comeback tour

This post is a comeback tour of sorts. A farewell performance from my old blog. Of sorts.

Well, it's only 5 days til the end of the semester, and I get to say bye bye to my current roomie (oddly enough, that would probably be the 50th and 51st words i mutter to him this entire year. I kid you not.)

Just when it's time to finish up with exams and start packing and move on to a better life...

The guy gets his social life going.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. But look, it's like hanging out with Stevie Wonder and then suddenly he says "oh, your eyes are brown..."; or taking a guilty peek at the current roster of Pokemon and seeing there are now 15,678 Pokemon (it will happen someday), reminiscing the time when there were only 150 -- enough to rap them all in one 3 minute song.

It's like Asians suddenly dominating the NBA -- like Singaporeans dominating the runways in Paris and Milan, while hot Brazilians take turns wrestling in green fluid in that S Factor show (no offense, ladies);

Bottom line: it's bizzare.

Nowadays I come home and this guy is on his earpiece - more glued onto it than an Indian call center guy. He makes dinners for two once a week for some girl I have never seen before. The guy who once thrived on Youtube and Hulu now lives on Skype and MSN.

And yet he manages to stay glued onto his seat the entire day. Miracles of the human spirit.

I am happy for him - that finally, that huge lump of saffron in his throat has been dislodged, allowing him to peruse the world of social animals.

But whoa -- that laugh. I have never heard him laugh. It's just so awkward that I cringe everytime he does it. I know it's counter-intuitive, but it is really painful.

It's as if the introverted guy who sits in one corner of the class with his Nintendo DS and neon-colored earphones suddenly breaks out of his shell and runs around the park naked.

It also doesn't help that it's exams, and everytime he laughs, the last chapter of Corporate Law falls out of my nervous system, gets digested and egested.

That wasn't so bad wasn't it?

exam stress

In the midst of going crazy about Simon and Garfunkel as well as the gradual maturation of my passion for statistics, the incessant juxtaposition of young, old, and retarded bert has conjured up the following image in my mind:



That's Paul Simon, Prof. Simonoff who is one of my favorite profs at NYU, and Mario. The three great moustaches that have influenced my life.

One day I will put my pen to good use and write about the wonders that your passion for upper lip hair did for my life. I wish I could say I knew how it felt to have bits of cookie crumbs or some frosted flakes stuck in your upper lip, but I am not worthy of such an honor. So I will humbly be content in tediously wiping away my dirty lips after every bite of knowledge.

I am content.

the boxer

In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down or cut him
til he cried out in his anger and his shame
I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains
Yes he still remains

-Simon and Garfunkel, "The Boxer"


SIMON & GARFUNKEL - The Boxer - 1975 - Live - MyVideo

Timeless masterpiece. One of the few things that keep me afloat nowadays. If you have time, listen to the whole song. And please listen and read the lyrics. This is beyond a beautiful bluegrass rendition.

May this song encourage everybody who's going through a tough time.

Keep swingin'