How is it that even the best laid plans can go awry?

I mean, you'd think that now that I'm on my Summer hols, I'd have all this extra time to study and get some of my assignment done. But I find that in reality, I spend less time on those tasks now than when I'm actually busier with work! How ridiculous is that?

Sure, I can blame the heat or even the 'holiday mood' but those aren't real excuses not with the advent of air-conditioning (man's triumph over nature) and sheer willpower.

Oh yes, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. So weak.

I had to physically smack myself about to actually sit down in front of the computer, turn off the music, and get right to it. Grr ... I'll have you!

I had to plan 6 essays which may appear on the final exam in a couple of weeks time and I originally intended to get it started yesterday ... you know ... typical procrastinator's intended scheduling, ie. two today, two tomorrow, and two on Sunday (Saturday being the Sabbath which must be kept holy. Oh wait ... for me, that should be Sunday). In reality though, the true procrastinator would wait until Sunday afternoon at the earliest.

So after wasting most of yesterday, I only managed to drag out one essay plan. And if past experience is any indication, I'd squander today, tomorrow AND most of Sunday before filling my pants and realizing that I had to complete it for Monday.

Pah! Procrastination, my hairy beanbag!
This is what a few bouts of verbal self-deprecation can do: I sat down, turned on the air-conditioning and went at it and finished them all. In a single sitting too! Booyah!
Aeric, Champion Procrastinator and Time-Waster Extraordinaire is dead! (or at least taking a nap)

[edit: hmm ... novel concept ... a procrastinator procrastinating from his procrastination]

This leaves me the rest of tonight, tomorrow AND Sunday to do as I please.
As a reward, I'm going to chill out tonight, then I'm going out with Tomoko and Jin tomorrow for Italian and some 100-yen beers, and on Sunday ... well, I have study group on Sunday. Hiroko called me up last night asking for help since she missed 3 lessons in a row. Far be it for me to turn down a cute girl, eh? Eh? ^_^
Of course she asked me!
*cough* *topscore* *cough*

This would be so wrong if it wasn't so amusing.
I wonder if heads are going to roll for this one.

I tells you, if it's not one thing, it's another.

That quake we had on Saturday measured in the high 5s in Chiba and around 4ish in the rest of the Kanto area. Nothing major ... or so it would seem ... but all the train services in the Greater Tokyo area were FUBARd to the point that ... allow me to illustrate.

Jin, Tomoko and I were hanging out at my place for the most part of the afternoon. We felt the quake hit at around 5 or so (I think) and just rode it out. Then we went to Tamachi for dinner and then decided to go to Chiba. This was 8pm. We got on the train at just after 8, and waited. And kept waiting until about 9.30pm. Ridiculous, no? Well, the guys at JR had to check the lines so that none of the trains would get the chance to pretend to be planes. So it all checks out and the driver says 'Okay boys. The lines look good and we'll be setting out soon. But we'll be moving a lot slower than usual.'

WTF?!

Ooooo-kay ...

The train was supposed to be the Express to Narita Airport and would therefore stop at Chiba on the way. However, upon arriving at Tsudanuma, a mere 15 minutes away, everyone was told that the train would terminate there.

2XWTF?!

The station ppl then said that people heading for Chiba should take the local train ... oh, okay ... (peers out the train windows) ... Crap on a stick! ... the platform is full of people! The stairs too ... oh man ... I'm never gonna get out of here.

We finally decided to leave the JR station and head on over to the Shin Keisei line. JR didn't advise commuters to take the Shin Keisei line since they're a competing train company. #$'&$## ...

And those trains were running on schedule too! Luckily we took that risk. Finally made it to Chiba at midnight. So frustrating. What should have been a 40 minute train ride took about 4 hours.

And just in case the quota for disasters wasn't met, typhoon No. 7 is currently tossing Tokyo about like a salad. 14mm of water per hour is no laughing matter. Makes me happy that I'm on holiday and don't have to venture out at all.

We just had a quake 4 on the scale. Just so you know, I'm okay.

To commemorate the first lunar landing, Google has created their Google Moon with some help from the boys at NASA. Very cool. You can zoom in and out and scroll around here and there. The detail is unbelievable. Don't believe me? Zoom in all the way and check it out for yourself.

I'm also considering applying for a position in their Copernicus Center.

By far, the tastiest sandwich I've ever eaten. Err ... not exactly the one pictured above (substitute tomato with hashed brown potato).
It's not about the number of ingredients, it's about how unhealthy it is for you! ^^;

Check it:

toast
thousand island dressing
bacon
hashed brown potato
thick slice of cheddar
toast

Variations on the hashed brown such as sausages, or a fried egg are acceptable.
Yeah, I think I'll ... oh wait ... the neighbours are telling me to keep it down. They must be able to hear my heart beating all the way over there.

Who's Daman?

I'M DA MAN!!!!!

Yeah, boy! Your boy Big A aced the midterm and is now the admiration of the class. Well, me and the other guy who got the same score. But that's beside the point! So is the fact that more than half the class don't speak English as a first language.

Aiyo ... potong stim.

And just when I thought I got everything sussed, Doc Schaefer introduces something even more complicated.
Pah! Zis ees nahsink! ^^;

A whole bunch of us went out to Kamatori, in the boonies, to visit a friend's new bar/restaurant, the aptly named Raver's Cafe. Barely a month old and already quite popular. Admittedly, the location could be a lot better what with it being no less than five minutes drive from the train station. I'm told that the nearest big building is a crematorium. Straight from the bar to the crematorium ... something morbid about that.

The primary reason for choosing somewhere so isolated, to my mind, is the fact that they play music there. Loud music. But even though there's a crematorium about a kilometer away, it's not quite loud enough to wake the dead (har har).

Yeah ... nice place. Lots of couches, little forest right behind, and even more couches outside to lay back and watch the sun rise. Pity it's so far away.

Tomoko and Jin

Me & Tomoko

MixMaster Cha at his new bar

Tomoko

Levi at the decks

I couldn't wait any longer and it was starting to get on my tits so I applied a new template to the blog. Quite a difference from my previous black incantations but I think it's a nice break.

I'm still mystified as to why my blog suddenly went pear-shaped. My html isn't all that hot and I'm open to anyone lending a helping hand to fix it.

In other news, my summer holidays have technically begun. But ... and this is a big but ... I still have uni until mid-August. Still, it's 11am, work's done until September, so I'm having a celebratory beer for lunch.

In yet other news, I want not one, but TWO of THIS! Tell me this isn't a geek's wet dream!

In uni news, I had a mid-term on Wednesday and I pretty fsckin aced it. Looks like phonology is my thing ^_^

In girlie news, that mexican dinner last week was pretty cool. It wasn't really mexican though ... and I suppose the giveaway was the fact that the words 'tex-Mex Restaurant' could be seen everywhere. Passable buffalo wings (I would've gone to The Maple Leaf for them though), and passable fajitas (I would've gone to The Crazy Cactus). But if they had one thing going for them it'd have to be their frozen margaritas! After dinner, the rain drove us to the nearest Irish pub. You could clearly see we didn't really have a choice in the matter ^^;
Aya had to leave at 10 cos she had to go somewhere really early tomorrow but Yuriko and I stayed until about 1130.
On Saturday, Paul came round to hang out and do a bit of catching up and for some reason, he was utterly determined to search out a store that sold sandals in his size which is, coincidentally, also my size. This hunt for the orthopaedic holy grail took us to Ueno where we started and eventually ended up walking to Akihabara. There was this one shop which stocked only, I repeat ONLY, large sizes. Their smallest size is 29cm which, in real numbers, would be ... err ... about a US size 10? They have shoes going up to 35cm (US 16, I guess).
After the sandal-search was over, we met up with his girlfriend in Ebisu who was at a friend's birthday party. I'm not entirely sure if we crashed it or not. Didn't seem to be a big deal since everyone was on to their 4th bottle of wine or so. Yeah ... birthday parties in Japan are not for the weak-livered. The birthday girl was really cute too! Strangely familiar, but cute nonetheless. Completely schizzled by night's end too.

Will be going out with Jin and Tomoko tomorrow night to Cha's new bar in Kamatori just to check it out. Will probably be posting up some pics after.

Congrats to my sis on her graduation! I suppose I have to call her Dr Wong now ^^;
The University of Manchester has streaming video of the entire ceremony which is actually pretty cool. I would have missed it completely otherwise.
In other news, my stocks are on the rise. Remember those two lasses I met last week? They obviously couldn't get enough so they asked me to join them tonight.
Let the debauchery commence!
And I can hear my mom's heart stop ^^;
We're just going for some Mexican.

The BBQ season has begun.
Went to one of Sean's infamous Summer Barbies (what I like to call Meat-Fest 2005) yesterday. It was a bring-your-own affair with lots of food to go round.
Wah ... so much meat ... and what was anticipated to be the largest bbq ever turned out to be a little social get-together for about a dozen people. Most pleasant actually, and I got to meet some cute girls (one of whom is a cheerleader!) ^_^v
Pictures below:
[edit: weird ... no pics of the cute girls I met. Someone must have been slacking!]

Haha ... a wildly weird and morbid way to start the barbie.

Jin with a Tomoko stand-in

Keeper of the Flame

Wait ... it can't be ... but ... is ... Jin ... checking out ... Sean's ass?

A hammock is a wonderful thing

Well, well ... lucky me ^_^

Tomoko + Poi = Barely-Controlled Carnage

Making the rounds ^_^

should be like this!