How Many Words in This List That You Know?

How are you doing on your readings in general and more specifically in developing your vocabularies? Recently I started reading a book for my Finance class called The End of Wall Street by Roger Lowenstein. In the very first chapter of the book – a short 6-page prologue, there were many words that I did not know, and I am listing them here:

destitute
somnolent
bulwark
scrutinize
(to) prick
quiescent
laudatory
salient
fervent (adj)
frothy
parlance
umbilical (cord)
placate
carnage
plenitude
opiate
dictum
stupendous

I was so surprised to see so many new words in such a small amount of pages! How is this Roger Lowenstein guy? You would think that while reading a finance book, the only words you would stumble upon are technical terms or lingos. Or maybe I am just bad.
How many words in the list above that you already know?

I Am Bored

It’s nearly midnight right now and I feel bored. I don’t want to do any work; I don’t want to play any game or watch any movie. I don’t even feel like going to bed. What I am to do?

It is by no means that I am running low on tasks. Tasks are always there hanging. They keep urging you to prolong this Life and make it perfect. Yet in the midst of all the to-do’s, occasionally I’d feel terribly bored – like right now at this moment.

I feel so bored, as if all the motivations and meanings in Life have finally decided to leave me for good, so that I would be lonely and sad. There you have it: I am so lonely and am so sad. I feel hollow and vain like a make-believe fortune cookie, or like a teenager yearning for love and care of a parent. I have been without a family for so long, have been wandering to the point of not having a place to claim my own. Sure, someday I’ll settle down somewhere and call it home. But isn't it extremely painful to have to create it yourself because you have none? I am so tired, and I am bored of being tired.

I have stopped blogging for so long it scares me to come back. This blog is a part of who I am, a humble way for me to serve God, and a place I can take refuge. Maybe that’s why I am complaining: it does feel like home when you can stop caring and start whining and no one will judge.

I am back.

An Duong Vuong

An Duong Vuong, 2013 by DK-Gm
Silk Art
My first surreal attempt

An Dương Vương was a Vietnamese ancient king (257-207 BC) whose life was eventful and memorable. He built the spiral-shape three-layered fortress to protect the capital city of Co Loa. However, the son-in-law betrayed him, and the king failed to prevent his country to be invaded.

This piece portrays the king's tormented soul. I hope you'd enjoy it.

A Story on Sunday

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” - Exod 20:8 (NIV)

It was another Sunday, and I was at church when I learned that our study group will discontinue by the end of the month. That’s too bad since it was hard to find a good Bible study group and I really enjoyed this class. “Oh well, what can I do?” - I said.

Then after the service, Arwen felt hungry and she was a bit grumpy and I wasn’t very happy about it. Why do we tend to be unhappy on Sundays?

While driving home, I decided that if the day was crappy, what I could do was to get many things done. I washed the dishes, and right after lunch I started doing laundry. After all, by the end of the day, maybe I would feel better with myself being productive.

The snow just now melted, leaving the soil in front of the laundry place soggy and wet. As I was carrying the huge laundry basket I stepped on this soil and it felt like quicksand. I quickly stepped back but it was too late: my proud Nike shoes got all the dirt they could take. Great, now the car became dirty when I got in, and the apartment also got dirty when I came inside. At least I didn’t drop the laundry.

Then I drove to the laundry place again to put the clothes into the dryer. When I came out of the car my little ice shovel scratched my leg it hurt so bad. I wanted to cry.

But it was Sunday, and my duty as a Christian was to try to be positive. So I braced myself out of the house one more time to get the laundry which should now be dried. I just needed to get the laundry, then maybe I could take Arwen to the local antique shop called “Those Were The Days”. She wanted to go there, so we might have some fun and be happy.

I turned my car key, and the engine sounded extra-loudly and there were strange noises. I decided to turn it off. And here the showdown happened. I took the key out of the ignition the machine did not stop(!). I tried opening the hood and saw some belt still spinning really hard. I did not know what to do. I thought of calling 9-1-1 but it might be too late. The car might explode right there and I might not survive. So I dashed to the neighbor next door for help. While I was knocking the car stopped.

So at least it did not explode. I tried to get in and turn it on, but nothing at all happened. No clicking sound. No light turning on. Nothing. The car is as dead as soup. It was all too quiet.

I had to walk to carry the laundry home. And I couldn’t take Arwen to “Those Were The Days”.

So my question was: I was just trying to do chores, why all of this had to happen to me?

Site note: This story happened 2 weeks ago, and up until now we still haven’t found another car to buy yet. The weather is cold, and walking to class is tough, which makes it altogether more unfortunate. 

Origami Extreme - Part 10!!!

Here I start a new year with a BAM: A brand new Origami collection!!! The collection this time is about animals, a little bit of this and that. All the models are from John Montroll’s Animal Origami for the Enthusiast (1985). It’s a wonderful book filled with detailed diagrams of models ranging from simple to pretty complicated. Mr. Montroll’s models are all folded by one uncut square, and that’s why he’s my favorite. I really enjoyed folding these models. Bluebell once again helped with the title picture.

PART 10: BEAUTIFUL CREATURES

FOX by John Montroll – one of my favorites. When I was little I memorized this dude.

BEAR by John Montroll – He is all white, maybe a polar bear. SAVE the polar bears!!!

OWL by John Montroll – Silent in the dark: are you a dark knight too?

WALRUS & SEA LION by John Montroll – I combine these two because they are quite similar. Maybe one has trunks(?) and one doesn’t?

GIRAFFE by John Montroll – Giraffes  are fascinating creatures. I think of them more than just long-neck deer.

KANGAROO by John Montroll – This guy is also fun. Vietnamese people call him “a mouse with a bag”.

ELEPHANT by John Montroll – This model turned out to be very cute! It has become a gift to a good friend of Arwen.

ANTELOPE by John Montroll – The most complicated model of the collection. I am quite satisfied with the result. It’s also Arwen’s favorite. (That’s why she is holding it in the pictures).

ANGELFISH by John Montroll – Such a fancy name for a simple model. Matter not! When they are many they can still be impressive! : )

And this is it for this Origami collection! I hope you enjoy this series, because I really do. Thank you all for reading this post. Let me know which model you like the best!

…………………………………

Related topics:

Origami Extreme !!! – Dinosaurs
Origami Extreme – Part 02!!! – Convention
Origami Extreme – Part 03!!! - Dragons
Origami Extreme - Part 04 !!! - The Winged World
Origami Extreme - Part 05 !!! - People of Humanity
Origami Extreme - Part 06 !!! - Dogs
Origami Extreme - Part 07 !!! - Cats
Origami Extreme - Part 08 !!! - The Little Birds
Origami Extreme - Part 09 !!! - Airplanes

A Christmas Week In Montana

You may have noticed that there was no post last week. It’s because Arwen and I went to Montana visiting my family for a week. The week went by really fast and now I want to look back and see what we did during that week. I haven’t done diary-style posts like this for quite a while so click on! There are pictures too!

Day 1, Wednesday

We flew the whole day. At first it was nice and Arwen thought her snacks were interesting enough and took a picture of it.

Then it got really boring and tiring, so we decided to take some funky pictures together. Here are some:

After 7 hours, we arrived at Bozeman, MT at 8 PM. Howdy, MONTANA!

Then Mom came pick us up. Then us being tired and sleep.

Day 2, Thursday

The second day was a shopping day, since we didn’t finish our Christmas shopping yet. My brother Holden drove us to three different stores then we had lunch at Burger King. Good time.

Then we went to Petra Academy, my high school, which was now much different: huge building, many more students and teachers, and there was a new huge gym.

Arwen liked the dog Remington very much, so she took many pictures of him. Here is one:

  

In the evening we went to watch The Hobbit pt.1. Three hours was a bit too long for one third of a mid-size novel, but oh well. The character of Bilbo Baggins was quite likable, and the Dwarven prince was majestically heroic. Saruman’s straight hair went so well with his mushy beard (sarcasm!), and Gandalf looked somewhat older than his 60-year-later counterpart. Arwen had hard time staying awake but it’s all good.

Day 3, Friday

I spent a rather peaceful morning reading The Hunger Games and finished it. A cat liked to seat between me and the book but I didn't mind much.

Meanwhile, Arwen prepared a dinner with Vietnamese style chicken curry, a specialty of hers. It was pretty well-received. Too bad there was no picture taken. Next time she makes this dish, I promise I will take some pictures and share.

After the dinner, we went to church to see my little sister Shadiah performing in a Christmas concert. It was nice. Then we went home and I was surprised to find out Shadiah played Star Craft II! So I played some games with her and it was really fun. Ah, she reminded me of myself 10 years ago!

Day 4, Saturday

It was the time for us to finish wrapping gifts and cards, so we did that. We also went outside and enjoyed the snow.

Chelsea, my twin sister was home that evening so it was exciting. We had a nice Italian dinner with a family living downstairs. Afterwards, we watched Ice Age 4 together. It was very well-made and I enjoyed it truly.

Day 5, Sunday

It’s a church day! I missed this church for a long time. I could still recognize some people though they seemed to not knowing who I was. Then we went home and made an Indian lunch with some family’s friends. Then Mr. Brian went home and we all drove straight to Lewistown. The day was very fast-paced like that.

Day 6, Monday

Christmas Eve! It’s Christmas Eve! And there was baby Eaton – the child of sister Paige. He was so cute! Dinner was with lamb and pork. I found out I didn't like lamb much.

Gifts were distributed by the end of the day. Arwen had all the chocolate she wanted and a very nice cook book from Chelsea! Yeah! Merry Christmas!

Day 7, Tuesday

It’s time to drive back to Bozeman. Then Holden, Shadiah, and Chelsea went to see La Miserables whereas Arwen and I stayed home and played Phase 10 with the parents. We lost, but it was fun!

Then of course, we packed our stuffs and went to bed.

Day 8, Wednesday again

The flight was early, so we woke up at 4:30 AM! Holden sleeptalked and sleephugged me before falling back to sleep. Good bye, family, and off we went! At the airport, BTW, Arwen tried to catch some fish.

And that concluded our week in Montana! We did so many things, did we not! 

My Awesome Birthday Gift

I love books. In fact, when I am no longer nomadic I would acquire so many books and stare at the shelves and feel excited. I also like collectibles – the “cool” things from this and that; statues, swords, stuffs. And I like video games a bit too much. At the moment I am enjoying Blizzard Ent.’s Diablo III, a fantastic game about the eternal conflict between the Burning Hells and the High Heavens and the struggled humanity living in between.

And this is what Arwen gave me for my birthday: Diablo III Official Strategy Guide, Limited Edition! The perfect combination of books, collectibles, and Diablo III! How awesome is that? I was speechless. I am such a lucky person to have a girlfriend like that. Here is the picture of the gift:

(From left to right: the hardcover strategy guide, the bonus binder, and the sculptured metal bookmark)

Just so you know, I don’t usually get collectibles of any sort. Those always are the things I would drool on forever and never buy. Diablo III for some reason is different. Recently I purchased a lore book of the game (unintended-ly), and now I even have the limited ed. strategy guide.  This may be a good chance for me to show my collection of Diablo III. Here we go:

(From left to right: the copy of Diablo III, the lore book Diablo III: Book of Cain, the strategy guide, and the exclusive bonuses)

So what do you think? Like my collection? With all of this being said, I don't do so well in the actual game since I don't have much time to invest on. If you want to add me in-game, leave me a comment and we'll figure things out! 

----------------------------------------------------

Related topic(s):

StarCraft - Forever more...