The 1-percentile
Happy Birthday best friend :)
Wow, am I awesome at being late or what? Hahaha.
Just kidding. I wished him happy birthday at 10 PM yesterday before you all! 
I just want to say a few things about my super awesome, kickass friend Marcus Tu. First of all, congratulations on being one year older and I wish you the best of luck in all of your pursuits.
I want to thank you for being such an amazing friend. You have always been there for me through all of my troubles, my nagging, and mischievous/immature behavior.
Thank you for being so patient with me, I know that many people would not give me as many chances as you would. You waited for me to change and become a better person, but more importantly, you believed that I could change.
Thank you for guiding and supporting me in all of my pursuits, whether I wanted to be a doctor or a mathematician or a space alien.
Thank you for your health advices, to which I dedicate most of my well-being to you.
A little birdie told me that our present should have arrived at your house. It was fairly expensive; but, I know that you’re the best gift I have ever received, so the price tag is not a problem.
Enjoy your gift and more importantly, enjoy your life because there’s nothing but bright lights in your future.
You just need to know where to look 
Have a good one, best friend.
Eddie
Sigh
Just as I was ranting on how great math was, I get my butt handed back to me with some easy calculus problems my friend asked me to help him with.
Despite my level in math, I really can’t do mental math. I have to write something down on paper or conceptualize the problem in order to do it. The whole time, I had three other people trying to help said friend while shouting out possible ways to do the problem and I totally lost my train of thought.
As a result, I messed up on the most trivial techniques and embarrassed myself in front of everybody because I’m supposed to be some kind of a “math genius”. I guess I need to work on my mental math and improve my concentration.
Sigh…
Eddie
Craziness
Yesterday, I was chatting with my mathematics professor about the concept of a spatial region with infinite dimensions-the Hilbert Space. Okay, it wasn’t much of a chat, I was just sitting there humbled by his vast knowledge and the insanity of it all.
My curiosity got the better of me today and I decided to take a look at the mathematics PhD candidacy exams in analysis. Analysis, it’s just advanced calculus, no problem right?
So yeah, you can totally see where this is going. I was smacked in the face, really hard-couldn’t even differentiate left from right anymore. I stopped looking at the exams when my head started hurting.
Epic fail, going into a realm totally above my head. But at the same time, it’s exhilarating. It’s so exciting to know that there’s so much more to discover about a subject. A swirling, twirling cosmos of death and adventure that awaits anyone who’s brave enough to enter.
Oh, so yeah. I changed my major, because I found out that I’m absolutely fascinated and in love with mathematics.
It’s amazing how such a simple and elegant equation can describe the universe and the infinitely complex systems that we experience everyday. Mathematics is the foundation of all modern science, it serves as the medium between different branches of knowledge and has the power to predict events that will occur in the world. It works by reducing a complex system into manageable, relevant variables and equations that gives us mountains of more information than our eyes and ears will ever tell us.
There is no ambiguity in mathematics. It is pure, sublime, and absolute. Every equation is exact and predictive power in most situations. All variables are carefully defined and all frames of references are explicitly stated.
You may all think that I’m crazy, and I probably am.
I might go more into detail about specific applications of mathematics because that is my interest. I am interested in applications of mathematics in biological and physical phenomena.
Have a great day to all of you,
Eddie
Protected: If you ask nicely, I just may give it to you
Memories in a tofu
I got one after all...
I could try to make an inspirational post like Teresa had on that memorable day. But no matter how impressive or straight forward I may write, it will never do that day justice, that day of October 24th, 2oo9. So instead, I’ll take every ounce of memory of that day… every sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch… every shred of joy and laughter… and cram it all into this little tofu guy, a 3in. x 3in. x 3in. little mascot of 10/24/2009.
On a seperate note… I was incredibly touched at the sheer number of birthday wishes I got from people, because taking even a few seconds out of their lives to type in a happy birthday shows that they thought of me in those short seconds and that they care. I’ll curse the day I take any of you for granted.
Food Coma
I went downtown this afternoon to go eat sushi. It was an all you can eat lunch buffet for twelve dollars, truly an Asian’s dream come true. I’m so stuffed right now. It’s already been five hours since I ate sushi and I still feel full. James and I ate around 25 plates, each plate had like 3 pieces of sushi in it, so about 75 pieces of sushi? I couldn’t exactly remember how much I ate.
I also realized that I was about to be late for my next class, so I hopped on my bike and sped past the biking speed limit (15 mph?) or I tried to. I wouldn’t know how fast I was going.
Once I got back, I crashed on my bed and only recently did I just wake up.
I love college <3
The jackass…
The jackass had a hard morning of work and was anxious to leave for lunch. The second every single hand was pointing at the twelve, he was outta there in a whirl of black, leaving behind unfinished paperwork and an idle computer screen. He rushed downstairs, as he was only on the second floor, and put on his business suit. The jackass went through the double door exit and saw a meter maid writing out a ticket. The meter timer was expired and it was more than three feet from the curb.
“Aw, come on honey, give a man a break.”
The meter maid continued to write, ignoring the jackass. The jackass raised his voice.
“Bitch I’m talking to you!”
The meter maid finished writing the ticket, stuck it on the windshield, and began to write another one! The jackass swiped the finished ticket and tore it up. The meter maid, never looking up, finished her second ticket, stuck it on, and began to write two more tickets. The jackass swore and the meter maid continued to write, never looking up, though admittedly looking a little red in the face.
The little war continued and at the end of five minutes, the entire windshield of the car was covered in tickets. Fines for parking, fines for litter… Satisfied, the ever-silent meter maid continued along her way. The jackass, out of breath, observed the car’s windshield.
He cracked a small smile.
“Good thing that ain’t my damn car…”
Berkeley was fun
That’s pretty much all I have to say. Gone were the days where I would describe each and every story with loving detail. The journey just keeps getting better and better and I just soak in more and more memories until I no longer have enough effort or patience to talk about everything. In a nutshell, Marcus and I took BART, overshot one station, fixed it, came out, met with others. Took a short tour and went to everyone’s dorm. FFW…FFW… met Teresa’s roommates and Marcus’s old friend (also a Christine. Surprisingly easy to talk to and) FFW… FFW… went to an Ethiopian place and ate with our hands. Did some card tricks. Teresa keeps wanting me to do what she calls THE magic trick. Sorry, but I’d prefer doing “THE” magic trick to a girl that isn’t George. Came to BART and… *plays normal speed* got the best and tightest hugs ever. Christine’s hug was really gentle and I could tell she wanted to put a lot into it. Teresa’s and Cassandra’s hugs nearly squeezed the life out of me. But those felt so good I wouldn’t mind dying from them 
Maybe because no one ever hugs me… =[
But I digress. I met new people at Berkeley and all of them were really cool. Teresa’s roommates were kinda good looking ;P I’d be surprised if they were still single. And their dorm had a cozy feeling, maybe because of the decor and the lighting. It wasn’t the most pleasant stay though, because the place I chose to sit smelled like socks. Then I noticed I was sitting next to a bunch of hiking shoes. Serves me right I guess.
On a seperate note, Marcus and I were thinking about making some card routines and doing joint tricks. I don’t know how that’d work but it’ll be fun working it out. He told me something I never consciously realized or never bothered to care: card tricks can be chick magnets! Holy crap! What a revelation! What used to be a lame attempt to get back at Jennifer ends up like this… I’m happy =P Though I don’t see why since I don’t plan on getting a girlfriend until I’ve transferred.
This post was fun because it’s the first one that I’ve just typed and didn’t go over and edit. Typed and published like that. It’s gonna suck because I’ll probably wake up and think, “OH SHIT why’d I type that?”
Laters
The uber extremists say…
you’re surrounded by fucking infidels! …except Michelle, she’s cool. =P
I still don’t get how this works. I don’t take God as seriously as I really should, though I do acknowledge His existence with little to no hesitency. I consider myself a Christian, but that may be all it. I don’t pray too often… prayer is the axe behind the “break-in-case-of-emergency-glass.” I haven’t touched my Bible in months. So of course, one wonders if it’s good enough to simply believe in Him. I heard that church isn’t mandatory. Daily prayers aren’t compulsory. As long as you believe in Him, as long as you say you’ve sinned, that Jesus died on the cross to save us from them… and if you’re truly sorry for them, it’ll be ok… right? Scares the utter crap out of me because how do I know that I’m truly sorry? How do I know that I’ve apologized with complete and utter 200% sincerity? How do I know that I truly believe in Him when it comes down to the line?
What if when I’m about to die, I question His existence? Will that little slip cost me? What if I can’t help but think dammit I don’t think He’ll help me. ? That’s one of my darkest fears. Some of the other ones are big fucking spiders along with loneliness.
Maybe I should pray. But I wish He’d respond. Why not? Maybe in my constant stream of chatter, I forget to listen. That’s what Esther tells me. When she prays, she can literally hear Him talking to her as if they’re chattering on some mental cellphone. I don’t think God cares about minutes ^^ so she could probably talk to him for hours at a time. So I try it myself. I ask a question and I listen. I can hear a whisper. Whether that’s from Him or from inside me is still an excellent question. But what if that’s His way? Hmm, that would make sense. He can’t let you know he’s not from your head or else that’d ruin the entire atmosphere. He’s not scientifically there remember? You have to believe.
*Taking multiple choice test.
Me: Shit, is it A… or B…. God?
Voice: It’s B.
Damn I wish.
So back to my opening: The uber extremists say that I’m surrounded by infidels. Except Michelle, she’s cool.
Well, ya just think about it. Most obvious: Martin. Did God send him to test me? Doubt it, because he couldn’t have made it easier.
Martin: Hey Baobab! You know the anti-god right? No, not anti-God, anti-god. Yeah, he’s a god that’ll kill other gods and is invincible to them. BUT he can be destroyed by humans.
And there’s Saurav.
Saurav: No, that’s bullshit! PROVE to me that God exists. No, I know he exists, but he’s not what you think he is. God is the 11th dimension and he’s an energy… whatnot.
Then there are people who come up to me with questions.
Kevin/Teresa maybe/Kuljit: If God is so “perfect,” could he create a boulder that he himself can’t lift?
And of course, the most common one out there:
If God does exist, why does he let all of this shit happen? AIDS, hurricanes, suicidal jihads… the list is endless.
…
I watched (and enjoyed) films such as Bruce Almighty or the Youtube series called Mr. Deity. Yeah you Christians, look down on me now for watching such blasphemous films generated from hell itself. They make fun of God and try to draw you towards the depths of hell. I wouldn’t know what else to say to them except that sometimes I find God intimidating and ultra-serious. I can’t help but find a source somewhere that puts a more friendly face on Him… a source that shows that He can laugh and has a sense of humor.
But that’s just me ranting. Any Christians or friends out there that wanna chip in their two cents?
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