Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Helel's LiveJournal:

[ << Previous 20 ]

Thursday, October 29th, 2009
9:33 pm	Oh hey, I'm alive. Well, sorta anyways.  It's been a long week. Anyways, things going on: Had two major papers due at the beginning of this week, which was awesome sauce. Had a bit of drama llama with regards to those, but it was all worked through and dealt with.  Have several other assignments that need to be worked on, but I have some time for those still. I got a new phooooooooone, and I actually have a texting plan now.  It's not unlimited, but at least I'm not paying out of my eyeballs for even receiving texts.  That and I'm otherwise too cheap for any other plan.  It's a smart phone as well (an LG Neon to be exact), so if I felt like it, I can 'upgrade' my plan to have more texting or even get the data plan if need be.  But not for now.  Facebook and normal interaction is generally enough for most of my conversations. Let's see, I finally started FFIV after not touching it since... oh, I dunno, last Christmas when I got it?  Bad, I know.  I've played it a little and got to the mom bomb boss.  And it's been self destructing, releasing more bombs, and killing everyone basically instantaneously, so I got tired of grinding on that and put it down.  I'll revisit it eventually. Finally, fooooooootball.  This session has easily been the most exciting one for me in a loooong time, on account that Gatech has been absolutely awesome this year.  Can't say the same about FSU and sorta kinda Auburn, but at least there's POTENTIAL for both of them.  But by and far, Gatech has been kicking ass and taking names everywhere in the ACC. Good times. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
4:01 pm	Book Review Fun on Amazon and Writing So for my neuroscience class, we had a rather interesting assignment that I just finished earlier. The gist of the assignment was that we were supposed to read a Neuroscience related book, and then on Amazon, post a review about it.  Afterwards, we were then asked to peer review other people's Amazon reviews in order to get used to the idea of peer review (which is a big deal in scientific writings). Now, I had kinda finished my review at the last minute, and could have put in a lot more effort, but because the reviews are posted on a wiki, I could look at what other people had said about my review when I finished posting mine. I was rather pleased that I had actually gotten some of the best ratings so far with regards to my review.  The reason for this is twofold: There's the obvious bit that I want to do well, but the other reason is because I haven't been too confident with regards to the quality of my writings lately.  This mostly because of a recent lab report and a few other writings where I was blasted by people for having unrefined writing or writing about about the wrong things. So this little confidence booster was timely and muchly appreciated, especially as another paper is just on the horizon, and I'm in the process of writing letters to several companies in the attempt to get a job from them.  So yeah, woo. Current Mood: chipper (Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
2:29 pm	Job Search Fun So, one of the best things about this year is the fact that I'm going to have to look for jobs. A horrifying prospect with all the whining the media has done about the job market, but fortunately, Biomed Engineering positions have been growing 3000 jobs annually despite the economy.  Which is great in that there's more than enough positions to look for. There is a slight problem in that nearly all of those positions want people with 3 to 5 years of experience in research- something I lack for the moment.  However, I'm looking into several 'bridge' jobs to get additional experience if I really need it and to improve my prospects down the road. I don't particularly mind this, cause at least this way I can start paying off loans and making a living for myself.  Though this will mean I'll probably be moving around a fair bit for the next couple of years.  I don't particularly mind this, but chances are I'd end up in California for a couple or years or something. Crazy, huh? (Comment on this)
Monday, September 28th, 2009
1:44 am	Before I go to bed, I would like to say: Working in a lab, dissecting worms in order to test the contractions of their crop gizzards is a wonderful way to spend 8 hours on a beautiful day.  Especially when you're underground and not outside enjoying the day.  Oh BME, how you torment me so~ (Comment on this)
Saturday, September 12th, 2009
3:54 am	Weekend Fun So, Tech won the game against Clemson, and I was in the second row on the north endzone.  To the left of the T.  Good times.  After the first insane quarter, I decided to ration my yelling a screaming, and would occasionally just just make my mouth look like I was yelling- not that it mattered, cause it was SOOOOO loud the entire time anyways.  Except when Tech had possession, which seemed odd to me.  But whatever. SWARM was different but fun.  Lots of good inside jokes and all that jazz. After the game, my stupid roommates got wasted out of their mind and were tripping all over the damn place.  They were lucky their friends cleaned up after them making fools of themselves. On the issue of roommates: Housing still hasn't filed the report for them yet, so nothing has really happened on that front.  Unfortunately/Fortunately, they haven't gotten any more weed to smoke, so that's an improvement.  Sorta.  Still want to bust them, though as my mother realized (and I already kinda knew) it's highly unlikely the cops would do anything aside from documenting what had occurred.  Maybe.  Granted, at that point it would be lawsuit time, which would be AWESOME.  Like my family needs any more drama this year~ I also got an oscillating fan from my grandmother to help regulate my room temperature, which will make the apartment more tolerable for now on.  Also, my new, shiny business suit showed up today in time for the career fair next week.  Tomorrow(later today that is) I'll need to make a note to try it on and let the tailor know how it fits.  He's a good friend/partner of my dad, so it's the least I can do, especially since he had it adjusted for me on such short notice. Regardless, I pretty good end to the week so far, and I had a good evening overall. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 9th, 2009
2:01 pm	Happy Hump Day! As in, it's Wednesday, so it's all down hill from here to the weekend.  Sorta. Anyways, my trip to Central Florida was fun.  Drove around Twenty hours the entire weekend, and was still kinda sick through Sunday.  Regardless, my god-sister got married on Saturday.  I caught the garter later on since the other guys apparently didn't want to move.  Took one step and caught it.  Then put it on a girl named Alex, who happened to be wearing yellow like me, so everyone joked we were color coordinated, fun. Anyways, my brother and I have recently taken to a joke relating to Metal Gear Solid 3 and a comic about it. You can see the comic here: http://www.peachifruit.com/hiimdaisy/mgs3comic9.jpg it's rather amusing, but the point of interest is the bit with the End boss battle.  Mainly that you make a comment about someone saying something, and then say you shoot them in the face (or some variation thereof as the weekend progressed). Examples: *my brother sits around* You sit around.  I shoot you in the face. *brother looks around for something* You look around with a dazed expression.  I shoot you in the face. *looks at a parrot, like in the comic* You try to touch my parrot- and I SHOOT YOU RIGHT IN THE FACE. Later on, it kinda evolved into punches due to our tendency to create captain falcon jokes from just about anything. *brother does a dance* You attempt to do a texas two step- and I punch you in the face! This went on for hours during our car rides back and forth from Orlando, so you can imagine how bad it got. Anyways, reality check: Met with my hall director and talked with her about the situation with the roommates and them smoking pot in the apartment.  We went ahead and filed a report about them smoking, and will hope they eventually fess up to smoking pot.  Of course, they'll know I'm the one that submitted the complaint, but before then, the plan is to catch them smoking pot red handed by calling duty staff and the cops to deal with them.  This way, they'll be in trouble with the law before the normal school judicial process comes into play. Ideally, I'll get to move out from the apartment soonish if they don't get kicked out entirely, but we'll see.  I have numerous back up plans in case the shit does hit the fan.  Cause I don't think my roommates will be entirely pleased with me. Not that I care. ^_^ Once I get through this drama, I think my school year will be awesome.  But until then, I wait and see.  And pray my parents don't get impatient and go into mama and papa bear modes.  That would be bad. Anyways, I get a few hours to relax and work on school stuff while I wait to meet for a project at nine which I'll be presenting tomorrow.  After that, WHITE OUT Georgia Tech versus Clemson game on Thursday night.  Look for me in the SWARM section in the north end zone! Current Mood: chipper (Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
3:08 pm	A brief update on life and why doctors are awesome (and some other stuff too) So, in the ongoing saga with my roommates, we've reached some accords on their various habits last night, which is great.  Except I had gotten sick before I finally wised up and decided enough was enough. Health wise, I have a seriously congested system complete with runny nose, nasal drip, and coughing.  But that should improve as the week goes on, since there won't be as much stuff in the air. Of course, because of this (and some soreness earlier this week) I thought I might have the flu.  So yesterday I went to the health center and sat next to other potentially infected people, complete with masks and all that jazz for about three hours.  Meanwhile, I had to fill out disclosure forms to the CDC and the Dean of Students and all that jazz. Anyways, after all of that, I entered the examination room, the Doctor stepped in, asked me some of the same old question with regards to my symptoms.  But the difference from the other three times I had been asked by the triage nurses is that as soon as I noted that my soreness and such was localized to my back and the back left of my neck he went ahead and said I could take off the mask. Seemed kinda strange, but the next question caught me off guard "Do you know if you have an ear infection?"  I didn't know, so I told him such.  he checks my left ear and then nodded, "Yep, that's an ear infection."So aside from that, I clear bill of health and no flu.  And I got a bunch of free drugs to help improve my congestion and to deal with the ear infection.  Awesome? Maybe. But of course, some may ask why the doctor may have immediately known I had an ear infection just based on the comment about the localized pain in my neck?  Having taken some physiology now, I think the gist of what he based that on was that oftentimes when some internal organ is hurting (like say the heart, the lungs, and kidneys) it's common for the nerve pathways from the skin which share nerve bundles with those organs to generate phantom pains due to the feedback in the brain.  This is often why you're often advised to pay attention to people when they complain of pain spreading from the chest to the shoulders, neck, and arms since that could be a warning sign for heart problems.  The cause of this, of course, is because your skin's nerve receptors are "more used" to input than the interior or your body (at least with regards to pain), and when your internal organs aren't happy, your brain perceives the pain coming from the surface rather than your interior.  Goofy, I know, but blame our ancestors for evolving that way.  :P Anyways, unrelated stuff:  Exalted is going smoothly and I've recently gotten a bunch of new ideas on how to carry some things out, mostly due to input via music (cause it helps me envision things).  A few examples include the Godstrider, a bonestrider strike force, the Sage's personal unit of Gunzosha and others. Also, I've recently become enthralled by a new concept for Nokel's rather insane power (especially if he were to pop in my Exalted games) in that he would have been a prodigy Solar in the first age, who became the cursed fourteenth deathlord in the second age.  Via means of extreme bastardry, he'll have obtained the means to tricking the Ebon Dragon... and then consuming it.  This re-envisioning of things would help explain his deathly aspects along with his favoring of shadows and such.  As for the blood and all that, that's just Nokel.  As a a result, his new 'title' would be something like the Bloodshade of Malignant Darkness- though the Malignant Darkness bit would only come into play once he's consumed the Ebon Dragon. Then again, Nokel is intended as an end game character, so by the time I DO actually get to use him for a game, things will have changed significantly, I'm sure. Digression number two: I'm going down to Florida this weekend to attend a wedding for my god-sister, so I'll get a much-needed break from the non-sense at Tech.  That and I get to road trip, which is awesome.  Full speed ahead, captain! Current Mood: accomplished Current Music: Sagisu Shirou (Rebuild of Eva 2.0 OST) - Les Betes (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, August 27th, 2009
2:05 am	Busy Busy Busy So, the bottom line is that my summer was kinda crappy. As a result, one would hope that the new semester/school year would bring significant improvement. One could only hope. Regardless, I ended up in an on-campus apartment with three kinda sketchy guys.  And happen to really like 420.  And happen to do that under aged drinking thing  So my first few days with them were fairly awkward.  Granted, we reached a few areas of agreement after a couple of days and things have since improved. The bottom line is that if they become too overbearing or imposing on my comfort and ability to live in my own apartment, I won't hesitate to report them to the appropriate people.  When I elaborated on my experience due to being on Housing Staff in the past, they didn't argue. But yeah, they're pretty decent guys besides that. My residents from last year have also kinda given me the opportunity to be a bit irresponsible now that I'm not on staff.  Not that they care- they're just glad that I don't really need to bust them for doing anything 'stupid'. Anyways, senior design is underway, and I'm also going to focus on neuroscience from here on- as a sort of vengeance for the various neurological diseases that keep killing my family members.  Of course, I could always look at this as a way to improve my own longevity, since it's obvious that I'm at risk for at least three neurological diseases, including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and Lou Gehrig's (ALS) Diseases. I probably sound a little dark/depressed/shallow this time around, but that's only because I'm tired. I'll try to have something more positive to 'write home about' in addition to actually updating more frequently.  Well, besides Exalted, cause I've at least had a good time with Exalted lately.  Though I have been a little tapped out with regards to Exalted.  But we'll see. Till next time, peace. Current Mood: tired Current Music: Voices of the Lifestream - Black Wing Metamorphosis (One-Winged Angel) (Comment on this)
Sunday, June 7th, 2009
3:03 pm	Summer, woo. So, I've been exceedingly busy for about a month now. And will continue to be busy for the months ahead, due to much drama. The most agitating piece of drama has to do with Housing unfortunately, and mostly because they made a decision about my employment... without really talking to me.  So unless things work out, I'll be making an appeal to them real soon.  Assuming I can find out how to contact them. More to come, I'm sure. (Comment on this)
Friday, May 1st, 2009
12:53 am	Are we there yet? Yes, we are. So, it's been an incredibly long ride, this Junior year in college.  The biggest change was obviously being a peer leader for freshmen residents which has been quite the experience.  There have been many trials, but overall, the experience has been an incredibly positive one, and I've made several very, very good friends over the year, who I intend to hang out with in the year(s?) to come. And now I get to take summer classes at Tech.  No rest for the weary, but at least I get a one week break. More to come, but I just felt the need to post here again, for once. (Comment on this)
Monday, March 2nd, 2009
8:56 pm	Snow in Atlanta So, yesterday it snowed in Atlanta for several hours.  Before it melted, cause weather here makes a whole lot of sense.  It then got colder today, turning everything into ice if it wasn't melted yet.  So yeah, fun day, no 9am class, and for one of my class projects it's gone to hell in a hand basket because the Research crew can't pull their share.  And those of us in Production are annoyed with such since it's crunch time for us and we finally got our professor to back us up on how absurd they were being. Once I get through today (really Wednesday) I will be a very, very happy person.  Until then, I'm a bit irritated. Regardless, Momocon is almost here, and I'm really looking forward to it. (Comment on this)
Monday, February 23rd, 2009
11:56 am	Kerina's Questionnaire Well, here we go: ( The Questionnaire! ) And that's about it.  I'm gonna take a well deserved nap now. Current Mood: tired Current Music: Seal - Crazy (Comment on this)
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009
5:18 pm	Exalted Exalted Exalted So, for the better part of the last couple of days, I've been tearing through Exalted material, refreshing my memory of rules and preparing for an awesome campaign. It's looking to be quite awesome, as I've upgraded a couple of my old characters, and also been working on recreating a monster of a Solar that I made several years ago.  All 3900 experience of it.  People will start crying soon, I swear. (12 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, February 13th, 2009
11:12 pm	School is Insane Really, this semester has been utterly crazy thus far. But let's see what I have, classes wise which I would looooooooove to get all A's in.  But probably won't but we'll see how I do. Biomed: Human Physiology, a rather straight forward class about physiology.  I enjoy the subjects, but the class is at 9am, and I managed to sleep through the first quiz.  Real good job on my part.  But I have a drop grade, and taking that into account, I'm doing better than the majority of the class at the moment, since the first quiz destroyed most people... and for the second one, the Professor showed up 10 minutes late, and still expected us to complete it.  Yeah, she's not too popular with the class, as you may guess. Biomed: Biotransport, a delightfully hard class, which had a first exam that I think destroyed me and everyone else in class.  It's all about dynamics, fluid flows through a system, matter transport, momentum and heat fundamentals, all that good stuff.  It's... kinda hard.  Yeah.  If this class turns out like my Principles of Material and Energy Conversation class that I got an A in last year, I should do great.  otherwise, please let there be a curve, we're crying. Biomed (see a trend here?): Biomechanics, a class that focuses on material properties, dynamics, and stuff like that.  Like Biotransport, the professor decided we needed two books that aren't on the curriculum for use in the class.  I've spent a little bit of money on books this semester, despite splitting the costs with friends.  That said, this class is a lot like materials science thus far, bu the professor isn't that great at lecturing unfortunately, but I still make the effort to show up, take notes, and not fall asleep in class.  This one's a bit more simplistic than Biotransport at the moment, but I'm sure it'll get tougher.  I think I did well on the first exam though (and I sorta did, got a 68 on it, so that's decent enough- depending on what the class average is <_<).  Edit: Grading is on a 15 point scale, so I'm really close to a B already. Woo! LCC: Technical Writing Seminar for Pre Health... I am technically not a real pre health person any more... but I got in this class anyways, so whatever.  We're doing a whole bunch of random projects for Pre Health in this class and comparitively little writing stuff... so yeah.  I love the professor, but the class' work is a little tedious at times.  Right now, we're making a Pre Health Georgia Tech Website (that will actually be used!) which is neat, and I've unexpectedly had more fun with than anticipated because someone else is doing the coding. :P But yeah, that's my semester.  My big goal is all A's, but falling back on that, I'd like a 3.5.  We'll see how that goes. Current Mood: accomplished Current Music: Ennio Morricone - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Main Theme (10 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, February 8th, 2009
8:41 pm	Busy-ness I would probably have posted more frequently here, but things are always busy in the beginning of the semester.  Especially since I have several projects lined up before me, loads of exams, and various Housing responsibilities. I'll probably talk all about what's going on when I feel like I have the time to just talk about it online, but for the time being, the people I've been interacting with on a daily basis are large distraction to this.  Or I just rant to them, which is often the case.  We have a good time. Also, Momocon in about a month, and my 21st B-day will be on the 21st of March. Woo. Current Mood: busy Current Music: Yoko Kanno (Gits: SAC) - Torukia (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, January 2nd, 2009
3:21 pm	Happy new year! I'm a day late... but, still, happy new year.  I'm looking forward to some new starts this year, and improving as well.  We'll see how successful I am, but as a friend of mine recently said to me "Another day, another A~!" which is my motto for classes this year. :D (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 16th, 2008
8:14 pm	Final Grades are in. C in Biomed, C in MSE (Bah), STAT I got a D (major Bah, bleh, and meh), and in DSP I got a C (thank god). Overall a GPA of 1.76 for an overall hellish semester due to DSP. Now I just need to work toward the next semester, getting a fuller schedule, and destroying a bunch of easy Biomed Classes now that I'm through with two of my harder classes ever. But that D in STAT disappoints me, a lot.  I can continue on, but that grade will be a disappointment, as I know I could have done better if I hadn't let myself become bogged down and do so poorly. Anyways, a review of what I have behind me, and ahead of me. Behind: Physics 1 and 2, Computer Science, DSP and MSE (and a bunch of other classes I did well in). Ahead: Loads pf Biomed Classes, some research classes, ethics... and maybe a social studies class.  Sweet, it can only get better from here. :D EDIT: Something that I should remind myself of when I continue from here is a quote that JFK made about man going to the moon- I go to Tech not because it is easy, but because it is difficult.  I got there to challenge my limits and surpass them.  While this last semester was a disappointment, it can't set me back.  I have to blaze ever and onwards forward.  And I WILL do this. Besides, my GPA is still a 2.86.  Plenty of room to move onwards and upwards academically and do awesome next semester. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, December 14th, 2008
12:06 am	Home at Last So I made it through Exams, now I just need to see what my grades are. Biomed I'm expecting a C or a B. MSE a B. CETL a pass, woo. STAT I'm looking at a D or a C DSP I'm looking at something anywhere between an F to a B.  What the heck? (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, December 7th, 2008
10:38 pm	I can have a cupcake? Actually yes.  My Hall Director, who is an awesome person, gave me and other staffers in our Residence Halls cupcakes and other sweets for finals, and they are quite tasty.  I ate about half of mine earlier, and will save the rest for tomorrow, when I'm being more productive than I am right now.  I just can't feel pressured to deal with an exam I've been working on for the better part of the day now, so I've mostly just drafted responses thus far.  Whatever. So, a few things I need to deal with this week: Finish the take home exam and turn it in by 5pm tomorrow. Talk to my hall director about returning staff applications, since I ****** up and forgot to submit my application on Friday, cause I was too damn wrapped up with Biomed Work in the morning.  God that was stupid of me. I need to study for Stat for at least most of the day on Tuesday.  The same for DSP on Wednesday. Exams for Stat and DSP are at 11 and 2 on Wednesday and Thursday respectively. Thursday evening, I need to submit the last of my program evaluations, so those can be checked off and dealt with. Friday, football game versus the third floor.  Fourth floor should dominate, easily.  Though if it turns out like last time, it won't be third vs fourth cause fourth floor scares third apparently.  Maybe we should challenge the first floor?  I expect we'll beat the snot out of each other, regardless. Turn in checkout forms on Saturday, go do Christmas with Mom's family.  Go home. Mini-me's Eagle Ceremony on Sunday.  Exalted mayhaps? I need to figure out a ride back to Tech on the Second, since that's when I need to return to Atlanta.  Random freaking time, and I doubt anyone will be returning.  But I'll have to try. Check grades sometime around Christmas. On the 22nd, see what new classes have been opened up and try to fill up my schedule to about 15 credit hours.  Two or three classes should do the trick. There's some other stuff I need to do, I'm sure... but I can't think of what right now.  I'll have to get back with this later. EDIT:  The staff application thing may have also been caused by me not getting an email to remind everyone about applications being due on last Friday...  My HD is looking into it, since she's looking to rehire me anyways, and would really not like for me to have to reapply all over again.  I'll have to wait and see now. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, December 5th, 2008
3:16 pm	Look what I found! So after much searching, I finally found a freaking Metroid Prime (the original one) soundtrack.  I love it. I've been playing it since I found it yesterday, and it's made at least five of my residents want to play Metroid Prime again for nostalgia's sake.  And I'm willing to let them do that now. Because in the end, the really important thing is that my week from utter freaking hell, is over.  And I somehow did all of my work, went to every review, all of that crap.  And I can finally relax.  Sorta. I still have a take home exam and two exams next week that I REALLY need to do well on, but studying for those two will be easy, as will be completing the take home exam.  I have set amounts of time to work on them, and they shouldn't take any longer than that, unlike uncooperative assignments from DSP, DSP, DSP, and maybe from CETL. And since I never did a post about my classes for the semester, I guess I'll talk about my classes now. DSP, or Digital Signal Processing has been the class to make my life an ever living hell.  Probably the worst class since... Physics 2 (that was real long ago), the labs for this class are enormous pains, and require a rather massive amount of coding.  Which I generally don't have the patience for.  Ever.  Thankfully, this is the last class that I'll ever have to deal with extensive Programming (with no real purpose). Statistics and Probability: I generally didn't have any major problems with this class, but thanks to DSP I didn't work or perform as hard on this class as I would have wanted.  I need to do well on the final to pass.  A lot. Materials Science: A tough as nails class, with an utterly crazy professor. He's funny though, so that's a plus, but his exams are insanely difficult.  And I'll probably be getting a B due to his intense curve.  As in, "40% of class gets an A and everyone else basically gets a B unless they didn't try!" intense curve.  I have a take home exam due Monday for this class.  So here's to hoping for an A. Molecular Cell Biology: A really neat class, with its title basically saying it all, though it's taught from an Engineer's Perspective, making it better, obviously.  All the cards are down for this class already, so what I make is final, but I had a really good time in this class, as it was SMALL and the professor did a really good job so I feel like I learned a lot. Leadership Seminar for Residence Life:  I finally bothered to look this class's full name up, but yeah.  This was basically a busy work class to the nth degree.  It was a pain, but it's pass-fail and failure meant being kicked off Housing Staff, which isn't going to happen. So yeah, I'm looking forward to this Christmas this year, as I'm not going to work this winter break (cause I have to go back to Tech sooner than usual), and I ought to be getting a shiny new Graphics Card for the compy, so that I can finally run Command and Conquer 3 properly.  And Red Alert 3 which I'll also be getting, so yeah.  Win! Current Music: Kenji Yamamoto (Metroid Prime Soundtrack)- Chozo Ruins (2 Comments |Comment on this)