Date:	2008-05-22 15:25
Subject:	Cruisin'
Security:	Public
Mood:	happy

I just got back from a nice 7-day Carnival eastern Caribbean cruise with Tracy and a couple people from work. It was awesome! We had a great time. The cruise ship, the Carnival Triumph, left from Miami, FL, and stopped at Half Moon Cay, Bahamas; St. Thomas, USVI; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands. The food was great, plus we would get free sushi almost every night before dinner.

Photo gallery available here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/marcus.kwok/2008051020080517EasternCaribbeanCruise

( Cruise details behind cut... )

Date:	2008-01-10 10:02
Subject:	Monthaversary
Security:	Public
Mood:	happy

Yesterday was the first monthaversary for Tracy and me. Thus far, things have been going exceptionally well. Tracy came up to my house after I got off work. She showed up wearing a dress and looking quite nice; she's a jeans-and-t-shirt kind of girl so I wasn't expecting it. I gave her some chocolates, and she gave me a card she made (because she's quite the artist) and a pair of boxer shorts (inside joke). I took her out for dinner at Captain James Landing, a seafood restaurant shaped like a big boat. Great food, but horrid music.

After dinner, we went back to my house and hung out until Guitar Hero at Fletchers was supposed to start. We were a few minutes late getting there to set up but turnout has been pretty low recently so it wasn't a big deal; the guy waiting there to play actually thought it was supposed to start at 10 PM instead of 9 PM, so he didn't mind when we rolled in around 9:15 or so. We played GH for a few hours, and eventually everybody else left, so we shut down early around 12:40. We finished our beers and went home. Before we left, we were told to talk to the new owner to see if we would be continuing our GH night; he said to call them on Monday, but from the way it sounds, it looks like it might get canceled.

This entire past month has been nothing short of exhilarating and fantastic.

Also, I am spinning at a rave(!?!) in Dundalk on Saturday, opening for Tittsworth.
( Flyer behind cut )

Date:	2007-12-10 23:02
Subject:	Quick Update
Security:	Public
Mood:	ecstatic

It's been quite a while since I was on here last, so I am a bit behind on everyone's journals.

I will be in the ATL sometime over Christmas break; specific dates are still TBA, but I have to be back here in Baltimore for a DJ gig on the 29th. Pat and Sinno are also heading down; I think both are returning on the 27th and I will probably ride back with one of them, though I will most likely fly down by myself since they are leaving earlier than I am.

I have now been running the Guitar Hero night at Fletcher's for the past couple months with this totally awesome girl named Tracy. I went to a computer show a few weekends ago and played Rock Band, and the guys running the booth were impressed with my l33t riddim skillz and approached me about paying me to help run tournaments and such.

School is going pretty well. I have a final exam on Wednesday, but it shouldn't be too hard.

Also, right now I am happier than I can ever remember being.

That is all.

I've been playing the hell out of some Guitar Hero recently. Every Wednesday night at Fletcher's, they have it up on the projector in the back of the bar.

Tonight, Unwritten Law was partying there (I guess they just had a show or something). The singer was getting pretty cocky, so I had to put him in his place. They were all playing on Medium, but I play on Expert, so I totally kicked his ass.

FWIW, here are my rankings:

WTF... children's cartoonists must all be on drugs.

The Ice King reminds me of the ice wizard that Tom Hanks tries to beat at the beginning of Big. And why are there tighty-whiteys on the floor of his cave? That's just nasty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNVYWJOEy9A

I know it's been a while since I've posted a real update, but this was too cool not to share:

The Philly Taco

I need to make it back up to Philly and try one of these.

My sister Gina and her husband Richard were on the NBC Nightly News tonight!
(for about two seconds, even though they interviewed them for over an hour)

Changing the rules of marriage finances
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17803471/

( Pic behind cut )

Date:	2007-03-06 17:36
Subject:	Double Whammy
Security:	Public
Mood:	sad

I just got a call from my sister and I found out that my grandfather on my mom's side also just passed. Coincidentally, both of them died at 1:15 PM.

Date:	2007-03-06 14:20
Subject:	Whitey
Security:	Public
Mood:	sad

After Whitey's failing battle against renal failure, I had to put him down.

Whitey, you will be missed :(

It's been a while since my last real update. Hmm, let's see, started taking classes again, working on my M.S. in Computer Science. Work is paying for it, so I may as well cash in on it while the cashing-in is good. It's a ten class program, and I've already finished my first semester with an 'A' (Foundations of Algorithms). This semester I'm taking Foundations of Computer Architecture. 8 homeworks (of which only 6 count towards my final grade, with the other two counting as extra credit), a midterm, and a final. Plus, the professor already has the lecture notes typed up, and he even prints them out and gives them to us each class, so I don't even really have to take notes. Plus, I've already had most of this material while at gatech as an undergrad, so it should be pretty cake this semester.

My cat, Whitey, has been having some issues. When I picked him up from the vet's boarding facilities after returning from the ATL over Christmas, they told me that he was hypercalcemic (elevated calcium levels), anemic, and had shown signs of kidney failure, in addition to losing his appetite shortly before I left. The vet suspected lymphoma, so she referred me to a specialist. We're still in the diagnostic stages, but after a bunch of vet bills, Whitey is now on 5 oral medications and 2 subcutaneous ones. Poor kitty :(

I've had a few DJ gigs up at Shorty's. A few weeks ago I was invited for my first Saturday gig there, and it went very well. A friend had brought down her friend from Philly who is also a DJ, and he MC'ed over my beats and wants us to come do a show up in Philly sometime, but it's still tentative. Speaking of, I finally got around to posting another mix, available at http://gtf.org/ricecake/audio/. It's from August 23, 2006, when I was on my friends' internet radio show (The Underground Sound) on FaderWave.

I'll be doing a set on FaderWave tonight, sometime between 8 PM and 10 PM.

I'm driving down to the ATL/Marietta with Pat tonight... we're probably leaving sometime between 20:00 and 22:00, putting us in the area sometime tomorrow morning. I'll be in town until the 28th or so.

Date:	2006-09-03 22:00
Subject:	New Bike Pics
Security:	Public
Mood:	itchin' to ride

I took some pics of my new bike, a 2006 Kawasaki Ninja 650R (EX650). Adam showed me the eBay auction for it, so on Monday of last week I rode down there with a friend from work who has a large pick-up truck. I offer the guy cash for it, and he takes it so we load up the bike into his truck. I had no tags for it, so I leave it at my friend's house and go home. I buy insurance on Tuesday, and on Wednesday I went to the MVA to get title work and temporary tags for it. I finally got to ride it for the first time (excluding the short test ride before I bought it) today. John and I went on a 60-mile ride to Brighton Dam so he could pick up a bow-and-arrow hunting license.

( Pics behind cut )

Date:	2006-08-29 03:38
Subject:	New Bike
Security:	Public
Mood:	excited

I am now the proud owner of a slightly-used Kawasaki Ninja 650R.

Date:	2006-08-18 12:31
Subject:	Shorty's
Security:	Public
Mood:	tired

Thanks to everyone who made it out to Shorty's last night! Especially to those who came from such far away places as Columbia (Zach), College Park (Sinno), and DC (eccyntric, Tom). Special thanks to Jeff and Aimee for cutting their road trip a little short to make it back in time, Vernon for covering the first hour for me, and Brian for vouching for me in the first place.

I will be spinning d&b tonight at Shorty's. Come support your local DJs!

Date:	2006-07-29 13:56
Subject:	Shorty's
Security:	Public
Mood:	excited

I got my first gig DJing at Shorty's. Thursday, August 17th, 10:00 PM - 1:30 AM. Shit, I gotta make sure I can keep up a 3.5 hour set. Anyone in the Baltimore area, come out and support your local DJs!

Date:	2006-07-08 21:20
Subject:	I fought the curve and the curve won
Security:	Public
Mood:	sore
Music:	Fat Boys - Wipeout

Jeff and I went for a nice long 80 mile ride today up Harford Road. It has lots of nice turns and curves. We were on our way back, and I was going slightly too fast for this one sharp turn. I went off the road up the embankment of fallen leaves, rode it for about 20 feet or so, and tried to hit the brakes. Due to all of the leaves, I did not have any traction, so the bike just slid, until I tried to get it back on the road. The bike went down, and I went over the handlebars and rolled a couple feet. I banged my knee on something as I was rolling but am otherwise fine. My handlebars are a bit bent now, and my headlight is pointing higher than it should be.

( Pics )

Edit [2006-07-10]: Here's is Jeff's assessment of the situation:
( Jeff's email to the list )

Date:	2006-07-05 13:21
Subject:	Los Angeles
Security:	Public
Mood:	exhausted

Just got back last night from spending a week in Los Angeles.

Date:	2006-05-26 00:13
Subject:	Go-go-go-karts
Security:	Public
Mood:	okay

After work today Jeff and I went to C-Mart in Joppatowne so he could have a look at their kitchen appliances, but he did not see anything worthwhile. On the way home, we stopped at this go-kart track. We got there right after some learning center group did, and the place was seriously understaffed, so we watched them go around the track for a few sessions. After that, we got to go on the slick track (9 HP karts (the fast track karts were only 5 HP (which was good since the kids seemed to have some problems with running into each other, even though all the karts had NO BUMPING in huge letters on the back))). There were three go-karts: two fast ones, and one that was out of tune and not as fast. During our first session, Jeff's wheel fell off the go-kart, so they let us go again for free, but Jeff had to use the slower go-kart since that was the only other one out there. The track was a fairly short simple oval, but it was fun. Since we were the only two people on the track, it wasn't a big deal to spin out, so we were sliding them all over the place. I definitely gained a greater intuition on how to keep control of the vehicle when the tires have broken free, and got to practice my oversteering. My arms are sore now from all the opposite locking.