DJ’ing appeals to us, we who have dug through thousands of virtual crates, we who have amassed our hoards and stockpiled our audio treasures, because we get to wordlessly (unless you are VIVAS, MASTAR OF TRAWNCE YOUFOARIA) express that which only silence can dignify.
You may choose to dance to it, to stand and enjoy, to use it as a interlude to a conversation with a pretty girl - it doesn’t matter to us. In a moment of arrogance, we decided that we have found or made something of a caliber that you could not have realized by yourself. And the only way we can reciprocate your faith in us is by expressing the same faith in your ability to use it wisely.
//to be continued…
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Longhorn Confidential sample blog.
It seems like every conversation I begin with my friends, whether in person or online, begins with “when are you leaving for college?” A couple months ago, it was “where are you going to college?” and before that, it was “where are you applying for college?” Life has been fixated on going to college for a while now. As the moment of departure approaches, however, my excitement is mixed with trepidation, as I realize that moving to a new, exciting place necessarily means leaving behind Houston, my home for the last 10 years. Even though I can’t wait to get started at UT-Austin, inertia is pulling me back and keeping me lounging on my bed instead of preparing. Time to make some packing lists…
Coming with me:
- Lots of my friends! Around 50 or so of them. Some are coming from The Woodlands, and some are coming from Katy, and some are new people I just met at orientation, but there’s a ton of interesting people that I’ll get to interact with.
- My Toshiba laptop. It’s hardly the most cutting edge piece of tech out there, but it’s a dedicated workhorse, and no matter what, it’s still better than a Mac. (Admittedly, I am a little bit jealous that my computer doesn’t look quite as sexy, but at least it was cheap!)
- 3 bargain speaker systems (Altec Lansing, General Electric, and Sony, respectively). Net market worth? $60. With a little bit of twine, though, and a couple of extension cords, I set up my own little bootleg surround system at home and I hope to recreate that in college - just for a little touch of home.
- A brand new MyTouch 3G. Well, not yet, technically – but it’s coming in within a week! After using a RAZR for years, my old phone developed a propensity to turn itself off randomly. Well, not quite – I noticed a direct correlation between the importance of the phone call being made or the task being performed and the likelihood of an unwelcome shutdown.
- A lot of shoes. I am an unashamed sneakerhead – my biggest indulgence – but it is a little embarrassing that I am struggling with an issue that mostly plagues the fairer sex.
- Contacts and cleats. I plan to play Ultimate as much as I can at UT; I definitely have a lot of room for improvement, but I really like the sport, and UT’s Ultimate team is pretty awesome. I really hate contacts – I can never get them in right the first time (blame my squinty Asian eyes!) and they also dry out and itch, but they’re a must have for Ultimate.
- Memories and personal effects. I’m not really sentimental, but some things are just worth hanging onto, as reminders of how special some people are. My girlfriend, Natalia, made me a little collage and wrote me some incredibly sweet letters that I’m keeping with me.
Not coming with me:
- My family: two loving parents and a 4 year old brother – I will especially miss watching him grow by leaps and bounds every day! Although I am not very good at music mixing, he loves telling me that I’m a great DJ, and his relationship with me alternates sporadically between hero worship and abuse. I will miss him waking me up in the mornings by jumping on me… and I have a feeling I’m going to miss my little human alarm clock even more when my 8 AM’s start.
- My girlfriend, Natalia; she is going to be a junior in high school next year, and I’m doing my best to convince her that UT-Austin is the school for her. She loves telling me that she’s probably going to go to A&M because it makes me squirm. We have a wonderfully weird relationship.
- Lots of my friends. Some decided UT isn’t the place for them… and some just haven’t applied yet. I hope to stay in touch, but hey, that’s what the internet is for.
- My debate team. After 4 years of Lincoln-Douglas debate, captaining, competing, judging, and coaching, it’s weird to leave the activity of high school debate behind. My high school still has lots of talented kids, though, to continue the legacy. My prodigal son, Sam Hamad, looks to dominate the San Antonio/Texas circuit this year. Look out.
- My iPod; after years of faithfully churning out my collection of tunes, it finally stopped working. Hopefully this is where the MyTouch will come in!
- My car. His name is Jack, and he’s a ’98 Camry LE V6. He’s been in the family for more than a decade, and it’s going to be hard to leave him behind. He can be a little bit crotchety sometimes – especially when younger cars cut him off - but I still love him.
Well, that’s pretty much it. Other than clothes and some other essentials, I can’t think of much else to bring. I guess I’m a pretty utilitarian guy. What are you bringing/leaving behind on your way to UT-Austin? Comments below.
Coming with me:
- Lots of my friends! Around 50 or so of them. Some are coming from The Woodlands, and some are coming from Katy, and some are new people I just met at orientation, but there’s a ton of interesting people that I’ll get to interact with.
- My Toshiba laptop. It’s hardly the most cutting edge piece of tech out there, but it’s a dedicated workhorse, and no matter what, it’s still better than a Mac. (Admittedly, I am a little bit jealous that my computer doesn’t look quite as sexy, but at least it was cheap!)
- 3 bargain speaker systems (Altec Lansing, General Electric, and Sony, respectively). Net market worth? $60. With a little bit of twine, though, and a couple of extension cords, I set up my own little bootleg surround system at home and I hope to recreate that in college - just for a little touch of home.
- A brand new MyTouch 3G. Well, not yet, technically – but it’s coming in within a week! After using a RAZR for years, my old phone developed a propensity to turn itself off randomly. Well, not quite – I noticed a direct correlation between the importance of the phone call being made or the task being performed and the likelihood of an unwelcome shutdown.
- A lot of shoes. I am an unashamed sneakerhead – my biggest indulgence – but it is a little embarrassing that I am struggling with an issue that mostly plagues the fairer sex.
- Contacts and cleats. I plan to play Ultimate as much as I can at UT; I definitely have a lot of room for improvement, but I really like the sport, and UT’s Ultimate team is pretty awesome. I really hate contacts – I can never get them in right the first time (blame my squinty Asian eyes!) and they also dry out and itch, but they’re a must have for Ultimate.
- Memories and personal effects. I’m not really sentimental, but some things are just worth hanging onto, as reminders of how special some people are. My girlfriend, Natalia, made me a little collage and wrote me some incredibly sweet letters that I’m keeping with me.
Not coming with me:
- My family: two loving parents and a 4 year old brother – I will especially miss watching him grow by leaps and bounds every day! Although I am not very good at music mixing, he loves telling me that I’m a great DJ, and his relationship with me alternates sporadically between hero worship and abuse. I will miss him waking me up in the mornings by jumping on me… and I have a feeling I’m going to miss my little human alarm clock even more when my 8 AM’s start.
- My girlfriend, Natalia; she is going to be a junior in high school next year, and I’m doing my best to convince her that UT-Austin is the school for her. She loves telling me that she’s probably going to go to A&M because it makes me squirm. We have a wonderfully weird relationship.
- Lots of my friends. Some decided UT isn’t the place for them… and some just haven’t applied yet. I hope to stay in touch, but hey, that’s what the internet is for.
- My debate team. After 4 years of Lincoln-Douglas debate, captaining, competing, judging, and coaching, it’s weird to leave the activity of high school debate behind. My high school still has lots of talented kids, though, to continue the legacy. My prodigal son, Sam Hamad, looks to dominate the San Antonio/Texas circuit this year. Look out.
- My iPod; after years of faithfully churning out my collection of tunes, it finally stopped working. Hopefully this is where the MyTouch will come in!
- My car. His name is Jack, and he’s a ’98 Camry LE V6. He’s been in the family for more than a decade, and it’s going to be hard to leave him behind. He can be a little bit crotchety sometimes – especially when younger cars cut him off - but I still love him.
Well, that’s pretty much it. Other than clothes and some other essentials, I can’t think of much else to bring. I guess I’m a pretty utilitarian guy. What are you bringing/leaving behind on your way to UT-Austin? Comments below.
Friday, January 23, 2009
My first potential Zinch blog.
Note: If I had a superpower, I would want the ability to have my own soundtrack wherever I go. Life would be so much more epic this way. (There are several teachers who I can't imagine walking anywhere without 'The Imperial March' playing.) Unfortunately, I haven't been hit by gamma radiation or bitten by a radioactive iPod, so the closest I can manage to that is giving you some music to listen to while you read my blog.
Today's song: The Smashing Pumpkins - 1979
Why?: It’s 4:30 AM, and this is what turned up in my iTunes playlist.
Topic of the day: College applications.
If you’re like me, college applications probably took a really long time. Not just because you had to do research, or had to fill out tons of forms. God knows your parents probably badgered you all the time, and you knew in the back of your mind, no matter how much you vehemently told them to leave you alone, that they were right, lest you be owned by rolling admissions or a sudden deadline change or your internet giving out minutes before the deadline or something equally cataclysmic. (This actually happened to a friend of mine; he had to “hastily drive” to another person’s house to submit his application an hour before the deadline.)
No, it was probably those dreaded essays. Even those among you who take pride in being smart, eloquent individuals know what I mean. For me, the most difficult part was talking about myself. The advice I was given – brag; be proud and ostentatious. But I’m not like that by nature. I’ve had some very humbling experiences - I’m a debater and have some very, very smart friends and acquaintances which make it hard to feel proud about anything I’ve done.
But even worse, I felt like I wasn’t painting a cogent enough picture of myself. I didn’t want to represent myself as some air-headed idiot who thought that everything he ever did was God-tier awesome, but I certainly didn’t want to present myself as overly unconfident or unsure, either. I ended up writing most of my essays about debate or some other very personal experience, and they might not be the most impressive things ever, but they’re certainly sincere, and I’m satisfied with the finished product.
How about yours?
- jeff zhao
Today's song: The Smashing Pumpkins - 1979
Why?: It’s 4:30 AM, and this is what turned up in my iTunes playlist.
Topic of the day: College applications.
If you’re like me, college applications probably took a really long time. Not just because you had to do research, or had to fill out tons of forms. God knows your parents probably badgered you all the time, and you knew in the back of your mind, no matter how much you vehemently told them to leave you alone, that they were right, lest you be owned by rolling admissions or a sudden deadline change or your internet giving out minutes before the deadline or something equally cataclysmic. (This actually happened to a friend of mine; he had to “hastily drive” to another person’s house to submit his application an hour before the deadline.)
No, it was probably those dreaded essays. Even those among you who take pride in being smart, eloquent individuals know what I mean. For me, the most difficult part was talking about myself. The advice I was given – brag; be proud and ostentatious. But I’m not like that by nature. I’ve had some very humbling experiences - I’m a debater and have some very, very smart friends and acquaintances which make it hard to feel proud about anything I’ve done.
But even worse, I felt like I wasn’t painting a cogent enough picture of myself. I didn’t want to represent myself as some air-headed idiot who thought that everything he ever did was God-tier awesome, but I certainly didn’t want to present myself as overly unconfident or unsure, either. I ended up writing most of my essays about debate or some other very personal experience, and they might not be the most impressive things ever, but they’re certainly sincere, and I’m satisfied with the finished product.
How about yours?
- jeff zhao
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