Thoughts

So I'm looking around to buy a laptop for college this fall, and I'm gonna be doing all the basic stuff on it, plus gaming too (SC2 of course). I found what I think is a pretty good deal -

Dell Inspiron 15
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P8600 (2.40GHz/1066Mhz FSB/3MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Service Pack 1 64 Bit
Glossy, widescreen 15.6 inch display (1366x768)
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 800MHz
250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD
9-cell battery

It ends up being $650 before shipping/handling and tax. The thing is, the graphics card is pretty crap. The one they let you upgrade to for $100 isn't very good either (256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD4330).

So would it be a good idea to just buy the laptop with the video card that it comes with, and then buy another card separately and use that instead of the original card? If so, what graphics card? I was worried about compatibility issues, so that's why I'm asking here. Any other options?

So last week on Wednesday I come home from school feeling pretty tired like I usually do. I eat, browse TL, etc, then go take a nap at 4 pm. I nap till 12:01 am, so now it's Thursday. I figured that since my Georgetown and George Washington U apps are due on Saturday, I'd get them done. I end up procrastinating till around 4 am, and start writing my Georgetown essay. Get about 80% of that done by around 6:15 am, so now I gotta get ready for school.

I wasn't really feeling tired since I had just gotten 8 hours of sleep not too long ago. School ends, my friend and I drive to get Chinese food before our math team meet. I did pretty well, won our division, beat the school that gotten second place by 1 point. It's around 5:30 pm now, so I've been up for 17 hours 30 minutes; I should be feeling a bit tired...but I'm not. Weird.

Drive back to my friend's house have dinner. We burn Ip Man (only knew about it cuz of the thread here of course!) on a DVD and watch it; unfortunately, we had downloaded the Mandarin dub. Oh well, I'll get to practice my Mandarin with English subs. The movie had probably the best fight scenes I've seen in any kung fu movie - I especially liked how the fight choreographer differentiated wing chun from the other styles used in the movie. We play a shitload of Flash Flash Revolution, then I drive back home.

Get home around 11:40 so I've been up for almost 24 hours now. I'm not tired. What the shit? I eat a small meal consisting of various chinese veggies, shower, check my email, etc. and end up going to bed at 1 am. I lie in bed for maybe 2 hours before I fall asleep. I don't understand my body.

Fast forward to last Sunday. I wake up at 2 pm, I've forgotten what exactly what I did that day, but I know I go to bed at 12:30 am Monday, but I cannot fall asleep so I just lie in bed listening to music. Around 6 am, I still haven't fallen asleep, so I get up and read my Econ textbook. Later I go downstairs, have breakfast, get ready for school. Go to school; after school I stay behind and chat with a teacher, then go home and eat. I go to my friend's house again and we hang out for a bit, have dinner, watch some Elfen Lied (for like the 5th time), whatever. I think at that time it's around 9 pm, so I've been up for 31 hours. I fall asleep that night around 2 am, so I was awake for 36 hours that day. wtf? I wasn't even feeling tired at any time.

I've always had a messed up sleep schedule since like 6th grade (in 12th now). If a usual sleep schedule would be to fall asleep at 10:30 pm and wake up at 6:30 am, mine would be shifted anywhere from 3 to 6 hours forward, but I'd still have to wake up around 6:30 am, so I'd get like 2-5 hours of sleep. That's why after school, I'd take a nap that lasts 3-7 hours, cuz I'd would feel so tired.

But these 2 days were an exception - I didn't feel tired at all. I was up, alert, awake, doing things. I didn't have any significant change in diet, I didn't suddenly drink coffee (I never drink regular coffee, so even half a cup will keep me up all night) or some energy drink, no drugs or medicine.

So what's wrong with me?

tl;dr version - i stayed up for more than a day without feeling tired. a couple days later, i stay up for 36 hours without feeling tired. what's going on???

I just got 6 teeth pulled out about 30 minutes ago.

4 wisdom teeth, cuz they didn't have enough room.
2 premolars on the top cuz I'm gonna get braces (actually invisalign, but they do the same thing) and to straighten all my teeth, 2 needed to be removed so the rest of my teeth have enough room.

I now have a lot of gauze in my mouth and I can't feel much.
I'm gonna have to take some painkillers later, and I can only eat really soft foods.

Sooo, I guess the next few days are gonna suck. Oh well.

Anyone who's gone through this wanna share their experiences or any tips/advice?

So those SAT subject tests.
I took English Literature (even though I didn't take a Literature class yet), World History (because I love it; took ap world in my sophomore year [I'm a junior now]), and Math II (because a lot of colleges want or need that one).

Lit - 650
World - 790
Math - 800

Very happy with world and math scores, but hate my lit score hahaha. Oh well, i guess the two good scores make up for the bleh one.
Getting my ACT score soon, too. The earliest they put the scores online is yesterday, but not everyone's is posted, and mine wasn't. Next update is tomorrow.

What about you guys?

Final research project for English

I've done a bunch of research on the topic. Different viewpoints of it, pros, cons, ethics/moralality.

I'm all for it, and that is the position I'm defending for the 7-page paper. I have experienced disease/struggles - almost unbearable. Call me weak, but I would rather have my life ended than live the remainder of it in misery, pain, suffering. The only thing keeping me going was a hope and a chance that the suffering would end. I can sympathize with the people who have it worse than I had it, and theirs is for the rest of their life. I understand their situation, and support euthanasia for their benefit.

What do you think?

Edit - dont do my hw for me, i just want to know what other people think

Edit2 - cleared up an ambiguous sentence

Help me choose
I'm planning on taking 3 of them (also formerly called SAT II) on June 7. Gotta register by May 6.

Looked at the colleges I'm planning on applying to, and only one of them requires a certain one (math II). All the others recommend 2 or 3 (any).

So I'm gonna take the math II SAT. I have 2 left. Which ones should I take?

To make a better decision:
- I plan on going into prelaw/international relations
- I have taken AP courses in English, Physics, World History, and US History, so I can do well on these subject tests
-I'm a junior

Help me decide my fate!

Currently a high school junior in the US. Thus, I'm underway in the college search process.

I plan on going to law school after I get a bachelor's degree in something. I don't know exactly what yet. I liked World History (AP) and US History is ok (world affairs and conflicts are more interesting), so I'm thinking about majoring in something like History, International Relations, or Global Policy. What do you guys think? Anyone thinking about doing the same, have done the same, or are currently doing the same?

So - finding a good college. I've talked to people, but mainly used collegeboard.com and princetonreview.com to narrow the search, plus each college's website. The big issue for me is finding the best college (academics) that I have a good chance of getting into. Here's some of my academic record:

GPA: ~4.3-4.4 out of 4.5, my school uses a weird system
Rigor: difficult classes, AP classes, no slacking
SAT: 730 reading, 720 math, 540 essay (eew i screwed it up hahaha, I had no idea what I was doing, I'm pretty sure when I retake the SAT ill do much better on the essay)
Subject tests: plan on taking mathII, world history, and something else (either us history or physics)
ACT: haven't taken it yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll score high (around a 30)

How "good" of a school can I get into??
I know getting into a college isn't based just on academics alone, but it's important.

I've found Carnegie Mellon University to be one of my choices, since it offers majors that I want to pursue, it's not too far from home (I live in NY), and it's student body seems to fit my academic profile.

I've also thought about going to college outside the US. Possibly in Europe (most likely the UK). What's your opinion? How do the schools there compare to those in the US? Will it be difficult to get in compared to schools in the US?

I've kept a sort of written record of stuff in my life before, but I've never used a blog before. It seems like a nice idea to get my thoughts down, share cool shit, or just vent my anger (like I did in an old old TL post in a rant thread).

Why do people blog? I guess it's almost the same reason people kept diaries back then (and even now). To write down thoughts and stuff that happens; I think it's really good to have some sort of writing that is a record of your life. A lot of the times, I find myself wondering what went on or what happened on a certain day, but can't remember, or can only remember vague details. Then again, blogs differ because a diary is supposed to incorporate a sense of privacy, and the intent is for no one else to be able to read what you wrote, as the record is of private, personal matters. Blogs offer anonymity online, but the facts are still there, and if someone you know finds it...

Well, I guess here it goes.

I think I should add a little content, rather than just the above.

I'm in junior year of high school in the US, and times are very rough. Doing college searching. Maintaining high GPA (like a 4.4 out of 4.5). Taking AP classes. Trying to do the activities that demonstrate "leadership skills" that colleges are looking for. I seriously have not done a single one. Ugh.

I'm an avid player of table tennis / ping pong. Love it to death. I play around 3-4 times a week (more if I play in a tournament). Took lessons from a Korean coach who used to be on the Korean national (junior?) team. Unfortunately, he left after a short stay, and no one around here can teach/coach like he does.

Well, I'll update on anything interesting. Hope I didn't bore anyone who reads this to death.