News Briefs

Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of web comics during my free time at work. In particular, I really liked Copper for its appealing visual style and interesting themes. The author of Copper has a whole bunch of other comics on his site that are worth reading as well. It got me wanting to make my own comic strip, but I don’t think I have the ability to pull it off.

My sister’s at Berkeley now. She doesn’t seem too stressed, and I daresay she’s enjoying the experience. I went up there a couple of times. The roads are so confusing going up there, and even worse coming back. Somebody’s gotta come up with a better system.

Simon left last Saturday (August 30). No more dinner waiting for me when I get back these days. I miss that guy, but I’m used to being alone by now (or independent, depending on whether the glass is half-full or half-empty).

I’ve moved into a smaller room and spent most of my free time cleaning this week. I like the small size of the room. It is simple, and all my things aren’t scattered too far away. I realized I have way too many articles of clothing and too many boxes of shipping material (peanuts, bubble wrap, etc.) that I don’t feel like throwing away because I feel they may come in handy some day.

My internship at Symmetricom ends at the end of next week. I made a lot of friends this summer, and hope to keep in touch with them. I really liked the group that I worked with, as well as the Bible Study group and the table tennis group. I felt like I got along with all of them pretty well.

I made the decision to stop playing video games today and to put my time toward something more productive. The only problem is that it’s about the only bonding activity I share with others; all the things I classify as “productive” are all single-person activities: going to the gym, learning a language, drawing, programming, reading. My former roommate was really good about staying away from games, but then again, he also spent a lot of time on his own. I don’t know whether or not it’s a good thing.

School starts in two weeks. No word on funding. May have to pay again. I had vowed not to pay at all for the Ph. D., but it seems I cannot fulfill that promise. My parents are pushing me to continue even if I/they have to pay. What a lame system.

That’s all for now. Sorry about the segmented approach to this entry. There’s a lot going on, and I need to sleep. Good night.