I Guess I Like Math More Than I Thought...

I found this quiz on one of my friend's blogs, so I thought I'd check to see if I was in the right profession. Technically, I do like math, but I neglected to do all of my homework in school. I like learning the principles of it, but repeating the same formula over and over and over and over again...well...you get the idea.

It's also true that I like writing...but I never seem to find the time to do so. Perhaps I'll eventually get the chance to write that novel...or that play...or that screenplay...

You scored as Mathematics. You should be a Math major! Like Pythagoras, you are analytical, rational, and when are always ready to tackle the problem head-on! Mathematics 92% Journalism 92% Linguistics 83% Sociology 83% Engineering 83% Theater 75% Philosophy 67% Psychology 58% Dance 50% English 50% Biology 50% Anthropology 50% Art 42% Chemistry 17% What is your Perfect Major? created with QuizFarm.com

Feel free to take the quiz and let me know what you come up with!

I'm A What?

I wandered onto blogthings and found some interesting quizzes. Since we're approaching Christmas, here's a random one...

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You Are a Cranberry and Popcorn Strung Tree

Christmas is all about showcasing your creative talents. From cookies to nicely wrapped presents, your unique creations impress everyone.

What Christmas Tree Are You?

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Since I don't really like eating cranberries, stringing them up does sound like a better option...

Maybe I Have A Warped Sense Of Humor

This has got to be one of the best "going on vacation" emails that I have ever seen...

by the time i hit "send" i'll be on vacation. i'll be gone until the
beginning of next year. i don't plan to think about any of you while i'm gone,
either.

i'll have my pager, but will give you cancer with my mind if you page
me. i'll have a laptop, but purely so i can watch anime wherever i go. the phone
number where i'll be is XXX XXX-XXXX, but if you call me i'll kill your dog. or
your kid. probably your kid, since i like dogs better.

'Tis the season to be jolly! Ho Ho Ho...

For The Person Who Has Everything...

Christmas will come and go before we know it. What says I love you more than the gift of:

a flock of chicks	a water buffalo	a heifer

Heifer International has a pretty interesting array of animals. Granted, you can't allot the creatures to your closest aunt, uncle, or cousin...and..."Each purchase is symbolic and represents a contribution to the entire mission of Heifer International." But hey...it's the thought that counts!

Got Tickets?

I found this tidbit in the L.A. Times...too bad the 24k tickets allocated can't begin to cover the 62k USC season ticket holders...

The distribution of Rose Bowl tickets:

• USC, 24,000
• Tournament of Roses, 23,300
• Texas, 22,000
• Game management, 6,200
• Other Pacific 10 Conference schools, 4,000
• PrimeSport travel partner, 2,500
• TheTicketReserve, 2,500
• Big Ten Conference, 1,000
• Ticketmaster October presale, 1,000
• Ticketmaster public sale, 1,000
• Additional working media seating, 1,000
• Pasadena residents sale, 500

Total: 89,000 (about 3,000 of the Rose Bowl's 92,000 seats are obstructed-view or disabled seating and are not routinely sold).

*Sources: Tournament of Roses, Pacific 10 Conference, Big Ten Conference

Alas...the 2006 Rose Bowl game is going to be such a strain on my pocketbook...

Reggie As Superman!

They say that actions speak louder than words. How's about this as an action frozen in time:

I've heard Reggie Bush called superhuman quite a few times this season. Here's proof that he's at least in a league of his own. To think...he's only a junior. I'm just glad that the USC vs. Westwood High (aka ucla) game was in the afternoon, so that the Heisman voters could catch one more glimpse of "lightening" before casting their votes!

Fight on Trojans! Beat the Horns!

Hello Again

As what seems to happen in November...I tend to fall off the face of the Earth (in terms of blogging). I knew as much going into the month...but with work deadlines, Thanksgiving, and 2 USC home games to attend...this November has not been the best month for me to focus on a novel. So, at last count, my "novel" is a whopping 2,141 words. Hooray!

Incidentally, I could also argue that the loss of daylight savings time could play a part for November not being a good month. An entry in the Wikipedia states that, "The disruption in sleep patterns associated with setting clocks either forward or backward correlates with...lost productivity as sleep-disrupted workers adjust to the schedule change."

However, a co-worker of mine has decided to use December as his Novel Writing Month. So, I figured I might as well join him. Work quiets down a little as we near Christmas and New Year. Plus...there's one more day in December than in November. What happens if I don't make the 50k word quota by the end of the year? Well...we'll just cross that bridge if we come to it.

At A Stalemate

Between going to a reunion on Friday, a football game on Saturday (Fight On Trojans!), and church, choir rehearsal, & a musical today...I'm pooped. And alas...my word count remains the same. Let's hope next weekend is a little less busy, for novel-writing's sake. =P

NaNoWriMo Word Count: 1,590

The Seven Things Survey - Part II

Without further adieu...here is the rest of the "seven things" survey...

Seven things that scare you:
(some of these things creep me out rather than scare me)
1. furbies
2. Van Gogh paintings
3. certain types of rollercoasters
4. traffic in India & the Philippines
5. "bad" germs & bacteria
6. horror movies
7. Edgar Allen Poe stories and poems

Seven things you love:
1. God
2. my family
3. my friends
4. my sorority
5. my church
6. musical theatre
7. USC Football

Seven things you hate:
1. farmer tans
2. jet lag
3. different time zones
4. zucchini
5. cilantro
6. losing touch with friends
7. not sticking to your word

Seven random facts about you:
1. I went to 4 different elementary schools
2. 3,4,5 & 8 are my favorite numbers (don't know why)
3. sheep are my favorite animals
4. I have a fascination for gnomes
5. I have a collection of pressed pennies
6. I sleep pretty well on airplanes
7. I can move my right ankle bone

Seven things you can do:
1. I can see those 3-D picture things
2. play the flute
3. fold a paper crane
4. type 70 wpm
5. spend hours on the internet
6. count in binary
7. recite the Greek alphabet

Seven things you can't do:
1. harmonize
2. play guitar
3. swim
4. splits
5. ski
6. play by ear
7. knit

Seven songs people should listen to:
1. On My Own by Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schonberg (from the musical Les Miserables)
2. Meadowlark by Stephen Schwartz (from the musical The Baker's Wife)
3. For Good by Stephen Schwartz (from the musical Wicked)
4. Mother India by Caedmon's Call (had to stick a non-musical in somewhere)
5. Some Things Are Meant To Be by Mindi Dickstein & Jason Howland (from the musical Little Women)
6. Loving You by Stephen Sondheim (from the musical Passion)
7. Seasons Of Love by Jonathan Larson (from the musical Rent)

Seven things that attract you to the opposite sex:
1. compassionate
2. has great empathy
3. good sense of humor
4. good singing voice
5. nice smile
6. eyes
7. intelligent conversation

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NaNoWriMo Word Count: 1,590

1/50 Of The Way There

So far, it's taking me about an hour to write every 500 words, give or take 10-20. With that in mind...it's going to take about 98 more hours this month for me to reach my goal of 50,000 words, not including potential writers block hours.

I'm thinking about plot and storyline a bit too much on this 30-day exercise. I should probably just invoke the stream of consciousness method, and write whatever comes out of my head at that present moment:

In psychology and philosophy stream of consciousness, introduced by William James, is the set of constantly changing inner thoughts and sensations which an individual has while conscious, used as a synonym for stream of thought.

Of course...I like being in control of my plots and characters...and I would like my story to be somewhat coherent. That would make it much easier to revise it in the future, if I mustered up enough energy to do so once November has come and gone. Ah well...I'm sure the closer we get to "turkey time", the less coherent my story will become. That is...if I'm still in the middle of writing it.

NaNoWriMo Word Count: 1,027

Another Year, Another Novel

Well...if you count the non-existent one from last year. I tried to write for NaNoWriMo in 2004...but I didn't get too far beyond what I had listed on day 2 - which was about 1500 words. I figure, if I can get beyond 2k this year...that's at least an improvement. My story line should be a little more coherent than what I attempted last year...so we'll see how close I get to the 50k goal.

NaNoWriMo Word Count: 495

Good luck to me and to everyone else attempting this great literary feat.

The Seven Things Survey - Part I

A while back, Lisa filled out her "Seven Things" survey. I'm still thinking about some things...but here are the sections I have already completed. Let's just call this "Part I". Enjoy...

Seven things in your room
1. CDs
2. DVDs
3. books
4. computer
5. desk
6. mini replica of a tiffany stained-glass window
7. television

Seven things you plan to do before you die
1. visit Europe
2. visit All 50 States
3. write a play that gets produced
4. write a full-length screenplay
5. learn basic conversational American sign language
6. learn to harmonize
7. finish a mosaic picture I started two years ago

Seven favorite movies
1. Newsies
2. Singin' In The Rain
3. Memento
4. Lilo & Stitch
5. Wuthering Heights (Olivier)
6. Casablanca
7. Calamity Jane

Seven things you say the most
(pretty boring...I know)
1. cool deal
2. okie doke
3. okay
4. sure
5. ah well
6. like
7. no prob

Seven celebrity crushes
(the last two aren't current)
1. Christian Bale (c'mon...he starred in Newsies)
2. Douglas Sills
3. Brian Stokes Mitchell
4. Josh Groban
5. Orlando Bloom
6. Brad Pitt (pre-Jolie fiasco)
7. Christian Slater (back in jr. high/high school)

Feel free to link/post your own "Seven Things" in the comment section!

Go Pears!

I had lunch with a few friends last Thursday, October 20, and during the course of the conversation, we got onto the topic of the California Republic. Somehow, then mention of pears was involved in the conversation. To clarify, one friend sent me the link to a an urban legends page on snopes.com. As it turns out, the bear was not suppose to be on the California flag. Instead, it should have looked something like this:I think it's kinda cute. Perhaps we should petition to have the flag changed to what it was originally intended to be. =P

Support Deaf West Theatre

Back in January, I had the pleasure of watching Deaf West Theatre's production of Big River. They produced a show that contained both deaf and hearing actors, doubling some character parts to much success. As a result, the show was more visually stunning than its original production and gave me a greater appreciation of my ability to hear and the beauty of American Sign Language.

I had the most memorable & enjoyable theatre-going experience than I had in quite a while...comparable to when I went to a musical for the first time and when I saw my first Broadway show. When I got home, I immediately logged on to the web, and looked for the next Deaf West Theatre production I could watch.

Nine months later, that opportunity came. Tonight, I saw a play commissioned by Deaf West Theatre, entitled Open Window. It was about a young man who had been locked in the basement by his father for 12 years, and two women's attempt to introduce him into the world. Although the play was heavy on scientific terms, it proved to be a moving piece that I hope will be produced by more theatres in the near future.

If you live in Southern California, I encourage you to make the trek to the Pasadena Playhouse, to watch this wonderful piece of theatre. If you can't make it in person, you can always contribute to their effort through their website. Theatre needs to be made accessible to all...and Deaf West Theatre is essential to make this goal possible.

Close Call

Wow...I mean...wow. What a weird way to end a game. After Notre Dame fans started rushing the field, thinking they had won...officials put 7 seconds back up on the clock, since the ball had been knocked out of bounds. This was when Trojan quarterback, Matt Leinart, pushed and rolled his way into the end zone for the winning touchdown.

Congratulations, team...you'll pulled it off, while managing to give your fans massive coronaries. Oh...and special thanks go to the Irish football players who hit Matt hard enough to knock that ball out of bounds...you gave us another chance to beat you.

FIGHT ON TROJANS! BEAT THE HUSKIES!

Another One Bites The Dust

According to Playbill Online, Kate Reinders, who currently plays Glinda in the Chicago sit-down run of Wicked, broke a small bone in her foot during a recent performance. Hmmm...now where have I heard that before? Oh yeah...

"Reinders is the latest Wicked actress to suffer an onstage mishap. Kristin Chenoweth, who originated the role of Glinda, suffered a neck injury during the show's out-of-town tryout in San Francisco and wore a neck brace during part of her Broadway run. Tony Award winner Idina Menzel, who created the role of Elphaba, broke a rib during her final weekend of performances on Broadway. And, Stephanie J. Block, who plays Elphaba in the musical's national tour, suffered a back and neck injury during the tour's rehearsal period that caused her to miss several Toronto performances and the show's recent San Francisco engagement."
(full text can be found here)

So...in the event that you get cast as the lead in a production of Wicked...make sure you have health insurance!

Fair Warning To Washington & Arizona...ASU Fans Are Mean

A couple weeks ago, I had the great pleasure of traveling to Tempe, AZ, to watch the USC Trojans beat the Arizona State Sun Devils on their home field. I will refrain from talking about the blistering weather, lack of water at the concession stands, and how we had to come back to win in the second half. My focus today is on the ASU fans.

I have now had time to recoup from that weekend, so my rant will be a little tamer. All I can say is that, in general, ASU fans are just plain rude. It would take some convincing to get me back to that stadium anytime soon. Not only did they appear to be sore losers, but they were sore winners as well.

Now, it's one thing to trash talk about the opposing team...but it's quite another to vandalize. The first act of uncouthness was during the 3rd quarter. It took a bit longer than the Trojan fans expected...but our team finally took the lead during that period of time. Shortly after we scored the touchdown that put us ahead...people from the student section started throwing bottles onto the field. Pretty soon, it was raining bottles. It got so bad that an announcement was made that if it didn't stop...the ASU Sun Devils would obtain a penalty. Even after the announcement, a few bottles still trickled down. C'mon guys...this is your field! Have you no pride...or any respect for your football team? Ha...I guess not.

However bad the bottle throwing was...what happened in the 4th quarter was more personal in nature. About 10 minutes into it...ASU scored again...to put them ahead (momentarily). At this point, an ASU fan at the top of the section next to us took it upon himself to celebrate. He did this by flicking some red punch concoction into our section. In an instant, we were covered with drops of red, gooey liquid. We all immediately looked up at the offender, while his friend kept swearing he didn't do anything. At this point we were all markedly upset, stained from head to toe. And what did the ASU fans next to us do...instead of sympathizing and leaving us alone...they yelled for all of us to suck it up.

So, in addition to another WIN, we also ended up with speckled clothing. You can see what happened to our hats in this picture. Imagine an entire section of this...and not just hats, but shirts, shorts, shoes...everything. My friend's dad had a white button-down shirt on...he just had to throw it out when he got home.

So...thanks Arizona State fans...you sure made this a memorable experience. And, a note to Washington and Arizona fans...don't wear your favorite apparel to the game...and don't expect any civility to come from the ASU end. Besides, they may be meaner now that they lost their last two home games...

The Not-So-Amazing Race

If you watch The Amazing Race, but haven't seen last night's episode (October 11, 2005)...I won't reveal which team was ousted...but be warned that this may be a spoiler of sorts.

I'm trying to give The Amazing Race: Family Edition a chance, since I like the "series" in general. Let's forget the fact that it doesn't seem like these people will ever leave the U.S. I've realized by now that this is an uber-dumbed-down version of the show. But, last night's elimination really irritated me. How can they call this thing a race, if the rankings were fixed after a certain point?

Let's recap a little. While the teams were in Charleston, South Carolina, they had to finish one of two tasks and then race to the Visitor's Center to sign up for one of two buses to a "mystery location". Each bus carried 4 of the remaining teams. After riding for 8 hours, they were dropped off at their final location before the pit stop.

If you were in bus #1, you definitely made it to the next round...no problem. If you were in bus #2, your survival was based on how quickly your luggage was loaded off the bus and how fast you read the clue. Then you had to run to grab a number to wait in line for the next task, which was to sit in a human centrifuge. After each team was done, they had to go check e-mail, and then run to the pit stop. Waiting in line for the centrifuge just spaced the teams out more and made it impossible to catch up before the pit stop.

It would have been more of a race if they just made them run to the pit stop from the bus. They could have had them drive to the centrifuge...or put the pit stop in another location. I would have even been okay with it if this had been a non-elimination leg. But no...they just capped an 8-hour bus ride with a tell-tale task. Lame...

A friend of mine has already stated he would sit this season out. If I were wise, I would do the same. But alas...I guess I'm a glutton for punishment...

I've Been Here...

A friend of mine directed me to this nifty site, called world66. It generates an image, based on which states you've been to. I've been here...


Granted, in regards to Texas, I've only been to the Dallas airport for a layover, and my visit to West Virginia consisted of driving through the neck of it for a total of 10 minutes. But hey...that still counts, right?

My co-worker told me that I should try to make it to all 50 before I turn thirty. Well...we'll see about that...

Oh...and there's also a tool to generate which countries you've visited...but that's pretty pathetic looking for me. If you want to give it a go, you can find that here. Enjoy!

Rent Rent Rent Rent Rent

I was trying to be patient, and wait for the original soundtrack recording of RENT to show up on the Yahoo! Music Engine. But, thanks to Lisa...who not only posted links of the trailer, sound clips, and a reminder of the release date on her blog...but also went through the trouble of calling BestBuy, Barnes & Noble, and Tower Records to find it...I had to get it the day it was released. Did I mention that she called me to tell me about the special collector's covers? (It appears that she has now written a review about the soundtrack as well.) I guess it's only fitting that I buy the CD...it had my name written all over it!

Thanks, Lisa...such a bad influence in regards to my pocketbook...

99 Bottles Of Beer On The Wall...

Well...not quite...only 93. And they weren't exactly on a wall.

We have two bushes next to the sidewalk, at the end of our driveway. This morning, while my mom was gardening, she noticed something shiny sticking out of one of the bushes. Upon further investigation, she discovered and empty Miller Lite bottle...and then another one...and another one...and...well...you get the picture.

When all was said and done, she had pulled out 93 empty 32-oz. beer bottles! Now I'm wondering who's been sticking all these bottles in our bush without us noticing...and for how long. That's some pretty serious drinking!

Ah well...at least my mom got about $6.80 from the recycling center for all of it!

Around The Bend

College football season is right around the corner, and I can't wait to see the USC Trojans dominate once again. But alas...there are still 25 more days until that first kickoff in Hawaii. A friend told me of a new video blog at: http://www.mattreggietv.com/. Perhaps watching Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush doing interviews will help appease in the next three weeks or so...

FIGHT ON TROJANS! BEAT THE RAINBOWS!

On The Town

Luckily I haven't been hiding under a rock these past few months. Besides going to the Orange Bowl (Yay Trojans!), I managed to make my way to NYC in April to see a few shows:

Spamalot - I fear I was a little under the weather during this show, so I didn't quite appreciate all of the antics. While David Hyde Pierce and Hank Azaria are wonderfully witty and talented, I loved the characters that Christian Borle portrayed. Not Yet Dead Fred, Prince Hubert, and the Historian...very entertaining indeed.

Little Women - I wasn't too thrilled with how they treated the story and it took a gazillion listenings of the CD to warm up to some of the songs since then. But, it had Sutton Foster as Jo March, as well as Louisa May Alcott's book as source material...so there were redeeming qualities to be had.

Dessa Rose - This was based on a book about two strong women during the time of slavery, played by Rachel York and LaChanze...of course, I managed to catch it when they were BOTH out. But I was astounded by Kenita Miller's performance as Dessa Rose, and I can't wait to see her in another Broadway production in the future. And...Flaherty and Ahrens always make me weep with their powerful music & lyrics.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - As expected, this is a very fun show which I think kids and adults would both enjoy. Raul Esparza and Erin Dilly perform wonderfully, but of course, the star of the show is the car itself. Charge some hard cash for people to take a couple of spins in that thing, and I think the producers could recoup their investment in putting on this show!

La Cage Aux Folles - The cagelles were beautiful and dance and flip around the stage with the greatest of ease. Their talent and build was directly proportional to the sound of the females sneering in the audience. If only WE could look as good as that company of male transvestites! If you liked the Birdcage, you should like this show...since they're based off the same story. Gary Beach was the consummate drama queen, Robert Goulet was as debonair as could be, and Gavin Creel...as cute as always.

Brooklyn - The set was very creative and the costumes were quite inventive. Try telling a fable and using trash to make your outfits. There was a lot of energy coming from the small cast of five...Eden Espinoza has some pretty powerful pipes as well. This show is closing at the end of the month, but I can't help but think that it would have lasted in NYC longer if it was playing off-Broadway. Let's see if the upcoming National Tour can be successful.

I'm Still Here...

Call it a hiatus...a sabbatical...laziness...or just plain forgetfulness. Either way, it's been way too long since I have updated this blog. I'll try to be better from now on...

Leave No Doubt

S-O-U-T-H-E-R-N
C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A

SOUTHERN
CALIFOR---NIA!

I know, I know...it was a blowout...but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

My beloved Trojans trounced the Sooners...and that was only in the first half.

There were hints of deja vu when OU scored first and their fans starting getting obnoxious. It was then that I knew we would destroy them...after all, isn't that what happened against Iowa in the 2003 Orange Bowl?

I bought my football tickets back in October, so I ended up in the mix with some Oklahoma fans. At least there were a few friendly faces around in the beginning of the game. However, by the middle of the third quarter, the OU fans made a mad dash out of Pro Player Stadium...good riddance.

My friends and I stayed to celebrate until they kicked us out. Accolades to Leinart, Bush, and the rest of the men of Troy. Can we say 3-Pete?