Meowzilla's Life #9

ML#9 ß

2007-06-09T22:15:00.000-07:00

FYI

2007-06-06T17:30:00.001-07:00

"Literature... has generally come to identify a collection of texts or works of art, which in Western culture are mainly prose, both fiction and non-fiction, drama and poetry."
— http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature

Horoscope

2007-05-25T05:20:00.000-07:00

Pisces
Admiration or hero worship is not the same as true love or heart-pounding romance. Friendly interest and genuine concern will lure contacts into you circle.

- 24 Hours, May 24, 2007

I'm not a person who follows horoscope, but this does seem to be strangely apt...

March Snow

2007-03-07T21:51:00.000-08:00

24

2007-03-02T20:59:00.000-08:00

What Does "For Worse" Look Like?

2007-01-14T23:49:00.000-08:00

5 stories about what commitment really means and what it takes to keep a marriage together. I hope I can find something this strong some day.

What Does "For Worse" Look Like?

Leaving On A Jet Plane

2007-01-09T20:16:00.000-08:00

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go
I'm standin' here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the dawn is breakin', it's early morning
The taxi's waitin', he's blowin' his horn
Already I'm so lonesome I could die

(Chorus)
So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane
I don't know when I'll be back again
Oh, babe, I hate to go

There's so many times I've let you down
So many times I've played around
I'll tell you now, they don't mean a thing
Every place I go, I think of you
Every song I sing, I sing for you
When I come back I'll wear your wedding ring

(Chorus)

Now the time has come to leave you
One more time, oh, let me kiss you
And close your eyes and I'll be on my way
Dream about the days to come
When I won't have to leave alone
About the times that I won't have to say ...

(Chorus)

And I'm leaving on a jet plane
I don't know when I'll be back again
Oh, babe, I hate to go

But I'm leaving on a jet plane
Leaving on a jet plane
Leaving on a jet plane
Leaving on a jet plane

Xmas Cookies

2006-12-25T03:39:00.000-08:00

bourbon currant cookies

Gingerbread men wreath. I broke the wreath just before I had to give it away :(

stained glass cookies

A Beautiful Illusion

2006-12-11T21:00:00.000-08:00

click picutre to play video

Life

2006-11-25T22:22:00.000-08:00

Calvin Klein Eternity TV Ad

2006-09-10T22:29:00.000-07:00

My new favorite TV ad! So beautiful and romantic :)

Enej Farewell Dinner

2006-08-30T23:01:00.000-07:00

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with baby bear

Corn Maze

2006-08-30T22:56:00.000-07:00

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Frankenstein's Lollipop Midget Bride

2006-08-17T23:47:00.000-07:00

Alice Lake

2006-08-17T23:01:00.000-07:00

floating around in the raft around the lake was fun

Angel and Tigran getting the BBQ going

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the trail around the lake

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Weekly Utility Function

2006-08-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

Search Engine Personality Test

2006-08-16T22:23:00.000-07:00

Take the test here.

My result: the Shopper and the Omnivore. But actually turning into a Basket Case sounds like a pretty good idea. Cheaper than therapy.

Lost

2006-08-07T04:46:00.000-07:00

Drifting into the abyss... Where am I going?

Illuminaires Lantern Festival

2006-08-06T22:39:00.000-07:00

Hey! They have fireworks too!

Sponge Bob

Who needs to go to the beach when you have this?

drumming with some crazy dancing

free concert!

some more crazy drumming & dancing

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skulls outside a tent

mad cow?

This is a scam! Why didn't I think of this? People just come and drop their money!

the paintings people

Hey there monster!

neat dress!

Canadian Pentathlon Nationals 2006

2006-08-06T22:24:00.000-07:00

This year the nationals was held in Vancouver. There were some friends competing in the event so we went there to cheer them on and watch the show.

The shooting, fencing and swimming events were held at St. George's school

When we got there the shooting event was already over but we managed to catch some fencing

the crowd

the gym with St. George mural

chatting during the break

yes the school has its own pool...

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Ah my eyes~!! Dima take off that neon shirt!!

warming up

taking a shot at shooting

leaving the school for the riding event

Southland's Riding Club

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the course

waiting for the event to start

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walking the course

the test ride

drawing horses

A kid attempting the course with his dog. Unfortunately he fell off the dog and was eliminated from the competition.

Finally the jumping starts!

The running was held at the riding club too

Canadian Senior Men medal/ribbon ceremony

International Senior Men. Congrats everybody!

Party at Maynard's afterwards

mmm... veggie burger...

Michael in Vancouver

2006-08-06T21:44:00.000-07:00

with mom, Enej and Michael on the ferry to Vancouver Island.

Michael is a cousin of mine from New York. We haven't seen each other since we were little kids 13 years ago, and we just recently got in touch again via email. At the end of June he attended a conference in Seattle and came up to Vancouver for a visit. Mom and I were both very happy to see him again, and we showed him around the city. We went to Vancouver Island and Victoria the first day, and then the second day we went to downtown Vancouver, Stanley Park, Capilano Suspension Bridge, Granville Island, UBC, Spanish Bank and Chinatown. It was too bad he was only here for 2 days, but we had a good time and were glad that we finally got to see each other again.

For more pictures, visit Michael's photo album.

Untitled

2006-08-06T03:04:00.000-07:00

My tea's gone cold, I'm wondering why
I got out of bed at all
The morning rain clouds up my window
and I can't see at all
And even if I could it'd all be grey

I drank too much last night, got bills to pay,
my head just feels in pain
I missed the bus and there'll be hell today,
I'm late for work again
And even if I'm there, they'll all imply
that I might not last the day

Pic of the Day

2006-07-05T00:53:00.000-07:00

heehee :P

Whidbey Island, WA

2006-07-05T00:51:00.000-07:00

mom and I first mistook the 25-acre "house" for a golf course

the house with a beautiful ocean view

the yard

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lunch on the patio

the house has its own pier too

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view of the house from the pier

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After lunch we went down to the beach to dig up some clams and oysters for another meal

our catch

the rose garden and strawberry farm

tennis/basketball court

one last shot of the beautiful ocean

Graduation May 2006

2006-06-14T03:49:00.000-07:00

After 5 long years of university... I finally graduated with my bachelor's! I was happy to finally get it over with and the ceremony officially marked the end of my university life. It was strange at the same time to be done with school, but now I'll be moving on to something else in my life.

A full house at Chan Centre

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Finally graduated! Yay!

with mom

with Enej

with Anson

with Denny and Morris

with Ana

with the Chancellor and... I-still-don't-know-who-he-is... cool mase though

Peter Bakonyi Fencing World Cup June 9-11

2006-06-13T03:39:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was the annual Peter Bakonyi Fencing World Cup, which took place in the War Memorial Gym at UBC. I didn't take any pictures myself, since they never turn out that nice, but below are some professional pictures, including some taken by the official FIE photographers:

FencingPhotos.com - Official FIE Photographer:
Faces & Fencers
Men's Individual Epee
Women's Individual Epee

Flickr:
Patrick Tam's Photos
Jacee Tan's Photos
Heather Maclaren's Photos

It was really exciting to see all the top Canadian fencers there and also many top fencers in the world. It's a little bit like meeting celebrities and it's a little unreal to think that these are the people who are best at this in the world!

I have to say the attendance at the competition is down from last year. I can't understand who thought charging public entrance for viewing was a good idea. It's not like fencing has the same popularity as hockey, and all it accomplishes is taking money out of the pockets of athlete's friends and family. It just doesn't make any sense. I guess maybe they couldn't get enough sponsors or funding or something? But I have to say charging for admission is counter productive to getting more public attention and exposure.

Unfortunately, none of the people I personally know made it past top 64; but on a more positive note, Jean-Pierre Seguin and Sherrain Schalm-McKay (who is the #1 ranked female epee fencer in the world right now) from Canada took bronze in men's epee and gold in women's epee, respectively.

Pic of the Day

2006-05-25T16:06:00.000-07:00

Darth Bearer

Pic of the Day

2006-05-15T02:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry!

Bike-Riding Dalmation!

2006-04-24T18:58:00.000-07:00

OMG this is the best video (and dog) ever! Can't stop watching and laughing! Must see! I want a dog like that!

Watch it here!

Go Momo, go!

Gets on the bike itself and rides away! So hilarious!

Yes I'm Still Alive...

2006-04-24T17:15:00.000-07:00

Haven't updated my blog in 5 months now... Just what should I write about? Please leave suggestions in comment. (assuming anyone's reading my blog)

Weekend at Tik's Cabin: Day 1

2005-08-31T03:32:00.000-07:00

Enej and I took the ferry to Wise Island, a small island near Vancouver Island, and spent 2 nights and days at Tik's cabins there.

Beautiful ocean view from the ferry.

The sunset was beautiful and it's nice to have the wind blowing in your hair, except it got cold after a while. It really felt like summer was ending and it's so sad :'(

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The only pictures of me all weekend :P I didn't really take that many pictures this weekend because I didn't want to look like a dork snapping pictures everywhere, and other times I just forgot to bring it with me or just plain forgot to take pictures (doh!) It's really a shame.

Tik came to pick us up at the ferry. We drove across the island and then took the motor boat to Wise Island where his cabin is. The view at sunset was just breathtaking! I was sitting so close to the water and it just reflects the light so, that it looked like liquid mercury!

TIk's cabin

the sun's almost gone but it's still beautiful outside

We had veggie burgers for dinner and then we sat by the fire, roasted marshmallows, made smores and played scrabble (my first time playing! believe it or not!) We slept outside on the patio and I can't remember when the last time I saw so many stars was! The buzzing bugs flying around my ears weren't so nice though...

Tik's Cabin: Day 2

2005-08-31T03:21:00.000-07:00

The second day we had blueberry peach pancakes for breakfast. Mmm... But the pancakes actually turned out green because the blueberries and peaches started to mix...

We picked up Dima and Igor at the ferry with the boat, and it's so much fun when it's going fast! When it breaks the waves and bounces it just feels like you're flying over the water and it's just exhilarating! On the way back Tik demonstrated water and knee boarding. Made it look easy with 360 turns (show-off! :P) Enej tried the knee board but it was hard to maintain the balance when he tried to get up on his knees.

Tik's other cabin.

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After lunch Blair and Breanne went sailing, and Enej, Dima, Igor and I went canoeing. I really didn't like how tipsy and uncontrollable it was. Kayaking is so much better and I was just glad that we didn't flip.

After that we took the boat to Galiano Island, and the boys jumped off the cliffs into the water on the way. I didn't go into the water because it was freezing cold, but I guess the boys didn't care. I would have tried the knee and water boarding too, but I'm such a klutz that I don't think I could have done it even if I tried.

We hiked to the top of Galiano Island and picked blackberries on the way. The view at the top was just spectacular. You could see the ocean and all the surrounding islands. And of course the boys had to climb trees and race down the island.

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We stayed in the other cabin the second night, and played "dice." It's very similar to the card game "Cheat," and I won the game; although I have to say I had some help. Kelsey gave away all the die Tik had. Poor Tik never had a clue :P

After the game we went down to the beach again and Tik (and Enej tried) went skinny dipping . There were full of fluorescent dinoflagellates in the water and they fluoresce whenever you move in the water. It was the coolest thing I'd ever seen! I so wished the water wasn't so cold. I would have definitely gone in. It must be magical to swim in a sea of stars.

Tik's Cabin: Day 3

2005-08-31T03:16:00.000-07:00

The third day we didn't really do much, but Enej went sailing with Tik. It looks really cool and it's too bad I didn't get to try it.

Enej and Tik getting ready to sail.

Hopping into the boat...

And sail!

After that we just played scrabble and had a late lunch. I came in last in scrabble (damn it!) I guess it doesn't really have that much to do with your ability to spell. You just have to play with the rules because sometimes you get the most points with the fewest letters.

After lunch Enej and Dima went canoeing around the entire island, and they actually got a pretty good hang of it this time around. I went with Tik and Kelsey to see them try out the water skate. Kelsey got it after a few tries, and of course Tik succeeded on his first...

Look at Kelsey go!

The weather got pretty cloudy and chilly and it actually rained a bit, so we all came in and sat by the fire. We played Trivial Persuit and I came in last, again... Damn it I hate that game! I felt like such a stupid moron who had no common knowledge at all (sorry I didn't grow up here or learn the nursery rhyme that tells you how many reindeers pull Santa's sleigh!) I didn't not know the answers to 99.9% of the questions! It's called trivia for a reason!

After the game we had dinner and then we had to get ready for the ferry. I was sad to leave but was also glad to go home at the same time... I missed electric power, my shower, and real toilets... But overall the weekend had been fun and I had a blast! Tik's parents were very nice and hospitable, and I think I might actually be able to start a fire and "properly" roast a marshmallow now. (I'll have to work on driving a motor boat and chopping and sawing wood among other things...)

One last look at paradise!

Celebration of Light Finale

2005-08-08T05:14:00.000-07:00

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Rocky Mountains Trip - Day 1

2005-08-08T04:56:00.000-07:00

Terry Fox Mountain

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waterfall

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Kersten imitating Vanja swimming without goggles

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elk on the side of the road

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Rocky Mountains Trip - Day 2

2005-08-08T04:31:00.000-07:00

waiting for the Jasper tramway

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in the gondola on the way to the top overlooking Jasper

at the top of the tramway

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Enej on top of a big rock

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on top of Whistler's Mountain

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waterfall & canyon

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Columbia Ice Field

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valley

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Rocky Mountains Trip - Day 3

2005-08-08T03:22:00.000-07:00

river & canyon

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group pic

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some other lake

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some other lake at the top of a trail

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the glacier that feeds the lake

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some other lake

Lake Louise

Morraine Lake

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Milky Sitting Demurely

2005-07-26T03:07:00.000-07:00

Kayaking at Deep Cove

2005-07-26T03:06:00.000-07:00

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Deas Island

2005-07-26T03:02:00.000-07:00

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Enej's Birthday

2005-07-26T02:59:00.000-07:00

second beach

second beach playground

guys-only soccer birthday party

Eating melting ice cream cake by the beach... with a cup! Now this is memorable...

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Aha!

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Aquarium

2005-07-26T02:51:00.000-07:00

Otter (Nyack)

tiny monkeys (forget what they're called... :P)

sea horse

scarlett ibis

tiger stingray

beluga

sea lion

otter

jelly fish

sloth

anaconda

Yaletown

2005-07-26T02:44:00.000-07:00

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Peter Bakonyi Fencing World Cup UBC Memorial Gym July 8~10

2005-07-26T02:42:00.000-07:00

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Tigran & Angel (Mona Lisa?)

Tigran & Kersten

Enej is all smiles after advancing to top 64 the next day

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Vanja taking self-portraits

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Tigran & Enej fencing together!

Enej & Tik

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Victor looks on...

Tik on his way to top 16

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Victor talks to Tigran during break

party at Tik's afterwards

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Granville Island

2005-07-26T02:25:00.000-07:00

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I Have Abandoned My Blog...

2005-07-26T02:13:00.000-07:00

OMG... I haven't written in my blog for a MONTH!! If I knew this was gonna happen I never would have had a blog in the first place... But I can't help it! This summer there's just too much to do and I'm not having a vacation at all!! I'm starting to panic that I won't be able to finish everything I have to do before I leave for Vienna! I've given up writing big essays in the trivia generator because it just takes too long... But I'll try to post some pictures here to show what I've been up to... So ya... Hope I'll post something else within a month next time...

What Career and Marriage Have in Common

2005-06-27T23:23:00.000-07:00

Today I attended a career fair at my university, and one of my professors was invited to speak at the event. He explained the difference between a job and a career: a job is something that you do from 9-5 so you can have the money to do something else, and a career is what you want and love to do with your life and you never have to look at the clock to see if it's time to go home. According to him, in order to have a career, you have to convince yourself that you love what you do, and he presented an interesting analogy along the lines of this: "Do I really love my wife? Well, I don't really know, but I convince myself that I do so I can stay married." I thought that was a rather unusual take on marriage, and I also think that it's worthy to point out that my professor has confessed himself that he has been married three times and divorced twice.

After a few seconds of thought, I wasn't sure it would be wise to take his advice. Sure, it's important to love what you do and love whom you marry, but I'd make sure that I love something because I really love it, not because I convinced myself that I do.

This Summer Was not Supposed to Suck...

2005-06-27T22:30:00.000-07:00

But it has so far... I've just been overwhelmed with school and a million other things that I have to do... Haven't even had time to update my blog for more than 2 weeks... And school has just been brutal... I'm supposed to get some rest and relax not getting more stressed out!! Fortunately school's almost over, I just hope I didn't fail financial accounting... (knock on wood~) Hopefully the remainder of the summer will be more fun...

Boy, and I thought German Was Hard....

2005-06-15T02:34:00.000-07:00

Try Arabic!

"The first challenge, the script, is a tough one. But it is by no means the biggest. Arabic has an alphabet, so it's easier than, say, Chinese, which has a set of thousands of characters. There are just 28 letters, and it does not take long to get used to writing and reading right-to-left. (Though it still feels odd to open my book from what seems like the back.) Most of the letters have four different forms, depending on whether they stand alone or come at the beginning, middle, or end of a word. Even then, so far so good. But in Arabic, as in Hebrew, people don't include most vowels when writing. Maktab, or "office," is just written mktb. Vowels are included as little marks above and below in beginning textbooks, but you soon have to get used to doing without them. Whn y knw th lngg wll ths s nt tht hrd. But when you're struggling with comprehension to begin with, it's pretty formidable.

Then there are the sounds those letters represent. I do not recommend chewing gum in Arabic class, because a host of noises articulated in the back of the throat makes it likely that the gum will end up in your lungs. Arabic has one "h" akin to ours, and another that has been described as the sound you would make trying to blow out a candle with air from your throat. That's not to be confused with another sound, the fricative kh familiar to German-speakers as the sound in "Bach." There's also 'ayn, a "voiced pharyngeal fricative," which is like the first sound in the hip-hop "a'ight." Unwritten in Roman-alphabet transliterations, it's actually a consonant that begins many common words and names, including "Arab," "Iraq," and "Arafat."

Arabic and Hebrew both use a nifty, three-letter root system for word building. The three-letter root represents a general area of meaning, and different prefixes, vowel additions, and suffixes can make it into a person engaged in that activity, the place where it goes on, the general concept, and so on. Most famous is slm, which generally means "peace." Salaam is the noun for "peace," Islam is "surrender," and a Muslim is "one who surrenders." (In Hebrew, this can be seen in shalom.) Ktb functions similarly for writing: Kitaab is "book," kaatib is "writer," maktaba is "library."

Arabic is a VSO language, which means the verb usually comes before the subject and object. It has a dual number, so nouns and verbs must be learned in singular, dual, and plural. A present-tense verb has 13 forms. There are three noun cases and two genders. Some European languages have just as many forms to keep track of, but in Arabic the idiosyncrasies can be mind-boggling. When Karam explains that numbers are marked for gender—but most numbers take the opposite gender from the word they are modifying—we students stare at each other in slack-jawed solidarity. When we learn that adjectives modifying nonhuman plurals always have a feminine singular form—meaning that "the cars are new" comes out as "the cars, she are new." —I can hear heads banging on the desks around me. I want to do the same.

Arabic is peppered with a lot of God—even secular Arabs will append insha'allah, "God willing," to almost any statement of intent, as in, "I'll file my story by 3, God willing." Sometimes Karam tries to teach us how to work various niceties like this into daily speech. "Thank you" is usually just shukran. "But," Karam tells us, "that is sort of boring, so if someone gives you food it's nicer to say, 'May your hands be blessed,' or …" This is way too much information for my skill level, so I squeeze my eyes shut and hope that Karam's flourishes don't enter my brain and dislodge something vital, like, "Where is the bathroom?"

Modern Standard Arabic [is] the language I am learning. But there's a twist. MSA has about the same role in the Arab world that Latin had in medieval Europe: It's the language of writing, religion, and formal speeches, but it is no one's native spoken language any more. Arabic has long since become a series of "dialects," which are actually more like separate languages, as many varieties are mutually incomprehensible. Arabic spoken in Morocco is as different from Arabic spoken in Egypt and from Modern Standard as French is from Spanish and Latin. When Arabs from different regions talk to each other, they improvise a mix of Egyptian Arabic (which is understood widely because of Egypt's movie industry), Modern Standard, and a bit of their own dialects."

Pretty funny stuff. I guess I won't be learning any Arabic...

I'm Trying To Learn Arabic - Why's it taking so long?
http://slate.msn.com/id/2120258/

2005 Canadian Fencing Nationals May 18~22 Edmonton

2005-06-06T01:54:00.000-07:00

My bf on the podium with the bronze medal in team epee. Something that is unreachable for someone clumsy and uncoordinated like me is somehow possible for him. I would never be able to understand it but because of him I can catch a glimpse of that dream.

My Elementary School

2005-05-30T00:31:00.000-07:00

This is the street right outside my elementary school. The school is inside the walls on the left. I haven't been back there for 8 years and it's feeling strange to see the picture (which I got from a friend's photo album... hope she won't mind hehe~)

Like It or Not, More Pix of My Cat

2005-05-25T02:23:00.002-07:00

I've been told that posting pictures of your pets on a blog is a cliche. Well, guess what, those who don't like it can kiss my kitty's butt. Welcome to my blog.

Huh~!?

This is how modern interpretive dance is done

Oh yes... floor...

Milky in one of his signature poses

Milky with his favorite toy - pompom with catnip. Are you sure it's not addictive?

Anti-Anti-Social Behaviour

2005-05-25T02:04:00.000-07:00

Yes... I do occaisionally hang out with real, live human beings... Here's the proof:

Clubbing at Skybar May 14 with the girls! (And Kev and Alex's eye...)

The girls and guys!

Instant garden concert at Tina's annual BBQ May 7!

Um... Can you call this... string quartet?

Tina grinning over her cake... and yes... it says seven on top...

Beautiful ocean view from Tina's place

The guys

Group pic on the stairs!

BBQ on WR Beach April 30

English, French & German

2005-05-22T04:21:00.000-07:00

"An intelligent person should be able to learn English in 30 hours, French in 30 days, and German in 30 years." - Mark Twain

I read this in one of the personal reports for my exchange. Thought it was funny. It's quite true though; English is probably the easiest European language. French is a little more difficult but manageable. But what's with German? I mean, 3 genders, 4 cases and god knows how many different adjective endings are a little bit extreme. (Although I heard Croatian has 7 cases, but is just crazy.) They should really simplify their grammar. I mean, the Chinese simplified their writing, right?

Check out My New Web Counter!

2005-05-18T23:27:00.000-07:00

I have finally installed a web counter for my blog. It took me all night. (Yes I am totally nocturnal now) I went through dozens of sites and found most of them to be ugly and non-functioning. And then I realized there's not much you can do with it, so I went with www.brained.org, which has over 1500 fonts and any color you want. The only problem is they won't show the zero's in front of the number so I have to set my counter to 10000000. It's nothing special but at least the color and the font match my blog :P

UBC Astroclub Newsletter Year End Edition

2005-05-16T01:12:00.000-07:00

For the past year I have been the newsletter editor for UBC Astronomy Club. I was told I shouldn't have to spend more than an hour or two on each, but I always end up spending DAYS... I guess I'm just slow... Of course I'd want to help more people to be informed about what's happening in astronomy, but damn can there be more work!? Now that I've been there and done that, I'm just glad I don't have to write another one... Anyways, here's the last edition of the year (my sweat and blood):

Fate of Hubble Pending
The Hubble Space Telescope has just celebrated its 15-year anniversary. However, its fate is uncertain. A manned maintenance of the telescope was scheduled for late 2007 or 2008, but after the Columbia shuttle accident in 2003 and President Bush’s budget cut, the former NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe had cancelled the mission in late 2004. A robotic mission to service the Hubble had been proposed earlier, but it was later determined to be too risky and costly, and the telescope was left to deorbit some time in 2013.

In a better turn of events, the new NASA Administrator Mike Griffin had announced that he will reconsider the deorbit decision in light of NASA’s plans to return to flight. The final decision will depend on the success of the new shuttle program.
The Hubble is estimated to function for two more years without service, and currently there is no replacement for Hubble's visible-light acuity even in planning. Its infrared capabilities won't be duplicated until at least early in the next decade when the James Webb telescope is expected to go up.

http://www.space.com/news/hoyer_hubble_050330.html
http://www.space.com/news/050331_hubble_deorbit_plan.html
http://www.space.com/news/griffin_hearing_050412.html
http://www.space.com/news/050418_hubble_op-ed.html
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/050422_hubble_anniv.html
http://www.space.com/news/050429_hubble_griffin.html

Gravitational Lensing: Einstein’s Glasses
Albert Einstein is being remembered this year for the miracle year of 1905, during which he produced his amazing scientific outputs. One of his predictions was gravitational lensing, which is the result of gravity, or the curvature of space-time. When something passes near a massive object, its trajectory is deflected due to the curvature. This deflection applies to light as well, which could be focused or spread out, and galaxies can thus distort the background universe.

There are two types of gravitational lensing: strong and weak. Strong lensing is when the light from a quasar (a type of galaxy made extremely bright by hot gas falling onto a huge central black hole) is broken into multiple images, or when the shape of a galaxy is stretched out. Weak lensing, or cosmic shear, is the subtler magnification of quasars by galaxies, and it is what the Sloan Digital Sky Survey has been trying to observe for the past six years. The survey mapped out 13 million galaxies and 200,000 quasars in 10% of the sky, and used the large sample to statistically analyze the weak lensing that is occurring.

The results confirm the standard model of cosmology, and validated that the galaxies do not only contain their light emitting matters, but also dark matter, which contribute to their magnifying power. Gravitational lensing can therefore be used to map out how dark matter is distributed around galaxies.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/050503_grav_lensing.html

Black Hole Birth Photographed
Gamma ray bursts can be long-duration or short-duration. The long-duration gamma ray bursts last about a few seconds, and are associated with the formation of black holes when massive stars explode and collapse. Short-duration bursts that last only a fraction of a second, represent the formation of a black hole a few times the mass of the Sun and are accompanied by flashes of X-rays and visible light afterglow for a few minutes.

On May 9, astronomers photographed a short-duration gamma ray burst named GRB050509b. The visible-light afterglow is the first time an optical counterpart to a short-duration gamma-ray burst is ever detected. The gamma ray came from the formation of a black hole when two neutron stars merged 2.2 billion light-years away. Just before matter falls into the newly formed black hole, a high-energy process involving magnetism and near-light speed vents a superheated jet of gas out of the black hole at a significant fraction of light-speed and creates the gamma ray burst.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/050509_blackhole_birth.html

First Extrasolar Planet Picture
In April, a team of European astronomers claimed that they have produced the first photo of an extrasolar planet. The gaseous planet orbits a star similar to a young Sun, GQ Lupi, and is estimated to have twice the diameter of Jupiter. The temperature on the planet is about 2000 Kelvin, and water is detected in its atmosphere. The planet is three times farther from GQ Lupi than Neptune is from our Sun, and it takes 1,200 years to complete one orbit. It is not known why it is so far from the star. Some models show that it can be ten times the mass of Jupiter, and in that case it could be classified as a failed star known as a brown dwarf.

Last year another European team announced the first photograph of an extrasolar planet, but it is not clear whether the unusually large object (several times the mass of Jupiter) actually orbits a failed star, a brown dwarf.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/050401_first_extrasolarplanet_pic.html

The eta Aquarid Meteor Shower May 5~6
The annual eta Aquarid meteor is caused by debris left behind by Halley’s Comet. Earth passes through the debris stream every year and the meteoroids vaporize in the atmosphere. The meteors emanate from the constellation Aquarius, hence its name. The eta Aquarid can produce up to 5~10 meteors per hour and sometimes even dramatic Earth-grazing meteors due to the shower's low radiant on the horizon.

http://www.space.com/spacewatch/050504_meteor_shower.html

A New Way to Sell/Buy Texts at UBC!

2005-05-11T02:28:00.000-07:00

A free new intermediary website is launched for students to post and browse for books and then drop off/pick up at a central location at UBC. Please sign up so no more phone/e-mail tag or selling to bookstores for pennies and buying with a broken piggy bank!

http://sadbookstore.com/

So School Starts Again...

2005-05-10T23:13:00.000-07:00

Come to think of it, in my 4-yr university life, only last summer was school-free (if you don't count the other studying that I did...) I'm so not ready to go back... It's only been 2 wks since the finals and I haven't even recovered from the ordeal...

The prof said today if you hate this course, then there's probably not an accountant in you. Well, I'm starting to think that I don't have to take it to know that... Of course now it's too late to switch to something else and I need this course to graduate... Maybe I should have just forgotten about the job prospects and gone with finance... But then again if I don't have to worry about earning my living I probably would have just gotten into astrophysics or something...

Ya... Woulda, coulda, shoulda. This summer's gonna be even more hectic than I thought and I'm not getting much done so far. This is gonna hurt.

Meet Milky

2005-05-10T23:07:00.000-07:00

My kitty Milky sitting all pretty ^^

Hello World!

2005-05-09T01:52:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the newly improved and expanded version of Meowzilla's blog. There are now 3 blogs which are linked from the navigation on the sidebar. I'm still working on my personalized blog layout, and the finish date is postponed indefinitely, so now the blogger template will have to do for a while.