Get Inside My Head

One nation, indivisible.

God bless America.

posted by Candace Pau 9/16/2001 11:56:01 AM

Wednesday, September 05, 2001

One more thing before I begin killing off my few remaining neurons through OChem overload.

And, um, one more thing.

Just one more, I promise.

Okay, I lied. Last one.

Ahem. All done. Sorry.

posted by Candace Pau 9/5/2001 12:40:02 PM

Awwwwww yeah.

You may now all breathe a collective sigh of relief (and I'm sure you were all holding it in, too), as I've finally returned from my five month posting hiatus. For the benefit of those whom I have caused to become half-dead from Candace-deprivation--and, of course, who wouldn't be?--the following is a list of some things I have been up to lately:

1. Spanking my spring quarter classes. (Boo-yah...who's yer daddy? Insert smug victory dance here.)
2. Sulking over the fact that having one stellar quarter does not mean that my GPA automatically also becomes 4.0...or even remotely close.
3. Getting my learn on at archaeological field school in China.
4. Adding more items to my list of weird things I have ingested (including all manner of insect...I kid not).
5. Vowing to no longer act like a 13 year old and become obsessed with celebrities.
6. Becoming mad obsessed with Tension. I will elaborate more on this later. Much more.
7. Suffering massive attacks of spasticity at the thought of having to take chemistry again this coming quarter.
8. Enduring frequent bouts of restlessness and ennui sitting on my ass at home while simultaneously dreading having to get off my ass and go back to school.
9. Realizing I may be exiting my Russell Crowe-worship phase after going to a 30 Odd Foot of Grunts concert and being surprisingly underwhelmed.
10. Contemplating as I write this that no one actually uses the word "whelm".

So there it is, folks. The complete, unabridged, nary-a-word-left-out recount of my each and every move since April 8, 2001. Actually, that's pretty much true, except for the month I was in China. Hopefully (although I can't even type this with a straight face) I'll get my China trip diary posted sometime soon. Those of you familiar with the severely chaotic mess that is my mind will understand that "soon" means, under the best possible circumstances, within 10 years or so.

On to more serious agenda items...i.e., Tension. Tension...the downfall of my no-obsession resolution. I discovered this group while watching Chinese music television in China (well, that was rather self-explanatory, wasn't it). My interest was definitely piqued by the high quality production of the group's sound and video. Up to that point, the words "Chinese boy band" had conjured up images of ::cringe:: LA Boyz--a group that prided itself on their, um, English rap skillz. Yeeeeeeaaaaah. Tension's music, on the other hand, speaks for itself, from luscious R&B harmonizing to catchy dance singles. Plus, they can dance (although I take issue with some of their choreography) and thank you, thank you, thank you to their stylist, who actually makes them look hotter as opposed to ruining their looks (a la Lee-Hom Wang...such a pity). And hot they are. Oh yes. Of course, I have a really big thing for guys who can sing--and a group of guys who sing? Almost too much for my poor retarded brain to handle. Sadly, unless I go to Taiwan in the near future, I doubt I'm going to be able to keep up with any Tension news. I guess that means my only hope is to grow up and get over my fanatacism.

BAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAH.

Riiiiiiight.

Okay, anyway. Lest you all start thinking I'm even more of a ditz than you already do, I'm going to go read my Primer on Mechanism in Organic Chemistry.

posted by Candace Pau 9/5/2001 12:25:52 PM

Sunday, April 08, 2001

In re: my post of 1/20/01, I actually did manage to score tickets to the matchbox twenty/Everclear/Lifehouse concert in San Jose on March 31. Thank God, because it was the coolest thing I have ever seen--excepting, perhaps, Russell Crowe as Maximus...but I'll try to keep the lid on that can of worms (hmm...I think I'm mixing metaphors). Lifehouse was pretty decent for not having had that much live experience, and Everclear was great, of course (I got a kick out of their whole, "We're just a bunch of white boys from Portland, Oregon"). But (as should come as no surprise to those who know me well), matchbox twenty was truly amazing.

Okay. You know what? At this point, I feel compelled to point out the complete inane nature of words such as "amazing", "great", or "fantastic". Regardless of my choice of adjective, the sentence "matchbox twenty was truly ______" will always be 1. really lame-sounding, and 2. utterly incapable of describing the near-religious experience I had seeing them play live again (especially during the encore, when they covered "Time After Time" and did "Push"). So I won't say too much more about the concert, except to briefly note in passing that, uh, some guy named Carlos Santana showed up to play a song with the band. Yeah. No big deal.

AAAAAHHHH!!!!!

Carlos Santana made a surprise appearance during the encore!!! How cool is that? Uh-huh. Pretty damn cool.

Okay, but really, enough of that. Moving on to other happenings in my life...um, oh wait. I have no life. That's right. This would explain why I'm sitting on my (might I add, ever-growing) ass on a Saturday night, essentially talking to myself via my computer. Thus far this quarter, my every waking second has been consumed by either my TA duties, my research, or coordinating for Arbor Free Clinic. Yeah, apparently, all work and no play helps Candace get into med school.

No, but seriously, I'm actually liking what I'm doing this quarter, and dammit, why shouldn't I enjoy my last chem-free quarter? I would elaborate, but seeing as how it is after midnight, I think I'll just go to bed like the old lady I've degenerated into. That, and I have to go to Arbor tomorrow morning.

Go here and amuse yourself.

posted by Candace Pau 4/8/2001 12:21:01 AM

Wednesday, February 28, 2001

AAAUUUUUUGGHHH!!!!!!

You would think that, having been accepted to an institution of higher learning such as my alma mater, people would have some semblance of common courtesy. But no. Of course not. Because I'm in hell. What did I ever do to deserve such odious punishment? For once, I get my act together and go to the library like a good, studious student, only to find myself COMPLETELY unable to study due to the unbelievable rudeness of those around me. The guy across from me insists on coughing his phlemgy cough without covering his mouth, spewing his germs and God knows what else in my general direction. Does he not have parents? Did they not teach him manners? Screw the SATs, people should have to pass an etiquette test to get into college. And that's not even the tip of the monstrous iceberg. The guy next to me keeps flipping through the pages of his book as though they were on fire, and the only way to extinguish the flames is to make as much goddamn noise as possible. Like, the wind coming from his rampant flipping is causing a small hurricane. Does he absorb the material in his book faster by thumbing through it as if he were playing some satanic instrument? WHY??????? And what is with these people who insist on yapping on their cell phones in THE ONLY PLACE IN THE WORLD WHERE YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE QUIET????????????

And they wonder why I never go to the library.

And I'm starting to get slightly upset because this is the 50 gajillionth time I have tried to post this goddamn rant. (it's actually been three days since I've endured this insanity)

posted by Candace Pau 2/28/2001 04:22:07 PM

Saturday, January 20, 2001

Oy. It's been a while. Seeing as how I have absolutely no desire to delve into the terrifying pit that is my past, I'll spare you the rundown of what has happened to me in the last few months. Suffice to say that it's a new year, and I've undergone no small amount of changes, mostly in terms of my attitudes toward life and school in particular. I've decided (FINALLY) to become hardcore, super studious. So far it's going roughly as planned, although I'm still having a bit of difficulty dragging my sorry ass to the library every night.

*momentary interjection: Dude. I am a certifiable retard. I just spilled half a bottle of water all over my bio lab manual due to my extreme lack of coordination.*

Ugh. I feel ill. I think I've contracted some sort of nasty viral infection, thanks to the scads of sick people populating the air with happy little germs in my humbio class, no doubt. Perfect timing, too. I'm less than a week away from flying off to Illinois to attend my cousin's wedding. Also: I've run out of kleenex, leaving me no choice but to endure severe nose-chafing from excessive contact with coarse napkins.

Oh. And did I mention? God hates me. Yeah. Apparently, matchbox twenty AND Everclear (and Lifehouse, too) are playing Portland on April 4. OF COURSE, that means I have to go back to school on April 1. My dream concert--the show of a lifetime--and I have NO way of going. And last I checked, there are no dates for San Francisco, or anywhere near here. I'm being punished. Excuse me while I go curl up in a fetal position and lament the cursed wretchedness that is my life.

That, and I also have to go finish writing up my experimental protocol for bio lab.

posted by Candace Pau 1/20/2001 01:52:53 AM

Sunday, September 24, 2000

Nope. I was wrong. Things could get worse. And oh boy, have they ever. Now, it seems, I've come down with food poisoning, of all things. Last night, I was up at 6 a.m. vomiting the contents of my innards all over the bathroom floor. (This was, of course, after enduring about 8 hours of constant stabbing pains in my stomach.) I don't think I'm quite fully recovered yet--still a little queasy. Hmph. At least I'm losing weight...

posted by Candace Pau 9/24/2000 03:21:35 PM

Friday, September 22, 2000

Um, yeah. So this year has apparently gotten off to a great start, what with my entire computer frying and a broken fuel line in the van and an ant infestation to welcome me back to school. Yes, believe it or not, my WHOLE GODDAMN computer fried...no more hard drive, no more CPU, no more DVD-ROM drive, no more zip drive, NO MORE. My 1000 mp3s...my poor, poor babies. Goddammit...there goes, like, 200 hours of my life I'll never get back. So now I have a really fast, new computer with jack shit on it. I don't even have Word. This is not good. Thank God for my laptop, although, not having anticipated a complete desktop meltdown, I only transferred about one-sixth of my mp3s. Damn, and all my old e-mails are gone. Joy of joys.

posted by Candace Pau 9/22/2000 02:52:23 PM

Yet More Blasting from the Past...

Okay, guess what? I'm writing again. But never fear loyal readers, I'm actually in Sacramento, having arrived without too much further incident (aside from getting miserably lost on the way here). It is now 12:39 a.m. on Tuesday the 19th of September.

En route, I came up with this fabulous idea for a PS grant project (and I'm not even being sarcastic this time, despite my use of the same adjective to describe both my idea and dorm food in the previous entry). I want to write a book on the evolution of the Chinatown culture in America. This would involve, I presume, traveling across the nation to various Chinatowns, a lot of historical research, a fair amount of interviewing locals, and, of course, a great deal of photojournalism and EATING. I, personally, think this is an absolutely brilliant concept, although my parents seem to disagree...go figure. I think what I like best about this idea, though, is that I can spend more time with my family that way, since I'll probably only need to spend two or three weeks on the road and the rest of the time working from home. Of course, I'll still be looking into other possibilities, but this one is sounding very good to me at present.

posted by Candace Pau 9/22/2000 02:51:54 PM

Blast from the Past:

Dear Weblog:

I'm writing this from the Randolph Collier Safety Rest Area just past the Oregon/California border. We're in the process of towing my car, my belongings and myself, among other things, to school. Sadly, our minivan seems ready to overheat and give out on us any second now...which explains why I'm sitting in this horrid 100 degree heat typing a blog entry that I have absolutely no means of posting. This isn't leaving us much better off than we were with the U-Haul last year--although it IS nicer not having to sit with my feet soaking in 3 inches of water from the air conditioning, I'll give you that.

Anyway, this whole going back to school experience is rather surreal at the moment, which I'm sure is not such a good thing, since midterms and finals are, in fact, quite real. But hopefully I'll be able to settle in better once I'm all moved in and back to gorging myself on that fabulous dorm food. Yeah.

At present, we're about 275 miles from Sacramento, so our estimated arrival time is probably going to be somewhere around 10 p.m. (now being 3:42 p.m. on Monday, the 18th of September...happy birthday Ma).

Hey, here's a question for you: what goes "VRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrr...VRRRRRrrrrrrrr...VRRRRRRRrrrrr..." (repeat 5,000,000 times or until your head explodes, whichever comes first)? Answer: some guy on a freakin' lawnmower riding circles around me at an ear-shattering decibel level. Not to mention the leafblower guy who is headed straight this way. What a fun place, kids!

Okay...looks like we're getting the signal to get back on the road. Cross your fingers...hopefully I won't have to write in this thing again until I'm safely in my dorm room.

posted by Candace Pau 9/22/2000 02:51:26 PM