Failing Organic Chemistry

I have this habit of writing stupid things in the middle of homework assignments and tests. Usually, I'll write a little note to the teacher or put a useless piece of trivia, since I figure that it breaks the monotony of having to grade everything over and over again.

On my last OChem test, I wrote this:

Harmless enough, no? Anyone who knows me should be aware of how entertained I am by this fact.

And then today, while waiting for class to begin, some kids were talking about our OChem professor. A student mentioned that he was rather surprised to learn that Dr. Dintzner is, in fact, gay.

Oh shit.

Dr. D is aware of me being an obnoxious idiot, but I get the feeling that this crossed the line. I didn't mean any harm, but I seem to have been causing a lot of unintentional damage lately.

If I fail this quarter, at least I'll know why.

Strange Weekend Indeed

I'm a bit late with this post, but alas, school has certainly become my primary lover.

This past weekend was standard protocol; I went to Derek and Lindsay's place after class and spent much of my time either drooling over Airsoft or playing video games. I attempted to beat Super Metroid in under three hours, but unfortunately, my haste led me to be severely underpowered to fight Phantoon. I'm sure I'd be in a much worse predicament when faced with Ridley, considering I have trouble beating him when decently powered. Regardless, just as Derek finally caught a Hylian Loach Friday evening, I shall achieve this challenge one day as well!

Also, the Albino Twins and I saw Coraline in 3D. I initially suspected the 3D to be nothing more than a gimmick, but it's actually quite the visual treat! That, coupled with how artistically amazing the movie itself was, left me quite speechless as I exited the theater. What truly blew my mind was that the movie is animated by stop-motion, not by CGI. It's nice to see that computers haven't truly replaced everything...yet...

Anyways, on Saturday night Lindsay's family came over to celebrate her 21st birthday. I was actually quite surprised at the minimal amount of focus placed on alcohol, considering this is white people we're talking about. However, more important was a conversation I had between Jacapo, the Italian foreign-exchange student and Chris, Lauren's all-American boyfriend.

Adil (in an obnoxious voice): Hey, Chris, you're Italian, right?
Chris: I'm of Italian descent, yeah, why do you ask?
Adil: Well, is Jacapo, like, your brother or something?
(Chris and Jacapo both blankly stare at me)
Adil: So like, can you speak your language to each other?
(They continue to look at me as if I'm mentally retarded)

Now, as preposterous and just plain stupid as I sounded, that is exactly how white people act when two people of similar backgrounds are in proximity to each other. I can't even recount how many times people have asked if I'm related to someone else of Desi, Arab, Persian, or even Filipino backgrounds, solely because we're "foreign."

However, that reminds me of one of my favorite memories with my idiot friends. Derek and Lindsay were driving me home when we stop at a red light. A car pulls up next to us and Lindsay peers out to see the inhabitants of the neighboring vehicles.

"OME* HEY ADIL THOSE GUYS IN THAT CAR LOOK JUST LIKE YOU"
*OME is used as a replacement for "OMG" by Twilight fans. The implication is that Edward is God.

Slightly annoyed, I look over, expecting to see a pair of typical Desis that, of course look like me, on account that we're brown. Damn white people, I think. Only, I see Faisal and Tahir looking back at me.

That bitch got lucky this time.

Anyways, enough digressions. Upon leaving my third home at UIC, I headed back to my second home in Evanston. What an adventure that was! Upon waiting for a Red Line train, I see two people engaged in what seemed to a be a fist fight to the death. I'm not sure why they were fighting, but they were really going at it. Of course, I couldn't keep myself from laughing at the scene. Neither could the CTA official watching.

And then while I was on the Red Line train going through Douchebagville, Chicago (AKA Lincoln Park), there was a rather overweight Korean guy standing in the middle of the train. He had this gigantic necklace hanging from his neck, which were actually speakers blaring techno music. Most of the people on the train weren't amused by his antics, judging by their groans. One man had the courage to stand up to him. One man and his popped collar.

"Hey asshole, this isn't your God damn club! Would you fucking shut that off?"
"What'd you say?!"
"I said get some fucking headphones if you wanna listen to that shit!"
"You want my ass, motherfucker?! You want my ass?!"

Mr. Korean Techno had a very awkward way of talking...like he never usually cusses, but was doing it to defend what little honor he had. You could even hear a slight hint of a whimper; he likely feared this alpha male. The two exchanged further profanities as everyone expected physical violence to erupt. Unfortunately, before that could happen, Mr. Korean let the weight of his speaker-necklace droop his head as he retreated into an adjacent car.

Maybe I should stop blasting Gusty Garden Galaxy while riding the train...

Fitting In? Not Exactly...

I'm starting to enjoy DePaul more. While I'm still mostly alone and left without too much social contact, I feel like I'm becoming more accustomed to everything. I still really miss the small-school in a small-town feeling that Augustana gave me, but it simply reminds me of the words of wisdom that Mr. Bruce imparted to me during senior year: You can't have it all. Even still, at least I have people in my classes to talk to. Especially my Organic Lab; I'm stuck in a corner consisting of various delinquent students who love to tell fun stories and love to hear my Augustana misadventures as well.

And hey, I'm starting to be more obnoxious in class. If that's not a sign of me being happy, then what is?

Sure, I'm still stuck in a school consisting entirely of douchebags and emos, but when I sit back and think about it...it's going to be the same no matter where I go. Plus, the fact that I'm so far removed from the students leaves me in a position where I can easily avoid parties and the like, which is certainly beneficial to my interests.

Despite all of this, the reason I'm going to college is to get an education. And while I still truly miss my friends at Augustana, I think the quality of education I'm getting at DePaul far exceeds whatever that school in Rock Island could have offered.

Alas, while things could be better, at least I'm not so depressed that I'm suffering psychological damage. That alone is enough to be thankful for!

In addition, I think I've finally found a decent path in terms of school. I think sticking with Chemistry as a major is something I can accept with more fondness--it's certainly an acquired taste that I've come to enjoy. I believe I'll be specifically majoring in Biochem, since that way, I can at least have a taste of biology--my first love. Why don't I just major in Biology you say? I still can't figure that one out, either.

Secondly, I may have decided on minoring in Japanese Language. If I do choose to go ahead and do this, then I pretty much have to study abroad in Japan for eight weeks during the summer of 2010. Quite a delight, really, as I've been wanting to study abroad ever since Faisal and Aisha told me their stories from their college days. And in Japan, too!

And for those of you critics asking what I'm supposed to do with a Biochem/Japanese Language degree...well, Dr. Robotnik says it best:

...Yeah...

To top it all off, Faisal and I are getting along great--all my fears of living with him were completely unfounded. Though the two of us are often too busy to hang out aside from the occassional dinner or Simpsons episode, I'm just glad I'm able to spend time with him before he gets married this summer.

Overall, even if I am very stressed out from school, I'm happy with my current situation. So happy, that I just may revive the Toilet Times...it's wishful thinking at this point, but it may happen if I can figure out a way to make it work.

If Lovin' You Is Wrong, Then I Don't Wanna Be Phoenix Wright

This poem is the end result of my extreme boredom a year back when I was going to Harper and had literally nothing to do but play video games and browse 4chan. The poem was my Valentine's Day gift the various women in my life. Yes, it's been horrendously overplayed since then, but I thought I'd give it one more shot. Honestly, I think it's a lot better when I perform it, but oh well. At least I can officially retire it...until V-Day 2010!

So anyways, here we go!

I love you
No, really, I truly do love you, with all of my heart
No, wait
I love you...with all of my hearts
Because I have three of them
And every time I think of you
I get another Heart Container to love you with
But it doesn't stop at twenty, no...it keeps going
Because I think you're the Metroid Prime lover for me
I think we should have a Metroid Fusion
(if you know what I mean)

Because I want nothing more
Than to have a Link's Awakening next to you in the morning.
I want you to waggle my Wiimote, charge my Beam Katana,
And Elite Beat my Agent with your God Hand.
I want you to pull my Master Sword out of my Pedestal of Time and make me into a man
And I want my Solid Snake to infiltrate your Outer Heaven
Or rather...Inner Heaven!

Because every night I have a Final Fantasy just thinking about you
Spending the rest of my Half Life in your arms
But then I get so depressed, because they'll simply remain Earthbound
And if you were to say no
My heart would burn to Ash
My eyes would become all Misty
And I'd think you'd have a soul of Brock

So when I ask, "Can you be my Jill Valentine?"
I want you to respond with:
SHORYUKEN!

All Those Years of Giving Away Halloween Candy...

Faisal just walked in a little while back holding a handful of Starburst, a candy made with gelatin. Gelatin is made from animal bone marrows and thus I can't eat it, since I have a "better safe than sorry" attitude towards the substance--it could be made from pig or non-Halal beef marrow! Anyways, he hands the Starburst to me, to which I tell him that I have no friends at DePaul to give them away to...standard protocol for Starburst, Skittles and Gummi Bears.

"What are you talking about? It's made with legal gelatin."

I blankly stare at him.

"You didn't know? Same goes for Skittles and Pop-Tarts!"

My entire life has been turned upside down. I think I'm going to cry now.