A Little Bit of This & a Little Bit of That

And yes... another late night studying for an upcoming exam (tomorrow night), however, this time, the exam's not as simple as merely memorizing terms; instead, I actually have to understand the material for Organic Chemistry II. Speaking of which, though -- I was up until 4:30am finishing up my homework Tuesday and completely overslept the following morning. Much to my dismay, my professor decided to have a pop quiz that morning... out of all the possible days, it had to be that morning. After some quick calculations, I realized that that one quiz is keeping me from getting an A in the class -- Bummer. Feeling indignant and rather moronic at the same time, I fabricated some lame excuse and e-mailed my TA asking if I can somehow compensate for my absence, even if it meant 'standing on one leg whilst singing my ABC's.' She gave me no forthright answer and directed me to the professor instead, who won't be in his office until next Monday. Argh. Albeit, I am positive he won't let me make up the quiz anyway.

Other aspects of my life are mundane as usual, although, I am having a tennis tournament against my friend Braden and am planning a surprise birthday party for Runjini. Her obsession with Final Fantasy XII has burgeoned to immeasurable proportions, so what better gift to buy her than that? My critique should only be taken half-heartedly, though, since I have yet to play the game, but it seems rather humdrum. The graphics are amazing, as I've seen on YouTube, but other aspects of the game hardly seem entertaining. Perhaps I've outgrown my childhood adulation for games.... Nah.

Although I've already sold my soul to academia this summer, I think I have better plans for the next. If everything performs according to plan as far as registration for classes goes, I should be able to take next summer off away from school and relish in the more pleasurable aspects of life. I'm not sure if anyone has heard of the Texas 4000 (T4k) but I'm currently looking into undertaking just that for Summer 2008. The organization consists of approximately forty individuals (mainly college students) who are chosen by a board of directors every year. Their goal is to raise $350,000.00 to aid in the fight against cancer per annum, spread hope within the cancer community, and raise cancer awareness as they bike across the country (4,690 miles or 7,548 km) from Austin, Texas to Anchorage, Alaska. Each cyclist is required to raise at least $4,000 in donations from November till April, plan routes, find camping spots or hosts prior to departure, etc., and each day consists of 8 to 13 hours of biking (80 to 125 miles per day).

It's definitely something you have to allot an enormous amount of energy, time, sweat, compassion, etc. into but it's also something I really want to do. My neighbor, who's the most kind-hearted individual I have ever met on so many different levels, was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. My mother's friend, who has become a close acquaintance of our family, passed away a year ago from a malignant brain tumor. My father's colleague whom I've known since the age of 5 died from lung cancer 3 years ago. Alas, the list goes on. Cancer is such a pernicious disease that everyone should be aware of it and try to help those who have to endure such agony. T4k allows healthy individuals (college students, at that) to represent and bike for those who are unable to do so. It allows them to share the story of their personal experiences with cancer and chronicle their ride to show that through prevention, detection and treatment, one can achieve great things.