Friday June 27, 2003 (9:54 PM)

Music - Tsuki No Tragedy, from the Tenchi Muyo! Soundtrack

I am trying to get a summer job, and the temp agency that I went to get an interview with said that I needed to get an official Social Security Card. So today, I went to the Social Security office in East Orange to try to get my work status changed from "Not available for employment" to "May be employed in the United States." On the website, it said that a good form of ID would be a driver's license or a passport. I knew that I would have to prove my citizenship to them, so I brought my passport. It says that my nationality is American. For good measure, I also brought my driver's license AND my old Social Security Card. I was so prepared.

I get there at 10 AM and the office is already half full. I take a number and sit down. After finishing the crossword puzzle in today's Star Ledger, my number was called. The employee that I went to looked at my passport and said, "It says you're an American here." No freakin' duh. I know you can read, or the government wouldn't have hired you. Then she says that a passport isn't good enough to prove that I'm a citizen. She just told me I'm a citizen, but that the document where she read that I was a citizen isn't good enough proof. I have to bring in my Naturalization Certificate to prove that I was a citizen BEFORE I got my passport. WTF does it matter when I was made a citizen? If I was a citizen when I got my passport, then I am still a citizen now. So now I have to go back to the Social Security Office with yet another certificate to prove something that was already on another official document. This is yet another delay in my job-hunting process. Harumph.

Friday Five

1. How are you planning to spend the summer?
   Well, if you read the paragraph above, I'm trying to get a job. Pretty much any job will do. I just wanna make money, not spend it.

2. What was your first summer job?
   I've never had an official summer job. Mostly I bum around with friends (way back when I had friends XD) and the past few summers I sit at the computer.

3. If you could go anywhere this summer, where would you go?
   If money were not an issue, I'd go to China. I had been planning to go to Beijing this year to attend an international school and learn some mandarin, but because of the SARS scare, the classes were cancelled.

4. What was your worst vacation ever?
   I don't really like vacations. Most of them are pretty bad. The worst was when my parents, my grandmother, my sister and i went on a 7-state Chinese-speaking bus tour of the Midwest. The heat was intolerable and the only places we hit were the major tourist spots. The only saving grace was the day-long hike.

5. What was your best vacation ever?
   The best vacation might be the one where my family went to Cape May. I don't like going to the shore, but we didn't go in the summer so it neither crowded nor hot. It's such a pleasant, laidback little town. Every street has a bike lane and the stores are so quaint. Governor's School was fun too. I don't think that counts as a vacation though.

--Tsunami wishes that the renovations would be over.

Thursday June 26, 2003 (6:41 PM)

Music - I Want To Save You, by Something Corporate

I know it's not friday, but I just discovered the Friday Five and I feel like answering their questions. So here are five random questions generated by somebody else and answered by me.

1. Is your hair naturally curly, wavy, or straight? Long or short?
   Naturally straight and long

2. How has your hair changed over your lifetime?
   Like all little asians, I had a bowl cut when I was little. Then when I was about 8, I had shoulder-length hair with the classic straight-cut bangs. Eventually, the bangs grew out and I had plain old one-length hair. During freshman year in high school, I cut bangs again. In my junior year, I dyed a strip of hair on one side of my head. It was a bright yellow color...ugh, awful. I dyed it black again for the junior prom because it clashed with my dress. My hair's been pretty much the same ever since.

3. How do your normally wear your hair?
   Washed and air-dried. Down and straight.

4. If you could change your hair this minute, what would it look like?
   I would keep it in the same style, but make it a different color. Maybe a dark blue.

5. Ever had a hair disaster? What happened?
   I had a field day with the scissors and had to keep my hair tied up for a few months.

   The Puerto Rican floor guys came again today. They put another coat of lacquer on the stairs and hallway so that the entire family is confined to downstairs. It's a good thing we have an extra fridge down here. It's not so good that we don't have a kitchen. It's great that I have nowhere to stay except in the computer room. I usually stay here all day anyway. Now I have an excuse to!

...:::Edit:::...

Oh! My sister is sooo awesome. She went to the mall today and bought me some fuzzy dice for my future car. Thank you June. You're the best!

--Tsunami wishes you a fuzzy-dice day!

Wednesday June 25, 2003 (7:11 PM)

Music - I Want To Hear You Sad, by The Early November

I had this away message up at 5 pm today because I was watching X-Files. Of all the responses that I got, this is the most clever. Oh Matt, you funny guy you. ///.^

PianoMattD: ahh, that's a lot of x's
*** Auto-response sent to PianoMattD: x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

the truth is out there

///.^
PianoMattD: one could probably make a whole file on them
PianoMattD: they could call it
PianoMattD: "The File about X's"
PianoMattD: I'm smelling hit TV series here

Right, so about prom. No comment. But afterwards, David's friends were planning on going to a comedy club in the city. Of all the people that were there, David and I were the only ones not to be in the limo. Of course, there was only one set of directions, and they had to be with the limo driver. The only logical thing to do is for David to follow the limo. Now rationally, a limo is a big car. At midnight, there's considerably less traffic. It should have to be pretty hard to lose a huge limo. This logic should work...theoretically.

Following the limo works out just fine up until we hit the toll booth for the Holland Tunnel. The fatal error revolves around E-Z Pass. For all of my Amish readers, here's one for you: technology sucks. The limo driver apparently had E-Z Pass, but David did not. If you've ever been to the Holland Tunnel tollbooth, you'd know that almost every single booth is E-Z Pass only except for two. The people who decided to arrange it that way thought it would be a good idea to have a lot of places where tolls could be paid quickly and only leave TWO where drivers had to fumble for change. What a great idea! Let's take the slow toll-payers and make them even slower by cutting down on how many lanes they can use.

Anyway, back to the point. The limo goes through the E-Z Pass lane and we are stuck waiting in the exact change lane. Time passes. By the time that we get through the tollbooth, the limo is gone. Well, now that our passage through the tunnel has been paid, we might as well use it, right? So we do. We end up in the city. The limo was nowhere to be found. A good plan at that moment would have been to find the comedy club. But as luck would have it, the comedy club is located on a street that isn't named by number. It's McDougal. Goody. So now what? Aha, a brilliant idea arises! Let's drive around in circles until we find a street called McDougal. More time passes. Somehow, we end up in the Bronx. Finally, we give up and get directions back to the tunnel from some random people sitting on a stoop. Anticlimactic, isn't it? I'm just glad that we made it back. I was afraid that I'd wander around in the city forever. Hurrah for people who are willing to ask directions. Boo on people who are afraid to. -_-

--Tsunami wishes that all the evil people in the world would get lost somewhere

Friday June 20, 2003 (7:58 PM)

Music - Wish You Were Here, by Incubus

Note: I wrote this entry at the time listed above and I just forgot to upload it until later.

The indoor graduation ceremony was accompanied by a lack of rain. Harumph at the weatherman. Project Graduation was also less than stellar. At the very least, I got a few signatures in the yearbook and talked to some people that I hadn't had the time for recently. What a monumental waste of time it was...too much person and too little clothing, too much ego and too little brain, to much air and not enough to say. I wish I hadn't gone.

My checkbook arrived today! It's green, a pretty pretty green. I just wanna sit here and look at the zig-zag pattern all day long. It's so soothing, hohum.

What's not soothing is the buzzing coming from upstairs. There are men upstairs ripping up and replacing stained floorboards. Whatever machine they're using up there causes the house to shake and the computer battery to flicker on and off.

Cherry: Do you know any florists in Livingston?
Mom: You can try the one at Shop-Rite
Cherry: (after unsuccessful call to Shop-Rite) Any other suggestions?
June: Isn't there a florist by Dinkin Donnitz?...erm, Dunkin Donuts?

--Tsunami wishes you a car-accident-free day

Tuesday June 17, 2003 (3:59)

Music - Idiotheque, by Radiohead

Headache and cough. Chills and sore throat. I'm sick.

I checked the senior fines sheet yesterday and it said that I owed 80 dollars to the music department. For those of you from out of town, if I don't pay my senior fines, then I have a serious problem. They will not give me tickets to the graduation for my parents. They will keep me in school forever! So naturally, I had to do something. I went through every single shitty piece of clothing in my room to find my freakin band uniform. You know, the one that's silver on top with black trim the bottom?

I was in a big hurry to return that thing. No point in letting a space suit keep me from graduating

Polar bears come in pairs. They sit around a hole in the ice like petals on a rose. That is such a great game! Everybody should play the polar bear game. It's more fun than the hat game, the bagels game, the umbrella game, and the up-or-down game. ^_^

--Tsunami wishes you a polar-bear-and-fish-and-plankton day!

Sunday June 8, 2003 (11:23 PM)

Music - The Boys of Summer, by The Ataris

FLYING MILKMAN1: i saw a pic of britney spears she was holding a dic, she had cum drippen from the side of her mouth and it said, OOPS SHE DID IT AGAIN
Nullo more: sounds great, where can i get some?
FLYING MILKMAN1: sum cum
Nullo more: naw, the pic of britney spears
Nullo more: i can get some cum no problem
FLYING MILKMAN1: really
Nullo more: sure, you can buy it in bottles
Nullo more: they sell it in the finest food stores
Nullo more: didn't you know?
FLYING MILKMAN1: no
FLYING MILKMAN1: lol
Nullo more: well now you do
FLYING MILKMAN1: thats funny
Nullo more: yeah. even funnier is the fact that they actually have nutrition labels
Nullo more: i heard it's pretty good for you
Nullo more: better than milk!
Nullo more: but not so good with cereal
FLYING MILKMAN1: lol
Nullo more: too sticky
Nullo more: by the way, do i know you?

The mock trial dinner was delightful! Very seldom do I get to spend some time with Suhxie, who is always entertaining. I hope the team wins something spectacular next year. Even though I won't be there (sniff) I would still love to come back and see them. Nothing's more exciting than head-on competitions.

Our last minute gift to Mr. Kahn and Mr. Garzon was a pair of tickets to the subway series. We ordered them just the day before, so there was no time for it to arrive. Ah well, it'll get to them eventually. When I was writing the cards for our coaches, I wanted to write the date of the game that we bought tickets for, so I started to write "June." I couldn't remember the date exactly, so I waited until another person arrived to remind me. When David arrived, I just told him to write the date in the card. He failed to notice that I had already written "June," and he wrote "June 22" elsewhere on the card. So, in a moment of desperation, I drew an arrow pointing to the lonely word "June" and wrote "Future Mock Trialer." For those of you who don't know, my sister's name is June. She'll be a freshman in high school next year and is planning to do mock trial. How convenient for me! ///.^

--Tsunami wishes you a veal-with-brandy-and-mushrooms day

Thursday June 5, 2003 (4:43 PM)

Music - Brown-Eyed Girl, by Everclear

The lockdown was in French class, but on the wrong day. It was pretty uneventful. I'm disappointed. It was so hyped up.

The Calculus AB students threw a surprise party for Mr. Lamb today. They gave him a big poster with illustrations of his story on it. The party made me realize how much I'm going to miss calc next year. I've never been particularly good at math, but for some reason, calc is so clear and easy to understand this year. Of course, this is all because of Mr. Lamb. Dearie me, I'm going to miss his classes so very very much.

--Tsunami wishes you a best-wishes-to-Mr.-Lamb day

Tuesday June 3, 2003 (8:29 PM)

Music - Follow You Down, by Gin Blossoms

I signed up at Haloscan so now you can comment without the hassle of an email form. You can also view everybody else's comments and respond to them. It's much neater and much more convenient. Try it! You know you wanna. The link is at the bottom of each entry.

My high school has scheduled a lockdown sometime between now and the end of the school year. For those of you who don't know what a lockdown is, I'll grace you with a description. The principal gets on the public announcement system and declares a lockdown. Teachers herd the students into a corner, close the windows, pull down the blinds, turn out the lights, and lock the door to give the illusion that no one is in the room. All class bells are suspended while scary-looking officers and dogs sweep the building. Now, the administration won't tell us when the lockdown is supposed to happen in order to surprise us. I'm hoping that the lockdown is either next Tuesday during 3^rd period or any day during 4^th period. My 4^th period class is great and I wouldn't mind staying in there for an extended amount of time. On Tuesday in 3^rd period, my French class is probably having a party. If past parties in French class are any indication of what's going to happen on Tuesday, then we'll be making crêpes. We could continue making crêpes all through the lockdown! How great would that be? While people with guns and shields patrol the hallways, we're making crêpes in some classroom corner. Nevermind the emergency, we're just hungry!

--Tsunami wishes you a free-iced-coffee-at-Dunkin-Donuts day!

Sunday June 1, 2003 (6:47 PM)

Music - Sometimes When We Touch, by Rod Stewart (courtesy of Tian)

Snippets of français

Il aimait le poulet
Il aimait le boeuf
Il aimait des poissons
Il aimait des oeufs
Un jour, il mangait de canard
Quand il a entendu un bruit
Il pensait que le canard parlait
Maintenant, il mange seulement les fruits

La vie d’un homme est triste. Quand il est né, la vie commence. N’importe ce qu’il fait, il mourra. Donc, une bonne vie n’essaye pas de prolonger la vie. Les meillures vies sont les plus appréciées. Il n’y a d’espoir après la mort; il n’y a vie après la mort. Si on est vivant il y a toujours une chance pour apprecier la vie. Il n’est pas vrai que l’espoir fait vivre. La vie crée l’espoir.

This afternoon, I felt this sudden urge to eat chocolate. It may sound like nothing to you, but this little craving escalates to the level of a national crisis when I discover that there is none in the house. I had to settle for raw cocoa powder, which, if you’ve ever tasted it, is as bitter as bloody hell. I thought to myself that as bad as chocolate cravings are for me, they would be much worse for someone traveling in a foreign country. Therefore, I am posting up this handy guide for travelers everywhere. Chocolate-lovers everywhere will know how to ask "Where is the nearest chocolate?" no matter where they are. Never go without chocolate again!

French
"Excusez-moi, oú est le chocolat le plus proche?"
(ex-COOZ-ay mwah, oo ay luh shoh-koh-LAH luh ploo proshe?)

German
"Entschuldigen Sie bitte, wo ist die nächste Schokolade?"
(ent-SHOOL-dee-gen zee BIT-tuh, voh ist dee NEX-tuh shoh-koh-LAR-duh?)

Spanish
"Perdon, ¿dónde está el chocolate más cercano?"
(pear-DON, DON-day est-AH el choh-koh-LAH-teh mahs sayr-CAN-oh?)

British English
"I say, beg pardon, Old Man, but could you direct me to a nearby purveyor of chocolate, eh what?"
(AH-ee SEH-ee, behg PAH-dun, uhld mahn, baht cood ee-OO die-RECT mee too ay NEE-ah-BAH-ee puh-VAY-aw ruv CHUCK-uh-litt, ay hwuht?)

And now, any travelers in Europe will most likely know how to ask for chocolate. I have done my part to help humanity. I feel so good about myself now!

Sunday June 1, 2003 (1:43 AM)

Music - Cadillac, by Mest

Since I don't blog much, I didn't want it getting in the way of other features on the site, so I moved the blog here. From now on, this page will be used solely for blogging. The other parts of the site will be up again soon at www.ngsters.com/tsunami.

This layout is my simple little tribute to the beautiful face of Fox Mulder. He is about as dorky-cute as any man could be. Too bad Mulder doesn't really exist. ///.u

My buddy list seems so empty because so few people are online. Most other seniors are away for post-prom in the Poconos or by the shore. Since prom was on Thursday, the whole senior class was out on Friday (except me, of course). I ended up having 4 lunches and 2 study halls that day. What a great relaxing day ///.^