I’ve been decently busy lately. Assignments are due shortly. Games remain as addictive as ever.

I’ve been weaning off my Neverwinter Nights habit in the last week, and I’ve been gaming in moderation. I was out of balance a little while ago, but I seem to have regained it now.

I downloaded Ringu, the Japanese horror movie that was remade as The Ring in North America. Apparently, the Japanese version was much more frightening than the toned down American version, much like Jacky Chan’s fight scenes, I suspect. I’m still hesitant to watch it; I don’t like horror movies in general as they tend to cause a great lack of sleep during the following week, and this movie is supposed to be legendary in it’s ability to cause such an affliction. Even the fucking box cover scares me. I guess that if there’s a week that I need to get a lot of work done, I could use the movie as a sort of caffeine substitute.

I spoke with my supervisor about a proposal. For my final project, I’ll be trying to calculate the time complexity of solving a Rubik’s cube. There seems to be a rich set of literature documenting various algorithms and solutions for solving one in optimal time, so I think that I’ll have my work cut out for me. I’ve never been very good at solving Rubik’s cubes, since I never owned one. In the last few days I’ve been spending some time in understanding the logic behind the moves, and I’ve been able to solve it twice, with some online help. The radial tendon in my wrist seems to be suffering, however, with a slight pinched feeling, so I’m going to be restraining myself in fiddling with the cube over the next few days.

I’ve been looking for a condo to buy, but there doesn’t seem to be anything that I want to live in for more than five years within my price range. I suppose that it just makes sense, and that I’m setting my standards a bit too high. I’m now wondering if I should move back home or stay here. There are some advantages to moving back home, such as being able to live/hang out with John more often. However, I’ve friends here that I don’t want to leave, and I’ve grown fond of this city, and it’s comely feeling. It’s a decision I’ll have to make before the summer begins, and I suspect that it will be one of the most difficult decisions I’ll have to make in my life.

There’s something about the chemistry between Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn that simply fascinates me, and although I’m sure the momentum of it spawned the painful movie Made, I still feel inclined to watch it over and over again.

My course load got easier this term, when I dropped a six hour per week course for a three hour one. Light schedules always seem to make my mind sloven, as if the load isn’t enough to put my mind in gear, so I grow restless in neutral. I wonder what I’m going to do when I’m out of school and looking for a job, something which will be happening within the half-year.

For some reason, Dolly takes an invariable fascination with the brushing of my teeth. Wherever she is, she’ll stalk up to my location and gaze intently at the act, hunched forward with the weight on her front paws. I can’t figure out what aspect of the brushing she may find interesting, and I wonder whether she’ll ever tire of watching.

I found out that I unofficially passed all my courses. I won’t believe it until I get the official transcript.

I just came back from watching Gangs of New York. I don’t think I’ll be going to a theatre again anytime soon. I paid thirteen fucking fifty for a ticket, when I could wait for it to come out on DVD and rent it for a third of the price. There wasn’t anything in the directing of the movie that made me think, “Oh, that’s Scorsese”, which was slightly disappointing. Day-Lewis’s presence on the screen, on the other hand, was amazing. His elocution was just perfect. I walked home afterwards in the thin, but dense, falling snow. It felt good.

I also watched a movie called The Center of the World yesterday, with the delectable Molly Parker as a lithe redhead. It wasn’t very good all around; acting was bland, story was bland and exaggerated, camerawork was shoddy (even though it was meant to be), but the sex was good.

I think I’m shmitten. Bad.

Dolly is getting spayed next week, so I’ll have to find a way to get her to the hospital one day, and back the next day. I might have to take a taxi for the four trips, if I can’t find someone to give me a ride.

I have a fairly easy term, since I only have three classes and a final project to complete. There’s also the fact that I’m not working, so that’s another dozen or so hours I’ve saved. I tried to take a course at Carleton instead, but it turns out that there’s no equivalence. It’s such a pity; my second attempt at galvanizing some of the stagnancy in my life has failed miserably, much like the first. I’ll need to look for a permanent job this term, hopefully computer related.

There’s something about good strong pressure in a shower nozzle. Without it, it seems like warmth is just coming over one’s body in some sort of diffuse, amorphous manner.

My last week has been busy. I spent almost every moment of my week at home doing something. I was tired a lot of the time, due to the sheer amount of stuff that I tried to get done.

Four of the days I hung out with John. I got him Metal Gear Solid 2 and Onimusha: Warlords 2 for Christmas. We watched Pumpkin and Adaptation. Pumpkin had some terrible aspects to it, such as acting, but also had some very poignant moments. I’m trying to get one of the scenes framed, but I doubt I’ll be able to get a high enough resolution to have the proper print quality. To me, the scene seems to speak of such an innocence, even in the face of foreseeable tragedy. It reminds me of the ignorance I have of people when I first meet them, that I have no idea what the person is like, good or bad. Adaptation was alright. I was expecting so much more from Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze, but I guess that even the master of originality can run out of ideas. Spike Jonze still did an amazing job though.

I stayed over at Darren’s for three days. We gamed and generally stayed up late. It was a lot of fun to be so tired. I saw Duets, which I felt had one really well developed relationship out of the three, which was a pity, since the entire movie was based on relationships. Everything just pulled together rather cheeply in the end. I also saw Dog Day Afternoon with him, starring Al Pacino. He did a powerful part, what many consider to be his best, but I still consider Scarface to be his most accomplished work.

I discovered a band called the Gentle Waves which have a frontwoman with an interesting singing style. I downloaded a few of their songs, since I was hooked on Falling From Grace, and it was reassuring to know that their songs don’t all sound the same like Mazzy Star when I discovered Fade Into You.

Over the entire week, I didn’t have the time to write a single entry. It was difficult because I felt like I had so much to say. Sometimes, something in a simple conversation will cause me to wonder, and I’ll need some time to think about what has been brought up.

My mind feels like it’s going in eight directions at once. I have so much shit to think about, exams, failing courses, registration, projects, holiday planning, that it’s hard for me to keep track of where I’m going. I eventually had to force myself to forget about everything except for my exams and my final project.

I spoke to a prof about a final project today. He didn’t give me a straight answer, but suggested that I think about it first. He seemed a little put down by the fact that not many people choose him as a supervisor. I imagine that it’s because he really makes his students work for the project, instead of recycling old projects, causing him to be feared, instead of revered.

All my rides are working out perfectly for the holiday. I’m getting a ride down with Thom, and a ride up with Aaron, instead of John. John’s going to be coming up on the third, and going back on the seventh. I can’t FUCKING WAIT.

I watched Human Nature with Aaron. I enjoyed it. A lot. Charlie Kaufman never ceases to amaze me. I felt the actors each had the perfect look for the movie, from Patricia Arquette’s unique beauty, to Rhys Ifans aloofness and demeanour, to Miranda Otto’s perky face, and to Tim Robbin’s stereotypically curly hair and facial features. It’s not quite a movie that I’d purchase, but definately one that I’d like to watch again, if not for the subtleties of the monologue/dialogue, then for the complexities of the relationships involved. I don’t think Spike Jonze could have done a better job at directing it than Michel Gondry.