I'm on my way to my fourth doctor's appointment in a month, where I'll be treated for one of my numerous ailments and most likely pick up another one on the side. Honestly, I'm a walking bag of diseases. Right now, I'm haunted by the itch of scabies and the lingering effects of a bronchitis-induced cough.
This is the year of the rat, and I'm a rat...so I suppose it's not my luckiest year. Still, why me? I did get peroneal tendonitis in Turkey last month, which was my own fault since I was wearing stiletto heels on rough cobblestone. Of course, I kept walking on my foot because I was on vacation in Turkey! The only thing that would've stopped me is a broken leg. Then I came back a few weeks later and got food poisoning at home. How ironic is that? I don't get food poisoning in a foreign country but in my immaculate germ-free home from home cooked food.
I barely made it back to school and everything was all right (foot healing very slowly) until the week of my birthday, when I got a sudden and intense itch in the middle of the night. It turned out that I somehow got scabies in Turkey (most likely) as well. Then I went through treatment for that (among a lot of itching), and now I'm still itching two weeks later and heading back to the good old waiting room. The doctor always look at my chart and remarks on what a healthy human being I am. Then he (or she) scratches his head when he sees the impressive number of trips to the waiting room that I've racked up in the past month.
When I got treated for scabies two weeks ago, I was sitting between two coughing people in the waiting room...and guess what? I got a sore throat and a cough a few days later. So...I ate soup all of last week, coughed so hard at night that I couldn't sleep, and itched on the side.
I'm not sure that I can take any more of this. Please please please. This is the absolute worst semester to get sick. I doubt I could keep up with all of my classes even if I were well, so this is asking me for the impossible. Instead of telling myself that I'll be all right, I just want to crawl back into bed and sleep (Except I know that I'll be itching if I do that). I promise to exercise once I get better (If I ever get better). I promise to be a nicer person, study harder, keep in touch with my friends, if only I can get better soon.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
kicking the classical
For the past year or so, I've set rock, alternative, and pop aside for classical and soundtrack music. The conclusion? I can't do classical. It's too complex for my large but apparently vacuous brain. As someone who's tone deaf and has few musical inclinations, listening to classical music always makes me feel like I'm missing something. It's the equivalent of sampling a superb seven course French meal with one taste bud. I love the idea of learning about music and taking classes in music theory, but only the idea. Listening to classical music is sometimes like sitting in lecture. My brain shuts off and my eyes start drooping when information is flying at me. In that case, I give up and either fall asleep promptly or adopt the dazed 'deer in headlights' expression. Quite a few classical composers make me feel like that.
There were some pieces that I did enjoy in my attempts to embrace other musical styles, including 'Winter' from Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons' and 'Pertissimo' from Beethoven's earlier sonatas. Otherwise, I've been indulging in soundtrack music, including almost everything that Hans Zimmer ever composed (as usual), although Gladiator is still his crowning achievement with King Arthur coming in at a distant second. Of course, I love soundtrack music for its simplicity and grand flourishes.
As with everything else, we enjoy the music that we grew up listening to. I do discover new music regularly, but my fondest memories are of Savage Garden, Matchbox Twenty, and other bands that I listened to religiously in high school. In terms of sophistication and quality, Savage Garden and Matchbox Twenty were both a cut above most in their respective categories, but obviously not comparable to the complexities that define classical music. Yet, one voice, a guitar, a bass, and a keyboard is so much more soothing to me than 30 violins, 20 violas, etc. I remember not liking Savage Garden at all when I first heard them perform. It was only when I borrowed the CD from a friend and listened to it several times that I found myself liking the sound.
Back then, I had only been exposed to classical music before tentatively trying out Savage Garden. As a result, their CD sounded like a marriage of Metallica and Offspring. It's hilarious when I think back to that time. Eventually, I got into Nickelback, 3 Doors Down, Nirvana, Blink 182, and everything else. A year ago, I got sick of this music (a lot of it does sound very similar) and now I'm sick of classical music as well.
Currently, I'm going back to my obsession with Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah, old old music (Sade and Engelbert), and some Moby, Black Eyed Peas, and Norah Jones thrown in. I'm always transitioning to new music, but I doubt I'll find anything that I liked as much as when I was discovering music for the first time. I don't love music enough to enjoy one style forever, nor do I have the time or inclination to learn it properly. As with so many other things, I've a healthy appreciation for music but not the steadiness nor the inclination to learn it properly.
There were some pieces that I did enjoy in my attempts to embrace other musical styles, including 'Winter' from Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons' and 'Pertissimo' from Beethoven's earlier sonatas. Otherwise, I've been indulging in soundtrack music, including almost everything that Hans Zimmer ever composed (as usual), although Gladiator is still his crowning achievement with King Arthur coming in at a distant second. Of course, I love soundtrack music for its simplicity and grand flourishes.
As with everything else, we enjoy the music that we grew up listening to. I do discover new music regularly, but my fondest memories are of Savage Garden, Matchbox Twenty, and other bands that I listened to religiously in high school. In terms of sophistication and quality, Savage Garden and Matchbox Twenty were both a cut above most in their respective categories, but obviously not comparable to the complexities that define classical music. Yet, one voice, a guitar, a bass, and a keyboard is so much more soothing to me than 30 violins, 20 violas, etc. I remember not liking Savage Garden at all when I first heard them perform. It was only when I borrowed the CD from a friend and listened to it several times that I found myself liking the sound.
Back then, I had only been exposed to classical music before tentatively trying out Savage Garden. As a result, their CD sounded like a marriage of Metallica and Offspring. It's hilarious when I think back to that time. Eventually, I got into Nickelback, 3 Doors Down, Nirvana, Blink 182, and everything else. A year ago, I got sick of this music (a lot of it does sound very similar) and now I'm sick of classical music as well.
Currently, I'm going back to my obsession with Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah, old old music (Sade and Engelbert), and some Moby, Black Eyed Peas, and Norah Jones thrown in. I'm always transitioning to new music, but I doubt I'll find anything that I liked as much as when I was discovering music for the first time. I don't love music enough to enjoy one style forever, nor do I have the time or inclination to learn it properly. As with so many other things, I've a healthy appreciation for music but not the steadiness nor the inclination to learn it properly.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
At least I don't live in Haiti
I was reading Penn's daily newspaper a few weeks ago, and I came upon a short blurb about the very poor in Haiti. Because they have no food to eat, they collect mud from a riverbank, add sugar and spices, and bake them into mud cookies. Imagine growing up in an environment like that or in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa where family members are dropping from AIDS and there's no food either, so you sniff glue to temporarily get away from hunger pains (I read that in an essay several years ago). On the one hand, it's simple to compare myself to billions of people like this and think that the laptop that I'm typing this post on could probably feed several families for a year. Still, it's difficult to actually go through every day thinking about how fortunate I am and not forgetting it. Even though so many people are around us, we are in our own little privileged world.
Thinking more on the children subsisting on blocks of mud in Haiti, I felt slightly guilty that I had been complaining to several of my friends because I couldn't control the heat in my apartment and I felt like I was in a sauna every time that I opened the door. I even contemplated turning on my AC in conjunction with the heat because opening the windows just didn't seem to do it. Then I realized how much energy I was potentially wasting, not to mention the bucketloads of water that I use when I shower (I know this because my shower doesn't drain especially well). The list goes on and on. Eventually, you're compelled to think about chance and destiny and all that because there's so much disparity in people's lives.
The problem is, we're not thrust into situations where we're scrabbling for a living. Maybe if we were, we'd give more thanks instead of worrying about the bigger TV or nicer house that we can't afford. I don't know if we, as relatively privileged citizens of the world, are compelled to help the starving masses. People make arguments about Darwinism, and accept without question our 'superiority' simply because of circumstances. We were born into relatively well-off families, in a country that's relatively less corrupted and more fair than most. Although earlier generations have fought for these rights, it's not as if we lifted a finger. Given all of this, is it acceptable just to do a mediocre job at work, lumber home at night and watch a few hours of TV, then push repeat? Should we even have the right to complain about our miserable lives and lackluster jobs (at least we have jobs)?
Conversely, it's not as if we're really here to help other people. If something happened to me, I doubt that anyone would rush to my aid except for my parents. Since we're not responsible for other people and no one's responsible for us, maybe there's no validity in thinking about the welfare of starving people in Haiti. That doesn't mean that I don't think about them anyway. Occasionally.
Thinking more on the children subsisting on blocks of mud in Haiti, I felt slightly guilty that I had been complaining to several of my friends because I couldn't control the heat in my apartment and I felt like I was in a sauna every time that I opened the door. I even contemplated turning on my AC in conjunction with the heat because opening the windows just didn't seem to do it. Then I realized how much energy I was potentially wasting, not to mention the bucketloads of water that I use when I shower (I know this because my shower doesn't drain especially well). The list goes on and on. Eventually, you're compelled to think about chance and destiny and all that because there's so much disparity in people's lives.
The problem is, we're not thrust into situations where we're scrabbling for a living. Maybe if we were, we'd give more thanks instead of worrying about the bigger TV or nicer house that we can't afford. I don't know if we, as relatively privileged citizens of the world, are compelled to help the starving masses. People make arguments about Darwinism, and accept without question our 'superiority' simply because of circumstances. We were born into relatively well-off families, in a country that's relatively less corrupted and more fair than most. Although earlier generations have fought for these rights, it's not as if we lifted a finger. Given all of this, is it acceptable just to do a mediocre job at work, lumber home at night and watch a few hours of TV, then push repeat? Should we even have the right to complain about our miserable lives and lackluster jobs (at least we have jobs)?
Conversely, it's not as if we're really here to help other people. If something happened to me, I doubt that anyone would rush to my aid except for my parents. Since we're not responsible for other people and no one's responsible for us, maybe there's no validity in thinking about the welfare of starving people in Haiti. That doesn't mean that I don't think about them anyway. Occasionally.
Friday, January 25, 2008
monster friday
There's really no other way to describe nine hours of class/seminars on Friday. After being diligent for a week and getting up early (8AM counts as early in my universe), I've been slowly slipping. Today I made it to my 9AM class on time, but not early enough to grab a cup of coffee, which is the absolute last resort when my body feels like a pile of goop and my hands move two seconds behind my brain.
9AM-Noon: Corporate Finance
Noon-1:30: Seminar
1:30-4:30: Empirical Asset Pricing
4:30-6: Macroeconomics
I realized why I've been so obsessed with dance in the past month or so. It's really incredibly simple: people move when they dance. For someone who spends approximately 95% of her waking hours sitting, doing anything on two feet seems like heaven, especially something artsy and incredibly sexy like Latin dance. For most of my life, I've been told that I have a brain. For these dancers, they've probably been told that they have feet. And legs. And a butt. And a chest.
What amazes me about dancers is how confident they are in their bodies. I know it sounds stupid since they've been dancing for as long as I've been in school, but I wish that I had even 1% of their confidence in my appearance. Of course, they do it for a living, and I can't compare with make-up two inches thick, heels three inches thick (both women and men), skirts four inches long, and manufactured tans five times a year.
As a dancing ignorant, amateur latin dance is so much more vibrant than ballroom dance. There's a heady combination of playfulness and seductiveness in the essence of the samba and cha cha cha, and especially the former in jive. The rumba is the most romantic (and most complicated), while the paso doble is my personal favorite of the five, being overly dramatic and so highly stylized that it's only danced in competitions. It's the dance that make men look ten feet tall and absolutely pumped with testosterone.
I love the combination of technique and the showmanship. There's no possible way to dance latin well if you're not a performer and willing to flaunt it a little (or a lot). As a wild child at heart, I love the flavor of exhibitionism and pageantry exhibited as sex appeal. Although there's nothing wrong with elegance and especially in dancing, it can get in the way of the basic dance. Despite the sex appeal, latin dance is still extremely structured. There are requisite moves in each of the five dances, and variations on the rest. I guess I still can't get over how absolutely feminine the women look (and some of the men as well). One commentator stated that latin dance was all about the contrast between the male and female form, and it's striking when you see a couple that's balanced exactly so. I'm convinced that I'm not a dancer either in this life or any other, but I love watching the energy and colors flashing by.
9AM-Noon: Corporate Finance
Noon-1:30: Seminar
1:30-4:30: Empirical Asset Pricing
4:30-6: Macroeconomics
I realized why I've been so obsessed with dance in the past month or so. It's really incredibly simple: people move when they dance. For someone who spends approximately 95% of her waking hours sitting, doing anything on two feet seems like heaven, especially something artsy and incredibly sexy like Latin dance. For most of my life, I've been told that I have a brain. For these dancers, they've probably been told that they have feet. And legs. And a butt. And a chest.
What amazes me about dancers is how confident they are in their bodies. I know it sounds stupid since they've been dancing for as long as I've been in school, but I wish that I had even 1% of their confidence in my appearance. Of course, they do it for a living, and I can't compare with make-up two inches thick, heels three inches thick (both women and men), skirts four inches long, and manufactured tans five times a year.
As a dancing ignorant, amateur latin dance is so much more vibrant than ballroom dance. There's a heady combination of playfulness and seductiveness in the essence of the samba and cha cha cha, and especially the former in jive. The rumba is the most romantic (and most complicated), while the paso doble is my personal favorite of the five, being overly dramatic and so highly stylized that it's only danced in competitions. It's the dance that make men look ten feet tall and absolutely pumped with testosterone.
I love the combination of technique and the showmanship. There's no possible way to dance latin well if you're not a performer and willing to flaunt it a little (or a lot). As a wild child at heart, I love the flavor of exhibitionism and pageantry exhibited as sex appeal. Although there's nothing wrong with elegance and especially in dancing, it can get in the way of the basic dance. Despite the sex appeal, latin dance is still extremely structured. There are requisite moves in each of the five dances, and variations on the rest. I guess I still can't get over how absolutely feminine the women look (and some of the men as well). One commentator stated that latin dance was all about the contrast between the male and female form, and it's striking when you see a couple that's balanced exactly so. I'm convinced that I'm not a dancer either in this life or any other, but I love watching the energy and colors flashing by.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Showdances
Max and Yulia Showdances
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKDp__ac7V4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f631anLeVcY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkEMVGOnOJ4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Buq6pZZ6bMo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L59pW_uUIkw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YgrXCIwbs8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AE9vLwxL3Y&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpPX2VIXdok&feature=related
Miscellaneous
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwSpZ4q1eEw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLVNRry-8iU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DstRZfj-50Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O519y5fwat4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOMPVummRc4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwB_ADyRqO4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKDp__ac7V4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f631anLeVcY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkEMVGOnOJ4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Buq6pZZ6bMo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L59pW_uUIkw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YgrXCIwbs8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AE9vLwxL3Y&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpPX2VIXdok&feature=related
Miscellaneous
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwSpZ4q1eEw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLVNRry-8iU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DstRZfj-50Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O519y5fwat4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOMPVummRc4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwB_ADyRqO4
Dance Dance Dance
The IDSF Grand Slam Finals 2005
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGeq1aA9ON0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSEV_NVOIxc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzNS4_cZYTc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLrIDgGVQ9k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqznrcvivG8
Jive and Cha cha cha Solos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwbzw_sqpoM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8egRaerf2X0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yc0CuyK9FCg
2005 World Amateur Latin Championships
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEbN4HMW3WI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yNvTT9seC4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN5IOS1aJGE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJEe3mKSVE4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y9aJujS7ls
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGeq1aA9ON0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSEV_NVOIxc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzNS4_cZYTc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLrIDgGVQ9k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqznrcvivG8
Jive and Cha cha cha Solos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwbzw_sqpoM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8egRaerf2X0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yc0CuyK9FCg
2005 World Amateur Latin Championships
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEbN4HMW3WI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yNvTT9seC4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN5IOS1aJGE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJEe3mKSVE4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y9aJujS7ls
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
quotes redux
On shirking:
This guy always wants to shirk. He's a lazy bastard.
On algebra:
Before we start doing enough algebra to make your noses bleed, are there any questions?
On the direct revelation mechanism:
So this is what you get, and give me all of your money. The only other option is for the consumer not to wake up in the morning.
And one last one:
Did I do this right? Aha, this is all correct but completely irrelevant.
This guy always wants to shirk. He's a lazy bastard.
On algebra:
Before we start doing enough algebra to make your noses bleed, are there any questions?
On the direct revelation mechanism:
So this is what you get, and give me all of your money. The only other option is for the consumer not to wake up in the morning.
And one last one:
Did I do this right? Aha, this is all correct but completely irrelevant.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
good things come in twos
Two classes, two TAships, two tutees. All things are coming in twos this term, and I've realized that I just can't juggle very well. Yesterday, I woke at 7AM to give this student office hours at 8, which she never showed up for. Then, I had two office hours in the afternoon for the other class that I'm TAing. I got a student who asked me a basic question that I couldn't answer, and wanted the midterm regraded, which I didn't grade in the first place. In undergrad, I didn't understand why some of my TAs seemed like they didn't know shit. Now I have to give them a lot more credit. Compared to them, I know even less, and I don't even give recitations. It's no secret that professors who focus on research are horrible lecturers. Teaching takes up too much time without obvious benefits. Theoretically, it's a nice idea to help people and help them improve, but it just doesn't materialize in practice.
Teaching and tutoring is relatively easy despite the annoyance. The material is shallow and doesn't require much thinking. Also, there's an obligation to one's students, which takes some time. I can fumble through my classes, but I have to know the material if I'm going to tutor someone. Moreover, I always put in more effort into helping other people than myself. It's easier to do things that are easier and put the things that we really should do aside. Am I so lacking in self-respect or self-discipline that I can't force myself to do what I think is right?
This non-juggling doesn't even take into account my pitiful lack of a social life. However, my isolation is self-enforced. Considering that I'm not too happy with where I am right now, I'd rather not go out with people and make them miserable as well. Conversely, the thing I miss most about college is having people around to talk to. Just living with people made it all more bearable. I'm not religious or fatalist or anything of that sort, but it just feels that every part of my life is off in some way, and more connected than not. I do believe that things can't possibly be smooth at work when things at home are out of place and vice versa.
Nor do I think that I am the only person my age not to have a clear sense of direction. I don't envy people who know exactly where they're going to be ten, twenty, or thirty years from now. However, I wish that I were more content with the process of searching. Contrary to popular belief, not all journeys of self-discovery lead to personal development. I'm not sure that I am a better person compared to myself a year ago. I'm not being fair to myself, and there's some part of me that wants to know when I'll be finished wandering and actually become a productive and happy member of society again.
Teaching and tutoring is relatively easy despite the annoyance. The material is shallow and doesn't require much thinking. Also, there's an obligation to one's students, which takes some time. I can fumble through my classes, but I have to know the material if I'm going to tutor someone. Moreover, I always put in more effort into helping other people than myself. It's easier to do things that are easier and put the things that we really should do aside. Am I so lacking in self-respect or self-discipline that I can't force myself to do what I think is right?
This non-juggling doesn't even take into account my pitiful lack of a social life. However, my isolation is self-enforced. Considering that I'm not too happy with where I am right now, I'd rather not go out with people and make them miserable as well. Conversely, the thing I miss most about college is having people around to talk to. Just living with people made it all more bearable. I'm not religious or fatalist or anything of that sort, but it just feels that every part of my life is off in some way, and more connected than not. I do believe that things can't possibly be smooth at work when things at home are out of place and vice versa.
Nor do I think that I am the only person my age not to have a clear sense of direction. I don't envy people who know exactly where they're going to be ten, twenty, or thirty years from now. However, I wish that I were more content with the process of searching. Contrary to popular belief, not all journeys of self-discovery lead to personal development. I'm not sure that I am a better person compared to myself a year ago. I'm not being fair to myself, and there's some part of me that wants to know when I'll be finished wandering and actually become a productive and happy member of society again.
creepy crawling critters
Yuck...I just saw a gigantic mouse running across the carpet. Why do mice keep on following me? I swear, the mouse that lived behind my fridge back in college made me scared to step inside my own room. I endured that one (a baby mouse for a year). Hopefully I was imagining this one (but probably not). Earlier today, I squashed this enormous bug with twenty flailing legs with an index card (the only thing I had on hand). Half of its legs fell off, but the rest continued wiggling. Now I feel like puking. There's something about small things that gross me out.
Maybe I should work hard just so I can afford a nice mouse and bug free apartment. The thing is, I don't really care about having nice things and I'm lazy, but I can't deal with critters. I'm not the world's cleanest person, but I'm not a total slob either. It's inconceivable that mice seek out my apartment because I don't have food anywhere in sight. The world is injust. Then again, maybe this is some kind of punishment for goofing off instead of doing my problem sets or grading papers, which is what I should have been doing.
I woke up at noon today, which I rarely do. Then I spent some of today watching Black Hawk Down, which also contributed to my feelings of nausea, especially the displaced thumb and the gruesome live surgery in the movie. The first time I saw the movie was my freshman year of college, when I stayed up most of the night to watch it after Armageddon. I think I started bawling at the end. I remember this incident because it was the day of my 18th birthday, and all of my friends were so sweet and surreptitiously cooked me a birthday brunch. My roommate kept on slipping in and out with bags of flour and cooking utensils, afraid that I would notice. Hah. My eyes were glued to my laptop screen and teary. At that time, I hadn't seen that many movies, I was more selective in my movie selection, and I was less jaded and resigned than I am now.
After that, I meticulously analyzed tunebite and started to look at muvaudio. I was surprised by tunebite's high quality. I still have to look at muvaudio before I buy either one. Then I analyzed 128 kbps vs 192 kbps vs 320 kbps. Honestly, I have some music that's 80 kbps, and I could hardly tell the difference between that and some of my other music. But then again, I'm almost completely music illiterate and tone deaf, so that's not very surprising. As for music players, I like the sound of iTunes the best. WMP sounds awful and the sound breaks, even when I attempt to adjust the equalizer. I guess it's always fun to learn things that aren't things that I'm actually supposed to be learning:)
Maybe I should work hard just so I can afford a nice mouse and bug free apartment. The thing is, I don't really care about having nice things and I'm lazy, but I can't deal with critters. I'm not the world's cleanest person, but I'm not a total slob either. It's inconceivable that mice seek out my apartment because I don't have food anywhere in sight. The world is injust. Then again, maybe this is some kind of punishment for goofing off instead of doing my problem sets or grading papers, which is what I should have been doing.
I woke up at noon today, which I rarely do. Then I spent some of today watching Black Hawk Down, which also contributed to my feelings of nausea, especially the displaced thumb and the gruesome live surgery in the movie. The first time I saw the movie was my freshman year of college, when I stayed up most of the night to watch it after Armageddon. I think I started bawling at the end. I remember this incident because it was the day of my 18th birthday, and all of my friends were so sweet and surreptitiously cooked me a birthday brunch. My roommate kept on slipping in and out with bags of flour and cooking utensils, afraid that I would notice. Hah. My eyes were glued to my laptop screen and teary. At that time, I hadn't seen that many movies, I was more selective in my movie selection, and I was less jaded and resigned than I am now.
After that, I meticulously analyzed tunebite and started to look at muvaudio. I was surprised by tunebite's high quality. I still have to look at muvaudio before I buy either one. Then I analyzed 128 kbps vs 192 kbps vs 320 kbps. Honestly, I have some music that's 80 kbps, and I could hardly tell the difference between that and some of my other music. But then again, I'm almost completely music illiterate and tone deaf, so that's not very surprising. As for music players, I like the sound of iTunes the best. WMP sounds awful and the sound breaks, even when I attempt to adjust the equalizer. I guess it's always fun to learn things that aren't things that I'm actually supposed to be learning:)
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