Appreciating Computer Skillz

Published
by
Robmarie
on July 19, 2008
in Internet
. 0 Comments

I mentioned before that I’m taking a computer class in hopes of earning some cash by the end of the month. Now, while I appreciate the government’s efforts of increasing computer literacy, the way the class is being handled is completely ridiculous.

First, the age limit set for the class is 16-21 (I *was* 21 when I applied for it, so they couldn’t use age as an excuse to turn me away). Most of the “students” are 16 and 17-year-old boys, which means that I have to sit through four straight hours of pure hell with a bunch of rowdy junior-highschoolers who won’t stay STILL for ONE MOMENT. Next time, the powers-that-be should switch the age requirement to a grade requirement (grades 9-12 or something), as this will smooth and level the classes, and spare university students the torture :P

Second, the requirements for teaching at these courses should be stricter; as is, our current instructor is an English teacher. An English teacher teaching Computer classes… WTF? Just because you’re familiar with MS Word and MS Powerpoint does not mean you’re qualified to teach it.

An example:

The following is an item from an Internet Literacy test we had two days ago… with the teacher’s “correct” answers:

List three search engines:

  1. www
  2. http
  3. html

And that, my friends, is why I’ve been wanting to shoot myself in the face for the past two weeks!!

This is not a guide to alcohol consumption!

Published
by
Robmarie
on July 12, 2008
in Miscellaneous and Outings/Events
. 12 Comments

“The worst part of getting drunk is getting ridiculous!”
- My last sober words on my 22nd birthday

Thanks to everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday! Truthfully, it was probably the best birthday I’ve had so far! I originally intended to have a low-key, relaxed hang-out with close friends, but random things kept happening which made it next to impossible, i.e. the original hang-out place turned out to be closed; the other hang-out turned out to be slow and empty on that particular day; one of my friends had a play rehearsal, etc. Luckily, my cousins were just as psyched as I was about my birthday, and ended up kidnapping me and taking me bar-hopping :P Well, five Heinekens and two B-52’s later, I was SLAMMED!! It’s actually very rare for me to be really out of it, as I tend to avoid mixing my drinks, but this was a special occasion, dammit! I would not go down quietly.

The last time I got slammed to that extent was two years ago, three days before New Year’s Eve, when me and a friend went to some place which had a Long Island Ice Tea open bar that particular night, and innocently enough drank about three of them. However, I soon grew tired of the drink and defaulted back to my usual: Bacardi Limon with cranberry juice. I have to admit, though… my subconscious has a mean auto-pilot. Just because you are less inhibited doesn’t mean you should give in to every single inhibition!

Anywho, the only reason I let myself go like that on occasion is because: a) I’m not driving, b) I’m not paying for it, c) I’m with people I trust. I would never do that if I’m hanging out with people I just met and don’t know very well. Also: I’ve noticed black-outs [and massive hangovers] have a higher chance of happening when you are mixing drinks, so I avoid that like the plague — you should, too! If you start out with beer, stick with beer. If you start out with a particular drink, stay with that particular drink — and don’t rush it! Unless you’re broke and want to get a quick buzz, which is what I usually do. :P

Finally, I know I slurred said the worst part of getting drunk is acting ridiculous, but really, the worst part of it all is the PUKING [there, I said it]. Praise the heavens, I am not a puker [I’m hardcore like that]. It’s mostly an event reserved for when I am tugging at the last shreds of consciousness. However, in my experience, the best hangover food for me are saltine crackers. Heck! They work wonders for non-alcoholic related nausea as well. As soon as I start to feel the faintest tug at my throat, I start nibbling on those crackers like there’s no tomorrow. Obviously, soup can be insanely comforting as well. I read once that other hangover cures include tomato juice and even more beer (LOL) — though both sound like the final nail in the coffin, if you ask me.

And… wow. A simple birthday outing update post turned into a guide for alcoholic consumption — what does that say about my priorities? Heh.

I only turn 22 once, so…

Published
by
Robmarie
on July 8, 2008
in Life
. 18 Comments

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! YES! 22 years… it’s starting to get a little scary, to be honest. Gone are the days where I used to blissfully anticipate every year as a sign of personal freedom and independence. After 21, every passing year is clearly more indicative of “the rest of my life”.

But! No worries about that today, because… I’m gonna sip Bacardi like it’s my birthday! LOL :D

P.S. Is it sad that the Facebook birthday greeting made me happier than it should have? Heh =P

I can has premonitions?

Published
by
Robmarie
on July 5, 2008
in Dreams and Thoughts
. 11 Comments

There are just some coincidences that leave me thinking.

Last night, I had a rather… err… “sexual” dream involving a guy whom I briefly dated last semester. Nothing too strong ever happened between us, which is why the dream surprised me completely — it was so out of the blue!

Naturally, I spent the entire day thinking about the guy.

In an attempt to rationalize what the contents of my dream meant, I conducted a small search on Dream Moods. Now, I’m not gonna get into specifics (though you can type random sexy acts on their search form and interpret for yourself what I looked for =P), but apparently, my dream was symbolic of creative energy… and my life is heading in the right direction!

Anyway, while these revelations are great and all, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar — and maybe this was just my pants’ heart’s way of sending me a message; So I was considering giving him a call when all of a sudden, out of freakin’ nowhere, my MySpace IM makes that loud, shrilly noise that alerts you of new comments. So! I go to my MySpace, and –

And before I type the rest of the story, you have to know: NANOSECONDS before the page loaded, I jokingly said to myself: “I bet this is the guy”.

Well, guess what — IT WAS!!!!!!!!!!!!11111111111111111111111111111111111

It was him, man! It.was.HIM. Out of the bluest of blue. He was just saying hi and asking how I’ve been. I didn’t contact him, I didn’t send him a message, I didn’t insinuate anything in any other MySpace profiles, or Facebook, or anywhere… it was all him!

This isn’t the first time that something of this nature has happened to me. Once, I had a dream about a friend of mine whom I hadn’t seen in a while. In the dream, she was pregnant and radiant. The next day, I received an out-of-the-blue call from ANOTHER friend of mine, whom I also hadn’t seen in forever, to tell me that she was PREGNANT!

Now, obviously these are coincidences; but it’s the sheer randomness and unexpectedness of these coincidences which get me thinking. I can’t really categorize them as “wishful thinking” because I don’t spend any considerable amount of time thinking “OMG, I wish so-and-so would call” or something like that. And it’s not something that happens very often, either — it just does. But still, it’s pretty cool when it does. Just when you think you have life figured out, something crazy unexpected happens to keep the magic alive.

Have you ever had any weird premonitions/dreams/coincidences happen to you?

The Freakout

Published
by
Robmarie
on June 30, 2008
in Internet, Life and Personal
. 9 Comments

Remember a couple of entries ago, when I blabbed about my new-found “take-life-as-it-comes” attitude instead of my usual freakouts, and how surprised yet cynical I was of the whole ordeal?

Well, it happened, ladies and gentlemen — I FREAKED OUT. It just so happens that I was merely transiting through the eye of that crazy hurricane called LIFE; the prodigious “calm before the storm“, so to speak.

It was inevitable, really. That post wasn’t exactly the cause of the freakout, but it was the kick to the head that set the gears in motion, as it got me to really think about my future.

I spent the entire last week stuck in a cycle of ANGER/sadness/numbness/ANGER. I threw things at walls; I started a fight with my brother. I cried out of sadness, out of bitterness, out of spite. I lost all of my spirituality for one day. I decided to give up on studying and focus on looking for a job, but the job market out there is incredibly tough, and I’m a total nerd! I can’t give up “The Life” — LOL — I love studying too much.

Anyway, it was definitely one frenzied, overwhelming, crushing week with 10,000 things rushing through my mind all at once: I can’t stand living at my house one more minute; I have no income whatsoever and I have to start repaying my loans in July, not to mention my bills. I sent out 10 resumes to 10 different mental health institutions, let’s see what happens — although how committed I will be to a job depends on where I go to study. I’m not even sure about what I want to pursue now that the School of Medicine is out of the question. It really has become a matter of settling down for whatever happens first.

On a more positive note, I started a summer class (not University related) sponsored by a federal government program where I will earn $300 for — get this! — learning to use TEH COMPUTERZ!!1~ Our final project is going to be “designing” a (non-validating) page for TEH INTERWEBZ!!1, most likely using Microsoft Frontpage. But you know, I can’t really hate on the initiative, because most “computer skills” people seem to have today consist on adding apps to Facebook or changing MySpace profile layouts on a weekly basis, and that just won’t cut it once you enter that fascinating exploitative world of college. Besides, I’m getting paid to doodle around in Paint and dabble around in MS Word! Pretty freakin’ sweet, if you ask me.