Telebears

So I just realized that I have my class registration tomorrow, and I haven't entirely decided on what to take! I need to have some backup courses just in case things don't work out the way I want. I keep forgetting all the resources that I have, so I'm just going to put them all up in one place.

1. DARSweb - check how many requirements are left to be fulfilled; can run the degree audit for different majors
2. Discovery Courses - featured breadth-fulfilling courses with prominent professors; interesting topics
3. Search Breadth and R&C - search course catalog for open breadth courses based on units, day, time, etc.
4. General Course Catalog - view course information by department; see semesters offered
5. Online Schedule of Classes - CCN, etc.
6. Rate My Prof - ratings; take with a grain of salt
7. Course Rank - ratings by Cal students with official and unofficial grade distributions; allows you to select courses to place in your schedule (imperfect at times)
8. Ninja Courses - generates possible schedules based on selected courses, time constraints, etc. (imperfect at times)
9. DeCal - classes for students by students; good for extra units P/F; updated near phase 2, I think

Possible Courses

1. Applied Anatomy (IB 131A) - "A series of 15 lectures by former students of 131 who have become successful physicians and surgeons. The purpose is to provide the practical applications of anatomy, e.g., plastic surgeons, neurosurgeons, vascular surgeons, pathologists, etc." But it's "Restricted to Students with a class level of Junior or Senior" - what does that mean? Can I still take it?
2. Popular Music & Guitar Harmony (Music 98) - Learn to play the guitar + music theory + write/perform original pieces for midterm/final!
3. Another language - Spanish and Korean are full; this is my backup if Chinese 1X doesn't work out
4. An art course (maybe)
5. PE (probably not this semester)

Books and Movies

Awesome (!) movies already seen (I tried to list them in order of preference but it was too tough so I gave up ><):

1. Inception
2. Toy Story 3
3. Sherlock Holmes
4. Up
5. Despicable Me
6. Memento
7. Shutter Island
8. Karate Kid
9. A.I. Artificial Intelligence
10. Children of Heaven
11. Fearless
12. Run Lola Run
13. Say Anything
14. Life Is Beautiful
15. Spirited Away
16. Howl's Moving Castle
17. Grave of the Fireflies
18. Finding Nemo
19. My Neighbor Totoro
20. La Misma Luna
21. Keurosing
22. The Phantom of the Opera

On my list:

1. Taxi Driver
2. The Matrix
3. Good Will Hunting
4. Dogtooth
5. Primer
6. The Illusionist
7. A Clockwork Orange
8. Bladerunner
9. A Scanner Darkly
10. The Prestige
11. Baran
12. Schindler's List
13. The Dark Knight
14. The Godfather
15. Nausicaa
16. Amores Perros
17. The Icicle Thief
18. Across the Universe
19. He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (a la folie, pas du tout)
20. American Beauty
21. The Pianist
22. Goemon

And a short list of books to read:

1. Outliers: The Story of Success - Malcolm Gladwell
2. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
3. A Separate Peace - John Knowles
4. The Brothers Karamozov - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
5. The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood
6. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
7. Silas Marner - George Eliot (maybe)
8. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

Ahh time to read Twelfth Night/Measure for Measure! I'm so stressed out.. On a side note, listening to soundtracks has made me really appreciate Hans Zimmer's work. ("Discombobulate" - Sherlock Holmes; various from Inception)

Food Adventures

When I first arrived in my new apartment, I actually dreaded it a bit. I couldn't imagine cooking a meal for myself, doing laundry (again), and being my own boss. It's too much to think about; just let me laze around for a bit more! But now that I've had more and more opportunities to cook, I'm starting to enjoy it more! (And by opportunities I mean moments when I either cooked or starved..) Just two nights ago I cooked some sliced beef in Korean bbq marinade + garlic/ginger and stir-fried mushroom/zucchini/green pepper. So goood.. I've been meaning to cook either mung bean soup or rice + sesame mochi ball soup. Those are the only two Chinese dessert soups that I can make.

As for restaurants, I went to Chaat Cafe last night and had real Indian food for the first time. Tikka masala (with tandoori chicken) + naan. Yum! And then today I had a crispy chicken sandwich with tarragon aioli, tomatoes, and pickles at Summer Kitchen Bake Shop (next to Ici's). SO GOOD. It was like a healthier version of KFC's sandwich/burgers.

I also saw Inception, which was mind-blowingly awesome. If you haven't seen it, YOU MUST!!

And here's a song that I've been listening to a lot lately. :]

Now it's time to study! D:

Scary Lady

Today I gave $1 to a strange, intimidating woman. Thinking back on it, I feel that the people who lurk and don't mind other people's business are those who are most deserving of help. Yet at the same time, she took the initiative.. Well, she was pretty rude. "Please show me that you aren't like the other Asians that I know. Can you spare some money to buy jewelry off of me so that I can get a cab?" I told her she could take the bus, and she promptly said that she definitely could not.

-sigh-

"Twins"

What would you do if you met someone exactly like you? Well, not like some freakish alien twin, but I mean someone who had similar mannerisms, likes/dislikes, personality, style, etc.. Would you notice? Would it freak you out? Or would you just recognize the chemistry?

At one point in time I thought I had met someone who was my "foil" because we both are the same major and have similar interests, but we never really talked to each other. I also thought I knew 2 people who seemed completely twin-ish to me. When I mentioned this to either person, they just didn't want to meet each other.. Because it would be weird. One said, "I'd either hate this guy, or I'd be his best friend." Something like that. I wonder what would've happened had they met each other..

I guess the next time this happens, I just won't mention that I think they're freakishly similar and watch what happens next. o.o

Anime to watch:

1. Cowboy Bebop
2. FLCL
3. Darker than Black (in progress)
4. Code Geass
5. Death Note

One Down, Three to Go

Should I get a tumblr? It looks nicer, and there's the option of making individual posts private and whatnot. Idk, it just looks so aesthetically pleasing haha.

In other news, well, this is going to be a really random and rushed post. Wooo!

And a couple of things you guys should check out:

1. Here's a site where you enter an excerpt of your writing (about a paragraph) for it to analyze, and it'll tell you who you write like. (I got Harry Harrison and Margaret Atwood for 2 separate paragraphs from the same essay.. haha.)
2. This is a TED talk (Technology Entertainment Design) called the "Pattern behind Self-Deception". Basically, this guy is explaining why we believe what we believe, and how we tend to deceive ourselves due to how our mind works.
3. And finally, here is a recipe that I want to try. Yummm! Dulce de leche peanut butter chocolate bars. :D

I started to download some new music, but nothing to mention yet. Also I'm going to start watching Cowboy Bebop sometime. :o Hm, which animes have I seen already? It's so hard to keep track, not that I've seen a lot anyway.

I haven't really done much today; I guess I'm just relieved that I finished my first ochem test this morning! Yeaa, but I still need to finish my lab, prelab, and read some Hamlet for tomorrow. Aiyahhh..

Frozen Hot Chocolate

I'm sooo stressed out with everything going on. And I also need to do my most hated chore.. laundry. -_-

So I'm trying to delay the inevitable for as long as possible (even going so far as to not eat lunch.. ehe..) when I came upon THIS RECIPE. SO AWESOME!!

• 6 pieces (1/2-ounce) chocolate , a variety of your favorites
• 2 teaspoons store-bought hot chocolate mix (Swiss Miss is my favorite)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 3 cups ice
• Whipped cream
• Chocolate shavings

Chop the chocolate into small pieces. Place it in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Stir occasionally until melted. Add the hot chocolate mix and sugar. Stir until completely melted. Remove from heat and slowly add ½ cup of milk until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

In a blender, place the remaining cup of milk, the room-temperature chocolate mixture and the ice. Blend on high speed until smooth and the consistency of a frozen daiquiri. Pour into a giant goblet and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

[Source]

Ohhh yeaaaa~