The Official "Total Randomness" Thread

[davidstvz]

When you said "stoners" in the context of landscaping, my first thought was like... stonemasons?

[anguyen92]

Well, I was reading some TVTropes page as a time waster, as usual, and I stumbled upon pages like SATs and the B grade and after being out of high school for about 11 years, I come to realize, everything I learned in high school was pointless. The SATs, to me, was the biggest piece of time waster ever and honestly, it may be the biggest scam ever to a high school student. It meant nothing at all. I was going to get into Cal Poly Pomona with or without a good score. On top of it, the more I realize that and the more time I still have a decent paying job in a business admin/finance field, the more I realize that the high school system is horrifically flawed where none of the things I learned or the traits I've adapted carried into adulthood.

It seems weird that people in high school told me that I should be some kind of accountant or something in the field and they couldn't give me any reason why I should sink my teeth into it. Yet, years later, it took a guy name Duff McKagan (yeah, that Duff from GNR) and his 1st autobiography and his drive to go get a college degree in finance after he was in the biggest band in the world where he was messed up personally and professionally that inspired me to get back into Cal Poly Pomona and get a degree in accounting. I feel like high schools, in general, needs to be better at inspiring people to get amped about stuff instead of boring them with dribble that doesn't mean anything to them years later. Am I crazy for thinking that?

[Ubik]

Yes.

[gbruin]

Got my second COVID shot today. Am happy to finally be vaccinated! Hopefully I don't get too many side effects

Great job, Micky. Every shot gets us closer to normal.

How is your cousin Cassidy doing?

[Micky]

Got my second COVID shot today. Am happy to finally be vaccinated! Hopefully I don't get too many side effects

Great job, Micky. Every shot gets us closer to normal.

How is your cousin Cassidy doing?

Thank you brother!

Cassidy is doing...okay. She's stable. She woke up the other day on her own and was able to talk off and on. She's having cognitive issues and severe aggression issues. She gets colors confused and people confused, when you correct her she lashes out. I'm not allowed to go in and see her, but my grandmother also said she is acting like she is a young child at times. So there is concern about her memory and potential severe brain damage but the doctors she has right now haven't seen anything that would confirm that.

She was supposed to get transferred the other day but then she started spiking a high fever so she was put on hold and then insurance started saying "We haven't approved a transfer yet"

They're (eventually) transferring her to a hospital in NJ called Robert Wood Johnson, they have one of the best neurological wings in the country so they can see why her cognitive issues are so prominent.

So right now it's really a waiting game. I should have more info tomorrow, really as they don't do many tests on the weekend.

I did get a beautiful picture of her smiling the other day and when I see that face, I can't help but think things are going to be okay for her. Thank you for asking, it really does mean a lot.

[davidstvz]

Well, I was reading some TVTropes page as a time waster, as usual, and I stumbled upon pages like SATs and the B grade and after being out of high school for about 11 years, I come to realize, everything I learned in high school was pointless. The SATs, to me, was the biggest piece of time waster ever and honestly, it may be the biggest scam ever to a high school student. It meant nothing at all. I was going to get into Cal Poly Pomona with or without a good score. On top of it, the more I realize that and the more time I still have a decent paying job in a business admin/finance field, the more I realize that the high school system is horrifically flawed where none of the things I learned or the traits I've adapted carried into adulthood.

It seems weird that people in high school told me that I should be some kind of accountant or something in the field and they couldn't give me any reason why I should sink my teeth into it. Yet, years later, it took a guy name Duff McKagan (yeah, that Duff from GNR) and his 1st autobiography and his drive to go get a college degree in finance after he was in the biggest band in the world where he was messed up personally and professionally that inspired me to get back into Cal Poly Pomona and get a degree in accounting. I feel like high schools, in general, needs to be better at inspiring people to get amped about stuff instead of boring them with dribble that doesn't mean anything to them years later. Am I crazy for thinking that?

School is a mess because it's a one size fits all solution to the problem of "educating" everyone as much as possible. You have to *attempt* to teach every kid everything for a while and figure out which ones are good at book learning and how good they are at it. Then they will mostly sort themselves into the appropriate colleges and trades where they can begin specializing. It may feel like a waste of time for someone who ends up using little of the learning, but it was still necessary to check. School also keeps kids and teens busy and hopefully out of trouble which is more important than ever with both parents usually working (assuming there are two parents). Naturally, it's a very inefficient system and any individual can easily take a wrong turn. If I could magically "fix" it, I'm not sure how much I would even change. Imagine if no one taught history at all. I wonder to what degree very poorly educated people might manage to be completely ignorant of even the idea of history.

[anguyen92]

^^ I'm not saying to do away with the school system. I'm saying that I wished there was a more fluid way to get the students to wake up and get excited to go to classes rather than have it be hour-snooze fests. In all fairness, my high school history teachers were pretty cool. One was coach for the wrestling team. One was a coach for the basketball team. One actually graduated at the same high school I was at and they had a pretty solid approach in reaching to the students. Heck, I recall one day where they talked about the barter system back then and in order to relate to the concept. They told an actual story of how one guy in today's age was able to turn a penny into buying a house by negotiating and using tactics from the old barter system.

I just wished counselors, teachers, friends, etc. in high school told me why accounting would relevant to my personal interests rather than say, "You should go into accounting because you are good at math," and not much substance to get me really interested instead of having me take three more years to figure that out.

[davidstvz]

I'm not sure accounting is relevant to anyone's personal interests, though most people who are good at math enjoy it to some extent. It's a way to be useful in society and make money, not a way to have fun :-)

In any case, without a lot more man power and funds, school has to serve such a broad amount of people it probably has no choice but to be boring. It's half daycare in any case. I spent a lot of my time in my classes reading books (or sleeping) while ignoring the lectures.

[Micky]

Anyone want to write an annotated bibliography for me by midnight tonight?

[zazthespaz]

Anyone want to write an annotated bibliography for me by midnight tonight?

No. But, if you didn’t know, Word has a references feature (not online version) which can create citations and bibliographies for you. Can’t do the annotation, but will save you some time in formatting and picking the right way to cite your sources.

[Ubik]

[maximzub]

I'm back! It's been, what, two weeks since I was last here?

Anyways, things are going very well for me.

I got my driver's license on April 2 and I'm probably going to be driving by myself to school from now on.

SATs went well for me. I am hoping that I got a perfect score in math like I did on the post-test for my SAT prep class. We get our scores on May 5.

On April 15, I was featured at that Open Jam that I've talked about a lot on this forum. I played 9 songs and, except for a drummer that was not supposed to be on stage coming up and messing up Nothing Else Matters, it all went well!



Remember Anna, the girl that I was talking about a lot for about a month? I'll start using her real name here because now I have permission. Her name is Addison. And we are friends again! After about a month of awkward interactions or simply avoiding each other, we decided to ease back into friendship. Well, it didn't work out at first, but after some essay-long texts on both our sides, we finally understood each other and became friends like we were before. It's also really refreshing to not have a crush on someone after 7 years.

I have a new best friend as well! Grace and I met at the Open Jam back in January, and we've gotten really close since then. Sometimes we fight and insult each other in a way that's almost like brother and sister, and other times we openly flirt as if we're boyfriend and girlfriend. We're not dating, and I hope we never will be, but it's really nice that we can do almost anything with each other.

My band is trying new songs. We hope to have at least one performance this summer.

I have another performance on May 1. I hope it goes well since my voice is not really in shape after lots of overdoing singing.

That's it. Thank you!

[Micky]

I will pay someone $100 to write one of my papers for me because I'm drowning in papers right now.

[zazthespaz]

You got it Bobby! (That’s moral support, not me saying I’ll do your papers)

I saw a guy in the store today wearing a #1 Dad shirt and I think it would be funny to give your parent a shirt that says “#2 Best Mom/Dad” on Mother’s or Father’s Day, and then walking around town introducing your parent as the runner up to all the parents wearing their #1 shirts.

[gbruin]

Cool performance, Max. Very diverse stuff. Well done!

I'm sure you know Champaign is the birthplace of the great REO Speedwagon.

[Micky]

I graduate college one week from today. Feels unreal

[anguyen92]

^^ Nicely done, Micky. Around this June, it would be five years since I graduated college. 7 years ago when I got a second chance to finish a degree at Cal Poly Pomona after what I thought was burning bridges.

[maximzub]

Cool performance, Max. Very diverse stuff. Well done!

I'm sure you know Champaign is the birthplace of the great REO Speedwagon.

Thanks! I did know about REO Speedwagon being from Champaign. Fun fact: I actually went to Champaign for state finals in Math Team back in 2019.

Unfortunately I had to back out of my May 1 performance because I got covid. Sucks that I missed it but I've come to terms with it. I'll record and post all six songs I prepared for it to make up for not being there. Also I'm writing some original songs and hope to play them soon!

[MaraCarr]

So this happened... I am exploring Universal ...again... The new Velocicoaster is scheduled to open June 10 of this year. WE just so happened to be in the park when they decided to do a test run. We rode it. Terrifying...and better than "The HULK and Rip Ride Rocket and The Dueling Dragons (RIP). It is incredible...70 MPH...360 barrel roll inversion...140 ' drop. Scared the hell out of all of us. I haven't rode in the front yet. But we got on the front seat of the Hulk right after the Velocicoaster and it was child's play...no comparison! Put this one on your bucket list! Incredible....LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!!

[maximzub]

Question for you guys: Is it okay to go on practice dates with a friend if you've agreed that you do not like each other romantically? Just to practice for when I start really dating.