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November 28, 2005
random banter
I heard about this story of how a person became his own grandfather, which was told by my friend a few years ago. I forgot how it came about but i just came across the story again on the net. It's something like this:
"Well, it all started when I got married and I guess I should never have done it. I married a widow with a grown daughter who then became my stepdaughter.
My dad came to visit us, fell in love with my lovely stepdaughter, then married her. And so my stepdaughter was now my stepmother. Soon, my wife had a son who was, of course, my daddy's brother-in-law since he is the half-brother of my stepdaughter, who is now, of course, my daddy's wife.
So, as I told you, when my stepdaughter married my daddy, she was at once my stepmother! Now, since my new son is brother to my stepmother, he also became my uncle. As you know, my wife is my step-grandmother since she is my stepmother's mother. Don't forget that my stepmother is my stepdaughter. Remember, too, that I am my wife's grandson.
But hold on just a few minutes more. You see, since I'm married to my step-grandmother, I am not only the wife's grandson and her hubby, but I am also my own grandfather."
Here's a quick IQ question:
3 travelers were staying overnight in a mediocre hotel in the suburb of California. The cost was $30, which was nicely divided into $10 per person. Once the 3 travelers retired to slumberland, the manager of the hotel decided to give a special discount. He decided to charge $25 instead of $30. So he passed $5 to the bell boy and asked him to return the extra money back to the travelers. Now the greedy bell boy took $2 for his tips and returned only $3 to the travelers the next morning. Each of them took $1 back, which means that each paid total net amount of $9. Now, if you do the math, all three travelers paid $9 X 3 = $27. Plus the $2 the bell boy squandered, the total amount is $29. What happened to the other dollar??
Posted by peixin at 09:38 AM | Comments (2)
November 20, 2005
GoogleTalk
Han: hi
Pei: wei
wait
Han: good mornight
Pei: i'll talk to you later
watching movie
Han: k
Sent at 11:52 AM on Sunday
Han: what movie is it?
Pei: big fish
Han: ?
Pei: yes
Han: the name is called Big Fish?
Pei: yup
Han: never heard of it.
Enjoy
Sent at 11:57 AM on Sunday
Han: finish your movie yet
Pei: nope
Han: i'm eating mama's noodles
Pei: almost
Han: just type in and i'll know
oh, and i'm downloading a new mario song, guess which one i left out?
Sent at 12:31 PM on Sunday
Pei: hey..
movie finished already
Han: hey
Pei: the snow house?
Han: nope
Pei: you left out the snow house
Han: you already got that
Pei: is it?
Han: yes, it's called snow mountain
Pei: so which one is it?
Han: you can count the courses if you like
Pei: no way..
Han: and see which one i left out
Pei: haha
i can't remember them all
Han: tell you la, it's the song in course six
Pei: uhhuh?
Han: hazy, maze cave
Pei: what? which course is that?
Han: but very regretful, not finish downloading it yet
course six
the one with the tie tou gong
Pei: ooo....
Sent at 12:42 PM on Sunday
Han: whotcher doing?
Pei: watching extra stuffs
dvd
Han: you want to talk?
through webcam
Pei: wait ya..
Sent at 12:49 PM on Sunday
Pei: hey i can't go into msn now
Han: use google talk
Incoming call from Han Xin Lim at 12:55 PM on Sunday
Call from Han Xin Lim missed at 12:55 PM on Sunday
Incoming call from Han Xin Lim at 12:56 PM on Sunday
Pei: wait..
i haven't get my mike yet
stop the call first
Call from Han Xin Lim missed at 12:56 PM on Sunday
Calling Han Xin Lim at 12:57 PM on Sunday
Pei: type
Han: when do you want the next twenty words
Pei: ooo. send anytime you can la
do whenever you are free
ok?
Han: ok
mama orders you to go to bed
Pei: does it help?
oh okay
Han: hit the sack
Pei: good night!!!!
Han: saw the logs
what helps
?
Pei: oh.. i mean the practise with the words
writing stories
does it help?
Han: sure
Pei: oh okayt...
i'll think of other things for you to do
Han: though i don't think the word abdicate might help much
Pei: yeah.. it's not widely used today
Han: can abdicate be used on teachers
Pei: well, you'll see it once or twice in newspaper
maybe you can ask ma to suscribe the star for you to read
cannot
just for kings and royalties
Han: what about abbots
'cause i used it in the paragraph
Call ended with Han Xin Lim at 1:04 PM on Sunday
Pei: well, no harm learning more words isn't it?
if you think it's hard to use them in your stories you can skip
anyhitng else.
anything else?
wanna sleep already...
Han: can abdicate be used on abbots?
Pei: er... no actually
only royalties or political leaders..
Han: then why didn't you correct it?
Pei: even the latter seems a bit inappropriate
oh because you used open and close inverted commas
i thought you just wanna make a synonymous meaning
but strictly speaking it's incorrect la..
i just don't want to be strict :P
Han: hha
ok
go to sleep
Pei: kk
Han: saw the logs
Pei: 99
Han: 00
Pei: saw the logs?
Han: means sleeping
Pei: WHAT'S THAT?
how???
Han: i saw it in mama's learning website
Pei: i thought it's like 'going to slumberland' or something..
haha
wei..
Han: by the way, i just bought the game of harry potter four
Pei: i wanna sleep liao
oh okay
have you watched the movie?
Han: saw the logs then
Pei: it's on now here
Han: not yet
Pei: watch it
Han: 'cause bp not on yet
Pei: people say it's good
oo icici
Han: stupid bp
Pei: haha'
kk
gd nite
88
sawing the logs now
Han: they screen on pontianak 2 instead
Pei: lol
Han: just how stupid can they be?
Pei: well, sometimes we have to support local movies too
haha
Han: real no-brainers
Pei: wei.. don't look down on local movies okay.. some are good
Han: k
Pei: like puteri gunung ledang
Han: good mornight!
Pei: have you seen it?
gd morning to you!
Han: but this one is definitely lousy
Pei: gd nite for me
haha
Han: i saw the trailer
Pei: okay.. where did you see it?
Han: they show the pontianak now and then, no horror standard at all
oh, i saw it on tv the day i went to the competition
Pei: uhhuh..
oh
congrats on getting second place
Han: er ge goto hit the sack
Pei: better than last year huh?
okok...
going off soon..
byebye
Han: next year aim for ist haha
Pei: good mornihgt
mornight
sure
Han: mornight!
Pei: be a champion!
Han: 00
Pei: 88
Han: that's mama
88
Pei: okay
byebye
Posted by peixin at 01:19 PM | Comments (0)
November 16, 2005
Bleh
This is the magnificent bronze statue of Purdue Boilermaker situated next to Ross-Ade Stadium. Can you guys see Peter in the photo? He's saluting the statue after Purdue won 28-21 against stronghold Michigan State U.
I was a perfidious, lazy bum today. Woke up at 9.30am only to realize I'd just missed chemistry lecture. Went to biology lecture but didn't concentrate throughout the whole 'parasite talk'. (we were studying parasite and how cool it is. Like, did you know Arcaria, sticking itself on those US green notes you use everyday to buy stuffs, get to your hands, mouth, liver, heart, lungs, and ultimately ended up being coughed up and swallowed into your small intestine to evade the immune system detection. What a chase! That's why mommy always say "wash your hands after touching money coz it's dirty!") Anyway I wasn't paying any attention. My mind was on the things that i had to do later on. Vocabulary lab session, then Cal recitation, then a stop at McD's and towards Shahida's apartment in Hawkins Hall (the best one in Purdue). It was raining all the while. Weather report claimed that it will snow tomorrow. With any luck , I'll see snow for the first time..
Reached my senior's apartment at 3pm. The room is really nice. Single bed, with 24" TV, a study table (i don't even have one!), a big wardrobe and spacious place at the center. If possible i'm gonna get one apartment here next semester hehe.. Got a whole bunch of stuffs about Malaysia from her and exchanged some courtesy remarks. When we're about to leave, it started to rain heavily. I was compelled to abandon my bike and wait for Willowbrook van to bring me back instead. Once I got back, the bed became tempting. 5 minutes, I told myself. I even set the alarm on my phone. But guess what? I woke up 2 hours later in the dark. Missed Yearbook meeting tonight. A lot of homework to do. Chemistry exam 3 tomorrow. Rawr.
Oh well, at least i did something productive today. I booked my flight ticket to London already. Everything is set. Can't wait for holidays to come.
Missed Malaysia all of the sudden..
Nice music for the day: Super Mario 64 - Water Theme (quite hypnotic, makes me wanna sleep)
Posted by peixin at 12:56 PM | Comments (0)
November 15, 2005
Lawatan ke Chicago
Sebelum rakan-rakan sekalian ingin menyatakan pandangan tentang edisi diari elektronik kali ini, saya ingin memohon ampun and maaf sekiranya terdapat kesalahan dari segi tatabahasa dan struktur ayat yang saya guankan. Maklumlah, ini kali pertama saya menggunakan bahasa kebangsaan kebanggaan rakyat Malaysia untuk mengumpit sedikit sebanyak tentang kehidupan saya di West Lafayette. Namun, hal ini tidak bermaksud saya akan terus menggunakan Bahasa Malaysia untuk mencatit diari elektronik ini selama-lamanya. Saya hanya ingin melepaskan rasa kekok selepas 2 tahun tidak berbahasa.
Hujan semakin lebat (terasa nak taip 'hujan anjing dan kucing' pula..). Terpaksalah saya berteduh di dalam perpustakaan Dewan Batu (Stone Hall) sementara menunggu bas 4B tiba. Ini kali pertama saya menggunakan perpustakaan ini walhal sudah beberapa kali saya melintasi tempat tersebut sebelum ini. Jam berdetik menghampiri jam 6.30 petang. Terkobar-kobar rasanya hendak meneruskan catitan ini tetapi saya terpaksa beredar dahulu untuk menaiki bas balik ke tempat kediaman.
Berdepan dengan skrin LCD 'laptop' yang lumrah saya pandang, sekali lagi saya melabuhkan punggung di depan komputer dan meneruskan catitan buat kali ini. Semasa berjalan ke tempat menunggu bas tadi, hujan membasahi pakaian saya dalam sekelip mata. Angin bertiup bukannya sepoi-sepoi bahasa, tetapi kuat and sejuk hingga menusuk tulang. Cuaca di sini memang tidak menentu. Habislah musim sejuk nanti..
Entah kenapa saya berasa sungguh letih hari ini. Baru sahaja balik dari Chicago semalam, saya terus 'papp!!' melelapkan mata. Chicago memang menawan. Walaupun saya tidak berpeluang untuk jalan berpelisiran di 'downtown', pemandangan bangunan pencakar langit Chicago, terutamanya Menara Sears, dari kawasan periferi sudah cukup mengagumkan.
Destinasi pertama ialah rumah kediaman Puan Enson, pegawai MSD Chicago. Tujuan kami (saya dengan Peter) melawatnya adalah untuk meminjam alat-alat pameran bagi pembentangan kami Jumaat ini. (tujuan sekunder pula ialah menyambut hari raya dengan Pn. Enson sekeluarga.. ini memang tidak dapat dielakkan haha..) Pn. Enson sungguh mesra apabila menyambut kedatangan kami. Dia dan suaminya berbual-bual dengan kami seketika sebelum mengundang kami menjamu selera. Hidangan laksa Kelantan Pn. Enson teramat sangat (kesalahan tatabahasa) sedap. Semasa kami makan, suami Pn. Enson memberi keterangan tentang hidangan terkenal dari kampungnya itu. Menurut penjelasannya, kualiti laksa Kelantan bergantung pada jenis ikan yang digunakan untuk membuat kuah laksa. Walaupun pedas, saya masih mampu menghadamkan (ada salah penggunaan kata, saya rasa) dua mangkuk laksa dan pelbagai jenis kuih-muih raya.
Seterusnya, Pn. Enson membawa kami ke rumah kediaman ketua MSD pula. Di sana, kami bertemu dengan Zuliana dan bersembang dengannya. Zuli masih kelihatan kecil molek dan banyak bercakap :P Oleh sebab perut sudah kenyang (maksudnya buncitlah..), kami bertiga meminta diri dahulu dengan alasan ingin melihat kampus Universiti Northwestern. Northwestern mempunyai pemandangan tasik Michigan yang kelihatan seperti laut. Mereka ada pantai peribadi juga (cis! :P). Namun demikian, kampus Northwestern sungguh kecil jika dibandingkan dengan universiti lain. Tapi dengan adanya bangunan-bangunan moden yang bertingkat-tingkat, infrastruktur universiti masih cukup untuk menampung keperluan mahasiswa-mahasiswi di sana.
Selepas meninggalkan Zulie di tempat kediamannya, kami beredar pula ke tempat tinggal Sin Yi. Temannya mengajak kami makan malam bersama-sama di Chinatown Chicago. Buat kali pertama kami berempat bertemu kembali di tempat asing ini, perasaan saya berbaur seronok dan sambar hati juga (entah kenapa, saya berasa kurang selesa melihat keintiman di depan mata). Kami bersembang-sembang seperti masa di INTEC dahulu. Sungguh nostalgik..
Chicago, jumpa lagi minggu depan!
Posted by peixin at 07:11 AM | Comments (3)
November 12, 2005
Fountain of Youth
I felt extraordinarily youthful today. Waking up at 7am, I skimpily dressed and biked to campus. The weather was more frigid than ever: I had 4 layers on but the wind stung and pricked incessantly. Nevertheless, i biked on. The thought of Robin, my chemistry TA, glaring down at me screaming "LATE again!!" was unbearable. Surprisingly, I was early by 5 minutes today. And Robin was late. Transportation problem. Hah, look who's talking :P
Feeling extremely biosterous, I took charge of the experiment "visible spectroscopy". Yeah. We're separated into groups of 4, so David, Michelle (both Koreans), Madhu (a blurry guy from India) and I were in one team. They all had no idea what we're supposed to do. As I just did the same experiment yesterday for Biol 139, I had no problem recalling what to do. Spectrophotometer plugged to computer, warming up, put in cuvet with the solution and presto! the machine did all the work haha.. then it's just plotting graphs and writing lab reports. After that, I helped David with his chemistry homework in the Life Sciences Library (it has become a routine) and that's when I invited him to create a facebook account.
Seriously, a lot of Asians here have no idea what facebook is, and some just don't care. Well, I think that although it doesn't really matter if you are in facebook or not, but at least they should widen their social circle, and facebook is the trend, the place to start socializing (especially for shy people who doesn't like to initiate conversation like me).
So, I can just imagine my templates for 'conversation initiator' have just received another valuable member.
Me: hey, I'm pei xin, or you can call me Vegas. It's easier to remember.
so-and-so: hey, I'm so-and-so. Nice to meet you. Are you in the biol xxx class too?
Me: yeah! you can see my name under the course title in facebook. are you into facebook?
so-and-so: yeah(duh!)! I can add you to my contact!
anyway, i hope that my circle is widening soon. and thanks for everyone who's been there for me when i'm down. You are the truest friend of all, even if you are not in facebook!
Posted by peixin at 12:23 PM | Comments (1)
November 11, 2005
More rejections
Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2005 16:30:08 -0500
From: Abby Carr
To: plim@purdue.edu
Subject: pssc
Hello, Pei,
I would like to say thank you, once again, for interviewing with our council. We were sincerely impressed by your qualifications and motivation. Unfortunately, we could only select a limited amount of new members, and will not be able to accept you this semester. I would like to strongly encourage you to apply with us again next semester, as you were a top candidate and would serve us well. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you for your time, and good luck with your future endeavors!
*Abby Carr
This is not the first time already.. and I can (proudly?) say i'm numb to rejections more than ever. Perhaps this is a training for me to get use to failures. If you don't get what I mean, I'm referring to my most probable future job: a researcher in the fields of biotechnology. From the numerous alumni panels i attended for BIOL 115, I garnered that 90% of all researches one venture into will somehow fail, even for prominent scientists who have an average 85% failure rate (I love statistics; it brings out all the necessary info in numbers). In that case, one must be adroitful enough not to sink into long period of blues.. and continue to persevere and strive through.. by the time ripes and success finally belongs to you, it'll be the sweetest things of all.
The weather today was extremely frigid. I wore 3 layers of clothes but the blasted wind still forced its way through my body to my spine. The problem with the temperature here is that it fluctuates so frequently that one day you are prepared for the cold weather someone turn the sun on full radiation; and on another day you wear less in anticipation of the cheery sun, the weather just turn nasty.
Solution: read 'The Exponent' and watch out for the weather forecast section. It's almost always give correct prediction.
song of the day: Switch by Will Smith (ah, from 'Hitch', a somehow nostalgic movie for me)
Posted by peixin at 07:31 AM | Comments (1)
November 09, 2005
Song of the day
Artist: Alison Krauss
Song: Down to the River to Pray
As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good old way
And who shall wear the starry crown
Good Lord, show me the way !
O sisters let's go down,
Let's go down, come on down,
O sisters let's go down,
Down in the river to pray.
As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good old way
And who shall wear the robe and crown
Good Lord, show me the way !
O brothers let's go down,
Let's go down, come on down,
Come on brothers let's go down,
Down in the river to pray.
As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good old way
And who shall wear the starry crown
Good Lord, show me the way !
O fathers let's go down,
Let's go down, come on down,
O fathers let's go down,
Down in the river to pray.
As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good old way
And who shall wear the robe and crown
Good Lord, show me the way !
O mothers let's go down,
Let's go down, don't you want to go down,
Come on mothers let's go down,
Down in the river to pray.
As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good old way
And who shall wear the starry crown
Good Lord, show me the way !
O sinners let's go down,
Let's go down, come on down,
O sinners let's go down,
Down in the river to pray.
As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good old way
And who shall wear the robe and crown
Good Lord, show me the way !
Posted by peixin at 11:42 PM | Comments (0)
November 08, 2005
Las Vegas
This is the closest photo i can get in connection with the title. It's a streak of light from heaven i caught accidentally on the way to Genting Highlands, Malaysia's "Las Vegas" lol.. sorry la, I'll post one on Las Vegas if I have the chance to visit it :P
I can't really tell why I feel so prolific today.. anyway this is a quip happened during my work today:
Me:
It's really hot over at the lentil counter, isn't it?
Osama:
yeah, you know there's a fan that you can use to cool down the temperature.
Matt(obvious of our conversation):
What? Are you saying it's hot here? Do you want me to go away? (chuckles)
Osama:
We're talking about lentil, not you. You are not hot at all.
Matt:
Oh, don't you know? My secret name is lentil.
Osama:
Yeah right, and mine is microsoft.
Me:
what??
Osama:
That's right. You know that you have to type in CD key whenever you install microsoft softwares right? My full name is Osama Siddiqui (CD key)
Me:
That's really funny.
Osama:
I have one for you too.
Me:
What? My name is as plain as possible: pei xin
Osama:
From now on i'm gonna call you Vegas.
Me:
?? whatever for?
Osama:
Listen. You know Las Vegas right? What does people do there?
Me:
Gamble?
Osama:
Yeah, and gambling is the sin of all sins. Plus, you don't gamble for free right? You have to pay for it. You have to pay for the sin you commit. Pay sin.
I actually burst out laughing. Anyway, it's a great introduction to many people, and Vegas is definitely easier to remember for those who can't even pronounce my name correctly.
but my real name is still Pei Xin. nothing can change it nor its meaning. My name means "nurturing a new generation" in chinese, and I'm proud my parents give it to me.
Posted by peixin at 01:35 PM | Comments (3)
Freedom
This is my first gundam model ever!! Freedom Gundam piloted by Kira Yamato, the Ultimate Coordinator prejudiced by the Naturals and hated by the Coordinators themselves. Gambatte Kira!!
I just had a Calculus exam today. The exam finished in an hour, but i completed it in 40 minutes. After handing in the paper, i ran all the way from Forney Hall of Chem Engineering (read: forney sounds like farnie.. soo funny haha..) to the bus stop in front of Stewart Center just in time to catch the trolley to Earhart Hall. I alighted there and ran all the way again to Hillenbrand Hall which is a stone throw's away. The wind was blasting cold. And I had 3 layers on. So sad..
Where was I heading to? Can you imagine just this morning I read a flyer that advertized that 10 homecoming old masters (a dub for accomplished alumnis) are going to have a reception at the most posh hall in Purdue. I thought it would be interesting, and it was.
The reception started with introduction of each alumni, of whom includes Peter Schnider (ex-CEO and producer of Disney; among his works are the little mermaid, the lion king etc), a Homeland Security officer working for Bush administration, a Fox News anchor, and a lieutenant general! wow.. the fact that so many stars and celebrities congregated in this simple event just blew my mind off. It just freed my mind, freed my mind of pessimism and dejection. I couldn't positively say that Purdue is my choice, but now i think it is the best thing that has happened to me. I explored, and i'm loving it :)
Purdue Varsity Glee Club awaits my audition :P
Posted by peixin at 12:41 PM | Comments (0)
November 04, 2005
Deep in Thought
A week ago, I vacillated.
2 days ago, I decided.
Now, I'm vacillating again.
Which one is less hurtful for you?
Which one is less painful for me?
I have a full year supply of magazine to contemplate about it.
Did I do right?
Posted by peixin at 11:52 PM