The Year in Summary

And Godzilla...

With the year coming to and end, I thought I should put in one more post before 2013.  I'm sure you've noticed that I didn't write a post last week.  That's because there wasn't much to write about unless you wanted to read about my video game ventures and tons of work.  Anyways, this post will sum up stuff I've realized about myself this year and the things I've thought about throughout.  Whether or not you may or may not agree, that's story for another day.

The list of random things I've learned/thought of in 2012 is as follows:

1. A man chooses.  A slave obeys.
2. Having 5 roommates will cause you to stop interacting with most of the ward in general.
3. Some places are not worth paying $300+/month for rent.
4. Men and women can't be just close friends: while not all men's first motive was "I'm gonna score this chick some day", in the words of the Batman.."You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."  Eventually, you'll fall in love with her.  Chances are, it's either a little too late or it was never meant to be in the first place and the feelings are left without reciprocation.
5. Bioshock is about the dangers of political extremism and morality based upon your choices.  Bioshock 2 is a huge custody battle under the sea...an ugly one.
6. Left 4 Dead series taught me everything about surviving the zombie apocalypse.
7. Functioning under stress is nearly nonexistent: at least for me.  I had huge shifts in my moods this semester due to all the schoolwork, work, etc., that needed to be done in relative short time.  This was enhanced by the fact that I had an average of 5 hours of sleep or less for the most part of the semester.
8. Trusting that everything is in the Lord's time.
9. Heavenly Father has plan for everyone.  First to hit various checkpoints in the journey of life doesn't equal to smooth sailing for the rest of the life.
10. Insecurities happen when we compare ourselves to others.  But in all honesty, I'm at an age range where nothing is certain and anything is possible.  The fact that things can change drastically for better or worse is enough to make people feel a notch or two shorter.
11. I enjoy conversations.  I don't know about other people, but it's nice to get to know them and share bits and pieces about me.
12. I don't fit any stereotypes, caste, groups.  Vast interests can be the blame for that.  Due to the lack of time this past semester, I appeared as a relatively boring person.  Sometimes I wonder if this trait has caused some undesirable outcomes in some other aspects of life.
13. "I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love." - Gandolf, The Hobbit

As you can see, the spiritual aspects of this post seems to be lacking, but I think it's totally unnecessary to always include spiritual experiences in my blogs.  I guess really personal things will stay personal.

Rest and Relax

Radagast the Brown's awesome bunny sled!

First of all, I'm glad the semester is over.  This gives me time to reorganize myself and plan out my next semester.  I have no idea how my grades will turn out just yet, but I could care less about it for now.  The most important things at the moment are rest and relaxation, some things I haven't been able to do for much of the semester.

So far, I've cleaned up most of the apartment.  Dalin and I may have to do touch ups on the carpet, but that can wait and done a little at a time.  I also started organizing my mountain pile of notes...in preparation for the MCAT later this summer.

Entertainment up to this point consisted of mostly video games and watching some movies.  The best film we've seen so far is the new The Hobbit movie.  I don't care what the critics say, but it has to be one of the best films I've seen in a while.  While Dark Knight Rises, etc, were good, the LOTR prequel captured much of the book with some artistic imaginations and expansions.  I felt the whole story was being told to me.  Remember, this is going to be another trilogy, so we have much to expect from this series in the next couple of years.

As for Christmas plans, Stacey offered me to head up to Nephi to spend some time there the upcoming Sunday.  It should be very interesting.  I have not spent Christmas around loads of people, so it'll be a brand new experience.  In addition, it was nice to be remembered by Lyn when she called back and we had a nice chat together.  Somehow, I always call people at the wrong time.  Nevertheless, it was nice to hear her voice again.

As some of you may have noticed, I've decided to grow myself a French Cut this break.  I'm not sure how that'll turn out...um...I'll keep you updated.  Three weeks should yield some results before I have to shave it off when the semester starts.

I had good conversations with family over the net and phone this past week.  My uncle is doing okay and we enjoy our usual chattering over Skype.  I talked to my brother and caught up on the happenings in our lives.  Then, there was my conversation with mom.  It's great when things are going all right for everyone.

I said I was going to update this everyday, but looks like I won't be because not much is happening in my life in one day, but I will still update more frequently during this break simply because this is when I take some adventures inside and outside of the bubble.

Final Offensive

Not just any badger; an English one!

It is here!  The final stretch of the semester is upon us.  With only 4 finals left and me planning to take only one a day, I hope this semester will end well for me.

So, I discovered this week that I won't be the only person chilling around Provo in my apartment.  Dalin is apparently spending his time here this break.  Luckily, he has Kris here, so it shouldn't be a lonely one.  Nick will depart for home before Christmas.  That gives him another week after finals before he heads home.

Aside from my roommates, Stas and TK will be around and we might just spend some time at his house in Orem if the opportunity presents itself.  In addition, some of our Utahan locals like Natalie will hopefully pay a visit as well.  I think Dalin and I have dinner plans figured out.  We are going to carve our own turkeys and make our own meals.

During break, I hope to get my notes organized and come up with a plan for tackling the MCAT.  I'm also debating on deep cleaning the apartment.  As for activities, I'm still looking for some group physical activities that we could do besides video games.

Something about Christmas makes you realize how fortunate you are even if things aren't the way you wanted them.  After all, it could be worse.  Sometimes, we just gotta be grateful with what we have and work toward a better future.  It also made me realize how often I don't think about the bigger picture in life.  All I can do is try harder and hope for the best.  I simply need to trust in the Lord more.

Alas, I shall triumph and report back another week!

Last Stand

This could be bad...

So, we are at the very last month of the year.  I'm starting to lose motivation in school, work and writing on this blog.

Anyways, getting onto this week.  This week has been somewhat stressful in the fact that there was still too much homework and readings.  Honestly, when there are no work to do, there are so much readings.  I'm sick and tired of them.

Funnily enough, I still have one more tests before the end of the semester.  In addition, two more presentations as finals for my lab classes and MMBio468.

Overall, I felt decent about this week.  My life is plain once again!  No dating, no drama, just work and school.  It gets boring watching TV and playing video games, but I think that's the way to do it before the end of the semester and beyond.

Well, sorry to bore you with this insignificant post.  There are obviously more exciting stuff going on in life, but I prefer not to think about them and I don't feel very much comfortable sharing them.  With the Holidays coming up, I will be posting more often in small bits.

I can't promise you if they will be exciting, though?