life wasted

okeh.. let me try to recap what has been a very eventful weekend in my travels to the midwest.. in no particular order, of course (i like to keep this recap abstract for the simple reason that i might forget something and add them in later, and because i can).. and a piece of traveling advice, book yourself into hotels that offer you free wireless internet access.. it makes your whole travel an experience!

• 05/26 - decided that i'm not gonna be frustrated and pissed off and turn back and fly home to denver after a terrible miscalculation on my part (driver license expired.. no rental car); woke up at 10am with a throbbing headache (a direct result of going to bed at 5am); looked at the option of taking the express bus from the union station in chicago to madison (the union station is a few blocks east from the hotel that i stayed in in chicago.. now in chicago terms, a block could mean 1/4 of a mile!; checked out the distance myself and there's no way i'd be hauling my luggage through almost a mile of chicago's crowd; and after about 1/2 hour of looking around for the bus stop, finally found it (it's at the union station canal st.; met the RPI contingent along the way, and said hi ( i think); my head was still throbbing and starving; took a cab with the intention of going for some lamb briani at devon; the cabbie, tony, convinced my to go to a persian restaurant (reza's off foster) instead.. well he was nice enough so we had lunch together (bought him lunch) and had a good chat; he's greco-lebanese and been in the states for about 20 years, and sounded so happy that he finally received his US citizenship (i'm understating this a bit.. he was ecstatic to get his citizenship!; then tony drove me back to the hotel for me to pick my stuff and dropped me off at the union station ( he didn't wanna take any fare but i gave him 20 bucks anyway.. the trip could've cost me well over 40 bucks); got onto the bus that took me to madison, wisconsin.. feels like the bus rides from jb to kl, only on a much nicer, cleaner, and better-smelling bus; got to the university's memorial union around 8.30pm, and got a ride on the hotel's shuttle to the hotel, checked in and settled down; then i went for a little stroll to the memorial union (3 miles) to cap off the night; it felt like it's gonna be a good weekend after all.. and my headache's receded.. nice!
  

• 05/27 - the day after.. naturally i woke up late after another late night (not because i became a year older the night before); missed the opening ceremony of the midwest games 2006 on purpose; walked to the randall center and met up with some new friends.. abg aziz and his family, khalifa and her family, and a few msd officers from chicago; found out that my first round match was at 10am, and not at 11.15am as was originally scheduled.. luckily for me, got a ride back to the hotel and to the nielsen tennis center from haya who was on her way there as well (big thanks!); met ima there too and she has been the nicest person; my first round match was against shamsul from george washington university (funny.. 2 years ago i beat his college buddy syed), second round i played anas from penn state university, and in the quarterfinal i played syed muaz from the university of southern california (or was he from stanford? can't remember.. sorry bud!); all in all a good day's of work; had dinner at a korean restaurant nearby the hotel and slept like a baby
  

• 05/28 - since my semifinal match won't be until noon, i figured i'd sleep in for a little bit, get ready and watch some soccer matches, then off to the tennis courts; did none of the predetermined plans because i was asked to umpire the men's doubles final match (i only did it because ima asked me); the semifinals took longer than they were scheduled, so we had to push back the doubles final, the singles semifinals and final to later times; when i finally took to the court, it was already 2.30pm (methinks), and i played shafiq from rpi; then almost right away, i played syed in the finals, the same guy i beat a coupla years back in purdue; i took the title after a hard fought match and capped off what had been a very nice weekend in madison.. a sense of an accomplishment after the 'failure' in purdue (and a nice birthday present too!); attended the performance night and the prize presentation ceremony at the UW union theater, and basked in my 2-minute of glory.. for the first time in a few days, it feels good to be 30

i've posted a few pictures at www.flickr.com/photos/crazycorpse. while i'm figuring out how to link the flickr site to my blog, do check it out k!

world wide suicide

i'm writing this entry from the friendly confines of the club quarters in chicago. this last piece has been the best thing that has happened to me in the last 12 hours. within the last 12 hours, i've..

1. missed my flight to chicago
2. been lucky to get on the next available flight out
3. gotten onto the flight and got delayed for about 1 1/2 hours because of the inclement weather
4. had the bumpiest flight ever.. it's like a rollercoaster experience
5. been so frustrated because couldn't get any rental car because my driver's license expires today (should've checked this out)

now i have to revamp the whole trip plan since i'm without a car. contemplated of getting on a flight back to denver asap, but what i need is time to think it through. i need some sleep first. i'll update this as we go along. maybe i'll stick in a few piccies of chicago. mixed feelings right now. this is a test.

take care.. and have a nice weekend. and not forgetting.. thanks for the beautiful wishes :)

testify

i haven't been as motivated as i've been before at work. i'm attributing this lackadaisical attitude to, 1) over-work, and 2) eating disorder. i wish i could elaborate more on the two factors, but i think i'll be better off to leave work now (while nobody's looking). one day perhaps i'd shed some light on the two. til then.. hmm.. i'm sure you have better things to do lah. btw, i believe there was a typo in the digest (hey it happens to the best of us too).. should've been 'scrutiny', and not 'serutiny'. thanks :)

voice of the voiceless

i felt a terrible soreness in my body when i woke up this morning. is this a sign of aging? i woke up anyway after debating whether i should call in sick or something in that nature. so much for thinking myself to be a consumate professional. but with the focal review's nearing, i'd well be advised to at least show up at work and to at least show a little bit of effort at work.

does anyone knows the word 'serutiny'? personally i don't think that's even a real word. but what do i know, right.. . let me know.

how can anyone be incredibly honest about anything, with anyone? i guess someone decided that it's utterly impossible, hence coined the phrase 'white lies'. it means it's ok to not tell the truth in order to not hurt people lah. perplexed.

gotta get back to work. and i really wanna know what 'serutiny' means. take care now.

calm like a bomb

yesterday was a day of mixed emotions. well.. more like a day defined by a single event. i got pulled over for speeding 20 over. and it was due to my stupidity really. or my judgement was somewhat impaired by the dehydration that i felt after two indoor soccer games. could've brought in some water. and shouldn't have felt like i could get away with speeding on the road just because i have a radar detector. i need to re-evaluate how i view my life.. the way i need to manage my attitude and temperament, and gear my aggression accordingly.

hope the day's been kind to you. stay safe now. ciao!

inside job

funny how the best-est of ideas that i get always come to me when i'm in the loo or when i'm praying. funny that, huh. can't really put my finger to what could've contributed to these phenomenon. and i'm not about to embark on such endevour to understand it. i figure i have more pressing matters to think about at the moment.

with the world cup looming ever closer, the fever can be felt across the globe (except in america, maybe). a couple of local channels have been airing more and more highlights of it which i greatly appreciate (and they can thank me for being a loyal subscriber). being here for almost 5 years, i have to get used to football not being the focus of the nation. nonetheless america have made a remarkable stride in bringing the sport to prominence, in the context of popularity and interest, to the mass american population. a thankless task really. you got to admire the determination and attitude though. i hope they do well in germany.

i haven't watched 'the da vinci code' movie yet, but i'll be watching it soon enough. been gearing myself to be disappointed with the production since i've already read the book. and based on a few adaptations that i've seen over the years, ie initial-D, that would help with my assessment later on. but that doesn't mean i won't like it.. i might still. i'm not such a harsh critic as long as i can be entertained, which usually doesn't take much. and especially after shelling out $8.50 for it. makes me want to see x-men 3 more and more.

i really need to get some sleep. stay in good health. take it easy k!

english country garden

this morning i was contemplating about driving to chicago instead of flying there. for a variety of reasons of course. but thought better of it and decided against it. reasons for not doing it being, 1) i'll be driving alone, 2) it's too freakin far (~1000 miles from longmont to chicago.. one way), 3) and i don't have too much time (just have friday and tuesday off), and 4) driving through nebraska and iowa isn't exactly a good idea of enjoying the scenery (they're flat as far as your eyes can see!). i might change my mind and still do it though, but don't bet your house on it.

the day's been pretty hectic. honestly i think i've done a great job 'hiding' from the hustle and bustle of the disc drive industry in the last few days. but work's work. ain't that bad really, just having a difficult time understanding some issues that i'm not at all familiar with. and trying to do failure analysis on a non-failing part (the irony of it). at least i got to pick up on some new stuff.

i guess it's pretty much a done deal with my sister's wedding. nikah in june (06-06-06) and wedding reception in august (08-12-06). unfortunately i will only be able to be back for the latter. this would be one big celebration.. the first in the family. very happy :) well.. stay out of trouble and have a great weekend. God bless!

holiday

i'm going to chicago again at the end of this month. should be a good trip. another chance to get to know the city, and not just passing through. and i'll be participating the 2006 midwest games at the university of wisconsin in madison, wisconsin. attended my first midwest games in 2004 in purdue university and feels like i have an unfinished business.. i lost in the men's singles tennis final that day. disappointed really. hope to rectify that this time around. and will also be competing in chess.. now this would be interesting! i'd be glad to get some time off from work.

barcelona have won the champions' league after beating arsenal in the final in paris. not even close to being a spectacular match, but the best team in europe in the last year won it. my brother would be ecstatic with this. and it's his birthday today! happy birthday, bro!

longview

i haven't been feeling too well these past few days. i think i caught the cold. true to form, the weather here in colorado is predictably unpredictable. but i'll live, insyaAllah. and i've been busy at work since i got back from singapore (that's about 4 weeks ago). haven't done my expense report when i should. i really need to get that done. today.

there are so much emotion surrounding by being right now.. from the highs to the lows. feels like i'm having a constant flow of adrenaline rush going through my veins. maybe this is what it's like getting to the next stage (decade) of your being. or maybe i'm just being overly sensitive and a bit paranoid. i've always try imagining how it's gonna be like when that time comes, but nothing beats the real thing. it has really been quite an experience.

as plans go, i might be going back home in september for a coupla weeks. a family celebration :) hope it'll all go well. God willing. and God bless.