WTF

Fly Khicks over Strikers? Seriously?

ABDC has collectively lost its mind.

At least they didn't eliminate Quest.

Wait, I have an idea.

 I, Eric Steven Liang, hereby issue this ultimatum to ABDC: Either get rid of Fly Khicks in the next episode or I will personally put a bullet in a puppy's leg. Save the puppy. Dump that shit crew.

Why on God's green Earth am I still caring about, much less watching, this dreck.

'Atta boy

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090218/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/holder_race

I feel good about where this is going.  I think it's what we really need in this day and age: to stop tip-toeing around racial issues and just confront them once and for all.  If we get problems into the light, then maybe we can finally answer them.  Unfortunately, there exist quite a few obstacles in the way of frank racial discussions.  If there weren't, then this post could be much more pointed, focused, and, most importantly, bluntly honest.  If this statement is the impetus for change, then I applaud it.

Good work, Mr. Holder.

Me? Reflective? You must be mistaken.

A mom tortures her 2 year old daughter to death...a dad kills his entire family of 5 kids and wife before committing suicide...multiple children died in the attack on Gaza...wealthy money managers cheat their blue-collar clients out of millions...

The world's going insane and all I can worry about is my statistics midterm.

Sometimes, the contradictions in life slap me across the face.

My Life's Boring

Yep, my life is pretty much a string of uninspired prose that would be right at home in a Fitzgerald novel: there're abundant opportunities for needless descriptions and commentaries, but anyone listening in could care less.  I haven't been up to much, which is why I haven't made a new post in about 4 or 5 months.  A daily existence that defines the word "monotony"--couple it with an annoyingly heavy workload and you might as well expect me to shut down this blog.  But I've written a few good posts in the past, and dictating my private, personal thoughts on to a website open to just about any creeper lurking in cyberspace is therapeutic for me, so I guess I'll go right ahead with this silly little pastime.  Even if no one ever reads this, at least I can get my thoughts in order.

Hold up; I just thought of a way to see if this blog will ever get read.  ELECTING BARACK OBAMA WAS A MISTAKE! BRING BACK THE NOBLE REPUBLICAN DYNASTY BY INSTALLING JOHN MCCAIN AS PRESIDENT OF THE FIRST AMERICAN GLOBAL IMPERIAL DEATHSTAR EMPIRE!  BUSH WAS A GENIUS!

If I get any angry comments, people must somehow be giving a damn about my ramblings.

Anyway, for those who care, updates:

1. I'm going pre-med.  Yep, my dream of becoming a history professor lies dead right next to my literary aspirations and non-profit intentions.  Actually, the latter is still breathing shallowly.  I'm not really an evil person, trust me.  Money still does the trick, though.

2. I'm enjoying calculus.  If you know me, that should surprise you without explanation.

3. I hate statistics.  Depressing for me, because I think writing down the equations for expected value, total probability, Baye's rule, variance, and whatnot makes me look very smart.

4. I gave a girl here at NU a score of 45 out of 6.  I must've been a little caught off guard.  Or plastered.  Seriously, I don't drink.  Also seriously: north campus > south campus in terms of hormonally driven distractions.  If you think by now that I'm actually getting around, you CLEARLY don't know me very well.  I'd sooner become a particle physicist than hook up with anyone.

Four updates.  All I can give you after 5 months of silence.  If you're that sad about it, we should be better friends.

Until next time, peace.

...I love Barack Obama.  Hussein nothin'.

Fine, I'll post again...

Well, I know it's been a while since I posted something, so I can think of nothing better to do than ramble on about how my life's been since coming back from Taiwan.

Taiwan itself was an amazing experience.  I actually almost didn't go, since I managed to land a Wells Fargo internship I had been shooting for; unfortunately, they needed me to attend training (PAID training) during the month of July, which would mean I'd miss out on the mission trip.  So, in the end, I decided it was probably better to go with the option I had been preparing months for.  Even though the internship paid around $10 to $20 an hour.  Woe is me.

But here's the point: I would make that decision again in a heartbeat.  The trip was incredible, and really opened my eyes to why we as Christians are needed in Taiwan.  I saw the spiritual darkness there, and that helped me be more patient as a teacher.  Paying a visit to a Buddhist cemetery then hearing that your uncle is buried there does a lot to wake a guy up.  But the rough stuff aside, it was fun, challenging, and a terrific bonding experience.  Way too much stuff happened than I care to post here.  But as a final note: dang those kids are good at English!

Anyway, onward and upward.  I've been getting for my party this Saturday, buying food and borrowing party games (since I've never really put on a party like this before).  Stressful, but I look forward to seeing everyone at least one more time before I go off to Northwestern GO WILDCATS WHOOOOOO!!!

By the way, since I just thought of it: IT IS NOT CUTE WHEN YOU TYPE "!!!!1"  It just means you couldn't hit the stupid shift and "1" key at the same time!!1 <---Irony, don't misinterpret it.

So, other events.  There was swap meet shopping with Sheel: very fun, and we managed to get more than we bargained for.  There was seeing a few Tetzlaff people again, although we basically just sat, talked, and ate.  Food brings people together; I say we bomb the Middle East with chow mein and watch world peace bloom out of the shower of love.  Hate can't stand up to a good hearty serving of chicken, after all.

Oh yeah: I got my Macbook!  Which I am currently using.  Man, Apple is clever: their spellcheck program doesn't include any Apple products on its list of misspellings.  So, Powerbook and iMac are all kosher to this little fella.  But I love it, so keep up the good work Jobs.  You monopolistic bastard.  I'd hate you if you didn't keep turning out terrific products.

That should be about all.  I'll go back to my summer work: I've been filling out more paperwork since I got in to NU than I did when I was trying to get admitted.  Sheesh.  Free time is taken up by my unhealthy law obsession.  With that said, over and out.

---

PS: I found a Bible verse that I interpret as God's mandate for Public Defenders.  Behold: 1 Timothy 1:15, 16.  Grace of God--whatUP.  I found it while debating with my parents why I should leave the avenue of criminal law open to me in the future.  Word of God says I should help show grace unto sinners.  Deal.

Thank Jesus

Sass x7 has been eliminated. For all you skeptics out there, the existence of God should be hereby confirmed.

Seeing as how every other crew was pretty good, I really don't care who wins now.

Since I can't think of a new post...

So I was sitting around bored today when I realized that being bored during summer vacation was a problem I had attempted to tackle in an article I wrote for the Cerritos News. For lack of a better post, here's the article in its entirety. Enjoy--I actually thought this one was pretty good:

In Case You Run Out of Ideas…
By Eric Liang

Not knowing what to do during the summer seems almost illogical on the surface, the same way one might think it strange that someone doesn’t know what to eat at a familiar food court. But it’s not that big of a stretch: when it comes down to it, in both situations, the issue is not lack but rather excess. Year after year, as I attempt to make summer plans, the first thought in my mind is of where to start. A transcript of my typical thought process at such times would be similar to the following:

“The beach sounds good, haven’t been there in a while…then again I haven’t really gone to Six Flags before either…but both those places would be too hot and I wouldn’t enjoy it and that would defeat the purpose…maybe I should call some friends…never mind my phone’s across the room…alright back to sleep.”

Not exactly a recipe for success. Needless to say, I have a reputation for not doing much during my three months of bliss unless someone else plans it. I’m convinced that’s why guys have gal friends: they know how to plan things.

Enough of that. This being my last summer as a high school student, and quite possibly as a Californian, I’ve taken it upon myself to come up with a list of things to do during the summer. Blessed as we are with Californian suns, beaches, and youth culture, I have a feeling that if I were to stay in Chicago this time next year, I’d regret quite a bit. So here we go…

1. Go to the beach: Simple enough. I happen to love body boarding—or, for you more casual types, boogie boarding. Make sure you have friends, a lot of drinks, and food that doesn’t pick up sand easily (I know, it’s a narrow spectrum). But just lying in the sun would be awesome, too. Bring sunscreen, though—as a former student rep to the district’s legislative/policy committee, I’m supposed to remind you all of the dangers of UV ray exposure. So remember, rub it on. Generously.

2. Movies(!): I have only one thing to say about this point, and that is “The Dark Knight”. I can think of no better way to end a summer movie season that began with Iron Man and that included such anticipated releases as The Incredible Hulk, The X-Files: I Want to Believe, Kung-Fu Panda, and the one film I’m highly skeptical-yet-hopeful of, You Don’t Mess With the Zohan. Oh yeah, I’m supposed to mention Wall-E, the one movie I’m skeptical of and still don’t care about.

3. Eat a lot: Ironic, since I planned to be thin and fit before heading off to college. Northwestern is supposedly the fifth fittest college in America, so I figure I better work out over the summer. But eating is so much more fun, especially if you combine it with #2 and #4.

4. Be with friends: It would be sad to say that you get enough of them during the school year. Use the summer to do things with your friends you didn’t have the time for while tests and homework were piling up. I went to Cabazon with a particularly close-knit project group of mine in May. I like to think it’s a teaser for what’s to come. Plus, I’m quite adamant about this point, since I’ll be in Illinois in September and won’t be seeing my best friends for at least three months.

5. Get fit: I changed my mind—I now consider it possible to work out and have fun at the same time. I recommend running with music. iPod’s are lovely, aren’t they?

6. Throw a party for no particular reason: I hope the title says it all. But remember the second part of this suggestion. Don’t have a reason for it, just do it. Then again, I’m sure this would seem a lot more appealing if I actually did it. Remember, guys don’t do planning. It’s not in our genes, the same way sowing and flower arranging isn’t.

7. Start a summer romance: For no other reason than the fact that I’m a sucker for rom-coms. That’s short for “romantic comedies”, if you’re among the uninitiated. And who knows: it might not end with the summer.

So there you have it, my humble list of summer to-do’s. Remember, you only have about three months before all this becomes naturally and academically impossible. So choose wisely and have the time of your life.