There ain't that much I can say that everyone doesn't know already...today was a very tragic day in American history. I don't think words can really describe the horrible act of violence witnessed in our country today.
We can go on and on trying to find solutions. Todays actions prove that even our national megapower has it's own weaknesses. We aren't invincible, no matter how technologically advanced we may think we can be. In fact, we have many weaknesses. I hesitate to say that our country is a "time bomb", but the sad truth is that even the simplest of problems can sometime bring our great nation to it's knees. Our economy is finding itself in a world of hurt right now...although probably the least of our concerns right now...
I have never experienced such an extreme tragedy in my lifetime...at least that I am conscious of at this time. If nothing else, we can see it as a "wake up call" to all those who still believe that we're invincible. We learned when Shakespeare wrote "Security is mortals' chiefest enemy".
Anything can happen at any time.
Our country is fairly peaceful. You don't see too many acts of violence in everyday life, but many times in the news we hear about violence in the city and stuff. It really makes you wonder why we're killing ourselves. Disarm yourselves. Give peace a chance.
In memory of all those who have perished this morning; the passengers and the pilots on the USAir and AA flights, the workers in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and all the innocent bystanders. Our prayers go out to the friends and families of the deceased. Send this to five people to show your support. DONT BREAK IT
-Chris
Tuesday, September 11, 2001
Sunday, September 9, 2001
ZA Report September 9, 2001
Ah yessss....another ZA e-mail in as many days! Here it goes:
What is a chocobo?
-Chocobos are really large chickens that you can ride around on. Some are built for racing and others stay on a farm for transport. Most believe that chocobos are the safest method of transportation.
What is a fat chocobo?
-One in 16 chocobos are fat. The fall to the ground and crush anything underneath. Very useful when someone is trying to bite your ear off.
What's up with Alena these days?
-Princess Alena is set to be coronated as queen of Alexandria in 3 days, following the unfortunate death of Queen Brahne. Cristo is in shambles, since the new queen will be unable to talk to mere commoners. His undying love for such a beautiful girl will have to end.
So what is Cristo up to then?
-Not much. Trying to avoid the charms of Mara the child prodigy. She's only 6 for god's sake!
What's new at the rink?
-Watching old videos of Cristo and Alena
What's new at the Za Shack?
-Downloading videos of Cristo and Alena
What videos did they appear in?
-U2 Elevation, Linkin Park - In the End, Metallica - Enter Sandman, and a random Japanese Coca Cola commercial
What's the weirdest thing about this e-mail?
-Everything I wrote is 100% TRUE. Find out for yourself, or come to the next ZaFest to find the answers!
-Chris(to) -- it makes sense, doesn't it?
What is a chocobo?
-Chocobos are really large chickens that you can ride around on. Some are built for racing and others stay on a farm for transport. Most believe that chocobos are the safest method of transportation.
What is a fat chocobo?
-One in 16 chocobos are fat. The fall to the ground and crush anything underneath. Very useful when someone is trying to bite your ear off.
What's up with Alena these days?
-Princess Alena is set to be coronated as queen of Alexandria in 3 days, following the unfortunate death of Queen Brahne. Cristo is in shambles, since the new queen will be unable to talk to mere commoners. His undying love for such a beautiful girl will have to end.
So what is Cristo up to then?
-Not much. Trying to avoid the charms of Mara the child prodigy. She's only 6 for god's sake!
What's new at the rink?
-Watching old videos of Cristo and Alena
What's new at the Za Shack?
-Downloading videos of Cristo and Alena
What videos did they appear in?
-U2 Elevation, Linkin Park - In the End, Metallica - Enter Sandman, and a random Japanese Coca Cola commercial
What's the weirdest thing about this e-mail?
-Everything I wrote is 100% TRUE. Find out for yourself, or come to the next ZaFest to find the answers!
-Chris(to) -- it makes sense, doesn't it?
Friday, September 7, 2001
ZA Report Septermer 7, 2001
The E-ZA Weekly has temporarily been renamed the E-ZA Report. I have been threatened for gimmick infringement by the Penguin Weekly so I fear I will lose my court battle if I insist. Also, the new name sounds more professional anyways.
What's new in the Life of Za?
-Not much, as usual. This week saw the return of Eddie to Cleveland, which offered a nice change of pace. A few mini-fests here and there, ended with a very syrup-filled pancake dinner at Denny's. MMmmmm.... Does it get any better than that? In a word, NO!
-I also started the rink last week, and I have to say that I'm glad to be back! I just received my first paycheck today and although it was very tiny
($72) it's what I really need right now.
-I got a haircut earlier today.
Do you have any new hobbies?
-Well, besides picking up guitar in the past month, I've been doing much of the usual. Magic, Diablo and the occasional social outlets that no one else knows about :) I'm talking about dreams! Don't ask what they are about...I don't really remember many details...except most of them were good. Forget that, actually. I am considering 'Job Interviews' as a full-time hobby as well :) I've sure been to enough of them!
What do you think about all this new music?
-Glad you asked. I have to thank Joe and Alex for getting me into all this new cool 'modern' rock that's been filling the airwaves. I really like a lot of it. So much of the new music is upbeat and intelligent. (well, about as intelligent as music can get in this day in age). I could give a full list of great new songs to download, but I'll leave that up to my fellow colleagues for that.
What is the best thing that happened to you in the last couple weeks?
-Good things always happen to me...even though they don't appear to be. I always try to take any situation (even if it appears to be horrible) and turn it around to have some sorta positive meaning. Alas, I was unable to do this recently :) I did get my Static IP address FINALLY. I did get my first paycheck in 4 months. I got to see Eddie FINALLY and got to hang out with a lot of friends I haven't seen in awhile. I got to spend a great day down in Akron with Joe and seen him make the Top 8 of the Magic Pro Qualifier. I've been doing very well with my guitar. I found some great items in Diablo 2. And...I get to bother everyone on Instant Messenger!
What's the worst thing that happened to you in the last couple weeks?
-I had to clean plexiglass at the rink for about 2 1/2 hours last Thursday.
My hands smelt like cat urine afterwards from the herendous smell of the cleaner. Uncle Ralphie should have paid me double for that. Boo.
What is one thing you want to accomplish in the next couple weeks?
-Beat Final Fantasy 9 already! I've had the game since last November but I put it on the shelf after experiencing a breakdown in personal interests.
I'll have to find time some way or other!!!
What is the funniest thing that happened in the past couple weeks.
-The Lev conversation. 'nuff said!
What changes/enhancements will the Za Shack see in the near future?
-Nothing is planned yet. The fall/winter arrangement is near full completion, although I will make some minor adjustments, most likely. I'm satisfied with everything for now. I have very few dollars to do many things right now. And until I learn how to spruce stuff up for free, things will remain the same for now.
What about all these job interviews/resumes you've been having?
-It doesn't bother me anymore. Which is very nice, since I've been turned down so many times that I really have no reason to worry. I just don't get my hopes up as much as I did anymore. But it still doesn't keep me from trying, and if something comes along in the meantime, I'll *POUNCE* on the opportunity!
You are such a hermit. Get out of your hole in the ground.
-As much as I would like to, I really don't have too many options right now.
If you have any ideas, let me know -- I'd be glad to find stuff to do once in awhile!
Life sucks...how can you possibly be positive about stuff all the time?
-Let's put it this way. Even if you hate your situation just *pretend* it's the coolest thing ever. Eventually you'll start to believe it. And that's when nothing can deceive you.
Nothing can deceive you, eh?
-Ok, maybe I'm naive but at least I admit it up front. I can look at anything straight in the eye and understand.
What keeps you going all this time?
-Colon Blow. And racing Chocobos too.
What's new in the Life of Za?
-Not much, as usual. This week saw the return of Eddie to Cleveland, which offered a nice change of pace. A few mini-fests here and there, ended with a very syrup-filled pancake dinner at Denny's. MMmmmm.... Does it get any better than that? In a word, NO!
-I also started the rink last week, and I have to say that I'm glad to be back! I just received my first paycheck today and although it was very tiny
($72) it's what I really need right now.
-I got a haircut earlier today.
Do you have any new hobbies?
-Well, besides picking up guitar in the past month, I've been doing much of the usual. Magic, Diablo and the occasional social outlets that no one else knows about :) I'm talking about dreams! Don't ask what they are about...I don't really remember many details...except most of them were good. Forget that, actually. I am considering 'Job Interviews' as a full-time hobby as well :) I've sure been to enough of them!
What do you think about all this new music?
-Glad you asked. I have to thank Joe and Alex for getting me into all this new cool 'modern' rock that's been filling the airwaves. I really like a lot of it. So much of the new music is upbeat and intelligent. (well, about as intelligent as music can get in this day in age). I could give a full list of great new songs to download, but I'll leave that up to my fellow colleagues for that.
What is the best thing that happened to you in the last couple weeks?
-Good things always happen to me...even though they don't appear to be. I always try to take any situation (even if it appears to be horrible) and turn it around to have some sorta positive meaning. Alas, I was unable to do this recently :) I did get my Static IP address FINALLY. I did get my first paycheck in 4 months. I got to see Eddie FINALLY and got to hang out with a lot of friends I haven't seen in awhile. I got to spend a great day down in Akron with Joe and seen him make the Top 8 of the Magic Pro Qualifier. I've been doing very well with my guitar. I found some great items in Diablo 2. And...I get to bother everyone on Instant Messenger!
What's the worst thing that happened to you in the last couple weeks?
-I had to clean plexiglass at the rink for about 2 1/2 hours last Thursday.
My hands smelt like cat urine afterwards from the herendous smell of the cleaner. Uncle Ralphie should have paid me double for that. Boo.
What is one thing you want to accomplish in the next couple weeks?
-Beat Final Fantasy 9 already! I've had the game since last November but I put it on the shelf after experiencing a breakdown in personal interests.
I'll have to find time some way or other!!!
What is the funniest thing that happened in the past couple weeks.
-The Lev conversation. 'nuff said!
What changes/enhancements will the Za Shack see in the near future?
-Nothing is planned yet. The fall/winter arrangement is near full completion, although I will make some minor adjustments, most likely. I'm satisfied with everything for now. I have very few dollars to do many things right now. And until I learn how to spruce stuff up for free, things will remain the same for now.
What about all these job interviews/resumes you've been having?
-It doesn't bother me anymore. Which is very nice, since I've been turned down so many times that I really have no reason to worry. I just don't get my hopes up as much as I did anymore. But it still doesn't keep me from trying, and if something comes along in the meantime, I'll *POUNCE* on the opportunity!
You are such a hermit. Get out of your hole in the ground.
-As much as I would like to, I really don't have too many options right now.
If you have any ideas, let me know -- I'd be glad to find stuff to do once in awhile!
Life sucks...how can you possibly be positive about stuff all the time?
-Let's put it this way. Even if you hate your situation just *pretend* it's the coolest thing ever. Eventually you'll start to believe it. And that's when nothing can deceive you.
Nothing can deceive you, eh?
-Ok, maybe I'm naive but at least I admit it up front. I can look at anything straight in the eye and understand.
What keeps you going all this time?
-Colon Blow. And racing Chocobos too.
Friday, August 31, 2001
Another year of college v3.0
Ahh yes, another session of learning has commenced. Bells are ringing, children singing. Parties everywhere, and weird stuff in my hair. Ok maybe not but it was an idea at least.
BTW ppl, sorry for the lack of e-mails in the past couple weeks. I'm in my little "transition" period here myself where I just need time to get everything in order. Or maybe just to get my head straight again. I've been keeping busy with little things here and there...
I've also started the rink as well. My 5th year. Yay. It's $$$ so I really can't complain...for now. I sent out about 12 resumes in the past week so the job hunt has accelerated somewhat for me. I'm pretty focused right now at finding any sort of job in my field -- my parents are starting to get on my back about it, and I thank them for that 'cause at least it's a motivating factor.
So the past summer has been a lot of fun -- I accomplished just about everything I wanted to (well, except for getting a job and moving out :) Other than that, every day was very enjoyable, and I had a great time with all my friends. I admit the tank was nearing "E" near the end of the summer. But now I'm just trying to relax and re-coop and continue to progress over the autumn months. I guess you can say I was ready for a "change of scenery" -- and I only mean that in a good way :) I'm very motivated to get back to work and try to be PRODUCTIVE for once! Well, I just want to keep focus -- at least until I get through this whole job ordeal.
But this summer has definitely been the best I've had in the past couple years (well, summer '98 for anyone who is counting). Life is good and stress is low. Maybe too low. Then again, maybe not. That's what happened last fall, with nowhere to go. No more bitching, ok?
Although now is the time to make preparations. I enjoyed what I did this summer. It would be even better if we could do something neat and productive while we do what we enjoy. The entire website thing is a start.
What else can we do? Now that I have a full cast of computer techs in Cyberpalace, it may be a good idea to think about doing something in that department. We also like Magic. Another idea. And music. Another idea.
And everything. Many many many many many ideas. And then a big problem.
No direction. Or is there? My magic 8-ball says that we'll never find it unless we look. To quote Procol Harum, "Although my eyes are open, they might just as well have been closed" Nuts. Ratties. Arrrrgh. But there's no one to blame. We're young, we're just starting out and in all honesty we don't know two shits about where to start. Is that a motivating factor?
Possibly. I hope it is. We need to figure stuff out. One by one. Ok fine enuff talk let's do something :)
-Chris
BTW ppl, sorry for the lack of e-mails in the past couple weeks. I'm in my little "transition" period here myself where I just need time to get everything in order. Or maybe just to get my head straight again. I've been keeping busy with little things here and there...
I've also started the rink as well. My 5th year. Yay. It's $$$ so I really can't complain...for now. I sent out about 12 resumes in the past week so the job hunt has accelerated somewhat for me. I'm pretty focused right now at finding any sort of job in my field -- my parents are starting to get on my back about it, and I thank them for that 'cause at least it's a motivating factor.
So the past summer has been a lot of fun -- I accomplished just about everything I wanted to (well, except for getting a job and moving out :) Other than that, every day was very enjoyable, and I had a great time with all my friends. I admit the tank was nearing "E" near the end of the summer. But now I'm just trying to relax and re-coop and continue to progress over the autumn months. I guess you can say I was ready for a "change of scenery" -- and I only mean that in a good way :) I'm very motivated to get back to work and try to be PRODUCTIVE for once! Well, I just want to keep focus -- at least until I get through this whole job ordeal.
But this summer has definitely been the best I've had in the past couple years (well, summer '98 for anyone who is counting). Life is good and stress is low. Maybe too low. Then again, maybe not. That's what happened last fall, with nowhere to go. No more bitching, ok?
Although now is the time to make preparations. I enjoyed what I did this summer. It would be even better if we could do something neat and productive while we do what we enjoy. The entire website thing is a start.
What else can we do? Now that I have a full cast of computer techs in Cyberpalace, it may be a good idea to think about doing something in that department. We also like Magic. Another idea. And music. Another idea.
And everything. Many many many many many ideas. And then a big problem.
No direction. Or is there? My magic 8-ball says that we'll never find it unless we look. To quote Procol Harum, "Although my eyes are open, they might just as well have been closed" Nuts. Ratties. Arrrrgh. But there's no one to blame. We're young, we're just starting out and in all honesty we don't know two shits about where to start. Is that a motivating factor?
Possibly. I hope it is. We need to figure stuff out. One by one. Ok fine enuff talk let's do something :)
-Chris
Monday, August 20, 2001
Some final thoughts to wrap-up summer...
Well ladies and gentlemen, the weeks have come and gone sooooo fast...it's that time of the year once again to pull out the pencils and calculators (and kool-aid mix) and start another fun year at school. A lot of things happened this summer...some good...some bad.
I got screwed out of countless jobs -- that wasn't good...unless you are a fan of myself not working. I was not particularly fond of getting a job. I don't know why I never really liked the idea myself :)
At the ZA shack I cloned a computer. WAIT A SECOND I'M NOT GOING HERE!!!
But overall I think everyone had a very enjoyable time off to pursue different hobbies and interests. My hobby was simple: do nothing. That's right. I did nothing. At first I sorta felt bad about it, but after awhile I really felt kinda good. The only problem is the fact that it will be a fairly rigorous task to do any sort of work after being idle for 4 months straight. Such is life. I'll find solutions. I always do.
We also played lots of Diablo II and other various computer-related activities. We also played softball and music like the stars we are. We are all stars in my mind...and yours. We can be heroes -- for just one day.
And to quote Sean Connery "My day will come". Ok that wasn't quite exactly what he said but you get the picture. Enjoy life while you can: keep it nice and simple. And always look at the brighter side of things.
Oh -- and I also went on a 2-week vacation. I know I don't mention it much at all, and maybe that's because words cannot possibly describe the value of my experinces out there. It's true I didn't do anything too "spectacular"
but to say that I learned little is a complete understatement. I am very happy that my right-brain has matured to enjoy the intangibles that I received. Yay.
So...where do we go from here??? The topic has come up dozens of times in the past few weeks, and in a sense I really never developed a full answer.
That's probably because there's no 'definite' answer. What's the point of life if you have answers to everything? There's plenty of opportunity out there. TRY AND GRAB THE WORLD BY THE TAIL! But be realistic. As much as I'd like to -- I'm not gonna be some big rock star that deserves a song by Wesley Willis anytime soon. But that's fine. I want to continue my passions.
Maybe it still doesn't make any sense at all. Maybe life is senseless...but...that attitude just doesn't make sense. Maybe some of us are just soooo confused right now that we need to take a step 'backwards'
and re-assess our priorities. Why are we soooo afraid to do this? I've
seen a couple of my friends do this already, and have really made significant improvements. I want everyone to be happy. I want everyone to be satisfied. I want everyone to get a meaningful experience out of life.
If there was ever one thing my sister taught me...it was to make the most out of your experiences. I've tried and tried. At times I've succeded...in others I've failed. But I am finding that the more I try to make situations more positive -- the more I learn from them. Just like my vacation. I could have been miserable for 2 weeks. But I'm sure everyone doesn't want to hear about that again.
Let me be the first to say -- today's society wants to make everyone dissatisfied. We don't have the "feel-good" post-WWII baby boom attitude anymore. Instead we feel the need to get the biggest house and the biggest car and the most expensive clothes and if we don't then we're a failure. Or else we've been deprived. But then, something bigger and better comes along and we can't be satisfied with what we've got. In the meantime we leave behind everything that IS important to us (in reality, such as family, etc.) in an attempt to keep feeding our egos. It's like our society preaches that our main goal in life is to become bigger than Jesus. WAIT A SECOND -- WHAT DID WE LEARN IN THE BIBLE ABOUT THOSE WHO WANTED TO DO THIS??? Is society inherently evil? No. But we are easily tempted into forgetting our main purpose in life. If you don't know what that is, gimme a call and I can help discuss that with you.
I really feel bad for the generation directly following ours -- actually the
'87 -> group. A lot of them are growing up on Nintendo (although we're probably just as guilty of that one), pure GARBAGE TV, pure GARBAGE Music (well, not everything, but some of it is just very disheartening) I don't have a problem with my 11-year-old cousing listening to BSB or N'Sync. But when I see an Eminem CD in their posession I can only feel the dagger twist inside my stomach. And don't get me wrong -- I think that Eminem has some very REAL messages that mature audiences can relate to (actually they're probably very similar to what I'm writing here now except for the lack of profanity), BUT it definitely isn't appropriate to ANYONE of such a young age. Young kids don't need to be corrupted by this type of ****. They have a hard enough time already. I was fortunate enough to be raised without any of these disturbances. But seriously...we've got problems. I don't want to whine about them all day and NOT take action. I have waaaay too many family members that I love that I cannot just sit on my hands.
Although I have been doing a very small part, at least. I work with pre-teens and young teenagers everyday while I'm at the rink. I see a large number of them who have a large number of behavioral problems either with peers or authority. I try to do my part in acting as a good example for these kids; and many times I can do something to help settle conflicts between them. In a sense, I see myself as a "big brother" to a lot of the youngsters. In my 4 years of service at the rink, I believe I have gained an invaluable learning experience. At first I would just 'YELL' at everyone. All the kids were monsters. Now I see that a lot of them respect me. A lot. We joke around all the time. I try to see that everyone has a good time. If I see a lonely kid on the ice I'll try to communicate with them. Even a smile here and there is encouraging to a young person. I love kids. I would never want any harm to any one of them. And I feel that I can reach some of them in ways that no others may be able to.
While I write this -- I think if I want to change my college major. I don't really think I'll major in child psychology (but the idea persists).
Instead, I could always lean towards the philosphy/sociology major. Then of course there is religion (which I actually have a very large interest in, since it crosses over soooo many different topics). The possiblities seem endless! I just feel so fortunate that I can support myself through my computer knowledge to allow studies in other fields. I sometimes 'joke'
about getting 6 Ph.D's or something like that. Who knows...it may happen.
I need to find something I truly enjoy. I'll figure it out eventually.
Until then, I think I'll think about getting some sleep!
-Chris
I got screwed out of countless jobs -- that wasn't good...unless you are a fan of myself not working. I was not particularly fond of getting a job. I don't know why I never really liked the idea myself :)
At the ZA shack I cloned a computer. WAIT A SECOND I'M NOT GOING HERE!!!
But overall I think everyone had a very enjoyable time off to pursue different hobbies and interests. My hobby was simple: do nothing. That's right. I did nothing. At first I sorta felt bad about it, but after awhile I really felt kinda good. The only problem is the fact that it will be a fairly rigorous task to do any sort of work after being idle for 4 months straight. Such is life. I'll find solutions. I always do.
We also played lots of Diablo II and other various computer-related activities. We also played softball and music like the stars we are. We are all stars in my mind...and yours. We can be heroes -- for just one day.
And to quote Sean Connery "My day will come". Ok that wasn't quite exactly what he said but you get the picture. Enjoy life while you can: keep it nice and simple. And always look at the brighter side of things.
Oh -- and I also went on a 2-week vacation. I know I don't mention it much at all, and maybe that's because words cannot possibly describe the value of my experinces out there. It's true I didn't do anything too "spectacular"
but to say that I learned little is a complete understatement. I am very happy that my right-brain has matured to enjoy the intangibles that I received. Yay.
So...where do we go from here??? The topic has come up dozens of times in the past few weeks, and in a sense I really never developed a full answer.
That's probably because there's no 'definite' answer. What's the point of life if you have answers to everything? There's plenty of opportunity out there. TRY AND GRAB THE WORLD BY THE TAIL! But be realistic. As much as I'd like to -- I'm not gonna be some big rock star that deserves a song by Wesley Willis anytime soon. But that's fine. I want to continue my passions.
Maybe it still doesn't make any sense at all. Maybe life is senseless...but...that attitude just doesn't make sense. Maybe some of us are just soooo confused right now that we need to take a step 'backwards'
and re-assess our priorities. Why are we soooo afraid to do this? I've
seen a couple of my friends do this already, and have really made significant improvements. I want everyone to be happy. I want everyone to be satisfied. I want everyone to get a meaningful experience out of life.
If there was ever one thing my sister taught me...it was to make the most out of your experiences. I've tried and tried. At times I've succeded...in others I've failed. But I am finding that the more I try to make situations more positive -- the more I learn from them. Just like my vacation. I could have been miserable for 2 weeks. But I'm sure everyone doesn't want to hear about that again.
Let me be the first to say -- today's society wants to make everyone dissatisfied. We don't have the "feel-good" post-WWII baby boom attitude anymore. Instead we feel the need to get the biggest house and the biggest car and the most expensive clothes and if we don't then we're a failure. Or else we've been deprived. But then, something bigger and better comes along and we can't be satisfied with what we've got. In the meantime we leave behind everything that IS important to us (in reality, such as family, etc.) in an attempt to keep feeding our egos. It's like our society preaches that our main goal in life is to become bigger than Jesus. WAIT A SECOND -- WHAT DID WE LEARN IN THE BIBLE ABOUT THOSE WHO WANTED TO DO THIS??? Is society inherently evil? No. But we are easily tempted into forgetting our main purpose in life. If you don't know what that is, gimme a call and I can help discuss that with you.
I really feel bad for the generation directly following ours -- actually the
'87 -> group. A lot of them are growing up on Nintendo (although we're probably just as guilty of that one), pure GARBAGE TV, pure GARBAGE Music (well, not everything, but some of it is just very disheartening) I don't have a problem with my 11-year-old cousing listening to BSB or N'Sync. But when I see an Eminem CD in their posession I can only feel the dagger twist inside my stomach. And don't get me wrong -- I think that Eminem has some very REAL messages that mature audiences can relate to (actually they're probably very similar to what I'm writing here now except for the lack of profanity), BUT it definitely isn't appropriate to ANYONE of such a young age. Young kids don't need to be corrupted by this type of ****. They have a hard enough time already. I was fortunate enough to be raised without any of these disturbances. But seriously...we've got problems. I don't want to whine about them all day and NOT take action. I have waaaay too many family members that I love that I cannot just sit on my hands.
Although I have been doing a very small part, at least. I work with pre-teens and young teenagers everyday while I'm at the rink. I see a large number of them who have a large number of behavioral problems either with peers or authority. I try to do my part in acting as a good example for these kids; and many times I can do something to help settle conflicts between them. In a sense, I see myself as a "big brother" to a lot of the youngsters. In my 4 years of service at the rink, I believe I have gained an invaluable learning experience. At first I would just 'YELL' at everyone. All the kids were monsters. Now I see that a lot of them respect me. A lot. We joke around all the time. I try to see that everyone has a good time. If I see a lonely kid on the ice I'll try to communicate with them. Even a smile here and there is encouraging to a young person. I love kids. I would never want any harm to any one of them. And I feel that I can reach some of them in ways that no others may be able to.
While I write this -- I think if I want to change my college major. I don't really think I'll major in child psychology (but the idea persists).
Instead, I could always lean towards the philosphy/sociology major. Then of course there is religion (which I actually have a very large interest in, since it crosses over soooo many different topics). The possiblities seem endless! I just feel so fortunate that I can support myself through my computer knowledge to allow studies in other fields. I sometimes 'joke'
about getting 6 Ph.D's or something like that. Who knows...it may happen.
I need to find something I truly enjoy. I'll figure it out eventually.
Until then, I think I'll think about getting some sleep!
-Chris
Thursday, August 16, 2001
A few MORE words from ZA
Sometimes I wonder how I can write so much but rest assured I'm a perfectly healthy human being. It's no surprise, really. I've done this for years and have enjoyed it enough that I continue onward.
I figure since a lot of people are preparing to go back to school, this would be an opportune time to plan a final "ZaFest" for the summer.
Actually, there's a pretty good chance that it won't be at my house (a big picnic or something) to accomodate everyone. Basically, everyone on this mailing list is invited -- maybe more, so if you've got any ideas let me know so I can make plans soon. This may mean we have to do this sometime during the week next week (if everyone goes back on the weekend), so I'll plan strategically.
Other than that, if there is anything else going on next week (sorry I'm going camping this weekend) let me know as well. I'll try to call everyone later either today or Friday and see what is a brewin'.
Until next time,
-ZA Rhox
I figure since a lot of people are preparing to go back to school, this would be an opportune time to plan a final "ZaFest" for the summer.
Actually, there's a pretty good chance that it won't be at my house (a big picnic or something) to accomodate everyone. Basically, everyone on this mailing list is invited -- maybe more, so if you've got any ideas let me know so I can make plans soon. This may mean we have to do this sometime during the week next week (if everyone goes back on the weekend), so I'll plan strategically.
Other than that, if there is anything else going on next week (sorry I'm going camping this weekend) let me know as well. I'll try to call everyone later either today or Friday and see what is a brewin'.
Until next time,
-ZA Rhox
A few words from the ol' Za Meister
Ok guys...right now I just need to let off some steam and maybe find something positive out of this whole ordeal.
Actually I don't feel that bad anymore, though. This morning was different...one of the very few times I was well, sorta pissed off about something. But that's immaterial right now. To make a long story short, I was once again screwed out of yet ANOTHER job. That's right -- no $$$ in budget to hire me for 3 weeks. To add insult to injuiry, the temp agency assured me there was no problem with their budget last week.
But so what -- another freaking setback. How cool is that? It's ok, though. I think over the past year I have become immune to personal setbacks. I don't know how many of them I have had in the last 12 months.
I don't expect anything anymore. I fear nothing. I just do whatever I want and be happy with what I got. And maybe someday I'll get my "big break".
And I don't really think it's that bad of an attitude at all. A few months ago I wrote a whole bunch of stuff about how I *expected* a "big break" or something to that order. But many famous people have said that the best things in life come to you when you "least expect" them. So over a natural progression, I have taken this stance. At least I'm happy with it. There were times before when I was dissatisfied with myself, and knew I could do better. I still can, BUT...I know from my past experiences that the best things in life come naturally and are usually spontaneous. Oh yeah -- I'm not "giving up", either. I NEVER GIVE UP. I'm just saying that the door is open to just about anything right now. It's like I'm in a boat floating down a calm river and if anything happens along the way -- fair enough.
But what do I know? It could turn out disasterous...that boat may find itself into Class 6 rapids and I'm thrown out into ROCKS! Oh no, not that!!! The chances of that are highly unlikely.
One thing is clear now, though...at least I'm *satisfied* with where I'm at...even if it's being a "first class bum" or something to that order. As long as I continue to work hard at my goals and experience what life has to offer, there's no doubt I'll come out OK.
So really, it goes back to my main attitude of having a positive outlook on things. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. But even that is sort of irrelevant here as well. This is a personal endeavor. Anything that tries to make it otherwise will cause you to graduate from the school of Magna cum lousy. Enuff Mr. Briggs quotes. I think I said everything I wanted to.
Thanks and Bye everyone!
-Chris A. Czaplicki
"Grandmasta ZA"
Actually I don't feel that bad anymore, though. This morning was different...one of the very few times I was well, sorta pissed off about something. But that's immaterial right now. To make a long story short, I was once again screwed out of yet ANOTHER job. That's right -- no $$$ in budget to hire me for 3 weeks. To add insult to injuiry, the temp agency assured me there was no problem with their budget last week.
But so what -- another freaking setback. How cool is that? It's ok, though. I think over the past year I have become immune to personal setbacks. I don't know how many of them I have had in the last 12 months.
I don't expect anything anymore. I fear nothing. I just do whatever I want and be happy with what I got. And maybe someday I'll get my "big break".
And I don't really think it's that bad of an attitude at all. A few months ago I wrote a whole bunch of stuff about how I *expected* a "big break" or something to that order. But many famous people have said that the best things in life come to you when you "least expect" them. So over a natural progression, I have taken this stance. At least I'm happy with it. There were times before when I was dissatisfied with myself, and knew I could do better. I still can, BUT...I know from my past experiences that the best things in life come naturally and are usually spontaneous. Oh yeah -- I'm not "giving up", either. I NEVER GIVE UP. I'm just saying that the door is open to just about anything right now. It's like I'm in a boat floating down a calm river and if anything happens along the way -- fair enough.
But what do I know? It could turn out disasterous...that boat may find itself into Class 6 rapids and I'm thrown out into ROCKS! Oh no, not that!!! The chances of that are highly unlikely.
One thing is clear now, though...at least I'm *satisfied* with where I'm at...even if it's being a "first class bum" or something to that order. As long as I continue to work hard at my goals and experience what life has to offer, there's no doubt I'll come out OK.
So really, it goes back to my main attitude of having a positive outlook on things. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. But even that is sort of irrelevant here as well. This is a personal endeavor. Anything that tries to make it otherwise will cause you to graduate from the school of Magna cum lousy. Enuff Mr. Briggs quotes. I think I said everything I wanted to.
Thanks and Bye everyone!
-Chris A. Czaplicki
"Grandmasta ZA"
Tuesday, August 14, 2001
Coolness coolness coolness...!!!!
Ok...first I would like to say 'hi' and give a shout out to everyone who has made this summer so freakin' awesome this year!!! This may be the first time that I was happy AND my parents were too! I did a lot. In a sense, I almost feel sorta 'fatigued' after doing stuff day after day. I apologize if this has made me seem a little 'dead' to you guys lately but please understand it's because of a very large combination of factors. If I had it my way, I'd be playing baseball and music every other day and like, rest on the others. It almost seems like I need a little 'change of scenery' and hopefully my new job will grant me this opportunity.
But rest assured, I'm not going crazy -- and I think the remainder of the summer will work out just fine.
I do plan on changing things up a little, though -- and this *may* come as a surprise to you, but understand I need to *change* things up a little for now.
Later today I plan on re-arranging the basement in preperation for the autumn months...which means I'm cutting down to 2 computers (plus laptop and server so it's really more like 4 :) I'm doing this just to clean house and simplify things a little bit. You guys can still stop by and play multiplayer Diablo, etc. but I don't expect to have any future 'Cyberfests'
for awhile. We've had some great cyberfests this summer -- much better than last!!! At least things were managable!!! And I didn't piss off my parents every time I had one either!!!
I have to say I really REALLY enjoy playing music with everyone once again...chances are we won't be able to get any sorta 'band' together before school begins, BUT we can still work together to become better -- and that's
most important!!! Fun schtuff!
Next e-mail I have some new ideas for my website, etc. Read it and gimme your thoughts!
-Chris A. Czaplicki
But rest assured, I'm not going crazy -- and I think the remainder of the summer will work out just fine.
I do plan on changing things up a little, though -- and this *may* come as a surprise to you, but understand I need to *change* things up a little for now.
Later today I plan on re-arranging the basement in preperation for the autumn months...which means I'm cutting down to 2 computers (plus laptop and server so it's really more like 4 :) I'm doing this just to clean house and simplify things a little bit. You guys can still stop by and play multiplayer Diablo, etc. but I don't expect to have any future 'Cyberfests'
for awhile. We've had some great cyberfests this summer -- much better than last!!! At least things were managable!!! And I didn't piss off my parents every time I had one either!!!
I have to say I really REALLY enjoy playing music with everyone once again...chances are we won't be able to get any sorta 'band' together before school begins, BUT we can still work together to become better -- and that's
most important!!! Fun schtuff!
Next e-mail I have some new ideas for my website, etc. Read it and gimme your thoughts!
-Chris A. Czaplicki
American Pie part DUEX, etc.
Ok...first I would like to say 'hi' and give a shout out to everyone who has made this summer so freakin' awesome this year!!! This may be the first time that I was happy AND my parents were too! I did a lot. In a sense, I almost feel sorta 'fatigued' after doing stuff day after day. It's like I need a little 'change of scenery' and hopefully my new job will grant me this opportunity.
Anyhow, as I have heard we planned to go see American Pie 2 last Friday but due to mutual agreement it has been postponed until this weekend. I just want to make sure this is still cool for everyone. Chances are I'll be going camping this weekend but will probably still be able to make it if we go on Friday evening.
And Eddie -- EDDIE!!!! WHERE ARE U? Wake up we all want to hear from you and your magical GlowSticks!!! Will you be returning home soon???
So if anything is up anytime soon just gimme an e-mail or call sometime.
I'm sorta excited so I'll be happy to hear any sort of news whatsoever!
-Mr. ZA
Anyhow, as I have heard we planned to go see American Pie 2 last Friday but due to mutual agreement it has been postponed until this weekend. I just want to make sure this is still cool for everyone. Chances are I'll be going camping this weekend but will probably still be able to make it if we go on Friday evening.
And Eddie -- EDDIE!!!! WHERE ARE U? Wake up we all want to hear from you and your magical GlowSticks!!! Will you be returning home soon???
So if anything is up anytime soon just gimme an e-mail or call sometime.
I'm sorta excited so I'll be happy to hear any sort of news whatsoever!
-Mr. ZA
Saturday, August 11, 2001
Another GAME for EVERYONE to Play!!!
I was very ecstatic to see that my previous game called "I'll play your game you rogue" was rated so incredibly high by the ZA Readers Club. The current high scores belong to:
Geoffrey Reeder, 25 points (for getting punched in question #1) ZA - 20 points (for doing a log roll into ridge road and somersaulting back
home)
Bernie - 18 points (for imitating a hungry raccoon in my garbage can and successfully consuming 360 calories) Alex - (-5 points) Ended up in negatives for cheating in the rabid dog incident
Thank you to all who participated!
Our next game is called "Everybody Loves PATRICK!"
The object of the game is to collect all the sound bits from a PATRICK song by "The Goofy Bastards" and transplant them into a hit song of your own liking.
Just think of the possibilities!!!
Staind - It's Been Awihle (Patrick) - (Pizza) - (Patrick) (patrick) Limp Bizkit -- checkkkkkkooouuuuPATRICK!!! (woe...check out patrick?) Creed - With PATRICK wide open? (Is this even possible?) If so I quit.
Duran Duran - Hungry like the (PIZZA)
Britney Cleary - IM PATRICK!!!!!! OMG this is 2 funny!!!1
Ok -- I gave you some ideas now LET'S GET TO MAKING MUSIC!!! Deadline for entries will be August 31, 2001. Results soon to follow. I'm anxiously waiting to see everybody's work!
Geoffrey Reeder, 25 points (for getting punched in question #1) ZA - 20 points (for doing a log roll into ridge road and somersaulting back
home)
Bernie - 18 points (for imitating a hungry raccoon in my garbage can and successfully consuming 360 calories) Alex - (-5 points) Ended up in negatives for cheating in the rabid dog incident
Thank you to all who participated!
Our next game is called "Everybody Loves PATRICK!"
The object of the game is to collect all the sound bits from a PATRICK song by "The Goofy Bastards" and transplant them into a hit song of your own liking.
Just think of the possibilities!!!
Staind - It's Been Awihle (Patrick) - (Pizza) - (Patrick) (patrick) Limp Bizkit -- checkkkkkkooouuuuPATRICK!!! (woe...check out patrick?) Creed - With PATRICK wide open? (Is this even possible?) If so I quit.
Duran Duran - Hungry like the (PIZZA)
Britney Cleary - IM PATRICK!!!!!! OMG this is 2 funny!!!1
Ok -- I gave you some ideas now LET'S GET TO MAKING MUSIC!!! Deadline for entries will be August 31, 2001. Results soon to follow. I'm anxiously waiting to see everybody's work!
Friday, August 10, 2001
Top 10 Quotes of 2000-2001 School Year
10) ...it would take over 30,000 bowls!...
9) "You've got quite a treasure there in that Horadric Cube"
8) "I smashed face today"
7) "Suck-a suck-a suck-a"
6) "PATRICK. PATRICK. Just wanna let you know..."
-also-
"This one goes out to the JCU softball team"
5)"Stp Rocker: today was weird...
ZaRocks: cool beanoes
ZaRocks: why?
ZaRocks: did u work?
Stp Rocker: yessir
Stp Rocker: and uh this girl at work started making out with me in the aisle Stp Rocker: out of nowhere...so strange Stp Rocker: I'm pretty sure she wasn't drunk either
ZaRocks: ok..."
4) "We're digital divas. Believe us"
3) "Oh what luck...there's a french fry stuck in my beard"
2) "GET BACK. GO AWAY."
1) "I'll play your game you rogue"
-Christopher Alexander Alber Avenue
9) "You've got quite a treasure there in that Horadric Cube"
8) "I smashed face today"
7) "Suck-a suck-a suck-a"
6) "PATRICK. PATRICK. Just wanna let you know..."
-also-
"This one goes out to the JCU softball team"
5)"Stp Rocker: today was weird...
ZaRocks: cool beanoes
ZaRocks: why?
ZaRocks: did u work?
Stp Rocker: yessir
Stp Rocker: and uh this girl at work started making out with me in the aisle Stp Rocker: out of nowhere...so strange Stp Rocker: I'm pretty sure she wasn't drunk either
ZaRocks: ok..."
4) "We're digital divas. Believe us"
3) "Oh what luck...there's a french fry stuck in my beard"
2) "GET BACK. GO AWAY."
1) "I'll play your game you rogue"
-Christopher Alexander Alber Avenue
The 2000-2001 School Year (in Review?)
Life is like baseball; with every season comes changes. New experiences, new friends, new beginnings and of course, new endings. But don't forget to leave out the "Neverending Story" of the saga of Buffalo ZA. Ok -- that didn't make any sense. I have successfully deleted the opportunity of this paragraph meaning ANYTHING at all.
But what I really meant to say is -- the current "season" is almost over, and a new one about to begin. I like to think that the school "year" begins in September and ends with the big party during summer. So in essence we're still in the '00-'01 year, soon to rollover to '01-'02. It's all one huge cycle. Let's see...last year it went like this:
September/October '00 - Everyone goes off to school. ZA stays at home. ZA goes to Tri-Hi. ZA plays softball and stuff. ZA works at the rink too!
November/December '00 - ZA is bored. ZA does not know what to do except to whine about the rink. ZA spends lots of $$$ and parents get really mad.
Then comes Xmas. ZA is happy again to see friends return. Yeehaw!
January-April '01 - ZA changes attitude. SIMPLIFICATION is key. ZA begins search for a REAL job, but fails. Grrr. ZA starts playing magic again and the social life opens up once more. The rink is still fun. Uncle Ralphie takes off for a month and CIC's are in March.
May '01 - ZA's brother-in-law Jim gets Kidney transplant. Za's sister Donna passes away from a combination of 1,000,001 different ailments. A very sad time for myself, but with death comes new life.
June/July '01 - More fun ZaFests, Softball, Music, Magic and Diablo II! ZA goes out west to experience extremely large stretches of open rocky wasteland. ZA whips a mule's ass wif a belt.
August '01 - ZA keeps up the good work. Yay.
But what I really meant to say is -- the current "season" is almost over, and a new one about to begin. I like to think that the school "year" begins in September and ends with the big party during summer. So in essence we're still in the '00-'01 year, soon to rollover to '01-'02. It's all one huge cycle. Let's see...last year it went like this:
September/October '00 - Everyone goes off to school. ZA stays at home. ZA goes to Tri-Hi. ZA plays softball and stuff. ZA works at the rink too!
November/December '00 - ZA is bored. ZA does not know what to do except to whine about the rink. ZA spends lots of $$$ and parents get really mad.
Then comes Xmas. ZA is happy again to see friends return. Yeehaw!
January-April '01 - ZA changes attitude. SIMPLIFICATION is key. ZA begins search for a REAL job, but fails. Grrr. ZA starts playing magic again and the social life opens up once more. The rink is still fun. Uncle Ralphie takes off for a month and CIC's are in March.
May '01 - ZA's brother-in-law Jim gets Kidney transplant. Za's sister Donna passes away from a combination of 1,000,001 different ailments. A very sad time for myself, but with death comes new life.
June/July '01 - More fun ZaFests, Softball, Music, Magic and Diablo II! ZA goes out west to experience extremely large stretches of open rocky wasteland. ZA whips a mule's ass wif a belt.
August '01 - ZA keeps up the good work. Yay.
WTF have I been up to?
Don't even ask :) You know me -- I'm always getting into trouble everyday.
My name is on the blackboard with 4 checkmarks. Uh oh. You wonder...what did I manage to do today?
Well you see...it ain't all *THAT* bad. In fact I have good news for once.
I actually have a JOB!!! The downside is...it's only for 3 weeks but it's still a great opportunity to pay off my gargantuan bills I have accumulated during my tenure as a first-class bum. There's a little place called an employment agency that gives you the phat hooookup. Well...I'm still waiting to see the "phat" but you know what I mean :) It's cool that I can finally take home a paycheck!!!
So anyways I start on Tuesday and will work 8:30am-5:30pm. If I seem tired or dead or anything in-between it's probably because I have nothing better to do than play Tetris Attack at work. Then again I may actually do something productive here and there. That remains to be seen...
Also in the News of ZA (hereby known as NoZ) I ate lots of Colon Blow. It tasted good but the abdominal distention that followed afterwards caused immense problems with the home plumbing system. My Bad. In other news, my fingers hurt a lot from playing guitar like a maniac. I can really knock it out. I can rock Suddam Hussein's ass back to Moscow, Russia. Actually I still am a complete novice at the instrument but at least I am having fun!
Coming up next...the top 10 quotes of the 2001 summer season!
My name is on the blackboard with 4 checkmarks. Uh oh. You wonder...what did I manage to do today?
Well you see...it ain't all *THAT* bad. In fact I have good news for once.
I actually have a JOB!!! The downside is...it's only for 3 weeks but it's still a great opportunity to pay off my gargantuan bills I have accumulated during my tenure as a first-class bum. There's a little place called an employment agency that gives you the phat hooookup. Well...I'm still waiting to see the "phat" but you know what I mean :) It's cool that I can finally take home a paycheck!!!
So anyways I start on Tuesday and will work 8:30am-5:30pm. If I seem tired or dead or anything in-between it's probably because I have nothing better to do than play Tetris Attack at work. Then again I may actually do something productive here and there. That remains to be seen...
Also in the News of ZA (hereby known as NoZ) I ate lots of Colon Blow. It tasted good but the abdominal distention that followed afterwards caused immense problems with the home plumbing system. My Bad. In other news, my fingers hurt a lot from playing guitar like a maniac. I can really knock it out. I can rock Suddam Hussein's ass back to Moscow, Russia. Actually I still am a complete novice at the instrument but at least I am having fun!
Coming up next...the top 10 quotes of the 2001 summer season!
Tuesday, August 7, 2001
ZA for ALL!
I sometimes wonder how a calm and an otherwise normal disciplined kid can act so viciously crazy. Actually, no I don't -- I know myself too well :) But anyways I thought it would be even more amazingly amazing to reflect on something we don't think about very often: The wonderful, underful world of Cardboard!
Cardboard, everybody...can be thick, thin, black, white, but usually brown.
Without it, we wouldn't have a lot life's little luxuries including:
-Homes (well, when I mentioned "little" luxury I wasn't really kidding) -Pepsi cubes -- pepsi would remain but without a box to hold the cans, a case of Pepsi would kill 24 Seals or Ducks with plastic rings -Toilet paper rolls -- it isn't rocket science to know that rolling toilet paper without a firm outer core is a daunting and otherwise inefficient task. Do you know what we would have to use instead of a toilet paper roll?
Individual sheets. We had these in grade school (and maybe in high school?) and let me tell you -- LITTLE 4X4 SHEETS OF TP ARE JUST A LITTLE TOO SMALL -Boxes for ZA. This only inhibits ZA from being delivered, thank God.
Still, I see it as a very important innovation just as the light bulb was.
-Computer game boxes -- well, in a couple years this will completely phase out as software will most likely disappear from store shelves (probably not, but we may see the beginnings of it soon) -Jigsaw Puzzels. Have you ever made a jigsaw puzzle out of paper just for fun? It doesn't work, DOES IT?
-Those little chalkboards you had at home in kindergarten -- don't be fooled...the surface may not be cardboard, but underneath the surface lurks something interesting.
-Your attic. It would not be called an 'attic' if cardboard boxes didn't exist. It would instead be referred to as a 'Personal Antique shop' or 'Landfill', whichever suits your fancy.
-Packard Bell Computers -- obviously, this is a no-brainer -UPS, FedEx, etc. -- again, a no-brainer (makes you wonder how friggin' rich that cardboard inventor guy really is!) -Shoes -- I guess shoes could still be worn, but they could never be transported. Is there any other box in the world more widely known and accepted as the "Shoe Box?"
Ok I thought enough today.
Tomorrow I will have another GAME for EVERYONE to play! It will be called...Everybody Loves PATRICK!
-Chris
Cardboard, everybody...can be thick, thin, black, white, but usually brown.
Without it, we wouldn't have a lot life's little luxuries including:
-Homes (well, when I mentioned "little" luxury I wasn't really kidding) -Pepsi cubes -- pepsi would remain but without a box to hold the cans, a case of Pepsi would kill 24 Seals or Ducks with plastic rings -Toilet paper rolls -- it isn't rocket science to know that rolling toilet paper without a firm outer core is a daunting and otherwise inefficient task. Do you know what we would have to use instead of a toilet paper roll?
Individual sheets. We had these in grade school (and maybe in high school?) and let me tell you -- LITTLE 4X4 SHEETS OF TP ARE JUST A LITTLE TOO SMALL -Boxes for ZA. This only inhibits ZA from being delivered, thank God.
Still, I see it as a very important innovation just as the light bulb was.
-Computer game boxes -- well, in a couple years this will completely phase out as software will most likely disappear from store shelves (probably not, but we may see the beginnings of it soon) -Jigsaw Puzzels. Have you ever made a jigsaw puzzle out of paper just for fun? It doesn't work, DOES IT?
-Those little chalkboards you had at home in kindergarten -- don't be fooled...the surface may not be cardboard, but underneath the surface lurks something interesting.
-Your attic. It would not be called an 'attic' if cardboard boxes didn't exist. It would instead be referred to as a 'Personal Antique shop' or 'Landfill', whichever suits your fancy.
-Packard Bell Computers -- obviously, this is a no-brainer -UPS, FedEx, etc. -- again, a no-brainer (makes you wonder how friggin' rich that cardboard inventor guy really is!) -Shoes -- I guess shoes could still be worn, but they could never be transported. Is there any other box in the world more widely known and accepted as the "Shoe Box?"
Ok I thought enough today.
Tomorrow I will have another GAME for EVERYONE to play! It will be called...Everybody Loves PATRICK!
-Chris
Tuesday, July 31, 2001
If only...
If only I could smash Gerard's face and enter the Magic Pro Tour :)
Actually I'm very happy with placing 4th at the qualifier on Sunday -- I really never expected to do so well but I was *very* focused and used up every last one of those 150+ IQ points :) When the going gets tough, the tough get going, or whatever... I hope to attend the September 1st qualifier where my goal will be to do better than 4th. Things will work out well, hopefully...
Other than that it's been a great past week. Except for the fact that I'm still jobless, and money isn't anywhere in my line of sight. As some of you may know already, I started playing guitar -- and although I still totally suck I'm actually learning some stuff here and there. The other day I busted out my sister's old electric guitar -- it's from like, the late 60's so I'm sure it will sound absolutely amazing once I get strings for it.
-Chris
Actually I'm very happy with placing 4th at the qualifier on Sunday -- I really never expected to do so well but I was *very* focused and used up every last one of those 150+ IQ points :) When the going gets tough, the tough get going, or whatever... I hope to attend the September 1st qualifier where my goal will be to do better than 4th. Things will work out well, hopefully...
Other than that it's been a great past week. Except for the fact that I'm still jobless, and money isn't anywhere in my line of sight. As some of you may know already, I started playing guitar -- and although I still totally suck I'm actually learning some stuff here and there. The other day I busted out my sister's old electric guitar -- it's from like, the late 60's so I'm sure it will sound absolutely amazing once I get strings for it.
-Chris
Friday, July 27, 2001
More 3AM Conversation...
It's been quite a while since I've actually stayed up this late and had the opportunity to let my mind wander just a "little". Actually I think I'll stay pretty sane and probably a little philisophical here and there. The past few weeks I really haven't had much time to do much "hardcore thinking"
but I think it's all coming back to me now.
This summer has gone by faster than a speeding bullet train so far. It feels just like yesterday that I finished up the rink and got my computer certifications and all that. Well, guess what -- I'm STILL looking for a job AND doing pretty much everything else just as before. Actually, this summer feels almost like the ones back when I started high school. I wasn't working, and everyday was a designated do-nothing day. I don't need loads of money. I don't really need much at all to be happy. The only difference between then and now is that I have so many more friends than previously.
Back when I was 14 or 15 there was this huge emptiness inside that I longed for. I guess my dream has come true. It's really a great feeling.
They say you can't re-live the past -- but really, that's almost exactly what I'm doing right now. I'm doing it the way I always wanted to. I want to make it right this time. I've worked hard in the past few years to get to where I am today. I've totally changed my personality, overcome some personal shortfalls and become a much better person. But really, I'm just the same kid. It's hard to explain really, but the main idea is that so many times people think that they can never go back to the stuff they did in the past -- at which time I was only in my early teenage years. It's really simple really. Sometimes we try too hard for something that's within our own grasp -- only to learn so later. It's true, people change. They grow up, move away, get a job and live happily ever after. Then what happens?
We don't know. They live their own little lives unknown to those why knew them earlier.
Another thing that made me think about this whole deal is the continuing quote that I heard through high school and still read today. "Most of your high school friends will drift away after graduation". I really don't understand this. Well, all right actually I do. Maybe. It's simple, really. People change, just as I mentioned above. But people are constantly changing...does that mean that you can only be friends with a person for a limited amount of time? (In the back of my head I'm wondering if this school of thought can explain the high divorce rate of Americans today). Anyways... As much as we change we pretty much remain the same, just as in my own case. We still maintain our personal needs and desires for the most part.
Most of my friends share some sort of common interest...which in my case is computers. (Actually it first started with Magic, and then evolved somewhat). When your range of interest broadens, your circle of friends becomes bigger. Well, as long as you are around others who share the same interests. Then again, maybe not. For example, Nally and I were in the same computer class my sophomore year in high school. Why weren't we good friends then? (rhetorical questions at 3:15am :) I can't explain everything. In my opinion, common interest can begin a friendship, but personality strengthens it. The cool part here is -- all my friends -- every last one of them -- has a very unique personality -- YET -- the share something in common with my own that it creates a bond. Not covalent bonds, either. And with all my friends every facet is fully covered, and when we're all together it creates one huge diverse melting pot of ideas and stuff. When we are all at our best (and I admit, this doesn't happen all the time) it's such a great experience.
And that, my friends -- is what made Wednesday night so great.
Oh and another thing -- I miss the rink. I know I sound like such a stupid moron for saying that, but I miss working for people or something like that.
-Chris
but I think it's all coming back to me now.
This summer has gone by faster than a speeding bullet train so far. It feels just like yesterday that I finished up the rink and got my computer certifications and all that. Well, guess what -- I'm STILL looking for a job AND doing pretty much everything else just as before. Actually, this summer feels almost like the ones back when I started high school. I wasn't working, and everyday was a designated do-nothing day. I don't need loads of money. I don't really need much at all to be happy. The only difference between then and now is that I have so many more friends than previously.
Back when I was 14 or 15 there was this huge emptiness inside that I longed for. I guess my dream has come true. It's really a great feeling.
They say you can't re-live the past -- but really, that's almost exactly what I'm doing right now. I'm doing it the way I always wanted to. I want to make it right this time. I've worked hard in the past few years to get to where I am today. I've totally changed my personality, overcome some personal shortfalls and become a much better person. But really, I'm just the same kid. It's hard to explain really, but the main idea is that so many times people think that they can never go back to the stuff they did in the past -- at which time I was only in my early teenage years. It's really simple really. Sometimes we try too hard for something that's within our own grasp -- only to learn so later. It's true, people change. They grow up, move away, get a job and live happily ever after. Then what happens?
We don't know. They live their own little lives unknown to those why knew them earlier.
Another thing that made me think about this whole deal is the continuing quote that I heard through high school and still read today. "Most of your high school friends will drift away after graduation". I really don't understand this. Well, all right actually I do. Maybe. It's simple, really. People change, just as I mentioned above. But people are constantly changing...does that mean that you can only be friends with a person for a limited amount of time? (In the back of my head I'm wondering if this school of thought can explain the high divorce rate of Americans today). Anyways... As much as we change we pretty much remain the same, just as in my own case. We still maintain our personal needs and desires for the most part.
Most of my friends share some sort of common interest...which in my case is computers. (Actually it first started with Magic, and then evolved somewhat). When your range of interest broadens, your circle of friends becomes bigger. Well, as long as you are around others who share the same interests. Then again, maybe not. For example, Nally and I were in the same computer class my sophomore year in high school. Why weren't we good friends then? (rhetorical questions at 3:15am :) I can't explain everything. In my opinion, common interest can begin a friendship, but personality strengthens it. The cool part here is -- all my friends -- every last one of them -- has a very unique personality -- YET -- the share something in common with my own that it creates a bond. Not covalent bonds, either. And with all my friends every facet is fully covered, and when we're all together it creates one huge diverse melting pot of ideas and stuff. When we are all at our best (and I admit, this doesn't happen all the time) it's such a great experience.
And that, my friends -- is what made Wednesday night so great.
Oh and another thing -- I miss the rink. I know I sound like such a stupid moron for saying that, but I miss working for people or something like that.
-Chris
Thursday, July 26, 2001
MuZaKfest 2001!!! (WOW that was fun!)
It's really cool that we FINALLY got together once again to practice our musical abilities! It sounded awesome! We haven't done this in like, 18 months guys.
The funny part was, none of this was planned or anything. Alex mentioned the idea to me over the phone today so I give credit to him for getting this thing together. Brian -- as much as you hate it...BRING YOUR BASS NEXT TIME! Also -- you didn't burn the O-TOWN videos to the CD. Hrmmm...can you take a guess at what happened to them? There's no such thing as a network recycle bin :)
So I just wanna know your guys' opinions on how everything went last night and suggestions on how we can make this work out again. Do you just want to keep playing to mp3's while mazz and I man the microphone? Or start playing stuff on our own and stuff? I think once we get a little more practice we should be able to do that more.
One other thing -- I PROMISE NOT to EAT the microphone again.
Also, I'm sorry that the request for Sweet Child O' Mine was not fulfilled.
Maybe next time, Geoff. Then again, maybe not.
My suggestion is to keep playing at least once a week, maybe on Wednesdays after softball, or any other weekday that may be convenient to all of us. I know that school is creeping up on us fast, and I'd like to try to gain a lot of ground on this while we can.
I'm PUMPED!
Later guys -- practice good music. Bring it on next week.
-Chris
The funny part was, none of this was planned or anything. Alex mentioned the idea to me over the phone today so I give credit to him for getting this thing together. Brian -- as much as you hate it...BRING YOUR BASS NEXT TIME! Also -- you didn't burn the O-TOWN videos to the CD. Hrmmm...can you take a guess at what happened to them? There's no such thing as a network recycle bin :)
So I just wanna know your guys' opinions on how everything went last night and suggestions on how we can make this work out again. Do you just want to keep playing to mp3's while mazz and I man the microphone? Or start playing stuff on our own and stuff? I think once we get a little more practice we should be able to do that more.
One other thing -- I PROMISE NOT to EAT the microphone again.
Also, I'm sorry that the request for Sweet Child O' Mine was not fulfilled.
Maybe next time, Geoff. Then again, maybe not.
My suggestion is to keep playing at least once a week, maybe on Wednesdays after softball, or any other weekday that may be convenient to all of us. I know that school is creeping up on us fast, and I'd like to try to gain a lot of ground on this while we can.
I'm PUMPED!
Later guys -- practice good music. Bring it on next week.
-Chris
Monday, July 23, 2001
My road adventure pt. UNO
I went out west.
I wore a big cowboy hat and stuff.
I picked up big-breated hookers.
I had a lot of fun.
Then, it all came crashing down on me.
I played UNO for six days straight.
Strip UNO.
Unfortunately, I lost too many games.
And was forced to do things that no man should be allowed to do:
Listen to Uncle Kracker for the next 12 hours.
That song is stuck in my head GODDAMMIT!!!!
foooooooolooooooooooowwwwwww meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ya get the picture?
Payce out
-Chris
I wore a big cowboy hat and stuff.
I picked up big-breated hookers.
I had a lot of fun.
Then, it all came crashing down on me.
I played UNO for six days straight.
Strip UNO.
Unfortunately, I lost too many games.
And was forced to do things that no man should be allowed to do:
Listen to Uncle Kracker for the next 12 hours.
That song is stuck in my head GODDAMMIT!!!!
foooooooolooooooooooowwwwwww meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ya get the picture?
Payce out
-Chris
Sunday, July 22, 2001
Home SCHWEET Home!!!!!!!
Yes my friends, I HAVE returned! That's right -- a week early, since our family likes to see everything really FAST. Yay. What else can I say?
I need some updates as to the ongoings in the ZA community in my absence, but I'll probably just call everyone sooner or later.
Don't worry, I'll write boatloads of e-mails about my fantastic voyage. I just got back an hour ago and need to settle in a little first...
-The magnificent ZaRocks
I need some updates as to the ongoings in the ZA community in my absence, but I'll probably just call everyone sooner or later.
Don't worry, I'll write boatloads of e-mails about my fantastic voyage. I just got back an hour ago and need to settle in a little first...
-The magnificent ZaRocks
Friday, July 6, 2001
Thoughts before leaving...
Hey guys, I'd first like to apologize for being so abrupt about the vacation decision...although I *did* have a choice whether or not to go, it really wasn't. I expected to get the job at ElectroRent, but my interviews were delayed twice and therefore I was unable to convince my parents that I'd be better off staying home.
I know it's tough being away from everyone for 3 weeks...I am not particularly fond of it myself, but I had to look at the big picture and realize that I may not get to go on vacation (esp. out west) for a very long, long, long time so I didn't want to pass up the opportunity, as I did TWICE last year. I had a lot of things planned with my friends, and it sorta sucks that I had to change them last minute. That doesn't mean, though, that you guys can't have fun while I'm gone! There's a whole lotta stuff for you guys to do together so I hope everyone enjoys the summer while I am gone.
Again, I understand that it may seem like I'm giving up on the summer...but that's so far from the truth. As I mentioned before, I didn't really have much of a choice (even though I did, it was implied that I go away or be castrated, or something like that...). So in turn I'm trying to find the positives in this whole thing. Would I rather stay home? Yes, most definitely. It's easier and I enjoy the freedoms. Was it a viable choice I could make? Not in this situation...
I could go on and on and on explaining everything but I just think it's best to say that I wish everyone the best of luck and hope that fun and excitement follows everyone around. I'll definitely call you guys on occasion to see whazzap and everything...
-Chris A. Czaplicki
I know it's tough being away from everyone for 3 weeks...I am not particularly fond of it myself, but I had to look at the big picture and realize that I may not get to go on vacation (esp. out west) for a very long, long, long time so I didn't want to pass up the opportunity, as I did TWICE last year. I had a lot of things planned with my friends, and it sorta sucks that I had to change them last minute. That doesn't mean, though, that you guys can't have fun while I'm gone! There's a whole lotta stuff for you guys to do together so I hope everyone enjoys the summer while I am gone.
Again, I understand that it may seem like I'm giving up on the summer...but that's so far from the truth. As I mentioned before, I didn't really have much of a choice (even though I did, it was implied that I go away or be castrated, or something like that...). So in turn I'm trying to find the positives in this whole thing. Would I rather stay home? Yes, most definitely. It's easier and I enjoy the freedoms. Was it a viable choice I could make? Not in this situation...
I could go on and on and on explaining everything but I just think it's best to say that I wish everyone the best of luck and hope that fun and excitement follows everyone around. I'll definitely call you guys on occasion to see whazzap and everything...
-Chris A. Czaplicki
Thursday, July 5, 2001
A GAME for EVERYONE to PLAY! (even you)
Greetings honored friends!
Today we will play a very fun game that I invented. It is called "I'll Play Your Game You Rogue" It is very simple and easy to learn. Once you play it a couple times you will have your entire family gathered 'round the computer having a great time!
Just follow the simple instructions in this e-mail and enjoy hours and hours of fun with friends and family!
INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Go outside, knock on a neighbor's door and tell them in a plain voice "I'll Play Your Game you Rogue". British accents are optional. Give yourself 10 points. If no one answers the door only score 5, but if you hear a dog barking inside you can give yourself 6. Don't cheat on the dog thing either...it will hurt your score later in the game. Oh yeah, and if you leave the front porch with a black eye or bruise anywhere on your face, score an additional 25 points! Games are often won this way, so use careful strategy when choosing neighbors.
2) Go to a DIFFERENT neighbor's house. Instead of knocking on their door, shout as loud as you can in any window "I'll play your game you rogue".
Then hide in their shrubs, under the porch or anywhere else where you cannot be easily seen. If the neighbor comes outside to investigate and does not find you, score 10 points. If the neighbor isn't home or does not come out, they are probably having good sex and don't want to be disturbed. Deduct 5 points from your score for such a rueful move. Finally, if the family dog comes outside and attacks you in hiding, you get a 5 point bonus. If the dog has rabies, you automatically win the game!!! It will be your last victory before you die.
3) Go into the middle of your street, do a handstand, and do a log roll through the next 3 intersections (one must be a main street, so you may want to plan your route ahead of time). If you perform this correctly, you should be able to stand back up and somersault back to your original position. Score a whopping 5 points if you do not suffer any open wounds during this step. If you were hit by a car, don't worry you can play the game some other time. If you were stopped by a police car and taken for a drug test, give yourself a 5 point bonus.
This is where the game gets a little harder...
4) Look for the nearest garbage can. Imitate a raccoon. Score 1 point for every 200 calories ingested. FYI dog poop averages 50 calories per ounce.
Maggots are high in protein but do not provide the calories necessary to score high in this round. You receive an automatic disqualification for searching more than 1 garbage can.
5) Find a manhole cover. Open it up, jump in and walk around for a little while. Yell "Turtle Power" at least 10 times, each time with a different voice for each of the 4 Ninja Turtles. Give yourself 2 extra points if you can also do Splinter's voice. Once you decide to surface, find another manhole cover, pop it open and walk back home. This is a very strategic play, as a lot of scoring can be done here. If you resurface on a sidestreet, earn 5 points. On a state route, 10 points. On an interstate freeway get 25 big points!
6) Show up at Za's House. Stink will bark at you and lick you. Say "I'll play your game you rogue" and receive a special prize. Also, you may need some surgery.
Ok that was terribble...I quit!
-Chris
Today we will play a very fun game that I invented. It is called "I'll Play Your Game You Rogue" It is very simple and easy to learn. Once you play it a couple times you will have your entire family gathered 'round the computer having a great time!
Just follow the simple instructions in this e-mail and enjoy hours and hours of fun with friends and family!
INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Go outside, knock on a neighbor's door and tell them in a plain voice "I'll Play Your Game you Rogue". British accents are optional. Give yourself 10 points. If no one answers the door only score 5, but if you hear a dog barking inside you can give yourself 6. Don't cheat on the dog thing either...it will hurt your score later in the game. Oh yeah, and if you leave the front porch with a black eye or bruise anywhere on your face, score an additional 25 points! Games are often won this way, so use careful strategy when choosing neighbors.
2) Go to a DIFFERENT neighbor's house. Instead of knocking on their door, shout as loud as you can in any window "I'll play your game you rogue".
Then hide in their shrubs, under the porch or anywhere else where you cannot be easily seen. If the neighbor comes outside to investigate and does not find you, score 10 points. If the neighbor isn't home or does not come out, they are probably having good sex and don't want to be disturbed. Deduct 5 points from your score for such a rueful move. Finally, if the family dog comes outside and attacks you in hiding, you get a 5 point bonus. If the dog has rabies, you automatically win the game!!! It will be your last victory before you die.
3) Go into the middle of your street, do a handstand, and do a log roll through the next 3 intersections (one must be a main street, so you may want to plan your route ahead of time). If you perform this correctly, you should be able to stand back up and somersault back to your original position. Score a whopping 5 points if you do not suffer any open wounds during this step. If you were hit by a car, don't worry you can play the game some other time. If you were stopped by a police car and taken for a drug test, give yourself a 5 point bonus.
This is where the game gets a little harder...
4) Look for the nearest garbage can. Imitate a raccoon. Score 1 point for every 200 calories ingested. FYI dog poop averages 50 calories per ounce.
Maggots are high in protein but do not provide the calories necessary to score high in this round. You receive an automatic disqualification for searching more than 1 garbage can.
5) Find a manhole cover. Open it up, jump in and walk around for a little while. Yell "Turtle Power" at least 10 times, each time with a different voice for each of the 4 Ninja Turtles. Give yourself 2 extra points if you can also do Splinter's voice. Once you decide to surface, find another manhole cover, pop it open and walk back home. This is a very strategic play, as a lot of scoring can be done here. If you resurface on a sidestreet, earn 5 points. On a state route, 10 points. On an interstate freeway get 25 big points!
6) Show up at Za's House. Stink will bark at you and lick you. Say "I'll play your game you rogue" and receive a special prize. Also, you may need some surgery.
Ok that was terribble...I quit!
-Chris
Monday, July 2, 2001
Happy New Month! (and second semester 2001)
Yes, we are officially in the second semester of the Year 2001. How was the first half? Good? Bad? Ugly? Fun? Exciting? Bootylicious? or something in-between?
Sorry, I'm not gonna give my Year 2001 Review yet, we'll have to wait until the EOY (end of year) for that. I'm looking in the present tense, anyways...I'm going through a VERY delicate situation with my parents right now (has to do with vacation) so I'm like, so confused right now and it's not fun.
I really don't have too much else to write since there's not much on my mind right now -- and I'm not about to go off on a tangent with my good ol'
"stream of consciousness". I'm just really happy right now about things and hopefully the summer can go as smoothly as it has so far. We had a great ZaFest on Friday and I hope that everyone's 4th of July will be full of fun 'n' excitement as well.
And hopefully I'll be able to get this stupid JOB!
-Chris
Sorry, I'm not gonna give my Year 2001 Review yet, we'll have to wait until the EOY (end of year) for that. I'm looking in the present tense, anyways...I'm going through a VERY delicate situation with my parents right now (has to do with vacation) so I'm like, so confused right now and it's not fun.
I really don't have too much else to write since there's not much on my mind right now -- and I'm not about to go off on a tangent with my good ol'
"stream of consciousness". I'm just really happy right now about things and hopefully the summer can go as smoothly as it has so far. We had a great ZaFest on Friday and I hope that everyone's 4th of July will be full of fun 'n' excitement as well.
And hopefully I'll be able to get this stupid JOB!
-Chris
Tuesday, June 26, 2001
It's a conspiracy, man :)
Ok...something really intriguing has occurred recently
Eddie and I have gotten like, these e-mails from CrushLink, and have absolutely no idea where they originated. Actually, I WAS able to find one of them (they got my e-mail from a message board) but the rest I really don't know.
So what's a poor guy like me to do?
Well, I sorta put in all e-mail addresses of the girls I know into my "Crush List" (not everyone got them since i had hints from the site) and didn't get any matches. So before all of you were probably wondering "Oooooooh who's got a crush on mEEEE?" but I'm here to spoil the day. That's ok -- I still love you all :)
So now it's like -- OK who are these people??? They have to know my e-mail address from somewhere :) Maybe it's a conspiracy from the "Psychological Warfare Division of the Sisterhood to Destroy All Men" or something. I post a lot of stuff on "student advice" forums so maybe that's where it's from.
Then again, my address book is bigger than the Yellow Pages from all my card sales from years past.
But it was fun while it lasted!
Later peeps,
-ZA
Eddie and I have gotten like, these e-mails from CrushLink, and have absolutely no idea where they originated. Actually, I WAS able to find one of them (they got my e-mail from a message board) but the rest I really don't know.
So what's a poor guy like me to do?
Well, I sorta put in all e-mail addresses of the girls I know into my "Crush List" (not everyone got them since i had hints from the site) and didn't get any matches. So before all of you were probably wondering "Oooooooh who's got a crush on mEEEE?" but I'm here to spoil the day. That's ok -- I still love you all :)
So now it's like -- OK who are these people??? They have to know my e-mail address from somewhere :) Maybe it's a conspiracy from the "Psychological Warfare Division of the Sisterhood to Destroy All Men" or something. I post a lot of stuff on "student advice" forums so maybe that's where it's from.
Then again, my address book is bigger than the Yellow Pages from all my card sales from years past.
But it was fun while it lasted!
Later peeps,
-ZA
Monday, June 25, 2001
Sit back, relax and enjoy the nice weather!
Well, that's what I'm doing at least. Fun stuff, especially when the parents are out at the camper for 5 straight days :) But I'm keeping busy with various duties, such as playing computer games, softball, sleeping, roadtrips and bank runs. That's such hard work! And oh yeah -- don't forget writing e-mails too!
Anyways, just to let everyone know once again the D2X Cyberfest will be this Friday, and will probably start sometime in the afternoon (or whenever I can haul my ass up to Best Buy) and see whazzup... The remainder of the weekend will probably be well-spent playing Diablo, although I am unsure to what extent this will be...
I am also having a second interview for this job i really really want on Thursday, so wish me luck! Maybe I can start being productive and take home like, a paycheck or something like that. It will be better then staying up until 5AM and getting up at noon every day :) Whatever works, right?
And GO TRIBE!
-Chris
Anyways, just to let everyone know once again the D2X Cyberfest will be this Friday, and will probably start sometime in the afternoon (or whenever I can haul my ass up to Best Buy) and see whazzup... The remainder of the weekend will probably be well-spent playing Diablo, although I am unsure to what extent this will be...
I am also having a second interview for this job i really really want on Thursday, so wish me luck! Maybe I can start being productive and take home like, a paycheck or something like that. It will be better then staying up until 5AM and getting up at noon every day :) Whatever works, right?
And GO TRIBE!
-Chris
Sunday, June 24, 2001
10 things WORSE than a whole night with Andariel
Andariel is an evil villain that looks really funny. I have a picture of her posted at http://www.cyberpalace.cc/zaonline/andariel.jpg She is very scary. Fortunately I have only had to confront her 3 or 4 times, which is few compared to others who cannot escape her grasp. Others just run away like a little pansy. Dude, that's just wrong :)
So what could be worse than that? Well, let's see. I can think of only a few, but I think you will all agree with me here...
10) Being trapped in a car with the radio on a continuous playlist of Godsmack's "Bad Religion", Godsmack's "Voodoo", Creed's "Higher" and "With Arms Wide Open", and anything by the Dave Matthews Band. Oh yeah -- if you turn the radio off you will only be able to hear the ambient background noise of Cher's "Believe"
9) Having any of those above songs stuck in your head because you've heard them 500 bazillion times and want to get a Lobotomy.
8) Being stuck at the top of the tree, with a fearsome grizzly bear awaiting you at the bottom, while 100,000 sabre ants on a mission simultaneously decide they need to make the tree their new home.
7) An evening with any (or all) of the 4 hip gals from the Moulin Rouge, except MAYBE Mya...who has some redeeming qualities. Ok, maybe not. Forget I even said that. I'd rather rip my nose off with a can opener. I'd rather bob for apples in a sewer.
6) Being locked in a cell where ZA goes completely insane and starts playing the Electric Chocobo theme on the keyboard for HOURS and HOURS and HOURS on end. Then, when you didn't think it could get ANY worse, I transmute into a hot dog and eat myself.
5) Working at the rink on Friday night with hundreds of junior high girls wearing skimpy outfits that make Jennifer Lopez look like a schoolgirl.
While the boys continuously throw toilet paper wads on the ceiling, and punch the fire extinguisher glass.
4) While with Alex, someone unknowingly says any of the following words:
Miracle whip, horsey sauce, heinz tomato ketchup, joyride, belt, mullet, Alanis Morisette, Louis Farukkhan, batman, superman, Milburn.
3) Wearing a right-handed baseball glove when left-handed. Eventually, you will pay for your misjudgments.
2) Sitting through an 8-hour lecture presented by Mr. Hicks, Mr. Maris, Mr.
Kasper and Mr. Peepers.
---and finally---
1) Having a camera pointed at you when you're bracing yourself on the toilet...especially when you're only 4 years old and have no idea what's about to happen to that picture 16 years later. UUUUgh!
Yeah that was fun, now i need schleep!
-Chris
So what could be worse than that? Well, let's see. I can think of only a few, but I think you will all agree with me here...
10) Being trapped in a car with the radio on a continuous playlist of Godsmack's "Bad Religion", Godsmack's "Voodoo", Creed's "Higher" and "With Arms Wide Open", and anything by the Dave Matthews Band. Oh yeah -- if you turn the radio off you will only be able to hear the ambient background noise of Cher's "Believe"
9) Having any of those above songs stuck in your head because you've heard them 500 bazillion times and want to get a Lobotomy.
8) Being stuck at the top of the tree, with a fearsome grizzly bear awaiting you at the bottom, while 100,000 sabre ants on a mission simultaneously decide they need to make the tree their new home.
7) An evening with any (or all) of the 4 hip gals from the Moulin Rouge, except MAYBE Mya...who has some redeeming qualities. Ok, maybe not. Forget I even said that. I'd rather rip my nose off with a can opener. I'd rather bob for apples in a sewer.
6) Being locked in a cell where ZA goes completely insane and starts playing the Electric Chocobo theme on the keyboard for HOURS and HOURS and HOURS on end. Then, when you didn't think it could get ANY worse, I transmute into a hot dog and eat myself.
5) Working at the rink on Friday night with hundreds of junior high girls wearing skimpy outfits that make Jennifer Lopez look like a schoolgirl.
While the boys continuously throw toilet paper wads on the ceiling, and punch the fire extinguisher glass.
4) While with Alex, someone unknowingly says any of the following words:
Miracle whip, horsey sauce, heinz tomato ketchup, joyride, belt, mullet, Alanis Morisette, Louis Farukkhan, batman, superman, Milburn.
3) Wearing a right-handed baseball glove when left-handed. Eventually, you will pay for your misjudgments.
2) Sitting through an 8-hour lecture presented by Mr. Hicks, Mr. Maris, Mr.
Kasper and Mr. Peepers.
---and finally---
1) Having a camera pointed at you when you're bracing yourself on the toilet...especially when you're only 4 years old and have no idea what's about to happen to that picture 16 years later. UUUUgh!
Yeah that was fun, now i need schleep!
-Chris
Friday, June 22, 2001
A slight break in the action...
Hey guys WAZZAAAAP???
Anyways, just to let you guys know I'm having some troubles. Nothing serious I just feel sorta tired and kinda irritable or something. There's probably a few causes of it, but probably the biggest one is that I've just been sitting here in the catacombs too long and things get sorta gloomy down here after awhile. Giant squid come to eat you a lot.
But I dunno...I just don't feel like myself and I just need a break from everything. Well, not everything -- just tired of all the sitting and the computer stuff, etc. A couple of my comps are running a bit sluggish and Diablo isn't doing too well either. And I really don't feel like doing too much except for one thing --
And that's playing baseball :)
God I wish I was on a team for the summer -- too bad I didn't have any $$$ to start one or else I definitely would have...I know there's a lot of ppl who would love to as well, so really it would work fine if I had the financial resources. But until then there's always practice at the State Road or Parma High diamonds. Hopefully we'll be able to take the field sometime early next week. And Alex -- REMEMBER TO TAKE YOUR GLOVE!!!
Other than that, I just thought it would be best to keep the computers off here for awhile...I just need some time to regain some sanity and fresh air, and I really can't do that too much now. So when can we possibly resume action?
Well, guess what? The Diablo II expansion comes out on Friday, June 29.
Guess what that means??? HUGE HARDCORE D2X FEST!!! Yeah, that's right!!!
Until then, I hope everyone doesn't get Diablo withdrawal and that next Friday might mean just a little bit more...
Allright...ok... next week I'll try to think of other stuff for us to do so i'll keep everyone posted...
Later dudez,
-Chris
Anyways, just to let you guys know I'm having some troubles. Nothing serious I just feel sorta tired and kinda irritable or something. There's probably a few causes of it, but probably the biggest one is that I've just been sitting here in the catacombs too long and things get sorta gloomy down here after awhile. Giant squid come to eat you a lot.
But I dunno...I just don't feel like myself and I just need a break from everything. Well, not everything -- just tired of all the sitting and the computer stuff, etc. A couple of my comps are running a bit sluggish and Diablo isn't doing too well either. And I really don't feel like doing too much except for one thing --
And that's playing baseball :)
God I wish I was on a team for the summer -- too bad I didn't have any $$$ to start one or else I definitely would have...I know there's a lot of ppl who would love to as well, so really it would work fine if I had the financial resources. But until then there's always practice at the State Road or Parma High diamonds. Hopefully we'll be able to take the field sometime early next week. And Alex -- REMEMBER TO TAKE YOUR GLOVE!!!
Other than that, I just thought it would be best to keep the computers off here for awhile...I just need some time to regain some sanity and fresh air, and I really can't do that too much now. So when can we possibly resume action?
Well, guess what? The Diablo II expansion comes out on Friday, June 29.
Guess what that means??? HUGE HARDCORE D2X FEST!!! Yeah, that's right!!!
Until then, I hope everyone doesn't get Diablo withdrawal and that next Friday might mean just a little bit more...
Allright...ok... next week I'll try to think of other stuff for us to do so i'll keep everyone posted...
Later dudez,
-Chris
Wednesday, June 20, 2001
DIGITAL CAMERA!
I need one! I have no money. Therefore I will be accepting donations for a good megapixel model. Must have at least 4 megs of memory to store good pics.
Just kidding! Actually, I really could use one, especially to take pics to put on the cyberpalace site -- I've been saying that for over a year now but i could never find one I liked. But prices keep going DOWN and I guess I could use a little help picking something good out when I actually do get $$$!
-Chris
Just kidding! Actually, I really could use one, especially to take pics to put on the cyberpalace site -- I've been saying that for over a year now but i could never find one I liked. But prices keep going DOWN and I guess I could use a little help picking something good out when I actually do get $$$!
-Chris
Saturday, June 16, 2001
Bungalow Bill, TUBZ Root Beer and Horsies
3 of my favorite things. When i get to the bottom i go back to the slide...where i stop and i turn and i go for a ride.
tell me tell me tell me the answer
please don't do a lyrics search it's unhealthy :)
How is everyone doing? I am perfectly fine. Really. I don't want to think right now -- I am trying to conserve energy and gain weight so extra thinking may be anti-productive.
Have you ever felt that way??? It's really weird...you just sit there and act like a robot. I am not a robot but right now i might as well just be one. This music is really getting to my head. It's gonna put me into a complete days any minute now.
Hay guess what -- I think i just did something really cool. I left my car windows open last night and it did not rain in the car, even though there was a perfect storm. Yay. Nay? Neigh? Hay is for horses. Wunderful.
Chinese FOOOOOOD. Great. My mind is warped. Too many random thoughts.
This isn't good. Maybe I should lay off the bong. Nah. I can't lay off anything I don't own.
What ever. I feel like alex trebek. a total robot. a total ignoramus of a person that hopes to throw horseshoes at fenceposts and play croquet with clothes hangers. i am in wonderland right now. hearties. yum.
numnumnumnumnum. toejam football. wild honey pie
You may wonder what it's like to have my mind. Then again, like most normal people you don't. Good. Now go back to your one-dimensional physical lives and watch me dream in all 64 crayola colors. Sail across the atlantic.
Float upstream into the void of endless oblivion. And watch yourself have the time of your life. you can do ANYTHING! just let your thoughts flow into an aura of mystery. or else
Spinning round and round and round until everything in the room looks like one -- a beautiful object of light and color and power. Stare as your eyes become heavy and close soon after. Drift away into the night. Float away and let the grasp of reality slip away. Let your spirit take off wherever it wishes. Let it frolic in the nearby park -- or go somewhere else -- it doesn't have to exist in a physical matter. Go away. far far away. seek the farest reaches of your mind...look at all the people you know..all the places you have been and look to see where you want to go. it isn't hard.
just relax. breathe deep and your head is spinning. look into the past.
think of all the events you learned in history class. imagine yourself there. you are now standing at the foot of a very famous building you aren't sure what ist is...look around. you see everyone, yet you know no one. you feel as though yuou've been here before but you have no idea when or how. suddenly a loud blair comes from out of nowhere. you drift away.
then somewhere else. voices from everwhere. some shouting. some singing old harmonies you haven't heard before. and yet you hear other familiar sounds which help you decide where to go next. mooo.... into the catacombs...of fear of peace. of lonliness of great joy. you hear a loud cheer followed by distress you are confused. where do I go next? what am I doing here. aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! thankfully, you were saved but now in a position of fear and anxiety, you continue onwards in your dream, looking for peace. you have found it. water flows but suddenly it turns red and a body emerges. you look around and you see a million dead souls they seem to be following something. it is a commotion of sorts, but you are soon relieved to see eldorado. take this brother, may it serve you well. look up. you hear your family. your friends. ahhh....wher is this coming form/ who is this? grr...you begin to hear more shouting, but it is subsiding.
you awaken and find yourself back in a comfortable setting. good night.
sleep tight.
phew that was fun. it's cool to be able to drift away in a dream and still be able to type :) Hopefully i'll be able to do it better in the future. i tried to stay halfway coherent i know i repeated stuff like, millions of times but i just thought i'd experiment a little.
until tomorrow, i'll TTYL
-Chris
tell me tell me tell me the answer
please don't do a lyrics search it's unhealthy :)
How is everyone doing? I am perfectly fine. Really. I don't want to think right now -- I am trying to conserve energy and gain weight so extra thinking may be anti-productive.
Have you ever felt that way??? It's really weird...you just sit there and act like a robot. I am not a robot but right now i might as well just be one. This music is really getting to my head. It's gonna put me into a complete days any minute now.
Hay guess what -- I think i just did something really cool. I left my car windows open last night and it did not rain in the car, even though there was a perfect storm. Yay. Nay? Neigh? Hay is for horses. Wunderful.
Chinese FOOOOOOD. Great. My mind is warped. Too many random thoughts.
This isn't good. Maybe I should lay off the bong. Nah. I can't lay off anything I don't own.
What ever. I feel like alex trebek. a total robot. a total ignoramus of a person that hopes to throw horseshoes at fenceposts and play croquet with clothes hangers. i am in wonderland right now. hearties. yum.
numnumnumnumnum. toejam football. wild honey pie
You may wonder what it's like to have my mind. Then again, like most normal people you don't. Good. Now go back to your one-dimensional physical lives and watch me dream in all 64 crayola colors. Sail across the atlantic.
Float upstream into the void of endless oblivion. And watch yourself have the time of your life. you can do ANYTHING! just let your thoughts flow into an aura of mystery. or else
Spinning round and round and round until everything in the room looks like one -- a beautiful object of light and color and power. Stare as your eyes become heavy and close soon after. Drift away into the night. Float away and let the grasp of reality slip away. Let your spirit take off wherever it wishes. Let it frolic in the nearby park -- or go somewhere else -- it doesn't have to exist in a physical matter. Go away. far far away. seek the farest reaches of your mind...look at all the people you know..all the places you have been and look to see where you want to go. it isn't hard.
just relax. breathe deep and your head is spinning. look into the past.
think of all the events you learned in history class. imagine yourself there. you are now standing at the foot of a very famous building you aren't sure what ist is...look around. you see everyone, yet you know no one. you feel as though yuou've been here before but you have no idea when or how. suddenly a loud blair comes from out of nowhere. you drift away.
then somewhere else. voices from everwhere. some shouting. some singing old harmonies you haven't heard before. and yet you hear other familiar sounds which help you decide where to go next. mooo.... into the catacombs...of fear of peace. of lonliness of great joy. you hear a loud cheer followed by distress you are confused. where do I go next? what am I doing here. aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! thankfully, you were saved but now in a position of fear and anxiety, you continue onwards in your dream, looking for peace. you have found it. water flows but suddenly it turns red and a body emerges. you look around and you see a million dead souls they seem to be following something. it is a commotion of sorts, but you are soon relieved to see eldorado. take this brother, may it serve you well. look up. you hear your family. your friends. ahhh....wher is this coming form/ who is this? grr...you begin to hear more shouting, but it is subsiding.
you awaken and find yourself back in a comfortable setting. good night.
sleep tight.
phew that was fun. it's cool to be able to drift away in a dream and still be able to type :) Hopefully i'll be able to do it better in the future. i tried to stay halfway coherent i know i repeated stuff like, millions of times but i just thought i'd experiment a little.
until tomorrow, i'll TTYL
-Chris
Tuesday, June 12, 2001
Project!!! (I need suggestions)
Ok I need to accomplish something for my moral satisfaction. So I've decided to do some sorta big project for the summer that I could aim towards. At first it was to get my MCSE certification, but it ain't gonna help if I don't get work experience first. Therefore, I have decided to lay off the books somewhat, and focus on getting a job.
I have an interview tomorrow so hopefully things will go well.
Anyways I have lots of ideas from writing a book to actually start making music (like, an entire album or something) who knows. Something I would enjoy and make for lots of fun memories.
I need some suggestions!!! I figure if I have friends motivate me it will make things a little easier. So I'll leave y'all at that.
-Chris
I have an interview tomorrow so hopefully things will go well.
Anyways I have lots of ideas from writing a book to actually start making music (like, an entire album or something) who knows. Something I would enjoy and make for lots of fun memories.
I need some suggestions!!! I figure if I have friends motivate me it will make things a little easier. So I'll leave y'all at that.
-Chris
Monday, June 11, 2001
THIS WEEK!!! :) :) :)
Lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of ZA will be given away because everyone is HOME and we can party like it's um...some cool day or something.
Anyways, since Eddie and Chris are home for this week and such, I guess I'd really like to do a lot of stuff with everyone or something like that. If anyone has any way cool plans for either daytime or evening, let me know.
I'll give everyone a ring or two just to see what their schedules are, and hopefully we'll eat lots of ZA and play fun games like "couch cushion wars"
or "give stink a makeover".
Enuff already. I'll talk in the mornin'!
-Chris (ZA)
Anyways, since Eddie and Chris are home for this week and such, I guess I'd really like to do a lot of stuff with everyone or something like that. If anyone has any way cool plans for either daytime or evening, let me know.
I'll give everyone a ring or two just to see what their schedules are, and hopefully we'll eat lots of ZA and play fun games like "couch cushion wars"
or "give stink a makeover".
Enuff already. I'll talk in the mornin'!
-Chris (ZA)
It's really weird...
Ok my dreams have had some really strange things lately. Who ever thought I would dream of playing Scrabble? WTF? This is my life. Whatever.
I dunno. It just seems very strange without my sister. Little things.
Like when the phone rings I always think it's Donna. Or when my parents are gone I think they are at her house. It's really weird. At least I don't have to hear her complain that I eat like a primate anymore :) Strange.
You know -- it's like I've been set alone to fend for myself -- to go on with life knowing that you no longer have someone looking over your shoulder. Bad analogy, but you get my point. My sister was like, the first person I could talk to if I had any problems and now -- it's like I sorta have to either solve them myself or look elsewhere. I really don't know what that means, but anyways...
It's like a part of you (or your life) that's missing after knowing it for so long. The last time something like that happened was when I moved away from the trailor in Sandusky 7 years ago. You still think about it all the time. You still remember all the great times and memories. You still have dreams of the past, and how much different it was back then. It was good.
It was bad. But it was a part of your life. And no one can change that.
I guess the toughest part to understand is how full of life my sister was just a few months ago. Actually, up until the last couple weeks you would never know she had any problems whatsoever. It all happened so fast. It's like I don't even realize what just happened. But I did...it's very sad but we move on.
I can go on and on and on explaining all the great things my sister did for me, and how much she impacted my life...but I don't think I really need to go into many details. I just sorta want to let everyone know that it really feels weird sometimes. I'm over the grief and mourning but there's always gonna be a part of me that's missing. Not missing, but... what's the word -- retired, or something like that. You can always think about it but can never go back. Although I really really want to get that old trailor back when I get older :)
I dunno. It just seems very strange without my sister. Little things.
Like when the phone rings I always think it's Donna. Or when my parents are gone I think they are at her house. It's really weird. At least I don't have to hear her complain that I eat like a primate anymore :) Strange.
You know -- it's like I've been set alone to fend for myself -- to go on with life knowing that you no longer have someone looking over your shoulder. Bad analogy, but you get my point. My sister was like, the first person I could talk to if I had any problems and now -- it's like I sorta have to either solve them myself or look elsewhere. I really don't know what that means, but anyways...
It's like a part of you (or your life) that's missing after knowing it for so long. The last time something like that happened was when I moved away from the trailor in Sandusky 7 years ago. You still think about it all the time. You still remember all the great times and memories. You still have dreams of the past, and how much different it was back then. It was good.
It was bad. But it was a part of your life. And no one can change that.
I guess the toughest part to understand is how full of life my sister was just a few months ago. Actually, up until the last couple weeks you would never know she had any problems whatsoever. It all happened so fast. It's like I don't even realize what just happened. But I did...it's very sad but we move on.
I can go on and on and on explaining all the great things my sister did for me, and how much she impacted my life...but I don't think I really need to go into many details. I just sorta want to let everyone know that it really feels weird sometimes. I'm over the grief and mourning but there's always gonna be a part of me that's missing. Not missing, but... what's the word -- retired, or something like that. You can always think about it but can never go back. Although I really really want to get that old trailor back when I get older :)
Things I have learned
Well then...there once was a boy gone away from society for 4 straight days.
He was once again placed into the stir of everyday city life and wondered where all the cowboys had gone. Paula Cole was there with her arms wide open, although Scott Stapp and the rest of Creed were stranded on the distant island of Asia Minor.
--OK -- this is NOT where I want this e-mail to go -- :)
Anyways, I'll make this one fun but I'll have to cut down on the insanity a couple notches. If you live in a cave, or have been away from your computer for the last few days, I'll break the news to you now -- I went camping this weekend for 4 days. FOUR DAYS!!! That's 4 days in the middle of nowhere stranded with no amenities of the usual lifestyle I lead. That meant -- NO ZA couch, ZA computer network (although I was able to bring my laptop :), NO um...that's about it.
Although being away certainly has it's upsides. It feels great just to get away from everything for awhile and just relax and practice some spiritual exercises. I did a lot of golfing too. A LOT of golfing. It's fine for the first 3 or 4 hours everyday until the allergies really start to kick in.
Then the constant itching of the poison ivy really gets to you and you're left swinging a 9-iron with nothing to think about except how far away the medicine cabinet is. Do not fear -- stink is here. She likes it out there because she can find lots of animal friends to play with and eat.
I like to eat too. I had lots and lots and LOTS and lots of chicken. It seemed like chicken was EVERYWHERE. And then there was the ice cream shop.
I ate a lot of ice cream too. Now I am fat. Actually, I'm lucky if I weigh 140 but still. Then there's always the heaping bowls of Kellog's Sugar corn POPS every morning. Along with mother's homemade pancakes. PANCAKES IS READY!
When I was tired I slept. When I was bored I listened to music or watched Family Guy or South Park episodes. My bro wanted to watch Beavis and Butthead but I wasn't able to burn them onto CD in time before we left. Oh well. I tried to watch Gladiator but the CD didn't work in this laptop. Oh well. Oh yeah -- I attempted fishing too, but didn't get a bite except for when I first dropped the pole in. Just my luck. Grr.
Golf carts are fun to ride, as well as mopeds and cushmans. I should become a professional golf cart driver or something. It could be fun. I also played Final Fantasy 2 on ZSNES. I probably should have written something cool but I never had the need to. Whatever. I just really enjoyed everything and am glad to be back after such a long time.
-Chris A. Czaplicki
He was once again placed into the stir of everyday city life and wondered where all the cowboys had gone. Paula Cole was there with her arms wide open, although Scott Stapp and the rest of Creed were stranded on the distant island of Asia Minor.
--OK -- this is NOT where I want this e-mail to go -- :)
Anyways, I'll make this one fun but I'll have to cut down on the insanity a couple notches. If you live in a cave, or have been away from your computer for the last few days, I'll break the news to you now -- I went camping this weekend for 4 days. FOUR DAYS!!! That's 4 days in the middle of nowhere stranded with no amenities of the usual lifestyle I lead. That meant -- NO ZA couch, ZA computer network (although I was able to bring my laptop :), NO um...that's about it.
Although being away certainly has it's upsides. It feels great just to get away from everything for awhile and just relax and practice some spiritual exercises. I did a lot of golfing too. A LOT of golfing. It's fine for the first 3 or 4 hours everyday until the allergies really start to kick in.
Then the constant itching of the poison ivy really gets to you and you're left swinging a 9-iron with nothing to think about except how far away the medicine cabinet is. Do not fear -- stink is here. She likes it out there because she can find lots of animal friends to play with and eat.
I like to eat too. I had lots and lots and LOTS and lots of chicken. It seemed like chicken was EVERYWHERE. And then there was the ice cream shop.
I ate a lot of ice cream too. Now I am fat. Actually, I'm lucky if I weigh 140 but still. Then there's always the heaping bowls of Kellog's Sugar corn POPS every morning. Along with mother's homemade pancakes. PANCAKES IS READY!
When I was tired I slept. When I was bored I listened to music or watched Family Guy or South Park episodes. My bro wanted to watch Beavis and Butthead but I wasn't able to burn them onto CD in time before we left. Oh well. I tried to watch Gladiator but the CD didn't work in this laptop. Oh well. Oh yeah -- I attempted fishing too, but didn't get a bite except for when I first dropped the pole in. Just my luck. Grr.
Golf carts are fun to ride, as well as mopeds and cushmans. I should become a professional golf cart driver or something. It could be fun. I also played Final Fantasy 2 on ZSNES. I probably should have written something cool but I never had the need to. Whatever. I just really enjoyed everything and am glad to be back after such a long time.
-Chris A. Czaplicki
Tuesday, June 5, 2001
Senior class PADUA ratings :)
Senior year at Padua. Where every day you looked forward to seeing everybody in class and studies went on the backburner... Can you say...senioritus??? Yeah, I think so. My amazing GPA combined with really dull classes caused for some interesting things.
For the very most part, all my senior classes sucked big time. It sometimes really makes you wonder if that $5,000/yr was really worth it. I had some of the most unprofessional, idiotic teachers that have ever roamed this earth. They did not make me study. They did not make me work. They dumbed everyone down since no one had any motiviation to do ANYTHING causing those who WANTED to learn to fall in the same trap.
Socially, I don't think anyone can disagree that senior year was the best by far. It was the final destination on which everything had built on for the past 3 years. And that in itself made everything all the better.
Semester 1
1st/2nd Period Physics w/Mr. Laret - F
This class almost single-handedly makes me have a negative attitude toward Padua and their mission statement. There is ABSOLUTELY NO FUCKING REASON MR. LARET HAD ANY RIGHT TO TEACH THAT CLASS. He did not know shit. He spent 2 class periods trying to figure out a problem it took me less than a minute to do. We did not learn a thing in there. He did not teach. The class was outright dumb. It was a joke. It was everything you want a class NOT to be. After the first quarter or so I totally gave up on trying to learn, so I just went ahead and independently studied the rest of the book while everyone else was on Chapter 2. I didn't do any homework, I just pretty much showed up and was only awake for tests. And I still passed with not much of a problem. I gave about 1% effort. There was absolutely no reason to put forth any effort when the instructor doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground. And the worst part is, i'm inherently strong in math and therefore i'm pretty strong in physics. Which means I had the potential to learn so much more than what I was offered. Hay Padua -- stop spending $100k/yr on your stupid asphalt parking lot and start hiring REAL teachers that actually give a shit.
3rd Period Calculus w/Mr. Kohuth - B
Genius. That's my name, and it was my motivating factor when I really started slacking in that class. I had something to prove to Kohuth and I did so. He taught the class fairly well and he picked on the football players more than anyone else. So he left me alone until he started calling me 'Genius' because one day I didn't show work for my homework answers. So after that I had to make sure I actually gave some effort. It worked, and I have to say I learned quite a bit in that class. Now, to find a use for all that knowledge!!!
4th Period Business Principles/Entrepreneurship w/Mrs. Gathers - B I am born to run my own business, so this class was a cakewalk. Mrs.
Gathers was really nice, and we did some cool things in there. Class size was small too. The only problem was, this class didn't really teach me anything I didn't already know. I know it wasn't an "honors" course but I would think that Padua should have some higher standards for academic content. This is one of those classes that was "dumbed down" because most of the students had only average intelligence. I don't want to sound all "smarty-pants" or something but WTF - my parents spent $5k to send me here and I get this? You gotta be kidding me.
5th/6th Period Advanced Computer Topics w/Mrs. Fatica - B+ Computer classes are cool. Special classes for the top computer science students is even better. We worked on cool topics such as Visual Basic and Hardware and Powerpoint and stuff. The only problem was that the class was dominated by a couple loudmouths (I won't mention any names) and some of us didn't get the attention we deserved. But that's only a minor gripe. Mrs.
Fatica isn't the best computer teacher by a long shot, but at least she was adequate (and a much better replacement for Mr. Hicks :)
8th/9th Period British Literature w/Mrs. Wonnacott - B- Another round with Wonnie -- began w/Beowulf, continued on with Cantebury tales and finished off with Frankenstein. A very adequate class for those who gave a shit about learning. I was about 50/50 (senior factor creeping in here) but I really enjoyed a large portion of this class, even though it was English :) But I learned a lot of stuff that helped me on quiz team and I did fairly decent (even though I didn't do much homework at all) but it didn't really matter. This class was seriously dumbed-down since the class was full of dunces and everyone had to pass somehow.
10th Period Lifestyles w/Mr. Stec - A-
Ok -- maybe Senior year classes weren't *THAT* bad. Some teachers actually accept lower pay to have the opportunity to teach bright young stars. And Mr. Stec was certainly one of them. He made this class what it was meant to be -- educational and spiritual, both at the same time. A psychologist by trade, Mr. Stec understood the needs of the students and knew how to keep our attention. And we learned quite a lot too...stuff I could remember.
That was amazing. Padua needs more teachers like him.
Semester 2 - TOTAL SLACK OFF SEMESTER WITH A CUMULATIVE 2.563 GPA (2.23 4th quarter :)
4th Period Social Justice w/Mr. Keavy - A- Remember how I gave Keavy's class like, a D in sophomore year? It's amazing what a change in attitude will do for a class. In my 2 years between the two classes, I grew to learn a couple things. First, I went to school to LEARN. And second, Mr. Keavy was there to make us LEARN. And I had a desire to LEARN and to UNDERSTAND. I never previously thought I could associate with Keavy, but in all honesty, we both have the very same attitude and personality. And his favorite musical artist is Peter Gabriel too!
10th Period Government w/Mrs. Pfingsten - D Another class that puts a HORRIBLE taste in my mouth. But it was probably my fault more than anything. Second semester I had absolutely no desire to do any kind of work whatsoever. Sure, I'll write a 12-page paper for Keavy but for Lady Pfingsten? Nah. I'll pass. I'll just sit tight at my desk and draw pictures of Jen Braat on the Witches Wheel and show them to Lisa and Pam across from me. And that was the saving grace of the class -- I had a lot of friends in there, so it doesn't get an F. But it would've been nicer if I had them in a better class. Government is boring. Pfingsten is boring. She wasn't a hard teacher, but she was totally disgustingly boring.
I don't enjoy boring classes.
11th Period Photography w/Mrs. Horton - B+ Horton is great. She's upbeat and fun and all-around a good teacher. I really enjoyed that class and I sat next to John Humphrey and we had philisophical discussion a lot. That was fun. I learned how to make pictures too, which was a lot of fun. In fact, it was more than fun -- you could do 0% work and still enjoy the class and get a good grade. You could do 100% work and still enjoy the class and get a good grade. It didn't matter what attitude you took into that class -- you came out with a smile on your face!
So long and have a wonderful day!
-Chris A. Czaplicki
For the very most part, all my senior classes sucked big time. It sometimes really makes you wonder if that $5,000/yr was really worth it. I had some of the most unprofessional, idiotic teachers that have ever roamed this earth. They did not make me study. They did not make me work. They dumbed everyone down since no one had any motiviation to do ANYTHING causing those who WANTED to learn to fall in the same trap.
Socially, I don't think anyone can disagree that senior year was the best by far. It was the final destination on which everything had built on for the past 3 years. And that in itself made everything all the better.
Semester 1
1st/2nd Period Physics w/Mr. Laret - F
This class almost single-handedly makes me have a negative attitude toward Padua and their mission statement. There is ABSOLUTELY NO FUCKING REASON MR. LARET HAD ANY RIGHT TO TEACH THAT CLASS. He did not know shit. He spent 2 class periods trying to figure out a problem it took me less than a minute to do. We did not learn a thing in there. He did not teach. The class was outright dumb. It was a joke. It was everything you want a class NOT to be. After the first quarter or so I totally gave up on trying to learn, so I just went ahead and independently studied the rest of the book while everyone else was on Chapter 2. I didn't do any homework, I just pretty much showed up and was only awake for tests. And I still passed with not much of a problem. I gave about 1% effort. There was absolutely no reason to put forth any effort when the instructor doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground. And the worst part is, i'm inherently strong in math and therefore i'm pretty strong in physics. Which means I had the potential to learn so much more than what I was offered. Hay Padua -- stop spending $100k/yr on your stupid asphalt parking lot and start hiring REAL teachers that actually give a shit.
3rd Period Calculus w/Mr. Kohuth - B
Genius. That's my name, and it was my motivating factor when I really started slacking in that class. I had something to prove to Kohuth and I did so. He taught the class fairly well and he picked on the football players more than anyone else. So he left me alone until he started calling me 'Genius' because one day I didn't show work for my homework answers. So after that I had to make sure I actually gave some effort. It worked, and I have to say I learned quite a bit in that class. Now, to find a use for all that knowledge!!!
4th Period Business Principles/Entrepreneurship w/Mrs. Gathers - B I am born to run my own business, so this class was a cakewalk. Mrs.
Gathers was really nice, and we did some cool things in there. Class size was small too. The only problem was, this class didn't really teach me anything I didn't already know. I know it wasn't an "honors" course but I would think that Padua should have some higher standards for academic content. This is one of those classes that was "dumbed down" because most of the students had only average intelligence. I don't want to sound all "smarty-pants" or something but WTF - my parents spent $5k to send me here and I get this? You gotta be kidding me.
5th/6th Period Advanced Computer Topics w/Mrs. Fatica - B+ Computer classes are cool. Special classes for the top computer science students is even better. We worked on cool topics such as Visual Basic and Hardware and Powerpoint and stuff. The only problem was that the class was dominated by a couple loudmouths (I won't mention any names) and some of us didn't get the attention we deserved. But that's only a minor gripe. Mrs.
Fatica isn't the best computer teacher by a long shot, but at least she was adequate (and a much better replacement for Mr. Hicks :)
8th/9th Period British Literature w/Mrs. Wonnacott - B- Another round with Wonnie -- began w/Beowulf, continued on with Cantebury tales and finished off with Frankenstein. A very adequate class for those who gave a shit about learning. I was about 50/50 (senior factor creeping in here) but I really enjoyed a large portion of this class, even though it was English :) But I learned a lot of stuff that helped me on quiz team and I did fairly decent (even though I didn't do much homework at all) but it didn't really matter. This class was seriously dumbed-down since the class was full of dunces and everyone had to pass somehow.
10th Period Lifestyles w/Mr. Stec - A-
Ok -- maybe Senior year classes weren't *THAT* bad. Some teachers actually accept lower pay to have the opportunity to teach bright young stars. And Mr. Stec was certainly one of them. He made this class what it was meant to be -- educational and spiritual, both at the same time. A psychologist by trade, Mr. Stec understood the needs of the students and knew how to keep our attention. And we learned quite a lot too...stuff I could remember.
That was amazing. Padua needs more teachers like him.
Semester 2 - TOTAL SLACK OFF SEMESTER WITH A CUMULATIVE 2.563 GPA (2.23 4th quarter :)
4th Period Social Justice w/Mr. Keavy - A- Remember how I gave Keavy's class like, a D in sophomore year? It's amazing what a change in attitude will do for a class. In my 2 years between the two classes, I grew to learn a couple things. First, I went to school to LEARN. And second, Mr. Keavy was there to make us LEARN. And I had a desire to LEARN and to UNDERSTAND. I never previously thought I could associate with Keavy, but in all honesty, we both have the very same attitude and personality. And his favorite musical artist is Peter Gabriel too!
10th Period Government w/Mrs. Pfingsten - D Another class that puts a HORRIBLE taste in my mouth. But it was probably my fault more than anything. Second semester I had absolutely no desire to do any kind of work whatsoever. Sure, I'll write a 12-page paper for Keavy but for Lady Pfingsten? Nah. I'll pass. I'll just sit tight at my desk and draw pictures of Jen Braat on the Witches Wheel and show them to Lisa and Pam across from me. And that was the saving grace of the class -- I had a lot of friends in there, so it doesn't get an F. But it would've been nicer if I had them in a better class. Government is boring. Pfingsten is boring. She wasn't a hard teacher, but she was totally disgustingly boring.
I don't enjoy boring classes.
11th Period Photography w/Mrs. Horton - B+ Horton is great. She's upbeat and fun and all-around a good teacher. I really enjoyed that class and I sat next to John Humphrey and we had philisophical discussion a lot. That was fun. I learned how to make pictures too, which was a lot of fun. In fact, it was more than fun -- you could do 0% work and still enjoy the class and get a good grade. You could do 100% work and still enjoy the class and get a good grade. It didn't matter what attitude you took into that class -- you came out with a smile on your face!
So long and have a wonderful day!
-Chris A. Czaplicki
Saturday, June 2, 2001
Third class fun (you know this one's gonna be good :)
Just think of the movie Titanic and the third-class recreation area. Ok this e-mail has gone downhill already, even if it was as low as it could possibly be before even writing anything. I could ask you to think of Moulon Rouge :) Even if I do think it's a cool idea to have a sort of modern-day musical thingy. Yeah, you can just disregard any comment I make just be sure to have a better one in your defense!
So here I am...relaxing and maybe accomplishing a couple personal tasks.
Such as listening to Britney Cleary's "IM Me" for the next 3 hours straight.
And trying to install RedHat Linux 6.0 for the 3rd time unsuccessfully.
Great. Seems like I'm wasting time but it's good for me to get my bearings back and everything, even if it means I have to go through countless hours of agony watching endless re-runs of Family Matters. Whatever that meant, I'm not quite sure myself. Maybe I really should be doing more than smacking around hundreds of Undead Scavengers in Diablo II. My Amazon needs a rest, but her bow is more unstoppable the Bill clinton's...um intern girl.
Big deal. So what, I've got nothing better to do than to write to everyone.
What's wrong with that? I've gone through a tough week and just want to sit back and enjoy some of the things that usually put a smile in my face.
Unfortunately, this includes all the stuff you usually don't associate "ZA"
with. Like brushing a hippo's teeth or cleaning up after a shark feeding frenzy. Hopefully we'll all be able to breathe a sigh of relief once I get done rotating my ceiling tiles and alphabetize the books in my basement here. If you think I'm joking about any of this I suggest you watch the Weather Channel for 6 hours straight and tape it on VHS and watch the tape over again. Then you will feel what it is to be like me. And after that you can go ahead build a six-story card house out of all the flashcards you have accumulated through your school years.
Just when you thought it was safe to come out, your insatiable hunger for brick cheese causes you to fetch an empty Pepsi cube to pluck feathers from the nearest chicken in sight. That is the sound of a newborn world...a light from a curious sky. It has begun. You're in the hands of destiny. A destiny which is as unpredictable as Christina Aguilera has points of dignity. I really don't know what that means but I think it has something to do with the rate that moose migrate to the northwest every March and have animal fun with other mooseses. Animal fun, that's all you need to have a party larger than life. No Backstreet Boys included, but highly recommended. I heard they enjoy animal fun as well. Well, that's relatively unimportant, compared to my dog's desire to disembowel the largest rodent on this side of the Milky Way. But stink has her own qualities as a member of the canine family...she likes to bark and howl and go nuts when the mailman comes. The first time I wore my baseball umpire uniform she almost attacked me. Do they really think those cartoons are real with the dogcatchers and everything? I don't know. How else could you explain the fact that dogs explicitly have negative vibes to those wearing blue uniforms.
I bet it would be sort of fun just to hang out and enjoy walks on warm, sandy beaches. Yeah, it would be good if only I could remember not to forget my sunglasses at my friends house. But really chicks dig those who dig themselves. Literally. I once dug a really big hole and crawled in it.
But when it rained it was really cold and wet and soon lots of fish joined me and I felt like a seagull. Was I to blame? Probably not...I guess I learned a valuable lesson from all of it. I have learned many lessons in life, one of which was not to pilfer snausages from the neighbor dogs. I should've known better, but it took some 25 1/2 lacerations on my lower extremities before I grew to realize that rabid animals are evil. It's funny that I never contracted rabies...I guess it may have been because it was only in a dream, and nothing really happens in dreams. Dreams. Some are absolutely strange, and others are just plain disturbing. My sister once had a dream that she was pushing me around in a shopping cart on a nude beach. Geez the mind games. I've had stranger dreams though...and they do involve farm animals so I don't care to elaborate. Ok fine I've broken down already. I lied, there were no incidents with farm animals. Just really fat people. Fat women to be exact. I am not a cannibal. I am also not a beached whale. I may harpoon a beached whale. Yeah that sounds like fun.
This is your brain. This is your brain on ZA. Any questions? I sure have many to ask myself, and I'm sure everyone else has plenty of them as well.
No real surprise there, though considering most of my topics in the last 18 months have had to do with naming me after a food and an earthly substance (rocks). Great...what do I have to look forward to next...if you call me ZA why don't you just eat me? If you were ZA and you were hungry, would you eat yourself? I know I would. And I'm hungry right now :)
No you don't have to worry I am NOT going to devour myself. I think I already mentioned I was not a cannibal...I can't remember and I'm definitely not gonna look back in the jumbled mess I've already written to find the truth. Just everyone have fun and stuff and keep smiling because there is a little ZA in all of us! And that you can't deny!
Ok it's time for me to sleep I think...
-The magnificent ZaRocks
So here I am...relaxing and maybe accomplishing a couple personal tasks.
Such as listening to Britney Cleary's "IM Me" for the next 3 hours straight.
And trying to install RedHat Linux 6.0 for the 3rd time unsuccessfully.
Great. Seems like I'm wasting time but it's good for me to get my bearings back and everything, even if it means I have to go through countless hours of agony watching endless re-runs of Family Matters. Whatever that meant, I'm not quite sure myself. Maybe I really should be doing more than smacking around hundreds of Undead Scavengers in Diablo II. My Amazon needs a rest, but her bow is more unstoppable the Bill clinton's...um
Big deal. So what, I've got nothing better to do than to write to everyone.
What's wrong with that? I've gone through a tough week and just want to sit back and enjoy some of the things that usually put a smile in my face.
Unfortunately, this includes all the stuff you usually don't associate "ZA"
with. Like brushing a hippo's teeth or cleaning up after a shark feeding frenzy. Hopefully we'll all be able to breathe a sigh of relief once I get done rotating my ceiling tiles and alphabetize the books in my basement here. If you think I'm joking about any of this I suggest you watch the Weather Channel for 6 hours straight and tape it on VHS and watch the tape over again. Then you will feel what it is to be like me. And after that you can go ahead build a six-story card house out of all the flashcards you have accumulated through your school years.
Just when you thought it was safe to come out, your insatiable hunger for brick cheese causes you to fetch an empty Pepsi cube to pluck feathers from the nearest chicken in sight. That is the sound of a newborn world...a light from a curious sky. It has begun. You're in the hands of destiny. A destiny which is as unpredictable as Christina Aguilera has points of dignity. I really don't know what that means but I think it has something to do with the rate that moose migrate to the northwest every March and have animal fun with other mooseses. Animal fun, that's all you need to have a party larger than life. No Backstreet Boys included, but highly recommended. I heard they enjoy animal fun as well. Well, that's relatively unimportant, compared to my dog's desire to disembowel the largest rodent on this side of the Milky Way. But stink has her own qualities as a member of the canine family...she likes to bark and howl and go nuts when the mailman comes. The first time I wore my baseball umpire uniform she almost attacked me. Do they really think those cartoons are real with the dogcatchers and everything? I don't know. How else could you explain the fact that dogs explicitly have negative vibes to those wearing blue uniforms.
I bet it would be sort of fun just to hang out and enjoy walks on warm, sandy beaches. Yeah, it would be good if only I could remember not to forget my sunglasses at my friends house. But really chicks dig those who dig themselves. Literally. I once dug a really big hole and crawled in it.
But when it rained it was really cold and wet and soon lots of fish joined me and I felt like a seagull. Was I to blame? Probably not...I guess I learned a valuable lesson from all of it. I have learned many lessons in life, one of which was not to pilfer snausages from the neighbor dogs. I should've known better, but it took some 25 1/2 lacerations on my lower extremities before I grew to realize that rabid animals are evil. It's funny that I never contracted rabies...I guess it may have been because it was only in a dream, and nothing really happens in dreams. Dreams. Some are absolutely strange, and others are just plain disturbing. My sister once had a dream that she was pushing me around in a shopping cart on a nude beach. Geez the mind games. I've had stranger dreams though...and they do involve farm animals so I don't care to elaborate. Ok fine I've broken down already. I lied, there were no incidents with farm animals. Just really fat people. Fat women to be exact. I am not a cannibal. I am also not a beached whale. I may harpoon a beached whale. Yeah that sounds like fun.
This is your brain. This is your brain on ZA. Any questions? I sure have many to ask myself, and I'm sure everyone else has plenty of them as well.
No real surprise there, though considering most of my topics in the last 18 months have had to do with naming me after a food and an earthly substance (rocks). Great...what do I have to look forward to next...if you call me ZA why don't you just eat me? If you were ZA and you were hungry, would you eat yourself? I know I would. And I'm hungry right now :)
No you don't have to worry I am NOT going to devour myself. I think I already mentioned I was not a cannibal...I can't remember and I'm definitely not gonna look back in the jumbled mess I've already written to find the truth. Just everyone have fun and stuff and keep smiling because there is a little ZA in all of us! And that you can't deny!
Ok it's time for me to sleep I think...
-The magnificent ZaRocks
Thursday, May 31, 2001
Camping fun v2.0
Ok...now I can think of happy thoughts :)
Hey guys...wanna have fun? I have the perscription for your fever. Oh yes, you guessed it...a long, relaxing day or weekend or somethin' at the ZA camper. Yes, you are correct. It is phun among other things. Strobe light not included, but highly recommended...er, whatever.
Well, anyways I don't have any definitive schedule for this summer yet, but I'd like to get a good idea of when I could set up some sorta days, etc.
that I could have some friends to come visit. I'll probably be mentioning it quite a bit when I see/talk to you people since it's a great experience no one should miss out on.
Ok...C y'all later
-ZAZAZAZAZAZAZAZA master ZAZA master ZAZAZAZAZA
Hey guys...wanna have fun? I have the perscription for your fever. Oh yes, you guessed it...a long, relaxing day or weekend or somethin' at the ZA camper. Yes, you are correct. It is phun among other things. Strobe light not included, but highly recommended...er, whatever.
Well, anyways I don't have any definitive schedule for this summer yet, but I'd like to get a good idea of when I could set up some sorta days, etc.
that I could have some friends to come visit. I'll probably be mentioning it quite a bit when I see/talk to you people since it's a great experience no one should miss out on.
Ok...C y'all later
-ZAZAZAZAZAZAZAZA master ZAZA master ZAZAZAZAZA
Friday, May 25, 2001
Junior Year PADUA Ratings!!!
Ok -- here's the biggie. Junior year. The year that everything happened.
Still today I remember Junior Year like it was just yesterday. What else can I say??? My classes were the greatest too. Let's take a look shall we?
SEMESTER 1
1st Period US History with Mr. Pizon - C+ Looking back, this class wasn't that great but at least I was pretty much able to sleep through it while getting A's. The material that we covered was at least somewhat interesting (I like history) but because of the sheer fact that we moved SO SLOWLY combined with the strangling stench of Pizon's BO (yeah, I sat RIGHT where he usually stood to teach) things could have been just a *little* bit better. But really, it was a class that never really annoyed me and I breezed through it.
2nd Period HONORS German III with Mr. Uhrin - D What was this class? Even I don't know. Mr. Uhrin was an INSANE CLOWN. We did not learn a lick of German. We just sat there like Zombies and listened to him say the same things OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER again. Most classes he allowed gave us a free study hall. The only shining moments were those that we got to watch the Falco videos, which were quickly becoming popular at the newly-crowned Za Shack. Bah. The fact that I was in HONORS was a joke. There was absolutely NO DIFFERENCE in the Honors and Regular class. None of them were taught any Deutsch. Bah.
3rd Period American Literature with Mrs. Wonnacott - B The VERY FIRST English class that I actually had an appreciation for literature, due to my personality change during the course of Junior year.
And this class was pretty easy too. Although I will never look forward to taking and English class, it was the first time I didn't despise it. Mrs.
Wonnacott was a good teacher, and I have to admit I learned a great deal. I got a lot of good vibes from stuff like the Gatsby book (which I hated) and I still enjoyed making the video for it. The fact that I had a new-found "thirst for knowledge" made things pass much more quickly.
4th Period Christian Morality with Mr. Gressock - A- I loved this class. This was a semi-philosphy class and it really introduced me to a lot of philisophical concepts. Mr. Gressock was a great teacher too. I really enjoyed all the topics we covered, and I did really well overall in the class. I remember we sat in groups of 4 and I was friends with everyone in the group. And the topics we covered were so interesting. What I remember most was the Enneagram personality tests we did (I still remember all 9 of the personalities) and by studying that I really learned A LOT about myself and allowed me to realize my personality shift that was occuring at the exact same time.
5th/6th Period Art Awareness with Mrs. Horton - A This class was the center of my personality shift. Before I took this class I HATED art, but I looked forward to every single class I took. I sat next to Geoff and we both had the greatest time. The Garden of Love by Pieter Paul Reubens is the greatest painting ever. While it's true I do appreicate the figures of veluptuous women in baroque period art, I DO NOT have a thing for overweight women. Let me make that PERFECTLY CLEAR to everyone. Ok enuff of that. Sister Wendy was cool. I love art history. It's a part of me that never was before then.
8th/9th Period Pre-Calculus with Mr. Cohen - B I got a "D" and dropped the class and I still rate it a B. How could I do such a thing? Because Cohen's class was probably the most informative, challenging class I had ever taken. And Mr. Cohen was also the quiz team moderator so he incorporated a lot of that stuff into class such as "Friday Trivia Day". It was great having so many friends in there, and I just remember Joe grading my "blank homework paper" every day and putting weird comments on it. Yes it's true -- I was INCREDIBLY LAZY in that class and I was always behind, which ultimately caused me to drop the class after the first semester. Oh well, who cares. It was a great experience.
10th/11th Period Chemistry with Doc. Munson - A+ Yes, this is it. The GREATEST class I ever took at Padua. Not only did I have some of the best friends in here, but the academic content of this class was far above and beyond anything I have ever taken. The best part was, my friends helped me study and get our projects done. Projects? Yes there were many. You may remember the greatest ZA production of ALL TIME - The Sphere Video!!! And though others may not see it as that significant, it was the single most life-changing event ever for me. Not because I acted weird and dressed up as a giant squid, but it would be the beginning of the pizza and pop-filled gatherings we know better as ZaFests. Yes, this WAS it. Going back to chemistry...that class was TOUGH! I studied like crazy and was only able to muster a C average (although I did miss like, 15% of my homework so that probably says why I only got 80% in that class). Be that as it may, it's the only class that I can honestly admit I was challenged in. And the feeling of being challenged is great, especially for someone like me. And I know this class had influenced so many other people, since many of my friends are Chemistry majors. Well Doc Dave, you did a superb job!
SECOND SEMESTER
4th Period Sacraments with Fr. Tony - B+ Going into Junior year I thought I was getting Fr. Dan but instead halfway through the 2nd quarter my class received word that classes were switched!!!
Woohoo!!! I think it was cool...although in all honesty I can't really say I learned anything in the class. But who cares? It was an ANIMAL HOUSE in a year that was incredibly difficult for me. What can I say? We watched like, 5 movies in there including Blues Brothers, Starship Troopers and Animal House. Father Tony was hilarious, and he was always in a great mood.
5th/6th Period PASCAL Programming with Mrs. Fatica - B Yes, another computer class. It would've been better if we learned a computer language that was halfway useful. Really, who programs in Pascal?
But I guess that really wasn't in issue. I like computers, therefore I enjoyed the class. Enough said. Mrs. Fatica isn't a bad teacher, but I would have liked to have had better, especially in my field. Oh well, I guess you can't always get what you want. Whatever.
8th/9th Period Math Anal(ysis) with Mr. Leigh - D I say Math Anal because that's exactly what it was - ANAL. We covered stuff I had already learned in previous classes (although knowing EVERYTHING covered in the class isn't necessarily a BAD THING) but the fact that it was really annoying. Then there were some real jerks in the class (seniors).
Combine it all together and it wasn't a very good experience for me, but at least I was able to pull much better grades than in Cohen's class.
11th Period STUDY HALL with Joe, Lisa, Kim, Linda, Angie, Geoff and any others I may have (unintentionally) missed - A+++++++++++
This was totally awesome!!!!! I just have to say that. Mrs. George let us talk all we wanted and we had so much to say. That was great! I liked looking at the Sister Wendy book. I know everyone thinks I'm weird for doing so but guess what -- no one ever said I'm a normal one-dimensional person! Wow this was cool! WOW!
Well, that's it -- a really cool year with so much cool stuff happening. It was the beginning of my adulthood. And I really enjoyed it. I just wish I had my drivers license at the time :)
Senior year is next. My final year at Padua continued right where Junior year left off. I never missed a step. But that's for another day. Until next time, take care of yourself...and each other!
-Chris A. Czaplicki
Still today I remember Junior Year like it was just yesterday. What else can I say??? My classes were the greatest too. Let's take a look shall we?
SEMESTER 1
1st Period US History with Mr. Pizon - C+ Looking back, this class wasn't that great but at least I was pretty much able to sleep through it while getting A's. The material that we covered was at least somewhat interesting (I like history) but because of the sheer fact that we moved SO SLOWLY combined with the strangling stench of Pizon's BO (yeah, I sat RIGHT where he usually stood to teach) things could have been just a *little* bit better. But really, it was a class that never really annoyed me and I breezed through it.
2nd Period HONORS German III with Mr. Uhrin - D What was this class? Even I don't know. Mr. Uhrin was an INSANE CLOWN. We did not learn a lick of German. We just sat there like Zombies and listened to him say the same things OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER again. Most classes he allowed gave us a free study hall. The only shining moments were those that we got to watch the Falco videos, which were quickly becoming popular at the newly-crowned Za Shack. Bah. The fact that I was in HONORS was a joke. There was absolutely NO DIFFERENCE in the Honors and Regular class. None of them were taught any Deutsch. Bah.
3rd Period American Literature with Mrs. Wonnacott - B The VERY FIRST English class that I actually had an appreciation for literature, due to my personality change during the course of Junior year.
And this class was pretty easy too. Although I will never look forward to taking and English class, it was the first time I didn't despise it. Mrs.
Wonnacott was a good teacher, and I have to admit I learned a great deal. I got a lot of good vibes from stuff like the Gatsby book (which I hated) and I still enjoyed making the video for it. The fact that I had a new-found "thirst for knowledge" made things pass much more quickly.
4th Period Christian Morality with Mr. Gressock - A- I loved this class. This was a semi-philosphy class and it really introduced me to a lot of philisophical concepts. Mr. Gressock was a great teacher too. I really enjoyed all the topics we covered, and I did really well overall in the class. I remember we sat in groups of 4 and I was friends with everyone in the group. And the topics we covered were so interesting. What I remember most was the Enneagram personality tests we did (I still remember all 9 of the personalities) and by studying that I really learned A LOT about myself and allowed me to realize my personality shift that was occuring at the exact same time.
5th/6th Period Art Awareness with Mrs. Horton - A This class was the center of my personality shift. Before I took this class I HATED art, but I looked forward to every single class I took. I sat next to Geoff and we both had the greatest time. The Garden of Love by Pieter Paul Reubens is the greatest painting ever. While it's true I do appreicate the figures of veluptuous women in baroque period art, I DO NOT have a thing for overweight women. Let me make that PERFECTLY CLEAR to everyone. Ok enuff of that. Sister Wendy was cool. I love art history. It's a part of me that never was before then.
8th/9th Period Pre-Calculus with Mr. Cohen - B I got a "D" and dropped the class and I still rate it a B. How could I do such a thing? Because Cohen's class was probably the most informative, challenging class I had ever taken. And Mr. Cohen was also the quiz team moderator so he incorporated a lot of that stuff into class such as "Friday Trivia Day". It was great having so many friends in there, and I just remember Joe grading my "blank homework paper" every day and putting weird comments on it. Yes it's true -- I was INCREDIBLY LAZY in that class and I was always behind, which ultimately caused me to drop the class after the first semester. Oh well, who cares. It was a great experience.
10th/11th Period Chemistry with Doc. Munson - A+ Yes, this is it. The GREATEST class I ever took at Padua. Not only did I have some of the best friends in here, but the academic content of this class was far above and beyond anything I have ever taken. The best part was, my friends helped me study and get our projects done. Projects? Yes there were many. You may remember the greatest ZA production of ALL TIME - The Sphere Video!!! And though others may not see it as that significant, it was the single most life-changing event ever for me. Not because I acted weird and dressed up as a giant squid, but it would be the beginning of the pizza and pop-filled gatherings we know better as ZaFests. Yes, this WAS it. Going back to chemistry...that class was TOUGH! I studied like crazy and was only able to muster a C average (although I did miss like, 15% of my homework so that probably says why I only got 80% in that class). Be that as it may, it's the only class that I can honestly admit I was challenged in. And the feeling of being challenged is great, especially for someone like me. And I know this class had influenced so many other people, since many of my friends are Chemistry majors. Well Doc Dave, you did a superb job!
SECOND SEMESTER
4th Period Sacraments with Fr. Tony - B+ Going into Junior year I thought I was getting Fr. Dan but instead halfway through the 2nd quarter my class received word that classes were switched!!!
Woohoo!!! I think it was cool...although in all honesty I can't really say I learned anything in the class. But who cares? It was an ANIMAL HOUSE in a year that was incredibly difficult for me. What can I say? We watched like, 5 movies in there including Blues Brothers, Starship Troopers and Animal House. Father Tony was hilarious, and he was always in a great mood.
5th/6th Period PASCAL Programming with Mrs. Fatica - B Yes, another computer class. It would've been better if we learned a computer language that was halfway useful. Really, who programs in Pascal?
But I guess that really wasn't in issue. I like computers, therefore I enjoyed the class. Enough said. Mrs. Fatica isn't a bad teacher, but I would have liked to have had better, especially in my field. Oh well, I guess you can't always get what you want. Whatever.
8th/9th Period Math Anal(ysis) with Mr. Leigh - D I say Math Anal because that's exactly what it was - ANAL. We covered stuff I had already learned in previous classes (although knowing EVERYTHING covered in the class isn't necessarily a BAD THING) but the fact that it was really annoying. Then there were some real jerks in the class (seniors).
Combine it all together and it wasn't a very good experience for me, but at least I was able to pull much better grades than in Cohen's class.
11th Period STUDY HALL with Joe, Lisa, Kim, Linda, Angie, Geoff and any others I may have (unintentionally) missed - A+++++++++++
This was totally awesome!!!!! I just have to say that. Mrs. George let us talk all we wanted and we had so much to say. That was great! I liked looking at the Sister Wendy book. I know everyone thinks I'm weird for doing so but guess what -- no one ever said I'm a normal one-dimensional person! Wow this was cool! WOW!
Well, that's it -- a really cool year with so much cool stuff happening. It was the beginning of my adulthood. And I really enjoyed it. I just wish I had my drivers license at the time :)
Senior year is next. My final year at Padua continued right where Junior year left off. I never missed a step. But that's for another day. Until next time, take care of yourself...and each other!
-Chris A. Czaplicki
Friday, May 18, 2001
What to do NEXT?
Ok -- if I only knew what to do now? I'll explain the situation really quick...here it goes
I took my big computer certification test Wednesday...did really well on it (92% - far above the passing mark) so that's all good. That's great and everything, but now it's like -- I NEED A JOB!!! Ok...so I go home and update my resume and put it back out on the 'net and hopefully I can sit back and wait for phone calls. And then something else hit me like a ton of bricks late last night...
The work ain't over yet!!!
I really don't know how much everyone else can relate to what I'm trying to get into...perhaps because I'm already trying to start a career quicker than most everyone else I'm writing to here. But anyways just to be simple I'm looking for a job that's gonna pay a pretty fair amount. Before I was looking for *ANY* job but now I have to be more selective. And the toughest part is going to be figuring out what I *REALLY* want. So yesterday and today I looked at some career forums to try to get some advice, and the general consensus was that "Experience is most important". So really it dawned on me that it was most important just to get any sort of job that offered practical experience and was able to satisfy my little (if any) financial needs. Really...why am I looking for a $40 or $50K job at only 20 years old? I don't have a wife and 3 kids to support accompanied by a home mortgage. What I DO have is the desire to start my own business and I will
do everything possible to accomplish that goal. What does that mean??? I
really don't know to be honest with you. I'm content right now being a bum so whatever.
Another thing that came out of my readings yesterday...another certification!!! That's right -- I thought I'd stop here for now, but it seems as though I should move on as quickly as possible...especially with my potential. So guess what? Yes I'm gonna pick up another 800-page book tomorrow and start reading it cover to cover. There's no reason not to.
It's something I really enjoy and there's everything to gain. I still need a job, though. Hopefully that will occur sooner than later but at least I'm not out to claim millionaire status anymore. I just want to have fun and enjoy everything without having to worry about everything like some people do. I'm just glad I realized it now and unlike a lot of people, I'm not a slave to a number.
Oh yeah -- I wrote this little thing earlier today about how I'd really like to better express my writing talents and such. I may or may not scan and/or type it out since it's pretty much a letter to myself right now. We'll shall see.
Well, tomorrow it's off to the bookstore and maybe a ZaFest or two in the process. Until then, have phun and don't play with matches!
-Chris
I took my big computer certification test Wednesday...did really well on it (92% - far above the passing mark) so that's all good. That's great and everything, but now it's like -- I NEED A JOB!!! Ok...so I go home and update my resume and put it back out on the 'net and hopefully I can sit back and wait for phone calls. And then something else hit me like a ton of bricks late last night...
The work ain't over yet!!!
I really don't know how much everyone else can relate to what I'm trying to get into...perhaps because I'm already trying to start a career quicker than most everyone else I'm writing to here. But anyways just to be simple I'm looking for a job that's gonna pay a pretty fair amount. Before I was looking for *ANY* job but now I have to be more selective. And the toughest part is going to be figuring out what I *REALLY* want. So yesterday and today I looked at some career forums to try to get some advice, and the general consensus was that "Experience is most important". So really it dawned on me that it was most important just to get any sort of job that offered practical experience and was able to satisfy my little (if any) financial needs. Really...why am I looking for a $40 or $50K job at only 20 years old? I don't have a wife and 3 kids to support accompanied by a home mortgage. What I DO have is the desire to start my own business and I will
do everything possible to accomplish that goal. What does that mean??? I
really don't know to be honest with you. I'm content right now being a bum so whatever.
Another thing that came out of my readings yesterday...another certification!!! That's right -- I thought I'd stop here for now, but it seems as though I should move on as quickly as possible...especially with my potential. So guess what? Yes I'm gonna pick up another 800-page book tomorrow and start reading it cover to cover. There's no reason not to.
It's something I really enjoy and there's everything to gain. I still need a job, though. Hopefully that will occur sooner than later but at least I'm not out to claim millionaire status anymore. I just want to have fun and enjoy everything without having to worry about everything like some people do. I'm just glad I realized it now and unlike a lot of people, I'm not a slave to a number.
Oh yeah -- I wrote this little thing earlier today about how I'd really like to better express my writing talents and such. I may or may not scan and/or type it out since it's pretty much a letter to myself right now. We'll shall see.
Well, tomorrow it's off to the bookstore and maybe a ZaFest or two in the process. Until then, have phun and don't play with matches!
-Chris
ZA Analyzes...randomthoughts.jpg (partial)
Editor's note: the links is broken. Should be replaced soon!
<> This message was never completed...started it back at the beginning of March but never really had the energy to finish. And I think it's better left unfinished, so I'll just send what I have of it now:
You may have seen it...you might not have. I sent the link out over a month ago now on the page that I totally made up when I was up until like, 3:30 am with random thoughts. If you haven't seen it yet, go to http://www.cyberpalace.cc/randomthoughts.jpg
And here it goes:
-Chris A. Czaplicki (2 signatures, one with squiggle underneath) I like signing my name. One of those things that I think most of us like to do but really don't like to admit it (I could be wrong, but...). If nothing else you got a facsimile autograph...TWICE Oh yeah, the squiggle I used to use on my written ZA weekly's and the "Chris Czaplicki" analysis pages I wrote back in HS.
-Neil Diamond
My mom likes the music of Neil Diamond, or at least she played it sooo much when I was a child that the name got embedded into my brain at a very early age. Not good, especially when you accidentally get this fallacy that he was killed in the plane crash with Richie Valens, Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper.
-PANCAKES IS READY
Just a really funny line from a SNL commercial parody advertising "Uncle Jamima's Mash Liquor". It's actually said by the imitation Aunt Jamima as she slams her spoon and the fryin' pan like a gong in her ebonics tone.
Just hilarious!
-"That's Terrible"
A really worn-out quote introduced to me by Alex, originally used in the animated series "The Critic". The whole line goes..."Rosebud....YES Rosebud frozen peas. Full of country goodness and green pea-ness. Wait, That's Terrible, I QUIT!" It's way overused at ZaFests but still funny.
-You like that?
A sound bite from Unreal Tournament after you kill an enemy...adopted in human form by Alex and beaten into the ground.
-Balex loves Christ, but who does Chris love? ALENA!
Long story. Very long story, but I'll explain it nevertheless...
Back in Junior year when we had this quiz team event someone by the name of Joegags (I hope I'm not falsely accusing ya) got a hold of my backpack and wrote something on my shoulder strap. "Alex Chris" Anyways, I was keeping score at the board and Alex was next to Joe and promptly changed it to Alex Christ and then to eliminate anymore confusion put a B in front of Alex. Well Balex, we didn't eliminate any confusion, sorry to say
:)
...But who does Chris love came up when I wrote a ZA weekly later in Junior year before our weekend in Copley for quiz team. It was "10 things that will happen at regionals" One of them was "Balex loves Christ but who does Chris love? We'll find out Saturday". Well, after everything was over I was still undecided so I blurted out: ALENA -- the princess character from Nintendo's Dragon Warrior IV
-Bloody Nile
A misheard lyric from the end of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit. Correct lyric is "A Denial"
-I'm sailing away
Song lyric from Styx's "Come Sail Away". A good song, I like the music and I like the lyrics. I'd sing it all for ya at the next ZaFest but I won't.
-Are you done?
Something you hear me say all the time when I play magic or any other game in which we all take separate turns. I get a little restless and wonder what you are thinking and ask beligerrently...Are you done?
-UNCLE RALPHIE
My boss at the rink. That's what we call him and I have no idea why. 'nuff said there
-AND HIS BAND OF MERRY MEN
Partial subtitle in the Genesis 1972 epic "Supper's Ready". A good song...all 23 minutes of it!
-Sister Haaazel
Ok...for some reason Alex and Joe always say that for some odd reason, and I find myself doing it now too. I hit myself for being such a dolt.
-The really weird face or somethin'
I was NEVER a good artist. In fact, that thing I drew looks exactly like my artwork at age 4. Just shows how some talents never improve over the course of childhood.
-WHAZZAP???
Need I explain? I defer from the traditional "Whassup" spelling to include ZA in it
-BZZZZZZ
Killer bees, coming your way. It's a magic card and I used to like to play with it a LOT, just because I liked saying BZZZZZ! and making silly faces.
-grrr...
Brings out the tiger in you...actually, if there ever was a correct representation of grrr, it's exactly how I wrote it out on paper!
-ACH HANS!
Part of flavor text on the Magic card "Lhurgoyf". Full text: "Ach Hans!
Run! It's the Lhurgoyf!" I used Lhurgoyf a lot in early decks I made...
-SHOE HORN
I found it in a little compartment of the sewing machine in my basement one day. It had a string around it. I handed it out every ZaFest as a complimentary prize. Everyone liked it.
-HAY!
Sounds like Harry Caray saying "Hey" but more punctuated. Used mainly in the hotdog joke but dragged on everywhere else.
-WTF?
An internet abbreviation meaning "What the Fuck?". Probably the most widely used abbreviation since it's much more appropriate and accepted than it's written-out counterpart.
-EAT GRASS
Little Steven Matis as an infant used to pull grass out of his backyard when Bernie and I were playing. Sprinkled it on us and said "Eat Grass"
Actually sounded more like "Eat Das"
-ARRGH
Another "brings out the tiger in you" saying. Used quite a bit especially by Dave. Also a nautical saying.
-SUPER CAMPER
A term we started calling Alex because all he'd do is sit there with a shotgun rifle sniping us in Unreal Tournament.
-ummm....?
Means "i'm puzzled"...can you elaborate? Used frequently in internet chat 'n' e-mail
-AAAHH! The GIANT SQUID!
A quote I made up referring to the Sphere video. That video was totally radical!
-hrmmm...
Another widely used internet saying that means "let me analyze here now..."
-HOLY Testicle Tuseday
Something Alex said one day and it just stuck in my head...I really don't know why I guess I'm just nuts
-8696 Bayshore Road
The address of my old place up in Marblehead where I spent 10 summers of my life...down the street from the ice cream shop there.
-LA LA LA
Dragon Warrior IV material, referring to Marone the wandering poet in Chapter 2: Princess Alena's Adventure. At night he reads, "Blue Skies, Wandering Clouds, La La La"
-MR. ZA
Ok, when I worked downtown my boss called everyone Mr. (enter first name) so I was Mr. Chris, my co-worker was Mr. Joe, etc. So in fact I can be Mr. ZA
-CONFUSION
I'm a confused young man. We're all confused. Any questions???
-ANDARIEL - NOOOO!
Andariel is the now-evil villan of ACT I of the hit computer game Diablo II.
She is very grotesque and smells really bad too. Brian likes to run away from her and the rest of us don't take to kindly to her either. She's just...BAD
-29
An answer I blurted out at a quiz team practice. There was a question about President Harding for some reason I yelled out 29 because he was the 29th US President. Well, I was wrong there too...he was actually the 30th :)
-YO
A greeting widely used on the phone and IM
-Yeller, blau, grun, reeeed, skiiip
UNO language we invented. Actually, blau and grun are valid german colors the others are just a product of ZA-induced heavy dialect
-???
Means I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about on IM
-Monica Lewinski...SHE'S HOT
Ok...this was just a joke. In the first "Chris Czaplicki analysis" (before ZA Weekly) I analyzed Monica Lewinski. No, she ISN'T attractive, I just felt like saying that to perk up some heavy eyelids.
-"I AM the walrus"
<
You may have seen it...you might not have. I sent the link out over a month ago now on the page that I totally made up when I was up until like, 3:30 am with random thoughts. If you haven't seen it yet, go to http://www.cyberpalace.cc/randomthoughts.jpg
And here it goes:
-Chris A. Czaplicki (2 signatures, one with squiggle underneath) I like signing my name. One of those things that I think most of us like to do but really don't like to admit it (I could be wrong, but...). If nothing else you got a facsimile autograph...TWICE Oh yeah, the squiggle I used to use on my written ZA weekly's and the "Chris Czaplicki" analysis pages I wrote back in HS.
-Neil Diamond
My mom likes the music of Neil Diamond, or at least she played it sooo much when I was a child that the name got embedded into my brain at a very early age. Not good, especially when you accidentally get this fallacy that he was killed in the plane crash with Richie Valens, Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper.
-PANCAKES IS READY
Just a really funny line from a SNL commercial parody advertising "Uncle Jamima's Mash Liquor". It's actually said by the imitation Aunt Jamima as she slams her spoon and the fryin' pan like a gong in her ebonics tone.
Just hilarious!
-"That's Terrible"
A really worn-out quote introduced to me by Alex, originally used in the animated series "The Critic". The whole line goes..."Rosebud....YES Rosebud frozen peas. Full of country goodness and green pea-ness. Wait, That's Terrible, I QUIT!" It's way overused at ZaFests but still funny.
-You like that?
A sound bite from Unreal Tournament after you kill an enemy...adopted in human form by Alex and beaten into the ground.
-Balex loves Christ, but who does Chris love? ALENA!
Long story. Very long story, but I'll explain it nevertheless...
Back in Junior year when we had this quiz team event someone by the name of Joegags (I hope I'm not falsely accusing ya) got a hold of my backpack and wrote something on my shoulder strap. "Alex
:)
...But who does Chris love came up when I wrote a ZA weekly later in Junior year before our weekend in Copley for quiz team. It was "10 things that will happen at regionals" One of them was "Balex loves Christ but who does Chris love? We'll find out Saturday". Well, after everything was over I was still undecided so I blurted out: ALENA -- the princess character from Nintendo's Dragon Warrior IV
-Bloody Nile
A misheard lyric from the end of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit. Correct lyric is "A Denial"
-I'm sailing away
Song lyric from Styx's "Come Sail Away". A good song, I like the music and I like the lyrics. I'd sing it all for ya at the next ZaFest but I won't.
-Are you done?
Something you hear me say all the time when I play magic or any other game in which we all take separate turns. I get a little restless and wonder what you are thinking and ask beligerrently...Are you done?
-UNCLE RALPHIE
My boss at the rink. That's what we call him and I have no idea why. 'nuff said there
-AND HIS BAND OF MERRY MEN
Partial subtitle in the Genesis 1972 epic "Supper's Ready". A good song...all 23 minutes of it!
-Sister Haaazel
Ok...for some reason Alex and Joe always say that for some odd reason, and I find myself doing it now too. I hit myself for being such a dolt.
-The really weird face or somethin'
I was NEVER a good artist. In fact, that thing I drew looks exactly like my artwork at age 4. Just shows how some talents never improve over the course of childhood.
-WHAZZAP???
Need I explain? I defer from the traditional "Whassup" spelling to include ZA in it
-BZZZZZZ
Killer bees, coming your way. It's a magic card and I used to like to play with it a LOT, just because I liked saying BZZZZZ! and making silly faces.
-grrr...
Brings out the tiger in you...actually, if there ever was a correct representation of grrr, it's exactly how I wrote it out on paper!
-ACH HANS!
Part of flavor text on the Magic card "Lhurgoyf". Full text: "Ach Hans!
Run! It's the Lhurgoyf!" I used Lhurgoyf a lot in early decks I made...
-SHOE HORN
I found it in a little compartment of the sewing machine in my basement one day. It had a string around it. I handed it out every ZaFest as a complimentary prize. Everyone liked it.
-HAY!
Sounds like Harry Caray saying "Hey" but more punctuated. Used mainly in the hotdog joke but dragged on everywhere else.
-WTF?
An internet abbreviation meaning "What the Fuck?". Probably the most widely used abbreviation since it's much more appropriate and accepted than it's written-out counterpart.
-EAT GRASS
Little Steven Matis as an infant used to pull grass out of his backyard when Bernie and I were playing. Sprinkled it on us and said "Eat Grass"
Actually sounded more like "Eat Das"
-ARRGH
Another "brings out the tiger in you" saying. Used quite a bit especially by Dave. Also a nautical saying.
-SUPER CAMPER
A term we started calling Alex because all he'd do is sit there with a shotgun rifle sniping us in Unreal Tournament.
-ummm....?
Means "i'm puzzled"...can you elaborate? Used frequently in internet chat 'n' e-mail
-AAAHH! The GIANT SQUID!
A quote I made up referring to the Sphere video. That video was totally radical!
-hrmmm...
Another widely used internet saying that means "let me analyze here now..."
-HOLY Testicle Tuseday
Something Alex said one day and it just stuck in my head...I really don't know why I guess I'm just nuts
-8696 Bayshore Road
The address of my old place up in Marblehead where I spent 10 summers of my life...down the street from the ice cream shop there.
-LA LA LA
Dragon Warrior IV material, referring to Marone the wandering poet in Chapter 2: Princess Alena's Adventure. At night he reads, "Blue Skies, Wandering Clouds, La La La"
-MR. ZA
Ok, when I worked downtown my boss called everyone Mr. (enter first name) so I was Mr. Chris, my co-worker was Mr. Joe, etc. So in fact I can be Mr. ZA
-CONFUSION
I'm a confused young man. We're all confused. Any questions???
-ANDARIEL - NOOOO!
Andariel is the now-evil villan of ACT I of the hit computer game Diablo II.
She is very grotesque and smells really bad too. Brian likes to run away from her and the rest of us don't take to kindly to her either. She's just...BAD
-29
An answer I blurted out at a quiz team practice. There was a question about President Harding for some reason I yelled out 29 because he was the 29th US President. Well, I was wrong there too...he was actually the 30th :)
-YO
A greeting widely used on the phone and IM
-Yeller, blau, grun, reeeed, skiiip
UNO language we invented. Actually, blau and grun are valid german colors the others are just a product of ZA-induced heavy dialect
-???
Means I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about on IM
-Monica Lewinski...SHE'S HOT
Ok...this was just a joke. In the first "Chris Czaplicki analysis" (before ZA Weekly) I analyzed Monica Lewinski. No, she ISN'T attractive, I just felt like saying that to perk up some heavy eyelids.
-"I AM the walrus"
Tuesday, May 15, 2001
Deep thoughts and more PADUA rankings
My name is not Jack Handey though...so I really don't know how deep my thoughts really are, or if what I write are even "thoughts" or moreless just random sayings. But I guess in the end it comes from the good ol' noggin so we're all good and I'm not a total hypocrite.
I just wanna let everyone know that my studies have worn me down today...maybe...I really don't do too much of it, but when I actually DO study I do so pretty strenuously. It's kinda like that "all-or-nothing"
concept or something like that. Wednesday is my big certification test and I really need to do good if I want a good job. I mean, I could probably get a good job as it is now, but this next certification is just icing on the cake. We shall see...
What else can I write about? Hay I know!!! Let's rate some more high school classes shall we? Sure thing!
SOPHOMORE YEAR
My second year at Padua was by far my best academically. I averaged a 3.8 over the year, which surpassed pretty much anything I was able to do any other years. But really, I didn't do too much either that year besides schoolwork. I really enjoyed learning at the time, and I had no reason to do anything else. I really didn't have too many social outlets at the time, except for my introduction into Magic which pretty much took over my life for the next couple of years.
First Semester
1st Period - World Cultures II with Mrs. Giulivo - B World cultures. At first you would probably thing this is the most boringest class ever invented. Well, it probably was but at least Mrs. G made it halfway interesting. This was the first class I had taken in which the majority of the class was comprised of upper-classmen, and all of them were really cool. I even had a few sophomore friends in there too. Much of our work was group-oriented and I have to say I learned a great deal of information in there. If this were any other class, I probably would have rated it higher but the fact still remains, it WAS World Cultures.
2nd Period - German II with Mr. Uhrin - C- Another round of Falco Videos and Guten Tag films. Another round of Schnitzelbank. Another round of listening to Uhrin say the same things over and over and over and over and over again every single day. It would have been at least halfway beneficial if he actually TAUGHT something in there besides give us study halls for much of the classtime. Whatever. At least it wasn't as bad my 3rd year.
3rd/4th Period Biology with Mrs. Bedrossian - B Ok this class was about as good as it could get for a biology class. And it probably helped that I started sucking up to the teacher on the first day of class :) The class was relatively easy but we still learned a fair amount.
We also had quarterly projects to do and I always wrote long papers, which were always very outstanding by her standards. Mrs. B kept the class interesting by encouraging class participation and did a lot of hands-on groupwork as well. It's always good when I get an A+ for all 4 quarters which I did in this class. This class only receives a "B" since I really felt I should have been in Honors Biology instead, and I was on a mission to prove that. Also, I really didn't know too many people that well in there except for Brendan and Geoff, but my circle of friends increased somewhat near the end of the year.
4th Period Gym with Mr. Lantz - B-
Gym classes are always fun and this one was no different. My most memorable day was the one in which we played soccer and Phillipz kicked out the window in the gym and later admitted "I reeeally don't have goood aiem". Mr. Lantz was really cool but at times he really didn't keep too good of control of the class. Combine that with the fact that we had to share the gym with freshman (so there were like, 70 of us in 1 class) and things became pretty hectic and unorganized at certain points.
5th/6th Period New Testament with Mr. Keavy - D+ Ok -- I really regret not being able to associate with this guy during sophomore year. I really think that Keavy is a mirror image of myself at a later age. Maybe. I don't want to scare anyone just yet :) But the fact still remained I probably should have been able to have a much better time in this class than I did. Remember Shua? And the St. Francis video? I need not say more. That was the scariest thing I have ever seen in my entire life next to Dave's pornos. But overall this class was pretty blande and I didn't understand Keavy at the time. That's me.
8th/9th Period Honors AlgebraII/Trig with Mr. Briggs (and latter by Mr.
Maris) - B
Immediately if not sooner! This is a personal endeavour. Attempts to make it otherwise will cause you to graduate from the school of Magna Cum Lousy.
Your intelligence can only be exceeded by your good looks. Ahh the memories are coming back! Yeah this class was pretty good, but it was Math and no math class deserves anything better than a B unless it's something absolutely stellar. This class was on the borderline of greatness only to fall due to Mr. Briggs' early retirement and replacement by the absolute Doofus Mr. Maris. AAaaaaahhhh. Go to page Aaaaaahhhh. Never mind don't teach us Maris. Just let us teach ourselves. And do cheering in conjunction. We don't care really. Neither do you. Neither should you.
Go home and polish shoes for a living. I hope you enjoyed Chrissy Pollata's deck of nude playing cards she replaced yours with on the last day of school!
10th Period English with Mr. Killian - C+ You must be joking. How can I give Killian's class such a high grade?
Well, I guess because I got pretty good grades in there...and I really sort of enjoyed the speeches, etc. The class was relatively easy, and it didn't entirely bore the hell out of me either as it did to most others. Mr.
Killian was a computer geek (a really incompetent one) so at least we got along really well and it probably helped me in some way or another in that class. Not much else to say besides that, though.
11th Period BASIC Programming with Mr. Hicks - B- I refuse to give a computer class a bad grade, even if the class was absolutely boring. If you put me next to a computer I'll always find something fun to do with it. Mr. Hicks is your stereotypical "boring monotone" teacher that everyone fears getting. But if nothing else I did do good in his class so at least I had that going for me. I learned quite a bit of useless computer skillz and there I had a pretty good number of acquaintences in there as well.
Second Semester
1st Period Consumer Economics with Mr. Novak - A- This class was a trip. Mr. Novak was just so cool. We good to watch SNL's Celebrity Jeopardy in there for crying out loud! And the class was incredibly easy as well. Mr. Novak really liked me and I got A's in the class both quarters. I had made a good deal of friends in there as well, and the memories of this class will remain for a long time. Learning was optional, but I found that a lot of the material was useful. We all enjoyed the 15-minute prayer session every class which included the famous Healing Prayer. There was no one that disliked this class.
6th/7th Period religion (what class was this anyways) with Mr. Eyerman - D It's gotta be a D at least since I don't even remember anything about this class. It was useless and boring and dumb and everything in between. It stays away from being an "F" since at least it doesn't leave any bad memories. Just forgotten ones. And that's fine. I just wasted a perfectly good class. It was also probably the class that kept me from getting 4.0's too. What can I say? The class must have really sucked.
Well this includes sophomore year. Most of the grades here were pretty high, except for the religion class. In my next issue, we'll go over the single most memorable and otherwise life-changing year of them all -- and that was Junior Year.
Until next time, sleep tight and have a great day.
-Chris
I just wanna let everyone know that my studies have worn me down today...maybe...I really don't do too much of it, but when I actually DO study I do so pretty strenuously. It's kinda like that "all-or-nothing"
concept or something like that. Wednesday is my big certification test and I really need to do good if I want a good job. I mean, I could probably get a good job as it is now, but this next certification is just icing on the cake. We shall see...
What else can I write about? Hay I know!!! Let's rate some more high school classes shall we? Sure thing!
SOPHOMORE YEAR
My second year at Padua was by far my best academically. I averaged a 3.8 over the year, which surpassed pretty much anything I was able to do any other years. But really, I didn't do too much either that year besides schoolwork. I really enjoyed learning at the time, and I had no reason to do anything else. I really didn't have too many social outlets at the time, except for my introduction into Magic which pretty much took over my life for the next couple of years.
First Semester
1st Period - World Cultures II with Mrs. Giulivo - B World cultures. At first you would probably thing this is the most boringest class ever invented. Well, it probably was but at least Mrs. G made it halfway interesting. This was the first class I had taken in which the majority of the class was comprised of upper-classmen, and all of them were really cool. I even had a few sophomore friends in there too. Much of our work was group-oriented and I have to say I learned a great deal of information in there. If this were any other class, I probably would have rated it higher but the fact still remains, it WAS World Cultures.
2nd Period - German II with Mr. Uhrin - C- Another round of Falco Videos and Guten Tag films. Another round of Schnitzelbank. Another round of listening to Uhrin say the same things over and over and over and over and over again every single day. It would have been at least halfway beneficial if he actually TAUGHT something in there besides give us study halls for much of the classtime. Whatever. At least it wasn't as bad my 3rd year.
3rd/4th Period Biology with Mrs. Bedrossian - B Ok this class was about as good as it could get for a biology class. And it probably helped that I started sucking up to the teacher on the first day of class :) The class was relatively easy but we still learned a fair amount.
We also had quarterly projects to do and I always wrote long papers, which were always very outstanding by her standards. Mrs. B kept the class interesting by encouraging class participation and did a lot of hands-on groupwork as well. It's always good when I get an A+ for all 4 quarters which I did in this class. This class only receives a "B" since I really felt I should have been in Honors Biology instead, and I was on a mission to prove that. Also, I really didn't know too many people that well in there except for Brendan and Geoff, but my circle of friends increased somewhat near the end of the year.
4th Period Gym with Mr. Lantz - B-
Gym classes are always fun and this one was no different. My most memorable day was the one in which we played soccer and Phillipz kicked out the window in the gym and later admitted "I reeeally don't have goood aiem". Mr. Lantz was really cool but at times he really didn't keep too good of control of the class. Combine that with the fact that we had to share the gym with freshman (so there were like, 70 of us in 1 class) and things became pretty hectic and unorganized at certain points.
5th/6th Period New Testament with Mr. Keavy - D+ Ok -- I really regret not being able to associate with this guy during sophomore year. I really think that Keavy is a mirror image of myself at a later age. Maybe. I don't want to scare anyone just yet :) But the fact still remained I probably should have been able to have a much better time in this class than I did. Remember Shua? And the St. Francis video? I need not say more. That was the scariest thing I have ever seen in my entire life next to Dave's pornos. But overall this class was pretty blande and I didn't understand Keavy at the time. That's me.
8th/9th Period Honors AlgebraII/Trig with Mr. Briggs (and latter by Mr.
Maris) - B
Immediately if not sooner! This is a personal endeavour. Attempts to make it otherwise will cause you to graduate from the school of Magna Cum Lousy.
Your intelligence can only be exceeded by your good looks. Ahh the memories are coming back! Yeah this class was pretty good, but it was Math and no math class deserves anything better than a B unless it's something absolutely stellar. This class was on the borderline of greatness only to fall due to Mr. Briggs' early retirement and replacement by the absolute Doofus Mr. Maris. AAaaaaahhhh. Go to page Aaaaaahhhh. Never mind don't teach us Maris. Just let us teach ourselves. And do cheering in conjunction. We don't care really. Neither do you. Neither should you.
Go home and polish shoes for a living. I hope you enjoyed Chrissy Pollata's deck of nude playing cards she replaced yours with on the last day of school!
10th Period English with Mr. Killian - C+ You must be joking. How can I give Killian's class such a high grade?
Well, I guess because I got pretty good grades in there...and I really sort of enjoyed the speeches, etc. The class was relatively easy, and it didn't entirely bore the hell out of me either as it did to most others. Mr.
Killian was a computer geek (a really incompetent one) so at least we got along really well and it probably helped me in some way or another in that class. Not much else to say besides that, though.
11th Period BASIC Programming with Mr. Hicks - B- I refuse to give a computer class a bad grade, even if the class was absolutely boring. If you put me next to a computer I'll always find something fun to do with it. Mr. Hicks is your stereotypical "boring monotone" teacher that everyone fears getting. But if nothing else I did do good in his class so at least I had that going for me. I learned quite a bit of useless computer skillz and there I had a pretty good number of acquaintences in there as well.
Second Semester
1st Period Consumer Economics with Mr. Novak - A- This class was a trip. Mr. Novak was just so cool. We good to watch SNL's Celebrity Jeopardy in there for crying out loud! And the class was incredibly easy as well. Mr. Novak really liked me and I got A's in the class both quarters. I had made a good deal of friends in there as well, and the memories of this class will remain for a long time. Learning was optional, but I found that a lot of the material was useful. We all enjoyed the 15-minute prayer session every class which included the famous Healing Prayer. There was no one that disliked this class.
6th/7th Period religion (what class was this anyways) with Mr. Eyerman - D It's gotta be a D at least since I don't even remember anything about this class. It was useless and boring and dumb and everything in between. It stays away from being an "F" since at least it doesn't leave any bad memories. Just forgotten ones. And that's fine. I just wasted a perfectly good class. It was also probably the class that kept me from getting 4.0's too. What can I say? The class must have really sucked.
Well this includes sophomore year. Most of the grades here were pretty high, except for the religion class. In my next issue, we'll go over the single most memorable and otherwise life-changing year of them all -- and that was Junior Year.
Until next time, sleep tight and have a great day.
-Chris
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