiiiiiive!!!

p/s: happy birthday ngah!!!

FOOLISH ARDOR

I can't recall the last time I wrote a poem in it's proper form; with neatly arranged stanzas and rhyming verses. So I decided to try my hand at it today. Excuse the non-imaginative title, but anything else would've been less accurate ;)

"Foolish Ardor" by yours truly

PAINTS AND PALLETTES

it's been 3 years since i've dabbled with paints, so don't expect much...

THE LAUNDRY AND THE MATRIX

It has been 3 days since my finals ended, but i've only just regained consciousness today. Yes, I slept all day everyday. But I also managed to do a large scale laundry session which took me 4 trips up and down from the basement to my room on the 7th floor and also costed me $9.00 in expenses for washing and drying. Apart from that, while my 3rd batch of clean clothes were neatly folded for me when i went down to retrieve them from the dryer, half my final batch of clean clothes were stolen. I figure the 3 pieces of shirts and t-shirt they left for me were too hideous to take. No matter how much people claim that humanity is at risk of extinction, this proves that there's still a little left in all of us. For leaving those 3 articles in my laundry basket, I thank you.

Enough laundry talk. I've finally watched The Matrix (yes the first one) and all I can say is, "WOOHOOO!!!". Honestly it's mind blowing. And the plot, awesome and original. Especially after having watched so many movies which are most likely to be set in two of the highly profiled genres which are sci-fi (read Star Wars) and fantasy (read LOTR). Not that i don't love them either, but The Matrix is refreshing. With stories like The Matrix and also authors such as Neil Stephenson, this may very well be an opening to a new set of genre which may soon be shelved independently (I believe it is currently catgorized under sci-fi) alongside science fiction and fantasy on the fiction rack.

Well this summer I have a project going on which I hope to begin soon. I've gotten all the material i need and all that's left to do is get down to it and start cracking. But first of all I need to kill the habit of watching TV which has been gripping me these past few days. I realize that TV kills your imagination.

I have a couple more "handarts" to post. A tad old since they were done weeks before finals. But i've been busy.

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

SPRING FINALE

"...and then suddenly, it was time to retrieve my books from the depths of the closet in which i had shoved them in..."



The finale to a very fun Break chose snow in place of confetti and cold winds in place of a pleasant breeze. But all in all, it provided a mellowed atmosphere which seemed to remind me school would commence. That said, I spent the last day of Spring Break at Barnes & Noble, sitting by the window of the Starbucks' Cafe. Even as the snow fell lightly over Pittsburgh, the sun appeared at times, as if claiming its right in the season people call Spring. Oh well. As long as I see the sun now and then, it'd be enough to lift my spirits.

Hope everyone had a fun Spring Break and that rust hasn't yet rested on your thinking caps!

Pictures of Snow in Spring...hmmm

ROLLERBLADES AND RAIN

Woke up early to 'blade only to find the sun missing from my window :(


It rained the whole day so I took refuge at the gym to practice slalom-ing (which i failed miserably at) and invented some amusing ways to fall down. If i had a penny for every fall i took...

Things looked up though as I spent the rest of the day at Kiva. Like previous Saturdays, they had a DJ show organized by The Pulse or something where they display their skills at the turn-table with random movies projected on the wall. Last week was Tron. Today it was Metropolitan. Fun stuff really, if you can stand the noise. After watching the first few minutes, I escaped to the second floor to read and sketch what I guess will pretty much be the last drawing i'll make this whole semester. Oh how heartrending it is to find that Spring Break has come to its end. *sniff*.

Wounded At War


Pictures of my not-so-fun day

WELCOME TO OAKLAND

I got bit by the 'Blade bug....
Last night we rollerbladed for almost 4 hours in front of the museum. Equipped with a modified size 10 'blade and sporting elbow pads on my knees (ingenious idea courtesy of hassan) I prepared myself for a fun time promised to be full of speed and skinned knees. Apparently they lied about the speed. But that was mostly my fault. Skinned knees? Lets' just say elbow pads make great knee savers.

I 'blade like a 70 year old. Period.

I headed to Oakland today to see a travel agent for my summer plans. It's surprising how many interesting sights and shops there are to see. I simply have to get out more. On the way back I had Salim's. The generous cook gave me 2 pieces of chicken and a big fat slab of lamb. I realized just how carnivorous a girl can be after having been deprived of halal meat for so long.

Picture of the day :
The simple things that spell unity...
Taken 03/27/2003
Wright Rogal Chapel,
University Center,
Carnegie Mellon University














Some pictures that amused me today

KIVA HAN

Let me introduce you to my favorite spot....Kiva Han


Kiva is what you need after a days worth of battling on the school grounds doing programming and decision analysis and simply facing your boring TA spill out more information on quadratic regressions than you wanted to know. It's spring break and road trips spell fatigue to me. The best way to spend break is to laze around and do nothing. 'Cos believe me you can't ever do nothing during school. Yesterday i spent most my day on campus and at Kiva with plenty of reading material (albeit depressing stuff) at hand and my trusty sketchbook. I had the whole top floor to myself and it was heaven.

I was armed to the teeth with news on the war yesterday I had to take a breather a couple of times to let it all sink in. Thank god for PC Magazine. Aaah....what some binded pieces of paper can do to quench a girl's fetish for electronic goods. You may call me a hardcore technophile. I drool over the latest technology like a boy over a Playboy magazine cover. If only money dropped from the sky as often as EGBU-27s over Baghdad...

The March to War


Click here for larger and more images of my day at kiva