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Toilet Memories

• Listening to: Jewel - You Were Meant For Me (Video Version)

Was on the way back from a friend’s place after dinner and listening to some tunes on my iPod. Heh, this track was playing that I hadn’t heard in a while. It was one of Nicholas Tse’s songs and it sure brought back some memories.

A couple of years back, I could still remember me, Jack and William going off to Wilson’s Prom for a camping trip. This was our second camping trip and we were still relatively inexperienced, bringing along every conceivable man made device on the trip. Yes, I even brought along my laptop.

Heh, here’s where the song comes in. It was after dark and there wasn’t much we could do. It was afterall, a camping trip. Hence, there was lack of any civilisation or anything fun to do. Us three guys dragged our asses from the tent site to the public toilets they had available at the camp grounds. I guess it was pretty late then, maybe 10-ish at night. When it comes to camping, most people usually turn in by 9pm and get up around 6am for breakfast before heading out on a day’s trek.

Okie, back to the toilet. You have three bored guys and a laptop. What do you do? Why, play music and have a karaoke session. I even had lyrics I downloaded on my laptop. What a sing-a-long session. Heh, as if that wasn’t enough, we decided to forego the music and have a live recording session. Yes, my laptop has a built in microphone.

As every decent band needs its own name, we called our group the Toilet Gang (literal translation from the Chinese name). I’m sure we recorded two of Nicholas Tse’s songs, and they’re still sitting on my harddisk somewhere, I think (no, I’m not putting it up for download, heh).

Haha, I’m surprised the toilet walls didn’t come crumbling down that night. Heh, those were the days.

Job Stuff

• Listening to: Chihiro Onitsuka - Arrow of Pain

Today’s the due date for plenty of firms hiring graduates for 2005/2006, and frankly, I’m glad that today’s the day. I’ve applied for the firms I’m interested in working for and it is one tedious exercise. However, like all things, even job applications have a learning curve. There are certain recurring elements and you get the hang of it over time.

It has been a long time of transition for me. Since my graduation, I’ve been doing odd jobs and earning a small income to pay for the rent and to feed myself of course. I’ve been reading about similar experiences by people like me and they can be unemployed for 6 months up to a year. Everyone says to be patient and keep at it as you’ll ultimately find a job sooner or later. Heh, I’d agree on being optimistic about job opportunities and keep trying until I can knock on a door that will invite me in.

Was just thinking how much time has gone by already. It’s already the end of March and the onset of winter can be felt. The days are getting shorter and colder, and I dislike either elements. Heh, you’d think after being here for 6 years you’d get used to it. Heh, I probably deal with it better these days, but I still don’t like it.

End of the Month

• Listening to: Chihiro Onitsuka - Borderline

I know that something has been constantly on my mind when I dream about it in my sleep. I’ve dreamt of people, computer/video games and even exams.

This morning I was dreaming that I was filling in a questionnaire for one of the firms I was applying for. I was like, hey, what am I doing here. The dream was detailed enough that I even got to see a list of prior applicants. Heh, the dream was disturbing. I had to wake up.

* * *

It’s nearing the end of the month, and my job applications are mostly at 50% each. This totally reminds me of the time I had to do assignments. I was usually reluctant to do it until the very last minute. Unless of course, it was something I enjoyed or excelled at doing, then I’d finish it up faster than everyone else. With the 31st of March deadline coming up, there are no more excuses and I can procrastinate no longer. Heh, at least I’m quick with the pen when I need to be (or in this case, a keyboard). One of the questionnaires asked how many words per minute (WPM) I could type. I’ve never tested this before, and just searching the web, I found a site I could test my skills on. The score was at 73WPM, with an accuracy of 97% (screwed up only because I’m so used to Microsoft Word putting capital letters on the first letters in each sentence).

I always know how to sidetrack when it comes to doing things that are important (but boring) to my life. I had another dream while sleeping on the job of writing applications and was playing this computer game I recalled from my childhood days. It’s Lode Runner, something that ran on an Apple ][ computer. It had no discernable hard disk drive and could only muster its data from 5 1/2″ floppies.

I managed to dig a copy of the game, since I had no mood to do job applications whatsoever. It was the Championship edition of Lode Runner. Now, this game is hard, even for my standards, especially for a game that was conceived nearly 20 years ago. It really requires you to “think outside the box” and outsmart the baddies that are trying to catch you.

Below is a screenshot of the game in it’s monochromatic glory. A simple joystick or keystokes on the keyboard as input to control you main character. There’s nothing as sophisticated as Force Feedback/Pressure Sensitive joypads of the current crop of gaming platforms (the PS2 comes to mind). Well, frankly, there’s no need.

Heh, the guy who designed the level is definitely a computer programmer. The words HELLO is something all beginner programmers start of with, or rather, the phrase “Hello World!”. It’s just some proof that you can trick the computer into displaying something on a screen or printer, in those days anyway. How the world has evolved by now.