The Wombat Express

Soupers,
I've neglected this blog far too much, but I have good reasons.
I thought if I had taken a little time off, the spam comments in chinese or whatever would go away, but they have multiplied like maggots on a decaying body.

So it is with great sadness, that I will not be blogging anymore...here at least!
Unfortunately, blogspot has no way of filtering comment spam so I have decided to move onto Word Press.

I would provide a link, but I have yet to even create an account so I'll probably have one up on my facebook.

This actually comes at a good time. This blog consisted of my first 2 years of college and served as a way to help me survive, but I hope that I have grown significantly since then and as such it's time for a change of scenery. I'm hoping that you have enjoyed following me this whole time and will follow me to word press on THE WOMBAT EXPRESS.



This is not the end soupers, it is a change. This whole college thing is a wild ride, why not take that wild ride with a wild wombat on the wombat express?



wildwombat

This Hour Will Be My Finest or My Darkest

This storyline/chapter/time in my life might be getting old to you, Soupers. I have hit another snag in my journey to become a Literary Journalism major. I received a B- rather than the B I needed to declare the major.
I won't blame the class, the professor or anything else except for myself.
I'll admit it's a little unbelievable. B- is so close, I did everything in the class to the best of my ability, but somehow didn't quite make it.
Is this how it's going to be for the rest of my life? Just not being quite good enough? Constantly falling short?

But now there's many things that could happen from this point.

I have reenrolled in the class for Summer to get the B or better. Should I make the grade, I can declare the LJ major and everything
is rainbows and sprinkles.

Should I not make the grade, I will declare myself an English major, hopefully temporarily, and take another English class in the Fall to make the grade so I can take the time sensitive upper division classes in Winter.

Should I not make the grade in Fall...well I don't want to consider it an option, but I may have to remain an English major and understand that Literary Journalism is not what I'm supposed to be doing.

I don't like this. I don't like how hard it is for me to get into this major. I don't like how I actually become scared when a lot of good things start happening to me at once because it means something bad will happen to even things out. Life might be sending me a message to not become overconfident, but it didn't have to do it this way. Have someone steal my wallet, have my laptop break, have my car get broken into, just something that's not affecting my long term goals. I'll get the message, strike that, I already do get the message.

These are fleeting thoughts soon replaced by the questioning of whether I should even keep doing this. It's never been easy, it's been somewhat enjoyable, but are all these signs telling me not to pursue this? Is my mom right, that I should be in the safe and secure health care field?

Ironically, I'm seeing parallels between myself and Robinson Crusoe...which is one of the novels we read in my English class. (So not only is life keeping me from being confident, but it is also showing its sense of humor at my expense) Basically disobeying the parents, who suggest staying in the safe and secure life, and the child going in a different direction to pursue his dreams.

"Nothing worth having comes easy" right, Booker T. Washington? and If I'm going through hell, I should keep going, right Winston Churchill?

I never want to send in a postcard like the one above. Life might be reminding me to not get overconfident and might be showing its sense of humor, but for some reason, it's giving me another shot to take this class in the summer, and I'm not letting it slip by.

It's go time now.
These next five weeks will be my finest or my darkest.


wildwombat

My heart screams color

I am no longer a hopeless romantic.
There is someone who makes my heart scream color.
I hope I can make her heart scream color too.



wildwombat

Comments Reinstated

Yeah, it's been over a month so hopefully the spam commenters have moved on. I'm reinstating comments in case you've been dying to say something about these past posts.

EDIT: Fuck Irony, fuck chinese comments, sorry guys. Comments off forever. I'm saying this like I get tons of comments, but it's stupid and annoying. Sorry Soupers. The Chinese population is obviously bitter that they can't access Google or buy the iPad and thus must infect Blogspot.

Maybe I should switch to Tumblr or Wordpress.


wildwombat

School the 8th Deadly Sin

I'm going to start avoiding going to my English class early now because on two separate occasions, I've been approached by people wanting to talk to me about God and religion and stuff. Yeah, prime stuff.

Let's get this out of the way first, I'm not very religious. I do believe in God, but that's about it. I haven't been to church in a while and I don't really know a lot about the Bible and stuff, but I know enough to get by in my opinion. So, yeah I believe in God, but I don't go to church and I'm not outwardly religious. There.

Some of you might ask why I just didn't say I'm not interested or that I'm Jewish or simply run away, screaming in fear. My mentality is that these people always get denied so might as well let someone hear them out for a moment and go on with my life.
But this guy came up to me and essentially tried to quiz me on the story of Jesus and my Bible knowledge. Annoying because I don't know much about it. However, the best part was this part of the conversation:

Dude: So you haven't been to church in a while, why not?
Me: I'm kind of busy right now trying to get through school and stuff so I guess I haven't had time.
Dude: Okay well, God grants eternal life and nothing is better than that right? But if you sin, you won't be able to get into Heaven right?
Me: I guess.
Dude: Well what Satan does is puts all those distractions around like school and stuff so you lose your touch with God and sin. And we all can't not sin.
Me: I have class, thanks though. (I've gotta go sin some more by going to class, bye)

So let me get this straight, Satan invented school, education, jobs, etc to make us sin? So going to school, getting an education, getting a job, becoming a functioning member of society is sinning?

Rather God would prefer me to devote my life to be without sin, which essentially means I should sit in my room and read the Bible all day right?

But wouldn't that make me lazy...or sloth? One of the Seven Deadly Sins?

So this guy's interpretation of God is this:





If you're schoolin, you're sinnin.

Sorry mate, not buying into that interpretation of God.


wildwombat

We spend our whole lives searching for
All the things we think we want
and never really knowing what we have




wildwombat

way cool.









wildwombat

Capabilities

I think we've all felt this way.
I sure am right now.

What are we supposed to focus on in these four short years?
Having a high GPA?
Finding jobs/internships?
Networking with the right people?
Making friends that will last forever?
Ensuring we're going somewhere?
Figuring out what we want and getting it?

I'm slightly overwhelmed and I think time might be running out. I'm standing here, 5 weeks away from being halfway through my college career.

I know all too well about certain requirements that have to be met. Are there any requirements that should be fulfilled by now that I don't know about?



If this doesn't work out, I'm going abroad.

Is that considered running away?




wildwombat

Whale Noises

Yahoo posted an article about a man named, Andrew Armour who can apparently communicate with whales, particularly sperm whales. Yeah.

Don't get me wrong, I actually think this is a pretty amazing story and swimming with whales would be something I would do at the drop of a hat. I just wonder if listening to the whales would cause significant ear damage because sound has to be emitted powerfully underwater and I don't think our ears are made for it.

While reading the article I couldn't help but think of one of my favorite comedians, Brian Regan.



Kudos Andrew Armour. Not only is your name pretty badass, but you are also the closest thing to Aquaman this world will ever see....even though Aquaman is one of the more worthless superheroes....



wildwombat

Epic

This picture is.

Christopher Robin & Winnie the Pooh vs. Calvin & Hobbes.



My money is on Calvin and Hobbes.




wildwombat

Right On Track

Soupers, today I visited my counselor again with much happier results.

I am on track to officially declare myself as a Literary Journalism major with a Film and Media minor. The weight isn't completely off my shoulders, until I'm declared...actually the weight won't fully be off until I have that diploma in my hand raised to the sky while letting out an obnoxiously loud yell of victory. Perhaps adding in a victorious pelvic thrust as well, but...that might come off as inappropriate.

I have also been weighing my options about studying abroad and it's still very much up in the air. In the words of my counselor, "Well, the two hardest departments to study abroad in are Lit Journalism and Film and Media...and you're in both." However, there are still options open so we'll see what happens. I'm working on a roadmap right now to ensure I'm out in 4 years.

Tangent: That was interesting wording. "I'm out in 4 years." Don't prisoners usually say that? I'm not a prisoner here. I like it here. If I could, I would stay here and get a degree in every program possible, then when I come out I will be 40 years old, millions of dollars in debt, but I will be the most marketable person in the world. Actually, no I wouldn't do that. Who wants to hang out with a 30 year old college student. Weird-o.

It's funny, I figured by now things would be settling down. I would have a declared major, I know where I'm living next year, I should know whether I'm studying abroad or not. But the dust never settles. I'm trying to find a job. I'm applying for ASUCI (UCI student government). I'm meeting new people. And for some reason, I feel fine with it. I don't feel like I'm struggling to keep my head above the water.

Let's keep it up alright?


Wildwombat

Wash Over Me

I've been here before.
Put it on the line.
Hope you come out on top.

Didn't come out on top...again.

Remind me not to let it affect me too much.




wildwombat

Via Postsecret

I stopped on this postcard for a good 3 minutes or so. I don't know what the illustration if from, though my initial thought was from the Simpsons. I also don't know what this could apply to. This weeks postsecrets had a theme about abortions so I thought that this might be from someone worrying that they might never get pregnant.

Meanwhile I'm debating if I should even go into talking about how this applies to me.
"Will there even be newspapers when you graduate?"
"I wouldn't say the industry is dying...I'd say it's dying quickly"

What if I get out of here and become nothing?
What if I graduate with no idea where to go from there?
What if they were right all along?
What if my career goals never happen?
What if my life goals never happen?
What if it [all] never happens?

If I found whoever wrote this card, I want to tell them, "I'll make sure it does."

Because I'm telling myself the same damn thing.




wildwombat

Tilt Shift

Here are my first attempts at Tilt Shift Photography. My newest photography obsession. Actual tilt shift lenses start around 2400 dollars, but photoshop makes it cheaper.

I love it.


wildwombat

All aboard the fail boat.




wildwombat

College Apps going Viral

Not quite sure how I feel about this.
On one hand, I think this is an interesting sign for our generation/upcoming generations. That our generation can produce and consume now. We've grown beyond being just single letters and numbers to colleges, but to actual people. I also think this says something about Youtube's influence in the world now. I was impressed when they allowed people to make videos that would be featured during the presidential debates, but now it's progressed into the college application process is...an interesting move.

When I applied to colleges (holy 2 years ago) I always was bothered by the fact that they would never be able to take into account the fact that we are human. I'm not Application Number 746923, GPA: 3.9, ACT: 27, SAT: 1820, AP Scores: 4,3,5,2,2 and whatever BS I put in extracurricular activities. Seemed too one sided, made us seem one dimensional. But now college applicants can show their personalities and talents to their perspective colleges.

But there's a part of me that thinks this is a load of bullshit. Unless the schools they mentioned in the report base a lot off creativity, including a video is pointless. It would make sense if they were art schools or applying for art/music majors. In that sense it's important to showcase how well you can play an instrument or show a slideshow of your artwork. But unless you're solving 300 differential equations or performing open heart surgery or reading off the periodic table in alphabetical order while doing the first two I mentioned at the same time, a video might not be very helpful.

Then there's the part of my mind that says, why the hell wasn't I given a chance to do this when I applied to college? I would have made a kick ass video on why colleges should accept me. I would have shown off so many of my skillz

Dice Stacking Skillz


Cup Stacking Skillz


Parkour Skillz


and other various skillz I have.

Finally, I think this is going to make college applications very interesting if this becomes a common thing. I doubt they will allow full 1 min videos because that's a ton of time for the application people to be watching videos of people doing most likely pointless things.





wildwombat

May I please have this?!



wildwombat

Comments

Sorry Soupers, but on 3 different occasions I've gotten spam comments in Chinese.

While it would be nice to think that my blog is reaching an international audience, I know that is not true.

As a result, I'm disabling comments, but not permanently, just until I think the spam comments have moved on to a different blog. (hopefully not yours if you have one)





wildwombat

Running forces me to remember to breathe.
I think I forget to do that sometimes.




wildwombat

Slow Things Down

Today I spent 1.5 hours in Aldrich Park. Reading, relaxing and sleeping (knowing full well that I'd be snoring)

I wish you could have been there with me. The sky was clear and blue. Light breeze blowing across the body. Pine trees swaying.

I wish I could explain how relaxed I felt in that moment, but it's really something to experience for yourself.

Then I realized, I want to have moments like that all over the world.
I want to lie in the grass in:

The Royal Botanical Gardens, Sydney, Australia
Central Park, New York City, New York
Christchurch, New Zealand
Tokyo, Japan
Sao Paolo, Brazil
Victoria Island, Canada
London, England
Paris, France
Madrid, Spain
Teahupoo, Tahiti
And thousands of other place

and I want to lie there with you. A moment of pure relaxation. No thoughts of the future, no thoughts of the past, not even thoughts of the present moment.



wildwombat

The Pain It Won't Even Cross My Mind

Love,
It's the wave I ride,
That won't ever reach the shore.
Overwhelmed by the tide
And wanting nothing more, tonight.
Than to take this time
And make it all mine.
It's coming around again.

I've been thinking a lot about careers again. This would be the point where my therapist would roll her eyes while I'm not looking. My mom keeps badgering me about what I'll be able to do with a degree in Literary Journalism and a minor in Film and Media studies.
I understand that it's a competitive career.
I understand that it's tough and not a secure career.
And I keep getting reminded that it isn't the best way to make a living.
But why can't you show even the least bit of faith in me? I'm trying! I really am! Do you know how many people would have given up right now? Do you know how I could have rebelled and not even gone to college?

Why can't anything satisfy you?
My grades are never good enough.
My major isn't good enough.
My outside activities are never good enough.

No matter how frustrated I get with my mom, which is a lot, I need to understand her point of view. She worries so much solely out of love. No parent wants to see their child fail. No parent wants to see their child fall. I can't blame her for doing that. But I don't appreciate her way of showing it.

Every now and again sometimes,
I get lost on the wind of a dream.
The air gets clean and the seas get wide.
And I can do anything.
The pain it won't even cross my mind.
There is wonder in everything.
The rope gets loose and the chains unbind.
And I can do anything.

Before I took my first Lit Journalism classes, I was so confident in it. Writing came easily to me. Easier than math or science. I could do it. I could write for Sports Illustrated or take pictures for National Geographic. I could do it all. Until I had to bust my ass to make the grade. That was a pleasant wake up call. But more importantly, I made the grades. So I could do it. My mom doesn't know about those LJ classes. She doesn't need more leverage to tell me not to do this. And yet, I'm completely satisfied with it.

Hope,
It's the light that strikes,
That burns inside of me.
It's a blinding light,
But somehow I can see, again.
When I've lost my way.
It's becoming very clear.
And its coming around again.

My mom enjoys putting me on this roller coaster of supporting me and not supporting me. She'll talk about all these cool stuff that need writers and turn around and tell me to go to law school or something. Most of the time, she's telling me to do something else.
This last quarter it was hard to find hope. I was doing terrible in my LJ class, my councilor even questioned if I should be doing this, and I was already under the gun to declare something. I spent a lot of nights going to sleep thinking way too far into a future where I was doing nothing with my life. Kids I went to high school with were telling me to gather the carts in the parking lot or that those fries needed to be cooked faster. But my friends helped me.
I can't give them all enough credit outside of acknowledging their help. Heard a lot of "You can do it" and "Don't worry about it" and "It'll take an army to bring you down." I'm beyond thankful for them.

Every now and again sometimes,
I get lost on the wind of a dream.
The air gets clean and the seas get wide.
And I can do anything.
The pain it won't even cross my mind.
There is wonder in everything.
The rope gets loose and the chains unbind.
And I can do anything.

Breathe easier. Whatever happens, happens.

Somewhere between the darkness and the light.
My spirit takes to flight.
The colors fill the sky,
And I am free, oh ohh.

It's coming around again.
It's coming around again.
It's coming around again.

I think it was the thought of failing and the support of my friends that made me write so much better. People wanted to see what I had written. Like my mom, friends don't want to see their friends fail. I want to give back all the support they ever had to me somehow.

Every now and again sometimes,
I get lost on the wind of a dream.
The air gets clean and the seas get wide.
And I can do anything.
The pain it won't even cross my mind.
There is wonder in everything.
The rope gets loose and the chains unbind.
And I can do anything.

I thought a lot about how I had come to want to study journalism. I never did anything like this before college. I just made the grades, I never was outstanding in one particular class. And I began to think about little kids who say they want to be astronauts or firemen or president. Then I thought about my mom trying to guide me into becoming something I didn't want to be. How was that fair?
What happened to supporting your child's dreams?
What happened to "The Sky is the limit"?
Why did my mom have such little faith in me?
When did the thought that we could actually do anything die?
I never got that reality check. I was and still am under the impression that I can do anything. Why even tell our children that they can do anything if later down the road they'll realize that they really can't? Save them the trouble of keeping their hopes up. Save them the trouble of being disappointed. Tell them now while they're young that eventually they will realize they cannot become anything. To your parents, you are just an investment. You will need to pay off eventually with a good career. Don't give them the impression that there is hope. Herd them in one direction, towards one career so they understand that that is what they will have to do for the rest of their lives in order to be happy and to make your investment worth it because that's all they are. Numbers. They're nothing but a GPA, a dollar symbol or a serial number.

And every now and again sometimes,
I get lost on the wind of a dream
The rope gets loose, the chains unbind.
And I can do anything.

Fuck all of that.

I've known for sometime that my mom does not like this. I've heard too many times that journalism is not a sustainable career.

Get this through your head: I am unstoppable.

If I end up sitting on the side of the road clutching my degree in 2 years, then you can say "I told you so."
If I end up hating this career and wish I could have done something different, then you can say "Why didn't you become a doctor or a lawyer?"
But if I make something out of this, I will remain silent.
If I can take the right steps to become successful, I will keep my mouth shut.
This is not because I will have proved you wrong. This is because I will feel so accomplished, I will not want to or have the time to say "Wrong, I told you so."

I love my mom.
I love my friends.
I love my major.
I love you.
You and me, we're unstoppable.

If someone has told you, you can't do something, they're lying.
You can still do anything. If we couldn't do anything, life wouldn't let us think we could in the first place.



wildwombat

Consider My Game Stepped Up

When I was in middle school, I could barely keep up with honors classes.
When I was in high school, my GPA was not enough to get into decent colleges.
While I'm in college, my GPA is not good enough to study abroad.
While I'm in college, my GPA is also not good enough for Grad school.
According to my Mother.

If/When I go to Grad school, I can't wait to see what my mom will think that GPA won't be good enough for because there's nothing higher than that.

Keep telling yourself that you're just pushing me harder, Mom.
Keep telling yourself that you're just making sure I'm approaching things logically and realistically because it definitely does not sound like you have zero faith in me at all.

But I'm done taking it personally. Winter Quarter 2010 was exceptionally hard for me. If you have even the slightest sense of what I had to do, I think your mentality would change.

I needed to get B's in both LJ classes to move on.
I'm sorry my other classes had to take a hit in order for me to do better in those classes, but sometimes you need to make the sacrifice and I was willing to do that. You obviously missed the part when I spent 2 weekends holed up in my room working on these papers for LJ. The 2 times a week I went to office hours to make sure that paper was golden. The 2 times I woke up at 4 in the morning to go observe rowing practice. The times this quarter where I almost threw up out of stress.

Sorry you missed out on that, Mom. Sorry you have some weird need to cut down my achievements.

But what's new? I'm not even phased by your negative comments anymore. Your level of satisfaction is astronomical. Even when my sister only has 10 weeks of her college career, you still feel the need to suggest different majors and the health care field. And although you still think you can convince me to change to the health care field, it's impossible now.
It's ironic because you told me "Do what ever you want, just get it done in four years." I'll get this LJ major and Film and Media minor done in 4 years, but if you want me to switch into the health care field now, I'll probably be in school for another 2 years.

Little venting there Soupers, but seriously, I'm extremely relieved that I made those grades. I understand my GPA needs major improvement, but man those LJ classes were killing me and I'm glad to see that stress paid off and I'm also happy to know that I can push myself to make improvements instead of waving the white flag.

Now that I know my grades, I will post up the articles for sure. I don't think I've ever felt more confident about my work until and you all should have the chance to read it.

This is what I would have done if I wasn't at home

Mick Fanning ASP World Champion

Steven Gerrard, Liverpool FC captain

Roger Federer, Greatest tennis player in the history of the game


wildwombat

Variables

I'm starting to figure out that I like to have things figured out when I'm in situations where I don't know the outcome because I want to prepare myself for every possible outcome.

But that's impossible. I will not live my life preparing for the future because I'll miss the present, however I will not live so much in the present that the future always takes me by surprise.

I'll find the balance of being prepared AND going with the flow.

I suppose this is what is slowly making me more into an adult. I've never been more aware of the "growing up" process.


And on that note of maturity, I'm going to sound incredibly immature here so you can stop reading here if you'd like.
My two best guy friends now have girlfriends.

Actually, I'm going to stop there. This is something I don't think needs to be seen here by who knows how many people.




wildwombat

Contrary To Popular Belief

I am not neglecting this blog. I think I put so much effort into my Lit Journalism pieces, I'm running low on inspiration, but it's paying off, Soupers. I got A's on both of my final papers. The final grade is still up in the air, but I'm happy for right now. Gives me faith. Gives my mom faith. I'll probably post them up here when I feel like it.

I think one of the hardest parts about coming home, is telling everyone what you've been doing since you've been away. For some people, you can just pick back up like you've never been away. I like that. But for others, you have to scramble to find interesting things you've done, but because you've been away, what is interesting to you might not be interesting to them. Conversations become shorter. Stories are often followed by "You had to be there." Or require so much background information on the people involved that it becomes pointless to tell it because you'll end up following it with "You had to be there."

But then you realize that even though it might seem like you're losing touch with your friends. It's impossible. Two years of being at separate colleges cannot, will not replace at least 6 years of being friends. And then it's alright.

Sky from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

I saw this video the blog of my friend, Jenna . Jenna, if you're reading this, I'm in disbelief at how similar our tastes in movies, art and humor are.

This video is stunning. I've watched about 3 times focusing on different parts of the frame whether it's just the buildings, just the sky, just the ground. It's always something new. Takes me to a different place.



wildwombat

TV Theme Melody

This kid has more talent than Justin Bieber. Where the hell is his music contract?

Happy Spring Break Soupers!





wildwombat

Well I lied, my mom questioned whether I should go into Literary Journalism or not. She wanted to know if it will "let me keep my current lifestyle" and that everything I'm doing here is an investment.

So now I know my counselors AND my mom question me. How can I not question myself about this?

I remind myself to keep my head above the water, but right now the water is rising a little too fast.

I;m glad life likes to throw all the stress at me at once. It really makes me want to face the upcoming days.

I should stop being so emo and whiny. Sorry Soupers. I'm not myself right now.



wildwombat tabmowdliw jadoihfpaoiwehgo;wegsfijwiefjwoiejf

The Sandpit

The Sandpit from Sam O'Hare on Vimeo.

Tiltshift photograph still continues to blow my fucking mind. I have yet to have a real grasp on how it's done, but it's amazing.

I've been stressing quite a bit lately, which is ironic because for a written part of my spanish class I wrote that I don't get stressed easily. I should have said my stress seems to pile on when I'm at my weakest, like a cold followed by a aches and pains as germs kick me while I'm down.

I was asked the other day by my counselor...my COUNSELOR if I really wanted to go into Literary Journalism because I'm struggling in one of the classes. That question rattled me. I braced myself for so long waiting to hear that question from my mom, but since my mom was okay with it, I let my guard down and it hit me anyway. So thanks for that vote of confidence UCI. Raise my fees. Reject me from becoming a CA. Hire people who question student's choice of major. Keep it coming. Really, I don't mind.

It's really cool to finally, after hearing questions from your parents and yourself!, think you have a future in something and let it come crashing down.

Perhaps it's because I'm getting down to the wire with having to declare.
Perhaps I should reconsider what I'm majoring in.
Perhaps I shouldn't let one person's questioning bring me down.

I'll go with the third choice.



If all else fails, I will be declaring myself as a Film and Media major for now and then switch into LJ or just stay in Film and Media and minor in English or something else.

Either way, a couple days ago I was literally sick to my stomach due to stress. I've never felt that way before and I don't want to feel that way again.



wildwombat

Today I was informed of something that should have hurt me.
That should have disappointed me.
That should have crushed me.
That should have left a bitter taste in my mouth.
That should have left me reeling for months.

But I feel fine.

I might be back to square one, but I've never seen anything other than square one so why does it matter? I'm not afraid of what's beyond square one. I just haven't found the right person who I want to go with me.



wildwombat

Question: Does Rainn Wilson know a photo of him is being used on a shady Facebook advertisement?

Question: What does this auto insurance cover for "less than a cup of coffee per day" if a cup of coffee costs about 4 dollars? Could I create a competing insurance company that costs less than a big gulp per day?



wildwombat

Winter Olympics

This is probably one of the best pictures that has come out of these current Olympics.
The composition is amazing. The action is exciting. The colors are so bright.

I am inspired by pictures like this.



wildwombat

Avatar Dances in Fern Gully's Dune

Just know that I have seen Avatar and I loved everything about it except for the story.






wildwombat

19 Hour Day

I woke up at 4AM this morning before the sun rose. I was sitting on the curb waiting to be picked up 30 minutes later. But where would a college kid be heading at 4:30 in the morning? College kids usually experience 4:30AM because they've stayed up through the night to see it. A college kid would never voluntarily wake up at 4AM. What is there see or do at 4AM? See the city of Irvine lights twinkle brighter than the stars? Try to count the number of cars on the road with one hand?

Not exactly.

I saw a dedicated group of college students with a passion for rowing. A team that burned more calories and sweat before the sun rose than most people burn in a day. A team lead by an Olympic gold medalist coach passing on his experience onto the next generation.







There is a certain amount of beauty in watching the sunrise while cruising through Backbay/Newport. Is it weird I'm actually looking forward to doing it again later this week?



wildwombat

This is Big

Soupers, if you have been following this blog since its creation then you know a little more about me than most people.
You know my strengths.
You know my weaknesses.
You know what makes me happy.
You know what makes me sad.
You know my sense of humor.
You know what grinds my gears.
And yet...you still continue to read.

And to that I thank you. I know I have the support of everyone who reads this and that is something I wish I could return, but it's hard to top how much support you all have given me.

Soupers, today is an exceptional day in this life of this Wild Wombat.

There are far too many entries about my mental struggles with telling my mom about what my major is. Far too much energy spent fretting.

But today, February 12, 2009, this wombat told his mom what he plans to major in.

Literary Journalism Major. Film & Media Minor.

There was no hesitation. No lecture about career choice. No subject change.

Simply: "It's not that the career is dying. It's more of if you can market yourself and network, which I know you can do."

So what does this mean now, Soupers? It means I can actually declare the major now, without fretting.

Does it mean the end of this blog? Not a chance because I know there are going to be more times along the way where I will need the support I get from you, Soupers. And I wouldn't trade that for anything...maybe an iPad...NO! Not even an iPad!

You, Soupers, are a life line for me. I love hearing people tell me "I read you blog the other day." or "I just want you to know that I spent the entire 3 hour lecture reading you blog instead of paying attention." or "Why haven't you updated your blog yet?!"



[a very accomplished and humbled] wildwombat

A Now A Bit of History...Of Everything

Really sweet animation. Completely hand drawn on a flip book. I can't begin to estimate how long it took to make and how many pieces of paper went into making it.

But I like how the Caveman shows he got an idea with a light bulb...then invented fire.



wildwombat

Reconnect

Today I spoke with two friends from high school I never had the proper chance to have a solid conversation with. Silence is golden...sometimes.

Talking with these people is fresh for some reason. That's not to say that my current friends aren't worth talking to, but it's interesting to find out what they're doing now.

Right now I think we're stuck in this purgatory of life.

Readying ourselves to be full fledged adults, but not growing up too fast.

Old enough to know, but too young to care.




wildwombat

Valentine's Day and Skanks!

This actually has very little to do with Valentine's Day and Skanks...kind of...
Sometimes I think Facebook can be really passive aggressive and sarcastic towards their faithful users. Like when this nice ad showed up not 24 hours after the Chargers [foolishly] lost to the Jets in the playoffs.

Harsh Facebook...just harsh...

Then this one showed up. While I was playing Bejeweled instead of studying.


First of all telling me not to be lazy. That goes against everything facebook supports! LAZINESS! I, and every other user, go on Facebook to avoid working on my essay, studying for my midterm and going to the gym. I don't need you to lecture me.

Second, what is that creature supposed to be? It's not a dog. It's too chunky to be a monkey. (haha chunky monkey) It's not a bear either. Looks like the rejected pre-production art for the gremlins.

Third, are you assuming that just because my relationship status says single, you assume I'm not doing anything on Valentine's Day and thus will have time to play Zoo World? Well, you're right about being single and not having anything to do on Valentine's day, but that's not the point. How dare you assume that. I happen to have a very intimate date planned with Call of Duty...did I just admit that?

Lastly, you just said Don't Be Lazy followed by Have some fun this Valentine's Day, and play Zoo World! Pretty sure you just contradicted yourself there, Facebook. Don't by lazy! But stay inside all day and play a computer game!! YEAH!!!

Sometimes facebook doesn't need illiterate, ignorant, or misinformed users to fail. Sometimes it just fails on its own...

Bonus:

Hell yeah brah, my car looks just like that and gets all the ladies brah. Plus with my $30.11 auto insurance rate I can push out part of the dent that beezy left while leaning on my hood! But if I get into an actual accident while racing my sweet ride, I'm screwed! YEAH BRAHHHH!!!!



wildwombat

PS where are all the groups complaining about the new facebook layout?

MAWFIA WARRZZ

Mafia Wars was probably one of the first things that Facebook tried to get me into when I joined. I don't have any experience playing online role playing games so I just steered clear of it. I think Mafia Wars is like the original Farmville-esque game for Facebook. [Side note: I heard quite some time ago that there are more people playing Farmville than people on Twitter. I wonder if that's still true.] Every so often, before I blocked it, I got useless notifications of people asking me to "join their families" or whatever. Damn you people, getting me all excited that someone finally commented on my profile picture only to see that you just want me to join your mafia! FFFUUUUUUUUUU!

Anyway I've never played the game, so I don't quite know what the big deal is, but the fact that they're constantly advertising makes me believe that they're going strong.

Right up until I saw this nice advertisement.



What the hell is this? I understand some people do actually travel on elephants, which is pretty cool by the way, but they aren't decorated like that! That elephant is from like the BC era!

AKA THIS!!:



Mafia members don't travel on elephants! This is ridiculous. Mafia members ride in limos. How much attention would they draw to themselves if they were stomping around on an elephant? How subtle would that be for a drive by?

"Alright, Jimmy said the boss of the rival mafia would be exiting the nightclub right now, let's take him out!"
(STOMP STOMP STOMP STOMP, Elephant trumpet, gunfire, STOMP STOMP STOMP away)
"The boss is dead! Noooo! If only we could figure out which mafia uses elephants as their main mode of transportation rather than cars like a normal mafia gang! It's going to be so hard to find the people who did this because elephants blend in so well when they're around a ton of other cars!"

Maybe they're just running out of ideas.





wildwombat

SWAT

I'm definitely inspired to join the police force/SWAT team after seeing this ad on facebook.

Starting salary of $70 per year! Holy Make It Rain, Batman! Let's sign up! Because 70 dollars per year would be about $1.35 per week, which is definitely what people can live on for a week! That's not significantly below minimum wage at all. I mean I'll be putting my life on the line sometimes, dealing with violent drunks, strung out druggies, robbers, and what not, so I guess my life is only worth $1.35. It's a little more than I expected.

And why is the age in quotes? "19" so can I lie about my age?
"So you're looking to become a cop eh? How old are you?"
"I'm '19'" (does air quotes)


0:52-1:38 is what I'm talking about [regardless the entire clip is hilarious so watch the whole thing anyway]

Finally I love that badass SWAT dude that's pointing at me to join like Uncle Sam. Really though, if I saw that in real life, it will most likely be because they're screaming at me to put the gun down and release the hostages, not "HEY YOU! JOIN THE POLICE FORCE!!!"

But the badass aura of that dude is completely ruined by the huge red writing next to him. What is that? Why does it look like a 5 year old wrote it in crayon? Maybe that 5 year old came in and was like "I'm '19' and you should hire me for my awesome graphic design skillz."


Soupers, prepare yourselves for more of these. As of lately, Facebook ads have been getting more and more hilarious. I'm thinking of changing a couple settings to see what other ads come up.


wildwombat

My ego and career hopes took a pretty big hit today. Mostly in the form of a terrible grade which didn't really create a good impression on my professor. I don't want to be "that guy" who makes a big deal about one bad grade, but when that bad grade is in a class that you want to major in, it's pretty significant. I found myself again questioning if this is really what I want to do.
Then I remembered every time I was rejected and disappointed by something I couldn't control.
I have more control over this than I think.

"Didn't do so hot huh? It's okay."
"It's okay, we all make mistakes."
Just some stuff my friends said that made today seem less dismal. Thanks.




[A more determined] wildwombat

I've been playing up CG so much so I figured you might as well see what they're all about.



wildwombat

Congraduations are in order

A very special congratulations to Common Ground on their 2nd place at VIBE XV!
I bet the Bren Center was rocked when you guys took the stage.


wildwombat

Do we internalize our feelings to save the feelings of others or to save our own feelings?

My approach to this has always been the same.

It changes now.





wildwombat

Common Ground: The Sleeper Team

I spent this weekend shooting the dance team, Common Ground as they prepared for the Vibe dance competition held at the Bren Events Center at UCI.


This is about as close to the hip hop dance scene/community as I've ever been.


I think Common Ground gets lost in the mix of the dance community here at UCI. Everyone knows Kaba Modern from ABDC and B-Boys Anonymous and the like.


One of the things that sets Common Ground apart from the other crews is that CG is not exclusive to UCI students, rather they have members from various schools.


One could say this makes them a weaker team because they aren't as close knit since they don't see each other often, but in a sense they're closer because they have to make the most of their rare time together.


Regardless, spending 2 nights with this team gave me a sense of who they were. They've only been around since 2004, but they don't show their nerves. I've never felt a parking structure shake until I went to their practice. This is a team that wears their heart on the sleeve. Upon the day of VIBE, I would call Common Ground the sleeper team of the competition. I don't think people will be expecting what they're bringing.



wildwombat

Skimboarding in a Storm

GoPro HD - Skimboarding In A Storm! from Patrick Lawler on Vimeo.

The title is pretty misleading and he's not a very good skimboarder (neither am I) but it's overshadowed by the amazing angle they get. especially at 1:08


wildwombat

Hmm

https://twitter.com/wesasaurusrex


Crap...




wildwombat

Twitter

First of all readers, I have decided to give you a new name because my Lit Journalism teacher wants us to get away from using the term "the reader." And thanks to AP English courses in high school, using THE READER is engraved into my brain so I'll combat it as much as I can outside of the class. As a result, I will now be referring to everyone reading this as "the soupers" possibly risking copyright infringement on the tv show, "The Soup."

Regardless, that was just some business to take care of. This is mainly for you, the soupers :OOO to know that I've been tossing around the idea of making a twitter. It's been a growing trend lately that lots of news and current events have spread through Twitter and I'm trying to be well informed about the world around me so this seems like another avenue to do so. I hear almost too often "So and so said on their twitter" or "it was announced on their twitter."

Is it possible for someone to make a twitter solely for the sake of following people and NOT becoming addicted? I'll only know until I try it.



wildwombat

This Just In...

Southern California umbrella and rainboot manufacturers cannot keep up with demand as rain continues. Significant increase in orders from manufacturers in Washington State and New York cause shipping companies to ask "Wait...you said send to Southern California?" Similarly the recent fashion fixation with moccasins causes others to LOL in great numbers as less intelligent people do not realize that their footwear magically transforms into a pair of sponges when hit it rain. Various Native Americans collectively perform an epic Face Palm.

Southern California residents fear Vitamin D deficiency due to 3 days without sunshine. Moods grim, tensions increasing as more people are forced to spend time inside.

Lumber sales increase in the region as people prepare for the worst by drawing up plans for building an ark.

So more optimistic people are believing that once Steve Jobs walks down the mountain holding the Apple Tablet next week, the skies will clear and all will be well once more. Atheists decline to comment.



wildwombat

On a Scale of One to WTF

I think all the Nor Cal kids must be laughing their heads off right now. Currently it's been raining like crazy in Irvine for the last couple of days along with a significant amount of wind...and apparently some signs of the apocalypse.

But apparently winds of 10-20 mph justify getting an alert of a Tornado in Irvine.
Tornado. In. Irvine.

Let's run through the facts of what exactly a tornado is alright kids?

Weak Tornadoes
Last 1-10+ Minutes
Winds of less than 110 mph

Strong Tornadoes
Last 20+ Minutes
Winds of 110-205 mph

Violent Tornadoes
Last over an hour
Winds over 210 mph

That's a general classification, however the official classification of tornadoes goes by a scale called the Fujita Scale or F0-F6

Regardless, to be even an F0 tornado the winds have to be between 40-72 mph. As it stands right now, we're currently experiencing winds of about 11 mph according to weather.com and it might grow to 20 mph.

I think this may be evidence of how little the weather changes in Southern California and how we tend to overreact about it. Don't get me wrong, I love the weather in So Cal, I love that it's very temperate, but c'mon people. A tornado warning is a little too much. A high wind warning is more realistic.

And as I am writing this it now looks like this outside:


Notice the lack of winds now...or...rain clouds for that matter...

AKA NOT THIS!!


So in conclusion on a scale of One to WTF how did I react to the tornado warning? With a resounding WTF.