I've got FOCUS in big red sharpie on a Post-It on my monitor, but it's only helping me sporadically. Tonight was a bit of a write-off; I printed off some past exams for Fluid Mechanics and went down to the Fish Bowl to study, but couldn't get into it because of

• Boorishly drunk first-years stomping down the hall,
• A rude couple gabbling at each other instead of studying, and
• Cute girls just sitting there being cute.

Seriously, I made errors in a triple integral. I never do that. </sarcasm> So it's one post and off to bed.

I'm not sure …

I think a good use of (relatively) cheap commercial space travel would be to send every head of state up for a good look at the planet. Some wouldn't want to go; some would be unfit to; some would merely retreat further into their hidebound ways - but from what I've read and heard, the majority would be shocked into a new perspective on our planet and the life on it. You can't see a flag waved from space; you can't see skin, you can't even see religious differences from a few metres away. What you can see is the beauty …

Style's great. I'm a big fan of the high collar, the toothpick or cigarette, the right kind of aloofness…the perfect remark, well-timed and delivered. Dramatics, seen?

But it's not for me. The problem is, to run style needs attention, ("health is secondary when you've got a style to maintain") and I can't be bothered - not 'cause I'm too cool, but I'm not focused. Also I don't have the necessary pride; you need pride to run style and I'm a firm believer that pride (at least the noisy sort) goes before a fall.

I just made the poor decision of …

Today I set a new personal record by sleeping in to - without a word of exaggeration - 4:00 PM. I'm a champ - or merely a narcoleptic.

And my room is FILTHY. Agh!

Now Playing: Bonobo - One Offs… B-Sides & Remixes - 01 - Pilote - Turtle (Bonobo Mix)

Well, nearly a month has gone by since the last post, and there's precisely one reason: midterms.

For those who aren't familiar I'm in a particularly brutal engineering program. The workload is heavy at the best of times, but when midterm exams are thrown on top of all that, it gets rather frantic. I've either got a self-discipline / focus problem or a simple inability to juggle more than a certain number of things. Perhaps both. Anyways, in the busy parts of the term, things start to slip. Here's an example of what might be on my plate at any given …

I got Heretics of Dune as an ultra-advanced birthday present, and made the mistake of starting to read it. Now I’ve come over all philosophical.

The ghola was developing a nerve-muscle equilibrium that, given time, might be matched a psychological equilibrium at least equal to Teg’s.

Maybe that’s my problem - lack of real psychological equilibrium. Not to say that I’m psychologically unstable; indeed I feel I’m more stable than many people, and in the absence of stressors I can achieve a high degree of mental clarity and relaxation. The problem lies in the fact that …

There’s a Val Kilmer graffiti artist making in the rounds in Toronto, mostly in and around Chinatown and the University of Toronto campus. His tag: the name “Val Kilmer” and the peace sign in thick black permanent.

As if that wasn’t weird enough, the big blue wall surrounding the construction for the new University College residence now sports another tag, this one saying merely “Charlie Sheen“. Odd. Also there’s a cartoony drawing of a duck’s head, with a number of arrows pointing to the bill - an obvious stab at the “Post No Bills” warning on the …

I’ve resolved to post despite the steadily mounting mania that is Engineering Science. Simply put, I feel that I need to learn to juggle as many things as possible without letting the small ones slide; the latter is poor practice and really the only way accomplish secondary objectives. Where doing well in school is currently my primary objective, things like staying healthy, being content in life (and all that entails), attending to my various hobbies/clubs/musical involvements, etc. are important in their own right.

This is Hell Week - next week may be worse, but I haven’t sized …

Now back in res and unpacking. My suite is thoroughly awesome, pictures forthcoming. Hope everyone the best for their weeks of orientation and beginning the fall term.

Also, the new cell is in… LG TM250, Bell Mobility, 200 anytime minutes, unlimited weekends, voicemail, call display, etc. $31 per month AFTER all taxes and charges, $25 startup. I quite like it. Bob, however, has informed me that using the free leather case just because it’s free, and wearing the phone on my belt is not only unkosher, it’s also something that smacks of baby-boomerism. So I’ve stopped.

Anyways …

So much packing to do, interspersed with running downtown pre-move in for pre-F!rosh Week stuff and nonsense.

On the plus side I’m getting a phone today. Number will be posted when I know it.

Now Playing: Khachaturian - Sabre Dance (panic music)

One of the reasons I’m trying to use this blog more often is to document some of the odd, transitory thoughts I have. I’m not sure if they’re unique to me, or if everyone has similar realizations, but I suppose that’s one thing I want to find out.

I can be thinking on one topic, doing another task, when something I see, hear, smell, etc. causes random recollection a memory, brings something into my mind or causes a lateral jump in my thinking. It’s kind of like the word association game, but in thoughts. For …

It’s official, Bob and I have one of, if not the most pimpingest suites at Innis for the coming year. Excellent. Come visit me.

Things are getting busy in the end-of-summer ramp-up to school. F!rosh week prep, the last few dragonboat practices before the GWN races on 11-12 Sep, and packing for move-in to res. Dear God, the packing. I must be a woman in disguise, I’ve got so much stuff.

I’ve currently got three hard drives, Maxtor 6Y060L0 (60 GB) and 6Y160L0 (160 GB), and Seagate ST380021A (80GB), for a total of 300 GB or …

I did my second round of the Nike Run downtown today, 8k in 34:25, and yet for some reason I’m STILL AWAKE AT 0345. Ugh. No free shirt, even; they didn’t have mens’ small. Gotta get up early tomorrow - er, today.

Pro: Alice’s PC is all shiny and new. Con: InnisRes coding is behind. Now Playing: the throbbing of my legs.

With the latest redesign of my website, I’ve completely given up on integrating this blog into my website. It’s iffy coding, and the high-contrast scheme I use on my site really isn’t conducive to reading anything lengthy. The same goes for poetry and prose; it’s all going to show up on my devART account now. Again, hopefully this will help me update more frequently.

khaerukama-o.blogspot.com! J’y suis, j’y reste!

Now Playing: Deep Purple - Smoke On The Water

Recent objections to whether sharia triubunals should be created to provide arbitration for Ontarian Muslims are, I feel, unfounded. Many of the counterarguments are based on incidents in Muslim nations where women have been stoned to death for infidelity, or similarly received punishments incredibly severe when compared to the minor or imagined crimes for which they were prescribed. As horrible as these incidents are, to suggest that they are characteristic of sharia or Muslims and that they will be repeated in Canada is blatantly racist.

These are extreme examples occuring under specific conditions - including the coincidence of religious and secular …

Despite the fact that I’m still lossfully unemployed, it’s been a busy weekend. Working backwards, today I read Oryx and Crake, Margaret Atwood’s latest. Yes, by ‘today’ I mean I began and finished it since I’ve gotten up. Briefly: it’s good. Less briefly: it’s not as unique as the glowing reviews would have you believe. The story itself is excellent, but there have been other settings devised that are similar in many ways. One of my favourite science-fiction authors, William Gibson, also uses a mix of biotechnology, class separation, technology and corporatism gone to …

Seriously, it’s almost like a lottery. The first round of readmission offer e-mails just got sent out to people trying to return to Innis for 2004-2005, and those offered and those placed on the waiting list follow no noticeable order whatsoever. Perhaps merit was awarded to the ability to schmooze, brownnose, and BS - I got in, I guess, because I used my essay to make myself look like Mother Theresa herself, except younger, male, of a different background and not in any way on the fasttrack to canonization. Anyways, I got back in, and I’m relieved - now to …

I should really stop being so anal about formatting… making the paragraphing work properly with the blog template just took me ten minutes, argh. Two thumbs up for being awake at 0233.

I’ve got a new link button, so check it out… turns out I was stupid for sticking with Corel PHOTO-PAINT for so long; Photoshop actually is easier to use. Many parts of the site have been updated, btw, and I like it a lot more … it’ll be easier to update. Up at the top there is a new title image and a bar with links to …

For some reason I’m sitting here working on this when I should be out trying to get a job. Yeargh! Procrastination is a huge problem for me… not entirely sure why.