Saturday, December 09, 2006
The Gods are toying with me
So there I was, innocently running around, killing monsters in Final Fantasy XII (you can take the game out of the gamer, but you can't take the gamer out of the game) when the rain started pouring as it was wont to do these afternoons, blasted rain. I could hear the faint sounds of thunder in the background, of lightning striking in the distance.
"Where's the bloody save point?!" I complained as my fingers mashed buttons. The sooner I saved my game's progress, the sooner I get off the machine. I was always careful, as I feared for the fates of my electronics; one unfortunate moment and everything dies.
The Gods are toying with me, for on that fateful day, the unfortunate moment arrived: A diminutive bolt of lightning struck, so soft the thunder's roar that one could've thought it at least ten kilometres away. No, the loudest noise during that moment was the crackling sound from the PS2 controller, and me screaming "FUCK!" as I flung the piece of gadgetry away from my hands when I saw bright, white sparks emerging from within. Then, the house went dark.
Flash forward several hours later, my parents were home and we were busy listing down casualties to the wrath of the Gods above: One burnt-out PS2 and accompanying controller, two television sets, the Astro satellite TV decoder, one ceiling fan (of all things), a cordless phone, and a modem. Thank goodness the computers were spared.
I hope that cleared some things (among which includes my absenteeism) up. Moving right along to other topics, the lot of you may have notice the NaNoWriMo meter not displaying 50,000 words, reason being that I was unable to complete the novel in time. Blame it on the lack of planning, I say; I wrote so fast (but in the end, still not fast enough) that when I began adding plot, I ran into as many inconsistencies as The Butterfly Effect's (the Ashton Kutcher movie) screenplay.
Nevertheless, my would-be novel, "Carter", will remain alive. At least, until I figure out what to do with it.
Around that time, too, I received the results for my first semester in Monash's Business course. They weren't what I was aiming for, but considering the amount of effort I expended, I'd do well being contented:
Friggin' contented, that's what I'm telling ya
With an average of 76 marks, I'll have to get an 84 average next semester to get a 50% scholarship for my third, which isn't too far beyond my reach. Getting a 100% scholarship, however, is a different matter; then I'd need a 94 average.
And for the Youth Dhamma Camp I'm helping to plan, things are beginning to run quite smoothly now, though there are still lots of things to straighten out. Which is quite hard when the internet disowns you; but most of you know how it feels, right? Heh heh.
Well, did I leave anything? Looks like a no. So there. See y'all, and until next time, may you never have to suffer an unfortunate moment.
But hell, shit is always bound to happen to us someday.
"Where's the bloody save point?!" I complained as my fingers mashed buttons. The sooner I saved my game's progress, the sooner I get off the machine. I was always careful, as I feared for the fates of my electronics; one unfortunate moment and everything dies.
The Gods are toying with me, for on that fateful day, the unfortunate moment arrived: A diminutive bolt of lightning struck, so soft the thunder's roar that one could've thought it at least ten kilometres away. No, the loudest noise during that moment was the crackling sound from the PS2 controller, and me screaming "FUCK!" as I flung the piece of gadgetry away from my hands when I saw bright, white sparks emerging from within. Then, the house went dark.
Flash forward several hours later, my parents were home and we were busy listing down casualties to the wrath of the Gods above: One burnt-out PS2 and accompanying controller, two television sets, the Astro satellite TV decoder, one ceiling fan (of all things), a cordless phone, and a modem. Thank goodness the computers were spared.
I hope that cleared some things (among which includes my absenteeism) up. Moving right along to other topics, the lot of you may have notice the NaNoWriMo meter not displaying 50,000 words, reason being that I was unable to complete the novel in time. Blame it on the lack of planning, I say; I wrote so fast (but in the end, still not fast enough) that when I began adding plot, I ran into as many inconsistencies as The Butterfly Effect's (the Ashton Kutcher movie) screenplay.
Nevertheless, my would-be novel, "Carter", will remain alive. At least, until I figure out what to do with it.
Around that time, too, I received the results for my first semester in Monash's Business course. They weren't what I was aiming for, but considering the amount of effort I expended, I'd do well being contented:
Friggin' contented, that's what I'm telling yaWith an average of 76 marks, I'll have to get an 84 average next semester to get a 50% scholarship for my third, which isn't too far beyond my reach. Getting a 100% scholarship, however, is a different matter; then I'd need a 94 average.
EDIT: I went back to Monash Malaysia's scholarship page and discovered that I'll need an 89 average for a 50% scholarship (for a two-semester average of 85), but still 94 for a 100% scholarship (two-semester average of 90). Imagine, the line that separates a half scholarship and a full one is 20% spread over four subjects. How screwed up is that?
And for the Youth Dhamma Camp I'm helping to plan, things are beginning to run quite smoothly now, though there are still lots of things to straighten out. Which is quite hard when the internet disowns you; but most of you know how it feels, right? Heh heh.
Well, did I leave anything? Looks like a no. So there. See y'all, and until next time, may you never have to suffer an unfortunate moment.
But hell, shit is always bound to happen to us someday.
