Tuesday, February 22, 2005

My Dream Jobs (2)

I want to be a professional gamer. This is such a no-brainer. I’ve been paying to play video games throughout my life, and I certainly don’t mind doing the same while earning some serious bucks. It is reported that the top pro-gamers in Korea are able to bank around $150,000 a year. I know it’s not Donald Trump’s type of money, but hey, I can live with that. But the catch is that you have to win tournaments. Beside rigorous trainings (at least 8 hours a day for most pros), you need to have super-human reflexes and be able to have APM (Action Per Minute) of 300+. Since I am just an average man with average reflexes, I probably end up wasting all my time without earning a dime. I may even earn myself the title of "The most good looking pro-gamer who never wins" if I am lucky enough. I can certain try the Kournikova way - rich, famous, but sucks at what s/he does. However, given the demographic distribution of those avid gamers, namely 20-something heterosexual male nerds, I doubt if I will have any sexual appeal whatsoever. My parents definitely will throw my computer, XBOX, PS2, or whatever device that I have, out of the window to end my short-lived career.

I want to be an underground racer. I love to drive fast and furious. I believe I am a good driver and have some intuitions about driving. I enjoy the idea of upgrading my cars in the after-market, modifying the exhaust system, fooling around with the computer chips in the engine, increasing horsepower by adding a turbine… and etc... etc... all sound wonderful to me. For any given night, these illegal races can bring me north of $5K, which is really sweet. But the problem is that I need to have a really decent car to start with. Subaru WRX STI will do but it will at least cost me $35K. I will try to deliver pizza to earn some money, since delivering pizza helps me familiarize the streets. However, since that job really doesn’t pay well, I probably have to deliver a lot of pizza to afford a STI, and then deliver more pizza to afford any after-market upgrades. Then, given the high gas prices, I need to deliver even more pizza to cover the gas money (I need to practice a lot in local streets and Subaru’s low gas mileage doesn’t help either.) I most likely will receive quite a few speeding tickets during my practice and in order to pay those fines, my pizza delivery career just gets longer and longer. I probably will never make it to the underground since I am delivering the fucking pizza all the time. Also I will never be able to afford any buy-in money. I am more likely to end up owning a pizza store than anything else. I am also likely to be remembered as the fastest pizza delivery boy ever in the history of New York. Yeah, how glorious is that!

(To be continued)

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Movie Review - [Million Dollar Baby]

Watched “Million Dollar Baby” couple nights ago and really liked it. It’s a movie about life, responsibility, and love. The movie tells a story about a struggling boxing coach and his new female protégé. I won’t go into any detail here, since I don’t know how to do so without giving away too much. Here are my thoughts, random thoughts, after the movie:

1. Life. “Life is not measured by the number of breath you take, but rather it is measured by the number of moments that take your breath away.” Who said this doesn’t matter (FYI, it’s Pat Riley), but this sentence somehow captures the essence of the movie. Yes, it is important that we all enjoy a long, healthy life. However, longevity should not be the only purpose of living. We should not just live for the sake of being alive. At the end of the day, when we look back, as long as we can say “I did all right”, that’s enough.

2. Responsibility. Besides ourselves, we are responsible to others, including our spouses, parents, children, and etc. We need to make sure that all these people are in a good state, both mentally and physically. However, we usually forget about the real point of such responsibility. It’s not meant to make us feel better, but rather to ensure the people we care a better life, a life that is not measure by the number of breath they take. We have to achieve a balance between what we think is good for them and what they desperately need. Whenever we cross the line, sad things happen. Remember, we only live our lives; let others live theirs.

3. Love. Love, affection, whatever you call it, is the emotion that binds people together. It changes “you” and “me” into a “we”. It’s a beautiful thing. However, obsession, control, and possessiveness are all the inevitable side effects of such strong emotion. The fact is no matter how suitable two people are, they are still two individuals. They view the world differently, they think differently, and they express themselves differently. After all, it involves two brains here. Therefore, let both brains work and don’t ever let one dominate the other. Respect the other brain and listen to what it has to say.

All being said, "Million Dollar Baby" is an excellent movie directed by Clint Eastwood and it definitely worth your time and money.

Friday, February 11, 2005

央视春节联欢晚会

真他妈的难看!!!!!

我其实已开始就抱着一种残忍的心态去看这晚会的。我的目的很单纯,就是要看一下它到底有多滥,然后写篇文章来臭骂它一通。哎,我这也是给逼出来的,去年的时候我倒是兴致勃勃地看了一把,结果晚会的恶俗把我恶心成了祥林嫂, 我不断叨唠着“我原以为春节联欢晚会是挺好看的呀”。今年我学乖了,我完全有了心理准备,我幸灾乐祸的去看。

结果还是出乎我的意料。它的难看已经出乎正常人可以接受的水平。这种丑陋与恶俗已经跨越了国界,没有文化壁垒,赤裸裸,毫无保留的让你恶心。

先说说小品吧。那里面的男的都不知道是什么动物,什么都象,就不象男人。里面的女的呢,不是泼妇就是荡妇,再不就是天真无邪的傻B。我看得眼都直了,这些也都是妈生的呀。

再说说唱歌吧。这都是什么玩意?!要么来个“繁荣盛事”的歌词,叫几个唱民族美声的咿呀乱叫一把;要么就让一个小屁猴,成龙儿子那样的,来唱一些狗屁 不通的又俗了吧唧的通俗歌曲,唱的那叫难听啊。奇怪就在这里了,明明都是假唱,连放磁带都放得这么难听,我真服了他们了。

几个主持人呢,就更别说了,穿着稀奇古怪的衣服,带着虚假的笑容,要么粉饰太平的来通官话,要么说些让你哭笑不得的所谓“俏皮话”。

央视也就这么几招,年年都这几招:
(1)几个年轻的三流歌星凑一块来个大联唱
(2)几个4,5岁的小孩穿着小肚兜象发疯了一样蹦来蹦去,狗屁不通的唱些东西
(3)1首赞颂伟大祖国人民子弟兵的歌曲(一定是三个穿陆海空军装的人唱)
(4)1个根本就不好笑的但是关于我们伟大祖国人民子弟兵的小品
(5)几个巨变态的类似同性恋的男小品演员,他们都在小品里演丈夫
(6)几个也不知道那里的海外留学生向祖国拜年
(7)蔡明那高分贝喇叭一样的嗓子,夺人心魄
(8)“X年说X”
为题目的相声,而且每年都一样的不好笑
(9)宋祖英的歌。。。这个就不多说了


看了大约1小时之后,我实在不行了,心脏和胃都受不住了,就换台了。

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

You better believe it

Police: 4-year-old drives mom's car to video store
Monday, February 7, 2005 Posted: 9:25 AM EST (1425 GMT)

SAND LAKE, Michigan (AP) -- A boy drove his mother's car to a video store in the middle of the night, police said -- and he's all of 4 years old.

Although unable to reach the accelerator, the boy managed to put the car in gear and make his way to the store, a quarter-mile from his home, about 1:30 a.m. Friday, Sand Lake Police Chief Doug Heugel said. Finding the store closed, the youngster began a slow trip home.

Weaving and with its headlights off, the car got the attention of Officer Jay Osga, who first thought he was following a car that had been left running at a gas pump. He flipped on his lights when the car turned into the apartment complex and struck two parked cars. The boy put the car in reverse and struck Osga's cruiser.

The mother told police her son tried to drive the car earlier after she let him steer from her lap.

"He's 4 years old. His mom didn't even know he was up," Heugel told The Grand Rapids Press. "I don't think he even realizes what he did." No charges will be filed against the boy or his mother, Heugel said.

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

My First Car Accident

It has been five years already since I first got my license. I think it's about the time. Research says you are most likely to have your first car accident in year 2 and 3. Since I didn't always drive in past five years, all in all, the timing was about right.

No, damn it!!! The timing was simply aweful. I was on my way back from an otherwise very pleasant ski trip. I finally got a grip on how to smoothly link my left and right turns on a snowboard. I was extremely excited about my progress. My spirit was high and I was proud. But the accident just spoiled everything.

The accident is my fault, according to my insurance company. Everything happened in seconds. I was merging to the right lane from the middle lane. The truck driver, who was on the right lane driving steadily, just decided to cut me off and suddenly accelarated after I signaled. I didn't anticipate this suddenly move and continue to change lanes. The truck scrached my car from the right side and made some unpleasant noises. Fortunately no one in my car was hurt. We eventually waited two hours for cops to show up and I hadn't felt this hungery and cold since...... Fuck it, I have never been this hungery and cold.

Today, the adjuster from my insurance company took a look at the car and called me afterwards saying that the damage is about $3,000. I almost fell off my chair when I heard that. Of course, I am only paying the deductables, which is $500, but I can't imagine how my premium will be like when we renew next time.

What really pisses me off is the fact that the asshole in the truck is not at fault. He is the aggressive one who has little regard about other people's life. In any normal situations, he would have never touched my car since I tend to drive fast, hmmm... pretty fast. I cut lanes in a heart beat and I blow people by like a wind. (I am exaggerating of course, but you get the idea). The only reason I was in the middle lane that day, following the crowd and being a nice boy, was because of the additional passengers (4 of my friends) on my car. I was trying to be extremely cautious. But that might just cost me the accident. My theory of "nice guys always got their butts kicked" was proven correct, again.

So here comes the real question, how should I drive?? I am confused.