Monthly Archive for September, 2007

New Philip Pullman Book!

BridgeToTheStars.Net reports that the awesome author, Philip Pullman, is writing another book related to the His Dark Materials series. His Dark Materials is amazing, and happens to be my favorite set of books. Pullman says (esoteric quote alert):

When we see them for the first time with Lyra, Lee is not that old: he’s fifty, sixty, something like that, so they’ve [he and Iorek] known each other for a long time. But I wanted to write a story when they first met as they were young, and I’ve just written it.

I’m pumped! There will be a new book sometime down the road, and The Golden Compass movie is still on track for December 7th. I’m still looking for people to take with me to see it.

Some Thoughts on 9/11

I had an intense experience this morning, and I’ll never forget it. At Dover Middle/High School, HS Student Council members have to say the pledge and read the morning’s announcements each day. This month is my assigned month (and some other people’s), and I had an additional duty this morning. Directly after saying the pledge, I was to instruct the student body to remain standing for a moment of silence to remember everyone impacted or stolen from us six years ago.

While reciting the pledge and this unique announcement, I became very emotional. I was certain that I would be fine before doing it, but upon saying, “I pledge,” I felt immensely sad. Completing sentences was painful, and I’m amazed that I was able to finish the task without stopping completely.

It was obvious that I was troubled by the task, but people were kind enough not to say anything to me about it. I wish I didn’t have to do that this morning. To a much greater extent, I wish no one had to.

Back to School Ordeal

Going back to school is often a nerve-racking process. For me, ‘often’ is replaced by ‘always’, because I detest going back. Yes, I’m anxious to see classmates and learn new things, but the unfamiliarity is just too much to bear for a few days. I seek familiar comfort and routine, both of which cannot exist in the early days of September.

In my quest for coziness, I ran into an issue involving stress and budgeting my time effectively. After day one of school, I began thinking that I signed up for too many classes. Fairly quickly, it became evident that I had two sensible options:

  1. Stick it out.
  2. Drop a class.

I considered my obligations: courses I was taking, extracurricular activities, and my college admissions process. I pinpointed the commitment that took up the most time for the least benefit, and began my journey. The commitment I selected was one of my classes, which will remain unnamed.

Dropping a class is a weird thought for me. I’ve never dropped a class before, although I have considered it in the past on one occasion. In that instance, I chose to stick it out, and regretted it severely. I felt like dropping a class is giving up, quitting, and selling myself short.

As one should in instances like this one, I sought the advice of people who are smarter than I am. A guidance counselor asked me if I would be happier and more effective if I wasn’t taking this class, and I said I would. The counselor advised me to drop it. Other people, biased in their desire to see a happier Ricky, advised me similarly.

I once read that if one’s evidence leans one toward the conclusion that one wants it to, then one needs to find more evidence before making a conclusion. That’s what I did, sort of. I was about to go to sleep one night, and I received an Instant Message from Kim, insightful Exposay contributer. We talked about it, and she gave me exactly what I didn’t want to, but needed to hear: an opposing view.

Continue reading ‘Back to School Ordeal’

Admission Essay Handbook?

A few questions today, which will hopefully trigger some discussion in the comments.

Did any of you, readers, use a handbook for college admissions essays to assist you in your essay writing? Or, if you’re going through the process right now, are you using one? If so, which one was it, and do you recommend it?

iPhone Scandal

Yesterday, Apple held an event titled “The Beat Goes On”. You can watch it here if you’d like to experience Steve Jobs’ Reality Distortion Field. I won’t bore you with the details; basically, Apple released a bunch of iPods. The most interesting product released, in my opinion, is the iPod Touch. It’s the ‘iPhone without the phone’. However, the biggest news isn’t a product, but rather a price cut.

The iPhone’s price dropped $200. The phone that came out two months ago is now $399 rather than $599. Anyone who bought it when it first came out essentially paid an early adopter tax of $100 a month. That’s insane!

After Apple’s stock price mildly plummeted, ~5%, Jobs issued an open letter to iPhone owners saying that Apple would credit early adopters with $100 store credit. It’s your textbook case of damage control. I predict the stock price to bounce back tomorrow.

Here’s the interesting portion within all of this controversy: The iPhone is $399! I’d love to purchase one, but from what I’ve heard from my awesome readers and other people, AT&T’s service is spotty in my area. Really, in all honesty, it is overkill for my needs. The holidays are coming, and the iPhone seems to be a killer product… again.

Procrastination

I haven’t been blogging for the past few days. I procrastinated on some AP homework. It’s due tomorrow, my first day of school, and I’ve dedicated all of my time to it.

Procrastination is awful, and as I thought about it, I remembered an entertaining video about the topic from the amazing Ze Frank. Watch: