what doesn't kill you wiill make you stronger...

that's what my advisor told me when i broke the news to him that i made a b+ in my linear controls class. i do this awesome thing of suppressing my anger and releasing it gradually, in short bursts. its about the most passive aggressive thing ever, but its the only way that i know to deal with contentious issues. i'm extremely angry with both my professors this semester. i assess them to be C- professors. (i'd grade them lower, but this is graduate school, any lower and they'd be out of schoo! ;-) ) its a huge let down to be taught by anal mathematicians who take the beauty of the theory out of the subject by focusing only on the wheel cranking. i mean, i sat there asking one of them for like 45 minutes, "i understand the math involved in making a stable observer, but where is the observing happening?" and the ruddy dude could not elucidate! wtf!!
(in his defense, he's a newbie prof. and apparently a career mathematician who should not be let lose in an elec. engineering faculty, but whatever..)

from an A- to a B+... boy, its been a long journey these past few months. but, at the end of the day, i'll take my advisor's advice and leave it be. as he would say, all's i gotta do now is wait for the other shoe to drop and see how i did in nonlinear controls. *sigh*

i don't care... worked too hard and too long to care about the results. its time to get done with my own grading so all my obligations for the semester are done with. i love seu jorge from zissou's soundtrack, he has such an earnest voice. i think the langour in his voice is kind of sexy! :-P

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Now playing: Timbaland - Apologize
via FoxyTunes

*Evil laugh* Mwahahhahahaha...

Tis a wonderful invention, is technology... especially the internet... it lets you see so many things...

I logged into my LinkedIn account to realize that
a. apparently they now log visitors to profiles...
b. someone i used to work with very closely, that i didn't have any personal interest in except for the fact that he basically carried me through my work, has quit the job! he takes with him a colossal store of experience and knowledge.. and the evil entity that i worked for is surely severely crippled due to his desertion. (though they put food on my plate for a few months, i rejoice in the thought that my friend has moved to a happier life.. to a job where his efforts are appreciated and his initiative is justly rewarded)

someone else from the company had spoken to me about the rats jumping ship... and it seems. that the ship is sinking still and the smart rats are making a run for it... i hope for my friend's sake that he sees the wisdom in jumping ship as well and finds greener pastures to move on to.. and soon.. life is short!!

i finished a final today. it was an evil class that made me extremely unhappy. i don't like it when i have to play a game where the odds are inherently slanted towards everyone else but me, and my little band of laggards. games like that are no fun!

tuesday, though, is a totally different ball game! tuesday i'll be tested in a class that gave me a fighting chance of being top dog.. *cheesy soap opera music*... and this coming tuesday.. we'll find out... will she maintain her A- or will she manage to bump it up to an A... or... *extreme orchestra music* will she drop to a B or worse!!!!

I'm insanely in love with David Guetta's Baby when the lights go out... (Garraud & Rister remix, in particular). I really wish that I had a friend who was into this sort of music here. Then we could go to a club and just get lost in the beat. I loved this club called Masquerade in Atlanta.. it was fabulous...


I am taking a break from final mania today... hooray!!!

thanksgiving is in the air...

life is hectic... in spots... it is piecewise continuous in its hecticacity, actually... (i know hecticacity isn't a word... i'm a rebel... i make up words..)

life is also oddly unsatisfying... i am unbelievably enamoured by Lifehouse's Storm.. i long for a feeling of security, comfort and support... but at the same point a couple of weekends ago, i learnt one of life's most telling lessons of all... that what your heart and head tell you at a given moment don't necessarily reflect your true feelings.. rather, your true feelings are subject to fluctuation and to ignore this reality is to leave oneself vulnerable to painful revelations further along the road that lead up to the.. "what the fuck was i thinking" moments in life.... (i had one of those during said weekend.. and since then have been gradually reeling in the shock of it... amazed at how wrong i was in the past... at the same time, its opened up a lot of old wounds and confused me anew on some matters that i was finally starting to bury..)

soo, i guess what i'm saying is... that i'm confused and unhappy... but at the same time, i realize that all of this is ephemeral and fleeting...and that soon i won't feel this way... that's just how life rolls...

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Now playing: Alice Deejay - Got To Get Away
via FoxyTunes

just one word to capture what i feel right now....

FUCK!!

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Now playing: Lifehouse - Bridges
via FoxyTunes

Easier to be...

I have been listening to the new Lifehouse CD... I love First time and Easier to be... the dude has an amazing voice!

2:44am and I still haven't solved a single question...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvaUCRVYhz4&feature=PlayList&p=99C0153EC59D4C6C&index=9

This is a song from my Charleston days. I'm really tired... and my brain is really tired... the world swims in circles.. and I can't solve the similarity transformation. :-(

this old heart of mine...

this is my message in a bottle.. i am still struggling to understand the actions of someone out there... what happened? why wasn't i given an explanation? are my feelings of that little importance? why haven't you called? could i honestly have been so terribly mistaken in my understanding of you? don't you care about me?

i'm trying very hard to reconcile your behaviour with a reasonable explanation... maybe this is your way of letting me down easy... i miss you... i hope that you are happy...

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Now playing: Guster - Rocketship
via FoxyTunes

The asshole's non-apology and miscellaneous stories.

This is the story of a cad, let's call him Fred, who said something truly horrid and hateful to a simple and sincere girl, let's call her Jane. When Fred unleashed his brief but ruthless tirade on Jane, he did so out of frustration at what he perceived to be her uppity attitude. Little did he realize that his reaction was wholly unprovoked and mainly a result of him being a colossal prick! Anyway, Jane employed her usual approach of not showing any emotion in the face of a provoking situation and maintained her silence until Fred marched away angrily. Jane later received a voice-mail from Fred - a purported apology that did nothing but strengthen Jane's resolve to cut off all diplomatic ties with Fred.

The apology began contritely enough, but proceeded to exhibit what a butt-munch Fred really was. It was the non-apology of the format "I'm sorry I was harsh and undeservedly so... but...."(insert Fred type bullshit).

Jane refuses to acknowledge the presence of Fred now onwards.

And yet.. there's the other kind of cad. The one that is supposed to be your friend, does something to disappoint you and then never apologizes for it. To people guilty of such follies let it be said that not apologizing to your friend for being an asshole makes you a bigger asshole. Some offences do have a statute of limitation. If you tarry your apology beyond the statute, your friendship with the person may very well be a thing of the past, and deservedly so.

Cad #2 - I am reallly pissed off with you, you behaved incredibly poorly and I am thoroughly disappointed in your conduct.

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Now playing: Cake - Cool Blue Reason
via FoxyTunes

Losing a friend...

I read a blog entry that sparked a thought... (http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/08/15/losing-a-friend-over-money/)

When is it OK to bail on a friend and give up on the person? When can you allow yourself to not feel guilty about passing judgement on a friendship and finally calling it a day? Personally, despite sporting my ultra chic pessimistic exterior, I find that I hold on to hope much longer than other reasonable people would. Its caused me a lot of heartache in the past and I have a feeling that things aren't going to change much in the future in that regard. Although, this past week, I did dodge the friendly (but not overly friendly) advances of a new acquaintance to avoid any possibility of the guy being an ass. I think I've lost faith in my judgement of people.

I've lost faith in most of what people tell me or what I understand from whatever they tell me. I think reading between the lines saves oneself a lot of useless expectations.

Last few words on the thought.. I hope that my anger and disappointment dissolve soon.. its exhausting.

I know I'm not making sense and that I've left out a lot.. whatever...

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Now playing: Razorlight - America
via FoxyTunes

Wow! The storks love this family!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6973101.stm

I know this is completely off-base, but whenever someone talks about the stresses of child rearing, I remember how much I want a cat and all the reasons why I don't!! These poor people! Talk about life being full of surprises. When these two people got married, I bet they didn't expect to be popping out 3 in a batch twice!! This is what you get for doing the hokey pokey! :-P

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Now playing: U2 - Everlasting Love
via FoxyTunes

I'm putting my money on the male of the species for this one...

The following is an excerpt from the Goofs section of the IMDB's entry for Becoming Jane.
"Anachronisms: When Jane is in London, writing in her night gown, she turns suddenly and you can see the outline of a thong (underwear) as she walks away from the camera."

I have a shrewd suspicion that only a guy would notice such a thing... call me biased...

(Loved the movie, am going to go watch it again tomorrow)

going to lewisburg, pa tomorrow...

Blah...

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Now playing: Panic! At The Disco - I Write Sins Not Tragedies
http://foxytunes.com/artist/panic!+at+the+disco/track/i+write+sins+not+tragedies

OMFG! YAY!!!

Chris Noth is going to play Mr. Big in the new SATC movie!! I am so excited!! As far as fictional leading men go, Mr. Big comes in my top 3...hooray for spin-off movies!!!

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/08/10/chris.noth.ap/index.html

Pride in my compatriot's wit!

'I once complained to an Indian ticket inspector that I had paid a surcharge to travel on a super-fast train, which was not very fast. He corrected me saying, "It is a super-fast train, it's only going slowly."'

:-) That's an excerpt from the following article on the beeb:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/6938947.stm

Here's hoping that the bureaucracy figures out a way to share the pie with those below the poverty line!!

Paul Van Dyk - My World

So, to continue to expound about an old muse of mine, I've always wondered what made music "talk" to a person. I've been listening to some of Paul Van Dyk's songs that are purely instrument based with no human voices in the songs and they fill me with an elation that I can't accurately canvas with words. It is a sense of optimism and an excitement for the future!

To extend that thought, people see different things in human beings based on the tint of the filter through which they perceive everything in this world. I sometimes completely understand the obsession with Maya that some philosophers have. Because I really believe that every perception is biased and coloured by our experiences and expectations. I really doubt that any absolutely objective point of view exists. Everything is relative.

I don't have the courage to say what I want to say in this medium. I'm very shady about some things. But, nobody is reading this anyways, so what the heck does it matter, eh? I'm an existential coward, even in this anonymous medium. My views probably appear moronic to an outsider, especially as the views of someone about to embark on a thesis based on quantum mechanics and nuclear interactions, but I am who I am and I can't change that.

In my last post I mentioned someone impeding my ascension. The impediment has been done away with, and I am excited about the new challenge that I am facing. This coming semester is going to be AWESOME!!!!

within touching distance and yet so very, very far away!

I've been extremely lucky in my life in some extremely important matters and at other times life has just been so sticky and yucky that I almost believe in a greater power with an extremely sick sense of humour. Like right now I am so close to financial stability/moksha! And yet.... it eludes me, temporarily I hope.

I don't want to get in to any sort of trouble, so I'm not going to go through the sordid details - some of which I shouldn't officially know. Suffice it to say, that my ascension is being impeded by a person wholly unqualified to do so!

Yet, fortunately, I have a perverse enough sense of humour to appreciate the hilarity of my situation! I'd love to give into the dogma of the paranoid and hypothesize that the forces of the universe are colluding against me - but I'm not in grad. school for nothing. I know that shit happens and that a survivor trudges through the sludge of life and a successful person manages to find something positive in his journey through the sludge.

I am utilizing my down time to straighten my apartment and do fun things that I always wanted to do. I watched two movies in the theatre this weekend; when admission is just $5.50 you have to take advantage!! Watched a delightful movie called Once. I think its message is slowly percolating through my system.

I think the lesson to take away this week is - shit happens - try and enjoy what you can.

Au Revoir Harry!

I finished the seventh book this morning. Think I read 700+ pages in 12 hours straight? Pity that I cannot get through my journal papers as quickly. Eh... what to do?

Anyway, I found a most excellent precis of the HP series - and I wanted to post it. It is excerpted from the following BBC link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6896062.stm

BOOK ONE:
Harry: :D
BOOK TWO:
Harry: :)
BOOK THREE:
Harry: :|
BOOK FOUR:
Harry: :/
BOOK FIVE:
Harry: :(
BOOK SIX:
Harry: :'

Fodder for misandry...

I Temporarily Surrendered a Small Part of Myself

Guy #1: You were not a virgin if you had sex with her.
Guy #2: Yes, I was. Technically you are still a virgin spiritually if she is ugly.

--Metro North to OAR Concert

Overheard by: Kelley

(http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/)

i don't know why... but i think its hilarious!

funny...

No Request Is Too Extreme

Girl #1: Thanks, I like being wished on. Well, not wished on, but wished for.
Girl #2: I was wished on in Mexico...
Girl #1, after long pause: Was it the same guy that gave you herpes?

--N train

Overheard by: i thought it was funny....

(http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/)

she sounds like a little cartman in the making..

Can I Have a Little Childhood, Here?

A stray kitten wanders up to a little girl who bends down to pet it.

Mom: Come on, sweetie, it's time to cross the street.
Little girl, dismayed: But I'm petting the kitty.
Mom: Honey, we need to go. Say bye-bye, now.
Little girl: Goddammit, mommy, I'm petting the kitty!

--17th & 6th

(from Overheard in NYC)

she sounds like a little cartman in the making..

Can I Have a Little Childhood, Here?

A stray kitten wanders up to a little girl who bends down to pet it.

Mom: Come on, sweetie, it's time to cross the street.
Little girl, dismayed: But I'm petting the kitty.
Mom: Honey, we need to go. Say bye-bye, now.
Little girl: Goddammit, mommy, I'm petting the kitty!

--17th & 6th

(from Overheard in NYC)

relax...take it easyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

it just occurred to me that a little more than a year ago, i had just moved to charleston and begun a job and possibly a new life. i've been pondering the passage of time - how the pace is deceptive and lull you into a false sense of security. i still remember smells from charleston, the feel of humidity, the burning heat that would waft out of my car at 5 in the evening. the desperate sense of disorientation that i'd feel in the confines of my wonderful apartment.

a job i didn't like. a place where i didn't make too many friends. a place where i lost my job and experienced 2 months of painful confusion regarding my future. not much going for charleston. but there are some things, some experiences and some people that redeem the chucktown experience.
i survived a car mishap on my way to the blasted city for christ's sake!!

life moves fast though. i'm in grad. school now. when i go to websites and have to pick my education level, i automatically reach for the undergrad option. then i have to take a moment and shake my head and pick graduate. its weird. i just watched a video about this couple that's half israeli and half palestinian. basically, they are dogging it out in no-man's land right now and high tailing it out to europe to they can live "normally". one of my first thoughts is, wouldn't you want to avoid dating someone who is obviously going to be so high maintenance? (i don't know what that says about me! nothing good, i'm sure.) also, the dude doesn't speak much other than hebrew and arabic, so what's he going to do in europe? learn the language, i suppose.

funny thing- the heart, if you aren't true to it misery dogs you like its in heat. and if you aren't true of heart, then you're the dog that's in misery. :-) i'm miserable on multiple fronts in my life right now, but still, at the end of the day, as i sit in the kitchen of the new apartment that i've moved into, i thank my stars that atleast i got out of charleston. :-D

hot damn! happy birthday euler!!

just randomly stumbled on euler's wiki profile.. its his birthday today! he is 300 years old today!! para bens!

Did you know Nickelback was Canadian?

1. No funding in sight for the fall. I've put in my TA applications, but I am told that I will need a *lot* of things to go my way to get it.

2. Apartment situation is a little aggravating. Have to move yet again. Here's hoping that a longer shower awaits me!! (And a drier bathroom floor!)

3. Health issues - Priscilla's wedding is in July - please, please, please let me not look heinous then. (For that matter, please, let me always stop just a little short of heinous.)

4. Academia - please, please, please let my inner genius shine through! I don't know what the world did to scare my inner genius into hiding, but the genius in me hasn't peeked at the world in eons and frankly, its been so long that I've forgotten what my genius looks like.

5. Please, please, please let the universe be a kind place where impossible dreams and hopes come true. I have whittled down my list of impossible wishes and dreams that I want to see come true - there's only about 20 of them left now, and I swear one of those still in the running isn't "please let all my dreams and wishes come true!" I don't ask for a lot and much that is impossible, just a little faith, talent, good health, wealth and love.

Iron chef - what's the big deal? /me is not very impressed.

/me shuts her eyes and makes a few wishes!

btw, i *do* actually realize that mr. darcy is fictitious....

never thought i'd have to clarify that.. but i just realized that i said he existed... i *hope* he exists... its ok if he's not loaded... just as long as he has a sense of humour, a social conscience, is super intelligent and moderately attractive.. (to me, that is... )

12:29am... starlog? ha ha... i don't think i'm quite lame enough to pull that off...

i don't think i can ever be cool/lame (depends on what side of the spectrum you choose to identify with) enough to pull off a starlog a la shatner in the old startrek. i will settle for "scribbling" online with a few confused/unrelated thoughts.

- i'm on spring break! that's thought / fact of reality #1 for the moment right now.
- i need to talk to someone desperately. one person in particular. its supposed to be like a bandaid - you do it in one swift conversation, fully anticipating the excruciating pain that inevitably ensues.
- i need to work on being by myself a little more. not happy enough hanging out with myself these days.. what is the matter with me? i am one the coolest people i know! :) ;)
- i'm trying to get myself pumped with the pussycat dolls' song - "I don't need a man"... sometimes the only way to work up gusto in life is by trashing one entity or another...
- kind of neutrally angry with some of my closest friends right now. hearing the truth from a friend isn't all that its cracked up to be - sometimes its very hard to distinguish between the message and the messenger - right now, i'm kinda not in the mood to talk to any of the messengers.
- call me crazy... (my brother thinks i am obsessed with pride and prejudice, but actually, i just really think that some truly awesome experiences are captured in the book).... but you know when darcy talks to elizabeth right at the end of the book, and he opens his heart to her and you finally understand that despite how his actions seemed, he always loved elizabeth and that he was man enough to accept his mistakes and even more important.. man enough to still want elizabeth.... my heart yearns and desperately desires to feel the exhilaration that i felt for elizabeth when i read that passage.. ... i think i was just amazed that such a man existed! someone who was as smart and intelligent (and yeah.. i'm shallow.. and as loaded!) and who had that awesome an upbringing could fall in love with an upstart of a young woman who gave him nothing but attitude... and that he loved her enough to accept her follies and also accept her criticism of him... and still love her... ....................................................... *sigh*

sorry the writing is crazy.. i'm on edge.. and kind of tired despite not having done a single blessed thing all day... i don't need a man.... more power to the pussycat dolls!!

12:29am... starlog? ha ha... i don't think i'm quite lame enough to pull that off...

i don't think i can ever be cool/lame (depends on what side of the spectrum you choose to identify with) enough to pull off a starlog a la shatner in the old startrek. i will settle for "scribbling" online with a few confused/unrelated thoughts.

- i'm on spring break! that's thought / fact of reality #1 for the moment right now.
- i need to talk to someone desperately. one person in particular. its supposed to be like a bandaid - you do it in one swift conversation, fully anticipating the excruciating pain that inevitably ensues.
- i need to work on being by myself a little more. not happy enough hanging out with myself these days.. what is the matter with me? i am one the coolest people i know! :) ;)
- i'm trying to get myself pumped with the pussycat dolls' song - "I don't need a man"... sometimes the only way to work up gusto in life is by trashing one entity or another...
- kind of neutrally angry with some of my closest friends right now. hearing the truth from a friend isn't all that its cracked up to be - sometimes its very hard to distinguish between the message and the messenger - right now, i'm kinda not in the mood to talk to any of the messengers.
- call me crazy... (my brother thinks i am obsessed with pride and prejudice, but actually, i just really think that some truly awesome experiences are captured in the book).... but you know when darcy talks to elizabeth right at the end of the book, and he opens his heart to her and you finally understand that despite how his actions seemed, he always loved elizabeth and that he was man enough to accept his mistakes and even more important.. man enough to still want elizabeth.... my heart yearns and desperately desires to feel the exhilaration that i felt for elizabeth when i read that passage.. ... i think i was just amazed that such a man existed! someone who was as smart and intelligent (and yeah.. i'm shallow.. and as loaded!) and who had that awesome an upbringing could fall in love with an upstart of a young woman who gave him nothing but attitude... and that he loved her enough to accept her follies and also accept her criticism of him... and still love her... ....................................................... *sigh*

sorry the writing is crazy.. i'm on edge.. and kind of tired despite not having done a single blessed thing all day... i don't need a man.... more power to the pussycat dolls!!

coulda woulda shoulda...

I love Sex and the City. Where's Mr. Darcy???????

cute... not so funny.. but cute..

A priest, Jesus, and an old man tee off.

The priest drives the green within 5 yards of the hole.

Jesus slices the ball and it goes into the water hazard. He quickly runs across the water and hits his second onto the green 2 inches from the hole.

The old man tees off with a short worm burner that trickles into the hazard. Soon after a fish eats the ball and swims across the pond with it in its mouth. Just then an eagle swoops down and snatches the fish with the golf ball and flies off. The eagle loses its grip and drops the fish on the green. The fish then spits out the ball and it rolls into the hole for a hole in one.

Jesus turns to the old man and replies, "Play fair dad!"

---

Politicians and diapers have one thing in common.

They should both be changed regularly ... and for the same reason.

a whopper of a word!

Main Entry: bil·dungs·ro·man
Pronunciation: 'bil-du[ng](k)s-rO-"män, -du[ng]z-
Function: noun
Etymology: German, from Bildung education + Roman novel
: a novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main character

(http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/bildungsroman)

those crazy germans and their awesome words!

Maybe I find it funny coz I own one.. but this is kinda cute!

What kind of motor vehicles are in the Bible?

Honda ... because the apostles were all in one accord.

omg! this dude just spoke for *all* indians!! wtf!

"At the end of the day, every Indian wants to marry someone from the same community - someone who speaks the same language, eats the same food and shares the same culture," says Murugavel Janakiraman, the founder of the portal."


from the link : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6279287.stm

umm.. i don't think too much about this subject, seeing as it is completely moot in my life - but i think i'd give blind arranged marriages a thumbs down.

I wish I could walk in Feddy's shoes for one day.

I've been following the Australian open but missed the last couple of days. I am kind of glad that I missed the Federer vs. Roddick match - I can never enjoy the complete and utter demolition of a human being in such a devastatingly public arena. One just has to read Feddy's comments to realize just how secure the guy is in his belief that he rules men's tennis.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/6297737.stm

Read it and weep!

Let the rain come down...

Track playing in my mind and winamp --> Into the Ocean by Blue October.

And the cerebral windmills are turning yet again... I fell off the happiness wagon with the flooding of the toilet - so many things about that morning that I will never forget. A lot of questions dogging me - I wish to god that I could spill my guts out to *someone*.

Been trying to drown my existence in TV - considered buying some alcohol to help with the process - but, that's not my style ...

Sometimes it feels just like I'm falling in the oceans..
let the waves wash me over...

...
let the rain come down..

:) I think this is cute.

A philosophy professor walks in to give his class their final. Placing his chair on his desk the professor instructs the class, "Using every applicable thing you've learned in this course, prove to me that this chair DOES NOT EXIST."

So, pencils are writing and erasers are erasing, students are preparing to embark on novels proving that this chair doesn't exist, except for one student. He spends thirty seconds writing his answer, then turns his final in to the astonishment of his peers.

Time goes by, and the day comes when all the students get their final grades ... and to the amazment of the class, the student who wrote for thirty seconds gets the highest grade in the class.

His answer to the question: "What chair?"

Official and incontrovertible evidence of my nerdiness.

I woke up this morning with an unique kind of satisfaction, that of knowing that my mind has officially given me proof of my being a nerd. I dreamt about working on something academic with this teenaged girl - maybe as part of an outreach program? The girl was very smart. I was watching her do addition on a computer screen. Let me further qualify the last statement, she was doing binary addition. Something about her mathematics wasn't adding up, please excuse the pun. I remember being perplexed and struggling to understand why what she was doing seemed right while not immediately ringing a bell in my head. And then I remember feeling the warmth of understanding taking over me - the girl was doing 2's complement addition without showing the intermediate steps! That's a wowza moment for me!

positively funny!

A hydrogen atom lost its electron and went to the police station to file a missing electron report. He was questioned by the police: "Haven't you just misplaced it somewhere? Are you sure that your electron is really lost?"

"I'm positive." replied the atom.

I'm free!!

I no longer reside in Mt. Pleasant, SC!!! I now reside in the glory that is State College, PA!!!!

I haven't decided what to do with this blog yet. I have too much music info. etc. invested in the blog right now to chuck it. So, for now, it stays. I don't think I'll be posting to it though. PARawks is a suggested possibility that I am seriously considering.

I made a few really good friends in Charleston. I was introduced to Capoeira. I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Darcy. I spent some glorious time on Sullivan's Island. For all the bitching and moaning, for all the aches and pains, at least it wasn't a complete washout. (I guess I'm softening my stance and saying that Charleston almost completely sucks, but there are a few redeeming souls and factors there.)