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
Thursday, May 31, 2001
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
Monday, May 14, 2001
Summer vacation has officially begun
YUUS! Horray! Woohoo! BOOYAH! Yahoo! Yippie! and Woo-ha!
For the majority of everyone, school has been blown to pieces and summer
vacation has officially begun! That means more ZaFesting, more magic, more
gaming, more ZA, more pepsi, more peach iced tea with hose water, more
street language, more overused sayings, more magic missles, more overall
crazed actions by yours truly as well.
This weekend was a great time to see everyone again after a long dry spell
(well, not that long but still) and sorta "catch up" with the old times and
start anew. And that's what it's all about really -- starting over on a
clean slate. And that's what I'm trying to do as well -- some things
directly and others may be transparent to everyone else. The point is -- I
just want to have fun this summer. I want to minimize the frustrations and
the annoyances that riddled me part of the way through last year. If you
need me to explain those I can, but I think everyone knows most of the
details (If not go to the cyberpalace site and look for the Year 2000
review) I know everything isn't gonna be perfect, but I just want to keep
the motivation and high spirits I have now to roll through the entire summer
and beyond.
I really want this e-mail to be a reflection on the past school year and how
it has affected at least some of us in particular. I sorta debated with
myself whether or not to even bring this topic up since school is OVER but
that doesn't mean we can just sweep all our issues under the carpet. I'll
start out with my situation first off: in the beginning of the fall everyone
had left and for the first time in a long time I was struck with a bout of
loneliness and really had nowhere to go with it. I had lost all my old
hobbies and interests and really didn't do too much at all except work at
the rink (my ONLY social escape at the time) and agonize over school. I
guess my saving grace was the fact that I got to see everyone again during
Thanksgiving and Xmas break, which was great. After New Years, I really
made an attempt to regain some sort of motivation, and I figured the best
way would be just to simplify down to the bear minimum and build myself up
from there. And in many ways that strategy worked. I guess I was so
immersed in everything beforehand that I lost my love for it all, because
everything was becoming such a burden I didn't want to carry anymore. It
wasn't easy but I survived. I kept in touch with all of my friends and we
did a lot of things over the computer.
That's my story. I know that a few of my friends that went away to school
suffered from similar difficulties -- mainly caused by being away from
valued friends and family for such an extended period of time, and being
confined to the dorm with no way to "break out". And others had problems
with grades, exams, etc. that they couldn't enjoy the upside of student life
without having to worry about making the grade. Highly frustrating, but I
guess that's a part of being in college -- studies come first -- that's why
you are there in the first place!!! I know that sometimes another problem
arises: and that's when your objective before attending school changes
greatly once you're there. Not only do you agonize over a prior decision,
but you have to go through the remainder of the year being someone you're
not. Usually this happens when you go away just to "get away" then once the
excitement wears off you're stuck wondering why you ever did such a thing.
You need not worry. Learn from your mistakes. The worst is over, and you
can move on now. Just try to make the best decisions from now on. We are
adults now, and we can't have mommy and daddy bail us out all the time
anymore. I like to use my famous personal quote "you got yourself into this
mess -- only you can get yourself out".
I also want to look at the positive aspects of college life because there
are a lot of them. Everyone has grown in some form, whether it be aptitude,
mind, spirit or else you've gained at least something. Unless you attended
the School of Cave Life and Solitary Confinement there's something you have
attained. Use your skills wisely. DO NOT put 18 points into "Teeth" :)
(Translation to non-computergeeks: don't waste 18 years of your life in
addition and subtraction class when you've got a new set of skills to work
on) You are out to capture the world. Grab it by the tail and put it in
your pocket. The world isn't out to get you. The world doesn't care who
the f*** you are unless your name is Suddam Hussein. I hate to quote Matt
Foley but it's probably more true than not.
You aren't gonna amount to Jack Squat. What does this really mean? How can
this be a positive or at least motivating statement? Well, I'll explain.
First off I'd like to say that this doesn't mean you can't make a difference
in someone else's life because you certainly can! But in the big picture,
the world won't feast or famine because of your presence. Accept it. In
the history of the world in which more than 15 billion people have lived,
only a handful had made any significant changes to how we live our lives.
If nothing else, that is a motivating statement that can only make you want
your life to be impactful. But until your worldwide fame, DON'T WORRY ABOUT
WHAT ANYONE THINKS OF YOU. Notice I did not say to neglect any
acknowledgment or disrespect a person's feelings. But don't think that the
weight of the world is on your shoulders either. Some people get so
stressed out over things which have absolutely no real meaning. Just don't
get yourself into a situation in which you are obligated to "save the world"
and you should be fine. Oh well, enuff of that jibber-jabber!
JUST THINK OF THE BEATLES SONG "HEY JUDE" Perfect for this situation.
Everyone have great week and be prepared for more festivities in the coming
days/weeks!
-Chris
For the majority of everyone, school has been blown to pieces and summer
vacation has officially begun! That means more ZaFesting, more magic, more
gaming, more ZA, more pepsi, more peach iced tea with hose water, more
street language, more overused sayings, more magic missles, more overall
crazed actions by yours truly as well.
This weekend was a great time to see everyone again after a long dry spell
(well, not that long but still) and sorta "catch up" with the old times and
start anew. And that's what it's all about really -- starting over on a
clean slate. And that's what I'm trying to do as well -- some things
directly and others may be transparent to everyone else. The point is -- I
just want to have fun this summer. I want to minimize the frustrations and
the annoyances that riddled me part of the way through last year. If you
need me to explain those I can, but I think everyone knows most of the
details (If not go to the cyberpalace site and look for the Year 2000
review) I know everything isn't gonna be perfect, but I just want to keep
the motivation and high spirits I have now to roll through the entire summer
and beyond.
I really want this e-mail to be a reflection on the past school year and how
it has affected at least some of us in particular. I sorta debated with
myself whether or not to even bring this topic up since school is OVER but
that doesn't mean we can just sweep all our issues under the carpet. I'll
start out with my situation first off: in the beginning of the fall everyone
had left and for the first time in a long time I was struck with a bout of
loneliness and really had nowhere to go with it. I had lost all my old
hobbies and interests and really didn't do too much at all except work at
the rink (my ONLY social escape at the time) and agonize over school. I
guess my saving grace was the fact that I got to see everyone again during
Thanksgiving and Xmas break, which was great. After New Years, I really
made an attempt to regain some sort of motivation, and I figured the best
way would be just to simplify down to the bear minimum and build myself up
from there. And in many ways that strategy worked. I guess I was so
immersed in everything beforehand that I lost my love for it all, because
everything was becoming such a burden I didn't want to carry anymore. It
wasn't easy but I survived. I kept in touch with all of my friends and we
did a lot of things over the computer.
That's my story. I know that a few of my friends that went away to school
suffered from similar difficulties -- mainly caused by being away from
valued friends and family for such an extended period of time, and being
confined to the dorm with no way to "break out". And others had problems
with grades, exams, etc. that they couldn't enjoy the upside of student life
without having to worry about making the grade. Highly frustrating, but I
guess that's a part of being in college -- studies come first -- that's why
you are there in the first place!!! I know that sometimes another problem
arises: and that's when your objective before attending school changes
greatly once you're there. Not only do you agonize over a prior decision,
but you have to go through the remainder of the year being someone you're
not. Usually this happens when you go away just to "get away" then once the
excitement wears off you're stuck wondering why you ever did such a thing.
You need not worry. Learn from your mistakes. The worst is over, and you
can move on now. Just try to make the best decisions from now on. We are
adults now, and we can't have mommy and daddy bail us out all the time
anymore. I like to use my famous personal quote "you got yourself into this
mess -- only you can get yourself out".
I also want to look at the positive aspects of college life because there
are a lot of them. Everyone has grown in some form, whether it be aptitude,
mind, spirit or else you've gained at least something. Unless you attended
the School of Cave Life and Solitary Confinement there's something you have
attained. Use your skills wisely. DO NOT put 18 points into "Teeth" :)
(Translation to non-computergeeks: don't waste 18 years of your life in
addition and subtraction class when you've got a new set of skills to work
on) You are out to capture the world. Grab it by the tail and put it in
your pocket. The world isn't out to get you. The world doesn't care who
the f*** you are unless your name is Suddam Hussein. I hate to quote Matt
Foley but it's probably more true than not.
You aren't gonna amount to Jack Squat. What does this really mean? How can
this be a positive or at least motivating statement? Well, I'll explain.
First off I'd like to say that this doesn't mean you can't make a difference
in someone else's life because you certainly can! But in the big picture,
the world won't feast or famine because of your presence. Accept it. In
the history of the world in which more than 15 billion people have lived,
only a handful had made any significant changes to how we live our lives.
If nothing else, that is a motivating statement that can only make you want
your life to be impactful. But until your worldwide fame, DON'T WORRY ABOUT
WHAT ANYONE THINKS OF YOU. Notice I did not say to neglect any
acknowledgment or disrespect a person's feelings. But don't think that the
weight of the world is on your shoulders either. Some people get so
stressed out over things which have absolutely no real meaning. Just don't
get yourself into a situation in which you are obligated to "save the world"
and you should be fine. Oh well, enuff of that jibber-jabber!
JUST THINK OF THE BEATLES SONG "HEY JUDE" Perfect for this situation.
Everyone have great week and be prepared for more festivities in the coming
days/weeks!
-Chris
Monday, May 7, 2001
Freshman high school class review
Ok -- maybe I'm stuck in the past but at least I can write something I know
about and others can relate to. And I hope I can get others input on this
stuff too.
So now I'm gonna rate ALL my classes taken at Padua. My ratings are based
both on the teacher AND the students, taken from MY point of view.
Therefore, a lot of my grades won't be what you may feel. But anyways, here
it goes:
Freshman Year
2nd Period Honors Algebra I with Miss Zamborsky - B
-What an incredible class to start off with. I always look back and wonder
how all of us in that class (Me, Eddie, Lisa, Christina, Kim, Jen) were
total strangers to each other at the time, and for the most part, I didn't
really even talk to any of you guys for the duration of that year. In fact,
the 2 people that I probably talked to most were John Chmura (sat to the
left of me) and Mike Easton, who sat to the lower left of John? I got to
sit in the back corner for the first semester, and in the front corner next
to the teacher's desk during the 2nd. I think Zambo did that on purpose
after all the foolery I had done during semester 1. Math classes aren't
supposed to be fun, but at least I tried to make this one tolerable. My
grades were good in the class, until 3rd quarter when I started seeking the
counsel of Eddie for tutoring. Well, that's how the 2 of us became friends,
I guess. So really I would give this class an "A" after the fact, but since
I'm rating the class itself it has to be dropped. Zambo acted like a
disgruntled postal worker half the time, and she yelled at me whenever I
didn't do my homework (on many occasion, as with most other classes :)
3rd Period German I with Mr. Uhrin - C+
1st year German was probably the best, because I was first introduced to
everything, and I actually learned something that year. Until that point in
time, I had never heard of Falco or anything. Thank you Mr. Uhrin for doing
that. Uhrin was pretty cool, he was pretty easy but he easily ran out of
things to say really quick. What can I say? The class was average.
4th Period Gym/Health with Miss Blanchfield/Mrs. Woytek (same person) B/C
I always loved gym class, because I love sports no matter who I'm with. And
I really didn't have too many friends in that class, but that didn't stop me
from having a good time, either. I know Miss B. wasn't the greatest
teacher, but she didn't get in the way much during freshman year (I think
the marriage increased her PMS frequency by 10x.) Well, health was another
"average" class because everything happened as expected without any real
highlights or downsides either.
6th/7th Period World History with Mrs. Giulivo - B
I think Mrs. Giulivo is one of the best teachers at Padua, mainly because of
her ability to communicate with the students. Her classes were extremely
easy -- or I should say...she made them as easy as possible by offering
tutorials after school when she gave out the answers to her tests. Like
Mrs. Apostle, she always kept a very positive attitude about everything.
The only part that kept this class from being an "A" was that I really
didn't know anyone in the class. Oh well.
8th/9th Period English with Mrs. O'Malley - C
First off, I'd like to say that this class would've been a B or better if I
had actually known Joe Gags back then. Otherwise, it was a very difficult
class that wasn't very interesting either. I mean -- who really wanted to
listen to Romeo and Juliet on a 33 1/3 record? A Midsummer Nights Dream was
the absolute worst. But the class kept moving and I learned a lot. And the
final exams were the easiest part of the entire class. And we graded papers
of the Junior class half the time too. Mrs. O'Malley was a pretty difficult
teacher, and was pretty stubborn too.
10th Period Old Testament with Mr. Eyerman - D
This class had the potential to be a lot better if Eye-in-the-skyerman was
just a little more interesting. But most of the time I found myself
daydreaming when I should have been learning. There was a lot about this
class that I liked, but the sheer boredom (and the fact that i had just come
from English) didn't help much really. Oh well. It wasn't exactly fun
seeing his sweaty armpit stains everyday either. Let's face it, the class
was a drag...
11th Period Computer I with Mr. Link - B-
I should have never had to take this class. It is supposed to teach you
keyboarding skills and I was able to type 60 WPM before even setting foot in
there. Be that as it may, the entire class was a breeze, and I got and A+
both semesters. I probably could've been using my time more productively,
but at least I could show off to everyone. And it was pretty funny watching
Mr. Link get mad and yelling at other students. Yay.
2nd Semester
4th Period Christian Life with Mrs. Apostle - A-
The class was easy, we learned, we partied. We worked hard on the book
project too. By that time I had met a couple good friends (matt burton and
sean esson and I think brendan was in the class too) and we all had fun and
excitement. Watching the breakfast club was the best. The class was just a
shred away from perfect, which is reserved for one class only.
10th Period Computer II with Mr. Flachbart - B
This class should have been called "How to use Microsoft Works v3.0" which
is a totally obsolete software program, but most of the skills can be
transferrable to other software packages such as Office, etc. Everyone in
that class was pretty cool. Flachbart left us alone most of the time, and
let us work at our own pace. Life was good in that class. Hey Joe, weren't
you in there too? I hardly even seemed to notice back then, how funny...
Ok, enuff writing for today. If I feel like writing more I'll continue with
the other 3 years in future installments. I wanna see what you think and
I'll talk to everyone later.
-Chris
about and others can relate to. And I hope I can get others input on this
stuff too.
So now I'm gonna rate ALL my classes taken at Padua. My ratings are based
both on the teacher AND the students, taken from MY point of view.
Therefore, a lot of my grades won't be what you may feel. But anyways, here
it goes:
Freshman Year
2nd Period Honors Algebra I with Miss Zamborsky - B
-What an incredible class to start off with. I always look back and wonder
how all of us in that class (Me, Eddie, Lisa, Christina, Kim, Jen) were
total strangers to each other at the time, and for the most part, I didn't
really even talk to any of you guys for the duration of that year. In fact,
the 2 people that I probably talked to most were John Chmura (sat to the
left of me) and Mike Easton, who sat to the lower left of John? I got to
sit in the back corner for the first semester, and in the front corner next
to the teacher's desk during the 2nd. I think Zambo did that on purpose
after all the foolery I had done during semester 1. Math classes aren't
supposed to be fun, but at least I tried to make this one tolerable. My
grades were good in the class, until 3rd quarter when I started seeking the
counsel of Eddie for tutoring. Well, that's how the 2 of us became friends,
I guess. So really I would give this class an "A" after the fact, but since
I'm rating the class itself it has to be dropped. Zambo acted like a
disgruntled postal worker half the time, and she yelled at me whenever I
didn't do my homework (on many occasion, as with most other classes :)
3rd Period German I with Mr. Uhrin - C+
1st year German was probably the best, because I was first introduced to
everything, and I actually learned something that year. Until that point in
time, I had never heard of Falco or anything. Thank you Mr. Uhrin for doing
that. Uhrin was pretty cool, he was pretty easy but he easily ran out of
things to say really quick. What can I say? The class was average.
4th Period Gym/Health with Miss Blanchfield/Mrs. Woytek (same person) B/C
I always loved gym class, because I love sports no matter who I'm with. And
I really didn't have too many friends in that class, but that didn't stop me
from having a good time, either. I know Miss B. wasn't the greatest
teacher, but she didn't get in the way much during freshman year (I think
the marriage increased her PMS frequency by 10x.) Well, health was another
"average" class because everything happened as expected without any real
highlights or downsides either.
6th/7th Period World History with Mrs. Giulivo - B
I think Mrs. Giulivo is one of the best teachers at Padua, mainly because of
her ability to communicate with the students. Her classes were extremely
easy -- or I should say...she made them as easy as possible by offering
tutorials after school when she gave out the answers to her tests. Like
Mrs. Apostle, she always kept a very positive attitude about everything.
The only part that kept this class from being an "A" was that I really
didn't know anyone in the class. Oh well.
8th/9th Period English with Mrs. O'Malley - C
First off, I'd like to say that this class would've been a B or better if I
had actually known Joe Gags back then. Otherwise, it was a very difficult
class that wasn't very interesting either. I mean -- who really wanted to
listen to Romeo and Juliet on a 33 1/3 record? A Midsummer Nights Dream was
the absolute worst. But the class kept moving and I learned a lot. And the
final exams were the easiest part of the entire class. And we graded papers
of the Junior class half the time too. Mrs. O'Malley was a pretty difficult
teacher, and was pretty stubborn too.
10th Period Old Testament with Mr. Eyerman - D
This class had the potential to be a lot better if Eye-in-the-skyerman was
just a little more interesting. But most of the time I found myself
daydreaming when I should have been learning. There was a lot about this
class that I liked, but the sheer boredom (and the fact that i had just come
from English) didn't help much really. Oh well. It wasn't exactly fun
seeing his sweaty armpit stains everyday either. Let's face it, the class
was a drag...
11th Period Computer I with Mr. Link - B-
I should have never had to take this class. It is supposed to teach you
keyboarding skills and I was able to type 60 WPM before even setting foot in
there. Be that as it may, the entire class was a breeze, and I got and A+
both semesters. I probably could've been using my time more productively,
but at least I could show off to everyone. And it was pretty funny watching
Mr. Link get mad and yelling at other students. Yay.
2nd Semester
4th Period Christian Life with Mrs. Apostle - A-
The class was easy, we learned, we partied. We worked hard on the book
project too. By that time I had met a couple good friends (matt burton and
sean esson and I think brendan was in the class too) and we all had fun and
excitement. Watching the breakfast club was the best. The class was just a
shred away from perfect, which is reserved for one class only.
10th Period Computer II with Mr. Flachbart - B
This class should have been called "How to use Microsoft Works v3.0" which
is a totally obsolete software program, but most of the skills can be
transferrable to other software packages such as Office, etc. Everyone in
that class was pretty cool. Flachbart left us alone most of the time, and
let us work at our own pace. Life was good in that class. Hey Joe, weren't
you in there too? I hardly even seemed to notice back then, how funny...
Ok, enuff writing for today. If I feel like writing more I'll continue with
the other 3 years in future installments. I wanna see what you think and
I'll talk to everyone later.
-Chris
Sunday, May 6, 2001
Nostalgia Pt. 1
Ok, I've heard a lot of positive replies with all this nostalgia stuff, so I
guess I'll continue. My seasoned long-term memory has lots of wild and
crazy things :)
Remember these?
-Weekend ratings in Mrs. Apostle's class. Heck, everything that happened in
Christian life for that matter! That was so cool! We watched Breakfast
Club! Totally radical, dude :) Then we got to look through old yearbooks,
and do the Padua quiz...and remember "talking time"? Remember watching the
Wilson Phillips "Hold On" video? Can't forget Day 1 when we learned about
Karma. And the "Book Project". That was totally awesome, and I got a 98 on
mine :) Mrs. Apostle was such a positive teacher and really encouraged
everyone to do their very best.
-Creeeeepy crawlers. Those rubberized creatures you put into a mold, heated
'em up and became fun to play with. I never had one of these, but I know
Bernie did :)
-Paperboy. The Nintendo game. EVERYONE had played this game...and I don't
think anyone has ever beat it. I got to Thursday once, but never past that.
That game made everyone want to be a Paperboy, but I always feared riding my
bike with an approaching tornado, or an errant breakdancer on the sidewalk.
-Crash test dummies. You popped 'em in the car, rammed the car into your
basement wall and POW...the figures fly out and emulate a real car wreck.
How many people were single-handedly convinced to buckle their seat belts by
these guys? Probably none, but they were still fun to play with.
-Family Life and Patricia Miller sex ed. books/videos. Ok, maybe this was
only a St. Charles thing, but chances are everyone had something similar to
these. It was just so funny how sugar-coated everything was and how none of
the teachers looked forward to teaching it. Even worse were the permission
slips I had to give mom and dad to view these materials. Why on earth did
we have to go through 4 years having to watch the SAME exact video each
year? Did they really think we forgot where the sex organs were located on
the human body? The videos were the best, because you got to watch the
really good ones by the time 8th grade came around. In 5th or 6th everyone
wanted to see "Dating Decisions" but you had to wait until 8th. And when
that day came when we finally saw it, our lives were all complete.
-Book It! The club where you got Pizza Hut personal pan pizza certificates
by reading a couple books. Now that was fun, because I loved my ZA! Do you
know how many shitty books I had to read just to get one little ZA for
myself? Back then it was good times, and spending hours reading Choose Your
Own Adventure was well worth the $1.99 I saved. Speaking of reading, how
many had used "Accelerated Reader"? The program on the old Apple IIe
computer that tested you on a book and gave you points according to the
difficulty of that book. I always got the most points in grade school (and
I also tested on the same books each year :). Again, this may be a St.
Charles thing but if you didn't have it, you were left out. Big time!
-More books. How about Judy Bloom? She was the best. She wrote like,
Freckle Juice and
Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing and all those other awesome books. I would
recommend any book written by her to a kid. Then the book that EVERYONE
wanted. "Where the Sidewalk Ends" I don't think I even have to explain.
-Slap bracelets, or friendship bracelets or anything circluar the could be
put around your wrist or ankle. Again, another 3rd-4th grade craze that
complemented the peak of the New Kids On the Block era. I can't believe
even the boys used to like this stuff ;) What were we thinking????? Then
again, I was never the popular type and never followed any of this stuff,
but always wanted to. Maybe it wasn't so bad I grew up in a bubble!
-Teddy Ruxbin. Everyone had one...in fact, a few still do that I know of.
Well, everyone except for me, that is... The lovable bear that you popped
in tapes in his back and his lips moved to tell you a story. Well, guess
what? I had Mr. Gameshow instead!!!! BWAHAHAHA! And a pinball machine for
that matter.
-The Nerf TURBO football. These things were the BOMB. They probably still
are, but they just came out in the peak of our childhood. I always remember
wanting one sooooo bad for Christmas of 1990 and I got another one for my
10th birthday. Heck, I still have one. Then you had the "mini-turbo"
footballs. These were even better because you could throw them twice as
far. Then there were all the "imitation nerf footballs". When will the
madness end?
-SkipIT, JumpIT, WhateverIT. Those things that had counters on them so you
could see how many times you could do IT. I never had one of these, and I
never actually know "how" to do IT. I know some people who cheated and just
rotated it a bizillion times just to see the counter roll over back to 000.
How fun.
-J.D. Roth, and all his kid gameshows, with his best being FUN HOUSE. I
remember it coming on at 4 every afternoon, and it was just the coolest TV
program ever invented. Then I know there were other good gameshows. Hey,
remember Liz from WUAB-Kidsland? I wonder what she's up to now?
Nickelodeon shows were great to back then. Remember these: Wild 'n'
Craaaazy Kids, You Can't Do That on Television, Make the Grade, Hey Dude,
Guts. Nickelodeon ROCKED back then...why do they blow ass now?
-Bo Jackson. What ever happened to that him?
...and the epitomy of our childhood memories....
-Super Mario Brothers 3. This game defined our era. It WAS bigger than
anything else. It was the absolute greatest game ever. It was fun. You
were cool if you had it. (I didn't get it until the ULTIMATE Christmas of
1991) Everyone still knows what level everything was. I personally like
"Big World #4". It was good. I could go ON and ON and ON about how my life
revolved around that one game, but everyone else knows so I really don't
have much to say that is news to anyone.
-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Again, my life revolved around the turtles.
Even moreso than SMB. It was just so cool to do ninja. Or at least pretend
like you could. I think I pretended a "little" too much :) (I know Bernie
is probably laughing his ass off when I mentioned that). The funniest part
is that I didn't let the Turtles go until I was like, 12 when the whole fad
was long gone. I watched TMNT the movie at least 75 times. It was THE
movie. The cartoons were good to -- good enough for me to tape almost every
episode on my VCR. Heck, I still have them too :) What killed the turtles?
The 2nd and 3rd sequels to the movie. They killed everything. Who really
needed Super Shredder? Grr.
I got lots more memories where that came from. Expect "Nostalgia Part
Trois" coming soon!
-Chris
guess I'll continue. My seasoned long-term memory has lots of wild and
crazy things :)
Remember these?
-Weekend ratings in Mrs. Apostle's class. Heck, everything that happened in
Christian life for that matter! That was so cool! We watched Breakfast
Club! Totally radical, dude :) Then we got to look through old yearbooks,
and do the Padua quiz...and remember "talking time"? Remember watching the
Wilson Phillips "Hold On" video? Can't forget Day 1 when we learned about
Karma. And the "Book Project". That was totally awesome, and I got a 98 on
mine :) Mrs. Apostle was such a positive teacher and really encouraged
everyone to do their very best.
-Creeeeepy crawlers. Those rubberized creatures you put into a mold, heated
'em up and became fun to play with. I never had one of these, but I know
Bernie did :)
-Paperboy. The Nintendo game. EVERYONE had played this game...and I don't
think anyone has ever beat it. I got to Thursday once, but never past that.
That game made everyone want to be a Paperboy, but I always feared riding my
bike with an approaching tornado, or an errant breakdancer on the sidewalk.
-Crash test dummies. You popped 'em in the car, rammed the car into your
basement wall and POW...the figures fly out and emulate a real car wreck.
How many people were single-handedly convinced to buckle their seat belts by
these guys? Probably none, but they were still fun to play with.
-Family Life and Patricia Miller sex ed. books/videos. Ok, maybe this was
only a St. Charles thing, but chances are everyone had something similar to
these. It was just so funny how sugar-coated everything was and how none of
the teachers looked forward to teaching it. Even worse were the permission
slips I had to give mom and dad to view these materials. Why on earth did
we have to go through 4 years having to watch the SAME exact video each
year? Did they really think we forgot where the sex organs were located on
the human body? The videos were the best, because you got to watch the
really good ones by the time 8th grade came around. In 5th or 6th everyone
wanted to see "Dating Decisions" but you had to wait until 8th. And when
that day came when we finally saw it, our lives were all complete.
-Book It! The club where you got Pizza Hut personal pan pizza certificates
by reading a couple books. Now that was fun, because I loved my ZA! Do you
know how many shitty books I had to read just to get one little ZA for
myself? Back then it was good times, and spending hours reading Choose Your
Own Adventure was well worth the $1.99 I saved. Speaking of reading, how
many had used "Accelerated Reader"? The program on the old Apple IIe
computer that tested you on a book and gave you points according to the
difficulty of that book. I always got the most points in grade school (and
I also tested on the same books each year :). Again, this may be a St.
Charles thing but if you didn't have it, you were left out. Big time!
-More books. How about Judy Bloom? She was the best. She wrote like,
Freckle Juice and
Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing and all those other awesome books. I would
recommend any book written by her to a kid. Then the book that EVERYONE
wanted. "Where the Sidewalk Ends" I don't think I even have to explain.
-Slap bracelets, or friendship bracelets or anything circluar the could be
put around your wrist or ankle. Again, another 3rd-4th grade craze that
complemented the peak of the New Kids On the Block era. I can't believe
even the boys used to like this stuff ;) What were we thinking????? Then
again, I was never the popular type and never followed any of this stuff,
but always wanted to. Maybe it wasn't so bad I grew up in a bubble!
-Teddy Ruxbin. Everyone had one...in fact, a few still do that I know of.
Well, everyone except for me, that is... The lovable bear that you popped
in tapes in his back and his lips moved to tell you a story. Well, guess
what? I had Mr. Gameshow instead!!!! BWAHAHAHA! And a pinball machine for
that matter
-The Nerf TURBO football. These things were the BOMB. They probably still
are, but they just came out in the peak of our childhood. I always remember
wanting one sooooo bad for Christmas of 1990 and I got another one for my
10th birthday. Heck, I still have one. Then you had the "mini-turbo"
footballs. These were even better because you could throw them twice as
far. Then there were all the "imitation nerf footballs". When will the
madness end?
-SkipIT, JumpIT, WhateverIT. Those things that had counters on them so you
could see how many times you could do IT. I never had one of these, and I
never actually know "how" to do IT. I know some people who cheated and just
rotated it a bizillion times just to see the counter roll over back to 000.
How fun.
-J.D. Roth, and all his kid gameshows, with his best being FUN HOUSE. I
remember it coming on at 4 every afternoon, and it was just the coolest TV
program ever invented. Then I know there were other good gameshows. Hey,
remember Liz from WUAB-Kidsland? I wonder what she's up to now?
Nickelodeon shows were great to back then. Remember these: Wild 'n'
Craaaazy Kids, You Can't Do That on Television, Make the Grade, Hey Dude,
Guts. Nickelodeon ROCKED back then...why do they blow ass now?
-Bo Jackson. What ever happened to that him?
...and the epitomy of our childhood memories....
-Super Mario Brothers 3. This game defined our era. It WAS bigger than
anything else. It was the absolute greatest game ever. It was fun. You
were cool if you had it. (I didn't get it until the ULTIMATE Christmas of
1991) Everyone still knows what level everything was. I personally like
"Big World #4". It was good. I could go ON and ON and ON about how my life
revolved around that one game, but everyone else knows so I really don't
have much to say that is news to anyone.
-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Again, my life revolved around the turtles.
Even moreso than SMB. It was just so cool to do ninja. Or at least pretend
like you could. I think I pretended a "little" too much :) (I know Bernie
is probably laughing his ass off when I mentioned that). The funniest part
is that I didn't let the Turtles go until I was like, 12 when the whole fad
was long gone. I watched TMNT the movie at least 75 times. It was THE
movie. The cartoons were good to -- good enough for me to tape almost every
episode on my VCR. Heck, I still have them too :) What killed the turtles?
The 2nd and 3rd sequels to the movie. They killed everything. Who really
needed Super Shredder? Grr.
I got lots more memories where that came from. Expect "Nostalgia Part
Trois" coming soon!
-Chris
Friday, May 4, 2001
A glimpse into my distant past
Hey everyone, I'm in a grrrreat mood! Why? Because I have no reason not to
be. I get to sleep in until noon every day, don't work a lick, and everyone
is coming home next week. Well, almost everyone :) And I'm keeping myself
occupied by doing things around the house. I took a trip up to the ZA
Archives yesterday, and found fun stuff. Although I sorta had to crawl
around on the attic floor, which wasn't too fun because of all the tar and
grit from the installation of our new roof last year.
I saw the largest ant in my basement earlier tonight...
I have also played too much Diablo II and am happy to say I now have a Level
70 Sorceress. That just goes to show how much time I actually have just to
fool around.
JoeGags had me pull up an e-mail he sent a few months ago, and it allowed me
to look back and see what actually happened to me in the fall. I also
noticed that I wrote a lot of philisophical things back then and sorta quit
after awhile. Oh well, I guess I was looking to write more vibrant
things...things were sorta tough then, and I needed anything possible to
pick myself back up.
What I'm gonna write isn't exactly as philisophical as it is a reflection on
something I have been talking about "here and there" for the last couple
weeks. And that is about my past. No, not the recent stuff...I'm talking
about the events that occured as a child for me, and how it has shaped me to
what I am today. All this is sort of a preface to a reflection on life
since high school, which is actually the topic of my "really happy e-mail"
I've wanted to send for 3 months, but the time was never right for it. Oh
well, maybe this here will help me get a leg up on everything.
I'll start out by telling everyone that "My life began in high school". The
one event that began my "new life" was not actually Padua itself, but the
summer before it when I got contacts to replace my glasses. Sort of weird,
but it totally changed my self-image. I HATED my glasses...they always got
in the way, and I honestly could not stand looking at myself in them. I
played a lot of sports back then, and I got hit in the glasses with a
baseball or basketball more than once. Boo. Boo Crazy. I held on to a lot
of old grade school friends during freshman year, but they soon broke away
once the year was over.
Ok, well I'll first start out by explaining my family situation as a child:
My dad worked until I was 8 when he decided he didn't want to work anymore.
Mom never worked. My sister had moved out when I was a baby, and my brother
Carl lived here until I was 7, although I hated Carl when I was a little kid
because he always teased me and I wanted him to get a girlfriend. My sister
was more like a parent to me, so really for all intensive purposes I was an
"only child". Being an only child isn't easy, but it definitely has it's
benefits. First off, your parents spoil the hell out of you. That can
backfire, since they may want to spoil you "too much" and take away all the
normal things kids do. I NEVER did anything a normal kid did until I was
maybe 10. Between the ages of 4-9 I totally hated sports, all the G.I. Joe
cartoons, etc., since I'd rather play with numbers or cards or write or read
or play music. Sound familiar? That's what I thought. Then I had my
imaginary friends that I have talked about to you guys for awhile now. They
were there for me from the ages of around 4-11.
Then there was the mobile home in Sandusky. That was the single most
life-defining event for me. From the time I started kindergarten till the
end of 7th grade, I spent almost every weekend there during the school year
(excluding winter) and a majority of summers there. In short, I lived a
double life back then. Was it good? Yeah, some of it was...but no part of
it was complete. That's what I totally disliked about it. For example, I
couldn't play on a summer baseball team because I was always in Sandusky.
And I hadn't spent enough time at the trailor to really meet too many
friends or do anything else. I still go back there physically and in
dreams. Once I get older I'd like to buy that trailor back just to go back
there whenever I want to. It's a great place to be, but back then just
wasn't my time...
I went to St. Charles school. Most of my experiences there were pretty
positive, although I never achieved my full potential there (nor was it ever
recognized like it should have been -- and it still isn't) I was always the
smartest kid in the class, which was great because that meant you were the
most popular...well, up until about 3rd grade. Because of my social
ineptness I really didn't have too many friends and was a loner most of the
time after that, although I had a small circle of friends that I
occasionally did things with. I remember skating at the rink a lot during
4th and 5th grades, and other than that there wasn't really much more to do.
I usually behaved myself until around 5th and 6th grades when I went through
a long bout of depression and anger, which I'll explain later. During
junior high, everyone was a monster and I was the same way. But I
eventually settled down in time for high school.
Ok -- here's something I've never told anyone about: there was a time
between the beginning of 5th grade until around the end of 6th grade (and
maybe even into 7th) where I suffered depression and I was very unhappy. As
I mentioned before, I was a loner before, and I really didn't have much of a
problem with it. But then I realized I was getting older and couldn't go on
in my little "fantasy world" I was in. I tried as hard as I could to
"fit-in", but was never able to manage because of the fact that I lived in a
bubble for the first 10 years of my life. I became extremely self-conscious
and tried everything I could to be part of the crowd. At the same time my
family situation was not good either. I'd rather not get into that. And I
also got into a lot of fights back then as well, until I got caught and got
into a lot of trouble. So in that one year, I developed a huge interest in
sports, started listening to popular music (Q-104 baby!), etc. and I got
somewhat better over the course of the next couple of years. There was one
huge setback, and that was the death of my first Stink back on May 5, 1994.
That was sooooo devastating. The night before she died, I heard a Genesis
song on the radio "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight". That IS the reason I became
interested in Genesis -- because I heard the song the night before my dog
died. Can you believe that?
Wow, I can't believe I wrote all that stuff. You guys probably don't care
one bit but at least I got it out and everything was sorta interesting.
I'll carry on more conversation about it later on, I guess.
be. I get to sleep in until noon every day, don't work a lick, and everyone
is coming home next week. Well, almost everyone :) And I'm keeping myself
occupied by doing things around the house. I took a trip up to the ZA
Archives yesterday, and found fun stuff. Although I sorta had to crawl
around on the attic floor, which wasn't too fun because of all the tar and
grit from the installation of our new roof last year.
I saw the largest ant in my basement earlier tonight...
I have also played too much Diablo II and am happy to say I now have a Level
70 Sorceress. That just goes to show how much time I actually have just to
fool around.
JoeGags had me pull up an e-mail he sent a few months ago, and it allowed me
to look back and see what actually happened to me in the fall. I also
noticed that I wrote a lot of philisophical things back then and sorta quit
after awhile. Oh well, I guess I was looking to write more vibrant
things...things were sorta tough then, and I needed anything possible to
pick myself back up.
What I'm gonna write isn't exactly as philisophical as it is a reflection on
something I have been talking about "here and there" for the last couple
weeks. And that is about my past. No, not the recent stuff...I'm talking
about the events that occured as a child for me, and how it has shaped me to
what I am today. All this is sort of a preface to a reflection on life
since high school, which is actually the topic of my "really happy e-mail"
I've wanted to send for 3 months, but the time was never right for it. Oh
well, maybe this here will help me get a leg up on everything.
I'll start out by telling everyone that "My life began in high school". The
one event that began my "new life" was not actually Padua itself, but the
summer before it when I got contacts to replace my glasses. Sort of weird,
but it totally changed my self-image. I HATED my glasses...they always got
in the way, and I honestly could not stand looking at myself in them. I
played a lot of sports back then, and I got hit in the glasses with a
baseball or basketball more than once. Boo. Boo Crazy. I held on to a lot
of old grade school friends during freshman year, but they soon broke away
once the year was over.
Ok, well I'll first start out by explaining my family situation as a child:
My dad worked until I was 8 when he decided he didn't want to work anymore.
Mom never worked. My sister had moved out when I was a baby, and my brother
Carl lived here until I was 7, although I hated Carl when I was a little kid
because he always teased me and I wanted him to get a girlfriend. My sister
was more like a parent to me, so really for all intensive purposes I was an
"only child". Being an only child isn't easy, but it definitely has it's
benefits. First off, your parents spoil the hell out of you. That can
backfire, since they may want to spoil you "too much" and take away all the
normal things kids do. I NEVER did anything a normal kid did until I was
maybe 10. Between the ages of 4-9 I totally hated sports, all the G.I. Joe
cartoons, etc., since I'd rather play with numbers or cards or write or read
or play music. Sound familiar? That's what I thought. Then I had my
imaginary friends that I have talked about to you guys for awhile now. They
were there for me from the ages of around 4-11.
Then there was the mobile home in Sandusky. That was the single most
life-defining event for me. From the time I started kindergarten till the
end of 7th grade, I spent almost every weekend there during the school year
(excluding winter) and a majority of summers there. In short, I lived a
double life back then. Was it good? Yeah, some of it was...but no part of
it was complete. That's what I totally disliked about it. For example, I
couldn't play on a summer baseball team because I was always in Sandusky.
And I hadn't spent enough time at the trailor to really meet too many
friends or do anything else. I still go back there physically and in
dreams. Once I get older I'd like to buy that trailor back just to go back
there whenever I want to. It's a great place to be, but back then just
wasn't my time...
I went to St. Charles school. Most of my experiences there were pretty
positive, although I never achieved my full potential there (nor was it ever
recognized like it should have been -- and it still isn't) I was always the
smartest kid in the class, which was great because that meant you were the
most popular...well, up until about 3rd grade. Because of my social
ineptness I really didn't have too many friends and was a loner most of the
time after that, although I had a small circle of friends that I
occasionally did things with. I remember skating at the rink a lot during
4th and 5th grades, and other than that there wasn't really much more to do.
I usually behaved myself until around 5th and 6th grades when I went through
a long bout of depression and anger, which I'll explain later. During
junior high, everyone was a monster and I was the same way. But I
eventually settled down in time for high school.
Ok -- here's something I've never told anyone about: there was a time
between the beginning of 5th grade until around the end of 6th grade (and
maybe even into 7th) where I suffered depression and I was very unhappy. As
I mentioned before, I was a loner before, and I really didn't have much of a
problem with it. But then I realized I was getting older and couldn't go on
in my little "fantasy world" I was in. I tried as hard as I could to
"fit-in", but was never able to manage because of the fact that I lived in a
bubble for the first 10 years of my life. I became extremely self-conscious
and tried everything I could to be part of the crowd. At the same time my
family situation was not good either. I'd rather not get into that. And I
also got into a lot of fights back then as well, until I got caught and got
into a lot of trouble. So in that one year, I developed a huge interest in
sports, started listening to popular music (Q-104 baby!), etc. and I got
somewhat better over the course of the next couple of years. There was one
huge setback, and that was the death of my first Stink back on May 5, 1994.
That was sooooo devastating. The night before she died, I heard a Genesis
song on the radio "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight". That IS the reason I became
interested in Genesis -- because I heard the song the night before my dog
died. Can you believe that?
Wow, I can't believe I wrote all that stuff. You guys probably don't care
one bit but at least I got it out and everything was sorta interesting.
I'll carry on more conversation about it later on, I guess.
Wednesday, May 2, 2001
Reorganization
Hay - it's been such a long time since, um... forget that it wasn't funny
anyways...
But it has been awhile since I've discussed any kinda Cyberpalace news or
anything gaming or za-shack related. Well, here it goes. ZA NEWS...
Last night betweek the hours of 1 and 4 AM I re-organized the ZA Shack, as I
usually do every 6 months or so. This time, I did so to prepare for the
summer. A lot of changes have taken place since last year, which I will
explain shortly. In short, the layout goes something like this: the long
8-ft table along the back (west) wall with 3 comps facing the SAME WAY (note
that is the first time I have ever done this). Then along the south wall is
my desk with the laptop with the couch still to the left of it. Although I
may or may not change the positioning of the couch. Along the north wall
(or bookshelf) will be the gaming table for magic, uno, euchre, etc.
There's a lot of open space too, which is another remarkable feat :)
Since last summer, the following has changed:
-My expectations of computer gaming. Last year I wanted to max out my LAN
parties and have 8 comps all the time. Well, that never worked out like it
was supposed to, and this year I'm not gonna try to compete. I will have
3-4 computers suitable for all-out gaming as well as 2-3 more (laptop,
server, etc.) for less-intensive games, apps, etc.
-I now have the DSL connection, so ppl may actually come over to use the
internet :) Also in effect, the need for hard drive transfers has all but
gone away because of the fact that now we all have high-speed connections.
My main CPU still has the mounting bay so if it is ever needed, we still can
pop a HD in there.
-The inclusion of Magic: the Gathering in our gaming repitroire. This means
that we will have an empty table (let's pray that it doesn't become a magnet
for ZA JUNK) for cards.
-I'm not out to prove anything or impress anyone or do anything spectacular.
I just want to have fun. Last summer's ZaFests were great, but at points I
was sorta upset since I was too busy trying to fix faulty comps than
entertaining. I love to entertain. I love to see people happy and laugh
and stuff. Otherwise, I wouldn't dress up as Grandmasta ZA or wear Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles headbands. Of course, other people will also be
invited to entertain -- such as acting like an Amazon Monkey Boy or using
automatic weapons such as canned air to let out their rage.
So this summer I'm just looking to have fun. It isn't quantity but quality
that I'm aiming at here. I'll still try to have lots of people over for
ZaFests and make sure that everyone has a blast. I had a feeling that last
summer that was not the case at times and I'd like to change things for the
better. Heck, I've had all winter to think about it
-CyberZA
anyways...
But it has been awhile since I've discussed any kinda Cyberpalace news or
anything gaming or za-shack related. Well, here it goes. ZA NEWS...
Last night betweek the hours of 1 and 4 AM I re-organized the ZA Shack, as I
usually do every 6 months or so. This time, I did so to prepare for the
summer. A lot of changes have taken place since last year, which I will
explain shortly. In short, the layout goes something like this: the long
8-ft table along the back (west) wall with 3 comps facing the SAME WAY (note
that is the first time I have ever done this). Then along the south wall is
my desk with the laptop with the couch still to the left of it. Although I
may or may not change the positioning of the couch. Along the north wall
(or bookshelf) will be the gaming table for magic, uno, euchre, etc.
There's a lot of open space too, which is another remarkable feat :)
Since last summer, the following has changed:
-My expectations of computer gaming. Last year I wanted to max out my LAN
parties and have 8 comps all the time. Well, that never worked out like it
was supposed to, and this year I'm not gonna try to compete. I will have
3-4 computers suitable for all-out gaming as well as 2-3 more (laptop,
server, etc.) for less-intensive games, apps, etc.
-I now have the DSL connection, so ppl may actually come over to use the
internet :) Also in effect, the need for hard drive transfers has all but
gone away because of the fact that now we all have high-speed connections.
My main CPU still has the mounting bay so if it is ever needed, we still can
pop a HD in there.
-The inclusion of Magic: the Gathering in our gaming repitroire. This means
that we will have an empty table (let's pray that it doesn't become a magnet
for ZA JUNK) for cards.
-I'm not out to prove anything or impress anyone or do anything spectacular.
I just want to have fun. Last summer's ZaFests were great, but at points I
was sorta upset since I was too busy trying to fix faulty comps than
entertaining. I love to entertain. I love to see people happy and laugh
and stuff. Otherwise, I wouldn't dress up as Grandmasta ZA or wear Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles headbands. Of course, other people will also be
invited to entertain -- such as acting like an Amazon Monkey Boy or using
automatic weapons such as canned air to let out their rage.
So this summer I'm just looking to have fun. It isn't quantity but quality
that I'm aiming at here. I'll still try to have lots of people over for
ZaFests and make sure that everyone has a blast. I had a feeling that last
summer that was not the case at times and I'd like to change things for the
better. Heck, I've had all winter to think about it
-CyberZA
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