Zen of Tofu

Here I sit in a map room. No one dares say a word for fear of violating the silence. I’m at the beginning of a week that aims to break my spirit, and yet I sit here writing an entry. My Internet at home has gone offline for some odd reason and it left me unconnected for the entire weekend. It actually feels quite crippling and it’s making me realize how much I depend on the Internet for work and entertainment. Especially writing this silly shell script for my software tools course, it has proved to be quite difficult without the aid of examples or online references. So I’m here blogging when I should be working on my code, and implementing an idea that I conjured  up last night laying in bed thinking about how I can get around a limitation. I just hope that my ISP company fixes my problem by today, since I have a lot of time to get this assignment done tonight.

What is even more frightening are the two Japanese tests I have this week that are very exam-like, and finding time to study for them in between working on this assignment is beginning to make me wish there were 26 hours in a day or that I require just three hours to catch up on all my sleep.Well, I better get to implementing that solution before I forget it completely.

written by tofu

Here marks the end of a weekend’s worth of studying for a 30 minute test, and an entire week of not posting a single entry. A few times I did try and get some ideas down on the keys, but nothing felt really worth publishing. Finally I have a few moments to myself before I become engorged with the task of writing a shell script for an assignment.

Lately, (more like the past 5-6 months) I have been practising my kanji/Chinese character writing for my Japanese class and it has become a weekly task I enjoy to some extent. There’s something about writing the characters that evokes self-fulfilment. It’s not the mere fact that the characters are appealing to my eyes, but the feeling of tradition and heritage behind each stroke, is what makes the process of writing much more satisfying.

Strokes. They come in all forms of thickness, length, duration, colour, intensity, and meaning. Whether it represents the last button you pushed, the name you don, or a part of a larger culmination, each one has thought behind it. An intention. A will. A way. Much like the actions in our lives, we make strokes of genius or of luck but there’s always the dim possibility of making errors. May you make your strokes in paint with no regrets, because life doesn’t always throw you an eraser.

written by tofu

Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday!
I really appreciate it! It appears my Facebook got raided with the messages to my pleasant surprise! I haven’t got the time to thank you all individually so I decided to post my “thank you” here.

Thanks again and I wish all of you the best too!

written by tofu

Ser·en·dip·i·ty: noun

In other words, beneficial accidents. Some may say this is all part of fate, and I would tend to agree; a part of our destiny, a part of our underlying vocation. Such a word can only describe the brief moment an accident enlightens your heart. That split second when time itself waits on your heart to beat, is that point when you can just say you have experienced serendipity. It is as if the moment itself replaced the missing beat and yet your heart is left warmed in a gentle lavender flame. I would say it is more than luck, yet less than will. But yet you are taken aback, speechless and mesmerized. Afraid of embarrassment, all you can do is smile and watch. Examine the circumstances, the situation, and catch your breath. And now you just wish you could experience that moment altogether again and freeze that moment in time forever, but you know new beginnings await in that loud silence of your imagination. Take another breath of fresh air, get up, dust off, and make your move; time only waits on serendipity.

written by tofu

Recently the annual GDC (Game Developer’s Conference) was held in San Francisco, California. Now this conference isn’t as consumer friendly as E3, but nevertheless there were some announcements that gamers would be very interested to hear. One key interest point of mine that was previewed to journalists was the long awaited Forza Motorsport 2. Forza is the ultimate racing simulator the XBOX 360 and the sole game I’ve been eager to play ever since it was first announced. As an avid racer and tuner of Forza 1, I was left wanting more engine swaps, more tracks, and more cars. It looks like the developers heard my call and added all of that plus more.

What I’m looking forward to most are the levels of customization, the improved physics engine, and the addition of new European exotics. It looks like they added a lot more depth to the tuning by allowing drive train swaps, engine swaps, and more attention to engine internals such as valves and camshafts. At the conference they also demonstrated the new dynamics in vehicle damage and the added dimensions to the physics engine. Audio is of top quality as would be expected, and of course the soundtrack is your soundtrack. This means you can always just rip some tracks off a CD and play them while you race using the 360’s media player. (Me and my bro loved this feature! Nothing beats doing endurance races with Eurobeats in the background) With the new sequel, the developers also managed to obtain more licenses so there will be many new European cars not featured in the first edition of Forza. That means Ferrari’s and Lamborghini’s!

I am eagerly awaiting the end of May release for Forza 2. Meanwhile I race and tune in Gran Turismo 4 to satisfy my tuning itch.

written by tofu