Allen Lew's Thoughts

I started work at the Hollywood Bowl for my second summer on Monday.  It isn’t exactly intellectually stimulating work (I mean I pick up leaves and trash for most of the day), it does afford me a lot of time to think.  And so comes another list of thoughts I’ve pondered.

-On the job, you run into lots of people looking for the box office.  The thing is it’s really easy to find, but there’s no sign telling people where it is at the main entrance.  That means we have to tell them where it is over and over again.  I must ask for that sign soon.

-On Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood is the blandest Pier 1 I’ve ever seen.  I mean it has a nice entrance, but the buildings exterior is just a plain white with no trims or anything.  You’d think this wouldn’t be the case for a store that supposedly helps you make your home not look so plain.

-You know, people say there aren’t a lot of attractive-looking people in Berkeley.  I, on the other hand, think there are quite a few attractive people there and it’s not too hard to find them at least in comparison to most public places. With the exception of some places (the beach comes to mind), just taking glances around the area probably won’t yield a good “view” of somebody attractive, but I could be wrong.

-Speaking of being attractive, finding the right pair of sunglasses can really make a person look better.  Put them on and you can go from lame duck to swan in no time.  I mean I doubt we’d think the Matrix look wouldn’t be so cool without them.

-I saw my brother’s Decathlon banquet video for the first time.  He pointed out his main “rival,” if you will, was a young man named Kalel, which also happens to be the Kryptonian name of a certain Man of Steel.  Would Kalel also prove to be able to leap over my brother in a single bond?  No, apparently my bro managed to be more powerful than a locomotive in Decathlon.  I must say, though, having a name like Kalel seems pretty cool.  It’s even cooler than being named Optimus Prime, like that guy in Ohio (I’m not kidding, check out this Wikipedia article.)

-Why can’t I make comments in Xanga sites without an account?  I mean anybody can comment in livejournal (if it’s turned on of course).

-Speaking of random, the lyrics of this song, Train – Drops of Jupiter, are so random to my ears.  These odd lines include “She checks out Mozart while she does tae-bo,” “Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken,” and “Can you imagine no first dance, freeze dried romance five-hour phone conversation.”  You have to admit it is an interesting set of words they use.

——
Funny Quote-Some one in chem lab: We should have a dishwasher in [chem lab].
GSI: We do. They’re called undergrads.
Taken from somebody’s facebook profile

What’s the worst thing that could happen to Karl Malone?

My brother just graduated from Lincoln High School, on Thursday.  He was the welcome speaker and had this to say about achievement:

“Achievement is not about finding something you never had; it’s about finding something you always had.”

Sure did sound nice, but when I think about it, I totally don’t buy that. I mean isn’t achievement an acknowledgement from the outside? Oh well.

Congrats to him.
—–
I don’t mind spending everyday
Out on your corner in the pouring rain
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved
She will be loved

Maroon 5-She Will Be Loved

Insightful Insight-“A lot of the random conversations people used to strike up while waiting in a public place are being replaced with mobile [phone] calls. Rather than try to chat with the stranger on the next bar stool, today’s youth would rather pass the time talking to someone familiar via phone.” Anthony Townsend, COO of Cloud Networks and cofounder of NYCwireless when asked about how “the glut of communications devices affecting communication.” (taken from an article in the April 2003 edition of Wired Magazine)

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(Taken from Le Quyen’s friendster bulletin)

This is freaky as HELL… DO NOT CHEAT (You’ll kick yourself later) I was a little skeptical trying this, but if you follow the instructions to the “t” you’ll be surprised!!!!

All of my answers were accurate. We’ll see tomorrow if the wish comes true. I’ll let you know. Take 3 minutes and try this…it will freak you out! The person who sent it to me said
her wish came true 10 minutes after they read the mail. BUT NO CHEATING! This game has a funny/spooky outcome.

Don’t read ahead…just do it in order! It takes about three minutes…it’s worth a try 🙂

First..get a pen and paper. When you actually choose names, make sure it’s people you actually know and go with your first instinct. And don’t read ahead or you’ll ruin it!

1. First, write the numbers 1 through 11 in a column.

2. Then, beside numbers 1 and 2, write down any two numbers you want.

3. Beside the 3 and 7, write down the names of members of the opposite sex.

NO LOOKING AHEAD…OR IT WON”T TURN OUT RIGHT!

4. Write anyone’s name (like friends or family….) in the 4th, 5th, and 6th spots.

5. Write down four song titles in 8,9,10, and 11.

GO WITH YOUR INSTINCT PEOPLE!!!!

6. Finally, make a wish.

And now the key for the game…..

Well after a week of getting 11 hours of sleep a day and reading old magazine issues I never got a chance to read (its surprising the amount what happens after 6 months), I finally went out and did something on Sunday.  My mom had this impromptu idea to go down to Disneyland for the day.  I hadn’t been in 10 years (plus or minus 2), so I decided why not.  So the family and I went down there (surprisingly quickly too, I mean it was the 5 freeway on Memorial Day weekend) and looked forward to the day.  I basically rode on everything from the Matterhorn, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and all other famous rides, but some how it wasn’t as good as it was when I was younger.  I guess this is one of those signs that I’m growing older, as the park just isn’t the same.  Not to say it wasn’t fun, though, and sure did beat doing nothing.  Anyways, there’s an article on hydrogen powered cars I must read.  I’ll put pictures up soon.

Funny Quote–Me (when talking about Tomorrowland): Who knew the future would be fulled with neon lights and overpriced souvenirs?
Henry: Yeah, someday we’ll be living in a world that’s just like Vegas.

Featured Website–Yesterland, the Discontinued Disneyland-This site gives you information on discontinued rides and attractions at the Disneyland Park, just in case you ever wanted to know what happened to them.

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My second year at this school came to close last week and so I decided to spend an entry on what I’ve learned about the town and the college.

Things I’ve learned about Berkeley so far:

-Engineers are both the most sane and insane people at this school.
-The first week(s) of every semester, you’ll see a lot of attractive people on this campus.  Then comes midterm season, and you wonder, where did they all go?
-Unless you’re in a sorority, your standards of beauty will dip considerably after coming here.  (That goes for more than just people.)
-You can make friends over the Internet.
-You can be so lazy that rather than turn around to talk to your roommate, you’ll actually AIM him/her.
-For some reason, you can have two people be best friends and not worship the same god. Yet if one guy votes Republican and the other votes Democrat, the gloves are off.
Edited:-Legislature in this town is so whack that they won’t allow you to use a stryofoam cup. They also “banned” nuclear weapons in space, with no power over that what so ever.  (It was in a Patriot article, can’t remember which).
Edited:-You’ll be able to pronounce 10 syllable Indian names easily.
-Your computer will become both the “cause of and solution to all your problems.” (Taken from Homer Simpson’s description of alcohol).
-The smartest guy in the city maybe the guy begging you for change.
Added:-Chances are someone else in this town listens to that same no name band you do.
Added:-Everyone will have a story that begins with either “I got so drunk…” or “He/she got so drunk…”
Added:-You can use more than 2 GB of bandwith a week downloading Family Guy episodes.

I’ll probably add a few more to this once if I think of anything.  I was inspired to write this after reading some more college humor.

Not much to report, as my life as been deadly consumed by the beast that are final examinations.  I had two of them back to back on Friday.  Not a pleasant thing to do.  Oh well, at least I have a long lay off until Wednesday, my last final.

I still did manage to do somethings.  I did go out to Raleigh’s with Jacqueline and Shoshana, managed to see the last minutes of Game 5 between the Spurs and Lakers (man that was an amazing game, I mean Fisher with the game winner in .4 seconds; Go Lakers),  saw Troy on Friday night (terrible first half, but far better in the second half), and I did go to a wedding shower for David and Jessica today.  So I am having fun too.  Still, it’s time to still study for finals.  Back to the books.

So, I’m suppose to look up two “newsworthy” organic molecules.  I found one molecule that, while not newsworthy, was totally interesting.  In our Interesting Fact, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) is a molecule that turns metals into complexes to prevent them from further reacting with other substances (like metals that are used as co-factors for enzymes).  When ingested, it also helps iron absorption in human beings.  Apparently when treating food with it, it also prevents a “metallic taste” from developing in foods.  Those foods include various canned foods and McDonald’s Big Mac sauce.  So if your Big Mac does taste a bit like metal and makes you look a bit like this , it’s probably because they didn’t add enough of this.  You can take a more in depth look at it at http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/edta/edtah.htm.

Featured Website–Molecule of the Month-A website featuring information on one molecule a month.  You can also sign up for their email newsletter.

Everyday, I see this girl with her silver Thermos.  She pulls off the lid, which serves as a cup, and pours herself a brown liquid.  There’s an unmistakable odor to it.  Yeah, it’s coffee.  She sits there in class and drinks the cup she poured.  I then think to myself, “wow, she must work really hard.”  I mean honestly, even if it’s an 8 AM class, there has to be a reason she needs the coffee to keep her awake.  She must be working tirelessly on her work, studying to who knows what hour.  She obviously needs some help to stay active, which is what the coffee hopefully provides.

I was reading this article on the new University Medalist.  The line that stood out to me was, “with careful time management that doesn’t over-allot hours for sleeping, Chow said, newcomers to UC Berkeley can do well academically and still have time for fun.”  In other words, it means long hours and working tirelessly towards your goals.

By reading what I just wrote, I may be sending a message that the end result of being that person with the Thermos of coffee who works into the night for oh so very long will make you the new University Medalist.  Maybe it will.  Maybe it won’t though.

I now think about the grad students who do all sorts of research at this university and also teach here.  They spend a lot of time in labs, sometimes even sleeping there.  Imagine the hours of sleep they must have lost in order to get to a great grad school like Berkeley.  I think about my Chem GSI, who’s actually an undergrad senior going to Michigan for med school next year.  Never got anything lower than an A- here and he plays intramural basketball.  Pretty cool, though he admits he regrets never having a girlfriend.

I mean honestly we can’t attribute one factor to be the one cause of everything.  Perhaps, it’s good time management.  Or making sure you did something you were truly interested in.  How about actually making time for fun?  Cutting back on things like relationships and other activities so that you can focus on your studies more?  Or perhaps, it’s just the simple drive to succeed.  I don’t know which one it is, but a lack of sleep probably isn’t it.  Now speaking of sleep… (Yeah I know I jumped around a bit in the conclusion, but whatever.)

Extra, Extra, Read all about–A real threat to expression?-An LA Times article how Micheal Moore twisted the truth about his new movie, and how Ted Koppel beat the Sinclair Broadcasting company.  (see these extras have absolutely nothing to do with the topic)

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